There’s a point in the year when everything bursts into leaf. Trees sparkle. Winter-dull shrubs are tipped with perky green. The hydrangea, pruned of its dried flowers last week, is all furl and curl. Pairs of leaves hinge out from stalks speckled with the pink of its Summer plumage. The … Read More
While waiting for a glacially-slow backup to run – my other life is as a designer – I seek entertainment in the garden and there it is, in tulip form. The parrot tulips show their stripes early. I had drawn smart green buds a week ago, presenting themselves like two-tone ties. Now, … Read More
I’d never noticed before how triangular tulips are. But as I wandered out, there it was, seen from above, three-pronged stamen, trios of petals, neat, three-sided colour change at the petals’ base. Cue drawing tea break… Having got my eye in as I drew, I started seeing the particular shapes … Read More
The flowers have declared it Spring. And who am I to argue? In bud last week, the first tulips are fully-open in the morning sun. By the time I go out to draw them, they’re closing for the day, speedy sketching a race to catch the tricorn hat of yellow … Read More
Sun, rain, sun, rain… though Spring is a week away, it’s making the garden pop with fresh colour. My starting points for this week’s sketches are natural ink washes. It’s interesting having a base note of the main colour in the plant I’m sketching – it frees me to look at … Read More
Three-cornered leeks. I have no idea how they got into my urban garden but they’re hooligans, spreading their way around. Handy, then, that they do their partying in one space when there’s not much else going on. First, drifts of their triangular leaves, then chandeliers of green-streaked white flowers. They’re … Read More
With the light come the bulbs, this week, drifts of crocuses. I’m glad of the work I put in last Autumn, replanting saved bulbs and putting in new ones. On a day too sparkling to draw indoors, I hug the Winter sunshine and watch. In the pots, the flowers are … Read More
Storm Eunice lashing London, my cold frame escaped its moorings. In its journey to the other end of the garden, it revealed a view I don’t normally have of Spring bulbs in pots that will, come Summer, house tomatoes. So I made the most of it and did a quick … Read More
I love a sweet pea. So as soon as the light lets me, in go my seeds, the improvised loo roll planters looking like firework boxes. Which, in a way, they are. Up shoot the seedlings, with promise of bright, fragrant flowers. There are unexpected visitors, too, my home-made compost … Read More
Frost-chilled, wind-blown, wild weather forecast, the doughty little roses in my garden looked ready to jettison their petals. So as it was too chilly even for wrapped-up drawing, I snipped off a couple for a posy. Even the colours look cold. The full rose petals are bleached to the palest … Read More