Mark McNee

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  • A patio to eat out on

    As foreign travel has increased, so has our appreciation of the continental lifestyle; and with it the idea that the garden can be an extension of the home. This has lead to an increase in the appeal of eating out on a garden patio. In itself the idea of eating a meal out in the…

  • Hydrangea aspera

    Hydrangea aspera

    The rough leaved Hydrangea is one of the less commonly grown examples of this important genus in our gardens, but makes an excellent addition to the garden. The large velvety leaves provide an attractive display all summer covering this medium sized bush. And come June and July this is topped with dark lilac “lacecap” flowers.…

  • Why do they keep changing plant names?

    Why do they keep changing plant names?

    The argument often made for using scientific plant names is that it provides consistency. If you ask for Alchemilla mollis that is what you’ll get. The problem is you keep finding different people referring to the same plant with different names. The exact opposite of what is wanted and causing confusion and irritation to many…

  • Sitting out in the garden

    One of the most popular pastimes in gardens is sitting out enjoying any warm weather the British climate affords us. At its simplest this could be just relaxing on a lawn, but soon you will be looking for something a little more comfortable. With this comes the decision – where to put the seat. A…

  • Enzymes

    These are catalysts which drive and control all the processes in living things. These are proteins just like muscle and hair and work as a result of their complex structure. Catalysts are something which causes a chemical reaction to occur but remain unchanged by the reaction so that it can repeatedly act on the same…

  • Organic matter

    This is the part of the soil which is made up from partly decomposed plant material or material which can beaded to soil to increase the amount of soil organic matter. It is very important as a reserve of nutrients and in the structure of the soil. Typical sources include peat, compost, farmyard manure and…

  • Organic

    Originally this was something which served as an organ and with time was adopted by chemists to refer to carbon based compounds. As a result of living things being carbon based it extended to which living things and material which resulted from living things; hence organic matter. The latter half of the 20th century saw…

  • Nomenclature

    This is simply the process of giving things names.

  • What to put in the garden

    What to put in the garden

    By now we’ve got the garden under control and we can take time to consider what we are going to do with it in the longer term. I can’t give a list of what to put in as every garden is different as are its owner’s needs.  What actually goes into the garden is going…

  • The Concise British Flora in Colour by W. Keble Martin

    William Keble Martin was an amateur botanist in the must noble tradition of amateurs. That is to say he was not employed as one but was every bit as skilled and dedicated as any “professional” botanists. He was formally trained as a botanist but instead of following this path chose to be ordained and spent…