Hello everyone!
I’ve been off your screens for a few weeks, because I’ve been busy around the world, spreading the plant love!
I started off September in Germany, as I was asked to speak at a popular trade show all about urban gardening. I drew from my experience of seeing different cultures and how people really use plants in many different countries.
From motorway central reservations planted with exotic plants to the use of houseplants in clothes stores, I hope I brought a lot of exciting ideas that prove how important plants are to us in our day-to-day lives, and not just for aesthetic reasons.
I jetted off to Japan straight from Germany, where I was holding workshops for the fifth year running, at Barakura English Gardening School.
This is an English garden set up 20 years ago, and they invite English lecturers to teach the students. However, I have really learnt more from them over the years, as I’ve discovered how to embrace container planting.
The Barakura style doesn’t follow any rules; you are allowed to mix many different types of plant into a container. This is basically flower arranging with living plants.
We are often too shy to do this in the UK, or expect more value from our plants. The Barakura style container won’t last for six months, but it will look really really good for six weeks. In fact, the containers will often surprise you by having a much longer lifespan than intended.
Here’s an example:
I was expecting then to fly to Canada from Japan, but I was actually called back to the UK to film a quite exciting new TV program. More on that in a few months. My lips are sealed!
My work in Canada was for the Niagara Parks commission, where they invited me to take part in their “Rooted” community campaign.
I spoke about my life as a ‘plant magician’, sharing my career highlights for the first time to an audience. I talked about all the plants I’ve introduced over the years, and the trends that I have detected around the world.
I also planted up some unique containers using lots of different textures. We are really taking it a stage further than just geraniums and petunias. I’m so lucky that I can get out there and be creative in such a way!
I’ll be back on your screens on Sunday, October 6th, as we gear up for the Christmas gifting season, with lots of items that make great gifts, as well as instant planting options for yourself!
See you there!
