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My favourite low-maintenance perennials and biennials for dappled shade.Not every garden gets full sun, and some of my f...
12/10/2026

My favourite low-maintenance perennials and biennials for dappled shade.

Not every garden gets full sun, and some of my favourite planting combinations are in those softer, dappled-shade spots beneath trees or along the edges of a garden.

Here are some of my go-to plants for adding flowers, foliage and texture to these spaces:

Foxgloves
Tellima
Aquilegia
Hellebores
Heuchera
Campanula
Hardy geraniums
Astrantia
Lady’s mantle (Alchemilla mollis)
Solomon’s seal
Mignonette
Phlomis
Hostas

A little reminder: dappled shade can vary quite a bit from garden to garden. Most of these plants appreciate some light and soil that retains moisture without becoming waterlogged, so check the needs of individual varieties before planting.

Save this list for your next dappled shade garden.

Happy gardening,
Flora x

Red and yellow flowers are usually an unpleasant surprise in my garden. So deliberately planting red and yellow tulips, ...
11/10/2026

Red and yellow flowers are usually an unpleasant surprise in my garden. So deliberately planting red and yellow tulips, including some that combine both colours in a single flower, was a pretty bold move for me.

But inspired by some of Willow Crossley’s spring delights last year, I thought it was time to challenge myself a little. And honestly, I’ve had so much fun with it.

There’s something magical about spring flowers and the way they invite you to play with colour, experiment and create combinations you might not usually gravitate towards. No careful colour palette or perfectly blended tones, just a riot of colour and a bit of creative freedom.

It’s been such a joy to see what I can create with what’s flowering in this garden. And to think that this time next year, there’ll be even more growing, flowering and waiting to be picked. I can’t wait 💌

Flora x

My favourite drought-tolerant perennials for a lower-maintenance garden.With a potential super El Niño summer ahead, I t...
09/10/2026

My favourite drought-tolerant perennials for a lower-maintenance garden.

With a potential super El Niño summer ahead, I thought this might be a handy list to save if you’re planning a garden that can cope a little better with the dry.

These are some of my go-to plants for sunny borders that don’t need constant watering once established.

Achillea (yarrow)
Sedum
Phlomis
Verbena bonariensis
Nepeta (catmint)
Salvia
Euphorbia
Echinacea (coneflower)
Agastache

One important thing to remember: drought-tolerant doesn’t mean drought-proof, especially when it comes to newly planted gardens. All of these plants need regular watering while they’re establishing their root systems. Once established, they’ll generally cope much better with dry conditions.

A good soak less often is usually more helpful than a little sprinkle every day, as it encourages roots to grow deeper into the soil.

Even drought-tolerant plants may need a helping hand through prolonged heatwaves or exceptionally dry summers.

Happy gardening,
Flora x

08/10/2026

HOW I PLAN A NEW GARDEN.

When I’m planting up a new garden, I’m not just thinking about which plants I like. I’m thinking about how the whole planting will work together, now and as it grows.

COLOUR PALETTE
I like to start with a loose colour palette rather than choosing every plant individually. It helps the planting feel cohesive, while still leaving room for a bit of wildness and surprise.

HEIGHT + STRUCTURE
I want a mix of heights, shapes and textures, with taller plants creating structure and movement through the bed and lower planting filling things in around them.

For this garden, I’ve loosely grouped the plants into tall, medium and short layers. These are very much generalisations, plenty of these plants could sit in a different category depending on the variety, conditions and how they’re grown.

TALL:
Cephalaria · Verbascum · Leonurus · Dahlias · Foxgloves

MEDIUM:
Echinacea · Sanguisorba · Euphorbia · Campanula · Sedum · Aquilegia · Achillea · Knautia macedonica · Salvias

SHORT:
Alchemilla mollis · Heuchera · Tellima · Astrantia · Geraniums

PLANTING CONDITIONS
The right plant in the wrong spot is never going to thrive. I’m thinking about things like full sun vs shade, soil, moisture and how much exposure each part of the garden gets, then choosing plants that are actually happy with those conditions.

YEAR-ROUND INTEREST
I also want the garden to have something happening throughout the year. That might be flowers at different times, interesting foliage, seed heads, grasses, structure or plants that hold their shape through winter.

The goal isn’t a garden where everything is flowering at once. It’s a garden that keeps changing, growing and giving you something to notice.

Happy gardening,
Flora x

05/10/2026

A little reminder that not every gardening video is filmed in one take!

This one took many, many cuts thanks to Jim chuckling behind the camera and generally making it very hard to keep a straight face. But thanks for helping me film!

All giggles aside, this tip is a good one: when your herbs are lush and leafy, don’t be afraid to cut them back. Take the fresh growth while it’s at its best, dry it for storing, and you’ll have herbs to use for months and months to come.

Cut back to just above fresh growth, but don’t go too far into the old woody stems, as you want to leave enough soft growth for the plant to bounce back.

A good prune makes room for a whole lot of new lush growth.

Hope the bloopers give you a wee laugh!

Happy gardening,
Flora x

A bit of fun with the Spring flowers in the garden. It’s limited at the moment as I am really relying on what was alread...
30/09/2026

A bit of fun with the Spring flowers in the garden. It’s limited at the moment as I am really relying on what was already in this garden plus the tulips I have. It’s always a good creative challenge to try and create something beautiful from what you have. It’s not my fav arrangement but I enjoyed creating it and putting together colours I wouldn’t normally.

This time next year I hope to have a lot more flowering in the garden. What are your favs in the garden at the moment?

Flora x

Every year I come away from the Hurunui Garden Festival feeling so inspired. From discovering rare and hard-to-find plan...
25/09/2026

Every year I come away from the Hurunui Garden Festival feeling so inspired. From discovering rare and hard-to-find plants, to clever planting ideas, workshops or talks.

Even when a garden feels much bigger or more ambitious than your own, there’s always something to take home with you. A plant, a planting combination or simply an idea that gets you thinking about your own garden differently.

I can’t wait to head along again this year! These pics are a few of my highlights from the last couple of years I’ve attended. 29th October to 1st November - put it in your calendar!

And my fav gardens to visit:
toitoigarden
Jenny Cooper
Brackenbank
Ruth Appleby
Penny Zino
Anita Todd
Top Cottage Jane McIntosh
Doreen Dryden

25/09/2026

I’ve been potting up my tomatoes, and I’m probably a little bit late to the party, but they’ll soon catch up. The days are warming up now and tomatoes really start to grow on once they get a bit of heat.

I’ve planted them out nice and deep to encourage strong, sturdy stems, so don’t worry if yours are looking a little leggy at this stage. They’ll soon fill out.

These plastic storage containers also make a great little mini tunnel house. Pop your tomatoes in, give them some protection while they’re getting established, and they’ll be away.

I haven’t grown tomatoes from seed for a few years. I’ve usually just bought seedlings, which is absolutely fine, but I had a whole lot of seed saved from last year, including some I collected myself, so I thought I’d give it another go.

There’s something pretty special about that full-circle feeling of growing a tomato from your own seed, all the way through to eating it.

I’ve actually just made a tomato pasta sauce with tomatoes I had tucked away in the freezer from last summer, so I’ve got a little stash to get through before this year’s crop starts rolling in!

Anyway, happy tomato growing. What a neat time of year, Flora x

The spring equinox has arrived. What a treat these longer days are. 💌Although I am really feeling for the vineyards and ...
24/09/2026

The spring equinox has arrived. What a treat these longer days are. 💌

Although I am really feeling for the vineyards and orchards as we get these spring frosts. Gosh, they can do so much damage at this time of year!

I am just loving seeing the bones of this garden come to life. Jim said to me this week, “I don’t even remember what the garden looked like when we got here now,” I must do a proper reflection post on this soon because honestly, the blackberry, fennel, ivy and everything else that was growing through this garden was quite something. Must say though, I know it is all still lurking under the ground, so it is going to be a fun time trying to keep those weeds at bay. The blackberry is already starting to sprout away again. 🙈

But it has been so good getting things planted and watching it all start to take shape. The fritillaria is flowering, which is just so sweet!

The tulips and pansies are doing the most at the moment! Note to self, order atleast 200 more tulips next year 🙊

The darn possums have been eating my roses… so I have set Jim the task of dealing with them! I’ve been buying a lot of roses lately!! Next on the list is Claire Austin.

I have a few more dahlias to pot up but they’re tucked away and starting to wake up.

Lunch time walks in the park are so magical at this time of year. This mosaic chair is called Flora! So makes my walk feel all that more special too!

I hope you are all having a lovely start to spring in the garden. It has been such a blessing to get these little rainfalls coming through. Even if they are little, we will take them.

Happy gardening,
Flora x

23/09/2026

Hydrangea pruning: Annabelle + Limelight

If you’ve got Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’ or ‘Limelight’, these are pruned quite differently to your traditional mopheads and lace caps.

These hydrangeas flower on new wood, so you can give them a good hard prune early spring, taking them back to around 20–30cm from the ground, cutting just above a healthy set of buds.

Just like with rose pruning, have a good look while you’re at it. Remove any dead, diseased, weak or spindly stems, and thin things out a little so there’s plenty of airflow between the new growth. You’re aiming for fewer, stronger stems and bigger, healthier blooms.

Your traditional mopheads and lace caps are a different story, they flower on old wood, so don’t attack those with the same enthusiasm! I’ll do a separate video on those.

As I will always say, the best way to learn is just to get stuck in. Hydrangeas are pretty forgiving, so have a go, make a few cuts and see what happens.

Happy hydrangea pruning!

P.s. don’t forget to try and get some cutting going from the prunings!

Flora xx

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