How can I go green in 2015? | Lucy Siegle

Trends need not be fickle engines of pure consumerism. We have them in ethical living, too you know. 2015 is all about self-reliance. More dynamic than the downshifting trend (work fewer hours, move to the countryside, keep bees), self-reliance is about actively claiming ownership of our lives...
How can I go green in 2015? | Lucy Siegle

Alys Fowler: bromeliads

I fell in love with bromeliads, the pineapple family, at the same time I discovered the Brazilian psychedelic rock band Os Mutantes, the musician Caetano Veloso and the Tropicália art movement. I ended up sharing a flat with Kew’s resident bromeliad expert, Marcelo Sellaro, and my...
Alys Fowler: bromeliads

Gardens: planting a tree

It was a good move to start planting trees the first winter we arrived here. Just four years in and the young whips of 2010 are already trees we can walk among in the blossom wood. Their branches were hung heavy with berries this autumn and the birds came. The new orchard has also fruited for...
Gardens: planting a tree

Thames garden bridge plan gets green light from London mayor

A garden bridge over the Thames has been approved by the mayor of London but doubts remain over who will meet its substantial annual running costs.
The bridge has attracted criticism for the £60m of public money it will cost to build, despite initially being privately financed. It will...
Thames garden bridge plan gets green light from London mayor

Holly: the festive berry

Amid the barren bleakness of winter, the holly tree stands out, lush and green with bright red berries. We use this plant to decorate our homes at Christmas, some of us fiercely guarding the berries against birds. But as we have been decorating our homes with holly for centuries, so have the...
Holly: the festive berry

Gardens: dealing with deadwood

It won’t be long now until the shortest day of the year. The leaves are down and swirled into corners. The colour is drained from the autumn and through newly naked branches, low light falls to the floor for the first time in months.
I love this time of year for the countermovement it...
Gardens: dealing with deadwood

Make your own Christmas: a door wreath, a vase of sprigs and garlands

Clusters of berries, verdant branches of pines and conifers, and, of course, the holly and the ivy. This is Christmas decorating at its best.
It’s incredbly satisfying, as every dog walk or park visit becomes a hunt for fallen treasure, and you search for the perfect branch to take home...
Make your own Christmas: a door wreath, a vase of sprigs and garlands

Alys Fowler: how to grow perfect pears

I don’t have a great track record with pears. Part of the trouble is I want pears to be more like my beloved apples. Pears are not apples; accepting this is the first step on the road to growing good pears.
First, do not expect pears to slum it. They like to bask in sun, and in good soil;...
Alys Fowler: how to grow perfect pears