Welcome back to the garden! Every summer I like to take a step back and look at how everything has developed over the year, but 2026 has been unlike any other. We've had almost no rain throughout July and only 6 mm in June, alongside three heatwaves and months of exceptionally dry weather. It's been a real challenge, with some plants struggling while others have absolutely thrived. A Completely Different View The biggest change this year is impossible to miss. The old jungle area has gone...

Every now and then, a garden project comes along that you know will be hard work. This week was one of those moments in my garden: the day finally came to dig up my big blue bamboo, Borinda 1046 . This magnificent bamboo has been growing in this spot since 2018 , forming a dense clump of thick, upright canes that reach around five metres tall . It started life as a small division from another clump, but over the past eight years it has grown into an impressive specimen. As beautiful as it is,...

Hello and welcome back to Exotic Gardening with Yorkshire Kris 🌿 I hope everyone has enjoyed a peaceful and relaxing Christmas break. We’re now in that lovely “betwixtmas” period between Christmas and New Year, and I thought it was the perfect time to take a gentle walk around the garden, reflect on what we achieved in 2025, and look ahead to what’s coming in 2026. Despite it being the depths of winter, it’s been remarkably mild – and the garden is responding in the most unexpected ways....