Graham Paskett, founder of Paskett PR, loves gardening so much that he has made it his life’s work. But all work and no play make a very grumpy PR practitioner. So, this is his chance to let off some creative steam and share his wealth of knowledge.
Read his blogs below in date order, starting with the most recent.
You can contact Graham direct by emailing grahampaskett@paskett.co.uk
April 20, 2021: 15 minutes of fame for the Grumpy Gardener
A number of regional radio interviews this month mean I’ve had my 15 minutes of fame – but paid the price with a very early alarm clock!
March 29, 2021: Things I find in the garden never cease to amaze
There are treasures galore to be found in the garden, both natural and man-made.
March 15, 2021: Lock down – it’s more like a shutdown and as for Monty…
Attempting to buy gardening supplies in lockdown is not for the faint-hearted, and as for Monty Don’s views on the impact of mowing the lawn on the environment….
February 26, 2021: A tidy mind means a tidy shed…
… and my shed is a real mess. Is that an old gardening saying or have I just made it up?
Follow the Grumpy Gardener on his search for missing cloches…
February 10, 2021: Idle hands and all that
I need to be active and on the move so this recent spell of extremely cold weather caused me a lot of problems. I couldn’t get onto the garden, other than to pick vegetables, as it was frozen, so I set off for the greenhouse.
January 12, 2021: The cost of feeding garden birds is enough to turn your feathers white
Mrs GG and I are both very keen on our garden birds but the cost of feeding them in spiralling. Just before Christmas, to ensure they had uninterrupted festive meals, I bought replacement sacks of peanuts, sunflower hearts and mixed corn.
December 22, 2020: How we nearly lost our protected oak trees
I can be a bit grumpy but earlier this week I was extremely bad tempered. Someone told me that people were on my drive nailing numbers to selected trees.
December 2, 2020: In Which the Larches Needle the Grumpy Gardener
Think before you plant! I wish I had done that more than 25 years ago when I planted a number of larch trees in my garden. Some of them are now about 35/40 feet high and are lovely. But oh my goodness, do they make a mess.
July 15, 2020: The highs and lows of nature
Nature was to first giveth and then taketh away for The Grumpy Gardener this week, as he gorged on homegrown vegetables but was saddened by some unpleasant pheasant news.
And still the promise of heavy rain is not forthcoming!
June 17, 2020: The Emperor strikes back!
There is a mystery in the Grumpy Gardener’s vegetable garden that is making him particularly grumpy, and it involves his Scarlet Emperor beans doing a runner!
But at least he’s not brassed off about his brassicas. They’re thriving as the club root disease seems to have died out. Finally!
June 2, 2020: Hot under the collar
I’m thoroughly fed up with this unremitting hot weather. Mrs Grumpy Gardener loves the sun and keeps telling me to come and sit down. No time. As soon as the sun is off different areas of the garden, I’m out with the hose and watering can.
Oh and slugs and grey squirrels are a nuisance too!
May 21, 2020: Pots and panics
There is very little pleasure in washing up very dirty plastic flower pots. Although as tedious and boring as this task is, it really is very necessary.
Also, I’m a worried gardener this month. I have become an avid watcher of the weather on my iPhone to check lowest overnight temperatures. I’m still fearful of frosts!
April 23, 2020: A Coronavirus free zone – but still plenty to grumble about
It is quite ridiculous to have moved from flood to virtual drought in a matter of three weeks.
And be aware of slugs and other minibeasts.
Also, the daffodils are absolutely lovely in the garden but, already, we are dead heading the early blooms.
February 7, 2020: Winter hasn’t done with us just yet
At the risk of sounding even more grumpy than usual, I have to say that this ridiculously warm weather is really not good news for the garden.
But, personally, I don’t think winter has done with us just yet.
February 3, 2020: Hydrangeas and the Grumpy Gardeners
My wife and I both love hydrangeas but disagree about their winter pruning. In 2018 she won the argument and, last year, we had the worst display ever.
The reason? In an effort to make the borders look neat and tidy she insisted that I prune them hard, cutting off all the brown flowering heads, right down at the base.
January 23, 2020: Starting the new year by mowing the lawn
I read somewhere that Staffordshire is reckoned to be England’s overall coldest county so, on that basis, you’d think it would have a slow start to the grass growing season.
I found it surprising, therefore, that whilst many people would be nursing hangovers on the morning of January 1, 2020, I was out mowing the lawns.