I spent eight days earlier in the month taking twenty six people on a tour to Tasmania to see gardens. The spring gardens there are a delight and the island itself is beautiful to visit. My experienced assistant leader, Midge Ruka from Dunedin (necessary now I am older) was a great help and we enjoyed sharing this experience with others.

As you will all know, life has picked up by quite a few paces in the garden as plants and weeds race ahead of us. I have been focussing on getting as much planting done as possible, and this week will be the last of the planting until autumn as I think we will be having a very warm summer.

While many of you are coping with very cold winter weather, we have been living with many heatwaves this year. I think that there is going to be a huge change in the way people garden in England and many parts of Europe.

As most of you will know, it has been so hot here that very little has been done in the garden as the morning warms up quickly and by the evening there is little energy left to do anything except  water the plants that I bough last month.

As it warms to over 30° this week in Normandy in France, I am spending quiet times inside in the daytime. Perfect for writing and planning my tour of Normandy for early June next year, 2027.

Autumn is passing, leaves are still dropping, winter foods are being enjoyed and we are one month from the shortest day. I do like these winding down days when there is more time to do other things.

This autumn arrived early and quickly in Canterbury. Balmy sunny days have made our time in the garden so enjoyable without the intense heat of summer.

A brief message this month as we are concentrating on several projects in the garden. The entire woodland is being gardened, soil aerated, and weeding and pruning of shrubs to let more light through.

When I began writing my first newsletter in February 2013, I had no idea that I would still be writing newsletters now. Thank you readers for your support. I do enjoy hearing back from you and I reply to all comments.

I hope that you are enjoying being in your gardens after the Christmas festivities. For some of you there’s a chance to visit gardens in other regions if you’re away on holiday.

It’s a very busy November here with many garden visitors. I do enjoy the conversations and amazing connections that come with these visits.

One of the questions that has been asked is about our nursery plants which are for sale. We have a small range of plants propagated from plants that grow here. 

I realised with my previous two newsletters that they should have been titled Writing from Normandy in France which makes it clearer, although I’ve been back in New Zealand for three weeks. 

Continuing the story of the development of my garden in Normandy …

So many of you have been asking about my garden in France, so I'll do my best to describe the process, which has been convoluted at times.

As winter I moving along, most gardeners will be thinking about plans for the coming year in the garden. One of the things that is uppermost in our minds is the increasingly hot weather and quite possibly long dry spells.

I've decided that I am going to write to "Friends" instead of "Gardening Friends" as there are many readers who no longer garden, but enjoy the newsletters.

After a disturbingly wet week for many people we are now enjoying gentle autumn days where colours change and blend seamlessly while leaves drop gently in soft sounds.

I'm starting to write on a rainy Easter Monday morning. As gardeners we are always pleased to get rain, but it's time for a pause. Besides, it's too wet to garden without compacting the soil. A good time for seed sowing, reading and reflection, and reading a newsletter from Frensham.

February disappeared without me having written a newsletter. Things such as major house renovations, a very busy month in the garden, and general life took over. As we have had such a mild summer with plenty of rain, it has been possible to continue planting out and moving plants throughout February, so a lot has been achieved.