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The world of gardening overflows with obsessions, such as giant vegetables, lawns, compost, cacti and many others.One of the most extreme gardening obsessions is the art of bonsai. I was always a bit dismissive of this particular obsession until I

and consisted of immaculately maintained pathways through fabulous exotic plantings. Since then the garden staff has been reduced from 12 to one and the mood of the garden has changed to one more in keeping with the relaxed attitude of the island.The paths are a

I have to admit that, from a practical point of view, this blog post will not have a lot to offer to anybody who gardens in towns and cities. But, rather than turning away in disgust, I would like you to come along with me purely out of interest

that one of the most satisfying things in gardening is a well built, well maintained compost heap, but it is a bit much when people get smug about what is really just a pile of rotting vegetation. I do not claim to be an expert but what we make ends up

maintained a certain decorum - ties, waistcoats and (for the head gardener) a black hat and heavy fob watch. Not for them a pair of holey jeans and a sweater grimy with compost and dusted with spilled rooting powder.Nowadays anything goes. I have laid a patio

 looked less like a happy clump brimming with energy, and more like a cross between a Polo mint and a shabbily maintained monk's tonsure. All the growth has migrated to the edges. This is something that happens to a number of herbaceous perennials and is a