Artful Blog

Art History

May 9, 2021

Botticelli’s Primavera…. it’s not pizza

Botticelli’s Primavera - it’s not Pizza..... It’s a 500 year old Blockbuster about sex, violence, drugs, rock ‘n roll and..... the arrival of spring. Yes, the weather has been weird…

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An Artful Gardener - An Artful Blog - Dali Me and the Peculiar - Dali peering out of the page landscape

Art History

April 26, 2021

Dali, Me and the Peculiar

Salvador Dali popped in for a chat about gardens the other day. That’s right, "the" Salvador Dali or, "Sal" as he’s known to me. The delightfully deliciously deranged, but sadly…

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An Artful Gardener - An Artful Blog - Six Bottles of Champagne

History Wine

December 14, 2020

Champagne Charlie is my Name – at least it was before Macron’s no-deal Brexit

There's a Storm Brewing Storm clouds are gathering over our garden and I’m stuck indoors with a To Do list which includes buying champagne for Christmas. A nice problem you…

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An Artful Gardener - An Artful Blog - Noggin The Nog illustration

Wire Figures

December 6, 2020

All I Want For Christmas… is a MIG Welding Machine

What? Why? What? Welding? In simple terms Arc Welding is a welding process used to join metal to metal. It's achieved by electrifying both the metal to be welded and…

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An Artful Gardener - An Artful Blog - Covid Ultimate Playlist

Music

November 30, 2020

Sweet Dreams I awoke from a terrible nightmare in the early hours of this morning. My wife said I kept shouting “Buffoons, Clowns, Prigs, Incompetents.... Help.... Johnson, Hancock, Whitty, Daddy....…

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An Artful Gardener - An Artful Blog - Topiary 2 Old Vicarage Rear View House and Garden

Plants The Garden The Old Vicarage

November 22, 2020

Topiary 2 – Osmanthus Burkwoodii and the Battle of Box Blight

The Full Monty The flower bed at the rear of the house at The Old Vicarage is a bit of a disaster. Over the years we have made a number…

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An Artful Gardener - An Artful Blog - Topiary bushes at the Old Vicarage

Plants The Garden

November 14, 2020

Topiary – Living Sculpture in the Old Vicarage Garden

It Ain't What You Do It's The Way That You Do It As ever, serendipity has been my friend when it comes to developing topiary as a key element of…

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An Artful Gardener - An Artful Blog - A Celt with a burning torch landscape

History The Old Vicarage

November 6, 2020

All Hallows, Samhain and the Grey Lady of Astley Moss

Ghost stories are taken seriously in this part of the world. The Old Vicarage lies at the edge of a wetland wilderness, Astley Moss, now protected as an area of…

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An Artful Gardener - An Artful Blog - Last of the Summer Colour - Ginger Plants

Plants The Garden

October 30, 2020

Last of the Summer Colour – The Ginger Man!

Serendipity is my favourite word. It trips off the tongue and it has such a lovely optimistic meaning: "the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or…

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An Artful Gardener - An Artful Blog - Ian Dury landscape

Music Philosophers

October 26, 2020

Autumn Leaves, Michel de Montaigne and the Blockheads

Yesterday, in the midst of my own lockdown madness, my grumpy mood was suddenly lifted by a scene looking across a valley to the west of Bolton. Reasons To Be…

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News, stories and tips from An Artful Gardener...

Botticelli’s Primavera…. it’s not pizza

Dali, Me and the Peculiar

Champagne Charlie is my Name – at least it was before Macron’s no-deal Brexit

All I Want For Christmas… is a MIG Welding Machine

Ultimate Covid Playlist

Topiary 2 – Osmanthus Burkwoodii and the Battle of Box Blight

Topiary – Living Sculpture in the Old Vicarage Garden

All Hallows, Samhain and the Grey Lady of Astley Moss

Last of the Summer Colour – The Ginger Man!

Autumn Leaves, Michel de Montaigne and the Blockheads