Introducing ... Scribehound

My own hound, Wolfie, in the garden. Photograph: Jane Perrone.

I am still head down writing another book. It's enormously engaging, but I have come up for air a couple of times to deliver a talk in the last couple of weeks (as well as caring for Wolfie, my elderly hound - pictured above). Speaking to gardening clubs and societies is always terrifying. The scariest part is usually trying to find a tiny village hall in the dark when the satnav takes you to the wrong venue. Last night, though, the fear really kicked in when the chairwoman asked if I'd judge their members' 'bloom of the month' competition. How do you choose between three perfect dahlias, a mass of sweet peas, several hydrangeas and a buddleia? I picked a darkest wine red pompom dahlia* for the prize, but second guessed myself on the drive home. 

Fear notwithstanding, I love giving talks, because you find out what people are really thinking about when it comes to gardening. Fungus gnats, how to get your moth orchid to rebloom, and mealybugs almost always come up in houseplant talk Q&As. At the last talk but one, one of the questions was "why don't you cut the brown tips off your ponytail palm"? Ouch. For the record, my answer to that is that a) I have too many plants for that kind of perfectionism and b) plants don't look perfect in the wild, either.

I am hoping that being part of the new Scribehound Gardening community will be like giving a talk to a whole host of people with their own thoughts and views on gardening: a place to ask and answer questions, a place to hear from experts and get an unfiltered take on the horticultural questions of the day from the likes of Alys Fowler, Sarah Raven, Tom Stuart-Smith and Huw RIchards. I am honoured to be one of Scribehound stable (or should that be kennel?!) of 30 writers producing an article a month - or a podcast, if you prefer to listen on your dog walk or commute. Do check it out: you can sign up now and get your first month for just £1, and the articles will start coming on November 1 2024. Here's James Alexander-Sinclair and Sue Biggs explaining more about how Scribehound Gardening works: you can find out how Scribehound will focus on quality writing here. I hope to see you there!

*It was Dahlia 'Cornel' in case you want to try it.

This blogpost was taken from The Plant Ledger, my email newsletter about the houseplant scene. Subscribe here and get my free in-depth guide to fungus gnats.