It’s the equinox and gardening’s new year. Time for action… | Allan Jenkins

Clean out the shed, sharpen tools and plan bean rows

Back at the plot, the cold has lifted – at least for now. Spring bulbs are out in abundance: our secret stash of wild garlic is coming, Mary’s tulips are bursting through, Jeffrey’s daffodils are in flower. Our shallots and garlic are doing well, though we had a 100% failure with red onions that I am trying not to take personally.

It is the vernal equinox this week, 20 March. The days at last equal (sunrise 6.04am in London, sunset 6.13pm). There is no more denying light now.

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It’s the equinox and gardening’s new year. Time for action… | Allan Jenkins

Clean out the shed, sharpen tools and plan bean rows

Back at the plot, the cold has lifted – at least for now. Spring bulbs are out in abundance: our secret stash of wild garlic is coming, Mary’s tulips are bursting through, Jeffrey’s daffodils are in flower. Our shallots and garlic are doing well, though we had a 100% failure with red onions that I am trying not to take personally.

It is the vernal equinox this week, 20 March. The days at last equal (sunrise 6.04am in London, sunset 6.13pm). There is no more denying light now.

Continue reading...

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Humble clip-frame makes way for the chic ‘gallery wall’

Shoppers prefer a curated look for photos and objets d’art

They were a symbol of the 1980s and a cheap and cheerful way of hanging posters, photographs and other artwork while avoiding the indelible horrors of Blu Tack.

But after more than 30 years, the classic clip-frame is falling out of favour, as the booming trend for so-called “gallery walls” means consumers are seeking a wider and more imaginative range of framing options.

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Humble clip-frame makes way for the chic ‘gallery wall’

Shoppers prefer a curated look for photos and objets d’art

They were a symbol of the 1980s and a cheap and cheerful way of hanging posters, photographs and other artwork while avoiding the indelible horrors of Blu Tack.

But after more than 30 years, the classic clip-frame is falling out of favour, as the booming trend for so-called “gallery walls” means consumers are seeking a wider and more imaginative range of framing options.

Continue reading...

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Black is the new black: a radical rethink in a mews in west London

A complete rebuild sees a London house opened up to create a haven of warmth, light and space

The matt black exterior and large windows of the west London mews house belonging to interior designer Afroditi Krassa are good indications of what you’ll discover behind the front door. What was once a cramped, dark house, built during the 1880s, is now open-plan living, filled with natural light and her trademark restrained colour and material palette. Like her studio’s high-profile projects, which include interiors and branding for restaurants, this place is welcoming and unpretentious.

“This was our first house, having lived in flats around Westbourne Grove and Bayswater,” explains Krassa, who bought the house in 2010 with her partner.

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Black is the new black: a radical rethink in a mews in west London

A complete rebuild sees a London house opened up to create a haven of warmth, light and space

The matt black exterior and large windows of the west London mews house belonging to interior designer Afroditi Krassa are good indications of what you’ll discover behind the front door. What was once a cramped, dark house, built during the 1880s, is now open-plan living, filled with natural light and her trademark restrained colour and material palette. Like her studio’s high-profile projects, which include interiors and branding for restaurants, this place is welcoming and unpretentious.

“This was our first house, having lived in flats around Westbourne Grove and Bayswater,” explains Krassa, who bought the house in 2010 with her partner.

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How to make the most of your garden if you’re renting | Alys Fowler

Short-term fixes to cheer up your space for summer

Two trees and a bare patch of earth. Not the most auspicious start, but a garden nonetheless. The true sadness of this space, though, is not the soon-to-be-cast shade or the weedy alkanet that’s just about to pop up, it’s that the person it belongs to has only six months left on the lease.

Renting can be brutal if you start to fall in love with a place before you must move on – and that applies to gardens as much as homes. But there are some short-term fixes. If the garden is bathed in good light, not fighting for space with big tree roots, the answer would be simple: dig out the alkanet and buy every cheap packet of annual seeds that take your fancy, scattering the garden with poppies, cornflowers, calendula, corncockles and Queen Anne’s Lace. Not everything will take, but plenty will; and just as the time comes to pack up and move on, the garden will be a riot of life – paying it forward not just for the next occupants but the bees and butterflies, too.

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