Isle of light: Oliver Spencer’s ‘lucky’ dream home by the sea

The fashion designer’s home on the Isle of Wight is full of charm and idiosyncratic touches

Have you heard the one about the man who walks into a pub, has a chance encounter with an estate agent and ends up buying his dream home off her six months later? Fashion designer Oliver Spencer was the lucky punter in that meeting back in 2016, but he is far from the butt of the joke.

Spencer and his wife Nancy had been looking for a weekend escape on the south coast of the UK to no avail, when they decided to hop on a ferry to the Isle of Wight to have a drink with some friends. By the time the year was out, they were the proud owners of a midcentury modern waterfront home complete with 2.5 acres of botanical gardens.

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Exotic parrots to rekindle our tulip mania | James Wong

Tulips are often seen as little more than garage-forecourt flowers, but there is a world of variety out there waiting to be discovered

My favourite of all flowers is the tulip, which comes as a surprise to many people, since I spend most of my life researching and collecting weird and wonderful plants to grow. Nowadays tulips are a standard supermarket staple, so it is hard to imagine what on earth drove the fevered “tulip mania” of centuries past, when single bulbs could sell for the price of country estates. But sidestep the boring, block-coloured blooms of petrol station forecourts and a world of botanical wonder awaits. And fortunately, these days you won’t need to remortgage the house to grow them.

If you only know the classic turban-shaped tulip, I implore you to track down the ruffled, exotic petals of “parrot” varieties. Streaked with delicate watercolour striations, their translucency catches the spring sunlight as if lit from within. And this is made even more dramatic by their habit of recurving out into loose, tousled locks. I am fascinated by ‘Amazing Parrot’ whose peach and pink feathered petals are painted with gentle green accents towards their base. Growing more than half a metre tall, this one is a true jungle giant and even comes with a subtle fruity scent. Its deeper-hued cousin, ‘Avignon Parrot’, adds richer orangey reds to the mix, but still with the enormous size and sweet scent. Both last ages in a vase of water if you are growing them for flower arranging, too.

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Exotic parrots to rekindle our tulip mania | James Wong

Tulips are often seen as little more than garage-forecourt flowers, but there is a world of variety out there waiting to be discovered

My favourite of all flowers is the tulip, which comes as a surprise to many people, since I spend most of my life researching and collecting weird and wonderful plants to grow. Nowadays tulips are a standard supermarket staple, so it is hard to imagine what on earth drove the fevered “tulip mania” of centuries past, when single bulbs could sell for the price of country estates. But sidestep the boring, block-coloured blooms of petrol station forecourts and a world of botanical wonder awaits. And fortunately, these days you won’t need to remortgage the house to grow them.

If you only know the classic turban-shaped tulip, I implore you to track down the ruffled, exotic petals of “parrot” varieties. Streaked with delicate watercolour striations, their translucency catches the spring sunlight as if lit from within. And this is made even more dramatic by their habit of recurving out into loose, tousled locks. I am fascinated by ‘Amazing Parrot’ whose peach and pink feathered petals are painted with gentle green accents towards their base. Growing more than half a metre tall, this one is a true jungle giant and even comes with a subtle fruity scent. Its deeper-hued cousin, ‘Avignon Parrot’, adds richer orangey reds to the mix, but still with the enormous size and sweet scent. Both last ages in a vase of water if you are growing them for flower arranging, too.

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Tucking up the plot for the season | Allan Jenkins

Life on the plot is slowing with cooling soil and darkening days

That’s it. The feeding is done. The winter beds are pretty much finalised – we have chosen to leave the two hazel beans structures up till the death, for aesthetics and seed saving, so the plot will mostly settle now for spring. The last few sunflowers are skeletal, there for height, for passing birds and confused bees. We will harvest the ‘Harlequin’ seed.

There are beds of flouncing chicories waiting for frost. Soon some will colour. Another bed is studded with chard: a mix of ‘Bright Lights’, a ruby stem and classic ‘Fordhook Giant’. There are rows of baby beets and radishes in a race against cooling soil. We have patches of autumn mizuna, mibuna, a few assorted Japanese mustards and pak chois. I have hopes we will eat more than the snails.

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How to finance a property purchase Nottingham Estate Agents

A property to live in is probably the most valuable item you will ever buy. Unless you are fortunate enough to be able to afford the whole purchase price, you will need to borrow a substantial sum of money in order to buy your home. Here are OnTheMarket‘s  eight things to consider to help you […]

The post How to finance a property purchase appeared first on OnTheMarket.com blog.

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Tucking up the plot for the season | Allan Jenkins

Life on the plot is slowing with cooling soil and darkening days

That’s it. The feeding is done. The winter beds are pretty much finalised – we have chosen to leave the two hazel beans structures up till the death, for aesthetics and seed saving, so the plot will mostly settle now for spring. The last few sunflowers are skeletal, there for height, for passing birds and confused bees. We will harvest the ‘Harlequin’ seed.

There are beds of flouncing chicories waiting for frost. Soon some will colour. Another bed is studded with chard: a mix of ‘Bright Lights’, a ruby stem and classic ‘Fordhook Giant’. There are rows of baby beets and radishes in a race against cooling soil. We have patches of autumn mizuna, mibuna, a few assorted Japanese mustards and pak chois. I have hopes we will eat more than the snails.

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How to grow heritage kale | Alys Fowler

Perennial kale needs little attention and will provide year-round leaves, for life

There it hung, on a rocky cliff face that was slowly crumbling into the fine shale of the grey beach below. Despite the exposed site and bare minimum of soil, this wild cabbage was thriving, resplendent even with its dusky purple midribs and thick, leathery leaves.

It is always thrilling to meet the ancestors of our common foods and the wild cabbage, Brassica oleracea, is just that. It is the original form that gave rise to the cabbage, the cauliflower, brussels sprout, broccoli, kohlrabi and the one it most resembles, kale. It is perennial and can be found on cliffs and coasts all round the British Isles, from Kent to Caithness, Antrim to Anglesey.

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