Me with the girls in Nicola's front garden   Do you enjoy gardening? Discovering new plants? I have just returned from a few days with my great friend Nicola Brown who lives in Carlow, on the other side of Ireland to me. It's bit of a car journey, but always worth it. Nicola grows the plants for her natural eco print and dye practice. Nicola doesn't use any chemicals when she dyes, so the process is totally natural. The dye border was planted 3 years ago - and it is HUGE!!! I can't help feeling jealous of plants that are 8ft tall. There is no way I could grow such tall plants in the windy area that I live on the coast. Nicola's garden is quite sheltered, so in the warm weather, with a just a slight breeze, You can watch and listen to all the insects buzzing amongst the flowers. It is quite wonderful.   The very long eco print and natural dye border     A lot of the plants in the border are really tall - quite architectural. This Ligularia must be at least 8ft tall.