If you ask people what colours they like or dislike in the garden its not unusual for people to choose pastel colours and to say that they aren’t keen on reds, oranges or yellow. Yet as the season moves on towards autumn and the sun moves lower in the sky, these rich jewel colours are […]
Articles
Lets hope the rain stays away and we can get out to see Snowdrops blooming in a couple of weeks time. Snowdrops, also called Milk Flowers, Dingle-Dangles (yes really!) Candlemas Bells, February Fair Maids and White Ladies are not, as you may have thought, British natives. They originally came from Europe and South West Asia, […]
Its easy to think that taking cuttings is a thing you do in the summer or maybe in the autumn, when the plant is in full growth. For a particular type of cutting though, you want the plant to be dormant and that is for root cuttings. The best time to do this type of […]
I hardly like to use the B word – Brexit that is, but you may have seen suggestions on t.v and in the media that the way to beat possible shortages post Brexit is to grow your own. A bit late for this advice for a lot of things and if you’re worried about your […]
What a treat our Club visit for June to Hardwick Hill House was: An absolutely inspirational gardens in a wonderful parkland setting, with views for miles. A real plants person’s garden with a fabulous long border, interesting and unusual plants and excellent tea and cakes! It felt like a privilege to wander round this lovely […]
Its Chelsea time again and its fairly easy to think you’ve seen it all before, with the endless shots of beautiful roses and interviews with some of the ‘usual suspects’. If you look carefully though there are fashions in gardening just like in interior design and clothing and this year is no exception. Those in […]
There is nothing quite like the taste of a sun ripened tomato fresh from the vine, plus tomatoes are a good source of Vitamins A, C and E and they contain minerals such as potassium and calcium. Recent research has also shown that the pigment lycopene, (the chemical that makes ripe tomatoes red) may be […]
As we move into February and spring is just around the corner (yes really!) there are lots of places to see snowdrops; from National Trust Properties (such as Baddesley Clinton or Painswick Rococco Gardens in the Cotswolds) to the National Garden Scheme (NGS) “Festival of Snowdrops”. So wrap up warm, get the walking shoes on […]
Its time to put the garden to bed and to tidy up before the winter weather. Its tempting to leave those annuals in for just a bit longer, when they are still flowering in this unusually warm year, but they will soon start to rot and get fungal infections, so now is the time to […]
It might be a bit too hot for some people and many plants, but as always with gardening, whatever the weather, there are winners and losers. Due to the exceptional heat and dryness some plants are looking parched, but it’s a perfect year to save seed from flowers and vegetables. You might have noticed that […]