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 […]
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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 […]
Our June visit to Adderbury was, once again blessed with lovely weather and a good turn out of members enjoyed the late evening sun and cake and drinks in this small, but beautiful garden. Our knowledgeable host Dr White also showed us his party piece with his Dictamnus plants, the ‘Burning bush’. These plants produce […]
It may be only a ‘Common’ Orchid , but they are rare enough these days in Warwickshire to stop you in your tracks when you see a few in bloom. This photo was taken today, 11th June, not 5 miles from Burton Dassett. Keep your eyes open and you may see one too!
I am sure that those of you who went to the Spring House in Chipping Warden on Monday would agree that it was an excellent visit: generous hosts, a beautiful evening, an interesting garden and a scrumptious spread laid on by the ladies from Chipping Warden Church. The bog garden was particularly lovely at this […]
Annual flowers are often dismissed as being just for bedding or filling baskets and troughs, but Hardy and Half Hardy Annuals are a great way to add colour in gaps in your borders, for cutting for flower arranging, or grown near your vegetables to encourage beneficial insects. Now that the soil is getting warmer there […]
Coppicing from the French verb couper, meaning to cut, is a traditional forestry management skill used for hundreds of years to produce wood for firewood, poles and charcoal and to prologue the life of trees. Traditionally trees like Ash, Chestnut, Elder, Beech and Hazel are cut to the ground and then new shoots are left […]
According to legend snowdrops are a symbol of hope because when Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden and were giving up hope that winter would ever end, an angel appeared and transformed snowflakes into snowdrops. A mass of snowdrops is always a spectacle as well as a sure sign spring is on its way. […]