April is an ideal time to lift and divide bamboos, grasses and clumps of herbs that have grown too large, this keeps them within their allotted space and maintains vigour. Divide them carefully by pushing two forks back to back into the centre of the clump then pushing the two handles together to prise them […]
Self-seeders are nature’s great opportunists – but earth-friendly gardening can improve their odds.
I had an interesting childhood in multicultural London and I was the only girl for all the other family members of my own age were chaps, either brothers or cousins. It has had its advantages. I know all the fielding positions in cricket and I can explain the off-side rule in football. In fact I’ll […]
This competition is now closed. Thank you to all who entered. The winners were: Terry Wells, Jon Knight, Rebecca Evans, David Morris & Wendy Collard. We have five copies of John Walker’s latest book Digging Deep in the Garden: Book one (RRP £4.99) to give away, plus five £25 National Garden Gift Vouchers to be […]
It’s going to be quite a year for the ladies at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show with show gardens designed by Anne-Marie Powell, Jekka McVicar, Rosy Hardy and for Hartley Botanic’s 1st ever show garden it’s Catherine MacDonald who will be at the helm. Hartley Botanic MD Johnny Mobasher has long been a fan of […]
Gardening is good for the soul, everybody says so, but greenhouse gardening is the equivalent of a luxury spa treatment for you and your plants, where you are cosseted against the worst of the weather. A cool spring day, one that makes you tighten your scarf and shudder, suddenly becomes thoroughly pleasant. No wonder I […]
You don’t need pesticides to keep your garden and greenhouse healthy, says Jean Vernon. Here are ten great ways to deal with garden pests without using poisons. Last month I outlined ten reasons not to use pesticides in your greenhouse and garden. So I thought it would be useful to provide ten ways to deal […]
The greenhouse isn’t just handy for heat and protection from the elements; this year I am using it as protection from pests too, like a massive environmesh tent. Once upon a time I used to grow lots of lilies. They were a favourite and a regular. I was a sucker for a properly heady scent, […]
The life cycle of a butterfly can be seen as very simple compared with other forms of wildlife. For a butterfly, life starts with the caterpillar, continuing with the pupa stage and ending with the last stage – the actual butterfly. Depending on the species, breeding can be particularly hard, so it is important to know […]
For those that want to help the plight of the UK’s butterfly population, you can support many species of butterfly by encouraging them into your garden. If you want to do so, it’s important to know what kind of plants attract butterflies into certain areas. Adult butterflies will take and feed on nectar from a […]
There has been a long standing and increasingly one-sided debate over whether certain pesticides harm both butterfly and bee populations around the world. Since 1975, UK butterflies have faced long-term decline, with up to 70 per cent of species declining in occurrence, and 57 per cent declining in abundance. That said however, not all butterfly […]
Aside from offering a great deal aesthetic value to our countryside and heritage, butterflies offer a great deal to the world in which they live, which is far beyond what we see as they flutter past. Much like bees, butterflies are heavily involved in the pollination of plants, but they do this in a way […]
