Prune Perennial plants can be pruned back to allow for a healthy growth in spring, but any new growth should be left alone Apple and pear trees should being to be pruned, as this is best done when they’re dormant Any ornamental grasses should be cut to around an inch before new growth begins Plant […]
If reason and persuasion don’t work, we need to start hitting the less ethical elements of the gardening industry where it hurts: below the profit margin. Yes, you read that right: it’s time for us to start revolting. Unless you subscribe to the against-the-clock, TV makeover, artificial, fashion-fickle version of gardening, you’ll know that it’s […]
I have come to believe that the way to succeed with broad beans is to sow them every which way: autumn in the ground under cloches, winter in the greenhouse, spring direct and with no protection. Sow only in autumn and there will follow an extremely hard winter to knock the stuffing out of them. […]
Amongst very showy greenhouse specimens difficult to name out of flower yet most obvious in bloom are Flaming Sword, Lobster Claws and Painted Feather. These names accurately describe the fantastical red and yellow waxy flower spikes of massed bracts. Blooms once seen never forgotten, almost surreal, and so resembling plastic that people feel it necessary […]
Nurturing precious plants is just one of the delights of the winter greenhouse. But when you are intent on the three R’s, (reducing, reusing and recycling), heating the greenhouse is just not an option. You wouldn’t have a single glazed room in your house, exposed on all sides to the elements, with a concrete floor […]
Alpine plants often rot in damp, cool temperate climates, with succulents and rosette plants the most vulnerable. Protect them from rain and provide good ventilation by laying a sheet of Perspex or glass, supported by a couple of bricks or a cloche, over the plants keeping it well away from the foliage. Ideally they should […]
If you have ever wondered why some people call aubergines ‘egg plants’ you had only to look in Raymond Blanc’s new glasshouse at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons this September. Aubergine ‘White Egg’, a heritage variety, had everyone looking twice. The white aubergines looked just like hen’s egg nestled in the branches! Hartley Botanic’s […]
Forget Black Friday – green is the new black, if you’re a gardener. As someone who hasn’t owned a television for countless moons, I find that the snatches I do catch on others’ sets often make for painful viewing – and I’m not just talking about the toe-curling goings-on of gardening shopping channels. Seductive as […]
The greenhouse is not at its most welcoming in December. But I don’t much want to be outside, so it provides a way of getting my gardening fix without getting blown about too much. The glass keeps the weather out, but it is still chilly and damp and right now it is not a place […]
I’m starting a new campaign, resolution or whatever you want to call it. Gardeners Against Gluttony; where fellow growers, gardeners and greenhousers continue to do what we do best. Share. We love to share our gardening secrets, share garden produce, share our time and share our plants and seeds. Many more open their private gardens […]
This month, with its short days, is a good time to check over gardening tools, replacing broken handles, sharpening blades and putting new kit on your Christmas wish list. Brush away any soil, clean off rust with wire wool, spray the surface with water repellent and treat wooden handles with linseed oil before hanging them […]
Okay, guess, what is a really ornamental foliage plant ideal for greenhouse or conservatory. Definitely attractive, tough as old boots, not prone to pests or diseases, quick to grow, easy to multiply, obliging as to compost, withstands poor watering regimes and will do in any position surviving sun or shade. So robust we usually give […]
