Last winter was my most successful for getting slightly tender plants through the winter, and Im hoping to repeat my success. I laid a very low wattage propagation mat onto one of the shelves of the mini greenhouse and then snuggled all of the aeoniums, geraniums and succulents onto it. It seemed more efficient to […]

Flavour is one of the main reasons most people grow their own food. You might be able to buy bags of low cost veg in the supermarket, but you can never replicate that just picked, fresh, harvest taste and by growing your own, you can have ingredients that are hard to find in the shops, […]

Anthuriums are another gorgeous greenhouse flower that is not really a flower, or rather most of each one is not. These are Araceae or Aroids, tropical versions of our native Lords and Ladies Arums. The flower shaped spathes often glossy and in many flamboyant shades have rod shaped spadix composed of a myriad tiny true […]

Remember, remember the fifth of November is an ideal opportunity to burn woody material that doesn’t compost readily. Build your bonfire as late as possible so hedgehogs and amphibians don’t take up residence beforehand, then save the wood ash. It is a good source of potash for fruiting trees, though younger wood contains more than […]

Bulbs are packed with promise, heralding the return of the light. Choose organic bulbs and earth-friendly growing methods, and that sense of hope can embrace the natural world. After being shoved, protesting, into winter by the turning back of the clocks, we gardeners need an antidote to our enforced cutback on daytime pottering. We need […]

Generally the garden is a place of healing, full of medicinal herbs, aromatic foliage and scented wonders to lift the spirit and relax the mind. But just sometimes it has a bit of a sting in its tail. Take care in your garden and greenhouse this autumn; a chance mishap, a trip or slip can […]

There’s been some surprising greenhouse forward planning around here. The chilli and pepper year is not yet quite done – some of those that were started in the greenhouse in early spring are still ripening – but despite this and in an almost unprecedented display of organisation I have started to think about next year’s […]

Canny gardeners don’t leave leaves lying – this autumn windfall matures into gardening gold. There’s one turning of the seasons which arrives here with a right old clatter. After a cold jolt in August, most gardeners have been teased throughout September with only vague hints of impending autumn. In my garden, warm, balmy days and […]

Often with greenhouse plants we find beautiful blooms such as Bougainvillea are not really flowers at all. These are spectacular displays of modified leaves termed bracts. These bracts form the visible ‘blooms’ and look wonderful for many weeks. Whereas the real floral parts are almost insignificant and not long lived. Anyway this technical difference matters […]

I’ve always loved gladioli; cheerful, undemanding and appealing, they were among the first things I planted as a child and I still have a soft spot for them today. Over the years they have been stalwarts of allotment and village flower shows, yet despite falling from fashion in the garden, breeders continue to produce new […]

The RHS Award of Garden Merit is under review – so perhaps we should take the opportunity to raise the bar on what we mean by ‘merit’. A recent episode of ‘Gardeners’ Question Time‘ (GQT) on Radio Four aired one of the most mind-numbing segments I’ve heard in a while. Although it was some relief from […]