Keeping a greenhouse productive is a bit like spinning plates, there’s always something that needs some TLC and once you’ve got your plants in flower and about to fruit you can’t afford to neglect them even for a day or two. By August some greenhouse crops have sung their swan song, been harvested, eaten and […]
I doubt there is any plant ornamental or productive that has had as meteoric rise in popular culture as the hot or chilli pepper. A decade ago few gardeners grew peppers of any sort.
It may not be sunny but it is still very dry. The lawn is parched and cracked, yet there is still plenty to do, even in this traditionally quiet month, when gardeners concentrate on weed control and harvesting. Now is a good time to clean and paint garden furniture and fencing while the weather is […]
Sometimes all it takes to get the kids interested in gardening is to show them some of the amazing things that plants do. Cuttings are a brilliant way to do this. Take a few stems of a tradescantia plant and place them in a glass jar of water on the kitchen or greenhouse windowsill and […]
I’m always on the prowl for exotic looking plants and the ones that caught my eye this year at the Hampton Court Flower Show were the ‘Disa’ orchids from Dave Parkinson plants. Dave used to grow salad crops commercially but then turned his love of these orchids into a business. They come in pink, yellow […]
After the formal perfection of Chelsea Flower Show gardens, the relaxed atmosphere at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show acts as a welcome contrast. There’s plenty of room to spread out in this gorgeous setting, and providing a tornado isn’t blowing or the heavens haven’t opened up, there’s nowhere nicer to be in July. The […]
Here’s a really lovely conservatory plant with a bit of a drawback. For once it’s not a poor name, though it’s origin is actually obscure enough to win a Mastermind contest: Strelitzia reginae is named after the 1761 marriage of George III to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Similar in many ways and closely resembling the banana […]
As you can see from the picture, with the ongoing dry weather, my lawn is parched and patchy, yet there’s no doubt that grass has a phenomenal will to live! Around the world from the Steppes to Africa, parched grasslands transform themselves miraculously, as soon as the rain appears. So don’t bother to water your […]
So many of our most interesting and useful tender crops and flowers are closely related and in the Solanum family. All the daturas and petunias, brunfelsias and nierembergias, cropping and sweet scented tobaccos, tomatoes and potatoes, peppers, physalis and aubergines, and even that oddly popular Goji berry. I really cannot bring myself to recommend this […]
After several weeks of patient waiting, my tomato plants are now well established. Once the first truss appears, I’ll be transplanting them into 12” pots, to give the soil in the greenhouse border a rest. It’s advisable to change the soil every three or four years, so devise your own rotation system. Try growing them […]
Grafted what? OK, as home gardeners, most of us are familiar with grafting apples, roses or grapes for disease resistance and vigor. But right now, around the world—from Japan to India, Israel to Greece and New Zealand—commercial growers are grafting hybrid rootstocks (bottoms) to single-season scions (tops) like watermelons, eggplants or tomatoes. Within a few […]
By June everything in the garden and greenhouse is growing furiously. Plants are set on their mission to make seeds and gardeners and greenhouse owners across the country and desperately trying to keep up. But in between the weeding, tying in, planting, training and even harvesting, there are still ways to make more of what […]
