Early in the month, while the soil is still cold, is the perfect time to get sowing in the greenhouse. Heavier soils in particular are going to take time to warm up. Frost tender crops like Aubergine, celery, peppers, sweet corn, French and runner beans, courgettes, squashes and other tender vegetables can all be germinated […]

A few years ago I got the opportunity to visit Jersey at potato harvesting time. I spent a couple of days scrambling up hillsides by the sea, too steep for tractors and so worked by hand, with tools on pulleys. You felt that if you lost your footing you would tumble into the sea, desperately […]

Greenhouse space is usually limited so we cannot fit in everything we want and must choose just those that most appeal to our needs for bloom, foliage or produce. However there’s also growing something for the sheer fun of it, allowing in plants that may be unlikely to flower, would be a poor show if […]

I got my greenhouse two and a half years ago to shelter my burgeoning collection of exotic stuff, ensetes, aeoniums, daturas, which up to that point and through several mild winters had survived just by being pushed up by the house with a bit of fleece thrown over them. Heady days. I thought it would […]

I write this month’s diary to the sound of a birdsong, with warm sunshine streaming through the office window. Fantastic! After a dark and dreary winter, it looks like spring is finally its way and that’s great news for us all! It is amazing how sunshine and a little warmth lifts the spirits, add the […]

I doubt there’s any other tender plant so many gardeners, even really good ones, have failed to keep going. Accept a gardenia will not live long and it’s a fair price to pay for such complete loveliness. After all we do not expect a bunch of flowers to endure forever. So if we think of […]