I’ve been reading Joy Larkcom’s memoirs ‘Just Vegetating’, and they have been reminding me to get out into the greenhouse and keep on sowing, even though summer is at its height now. There can’t be many memoirs that send you hunting through your seed box and scuttling down to the end of the garden, but […]
No greenhouse fruit is sweeter or more luscious than a peach or nectarine plucked sun warmed and fully ripe. Indeed this should be a balloon full of nectar just waiting to burst on you. Now if you live in a warm sunny area you may just be able to win a crop of peaches outdoors […]
It’s time to take cover: after another grey, sodden summer, the future for serious food growers looks a lot brighter under glass or plastic.
If you watch television gardening programmes you could be forgiven for thinking that it’s a hobby that requires serious cash. If it’s not an unrealistically expensive two day garden makeover then it’s someone striding confidently over their neatly cultivated acres. Likewise with the industry showcasing big events like Chelsea and Hampton Court. They may offer […]
Moles are often seen as little more than pests by green-fingered enthusiasts – and there certainly are a wide range of reasons for this. The subterranean creatures burrow lawns and raise mole hills, which can undermine plant roots and inadvertently cause damage or death. However, gardening expert Roger Mercer has argued that mole populations are […]
For any Brit this summer, getting out in the garden is imperative to our plans and simply one of the must do things during the year. But how do you know that your garden is on both the cusp of this year’s style whilst being as perfectly vibrant as possible? The answer to that is […]
A greenhouse is not strictly necessary for growing grapes as a few varieties can do quite well outdoors. But by far the tastiest, more luscious and gorgeous varieties do have to be grown under cover and indeed there are few more rewarding crops. Now a large greenhouse used to be needed as grapevines are very […]
Perhaps gardening suits those who peer over fences, always thinking there is something better to be had from life. Im not alone in longing for blue skies in the dank depths of winter, but I’m also guilty of yearning for chilly days and cosy log fires when sitting on a beach. It is just gone […]
To misquote John Cleese; ‘Don’t mention the rain’! It has been the most extraordinary year for precipitation; it started as soon as the hosepipe ban was announced. Low temperatures and lack of sunshine, has meant plant growth has often been at a standstill. Normally restricted growth forms of gooseberries, redcurrants and apples, like fans and […]
