Brand encounter
As gardening is reinvented as just another form of retail therapy, will one man’s quest to get some dirt between our toes inspire us to shop less and garden more? The socks are off…
Archives for October 2013
Creating a Luxury Hot Tub Area in your Garden
One in ten people are going home to warm and relaxing hot tubs in their own garden these days, and there is no reason you shouldn’t be one of those people. Hot tubs add a real touch of luxury to a home that is hard to achieve from anything else. However for most people in […]
Peyote – Magic cactus
You need a frost free greenhouse, warm conservatory or very sunny window sill for this gem, which is a guaranteed conversation piece. In fact this is not so much a gem as a god, for it is a venerated plant deity. Lophophora williamsii, mescal, peyote, peyote, and other variations, is the famous magic cactus worshipped […]
Hartley at RHS Hyde Hall
Hartley Botanic Glasshouses teamed up with RHS Hyde Hall Garden Curator Ian Le Gros and his team to host an RHS /Hartley members evening for nearly 70 people on October 3rd.
Autumn Bliss!
Over the past few days I have passed two specimens of Prunus sargentii in a garden while taking the children to school; this lovely small tree, renowned for its early autumn colour, never lets me down. It bookends the growing season, with masses of pink flowers in spring and is one of the earliest trees […]
World Exclusive
Many moons ago I wrote a dissertation on crop plants for the future, sadly it was pre computers and I doubt wethter I could lay my hands on a copy of it now. It was back in the days when the quest to save the world’s food crisis was all about feeding the starving rather […]
How to keep your garden secure by Louise Jessop
It is a well-known fact that during winter, incidents of burglary are more common throughout the country. As the nights draw in, burglars and thieves are able to use the cover of darkness to extend the hours of their ‘work’. Thankfully however, there are steps that we can take to help secure our gardens from […]
RHS Special Offer for Schools
Call 01457 819 155 to speak to a schools advisor or request a brochure.
Greenhouse Bulbs
My greenhouse floor is currently covered with what looks like pots of soil, all neatly labelled, some with a covering of grit over the surface. I have been planting bulbs in pots, something I always mean to do and very rarely get around to. But it’s a fine thing to do, packing away little pots […]
Snowball effect
Some of the drivers behind the peat-free roll-out are surprising and not all are admirable – but that doesn’t detract from the benefits to the gardener and the natural world.
Acidanthera
You might try and grow Acidanthera without a greenhouse, but only when growing in one will they come into their full glory. These are very tall, rather elegant plants when in grown in tubs under cover. Outdoors however, they become stunted, beaten and can suffer badly from strong winds. More importantly, they also dislike cold […]