The unpredictability of the British summer has made me look at the greenhouse with fresh new eyes. First and foremost of course, it’s a protective space to grow, a place to sow and grow seedlings early and late in the season, extending the growing season so it joins at both ends. But it is also […]
July has arrived with the promise of sunshine for many, so there will be plenty to enjoy in the garden. Rain, warmth and long days encourage seedlings to grow rapidly, so continue sowing fast growing salad crops as part of your programme of successional sowing; they are more tender if harvested when small. There is […]
We had a lovely visitor to our stand at the Chelsea Flower Show this year, Mrs Brooks, who was celebrating her 80th Birthday. Mrs Brookes came to see us after we were contacted by their daughter, who informed us of some rather special collections they have. Mrs Brookes is in fact a cousin of Vincent […]
Not often considered a greenhouse plant, more one for the dappled shade garden or semi-wild rockery. Yet since Victorian times Lily of the valley has been grown in tubs under cover, both for it’s beauty in foliage, flower and perfume and for a cut flower for the house. You might grow Convallaria from seed, it […]
I was expecting the road to becoming a bonafide eco-friendly gardener to be bumpy, but not to zig-zag off into quagmires of confusions. Hard landscaping has led me to such boggy places for, unless you chip your own wood (by hand) or cycle down to your nearest shellfish processor to fill your panniers with discarded […]
Sometimes all that’s missing in the garden is someone to share it with – and social media could provide a spur-of-the-moment solution.
Congratulations to Chorleywood Primary School – winners of the 2012 RHS Get Your Grown-ups Growing event. The prize, a Hartley Tradition 6 Greenhouse, was presented to the school by the RHS and Hartley’s Managing Director, Johnny Mobasher , on June 3rd. ‘As a corporate partner of the Prince’s Foundation, we are enthusiastic investors in the […]
There is still time in June to sow fast maturing vegetables in areas affected by late frosts, and affected by the erratic weather. Spring onions, parsley and other salads that are harvested successionally can be sown regularly until August, to make full use of the growing season. Those needing warm soil like Florence Fennel, Courgettes […]
Little by little the greenhouse plants that have been sewn, potted on and juggled about for the last couple of months are finding their way outside. First they have to look sturdy and healthy, and to have produced a few leaves, then they get a week on the back steps – a gentle sunny and […]
Most Lilies don’t need to be in a greenhouse as they’re perfectly hardy. Of course amongst such a huge family there are tender sorts but generally those most commonly grown are happy outdoors all year round. However there’s one very good reason for growing these under cover and that’s Lily beetles. These have devastated lilies […]
As the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere crosses the symbolic 400 ppm mark, it’s time for gardeners – and those who represent us – to answer to their environmental responsibilities.
After a particularly long and cold winter of convincing ourselves that root vegetables make delicious salads, and that a daily baked potato makes a perfectly healthy one of your five a day, I finally have something fresh and new and green to eat. Today I have eaten my first salad of the year from the […]
