Bulbs are packed with promise, heralding the return of the light. Choose organic bulbs and earth-friendly growing methods, and that sense of hope can embrace the natural world. After being shoved, protesting, into winter by the turning back of the clocks, we gardeners need an antidote to our enforced cutback on daytime pottering. We need […]
Generally the garden is a place of healing, full of medicinal herbs, aromatic foliage and scented wonders to lift the spirit and relax the mind. But just sometimes it has a bit of a sting in its tail. Take care in your garden and greenhouse this autumn; a chance mishap, a trip or slip can […]
There’s been some surprising greenhouse forward planning around here. The chilli and pepper year is not yet quite done – some of those that were started in the greenhouse in early spring are still ripening – but despite this and in an almost unprecedented display of organisation I have started to think about next year’s […]
Canny gardeners don’t leave leaves lying – this autumn windfall matures into gardening gold. There’s one turning of the seasons which arrives here with a right old clatter. After a cold jolt in August, most gardeners have been teased throughout September with only vague hints of impending autumn. In my garden, warm, balmy days and […]
Often with greenhouse plants we find beautiful blooms such as Bougainvillea are not really flowers at all. These are spectacular displays of modified leaves termed bracts. These bracts form the visible ‘blooms’ and look wonderful for many weeks. Whereas the real floral parts are almost insignificant and not long lived. Anyway this technical difference matters […]
I’ve always loved gladioli; cheerful, undemanding and appealing, they were among the first things I planted as a child and I still have a soft spot for them today. Over the years they have been stalwarts of allotment and village flower shows, yet despite falling from fashion in the garden, breeders continue to produce new […]
