Hartley Magazine

All the latest news, hints, tips and advice from our experts

Snakeplant

Snake or perhaps it should be Witch plant

More a house than a glasshouse plant the Snake plant, Sanseviera trifasciata, is actually a very useful specimen in either place. Many plants are described as bomb-proof, the Snake plant is as close as you can get. Drought and shade seem to leave it untouched, cold is no problem though a real freeze will be. […]

Eden's paper

Gardeners Christmas Wish List

Think outside the gift box when it comes to Christmas presents, says Jean Vernon. It’s that time of year when you can’t sit and watch the telly without adverts for extravagant gifts, ridiculously expensive toys, gadgets and perfume; all in the name of a religious festival. Somehow that just doesn’t compute for me. Even more […]

Yacon, llamon, cochet, aricoma, jiquima, poire de terre

You need a generous greenhouse to freely accommodate Yacon as this can easily grow two, three or more metres high. Fortunately it can also be cut back down so you can squeeze one into a smaller space. But be warned this has expansionist tendencies and in small houses is best confined in a large tub […]

Watermelon Begonias?

Watermelon Begonias?

Once rare glasshouse specimens Peperomias are now common house-plants everywhere you go. Coming mainly from Mexico, the West Indies and South America these have not long been in cultivation most of them being discovered only from the mid nineteenth century. The great Paxton in his Botanical Dictionary of 1868 listed four dozen species and subspecies; […]