Polygala x Dalmaisiana is a superb choice for conservatories and cool greenhouses with beautiful purple pea like blooms throughout much of the year. These decorative flowers are produced almost continuously along the ends of lax stems of attractive grey green evergreen foliage. Not so much an impressive centre piece perhaps but excellent as the supporting […]
It may be the year of the referendum for you, but for me it’s the Year of the Pigeon, because I have had three permanent residents in my garden. I wouldn’t mind if it was a pigeon pair and a baby, that might be quite nice, but it’s one lady and her two warring suitors. They […]
The following article was first published in Kitchen Garden Magazine (July 2016). who have kindly allowed us to share it with our readers. Irving Robinson from East Yorkshire tells how a cold, rain-drenched motorbike ride to check out a greenhouse in Wakefield landed him in some very hot water. Back in 1971 we moved into a […]
No garden is an island: a thriving diversity of natives, neighbours and migrants will result in a healthy, vibrant growing community. Right now the air is buzzing. It’s alive with chants for ‘Brexit!’, calls for ‘Remain!’, and voices mulling whether to leave, or whether to stay. Are we better off in, working side by side […]
While this is not exactly a quiet time in the garden, it most certainly is in the greenhouse. My own greenhouse is now standing almost empty: there are just a few lilies that I am hiding in there trying to keep them away from the lily beetles – pretty successfully so far, by the way. […]
Greenhouse tomato crops are bigger and better thanks to buzz pollination. Don’t take your tomato crop for granted. Every single fruit that forms needs a pollinator catalyst. The words Buzz and bees go hand in hand. But did you know that bumblebees perform something called Buzz Pollination that is vital for the way that they […]
The garden is a work in progress, well more work than progress if I’m honest, but I slid into summer a few days ago when I cut most of my tulips back in my rose and peony beds and planted several different cosmos I’d raised in 4 x 6 modular trays. The change was remarkable […]
Now that greenhouse tomatoes are growing well, remove the side shoots of ‘cordon’ varieties, as they appear, using your finger and thumb, this will create a single productive stem. Keep the compost constantly moist, particularly if you are using growing bags, as the compost dries out rapidly; twice a day is ideal, depending on the […]
Quality peat-free compost doesn’t need to come out of a bag, and it certainly isn’t sterile and sanitised. It’s time to rip up the rule book. My idea of an adventure doesn’t require me to jet off on some adrenaline-fuelled, round-the-planet jaunt. Although I’m inherently curious – I love exploring new places – I don’t […]
Today Hartley Botanic received a very special RHS medal for their first ever show garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Winning any medal is great, but the garden designed by Catherine MacDonald was deemed to be special enough for silver gilt, just one notch down from a gold! The garden features Opus, a newly […]
