It is just about time for the dahlias that I planted in pots in the greenhouse in spring to come in for the winter, or else to be prepared for a winter outside. The latter is a bit of a risky game, particularly if we have a winter like last year’s. It chilled many dahlia […]
It’s the time of year for giving thanks. And as a professional garden writer, I am thankful for the exciting new plants from growers and marketers that I get to trial and review. However, sometimes many seasons pass before plants demonstrate just how good they really are. So, I’d like to share a couple of […]
As the seasonal tide of merchandise threatens to engulf us, have we reached a tipping point? It’s time to start saying no to stuff. It didn’t make much of a thud, it didn’t shatter into a thousand gratifying pieces, and it hasn’t done anything for my faith in gardening being a force for good in […]
One of the first things I did when I moved to Cold Aston, some fourteen years ago, was to plant five fruit trees. I chose three apples and two pears, but I’ve had far more success with apples than pears. You see, apples cope well with my chilly conditions and we’ve been eating ‘Pitmaston Pine-apple’ […]
Until plastic started washing up on our beaches and hitting the television screens with heart wrenching scenes of wildlife entangled in rubbish, plastic was fantastic. In many ways it still is fantastic, it’s not really the plastic that’s the problem, its what we do with it and how we dispose of it. For such a […]
As I write this in the days before Thanksgiving, snow is falling steadily in the Rockies. It was 60 degrees yesterday, so I had an energetic day, washing windows (the better to see the snow!) and hauling the lawn furniture indoors. In these days of indoor/outdoor blurring, where the conservatory is another room of the […]
The other day I finally got to the bottom of something that had nagged at me for a long time: the compost bin. I hadn’t gotten around to actually harvesting finished compost from that bin for months. That’s an absurd waste in at least two ways: If it’s still in the bin, the compost isn’t […]
Stevia rebaudiana is a tender greenhouse herbaceous perennial that hardly stands out. A foot or two high with neat green leaves and small white flowers in summer (if not trimmed off) this is just a ‘nice looking’ plant. However growing this is right on trend as it’s one of the new ‘super food’ sweeteners. The […]
As the nights draw in and temperatures drop there is still plenty to do in the greenhouse. Sow sweet peas in a cool greenhouse for an early display next year. For more details, see October’s diary. Continue to sow batches of winter salads weekly in an unheated greenhouse (See September diary). As temperatures are lower […]
Because the temperature in my greenhouse can reach 140oF on a sunny summer day, most of my greenhouse plants spend the summer on my patio. Come fall, however, these plants must be moved back into the greenhouse. For them, it’s rather like returning to an indoor home after enjoying summer at the cooler, breezier beach. […]
The news is full of stories of invading ladybirds riddled with sexually transmitted disease, spiders with venomous bites and robotic bees. Is it time we just managed without insects asks Jean Vernon? What is the point of insects? What do they do? They bite or sting. They spread diseases. They eat our food. Can’t we […]
Close the loop: a modest, well-mannered shredder can convert tough green ‘waste’ into mulching magic, and let you keep all of your garden’s fertility on site. I’ve just been absorbed in a day of magical, hands-on fun in balmy autumn sunshine. Serenaded by a gentle clatter of falling oak leaves, and by the sudden, startling […]
