In the spring I started my dahlias in the greenhouse and then planted them half and half at the allotment and on my veranda, wondering which would win the race to flowering: breezy and exposed with full sun at the plot or sheltered and protected but with a little bit of shade back home. I […]
Grow your own greenhouse shading: nature offers earth-friendly alternatives to parched plants and plastic pollution. Since the end of May, in most parts of the UK, it’s been hard to pin down the oft-cited ‘joy of greenhouse gardening’. Right now, even with a sun hat on, surely ‘hell’ is the most apt substitute for ‘joy’. […]
While temperatures remain high, watering and ventilation are top of the list. Open vents early in the morning, as temperatures in the greenhouse soon rise (shading should be in place by now), water preferably in the evening or early morning and check plants several times a day to ensure that they don’t dry out. Consider […]
When summer arrives in Rhode Island, I move everything out of my greenhouse in preparation for a cleaning blitz, including window cleaning. It’s easy to clean the outside of the windows year-round because no plants are in the way. But when the greenhouse is full, cleaning the inside of the windows is difficult because access […]
South Africa is a cornucopia of exciting plants, perfect candidates for the greenhouse or the garden in warmer parts of the U.S. Knowing and growing these rarely featured varieties opens up a whole new world of interesting designs. This month I’m talking to Sylvia Lukach, founder of Cape Lily, Floral Design and Travel. She’s originally […]
When you are looking to buy a greenhouse you need to do your research very carefully, where better to see a glasshouse in the flesh than an RHS Flower Show, says Jean Vernon Buying a glasshouse is usually a once in a lifetime investment. It’s really important that you can see some of the options […]
As often found in an alpine house as a greenhouse many Bellflowers, Campanulas, are rock garden and border plants. However some low growing and prostrate species are delightful under cover for filling in around the base of taller plants with their verdant foliage and masses of cool blue flowers. Campanula is an interesting, floriferous and […]
Who watched the Royal Wedding? Who felt a tear in their eye as we learned that Meghan Markle’s simple-bunch bouquet contained flowers that were favorites of Princess Diana, picked – and here’s the kicker – in the castle garden by Prince Harry? Now that is saying something! Flowers have long had all sorts of symbolic […]
Back in 2018, a few forward-looking people envisaged – though it was largely wishful thinking – a network of ‘pollinator pathways’. Today, we’re opening our first insect superhighway. Fenn was anxiously watching two screens at once. The one on his tablet showed footage streaming live from the Earth Court of Environmental Justice. The other was […]
Gardening makes me move about. It makes me stretch and lift and breathe fresh air and all of those other things that make me feel just that little bit healthier at the end of a day gardening than I do at the end of a day sat in front of the computer. But let’s face […]
The Lupin is a plant of my childhood and my suburban London garden, just like most people’s gardens in the 1950s, contained George Russell’s lupins. I can still remember packets of seeds with George Russell’s picture on the front. By then he was elderly, but he still had a wicked twinkle in his eye, and […]
One of the first things you learn when working in a greenhouse is that long-handled tools can be a problem in such an enclosed space. While the tool’s working end is where you want it, the other end may knock pots off shelves, damage plants, or even break window panes. The only long-handled tool I […]
