What a dreadfully wet winter we’re having. I hope that you aren’t suffering too much from the incessant rain from one of the wettest winter’s on record and your garden isn’t too waterlogged, either. Rather than letting the rainwater from the water butts on your greenhouse go to waste, water parts of your garden that […]
Amidst mounting evidence of climate chaos, how best to cultivate a planet-friendly garden? As the flood waters rise, so do new and troubling questions. I live and garden in a land of conundrums. The sheer power of our two most recent storms – Ciara and Dennis – has hit communities hard here in Snowdonia’s foothills. […]
– GREENHOUSE & GLASSHOUSE MANUFACTURER HARTLEY BOTANIC PROVIDES SOME HANDY SPRING PREPARATION GREENHOUSE GROWING TIPS – Historic Greenhouse and Glasshouse manufacturer Hartley Botanic has been helping its customers make the most out of their beautiful, handmade structures for over 80 years. Founded in 1938, the company is one of Britain’s oldest and most trusted Greenhouse […]
As a young thing I used to wear incredibly short miniskirts, known as pelmets by friends and family. I trained as a teacher and when it came to getting a job I went for a fair few interviews. I emerged without one job offer, despite having done well on the course, mainly due to the […]
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I was trudging home from the drugstore on a sidewalk damp with melting snow under the weight of a February sky, and there they were: snowdrops. The flowers, not quite open, dangled from their delicate stalks above the gray mulch like little freshwater pearls. No long-stemmed rose in a florist’s shop can outshine a snowdrop. […]
Whether you are vegan looking for homegrown plant protein, or want to get the kids interested in plants – Peanuts may be the answer I’ve always been fascinated by peanuts. And I’ve tried a few times to grow my own. The trouble has been getting viable seed, or basically peanuts that haven’t been roasted, irradiated […]
After twenty years or so of giving talks and lectures about greenhouses and plants, I have found that there are a few questions that potential owners often ask. Probably the most common question is, ‘How large a greenhouse should I buy?’ If the questioner is an experienced gardener, my answer is, “Buy the largest greenhouse […]
One of the first tasks of my greenhouse year is to start waking up those plants that have been tucked away in them all winter. Mine being an unheated greenhouse, my overwintering is only of plants that have some level of hardiness already, plants such as pelargoniums, aeoniums and other succulents that would even survive […]
A few weeks ago, Debra Prinzing and I met up when we were both speaking at the Good Earth Home and Garden Show in Eugene, Oregon. Debra’s the founder of SlowFlowers.com and producer and host of the Slow Flowers weekly podcast, whose main message is to buy your flowers locally and sustainably. But this time […]
Few flowers are so brilliant as greenhouse or florist’s Azaleas. Coming in a profusion of varieties these are especially welcome bursts of colour throughout late winter. Such vivid blooms come in whites through velvety pinks to extreme reds on neat compact, usually, evergreen plants. Of course just as with their outdoor cousins our indoor Azaleas […]
From early February onwards, it’s time to sprout (or ‘chit’) new potatoes. Put them in a tray or egg box with the ‘rose’ end, upwards (where all the buds or ‘eye’s’ are clustered), at about 7C (45F). After four to five weeks the shoots should be about 5cm (2”) long and they will be ready […]
