This is just about my favorite time of year in the garden, because it’s time for wildflowers. They’re blooming in the woods where I take long walks, but they’re also in bloom in my yard. I don’t live in the woods—far from it. Most of my garden grows in the shade between a four-story apartment […]
I have an exciting new plant for the greenhouse, which I am going to start on starting into growth this week. Gloriosas are beautiful colourful climbing plants, and sometimes known as climbing lilies, though really their flowers are not particularly lily-like. They have extraordinary twisted petals in red and orange and are the national flower […]
The weather can cut up rough at this time of the year, particularly when you live in Cold, Cold Aston as I do. I always say that the clue is in the name! It’s a chilly little spot, perched on a plateau on top of the North Cotswold in an area known as the Empty […]
Why pay the financial and environmental costs of a propagator, when our own well-heated homes offer plenty of ideal places to germinate seeds and nurture seedlings? “Sow your seeds and germinate them in a heated propagator at… blah, blah, blah.” If I had a penny for every time I’ve read or heard this outmoded gardening […]
Clocks may have had to spring forward but winter is still with us, yet that hasn’t stopped bulbs pushing their noses up through the compost, to remind us that underneath the soil there’s a garden waiting to bloom. Among the first to make their appearance in garden are two tiny tubers of Cyclamen hederifolium. Planted […]
Never before has it been so important to boost our immunity and keep healthy. Those of us lucky enough to have a garden are blessed not only with the space to grow our own food, but the wherewithal to improve our health and wellbeing. For some just being out in the garden and getting some […]
Step into your greenhouse. Do you feel like sneezing? Coughing? Do you have an itchy nose? These symptoms could be signs of an allergy to mould, which is a form of fungus. The moist, enclosed environment of a wintertime greenhouse that is filled with plants can be a veritable welcome mat to mould. Three main […]
I’ve always been an organic gardener. Partly, it’s out of laziness—I’ll do just about anything—including pulling bindweed—before I’ll mix chemicals. Partly, it’s because over the years I’ve become more and more convinced that organic practices are better for me, my family, and everything living on this small patch of earth I’ve called home. However, organic […]
Sweet corn’s not your commonest greenhouse crop but one that benefits hugely, and has imposing foliage. Now the sweetness is the essence of good sweet corn, and is continually reducing from the moment the cob’s picked. If you’ve grown your own you’ll know, cobs from shops or even roadside stalls are never ever as sweet. […]
March usually says ‘Farewell’ to winter and ‘Hello’ to spring, a transition that seems to herald a month of erratic weather. I start sowing outdoors after warming the soil then add a few ‘back ups’’ under glass to fill the gaps if germination is erratic. In northern or cooler locations, you can also start sowing […]
