From March onwards the greenhouse will start to fill up, but currently it is still and quiet and pretty empty in mine. There is time to make one last winter use of it, before the spring rush begins, and force some lily-of-the-valley pips. This is something I love to do every few years. The greenhouse […]
I have to be honest I usually find February a bit of a challenge. Of course, I know that spring is much closer, but February is still winter here in the UK and itās still a bit early to be actively gardening. Even so, any sunny day provides a window to do a little outside […]
I have a VERY soft spot for the daffodil because they brighten up March, a month that often promises spring but doesnāt always deliver sadly. Almost twenty years ago, after moving to Spring Cottage in December 2005, I was thrilled to see lots of daffodils popping up in the garden because it had appeared to […]
From February onwards, itās time to sprout (or āchitā) first and second āearlyā potatoes. Put your potatoes in a tray or egg box with the āroseā end, where there is the greatest density of āeyesā or buds, at the top, keep them at about 7C (45F), then, after four to five weeks the shoots should […]
An almost forgotten scented plant ideal for a greenhouse is Mignonette. Allegedly a ādiscoveryā of Napoleon, who sent seed to Empress Josephine from his Egyptian campaign in 1798 (Reseda odorata grows wild in N. Africa). Her followers adopted Mignonette (French for ālittle darlingā) which soon became fashionable, especially in pots for perfuming balconies and terraces. […]
The dark days of winter are no time for fairweather friends ā you need reliable, low-maintenance stalwarts to keep your greenhouse cropping through to spring Last September I sowed the seeds of a wintertime get-together for some old friends, whose company I knew I would relish from the darkening days of late autumn right through […]
The first two days of January have shown us just what a lottery the weather has become. New Yearās Day it was howling wind and torrential rain, today is the start of a cold āsnapā. Both potent reminders of the joys of owning a Hartley Greenhouse, as you can start sowing from early January, whatever […]
As the new year unfolds itās a good time to plan ahead a little and decide how to make small, but powerful changes to your greenhouse and your garden. For many reasons, I didnāt get much gardening done last year and so the garden has run away with me a bit. But instead of letting […]
I love this stage of the greenhouse gardening year. Not, necessarily, because I am much enjoying being in the greenhouse right now, although I will admit that I love to be in there tending to the few overwintering seedling on the odd sunny day, the glass magnifying the heat and warming my back. But letās […]
Gardeners beat to a different rhythm, so whilst most of the population were firmly focused on Christmas Day, turkey and Christmas pud, I was waiting for the shortest day on December 21st. Ā Once that was over, the days would lengthen once again and the garden would revive like Sleeping Beauty freshly kissed by her Prince. […]
As my garden in Colorado has matured, so have I, and the post-Christmas lull and polar vortex winter has given me thinking time, a chance to identify āimprovementsā in the aid of slow and low maintenance, and to read a book or five, including Shrouded in Light: Naturalistic Planting Inspired by Wild Shrublands, a book […]
As you may have read last month, I grow a lot of plants. Itās hard work and a lot of physical exercise, but the results are greatly worth the effort. Hereās a rundown of some of the vegetables I grow each year and how I do it. Plants that grow slowly, such as onions, leeks, […]
