This year’s garlic suffered from leek rust due to the damp spring and the crop is poor. The orange pustules over the leaves appeared early and became so bad that the foliage died before the ‘bulb’ had time to develop. I was growing a variety, that’s normally at home in mid France, just to see […]
Unless you’re growing plants for their ornamental seed heads or want to save seed for the following year, ‘deadheading’ by removing the fading flower heads, extends the flowering season. It stops them from wasting energy producing unwanted seeds and prevents those that self seed freely, like ‘Lady’s Mantle’ or ‘Love in a mist’ from becoming […]
The long range weather forecast for June suggests a typical British summer with continued unsettled weather, now that is mixed news for the gardener! My tropical border has finally been planted out and the sun and rain will help the plants to establish quickly, though higher temperatures would help – the plants might think that […]
It is the first time for years I have not been working away from home at this time of year or sneaking time to ‘garden in the gaps’ between work commitments and I’m loving it! Just great to enjoy the garden, and take my time – which is what gardening is all about! By the […]
Even mild winters seem interminably long, so it is great when the first flowers and fresh new shoots appear. For some reason it reminds me of the nonsense rhyme which starts ‘Spring has sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where the birdies iz’..? When the soil warms up in early spring it is time […]
January has been the wettest on record, February can be the coldest (hopefully not!) but at least it is the shortest and heralds the spring. Once the first snowdrops appear, I feel that the growing season has begun! Snowdrops are often lifted after flowering and sold ‘in the green’, if you bought some, replant them […]
As I write, tall trees are swaying alarmingly, bent into contorted shapes by the gale force winds that are ripping through the garden, grey clouds dull the sky above and lashing rain rushes in fast flowing rivulets down the windows. Yet another day of ‘hard core’ weather that sums up the winter so far! The […]
Some plants dislike the damp that characterises our winter weather, particularly plants like cushion alpines, as any leaves left on them, causes them to rot. Pick off fallen leaves regularly and cover with a pane of glass, polycarbonate or Perspex as protection. Helleborus niger, the ‘Christmas Rose’ needs covering too, so raindrops don’t splash soil […]
Winter pruning of apple and pear trees is important so that they remain attractive, easy to manage, healthy and crop prolifically. You can prune anytime between leaf fall and bud burst, providing the weather is not cold and frosty; the aim is to create an open goblet shape. First, remove any shoots or branches that […]
Over the past few days I have passed two specimens of Prunus sargentii in a garden while taking the children to school; this lovely small tree, renowned for its early autumn colour, never lets me down. It bookends the growing season, with masses of pink flowers in spring and is one of the earliest trees […]
And spike and scarify, for September is the traditional month for lawn maintenance, a job I find immensely satisfying. If you have a small lawn, rake out the ‘thatch’ or dead grass and moss that has accumulated over the mowing season with a wire rake or buy an electric scarifier. Hire a motorised scarifier if […]
Though my raspberries have been a disappointment this year, there has been a remarkable crop of apples – a great compensation. Some of the cordons are overburdened, but one of the most surprising is a ‘Claygate Pearmain’, shown in the picture, it’s cropped poorly for several years but now definitely needs thinning! Early August is […]
