This is the month when temperatures dip so you need to protect cold frames and cloches with insulation, winter crops like lambs lettuce are certainly hardy enough to survive but added protection will certainly increase their quality. Open the vents in your greenhouse as long as possible on mild sunny days, shutting them down before […]
One thing that seems to preoccupies us even more than ever, is the weather. Rather than global warming, we seem to be confronted by erratic weather patterns – more of a climate change. Several nights in October were the coldest ever recorded yet in the first week in November, parts of the UK are expecting […]
Many parts of Britain have already experienced their first frosts – they were even recorded in Devon on the third week in September, according to Anne Swithinbank. It was a gentle reminder that we must be ready for harsher weather which will be on its way, as we edge further into October. I‘m waiting to […]
Ahh! September, the month of lawn maintenance! After a long period of drought over the summer, it will certainly be needed this year. 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, if your lawn is larger, hire […]
It may not be sunny but it is still very dry. The lawn is parched and cracked, yet there is still plenty to do, even in this traditionally quiet month, when gardeners concentrate on weed control and harvesting. Now is a good time to clean and paint garden furniture and fencing while the weather is […]
As you can see from the picture, with the ongoing dry weather, my lawn is parched and patchy, yet there’s no doubt that grass has a phenomenal will to live! Around the world from the Steppes to Africa, parched grasslands transform themselves miraculously, as soon as the rain appears. So don’t bother to water your […]
After several weeks of patient waiting, my tomato plants are now well established. Once the first truss appears, I’ll be transplanting them into 12” pots, to give the soil in the greenhouse border a rest. It’s advisable to change the soil every three or four years, so devise your own rotation system. Try growing them […]
After enjoying the delights of April when we were greeted by warm sunshine for several days, the weather is now back to erratic, un seasonal, ‘normal’. Even the hot days of April were tempered by cool nights, so any heat that warmed the ground was lost overnight. It did, however, compact spring into a few […]
Despite a few sunny days and the welcome appearance of daffodils and early bulbs, it is still very cold. Eighteen inches of snow in Northern Scotland on 31st March as the month ‘goes out like a lion’ and the latest spring in 30 years, confirms a slow start to the gardening year. With the ongoing […]
What an old fashioned winter, it‘s been! Old country lore is that it‘s ‘February fill dyke‘, but it‘s not just the rain that‘s done the damage, the melted snow has turned the whole garden into a sodden puddle of clay and filled nearby ditches as well! The grass around my fruit trees is waterlogged, the […]
This cold winter has been a shock and I wouldn’t be surpised if there’s yet more snow to come. Even now there is some lying in a large patch behind a nearby hedge reminding me of the old country saying that if the snow lies more will come to take it away. The meltwater soaking […]
The ‘Indian Azalea’ is one of my favourite winter houseplants, the deep green foliage and delicate, tissue paper flowers are just perfect. With care plants last for many years and become a family heirloom: here are the secrets of success. Keep it in a cool, bright place and the compost moist with tepid soft water. […]
