“By the Light, of the Silvery Moon” was top of the charts in the early 1900s; a vaudeville standard that young lovers crooned to each other…given the chance, which was often taken beneath a full moon to the gentle strum of a ukelele echoing across a garden’s shrubbery depth, accompanied by a girlish giggle and […]
In an increasingly uncertain world, food security is high on the national agenda – but sowing, growing and saving our own seed sparks a virtuous cycle that lets gardeners take back control. What if I told you that the adaptability and resilience we’ll need to navigate the growing uncertainties in a future of profound climatic […]
Many people use a greenhouse to start seeds, but where do you put all the potted-up plants when the greenhouse isn’t large enough for them? An outdoor, raised bed can be an ideal location. Plus, with a few additions, the bed can be easily converted to a polytunnel or even a small, temporary greenhouse. The […]
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 it’s 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 doesn’t 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, it’s time to sprout (or ‘chit’) first and second ‘early’ potatoes. Put your potatoes in a tray or egg box with the ‘rose’ end, where there is the greatest density of ‘eyes’ 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 ’discovery’ 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 ‘little darling’) which soon became fashionable, especially in pots for perfuming balconies and terraces. […]
The dark days of winter are no time for fairweather friends – 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 Year’s Day it was howling wind and torrential rain, today is the start of a cold ‘snap’. 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 it’s 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 didn’t 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 let’s […]
