Even through the dark days of January, there’s still plenty to do in the garden. I spent a chilly afternoon re-cutting lawn edges that had spread onto the surrounding paths. It has a similar effect to trimming the edges in the growing season; the garden instantly looks neater. You need a sharp half moon, an […]

This is the time of year for hardwood cuttings, they don’t need a propagator, heat, misting or any specialist equipment, all you need is good old fashioned garden soil, sharp sand and a pair of secateurs. Plants that can be propagated using this method include ‘Dogwood’, ‘Buddleia’, gooseberries, roses, winter flowering viburnum’s and red and […]

If you’ve never tried growing garlic, make this the year! It needs light soil, an open sunny site and can be planted from early October to late December. Don’t plant until spring on heavier soils, digging in grit or planting it on ridges or temporarily in pots of loam based compost then transplanting outdoors in […]

It‘s long been the practice to spray tough weeds like ‘Ground Elder‘ and ‘Bindweed‘ when they‘re in flower but it‘s recently been discovered that autumn is particularly effective. At this time of year the sap is being drawn deep into the roots and stored for the winter, so it‘s increasing the concentration of herbicide that […]

Autumn is main seasons for lawn maintenance. Rake out the ‘thatch‘ or dead grass and moss that has accumulated over the mowing season using a wire rake or lawn rake from the tool hire shop. To save money, you could hire it and share the use and cost with several friends. Spike compacted areas with […]

It’s important to make arrangements for someone to look after your smaller houseplants while you‘re on holiday. Ideally ask a neighbour who’s keen on gardening. If your kitchen draining board is away from scorching sunshine, group all your houseplants there, write down the instructions clearly on a piece of paper or stick the instructions on […]

Lawn grasses are remarkable plants and their power of survival is never more obvious than during hot dry summers when there’s a hosepipe ban. It doesn’t take long before the lawn is brown, parched and seemingly dead, yet like grasslands worldwide from the Prairies to Africa, they always re-grow when the rains appear. So I’m […]

The cool spring, heavy rain and little sunshine over the past weeks has ensured that this years sowings in my vegetable plot were well behind schedule. There‘s no point in following the sowing dates on the seed packet if seeds only rot before germinating, sow when conditions are favourable and they soon catch up. Parsnips […]

Although it is May and the garden centre is awash with beautiful bedding, it‘s better to resist the temptation to buy until the last frost has past, so many gardeners buy early and regret later. It is, however a good time to plant up hanging backets, giving them a few weeks in the greenhouse to […]

Now‘s the time to repot or ‘top dress‘ houseplants, just before they start into growth and it‘s a good idea to give them a spring clean too. Check all of your plants annually, not all will need repotting as they can last for 2-3 years but being heavily congested with roots will cause most houseplant […]

Last year‘s carrot crop was reasonable, considering the soil, they prefer it light and free draining but my garden is clay. This year I‘m hoping for even greater success from my new raised beds filled with well rotted compost, fertiliser made from wormcasts and sieved loam that will improve the growing conditions all round. They […]