August is the ideal time to be storing fresh herbs for winter use. Although they are much tastier when freshly harvested, there are several ways of preserving herbs that allow you to save them whenever there is a glut. Choose the best quality, disease free material and collect them early in morning on a dry […]
One of the things I love about gardening is that it fills you with hope for the future. We may well be in high summer (literally and metaphorically), but while you have a packet of seeds there is always much to look forward to. Last week I attended the open day at Thompson and Morgan’s […]
Most gardeners will have saved a few seeds over the years. Runner beans are the most likely candidate and one of the easiest seeds to save. There are lots of reasons to save seed, it’s a technique used by man since the early days of farming. By selecting from the strongest, most prolific plants gradually […]
One of the most magical things about gardening is taking a cutting and watching it suddenly start to grow into a whole new plant. That moment when you can’t resist the temptation any longer and you tug on it gently. If it resists you know it’s been a success and has already rooted and started […]
In The Greenhouse with Lila Das Gupta I’m a sucker for ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs. When I think back to how bare my tiny garden looked back in January and February, the transformation seems unbelievable — all from seed that I started off and nurtured in the greenhouse. Even the shrivelled looking dahlia tubers have […]
If your greenhouse is like mine at the moment, it’s full of tubs of French beans, pots of tomatoes, planters with cucumbers, courgettes and masses of salads. I’ve even been sowing a new batch of seeds late in the season to keep everything growing. If you read gardening books and seed packets you always get […]
In this series of monthly articles Bob explores the incredible range of plants you can grow in a greenhouse, conservatory or plastic tunnel. Not just the purely decorative but the scented and edible also, and maybe those plants that are just downright interesting. This month Bob nominates More–than-Ornamental grasses. Ornamental grasses have been quite the […]
In The Greenhouse with Lila Das Gupta I can’t remember the wit who said it: “you know you’re becoming middle aged when you contemplate elasticated waistbands…” Personally, I’ve always felt that an interest in indoor flowering plants was the beginning of the end. My mother in law used to have a whole conservatory full of […]
In a departure from my usual diary this month, I’d like to use the space to announce that I’m creating a feature garden at this year’s Hampton Court Palace Flower Show. A phone call three weeks ago offered me the opportunity to create a small garden based on fruit and vegetables. Am I a landscaper? […]
In The Greenhouse with Lila Das Gupta I only ask because I am growing cucumbers in the greenhouse and am suffering from performance anxiety. Last month I acquired a cucumber straightener. I’ve been hankering after one since the RHS show at Inner Temple last year when Pennard Plants put on a marvelous display of Victorian […]
In this series of monthly articles Bob explores the incredible range of plants you can grow in a greenhouse, conservatory or plastic tunnel. Not just the purely decorative but the scented and edible also, and maybe those plants that are just downright interesting. This month Bob nominates Guavas. Now Guavas, Psidium Guajava, are not one […]
Spring has been one of the best for years, after several mild winters when plants couldn’t decide whether to be dormant or grow, they’ve responded to a cold rest and sunshine by blooming beautifully, so our spring has been filled with flowers. One interesting feature has been the constant cold winds, which have been present […]
