When it comes to gardening, climate change means a revision of expectations and ideas. These days, an unheated greenhouse provides useful protection for tender crops for longer than ever before. When October frosts were the norm, you wouldn’t even consider leaving chillies to ripen in the greenhouse but now it is more commonplace. Keep checking […]
After years of trialing products for the Daily Telegraph I’ve had the pleasure and horror of trialing a huge variety of gardening tools, products and accessories for more than twenty years. Here are five of my all-time favourites Whether you are starting out gardening, or buying a gift for a garden-mad friend or relative for […]
I am leaf picking and it’s a very monotonous (and back-breaking) task and I’ve spent days getting muddy and I have tramp’s nails – no offence to men of the road intended here. My nails are ringed in black grime and impossible to clean! I wear them as a badge of honour though. It’s […]
The days are short and gloomy, and the greenhouse is packed with plants that are just huddled and sitting out the winter, passing time, nothing much doing. There is a time for everything and now is for exactly this sort of plant limbo, but…but…us gardeners do get itchy green fingers even in these darkened moments, […]
Celosias were first introduced from the Far East in the Sixteenth century before there were more than a handful of greenhouses so were not easy. Once the heated greenhouse became available then this relation of Amaranthus became immensely popular with over sixty species discovered and introduced from Africa, Asia and the Americas. Then they generally […]
THE GREENHOUSE IN 2025 Greenhouse Partitions The use of partitions in Greenhouses is becoming increasingly popular as gardeners look for more precise control over their growing environment and formally divide structures for additional lifestyle uses. By dividing Greenhouses into distinct zones, partitions allow for tailored microclimates that cater to the specific needs of different plants […]
It’s November and we’ve just had two weeks of what is known as anticyclonic gloom and it’s produced warm, still grey days that weigh down the soul. In fact, sun has been in short supply all year round here and the plants have definitely noticed. My nerines, for instance, have failed to put on their […]
The potential for a grow-your-own revolution is already built into urban landscapes – all that is needed is the will and the vision to unleash it. After over 20 years of rural living, a fortnight spent in an urban, edge-of-town setting has reinforced my lifelong belief that gardening – in all its forms – is […]
With autumn in full swing, what’s the best thing to do with the leaves? Should you leave the leaves or something else? Jean Vernon explores. When we think of autumn leaves it either conjures the beauty of the fiery foliage fireworks as the trees shed their cloak and slip towards winter, or we envisage the […]
One of the best benefits of a greenhouse is bringing bulbs to bloom at the time when you most need them—décor, a celebration, or just for cheer in the darkest winter days. This month I’m talking with Brent Heath, the eponymous head of the family-owned mail order business, Brent and Becky’s. After an amazing number […]
Oddly enough, in my neck of the woods, the dead of winter is one of the busiest times in my garden year. Sheltering in my ersatz greenhouse aka sunroom, when the snow is lying heavy on the ground (19 inches heavy, and even heavier further south, while I won’t mention Wyoming), I have all the […]
Now that we’re well into fall, growing outdoors is almost impossible unless you have a greenhouse or some other protected enclosure. But how do you keep this environment sufficiently warm to prevent the winter cold from killing your plants, especially at night or on days without sunshine? There are more ways of doing this than […]
