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Video: The Hartley Botanic Chelsea Garden 2016
Catherine MacDonald, garden designer, tells her Chelsea 2016 story. Having been involved with many show gardens & trade stand gardens over the years this is her first solo design working with Hartley Botanic.
Peat-free reality
The peat-free message is finally being broadcast far and wide – but it’s gardeners and growers, rather than the gardening media, who are doing the telling.
Take back control
I’ve been on a bit of a healthy eating binge these last few weeks. It probably started after a pretty nasty illness I picked up on my travels, which left me particularly under the weather. Having wasted away for a few weeks (! Yes really), and then left craving for sugar and sweet things, I […]
Sunflowers
I’ve been sowing vegetables in the greenhouse this week, going by my usual method at times of high intensity sowing, which is to say: one thing at a time. I concentrated on sowing five different courgettes on Monday, put in a second lot of peas on Tuesday, sowed some radishes in a quick tea break […]
Children’s Butterfly Colouring Competition Entries
This competition is now closed – thank you for all the wonderful entries. The winner was Lucy Underwood, and the runners-up were: Elena Grace Harrison, Ebony Scott, Jasmine Price, Katie Underwood and Saara Hussain. As we have entries being submitted in a variety of ways for our current Butterfly Awareness Children’s Colouring Competition, we decided […]
Introducing Opus
The Hartley Botanic Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2016 – Introducing Opus Hartley Botanic has been exhibiting beautifully planted trade stands at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for close to sixty years, but for 2016, MD Johnny Mobasher is taking it to another level with a Main Avenue show garden designed by Catherine […]
There’s no point to this yucca
An extremely architectural glass-house and house-plant is Yucca elephantipes, the Spineless Yucca or Palm-lily. This is a closely related species to Adam’s Needle (Y. filamentosa), the hardy Yucca of the open garden. Don’t worry the Palm-lily does not have such cruelly pointed leaves. There is still a vestigial point to each but nowhere near as […]
Tomatoes 101 – Year Round Love in the Greenhouse
In northern parts of America greenhouse owners are just now starting tomato plants from seed ready for the new season. Under lights on the heat mat I have some fifteen varieties growing. These will be transplanted into larger pots until they are ready for my garden and the gardens of friends. But often tomato varieties […]
Late Blight in Tomatoes and Potatoes
For greenhouse owners and gardeners in the Carolinas and Georgia, here is some disturbing news: Some tomato plants in Beaufort County, South Carolina, have recently been infected with late blight disease, the same highly infectious scourge that caused the Irish potato famine in the 1840s. Tomatoes and potatoes are related species, both belonging to the […]
Win tickets to Chelsea Flower Show 2016!
This competition is now closed. Thank you to everyone who entered. The lucky winner was Jane Hatch of Worcester. Do you fancy attending the world-famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show? Then you’re in luck! We have a pair of day tickets for Friday 27th May to give away, which would enable you to explore the most […]
Time to lift and separate
April is an ideal time to lift and divide bamboos, grasses and clumps of herbs that have grown too large, this keeps them within their allotted space and maintains vigour. Divide them carefully by pushing two forks back to back into the centre of the clump then pushing the two handles together to prise them […]