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 […]
Gardeners beat to a different rhythm, so whilst most of the population were firmly focused on Christmas Day, turkey and Christmas pud, I was waiting for the shortest day on December 21st. Once that was over, the days would lengthen once again and the garden would revive like Sleeping Beauty freshly kissed by her Prince. […]
Not usually considered for a greenhouse Muscari are commonly spotted in early spring in an outdoor border for their reliable blue flowers, often mixed with daffodils and primroses. Known as Grape Hyacinths from the shape of each flower on their spikes of tiny blooms, these are both attractive and long lasting with a delightful perfume. […]
Many gardeners are particular about protecting their hands with gloves for different jobs. But what about their feet? Anyone familiar with a greenhouse knows that the coolest part is at floor level. Boots or shoes can only go so far. If you stand around for any time on those floors, your feet will be getting […]
I’ve been a gardener since childhood. In England, as I was growing up, I tended the family garden while my dad traveled frequently for work. After I moved to the US, my wife and I bought land in Rhode Island. A Victorian-era house had previously been on the property, but it had long ago been […]
For the sake of animals, people and planet, it’s time to transition to manures we can grow. Every so often, I discover a project with the potential to turn the way we do gardening on its head – to make it fit for our rollercoaster future and, above all else, help it raise its ecological […]
This month is filled with memories, no matter how you observe the holiday season. For me, Christmas meant spending a week in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin at my grandmother’s home, where my Dad was born and grew up in a small house on N. 63rd St. Food was the main feature: Grandma was a stunning cook in […]
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 […]
