Hartley Magazine

All the latest news, hints, tips and advice from our experts

San Francisco gets ready for garden show

Gardeners in California are gearing up for one of the west coast‘s main gardening events. This week sees the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show take place at San Mateo Event Centre. Beginning on Wednesday (March 18th) and ending on Sunday (March 22nd), the show will present garden and greenhouse enthusiasts with the perfect opportunity […]

Master Gardeners advice against double-digging

Seattle gardeners have been warned against disturbing the soil too much, with Master Gardeners advising that it is only tilled once annually. According to seattlepi.com, both new gardeners and those who have been round the greenhouse quite a few times are guilty of believing that soil needs to be double-dug on a regular basis. It […]

Inspiration available at this year’s Dallas Blooms

Gardeners seeking hints and tips on how to improve the standard of the fruit, vegetables and flowers grown in their gardens and greenhouses have been advised to bring a notepad and pen along to this year‘s Dallas Blooms. The 25th annual event will be held at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Gardens from Saturday, March […]

Gardeners offered help to increase enjoyment

A horticultural expert has provided US gardeners with a number of tips in the Seattle Times as part of an effort to make their experience more enjoyable. According to Valerie Easton, a freelance journalist and author of A Pattern Gardener, gardening at home and in the greenhouse is likely to assume increased importance in the […]

Gardeners seek to attract butterflies

Despite caterpillars at times being the bane of gardeners‘ lives, some are deliberately planting caterpillar-friendly species to help attract butterflies to their gardens and greenhouses, it has been reported. The Galveston County Daily News suggests that the “gems of the insect world” are becoming sought-after garden attractions due to their ability go “delight children and […]

Northwest Flower and Garden Show is here

The Northwest Flower and Garden Show begins tomorrow in Seattle‘s Convention Centre. Lasting four days, the event should give gardeners ideas to take back home to their own greenhouses. Offering horticulturalists the chance to see a range of gardens that have taken up to nine months of planning, the show has been running for two […]

Gardeners advised to be savvy when buying mail order plants

Gardeners have been warned to take care when ordering plants online as they will often be smaller than those available in a local gardening centre or greenhouse sale. Louisiana website thetowntalk.com‘s Dan Gill advises gardeners to go to their local greenhouse and touch and inspect any plants before buying them. He also said on the […]

Take care when choosing position of greenhouse or veg patch

Would-be gardeners looking to start growing their own vegetable gardens should begin by having their soil tested and preparing and acquiring the right tools, according to fredricksburg.com. The website recently published an article advising those who wish to start growing their own food. It suggested that gardeners position their vegetable plot in a sunny area […]

Master Gardeners launches kids’ competition

A competition has been launched in lower Columbia to awaken young people‘s interest in gardening. The Value Gardens Poster Contest is open to kids from grade one to grade 12 and requires them to create a poster based on the theme, “Why do people garden?” According to TDN.com, first place in each category receives $50 […]

Time to start preparing for spring

With spring fast-approaching, gardeners have a limited amount of preparation time left to ensure they are ready for the growing season. Horticulturalist Dr William Johnson recently advised readers of the Galveston Daily News that tomatoes are one of the easiest crops to grow and February is the best time to plant. He explained that there […]