There are people who think that writers have an exciting life, full of jollies, junkets and japes. Nothing could be further from the truth. You see we writers write just to escape all that unnecessary razzmatazz. It’s so much easier living life on a written page, than doing it for real, so we hide away […]
2020 has been set as the target for completely peat-free gardening – but we need clear directions if we’re to get there in time. There are four years to go. Sixteen of our increasingly blurring, juddery seasons left. And then we gardeners – and the businesses that profit handsomely from us – will together make […]
There is almost no month in the year when you can’t be sowing something in the greenhouse, if you really put your mind to it. As if to prove this I have found myself heading down the garden these last dreary days with a packet of onion seed, just like the monster veg growers. The […]
Hartley Botanic is pleased to announce its sponsorship of Perennial’s special events programme for 2017. Perennial’s special events offer exclusive access to some spectacular gardens across the country, many of which are not usually open to the public. From an exclusive tour and lunch at Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, which features a fabulous Hartley […]
Keep your planters close and your plants closer this winter, says Jean Vernon With the winter about to hit full force, I’ve been contemplating the fate of my many garden planters. The greenhouse is already packed out with overwintering plants and pots of my less than hardy garden beauties. From scented pellies and fabulous fuchsias, […]
There is something magical about Christmas in a greenhouse. Paperwhites are in full bloom, mixed with rich red poinsettias against a backdrop of greenery. To me, white, red, and green are the colors of Christmas, so a greenhouse is ideal for celebrating this season. For those who aren’t big fans of paperwhites’ classic fragrance, there […]
My favorite gardener’s present? A friend received a load of well-rotted manure, dumped on a tarp in her driveway with a huge red bow on top. It was accompanied by a note from her husband promising to spread it on the nearby beds. (He followed through.) Short of that loving extravagance, here are three great […]
In Phoenix, Arizona, a holiday luminaria display adds sparkle to the Desert Botanical Garden, showing off the local flora as well as the artistic talent. Time was when the most exhilarating event at a botanic garden was feeding the ducks. No more. This year you could stagger through any conservatory that had an Amorphophallus titanium […]
Some of the most welcome holiday gifts are fleeting: sweet treats, old songs, flowers that last just long enough to be a reminder of spring. Like paperwhites. Paperwhites are paperwhite narcissus bulbs, which you can easily coax into bloom indoors in the middle of winter. A conservatory is ideal for this, though a sunny window […]
Happier as warm greenhouse specimens than as houseplants are the gorgeously flamboyant Peacock and Zebra plants, the Calatheas, from Tropical America. Oh you can force some such as C. insignis or C. zebrina to live in a well lit house but most are much happier in a warmer more humid atmosphere, it’s their tropical jungle […]
Winter is a great opportunity to check over hand tools, replacing broken handles and sharpening blades of hoes, shears, loppers and spades. Brush off any soil, clean off rust with wire wool, then use a fine file to flatten notches on the cutting edge. Years ago when I worked on the local Parks’ department, Fred, […]
