Strawberries are possibly the plant, or fruit that just about everybody wants to grow. And with the extortionate price of these fruits in the shops and the deliciousness of these rich red fruits, it’s no wonder that everyone wants to grow them. When a bowl of strawberries at Wimbledon contains a handful of fruit (usually […]
We gardeners all rely on the common wisdom passed along through books, magazines, blogs, or the neighbor down the street. However, John Fischer, a retired meteorologist, Master Gardener, and garden writer, offers this—make your own observations. Throughout his career as a television meteorologist, John always tied together the weather and gardening. When horticulture questions arose, […]
St Mary’s C of E Primary School, in our Village recently held their Summer Festival. Bigger and better than ever for 2017 there were many wonderful stalls and entertainment throughout the day. Food and drink was in plentiful supply and everyone had a great time. Despite the ever unpredictable weather the event raised over £6,500. […]
Conservatories offer all sorts of opportunities to open up your home to the outdoors while at the same time letting you and your plants live in comfort. The newest addition to the Hartley Botanic range of glasshouses is the stylish ‘Opus’. Its clean lines and walls of glass speak of mid-century modern style so very […]
New research confirms that ‘perfect for pollinators’ plants can contain potentially toxic pesticides – so what can gardeners do about it, and how can we improve the odds for insects? A year ago I interviewed Dave Goulson, Professor of Biology at Sussex University, about his six-year study into the effects of pesticides, particularly neonicotinoids or […]
The tomatoes that started in the greenhouse need planting out now – a little late but life and half term had their own ideas, so a couple of weeks ago I potted them up into big pots to keep them ticking over, and now is the moment to get these big brutes into the polytunnel. […]
Herbs are an indispensable part of the edible garden. How can there be tomatoes without basil? How can there be mint juleps without mint? Flavor is the main reason these plants are in my garden, but it’s not their natural destiny. Like most other plants, their goal is to flower. Many of our common herbs […]
True-blue is an evening star because it glows as night falls. I’m not talking cottage-garden, wishy-washy, ‘so-called blues’ in shades that hover between mauve, lavender and grey. Many campanulas, lavenders and hardy geraniums, for instance, come in these softer colours but tend to look a milky grey in evening light. Radiant blues, on the other […]
As a greenhouse owner, you can easily make your own hanging baskets rather than buying them at a nursery. If you start your basket plantings in late winter, they’ll be large, lush, and ready to put outdoors after Jack Frost has quit for the season. I prefer very large, 20”-diameter, peat-lined containers for my hanging […]
This charming greenhouse beauty was described by Linnaeus as “Mere weeds, found on old walls and stony ground, they have no beauty and are of the easiest culture”. Back then he named it as a Parietaria it then became a Helxine, and now it is Soleirolia soleiroli. The common names are even more prolific, it […]
Over the years I have made a lot of gardens in many parts of the world. They have embraced all sorts of styles and situations from the very formal, to the wildly unkempt from the classical to the modern. However, I think I confidently say that the garden we have made for Horatio in Scotland […]
