This competition is now closed. Thank you to all who entered. Our winner was Janet Clegg of Leeds, West Yorkshire. Do you love luscious plants, beautiful flowers and all things gardening? Then I imagine you might like to attend the prestigious, world-renowned RHS Chelsea Flower Show. If so, today could be your lucky day! […]
Now’s the time to repot or ‘top dress’ and spring clean houseplants. They can last for 2-3 years before repotting but it pays to check annually. Knock your plants from the pot, to see if they are ‘pot bound’ – soaking the root-ball for half an hour in tepid water makes it easier to remove […]
An ever-changing floral extravaganza in a conservatory of some consequence is one of the The Strip’s sites worth seeking out. I’ll be honest. Las Vegas was not high my bucket list of Must-Visits. But a family reunion and the lure of checking out the Bellagio ’s fabled glasshouse was a win-win. And in Vegas you […]
I like to think that there are very few real pests in the garden and the greenhouse. Most of the issues the gardener faces are ephemeral, a passing phase and more a meal for a larger predator than a real problem. That to me is the secret in pest control; find the creature that feeds […]
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The strong urge to push on with the growing year only increases if you have a greenhouse at your disposal: surely – we think – I can get everything going nice and early and be ahead of the game? Be harvesting when everyone else is just planting out? Have ripe tomatoes in June? We might […]
It’s great to attend a garden talk and be surprised. That’s what Ellen Zachos did for me at Seattle’s Northwest Flower and Garden Show. Ellen is an author whose books include Backyard Foraging. Her show presentation covered a huge selection of garden plants that blend both ornamental and edible attributes. The surprise? Half her picks […]
Locally adapted varieties, UK-grown seed, and a company owned by growers and gardeners: a new venture aims to future-proof our seed supply by bringing it all back home. It’s always struck me how smaller seed companies, often those with the most colourful and engaging tales to tell, have the dourest of seed packets. I’m not […]
Okay I admit of all glasshouse and conservatory plants Ficus benjamina might be considered one of the less flamboyant. Indeed this is just a foliage plant, mind you what lovely clean glossy foliage and on such delightfully neat shrubs. Tough and reliable benjaminas have long proved popular with gardeners and indoor decorators just because they […]
The Best Beloved has made a declaration. Apparently I have 91 named snowdrops that need planting and 30 of these are bedded into part of the vegetable bed, his vegetable bed, and “they will need planting first” he intones with great authority. I have acquired these treasures in the last few months, from various sources, […]
Press Release For Immediate Release RHS ENDORSES HARTLEY BOTANIC’S ENTIRE PRODUCT PORTFOLIO HARTLEY BOTANIC, MANUFACTURER OF HANDMADE, BRITISH GREENHOUSES, ANNOUNCES PRESTIGIOUS RHS ENDORSEMENT As it approaches its 80th anniversary, Lancashire-based greenhouse and glasshouse manufacturer Hartley Botanic announces the endorsement of its entire product range by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). The British manufacturer founded in 1938 […]
March is the month of seed sowing, especially in the vegetable garden. Start preparing your seedbeds beforehand by raking the ground to a rough level and covering it with clear or black polythene to warm the soil. Clear polythene is preferable, as it encourages weed seeds to germinate which can be hoed off beforehand, so […]
