Decorating a conservatory, garden or patio doesnât begin and end with fussy plants and lawn chairs. And in this monthâs article let me revisit my favorite trick â decorating with light: for me, luminarias and Christmas twinkle lights (see Decemberâs article) are just the tip of bulb. With this article, I hope to win even […]
Yes you can, they are easy to grow, something a little different and a great way to get the kids interested in gardening. Far from being a new super food, tiger nuts were actually a mainstay in the war and post war era, a slightly sweet treat that offered something a little different for the […]
Consider the global air pollution crisis alongside the desperate need to conserve resources and thereâs only one possible conclusion: itâs time to extinguish the tradition of the garden bonfire. As a boy, I was pretty whiffy. Out in the garden until dark, I would eventually come indoors, a noxious plume in my wake. A bath […]
At Hartley we always strive for perfection Whether creating a beautiful custom made greenhouse, handmade for a customer, or one of our team meeting someone for the first time, we want to express our passion for business and products. Even our business cards get the handmade treatment from the skilled and traditional workforce at Barnard […]
We share a commonality with bees and butterflies. We are all drawn to flowers. As gardeners we grow them, admire them, and arrange them, both outdoors and in the greenhouse. But, often, we tend to overlook what accompanies that panoply of colorsâthe foliage. Now Karen Chapman and Christina Salwitz have written an eye-opening new book, […]
If you have made good use of your greenhouse for starting off winter vegetables last spring and summer you will be feeling pretty smug about the so-called veg crisis right now. Even me saying âso calledâ is pretty smug, but as all good gardeners know, this is not really a veg crisis at all but […]
âWhy are you growing houseleeks in your greenhouse?â said a friend looking at some Echeverias I had around the base of a Bougainvillea. An easily made mistake for these are a fine example of parallel evolution. Houseleeks are temperate plants designed to survive conditions as harsh and impoverished as crevices of dirt on rock-piles or […]
Stand your potatoes rose end upwards in a bright, frost free spot. From February onwards, itâs time to sprout (or âchitâ) new potatoes, to me, it is the first big signal that starts the gardening year. Put your potatoes in a tray or egg box with the âroseâ end, where all the buds are, at […]
Succulent plants are ideal for first-time gardeners and suited to growing outdoors in mild, low-rainfall, frost-free climates, or in cold, damp regions, in conservatories or just a sunny window. Succulents are those fleshy-leaved plants that thrive in well-drained soil in hot, dry, steppe to desert-like climates. They are not frost-hardy, like plenty of sun, and […]
Itâs a new year, with a new gardening season on the way. That doesnât just mean trying new plants; it means trying to remember all the things I vowed last summer Iâd never do again. When youâre dreaming up the garden inside a well-heated conservatory or cozy living room in January, it can be easy […]
I talked with Michele Keith about her greenhouse in Wyoming. Micheleâs property, which is close to the eastern edge of Yellowstone, is 6,000 feet above sea level and in hardiness zone 4, so it gets very cold in winter. She had 36â of snowfall a week or so before our talk. But cold is not […]
Some favored container plants luxuriate outside all summer, and when the weather shifts, theyâre hustled into the greenhouse, frost-free porch, sunroom, or even a windowsill. These summer/winter dancers are mostly perennials or small shrubsâ tender for whatever zone youâre in. What makes them worth the trouble? Outside or indoors, the best ones are easy care. […]
