Keeping honeybees to save the bees just won’t cut it and here’s why, says Jean Vernon. Bees, as we know, are in deep trouble. Dubbed the modern coalmine canary; their spiraling demise has scientists, naturalists and environmentalists running scared. Become a beekeeper?? The knee jerk reaction by many well-meaning bee supporters has been to take […]
It’s time for some citizen gardening: instead of glib media soundbites about using peat-free compost, let’s crowd-source the low-down on what actually works. This spring needs a gardening health warning: there may be ill-judged and unwise information ahead, and we need to be on the lookout for it. Big, positive things will be happening in […]
This winter, we have decided to move the nectarine into the glasshouse ready for spring and summer. This is perhaps not as major an undertaking as it sounds, as the nectarine is a dwarf called ‘Nectarella’ which only grows to 1.5m in height (and can easily be kept even smaller than that). It has also […]
The first full moon of 2020 fell on January 10. It was quite spectacular, like every full moon in the Southwest, from low desert to high plains, foothills to mountain tops. Sitting in my sunroom cum conservatory, peering out into the garden on a mild winter night, I was enchanted by the ethereal glow the silvery light […]
The great advantage in having a Hartley greenhouse is stealing a march on time. It may be a chilly outside, with a biting easterly wind, but it’s always toasty under glass so you can start to sow earlier in the year. If you can keep the temperatures at an ambient 10 -17C, with ventilators or […]
Orchids are probably the largest genus of flowering plants with nearly 30,000 species. Because these plants are fairly easy to hybridize there are somewhere around 100,000 hybrids. Orchids grow almost all over the world, yes, even in the arctic circle, but mostly they grow in tropical rain forests. That said, orchids can be found in […]
Water in the Western United States is a fast-diminishing resource. Just ask Cynthia Bee, Outreach Coordinator at the Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District in Salt Lake City. Last summer, I got so excited when she shared the district’s new creative solutions for reducing water use through garden design. These tips can also save you other […]
This curious genus of pretty onion like flowers from South Africa will both grace, and scent, your cool greenhouse though perhaps in ways you did not expect. Much grown outdoors in countries warmer than Britain and often along paths in the manner of chives this tuberous family also much resemble those Alliums in having garlic […]
Keep the greenhouse guttering clear of debris which reduces their effectiveness and can eventually block the down pipes. Clean all of your old pots and seed trays ready for sowing in spring. Wash with a solution of environmentally friendly disinfectant like Citrox, rinse, drain and allow to dry. Make sure you have pots and trays […]
