Hartley Magazine

All the latest news, hints, tips and advice from our experts

Why is that woman still watering?

My neighbor has set up a gigantic, animated witch balloon (Halloween decorating seems to have escalated this year). Meanwhile, I’ve set up a sprinkler. Deep in October, with the first hard freeze due any day, most people are done with gardening, apart from raking leaves. But I’m still busy with the hose. Why on earth? […]

Written in United Kingdom

Boxing clever

Cardboard is one waste problem that’s actually a solution, with a host of labour-saving, cost-cutting, earth-friendly uses in your garden and greenhouse. Brown, bulky, boring and super-abundant: if there’s one thing we’ve not been short of during these tough and trying pandemic months, it’s cardboard. Booming local deliveries, click-and-collect services, and online buying generally have […]

Wild Foraged Plants You Can Start in a Greenhouse

Ellen Zachos knows how to look for what others might overlook. She’s author of several books, including Backyard Foraging: 65 Familiar Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat. Her newest book The Forager’s Pantry: Cooking with Wild Edibles will be out in April, 2021. What’s her definition of foraging? She laughs. “Some people think it’s […]

Repotting Cymbidium Orchids

Cymbidiums are beautiful flowering plants in the orchid family, featuring many showy flowers arranged on unbranched stems. For the winter greenhouse these orchids are a favorite. They are also very popular as cut flowers during the winter months. Typically, they come into bloom in late January through March when little else is in bloom. When […]

Written in United Kingdom

Free seeds in every fruit

Often the most rewarding greenhouse will be one you’ve filled with plants you’ve grown from seed. It’s that personal connection, you’ve known them at each stage, rather like your own children. And if you have children little will give them such an appreciation of nature as growing plants from seeds in fruits they’ve eaten. There […]