People who grow things are hopeful. This month, I’m talking with Teresa Speight, who describes herself as a “garden visionary.” Teresa consults, teaches, gives garden talks, and delightful podcasts, but her greatest interest goes beyond growing plants. She wants to, as she puts it, “mindfully grow our community.” Teresa’s community is a black middle/working class […]
If you’ve got a handful of precious tomato plants for this season, this is how to make them go further It’s pretty easy to grow tomatoes from seed, but unless you sowed them in January or February or even March before lockdown, then really it’s a bit late for this year. However you might have […]
There are many reasons to grow your own vegetables during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will cut down on trips to the grocery store where observing the shopping requirements can be stressful and where certain kinds of produce can often be in short supply. Plus, veggies straight from the garden are a highly nutritious, pesticide-free addition […]
35 PERCENT INCREASE IN HOMEOWNERS WANTING A GREENHOUSE TO ‘GROW THEIR OWN’ SINCE LOCKDOWN LANCASHIRE-BASED MANUFACTURER LAUNCHES SAME-DAY ‘VIRTUAL HOME VISITS’ TO DEAL WITH DEMAND Historic Glasshouse and Greenhouse manufacturer Hartley Botanic is experiencing a renewed demand from homeowners in their beautiful, handmade Greenhouses during lockdown, as the benefit of being more self-sufficient and […]
A greenhouse of foliage and flowering plants is easy to tend. Naturally you water, feed occasionally, maybe dead-head and sometimes propagate. It’s important to open and close ventilation unless you have an automatic set-up. And to keep watch for pests or diseases, and then take action. The care required is not huge however it increases […]
Now’s the time to sow outdoor cucumber like ‘Marketmore’, marrow, squashes, pumpkins (vertically on edge, not laid flat like a surf board) individually in 7.5cm pots plus French and Runner beans and Sweetcorn in gentle heat in peat substitute seed compost or sieved multipurpose compost in a propagator, ready for planting out once the danger […]
Home gardening has seen an amazing surge of interest in these demanding times, and the horticultural industry is rising to meet the challenges. Hartley greenhouses are now back into production after a month’s hiatus; mail-order nurseries are hustling to keep up with orders; and local garden centers are figuring out how to safely serve their […]
I have never quite swung into filling my greenhouse with seedlings and plants so quickly in a season before. There is an urgency to this year: we have been forced to be less dependent on the supermarkets, but also need to stay in great health. Growing what vegetables we can feels necessary now. But don’t […]
The most experienced of gardeners can be bested by vine weevils – but calling in a microscopic earth-friendly ally will settle the score. Otiorhynchus sulcatus got me in the end. After 17 years of mostly grub-free bliss, when I’ve relied largely – apart from the occasional gentle shove – on nature (and some wire mesh) to […]
Most years I go to the Philadelphia Flower Show. The show is held in March and is filled with incredible numbers of flowers. Last year, in the entry hall alone there were more than four thousand flowers, all in bloom and all on display. Considering that Philadelphia is in the northern part of the United […]
The Best Beloved and I are like chalk and cheese and I often wonder if there’s a mischievous sprite up above joining people in matrimony who are entirely unsuited. I’m all hustler-bustler and I get everything done as soon as it occurs to me. My mouth operates at the same speed. He ( on the […]
Whatever the outcome of this current deadly disruption, corona virus has certainly focused many minds on the meaning of life–and on getting stuff done. Without the opportunity to procrastinate, tasks and projects in the Clarke household are being completed in record time; like clearing up the greenhouse, sorting the seed from the dust, the compost […]
