It’s November and we’ve just had two weeks of what is known as anticyclonic gloom and it’s produced warm, still grey days that weigh down the soul. In fact, sun has been in short supply all year round here and the plants have definitely noticed. My nerines, for instance, have failed to put on their […]
With autumn in full swing, what’s the best thing to do with the leaves? Should you leave the leaves or something else? Jean Vernon explores. When we think of autumn leaves it either conjures the beauty of the fiery foliage fireworks as the trees shed their cloak and slip towards winter, or we envisage the […]
Oddly enough, in my neck of the woods, the dead of winter is one of the busiest times in my garden year. Sheltering in my ersatz greenhouse aka sunroom, when the snow is lying heavy on the ground (19 inches heavy, and even heavier further south, while I won’t mention Wyoming), I have all the […]
The potential for a grow-your-own revolution is already built into urban landscapes – all that is needed is the will and the vision to unleash it. After over 20 years of rural living, a fortnight spent in an urban, edge-of-town setting has reinforced my lifelong belief that gardening – in all its forms – is […]
One of the best benefits of a greenhouse is bringing bulbs to bloom at the time when you most need them—décor, a celebration, or just for cheer in the darkest winter days. This month I’m talking with Brent Heath, the eponymous head of the family-owned mail order business, Brent and Becky’s. After an amazing number […]
Now that we’re well into fall, growing outdoors is almost impossible unless you have a greenhouse or some other protected enclosure. But how do you keep this environment sufficiently warm to prevent the winter cold from killing your plants, especially at night or on days without sunshine? There are more ways of doing this than […]
There can now be no pretence that anything else is going to ripen in the greenhouse this year. A greenhouse can do a lot but the clocks have changed, the dark is creeping in, and the weather has cooled, and we have to give up thinking that those final rays of low sunlight might turn […]
Okay, I was misled into getting seed for this greenhouse ‘delight’, from the advertisements I foolishly imagined the flavour would be delicious. From it’s parentage it looked promising; the Solanum family gives us many tasty fruits, so this ‘easy annual’ Lychee / Litchi Tomato, S. sisymbrifolium could be an excellent crop. Coming from Brazil this […]
At Hartley Botanic, we believe that growing edibles from heritage seeds is one of the biggest trends amongst Greenhouse owners this year. Interest in heritage, edible varieties, some of which can be traced back to as early as the 1600’s, has been largely driven by the rediscovery of their unbeatable flavours. Often tender crops, requiring […]
Clear autumn leaves from gutters as they start to fall. Prevent downpipes from clogging by putting a pan scourer in the hole at the top, then clearing the debris as it backs up, from time to time. Collect rainwater in a waterbutt, when it is full, water at the base of fences under the eaves […]
