In a corner of England, long, long ago, a young woman with visions of the epic garden she was planting, sowed seeds of milk thistle, Silybum marianum. HUGE mistake! Little did I know (yes, moi) that the enchanting, fresh young foliage, shimmering with silvered veins in the Norfolk sunshine, would age to old boot leathers […]
After the heat and stress of the day, evening is a perfect time to enjoy our gardens. So, creating vignettes of what works best in the falling light is important. White flowers are touted for evening and moon gardens because other colors fade back, but the same is true for light-colored foliage, especially the silvers. […]
There’s one day of the year that fills me with terror and it’s our village fete! It’s always held on the first Saturday of August and I grow plants for the plant stall, but however many I manage I am riven with guilt. You see, I haven’t managed to make chocolate and coffee cakes for […]
I have bought a brand new, long-hankered-after plant this summer that might just make my greenhouse a little less full to bursting this winter: a ‘semponium’. I have long loved Aeoniums – beautiful succulents the most well known of which is ‘Zwartkopf’, which has almost black rosettes of leaves on sinuous stems. I think I […]
Don’t get despondent if there are weeds on your patch. Most are wildflowers and have a vital role for our pollinators and insects. In my world there is no such thing as a weed. Weeds are wildflowers. Many of our wildflowers evolved side by side with their pollinators or other creatures that depend on them. […]
For the edible greenhouse collection this little known maritime esculent is Marsh Samphire, Glasswort, Salicornia europaea. Long collected from shallow salt marshes and sand dunes of East Anglia this is NOT the Samphire, Crithmum maritimum, of Shakespeare, which lives on the wind, blasted rocky outcrops of western coasts. Both living in saline conditions are rich […]
Sow spring onions in modules in late August for planting outdoors in September, for harvesting next spring, ideally, they should be protected with cloches or fleece after transplanting outdoors. Germinate oriental vegetables like Pak Choi and mustard and salad rocket in modules for transplanting outdoors and overwintering under cloches or fleece. Begin removing tomato leaves […]
All gardening makes life better in the here and now – but when you plant trees, you’re also growing a better future. Nowadays, amid the wonder, awe and gratitude I feel whenever I gaze upon trees, lurks something else: an odd feeling of sadness. This has nothing to do with how a particular tree might […]
Forest bathing, or taking an aware walk in the woods, has become popular for its health benefits—it’s known to lower blood pressure and boost immunity. The name is a literal translation of the Japanese term shinrin-yaku, or taking in the forest atmosphere. Last weekend I had a chance to go on a guided forest-bathing walk […]
Heat extremes, aka the Heat Dome, such as we’ve been experiencing this past month is not something any gardener would wish to entertain again. Weather conditions are always the no.1 topic of conversations having to do with horticulture, and, clearly, I’m no exception to this rule. Not only have the plants not tended within the […]
Many vegetables in the garden are now ready to be picked, most notably garlic and onions. Some of the potato plants are also ready for harvest. If you grow as I do, in four-foot (1.2m) wide beds rather than in rows, removing plants from the garden leaves large open spaces. For example, I planted garlic […]
Can I grow lemons in my greenhouse? If you want fresh lemons for your summer drinks maybe it’s time to grow a lemon tree in your greenhouse? Growing things to eat is one of the greatest pleasures of gardening and indeed owning a glasshouse. Growing high value ingredients is possibly the number one rule. Add […]
