Inspired by an exhibit at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2021, a book yet to be published and a plant that everyone wants to grow, Jean Vernon shares some juicy tomato pulp gossip info history Pretty much everyone that has or aspires to owning a garden greenhouse wants to grow tomatoes. This enigmatic crop has had […]
Last month I talked about the ripening of my tomatoes and aubergines in the greenhouse, and now it is the turn of the chillies. The tomatoes and aubergines are all but over now: we harvested the last few aubergines for one big glorious end of season bowl of baba ganoush, which will be eaten with […]
Hyacinths huge fat spikes of waxy perfumed blooms are way larger than nature provided and a triumph of both breedersā and growersā skill.Ā Then to also persuade Hyacinths into bloom way out of their natural season is another achievement in itself. The original of our florists or Dutch Hyacinths were until the late 16thC little […]
Check your greenhouse heater to make sure that it works before the cold nights set in, have a roll of horticultural fleece on standby and pay attention to the weather forecast. It is worth investing in a back-up heater, too. There is nothing worse than being caught out by a sudden early frost Leave chillies […]
Stores full of beautifully mounded chrysanthemums is a sign that fall is arriving. If you buy some of these mums for a colorful fall display, you shouldnāt just toss them out when the flowers fade. Greenhouse owners can easily keep these plants going and also propagate more of them. Hereās how. First, you should know […]
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Embracing the alchemy of decay will enhance the life ā plant, soil, wild and human ā in your garden. It was a gamble, but it was also a back-saving, pragmatic experiment from which the wilder life in my garden and I are now reaping rich, dark rewards.Ā Wood ā as chips, mulch, paths, poles, stakes, twigs, […]
The Opus Grand Botanic
Iām not keen on plant names being changed generally, because it can be very confusing. I never look at cimificfugas, tall autumn bottlebrushes with divided rich-burgundy foliage, and think of them as being remotely the same as rather boring, berried woodland acteas. The fact that a botanist has peered into their DNA and found it […]
The time to finally give up on the greenhouse vegetables is coming, but for me itās not here quite yet. The temperature has dropped and when I pop down the garden each morning it is now with a cardigan on, but I am still picking tomatoes and aubergines regularly, for now. Although it hasnāt been […]
Golden leaves are beginning to cloak the upper slopes of the Rockies, and with the aspens turning so turns the season. As the British poet, Philip Larkin, would have it, āAutumn has caught us in our summer wear.ā Just like itās caught generations of gardeners before us. Turning to my treasured 240-year-old edition of the […]
Filling the garden with great plants can be a costly affair, but it doesnāt need to be. There are lots of fabulous garden plants that can be grown from seed, and not just the usual annuals. Pollinator plants Thereās a group of plants that are called biennials. It just means that as opposed to annuals, […]
