I have always believed that you should only write or talk about what you know
When you visit a garden centre like Nags Hall, looking for a shrub for the garden, it can be a bewildering affair! With so much choice, just what should you buy? To create a colourful display and provide inspiraration, the most colourful plants and those in bloom, will always be at the entrance to inspire…
Most people like the idea of growing some flowers for cutting but few of us have room for a dedicated cutting garden. In a previous job I had to supply cut flowers ‘for the house’ all year round. This can be a challenge but is easy to grow flowers for cutting during the summer months….
Whether you have woken to a blanket of snow or just rain this morning you can cheer yourself up by thinking about your garden display this summer. I know I am itching to sow something and although I have already sown my sweet peas and have just sown some giant onions, it is too early…
I hope you had a good Christmas season. We stuck to our principles again and had a chicken rather than a turkey. We prefer chicken (as does Mia the cat) and there is room in the fridge for nice things rather than a huge turkey carcass. I won’t pack away Christmas quite yet but my…
Just a few days to go now and the big day will be upon us. But as long as the food shopping is done there is still time to get those last-minute presents from Nags Hall. Hardy shrubs, flowering or with berries make great gifts as well as the traditional favourites like cyclamen, poinsettias and…
Christmas is coming! It can be a bit tricky buying a gift for a gardener. Who knows what plants they like best or what they have already got? As a gardener myself I know that something that I use a lot is always welcome. So plant labels, cell trays or fertiliser would always be welcome….
Your attention is probably focussed on the wind today. Mine certainly is and has been all weekend. I hope you did not have too much damage in the garden; my summer house has ‘budged’ but I think everything else is OK. Despite the awful weather the Festive season is upon us. A traditional part of…
Every year, hundreds of new plants are introduced. It is impossible to keep up with them all. Most are variations on a well-known theme and I sometimes feel despair when a new petunia claims to be the best, biggest, brightest or bluest! Surely there are enough petunias! And, by the way, there are now transgenic,…
Well that was an interesting week of weather! With luck the next week will be a bit less extreme. Last week I discussed the advantages of growing apple at home. Although you can grow apples in a very small garden, if you are really stuck for space, or you want something that you can’t buy…
If you need some respite from tinsel and twinkly lights, it is good to know that it is possibly the best time of year to plant an apple tree. Apples are probably the most popular home-grown tree fruit and they can be grown in most gardens. You can even grow them in a pot if…