I have always believed that you should only write or talk about what you know
With so many different plants to grow, I can’t grow all my favourite plants every year. I am sure you are the same. But there are a few, special plants that I like to have every summer. Many of these are fragrant or aromatic. I always like to have at least a few wallflowers, I…
You may think that secateurs are something you use only in winter but you should really be using them all year round. Apart from using them for cutting flowers, you should be pruning different things all year round. Summer is the time for pruning plums, gages and damsons and peaches. These must never be pruned…
Summer is in full swing now and traditional border favourites such as lupins, delphiniums, iris and peonies are filling well-planned gardens with colour. Of all these, I find peonies the easiest to please and the least work because they bloom reliably every year, are hardy and they live for years, indeed decades. Unlike the bedding…
It can be difficult to get your veg plot started in early spring. The plants grow slowly, seeds may take a long time to germinate and there seems to be an endless list of pests ready to eat your plants before you do. But now that frosts are over and plants are growing so quickly…
This weekend may be all about celebration but gardeners don’t need a reason to celebrate. I have been enjoying the tulips for many weeks now: the cool weather has helped them to last well. The red tulips with the wallflowers have coincided well and done exactly what I wanted – colour and scent. They are…
As children, we probably sowed hardy annuals but they are slightly out of fashion these days. It is a shame because they are some of the most beautiful of all summer flowers and they flower quickly from seed. They often dislike transplanting so are not easy to buy in pots. Instead we sow them where…
Even if you don’t have much of a garden you can grow some tasty veg in containers. A sunny patio area can be very productive and definitely add to your healthy diet even though you won’t be self-sufficient. You may even save some money, but the main benefit is the fresh food and sense of…
With the weather looking like it is going to improve in the next week it is time to think about summer crops. I was a late convert to the true delights of sweetcorn. I must have been 30 when I was visiting an old gardener (well he was about the age I am now!) on…
Happy Easter! I grow a wide range of vegetables and they are all useful in the kitchen and tasty to eat. But the most exciting of all are the squashes. They are just fun to grow. The seeds are large, the plants grow quickly and are often vigorous and huge and the fruits are so…
I am afraid I am a bit of a traditionalist but I am sure I’m not alone when, if I’m preparing a salad, it usually starts with ‘take one lettuce‘! Lettuces are easy to grow and are tolerant of a little frost so they can be grown from March to October without the need for…