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…
While tomatoes are the most popular home-grown crop, far fewer people try their hand at growing cucumbers. Perhaps this is because people feel that there is far less variety among cucumbers and they are not worth growing at home or because they are perceived as more difficult to grow. It is true that they are…
The garden is looking its glorious best and our favourite summer flowers are at their peak. But just as things are looking so wonderful we shouldn’t rest on our laurels and we need to think about how to ensure that things look just as good next year. It is not a great time for planting…
When it comes to luxuriant summer colour you can’t beat begonias. The variety is huge, with every colour except lilac and blue, the blooms can be small or massive and they can be used in borders, window boxes and patio pots. The most popular for bedding are the Semperflorens kind, which are called wax begonias…
It won’t be too long before it is time to dig up the first new potatoes. In fact, there may be a few in the bags I planted in the polytunnel, but I will wait a little longer. But even outside, early potatoes are usually ready to lift in early July. A good sign is…
I can’t remember when I first grew tomatoes. It was certainly a long time ago. Along with runner beans and beetroot, tomatoes are the most popular homegrown crop. Tomatoes have come a long way in the past few decades although, ironically, the big boost in tomatoes has come from the past with the popularity of…
There was a time, before many of you were born, when lilies were exotic and considered difficult to grow. Like many garden centres, Knights, in my day, would offer loose lily bulbs in boxes and the choice was limited. There was the heavily scented Lilium regale, with white, maroon-flushed flowers and a range of trumpet…
Growing veg at home has its ups and downs. Usually it gets a boost during recessions when people think they can save money by growing their own fruit and veg. Experienced gardeners know that this is not always the case. A lot of things can go wrong and just as you shouldn’t count your chickens…