The Garden Year starts now

For most people, the Easter holiday heralds the start of the garden year. There is so much to do in the garden to prepare it for summer. But with so many lovely flowers to buy and enjoy I did take some time out to make a little Easter display. I had a wooden trug in…

Growing for cut flowers

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. Some people feel a bit guilty when they cut flowers from the garden but I always feel that the flowers are even better appreciated when they are in a vase in the home. Few of us have enough room in the garden to plant a dedicated cut-flower plot but most of…

Happy Mother’s Day

For many, spring starts today and most of us certainly think about flowers. If you are giving a gift and don’t want to choose cut flowers, a pot or pack of primroses is sure to be well-received. With an amazing array of colours at Nag’s Hall you will be spoilt for choice. If you have…

To buy or not to buy?

It is cold at the moment but spring is not far away. Over the past few weeks I have been discussing some specific vegetables and how to grow them. Most veg are grown from seed or can be grown from seed. But if you are just starting off growing your own veg it can seem…

Lots of lettuce

Before I discuss lettuce I would like to thank everyone who came to the talks at Betchworth Centre last Thursday and Nags Hall on Friday evening. These were the first evening talks at the centres, with optional meals freshly cooked in the restaurant. It was great to meet you all and it was a lovely,…

Lots of lilies

When I started to garden in a real way, some of the first groups of plants that fascinated me were orchids and lilies. Both groups of plants were rare and expensive – we are talking about the late 1970s and I was a teenager. Both groups are now commonplace and easier to find and grow….

Begonias

With so many flowers to fill our gardens in summer it can be difficult to know what to pick. Twenty years ago the most popular choice for patio pots and small garden beds was the ubiquitous busy Lizzie. But then downy mildew struck and they became almost impossible to grow. Although there are now resistant…

Buckets of beans

When it comes to grow some veg at home, I think that beans are among the best. Apart from the fact that they are nutritious and packed with good things, I like them because they are easy to prepare for the kitchen. There is little washing and trimming needed and they can be from plot…

Grow your onions

Two weeks ago I addressed how to grow potatoes. This week I am going to tackle onions. Why? Well they are the vegetable I use more than any other, probably more than potatoes. They are also quite easy to grow, give a good crop in a small area and there are several ways to start. …

Hedges for health

Most gardeners want to add privacy and shelter to their gardens and divide their plots for design reasons. The gardener is faced with a number of choices to do this. Walls, trellis and fences all offer quick options. Planting a hedge does not offer a quick solution – they take many years to mature and…