I have always believed that you should only write or talk about what you know
Despite unusual warmth and heavy rain in some places, there is still plenty of colour in the garden. Many bedding plants should still be flowering well and rudbeckias, heleniums and helianthus, along with asters and even phlox may still be in bloom. But September is not peak time for flowering shrubs. There may still be…
Our gardens are still full of summer colour but it will soon be time to think about spring. Thousands of packs of colourful spring-flowering bulbs will be filling the shelves at Nags Hall to tempt you and they will be selling fast. So if you want the best and newest kinds you can’t leave it…
Last week I took a look at some of the autumn-flowering bulbs you can plant now for sparks of vibrant colour in just a few weeks. Now I want to look at a plant I missed last week for the simple reason that it really deserves a post of its on. There are about 20…
The weather is warm and summery and the garden is full of colour. When we get to September our thoughts, and the shelves at Nags Hall, will be full of spring-flowering bulbs. But before we get to that there is a short period when we should be planting other bulbs – those rather special, autumn-flowering…
Containers of flowers bring colour to patios and places where there is little soil. Hanging baskets, window boxes and pots bring masses of colour to our homes and gardens. They should be looking their best right now but summer heat and especially holidays can quickly cause them to look awful. Whether baskets of begonias or…
When you can’t rely on the weather to keep you warm there are some plants that will bring plenty of heat to your garden. Among these, the two genera I rely on are crocosmias and kniphofias, both African plants. Crocosmias are often known as montbretias and they are familiar plants. They are generally easy to…
Welcome to a lovely sunny day! What a relief. I was talking to a friend who owns a small nursery the other day, bemoaning the weather, and she was saying that her daughter had started to grow her own veg this year but has given up and would not bother again. This is a shame…
Despite the heat of the past few days the summer weather has generally been disappointing so far but it has not been awful for all plants. While my zinnias are a disaster and the legions of snails have demolished my cabbages the cool and moist weather has suited the hydrangeas well. Hydrangeas are among the…
It is one of the basic rules of gardening that the best time to plant shrubs and trees is autumn. There are several reasons for this. The soil is still warm and moist, the shrubs which are just entering dormancy, will have plenty of time for the soil to permeate their roots ready for spring…
If you have some tomatoes in the greenhouse or on the patio things are starting to get exciting! They should be growing well and fruits will be ripening any time soon – if it ever warms up. My own plants struggled in the cool, sunless spring but they are making up for lost time now….