Author: Geoff Stebbings

Spectacular, colourful, amazing, over-the-top, vulgar and gorgeous are just some of the words used to describe hippeastrum, more often called (wrongly) amaryllis. I have to admit that sometimes I think that hippeastrums are a bit too brassy and brash and then I buy some of the more subtle and unusual kinds. But then I wish…

Before I start, don’t forget the clocks changed last night! Few plants have undergone such a remarkable transformation as the once-humble heuchera. In the last 20 years we have been spoiled with exciting new heucheras that have made them essential for autumn and winter pots as well as borders all year round. No other hardy…

Plants that flower at the start of the year, or at the end of the season, tend to get ignored by garden centre shoppers. After all, we visit garden centres to buy Christmas decorations or warming coffee and mince pies from now on! But late blooms in the garden are incredibly valuable at this time…

Hyacinths are the most neglected of the ‘big three’ spring bulbs. Every garden has some daffodils and most people treat themselves to some tulips each year. But we tend to think of hyacinths as something to grow in a pot for Christmas. Too rarely are they used in our gardens. Hyacinths are relatively expensive so…

There are so many different spring bulbs it can be difficult to know which to choose. In the past two weeks I have discussed daffodils, which are the best for British gardens because they cope well with our variable and often wet winters. They should be perennial, and get better every year. Tulips are a…

Last week I concentrated on planting daffodils in grass. This week I want to explain general planting and planting in pots. Unlike many bulbs, daffodils will flower perfectly the first spring after planting and they will grow and bloom for many years afterwards. If you want to plant pots permanently, you must use John Innes…

Autumn is definitely here. Nights are cold and heavy rain and wind has flattened the last summer flowers. It is sad but we can now think about spring. Nothing is more beautiful and cheering than the sight of daffodils after a long, cold winter and now is the time to plant them. One of the…

It is rather foolish to pick salvia as a ‘plant of the week’ because there are so many salvias! There are hundreds of species and they vary from annuals to shrubs. Everyone knows the brilliant red bedding salvias, treated as annuals, but not everyone knows that the herb sage is a salvia and rosemary has…

Easy and tough, shrubby potentillas are often overlooked as garden shrubs. Their flowers are small and the brown, twiggy stems add nothing to the winter garden. But these unsung heroes of the garden are true workhorses, reliably plodding along creating a haze of delicate flowers. Plant breeders have worked hard to bring this native shrub…

As autumn approaches, and September arrives, I always feel a little sad that summer is fading away. Sometimes even the thought of planting all the tulips and daffodils is not enough to cheer me up. Fortunately there are some autumn flowers that are so bright and wonderful that I look forward to seeing them and…