I have always believed that you should only write or talk about what you know
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…
If we were busy in autumn and planted our patio pots then we will be enjoying lots of colour now and over the next few months. But, thinking ahead, what should we do when the flowers fade and what should we plant next? Most of my containers are changed twice a year. I remove the…
The recent shortages of salad crops in supermarkets has sparked renewed interest in growing your own. Growing tomatoes is on everyone’s mind. Lots of us grow tomatoes already and we know that you can’t really grow tomatoes to pick anytime except in mid- late summer. That doesn’t bother me because I cook and freeze my…
I can’t imagine a garden without roses. They are the UK’s most popular flowering shrub but many people have a love/hate relationship with their roses. We all love their flowers but roses are prone to diseases and covered in prickles. And the pruning is SO complicated. Well, let’s get a few things sorted. Roses do…
When it comes to growing your own veg I always think you should grow what you like to eat, followed by what you can’t buy in the shops. For this reason I grow quite a few unusual veg. Not all crops are suited to all gardens and, try as I might, I can’t really grow…
I have never needed a reason to grow my own crops; it is satisfying and it is a joy to pop into the garden to pick something for lunch. But with finances squeezed and supermarkets running out of veg, this may be the year to have a go yourself. Over the years I have covered…
When you crave a touch of the exotic in your life, you need cannas. Nothing else gives you that magical combination of lush, tropical foliage and luxuriant flowers. Fortunately they are simple to grow but there are a few tricks to get the best from them. You can buy them in summer as growing plants…
With tall spires of colourful flowers, ideal for cutting, gladioli are very popular. They are easy to grow and the flowers can be bright or pastel shades. They are an easy way to add colour and height to your summer garden. Gladioli are not reliably hardy so they are usually lifted and stored in winter….
Over the past few weeks I have been talking about some of the main summer bulbs and how to grow them. This week I want to mention a few of the lesser-grown summer bulbs that you may not have tried before. Some are not hardy and could be considered ‘summer treats’ but they are all…