I have always believed that you should only write or talk about what you know
Saving seeds from your plants may seem like a lot of work and hardly worth the effort but it can be simple to do, help you produce lots of plants at little expense and it can save you money too. Before we go into details of how to do it – and there are different…
Most people plant their patio pots in May to provide colour all summer. These pots are probably looking a bit scruffy by now. Many people leave the pots in their dead state over winter, only paying them attention at Easter! Yet they should be replanted now and they will give colour and interest through autumn…
Ground cover plants seem to be nature’s gift to gardeners. They promise a colourful and interesting way to fill expanses of the garden while smothering weeds. A few decades ago they were all the rage. Before that it was heathers and conifers which was very much the same thing. Now it is prairie planting. Many…
As autumn approaches and flowers become something of a rarity in the garden, it is berries that supply a lot of the colour. We tend to think of berries as red but there are lots of other colours too. The most important groups of plants for berries are the cotoneasters and pyracantha and both are…
It is time to think about spring. Yes I know it seems a little early but spring bulbs need to be planted in the next two months. The cold night last Thursday was a reminder that autumn is on its way even though it is warm now. Daffodils are among those that should be planted…
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…