I have always believed that you should only write or talk about what you know
A little work in autumn works wonders when it comes to a healthy green lawn. Lawns are rather contentious these days. When I started gardening it was perfectly acceptable to spray chemicals against weeds and to spend Sundays devoted to maintaining immaculate turf. Thoughts today often recommend leaving lawns long for wildlife and pollinators. It…
It may seem a strange thing to do but the few weeks following mid August into September are the perfect time to prune apples. When I first mention this the reaction is usually that I am mad and I will be cutting off all the fruits. But summer pruning never cuts off any fruit. And…
Our gardens are full of plants, all growing well. Plants in containers are different to those in our borders because they rely on us to supply all their nutrients and water. So although you can expect the plants in your beds to find their own and the roots to search out water, your patio pots…
Midsummer can be a time when the garden begins to look a bit tired. Sumptuous peony flowers are but a distant memory and delphiniums and lupins are just bare stems, usually spotted with mildew. This month is the most difficult of all to keep the garden looking good. Without annuals and other bedding plants it…
After a hot week, when I have been trying to keep out of the heat so the garden has been a bit neglected, things may be getting back to some sort of normality. Lawns are looking a bit tired and some leafy plants have had a tough time. Any watering was done in the evening…
It has not been an easy year for butterflies. The cold April, followed by a wet May has not been ideal for flying or for the raising of caterpillars but the past week of hot weather has seen larger numbers of adults in our gardens. There are lots of flowers we can plant to provide…
Our summer pots and baskets should be looking perfect right now. All the plants will be flowering well and none will look too tired. Even if you have done nothing except water them they should be doing well on the nutrients in the compost. But this can’t last and if you want your pots to…
It is a sad fact that potatoes are so common that few people think much about them. Bags of them have to be labelled with the variety but most people don’t recognise any variation other than red and white. Admittedly the advent of ‘Rooster’ brought a rush of excitement to the nation but now ‘Rooster’…
While tomatoes are the most popular home-grown crop, far fewer people try their hand at growing cucumbers. Perhaps this is because people feel that there is far less variety among cucumbers and they are not worth growing at home or because they are perceived as more difficult to grow. It is true that they are…
The garden is looking its glorious best and our favourite summer flowers are at their peak. But just as things are looking so wonderful we shouldn’t rest on our laurels and we need to think about how to ensure that things look just as good next year. It is not a great time for planting…