I have always believed that you should only write or talk about what you know
One of the joys of the summer garden is to see butterflies feeding on flowers – except cabbage whites of course. It is not difficult to plant to encourage these brilliant visitors and there are options other than the ubiquitous buddleias. You do not have to leave your garden to go wild to have them…
Patio containers are a lot more exciting these days than in the 80s! Not only are the pots themselves more varied and attractive, the choice of plants is vast. In addition to new forms of all the old favourites such as petunias and marigolds, there are diascias, nemesias, bacopa and callibrachoas (above) which we had…
I can’t remember when I first grew tomatoes. It was certainly a long time ago. Along with runner beans and beetroot, tomatoes are the most popular homegrown crop. Tomatoes have come a long way in the past few decades although, ironically, the big boost in tomatoes has come from the past with the popularity of…
There was a time, before many of you were born, when lilies were exotic and considered difficult to grow. Like many garden centres, Knights, in my day, would offer loose lily bulbs in boxes and the choice was limited. There was the heavily scented Lilium regale, with white, maroon-flushed flowers and a range of trumpet…
Growing veg at home has its ups and downs. Usually it gets a boost during recessions when people think they can save money by growing their own fruit and veg. Experienced gardeners know that this is not always the case. A lot of things can go wrong and just as you shouldn’t count your chickens…
Here in Ireland, restricted movement means travelling no further than 5km though the UK has looser restrictions. Fortunately, despite my isolated location, the nearest business is a strawberry farm, 1km away, and Wexford is known throughout the country for its strawberries. The recent hot weather has been perfect for early fruit in tunnels to ripen…
Hostas should be in their freshest, finest livery right now. Nothing is quite as beautiful as a mature clump of beautiful hosta foliage. Of course there is a problem and I deliberately didn’t show it in the photo above. It is a shame that I can never write about hostas for long without having to…
I can’t imagine a garden without roses. Whenever I say or write that I find I have to spend the next five minutes or 300 words justifying myself. People have such strong views on them. I know all about the problems with diseases, the aphids, the prickles. But I counter that with the fact that…
Growing up in Lingfield and then Oxted, Sundays often involved family trips to the great gardens of the Weald such as Sheffield Park. It was these that fostered a love of azaleas with their vibrant colours and scent, often accented by a carpet of bluebells. Unfortunately, living in Oxted at the foot of the Downs,…
Clematis are the most popular of woody climbers. They are varied in size, shape and colour and adaptable too. There is a clematis for almost every part of the garden though they are especially popular for clothing trellis against house walls and for patio pots. Curiously, these are not the best places for the majority…