Three, er, maturing sisters, talk about plants and gardening and a bit about how we’ve been sisters for over 60 years. Our gardens are in England, Scotland and Normandy.
Why do we garden? Ever since the pandemic lockdowns we have rightly heard bucketloads about Gardening for Well-being. But what does ‘Well-being’ actually mean to you? Is it something about control over Nature, or the very reverse? We 3Growbags have differing views, as you no doubt expected………. There are a myriad of reasons why we’re […]
More than a biscuit but not as indulgent as cake, and just perfect with your morning coffee, rock cakes have, over the years, become a quasi-mythical currency with us 3 Growbags. I rarely travel on any visit with or to my sisters without a little Tupperware box with a few in (especially to Caroline’s where the […]
Did you all take last week’s blog message to heart? The one that said make some notes about what you’ll do differently next year? We 3Growbags have all resolved on at least three changes we’ll make – maybe they’ll spur you into action on your own patch! Good old George Bernard Shaw said: ‘Those who cannot […]
Which plants have the most evocative scents of summer? This week we have been sniffing our way around our gardens, and come up with a few suggestions for plants that provide wonderful fragrance in high summer.. At the risk of being called an introverted nerd yet again by you-know-who, gardening is so much more interesting […]
Late-blooming climbers are a great way to give your garden a real fillip in August! Dozens of perennial flowers are turning into a mass of seed heads, but there are some climbing and rambling plants that will revel in late summer sunshine. We all have our favourites, of course, and we chat about eight of […]
If the extent of your forays into vegetable cakes only stretches to carrot cake, then here is another yummy creation to add to your armoury. This is a moist, tangy cake, wonderful served straight from the fridge on a hot summers day. I’ve tried several different courgette cake recipes over the years and this is […]
Gardens need a bit of structure (as do we all, at times!), but many of these features cost a small (or large) fortune. This week we have come up with some ideas for ways to add garden infrastructure without needing to sell off the children or eat bread and gruel for a year……… Yes, you can […]
Today we’re talking about some of our favourite summer shrubs. Everyone knows about the spring beauties – philadelphus, spiraea, azaleas and the like, and of course, they are lovely. But somehow the summer bushes get overlooked amongst all the mad floweriness of perennials, annuals and bedding. Let’s redress that balance now (I warn you, Laura’s are particularly […]
Oh, it’s been WET, hasn’t it! What a damp start to the summer! There have already been so many events affected by the rain – even the Trooping of the Colour didn’t get through unscathed. We know that Caroline is quietly thrilled that we Southerners have been getting Highland weather for months now. But some plants have […]
We are chatting about our favourite lilies this week, those glorious additions to the summer garden. But there are actually dozens of flowers with ‘lily’ in their common name, so Elaine and Caroline have had a somewhat looser approach to the topic than pedant Laura… When the topic of lilies was first mooted by the […]
As much as the plants, the big news at Chelsea this year was.…water. As if there wasn’t enough falling from the sky earlier, it was tinkling, eddying or tumbling down rusty pipes, from galvanised tanks and over pebbled streams so universally we had to make several ‘wee’ stops within two hours of arriving. It’s clear […]
Who doesn’t love some gorgeous pots of plants around their door or patio through the summer? Well let’s get going! There are a few simple rules regarding container, soil/compost, aspect and maintenance, and then the world is your lobster! Naturally, we don’t all agree about what to put in our pots… First of all, a […]
So you’ve bought your ticket /sucked up to an RHS member to get you a discounted one; you’ve nodded off to Monty & Joe’s blissful nightly coverage, and now it’s the big day – you’re off to Chelsea Flower show – so what’s it like? Getting to Chelsea Flower Show Well first off, getting there […]
As we lean into the horticultural excitement of Chelsea Flower Show, one of its leading exhibitors, Kevock Garden Plants, has partnered with The3Growbags, to share their insights into the specific joy of alpine plants. This Scottish nursery has won Chelsea gold eight times in the last 10 years and took the show’s President’s medal last […]
You can spend a fortune on garden supports nowadays but which are really worth the money? And what can you make yourself to do the job just as well? In this blog we’ll be sharing some of our tips. Elaine has an ingenious hack with upturned hanging baskets, Laura will be doing some civil engineering […]
Some flowers are just horrible in a vase, aren’t they! For a start off, some smell AWFUL – flowering currant (Ribes) smells of cat’s pee, crown imperials (Fritillaria imperialis) smell of foxes, and sea hollies (Eryngium) smell of …..poo! But there are some blooms that are perfect for a vase indoors and we 3Growbags […]
If you’re cutting flowers for a vase we’ve got a few tips to make them last longer and more beautifully:
Surely we ALL know by now that plastic is harming our precious planet? But the horticultural world is still full of it! How can we, as responsible citizens of our beleaguered environment, reduce our reliance on plastic in the garden? We 3Growbags have come up with nine ideas for you……. The Royal Horticultural Society has a sustainability […]
How many plastic pots have you got in your shed? Dozens, hundreds, thousands? When did you last buy a plant that was in a properly biodegradable container? There has been in recent years a quantum shift in the way other retail outlets issue plastic packaging – you must pay a premium for a plastic bag almost […]
Suzie Dewey, from the Hardy Geranium Nursery shares her top tips on geraniums with The3Growbags, and makes a great offer just for our gang (at the end of this post). Hardy Geraniums are herbaceous perennials and for the most part they are fuss free and super easy to grow. They require minimal maintenance, and, in […]
Are you charging around your patch like a demented chicken trying to get on top of all the jobs crying for attention? No? Well, you jolly well should be! We 3Growbags have compiled a handy list for you to work through before you get to wine-o’clock… Now here’s the thing – DON’T prune any of the […]
Are plant catalogues thudding through your letterbox thick and fast right now? Most have pages and pages of petunias etc guaranteed to flower non-stop all summer long. What are your thoughts? (please do let us know!) We think the same flowers all summer is a bit dull but then neither do we want a mid-season lull. No, […]
I always have to keep a very tight rein on Elaine and Caroline at the Garden Press Event. Despite their advancing age, they have a habit of trying to flirt with the stallholders instead of paying attention to the new products the Horticulture Trades Association (HTA) and Garden Industry Manufacturer’s Association (GIMA) have been kind […]
I was so sure ornamental grasses and classy seedheads were the ‘it’ girls of winter these days, that I fully splashed out on them – stipas, calamagrostis, pennisetum …you name it, I’ve got it. Good heavens, I’m only one unwise purchase away from pampas grass. You can, then, imagine my dismay this week when Elaine […]
February might hold St Valentine’s Day, but the garden can still be very dreary. We’ve been out trying to find some pops of joy and colour – and just look what we found! Of course what is now blooming in southern UK probably won’t be thrilling Caroline in the Highlands until the back-end of April, […]
Have you got some plants growing in your garden that you actually kinda hate? We are not talking full-on weeds here, but flowers, shrubs or even trees that you actually bought and still tend, even though your love-affair with them has long since ended. We Growbags certainly have, and here are ten with which we have […]
Are you planning to make some eco-friendly changes to your garden this year, but don’t know how to go about it? Time was when the idea of gardening was to manhandle your outdoor space into submission. But now we know we must work WITH nature, not against it. We’ve got some ideas about how to make […]
As we close one year and start the next, we’re sharing which garden plants and projects got the thumbs up from each of us in 2023. Luckily for Caroline we’re also prepared to ‘fess up’ about the plants that failed and which projects sank without trace, so she shouldn’t be short of material for this […]
Oooh, it’s nearly Christmas! You can practically hear the reindeer tinkling on the roof. We 3Growbags are very busy baking mince pies and stuffing stockings but still wanted to set you a jolly Christmas quiz before we rush off to baste a bird or something. Elaine has some word puzzles for you, Laura has done […]
Plants – what better Christmas present is there? They’re a GOOD THING for the planet, sustainable, personal and promise a lifelong connection with the giver. Truly, they’re a great gift idea, but what plant should you choose at this slightly tricky time of the horticultural year? Although this is our 200th post (and our 65th […]
I love the month November, because it’s about the only month in the year when you can actually RELAX in your garden. OK, so Elaine will try and have you out turning the compost or planting bare root hedges, but honestly there’s no need, you CAN just swan around the garden clasping a hot drink […]
After the glories of summer flowers, we can still revel in these bright jewels of late autumn and winter. This we week we choose our favourite 10 berries but as usual there is disagreement on wild versus cultivated varieties, the speed with which they’re consumed by birds, and even what constitutes a berry in the first […]
Once upon a time, summer was a hot season and was followed by autumn, which was cooler and then winter, which was properly cold (back when baths were once a week; Christmas lights didn’t appear until December and no one had heard of Net Zero). But now we live in precarious climatic anarchy in which sunny, […]
Have you got certain items that MUST be with you whenever you go into the garden? It might be particular clothing, tools, equipment or maybe even sustenance. We 3Growbags definitely have, and we are expecting some knowing nods of agreement among our readers as we tell you about them… Trousers with knee-pads. Whoever invented these deserves to […]
Caroline’s increasing competence as a gardener meant I was reasonably relaxed when she accompanied me to an innovative event at the hallowed horticultural Mecca, Great Dixter, last week, without too much fear of embarrassment. During the presentation an important fact emerged; an ecological audit had revealed the garden areas had a higher biodiversity count than […]
Great Dixter, a garden that once seen, can’t be forgotten but could you as easily, recall its sounds? Last week The3Growbags were invited to this iconic garden, created in East Sussex by the late Christopher Lloyd, to learn about its biodiversity ethos – as it’s heard. Stopping briefly to offer sympathetic noises for Elaine who […]