Christmas is coming and it’s more than just the geese getting fat unfortunately. Too many mince pies and not enough gardening going on in The3Growbags lives, but we can still try to keep our brains in trim. Get your glasses and the kettle on in that order and settle down to this year’s The3Growbags Great […]
SECTION 1 Plant ID 1. Nasturtium ‘Milkmaid’ Tropaeolum majus ‘Milkmaid’ Caroline likes the bright primary coloured types but I favour the greater sophistication of this creamy coloured climbing cultivar. 1 mark if you got common name, 1 mark for scientific name and and extra 1 mark for cultivar name. Total possible = 3 2. Rooper’s […]
No point in backing out of it now – it’s time to embrace the festive season in all its mad glory! If you’re wondering how to include the garden in the fun, we’ve got 12 tips on how to do it. None of them involve plastic penguins, vegan sausage meat or Slade screaming ‘It’s Christmas’ […]
I’m not quite sure if it’s me or if other gardeners have had problems with certain of the smaller to medium sized euphorbia cultivars? I’ve tried quite a number, amongst which were ‘Humpty Dumpty’, ‘Blackbird’, ‘Redwing’, and ‘Silver Swan’, but over a relatively short period they failed. E ‘Portuguese Velvet’ was just one of these […]
Here we are again, launching into full-on festive mayhem…What is your preference in the indoor decorations department? All sparkle and flashing Santas, or can I persuade you to go for something subtler and classier collected from the great outdoors? There are other gardening tasks such as pruning vines or acers, or clearing away diseased leaves […]
If your mum, dad, wife, husband, son, daughter or indeed very good friend enjoys gardening, you must visit the Genus Gardenwear website in your Christmas shopping session. Their stock is fantastic and their sizing is forensic. Best of all – use this link and enter our code 3BAGS15 at the checkout – you’ll get 15% […]
What do you give the gardeners in your life for Christmas? There are plenty of options out there, and we’ve curated a whole bundle of ideas so that you can find the perfect gift for them… Click on the photos to find out more about each item and how to buy it, either from our […]
or Indian valerian I’m sure that most of our gardens have been subjected to a few sharp frosts over the last couple of weeks and very welcome they were too – as long as you remembered to get all the half-hardies under cover in time. Once again, the plant I always steer towards when temperatures […]
Once you have taken the summer bedding out of your pots, how about replacing it with some plants to cheer you and your visitors through the winter months? It’s not a good idea to use plastic pots for this, which can be too light and unstable in strong winds, but sturdy frost-proof stoneware ones are […]
To be honest, once we’re deep into November, there is less temptation to get down and dirty in the garden. But if you wrap up warm and step out there, I can assure you that you will find satisfying jobs to give you a cosy glow, such as feeding wildbirds, tidying the hellebores or even creating […]
A plant makes a great gift. It’s sustainable, great for wildlife, and has a longevity that makes it a really meaningful present. We’ve chosen some that we think would make a particularly wonderful present at Christmas. 2. Cornus ‘Anny’s Winter Orange’ – I have grown (and loved) C. sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’ for many years but the newer […]
It’s November – a time for lighting stoves; evening classes; growing amaryllis (more of this later) and essentially, a little sherry to get us through. But ‘to everything there is a season’, and in the garden right now there are some lovely ‘end of season’ hips, berries and seedheads we should be appreciating – for […]
scarlet sage For several years now in our village, I’ve done the rounds with my box of poppies, collecting for the Royal British Legion. As I wander from door to door, I am afforded a fascinating opportunity to peer into my neighbours’ front gardens and to notice how plants are doing. One of these is […]
Mmmm…Thompson and Morgan have 10% off their Christmas plant gifts for gardeners. They have a really nice-looking range of bulbs and plant gifts, from novelty gifts to grow your own kits. Use this link. Ends 31.12.2025 SOME QUICK DEALS TO BEAR IN MIND Genus Gardenwear – You’ll all know people who wear Genus Gardenwear. They […]
You might be thinking that now November is here, you can put away your gardening gear and settle down to daytime telly with a cuppa and a crumpet. But there are still tasks out there that need doing, so how about earning your buttered crumpet by tending to the garden pond, sowing some seeds, or […]
If ghoulies, ghosties and bonfires aren’t really your thing, never fear dearies, we’re here to help you. We’ve found plenty of botanical nightmares out there worthy of The Little Shop of Horrors… The carnivorous plants hold a special fascination, don’t they – monkey cups (Nepenthes), cobra plants (Darlingtonia), Venus fly-traps (Dionaea) and the like. These lure innocent […]
Chinese lantern I regard the Chinese lantern as one of my inheritance plants; my parents grew it in their garden in Kent and as a child I would immerse myself in its magical world of enchantment and spells. In the years that followed I rarely came across another, which is a puzzle to me because […]
Trees and shrubs that round off their summer performance with a blaze of glowing crimson give you twice as many bangs for your hard-earned bucks. But which are the best to choose? In our view, there are some go-to trees and shrubs if you’re after an autumnal blaze… Best trees for autumn colour in a small […]
Yes it’s that time of year again when, with fortitude and determination, we attempt to get our amaryllis bulbs to flower for Christmas week. Are you up for the challenge? Unless you’ve over-summered your amaryllis, you’ll need to buy some NOW. In terms of quality and price you probably can’t beat Lidl. Their amaryllis bulbs […]
The clocks go back tonight – no more pretending that the winter is an age away! But while we are bidding a sad farewell to yet another glorious summer of gardening there are still tasks to be accomplished such as looking after pots of herbs, cutting back spreaders that may harbour snails and slugs and […]
We all make terrible mistakes in the garden every so often … you know it’s true! – and today we are going to fess up to 10 of ours. We are writing in the spirit of ‘Cautionary Tales’, but we can’t help wondering if you’re going to recognise a few of these gaffes as ones you’ve […]
or autumn ox-eye daisy We may be half way through October, yet there are still so many plants looking picture perfect at the moment and the autumn ox-eye daisy is most definitely a main player. The fresh-as-a-daisy, pristine white flowers are such a cheery sight, up to 8cm across with yellowish green centres, they are […]
Christmas Rose – or Helleborus niger is a real favourite for pots etc over the winter months, so we decided to do a bit of a price comparison among some of the big suppliers. When you take into account the size of the plant and the postage rates they are much and such, so choose […]
You may have heard that all three Growbags were in the Scottish Highlands for a few days last week – evading Storm Amy by a whisper before she started wreaking her havoc. In between lovely walks, garden visits and long periods of tea and laughter, we managed to get some jobs done such as late […]
You know that you have been on an epic garden visit when you leave with your preconceptions debunked, the dial on what is possible shifted and you continue to mull over with wonder at what you’ve experienced long afterwards. I was awash with all these emotions after Caroline had organised visits to two very contrasting […]
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How often do the words ‘good autumn colour’ seal your decision to ‘buy now’ when browsing a tree or shrub you hadn’t actually set out to purchase at all? Don’t feel guilty. Trees that round off their summer performance with a blaze of glowing crimson give you twice as many bangs for your hard-earned bucks. […]
Have a look at the trees and shrubs we’ve chosen for autumn colour. If you buy from any of these links it doesn’t affect the price you pay (if you can get any of them cheaper elsewhere, go for it!), but we get a small commission from the suppliers NB If you’re not already a subscriber […]
Thunberg’s bushclover Sometimes I become fixated on a certain named cultivar of a plant, even if it means driving six hours to collect it! Well, I’ll admit we were already going in that direction and I had long wanted to visit Larch Cottage Nurseries in Cumbria, but this was the opportunity I needed and I […]
There’s a nip in the air now, all right! Even here in the soft south, we’ve already had pretty chilly nights. There are still tasks to get on with in the garden in spite of the autumnal vibe, such as planning some new features, overhauling the tool collection, and ordering spring bulbs… Perfect planning Are you […]
Climbing plants can add so much to the beauty of a garden, wall, glasshouse or balcony. Between all three Growbags and our regular columnist, Louise Sims, we grow a lot of them! This is a handy aide-memoire to bring our thoughts about them together into one post. We start with a fairly short list of […]
Summer is definitely over. The swing seats are being dismantled and the BBQs put back in the shed, but this year our gardens seem to be putting on some very welcome ‘plot twists’ before we batten down for winter. Here’s what we mean… 2. As I expect you know, I’m lucky enough to spend my […]
or Arizona beggar’s ticks ‘Hannay’s Lemon Drop’ This is a perfect late-season pick-me-up plant; it’s fresh and uncomplicated and able to hold its own amongst its neighbours. As always when one trawls the internet, there are accurate descriptions that have clearly been written by people with first hand knowledge of their subject, but sadly there […]
We’d like to recommend some good buys gleaned from our 200 years of collective garden pottering. This week’s offers We’ve had a look around to see who has offers on their garden products this week. Here’s what we found: Crocus bulbs to buy now It’s a bit early to plant tulips, and snowdrops are best […]