Lots of lovely plants in your garden ? Great! But how are you going to help them give you your best summer flowering ev…er? We 3Growbags have a few ideas to share with you (be prepared for some dramatic differences according to location and attitude). I reckon that looking after the plants in your garden […]
fringe cups This lovely hardy perennial is a tried and tested old favourite, yet as spring gets into its stride, I am once again reminded of the contribution it makes to our garden at this time of the year. Always a welcome sight, the upright spires of creamy white flowers, bell-shaped and tinged with pink, […]
Hard to beat the first days of May for the sheer exuberant beauty and promise of the new season! But while we wander around revelling in all the new shooting growth and fresh leaves, there are jobs to be done – some potting, some pruning, some sowing, some dead heading………. Pampering the plugs All the […]
A late Easter can be a joyous thing, especially if it’s preceded by a fortnight of gorgeous weather! All the spring flowers are leaping up and we each have our favourites to enchant us while we munch Hot Cross Buns and shameful amounts of chocolate.. Ah, spring is such a lovely time of year – […]
Canary Islands wallflower Almost every gardener must be familiar with, and love Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’, and many enthusiastic adjectives have been used to describe this wallflower over the years: but subtle is not one of them, neither for its colour nor its habit, whereas I have been watching and waiting for my beautiful E scoparium since […]
We 3Growbags were in Bristol last weekend designing a new garden for Caroline’s daughter. It gave me ALL SORTS of ideas for this week’s tips column: plant supports, hardening off tender plants and how to grow rosemary amongst other things… Hardening off Have you got a load of trays of tender veg and flower seedlings […]
This week we three are picking out the vegetables that we think are really worth the effort of growing. Elaine, as a great all-round gardener, is speaking from personal experience, Laura finds vegetable-growing a bit too mundane, but still has opinions on what is most rewarding for her long-suffering husband to grow. And Caroline – […]
or dog’s tooth violet ‘Pagoda’ ‘Pagoda’ is one of the most delightful of spring woodland flowers and it definitely ranks high up on my list of favourites for this time of year. The good news is that you don’t need a woodland to grow it – obviously. All you need is a shady spot under […]
Spring is gathering pace and it’s most welcome! But so are the gardening jobs and it’s time for plenty of hustle and bustle. This week we must turn our attention to pruning certain shrubs, optimising the summer perennials and successional sowing amongst other things… Giving shrubs a spring clean There are a lot of ways that […]
This week we are all primed for action! Not for planting things though, but digging things out! Are there plants or features in your garden that need a severe culling before you achieve that dream? We 3Growbags have certainly got a few and are ready to harden our hearts and wield that machete…… First up […]
THIS DRAW HAS NOW CLOSED. But so please keeping following up for more to come
Burkwood osmanthus The genus Osmanthus belongs in the olive family (Oleaceae) whose members also include lilac, forsythia and jasmine; and the epithet refers to the nurserymen and brothers Arthur and Albert Burkwood who, in the first half of the twentieth century bred improved varieties of certain of their favourite shrubs. One of the parents of O x burkwoodii is O. delavayi; as you […]
Things must be stirring now, even in the coldest gardens! Shoots popping up all over the place, birds starting to sing like they really mean it, some genuine warmth in the sunshine – lovely! But we must get BUSY now – reinvigorating the borders, controlling the mint and getting the cannas going for starters… Prepping your summer […]
We’re all about hellebores this week! We have our favourites of course, but in amongst the hundreds of varieties now available, we have also found some horrors (though of course we don’t always agree on which ones!)…. Did you know the latest fad is to have freckles tattooed over your nose? I hated mine when I was young but freckles […]
Variegated greater periwinkle – This beautiful variegated form used to be called ‘Elegantissima’, which is a rather more imaginative name for a plant that is a far cry from the thuggish plain-leaved original. Some gardeners might still find it a little over-enthusiastic but I find it relatively easy to keep in check. It’s often described […]
Wonderful! It’s March. It’s seed-sowing time! It’s time to get started on all sorts of flower and veg seeds. Sowing your own will save you a FORTUNE on plant-buying and give you a bucketful of satisfaction and joy into the bargain. Let’s also take some crazy-simple cuttings, sort out the dogwoods, and tidy the ferns too… Feeling […]
Whoo hoo it’s nearly time to get cracking on your sweet pea journey! There must be a reason why sweet peas beat roses in a recent poll on the UK’s favourite flower. Personally I think it’s because there is a degree of skill needed to grow them, (which would also explain why Caroline has varying success […]
or Cornelian cherry The common name of this cornus I found rather confusing until I learnt that Cornel is another name for dogwood, and I am guessing that the cherry part of the name refers to the gorgeous glossy red, edible fruits it bears in the summer. Native to Southern Europe and Turkey, Cornus mas has been naturalised here for […]
Nothing gets the Growbags’ juices flowing like an early preview of all the new horticultural innovations coming our way this year. So an invitation to the annual Garden Press Event even flushed Caroline out of her Highland hideaway and down to Islington this week (although she nearly got sent straight back to Scotland when she […]
Not sure about you, but I’m beginning to long for some brighter, warmer, drier spring days! Caroline in the far north has had cold but lovely sunny weather, surely there is something better on the horizon for us in the south? Still, there are tasks to be getting on with in the meantime, such as putting […]
THIS DRAW HAS NOW CLOSED. Do keep following us though at The3Growbags on Twitter, Facebook and instagram for more competitions to come.
Still too cold and wet to get stuck into any serious practical work outside, now is the time for dreaming up new features for your garden. Our advancing age (now combined 207 years) appears to have engendered a certain dottiness in our respective plans for 2025, but we’ll let you be the judge of our […]
It’s been quite a winter hasn’t it? Yet even rain does occasionally show off plants to their advantage. There are a few that seem designed to catch raindrops on their leaves and so it was this morning as I walked along the path next to our vegetable patch. These can be rather dismal looking places […]
It always feels such a long cold time until February, doesn’t it! But it’s here now, and by the end of this short month, spring will be waving a tentative ‘Hello!’ from every corner. We hope. Plenty to get on with now though in preparation for that, like re-vamping your borders, mulching pots, and dividing some succulents… […]
What a pleasure annual flowers can be! From seed to glorious blooming in one year, they represent one of the miracles of plant growth. If you’re planning what to grow this year, we have 10 ideas for you…… No, I love the simple pot marigolds, with their bright cheery faces and their propensity to spread seeds […]
Sempervivums are of course a massive subject, and although usually I’m a stickler for correct horticultural nomenclature I am afraid that I fall into that category of gardener who loves sempervivums but fails to remember all their names. This is due to a number of reasons: some are remarkably similar to each other and I don’t […]
This free draw has now closed but stay tuned – we’ll have more in future!
The middle of January and we gardeners are all the same. Our fingers are already itching to get started on our 2025 garden! Recent severe weather might have kept us indoors, but it’s time to get weaving. How about trying some cuttings in water, sowing some seeds, and pruning some shrubs ………. Cuttings in water Regular […]
Hands up if you’ve ever bought a plant simply because of its name…….not just us then! This week we’re owning up to being seduced into plant purchases based largely on what’s written on their label. Expect a proliferation of Greek goddesses and literary national treasures from Elaine, some eclectic offerings from Laura. Caroline? No doubt […]
Honeysuckle ‘Winter Beauty’ A gardening friend came round for a coffee the other day and as we sat at the kitchen table where I had placed a stem of this gorgeous honeysuckle, we suddenly realised that we should instead be outside enjoying the sights and scents of the garden in winter. So we pulled on […]
If your own plot seems a little overwhelming at times, please visit the garden at 2 Durmamuck on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands. Here Will Soos and Susan Pomeroy have created a simply breathtaking gardenscape of such a scale that it sits in proportion to the mountains and sea loch that frame it. Just […]
Sarah Raven Free Delivery this weekend! Shop this weekend to get Free Delivery on top of 40% discount on Sarah Raven’s bulb collection!Starts: 21 March. Expires 23 March (23:59) YouGarden If you’re contemplating a lemon or orange tree this year, now might be the time to buy one from YouGarden! They have deals on! Expires 31 […]
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The top five mowers for 2025 Yes it’s grass-cutting time again. If you’re thinking of getting a new mower, have a look at the top five mowers for 2025 according to ‘Which’ consumer magazine. Some of our links are affiliate links – if you buy the product we may get a small commission but it […]
Happy New Year! Are you starting 2025 bursting with good intentions for your garden? So am I! Things are pretty quiet out there at the moment. But there are still tasks to do that will pave the way to your best ever gardening year. How about sorting out that junk-filled shed, persuading the chillies to get through the […]