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 Save up to 40% on Sarah Raven’s best bulbs! Expires: 24 March 2025 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 March PS Try adding the code MARYGFRAF at the checkout and you’ll get […]
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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 […]
It’s Christmas! Here at last after all that crazy build-up! As usual, we have temporarily hung up our writing quills and devised a quiz for you. Pour yourself a cuppa (or a glass of mulled wine), snaffle a mince pie or three, grab a pencil and paper and have a go at these puzzlers. And if you […]
Here are the answers to our Christmas Gardening Quiz. A. ANIMAL WORD SAFARI: (Mole,) MALE, HALE, (Hare,) HALE, GALE, GALL, (Gull,) CULL, CULT, COLT, (Coot), COAT, GOAT, GOAD, (Toad), WOAD, WORD, (Worm) (13 marks) B. GARDENS IN A MUDDLE: C. GARDEN TRIVIA D. PLANT ID: E. CROSSWORD: Hope you all did fantastically well! MERRY CHRISTMAS […]
The mad mayhem of Christmas is nearly upon us now! But try to find time between gift-wrapping and writing grocery lists for a little horticulture. How about looking after your pot-plants? Or planning your sweet pea campaign? Maybe even planting some blackcurrant bushes… I’m not much of a house-plant gal as a rule – un-trendy to […]
I’ve discovered an amazing new way to grow sweet peas that is better for the plants and better for the planet. I love growing sweet peas and always start them off indoors in late winter/very early spring to be planted outdoors in early May once the weather warms up. I’m trying to move away from […]
What do you wear when you head out to the garden? If only our hobby was like fishing or cycling with a ‘go to’ uniform, we’d know far better what to put on our Christmas list, although frankly The3Growbags in skin-tight lycra? 🫣 That said, the floral, floaty outfits often favoured by Gardener’s World presenters […]
For all of us gardeners this is quite a tough time of the year. After an autumn that was unremittingly dank, rainy and grey, interspersed with occasional fleeting bursts of sunshine, we’re about to embark upon winter proper! That said, this plucky little spurge never complains, it just gets on with looking good. I realise […]
The winter weather has set in good and proper. You are starting a quiet panic about Secret Santas, food shopping and impossible-to-buy-for relatives…. Better turn to some calming horticultural jobs while you can, like sorting out your seed packets, compiling a festive pot or maybe writing your own Dear Father Christmas list… Sorting seeds This is […]
Help! Our gardens have descended into a wintery mess haven’t they? We can’t be the only ones wandering around dismal piles of sodden vegetation where once our summer garden was in rollicking full sail. It’s now that evergreens can come to the rescue. Like the bowls of cheese’n onion crisps that you don’t notice till all the chilli […]
Oregon grape ‘Lionel Fortescue’ Say the word ‘mahonia’ and most people will immediately think of the boring old stereotype M aquifolium, and who can blame them? That’s the one most commonly grown as ground cover in challenging municipal settings and it has few redeeming features. However, my chosen plant today is a hybrid (produced by Lionel Fortescue […]
We’ve got some colder weather round the corner now, all right! But here I am telling you to tear yourself away from the cosy TV winter schedules, put your woollies on and get stuck into some gardening jobs! Make sure all your tender plants are taken care of. Check stored fruit. Or perhaps plan for […]
Spindle – Euonymus europaeus A deciduous shrub or small tree with lovely pink and red leaves in autumn. The white flowers turn to bright pink and orange seeds. Callicarpa bodinieri ‘Profusion’ A deciduous shrub with dark green leaves that get a purplish tint in autumn alongside extraordinary shiny purple berries in clusters on the branches. Berberis […]
We gardeners are generally a resourceful lot when it comes to eco-friendly recycling, and here are a host of the tips and tricks we use. Some of them are a touch weird (- mostly Laura’s judging by the presence of a banana skin on a fern in our feature picture above) , but you’d expect that, […]
This has been the perfect autumn for fuchsias because these trusty plants like it cool and damp. I purchased five plug plants of ‘Delta’s Sara’ 18 months ago and initially they took a while to get their toes stuck in and I began to wonder if I’d bought a dud. However, after a slow start, […]