Late summer in our garden – and predominant in the beds are shades of purple, lavender, blue and pink; the hot colours of the autumn garden have yet to get into their stride. So, my subject today is the perfect antidote to fit into this misty mix. Neither yellow, nor rust, nor ochre, it is […]
‘Summertime and the livin’ is easy’, so my tasks for you this time are of the more relaxed kind – a little gentle seed-collection, pruning the rambler roses, some feedback from earlier topics…. Nothing too demanding, I trust – you’ll have time to relax and enjoy these all-too-fleeting days of high summer… SEEDS FOR SAVING […]
Which plants have the most evocative scents of summer? At the risk of being called an introverted snob again (Caroline thinks I don’t read what she puts out about me on Twitter) gardening is so much more interesting when you explore the biology behind it. Flowers produce scent to lure pollinators to their nectar. So […]
Given the heavy rain showers that we’ve had recently, and the very strong winds, I’m confident that when it is all over, there will be one plant that comes through it all unscathed. It may just be a form of our common native purple loosestrife, but it is one that can withstand any weather and […]
August, and the hot colours of late summer are starting to glow in the garden. Holidays are in full swing, but there are still a few garden tasks to be getting on with, such as tending to tomatoes and vines, taking some conifer cuttings and picking pears….. TOMATO TIPS Tomatoes that have been looked after […]
It’s that time of the year when you need to rely on a core backbone of plants to burst onto the scene and provide volume and colour through the hottest months. Here in the south east where each summer seems to be warmer and drier than the last (sorry Caroline but it was your choice to […]
This foxglove is a jewel! I know I’m on to a winner when each time I pass a plant I find myself stopping and staring at the wonder of it, and my selection this week is no exception. It is also an absolute magnet for every passing bee which just adds to the interest. The […]
Once July really kicks in, the goodies keep coming if you’ve done all your earlier spadework – early crops to pick, fruit ripening and flowers everywhere! But no time to rest on your laurels – let’s have a go at pruning the plum trees, taking semi-ripe cuttings and harvesting courgettes, amongst other jobs ……. PRUNING […]
Whether it’s our warming planet or the welcome introduction of new cultures to our society, interest in creating a ‘tropical’ or hot weather garden is definitely ‘in’. As you would expect I’m way ahead of my sisters here, having spent 10 years on a project in Madeira, so let me share some tips…. First, create the right microclimate. […]
I made a happy accidental choice when I planted ‘Étoile Violette’ at the foot of our Amelanchier lamarckii: at the time, I hadn’t realised that for many reasons it was the perfect clematis for growing in a large shrub or small tree. Now, our snowy mespilus never looks dull, but there are certain shrubs that, however […]
Now the gorgeous lazy summer days have arrived our gardening tasks are mostly of the gentler and easier kind – hurray! So let’s get going on some deadheading, planting for later summer colour and thinning fruit among other jobs……. Deadhead for a better bed One of my favourite summer tasks is to wander among the flower […]
As you get more into gardening you may start daydreaming about a greenhouse to maximise your horticultural potential, but will this be a sound investment or a white elephant? Perhaps a greenhouse isn’t what you need, and a sunny porch, cold frame or a full blown orangerie is the structure that will make your garden […]
There are alliums, and then there is Allium ‘Spider’; and I fell for mine on a damp, grey October day as I was looking through a row of boxes of bulbs hoping to find a little treat to lift the spirits as November loomed! To be fair, it was the photograph above the box that […]
Here we are in the fabulous month of June, and everything is busting out all over! Still jobs to do, though, such as pruning the early-flowering shrubs, tidying-up the pond, and sowing some winter bedding, and here’s how: Pruning for perfection We’ve enjoyed all the lovely early-flowering shrubs – Philadelphus, Forsythia, Syringa (lilac), Kerria, Weigela, […]
Roses are such an important element of the summer garden, you really should research thoroughly before making your selection. Luckily there are some outstanding candidates to choose from, and we’ve had a go at picking out what we think could be 10 of the very best for you. 1. Rosa ‘Mermaid’. Not for the faint hearted, but […]
There are so many beautiful roses out right now, so how on earth do I choose just one? No rose is perfect, and my favourite today shares certain less attractive traits with many others. Let’s face it, few roses look their best after a downpour and this one is no exception, it really sulks after […]
It is easy to become drunk on plants at this time of year, wandering around the garden half-dazed with all the wonderful growth! But there are still some useful tasks to do such as sowing some biennials, planning companion planting and making some more of your favourite clematis cultivars: BEAUTIFUL BIENNIALS Biennial plants germinate and […]
Okay everyone – its 2019 and the Chelsea Flower Show is definitely ‘back in the room’. After a couple of years of Maltese quarries and giant disco balls there had to be a swing back to proper intelligent gardening and this year we had four cracking Gold Medal Show Gardens to enjoy. Top of the […]
There are well over 400 species in the genus geranium, and so when it comes to choosing one for that precious spot in your garden, it pays to do a little research, and above all, be selective. It is oh so easy to be seduced by the one that happens to be in flower as […]
If you’re prepared to be led by the nose round The Great Pavilion at the Chelsea Flower Show, it will inevitably lead you to the fabulous David Austin rose stand which pumps out swooningly enticing perfumes from its hundreds of roses. The David Austin pedigree is awesome – he developed his first English rose – ‘Constance […]
As regular readers of our blog will know, we three Growbags have in the past operated our own award system for the Chelsea Flower Show, not gold and silver gilts for us, but categories such as ‘best overheard comment’ and our ‘what da?’ moment. For two years running my award for ‘the best moment of […]
Celebrating 25 years at Chelsea this year, Binny Plants from Scotland’s Central Belt are peony royalty. Owner Billy Carruthers is almost reason enough to visit the stand (he was definitely a Chelsea highlight for us as you can see!) but even if you only like peonies just a tiny bit – you’re in for such […]
I bought this fantastic handbag at Chelsea Flower Show last year, but it looks as good now as it did then despite being my constant companion (it’s coped better than my husband in this respect). Picture the scene if you will. I was being supervised by my sister Laura as we trawled the trade stands […]
Well I’ll definitely be going to see the folk at Hartley Botanic when we go to Chelsea Flower Show this week, to tell this Peak District-based firm how much I’ve enjoyed being their customer this last year. They make glasshouses of every shape and size, and their Victorian range is to die for, in my […]
Here we are, full-on Chelsea season and a heap of gardening jobs clamouring for your attention! Let’s have a go at bedding plant cuttings, successional sowing and putting up greenhouse shading, amongst other things: Extending the bedding I expect you’ve bought your summer bedding – fuschias, pelargoniums, dahlias, chrysanths, Surfinia petunias, osteospermums, busy Lizzies, verbenas, argyranthemums, […]
Moving house and taking on a new garden is a big adventure but there are a few pitfalls to be aware of, so we three trusty old campaigners are here with some chat on how to avoid them. First up it’s Elaine……. Okay, well here are a few pearls of wisdom on this topic that […]
On bank holiday Monday a neighbour asked me to take a look at a plant in her garden that wasn’t thriving (a seven year old Euphorbia characias… time to take it out!), and while I was there, she pointed out her Thermopsis montana and exclaimed how much she loved it but in the same breath, what […]
What a wonderful time of year this is! And so much to do! Let’s get on with repairing arches, tidying the spring clematis and taking some cuttings, amongst other things: Fallen arches At the entrances to our cottage garden, we had put three metal arches, and since we had not paid a lot for them, […]
We all want to encourage pollinating insects into our garden but how can we achieve this? Butterflies and moths are challenging as they have a two-stage life cycle, caterpillar and winged adult, whereas bees rear their young themselves so we need only to worry about feeding the grown ups. So I am leaving Elaine the […]
We originally planted this eye catching and bountiful shrub by default. I had been after an obscure shade loving shrub whose name I have long forgotten, so when this bare rooted, twiggy plant arrived (out of leaf) in late winter, in it went and I didn’t give it further thought. Until that is, I spotted […]
Things are becoming exciting in the garden now the days are warming up! I have some tips for you on hardening off plants, pruning evergreens, and making a sweetpea wigwam, among other things….. ARE THEY ‘ARD ENOUGH?! If, like me, you have been madly germinating all sorts of veg and flower seeds inside on windowsills or […]
It’s spring so which blossom is best? Some people swoon over cherry blossom but personally I wouldn’t give a cherry tree house room in my garden. Having to put up with its coarse leaves and those irritating horizontal circles round its bark all year round just for a week of some sycophantic pink froth of petals […]
My head tells me that I should be writing about one of the many spring flowering shrubs that are looking so stunning right now, but my heart tells me to go for this beautiful yet seldom seen bulb that is such an eye-catching plant despite being quite small (8”-10”), and one that fits seamlessly into […]
April garden tasks are almost endless. Sowing seeds, dividing plants, deadheading daffodils and that’s just the start of it! So let’s get going with sowing tender veg, thinning perennials and tidying up ferns: SENSIBLE SOWING It’s terribly easy to feel you must sow all your annual veg seeds as soon as February morphs into March, and I totally […]
March is THE month to buy new primroses. The Primula genus is complex but luckily you’re starting with the most knowledgeable Growbag sister who can guide you through your choices. Lets start with the different flower forms; primroses can be single, double, held aloft on a elongated stem as a polyanthus, or there can be whorls […]
This cultivar, bred in the 1980s by an Irishman named Joe Kennedy, is a beautiful, strong growing, hardy primula, and having chosen it this week as my special plant, I wanted to find out where the name originated. I uncovered more than one explanation, but the one that fits for me was being named after […]