March – what a lot of gardening jobs there are to do this month! I love March – it’s so exciting and full of promise. How about tidying up the borders, planting some gladioli and taking some easy cuttings, as well as dividing herbs, checking some plant supports and planting shallots? Let’s get going: TIDY-UP […]
Nothing adds an air of intrigue and romance into your garden like climbing plants. Draping languorously with sensual tendrils and evocative scents. But they can be expensive….so here are our tips on when you can cut corners and grow your own, and, just as importantly, when you can’t. Let’s start with the classics: sweet peas, […]
Syn:Ranunculus ficaria ‘Brazen Hussy’Lesser celandine ‘Brazen Hussy’ William Wordsworth wrote no less than three poems in celebration of our native, lesser celandine, so can you imagine the raptures if he had come across ‘Brazen Hussy’? Closely related to the buttercup, this tuberous rooted perennial takes me by surprise every year: one minute the earth is […]
I hope the weather has been kind enough to let you get into the garden a bit this February! How about looking after your potted shrubs while you’re out there? Or the aconites? Or maybe sow some more seeds inside? Here are some thoughts about tasks to have a go at, at what’s normally a chilly time […]
So which weeds are the worst and what can you do to stop them? Each weed has its own fiendish strategy to insinuate itself and every garden has its own set of infiltrators, but luckily we three old campaigners are here to guide you through your defence options. 1. Bindweed. It’s those clever devils that invade underground […]
Also known as Corsican hellebore or holly-leaved hellebore. That description, ‘holly leaved’, could put you off. Don’t let it, it isn’t prickly, rather that the handsome leathery leaves have a quietly serrated edge. They also have an almost metallic sheen which perfectly sets off the clusters of palest apple-green, cup-shaped flowers which are very long lasting. […]
Mid-February and I just know that you are desperately in need of some tips on what to do in the garden at this murky time of year. It won’t be long before you’re overwhelmed with spring tasks, so tick off a few now and feel that you’re ahead of the game! COPING WITH CLEMATIS Clematis-pruning […]
The Dawyck experience starts a little before you actually reach the garden. That’s because it lies in the pretty Scottish Borders 28 miles south of Edinburgh. Rolling hills, low stone walls and the babbling River Tweed get you fully in the mood for this great woodland garden which has a devoted following. You see, Dawyck […]
Trees, trees, trees – a joy almost always, I think, but I suspect that some of you who have big trees in your garden (perhaps inherited?) might not be so enthusiastic….?! Do be careful with your choice of garden tree – forest trees need a LOT of space, but boy, do they look dramatic in winter […]
Straight off, I’ll admit that I am not a fan of tender orchids, especially not the sort that are so popular in garden centres: so perfect they could be made of plastic, and the flowers so long lasting that they need dusting. However, several years ago when I was visiting one of my sisters, her […]
The earliest flowers are up, the frogs are starting to croak in our pond, and spring is almost sprung! It’s time to don a cosy jumper and scarf, and tidy up or move some shrubs, sow some beans and sweetpeas, and generally get everything shipshape for the big push next month. During our recent trip […]
So what will the gardening trends be in 2019? E and I have been in Scotland with Caroline this week which gave us all a chance to review some of the pundits predictions on what’s hot for 2019. Gardens resistant to climate extremes. We really do need to prepare for climate Armageddon, but we’re not sure […]
The big reward for me gardening in January, is not only getting ahead of things while it’s relatively quiet, but also coming across all the tiny signs that spring is just around the corner. My special plant today may seem an obvious choice, but it never fails to stop me in my tracks with its […]
“Gardener, if you listen, listen well Plant for your winter pleasure, when the months Dishearten; plant to find a fragile note Touched by the brittle violin of frost”. Vita Sackville-West Over the years, we have often had online discussions about our favourite winter plants – bulbs, trees, shrubs, etc. Our columnist Louise Sims has also […]
Here we are, right at the start of a super new gardening year! So let’s get some early seed-sowing done, as well as some tree-pruning and a bit of veg planning, to satisfy our urge to be ‘up and doing’ after the excesses of Christmas: CHILLIES IN THE CHILLY SEASON You have to give chillies a […]
Let’s get 2019 off to a flying start by looking at some garden projects we can all get stuck into between now and Easter. Christmas can be tiring and New Year’s Eve can get a bit messy (particularly for my two sisters if the rumours are to be believed…) but we all know that gardening can […]
Regular blog readers will have come to realise that I am the only Growbag sister with really good horticultural taste. As it is with plants, so it is with jewellery. I go for understated, timeless class from ethical sources, so was delighted when we came across the work of Kate Lewis at RHS Wisley’s Contemporary […]
I first saw Parrotia persica (a group of three) in the winter garden at Polesden Lacey and wanted one immediately: the sight of those deep crimson flowers erupting from bare branches was captivating. As with many flowers at this time of year you must get up close to appreciate their beauty, but then that is the enjoyment […]
Do you have flowering plants in the house this Christmas? They add a bit of glamour at this time of year, don’t you think? But how do you get poinsettias and amaryllis to stay alive, so they do the same next year? I’m well-known for not having much patience with houseplants, preferring to do my gardening out of […]
Is your body garden-ready? ‘Yes’ we can shout as one, because other than on Naked Gardening Day our hobby requires multiple, stout layers, which, luckily, conceal a multitude of sins. But gardening garb does require a little forethought so here are our tips on what to wear and what to avoid for that essential post-Christmas […]
Otherwise known as the sacred or heavenly bamboo, it is in fact a member of the same family as Berbers and Mahonia. It is the eastern equivalent of holly, being widespread in India, Japan and China. In Japan (where it is often grown in a pot outside the front door), it is said that if you have […]
How to plant lily bulbs and how to crown-lift evergreen trees, as well as get some soul-improving tool maintenance done – these are the tasks I’m covering this week. So take a break from the hectic Christmas shopping and menu-planning, and escape into the garden for a bit…. LOVELY LILIES FOR YOU If the ground isn’t […]
Okay, so if you’re wondering what to do in the garden at Christmas, here are our 12 tips to make the festive season special and absolutely none of them involve queueing, alcohol or recipes for vegan sausage meat. 1. Bring your garden birds close up. Hang your bird feeders right up against your kitchen window; your […]
In the summer months, they are mostly background, but when winter comes, they are backbone. From now on, evergreen shrubs become more and more important as the last remaining leaves of deciduous plants fall to earth. Coloured stems, bare twigs, and silhouettes of trees, all play their part in the winter garden, as do the […]
There are some easy and calming garden tasks such as taking hardwood cuttings, tidying hellebores and pruning apple-trees that will provide a short escape from the mad and panicky festive fray that is now upon us, and this is how to do them: HARDWOOD CUTTINGS Here is a very satisfying and simple way to make more of […]
So you need to organise that one special horticultural Christmas gift…. and luckily we three Growbags are here to guide you to a choice that will be a lasting monument to your fine taste and thoughtfulness. So, before Elaine wades in with a compost aerator, or C suggests shares in that singing reindeer she spotted […]
Around about the time that Vermeer was finishing his painting ‘The Astronomer’, and in the year that Spain recognised Portugal as an independent nation, a man named Richard Kayse from Bristol discovered this beautiful fern growing on limestone cliffs near Cardiff. Two centuries later it had disappeared from cultivation,and it was not until another 200 years had passed,in 1980,that fern expert Martin Rickard set […]
Can we talk about brilliant gifts? So, not the plastic/sugary/laugh-a-minute ones or in fact candles (although who doesn’t love the aroma of lime and basil at Christmas?). We are talking about something contemporary, unusual, with interior-design ‘wow’ that your plant-loving friends will actually love and that won’t wholly break your bank. Interested? Then honestly, log on […]
Let’s 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 that will give you more of a cosy glow than tidying the crockery cupboard or […]
I love November, not just because it’s my birthday on the 29th (sorry but I just needed to make reference to this in public so that C and E officially have no excuses…) but because it’s about the only month in the year when you can actually RELAX. OK so Elaine will try and have you out […]
For years I fought against growing chrysanthemums, probably influenced by their association with funerals, and with those garish bunches wrapped in coloured cellophane on garage forecourts; but recently and most particularly after growing ‘Innocence’ I have come to appreciate their contribution to our garden at what can be rather a sombre time of year. Who could […]
November brings a real winter chill, and you may catch the scent of bonfires in the air as mistletoe and holly berries ripen in the trees. Here are some gardening tasks to keep you warm before you dive indoors for a heartening bowl of soup……….. TOO TOO TULIPS! November is the best time to plant […]
The end of October, and the shops are full of skeletons and pumpkins as Halloween approaches. Don’t think that the horticultural world can’t join in the spooky fun though; there are plenty of botanical nightmares out there worthy of The Little Shop of Horrors. The carnivorous plants hold a special fascination – monkey cups (Nepenthes), cobra plants […]
Time for a tree – and what a year it’s been for our Eriobotrya (or if you prefer it’s common name, loquat). Most often, after an average summer, we will be rewarded with a few late flowers: they are a little insignificant to look at, but beautifully fragrant, and there is no greater delight than […]
The lovely autumn leaves are starting to flutter and fall, and it’s no longer possible to ignore the shortening of the days now – our wonderful summer has come to an end at last, and we gardeners must think about winter-protection, as well as planning for next year, even while we are savouring the gorgeous […]
Virtually all of us know someone who has been affected by breast cancer, so this week we are going pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Day on Friday 19 October and suggesting some pink additions to your garden that you could purchase now, along with a donation to Cancer Research. And actually it is […]