Let’s celebrate the New Year by planting a tree! Or lots, if you have the space and right environment for them. Human beings have already wiped 40% of the world’s trees off the face of the earth. In summer 2019, research led by experts at ETH Zurich (one of the world’s most prestigious universities in […]
Unlike many of its springtime show-off cousins, this is an understated and elegant small tree, and one of the best for winter interest in the smaller garden. Deciduous and spreading, its leaves show good autumn colour, and they are followed by delicate, semi-double, white flowers tinged with pink, which can appear intermittently throughout late autumn and […]
I Want to Like My Garden by Rachel McCartain A review by the3Growbags This book starts with the premise that gardening is a boring chore, which probably echoes the feelings of a lot of people. Starting from this rather negative outlook, it launches into quick fixes for this attitude, and we enjoyed the unusual analogies […]
New year, new beginnings – hurray! And even in the deepest days of winter, you can get on with some tasks that will make you feel that spring is on the way – clearing things up ready for the early bulbs, pruning the shaggy shrubs, ordering seeds………. Sprucing up for early spring There are plenty of […]
1. Horticultural quotations a) rosebuds b) violets c) apples d) flower e) rosemary (10 marks) 2. Tangled trees a) magnolia b) laburnum c) holm oak d) chestnut e) hornbeam f) sycamore (12 marks) 3. Flying birds a) DOVE, love, live, LIME b) SWAN, swat, seat, teat, TEAK c) SHAG, sham, slam, slum, PLUM (16 marks) […]
Yes at last it’s quiz time! Elaine’s been persuaded to set aside her dreary winter tasks (does anyone else actually wash their greenhouse?) and Laura’s obsessive bulb-planting has briefly subsided leaving a tiny window for FUN! We’ve put together a gardening quiz for you to dip into over the Christmas hols. You can click on […]
If you spot an apple tree still bearing fruit at this time of the year, chances are it will be a Sturmer Pippin. This is a very late cropping variety that was highly regarded in the Victorian period because it keeps so well on (and off) the tree; it will remain hanging on into January […]
ANSWERS TO THE 3G CRYPTIC CROSSWORD 2021 Across: 4. Sunflower Seeds 6. Dogwood 7. Chestnuts 11. Laura 13. Mistletoe 16. Parsnips 17. Elaine 18. Holly Down: 1. Cyclamen 2. Tangerine 3. Noel 5. Frost 7. Caroline 8. Blue Spruce 9. Poinsettia 10. Evergreen 14. Sprouts 15. Winter Box
QUIZ ANSWERS ID Test 1. Answer: The spindle tree, Euonymus europaeus, whose pretty pink fruits have now split open to reveal the orange arils, the pulp-covered seeds. The pulp is a rich nutritious food source for blackbirds, and particularly, robins, although the seed itself is toxic and thus passes through birds gut intact. The spindle […]
ANSWERS TO THE 3GROWBAGS PRIZE CHRISTMAS CROSSWORD ACROSS: 2. Jute 4. Pond 5. Birch 7. Sage 8. Sloe 9. Moss 11. Gala 14. Daphne 15. Carrot 16. Heather 17. Sedge 18. Rhubarb 19. Pineapple 23. Gladioli 25. Cane 26. Chitting 27. Primula 28. Raspberry DOWN: 1. Dixter 3. Trowel 6. Clematis 7. Sycamore 9. Mulch 10. Spade 12. Cranesbills 13. Heuchera 20. Iris 21. Physalis 22. No Dig 24. Lime
Ooh, it’s nearly here now! But before we lose ourselves utterly in the chaos and magic of Christmas, let’s get a few jobs done like feeding the birds, tending to the houseplants, and sowing some alpines…… Don’t forget the birds! Everyone getting excited about the delicious food and drink we are going to consume over […]
What could you give a gardener for Christmas that would truly revolutionise their gardening experience? – a razor hoe, that’s what. Honestly, I can divide my life into two distinct phases, pre-razor hoe and post-razor hoe, it’s that good. And no, I am not getting a backhander from Burgon and Ball, apparently their razor hoe […]
Willows are a diverse lot, but if it’s shout-out-loud winter colour you’re after, then look no further than my subject today – it simply cannot be ignored in the December garden. Known also as the scarlet willow or the coral bark willow, the young stems are nearer orange than red, and they create a fiery […]
Question 1. It’s called the gin and tonic plant! If you brush against its foliage it emits the fragrance of a delicious G & T. Chin chin! 2. Plant identification A. Helleborus foetidus. Grows best in thin chalky soils and I snapped this striking specimen last December, obviously loving life in car park of the […]
What with the weather being very regularly…..meh in December, some of my tips this week have a somewhat ‘indoorsy’ feel – herbs in window-sill pots, and bringing in bulbs to flower for Christmas, for instance, amongst such hardier pursuits as compost-heaps and mulching the Agapanthus………And don’t forget to click on to our Shop Page at the bottom […]
Let’s help the planet by giving plants as Christmas presents this year. If you choose wisely you can give something that not only looks lovely on the day but is a great investment for years to come (so this rules out those factory-produced poinsettias Caroline buys en route at a garage forecourt) As the most […]
Despite falling temperatures, still this china rose is in flower. Okay so it’s not a blaze of colour as in the summer months, but I’m so impressed by its persistence. On any given day during this very damp grey autumn I have counted at least a dozen flowers, and many more buds, on our rose. […]
Got some beetroot and apples from the garden looking for a delicious recipe? With huge thanks to our very good friend and master gardener Bill Tait, here’s a fabulous recipe for a hearty soup. Laura confirms it’s totally delicious! Ingredients: One large onion – chopped Two or three potatoes – chopped Two large cooking apples […]
Now every shop on the High Street has stocked up its Christmas aisle, and you’ve been panicked into buying your first gifts for nearest and dearest, get some little gardening jobs done before the mayhem really kicks in. Planting tulips, pruning vines and cleaning labels can all be on your to-do list this month……. TIME […]
Answers at the end ? 1.Who was the father of plant nomenclature? a) Charles Darwin b) Carl Linnaeus c) Alfred Einstein c) Sir David Attenborough 2) Why are scientific names more useful than common names? a) they are unique and recognised globally b) they are easier to spell c) they never change d) they make […]
Plant nomenclature is a huge topic and you can delve as deep as you like – there’s always more to learn! Common names versus scientific names Plants have two different sorts of names, a common one, such as sweet rocket, and a scientific one, in this case Hesperis matronalis. The benefit of having a scientific […]
When Caroline said that in a fit of madness, she had booked the 3growbags to give a talk at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, my first thought was a calm and thoughtful ‘WHAT!!?!’ I was overwhelmed with questions – ‘What will we talk about? Who will come? Would we master Powerpoint? Would Caroline behave […]
Now, I realise the photograph of my chosen plant this week may not be everyone’s idea of a horticultural gem, but with each year that passes I become more fascinated with the seasonal change that is autumn. There is an allure beyond the beauty of colour; gentle decay can also be a fascinating, eye catching […]
Brrrr! It can be hard to feel keen about wading into the garden in November– too much cold, too much wind and rain or worse…….but there are still jobs to do including some cleaning and tidying, planting a pot for winter colour, refreshing the rhubarb patch…… A GOOD WASH AND BRUSH-UP Now the main season of […]
Hi folks, so sorry for a second email this week, we promise we won’t make a habit of it but we recently moved to Mailchimp to issue our weekly blog and, YIKES! some people say they’re not getting it because it’s going straight into their spam folder. We’re so sorry if this is the case […]
Ingredients: 400g rhubarb, cut into 1cm pieces 9 tbsps golden caster sugar 4 medium egg yolks 450ml double cream half-teaspoon of vanilla essence What you do: Put the rhubarb pieces in a small roasting tin and coat them with 3tbsps of the sugar. Roast them at 200 degrees for 20 mins. until they are really […]
Help! Our gardens have descended into a soggy mess and I can’t be the only one wandering around dismal piles of rain-sodden vegetation wondering where it all went wrong. It’s now that evergreens in your garden can come to the rescue. Like the bowls of cheese-‘n-onion crisps that you don’t notice at a buffet till all the […]
It is often said of plants: ‘should be more widely used’, or ‘not often seen in gardens’, and I am pretty sure I know why you could say that of my choice today. It is at its peak in October, and often into November, so it’s not going to make many sales in nurseries and even […]
Whoa, it’s properly autumn now, isn’t it! Even in the south we have had some seriously wet and windy weather recently, but there are still jobs we can do indoors, such as drying chillies and planting amaryllis, so let’s get on with them……. STRING ‘EM UP! We became very excited about our chilli crop […]
As regular readers of our blog will have come to realise, of the three of us I am the one with the most inquiring mind, the fact finder, the researcher. So my holiday reading on our recent break to the Hebrides was a copy of the recently published ‘A History of Gardening in 50 Objects’ […]
So the weather is unseasonably balmy, but The Sun is as usual predicting the coldest winter for 30 years (Elaine won’t have seen this headline, she pretends to only look at the Times ….) and there’s a restless feeling afoot that one should be doing something to prepare. It’s probably a hangover from our Neolithic […]
This year, despite having had our first frost a couple of weeks ago, October is brimming with subtle colour; in the early morning the plants are lightly shrouded in dew, often covered in cobwebs, and the grasses stand effortlessly among them all, unifying the picture. Although they have been on the gardening scene for a […]
The Wisley September Flower Show is a distant memory, Malvern Autumn Show has been and gone, the nights are drawing in and Strictly’s on the telly. But for die-hard plantaholics like me and Louise there is one last hurrah – and what a special one it is – The Great Dixter Autumn Plant Fair. Dixter’s […]
A real change in the air now as the garden takes on its autumn colours. There’s plenty to do as you pack away the outdoor furniture and make sure that your plants are ready to face the winter. Here are some ideas for tasks such as sowing Hardy Annuals and broad beans, laying a soil […]
That glorious phrase ‘hope springs eternal’ lies at the heart of every gardener’s planning. A tricky sentiment with the current political shenanigans, but when the bulb catalogues come thudding on to the doormat ….oh boy! Your mind can go soaring again imagining sheets of glistening crocuses, pools of dancing daffodils, acres of bright tulips…… I have […]