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 […]
There’s SO much to do now it’s early spring! Let’s all make a plan not to feel so overwhelmed that we give up before we’ve begun, and just try to make a start SOMEWHERE! How about pruning the honeysuckle, thinning out your seedlings, and trying some layering of a shrub or two. Here’s how: HELPING THE […]
Which veg are worth growing because they are so much tastier than anything you can ever buy? I asked myself this as I am about to set up a garden veg club at work and need some star performers to wow my colleagues. My two sisters will be horrified that I have been put in […]
This is not to be confused with Iris unguicularis which I wrote about in this column in February 2017. Although closely related, their needs differ in many respects, and for that reason it is well worth giving today’s plant a plug! Iris lazica is native to coastal areas of the Black Sea in Turkey and Georgia, […]
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 […]