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 […]
For me it is the ultimate cottage garden plant – the thing is, that at any time from late spring until the end of October, I could have chosen the lovely Diascia personata for this slot. Admittedly it can get overlooked in the summer as there is so much competition, but this week it looks […]
Oh dear! Summer’s definitely over now and we must bravely face the oncoming winter weather. The urgency has seeped out of the garden tasks, but there are still some jobs that can be done now, while we plan how to make our gardens EVEN better next year!… LOVE ME TENDER Those tender perennials that have […]
When I proposed that we write about different rose hips for this week’s blog Caroline’s response was ‘Oh, is there more than one sort then? Honestly I ask you, how can someone who can spot a ‘Happy Hour’ sign half a mile away be so unobservant about the natural world? Rose hips are one of […]
Plectranthus are members of the Lamiaceae or mint family, and they’re my latest craze. All species are tender and are really valuable subjects for container growing, not only for the highly ornamental value of their foliage, but also because many are happiest grown in part shade and some in almost full shade. Even P. argentatus, with […]
If you like your garden visiting to be a little magical, a little bit mysterious, to be something you want to go back to, to see if it was really real, go to Lindisfarne on Holy Island. Designed by the legendary Gertrude Jekyll over a century ago, it is no more than 30 x 50 […]
September! Often the loveliest month of them all, when all the angst of wet July and August BBQs etc. is behind us, and we can enjoy the soft early autumn days calmly and gratefully. Let’s get on with a few tasks including dividing perennials, creating green manures, and feeding container bedding plants……………. STUDYING DIVISION AND […]
I am still smarting from a passing comment a stranger who thought Caroline and I looked similar, ‘were we sisters, or perhaps mother and daughter?’ The cheek of it! It must have been Caroline’s pink leggings and silver trainers compared to my more tasteful attire that prompted this observation (think Joan Collins versus Judi Dench) […]
Like an eccentric but glamorous great aunt, my plant this week is a wonderful example of how to age gracefully! Going grey yes, but losing any other attributes, no! A bit like going to a big family party, I walk into the garden and there she is, you can’t miss her – tall, willowy and […]
What an interesting summer of gardening it’s been! I feel the effect of this year’s strange weather – one of the hottest on record – might be seen for several years to come on insect and bird populations as well as our garden-plants. Round here, the August rain has gone a long way to making […]