There’s a nip in the air now, all right! Even here in the soft south, we’ve already had pretty chilly nights. There are still tasks to get on with in the garden in spite of the autumnal vibe, such as planning some new features, overhauling the tool collection, and ordering spring bulbs… Perfect planning Are you […]
Mid-October and the pricey festive season is just around the next corner. Have you got a massive gift-buying list facing you? It can be hard to find the dosh for plants for yourself, but in autumn, there are cheap ways to solve this… End-of-season sales, etc. First things first. Shops are clearing their aisles ready for […]
Late autumn and the leaves are turning colour and falling fast now. Winter’s on its way, but that’s no reason to hang up your trowel and gardening coat till spring – No, no, no, there’s work to be done! Let’s plant tulips, clean up the paths and mulch the beds for starters… Planting tulips It’s […]
Flamin’ June – and isn’t it exciting! Fresh beautiful flowers opening every day, and longer evenings to enjoy them in. But there are jobs to get on with, when you are not floating around in loveliness – shrubs to prune, basil to nurture, tulip bulbs to dry…..so let’s stir our stumps….. Early summer shrubs Call me […]
Second half of January and it is often difficult to see how we are going to reach the glory of spring, isn’t it! But if you look hard, you’ll spot little signs that Nature is girding itself – an early primrose here, a hellebore bud there. And while we’re waiting for the all the fun and […]
Here we are, already at Halloween weekend! In between scraping out pumpkins and dressing excited small children in spooky outfits, there are some very handy tasks in the garden you could tackle/escape to, including reviving your mint pot, taking easy cuttings and digging out the horror weeds. Just a reminder that if you don’t have […]
High summer and everything in the garden going at full bore – hurray! This is when you really find out how successful your plans were for new plants, new borders, this year’s fruit and veg crop etc. Triumph? Disaster? A bit of each, I expect, like me. There are still some things to do in […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]