We have had some really scorching weather here recently – I hardheartedly watched my garden plants going dry and floppy and then BOOM! A storm of torrential rain and they are all smiling again! Challenging weather aside, there are still tasks to attend to now, such as looking after lilies, preparing pots for your absence and feeding […]
August Bank Holiday has come racing along, hasn’t it! And for many of us gardeners it heralds fading colours, waving seedheads and too much blackspot. But wait a minute…there are autumn beauties just around the corner! And in the meantime, let’s take stock, make a few cuttings, and harvest the apples…… Softwood cuttings The salvias have been […]
We are chatting about our favourite lilies this week, those glorious additions to the summer garden. But there are actually dozens of flowers with ‘lily’ in their common name, so Elaine and Caroline have had a somewhat looser approach to the topic than pedant Laura… When the topic of lilies was first mooted by the […]
It’s a funny thing but each year the whole Christmas shenanigans seems to begin earlier in direct correspondence to the older you become! Take a break from the list-making, pudding-stirring and sock-buying and get on with a few gardening tasks, such as planting lilies, prepping herbs for winter use, and earthing up the cabbages… Lovely […]
The named storms have been coursing through the UK, but spring is on its way regardless and there are jobs to do, like pruning winter-flowering jasmine, choosing some slug-proof plants, and dividing snowdrops…… Jazzing up Jasmine It’s usually a cinch to grow Jasminum nudiflorum, and it’s a bright and pretty thing to see when covered […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
I do hope this holiday season is going spiffingly well for you. There is a more easeful air about the garden in August. In Scotland, the children are already back at school and in our gardens almost everything that was going to happen, has now happened, apart from the late flowerers and the harvesting of […]
It’s high summer and time to sit back in a shady nook and admire all your fabulous gardening efforts so far this year. Certainly much of the urgency has gone out of the tasks but for those who don’t like to sit around for long, here are a few ideas to get you up out […]