If your lawn is anything like mine, it will need extra loving right now to repair the damage caused during our recent very hot and dry weather weather. The fix is fairly simple, albeit a little time consuming, but it will be worth the effort. You know that when your grass looks good, it has an uplifting effect on all the other plants in your garden. In the last few weeks your lawn will have been starved of water, and as its top growth shrivels up, so does the amount of useful root system … [Read more...]
The garden bible
One of my most useful garden books has only a handful of pictures, and the print is small – sounds like a boring tome; not a bit of it! It’s lovingly known as The Yellow Book, and it’s the key to secret gardens in England and the modest entry fees go to support a variety of cancer related charities. The Chelsea Flower Show might be one way to feast your eyes on the newest must-have plants, but I feel the best way to be inspired for your own garden is to look and see what other people can … [Read more...]
Amazing new plant
I’m all in favour of boffins tinkering around with plants if they come up with improvements - greater pest resistance or better shape and colour. However, a recent horticultural breakthrough has really made me think.. We know that tomatoes and potatoes are in the same genus. Here botanical latin gives us the clue - Solanum tuberosum (potato) and Solanum lycopersicum (tomato). Looking at each individual plant, you can also see that the flowers are very similar, but who in a million years … [Read more...]
garden nemesis
This month I’m going to turn my attention on my arch garden nemesis, the slug. And with your help, I could be about to declare garlic war on it.. The slug is undoubtedly numero uno in the garden pest hall of fame, and Britain is definitely slug city of the world. It’s our wet and warm-ish weather that does it If you are counting, there are around 30 different species of slug in the UK, but for this unscientific study of mine I am only going to look at the big four - field slug, garden … [Read more...]
climbing plants
Using climbing plants in your garden is a wonderful way to exploit a vertical surface. A word to the wise though - you must fully understand exactly how a plant hangs on so that you provide it with perfect support. why do plants climb? Climbing plants are the lazy, impatient, opportunistic members of the plant world. weavers and twiners Winding plants twist their stems around a structure. As I’m the queen of trivia, did you know that the runner bean winds anti-clockwise, … [Read more...]
snowdrops
There is no more welcome sight at the end of those cold and wet days of winter than to see the tiny tips of snowdrop leaves poking through the soil. Spring is just around the corner. Snowdrops can arrive looking in perfect condition because their leaf tips are specially strengthened –they literally bore their way through frozen soil. If you think that you are getting fewer flowers than last year, then it’s time to think about thinning out the over-crowded clumps. Unlike most other … [Read more...]
green fingers
I’m convinced that there is an unspoken language between plant and gardener, and even plant to plant. But proving this little theory of mine to you is going to be difficult. Have you ever wondered why some people have more success with plants than others? In this country we call these folk that are blessed with a gardening talent having green fingers. On the other side of the pond, Americans call them green thumbs. My reasoning doesn’t have to hang on your belief in magic, although … [Read more...]
eureka moment!
It turned out to be one of those eureka moments. I recognized the email address, but I hardly dared open it in case the message was gloomy. I needn’t have worried – the news was good, and I felt like a proud parent. I’ll explain. I have been a plant agony aunt for for many’s a year, dishing out gardening advice by letter or email. Each week I receive a bundle of letters from perplexed gardeners who are worried about all sorts of plant problems. John had originally emailed me about a … [Read more...]
take five tools
I am quite fussy about my choice of garden tools – I know what I like, and I know what works well. So when I was wandering around the plant shop in Kew Gardens the other day, I was fascinated to watch my two novice gardening house-guests studying the rack of shiny new garden tools. I think that tool manufacturers must believe that there is a specific gadget for every single gardening job that you could possibly do, and if they had their way, we would fill our garden sheds full to … [Read more...]
climbing up the walls
Ivy is one of the most misunderstood plants around. Love it or loathe it, most gardens I visit have masses the stuff. If you make it your friend, it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Ivies are evergreen, climbing and trailing plants suitable for growing up walls and fences, or used as ground cover. Choose one of the all green leafed cultivars, and they will thrive in those hostile areas such as deep shade where other plants flatly refuse to grow. What’s more, if you would … [Read more...]
hedging your bets
It’s too wet and cold outside to venture out so right now I’m plotting and planning. I want to add a bit of privacy to the back garden, I also need to find a way to allow birds to nest safely, and I definitely want colour and panache. Yes, dear reader, I’m thinking of great hedges! When choosing suitable plants to use, don’t be fooled into the speed trap. Fast-growing hedges don't stop at the height you want, so you must remove a lot of growth every year. Slow-growing hedges are much … [Read more...]
houseplant MOT
Now that the Christmas decorations are almost a distant memory, it’s a very good time of the year to give your indoor plants a little care and attention There really isn’t a gentle way of putting this – you might like the warm and dry conditions of your centrally heated house, but most of your house plants don’t. Your indoor potted vegetation would actually be much happier in the moist atmosphere of a well lit bathroom. Which, put another way, while you are warm as toast, they’re in danger … [Read more...]
great plants for a small garden
I’m often asked what my favourite plant is. This is a difficult question to answer, as my response would be one plant one day, and then I’d change my mind completely the next. But, if I was allowed to choose two, then the answer is easy! The first of these must-have plants is called Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’. It’s a clump forming perennial that will bring joy in double doses each year. The first performance is when it produces a haze of the prettiest forget-me-not like flowers … [Read more...]
aphids
As the weather warms up, garden pests come into their own. This month we turn our attention to aphids. Ignore this pest at your peril. The aphid can wreak havoc in two ways. Firstly it'll cause direct damage to the plant by draining vital cell sap through its needle-like mouthpart, and secondly it’s a known carrier of plant viruses. They are found clustered all over the growing tip of a plant, where it’s easier to feed on fresh new cells. There are two words associated with the … [Read more...]
watering
The recent hot-dry-wet weather lately has made life really difficult for plants. Watering them may seem an easy task, but follow some golden rules to ensure the best possible results. best time to water a garden, and how? Watering every day for 15 minutes at a time may be convenient for you, but it can be disasterous for the plants. Frequent shallow watering will cause a plant’s roots to stay near the surface, where they will quickly dry out. It’s better to give the garden a good soaking … [Read more...]
gnomes
I'm supporting the garden gnome. My campaign started the other week when I heard that the RHS was banning all gnomes from the Tatton Park Flower Show. The news was so shocking that the Today Programme on Radio 4 decided to quarry for the truth and an RHS spokesman was invited to comment. And so there it was on national radio, at a peak listening time, the pronouncement that garden gnomes were not welcome at Tatton Park. This begged the question ‘why?’ The reply was a simple four … [Read more...]
