Gardening in the 21st Century
August is a month when we may do more sitting in the garden (whether our own or someone else’s) than hard labour creating and planting. So this month’s column invites you to consider what gardening in the 21st century is and should be like. I will offer food for thought but you will have to supply your own tea Modern materials...
Summerhouses, pergolas & arbours
You may have noticed that every show garden at the Chelsea Flower Show this (and every) year included some sort of built structure: a summer house, ‘pod’, the back of the house or at least a pergola or arbour. There is a good reason for this and the same reason that, when I teach or talk about how to create...
Spring bulb aftercare
Just because the flowers are over it is important not to ignore your spring flowering bulbs if you want another great show of flowers next year. Flowering early in the year takes more energy than the plant can produce from photosynthesis with short days and low light levels and the food stored in the bulb is used up. If the...
New border? buying & planting
April is a key month for planting up a new border or moving favourite plants around to create a new design for the summer. But there is more to successful planting than just digging a hole. Buy a healthy specimen: for herbaceous plants remember that you are really buying the roots and crown not the top growth – in spring you...
Growing Potatoes without a garden
Growing your own fruit and especially annual vegetables seems to have taken the UK by storm in the last couple of years. For those who only have a small garden or even a patio, the good news is that you do not need a huge vegetable patch nor an unnatural commitment to digging to grow the archetypal vegetable: potatoes. You...