As gardeners decide what to grow vegetable plots and allotment this year, I am looking at a trend in gardening that reflects a growing interest in reducing our carbon footprint and preserving wildlife: namely, growing permanent or perennial vegetables. This saves growing from seed or buying plants each year and also, as they are no-dig plants, saves on effort and...
Winter is a time when gardeners can do a lot to support wildlife, including providing a great source of food, especially for birds. Birds remain active all through the winter and in the UK we have many migrant species that arrive here from colder countries in search of food. As a wildlife gardener I am often asked about bird feeders...
Whatever the rest of the year has been like November is definitely late autumn going into winter and this can be a dull time in the garden. Many trees and shrubs turned autumnal early this year prompted by the stress of a dry summer but you can usually count on brightly coloured foliage through October. Once leaves have fallen we...
There has been quite a surge of interest in Green Roofs over the last few years, although the first ones were created in 1960s. There are several key differences between a green roof and a roof top garden although obviously both involve plants growing on top of a building and require a flat, structurally strong and waterproofed roof. All planting...
June must be the month for Roses and many will continue to flower right through until the autumn. Most gardeners who grow roses know that rose bushes are pruned in early spring but beyond that knowledge gets a bit thin! So what should we be doing to help our roses give the best display for the longest time? Well clearly any...
I have seen quite a few articles in the last few months promoting the idea of UK gardeners changing their borders to include more “drought tolerant plants”. Although it may seem intuitively as if ‘drought’ goes with ‘global warming’, the reality is not that simple especially in gardening terms. Whilst the UK may see higher temperatures in summer, the prediction...
As April is probably the peak plant buying and planting month for many gardeners, I thought that I would give a shout out for a category of garden-worthy plants sometimes overlooked in our quest for flower power – evergreen shrubs. That label certainly sounds more ‘worthy’ than exciting but, of course, evergreen does not have to mean green. There are...
It seems appropriate to write about Daffodils in March, not just because they are the emblematic flower of St David’s day on March 1st but because we have been enjoying their display through February and will continue right to the end of April. What other spring bulb is so reliable in giving flowers for such a long period? Granted you...
Pests and diseases in the garden are an evergreen topic of conversation for gardeners and seeing holes munched in leaves or whole plants struggling is equally frustrating whether you grow fruit and vegetables or ornamental plants. I mentioned last month that gardening is part of the mainstream move towards a more sustainable and nature friendly lifestyle, and we are all...
My thoughts for the New Year turn to how we can ensure that as well as being happy and productive green spaces, our gardens are as green as possible in the planetary and sustainability sense too. This has been a direction of travel since the start of the 21st century across pretty much all aspects of life and gardens have...
