Jean Vernon shares her favourite herbs for easy and tasty summer recipes. I often think herbs are underrated. Herbs are the top pick of the plants in so many ways. Infused with essential oils, these power plants are royalty in the garden plant hierarchy. And that’s because they have so many practical uses, from making […]
An excellent greenhouse subject Eucomis comosa has lush green foliage (spotted with purple markings underneath) from which emerge long lasting spires of pretty blooms that grace us for many weeks from mid-summer through till autumn. Not hardy enough for most to risk outdoors this attractive bulb is a close relative of our Hyacinths and Ornithogalum […]
As the spring weather continues to confound, I am thankful that my Hartley greenhouse provides some consistency in climate and growing conditions. Move seedlings from the greenhouse to cold frames or into a sheltered spot for ‘hardening off’ during the day, bringing them in at night, for ten to fourteen days. Where night temperatures have […]
Most gardens peak in June and I was reminded of the fact when I had to take a sudden detour due to a closed road. There were five of us in the car and it was a glorious June evening and we found ourselves meandering through the villages along the River Windrush towards Burford in […]
Throughout winter my greenhouse played host to many miserable looking specimens, semi-hibernating through the coldest months, but there was one that I am always particularly delighted to see leap back into life come spring. Bright and citrusy, lemon verbena provides perhaps the best scent in the garden – rub the leaves and bring your fingers […]
Greenhouse? Kitchen garden beds? Ornamental borders? No – you need to look behind the scenes to find the beating heart of your garden. Answer me this: what takes old, fading life and reassembles it anew; brims with life, both macro and micro; offers sanctuary to fleeting, transient life; helps fuel and nurture life from scratch; […]
The 2025 stand at RHS Chelsea Flower Show showcased the craftsmanship of Hartley Botanic’s Greenhouses, handmade in England to nurture flowers and plants. It highlighted the importance of these Glasshouses in promoting a sustainable lifestyle by reducing the need for imported flowers and food, allowing anyone to cultivate their own. ‘Your Space, Your Story’ […]
May! At LAST! And all craziness in the garden has broken loose. The mantra in the Rockies is not to plant anything before May 14, or Mother’s Day, whichever is latest. This is, however, a newer rule. Consulting my trusty volume, How to have Good Gardens in the Sunshine States, published in 1957, the author, […]
I have tried to grow a lot of plants in my greenhouses. They have ranged from orchids to vines, from seasonal vegetables to perennial fruit and I have found that there are certain plants that or either difficult, invasive or just plain ornery when grown in the greenhouse. They range from plants that cannot stand […]
At the beginning of May I was extremely lucky to be invited to see the gardens at Worcester College in Oxford’s city centre. It was a perfect May afternoon and the stone walls were dripping with wisteria, so the timing couldn’t have been more perfect. The lawns were like green velvet and I’m sure that […]
The greenhouse has been pressed into unexpected service this week, as the annual houseplant holiday has hit a bit of a snag. Every winter my houseplants struggle with the low light and the dry centrally heated air, and by late spring they are look wan and drawn. And so every summer, when the weather turns […]
This spring and summer, turn your attention to the bumblebees and let’s help save all the bees, says Jean Vernon. You may have heard that insects are in severe decline. But you may not realise the wider implications of this. We don’t all like insects, we call them bugs and creepy crawlies often without understanding […]
