So why on Earth would you want to grow this in your greenhouse? Well, because this is a living ‘pot pourri’. A South American relative of Asters it’s delightful though as the disparaging quote from Paxton’s Botanical Dictionary suggests it’s neither graceful, compact, neat nor colourful. Thus certainly not a centrepiece, nor a background foliage […]

A superbly nutritious greenhouse plant Okahijiki, Salsola komarovii, is one of the oldest Japanese vegetables. Native to saline maritime regions this translates as ‘seaweed on land’ and is distantly related to our Samphire and more closely to our native Prickly Saltwort, Salsola soda, both of which are rich in Elements needed for out nutrition. Salsola […]

For the edible greenhouse collection this little known maritime esculent is Marsh Samphire, Glasswort, Salicornia europaea. Long collected from shallow salt marshes and sand dunes of East Anglia this is NOT the Samphire, Crithmum maritimum, of Shakespeare, which lives on the wind, blasted rocky outcrops of western coasts. Both living in saline conditions are rich […]

An unlikely plant to encounter in a greenhouse has been Kale. Completely hardy, Kale’s effectively a cabbage but tougher, eventually a large plant several feet tall. Seldom eaten save as a deep-winter vegetable the leaves have seen increasing demand year round by health seekers for super-nutritious smoothies. It’s quite feasible to grow Kale plants to […]

Genistas are excellent choices for hot dry greenhouses and conservatories especially those where you have little time to attend regularly. Although most Genistas are fairly hardy including some natives a majority of the near 70 species come from around the Mediterranean and so revel in hot dry positions under a fierce sun. Most are deciduous, […]

If your greenhouse will overwinter Pelargoniums then it’s perfect for Heliotropes, members of the Borage family, mostly introduced from S. America in the 18C. The European Heliotrope was thought by the Ancients to turn its flowers to catch the sun thus the name. However the massed flowers of H. arborescens, Cherry Pie do not move, […]

Although greenhouse tomatoes have so far seldom been devastated by Blight to anywhere near the same extent as outdoor crops this seems worryingly on the increase. To say little of wilts, rots and the dreaded Mosaic virus. (Interestingly though Mosaic virus infections have decreased with the decline in smoking ie handling tobacco was the source). […]

Give your greenhouse an amazing splash of colour through late summer and autumn from sowing the dwarf Pomegranate right now. This natural bonsai is a perfect miniature of the exotic Pomegranate tree only attaining a few inches of height in a year, possibly a metre or more in a decade. Yet despite the tiny growth […]

Does a plant of Scarlet Pimpernel by your greenhouse door warn you of incoming bad weather? There was only one way to find out, by growing some and observing. In the trial Anagallis arvensis turned out such a pretty thing I grow a pot or two every year, hanging pots which suit the trailing habit, […]

“Oh Bob, how could you?” said a friend spying this nestling amongst my edible, scented and useful greenhouse specimens. Coral Bead plant does catch the eye, and to all the world looks just as if it’s one of those market stall plant travesties sprayed with paint, glitter or bedaubed with plastic flowers, fruits or bugs. […]

You need a warm sunny greenhouse for this tropical gem, the Roselle, which for much of the year is not the most stunning looking specimen. Though the leaves are very rich in Vitamin C and often eaten as spinach and added to curries I’m not recommending it for those. Nor are the pale yellow hollyhock-like […]