With all the rain we’ve had this summer, I decided it was time to build a rain garden to absorb some of the water runoff from my greenhouse roof. Because the greenhouse is a lean-to-style one attached to my studio building, additional water runs off the studio roof as well. This runoff can fill my […]
Some like it hot – but unpredictable, climate change-fuelled spells of heat and humidity look set to play havoc with our under-cover crops. Hot, hot, hot – three heatwaves in a row, and we may not be done yet. This challenging trio has turned up the heat for gardeners everywhere. For those of us with […]
It’s that time of year again. The umpteenth generation of house finches is leaving the nest, one by one, encouraged by their parents to fly the coop; it’s getting crowded in the Mexican tin lantern that is the couple’s poquito ranchito. It’s a wonderful thing to witness as each baby bird gains confidence and control […]
Moths are some of the most misunderstood mini-beasts in our gardens. These almost secret creatures are also pollinators and part of the food chain, Jean Vernon explains Gardeners don’t often notice moths in their gardens and that’s because many of them are active at night. Night flying moths are often (but not always) drab because […]
Midsummer’s here and the garden’s struggling, due to the hottest June since 1976. I remember 1976, with mixed feelings. I was pregnant with my youngest daughter Zoe, having had my oldest one in July 1975 in equally scorching weather. In fact, I have history with high temperatures, because my mother always said (through slightly gritted […]
Tucked into the corner of my cold greenhouse last winter, my pelargoniums looked at best unassuming, at worst half dead. But the greenhouse actually gave them exactly what they needed, keeping them alive for this precise moment in the year, for high summer, when they burst into glorious flower. I have always loved pelargoniums (often […]
Transplant Aubergines, peppers and chillies into pots one or two sizes larger filled with peat free multipurpose compost with added John Innes, as they grow. Repot when a good root system has developed but before they become pot bound and congested with roots, finally transplanting into 23 cm pots or two per growing bag to […]
Here’s a challenging greenhouse plant combining delightful perfume, charming almost fern like foliage, usefully catching flies, with another even more macabre habit. Dewy Pine, Drosophyllum lusitanicum, is unique, truly carnivorous, one of THE most effective fly catchers, yet unlike almost all others not a bog plant. Apparently this can also survive passing undergrowth fires, probably […]
In an ever more unpredictable future, we’ll need all the intelligence at our disposal to unleash our greenhouses’ growing potential. The sign over the once boarded-up glass doors of our old supermarket read with intent: GrowSilience Community Launch – learn how YOUR greenhouse will help stock THIS place again. All welcome! The store had stuttered […]
It’s hot. Really hot! Forecasters say that temperatures here in Rhode Island could reach 100oF (38oC) with humidity to match even though summer is just beginning. Fortunately, I live on the coast, so high temperatures inland create a sea breeze that cools our local area outdoors. But inside my greenhouse is a different story. If […]
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 […]
