Support, sustenance, shading, shelter… the humble native hazel is a sustainable, renewable powerhouse. Some plants possess superpowers. Corylus avellana, our native hazel, is one of them. It’s abundant here, growing serendipitously in and around my garden, and in the neighbouring wood. I have never deliberately grown it, and only occasionally relocate a jay-sown shrubling popping up […]
A while ago a gardener asked me what my greenhouse’s greatest insect problem was. I answered whitefly, which is a terrible nuisance that can easily get out of control. That conversation got me thinking about the Sisyphean task of trying to eliminate my whitefly infestation by spraying infected plants with Safer’s Insecticidal Soap. The more […]
Now that light is starting to increase, it is time to sow some more of the greenhouse crops. I started my chillies in January, simply because they need such a long season, but I am putting a few more in this month too. And it is time to start the aubergines and the sweet peppers. […]
It’s hard to understand the extent of the climate crisis when we are surrounded by beautiful gardens and immersed in nature. But that’s because many of the changes are subtle or distant or even gradual. But it’s happening on our watch, under our noses and before our eyes. It’s easy to think that you can’t […]
If there’s one thing a Hartley Greenhouse allows you to do, it’s to go forth and propagate! And in these financially stressful times, that’s a boon because you’ll be able to create your own bit of Mediterranean magic, by raising aromatic plants from cuttings. And you’ll be able to pick your own fresh herbs, from […]
This month is when a productive greenhouse starts getting busy. We’re sowing trays of onions and leeks and starting off onion sets, potato sets likewise (in much bigger pots!). In the warmth of a propagator extra early batches of tender crops can have been sown already though often surpassed by batches sown now of: cucumbers, […]
There are two important jobs for the greenhouse at this time of year. From February onwards, it’s time to sprout (or ‘chit’) first and second early potatoes and sowing tender, long season crops like tomatoes. Gardeners’ ‘chit’ potatoes so they are already growing when planted, – it’s a chance to get ahead. The technique is […]
It’s that time again! From coast to coast, indoor garden shows are offering solace to those who are winter-weary. These exhibitions are bursting with color and fragrance, great plants to buy, and great ideas to take away—especially from the extravagant display gardens that make up the heart of the shows. And for several years now, […]
Well. Here we are. Our shiny pearl in the heavens has successfully completed another revolution around the sun, to the accompaniment, not of Richard Strauss’s Also Spake Zarathustra, (you know… 2001, Hal the Computer), but to a cavalcade of hit lists for 2023’s upcoming trends. Top of the recommendations appears to be for glass to […]
In this increasingly stressed and stressful world, we need to nurture the healing balm of gardening in the slow lane. A year ago, I decided it was time to go slower in my garden. I vowed to favour unhurried over haste, swap frantic for sedate, and make slow gardening the nemesis of fast. It might […]
Have you ever heard about straw-bale gardening and wondered what it entails? The answer is more than just stacking straw bales to make windbreaks or taking them apart and using the straw for mulch. Straw bales are far more versatile. They can be used as a base for growing plants in a greenhouse. But when […]
