The other day I finally got to the bottom of something that had nagged at me for a long time: the compost bin. I hadnât gotten around to actually harvesting finished compost from that bin for months. Thatâs an absurd waste in at least two ways: If itâs still in the bin, the compost isnât […]
Stevia rebaudiana is a tender greenhouse herbaceous perennial that hardly stands out. A foot or two high with neat green leaves and small white flowers in summer (if not trimmed off) this is just a ânice lookingâ plant. However growing this is right on trend as itâs one of the new âsuper foodâ sweeteners. The […]
As the nights draw in and temperatures drop there is still plenty to do in the greenhouse. Sow sweet peas in a cool greenhouse for an early display next year. For more details, see Octoberâs diary. Continue to sow batches of winter salads weekly in an unheated greenhouse (See September diary). As temperatures are lower […]
The news is full of stories of invading ladybirds riddled with sexually transmitted disease, spiders with venomous bites and robotic bees. Is it time we just managed without insects asks Jean Vernon? What is the point of insects? What do they do? They bite or sting. They spread diseases. They eat our food. Canât we […]
Close the loop: a modest, well-mannered shredder can convert tough green âwasteâ into mulching magic, and let you keep all of your gardenâs fertility on site. Iâve just been absorbed in a day of magical, hands-on fun in balmy autumn sunshine. Serenaded by a gentle clatter of falling oak leaves, and by the sudden, startling […]
Because the temperature in my greenhouse can reach 140oF on a sunny summer day, most of my greenhouse plants spend the summer on my patio. Come fall, however, these plants must be moved back into the greenhouse. For them, itâs rather like returning to an indoor home after enjoying summer at the cooler, breezier beach. […]
Stained glass windows have been around a good deal longer than Glasshouses, yet it would seem that the two have something to offer each other. Wafting around the National Botanic Garden of Ireland in September I was fulfilling a bucket list item; Iâd long known about but never visited the graceful Curvilinear Range and its […]
We have an evictee from the greenhouse. This is chilli âLemon Dropâ, who was sown too late to ever really amount to anything, and so â fair enough – went on to do little. You can see that chillies are now starting to form, but this is not exactly a bumper crop. However it could […]
Recently, while walking through the aisles of the Independent Garden Center trade show in Chicago, I discovered a product Iâd never seen beforeâcontainerized hedges. A row of neatly sheared plants outlined the booth. Clearly, they were field-grown and root pruned, their branches naturally intermingling. It was a living privacy wall you could buy. It would […]
There’s no question about it. I have too many hellebores in my garden. I know this is true because the famous nurseryman, Bob Brown, once came to my garden and exclaimed in basso profundo âtoo many hellebores Val.â The late Christopher Lloyd, of Great Dixter, went even further and called people like me helle-bores. Fortunately […]
A Michigan cottage I often visited as a child had an old deer head over the door known as George. Heâd been there for decades and his antlers were used as a hat rack. But he had an ancient, moth-eaten dignity about him, and I always think of George when I see a grand staghorn […]
A tub of Coral Drops can add one of the very brightest splashes of colour to your greenhouse or conservatory from late summer till early winter. Very easy to bring into flower and then continuing over weeks even months this was introduced from Mexico in 1850 and soon became popular in great gardens. Then as […]
