This month is a good moment to use the glasshouse to start off some annual flowers for cutting later in the summer. I am sowing some half hardy annuals at the moment: sunflowers, snapdragons, cleome and of course cosmos. All of these could potentially be sown direct out of doors once the weather warms, but […]
Sunflowers are the national flower of Ukraine, sow some, grow some to add some garden sunshine and support those caught up in the conflict. I can’t think of a happier garden flower than the sunflower, so it seems rather ironic that the humble sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine. These fabulous sunny faces light […]
A most rapidly growing, most floriferous, greenhouse climber Thunbergia alata, Black-eyed Susan was introduced at the start of Victoria’s reign. Many others in this genus also became popular in Hot-houses of the 19th century for their magnificent displays, and because most were relatively fast growing just wanting to bloom . Black-eyed Susan was ‘first’ found […]
This is the time of year when you really appreciate having a glasshouse. It buys you extra growing time while the weather outside is erratic. Sow crops in the propagator if you have one or in a cold greenhouse and cover with fleece. Plants can be potted on, if necessary, before hardening off and transplanting […]
Snowdrops are an endangered species now, and as for frost… welcome to the winter wonderland. I was on my way to visit winter. Real, authentic winter – so the invite said. I wasn’t quite there yet. Big black slugs glided over the sign that read ‘GalanthoArk – 200m’. It pointed to the huge domed greenhouse […]
I often ask myself, why I’m a gardener. The answer’s somewhat mundane. I was a twin and we shared a small bedroom in a terraced house. We had entirely different personalities because we were fraternal, rather than identical twins My twin brother was the beautiful one. He got the curly golden hair, the navy-blue eyes […]
What’s the best way to label plants and seedlings?? Even the most knowledgeable gardener needs to use plant labels. It’s all very well being able to identify what different plant seedlings look like, but if you are growing from seed you also need to know the variety. But the problem with plant labels is that […]
It is about this time of year that I start getting a little twitchy to do some sowing in the greenhouse. This is a bit unfortunate, as it is way too early for the vast majority of things. The exception is chillies and pea shoots, and so I have sown them both. They are sown […]
Much vaunted for its health value and expensive to purchase Turmeric is the swollen root of Curcuma longa, a decorative greenhouse plant with large leaves. This flavourful colouring spice is grown in huge quantities in Asian countries for many dishes and it’s essential for Indian curries. Used since Classical times as the dried root or […]
Plants like peppers, chillies and aubergines, which need a long growing season should be sown this month. If you sow them now, they will ripen but leave too late and they will not. The third week in February is ideal, mid-March is fine and the first week in April is the limit. They need light, […]
Gardeners are an ebullient lot, because we’re always looking into the rosy future and, at the start of the year, the future’s rosier than ever! We’re enjoying the garden’s renaissance and mostly that’s sheer joy, although occasionally I shed a tear when a lost friend is remembered by a plant. The snowdrop ‘Fieldgate Imp’, named […]
Why would you want a blight-beating tomato in your greenhouse, where blight is rarely an issue? Because in these increasingly unpredictable times, it pays to think laterally. Solutions to gardening problems sometimes arrive in moments of sheer serendipity. My greenhouse was the setting for such a moment last summer, when the conditions inside flipped from […]
