The summer holidays have begun and those of us lucky enough to be going away for a couple of weeks of sand and sea, country walks or maybe a luxury cruise are excitedly stocking up on our holiday essentials and eagerly planning our itineraries. Among us gardeners however there is a niggling sense of unease […]
17
Jun
Jun
Earlier this month I was lucky enough to be invited to the Royal Horticultural Society’s flower show at the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire’s home in Chatsworth House Derbyshire. The stately home and 105 acre sculpted gardens attract thousands of visitors every year. Last year the RHS held one of its world famous flower shows […]
30
May
May
Last week I wrote about the advantages of growing your own lawn from seed including choosing the perfect mixture of seed type to suit your requirements and growing conditions, and preparing the ground for your new lawn. Final Ground Preparation Now that you’ve prepared your sowing area, ensuring that it is weed and rubble […]
21
May
May
The method of choice for creating the best possible lawn has always been to start your own lawn from seed. However over the generations this art has almost been forgotten especially in today’s age of instant gratification. Luckily us gardeners still have a bit of patience and I’m going to help you use this rare […]
16
Apr
Apr
Everyone has heard of propagating new plants from cuttings – us gardeners are notorious for helping ourselves to cuttings from here there and everywhere – usually with the excuse that we are doing the owners a favour by pruning their overgrown plants…. However there is a less well know though much more effective way of […]
09
Apr
Apr
The leek is a staple of all British vegetable gardens; in fact in old English, vegetable gardens were actually refered to as “Leek Gardens”. This is probably due to the easy to grow and profligate nature of leeks and the fact that they can be harvested all the way from the autumn up until the […]