May is a wonderful month in the garden. Blossom is everywhere, spilling over fences or festooning roadside trees, but the greatest moment of joy for plant lovers is that moment when the first rose blooms. With their fragrance and colour, roses are the starting signal for the opening act of the summer garden. The rose [...]
There's so much to do in the garden now that the spring sun has brought on a growth spurt. Keep sowing, mowing, weeding, and protecting young plants from the very last of the frosts – by bringing them inside overnight or covering them with fleece. Prune early spring flowering shrubs now that blossoms have finished. [...]
Wild cherry blossom is white with a sweet scent Did you know that our wild cherry tree is different to the pink-blossomed varieties you often see in streets, parks and gardens? The wild cherry has white, cup-shaped flowers with five petals. Look out for hawthorn blossom in May This thorny shrub is often called [...]
The bluebell has many names: English bluebell, wild hyacinth, wood bell, bell bottle, Cuckoo’s Boots, Wood Hyacinth, Lady’s Nightcap, Witches’ Thimbles, and Granfer Grigglesticks . In the past. The stems are squeezed the stems produce a glue so strong that fetchers used it to fix the feathered flights to the arrows. It is against the [...]
Plant out your Autumn sown sweet pea seedlings or sow now direct in their final flowering position. Dependant on the variety hardy annuals can be sown either indoors or outdoors, following the instructions on the packet. Half-hardy flowers can be sown in trays and kept on a windowsill or in the greenhouse. This may be [...]
Q: What do you get if you cross a black and white dog with a rose? A: A collie-flower. Q: What’s the best way to learn about gardening? A: By trowel and error. Q: What’s brown and runs around a garden? A: A fence
While working in a local garden we found this, the fin from a WW2 incendiary bombs which were dropped in their 1000’s in the areas. they were widely collected by boys during the war after raids as they were the only part of the bomb to survive The German air force started the war using the 1918-designed [...]
Pruning and Tidying Cut down old growth of perennials and grasses left over winter. If soil is workable, dig in a layer of compost or manure, and work in a slow-release fertiliser manure, or fish, blood and bone. Weeds will have started to grow, so keep removing them whenever you can. Split polyandrous after flowering. [...]
Spring is on her way! Early-flowering bulbs are starting to fill the beds and borders; leaves are unfurling, and insects are waking up. It’s time to enjoy the first warmth of the sun on your back - but beware the night time frosts! Preparation is key this month. Prepare beds for sowing; organise the greenhouse; [...]
Daffodils are one of the earliest flowers to bloom in the spring and are often associated with springtime and rebirth. These trumpet-shaped flowers come in a variety of sizes and colours. Traditional daffodils are sunny yellow, but some varieties are white or pastel yellow and some are even pink or green. While the daffodil’s primary [...]
