Lawns, particularly when the grass is newly cut, can provide the most evocative of garden scents. Lawns act as a natural soak a-way for rain and in so many ways are preferable to hard landscaping. Improve the look of your garden by cutting the grass and trimming the edges. A neatly mowed lawn sets off [...]
Archive | May, 2009
Container Gardeners Tips
Silver champagne buckets or plain galvanised steel, there is a container for every purpose. These Pansies contrast with the brick wall and almost cover the container. Gardeners Container Tips Wether using a pot, tub, bowl, trough or urn make sure there is a drainage hole to allow rain and water to escape. Plants can drown [...]
Grow Bearded Iris
Iris Flowers The Iris family contains over 200 species and all Iris flowers have 3 outer and 3 inner petals with 3 stamens. The outer petals protect the inner petals as sepals do on other flowers. An inner petal is called the ‘Standard’ and the outer is called the ‘Fall’ which bends backward and hangs [...]
Legumes and Pea Flowers
I am kicking myself for not noting the name of this alpine flower captured on my camera during a recent garden visit. The familiar pea shape and colour are reminisent of Cytisus or Broom but with 727 genera of Legumes I can’t be sure. Gentle Reminders Inspect plants close up to discover the natural beauty [...]
Azalea Growing Tips.
How do you tell an Azalea from a Rhododendron? Most Azaleas have only 5 or 6 stamen while most rhododendrons have 10 stamen. Azalea leaves tend to be thinner, softer and more pointed than rhododendron leaves. In a subjective way I think Azaleas produce more flower cover per plant. Tips for Growing Azaleas Azaleas are [...]
Aquilegia Growing
Aquilegia are growing and flowering in all parts of my garden at the moment. This Aquilegia canadensis or red columbine hybridises very easily and will self sow if left to its own devices. This Aquilegia Kansas looks very striking in tight groups. When I saw this photograph of Aquilegia colombine growing with Honeysuckle the significance [...]
Conservatory Flowers for Winter
Start six months ahead of time to plan for winter flowers and colour in your Conservatory or Glasshouse. Growing Exotics Streltzia regina or Bird of Paradise flowers are as exotic as they come. Keep them dry and remember that as part of the banana family Strelitza are ‘heavy’ feeders. Succulents and Cacti are becoming popular [...]
Berberis Varieties to Choose
Berberis is a colourful low maintenance foliage plant with flowers, berries and prickles! Good Berberis are prickly flowering shrubs often with fragrant flowers ranging in colour from pale primrose to pumpkin orange. Choose your Berberis One of the more attractive garden varieties shown above is the Berberis darwinii, with bright orange flowers in mid-spring. An [...]
New Guinea Impatiens Failure
I have had a disaster with New Guinea Impatiens this year. Rather than grow from seed I bought a pack of half a dozen plants to grow on. The only trouble is they haven’t grown on but got sickly and hardly survived. Errors and correct treatment I used a peat based compost to pot them [...]
Growing Heliotrope Plants
Heliotrope usually has dark green crinkled leaves and deep purple flowers. The flowers are among the most fragrant in the garden. I grow it as an annual from bought plants (a bit extravagant). Heliotrope were prized by our grandmothers in traditional cottage-gardens. There are several varieties with flowers in white and pale lavender. But I [...]
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Judas Tree – Root and Branch Review
- Scots Pine – Root and Branch Review
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Common Larch – Root and Branch Review
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Dahlias – Posts, Propagating and Pointers
- Quinine Tree- Root and Branch Review
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Grow Colourful Gloxinia as Houseplants
- Top Ten Tips For Coleus
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10 Tips for Taking Flower Photos
- Tips for Dealing with Slugs and Snails
- Rheums are Architectural not Just Rhubarb
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