Search - Articles

to remember to do and deadhead about 75% and leave some of the hips, thereby getting the best of both worlds. These are quite big shrubs, which grow to approximately 1.5m height and spread; the foliage is glossy (slightly bronzed when young) and the plants

plants that are tough, hairy and bitter. They'll choose lettuce over chicory, Brussels sprouts over sprouting broccoli, and chrysanthemums over dandelions. Then there are plants with hairy, glossy or waxy leaves, which prevent their tongues scraping away

At the extravaganza that was BBC Gardeners' World Live last week, my friend Joe Swift gave a couple of jolly talks about shade-loving plants. During which, I was asked up to the stage several times to help out.We discussed a vast variety of great

for a dash of colour.Top climbers for potsClematis x cartmanii 'Joe'Ivies are one of the most useful and attractive of all plants for pots. This one has dark-green, shiny leaves with curled edges.Hedera helix 'Ivalace'Variegated foliage is a real pick

to Syria and Persia, but have been grown in Britain since Roman times. Although the species doesn't offer a reliable fruit crop in the UK, it's still worth growing for its striking, lobed foliage. Shelter the fig against a warm wall.Ficus carica Fig tree

that once planted, a bamboo will spread like a forest fire and forcibly colonise great chunks of garden. The truth is, as with all things in gardening, that if you choose the wrong plant for your situation then you are setting yourself up for tears