Search - Articles

proportions.However, the recent soggy, damp weather - which infuriatingly doesn't involve 'useful' rain, which actually penetrates to the plants' roots - has meant that all the later flowers on the courgettes and marrows have quickly rotted. The rot from

(Patron Saint of Gardeners) never impulse shopped in nurseries. I had not seen the plant before, all I knew was that it was quite large and had been planted in the middle of my carefully planned flower bed. Hmmmm...some designers would have thrown a bit

Last spring I found a foxglove seedling in a pot, which had presumably self-seeded from a neighbour's garden. Excited, I potted it on and nurtured it in anticipation of seeing it flower this year. (Foxgloves are biennial, so flower in their second

, you can't go wrong with Hakonechloa macra 'Alboaurea'. Forming extravagant mounds of variegated, bright yellow leaves (more lime green in part shade), it brightens any garden.Hakonechloa macra 'Alboaurea'Launched at the Chelsea Flower Show 2008, Jarava

Snowdrops transplant well when they are in leaf and even in flower and the bulbs can also be divided at the same time - a method known as 'in the green'. You can then replant new clumps of snowdrops in other places around the garden; it's a simple

Sometimes plants do the strangest things, and some of these could make you a small fortune. One of the first dahlia blooms to open in my garden has put on more of a show than expected by producing a flower head with two faces! It looks as if two

Why is it that you rarely see zinnias in summer bedding displays? Do they give the impression of being an old-fashioned flower? Well, I think they're in for a revival, and with some stunning new varieties coming onto the market I'm recommending them

The silver and dark-green ivory thistles provide the backdrop for this planting scheme, while the pheasant's tail grass adds soft texture. Scattered amongst the display are Sisyrinchium striatum plants, with striped leaves that are accompanied

Dock, Rumex crispus, appears in the garden in large spreading groups, and is characterised by coarse, battered leaves. It spreads via seed produced by tiny brownish-green flowers, which appear in abundance in summer and are loved by seed

over the years.I know we live in a throw-away society, but no-one should discard moth orchids when the final flower fades and falls. Instead, follow the stem back from its tip to just above a little green scale or nodule. Cut just above