Search - Articles

Follow Monty and Joe's simple step-by-step video advice to planting up the tree fern, Dicksonia antarctica.springMore advice on growing treesPlanting a bare-root treePlanting a fig treeTraining a nectarine tree against a fencePlanting a small tree

A birch tree makes an ideal focal point and can be grown in a large container. Its silver-white bark and delicate foliage combine with the handsome, soft shield fern and evergreen heuchera leaves for a wonderful woodland combination

Protect tender plants for winterThe trend for growing exotic looking plants in our gardens means that some of them may need protection from the worst of the winter cold and wet. Wrap half hardy bananas, palms and tree ferns with fleece, straw

could be environmental, such as the weather, or a pest attack that causes physical damage to the plant. Some fasciated plants are actually quite attractive and have led to varieties known as cristates. These include forms of ferns, cacti and succulents

and other crops to keep them growing stronglyStop cutting asparagus by the end of June to allow the ferns to formThin out heavy gooseberry crops by removing the smallest fruits, and use these for cookingMake successional sowings of salad leaves and radishes

are never just out of reach. Be warned however, that tiny trees do not produce a lot of fruit. Rootstock M27 will support a tree that will grow no bigger than about ten feet. For more information try the Brogdale Horticultural Trust.If you're in a very

to be most resistant to slugs. Of course, resistance does not mean immunity, but if you pick from this list, it's a satisfying way to repell slugs without extra cost, effort or chemical side effects.AquilegiasAstilbesAstrantiasBegoniasCrocosmiasEuphorbiasFerns

Shade can be a nightmare if your heart is set on growing summer bedding, fruit and veg, or Mediterranean plants, which need direct sun to flourish. But there are plenty of beautiful plants which thrive in shady conditions.Many people imagine

to be admired, and I'd grow it for its leaves alone. But at this time of year it adds a new dimension by producing erupting clouds of dainty forget-me-not blue flowers. Gorgeous! My brunnera grows alongside ferns and foxgloves, and my oriental hellebore

the years this doesn't appear to have done it any damage. This seems strange as my RHS A-Z of Garden Plants tells me that this palm needs greenhouse protection and a minimum temperature of 10-16°C (50-60°F).It has certainly been colder than that in the past