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If I followed the adage that every plant in my garden had to earn its place then I'm not convinced peonies are worth growing. When it comes to their contribution to the display I'd have to say it's... brief. Of course, anticipation is a virtue every

After a good few years of vegetable growing I would go so far as to say that I know a thing or two about onions and their cultivation. For instance I know that onions are prone to a nasty fungal disease called 'white rot' and I know exactly what

I have a confession to make. After raving about the arrival of the purple sprouting broccoli and extolling the virtues of winter veg in my blog last week I realised that I had forgotten to mention red cabbages. Not only are red cabbages easy to grow

This is prime iris season: a few weeks when these hugely flamboyant flowers come into their own. I grow two different sorts of iris in my garden: the Siberian iris and the bearded iris. Siberian irises are smaller flowered, have thinner leaves

It's now May, and we're just 12 days away from building our display at the Chelsea Flower Show. We've had a few bouts of sunshine in the last week, during which I could literally feel the plants growing.The new Nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus 'Black

, so I keep the agapanthus pots outside to enjoy for as long as possible before carrying to the winter shelter of my unheated greenhouse.Many of the tender bulbs I grow outside in pots form attractive seed heads, and patient gardeners may be tempted

to leave. The beds dedicated to growing hungry crops, such as beans and courgettes will need plenty of organic matter added, such as garden compost or well-rotted horse manure.Beds dedicated to growing root crops, such as carrots and parsnips will not have

farm or stables then I'm sure I'd be calling in regularly for a few bags of their delicious produce, but now I've discovered an alternative. I'm growing my own compost. Well, actually its correct name is green manure.Several plants can be grown as green

'Hundreds and Thousands', and I was lucky enough to be given a trial pack of seeds. It's a funny variety, with low-growing plants covered with numerous marble-sized fruits. I grew one plant unsuccessfully in the greenhouse and many very successfully

the summer, so it allows the trees' roots to grow and get established before winter sets in. We're lucky enough to have enough space to grow large autumn trees, such as sweet gum, Liquidambar styraciflua. And while I love the classic cultivars 'Worplesdon