Search - Articles

Filling your garden with colour can be an expensive business. Garden centres and nurseries are packed with attractive bedding plants in April and May, which are perfect to plant out for an almost instant show.This convenience comes at a price. It

Monty Don demonstrates how to plant up and age a stone container to create a formal garden display.springPlanting suggestions for a formal containerDark foliage display with scabiousClassic pelargonium and nemesia containerFormal dressing with myrtle and campanulaRose display wit...

For a successful summer bedding display, don't bring your plants out of the greenhouse until you know the frosty nights are behind you. And when you do bring them out acclimatise them in the garden before you plant them into their final positions

Raising summer bedding plants from seed is easy, it saves you money and greatly extends the range of plant varieties you can grow.The secret of germinating summer bedding seeds is a plentiful supply of warmth and light. Most seeds need a steady heat

Watering canLiquid plant foodJune - August15 minutesJune - September Water pots daily, particularly bedding plants, and twice daily in the heat of summer - morning and evening. Water with half-strength feed twice a week to ensure plants have all the nutrients

A viral infection, for which, sadly, there is no cure. Some cannas seem able to shrug it off, but it has the potential to spread quickly from plant to plant, so it's best to remove and dispose of affected individuals at the first sign of trouble. It's not confirmed how the virus ...

Osteospermum 'Tresco Purple' and rosy Diascia 'Red Ace' although any crimson or maroon trailing bedding plant would work well.1 Ipomoea 'Sweet Caroline'3 Calibrachoa 'Million Bells Cherry'1 Osteospermum 'Tresco Purple'6 Diascia 'Red Ace'36cm metalware basket

For the boldest, brightest display in a hanging basket choose a large container (no smaller than 35cm) and pack it with plants. But keeping them flowering is thirsty work, so for a really successful show the plants will need plenty of water on a regular basis.Hanging basket Water...

It’s always great fun making Gardeners’ Question Time programmes. Sometimes it comes with an added bonus when we do a feature special, like when I took the opportunity to go and visit the labs at FERA (Food and Environment Research Agency) in York.FERA carries out masses of envir...

Summer is the ideal time to take leaf cuttings from your houseplants. A single leaf can produce many young plants, and this technique is particularly useful for foliage plants such as Begonia rex.Healthy begonia plantClean, sharp knife and cutting boardPotsFree-draining compost, ...