Search - Articles

I always have a dilemma in April, choosing the right plant supports for my tall border perennials, delphiniums in particular. Last year I used lots of home-grown sticks leftover from pruning my silver birch. Pushed firmly into the soil around clumps

Choosing the very best plant supports for perennial plants is always a challenge. Firstly you've got to decide which type of plant support to go for. Should it be something robust made of metal, or something more natural, or even homemade?Then you

Follow Joe Swift's video guide to planting, training and pruning passion flowers.summerMore about growing climbing plantsPlanting a clematis, with advice from Sarah RavenCreating a rustic trellisUsing plant supports

all summer long. Support them, feed and water them regularly, remove spent flowers and watch out for signs of pests and diseases. Our five tips, below, will ensure your roses put on a show-stopping display.Deadhead roses regularly, otherwise plants

kept cool out of the sun. There it was left to its own devices, using the shrubby germander as a living plant support.C. 'Arabella' really comes into its own through late June into July, when its six blue petals open around a bold central boss of white

. This will help to support the brittle stems.Using your heel, firm the soil around the plant, then water well so it settles the soil and soaks down to the roots.Spread a 5-7cm-deep layer of mulch over the soil around the plant. This should stop it drying out

.At a recent recording of Gardeners' Question Time, one of my fellow panellists wholeheartedly supported planting them as bulbs. And, while I normally rate his opinions and knowledge, on this matter I have to disagree.Planting snowdrops in

wigwam. New shoots caught onto the supports, twining their way to the top, and as summer progressed a succession of trumpet-shaped flowers opened on each. Although they weren't as floriferous as some bedding plants they certainly were different.Of course

nigra, with black stems, and P. aureosulcata f. aureocaulis. I have used them as screens, specimens in pots and in innumerable planting schemes. However, they are mere minnows compared to some of the Asian varieties that grow to 20m high with stems (or

of goodness). My favourite plant at this time of year is a magnificent Parthenocissus that covers an old building nearby.I like to go there every few days to watch the leaves change from deep green to pink and yellow and deep dark red. It is a truly