Search - Articles

, they will not thrive in sodden soils - decent drainage is essential. As with any other plant, get them off to a good start by incorporating plenty of organic material, such as home-made compost. Oriental poppies will appreciate a small amount of fertiliser, but don

), the planting is predominantly white, pink and crimson, with plenty of green leaves. Tall phlox and voluminous sanguisorba take over in late summer, but in June two poppies dominate: 'Perry's White', not white at all but a soft greyish pink, and in a separate

You can easily propagate oriental poppies by taking root cuttings. They make perfect candidates for this propagation method as it exploits the plant's propensity to reproduce itself from every scrap of root left behind when plants are moved. Once

I love the way plants hold associations with places and key events in your life. Some - like pheasant's eye daffodils - I grow in my garden as a fond reminder of the childhood associations I have with them. Others somehow seem to slip the net

of yellow verbascum that has somehow sown itself into a drystone wall and (in the distance) the bristling white plumes belonging to Persicaria polymorpha.Round the corner, the Baptisia australis is spectacular and first opium poppies (Papaver somniferum

There are some plants which everyone agrees smell bad. The titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) and the dragon arum (Dracunculus vulgaris), for example, both smell like rotting corpses when in flower, to attract pollinating flies. Happily, not all

Unlocking the power of plants A herb garden is not only a place of beauty, it's also a medicine chest, holding remedies to many ailments. Discover the healing properties of the herbs in your garden.Find out how to... grow garlicUntil the 17th

Bedding geraniums are actually members of the genus Pelargonium. Many varieties of pelargonium are used as bedding or house plants.Unlike most annual bedding plants, geraniums are easily propagated by cuttings, so you don't have to fork out for more

Free and easyFavouring a more laid-back approach to gardening, I love plants that self-seed with abandon. Here are a few of my favourites...Find out how to collect allium seedsSelf-seeders are the opportunists of the plant world. They may

Some people get a bit snobby when it comes to flowers. Perennials usually come high in the pecking order for the 'must have' plants of the moment, but when did you last hear anyone singing the praises of hardy annuals?Annuals are the unsung heroes