Search - Articles

It's rose pruning time again. I could debate the merits of autumn pruning over spring, but I've always believed spring really is the best time to tackle pruning.Rose pruning isn't a job to hurry. You need time to ponder, step back and deliberate

displays, and fruit to enjoy later this year. It's essential to prune wisteria twice a year. Once in the summer, shortening long, wispy new shoots to about 20cm (8in), and again in winter, pruning the same shoots further to roughly 5-7.5cm (2-3in

standard, in a large terracotta pot. I trained the main by tying it to a strong wooden stake, bending shoots round and weaving them together to create a domed head - rather like an umbrella on top of the main stem.Pruning has simply involved shortening

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

to integrate some 'planned' piles of logs and prunings at the back of borders for these creatures, but they often have their own preferences for sheds and sheltered corners.The untidy gardener in me can use all those piles of autumn leaves and debris around

are full of pictures of me gardening, or sometimes just my hands pruning, sowing, picking and nurturing.My local photographer Tim Sandall has been a faithful friend for many years, joining me to take pictures month in and month out, regardless

new hedge, plant garlic in modules, lift and divide clumps of phlox, and prune an overgrown Clematis viticella. Her husband Neil held the ladder, watching as Carol climbed an alarming distance. Perhaps, like me, he doesn't have a head for heights

Toby's enthusiasm infectious. If anyone can fire you up to get out and sow, grow, prune and nurture then it's Toby.What strikes you most when you meet Toby is his passion for gardening. Here's a man who loves his garden, and will relish the challenge

.5-10cm pots, until late May, then placed them on my patio in a large terracotta pot, using a peat-free, multi-purpose compost.To support the climbing stems I used silver birch stems saved from winter pruning, pushing them down into the pot to create a

crops and bedding plants cleared and composted, and soil roughly turned to incorporate manure. Then there’s fruit pruning to be done, but that’s a job to tackle with some winter sun on your back. Yes, November’s a busy month, so I’m wrapping up warm