Search - Articles

second crop from early fruiting plants. I’m hoping the heat will prompt a little more growth of my pumpkins, and will ripen my new Cape gooseberries (Physalis peruviana). And if I’m lucky, the sun will dry out the soil surface and frazzle the slugs

scrambling through the daisy-like plant fleabane, which will flower all summer.March - April July - September40 minutesAlpine strawberry plants x3Mexican fleabane, Erigeron karvinskianus x2Large wall potMulti-purpose compostCrocksFix the pot securely

.Protecting strawberries from slug and rain damage.Growing early strawberries.Propagating strawberries.

If you're short of sun in your garden but want an interesting summer display, try this rich blend of foliage plants. Both the plectranthus and begonias perform well in shade.April - JuneJuly - September20 minutesBegonia rex x2Purple

Dividing hostas.Creating a pot display of hostas and ferns.Dealing with slugs on hostas.Protecting hostas from snails.

violets; they'll bloom all spring in sun or shade and any type of soil.March - AprilApril - May20 minutesHosta, e.g. Hosta 'Royal Golden Jubilee'Male fern, Dryopteris filix-masJapanese painted fern, Athyrium niponicum 'Pictum'Violet, such as 'Freckles

Pelagoniums are a classic window box plant, they are used here as a focal point for a sea of lightly scented, delicate-pink nemesia. April - JuneJune - September20 minutesPink pelargoniumNemesia denticulata 'Confetti' x4Standard-sized window box

condition - and you'll also save yourself some pennies when it comes to the annual service.Mow lawns and trim new edgesDig compost into borders to improve water retention Add copper rings to pots to protect plants from slugs and snailsAround the garden

be sheltering slugs and snailsAround the gardenCollect seed from allium and sow straight awayPlant evergreen shrubs and conifer hedgesCarefully dig up gladioli corms FlowersKeep harvesting root veg such as beetroot and carrotsOrder fruit trees and bushes

the distractions of computers and mobile phones, it seems that 11-year-old young ladies still imagine themselves frolicking in a flower garden with a trug across their arm.We've already got a bed of blood-red dahlias, which provide a lot of flowers for the house