Search - Articles

A few weeks ago I wrote about trees for small gardens. Among the comments (well, to be honest, 33% of the comments) was a request from Daphne for very, very small trees - "very small being up to three metres".Tricky. Three metres is barely a shrub

small picture-winged fly, Rhagoletis meigenii (pictured above), in London's Battersea Park in June 2000. At the time this pretty little insect was thought to feed on the native Berberis vulgaris, but was believed to be extinct in Britain, having been

That warm Saturday (April 26th) brought out the first butterflies of the year: holly blue, small tortoiseshell and speckled wood. They're all common garden species, but I always get a thrill when I see any of them.The female holly blue

The mullein moth caterpillars in my garden are still small, but they're guaranteed to increase in size by the day. These little critters - welcomed by wildlife enthusiasts and hated by gardeners - munch their way through verbascum, figwort

I have spent the last week on the small, but unbelievably beautiful, island of Colonsay off the west coast of Scotland. I apologise to those of you in the midlands who have been braving flash floods but the weather here has been stunning. Long sunny

is one of the bleakest stretches of water in south London. But as I watched, it arched its neck down and down closer to the surface, then with that sudden darting plunge it snapped up some small wriggling thing, tossed it into the air and gulped it down

The very mention of the word 'tree' causes some gardeners to twitch nervously. Who can possibly have space in a small, modern garden for a tree, let alone two? Well, I think everyone has, provided they choose the right ones. I've enjoyed reading

At this time of year hedgerows bristle with elderflowers. Elder (Sambucus nigra) is a native tree with white flowers in midsummer and bunches of small black berries in autumn. It is a bit of a weed but, like many weeds, it has both a purpose

I've had another thought about small trees. For a more formal look you should consider the classic topiary trees - a short list would include yews, box, beech, limes and holm oaks. All of them are terribly amenable and happy to be chopped and pruned

Sown now in the greenhouse, dahlia seeds will produce young plants ready to plant outdoors in late May to flower this year. Seed companies sell a range of quick-growing bedding strains that are suitable for growing this way. You can also use this method for sowing seeds saved fro...