Search - Articles

in the garden, on a balcony or in the greenhouse. Shake compost inside the bag to create an even, pillow shape. Cut a slot out of the bag to expose the compost for planting them into.Loosen the compost in the bag with a hand fork. Push some of the compost

out, so I cut off a bit and went to the library to attempt an identification: after much tracking of mud across the pages of the Reader's Digest guide to plants (my belated apologies to Hammersmith and Fulham Libraries) I left burdened with knowledge

. These develop through late-summer, the seeds within becoming more prominent, particularly when backlit by the sun.The pods take on a purplish hue in autumn, then dry and discolour to dirty brown. But don’t despair. Rub them gently between your fingers

Knowing exactly how to care for plants is a matter of judgement and experience. Many plants need treating with tender loving care, but others can benefit from 'mean' treatment.Take my agapanthus. In their 'youth' agapanthus produce leaves and shoots

in full flower and producing seed, so I thought I'd collect the seed to sow next year.The parsnip looks magnificent in flower. It's so strong and sturdy that it looks like it could take on a Siberian winter and still taste sweet. As for the leeks, they

Where does the old season end and the new one begin? For allotmenteers it can feel like something of a continuum - these days you can buy excellent plug plants of winter lettuce and oriental greens that will take you right through winter, if you

With so many people reporting sightings of unusual birds in their gardens - and observing some pretty odd behaviour - I'm struggling to entice anything other than pigeons to my plot. I don't know if I should even take part in this year's RSPB Big

as not to increase petrol consumption, and the less mud the better I suppose, if you love your car.Seriously though, there are many ways to reduce your carbon footprint, and driving around with a load of flowers on your roof probably wouldn't cut it. Planting trees

, but the land tips steeply down to the sea presenting the perfect soil-warming angle to the sun.I think we are the first residents of the bungalow this year and the garden has been recently 'tidied' i.e. savagely cut, mown, and cleared. The pampas grass tussock

unstaked. All it takes is one downpour and strong wind when plants are coming into flower and the whole lot can be flattened.But this May has caught me out. Some of my plant supports are in place, but not all of them. In the past two-three weeks my