Search - Articles

changing from pink to blue...a clear illustration of the affect of pH on plants.My garden soil must have got more alkaline, possibly through watering with 'hard' tap water during hot weather last summer, hence the pink flowers this year. I'll need to change

overcoat that has now infected their foliage in my garden (anyone know any resistant varieties?).With regular deadheading and watering I'm hoping to keep my sweet peas going a little longer, generating ever-welcome cut flowers.For me it's also one

It's hard to believe how quickly plants have grown in my garden over the past few weeks. My hostas are doing particularly well. In April I was considering repotting some of my established and congested pots of newly emerging hostas, but they've now

through to late-spring under cover, whether in the greenhouse or on a windowsill. All of them appreciate the extra light outside in the summer garden. For stability, all are potted into terracotta pots, as plants in plastic ones blow over far too easily

I can't be the only one looking for foolproof plants to brighten the patio during summer, but it's always nice to try something a little different too.Traditional summer bedding has its place, but it does demand regular attention.Daily watering

Breathe deeply as you enter my sitting room this month and you’ll take in the powerful, almost intoxicating fragrance of paper-white narcissi.I planted the Narcissus papyraceus bulbs last autumn, in a glass bowl layered with gravel. All I've done

.So, what's left? Thankfully, I was tempted to buy a couple of hardy evergreen ferns from Fernatix while at Gardeners' World Live a few years ago and now, planted in tall terracotta pots, they take pride of place on my patio during winter.Ferns have rotten

with the April issue of Gardeners' World magazine have now been sown, and seedlings have germinated. This is one gardening activity that never fails to give me a thrill.There was a time when advice for sowing sweet peas did become quite demanding. It was claimed

It's worth getting out into the garden even when the weather is so cold. I find I've been missing out for the past few weeks; there's a plant doing its own thing while everything around it is dull and dormant - the hellebore. The oriental hellebore

taken down by worms to improve the soil. At this time of year, when perennial plants are putting on such a burst of new growth, I also make sure they don't go short of water. Adding a liquid feed a couple of times a year also helps.It has been