January Garden Tips
Pulmonaria rubra Mild: Due to the late arrival of winter there have been some unseasonal spring flowers appearing during December. Pulmonaria rubra is always early, but I’ve never seen it before Christmas, exchorda, [...]
April Garden Tips
“The force that through the green fuse drives the flower” It is hard to believe but in a matter of days, leaves will be unfurling, birds nesting, bulbs and shrubs flowering and seeds germinating. [...]
July Garden Tips
Slide into full summer: Flaming June has been and gone. Sizzling July has arrived with no sign of a break in the weather. There is a decided shortage of the wet stuff. We in north-western [...]
July Garden Tips
Shady favourites: white and blue flowers to glow in low evening light. Shade in this case means protected from the sun during most of the day; under the canopy of large trees, or in the [...]
July Garden Tips
July is a proper summer month. There should be a high hot sun bringing out the scents of flowers and foliage. If it rains, that too brings out that unique smell of grass and leaves. [...]
October Garden Tips
October is good month for visiting gardens open to the public for inspiration, as many border perennials will continue to flower, grasses are looking at their tawny best and trees large and small put on [...]
October Garden Tips
Blazing October: And it’s not just about leaf colour; many shrubs and herbaceous plants continue giving of their best all through the month and on until nipped by the first wintery weather. Michaelmas daisies have [...]
October Garden Tips
Stipa tennuissima at the Oudolf garden in Humello Ornamental grasses really come into their own at this time of year. Their stems are set moving by the wind and catch the low light. [...]
November Garden Tips
Cold weather approaches: If the mild weather still holds there is still time to get things done before frost chills the soil. Sow broad beans, plant garlic bulbs and, if you can find them purple [...]
November Garden Tips
Autumn colours seem exceptional this year; oaks, beeches, sycamores and ashes are lighting up the fields. In the garden, small trees can give a glowing display too, and do not discount the value of [...]