Alstroemerias are very easy to grow. They flower from May to November in a UK garden and even longer in some other countries. ‘They’ll flower all year round if you keep them in pots in a greenhouse,’ says Ben Cross of Crosslands Flower Nursery, alstroemeria growers in Sussex. Also known…
Salvias are the stars of the late season garden. Many flower from summer right through to the first frosts. William Dyson is the UK’s top expert on salvias. He’s the curator of Great Comp Garden in Kent, where he also runs the award-winning Dyson’s Nurseries. I asked him to tell…
Midsummer is a good time to tweak your flower colour. The extra steps you take now will keep your border looking good throughout the summer and into autumn. You put in some hard work, planning and planting last autumn and spring. Or maybe many of your favourite plants have been…
Perennials are the main flowering element of a successful mixed border. So I went to one of the UK’s premier perennial plant nurseries, Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants, to talk to Rosy Hardy about how to choose and grow perennials. What are perennials? Rosy says that a perennial plant is one…
Edible flowers have been one of the surprise successes of the last few years. Many of us are suspicious of the idea of eating flowers, but they do look so pretty on Instagram. So the search term ‘edible flowers’ rocketed during lockdown, with people mainly wanting to know where they…
If you buy your garden border plants from the people who grow them, you’ll benefit from their expert advice and knowledge. That’s why going to a plant fair can be such a rewarding way to buy plants. The Plant Fairs Roadshow is a collective of independent plant nurseries, who organise…
We all want beautiful but tough perennials in our gardens this year. Temperate climates (those with spring, summer, autumn and winter seasons) are notoriously changeable. At Antique Perennials, Kinglake, Australia’s top perennial nursery, they know all about unexpected weather extremes. At first glance, the weather at Antique Perennials seems similar…
If you grow daffodils, they’ll come back year after year. Tulips are outrageously colourful and gorgeous, but usually disappear after one or two years. Daffodils are the most easy-going spring flowering bulbs. Not only do they come back, they will often spread. Daffodils are also considered to be deer, squirrel,…
Many of the most successful garden designs link indoor and outdoor space by using colour, materials and even furniture to create a seamless transition. Sometimes it’s called ‘blurring the boundaries’ between house and garden. I spoke to two people with very different garden styles, but who both successfully connect their…
You can group pots to create a complete ‘garden border.’ Or you can drop pots into a border to fill a gap or add colour. If you garden in a rented garden or a very small space, you can achieve the colour and impact of a herbaceous border with a…
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