I first really saw prunella as a herbaceous border plant in my sister-in-law’s garden in Australia. It isn’t a show stopper. But I consider it amongst the top perennials because it is charming and easy. It flowers for months at a time, either in sun or quite shady spots. It’s…
The first question anyone asks about pruning hydrangeas is ‘when should I prune?’ The Royal Horticultural Society says that you should prune hydrangeas in late winter or early spring. That’s February or March in most of the UK. Others will say you shouldn’t prune until March. The dried hydrangea flower…
It’s time for the potting shed tidy up. While I’m sorting the tools and accessories, I’ll picking out which ones I want to replace or repair and which I’ll throw away . The best quick shed tidy tip I hate tidying, so I have to force myself. One trick I’ve…
Of course, as with fashion, not everything you see will transfer to your own garden. The flower borders, for example, are fantasy. Enjoy them! But many of the garden design ideas and details transfer brilliantly to real gardens, especially as show gardens are designed in such a limited space. So…
The way you plant a tree makes a huge difference to whether it will survive. A badly planted tree won’t necessarily fail in the first year, according to award winning garden designer Jamie Butterworth, MD of Form Plants tree and shrub nursery. But it will fail at some point. And…
Indoor outdoor plants are plants you can grow in winter as house plants, then move out onto your terrace or garden when the warmer weather comes. If you don’t have a greenhouse but want to grow plants that won’t survive your winters, then plants you can bring indoors when the…
I started thinking about garden soil recently when a friend complained to me about her gardener. She’d just had a large bundle of bare root roses delivered. So she asked her gardener to plant them immediately. But the gardener spent hours picking bits of old builder’s rubble and stones out…
There are three factors that influence autumn colours in your garden. The first is quite obvious. Choose the plants that are well known for good autumn colour. I’ll list some later in this post. The second is often forgotten. You need to plant them in the right place. I’ll explain…
An evergreen garden looks as good in winter as it does in summer. And taking that all gardens need maintenance, it’s also relatively easy-care. I’ve just visited a beautiful evergreen garden in Norwich, which also has some brilliantly clever touches that would suit any garden. It belongs to Roger Lloyd…
I’ve asked top gardeners Steve Edney and Louise Dowle for their tips on how to create an outstanding perennial border. They’ve just created one of the longest herbaceous borders in the UK – from scratch. It was a field two years ago. Now it’s a stunning, harmonious display of beautiful…
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