It is hard to think about what needs doing in the garden in February when the garden feels like it is off limits because of the late winter weather. As I write, after 6 straight days of heavy rain, snow is now swirling around a bleak and sodden February garden, whipped by a bitter easterly …
House plant care basics: the 7 requirements If you can master these house plant care basics, you’ll find that you are in a pretty good position to look after most kinds of house plants. All plants have various requirements that need to be met in order for the plant to thrive and grow. For house …
In the video below, I answer the question whether geraniums are annuals or perennials by looking at the geraniums in my garden. So are geraniums annuals or perennials? Odd as it might sound in a post about geraniums, we’ll start with some plants that aren’t actually geraniums, namely pelargoniums. Pelargoniums – are they even geraniums? …
Sansevieria is commonly grown as a house plant in cooler, northern hemisphere climates, although it grows outdoors readily in tropical and subtropical regions. It is native to dry and rocky regions of Indonesia, Africa, Madagascar and India. Commonly known as the snake plant, the snakeskin plant, bowstring hemp or mother-in-law’s tongue, Sansevieria is now in …
Are these the 15 best gardening books for beginners only? I’ve called this post 15 of the best gardening books for beginners. But really, these are just 15 great gardening books – among the best gardening books I know. It is a selection of top gardening books for beginners, because it covers the range of …
What are cuttings and why take them? Cuttings are pieces of plant material that are removed from a plant and used to propagate new plants. Plant propagation by cuttings is a form of asexual propagation (also known as vegetative propagation) that creates a genetically identical clone of the original plant. There are five main different …
Are your tomato plants a little too cosy in the garden? It might seem harmless, but cramming them in can seriously backfire—leading to poor air circulation, more pests and diseases, and a disappointing harvest. Where ever you’re planting your tomatoes – in a raised bed, grow bag, or traditional veg patch – getting the spacing …
Learning how to grow zucchini is pretty straightforward. In fact these were one of the first plants I grew when I first had a vegetable garden, so they can definitely be a good crop for beginner gardeners. Zucchini, also known as courgette, is a summer squash of the Cucurbitaceae family. The Latin name is cucurbita …
The difference between perennials and annuals is one of the questions about plants that can be confusing, especially if you are new to gardening. Here we consider annuals and perennials, highlighting how they differ and clearing up whether some of our most popular garden plants are annuals or perennials. Perennial vs annuals: the key difference …
It seems to me that if you are interested in gardening, you are interested in growing plants. Unless you are going to create a Japanese Zen garden, like the famous Ryōan-ji garden in Kyoto, plants are going to be at the centre of your gardening efforts. What do we get from growing plants? Plants give …
Petunias: annual or perennial? In most garden environments petunias are sold and grown as annuals, typically as bedding plants for beds, hanging baskets and containers. But are petunias really annuals? The answer is no. Technically, petunias are perennials. This is because in warm temperate climates, with no risk of frost and no scorching temperatures, petunias …
One of the great advantages of dahlias is that if you keep deadheading them, they will continue to flower right into the fall/autumn. However, dahlias are only borderline hardy which means that the flowers and foliage will be cut back by the first frosts. So, at this point in the year you have to decide …
What is deadheading and why do it? Deadheading flowers is simply the process of removing the spent blooms from your plants. You should typically deadhead as the bloom fades and begins to lose its petals. There are two main reasons for deadheading your flowers. Firstly, deadheading encourages your plant to produce more flowers. Secondly, deadheading …
In this article I show you how to prune hydrangeas, with a simple step by step process. There are multiple species of hydrangea and many different varieties or cultivars within each species. This means, it is pretty easy to find a hydrangea to suit your garden. Hydrangea flowers Hydrangeas are grown for their showy flowers. …
The video below is all about pruning or pinching out tomato plants, in particular pinching out the side shoots of tomato plants. If you want to know how to prune tomato plants, this is basically what you need to know. In the video: Transcript: How to pinch out tomato plants This is a short video …
In the video below, I show you how to prick out tomato seedlings. Pricking out is the process of transplanting the tomato seedlings from their original seed tray into a pot so that they can grown on. Normally, they would then be grown on in the pot for a few weeks before the tomato plants …
Geranium × johnsonii ‘Johnson’s Blue’, the Meadow Cranesbill Johnson’s Blue, or more simply Geranium ‘Johnson’s Blue’ is a clump forming hardy geranium with lavender, 5 petalled flowers, approximately 5 com (2 inches) across which held above attractive foliage. The plant hold’s the RHS Award of Garden Merit. The hardy geraniums are great ground cover plants, given their spreading …
Gas powered lawn mowers give you power, durability and flexibility. As long as you’ve got the fuel, these things will keep going, meaning that you can cut lawns large and small, near to or far from your house. There are various types of gas powered lawn mowers and a range of different features available. This …
Buying the best lawn edger tool you can find could be a great decision, because if there is one single thing you can do to make your garden look sharp – it’s tidying up the edges of your lawn and garden beds. Even if your perennials need staking, your hedges need a trim or your …
Dahlia Wizard of Oz is a pompon dahlia (read more about the different types of dahlias here), with a beautiful delicate pearly pink colouring. As a pompon, it has a fairly small double flower head (2-3 inches across), in a round, or globular, shape and its petals (technically its ray florets) are tubular or rounded …