Last Minute Gifts for Gardeners

The gardener at Christmas is a hectic creature, trying to put the beds to bed so to speak before the coming of the winter cold, raising what remains of a vegetable patch from the ground and most of all getting the bloody

How to Plan a Vegetable Garden

Though there will be plenty of toil involved in raising your own produce aisle, that part does not begin for at least a few months, however, the genesis of the vegetable patch occurs in the middle of winter when, looking

I Wanna Rock - Planning a Rockery

A rockery can make for a very interesting focal point in a garden and also an excellent platform on which to plant choice specimens where they can be raised up and appreciated. It also allows you to manipulate the height

Heed the Seeds!

The January sales might not apply to gardening, but garden bargains can begin early with ordering seeds in preparation for the planting period of early spring to give yourselves plenty of inexpensive colour in the garden

Mistletoe - Where Did It Go?

Mistletoe - second to the Christmas tree, it is the staple yuletide plant. Songs are written about it, doors adorned with it and kisses won under it, but this seasonal decoration and great matchmaker is under threat, it

Flavoursome Fungus

This week I bring you the first in a two part piece concerning those fine fungal frequenters of our forests - the mushrooms. This first part concerns the edible of their kin that you should look out for on your next wood

Gimme Shelter

Trees serve many purposes in the garden. Whether it be providing excellent punctuation in your borders, housing a throng of blackbirds, or even hiding an unsightly feature on your Eden抯 horizon, they are a gardening nece

Advantages of Container Gardening

Personally, I think gardening in containers is the best thing since sliced bread! The possibilities are endless - you can create gardens of vegetables, herbs, fruit and flower! How great is that! Household containers bec

Ten Beauties of Winter

Winter has its ups and downs, whilst we抮e treated with festive cheer and an excuse to eat all the food we can stomach, we must also suffer cold weather and darkened days. But, while the sun may be dimmed, gardens have ne

Something Fungal This Way Comes...

The gardening headlines this week have been plastered with the threat of two new diseases that could potentially devastate Europe抯 indigenous tree population. In southern France, along the famous Canal du Midi, a plan h

Hydroponics 101 - Basic Tools

A hydroponics garden is unique in that it does not depend on soil to grow healthy vegetation. Plants do not need soil to grow at all- it just needs fresh air, water, and access to nutrients. With these in place, a plant

Luring the Bobbing Red Robin

There抯 much to be said for a healthy bird population in the garden - in winter most of all, when your blooms have retreated from cold weather and the space becomes a mesh of grey and brown, particularly with the shorter

Sensory Gardens (if not necessarily sensible!)

To many, a garden is just a glorified bouquet, somewhere to apply an artistic touch and allow nature to do the leg work and, while the aesthetic appeal of this idea is undeniable, to truly appreciate all that a garden h

Yellow Fellows

Continuing our colour coding of the garden, this week, if yellow is your thing, we bring you a host of butter-toned cultivars. Yellow is considered, in psychological circles, to effects one抯 self esteem, specifically to

Credit Crunch Hits Our Allotments

The Royal Horticultural Society have recently published a public interest story concerning the rising prices and popularity of allotment gardening and you may be shocked to find out how plot space translates into wallet

Caring For Your Compost

There are fewer habits a gardener can develop that are of greater benefit than composting. Dedication and persistence are rewarded with a cost effective means to fertilize your garden, not to mention a practical use for

Trees For Small Gardens

Last week we gave you information on proper pruning techniques and its many benefits, however even the most dedicated maintenance cannot make a large tree suitable for a small garden, and this week we address this with a

The Colour Purple

Continuing our weekly segment on different plant based colour schemes, we now address red and blues first child ?purple. As usual our list includes cultivation dos and don抰s, where best to place these examples to appreci

Whats in a Name?

Etymology, or the origin of words, is a fascinating subject, particularly where plants are concerned. Oft named after the discoverer抯 love interest, or for the characters of fables and fairy tales, or perhaps their origi

Keeping a Pest Free Greenhouse

Growing plants in a greenhouse gives you the opportunity to control the environment on a daily basis. Controlling the temperature, humidity and other climate conditions will help your plants thrive no matter what the co