“Mild Weather Tricks Plants To Thinking Spring Has Arrived” is a headline I saw recently and is certainly true for my garden. In December there were only a few frosty nights and January so far is mild and wet. The camellias have clearly decided that spring is here. The first flower appeared a few days [...]
“Aphids aren’t all bad” claims the headline, but “Gardeners know aphids as tiny, squishy pests that can suck the life right out of plants and, as if that weren’t enough, leave behind a sticky, nasty mess”. It’s common knowledge that ladybugs eat aphids and and so can be used as a non chemical form of [...]
Tags:aphids·compost·control·figs·ladybugs·non-chemical·pests·soil
It’s time to start thinking about planting bulbs to flower in the spring, but if like most of us you have squirrels in the area, you need to plan how you can protect the bulbs. I found this article by Ciscoe Morris writing in the Seattle Times in which he suggests various ways to safeguard [...]
Last year I planted a helenium in one of my herbaceous beds and this is the second year that it has bloomed profusely. The other day I noticed a Red Admiral butterfly on the plant. I was able to go back into the house to collect my camera and then return to find the butterfly [...]
For me August is the month when the garden is past its best and my thoughts turn to the autumn cleanup and plans for next year. But there are plenty of things to be done in August and I have found two articles, one covering lawns and the other irises. I have to confess that [...]
Conventional wisdom tells us that shade is the last thing that vegetables need, but Mark Hoffman from Kempton, Illinois disagrees. He will tell you from personal experience that some shade can have unexpected benefits. For instance potatoes which are grown partly in shade are more resistant to leaf hoppers. While crops grown in shade will [...]
Tags:gadgets·guerilla gardening·proactive gardening·shade·vegetables·veggies·weeds
After two months without any rain and unseasonal high temperatures the last three weeks have reversed the trend with heavy showers and longer periods of rain nearly every day. As a result my roses bloomed a month earlier than usual and so now have finished their first flush, but made a great show for a [...]
Last week I wrote about the preparations for the Chelsea Flower Show and included some links to pictures of some of the more unusual show gardwns. One of these was the Irish Sky Garden designed by Diarmuid Gavin which won a Gold medal and The RHS People’s Choice Award. I found this video tour of [...]
Tags:Chelsea Flower Show·Irish Sky Garden·japanese maple·rooftop garden
In my last post I mentioned the preparations for the Chelsea Flower Show and this is the week that the show opens its doors to the public. Each year sees more and more ambitious designs to the extent that there is some adverse press comment that the structures are taking over from the flowers. For [...]
