Yearly Archives: 2006

This is the time of year for hardwood cuttings, they don’t need a propagator, heat, misting or any specialist equipment, all you need is good old fashioned garden soil, sharp sand and a pair of secateurs. Plants that can be … [ Read More ]

If you’ve never tried growing garlic, make this the year! It needs light soil, an open sunny site and can be planted from early October to late December. Don’t plant until spring on heavier soils, digging in grit or planting … [ Read More ]

It‘s long been the practice to spray tough weeds like ‘Ground Elder‘ and ‘Bindweed‘ when they‘re in flower but it‘s recently been discovered that autumn is particularly effective. At this time of year the sap is being drawn deep into … [ Read More ]

Autumn is main seasons for lawn maintenance. Rake out the ‘thatch‘ or dead grass and moss that has accumulated over the mowing season using a wire rake or lawn rake from the tool hire shop. To save money, you could … [ Read More ]

It’s important to make arrangements for someone to look after your smaller houseplants while you‘re on holiday. Ideally ask a neighbour who’s keen on gardening. If your kitchen draining board is away from scorching sunshine, group all your houseplants there, … [ Read More ]

Lawn grasses are remarkable plants and their power of survival is never more obvious than during hot dry summers when there’s a hosepipe ban. It doesn’t take long before the lawn is brown, parched and seemingly dead, yet like grasslands … [ Read More ]

The cool spring, heavy rain and little sunshine over the past weeks has ensured that this years sowings in my vegetable plot were well behind schedule. There‘s no point in following the sowing dates on the seed packet if seeds … [ Read More ]

Although it is May and the garden centre is awash with beautiful bedding, it‘s better to resist the temptation to buy until the last frost has past, so many gardeners buy early and regret later. It is, however a good … [ Read More ]

Now‘s the time to repot or ‘top dress‘ houseplants, just before they start into growth and it‘s a good idea to give them a spring clean too. Check all of your plants annually, not all will need repotting as they … [ Read More ]