Gardenig in Britain. Tips & Guides

As was clear from many Six on Saturday posts this weekend, spring is very much on its way in the UK and some other northern hemisphere gardens, so spotting signs of it is a doddle, with spring bulbs very much to the fore. It was only after I snipped the contents for today’s vase that I remembered my intention to pick some of the double Narcissus ‘Tête Boucle’ from the baskets usually hanging at the front of the house, but removed to allow installation of external installation (delayed numerous times, unsurprisingly due to the weather) and now languishing largely unseen at the side of the property instead. Perhaps they will still look as good next week?

Plant pots are a staple of the garden and are fantastic for displaying your favourite flowers and plants both indoors and out. They’re great for all types of gardens and allow those without the luxury of green space to display their work on balconies, decked areas, and conservatories.

Oxalis triangularis, also known as false shamrock, is an eye-catching bulbous perennial that makes an excellent and long-lived house plant. Bold, dramatic foliage in shades of dark purple to wine-red creates a striking contrast to blush-white flowers borne in summer. The leaves are three-lobed, hence the name of shamrock which it resembles, though is not actually related to. Oxalis triangularis is native to from Brazil. Its leaves have extra fascination because they open during the day and close at night.

Goji berries (Lycium barbarum) are a popular ‘superfood’ to eat fresh or dried. Native to China, they’re packed with vitamins and antioxidants and have been used in Chinese medicine for over a thousand years. They’re easy to grow at home in the UK and bear fruit after just one or two years. The best thing about growing your own goji berries is that you can eat them straight from the bush – most commercially available goji berries are dried.

Home-grown garlic takes up little space and requires hardly any effort to get a good crop. It’s an easy crop to grow, spouting from a garlic bulb separated into cloves, which you plant individually. Certified, disease-free garlic bulbs are sold at garden centres or online.

A wildflower meadow is a nature-friendly feature that can replace a lawn or take up part of a lawn, to the benefit of many pollinators and other wildlife. In the UK, traditional wildflower meadows have declined by more than 97 per cent since the 1930’s, so by creating a wildflower meadow at home, no matter how small, you can make a huge difference to declining species.

A weed is often described as ‘a plant growing in the wrong place’. But with growing awareness of the many benefits of ‘weeds’ to wildlife, along with the increasing popularity of naturalistic planting styles, the concept of a ‘weed’ is becoming looser, and can vary from one gardener to another.

Today we’re off to Tennessee to visit Lou Ann’s garden:

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This article has been checked for horticultural accuracy by Oliver Parsons.

1. The Promoter is Immediate Media Company London Limited (company number 06189487), Vineyard House, 44 Brook Green, London W6 7BT (“Immediate”). The competition is sponsored by Weetabix Limited (company number 00267687) (t/a “Alpen”).

Gardens of the Year 2024, sponsored by Alpen, is now open for entries and we want to see beautiful readers’ gardens of all styles and sizes. If you’d love to see your garden featured in BBC Gardeners’ World magazine and be in with a chance of winning a fantastic holiday prize, enter our exciting competition now. We’re looking for gardens from all over the UK – no plot is too big or too small. Previous finalists have included flower-filled allotments, tiny urban balconies and sprawling country gardens.

Transforming your flat’s balcony into a lush, herb-filled oasis is easier than you might think, even if you’re a complete novice. With a bit of know-how and enthusiasm, you can enjoy the freshest flavours right at your fingertips. Let’s dive into how to get started on this rewarding journey.

Common juniper (Juniperus communis) is one of only three conifers native to the UK. It’s a member of the cypress family and grows on chalk or limestone in lowland areas, and moors, woodland and cliffs in northern Britain. Juniper is in decline in wild populations and has been designated a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species. This special tree has disappeared from several areas in the south of England. Many remaining colonies are so small that they’re considered functionally extinct. Scotland is now the stronghold for 80 per cent of the UK’s juniper trees.

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Are Dahlia's perennials? We hear this question a lot, and the quick answer is ‘Yes, they are!’. But it also depends on the type of dahlia you’re looking to buy.

The oldest anthology of Japanese poetry refers to ‘seven plants showing green through the cold earth as harbingers of spring’.

They say that you can tell a surprising amount about a gardener by the kind of potatoes they grow. Some of us, for example, are traditionalists who’ll plump for the floury, fluffy ‘British Queen’ (colloquially known as ‘Queens’) every time. Others are passionate foodies who prefer the firm, waxy, flavoursome, yellow flesh of a salad potato such as ‘Charlotte’, or the heirloom ‘La Ratte’. Individualists, meanwhile, often like to seek out unusual kinds, such as the dark magenta-fleshed ‘Vitanoire’, or the knobbly ‘Pink Fir Apple’, the heritage variety famed for its more-ishness.

Britain is famously a nation of wildlife lovers. But with a 68% drop in wild animal populations since 1970, it’s more important than ever to look out for the natural world.

Cherry Ong has been sharing with us the little side-yard garden in her Richmond, British Columbia, garden. She calls the space the Fern Fairway, and she’s shown us how it looks during the warmer months of the year (The Fern Fairway in Summer). Today she’s sharing how it looks in winter.

Convenient Firewood Delivery New Britain CT

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Health Benefits of Kohlrabi

Lavender, the beloved favorite of every household, brings with it a myriad of associations that we should take the time to understand!

How to Grow and Care for Sea Thrift Armeria maritima

I must be honest and say that the petticoats are not velvet, but two pots of hooped petticoat narcissi in the Coop, Narcissus bulbocodium ‘Arctic Bells’ and ‘Casual Elegance’ (above); what is velvet, however, is a plant recommended for a cool greenhouse by well-known UK nurseryman Bob Brown. I was trying to find suitable contenders for the Coop and bit my tongue as I tried to ignore that it has yellow flowers – I am glad I did as the foliage is not only delightful but tactile too, and as a plant it has sailed through two winters with negligible attention and without batting an eyelid, looking every bit as smart as it did when I first bought it. Let me introduce you to Oxalis spiralis ‘Sunset Velvet’ (below):

A contemporary cottage garden fuses traditional cottage style with ‘naturalistic planting’, according to garden designer, Tim Pilgrim.

The great diving beetle is one of Britain’s largest beetles, with an olive-brown, oval body up to 3cm in length. It’s found in large ponds and other bodies of water, including swimming pools, and is easy to spot as it rises to the surface of the pond to replenish its air supply, which it stores beneath its wings.

Our gardens really spark back into life this month. Bulbs are emerging, perennials are producing fresh growth and deciduous plants are sprouting new leaves. As the days get noticeably longer and the mercury rises, our gardens and their inhabitants are warming up for the season ahead.

What are the red spiders on my plants?

Are you dreaming of a relaxing break this spring or summer? Then imagine a weekend spent in a luxurious hotel set in beautiful gardens, with delicious breakfasts, three-course dinners and superb leisure facilities, and add to that a gardener’s delight of live Q&As, talks and demos with the Gardeners’ World team. Sound appealing? Then join us for one of these exclusive events!

This crop growing on John’s Island in Charleston are fava beans or broad beans. They are grown in small acreages in South Carolina.

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Box, Buxus sempervirens, is a British native tree, most commonly used for hedging and topiary thanks to its small, evergreen leaves and dense growth. In April and May, it produces insignificant yellow flowers, that are nonetheless rich in nectar and popular with bees. Left untrimmed, a box plant can reach 5m tall, but most never reach this as they are clipped regularly.

Many people think of daffodils as the harbingers of spring, but we gardeners know there can be many other early spring treasures delighting us before most of the daffodils begin to emerge. Whatever we think of yellow blooms, however, there is still something pleasingly cheery about daffodils and narcissi of various types although personally, I prefer the smaller varieties and those that are – yes, I have to admit it – less yellow.