Ask a gardener of any skill level what the hardest part of having a garden is and they will all tell you the same thing – getting rid of weeds.
01.08.2023 - 14:32 / gardenerstips.co.uk / hortoris
I have just returned from Ilkley Moor (and I wasn’t courting Mary Jane). I was tramping through shoulder high bracken that was thriving after the recent rain and the lack of competition at lower levels. Bracken are a coarse fern noted for their large, highly divided leaves (ferns on the other hand only have two divisions per leaf to create the arching fronds).
Bracken spreads by means of underground roots that pop up new fronds and from spores. Living near the moor I have several uninvited clumps in the garden. This type of encroachment is damaging for farmers and allotments and one of several problems of bracken. It is poisonous to humans plus most animals and can be a host for ticks. So I think that answers the question and it should be hardy ferns for your garden!
Ferns for ‘where the sun seldom shines’ grow in 10,000 species of which only 50 are hardy in the UK. Species of different sizes, shapes and colours can be grown together. Give each enough space so the fronds do not overlap. Spleenworts or Asplenium are related to hartstongue ferns
Ask a gardener of any skill level what the hardest part of having a garden is and they will all tell you the same thing – getting rid of weeds.
In Yorkshire we are lucky to have several gardens designed using the theme of a Himalayan Garden. The Hut near Ripon at Grewlthorpe is  ‘The Himalayan Garden’ with all the plants you would expect in such a setting including
Dendrology is the the branch of botany and science about trees and other plants that have woody structures. It includes the natural history of trees, species identification, taxonomic classifications and economic significance.
A well maintained green sward with stripes from a lawnmower is the epitome of a British garden. It could be something to do with the amount of rain we get but it also depends on the type and care of the grass.
Edgeworthia is a genus of shrubs that flower in small clusters of scented 4 petaled flowers tightly packed to form a ball shape. The genus is related to the Daphne family and can be grown in the UK with similar treatment and success.
After salad crop failures in Spain and shortages of courgettes, broccoli and other ‘long distance’ vegetables gardeners could to worse than focus on traditional and non-traditional root crops.
The Brown Turkey fig, Ficus carica, produces large, sweet, juicy figs even in British conditions.
This summer has been damp and the plants have grown lush. In some way this has contributed to a dramatic cut in the number of greenfly on my roses and other plants (perhaps they found other feeding grounds or did not mate as prolifically).
Avoiding early onset of death caused by disease or climate change will affect the trees we plant in the future. Gardeners must consider tree selection carefully bearing in mind more than aesthetics and utility. Economics of forestry have increased there relevance to Britain as (the dreaded by some) Brexit nears. We import and export more wood than in previous years but with those extra tree miles comes risks. Toxins pests and disease are to readily spread from one country to another. CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is designed to protect over-exploitation and endangerment through international trade.
Britain has some of the best gardens in the world. The choice of which to visit is far larger than this selective list but at least it gives you somewhere to start planning this years outings.
In the cold wet winter it is a good time to plan where to visit as the year improves. The South West is the obvious place to start your visiting tour of gardens containing exotic plants.
Magnesian limestone grassland is uncommon in the UK but supports a wide range of plants and invertebrates. The dolomite or limestone has weathered to form thin lime-rich soils on which unique wildflower meadows have developed.