Rows of tall Delphinium ‘Strawberry Fair’ in Polly Nicholson's Wiltshire garden
The best blues in the garden, delphiniums light up the back of the border with immense candles of cobalt, sapphire, and azure. Reaching 1.5 to 1.8 metres, they point towards the blue summer sky and, at their best, outshine every plant in the vicinity. The lesser-known pastel forms are also beautiful and essential perennials in the cottage garden, which is the historic home of delphiniums.
Since at least the fifteenth century, delphiniums were cultivated in cottage gardens. Delphinium staphisagria was widely grown to ward off lice, but by the seventeenth century, D. consolida (syn. Consolida regalis) was planted as an ornamental and cut flower. There are around 300 species of delphinium, native to the Northern Hemisphere, with most hailing from Asia and around ten per cent growing wild in Europe.
The iconic ornamental delphiniums of today were bred from various species, but in particular D. elatum (candle larkspur). In France, the plant breeder Victor Lemoine introduced the first semi-double cultivar in 1852, moving the plants away from more widely spaced blooms on very branching stems, towards the dense flower towers we know and love. In Britain, wonderful hybrids followed from the Kelways and Blackmore and Langdon nurseries in Somerset. Today, Blackmore and Langdon is still a specialist delphinium nursery, run by the great-grandsons of one of the original founders, Charles Langdon, and selling a lovely range of Elatum cultivars.
Delphinium ‘Blue Jade’ at Wardington Manor
The blue Elatum hybrids that stop you in your tracks by blooming in Côte D’Azur shades of cerulean and cobalt include ‘Blue Nile’ (ultramarine), ‘Langdon’s Pandora’ (azure),
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The elm zigzag sawfly (Aproceros leucopoda, SLF) is one of the latest non-native species to take hold in the U.S. It was first found in Virginia in 2021, and active infestations are now established in Maryland, New York, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. EZS has not been detected in South Carolina, but it is an insect for which we need to be on the lookout.
As the golden warmth of summer winds down, many believe it’s time to hang up their gardening gloves. Whether you’re a city dweller with limited terrace space or just someone looking to optimize their garden yield, here’s a list of Vegetables You Can Plant in August and Harvest in September!
Native to South Africa, Streptocarpus – or Cape primrose – are lovely house plants that are grown for their fresh green leaves and pretty, primrose-like flowers in the UK. The flowers come in a wide range of colours, from white to pink, blues and purples, lemon yellow and red, and they are often bi-coloured. They bloom from spring though to autumn, offering a long-lasting display. Plants in the ‘Crystal’ series flower for even longer, and may even flower all year.
A fad in modern architecture and gardening or a necessity to bring back nature into industrialised densely built urban landscapes? Living green walls are becoming more and more popular, so we decided to explore the benefits, installation and maintenance process of these structures. Read on to find out how long they have been around, why so many buildings are having them, and how you can make one for your home.
Hedera, which we commonly refer to as English Ivy (pl. Ivies), is a family of around 20 species of evergreen perennial plants. Depending on their surroundings, these woody plants can be both ground creeping or climbing nearby trees, rocks, buildings, and pretty much anything they can lay their stems on.
Today, we bring you an external expert to the table to tell us some nifty gardening tricks. Nicky Roeber is the Online Horticultural Expert at Wyevale Garden Centres. Here, he shares his top tips for creating a garden that can be packed up and moved — perfect for green-fingered members of “generation rent”.
There’s nothing like a tall,green hedge to create a little real estate intrigue, and the best neighborhoods in Santa Barbara are lined with them. The coastal California community is known as one of the country’s favorite beachside retreats, and for its many homes that look as though they were plucked straight from a storybook—if you’re lucky enough to catch a glimpse through thick green foliage.
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
Veg Seed Sowing Plans for May To ensure a continuous harvest throughout the summer rather than a glut successional sowing of salads, radishes, beetroots, carrots, autumn giant leeks and spring onions and peas should continue. Sow basil, particularly alongside tomato seedlings to help draw white fly away plus spinach, rocket and ornamental salad leaves. Globe Artichokes and Swiss Chard for looks as well as food. Pole, French and above all Runner Beans Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Savoy Cabbage, Kale and Calabrese
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.