Frances Tophill's guide to February pruning

HAPPY SPRING!

Early shoots are now beginning to emerge – a welcome treat after the garden’s winter slumber. Crocus peep their heads above ground in shades of purple, white and deepest gold, while the subtle blooms of hellebores are a discreet pleasure. Once snowdrops have gone over, it’s time to divide them while they’re ‘in the green’. And don’t forget to cut back ornamental grasses like calamagrostisand sow sweet peas.

How to Plant and Grow ‘Winter Density’ Lettuce Lactuca sativa ‘Winter Density’

Growing with Rachel

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These were certainly known to the Ancient Egyptians and are probably natives of northern and western Asia. They are extremely hardy.

Commemorating M. Gaillard de Marentonneau, a French patron of botany (Compositae). Blanket flower. A small genus of annuals and perennials, natives of America, with a long flowering period, useful for cut flowers. Somewhat untidy in habit, the long stalks fall about in wind and rain. Gaillardias need some twiggy stakes to help to keep the flowers clean and in full view.

Valentine’s Day has just passed, and if you were lucky, someone you love gave you roses to celebrate the occasion. All the romance and fragrance in the air bring to mind one of history’s great love stories-that of Napoleon and Josephine. Naturally the whole tale is full of roses.

Recently I went to see a big garden—seven acres to be exact. It was located on some of the priciest real estate anywhere, and it was gorgeous. It took a big crew to maintain it and a big chipper shredder machine to keep it in wood chips. Needless to say, it was bankrolled by someone with a big pocketbook. It also took a lot of big-leaf plants to cover the ground. Small and delicate plants have their charms, but when you have acreage to cover, eyesores to hide, or lots to do other than gardening, big plants are the ticket.

(Aza’lea). Botanists now classify all plants they once called Azaleas as Rhododendrons. Garden lovers still use Azalea for deciduous or leaf-losing kinds and for a few that are not, and the name Rhododendron for evergreen kinds which have large, leathery leaves. In the treatment that follows, Azalea is used as a common name and Rhododendron as the scientific name, thus, when a species is named it is written, for example, R. calendulaceum instead of A. calendulacea.

I spent the morning putting the guttering round the newly covered chicken run, and also fixing some of the guttering at the back of the chicken house.

After several years of sowing at different time, I’ve come to the conclusion that the perfect time for me to sow my Runner and French Bean seeds in the greenhouse is on 1st May. That way they have exactly one month to grow and be the perfect size to be planted outside on 1st June. I live in the South East of the UK so all worries of frost have gone from that area by the beginning of June. If you live further north or south of where I am, then you know your frost dates and can adjust your timings.