Mowing Techniques & Tips

Grow with the flow and in early spring that flow is in the greenhouse

Growing Hyacinths

Slugs and Snails

This is one of the many books in my collection but the only one to focus on growing big, bigger and biggest vegetables. If you want to grow giant vegetable for exhibition or to get large crops then there are many pointers in ‘How to Grow Giant Vegetables’ by Bernard Lavery and below.

I am no great fan of large leaved hostas probably due to lack of space in my garden where I prefer to grow other plants. However the dwarf varieties are easy to get on with.

The original post on 5th April 2008′ was entitled welcome to the Compost Heap.’

Great big flowering Dahlias need some good support early in the season. A walled garden helps but these 4 by 4 canes with string every 12″-18″ add that bit extra. When the plants leaf-up and start to flower they will be heavy and liable to damage without support.

Have a plan in mind and think about the plants you are going to grow. Fruit, trees and shrubs will be long term investments and mature over time. Bedding and vegetables may need different treatment, location, maintenance and nutrients. Special gardens and collections of plants are even more complex. You almost get out of a garden what you are prepared to put into it!

The hot subject for discussion this Autumn seems to be the renaissance of Dahlias. For me they have never been far from my garden but I understand how fashions come and go then return.

There are two great uses for Geraniums that make it worth growing these fine flowering plants. Outdoors they make fantastic border plants and the red varieties are very popular in formal bedding schemes. The second use is as a long flowering houseplant and if you deadhead and feed you plants you will get lots of geraniums from one windowsill plant.

Ipomea indica the blue form of Morning Glory is a cool clear blue, a startling colour in the garden. As you would expect from a member of the Convolvulous clan it is a strong twisting and binding climber.

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