Header image: Melburnians admire the first primrose to arrive in the colony, transported by a Wardian case, in Edward Hopley’s A Primrose from England, circa 1855. [Bendigo Art Gallery, Gift of Mr and Mrs Leonard Lansell 1964]
07.08.2023 - 11:41 / blog.fantasticgardeners.co.uk
By V J Matthew/ Shutterstock
Bulb flowers, planted correctly and on time, are some of the least demanding plants in the garden. On top of that, their blossoms and leaves contribute greatly for the beauty of your home and garden. Nothing can soften the biting frost as well as the planted bulbs do, growing under the snow, ready to bloom in wonderful colours as the first spring sun rays make their way through the thick moody clouds.
You can force the bulb growth in containers at home, too, and enjoy the fragrant blossoms when winter comes to an end – an essential gardening job for the autumn.
For the sake of simplicity, we will refer to all of the above as bulbs. Depending on the type of the bulb, it can either withstand temperatures below 0°C or not. The tender ones cannot bear negative winter temperatures and have to hibernate inside your house (freesias). The bulbs that can withstand lower temperatures can safely hibernate out in the open (crocuses).
While flower seeds provide nutrition only until the sprouting plant finds moisture and nutrients, bulbs contain all fibers and minerals, necessary for the plant growth. After the plant’s fully grown and blooming, the chlorophile in the leaves, its roots and last but not least, the soil nutrients, provide the recovery of the bulb and it prepares for the next blooming cycle.
Removing a part or all of the leaves after blooming can significantly impede the bulb’s recovery cycle and even lead to the plant’s demise.
You can preserve the plant leaves and your garden’s beauty by tying the leaves together. Another way is to surround the deflorated bulb flowers with other types of plants to hide the withered leaves. Plant annual plants with shallow rooting systems, such as petunia,
Header image: Melburnians admire the first primrose to arrive in the colony, transported by a Wardian case, in Edward Hopley’s A Primrose from England, circa 1855. [Bendigo Art Gallery, Gift of Mr and Mrs Leonard Lansell 1964]
Gardening for some provides the daily bread, for others, it’s an escape from reality and for you, it might be your favourite hobby. Nevertheless, a garden decorated to your own preferences will act as a source of inspiration and will provide you a place to gather up your thoughts.
A butterfly garden (or butterfly habitat) is a place dedicated for butterflies to feed and hydrate. It also helps butterflies find shelter, as many of their natural habitats are being lost due to human activities and urbanisation.
In their original environments, invasive plants are restrained by their natural adversaries, with whom they co-evolved. However, when they are introduced to a new environment without these natural enemies, some plants can flourish and spread uncontrollably, ultimately becoming invasive.
Have you ever wondered which flower best reflects your personality? Fantastic Gardeners just made a quiz which aims to define exactly your inner soul flower, based on your answers in a quest-like scenario. Let’s dig deep into psychology!
Outdoor Christmas decorations are key in creating a cheerful and festive ambience during the holiday season. Whether you’re going all out, making your house and garden the envy of the street with elaborate light designs and displays, or you just want to welcome your guests with a simple hand-made wreath and some soft candle glow, we offer you suggestions on how to decorate a garden for Christmas to lift spirits and make warm memories during the cold days and nights.
What brings the biggest joy to a person is seeing they helped someone be happy, too. In Fantastic Gardeners’ case, it was the creation of a spot for the children of the Acol Nursery school to play, explore and feel more homely. In our previous session we set the stage for the stars of the show to appear – it was already March and it was high time for flowers to march forward.
Yes, we’re talking about mint! The breath-saving, tummy-taming, taste-boosting mint. At Fantastic Gardeners, we love this refreshing plant, and why wouldn’t we? It is fragrant, easy to grow, and has many beneficial uses in culinary arts, medicine, and cosmetics.
With spring coming to its peak, we at Fantastic Gardeners decided to take a look back at the beginning of this jolly and fresh season and at one recent good deed. The Acol Nursery in London reached out to us back in February with the little asking to help them get their outdoor gardens in order.
If you’re anything like us, then you love your dog and want to include them in as many of your daily activities as possible. Every dog owner has experienced the joy, frustration, and laughter caused by our four-legged friends who decide to help us complete a task and, in most cases, create even more chaos as a result.
Most of the time, overgrown or sick trees are simply a nuisance, an eyesore in your otherwise impeccable garden. Sometimes, however, they can also mean trouble and your best course of action will often be to contact a specialist.
With the massive industrialisation, intensive agriculture, and expansion of urban areas that has occurred in the UK since the 1950’s, we have lost 96% of the wild meadows which once dotted the landscape.