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Buying plants

Header image: Down House: the home (and garden) of Charles Darwin. Credit: <a href=«https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/kent-england-october-25-2015-history-667797409?src=» http:>Shutterstock

Rupesh Paudyal, University of Leeds

It started at the garden centre, where I was helping to put newly arrived plants out in the autumn/winter ‘tub and basket’ display. There’s a good range of ornamental plants on offer, all looking very cute in their youthful stages, in various colours and textures. They might not have the showy flowers of summer bedding, but they’re all interesting plants. The winter garden doesn’t have to look dull! The ones that caught my eye were Gaultheria ‘Very Berry’, cute little plants with dark green leaves, white bell-shaped flowers (they look exactly like little blueberry flowers, because they’re related), and quite large berries ripening from white to pink (ultimately they should go red).

Last weekend, as the temperatures soared, I found a certain amount of solace in learning more about how plants are being grown in Antarctica – the coldest place on Earth. 

When I bought my first house, way back in 2001, I was already an environmentalist. It started – as it so often does – with a childhood love of animals and a desire to save them. Back then it was all about dolphin-friendly tuna, the ozone layer, and and Food Miles. That first house came with a recycle bin, and to begin with we were one of the only households in the street to make use of it. We watched as recycling became more mainstream, and more people started putting their recycling out, and then as rubbish collections shrank and the hold-outs were forced to recycle.

On 31 January 1971, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell and Stuart Roosa launched on their Apollo 14 mission to the Moon. While Shepard and Mitchell walked on the Moon, Roosa stayed in orbit, taking photographs and performing experiments. Tucked away in his personal belongings were 500 tree seeds, which orbited the Moon 34 times.

Join Emma the Space Gardener as she explores gardening on Earth… and beyond! In this episode, Emma explores some exciting interplanetary plant news and talks about two projects growing in the Orbital Garden – heritage hydroponics and space chiles.

Jill Edmondson, University of Sheffield and Jonathan Leake, University of Sheffield

Henchman has teamed up with The English Garden to offer one lucky reader the chance to win a 6ft Fully Adjustable Tripod Ladder, worth £339.

Winter season doesn’t mean you have to turn your back to your flower garden until spring comes. There is a good number of plants that bloom beautifully even in the coldest of weather. Let’s dig into their world and see which ones you will fancy.

Window boxes are a fast and easy way to update your exterior and add a pop of colour to your walls. You can plant various types of plants and flowers and impress your guests and neighbours. If you were wondering what to put in a window box and what types of window boxes you can have, then continue reading our article.