The Ashridge Nurseries Blog

I used to have a serious problem with yellow. As a colour for clothes, for home decor and – most of all – in the garden. Even daffodils were banned. Somehow it seemed too cheery, too bright and, by association, just a little bit tacky and common. I was a sunshine snob. It’s...

Whether you’re thinking of a hedge, wallflowers, fruit trees, climbers, roses, lavender or ornamental garden trees, now is the time to get out there and plant to your hearts’ content. I’ve recently planted broad leafed lime trees to act as a screen to cover up the background of a town...

If I had a bigger garden, one of my (many) aims would be to plant more trees. There are the obvious benefits for the environment and wildlife to consider: more habitat, food and shelter for birds, insects and other creatures, plus all that oxygen being pumped back into the atmosphere...

There are two obsessions that gardening induces; firstly the weather and most importantly your own garden taking over your thoughts and dreams. The weather Is it too cold, is the ground frozen or even warming up? Is it too wet, or too dry? Is it the right time to plant...

Being a complete novice to hedgelaying, my son (Harry) and I signed up for a competition run by the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt in East Pennard, Somerset. The competition was divided into two classes, the open for the professionals and the novice for the amateur enthusiasts, we were most...

How do you feel about your garden in winter? If you look out of the window and find it dreary, uninteresting – a bit mournful, even – it’s probably because it lacks structure. Good structure is a really important component of successful garden design, and comes in a number of...

Lavender is a herb, a flower, a medicine, a deterrent. Its uses are many and varied, probably more than any other plant I know. Lavender looks great, smells even better and despite being of Mediterranean and North African provenance is a classic English staple of cottage gardens, as well as...

Who doesn’t love snowdrops? They’re small but perfectly formed, utterly captivating and are the first signs of spring. I have just one small patch of them in my south London garden, under a robinia tree, tucked among the wallflowers. I dug them up from my gran’s garden in Wales nearly...

Forgive me for boasting, but I understand how Latin plant names work. Learning about botanical nomenclature is one of my proudest achievements (it’s up there with touch-typing and mastering choux pastry). But I also understand that a lot of people don’t get it at all. It looks confusing. And unnecessary...

There’s no escaping it, January is hardly fun packed. After the jollity and cosy indulgences of December, it hits us full on with its chill, dark days and its unreasonable demands to live life more mindfully, more healthily, less lazily. But it’s a brand new year, and – believe it...