Monthly Archives: January 2013

March 2013 photo competition: First flowers

Our March 2013 photo competition is open for entries!

I'm sure you, just like us, are yearning for those warm spring days. So, in honour of the change of season, our theme this month is:

"First flowers"

We've chosen white apple blossom against a bright blue sky to decorate our blog post, but we're sure you've got more creativity! Forest flowers, hedgerows, garden blooms, sleepy shrubs waking up...

The closing date for entries is midnight on Thursday 21 February 2013. The three winners will be contacted via email, including their prize voucher code, by Thursday 28 February.

As before we're giving away a total of more than £100 in vouchers to three lucky winners!
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How to get more fruit... faster!

One of the joys of gardening is that patience is usually rewarded.

Plants increase in size and impact as time passes and fruit trees are no exception.

Understandably, however, an oft repeated question runs along the lines of "how do I get more fruit, more quickly?"

There are a number of golden rules in gardening but the most important of them all is summed up in "as ye sow so shall ye reap."
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Recipe: Warm duck salad with blackberries

A guide to fruit tree pollination

Delicate blossom from the Bountiful cooking apple

The science (and sometimes the snake-oil) can run deep when it comes to fruit tree pollination.

You could read endless books and research studies on how to optimise your orchard with a diversity of cross-pollinators to achieve a bumper crop.

For most growers, it's actually pretty straightforward to get the right results. This guide should take the confusion out of how best to pollinate your fruit trees.
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How to choose the right hedge

The winter planting season is well under way, and one of the oldest forms of planting is hedging.

We give a few pointers below on what to consider when choosing a hedge for your garden, allotment, orchard, farmland – pretty much anywhere in fact.
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Recipe: Morello cherry cheesecake

February 2013 photo competition: "Roses"

Cameras at the ready, our February 2013 photo competition is open!

And as it's February, the month of romance, the theme is simply:

"Roses"

But don't let that force you down the path of the traditional single red bloom – let your creativity loose! We'd love to see a variety of colour, form and composition.

The closing date for entries is midnight on Thursday 24 January 2013. The three winners will be contacted via email, including their prize voucher code, by Thursday 31 January.

As before we have three prizes to give away!
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