Trimming Lavender is a lovely chore: the soft foliage clips effortlessly, the finished bush looks so neat and primed for summer, and you end up smelling even better than you did before. When to Trim English Lavender By the end of March or very start of April, Lavender across the UK should be covered in… Continue reading Trim English Lavender Lightly in Spring: It’s Colour Coded!
Author: Ashridge Nurseries
Holly Hedge Revenge: A Tale of Revenge and Hedges
Peter Walker-Smith and Tersia Van Zyl were best of neighbours until bins and hedges drove them to war…
Why Didn’t My Daffodils Flower this Year?
Daffodils (Narcissus) are perennial bulbs whose lifespan varies depending on the particular species and cultivar, the growing conditions and care, or lack thereof! With the correct selection of Narcissus and proper care, you can expect individual bulbs to come back for several years. Before an individual bulb perishes, it is a common sight to see… Continue reading Why Didn’t My Daffodils Flower this Year?
Growing Dahlias in Pots and Patio Containers
March is delivery time for dahlia tubers, which are too tender to plant out any earlier in most of the UK, apart from the mildest coastal South. Because it’s still too cold in most areas to plant them out until April, the best thing to do is pot them up and store them somewhere frost… Continue reading Growing Dahlias in Pots and Patio Containers
Vegetable Seeds to Sow in March
The snowy start to March is true to the ancient proverb about the first calendar month of Spring: in like a snow lion, out like a lamb roast (it’s all that fresh new mint for sauce). The days are lengthening noticeably, the soil is warming and soon to be frost free in some areas, and… Continue reading Vegetable Seeds to Sow in March
When Should You Cut Back Your Spent Bulbs?
Is there anything more restorative than the first flowers of spring? Apart from spring flowers plus kittens wearing watermelon helmets, obviously? March is the time to enjoy the full array of spring bulbs – a rich reward for the aching back and sore knees from our efforts in Autumn. After such a wet winter, it… Continue reading When Should You Cut Back Your Spent Bulbs?
YoungWilders Hedgerow Project
No one likes a pedantic so-and-so who points out that planting country hedgerows, which are a feature exclusively of landscapes managed by mankind (mostly farmers) is by definition not a re-wilding project, it’s really a re-ruraling project. I, naturally, would never do that, any more than I would sulk over age precluding me from joining… Continue reading YoungWilders Hedgerow Project
Sowing Seeds Indoors in Late Winter / Early Spring
Sowing seeds indoors before Spring starts – done right – is a cheap way to have top quality plants ready to go as early as possible. New gardeners will learn so much about plants and soil from it, and experienced gardeners who like to experiment value the opportunity to test the limits of their favourite… Continue reading Sowing Seeds Indoors in Late Winter / Early Spring
Tidying Up Your Borders at the End of Winter
At some point between Autumn and the end of Winter, when the flowers and foliage have died down, it’s commonly held best practice to give your ornamental borders and beds a thorough cleaning. Of course, if you love the wild look and want to encourage wildlife (including slugs, or “homing frog lunches”, as I think… Continue reading Tidying Up Your Borders at the End of Winter
Cutting Back Buddleja Bushes in Early Spring
Or: How to Record a Gardening Video Using a Potato I am sorry everyone, really. I genuinely didn’t realise how bad the camera in my potato is: it was a good potato when I bought it second hand down an alleyway ten years ago, so it came as much of a shock to me as… Continue reading Cutting Back Buddleja Bushes in Early Spring