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Evergreen Shrubs
Evergreen shrubs form the backbone of the garden. They provide structure and colour even in the depths of winter when other plants are dormant and bare.Evergreens offer more than just foliage. Many have attractive flowers such as Rhododendron and Camellia. In fact some even flower during the…
Thompson & Morgan urges Brexit Brits to grow their own
As Britain’s formal exit from the European Union was triggered this week, various companies and a major Dutch bank, reported concerns over prices of fruit, vegetables, flowers and olive oil rising by as much as eight percent.In its report, Weighing up Future Food Security in the UK: The Impact of…
Beat the slugs
Protect your garden from these troublesome gastropods Image: Dmitri_ESTONIA_TALLINN/Slugs are officially the gardener’s No 1 enemy. Turn your back for a gardening moment, and these tough-skinned terrestrial molluscs will completely shred new shoots and tender lettuces.Given that they have neither…
Gardening Tips – Tower Pots
Our decorative pot and support frame is specially designed to train plants into pillars of colour. It can be used as a half frame, for supporting plants to use as cut flowers, or as full frame for showy climbers such as ClematisHere are a few gardening tips for Tower Pots on how you can grow…
Customer Trial Member Profile – Steve Woodward
You may already be familiar with Steve Woodward’s previous posts on our blog. He is also a member of our customer trial panel, here is his profile…Collecting some produce for a warming stewHi, I am Steve and I live in the East Midlands Derbyshire town of Ilkeston, roughly equal in…
Plants for shade
Brighten up dark corners with shade-loving plantsImage: Elena ElisseevaDoes your garden have a Cinderella spot? A part that doesn’t get the same love and attention as the rest? Chances are, says Mandy Bradshaw of The Chatty Gardener,Sunny borders might seem more interesting and easy to fill, but…
Blogs to inspire you to grow your own
Beginner or experienced veg grower? Sharing tips helps produce bumper cropsImage: ShutterstockNot only is homegrown food healthy and nutritious, but planting and nurturing your own crops gets you out in the garden for some good old-fashioned fresh air. You’ll also get a healthy dose of vitamin…
3 simple ways to combine ornamental and edible planting
This ornamental garden consists of flowers and leafy vegetables.Image: Arjuna KodisinghePicking your own fruit, vegetables and herbs is one of the highlights of the gardening year, but you don’t have to turn your garden into an allotment in order to grow and harvest your own food. There are many…
Drought tolerant plants
Drought tolerant plants look good and are low maintenanceImage: Peter BettsThere are lots of good reasons to grow drought tolerant plantsWe asked The Sunday GardenerSome areas of the country are significantly drier than others. Parts of the south-east like Essex, Kent and Cambridgeshire receive as…
Top 5 flower and vegetable seeds recommended by our experts
Sue Sanderson and Colin Randel, two of Thompson & Morgan’s experts give their top 5 flower and vegetable seeds for the new season…FlowersSue Sanderson is Thompson & Morgan’s Horticulturist and has 11 years of gardening experience.Rudbeckia ‘Cherry…
Whiffery in the borders
Whiffery in the bordersMy children get sick of me rushing off into the undergrowth with a cry of “What’s that smell?” as I try to track down the source of beautiful perfumes drifting from nearby plantings.In my current incarnation as a cutting garden gardener, I’m always on the look out for flowers…
Clematis Revival
A Montana for spring and a ‘Nelly Moser’ for summer used to be enough to satisfy most gardeners, but clematis are changing, and so too is their use in the garden. We have so many varieties for every location in the garden with the smaller varieties perfect for patio and container…
Decorative dual cropping veg plant holds its own against latest flower introductions
Innovative Egg & Chips® plant makes the finals in two of gardening’s most prestigious floral awardsThompson & MorganTraditionally a bedding plant event, organisers where so impressed with the unique attributes of Egg & Chips®Michael says these quirky plants could be the answer to…
Indoor plants – mental health, air quality and productivity!
Having heard Prime Minister, Teresa May, speaking earlier this week about her plans to ‘transform’ attitudes to mental health and to provide improved support to sufferers, I was remembering that someone told me once that spider plants were great to have around, at home and in the office, as they…
Customer trial panel member profile – Joy Gough
Joy Gough has just joined our blogging team of customer trial members and talks about her gardening experiences.Joy GoughMy name is Joy, I am totally new to this blogging, so please bear with me, just like gardening it is a process of learning as you go.Our garden started with 2 bought tomato…
Garden ready trio
Our new garden ready trioThe best part is you can now save £24.99 as you can buy our trio Sweet William Mixed This traditional mix of Sweet Williams combines a fabulous range of pinks, reds and white including solid shades and bicolours for a real tapestry of colour. When all risk of frost has…
From Rake To Bake – Mint ‘n’ Chocolate Biscuits
Welcome to Baking Blog. Each month will feature an in-season fruit or vegetable dish to make with a little bit of grow-your-own information on the side.May is perfect for making Mint ‘n’ Chocolate Biscuits.Hands up who only uses the mint in their garden for savoury dishes? Yet, it is so…
Therapeutic Gardening? My nerves are in tatters!
Thompson and Morgan Triallist’s Blog – June 2018 I have this fantasy image of myself in diaphanous summer dress, wandering around my garden with a woven willow trug and floral secateurs, in the hazy lazy afternoon sunshine, listening to the soporific buzzing of the bees, whilst gently snipping…
Easy crops to grow for beginners
Being a beginner gardener is exciting and refreshing, and there will always be something for you to do and learn about your garden. But where do you start? Which soil do you use? How to prune? When to Sow?StrawberriesEverybody loves the fresh, juicy flavour of sun warmed strawberriesEasy plants for…
Starting a culinary herb garden
Grow herbs to add to your garden and kitchen. Image: DarwelShotsAnyone can start a herb garden, no matter how little space they have available. Some people create bespoke culinary herb gardensWe asked The Sunday Gardener‘Herb’ is a generic term. It covers a wide group of plants that don’t…
Rob’s Allotment
This week’s been a real challenge on the allotment. Not only have we had some lovely sunny afternoons up here in Sheffield, but we’ve also had frost, rain and wind. LOTS of wind. Luckily, my greenhouse and shed are still standing. I can’t say the same for some of my fellow plot holders, in fact…
Top 10 evergreen shrubs
Top 10 Evergreen ShrubsEvergreen shrubs provide permanent structure in the garden and all-year-round interest. Some have beautiful flower displays or are highly scented in winter when little else is growing, and some have variegated or colourful foliage which is a perfect foil for summer perennials…
Trouble Shooting your Geranium growing problems
As we have all been basking in this glorious sunshine our geraniums have been enjoying it too – it’s their perfect weather conditions, hot and dry. Whilst tempting at times to have exclaimed “it’s too hot!” I very much appreciate the burst of warmth because this year we have…
12 more gardening YouTubers
Get your gardening questions answered by some of the best green-fingered YouTubersImage: ElnurAre you always on the lookout for inspiring and informative gardening YouTube channels? Last time we featured some of the best gardeners of the vlogosphereEven while on holiday, Jaz couldn’t wait to get…
Hydrangeas – Michael Perry picks his favourites!
Shrubs are the stalwarts of the border- they last for years and years, fill gaps and offer decorative foliage AND flowering! And, what better place to start than HydrangeasThis Hydrangea gives a colour explosion in the garden right from the word go! The foliage is long, elegant and the same colour…
An update from the greenhouse
Hello Everyone,I’m writing this from the best seat in the world, well maybe not the world but definitely the best place in my world. I’m on the bench in the front garden surrounded by the warm setting sun, bird song, the bumbling of bees and an occasional rustle of wind through the…
Getting more from your garden!
Getting more from your garden!By ‘getting more’ I mean multiplying up your favourite plants the cheap and easy way — by taking cuttings. Although September is thought to be late for taking cuttings, it is in fact my chosen moment. The busy spring and summer seasons of the gardening year…
Grow your own winter five a day.
Just because we have nearly reached the shortest day does not mean to say that we should only eat sproutsWith a few small pots of multi-purpose compost Cabbage Chinese ‘Natsuki’ & Leek ‘Autumn Giant 2 – PorviteFlicking through the 2017 Thompson & Morgan Lettuce…
Amaryllis – flamboyant and never understated
Commonly known as amaryllis, hippeastrum bulbs are hugely popular gifts for Christmas. There really is no question as to why increasing numbers are choosing the amaryllis as a Christmas gift, as their magnificent and showy blooms flower year after year, making fantastic houseplants.Growing…
Exciting new additions to T&M seed range
Poppy ‘Supreme’ Tomato ‘Oh Happy Day’ F1We’re thrilled to be releasing two new seed varieties in the next few weeks. One, Poppy ‘Supreme’, is yet another innovative new flower from our own breeding…
So many plants, so little space!
The greenhouse is packed to the gunnels with plugs-in-waiting and half hardysThe salviasThe sunroom is crammed with the cucamelons, courgettes De Nice A Fruit RondI did treat myself to some T & M perennials as well this summer. Brunnera Alexander’s Great are said to grow far bigger than Jack…
Wisteria’s wonderful comeback!
There is no greater sight than the eccentric trusses of soft, pale purple, hanging from a lime green cushioned background? (There probably is but I think it’s a pretty wondrous sight in the month of May). This is a little story of an old, worn out wisteria19th September 2014Another year has passed.…
Top 10 plug plants
Plug plants are a convenient and easy way to fill your garden with colour. Although seeds are cheaper to buy, there is often a lot of work involved, from germination to pricking out tiny seedlings. Cuttings also pose the same problem, requiring nurturing undercover for some time and with varying…
Gardening news – acute oak decline, slugs devouring wildflowers
Snippets from this week’s gardening news stories…Big Butterfly CountBig Butterfly CountButterflies’ dwindling numbers have been in the news a lot recently and we also posted a few articles on how to encourage butterflies into your garden. This week sees the start of the Big…
Sweet pea diary – part 1
We’ve had some good sunny days in Suffolk this week and spring is almost in the air. Have you made a start on sowing? What have you got in your propagators?Our gardening expert Kris Collins is growing sweet peas with his kids this year. The seeds were sown on 10th Feb – they are growing Sweet Pea…
Flaming June in Pembrokeshire
Hello Gardening Friends,For the first time in many years Pembrokeshire is experiencing an actual “Flaming June!” With temperatures exceeding 25°c most days and sticky 18°c nights, it’s been mostly impossible to garden. The water butt has been emptied days ago, and for now we are…
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