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Customer trial panel member Geoff Stonebanks
In this gardening blog post Geoff Stonebanks writes about his gardening experiences on the south coast of England and becoming a member of Thompson & Morgan’s customer trial panel.I’m Geoff Stonebanks, fast approaching my 60th birthday and retired now with my garden in Sussex for 9 years…
How to Grow Geranium Plug Plants
To help you get the best from your geranium plug plants, we have put together some handy growing instructions for growing your plug plants. If you prefer to print them off we have also included a pdf version of our growing instructions – you can download these to your computer and then print…
Drought-proofing my garden
The recent dry spell has really made me think about the plants I am growing. The drought has taken its toll on a favourite tree in my garden. In truth, it has been many years since it performed at its best. This year, I’ll be lucky if there are any leaves left come autumn! I’m blaming my thin,…
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…
Body, Hive and Soul.
I was never really sure when “spring” is meant to start, having just some lumpen idea of it being to do with daffodils generally being around and not needing to put on your big coat as much.Turns out the cats, yes the cats, are well ahead of us. Come spring, and I’m being quite serious…
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…
What to sow and grow in July
As most experienced gardeners would appreciate, timing is very important when sowing and growing in the garden. But, as a complete novice this is not my strongest point and I would end up planting sweet peas in the summer. As some of you may know, sweet pea plants aren’t particularly heat tolerant,…
Thompson & Morgan Plant Breeder honoured
Chelsea Plant of the Year 2012, ‘Illumination Pink’, has been renamed to recognise the work of its creator, Thompson & Morgan plant breeder Charles Valin.Foxglove ‘Illumination Pink’ has taken the gardening world by storm since its launch in 2012. Unusual blooms, repeat flowering and multiple…
How do bees survive over winter?
Wild Bee numbers have been declining for decades in the UK. This is due to the wild grasslands of this country diminishing by a massive 97%; and the widespread use of agricultural pesticides on farmlands up and down the country. The Government has urged gardeners to do their bit and help with this…
What’s new at Thompson & Morgan?
Here at Thompson & MorganQuality control is better than ever this year. We have appointed Peter as our Quality control Manager and plants are being triple checked before they are posted to you in our new and improved packaging. So, what do we look for?1. Size2. Healthy foliage3. Strong root…
Are you feeling the Love yet?
I’m just not feeling the love! Apart from sloping off to the greenhouse every few days to check on the cuttings (progress not great.) I’ve done nothing NOTHING, I TELL YOU! Oh the guilt! I’ve come up with every excuse: it’s too wet, too cold, too early, too late. Apart from one manic flurry of…
A Winter’s Tale
Winter has arrived in my garden. It is later than expected, but just as unwelcome. Much too cold to mess about outside, but I am still thinking about my plot – winter is the perfect time to look back at the last season, and forward to the next.What has worked? What hasn’t? A quick look…
New Forest April Holiday and Pembrokeshire Greenhouses
Dear Gardeners,I’m afraid I have been an April Fool. We went on a much needed holiday to the New Forest the day after the Easter Bank holiday. My first holiday since the cancer and heart failure, the weather down in Hampshire wasn’t the best, but the break was.I’d planned the…
Variegation across the nation…
Guest blogger Jane Scorer has gardened the same half acre plot for over 30 years and has opened her garden for the NGS (Yellow Book) scheme. She has an RHS qualification, but feels that her main qualification is the years she has spent with her hands in the soil.Variegation across the nation…So,…
Watering, watering, watering
So, with the recent heat wave (when I say “heat wave” it felt more like someone was blow-torching the back of my neck – through the factor 50) and with all the watering I had to do. Not only my own garden by the way, but also for friend who is away in the south of France for a month – for…
Grow your own – it’s not too late
Grow your own – it’s not too late!Spring may be late this year, but there is still plenty of time to grow your own. In fact, waiting and sowing later when the soil and weather conditions are better means that your seeds will germinate more successfully than in cold wet soil.With many…
Growing your own cut flowers
Who doesn’t love a jug of flowers on the kitchen table?When students arrive I pop warm muffins and a pot of fresh Fairtrade coffee on the kitchen table next to a jug of flowers. It makes people feel welcome and there are always comments on how lovely the flowers are. But when it comes to everyday…
Trailing Fuchsias
Trailing fuchsiasSome forms can produce colossal blooms reaching up to 10cm (4”) across eg Giants CollectionFuchsias are superb value too, flowering over a long period from early summer right through to September.Growing trailing fuchsias really couldn’t be easier. Plant trailing fuchsias directly…
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…
How to grow Heuchera
Cultivate heuchera to spice up the darker corners of your gardenFeatured Image: Heuchera ‘Patchwork’ Mix from Thompson & MorganIf you’re looking for a wonderful shade plant to add colour and interest to the darker corners of your garden, look no further than heuchera. This hardy…
Amanda’s update – March, mowers and sowing seeds
Hello Gardeners,Hope you are all well and making progress in your gardens. I recently remembered an old saying that goes “A dry March and a wet May, fills barns and bays with corn and hay. I don’t know if it’s true but we seem to have a lot of corn sprouting up under our bird…
Genuinely romantic men grow their own cut flowers
Win a place on a course at the Kitchen Garden School. See below for detailsLast month a branch with a very early blossom on it broke off one of the ornamental cherry trees in the main garden I watched my husband from the warmth of the house take a pair of secateurs and cut the lonely fallen branch…
Grow Your Own – Colourful Salads
By Sasha Ivanova at London PlantologyYour greens no longer have to be green! Recent researchSpring is the ideal time to grow a range of vegetables for delicious salads. The temperature is not too hot and and the soil is just warm enough for seeds to germinate. This year I’m growing quick crops like…
Top 10 best-selling plants of 2018
This pretty hydrangea won the nation’s hearts and Chelsea’s Plant of the Year 2018Image: Hydrangea ‘Runaway Bride’ by Thompson & MorganAre you looking for some garden inspiration? Or just curious about which plants were gardeners’ favourites last year? Here are our ten best-selling…
The history of the petunia (part two)
In part one we explored a brief history of how the petunia emigrated from Argentina to Britain, but I was curious about the life of John (James) Tweedie, and I was interested to find out when T&M Petunia ‘Night Sky’ and Petunia ‘Cremissimo’ I have copied the link in for…
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…
How to Overwinter Geraniums
If you’re planning to over-winter your geraniums & pelargoniumsIf the plants are warm and in good light, they are very likely to continue to grow, and some will even flower, in the winter. So fill all those sunny windows and conservatories with all your members of the pelargonium family!…
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…
How to Grow Tomatoes
You can’t deny the flavour of fresh home-grown tomato straight from the vine. Their taste is far superior to the bland tomatoes offered in the supermarkets making them perfect for tomato soup and they’re really easy to grow.Growing tomato plants from seed is a great way to discover new varieties…
Plants for Wildlife
Plants for wildlifeThere are so many benefits to attracting wildlife into your garden. Apart from saving the decline of our native species, garden wildlife also acts as a natural pest control, preventing the need to spray harmful chemicals all over your garden. If you grow fruit and vegetables,…
April – Rain or Shine? Either way, I love April Showers!
April is here, British Summer Time has kicked in, lighter mornings, longer days to spend in the garden and greenhouse after work. Hooray! More time with my gardening gloves on!So at my “Office” job at T&M, (when I’m not doing my dirty job!) I speak to customers and help with any Horticultural…
Why I love September!
Yum, I love this time of year! September seems to have an endless supplies of tomatoes, so I know Ill be making my end of season tomato soups.I chop up the tomatoes, one onion and about three cloves of garlic and a few chilis. I roast them off for about 40 minutes and them blitz them till smooth…
Vacuuming The Pebbles
If you were circling North London on 16th July in a helicopter (and why wouldn’t you be?) you would have witnessed a curious phenomenon – gardeners of the Hampstead Garden Suburb on their hands and knees vacuuming their plots – the London Gardens’ Society judges were on their way! Now…
12 fabulous flower-growing bloggers
The most colourful bloomsImage: shutterstockIf you’re into flowers, we’ve got a treat in store for you. We’ve scoured the web for brilliant blogs by writers who love to grow them, and brought them all into one place for you. You’ll find bloggers who create stunning cut flower arrangements from…
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…
World’s Most Scented Shrub – Daphine ‘Perfume Princess’
‘Locked in the tower’ for a decade, and almost forgotten, ‘Perfume Princess’Daphne ‘Perfume Princess’However, Mark found the seed set extremely low, and almost gave up on the project. Finally, he found 6 ripened seeds, yet only one of these went on to germinate.…
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