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Growing sweet peas

Fill your garden with fragrant sweet peasImage: Vic and Julie Pigula Sweet peas are top of my desert island plant list. I love them for their soft papery flowers, pretty pastel shades, and that stunning scent. Summer just wouldn't be right without them. Here are The Chatty Gardener's, aka Mandy…

Bedding plants – a revival

Michael Perry and Christine WalkdenIf you watched the Great British Garden Revival last night then you will have seen Christine Walkden’s passion for ornamental bedding plants and her campaign for their revival. The magnificent displays of Waddesdon Manor and much-loved seaside displays at…

Thriving at Driftwood

In this, my latest blog for Thompson & Morgan, I am going to bring you up to date with the trial products here at Driftwood that were delivered between September and April to my exposed coastal plot here on the south coast!If you have read any of my previous blogs, you will know that it is not…

The Delights of Dahlias

After languishing for a while outside garden fashion, dahlias are suddenly being recognised again for their very many useful attributes. Long in flower (June to early December in a sheltered spot), easy to grow, invaluable in the summer border, a desirable cut flower ' the list goes on! They offer…

Four New Flowers Shortlisted

For Plant Of The Year 2022 at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022 We are delighted to announce that all four of our new flower plant nominees for the RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year 2022 award have been shortlisted for judging at the event: - Azalea Starstyle Pink'- Salvia A Little Bit'- Weigela Magic…

GYO & BYO: Grow Your Own & Blitz Your Own

Green smoothies are packed with leafy greens that offer a range of health benefits, including being full of antioxidants and vitamins, boosting your immune system and helping to improve digestion. Many of the most popular ingredients of healthy green smoothies are vegetables and herbs that can be…

A rose by any other name

Something appears to have happened in my garden. All of a sudden, it is full to bursting with roses – some of which are just in bud, some in full bloom, and some, which have got to the painful point of just bursting.Gorgeous pinkAs I stood taking photographs of the roses in my garden on…

Starting a culinary herb garden

Grow herbs to add to your garden and kitchen. Image: DarwelShots Anyone can start a herb garden, no matter how little space they have available. Some people create bespoke culinary herb gardens, while others tuck these flavour-packed plants into any empty space they can find. See all the ways you…

Gardening news – time to start gardening

Read our selection of the week’s gardening news here.Time to start gardening!Time to start gardeningIt’s time to get your gardening gloves on and brave the cold! Spring is late this year, but the RHS has advised gardeners to get on with vital gardening jobs, otherwise they risk getting…

A Tyranny of Pots

® Thompson & Morgan - Seed SowingLately I've been thinking about this Plastics recycling issue; it's really starting to bother me. Everywhere I look I see plastic pots, black ones, terracotta ones, grey ones, yellow, green, blue ones. The collective noun for pots is a stack of pots or a row of…

Slug and Snail Control: The Ultimate Guide

Image: Canva The sight of tender shoots pushing through warming spring soil lifts the heart of every gardener. After weeks of anticipation the garden is finally moving. We rush to the greenhouse and start frantically sowing, gleefully admiring trays brimming with new seedlings. Hoes and rakes are…

My garden is thriving

Due to the wet winter and mild spell in April my garden is thriving! The perennials and shrubs are looking so advanced in my borders and the lupins are trying to flower already. What is most unusual for this time of year; I have delphiniums in bud. Not that I am complaining!Due to the amount of…

Green roofs: the only way is up

The top of Nic's green-roof bin store in all its glory. Image source: dogwooddays So your flowerbeds are full, the greenhouse is overflowing, there's no more room for pots on the patio and every vertical surface in the garden is covered in foliage. How do you find space for new plants and enjoy the…

Black Friday 2014

Black Friday UK is becoming more popular every year, and since its origination in America it has become highly recognised worldwide. Black Friday occurs the day after thanksgiving and unofficially marks the start of the Christmas shopping season. With deals dominating both online and in-store, you…

What grew in the garden

Looking for something new to try in your garden next year?Image: Shelli Jensen This spring, we asked five of our favourite garden bloggers if they were planning anything new and exciting over the summer. Their responses varied from experiments with onions to enticing a hedgehog into their garden,…

Chelsea Flower Show, the floral sweet shop

I’m like a kid in a sweet shop when it comes to plants.. Well, there’s no better sweet shop than the RHS Chelsea Flower Show! Even if you don’t know your tulip from your tropaeolum, it’s hard not to be enthralled by this prestigious show, which will be in its centenary year…

Onions masterclass: best expert content

Homegrown onions ready for storageImage: Onion sets 'Troy' (Autumn planting) from Thompson & MorganFor the best independent advice on growing onions, we've found a selection of expert articles, videos and Instagram posts to help you raise a bumper crop. Whether you prefer to plant onion sets in…

Giant pumpkin competition winner announced

The giant pumpkin, which in October broke the UK record for the heaviest pumpkin, has today been cut open so that the seeds inside can be counted. The pumpkin was transported to Thompson & Morgan’s Suffolk headquarters after it tipped the scales at an impressive 1,520lbs at the annual…

12 Instagram feeds for flower lovers

This collection's all about the flowers Image: shutterstock Breathtaking blooms, inspirational arrangements and expert growing advice are yours at the swipe of a screen on Instagram. Here you'll find growers, stylists, artists and farmers, all sharing images of their common passion - British-grown…

How to create beautiful displays with annual flowers

Nigella damascena provides a beautiful display all summer longImage source: Shutterstock Once March arrives, Nic Wilson's potting shed is launched into action as her annual flower seeds come out. Here, the experienced gardener behind dogwooddays talks to us about the many roles that annual flowers…

Top 5 favourite hedges

Hedges are a great way to partition different areas of your gardenImage: Stephanie Braconnier/Shutterstock A hedge is an integral part of any garden, providing privacy and security while supplying wildlife with food and shelter too. A practical way to partition your outside space without the need…

Messy Job, This Gardening Lark

Autumn colour came late this year, and puff, it was gone, leaving chaos and disorder in its wake. Now I'm a bit fussy about tidiness, not the best character trait for a gardener. And I'm not a fan of formal or minimalist gardens, preferring the organised chaos of more naturalistic schemes. This…

A week in the life of Thompson & Morgan’s new product development manager

It’s a busy time for us at Thompson & Morgan, here’s a taster of a typical week at work for me!MondayAfter a few days off, it’s back in fresh and early for a varied week of meetings, product research and catalogue preparations.Today I meet with Sarah, our trials manager, to…

Geraniums masterclass: best expert content

Ideal for borders, pots, baskets and window boxes, geraniums fill your garden with colourImage: Geranium 'Tall Dark and Handsome Hot Pink' from Thompson & MorganIf you love geraniums (pelargoniums) and want to grow your own from seed, cuttings or plug plants, we've scoured the internet to find…

Moving house in the middle of the growing season

Moving house in the middle of the growing season isn’t ideal timing for a keen gardener! Knowing back in March that I’d be relocating in June, I reluctantly held back on my usual flurry of spring seed sowing, concentrating only on small batches of those plants that I just couldn’t…

Different uses for a hedge

Hedges – they’re not just for protection and privacy! Read Catharine Howard’s guest blog on the best uses for the humble hedge.Different uses for a hedgeWHY does the word hedge always make me glaze over? Hedge, bush, shrub. There now, the awful trilogy of boredom has been spat…

Our Summer Display – by Pam Gray

I am really looking forward to writing some blogs for Thompson & Morgan and as this is my first piece, I will tell you a little bit about our garden and myself. Our garden isn’t huge, 40′ x 27′ at the front and approx 80′ x 30′ at the back, with a very small garden…

Hanging baskets masterclass: best expert content

Hanging baskets are easy to maintain and growImage: Nurseryman's Choice Hanging Basket Mixed Collection from Thompson & Morgan Here's all the advice you need to help you enjoy the best hanging baskets you've ever created. Packed with useful articles, videos and Instagram posts - these gardeners…

Spring-summer customer trials update – Caroline Broome

Caroline Broome has been busy growing dahlias, petunias, fuchsias and many other plants as part of our customer trial panel. Read on for her latest update.In an email to Thompson & Morgan’s customer trials co-ordinator, she wrote “I know I keep on about the dahlias from 2012 but…

Top ten wildflowers

Ox-eye daisies are easy to grow and very popular with pollinatorsImage: Ox-Eye Daisy from Thompson & Morgan Wildflowers are a low-maintenance and long-lasting addition to any garden. Often planted as annual or perennial meadows, they make a wildlife-friendly alternative to lawns or a quick and…

Customer trial panel member profile – Corinne Brown

Corinne BrownI’m Corinne Brown, a 61year old retired geography teacher. I have been fortunate to have had a garden to play in all my childhood and a garden to tend all my married life (ruby wedding this summer). My husband is the grass cutter, hedge trimmer and maintenance man whilst I am the…

Top 10 best-selling plants of 2012

This list of Thompson & Morgan’s top 10 best-selling plants is quite a mix – from cottage garden favourites to new and unusual flowers – and shows that customers really do like variety when it comes to their gardens!Apple Cox’s Orange Pippin1. Apple Cox’s Orange…

Sow it begins… our giant pumpkin seed journey

Watering in the freshly sown seedOn Monday, our New Product Development Manager, Michael Perry helped to sow Thompson & Morgan’s €200.00 giant pumpkin seed.This seed comes from a new world record pumpkin, which was weighed in last autumn (2012) at 2009lbs. The pumpkin was a hybrid…

Six Thompson & Morgan Entries Make Shortlist for RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year

We're thrilled to announce that the shortlist announced on Sunday afternoon for RHS Chelsea Flower Show's Plant of the Year, includes six of our entrants. This beats last year's tally of five plants, two of which went on to be placed first and third places in this hugely prestigious horticultural…

Grow your own summer drinks recipes

Enjoy sharing homegrown food and drinks this summer Image: Jack Frog There's nothing more satisfying than sharing fresh, homegrown produce with friends and family on a warm summer evening. Except, perhaps, relaxing with a cool sundowner to properly enjoy the garden you've spent all year working on!…

Introducing a Low Calorie/ Low Carb/ High Fibre Alternative to Potato

We are launching two intriguing new winter squash varieties. Intriguing because when cooked, they taste just like mashed and baked potatoes whilst offering fewer calories, along with lower carbohydrate and higher fibre content. With today's trends towards healthy eating, plant-based diets and…

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