Blog

9675 products, 807 articles, 680 blogs

Expert tips to make your garden wildlife-friendly

A small garden pond gives this song thrush somewhere to bathe and drink. Image source: Ondrej Prosicky By making just a few small changes to the way you garden, you'll really help native wildlife to thrive. To get you started, here's some expert advice courtesy of some of the best gardeners and…

Father and son win prestigious Bicester in Bloom 2012 awards

Bicester in Bloom 2011 – Best Kept Back GardenWhen Thompson & Morgan customer Eugene Baston and his son Reuben first entered their back garden into the Bicester in Bloom 2011 awards, they had no idea that they might win a prize… but, to their surprise, they won the Gold Award for…

How to attract birds to your garden all year round

This waxwing is a regular visitor to Nic's gardenImage: dogwooddays In January, Nic Wilson of dogwooddays was astonished to see a female blackcap in the garden during the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch. It was a new species for her and, even better, it turned up at just the right time to be counted!…

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…

Moving abroad with plants - how to make it work

Every plant lover would agree that plants make a house feels like home. Therefore, it's only natural to want to bring them with you when you're moving abroad. You've put so much effort into growing them, and you have them for months, maybe even years, so it doesn't seem right to leave them behind.…

The Ultimate Guide to Growing Calabrese Broccoli

Calabrese broccoli is known for being rich in nutrients and what can be better than home-grown broccoli that you can be proud of. Many people love it fresh, whereas some prefer to stir fry their broccoli before consuming this nutrient-rich delight. It is not as hard to grow broccoli as many people…

The Good Life in Practice

I am a 24 year old attempting to live more eco-friendly. I first lived in Suffolk but now live in a small flat in a village in Switzerland. I have been living in the Berner Oberland canton since April 2012 (so just over a year!) since getting a job here. My boyfriend Michael and I have been trying…

Small garden? Dont panic!

If the plant bug has bitten you, and you’ve filled your garden already, then you need to think; ‘what do cities do when they run of space..?’ Answer: they build upwards! You can use this same concept in your own garden to great effect. There’s no excuse to have bare fences…

From Rake To Bake - Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Welcome to my 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. April is perfect for making Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Cabbage. It's one of those leafy green vegetables that are often overlooked Cabbage doesn't…

From Rake To Bake - Egg-cellent Potato Salad.

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. July is perfect for making Egg-cellent Potato Salad. With second-lates and main-crop potatoes in abundance grown either in sacks or the ground,…

From Rake To Bake - Mint ÔÇÿn' 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 much more…

Gardening news – sparrows, winter bedding, legionella outbreak

In this week’s gardening news we bring you an update on sparrows, winter bedding and a recent legionella outbreak…Sparrow populations helped by untidy gardensSparrows helped by wild(er) gardensSparrow populations have stabilised after many years of decline, helped in part by less…

10 bloggers who review gorgeous gardens to visit

Spend your time in some of the nation's best gardens Image: Yolanta Did you know that the gardens at Chatsworth are being transformed? Have you always wanted to immerse yourself in the jungle at The Lost Gardens of Heligan? Visiting gardens is something of a national occupation for us Brits. And…

T&M's top 10 trends for 2019

In an ever changing gardening world, everyone is looking for both short term and long term drivers which we use to shape the way that we British gardeners use our outdoor spaces. We took a look at what we at T&M thought would be the top 10 trends for 2019:1. Hot colours and cold hardinessOur…

Sue’s (Very Unscientific) Potato Trials

Sue’s (Very Unscientific) Potato TrialsHarvesting potatoes is my second favourite garden task, beaten only by lifting parsnips! You can feel your excitement building as you lift each tuber from the ground, gently rub it clean of soil, and watch your hoard of spuds grow minute by minute.  In…

Green tomato and chilli chutney

Do you have a glut of green tomatoes? Then why not have a go at this simple recipe and make a delicious Green tomato and chilli chutney that will go perfect alongside cold Christmas meats. Recipe kindly provided by our pumpkin expert and e-commerce marketing assistant John Ingredients:820g Green…

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…

Make a change to your plant choices – 3

Next in my ‘Make a change to your plant choices’ theme are some hard-working plants for beds, baskets and borders.Laurentia ‘Indigo Stars’If your bedding and basket plants don’t usually last beyond August, then try this…Laurentia ‘Indigo Stars’This…

RAF Benevolent Fund – Commemorative Seeds

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Great War, and in celebration of The Royal Air Force’s 96th birthday we are thrilled to be working alongside The Garden Centre Group to launch their commemorative seeds in the form of red, white and blue themed seed packets.These seeds include…

Another Plant of the Year award for T&M?

Chelsea Flower Show entries – another Plant of the Year award for Thompson & Morgan?After last year’s exciting win at RHS Chelsea Flower Show with the spectacular foxglove ‘Illumination Pink’, Thompson & Morgan announces its contenders for this year’s Plant of…

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…

A February full of drama

Hi Everyone, February might be the shortest month, but boy has it been packed with drama - at least for me anyway. First we had the wicked west winds so bitter they could have given an expresso a run for its money. These annoying gusts meant for several days we couldn't go in the greenhouses for…

How green is your pond?

Ponds are great way to attract wildlife to your garden. Image source: Svetlana Foote A pond will attract a variety of wildlife into the garden such as frogs, damselflies, dragonflies, water boatman and pond skaters. Many different types of birds will visit for a bath and a dip; I even had a…

From Rake To Bake - Cheats Curry for One

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. June is perfect for making Cheats Curry for One With crops sown in late winter now bursting in the allotment, greenhouse or garden, this month, I…

Alison Levey

Guest blogger Alison Levey writes about her vegetable eating and growing experiences and the satisfaction of growing sweetcorn from seed…The joy of sweetcornI have to begin this post with a confession, there are far more vegetables I do not like than I actually do.  In terms of vegetables it…

Home-grown fruit & veg is back on the menu

More and more people are keen to get their hands into trying home-grown fruit & veg in order to cut down the cost of their weekly shop. Combined with healthy eating campaigns such as Jamie Oliver in schools, the appetite to become more self-sufficient is higher than ever.Growing your own fruit…

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…

Thompson & Morgan shortlisted for Grower of the Year 2013 awards

Thompson & Morgan is delighted to be shortlisted for the Grower of the Year 2013 awardsPoppy ‘Plum Pudding’This prestigious event is run by Horticulture Week and highlights the achievements of businesses over the last 18 months. Thompson & Morgan has been shortlisted in the…

Trouble shooting your Geranium growing problems

Healthy geraniums produce excellent, long-lasting flower displays Image: Geranium 'Balcon Mix' from Thompson & MorganIf you're looking for answers to your geranium and pelargonium troubleshooting questions, you've come to the right place. Here are some timely tips on everything from encouraging…

Customer trial panel member profile – Shirley Reynolds

The latest Thompson & Morgan customer trial panel member to join the blogging team is Shirley Reynolds.Shirley ReynoldsGardening is my every day pleasure. I just love to see the daily changes of bare soil being hidden by wonderful coloured flowers.I tend my small garden like a mother does her…

Announcing our Plant of the Year nominees

Announcing our Plant of the Year nominees for The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022 World-renowned, inspirational and quintessentially British, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is an unforgettable experience for gardening enthusiasts and the jewel in the crown for growers hoping to win the prestigious Plant…

How to Grow Hibiscus

Hibiscus flowers are one of the most beautiful flowers you can find. And guess what? They can be easily grown in your own home or garden. Let's discuss what are the most popular types of Hibiscus and what you can do to properly care for them, whether you opt for a hardy garden variety or a tender…

Lockdown at Driftwood!

2020 so far has been a bit of a blur on many levels at Driftwood. Back in February, having not long had a new dog, Chester, he escaped from the house and I had to chase up the road after him pulling the ligaments in my left leg into the bargain!®Geoff Stonebanks - Chester relaxing in the garden!To…

Gardening memories of 2012

Gardening memories of 20122012 was full of gardening memories, not least because of the almost never-ending rain and lack of sunshine. A while ago we asked our Twitter followers and Facebook fans to tweet and post their most memorable moments and got some great comments. We thought we’d turn…

Great British Garden Revival

I am not sure if it is a common perception but due to working within the horticultural industry, it is clear that here in Britain we are a nation of gardeners. With the development of the industrial sector and the new homes within our largest towns and city centres; space is now at a premium.…

Apples masterclass: best expert content

Popular and easy to grow, start your own mini orchard with apple treesImage: Apple Braeburn' from Thompson & MorganHere's where you'll find our collection of the best expert content on growing apple trees. If you love to grow apples for cooking or eating, these garden bloggers, YouTubers and…

RedEye

Sign up for exclusive offers!