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Carole Patilla

Guest blogger Carole Patilla writes about her love of all things artichoke!Giants of the gardenStunning foliage“What’s that huge, gorgeous silver-leafed thing?” is one of the most frequently asked questions by visitors to my garden. The answer, surprisingly for many, is a globe…

Oca – the taste test

Oca – the taste testIn January one of our guest bloggers wrote about oca, a vegetable originally from South America that’s grown very much like potatoes. The knobbly tubers need a relatively long growing season before being harvested in the autumn, about 2 weeks after frost has killed…

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…

Daphne ‘Eternal Fragrance’ wins gold award

Daphne ‘Eternal Fragrance’ won a gold award in the ‘New Plant’ category of the Salon du Végétal trade show in Angers, France in February this year.Gold for Daphne ‘Eternal Fragrance’This delightful plant was one of 25 entered into the ‘Innovert’…

The Suffolk Show 2014

The Suffolk Show 2014 will be taking place on May 28th and 29th at Trinity Park, Ipswich. The Suffolk Show has become the county’s largest 2 day pop-up family event and the organisers, Suffolk Agricultural Association, like to ensure that it is one of the best family events in the UK.For the…

How to get the most out of your vegetable plot

You don’t need a huge garden to grow your own food, as you can grow vegetables in containers and flower borders. There are so many health benefits to growing your own fruit and vegetables, not forgetting that gardening alone can burn hundreds of calories!The national guideline is 5 portions…

How to use hardy fuchsias in the garden

Hardy fuchsia 'Hawkshead' produces delicate white blossomsImage: Fuchsia 'Hawkshead' from Thompson & Morgan Hardy fuchsia plants are excellent all-rounders, showcasing a fabulous range of flower forms throughout the season. From delicate four-petalled blooms to blowsy giants, they're a great…

NVS Judging Blog

It was June and I was preparing for my first major show as Show Secretary of my local horticultural society. Our judge for our Summer Show was Peter Cranfield. Over lunch I told Peter that I was in training to be a judge with the Essex Guild of Horticultural Judges. He suggested that I should enter…

Garden centres to stop selling neonicotinoid pesticides

Honeybee populations at risk from neonicotinoid pesticidesNeonicotinoid pesticides taken off the shelves…Bee numbers have been in serious decline for some time now and neonicotinoid pesticides are thought to have contributed to the worldwide fall in numbers.According to recent news reports, 5…

How to Overwinter Geraniums

Overwintered geraniums will provide colourful displays again come summerImage: Geranium 'Jackpot Mixed' F1 Hybrid from Thompson & MorganIf you want to know how to overwinter your favourite tender geraniums (more correctly called pelargoniums) to enjoy the following year, we've got you covered.…

Small border planting ideas with high impact

Use height, structure and colour to create stunning borders in small gardensImage: photographee. eu The average length of a UK garden is just 15 metres long, but limited space doesn't prevent you from having gorgeous borders filled with show-stopping plants and shrubs. We asked Lee Burkhill, the…

Tomatoes masterclass: best expert content

Try Tomato Gourmandia' F1 Hybrid for gorgeous texture and flavour, perfect for slicing onto sandwiches Image: Tomato Gourmandia' F1 Hybrid from Thompson & MorganDo you want to grow your own fresh tomatoes? Here's a collection of the best online content to get you started and refine your…

Steve’s Derbyshire Allotment

I can’t say I like anything at all about the dark drab dull winter months, I am very much a summer person and absolutely love the sunshine on my face while gardening, however having said that! it is now well over a month from the shortest day and each day has a little more light to it so I…

Spread The Love

I'm really not a fan of the aforementioned festive season, but I've suddenly realised that I lurve January! The inclement weather gives me the perfect excuse to be bone idle guilt free. Mind you, some things can't wait, especially when you are up against the horticultural prowess of Diane, she of…

Raspberry surprise – a little bit of help in the garden

Raspberry ‘Ruby Beauty’ ™ is a dwarf variety that is claimed to grow to just 120cm (36”) – the perfect size for a patio pot, or a sunny place in even the smallest veggie plot. I’ve decided to put this to the test and see just how well they get on when planted in…

The day has come – Chelsea Flower Show 2013

The day has come.After more than a year of planning, the most prestigious gardening event of the year has finally opened its doors. The show isn’t yet open to the public, but I’ve been lucky enough to get a sneak preview!Preparing for the day aheadPutting the finishing touches to the…

How to grow Heuchera

Cultivate heuchera to spice up the darker corners of your gardenFeatured Image: Heuchera Patchwork' Mix from Thompson & Morgan If 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 native of North…

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 Clematis. The Tower Pot is so versatile! Here are our gardening tips to get you…

Dahlia Dreaming

Dahlias blaze into colour just as other flowers are going over. Image source: Shutterstock After weeks of hot summer days, the grass is brown and withered, the summer raspberries have shrivelled into dessicated husks and the roses have gone over, but my dahlias are only just beginning. We've had…

Horticultural Etiquette

Is there a code of horticultural etiquette? Since the recent RHS poll which revealed that one-fifth of gardeners discard of their snails by putting them over their neighbours fence, we have been thinking of other rules and regulations in the gardening world. 78% of those polled by the RHS said they…

Clematis masterclass: best expert content

Clematis 'Elizabeth' brings colour and scent to your gardenImage: Clematis 'Elizabeth' from Thompson & Morgan Find all you need to grow spectacular clematis plants here. Whether you love rambling evergreens or compact types for patio containers, these independent articles, videos and Instagram…

What to do when your plugs arrive

We're so pleased to see so many photos on social media of the plug plants that you're receiving in the post. Some customers - perhaps those of you who are turning to your gardens during this time of social distancing and self isolation - are asking us about what to do with their plug plants when…

Growing a fuchsia standard

Standard fuchsias such as Angela' adds height & colour to your garden. Image: Thompson & Morgan Growing a fuchsia standard is a great way to show off these elegant, jewel-coloured flowers while adding height and colour to your border. Also ideal for containers, standard fuchsias make a…

Hydrangea

Walk around any neighbourhood during the summer and you’ll see plenty of glorious Hydrangeas. They’re one of the most tough and durable shrubs for a European climate. They’re also available in a huge range of colours… although, you wouldn’t know it, as most of the ones…

Sowing Sweet Peas

Whilst relaxing with a book I studied my garden, my book was slowly losing its appeal! I realised how bare my garden not only looked, but felt. It is strange to say that your garden has a feeling, but it certainly does. My garden didn’t encourage growth, innovation or adventure but plain,…

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…

Best Drought-Resistant Plants

Drought-resistant planting at RHS Garden Harlow Carr. Image: Olivia Drake Spring and summer droughts are becoming increasingly common across many parts of the UK. With temperatures rising and rainfall becoming less consistent, drought-resistant plants have never been more important to gardeners. A…

Wild flowers – our top 10

Autumn is the perfect time to sow a hardy annual wildflower display. The soil is still warm for quick germination, and resulting seedlings will be watered by autumn rain. Come winter they’ll be tough enough to face the cold weather, quickly waking up in spring to put on a much stronger show…

The Best Plants for May

Lupins and alliums are classic cottage garden plants for May - their contrasting shapes work beautifully togetherImage: Shutterstock May is a fabulous time in the garden - fresh spring foliage is injected with colour from early herbaceous perennials, tulips give way to alliums and iris, whilst…

The secret life of plants

The root structure of the date palm is a thing of beauty. Image source: The Hidden Half project, University of Nottingham Gardening could be described as bending nature to our will. It's the selection, planting, shaping, pruning, training, pollinating, pinching, grafting, thinning out and…

Plants on trial – a sneaky peak

I have always been a fan of over the top, in your face bedding displays and every year I plant out hundreds of plants in beds, pots and baskets. Over the last few years, due to work commitments, I have been finding the up keep a bit difficult.Alstroemeria ‘Planet Mix’Last year I planted…

Decorating with Houseplants

Image: Shutterstock This guide to decorating with houseplants shows you how to get creative with plant shape, texture, colour and size. Plants breathe life into sterile spaces and which houseplants you select and how you arrange them will affect the dynamics of your space and create different…

Why is Sustainable Gardening so Important These Days?

In essence, sustainable gardening is not a new term, but the practice has started gaining traction recently. What gardening sustainably means, what does the process involve, and what makes it so important today? What is Sustainable Gardening? It is vital to make one crucial distinction. Cultivating…

Gardening without plastic

A few small changes can make a big difference Image: Garden Ninja We're flooding the planet with plastic, and there's currently a huge focus on how much ends up in our oceans. But as gardeners, what can we do about it? Traditionally, plant care and propagation have always relied heavily on plastic…

All Things Bright and Beautiful

Begonia Non-stop Mocca' adds a splash of colour to any garden Copyright: Benary After a busy week with barely a peep outside, I went into the garden this morning and felt a none-too-subtle shift from high summer towards early autumn. There I was last Sunday extolling the virtues of planting for…

Windowsill Gardening

I have been gardening since I was knee high to my Grandad, he taught me as much about gardening when I was a nipper as I learnt at school about reading and writing! My father is also a keen gardener and so I have had a very well rounded gardening education. I have been working as a self employed…

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