How to improve clay or sandy soils with leafmouldLeafmould is the black gold of gardening. Ten or more years back, I worked in nursery on a rare hill on the Suffolk Essex border. We are talking small scale, husband and wife team, working all hours of day and days of year. The only time off was to…
® Alison Hooper We're in that slow part of the year when not much appears to be happening. Leaves have fallen, fruit and veg long since picked. It's all a bit grey and samey, like the turgid mid-section of an album's B-side. You love that album, but frankly there are eight tracks to get through…
Foxglove ‘Illumination Pink’ is featured in two award-winning gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show!We were delighted to hear that two gardens featuring Thompson & Morgan’s Foxglove ‘Illumination Pink’ won awards at the Chelsea Flower Show this week.The BrandAlley…
Surveying the damage after the first frost of 2012It’s mid October and the wife wanted me to go to the allotment this morning to get a few veg for a Sunday roast dinner, there are still a good few plants growing down there although the weather is now turning decidedly chilly! A fine row of…
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…
At Thompson & Morgan, we have been selling plants for over 20 years now, including thousands, if not millions, of fuchsias! Our customers love a good fuchsia; from the small-flowered, table top style to the glorious trailing varieties. But, for now, we’re talking about the ‘big…
Welcome to my new monthly 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. January is perfect for making Parsnip Scones! The humble parsnip, a mainstay of the Sunday Roast has been cultivated since the…
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…
Hello all you happy gardeners!Well we’ve all had some fab weather and doesn’t it show in the gardens? The flowers and veg like to feel the warmth on them.I just had to tell you all about the pea Alexandra I have grown as part of the Thompson & Morgan trials.I only have a small…
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,…
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…
If you haven’t requested your spring 2015 catalogue yet then you need to! This is one of our most exciting catalogues yet, bursting at the seams with new varieties, fragrant collections, competitions, offers and so much more.So, what is new?Our Incredi-range® is blooming marvellous! Our…
Guest blogger Michelle Storm writes a regular blog on increasing wild flower meadows in UK gardens and public spaces.A winter wildlife gardenIn mid November a carpet of leaves covered the garden. The stalks of summer perennials were brown and shriveled and the seed heads of Hollyhocks, Lavender and…
Selecting new plants and flowers isn’t so unlike the fashion world you know..!Our autumn catalogue range has been launched, and the first of the new varieties has begun to strutt its stuff on the catwalk..!First up, let’s talk bulbs. I often think they’re a great place for a…
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…
In 2013 the RHS Chelsea Flower Show will be celebrating its centenary and it promises to be a very special show indeed…Thompson & Morgan’s 1912 Seed CataloguePeter Seabrook, writer, broadcaster and the Sun newspaper’s gardening editor is going to create 4 gardens at Chelsea…
Ian and Stuart Paton have broken the UK record for a giant pumpkin for the 9th time! They reclaim throne with their 1,884 lbs beauty after it was stolen from them last year.The gargantuan gourd measured more than 17ft in circumference and during its peak period of growth piled on a staggering 35lb…
Strawberry smoothieThompson & MorganA very quick, healthy smoothie that utilises your strawberry crops. Find out how to get bumper crops from your home grown strawberries at our strawberry hub page. Gluten free and vegan friendly too. A perfect morning drink to get you off to a great start to…
Looking for ways to prevent unwanted cats visiting your garden? Image: lkoimages Fed up with neighbourhood cats fouling your flower beds, digging up seedlings, and damaging your plants? Potential solutions to the problem are many, but no one method is 100% successful, which is why it's best to…
Petunias and a bit of plant snobberyWe all have opinions about plants, some we like, some we do not. We may regard some plants as rather garish, maybe too flouncy and blousy, maybe just too yellow for our taste. We make judgements on plants much the same as we make judgements on anything else. We…
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…
Suffolk Show 2014 Best Overall Garden - Massive congratulations to Lucas hatch who has won best overall garden and a silver gilt medal for design!!Lucas was crowned RHS Young School Gardener of the Year in 2012, and built his very first show garden for the Show. Lucas is the Suffolk Show’s…
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…
Anthurium is tropical species that we are lucky enough to be able to cultivate in our homes. This plant stands out with large, dark green, heart-shaped leaves. It is an evergreen plant that can bloom for months without excessive care. Some of the more popular species are Anthurium Crystallinum,…
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2014 runs from 20 – 24 May. You cannot deny that the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the pinnacle of any horticultural calendar. Although it can divide public opinion with some of the garden designs, the event is a fantastic showcase for new plants, undiscovered plants…
The trick to success with chilli sowing is to keep it simple. I’ve tried all sorts of sowing methods, from expanding coir pellets and thermostatic controlled propagators to expensive home hydroponic systems – but what method has given me quick high-yielding results this season?Answer:…
Grilled lemon and garlic courgetteThompson & MorganA superb side dish that can be paired with almost any meal! Grilling courgettes gives them a great depth of flavour. Grill with fresh lemon and garlic for a delicious, flavourful dish. Print Recipe Pin Recipe Prep Time 10 minsCook Time 10…
Last weekend we headed down to Hyde Hall to visit Thompson and Morgan's Floral Fantasia. My children were very keen to see all the plants that I had planted, they had seen the pictures I had taken for the previous blog. We love visiting Hyde Hall, taking a picnic and spending the day together. The…
Holly trees can be self-fertile, male or female; so some bushes may need a partner to ensure they can pollinate and produce berries. This is not usually a problem in home gardens though, as Holly trees are quite common in other gardens as well as in the wild, so there should always be a pollinator…
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…
Primrose ‘Husky’ MixedHello,Just a few minutes planning now can make your outdoor space the envy of all once spring arrives! And this is all thanks to the queen of spring, the primrose!When you think the garden has given up the ghost and you’re cranking up the central heating…
Turnip chutneyAllotment Garden Print Recipe Pin Recipe Ingredients 2 lb turnips1 lb apples1 lb onions8 oz sultanas or dates8 oz sugar¢ oz turmeric1 tsp dry mustard1 oz salt1 pinch cayenne or black pepper1 pint vinegarNotesIf you find yourself with an unexpected glut of something unusual, join John…
Discover how to cultivate this fast-growing annual Image: isak55 Early summer is the ideal time to sow basil seeds for late summer pizzas, salads and pasta dishes. In fact, professional garden designer Nic Wilson of dogwooddays says one of her favourite jobs of the year is collecting armfuls of…
Guest blogger Rachel Davidson-Foster’s post on her ongoing quest for the perfect garden.Was buying a house called “Brambles” an omen?I hope you will forgive me the women’s-magazine cliché that begins my story; 6 years ago I’m pregnant with my second child searching for…
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…
In my second ‘make a change to your plant choices’ article I’ll be showing you some superb varieties that have the edge of other plants and vegetables in our range.Runner Bean Moonlight – self-fertile beansGrow Runner Bean Moonlight, not Lady DiWhy?Bad weather and…
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