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Spring is on its way!

The days are beginning to pull out, lighter mornings and also evenings too. Yippee! Washbrook Church I love getting wrapped up and walking over the fields in our village with the kids and hubby this time of the year. We love to visit St Mary's Church in Washbrook which is in an isolated position…

Getting more from your garden!

Getting more from your garden!By ‘getting more’ I mean multiplying up your favourite plants the cheap and easy way — by taking cuttings. Although September is thought to be late for taking cuttings, it is in fact my chosen moment. The busy spring and summer seasons of the…

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…

Duchess of Cambridge’s charity gets a boost

Thompson & Morgan donations total £42,000 with recent chequeThompson & Morgan is proudly supporting The Treehouse Appeal, a brand new hospice in Ipswich built by EACH (East Anglia’s Childrens’ Hospice) and officially opened in March this year by its Royal Patron, HRH The Duchess…

Growing summer flowers for cutting

Satisfaction twice - from growing, and from arranging. Image: shutterstock As spring arrives and temperatures start to rise, my thoughts turn to flowers. And not just flowers to be enjoyed in the garden. I'm talking about those grown specifically for cutting, to allow me to bring a little of that…

Cheese, Sage and Onion Savoury Scones

Cheese, Sage and Onion Savoury SconesI realise these scones sound a little odd and festive but they are really tasty! Good for a snack hot with salted butter or instead of a sandwich for a lunchbox – add a little chutney and cheese in-between and it makes lunch a little more…

Chunky sausage & tomato pasta

Chunky sausage & tomato pastaThompson & MorganA quick, easy to make pasta dish. Sweet, fresh cherry tomatoes with succulent sausages and italian flavour. An all round family favourite. Print Recipe Pin Recipe Prep Time 5 minsCook Time 20 minsTotal Time 25 mins Course Main Course Servings…

Thompson & Morgan’s radio show

Listen to our experts’ gardening advice for April in Thompson & Morgan’s first ever radio show!Each month Colin Randel and Michael Perry will be on air to give you the best seasonal gardening advice.In the first broadcast, Andrew and Colin talk to Ken Crowther about the late growing…

Family visit to Hyde Hall

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…

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…

Hanging baskets – Getting it right!

Getting hanging baskets right doesn’t have to be a great effort. All too often I see such poor, forgotten hanging baskets outside people’s homes, which probably started off looking good, but then quickly went downhill, as people found them too much effort to care for. It doesn’t…

Wild Ferments!

Wild Ferments!Most of us tend to view the world of microbes with some suspicion, convinced that these bugs can do us harm or make us unwell, in fact there is a whole world of beneficial organisms out there that can help us unlock additional nourishment from our food, and at the same time populate…

A few days in the Netherlands…

It’s autumn trade show time, when we head over to the Netherlands to see what’s up and coming in the plant world… The Dutch are second to none when it comes to innovation within the green sphere, I’m always amazed and enthralled by their ideas and designs!Here’s a few…

Homemade Raspberry Jam

Homemade raspberry jamThompson & MorganAn easy recipe for a novice jam maker. Another way to utilise your spare, tasty allotment crop. Print Recipe Pin Recipe Prep Time 15 minsCook Time 12 minsTotal Time 27 mins Calories 39 kcal Ingredients 1 lemon juice, freshly squeezed1 kg raspberries1 kg…

Courgette & double cheese quiche

Courgette & double cheese quicheThompson & MorganAdd a mass of flavour to your courgettes, in a quiche that is packed with cheese and wrapped in pastry. An excellent summer favourite. Print Recipe Pin Recipe Prep Time 25 minsCook Time 1 hrTotal Time 1 hr 25 mins Servings 8Calories 330 kcal…

T&M's highly-regarded horticulturalist celebrates 50 years in horticulture

Left: The Sun's Peter Seabrook (L) presents Colin Randel (R) with engraved garden fork and spade Right: Colin Randel, Thompson & Morgan's vegetable product manager and potato expert Photo credits: Thompson & Morgan Colin Randel, our product manager and vegetable expert here at Thompson…

This summer I had great success with my tomato plants!

In previous years I have grown my tomato plants in grow bags in my mum and dad’s conservatory. I have grown various varieties including; Gardener’s Delight, Golden Sunrise, Beef Steak, Mr Stripey Tigerella, Money Maker, Alicante and tumbling tomatoes.This year my mum and dad bought a…

Behind the scenes at QVC

If you’re a fan of the shopping channel QVC, you may have already spotted some Thompson & Morgan products on the show. Working with QVC, we always make sure the most unique plants are on offer, often at some unbeatable deals.And now you get to see a bit more behind the scenes!Here’s…

Raspberry surprise!

I’m very pleased with this pair of Raspberry ‘Ruby Beauty’™ plants that found their way to my desk today.  I wasn’t expecting them so it was a lovely surprise! This compact little variety is the latest thing in Raspberries. It’s a dwarf variety that’s…

Win a Wildflower Collection

Win a Wildflower Collection plus 10 packets of Wildflower Seed worth over £40This competition is now closed. We’re delighted to announce that the winner is Emma Squire from Leicestershire. Please visit our main competitions page for more chances to win prizes.Win wildflower plants and…

Snowdrops

What is it about snowdrops?I’ve always been in love with snowdrops. For as long as I can remember. It might have something to do with the fact that they are the harbinger of spring. The first signs that the sleeping garden is starting to wake again from its winter slumber. After several…

Making a start on your plot

So you’re now the proud tenant of your new plot. You look, you scratch your head, you stand and survey. The fact of the matter is, there is only one way to get a plot up and running and that’s hard work. I started with cutting through the bramble jungle, once cut down to ground level…

Buying Christmas gifts online? Take a look at our new range

Begonia ‘Grace’Thompson & Morgan’s Christmas Gifts rangeOur new online Christmas gifts range for 2012 includes fabulous indoor and outdoor plants, such as the award-winning Begonia ‘Grace’, a really festive houseplant with holly-like leaves and red and green…

Indoor Plants: The Natural Air Purifiers (We Need To Know More About)

While many people are not aware of it, the fact is that indoor plants act as nature's very own air purifiers. Many scientists have now suggested that it is very important to use air-purifying plants in both your home as well as your office to help detoxify the atmosphere in the space where you live…

Rewilding the lawn

This white tailed bumble bee is enjoying selfheal flowers which have spontaneously popped up in an unmown lawn Image: Plantlife Which would you choose? A barren desert wasteland? Or a tapestry of wild flowers teaming with insects, mammals and birds? Lawns are great for leisure and as a foil to…

Expert gardening tips for beginners

Gardening is a lifelong learning curve based on shared knowledge, trial and error. Image source: Rawpixel. com If you're just getting into gardening and could do with some help and advice to set you on your way, we've got just what you need: handy tips from gardeners from across the blogosphere.…

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…

A dream come true with Floral Fantasia

So, I heard we (Thompson & Morgan) were having a floral fantasia trial garden this year at RHS Hyde Hall in Chelmsford and I was very pleased, and couldn't wait to visit. Then I got an email asking me to help plant it up, I was over the moon!!! Since starting my new career in Horticulture many…

Suffolk train stations back in bloom

The T&M team, ActivLives' gardeners and station manager Jackie at Ipswich Train Station Colour has returned to Ipswich and Stowmarket train stations thanks to a partnership between train operator Abellio Greater Anglia, local seed and plant specialist Thompson & Morgan and Ipswich-based…

Raspberry tartlets

Raspberry tartletsThompson & MorganAn impressive summer dessert that utilises your allotment fruit. Great for entertaining or as an additon to an afternoon tea selection Print Recipe Pin Recipe Prep Time 1 hr 30 minsCook Time 30 minsTotal Time 2 hrs Course Dessert Servings 8 Ingredients…

Top 10 Easiest Houseplants

A group of easy to grow houseplants including Zamioculcas (back left) Sanseviera (far left), Aspidistra (second right) and Spathiphyllum (far right). Image: ShutterstockWould you love to have some lush greenery in your home but don't feel that you have the expertise? Let's face it - we have all…

The history of the petunia

Surfinia petunias are a popular choice for hanging basketsImage: Petunia 'Surfinia Star Burgundy' from Thompson & Morgan There's always a plant that, like Marmite, you love or loathe, and through the ages the petunia has often divided opinion. In fact, during the 1500s people believed that…

Strawberry Tarts

Strawberry TartsThompson & MorganEnjoy this simple, fresh fruit treat whislt reaping the rewards of your home grown crop. An excellent addition to any afternoon tea selection. Print Recipe Pin Recipe Prep Time 30 minsCook Time 25 minsTotal Time 55 mins Course Dessert Servings 4 tartsCalories…

Ferns masterclass: best expert content

Awarded an RHS Award of Garden Merit, Ostrich Ferns are ideal for shady bordersCopyright: The Garden CollectionIf you love ferns and want to fill your garden with their calming, green and delicate fronds, we've sourced some of the best independent content from the internet to help you succeed. With…

A day’s filming with Richard Jackson

A day’s filming with Richard JacksonI live in Bournemouth which is quite a mild gardening climate, although of course we have had some really bad winters over the last three years with well below temperatures and snow – not usually associated with the south of England. I am just…

You say potato, we definitely said TomTato®

No doubt you’ve seen Thompson & Morgan’s latest news on the TomTato®; a unique grafted plant, which combines an extra sweet tomato with a delicious white potato!Now, the concept isn’t new and the phenomenon of grafting these 2 plants together has been known for almost 100…

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