Blog

Rainbow vegetables – the latest trend on the veg patch!

There has been a lot of chatter about purple carrots in recent years, as chefs and cooks have wanted to jazz up their dishes, I blame Master Chef! But, Thompson & Morgan have just released the BEST purple carrot- ‘Purple Sun’- which is purple right through to the core!Purple carrots…

Thompson & Morgan scoops top award

Thompson & Morgan scoops top award – another win at RHS ChelseaPaul Hansord and Michael Perry with the winning plantThompson & Morgan is thrilled to announce that its ‘Plant of the Year’ entry has yet again been placed in the top three at this year’s RHS Chelsea…

Watering your garden when you’re on holiday

Summer is here and correct me if I’m wrong, but the weather is being quite well-behaved so far. The occasional storm is actually a positive for the plants, giving them a good soak. The rain will encourage leafy growth, meaning you get even bushier plants, with the potential for more blooms!…

The sweetest tomato you’ll ever taste – or your money back

The sweetest tomato you’ll ever taste – or your money backTomato Sweet Aperitif‘I’m so confident you won’t be disappointed, that I’ll give you your money back if you don’t think this is the best tomato you’ve ever tasted’.This is the strong…

Customer trial panel member profile – Lucas Hatch

We’d like to introduce you to some members of our customer trial panel – our trusty team of gardeners who test Thompson & Morgan’s plants in real gardens. They’ll be writing blog posts for us in the next few months to give you updates on what’s happening in their…

Therapeutic Gardening – How has it helped Melanie ?

Here Thrive, the UK charity that uses therapeutic gardening to change lives, shows how it has made a difference to Melanie’s life.Two years ago when Melanie came to Thrive just after her father died, she was, in her own words, a different person. Losing both parents (her mother had died some…

World’s first electricity-generating sunflower!

Thompson & Morgan’s horticultural innovators who won the Plant of the Year at the Chelsea Flower Show 2012 and introduced the amazing TomTato® have done it again!They have now developed a brand new strain of sunflower which generates its own electricity from the central stem.The…

Gardening news – bees, badger culls & hybrid grass

Gardening news – read our summary of the latest news in the gardening world hereEU votes on neonicotinoid banBees – pesticidesEU states are due to vote today on a 2-year ban on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides, which threaten the survival of bees and other pollinators. Should the ban…

Rock Dust

Rock DustI remember vividly seeing on television the literally earth-shattering images of the Mount St. Helens volcano erupting in the United States in 1980.  This gigantic explosion caused the collapse of a large portion of the mountain together with the ejection of millions of tons of volcanic…

Incredibloom – how does it work?

A product that can boost your flower power by up to 400 per cent! We can understand why you would question this, but this product really does work.  Gardeners using incredibloom™ plant feed are already seeing the amazing results, but with the season now in full swing you can use…

Creamy courgette & bacon pasta

Creamy courgette & bacon pastaThompson & MorganA quick and creamy carbonara-style tagliatelle recipe that showcases your delicious home grown courgettes, contrasted with créme fra?«che and smokey pancetta. Print Recipe Pin Recipe Prep Time 10 minsCook Time 20 minsTotal Time 30 mins Course Main…

How to get an Allotment – with Michelle Stacey

Hi, my name is Michelle and I was a contestant on BBC2 big allotment challenge 2014, and also BBC1 allotment wars. I have my own allotment and have done for 5 years now, the lovelies at Thompson & Morgan have asked if I would like to write an allotment blog, so I thought we would start right…

Exciting career opportunities within Thompson & Morgan

Exciting career opportunities within Thompson & MorganThompson & Morgan, which has been based in Ipswich since 1855, has grown to become one of the UK’s most successful horticultural seed and plant companies. Through the publication of its catalogues, the operation of its…

Weekend project – making a bird bath

Inspired by a photo of a homemade bird bath I’d seen on Pinterest a while ago, I decided to put the pile of bricks at the side of my house to good use and make one myself!We’re trying to be much more mindful of wildlife in our garden (I often refer to it as a wildlife garden, when in…

The war against weeds – Part 1

There is one thing that unites us as gardeners – our dislike of weeds! Competing with our carefully tended plants for light, space, water and nutrients, and often more vigorous in growth than our cultivated varieties.If like me, you are busy with work and family, it’s all too easy to…

Vegan raspberry mousse

Vegan Raspberry MousseThompson & MorganFruity, light and really perfect as a summer dessert. Bursting with fresh raspberrys and coconut. Print Recipe Pin Recipe Prep Time 15 minsTotal Time 15 mins Course Dessert Servings 4 Ingredients 1x2x3x80 ml aquafaba150 g coconut cream1 tsp lemon juice50 g…

Be nice to nettles

Be nice to nettles week 15th-26th May 2013Stinging nettles – grow some in your garden!‘Nice’ isn’t the first word that comes to mind when thinking of stinging nettles, but these native plants really do deserve more affection. This week is ‘Be nice to nettles’…

T&M's new relationship with the National Trust

We are delighted to announce an exciting new relationship with one of the largest conservation charities in Europe: the National Trust. With more than 200 gardens in the National Trust's care, there is a natural synergy between the Trust's nature ambitions and our products designed to encourage…

The war against weeds – part 2

Perennial weeds are far trickier to deal with than annual weeds. They die back in winter each year before re-emerging the following spring so you need to kill the root in order to kill the plant. Worse still, some weeds such as bindweed can propagate themselves from the tiniest piece of broken…

Upcoming Gardening Events 2014

Gardening events are incredibly exciting to any gardener. You get the opportunity to see new varieties, garden designs, breeding innovations and so much more. In the mist of everyday life, we sometimes forget about them! The date comes and all your friends are talking about the most spectacular…

Gardening news – horticulture, twitter and deadly mushrooms

Read recent gardening news snippets here…Careers in horticulture on the declineGardening in crisis according to RHSA new report by the RHS shows how horticultural companies are struggling to fill skilled positions because of a severe shortage of qualified people in the UK. Mary Keen recently…

RHS on the hunt for new Young School Gardener of the Year

The RHS Young School Gardener of the Year 2013 is underway and the society is on the lookout for the best young gardeners around the country.Lucas Hatch with his runner bean cropsLast year, Suffolk schoolboy Lucas Hatch was crowned the winner (see our blog post here for the full story), having…

Gardening news – why broccoli is so good for you

A new reason to eat your greens!Eating broccoli may help to slow the progress of arthritisAccording to new research, the first study into the effect of sulforaphane, a compound found in cruciferous vegetables, on joint health shows that eating broccoli may reduce cartilage damage and…

August Flowers in Bloom

When the Pod went Pop!

There is really nothing like the taste of home grown peas.Read excerpts from Garden *Life* Love, the new digital magazineAlternatively download the When the Pod went Pop! article. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer, you can download the program for free by clicking on the…

Pests and Disease

There is nothing more frustrating for a gardener than purchasing, growing and nurturing a plant for it to be destroyed by pests or disease. As gardeners we strive to protect our crops and this can be an enormous challenge especially when we have to try identify what has caused the damage. Even more…

Kris Collins Joins Thompson & Morgan

We are pleased to announce that Kris Collins joins Thompson & Morgan, as the Company’s Communications Officer making sure customers new and old are kept up to date on the latest plant developments and company news via a wide range of media sources. Kris joins the Thompson & Morgan…

Gardening talk at The Roof Gardens

On one of the first real days of spring, I was extremely lucky to be giving my ‘New, different and unusual plants’ gardening talk to a garden club set in a very unusual location.The Roof Gardens, LondonStunning viewsLocated one hundred feet above Kensington High Street in central…

Gardening best for job satisfaction

Gardening tops ‘happiness index’Looking for job satisfaction? Be a gardener!It’s often been said that a high-paid office job doesn’t necessarily bring happiness and a recent survey by City and Guilds suggests that UK workers agree.Of the 2,200 people who completed the online…

Big Butterfly Count photo competition

Win prizes in our Big Butterfly Count photo competitionWin up to £25 in Thompson & Morgan vouchersTo celebrate the start of the Big Butterfly Count (20th July – 11th August), we’d love to see your photos of butterflies. You could win up to £25 in Thompson & Morgan…

Thompson & Morgan wins Experian Hitwise award

We are thrilled to announce that Thompson & Morgan has won a Hitwise Top 10 Websites award for the period of January-June 2012 in the Lifestyle – House and Garden industry – this is the 3rd year in a row that we’ve won the award!Thompson & Morgan wins Experian Hitwise…

Horticultural Guilty Habit

The RHS has revealed a horticultural guilty habit that one-fifth of gardeners polled have reluctantly admitted to!After our recent spell of rain, you would expect more snails to be appearing in your garden, but are you sure this is a weathering aftermath or do you need to quiz your neighbours? An…