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Gardening news – T&M team raises money for Greenfingers charity

Here is our round-up of this week’s gardening news and happenings in the gardening world.The triumphant T&M teamT&M team raises over £1000 for Greenfingers charityT&M staff took part in the 10k Grand East Anglian Run in Kings Lynn on Sunday to raise funds for Greenfingers, the…

Taking inspiration from The Chelsea Flower Show

I have been to Chelsea before – I have always loved it and I’m sure I always will. Never before have I felt so excited about going as I did this year. The last time I went to Chelsea, it was the second day and I went with one of my best friends, a florist who runs a fantastic florist…

And the award goes to…

…Thompson & Morgan!The Sun’s Peter Seabrook presenting the award for Best Online/Mail Order Retailer to Paul Hansord, Thompson & Morgan’s horticultural director.At the annual Garden Retail Awards, held last Tuesday, 5th November at the Grosvenor Hotel on London’s…

Pumpkin Pressure- another record breaker?

The pressure is on as we are set for another world record breaker! Each year we have the pleasure of sponsoring Autumn Pumpkin Festival taking place in Southampton on 11th October 2014. If the UK world record is broken, we offer the winning grower a £1,000 award! But, if they break a World record,…

10 Brilliant Bird Watching Blogs

Fall back in love with our feathered friends, and get inspired by these birdy blogs. Image: M. Zonderling/Unsplash Whether you're a committed twitcher, a seasoned birder or an occasional birdwatcher, following a selection of birding blogs is an excellent way to keep up with bird news and events and…

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…

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…

Life of a young gardener – Jack Shilley

Hi There! My name is Jack Shilley; I’m 19 years old and i have an incredible passion for horticulture and growing your own. This is my first blog for Thompson & Morgan so I thought I’d take this opportunity to share with you my horticultural story – so that you get to know me…

Making a willow dome seating area

On a resent visit to Foxton Locks near Market Harborough, I saw a dome made up of willow with a seat. I was so impressed with it, I thought it would be nice to make a willow dome for the green belt park area where we live. I am involved in the RHS It’s Your Neighbourhood and Loughborough in…

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…

What’s in your garden?

What’s in your garden? It could be a real treasure trove!What’s in your garden? It could be a real treasure trove!A step in a garden in Devon is thought to be a moonstone, similar to the ones found in Sri Lankan temples from around 400BC-1000AD.This extremely rare find could fetch up to…

Long-service awards for dedicated Thompson & Morgan staff

Back row l to r: Anne Wooden, Erin Geaves, Michael Perry, Paul Hansord, John MayFront row l to r: Sue Adams, Chloe Farmer, Kim Parker, Marilyn KeenEmployees clock up 165 years – long-service awards for dedicated Thompson & Morgan staffA group of employees from Thompson & Morgan is…

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

Strawberry smoothie

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…

TomTato®

We were extremely happy to be selected as a TomTato® trialler for Thompson & Morgan. To grow an innovative and inspiring plant is such a great opportunity and I am here to share the journey with you. When our TomTato® arrived safe and sound I was incredibly excited to begin the growing process.…

Driftwood Garden's Geoff Stonebanks' trip to the Palace

Geoff Stonebanks attends Macmillan Cancer Support Volunteers Reception at Buckingham Palace, Hosted by HRH The Prince of WalesMacmillan Cancer Support's Patron, HRH The Prince of Wales hosted a reception at Buckingham Palace on 31 January. The event recognised and thanked exceptional volunteers for…

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…

Blueberry surprise

Hey, look what I grew! Ok, so it doesn’t look like much, but these are the first few blueberries from my blueberry plant. I had them on my cereal and although they weren’t huge, they were really sweet and all the more delicious because I grew them myself! And frankly, if I can grow…

Gardening is therapy – Ray’s story

Ray and SharonA year ago when Ray came to Thrive, he was at a complete loss and couldn’t see a future for himself.Following a career in the army, including particularly tough tours of duty in Northern Ireland where he lost two close friends, Ray was left battling severe depression whilst…

Pumpkin carving competition results

This Halloween we set up a pumpkin carving competition on our Facebook, Twitter and Google+ pages and had some amazing entries. We offered 3 prizes consisting of £20, £10 and £5 in Thompson & Morgan vouchers and the winners have now been chosen.The quality of carvings was very impressive, and…

Gardening to be taught in schools

Gardening is set to be taught primary and secondary schools as part of the National Curriculum from September 2014, according to news reports.Gardening to be part of National CurriculumFor many years now campaigns have been running to get children into gardening and growing their own food –…

Thrive – the benefits of gardening

Thrive is the leading charity in the UK that uses gardening to bring about positive changes in the lives of people who are living with disabilities or ill health, or are isolated, disadvantaged or vulnerable.This process is known as social and therapeutic horticulture (STH). It uses plants and…

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…

Strawberry Cupcakes

Strawberry cupcakesThompson & MorganBeautiful vanilla cupakes topped with vibrant pink icing and fresh strawberries picked from your allotment. Print Recipe Pin Recipe Prep Time 20 minsCook Time 30 minsTotal Time 50 mins Course Dessert Servings 12 cupcakesCalories 387 kcal Ingredients 1x2x3x120…

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…

Share your story on our blog

Write for Thompson & Morgan’s blogWe’d like to invite you to be part of our social community – the Thompson & Morgan gardening blog. We’re looking for bloggers to write posts about gardening-related topics.We will consider publishing well-written, informative…