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How I got into gardening, part 1

Michael Perry, New Product ManagerEveryone always asks me what got me into gardening… and the answer is my grandparents!My first bleary memories are of my grandparents’ vast greenhouses, their endless complex of sheds filled with garden tools and, of course, pots and borders lovingly…

Summer’s over, what next? Michael Perry asks

Tulip Everlasting MixtureI think it has happened.When leaving the house today; the feeling of autumn seemed to have descended. Although bright and sunny, the temperature was cooler and there were misty windows. Darn, I’ll have to start wearing socks again!So what do we do now summer’s…

The Top Ten Pop Songs proven to boost plant growth

As the UK's best-known horticultural company, Thompson & Morgan is always at the cutting edge of plant innovation and welfare. We strive to give all our plants the best possible environments to grow in and we're continually looking for new ways of bringing out the very best in our plants before…

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…

TomTato® – harvest potatoes AND tomatoes from the same plant

World exclusive TomTato®Harvest potatoes AND tomatoes from the same plantThompson & Morgan announces another major horticultural breakthrough. Specially hand-grafted plants producing potatoes AND tomatoes are now available to UK home gardeners for the first time.More than 500 sweet and juicy…

Perennials masterclass: best expert content

Perennials brighten up all beds, borders & containersCopyright: Customer - Susan EdwardsPerennial plants are the trusty stalwarts of our beds, borders, and containers. Thriving for many years before they need renewing, they're a vital part of every well-designed planting scheme. To help you get…

Getting the best from your fuchsias – Thompson & Morgan growing secrets revealed

Fuchsias will put on a good show with minimal care throughout the season, but for the best displays it pays to learn a few simple tricks and tips.For a fantastic fuchsia display this summer follow our secrets for success:Growing conditions:Plant in fertile, moist but well-drained soil, with shelter…

Hydrangea Miss Saori – RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year 2014

Hydrangea Miss Saori – RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year 2014. Available for sale now, buy yours here.The most prestige horticultural event is in full swing and there is no doubt that the winner of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year 2014 has taken over gardening headlines.…

Plan your garden for a stunning display

Don’t get caught out with a dull garden next spring… just a bit of planning now could mean you have a display to be proud of!Pansy ‘Matrix Mixed’We offer a huge range of young plants which can’t be found elsewhere; selected for garden performance, and unique and often…

Houseplant Doctor : Answers to Top Houseplant Questions

Image: Shutterstock From crispy leaves to soggy succulents, our Houseplant Doctor gives expert answers to your top houseplant questions. How often should I water my houseplant? Image: Thompson & Morgan There is no fixed rule because how often you need to water your houseplant depends on a host…

How to create beautiful displays with annual flowers

Nigella damascena provides a beautiful display all summer longImage source: Shutterstock Once March arrives, Nic Wilson's potting shed is launched into action as her annual flower seeds come out. Here, the experienced gardener behind dogwooddays talks to us about the many roles that annual flowers…

Gardening news – National Allotments Week, butterflies and nitrogen

In this week’s gardening news we’ll be talking about National Allotments Week, the effect of weather on butterflies and a new technique to enable plants to source nitrogen from the air.National Allotments Week 5th-11th AugustThe National Allotment Society’s yearly celebration of…

Plot to plate recipes for National Vegetarian Week

Celebrate National Vegetarian Week with delicious recipes from gardening bloggers around the UKImage: monticello At Thompson & Morgan, we're passionate about growing our own food. But sowing, growing and nurturing delicious produce is only half of the story. Harvesting, preparing and eating…

Capel St Mary Allotments Association - Flower and Produce Show

Last weekend I volunteered to help out at my local Allotment Show, they were a bit short on numbers, so I helped out on the refreshment stall, we all need a cup of tea and piece of cake from time to time. It was a perfect way to have a behind the scenes look at the show. It has given me more ideas…

Thriving at Driftwood

In this, my latest blog for Thompson & Morgan, I am going to bring you up to date with the trial products here at Driftwood that were delivered between September and April to my exposed coastal plot here on the south coast!If you have read any of my previous blogs, you will know that it is not…

Top 10 Hardy Perennial Herbs to Plant Once and Harvest for Years

Herbs are incredibly useful for culinary and medicinal purposes. Perennial herbs get to spread their roots for many years, so they're great at looking after themselves. They'll provide you with harvest after harvest, thriving on little to no TLC. There's no need to re-plant them every year, saving…

A busy summer at Driftwood

Well, since I wrote my first blog back in March this year it’s been a very busy summer at Driftwood, both from a visitor and from a Thompson & Morgan trial perspective! We have opened the garden 17 times this summer, 10 garden openings and 7 for a local art festival, Artwave! During that…

Light up your garden with yellow: the colour of the year

Add a sunny pop of colour to your garden with yellow flowers Image: Arum Gold Label' from T&MThe colour of 2021, Pantone 'Illuminating' is a warm and vibrant yellow that brings with it the promise of better times. And what better way to celebrate our hope and optimism for the future than by…

Get kids gardening with Mr Men & Little Miss seeds

Get kids gardening with Mr Men & Little Miss seedsImage: Mr Men & Little Miss Seeds Gardening is a healthy and inexpensive way for children to learn and have fun. It gets them out into the fresh air - and many will develop an interest in healthy eating if they grow their own fruit and veg.…

Gardening news – autumn planting, bees and butterflies

Autumn planting is the big topic in this week’s gardening news!Autumn is the best time to plant many bulbs including tulipsPlan it, plant it this autumnThe ‘Plan it, plant it this autumn’ campaign run by the Horticultural Trade Association is now in its second year. The campaign…

Make a change to your plant choices – 2

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…

Customer trial panel member profile – Caroline Broome

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…

Gardening news – wild gardens, slugs and circadian rhythms

Read our snippets of gardening news here…Let your garden grow wild!Hoe(s) downI look over the fence at the neighbour’s garden and sigh at how nice it looks. Not pristine, just nice. Mine, on the other hand, is just plain messy. Or so I thought. Now, it seems, an untidy garden is exactly…

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…

£1000 offered for vintage Thompson & Morgan Seed Catalogues

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…

Wet start to the year – unruley weather

Despite the wet start to this year I have still managed to finish my winter digging. Despite the allotment site being clay soil, my plots have had so much organic matter added to it over the years that it makes digging easy. I hardly have to put my foot on the spade to get it into the soil.The last…

A Summer of new plants at Driftwood

As what would have been my open garden season, draws to a close, I can look back on a very different summer here at Driftwood. Considering the diversity of the weather we've experienced here in Seaford, ranging from extreme heat, gale-force winds through to torrential rain, I am quite amazed that…

Therapeutic Gardening? My nerves are in tatters!

Thompson and Morgan Triallist's Blog - June 2018 I have this fantasy image of myself in diaphanous summer dress, wandering around my garden with a woven willow trug and floral secateurs, in the hazy lazy afternoon sunshine, listening to the soporific buzzing of the bees, whilst gently snipping…

A great way to grow herbs – the windowsill gardener

Now I’m not a drinking person. But the people I live with do like the occasional bottle of wine, so when I went outside the other day and found the glass recycling box was rather full, I decided to do some recycling of my own.I wanted something that would look neat and tidy but at the same…

Favourite garden memory of 2012

With excitement and well drawn plans of the new year, I began 2012 with aspirations of extending my vegetable growing knowledge and growing some good crops at home in my small garden. Still a beginner and only in my second year of anything garden related… ever, I wanted to have another go at…

Top 5 flower and vegetable seeds recommended by our experts

Sue Sanderson and Colin Randel, two of Thompson & Morgan’s experts give their top 5 flower and vegetable seeds for the new season…FlowersSue Sanderson is Thompson & Morgan’s  Horticulturist and has 11 years of gardening experience.Rudbeckia ‘Cherry Brandy’When…

Customer Trial Member Profile – Steve Woodward

You may already be familiar with Steve Woodward’s previous posts on our blog. He is also a member of our customer trial panel, here is his profile…Collecting some produce for a warming stewHi, I am Steve and I live in the East Midlands Derbyshire town of Ilkeston, roughly equal in…

Five tips for planting for pollinators

Important pollinators like bees, butterflies and moths are in declineImage: Marek Mierzejewski Bees, butterflies and other pollinators are under threat, so there's never been a better time for gardeners to help by adding a few plants to support them. Here, Mandy Bradshaw from The Chatty Gardener…

What to do in the garden in May?

Gardening is an annual task, or hobby to most, and requires attention all year round. For me this is perfect because I do not have to find something else to do that will keep me occupied whilst my hobby is ‘not in season’. Of course there are down falls to this, for example when I am…

Introducing a Low Calorie/ Low Carb/ High Fibre Alternative to Potato

We are launching two intriguing new winter squash varieties. Intriguing because when cooked, they taste just like mashed and baked potatoes whilst offering fewer calories, along with lower carbohydrate and higher fibre content. With today's trends towards healthy eating, plant-based diets and…

Customer trial panel member profile – Joy Gough

Joy Gough has just joined our blogging team of customer trial members and talks about her gardening experiences.Joy GoughMy name is Joy, I am totally new to this blogging, so please bear with me, just like gardening it is a process of learning as you go.Our garden started with 2 bought tomato…

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