My Garden info

 When most people think of cyclamen   They conjure up images of the large-flowered potted plants that are now found in garden centres. They are bought by the millions and used to brighten up our homes, pots and patios at Christmas time. But there is another group of cyclamen - the hardy varieties with small, pretty flowers. For my money, they are much prettier - and more interesting - than the larger potted hybrids. Most of the hardy varieties grow to around 10cm (4in) or so tall. This makes them well suited to spaces under trees Rock gardens and front cyclamen clumps - this common species offers a range of colours from the pink/magenta flowers of the Pewter Group to the bright white 'Colon Heights' varieties. Beds and borders, along the tops of walls and in scree beds. They are ideal for growing in small pots, set up in well-ventilated, unheated greenhouses - known to enthusiasts as 'alpine houses'. But, of course, they create a colorful carpet in any sma...

A woodland gem that sparkles like a sapphire Spring! There’s no time of year I like more. After I’ve been wallowing through the doldrums of winter for months, my anticipation is palpable. Waiting with bated breath for all the early-rising ephemerals to nose up in my woodland gardens and grace the brown, languorous earth is truly a jubilant time. One of my favorite groups of these early treasures is the anemones, particularly those of petite and delicate presentation such as Anemone nemorosa.  This slowly creeping perennial is widely distributed throughout central and northern Europe and is comparable in abundance and gross form to the eastern North America native A. quinquefolia. While both are wonderful garden additions, the former exotic does offer significantly more variation in the dozens of cultivars available. Of the many I have grown, ‘Royal Blue’ is a particular standout. In May this beauty brings strongly blue-lavender flowers to the fore here in Maine. The...

 Clever ways to maximize the utility  When designing a garden with a minimal footprint, you may find it helpful to rethink the sizes, locations, and traditional definitions of key elements. Here are a few examples of how I did this in my own backyard . 1. GO VERTICAL The fences and walls of a home provide a wonderful opportunity to expand garden spaces upward. Mounting succulent containers and art to the wall behind the barbecue grill has turned an otherwise utilitarian area into an extension of the garden. 2. PUT A NARROW BED AGAINST A WALL OR FENCE  Tomatoes and herbs are tucked into a custom 2-foot by 8-foot bed against the fence that follows our western property boundary, and eye-catching annual flowers fill a similarly sized foundation bed that wraps around the corner of the house. A tall planter adds height and helps to hide the drainpipe and wires. 3. TUCK WORK AREAS OUT OF SIGHT With 15 succulent containers to fill, I need a spot where I can keep ...

Your poinsettia happy after Christmas. ★ Look for healthy plants whose true flowers (the cyathia), as well as the bracts and leaves, look well. Avoid plants kept in cold temperatures, with soaking wet or bone-dry roots, or with yellowing leaves. Poinsettias hate sudden exposure to cold, so make sure yours is well wrapped for the journey home and never left in a cold car. ★ The ideal position for a poinsettia is a spot in bright but indirect light, at a fairly constant temperature above 13°C, away from direct heat and draughts. ★ Water only when the compost is dry up top. When doing so, add enough to soak right through the compost. Return later to empty any excess from the saucer. There should be enough fertiliser in the plant’s original compost for the festive period. ★ Feed monthly from January to March,using a well-balanced liquid feed. In late March, prune by about three quarters (wearing gloves to protect your skin) and make sure the plant receives plenty of light to ...

Benefits of  favourite lowgrowers Ground cover plants serve a variety of purposes and can make the garden look great all year round. They suppress weeds by limiting the amount of light that reaches the soil, reducing the number of unwanted seeds that germinate. Ground cover lessens the likelihood of soil being eroded by wind or rain, and the plants’ roots will add to and support the essential mix of life within the soil. Ground cover plants also provide shelter for wildlife. There is a wide selection of plants that provide cover for the soil during summer and autumn and I love the impact that those herbaceous plants provide in our borders. But for the winter and early spring. months, the choices are less obvious.   Here are some exciting evergreen and semievergreen ground cover plants that provide texture, colourful flowers or berries, or have interesting leaves.  1. Glandora prostrata ‘Heavenly Blue’  Here’s a gem for well-draining loam or sandy soil,...

All plants in a container are best suited to this. Brighten up a patio or dark space with a container planted for winter interest. Winter pots look best in easily visible locations – near a window, door or path. Acid-loving plants like flowering heathers, camellias and berry coulteria are most attractive in winter and early spring and make excellent container plants. Avoid mixing acid-loving plants with plants that do best with lime in their fertilizer Choose a large container with good drainage holes, as none of these plants will grow well if they are waterlogged. The fertilizer should also be ericaceous. If you have acidic soil or some ericaceous John Innes clay-based fertilizer, you can mix a little bit of it in with an open texture. Ericaceous fertilizer mix. Check the fertilizer once a week for watering. Compost will hold less moisture at the roots, so poke your finger into the soil before watering 1. Fill a large container loosely with proprietary Ericaceous fertili...

 Sages for ages With about 1000 species, salvias comprise the largest genus in the mint family. Let's see just a few of them. You can sing the rainbow song to this group of flowering plants: "Red and yellow and pink and green, purple and orange and blue, not even indigo." The large range of colors, shapes and sizes of salvias make them one of the most versatile and interesting flowering perennials to grow. There are all shades of pink, red, blue and purple and orange, apricot, white, indigo, yellow, lemon and two-tone flowers. Some varieties can grow up to 4 m tall, while others are almost terrestrial. Salvias are very easy to grow, as well as drought tolerant and frequent frosts once established. Some flowers year-round in frost-free areas. Due to the breadth of these categories, If you plan carefully, salvias will bloom every month of the year. 1. 'Indigo Spires' (S. longispicata × farinacea)  Its distinctive feature is the brilliant bright-blue flo...

Shrubs for Small Spaces Freshen up your front yard with these short, stylish shrubs—all under 5 feet tall, our expert picks for tallest small shrubs! You have a very small space, maybe just a patio, but you still want to grow shrubs. Or maybe you have a nice-sized yard, but it's filled to the max. Or maybe you prefer small shrubs because they look so cute! It doesn't matter what your story is: almost everyone can find a use for a small bush. Use our top picks as your guide to the best miniature shrubs for small spaces. 1. Raspberry Sundae Deuce Unlike other Teutsia varieties that grow 6 feet or more, this compact, rounded cultivar grows 3 to 4 feet tall and wide. It has arching stems and large panicles of purple-pink flowers that attract bees and butterflies from mid-spring to mid-summer. 2. Midnight Wine Shine Weikela The beloved midnight vine shrub gets a makeover with this selection. Enjoy its dark, shiny leaves and watch for hummingbirds at the tubular pink flo...

1. Shade and dry This is a difficult garden area that involves establishing plants and Only a certain number of people survive without water. Growing tips Before planting, dig a deep hole filled with compost and soak the root ball of the plant thoroughly. Water weekly until new plants grow. Under deciduous trees, plant spring-blooming bulbs such as cyclamen, anemones, snowdrops and narcissi. Create a ground cover of foliage to retain moisture. In spring and hot weather, soak the ground thoroughly every ten days - this encourages deep root penetration, whereas irrigation. Produces small and often weak, shallow-rooted plants. If planting in terracotta pots, line them with plastic to retain moisture in the heat, and add moisture-retaining gel granules to the compost. Dig in organic matter to retain soil moisture and mulch heavily with a thick layer of bark chippings in spring. 2. Heavy wet clay Easy to recognize as sticky and lumpy when wet Drains poorly, but rocks hard and c...

Fill your garden with colorful butterfly flowers. It's common sense - the more butterfly flowers you have in your garden, the more butterflies you'll see. If you have a large yard, it can be difficult to figure out how to fill the space without breaking the bank. The answer? Butterfly flowers growing from seeds! Butterflies love the abundance of nectar flowers that are easy to start from seed. Many are free to self-sow, meaning these flowers will return year after year at no cost to you. In addition to the options we've compiled below, native wildflowers are a great way to attract butterflies on a budget. Contact your local county extension office for a list of wildflowers found in your area. A note: use caution in "wildflower mixes". They often include species that are not suitable for all regions. 1. Marigold This ancient garden standby deserves more attention in the butterfly garden. Choose varieties with fully double flowers for their ability to h...