Chelsea Flower Show Guide
It’s going to be a very special show this year: the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, or ‘Chelsea’, as gardeners tend to call it, is celebrating its centenary, with RHS vice...
Save our native plants
Jo Thompson says she always thought she was the least-ambitious, least-driven person you could imagine, so designing a RHS Chelsea Show Garden is for her the equivalent of...
Here comes the sun
The sun came out, fitfully, but for long enough to warm the air and coax me into a flurry of activity in the garden. It was the first time this year that it has been a...
Blooming with Prince...
Jinny Blom is dark-haired, intense, articulate. She has great warmth and a zest for life. She is also a designer of wonderful gardens and landscapes – embracing, nurturing...
A dozen delights
The sunshine is finally here and so is National Gardening Week. Celebrate in a stylish fashion with these outdoor delights. We want them all!
Natural gardening...
1 Large biodegradable waste bags have a 110-litre capacity, and are made from a GMO-free whole cereal grain. 10 bags, £17.99: www.suttons.co.uk 2 GroChar all-purpose...
Hello, sweet pea
Last autumn I spent a glorious day at the Hampshire cut-flower farm of Rosebie Morton. I told readers how I travelled back to London by train in a carriage suffused with...
COMPOST BINS
1 Blackdown single wooden 400-litre composter made from pressure-treated FSC wood is a good budget buy. £64.95: www.ecotopia.co.uk 2 The beehive composter in FSC wood...
Where do your flowers...
There’s been a cut-flower industry – and controversy over flowers out of season – since at least Roman times. The philosopher Seneca wrote: ‘Do not men live contrary to...
New gardening products
1 Go-Sure windowsill propagator kit with four interchangeable plug trays of varying sizes. Includes compost and capillary matting. £14.95: www.marshalls-seeds.co.uk2 The...
Growing together
Sue Biggs says she was seven years old when she fell in love with gardening. She was given a packet of Virginia stock seeds for her birthday, and the transformation of...
Enchanted garden
Last week, I took you on a tour of the fireworks that greet one at every turn in the dramatic Winter Garden at Anglesey Abbey. This week we visit an older Winter Garden,...
A book of delights
While commuters and holidaymakers have taken to the utilitarian eBook for its convenience, publishers also report a resurgence of interest among readers for finely produced...
Dazzling dahlias
For most of my gardening career, dahlias have been considered beyond the pale by the arbiters of good taste in the garden. And then, in the 1990s, the great Christopher...
Gardening accessories
The Essential One is a stretchy lime green all-rounder glove in a new range from Joe’s GardenCo. Sizes S-M for women, M-L for men. £5.99: www.joes-garden.com 2 The Dibblet...
FOR THE OLDER GARDENER
1 The Mid-handled Fork – RHS endorsed and 47cm long – is perfect for raised beds and deep borders. £12.95: www.burgonandball.com 2 The Great Little Weeding Hoe is good for...
SLUG AND SNAIL CONTROLS
1 Snail Copper Tape has a protective serrated edge and delivers a shock. Use it on pots and raised beds. 4m roll, £6.95: www.harrodhorticultural.com 2 Nemaslug Slug...
Spring into your garden
March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers is a bit of doggerel familiar to a nation in thrall to the vagaries of its weather. After the long grey months of...
Daily tip from the lady archive
“PEOPLE cannot help being influenced by their surroundings and their environment; therefore how all important it is that both of these should be healthy and cheery, for health and happiness both go hand-in-hand.”
The Lady. The Blessing of Old Health, 18th November 1920
Your vote...
Q: The Queen has received a £5m boost in the funds she receives from the taxpayer to carry out her official duties. Do you approve?
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