Ox-eye daisies are one of Great Britain’s most endearing wildflowers. These charming large, white daisies with their golden centres light up our meadows; we should embrace these beauties, as they can bring just as much joy to our summer gardens! August and September is the ideal time to sow seeds.
The ox-eye daisy, dog daisy, or Marguerite is also known by the botanical name Leucanthemum vulgare.
My heart is full of love for butterflies, so I’m encouraging everyone to take part in Butterfly Conservation’s Big Butterfly Count, which starts on Friday 17th July 2026 and runs until Sunday 9th August 2026.
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are beautiful, reliable plants that flower for ages, their attractive blooms provide an abundance of nectar for bees and butterflies. Plus, chives produce a regular supply of tasty leaves and flowers from May until the end of summer – they’re such great value plants! In addition to all of the above, chives flourish in containers of peat-free compost or will thrive planted in any soil (apart from waterlogged soils) in a sunny or partially shaded site.
Hard frosts, low temperatures, and wet weather can obliterate our borderline hardy garden plants over the autumn and winter months. To avoid unnecessary losses this coming winter, seize the moment and embrace this opportunity to increase your stock of Penstemons (and other perennials) by taking cuttings now!
Generally, Penstemon cultivars with the thinnest leaves tend to be hardiest, but even the hardier types can be lost during wet winters.
When you imagine your perfect container plant, what do you dream of?
Does your garden need a boost? Do you have enough summer-flowering perennials? Treat yourself to some Echinacea, these gorgeous plants have stunning, long-lasting flowers that attract butterflies, moths, bees, and other pollinating insects.
I adore Echinacea, also known as Coneflowers. My favourites are the purple and white flowered forms of Echinacea purpurea, as well their elegant cousin, Echinacea pallida.
Plant Heritage is a charitable organisation that works to safeguard and conserve the diversity of our garden plants by encouraging the growing, propagation, and distribution of plants. National Collection holders are key to Plant Heritage’s aims, they hold documented, registered plant collections, featuring plants that are proactively propagated and conserved. Many popular groups of plants are currently without the protection of a National Collection holder, including some fabulous plants that attract a wide range of fascinating bees, butterflies, moths, hoverflies, and other important pollinators to our gardens.
Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria) is one of our beautiful British wildflowers that grows in chalk grassland, over sand dunes, across shingle, and atop cliffs, in South East England. These stunning plants should be cherished, as from late spring and early summertime, Kidney Vetch bloom continuously for around three months. Their flowers are a magnet for bees, and Kidney Vetch thrives in containers on a sunny patio or balcony.
I absolutely adore butterflies and moths, so I make the most of every opportunity to grow plants to attract and support these insects. Every year I trial different plants in containers, searching for plants that are easy to grow and form naturally floriferous, and attractive plants that will delight gardeners and attract bees and butterflies. One of my top performers is Scabiosa columbaria, one of our native wildflowers that’s also known as the Small Scabious.
Some plants don’t flower for long and although they can excite us with their fleeting beauty, the brevity of their blooming often leaves us wanting more. If you’re looking for a plant with a generous, floriferous nature, and ability to bloom throughout the summer months, let me recommend Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (‘Gerwat’) (PBR).
‘Rozanne’ is a hard-working perennial. Plant ‘Rozanne’ in your garden now and enjoy her blooms all summer, safe in the knowledge that next year (and in future years) ‘Rozanne’ will return to delight you!
Rather than traipsing around the shops and frittering the weekend away in seemingly endless queues to buy gifts this December, I’d like to encourage you to head out into the garden to propagate your favourite plants and share the joy of home-grown gifts this Christmas!
Mint is a fast-growing and spreading plant. I always recommend growing mint in containers to prevent this plant’s naturally assertive growth from taking over your garden, patio, and any nearby countryside!
I was both excited and incredibly relieved when I heard that the National Trust had purchased Munstead Wood, the Surrey home and eleven-acre garden of the legendary horticulturist, designer, writer, artist, photographer, and craftswoman, Gertrude Jekyll.
Gertrude lived at Munstead Wood in Busbridge, Godalming, from the 1890s until her death in 1932. Having met the renowned architect Edwin Lutyens early in his career, long before he achieved fame and was knighted, Gertrude invited Edwin to design her an Arts and Crafts house to complement the garden.
Butterfly Conservation report that in the UK, long-term trends show that 80% of our butterfly species have decreased in abundance or distribution – or both – since the 1970s. Do you see many butterflies and moths in your garden? I hope to inspire everyone to help butterflies and moths. Please don’t allow any pesticides, insecticides, or herbicides to be used on your garden, allotment, or indeed on any area in your locality, as these products obliterate our bees, butterflies, and moths.
I enjoy running horticultural trials; I spend much of my time searching for the most gorgeous plants that will produce a profusion of flowers and attract bees and pollinating insects. I love to share the most successful plants from my trials with you to help you find top quality plants to enhance your garden. The plants I recommend in this column need to be grown in a bright and sunny location, in well-drained soil or containers filled with peat-free compost.
I adore mint and relish this herb’s energy. Freshly harvested mint leaves can be used to make enticing cocktails, herbal teas, and an array of delicious savoury and dessert recipes. Most people are familiar with peppermint or spearmint, but have you tried any other varieties?
A whole world of different flavoured mints is available to those who grow their own plants.
Hello and welcome to my wildlife pond in September! Since my last update, we’ve gone from one extreme to the other – from drought – to a stormy week of thunder, lightening, and heavy rain; followed by more rain over the last two weeks. My pond (and water butts and water tanks) are all full to the brim!
Hello, and welcome to my wildlife pond during the heatwave and drought of 2022. I’ve been anxiously watching the water level in my pond as it recedes. I’ve invested in another water tank and I’ve been busy scouring the local area for any second-hand water butts and water tanks for sale.
When midsummer passes us by, rhubarb production naturally slows down. Unless you’re growing a late summer and autumn cropping rhubarb (like ‘Livingstone’), stop picking rhubarb now to allow your plants to build up their strength for next year’s harvests. Rhubarb thrives in wet summers. After heavy rain (or a thorough watering), spread a mulch of well-rotted manure or homemade garden compost over the soil around your plants.
Spring is such an uplifting time in the garden. As the days lengthen and spring flowers come into bloom, the anticipation of the wealth of flowers we’ll admire in our countryside and gardens over the coming seasons provides me with an abundance of reasons to be thankful. If your garden is looking a little lacklustre at the moment, don’t worry – there are some delightful spring-flowering perennial plants available at nurseries and garden centres, which will brighten up our gardens this spring and in the years that follow.
Garden Designer Jackie Currie and Plant Heritage won a Gold Medal for their ‘National Plant Collections Everywhere!’ exhibit at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2021! This stunning exhibit showcased plants from National Plant Collections grown inside living rooms, glasshouses, gardens, and allotments, across the UK.
One of the stars of the exhibit was the Salvia caymanensis, grown by John and Linsey Pink who hold a National Collection of Salvias.
