Archives

Super Surrey Spring Gardens

April 2, 2018April, Daffodils, Don't Miss, March, May, More Gardening, Other Shows and Events, Places to Visit, Urban Outdoors, Vantage Pointaccessible gardens, accessible places to visit, beautiful gardens in surrey, birds, bluebells, bog gardens, bulbs, butterflies, cut flowers, Dunsborough Park, gardens to visit, Gertrude Jekyll, Loseley Park, Magnolias, meadows, Penelope Hobhouse, RHS Garden Wisley, Rupert Golby, Simon Johnson, Surrey, surrey gardens, The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, tulips, Vann, water features, water gardens, wildflowers, winkworth arboretumPumpkin Beth

April is such a magical time of year! It’s quite simply awe inspiring to see the landscape being painted by mother nature in every beautiful shade of green, as more leaves unfurl and the view becomes ever greener each day. I love to be outside, surrounded by the birds singing and bees buzzing. On warm days you may see butterflies flying: look out for the green toned Brimstone butterfly this month.

Remembering Loved Ones and Celebrating Special Events with Plants!

March 30, 2018April, August, Container Gardening, Daffodils, December, Easier Gardening, February, Flowers & Floristry, January, July, June, March, May, More Gardening, November, October, Other Shows and Events, Places to Visit, Roses, Saving Money, September, Sustainable Living, Wildlifebees, birds, Colin Dickson, Dawyck Botanic Garden, Dickson Roses, Exercise, garden furniture, gifts for gardeners, insects, Legacies, Logan Botanic Garden, meadows, memorial gardens, Plant Life, recycling, RHS Garden Harlow Carr, RHS Garden Hyde Hall, RHS Garden Rosemoor, RHS Garden Wisley, Rosa 'Lovestruck', Rosa 'Scent from Heaven', roses, Royal Horticultural Society, sustainable gardening, The Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, trees, Wakehurst Place, wild flowers, wildlife gardening, woodlandPumpkin Beth

Remembering loved ones

When you’ve lost someone you love, it’s natural to want to arrange a fitting memorial and to plan a meaningful tribute in their memory. Memorials of any kind are such a personal choice, but I want to help you by sharing some information and ideas of ways that you could leave a lasting legacy, one that will beautifully celebrate the life of someone close to your heart, whilst being kind to the environment.

How I am making changes to reduce my plastic use and live sustainably

March 16, 2018April, August, Container Gardening, December, Don't Miss, Easier Gardening, February, January, July, June, March, May, More Gardening, November, October, Product Reviews, Saving Money, September, Sustainable Living, Urban Indoors, Urban Outdoors, Wildlifebamboo, Charles Dowding, conservation, cotton, David A. Bainbridge, David Attenborough, Eden Project, fabric, fallopia japonica, Gardening With Less Water, Impatiens glandulifera, James Honeybourne, Juliet Sargeant, Lush, Madagascar, Martin Lewis, meadows, memorial gardens, Palm Oil, Plant Life, Rainforest, recycling, Rhododendron ponticum, RHS Garden Wisley, Royal Horticultural Society, Sapindus, Stephanie Hafferty, The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, trees, wild flowers, wildlife gardening, woodlandsPumpkin Beth

I am a sentimental old soul, I treasure so many things that most folk would not think twice of throwing away. I also keep things, just in case they become useful one day. Yes, you could describe me as a hoarder!

I love our planet. I love fields, meadows, glades, forests, hills, marshlands, bogs, mountains, streams, rivers, and oceans. I love to see wildflowers growing in the wild.

How to help Hedgehogs

May 1, 2016April, August, December, February, January, July, June, March, May, More Gardening, November, October, September, Sustainable Living, Urban Gardening, Urban Outdoors, Wildlifefences, gardening for hedgehogs, hedgehogs, hedges, hedging, meadows, slugs and snails, The Royal Botanic Gardens KewPumpkin Beth

I love hedgehogs! Hedgehogs are so endearing and entertaining, every time I have seen or encountered a hedgehog has been such a special and uplifting moment. Each hedgehog I have seen shuffling along or snuffling about has touched my heart, lifted my spirits and brightened my day.

Sadly nowadays there are many threats to hedgehogs – they’re in danger as they try to cross our busy roads, but even away from the roads, hedgehogs face many dangers in our own gardens, because of these dangers, hedgehogs are becoming more scarce, and these delightful, charming, and loveable creatures are now endangered.

Gardening Advice for Mid-September to Mid-October

September 26, 2014Advice for October, Advice for September, Pests & Diseasesbees, bulbs, celeriac, clematis, Clematis Wilt, currants, edible gardening, figs, fruit, garlic, glasshouse growing, green manure, green manures, growing plants for bees, hedgehogs, hedges, irrigation, lawns, meadows, moving plants, mycorrhizal fungi, October, planting, pollinating insects, propagation, pruning, raspberries, rootrainers, September, soil, squirrels, taking cuttings, vegetables, wildlife gardeningPumpkin Beth

This is such an exciting time of year, with so many beautiful colours in the garden to enjoy, and Harvest Festival to look forward to! There are lots of lovely ideas of things that you can do, to make the most of your garden now, and to ensure that your garden will look better than ever next year!

If your fences are looking rather tatty or wobbly, have you considered planting a hedge?

Gardening Advice for Mid-August to Mid-September

August 24, 2014Advice for August, Advice for September, Container Gardening, Pests & Diseasesalpine strawberries, August, bees, Biological controls, brassicas, Calendula officinalis, container gardening, edible gardening, fruit, glasshouse growing, green manures, lawns, meadows, pineberries, pollinating insects, potatoes, propagation, Rhinanthus minor, roses, Secale cereal, September, Sinapis alba, Steinernema kraussei, strawberries, Strawberry 'Christine', Strawberry 'Gariguette', Strawberry 'Mara de bois', Strawberry 'Sweetheart', taking cuttings, vegetables, Vicia sativa, vine weevils, yellow rattlePumpkin Beth

The end of summer is often a magical time, bathed in golden light and sunshine. There’s certainly a lots of lovely things you could do in the garden, or at your allotment during the month ahead!

Vine weevils are a real pain, especially if you’ve got lots of container grown plants. The adult vine weevils damage plant leaves, leaving a notch-shaped, irregular edge to the leaves, resulting in a rather ragged looking, tatty plant.

Garden Advice for Mid-July to Mid-August

July 10, 2014Advice for August, Advice for July, Pests & Diseasesapples, August, brassicas, cauliflowers, edible gardening, fertiliser, figs, fruit, hedgehogs, herbs, July, kohlrabi, meadows, pears, pepino mosaic virus, pruning, tomatoes, vegetables, viruses, wisteriaPumpkin Beth

The abundance of flowers, fruit and scent in the garden makes this time of year feel rather decadent. Take in the sights and sounds of summer, and enjoy the fruits of your labour in the garden, or at your allotment this month.

It’s important to prune figs now, to let in more light and allow for a better harvest of delicious figs next year.

Gardening Advice for Mid-March to Mid-April

March 14, 2014Advice for April, Advice for March, Pests & Diseasesaphids, April, asparagus, bees, broad beans, Calendula officinalis, celeriac, celery, chives, cold frames, cornus, Cosmos, courgette, cucumbers, dahlias, dividing plants, edible gardening, figs, glasshouse growing, globe artichokes, hedges, kohlrabi, March, meadows, Melon, Nigella damascena, onions, Papaver orientale, Papaver rhoeas, parsnips, peppers, potatoes, propagation, radishes, Satureja hortensis, shallots, snowdrops, sorrel, summer savoury, sunflowers, sweet peas, taking cuttings, thrips, tomatoes, vegetables, Verbena bonariensis, whiteflyPumpkin Beth

I love the excitement of the garden at this time of year, with colourful, cheery spring flowers emerging and the promise of so much more to come. This is such an invigorating and inspiring time, with so much to see and do in the garden!

Prune Figs. The latex that figs readily emit when you prune is an irritant, so it’s advisable to wear gloves whilst pruning or tending to your plants, and then wash your hands thoroughly once you’ve finished.

Gardening Advice for Mid-September to Mid-October

September 13, 2013Advice for October, Advice for Septemberbare root plants, bees, bulbs, edible gardening, garlic, glasshouse growing, green manures, hedgehogs, lawns, meadows, moving plants, mycorrhizal fungi, October, planting, pollinating insects, ponds, propagation, pruning, raspberries, Rhinanthus minor, roses, September, slugs and snails, squirrels, sweet peas, taking cuttings, trees, vegetables, wildlife gardeningPumpkin Beth

This is such an exciting time of year, with so many beautiful colours in the garden to enjoy, and hopefully a bounteous harvest to look forward to! There are lots of lovely things that you can do now to make the most of your garden this month, and to ensure that your garden will look better than ever next year!

It’s time to move tender plants under cover.

Gardening Advice for Mid-August to Mid-September

August 22, 2013August, SeptemberAugust, bees, brassicas, calendula, Calendula officinalis, clubroot, containers, edible gardening vegetables, fertiliser, glasshouse growing, green manure, green manures, greenhouses, lawns, meadows, pansies, pollinating insects, potatoes, propagation, pruning, Rhinanthus minor, roses, Secale cereal, September, Sinapis alba, taking cuttings, topiary, Vicia sativa, violas, yellow rattlePumpkin Beth

The end of summer is often a magical time bathed in golden light and sunshine. Here’s hoping the month ahead is a lovely time, there’s certainly a lot to do to keep you busy!

It’s the perfect time to prepare and sow new lawns. It’s important to remove all weeds, particularly perennial weeds, before you start your lawn preparation. It’s the perfect time to evaluate your lawn and sow grass seed in any bare patches or lay turf if needed.