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.
First things first, if you’ve not sown any courgette seeds yet, don’t miss this chance – sow seeds now! I like to sow a few courgette seeds outdoors in May, then I sow a couple of extra seeds at the start June, and two more towards the end of June. Staggering seed sowings ensures a steady supply of courgettes from summer until the frosts arrive in autumn.
I dedicate a substantial amount of my time and energy into running gardening trials, searching for the top-performing and best tasting vegetables. I share the results in my columns to help my readers discover the best vegetable varieties on the market. If you sow seeds I recommend and follow my gardening advice, I hope this year you’ll enjoy your most successful growing season yet!
Nothing beats growing plants in the soil. Plants are usually happiest growing in the ground, which makes us happier too, as watering is so much easier and our soil-grown plants tend to be stronger and healthier. We’re not all fortunate enough to have access to the soil, but thankfully, patio and balcony gardeners’ dreams can be successfully fulfilled with the right choice of containers, growing media, and vegetable varieties.
I get such a thrill from writing about plants that I know are super-star performers, as I’ve trialled and tested them over a number of years. The thought of a lovely reader discovering an exquisite plant that flourishes in their garden fills me with happiness! Clematis ‘Hågelby Pink’ is a stand-out clematis from my Clematis Trial; this strong-growing, yet mild-mannered climber is incredibly floriferous.
Sweet peas are one of summer’s many prized delights! These exquisite, frilly flowers have a sweet and heady, musky fragrance, which gently envelops the garden with its charm. Sweet peas are floriferous plants that produce divine cut flowers. If you want to enjoy sweet pea flowers this summer, springtime is the ideal time to sow seeds!
Sweet peas seeds can be sown directly in the soil now, but to grow the best sweet pea plants I recommend sowing seeds in good quality, peat-free growing mediums, in deep pots.
The best gifts of all are true love, friendship, and respect, which cannot be bought, yet are priceless gifts that we all aspire to receive. If you’re considering purchasing a gift for someone special, may I recommend seeds of a sweet pepper that I’ve trialled, tested, and found to be easy to grow, tasty, and productive. I’d also like to share with you the gift of advice: sweet pepper plants (and chilli peppers) are tender plants that are killed by cold temperatures.
The greatest gift in life is true friendship and time spent together; nothing is more important or as valuable as our love for each other and our genuine connection. However, if you’re looking to give a physical gift this Christmas, seeds are a truly special something that can be wrapped up and given or posted inside a Christmas card (NB: Remember to use a padded envelope to protect your seeds from the machinery that processes our letters at Royal Mail’s sorting offices; post from a Post Office to ensure you pay the correct postage).
When you imagine your perfect container plant, what do you dream of?
Many of the edible plants we can grow from seed need to be grown in a bright location where they bask in the sunshine in order to generate strong and healthy growth and enable these edibles to really flourish; however, we are not all blessed with sunny gardens. If your garden is shaded, or if you’ve struggled to grow your own edible plants in the past, I’ve got two fabulous suggestions of seeds that germinate readily, can be sown directly in the soil or in containers of peat-free compost on a patio, balcony, or window box now.
May is a totally thrilling month, as there are just so many exciting plants that we can grow from seed now! Courgettes (Cucurbita pepo) are quick-growing plants that can be very productive, making them desirable additions to our gardens and allotments. Varieties vary in their colour, texture, flavour, and productivity, so it’s worth taking the time to do some research before you order your seeds.
April is such a wonderful month to sow seeds of edible plants, as it’s possible to grow almost anything from seed at this exciting time of year! Make the effort to get out in your garden or allotment now and benefit from the opportunity to sow seeds of carrots, parsnips, globe artichokes, and other edible plants that take more time than others to grow and develop.
I adore tomatoes and devote a phenomenal amount of energy into running Tomato Trials in my never-ending search for the best tasting tomatoes. I snap up the tomato varieties that the seed catalogues declare are the best and trial them – they often taste very different to how they’re described. I’m excited to share my findings and help you discover tomatoes with truly tantalising flavours this summer!
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 am a passionate advocate for bare root planting. Bare root plants are grown directly in the soil, avoiding the need for growers to prepare any growing media or compost, making bare root plants naturally peat-free. These field-grown plants require far fewer waterings compared to plants grown in pots. Bare root plants can also be grown plastic-free, as there’s no need for containers.
Life isn’t always as relaxed as we’d like it to be. Daily demands and pressures can leave us feeling tense, stressed, and exhausted. My favourite way to relax, recharge, and re-energise my body and soul is to spend time outdoors in a garden or allotment, or to take an uplifting walk outside in our beautiful countryside.
If you’re looking to unwind, make time to enjoy a pot of tea in the garden.
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.
When we think of Rhododendrons and Azaleas, we tend to imagine lush, leafy plants adorned with an abundance of large and blousy, colourful flowers in May. May is undoubtedly the main flowering season for Rhododendrons and Azaleas and we celebrate these magnificent plants in all their glory now, making this the ideal time to visit Millais Nurseries, our local, award-winning Rhododendron and Azalea growers.
Homegrown peas are a taste sensation! Peas are decorative plants that produce handsome flowers and tasty edible leaves, tendrils, pods, and peas. You’ll need a bright and sunny area to grow these delicious vegetables (peas won’t grow in the shade).
At this time of year, as temperatures plummet and frosts highlight winter foliage with sparkles that glisten in the morning sunlight, gardeners are blessed with a seasonal window of opportunity to plant bare root plants. Be sure to capitalise on this moment, as bare root plants are only available during the winter months. This is a chance to purchase top-quality plants, whilst making a substantial saving on usual retail prices.
