If like me you seem to spend a lot of money buying soil improver, composts, mulch, and paying the council to take away green waste then it’s time to consider home composting. Home composting is a great environmentally friendly way to get rid of your waste and save money, and contrary to what some may […]
Daylilies are clump forming, herbaceous perennials with exotic-looking, trumpet-shaped flowers. Hemerocallis means ‘beautiful for a day’, a name that describes the plant’s flowers that open early in the morning and then wither and die during the following night. While individual flowers are very short-lived, the plant repeat flowers and can produce up to 200 blooms […]
Achillea is a summer-flowering herbaceous perennial that forms short-lived but colourful clumps in the border. A member of the daisy family, it has broad, packed heads of small flowers that can reach 10cm in diameter. Our native Achilleas, or yarrows, have white flowers, but there is a wide range of summer-flowering species and cultivars available […]
The climbing hydrangea is a deciduous vine from the woodlands of Japan, Korea and Siberia, where it grows up trees and across rock faces. It has small aerial roots on the stems that help it cling on, though in the garden it is not as reliably self-supporting as some other climbers, so it is generally […]
The colourful daisy-like flowers of osteospermum brighten up the border or patio with their cheerful blooms that open with the sun and close as evening comes. They come in a range of colours, often with contrasting centres, and produce blooms from late spring right through to the first frosts. They are easy to grow and […]
Ceanothus is a shrub with abundant, flowers that are similar to those of lilac. They are mainly blue but vary in shade from lightest powder to deepest indigo. There are also pink and white varieties. Most flower in late spring and early summer, though some varieties, such as ‘autumnal blue’ flower in late summer and […]
Verbena Bonariensis is a perennial plant that flowers in late summer to mid-autumn. It has tall, architectural stems with sparse leaves, crowned by flattish heads of lavender-purple flowers. This is a wonderful plant for bringing height to the border and its airy structure allows you to see through to the plants behind. It also works […]
The delphinium has been a very popular cottage garden perennial for over a century, having been brought to the UK from France in 1859. It is grown for its tall spikes of colourful flowers that create prominent towers in all shades of pink, mauve, blue and white. It is particularly useful for providing a vertical […]
Hydrangeas are deciduous plants known for their large heads of long-lasting blooms. Perhaps most of us know the type that has blue flowers when planted in acid soil and pink when in soil that is more alkaline. However, there are many other types of hydrangea from big snowball like white blooms to delicate lacy varieties. […]
Philadelphus is a large evergreen shrub that is usually grown for its abundant white fragranced flowers. The shrub gets its common name, Mock Orange because its flowers and scent are similar to an orange tree in blossom. In fact, the scent is sweeter and even more intense. This shrub can fill your garden with its […]
