Plant up a pot
Plant up a pot and you'll discover just how easy it is to get gardening. Look out for special events in our garden centre under the 'It Starts with a Pot' logo in the coming months: you'll find loads of inspiration and ideas on how to turn a simple container into a mini-garden, full of pretty flowers, tasty veg or [...]
Prune summer jasmine
Prune summer jasmine now, while it's still dormant and before all those new delicate shoots start appearing as it's easier to see what you're doing when dealing with bare branches. The heavy perfume of this spectacular summer climber can fill your garden, and in full flower the plant is smothered in a froth of white blooms. Train its twining stems [...]
Plan a crop rotation
Plan a crop rotation to keep your veg healthy and hold pests and diseases at bay. Moving your veg around your patch so you don't grow the same thing in the same place year after year means pests can't find them again quite as easily, and if you've had a minor outbreak of diseases like rust it doesn't get the [...]
Keep on top of annual weeds
Keep on top of annual weeds which have been popping up unnoticed in corners here and there over the winter period. These usually belong to a particularly persistent group of annual weeds which just don't know when to stop. Chickweed, groundsel, and bittercress grow right through the coldest months, especially now winters are warmer. Several generations of chickweed can set [...]
Jobs for January
What to do in the garden in January: In the cold, dark days of January it's tempting to huddle by the fire till spring comes again. But take yourself outside on sunny, frosty days and it feels good to be alive. Here's what you can be getting on with: General tasks: Clean your paths as moss and algae can make [...]
January’s plant of the month
January's plant of the month is the hellebore, a welcome sight in early spring as it's one of the few plants which flower very early yet isn't a bulb. The nodding, open-cupped flowers are simple and elegant, held over a crown of big, handsome leaves. These are evergreen, but it's best to trim away the oldest leaves in late winter [...]