Buddleja davidii 'Royal Red'
butterfly bush (syn. buddleia)
Clusters of fragrant, red/purple flowers, which are very attractive to butterflies, top the gently arching branches from midsummer....
GOES WELL WITH
How to create a wildlife-friendly garden
Wildlife-friendly gardens are not only more interesting as you can watch all the comings and goings, but they are often more productive as many creatures will help increase pollination. Garden ponds act as a magnet to dragonflies and damsel flies, along w
Read full articleDealing with common pests and diseases
One of the first things you learn when you start gardening is that plants are not alone in the garden. There is a whole host of bugs that set up home in your beds and borders as well as an alarming range of microscopic bacteria, fungi and viruses that are
Read full articleJune pruning of trees, shrubs and climbers
June is a time to relax and enjoy your garden, but there are still some early flowering shrubs that will need pruning if they are to produce the best possible displays year after year. A few shrubs can also be trained into unusual and attractive standards
Read full articleSeaside
Gardening by the coast offers specific challenges and opportunities. You can take advantage of the mild climate to grow not-so-hardy plants with confidence, but will have to choose them carefully to ensure they can cope with the buffeting winds and salt-
Read full articleAphids
Most commonly thought of as the small, fat, green insects covering roses. However, aphids can also be black, yellow, pink, greyish-white and brown. They are all about 2mm long, round and full of sap.
Read full articleMarch pruning of trees, shrubs and climbers
The following notes can be used as a guide when pruning trees, shrubs and climbers in your garden during the month of March. It's timely advice if you have any of the following in your garden. Abeliophyllum, Artemesia, Brachyglottis, Brunfelsia, Buddleja
Read full articleThe Chelsea Chop (and other methods of extending the flowering season)
Many gardeners who are happy, even gung-ho, with the secateurs when pruning shrubs and climbers are surprisingly reluctant to take the shears to herbaceous perennials. Maybe this is because it just doesn't seem quite right to be cutting back all that new
Read full articleBuddleja - the ultimate butterfly magnet
The best butterfly plant of all is the buddleja, a shrubby plant with fingers of honey-scented flowers. When given a warm, sunny position it will ooze nectar from its slender flowers, which come in many colours. The most attractive to butterflies and be
Read full articleLow maintenance plants for a sunny garden
We all want a lovely garden but sometimes we are too busy with work and family, or we simply don’t have the inclination to garden incessantly, so the trick is to choose low maintenance plants such as easy shrubs and then to underplant them with ground cov
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