Lavandula × intermedia 'Grosso'
lavender
This vigorous English lavender produces masses of slender spikes of vivid violet flowers between July and August, above...
Grown across Provence, a billowing mound of dark-blue tapering flowers, held on long stems, splaying outwards in late summer and autumn above a close mound of foliage that can be shaped for winter interest.
GOES WELL WITH
April pruning of trees, shrubs and
climbers
Many shrubs, trees and climbers are showing signs of growth, so it is an ideal time to check them over for winter damage. If you feel they need a little care and attention, here are a few notes to use as a pruning guide. during April.
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Aromatic plants produce their own fragrant oil and they use it as a sunscreen to prevent scorching, so anything aromatic or silvery needs full sun. Although drought-tolerant, these plants rely on a deep root system and once established they will never nee
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As the days shorten, the autumn sun sinks a little lower every day and begins to backlight the borders, picking up detail and silhouette. There’s plenty to enjoy and seed heads, in suitably autumnal shades of brown and silver take centre stage, often last
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Early flowering roses tend to come in shades of white, pink or purple-pink and most forms of the biennial foxglove, Digitalis purpurea, have toning flowers in similar colours. These appear in rose time, but carry on after the first rose flush has finished
Read full articleLavendins
When the heat bounces off the ground and almost overwhelms you some plants are revelling in this heat. On scorching days in high summer you won’t have to touch the foliage at all, it will waft through the air providing an aromatherapy session for the gard
Read full articleMake a 'tussie-mussie' or posy of flowers
On the whole, I’m a pretty rugged sort of person. A disproportionate amount of my gardening time seems to be spent hammering scaffold boards together, or powering my way through waist high weeds at the business end of a petrol strimmer, or hauling improba
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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