Lavandula angustifolia 'Hidcote'
lavender
A compact form of the popular English lavender, named after plantsman Laurence Johnston's famous Arts and Crafts garden in Gloucestershire. It...
Deepest violet-blue flowers on this neat pristine lavender with dense small spikes that jump out of the border on hot, sun-baked summer days - crisp hedging too
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 articleApril 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.
Read full articlePlanting a hedge
Hedges by their very nature are often planted in exposed positions, so the secret of successful establishment is to make sure that they are well protected from prevailing winds for the first few years. Carefully planting and covering the surface of the so
Read full articleLavenders - aromatic sun-lovers
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
Read full articlePlanting companions for roses
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 articleEnglish lavenders
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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