Every year our little display of Oriental Lilies gets better. They give us so much pleasure, fill the garden with beautiful scent, and each year there are more of them. The downside is that most years the…
Most soils are pH neutral or slightly acidic. Alkaline soils are uncommon, and usually the result of very specific local geology – namely sitting on a bedrock of chalk or lime. This is most often seen in…
Shrubs are usually among the largest plants in our yards and gardens, but it’s still easy to underestimate their potential for adding privacy, structure and beauty to an outdoor space. In fact, the shrubs you choose and…
Planting blueberry bushes in pots is a straightforward way to get around having the wrong soil type, or not having enough space for them in your borders. Containers can even be moved close to the kitchen door…
Plug plants are seedlings or rooted cuttings, sold in trays or ‘flats’ containing multiple young plants in their own individual cells. Growing plants from plugs is quicker and more straightforward than growing them from seed or your…
Usually when rose petals turn brown, it’s just because a healthy blossom has reached the end of its natural lifetime. Sometimes though, it happens because something malign is cutting short your blooms in their prime. And when…
Whether you’re tending frequently to a fast-working hot compost heap, or leaving a slow, cold compost pile breakdown at a leisurely pace, you need to be able to recognize when decomposition is complete. What does finished compost…
We want our pumpkins to last until Halloween for our grandchildren, and you probably want your pumpkins in great condition for the big event too! But in a good summer, pumpkins may be ripe long before Halloween….
Are you sure you’re recycling everything you possibly can on your compost heap? After all, the more material you put in, the more black gold you’ll get out later! If you’d like to save your kitchen waste…
A healthy, efficient compost pile should have very little odor. And the finished compost should smell sweet and earthy when you dig it out. If your pile has a nasty smell that hits you before you even…
