the sweet pea story It's a fascinating story – how we got from that small, highly scented climber to where we are now. introduced to Britain The Sicilian monk, Franciscus Cupani, was writing a Flora of Sicily and
how to make your own calendula cream This calendula cream recipe is wonderfully soothing and healing, perfect for bruises, burns, irritations and open wounds. It works by helping the small capillaries to grow around the wound, enabling
why you should grow verbena rigida Sarah shares with us the reasons she loves Verbena rigida, and what conditions are best to grow it in. Verbena bonariensis, a tall purple plant, seems to be everyone’s f
sarah’s top roses for cutting A vase of garden roses is a lovely thing, a signal that summer proper is finally here. I have a small garden at Perch Hill dedicated to roses for cutting, so I can guarantee this luxury for months at
sowing biennials for next year June and July is the time to sow your biennial flowers for wonderful displays in your garden next year. Common-or-garden honesty is one of my favourite plants. It is an easy biennial to grow, will gen
how to create a butterfly garden Walking through the hay meadows in Transylvania last summer felt like a visit to a perfect place, not just for the wildflowers – the salvias, aquilegias and orchids – but for the butterfli
history of the dahlia Very little is known about the dahlia before the time of the Aztecs. It is believed that the Aztecs used parts of the dahlia for food and medicine. The mountain regions of Mexico and Guatemala are th
creating the perfect veg patch Trust me: creating a vegetable patch will be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. Everyone seems to be at it. I’ve just returned from friends who have transformed their north Lon
starting a veg patch - what to grow What food to grow in your veg patch? It's a hard question when you are first starting out, you can be tempted to grow all the veg you've ever seen but sticking to the top performers will reap rewards.
how to sow your own pictorial meadow The pictorial meadow is a whole new way to garden and it’s utterly genius. It’s an adaptation of a cornfield full of annual “weeds”, without the corn, the flowers packed in lik
how to grow wild flowers in container pots There are so many reasons you might choose to grow wild flowers in container pots – perhaps you’ve got limited outside space, like the freedom of moving your plants around to keep things v
how to create a mini wild flower meadow When Britain hosted the Olympics in 2012, I heard almost as many people talking about the colourful meadows at the Olympic site as about Sir Chris Hoy and Mo Farah. The perennial wildflower meadows in
growing salad for winter In the spring and summer, there are few things I like more than growing salad so I can take my big colander out into the garden to pick a good selection of salad. But come the rain and cold of autumn
direct sowing seeds Direct sowing seeds, sowing straight into the soil in your garden is not a mystery that only the 'green-fingered' can master. There is a science behind direct sowing seeds and if you know the facts, i
prepare your spring garden in autumn Without autumn-sown plants, the abundance and beauty of most gardens plummets for three or four weeks towards the end of spring. The British countryside is at its best in May, with lanes, woodland ed
how to grow grapes in britain There were only three entries for the glasshouse grapes at this year's RHS autumn show; the competitors were two dukes and a Ms M. Walshaw. The Duke of Marlborough went home empty-handed, Ms Walshaw b
