early flowering biennials for spring My spring garden is full of bulbs – scented narcissi, hyacinths and tulips of many different kinds. I also have cherry and apple blossom and patches of early-flowering annuals like Cerinthe majo
salvia 'amistad' | why sarah loves this One of my absolute favourite plants. Incredible flowers, excellent performance and loved by pollinators. One of my absolute favourite plants is Salvia ‘Amistad&rs
sowing flowers in late summer I am a believer in late summer sowing – getting most of my hardy annuals into the ground as soon as I can. The soil is warm in late August, and with a little rain the top few inches of ground sh
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 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 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
annual flowers for pots If I had to choose my absolute favourite annual flowers for pots these would be it. All these flowers are perfect for pots in the summer and will give you maximum colour impact for minimal effort. Ann
the best summer annual flowers Annuals are the best plants in the world – better than trees, better than shrubs, better than perennials, even better than biennials, which are hard to beat. They flower, set seed and make babi
the basics of arranging cut flowers How should I treat stems – bash, burn, or sear? Anything that looks floppy should have its stem ends seared in boiling water for 30 seconds. Give woody stems a bit longer – so bluebells o
What to do with your allium seedheads In this video, Sarah shows you her favourite varieties of alliums for drying, ready for spraying for Christmas decorations. Alliums are really wonderful in May in this garden
planting numbers for bulbs in borders If you are struggling to work out how many bulbs you will need for your intended area then you may find the guide below useful to refer to when planning your display... average number of bulbs pe