How to water your garden, Part 1
Watering. It’s probably the most important gardening task… but do you know the best way to do it? We delve into the topic in this two part tutorial. Part one deals with how to water, including managing in a drought. Part two looks at how we can all reduce the demands of our gardens…
No Mow May The Right Way
Since the 1970’s, conservationists and campaigners have been working to remove peat from composts. It is tempting to despair at the sluggish pace of change and the derisory measures implemented by the horticulture industry and government to reduce peat use over that time. But not all campaigns are the same…some catch the public imagination…
Websites for Wildlife Gardeners
HELP! We spend a lot of time researching and producing our articles, podcast and videos. Please support our blog and the show by making a donation to our PayPal Amateur Entomologists’ Society (AES) – The gateway to entomology (amentsoc.org) Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK (arguk.org) The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (arc-trust.org)…
The truth about…Comfrey
Gardening isn’t difficult but its fair to say there is a lot to learn. There is more than a lifetime’s learning in fact and even if we could know everything, some of the things we used to know will turn out to be wrong. Take all the commotion about re-naming Rosemary for instance (see…
A New Tree for a New Year
Gardening can be like staring at a sweet shop window. The cornucopia of treats makes our fingers itchy, just grown-up kids desperate for a little bit of everything from the pick-and-mix stall. Whatever the size of our gardens, we can all indulge our fancies by choosing some annuals that take our eye. From a…
Apomixis – A Christmas Miracle?
Christmas has arrived and around the world nativity scenes depict the birth of Christ. According to the tale, Mary gives birth as a virgin; a marvel of asexual reproduction. The ‘immaculate conception’ remains a compelling fable, whatever we think about the truth of this young couples love-life (or lack of it). But this yuletide…
What’s in a name?
Have you heard the news? Good old Rosemary has had a makeover. Previously known as Rosmarinus officinalis, the RHS announced (last year) that the correct name for the species is Salvia rosmarinus, which places it in the same genus as well loved garden plants like velvety Salvia ‘Amistad’ and flamboyant Salvia ‘Hot Lips’. To…
Winter Working
As spring unfurls we hear a common remark on our job. ‘It must be nice to be a gardener’ is a refrain repeated through the fizzing months of May and June, the sun-drenched days of high summer and warm, languorous afternoons of September. Then wind. Then rain. Then cold. And with it the comments…
What to do with autumn leaves
There are two camps when it comes to autumn leaf clearing. One camp say leaves can damage lawns and cover plants, whilst the other insists that autumn leaf fall is a vital resource for wildlife. As always, for gardeners, the truth is somewhere in the middle. For our part, we will generally allow leaves…
Ellies Wellies Organic Gardening 