General gardening Archives - Page 2 of 3

Growing wintergreen perennials

Illustrated by the deep purple Heuchera Obsidian, not all wintergreens are green
Image source: Chris Hill

Wintergreens, or evergreen perennials, are a valuable group of perennial plants that add texture, shape and colour to our borders during the dark days of winter, long after the flower-filled days of summer are over. These plants have so much more to offer to our gardens than their flowers because they don’t die back in winter like herbaceous perennials.

‘Wintergreens’ are not necessarily green, despite what their name suggests. Think glaucous blues, silvery greys, sumptuous deep purples, uplifting yellows, gentle tracings of pale variegation, and glowing red-edged foliage. The palette is surprisingly varied, so winter borders need never be dull.
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How to choose and plant roses

pink and red rose bushes — A quintessential English garden wouldn’t be complete without roses
Image source: Viktoria Kuzemnko

For summer spectacle and scent it’s hard to beat the rose, and few gardeners feel their plot is complete without at least one.

The colour range is vast and with everything from rampant ramblers to dainty patio roses, there’s something to suit every size of garden.

While they may be the stars of summer, between November and March is the best time to plant. Bare root roses are not only cheaper than potted plants, they also establish more easily. Continue reading “How to choose and plant roses”

What to grow in the winter garden

red and orange bushes dogwood — Enjoy colour in the garden year round with *Cornus*.
Image source: Van Meuwen

More than any other season, it’s winter that sorts true gardeners from mere dabblers. Putting on a good show when flowers are plentiful is easy, while the stripped back nature of winter soon exposes any weakness in design.
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Gardening for butterflies

red admiral on echinacea — Red admiral butterfly feeding from a coneflower (Echinacea purpurea).
Image source: Gary L. Brewer

There’s a sunny corner of my garden where creeping thyme grows in a gravel path. It may be barely 8cm tall, but still provides a valuable oasis of nectar amongst acres of fields where few flowers grow. This tiny butterfly magnet demonstrates that even paths, containers, and window boxes planted with nectar-rich flowers can play a vital role in supporting butterflies, by providing an essential pit stop for them to refuel as they travel across fields, towns or cities.

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Night-scented plants

summer evenings in the garen — *Enjoy warm summer evenings in the garden filled with glorious scent*
*Image source: Randy Fath*

On balmy summer evenings, there’s nothing better than a night-scented plant to perfume the warm, still air. The flowers are usually pale so they remain visible at dusk, making them particularly valuable for those who are away from their gardens during the day.

The colour and fragrance of evening-scented flowers attract nocturnal pollinators which, in turn, attract bats. Wonderful for wildlife, and diverse in size and form, evening-scented plants suit a range of gardening styles and budgets. They can be grown in a small pot to sit on an outdoor table or doorstep, or used to fragrance the grandest of terraces.

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