Chard has a lot going for it. You can plant it as soon as you can work your garden in the spring, and it will provide tasty, nutritious greens for months. Through cold weather or hot, it won’t get bitter, tough, or strong as long as you keep it harvested.

With wide rows you can get basket after basket of chard to can or freeze for the winter. To me, it’s the perfect green for a wintertime meal. It tastes good, it’s nutritious, and it’s a lot cheaper than store-bought greens. Read the rest of this entry »

Five ways to cultivate the soil

Digging is usually necessary to incorporate bulky organic materials, relieve compaction, improve drainage, improve soil texture and control growth of weeds.

• Single digging Type of digging in which the soil is cultivated to the depth of the spade blade. The most widely practised form of digging, adequate for most ordinary soils of reasonable depth which do not overlay an intractable subsoil. First, take out a trench one blade deep, then fill this in using adjacent soil, turning each spadeful upsidedown as you do. As you move in this way across the areas of ground, the trench moves with you. Soil from the first trench is used to fill the final one at the other end of the plot.
• Double digging Digging soil to two depths of the spade. Especially useful on land which has not been cultivated before or where a hard subsoil layer is impeding drainage and the penetration of plant roots. Read the rest of this entry »

Virtually all shrubs can be propagated in this way. The following respond particularly well.

• Azalea Peg down shoots into a peaty soil. Roots form slowly, taking about 12 months.
• Camellia Best rooted in peaty soil. Takes about 12 months.
• Lilac (Syringa) Roots in about 6 months in sandy soil.
• Magnolia Takes 12 months to root. Peg into peaty soil and keep moist.
• Rhododendron Best rooted in peaty soil. Roots form slowly, taking at least 12 months. Read the rest of this entry »

Success with this method depends upon providing the right conditions. Warmth and humidity are essential for good results in every case.

• Alpines Take small cuttings as soon as ready in spring. Best rooted in greenhouse.
• Chrysanthemum Outdoor and greenhouse kinds. Remove 5cm/2in-long cuttings from as close as possible to crown of plant. Root in greenhouse.
• Dahlia Start tubers into growth in heated greenhouse early in year. Take 8cm/3in-long cuttings from the tubers and root in warmth and humidity.
• Delphinium Remove 8cm/3in-long shoots from as close as possible to crown of plant in spring. Root in greenhouse. Read the rest of this entry »

If money is no object you can now have a greenhouse or conservatory that looks after itself, with the plants watered automatically. On a more modest scale, garden frames and cloches are extremely useful (andcomparatively inexpensive) pieces of equipment: they are of particular value on the vegetable plot for extending the growing season at either end.

Eight types of greenhouse

Today greenhouses come in all shapes and sizes to suit every need and site.

• Span-roof greenhouse The traditional greenhouse, with pitched roof (each side of equal size and shape) sloping down to the eaves. Normally has straight sides, although there are models with sloping sides which result in better light penetration. The glass-to-ground types are ideal for growing plants at ground level, such as tomatoes in growing-bags; those with solid sides (to about 90cm/3ft) are good for pot plants, as they retain heat better than all-glass houses. Framework available in aluminium alloy or timber (such as western red cedar). You can now obtain span-roof greenhouses with curved eaves. Read the rest of this entry »

Exotics — from warm or tropical regions of the world — have luxurious associations for inhabitants of cooler dimes. Most have to be nurtured under glass in temperate climates.A warm greenhouse or conservatory (minimum temperature 15^°C/59°F), or an intermediate one (at least 8^°C/50°F), allows you to grow some highly colourful tropical plants. Even a cool greenhouse or conservatory (at least 5-7^°C/40-45°F) can be colourful all year round.

Five flowering exotics for the warm greenhouse

These plants offer long-lasting, spectacular flowers. They are easy to grow provided that they have plenty of warmth at all times, and moist or humid air. Read the rest of this entry »

Colour is profoundly important in our lives and nowhere more so than in the houses we live in. Very often the first choice made about a room is what colour it should be. Colour can be used to our advantage to create a mood, highlight something special or even trick the eye. Houseplants will do all this, used either on their own or in a subtle mix with fabrics, paint, carpets and furniture. Nowadays there are hundreds of plants to choose from, and more and more flowering types are appearing in a vast range of colours. It is therefore important to consider the whole subject of colour in some detail to get the best from your plants and maybe take a fresh look at how you use them in your home.

Pinks and Reds

Although pastel colours are now very fashionable, pale powder pink is not the most popular colour for living rooms. Many people, however, choose soft coral, peach or terracotta as the basis for furnishings as it is a welcoming and warm colour and very easy to live with. Read the rest of this entry »

Although for much of the time we choose a houseplant because we like the look of it, we sometimes pick one to fill a special position, where we know from experience it will be highly successful. As well as the obvious places there are dozens of other less obvious ones throughout the house which, with a little thought, can be transformed by the right choice of plant. Most houses have alcoves and recesses, dull corners or redundant fireplaces, all of which could do with being brightened up and put to good use. Even the most unlikely spaces can make a home for some ‘kind of plant. Here are ideas for plants to fit any odd empty corner you might have. Read the rest of this entry »

Dracaena marginata tricolor is a stunningly dramatic plant. It has narrow knife-like leaves, striped green, cream and pink and, as in the yucca, the leaves burst out from the centre of the plant. There is also the species D. marginata which has the foliage clustered at the top of a stem. The croton definitely belongs in this category, but needs some cosseting to really flourish. It needs constant warmth and no chills, plus humidity and plenty of light. Given all this it will reward you with amazing splashes of colour on its broad densely packed leaves. The veining varies from cream through yellow to red according to the individual cultivar. Certain cacti can be very dramatic especially if placed in a situation which makes the most of their extraordinary shapes and weird textures. Read the rest of this entry »

Bedrooms

Once upon a time, plants were never seen in a bedroom. They were considered unhealthy and kept strictly downstairs. They would most likely have greatly suffered upstairs in rooms more often than not kept unheated. In these days of central heating, bedrooms are usually heated, though kept cooler than the rest of the house and at a fairly even temperature, and there is often plenty of space to show plants off to advantage. Sometimes a bedroom is the only room cool enough in a house to grow cyclamens or azaleas well. Both are plants which like quitecool conditions. Bedrooms are often the prettiest rooms in a house but commonly forgotten when houseplants are bought. A pale-pink or cream colour scheme for example, or an all-white lacy bedroom needs the contrast of bright green foliage to bring it alive. Bedroom furniture often has large very bland areas of plain colour which need the change of texture and pattern that comes from a foliage plant such as Ficus benjamina or even from a little plant such as Pilea cadierei or Hypoestes phyllostachya. For pure luxury and a sense of hedonism a beautifully scented plant such as a hoya or Jasminum polyanthum or a pot of lilies, or ‘Paperwhite’ narcissi in spring, make spectacular bedroom plants. Read the rest of this entry »

Starting with rooms which have great atmosphere, the trick is to use plants which work with existing features and not against them. A low-ceilinged, Elizabethan timber-framed house looks entirely wrong filled with palms, monsteras or other tropical plants. Simpler, softer subjects such as pelargoniums, cyclamen, begonias and ivies have much more the right feel and don’t clash with the traditional atmosphere. Similarly a cool high-tech city interior might look very strange with small fussy plants; the scale and simplicity would demand plants which are large and dramatic and make bold statements themselves. This is a case for a beaucarnia or a big Dracaena marginata or an aphelandra, whose marvellous graphic markings remove any chance of it being ignored. Read the rest of this entry »

In the large estates of the past, with their lovely walled kitchen gardens, acres of glass and abundance of labour, fruit was often grown in pots. Even exotics like oranges and lemons were planted in large planters provided with wheels, so that when summer came the trees could be moved out of the orangery into a sunny position in the open. Pineapples and grapes were grown under glass, and great was the pressure on the poor gardeners to provide early fruit for the table.

Today few of us have the time or means for allthis to-ing and fro-ing of pots and, besides, the shops are full of oranges and lemons, grapes and pineapples, usually throughout the year. You could have an orange or a lemon or a grapefruit tree in a pot on the patio and move it to a cool greenhouse or a conservatory during the winter, but even then the most you would be likely to see would be the occasional flower. Still, the plants will come, from pips (pits) sown in pots of moist compost kept close and with bottom heat if possible. In as little as three years you could have a 5 foot tree with attractive dark green shiny leaves. But fruit, no. Read the rest of this entry »

Like everything in the home, your house plants will become dusty, and orchids are no exception. An accumulation of fine dust building up on the surface of the leaves will, if left for a long period, prevent the leaves from breathing properly and will impede the light which is so essential for a healthy plant. Periodically, at least once a month, this dust should be cleaned off using a wet sponge and a bowl of clean water, wiping each leaf and the stems and bulbs. The leaves can then be passed under a running tap. This will not only greatly benefit the plant but will also improve its appearance. Flowers and buds should not be dusted, these should be left well alone for fear of bruising.

Spraying

Many orchids enjoy a daily spraying of their foliage. In the home this is difficult for obvious reasons, but if the plant is removed from the growing area for regular watering, spraying could be carried out at the same time. Read the rest of this entry »

For those who are fortunate enough to have a conservatory you are able to unwind and enjoy the beauty of nature in a relaxed quiet setting. For those that don’t know a conservatory is a glass and metal structure that is attached to house were plants and sometime animals live together. Making a conservatory very similar to a green house.

But something important to have in a conservatory is furniture, how can you relax if you have nothing to sit on, and if your conservatory is something you are proud of you can have your coffee table and your sofas in there as well so you can entertain your friends in that beautiful setting. Read the rest of this entry »

Plants chosen for hanging baskets and wall pots are usually temporary bedding plants that bloom for one particular season, generally summer. There are some permanent plants that can also be used, if desired. Bear in mind that in areas where the temperature drops below ^—4.5^°C/25^°F it can be difficult to winter any plants in baskets or wall pots outdoors because the soil quickly becomes frozen solid in freezing weather. If you wish to overwinter planted baskets and pots, keep them in a cool but frost-free greenhouse.

Many people plant glorious mixtures of summer bedding plants in baskets and wall pots: trailing lobelia, sweet alyssum (Alyssum maritimum) with its masses of white flowers, and petunias, with perhaps zonal pelargoniums or bush fuchsias in the centre, maybe with silver-leaved cineraria. There is nothing wrong with such designs and indeed they look most attractive in an English cottage-style garden, but the trend is towards simpler designs using fewer plants, and even towards single-colour designs coordinated with the house colours. Read the rest of this entry »

The satisfaction of growing your own fruit and vegetables comes in being able to pick and eat them at exactly the right moment. Citrus fruits make very handsome tub plants and if you live in a frost free climate they can be left outside all year round; otherwise give them glass protection over the winter. Some varieties of citrus have variegated foliage.

Containers can give small gardens the extra space they need for growing fruits and vegetables. If edible plants are chosen carefully for their size, cultural needs and appearance, they can bring both decoration and harvest to the patio. Many fruit trees are quite ornamental, especially when in blossom and when they are bearing their fruits. And the more attractive- looking vegetables certainly do not seem out of place on a patio. Most herbs are compact, pretty plants that look quite at home in containers.

Patio Fruits

Many fruit trees can be grown in containers. Wherever possible choose dwarf trees. Varieties are budded or grafted by nurserymen on to special dwarfing rootstocks that keep the trees small and compact. Make sure you check which rootstocks the trees have been grafted on to when buying — ask for ones suitable for container growing. Read the rest of this entry »

A problem with container growing in areas that experience severe frosts in winter is that the potting soil can freeze solid for prolonged periods. The frost itself will not harm very hardy or tough plants; the problem is rather that it prevents them from absorbing water and therefore the plants could die of drought! One way to prevent this happening is to move the containers into a frost-free yet cool greenhouse or conservatory during severe weather. This will certainly be necessary for less-hardy and tender plants that could be damaged or killed by severe frosts. Read the rest of this entry »