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Propagation, planting out and cultivation posts from writers that know their subjects well.
Fuchsia ‘Pink Fizz’ produces flowers from top to bottom
Image: Fuchsia ‘Pink Fizz’ from Thompson & Morgan
Climbing fuchsias combine vigorous vertical growth and exceptional flower power. Forget straggly honeysuckle, clematis, and virginia creeper – climbing fuchsias offer a classier alternative and they’re much easier to prune! Here are some of the best climbing fuchsia plants to try in your garden.
A vibrant display of hanging baskets can make your garden in summer pop!
Image: Nurserymans Choice Hanging Basket Mixed Collection from T&M
A recent Thompson & Morgan survey has revealed some surprising habits, when it comes to summer hanging baskets.
Love them or loathe them, nothing sets up the garden for summer like a vibrant display of hanging baskets. Thompson & Morgan, the UK’s leading mail order supplier of seasonal hanging basket plants, asked the nation’s gardeners how they use hanging baskets to best effect. The findings were most interesting…
Kris Collins works as Thompson & Morgan’s quality control manager, making sure customers new and old are kept up to date on the latest plant developments and company news via a wide range of media sources. He trained in London’s Royal Parks and has spent more than a decade writing for UK gardening publications before joining the team at Thompson & Morgan.
The T&M team, ActivLives’ gardeners and station manager Jackie at Ipswich Train Station
Colour has returned to Ipswich and Stowmarket train stations thanks to a partnership between train operator Abellio Greater Anglia, local seed and plant specialist Thompson & Morgan and Ipswich-based charity ActivLives.
Kris Collins works as Thompson & Morgan’s quality control manager, making sure customers new and old are kept up to date on the latest plant developments and company news via a wide range of media sources. He trained in London’s Royal Parks and has spent more than a decade writing for UK gardening publications before joining the team at Thompson & Morgan.
Begonia ‘Apricot Shades Improved’ F1 Hybrid adds colour & dimension to every part of your garden
Image: Thompson & Morgan
As part of a regular series, award-winning gardener Jean Willis explains her latest obsession with begonias and shares an honest account of the recent successes and failures in her fabulous container garden. If you’re looking for new begonia plants or fuchsias to try, Jean’s garden is the one to watch!
Begonia ‘Apricot Shades’ in Jean’s container garden
Image: Jean Willis
Passion or Obsession? This year I’ve planted over 200 Begonia ‘Apricot Shades’, bought as garden-ready plants. They’ve nearly all gone into hanging baskets, window boxes and tubs. I’ve been asked if I’m obsessed with them and, while I hadn’t really thought about it like that, maybe I am! I’m always thrilled when they’re all flowering, especially if I catch the early sun shining on them.
I recently had a head count and found I had a triple basket (12”, 14” and 16”) joined together by a chain that my husband made for me, 5 single hanging baskets, two half-baskets, a window box and several containers. Two half barrel containers are currently overflowing with apricot flowers.
Fuchsias grow happily in containers or the ground
Image: Jean Willis
My other passion is fuchsias. I bought Fuchsia ‘Icing Sugar’ to try out last year, and they’ve been very successful. Another favourite fuchsia is called ‘Wendy’s Beauty’. It has a pretty mauve and white flower, and I grow these for my sister Wendy who lives in California.
This year I bought some Giant Flowered Fuchsias from T&M and they certainly grow like their name! This year, for something different, I’m growing a climbing fuchsia called ‘Swingtime’ in one of T&M’s tower pots; it has now reached the top of the trellis and is flowering profusely.
Having decided to grow petunias again this year after a couple of unsuccessful attempts, I’m now thinking that maybe I should have chosen something else. We’ve had such awful winds and rain that a couple of containers were completely destroyed one night, but I was pleased to discover that the Petunia ‘Night Sky’ and Petunia ‘Amore Queen of Hearts’ stood up to the rain quite well. I think I’ll grow smaller petunias in future, rather than the big ones, although I really like them.
A sugar glider in full ‘flight’
Image: Jean Willis
…I actually found out later that it was a Sugar Glider from Australia! On my last visit to a garden centre, I saw something on the trunk of one of the Yucca trees just outside the entrance. As we got closer it looked like a baby squirrel but then it took off and jumped about 10 metres onto a wall covered in ivy. We watched it for a few minutes before it disappeared. On checking Google I found that Sugar Gliders are sometimes bought in this country as a pet but, because they’re very difficult to keep, they’re then let loose. I hope it survived all the rain we’ve had lately. I’m just grateful that Alan was with me; otherwise I might have thought I was seeing things!
I hope you’re all enjoying your gardens this summer. Don`t forget the sunscreen and hat! Until the next time…Happy Gardening.
Jean
Visit our comprehensive hub page for more help and information on growing begonias.
I started gardening 65 years ago on my Dad’s allotment and now live in Bournemouth, where spend a lot of time gardening since retiring. In 2012 I won the Gold Award for Bournemouth in Bloom Container Garden. I am a member of Thompson & Morgan’s customer trial panel.
Standard fuchsias such as ‘Angela’ adds height & colour to your garden.
Image: Thompson & Morgan
Growing a fuchsia standard is a great way to show off these elegant, jewel-coloured flowers while adding height and colour to your border. Also ideal for containers, standard fuchsias make a statement on your patio, balcony or positioned either side of your front door. Here’s how to train your own fuchsia plants into striking standards.
Plants and gardens have always been a big part of my life. I can remember helping my Dad to prick out seedlings, even before I could see over the top of the potting bench. As an adult, I trained at Writtle College where I received my degree, BSc. (Hons) Horticulture. After working in a specialist plantsman’s nursery, and later, as a consulting arboriculturalist, I joined Thompson & Morgan in 2008. Initially looking after the grounds and coordinating the plant trials, I now support the web team offering horticultural advice online. I have a keen interest in drought resistant plants and a passion for perennials, particularly hardy Geraniums. I previously stood as regional secretary for the International Plant Propagation Society which gave me lots of opportunities to see what other horticulturalists were up to in their nurseries and gardens.
Fuchsias need some attention to ensure they stay blooming all summer long
Image: Fuchsia ‘Dollar Princess’ from Thompson & Morgan
Fuchsias require very little care to put on a fantastic show, but for the best displays it pays to learn a few simple tricks and tips. Take a quick look at the T&M horticultural team’s trade secrets, and make sure your favourite fuchsia plants look their best all summer long.
The unusual blue flowers of ‘Delta’s Sarah’ increase each year given the right conditions
Image: Fuchsia ‘Delta’s Sarah’ (hardy) from Thompson & Morgan
For a fantastic fuchsia display this summer, here’s how to get the conditions right:
Trailing fuchsias are perfect for hanging baskets and window boxes
Image: Fuchsia ‘Sparkling Giant’ Collection from Thompson & Morgan
Depending on the type of fuchsia you prefer, follow the ‘right plant in the right place’ rule to get the most from these elegant blooms:
Train a fuchsia into a standard or buy one that’s been started for you
Image: Fuchsia ‘Elma’ (hardy) standard from Thompson & Morgan
Young fuchsias are frost-tender and need to be grown on in warm, frost-free conditions before planting out at the end of May or early June. As soon as your plug plants arrive, pot them on into small pots or cell trays filled with multipurpose compost and wait until it’s warm enough to plant them out.
Early training:
Later training:
On-going maintenance:
This tender fuchsia bears large panicles of scented pink flowers, followed by purple fruits
Image: Fuchsia aborescens from Thompson & Morgan
While there are some fantastic hardy fuchsias available it’s usually the tender varieties that provide the most impressive floral displays. You can overwinter container plants in a frost-free location for re-using the following year – but you might not need to! Tender varieties are getting tougher and tougher and you may find they’ll survive winter in your garden soil with little to no protection.
Experiment this year with one of your favourite plants – leave it in place at the end of the season, cutting it back by a third and mulching around the base. With luck you’ll be rewarded with re-growth next spring. If not, you can always reorder fresh plug plants in spring for guaranteed success next summer. If you’re looking for more help with growing and caring for your fuchsias, there are links to plenty of handy resources on our fuchsias hub page.
Author: Kris Collins
Kris Collins works as Thompson & Morgan’s quality control manager, making sure customers new and old are kept up to date on the latest plant developments and company news via a wide range of media sources. He trained in London’s Royal Parks and has spent more than a decade writing for UK gardening publications before joining the team at Thompson & Morgan.
Begonia ‘Non-stop Mocca’ adds a splash of colour to any garden
Copyright: Benary
After a busy week with barely a peep outside, I went into the garden this morning and felt a none-too-subtle shift from high summer towards early autumn. There I was last Sunday extolling the virtues of planting for late summer colour, marvelling at the fact that my plot had yet to reach its peak. And this morning, well, I realised it had gone ahead without me!
Experience tells me that we should be able to enjoy the garden until well into October, and to a lesser extent into November too. But it’s a bittersweet knowledge. And it doesn’t help that it’s just started pouring down outside when, in 15 minutes, a party of nonagenarians is due for a spot of horticultural therapy a la NGS Garden and Health Week! OMG it’s pelting down.
Anyway, with the turn of the season comes reflection. So I thought it would be a good time to review some of this summer’s bedding plant schemes (whilst I can still see them, that is!)
And now it’s time to review the other established plants in the garden, bearing in mind one always loves the plants that are Flowering Right Now the best:
Make the most of the next few weeks, and remember it’s never too late to do a bit of plant buying. Love, Caroline.
Visit our begonias hub page for links to a wealth of helpful begonia growing and care information.
Caroline Broome has been gardening for more than 20 years. Having passed the RHS General Certificate, she has since developed her East Finchley garden into a “personal paradise” that she and her husband invite the public to visit each year via the National Garden Scheme. Learn more about our contributor using T&M’s ‘Meet the experts’ page.
Discover your fuchsia’s perfect planting partners in our guide
Image: Fuchsia Colour Collection (hardy) from Thompson & Morgan
The world’s your oyster when it comes to choosing the best companion plants to complement your fuchsias. Seasonal tender fuchsias blend so well with other summer bedding plants that you’re almost spoilt for choice. The same applies to hardy types, which work well alongside a wide range of perennials in mixed borders. Here’s some tried and tested wisdom when it comes to finding the perfect partners for your fuchsias.
Kris Collins works as Thompson & Morgan’s quality control manager, making sure customers new and old are kept up to date on the latest plant developments and company news via a wide range of media sources. He trained in London’s Royal Parks and has spent more than a decade writing for UK gardening publications before joining the team at Thompson & Morgan.
Plants are beautiful decorations for your garden, and luckily there are many of those which are easy to care for if you have a busy lifestyle. There are plenty of varieties that don’t need staking, frequent deadheading and dividing, complicated pruning, or excessive watering. Below we’ve listed the most popular low-maintenance outdoor plants for busy gardeners.
I’m proud to say that I have been a passionate gardener for more than 20 years. Working as a landscape architect got me constantly improving my knowledge and skills, to meet all the modern design standards. My hobbies include writing blogs, volunteering at an animal shelter, and meditating.
Gone are the days when plants were restricted to balconies or gardens. In modern decor, they are being given a place in the drawing-room, the kitchen, and even the bedroom. Apart from adding to the beauty of your indoor spaces, plants also purify the air and make the environment healthy. They regulate the levels of oxygen in the air and reduce carbon dioxide.
These plants are not even expensive and also work to uplift people’s moods and cheer them up. Now, having plants in your house isn’t as easy as it sounds. Therefore, in this article, we shall be addressing ways to keep your plants healthy and take good care of them.
Since I was a kid, I always found myself in the kitchen whenever there was something cooking. Even though none from the family was occupied with cooking as a profession, my mother was very fond of cooking and baking. She actually was the one that sparked my motivation and love for the kitchen. I grew up believing that the dinner table is that safe bubble for the family after long and dynamic days, my mother’s meals always brought us together. Seeing that, my parents got me into cooking classes which made me fall even more in love with it. I continued to chase this dream of mine through the years. I’ve been working with a local restaurant for 4 years now, as I am also about to finish my culinary studies. There’s nothing that makes me more happy than seeing people who put in practice and enjoy my advice. Such, I also take joy in sharing my tips with audiences via guest posting from time to time.