Our gardening blog covers a wide variety of topics, including fruit, vegetable and tree stories. Read some of the top gardening stories right here.
Propagation, planting out and cultivation posts from writers that know their subjects well.
A beatiful Carmarthenshire country garden
Image: shutterstock
What do they grow in Wales? Everything from wildflowers and ornamental grasses to home-grown vegetables. Here we reach beyond traditional stereotypes to bring you the lowdown on what – apart from leeks and daffs – makes the garden grow for green-fingered Welsh bloggers.
Inspirational and educational in equal measure, these blogs will have you reaching for seed packets and shovels in no time at all.
Five years ago my local horticultural society was on the brink of extinction. Membership numbers had dwindled and the society was losing hundreds of pounds every year. The main expense was the putting on of the shows. Something had to change or the society would have been forced to close its doors for good.
The great weigh in commences
In recent years we have tried many different things to try and encourage more people to attend out shows. One of the ways we have tried to do this has been through the launch of a seed potato growing competition. Each member is able to purchase for a nominal fee one seed potato and one bag. They have to take them away with them, pot them up and grow them on. They then have to bring their potato bag to the Autumn Show for the big weigh in.
In its inaugural year twelve bags were brought to the Autumn Show. The winner, Andy Gaskin, managed to grow 2.4kg of potatoes from his bag. Although twelve does not seem like a great number it was the most popular class in the whole show. The competition had added an extra dimension to the show as many people were excited to watch the big weigh in. It was without doubt a great success.
Each entry is weighed under watchful eyes
For 2017 I have taken on the role of Show Secretary for the society. My goals were to make the shows more popular with people in terms of showing and visiting. At the same time I wanted to try and make the shows profitable for the society. It also meant for this year that I would be responsible for the seed growing potato competition. I started by looking for sponsors for the competition itself. I was thrilled when I got the news from Thompson & Morgan that they would agree to sponsor this year’s competition. We were sent 60 nine litre bags and some “Jazzy” seed potatoes. At our February monthly meeting the seed potatoes were distributed to the membership.
We have a winner!
Before I knew it, September had rolled around and it was time for our Autumn Show. I was hoping that this year we would beat the number of bags returned from last year. To my amazement we managed to get thirty bags to the weigh in and it took over an hour to weigh all them! The winner managed to get 1.4kg from the 9 litre bag. It had been a hugely successful competition.
I believe this simple competition has had a huge impact on our society. It is so easy to get involved with and generates friendly competition between the members of the society. It gives people more of a reason to come to the show and it has generated income for the society. Most importantly, it helps to break down the stigma attached to Horticultural Shows that you need to be an expert to enter them. It encourages anyone to get a seed potato and a bag and have a go.
I hope to build on the success of this year’s competition and make it bigger and better for next year. I would like to thank Thompson & Morgan for their support and hope this competition continues to help this small village horticultural society thrive.
My name is Thomas Carpenter and I live in Essex. At my home I have a vegetable patch and greenhouse where I grow a range of flowers and vegetables for both the show bench and for eating. I am the Show Secretary for my local horticultural society and have been a member there for the last eight years. Currently I am in training with the Essex Guild of Horticultural Judges and the National Vegetable Society. I have a real passion for growing and showing vegetables as well as encouraging children and young people to get involved with horticulture.
Stuart and Ian Paton with their record-breaking pumpkin
At this weekend’s Autumn Pumpkin Festival in Netley, Southampton, sponsored by Thompson & Morgan, no less than four British records were broken.
Sonia works at Thompson & Morgan in the role of press and communications officer. She is a self-proclaimed ‘reluctant’ gardener and is generally amazed if anything flourishes in her garden. Sonia has a ‘hands off’ approach to gardening and believes that this helps to encourage bees, butterflies and other wildlife. (That’s her excuse anyway!)
Hello October.
October is my favourite month, as I can do my favourite annual job in the garden.
A lot of people seem to be scared of rose pruning, but I actually love it. The more challenging the better.
Each year the lovely Rosa “Climbing Shot Silk” gets a tidy up.
Shot Silk is a fragrant, repeat flowering rose which have large double blooms. It has silky textured flowers with golden centre, with strong growth, (ideal for tying in) and dark green glossy foliage.
Tools of choice for this job are, my beloved Felco No2’s, I will be lost without these, (each year I send them to Felco to service them), pruning saw and loppers.
I try to reuse ties for the previous year, but having spare ones help!
This is the Rose before I started, the long whips that are reaching to sky are going to be tied in to produce new blooms next year.
I start by untieing last years clips and start reducing the ends to make it easier to deal with.
With pruning any Roses, always remember to prune the D’s :- Dead, Dying Damaged and one other I tend to include is Don’t know! So if I have particular piece that doesn’t look right, I will prune it out.
Reduce stems which could potentially grow next year’s long whips, always to an outwards facing bud, a sharp clean cut.
These pieces which are untied float around begging to be tied in, I loosely tie them in and then step back to see the finished vision, I aim for two long stems per wire to maximise flowers on each rung.
This is my finished rose. With the branches laid flat it encourages new growth to shoot up and lovely roses on the end.
And, here is a picture of our beloved Rosa “Climbing Shot Silk” it her full glory!
So that’s the climbing rose pruning done and now to prune back the other Hybrid Teas.
Enjoy October, the nights are drawing in, so make the most of the glorious Autumn sun.
Happy gardening!
Sue x
For help choosing the right climbing rose for you, and to find out when and how to plant it, head over to our rose hub page. While you’re there, browse our new roses collection or select from our award-winning roses to find the perfect climbers for your garden.
One of my earliest memories; helping my Mum and Dad weed the veggie plot and collecting chicken eggs from the chooks at the end of the garden. I grew up on a farm as a child and always had my own piece of land to grow and learn with, so I suppose its in the blood!
In my mid twenties, I re trained in Horticulture (Professional Gardening ANCH) and set up my own Gardening business working for clients in the Suffolk/Essex area. For the last thirteen years I’ve had the pleasure of working on a private twenty five acre estate tending to the grounds.
In 2016, I joined the team at Thompson and Morgan in the Customer Care department.
Also season ticket holder at Ipswich Town Football Club!!
Proper greenhouse ventilation is essential for your plants’ wellbeing
Gardening enthusiast and exotic plant lover Clive Harris of DIY Garden shares his knowledge on why greenhouse ventilation is so important.
Many novice gardeners are afraid of greenhouses, considering them high-maintenance mediums for demanding plants. However, modern advances have made greenhouse cultivation a cinch compared to previously, meaning you can now harvest your home-grown spoils with minimal cost, time and effort.
Temperatures inside a hothouse can rise more than 15% higher than outside, creating the ideal environment for producing exotic species that generally grow in hotter climates. This extra heat also provides the perfect conditions for nurturing your seedlings during winter, giving them a head start for the coming season.
Ventilate your greenhouse so that plants don’t bake in the summer heat!
Imagine being locked inside a hot car with the windows up on a sweltering summer day. Without ventilation, this is what your plants and vegetables are exposed to. Even the most tropical species will suffer in extreme heat, risking dehydration, leaf scorch and sun-flag. Any temperature over 27°C has the potential to damage your crops.
Ventilation has several benefits. As well as offering greater control over the internal temperature and humidity, it also increases airflow which is crucial for effective photosynthesis and pollination.
There are two types of ventilation systems – passive and powered. Passive or natural systems are the most common type found in small greenhouses. They use a series of ridge and sidewall vents which help to draw cool air in and dissipate the heat. In high summer, the greenhouse door can be opened to give extra ventilation and airflow.
Traditional powered mechanical ventilation systems involve the use of exhaust and circulation fans to maintain an ideal atmosphere inside the greenhouse.
However, I’m a huge fan of automatic ventilation systems as they use solar energy to automatically open the vents. No electrically required, and 100% environmentally friendly!
Proper shading will help lower the temperature in the summer
Greenhouses are prone to overheating between spring and autumn, so keeping a close eye on the environment is vital for the survival of your harvest. Constant plant patrol sounds tedious, especially during summer months, so it’s just as well that technology has made it infinitely easier for the modern horticulturist.
Back in the good old days, a gardener would need to traipse back and forth many times a day in hot weather to check and adjust the temperature in their greenhouse. Thankfully, the advent of portable weather stations means the temperature can now be monitored remotely via smartphone.
Opening and closing the vents is another chore that has become effortless. Solar powered and heat sensitive vent openers are now available which automatically release once the temperature reaches a certain point.
Adequate shading will help to keep your plants cool in the scorching summer heat. Fit blinds to the exterior or interior of your hothouse to avoid overheating. A cheaper option to blinds is shade netting which works on a similar principle. For a quick and easy solution, shading paint can be applied to the exterior of the panes to prevent heat penetrating the glass. This can then be washed off once the weather becomes cooler.
During the hottest months, it is crucial to sustain humidity within the greenhouse. This can be done by damping down the interior regularly.
Contemporary greenhouse gardening has become straightforward and stress-free, meaning there’s no longer any reason to avoid those shiny glass panes. You’ll be on your way to prizewinning hothouse flowers in no time!
Find out more about growing under glass at our dedicated greenhouses hub page.
Having loved the great outdoors since he was a kid, Clive has always enjoyed being creative in the garden. This and a passion for writing helped bring DIY Garden to life; his own personal gardening blog to share ideas and inspire others. A Garden Media Guide member, Clive lives just outside of London with his beautiful wife Tamara and their children.
Autumn view of a Scottish highland secret garden
Image: shutterstock
With wild chunks of land in the countryside and petite backyards in the capital, veg plots and flowerbeds, these are seven of our favourite Scottish gardening bloggers. Dig in!
Welcome Everyone,
As you know from previous September blogs I love this month. I love the last of the warm sunny days, before the transformation of of Autumn, with its crisp mornings, wood-smoke, and crunchy colourful leaves.
My name is Amanda and I live in Pembrokeshire with my fiancé and our garden is approximately 116 meters square. I want to share with you my love for gardening and the reasons behind it, from the good to the bad and ugly. I want to do this for my own personal pleasure. If you would like to take the journey with me then please read my blogs and share with me your gardening stories.
Listen, I’m all for a challenge but opening your garden for charity in October? That’s a new one on me! Way, way back in April our garden was recommended to a local U3A group by A Friend (you know who you are!) as ideal for visiting in autumn. How flattering, I preened, that said friend thought our garden was interesting and attractive enough to warrant paying guests at that time of year. So I said yes. Of course.
Well, when other NGS Garden Openers are hanging up their secateurs and tea towels, here I am, pruning, feeding, sweeping, planting and baking. OK so it’s only 15 visitors but all the same………… Usually by now I have started cutting back spent perennials, emptying hanging baskets, lifting semi-hardies, but with Open Day in mind it’s a whole new ball game! Cutting back has been minimal, a balancing act between leaving on waning top growth and creating gaps in the borders. Normally I allow dead foliage and fallen leaves to rot down where they land in the borders, but as this just adds to the overall look of decay, I have swept them up. I realise that as gardeners, the group will understand the natural seasonal process of decline, but with so much still in flower I want to promote a sense of vigour and vitality in the garden. Still, to a certain extent it’s all smoke and mirrors whatever the time of year, so with well swept paths and patio, a fresh top dressing of mulch and some judicious deadheading, the garden should not disappoint.
Ipomea growing through the roof of the pergola and Bidens still showing some lovely colour
In the process of preparation I have however been subjected to a deeply distressing experience from which I may never fully recover! Winky the Sphynx cat (bless her, her one tooth is never going to do anything more harmful than frighten critters to death) brought a live toad into the living room! I found her frothing at the mouth, the toad playing dead at her feet. On seeing me she picked up said toad and ran upstairs with it, final destination under-the-bed, hotly pursued by a retinue of fellow felines, with me bringing up the rear. David to the rescue, toad liberated to the pond, Winky given mouth wash and floor given the Wet Wipe treatment.
Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, preparations. Having started propagating perennials for next year’s plant sales (which includes grading plastic pots by size, with corresponding pot carry trays, for ease of storage, transportation and pricing – can’t you just tell I have a background in retail!) I find I have nowhere to put them during the visit. Can’t leave them out for people to trip over. Can’t just shove’em in the greenhouse in case visitors fancy taking a look at my Fabulous Tomatoes (more of that later). “I know,” says David, “they can go on the roof terrace, no-one’s gonna wanna to climb up there”, (not to put too fine a point on it, the visitors being somewhat elderly). No-one, that is, other than me, having to get them up there (the plants not the visitors) and back down again with ‘My Knees’.
Tomatoes ripening on the vine and a beautiful begonia bloom
Talking of Fabulous Tomatoes, my T&M Cherry Drops and Garnet, grown from seed, are finally ripening. I offered one of the purple jewels to David to try and, after wrinkling up his nose at it, murmuring suspiciously, “What’s that? Are you trying to poison me?” he reluctantly popped it into his mouth. His expression changed to one of pleasurable surprise. Tangy and sweet, he pronounced it to be the nicest tomato he’d ever tasted! Trouble is I am not sure if it was Cherry Drops or Garnet so I shall just have to keep comparing them as they ripen on the vine. They’re never going to reach the salad bowl.
And begonias, big, bright, blowsey blooms. (Ooh alliteration!) As well as overwintering my own tubers, I store friend Anne’s for her and I guess somehow the tubers must have got muddled up because I have one that I’ve never seen before: 4” wide orange doubles with red edges. Passiflora and T&M ipomoeas have climbed through the pergola, flowering right under our bedroom window.
Canna lilies still looking magnificent
But surely it’s the Wyoming and Durban cannas that will cause the most stir. At 8ft tall, multiple orange flower spikes, emerging from giant black paddle shaped leaves, have bloomed continuously since July. I was astonished to find that the root ball of one such plant, recently lifted from the raised bed out front, had easily tripled in size: it went in in May at about 4” and came out mid-September at over 12”. I’ve had to store it in half an old compost sack. So let’s do the math (as they say in good old USA): if I created 9 such divisions from three giant overwintered clumps this spring, then next spring I could potentially end up with 27 such plants!
Shame the visitors won’t get to see my prized dahlias (yes, they won first prize at our Horticultural Society autumn flower show). They must have been on my allotment for at least four years, never dug up, protected by a thick layer of multipurpose compost, and they too are record size this summer. Trebbiano and Fox Mix, T&M trial plants from summer 2012, have reached 6ft and have yielded at least 2 dozen flowers on a weekly basis with plenty more to come. I hope that the as–yet-unnamed dahlias in this year’s trial, now planted alongside, will perform this well in time.
Salvias confertiflora and miscanthus
Oh well, must get on, it’s been raining all night, the miscanthus grass is all splayed out at 45 degrees, the 7ft salvias confertiflora and involucrata (I do love a good Latin name don’t you?) are leaning dangerously, so tall that their stakes have become woefully inadequate. Forecast for Visitor Day not good. Still hopefully the cakes won’t collapse even if the plants do.
Happy gardening, love, Caroline
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.
Recently, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to talk to Ian Paton about his success at growing record-winning pumpkins. Last year Ian and his twin brother Stuart broke the UK record for the heaviest pumpkin grown indoors, which weighed in at a whopping 2252lbs (160.9 stone, or 1,021kg)! This year they are hoping to do even better.
The process started back in April when a dozen specially selected seeds were planted, around the time of Thompson & Morgan’s nominated National Pumpkin Sowing Day. The best 6 plants were then selected and whisked away to the ‘PRD’ (Pumpkin Research & Development) where they start their journey to potential enormity.
Ian’s growing a giant!
Each plant is trimmed and trained in much the same way you would expect a tomato plant to be grown initially, except that every leaf nodule is placed over a pot of compost, and encouraged to produce a new root to help feed the plant.
Pollination takes place in June. The fruit is set and the race begins in earnest. Each plant, sporting 900 plus leaves, each with its own root, starts to feed the newly formed pumpkin.
Staurt says:
“There are one hundred and ten days in the growing season, so everything has to be perfect for the pumpkin”
At the peak of the growing period, 100 gallons of water go into the plant and the pumpkin puts on 58lbs in weight PER DAY – that’s the equivalent of a bag of cement each day!
As the pumpkin growing season slows down, its water intake reduces by about a quarter. However, at this vital stage it is essential that the plant NEVER dries out. A dry pumpkin can split when watered – resulting in disaster and tears!
Each pumpkin is grown on a large bed of sand, which allows the pumpkin to slide easily as it grows. A bow wave appears around each giant fruit as it pushes sand ahead of it, making it look like it’s ‘surfing’ in very slow motion!
The all-important weigh-in
As the weigh-in day approaches, Ian and Stuart send pumpkins abroad to take part in the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth. Recently a pumpkin weighing an estimated 1950lb was sent to Holland; another, at approximately 2000lbs, is en route to France. The biggest however, is kept for the local weigh-in, held in Hampshire!
Transporting these giant fruit is no easy task, though, and comes with risks. As Stuart told me:
“We were devastated that the pumpkin split on its journey to Holland, classing it as ‘damaged’ ”
The Paton brothers have high hopes for this year’s contender. It was grown from a seed from the world record giant pumpkin, grown by Mathias Willemijns last year and weighing in at 2624.6lbs. The pumpkin that Ian and Stuart are growing currently has some impressive stats, measuring an incredible 486 inches in circumference – that’s about the same as the length of a double decker bus – and is only 9 inches short of its record breaking pumpkin parent! Although Ian remains modest about the final weight, he feels confident that it may well beat their personal best – so another record breaker perhaps!
The giant pumpkin weigh-in is on Saturday 14th October at the Jubilee Sailing Trust Autumn Pumpkin Festival, at the Royal Victoria Country Park in Southampton.
Do you want to try to grow a prize-winning pumpkin? Check out our giant pumpkin guide here, and try your hand with some Wallace’s Whoppers If you’ve already got yours going, share some of your pictures on our Facebook page – we love to see what you grow. Find advice for sowing and growing both regular sized vegetables and giants at our dedicated pumpkin and squash hub page.
I’ve been gardening for as long as I can remember, my first earliest memory being planting seeds in my Grandfather’s prestige flower bed and having a prize lettuce growing there, which he proudly left to show everyone.
Since then, gaining knowledge and experience from both my Grandfather and my Father, I’ve continued to garden, both as a hobby and later on as a professional gardener and landscaper for 12 years. I love all aspects of it, from the design and build, to the planting out of summer borders with plants you’ve either grown from seed or raised from plugs. Unusual varieties always catch my eye and I’m keen to try growing them, even if sometimes it means learning from my mistakes.
With Autumn now really with us it is time to get the garden and veg plot sorted for the winter.
The first task was to lift the last of the main crop potatoes, Sarpo Mira, these had chance to dry in the sun and then get bagged up in the hessian sacks I use. All the very small or damaged ones were peeled and mashed and frozen so nothing is wasted. The Mayan Gold a particular favourite for their lovely creamy colour and texture got the same treatment. We should have enough potatoes to see us through the winter.
Then I let out the chickens and they helped me dig over the bed, they especially liked it when I opened up the compost heap to spread a layer over the top. If you are planning a similar job watch out for the slow worms (I found two) as they are snuggling in for the winter.
Next job on my agenda is to get picking my eating apples, luckily not too many came down in the high wind this week, they will store nicely in the shed on the bench.
A late sowing of dwarf French beans, Speedy has lived up to its name so we are eating plenty and freezing lots as they freeze well loose for use all through the year.
The Butternut squash Harrier has not done as well as last year, but the Crown Prince with its lovely orange flesh and grey shell have grown beautifully and are stored away for the winter. They grow so big you need to share them with family and friends when you cut them open.
The flower garden is still looking very colourful, some plants I think look better at this time as they enjoy the extra moisture and the cooler nights. I shall continue to dead head to encourage the last flush of flowers from Verbena, Petunia and begonias. The Fuchsias have recovered from the Hawk moth Caterpillars and grown more leaves so they will go on flowering longer as well.
I have stocked up on soil based compost as I want to re-pot some Hydrangeas that have out grown their pots, when they go dormant along with various other small potted shrubs.
The twenty or so cuttings I took from my perennial Wall Flower ‘Bowles Mauve’ have all taken so I shall have a replacement and some to spare for the very large one I have taken our that got very woody. I have also taken cuttings from my favourite Blue Berry bushes as these can suddenly fail as they age. I also fancy some new varieties as well, Chandler and Earliblue look like they will being productive and tasty.
I have had my hands in soil ever since I could crawl. I remember well going out into the garden and watching my Father double digging the vegetable plot and being shown how to pick caterpillars off the brassicas. You could say he was an early organic gardener. There was something nice about sneaking round behind the outhouse and pulling rhubarb and dipping it in sugar, picking raspberries and stuffing handfuls into my mouth. It is these memories of taste and smell that never leave you and make you want to grow your own fresh fruit and vegetables.
It has been something of a treat then, to find myself working for Thompson and Morgan for the past 13 years and being able to help customers to solve their gardening problems