Your Stories Archives | Page 17 of 31 | Thompson & Morgan Blog

The Good Life in Practice

by Katy Runacres | Apr 9, 2013 | Your Stories | 1 Comment

I am a 24 year old attempting to live more eco-friendly. I first lived in Suffolk but now live in a small flat in a village in Switzerland. I have been living in the Berner Oberland canton since April 2012 (so just over a year!) since getting a job here. My boyfriend Michael and I have been trying to live as sustainably as we can by growing herbs and salad, recycling, composting and sourcing other food locally. He is a local grounds man and also has skills in carpentry so comes in handy for woodwork projects too!

Katy Runacres

Katy is a smallholder, cook and writer. She keeps Chickens, Bantams, Meat Rabbits and has a resident cat called Podge. She takes an interest in all aspects of homesteading and has written pieces for a number of magazines including Backwoods Home, Bushcraft, Country Smallholding, Home Farmer and Smallholder. Katy is a member of the Essex and Suffolk Poultry Club and has a Diploma in Countryside Management.

How to improve clay or sandy soils with leafmould

by Catharine Howard | Mar 18, 2013 | Your Stories | 2 Comments

Leafmould is the black gold of gardening. Ten or more years back, I worked in nursery on a rare hill on the Suffolk Essex border. We are talking small scale, husband and wife team, working all hours of day and days of year. The only time off was to load a large blue van with unusual and mouthwatering plants – arisaemas, trilliums and the like and drive to London to set up a mini fairy garden for the Chelsea Flower Show or exhibitions in the RHS’s Floral Halls. Bulbs and other woodland plants were their speciality. Anyway, I digress: their potting medium was leafmould.

Catharine Howard

Catharine Howard is a designer, garden coach, the gardening editor of Essential Suffolk Magazine, and garden writer. Topics are anything to do with horticulture and the inspiration behind design. She lives and gardens in Suffolk. Catharine also contributes to ThinkinGardens, Guardian garden blog and IntoGardens.

www.catharinehoward.co.uk

How To Landscape Your Garden and Backyard Like A Professional

by Thompson & Morgan | Feb 27, 2013 | Your Stories | 2 Comments

How To Landscape Your Garden and Backyard Like A Professional

Outside, the temperatures are dropping. In New York, it has started snowing on a regular basis and residents are getting used to bundling up and trekking through snow and slush. But while the winds outside are gusting and homeowners are cuddling up on their sofas and sipping some hot cocoa, a lot of people are already thinking about the upcoming spring. Dreaming of warmer weather, fresh vegetables at the market, and a lush and blooming backyard, many of these people start to make some plans on the landscaping front. Are you thinking about how to landscape your garden and backyard like a professional? Then good news is on the way. Below are some tips and pointers for making your outdoor areas look their best without paying a pricey professional to do it.

Thompson & Morgan

The Thompson & Morgan horticultural team produces a wealth of content around gardening and food production. Since the first seed catalogue was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become one of the UK’s largest Mail Order Seed and Plant companies. Through the publication of our catalogues and the operation of our award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the very best quality products money can buy.

Under the Weather

by Thompson & Morgan | Feb 19, 2013 | Your Stories | 30 Comments

‘Under the Weather’

As I sit here at noon on a Wednesday, my home has been enveloped by a huge dark cloud once again and the rain is misting out the houses across the street. It is utterly miserable and I am going to have to turn the daylight stimulation bulb on any minute before I give up on the day altogether. The ground is already saturated out there and I can hear the cars driving through the laying water on the road outside, oh and then there’s the wind. All in all I think maybe today was a day for staying in bed and dreaming of Spring.

Thompson & Morgan

The Thompson & Morgan horticultural team produces a wealth of content around gardening and food production. Since the first seed catalogue was published in 1855, Thompson & Morgan has grown to become one of the UK’s largest Mail Order Seed and Plant companies. Through the publication of our catalogues and the operation of our award-winning website, Thompson & Morgan is able to provide home gardeners with the very best quality products money can buy.

Trees for small gardens

by Catharine Howard | Feb 13, 2013 | Your Stories | 7 Comments

Deciding what small tree to squeeze into a modern pint-pot garden can be a real problem. A look at a tree nursery list will have you salivating but if space is challenged, stop right there. Drool away by all means but do not buy anything on impulse.

Catharine Howard

Catharine Howard is a designer, garden coach, the gardening editor of Essential Suffolk Magazine, and garden writer. Topics are anything to do with horticulture and the inspiration behind design. She lives and gardens in Suffolk. Catharine also contributes to ThinkinGardens, Guardian garden blog and IntoGardens.

www.catharinehoward.co.uk

Wild Ferments!

by Phillippa Lambert | Feb 6, 2013 | Your Stories | 12 Comments

Wild Ferments!

Most of us tend to view the world of microbes with some suspicion, convinced that these bugs can do us harm or make us unwell, in fact there is a whole world of beneficial organisms out there that can help us unlock additional nourishment from our food, and at the same time populate us with ‘probiotics’. Thinking about the foods and drinks we value for their taste and beneficial qualities – wine, sourdough bread, yogurt, olives, blue cheeses, to name but few – all these are created or processed with the help of the ‘good bugs’, without which many gourmet foods would simply not exist.

Phillippa Lambert

Phillippa Lambert is a landscape designer based on the Isle of Wight at a unique site in the Undercliff of the Island — a favoured microclimate sheltered by enormous south facing cliffs. In 2002 Phillippa and Stephen Lambert came across the ‘lost’ gardens of a Victorian mansion dating back to the 1820s, managed to acquire part of the site, including the walled garden and ornamental lake, and have since worked on their restoration. The result is not an ‘expert’ garden and does not try for technical perfection in any sense. ‘Make do and mend’ is the keynote — most plants being raised from seed or cuttings— and self-sufficiency is the motivation for all the growing in the walled garden. In essence, this site goes back to the philosophy of ancient gardens in sustaining the body as well as the soul. Read more at Lakehouse Design.

Steve’s Derbyshire Allotment

by Steve Woodward | Feb 4, 2013 | Your Stories | 0 Comments

I can’t say I like anything at all about the dark drab dull winter months, I am very much a summer person and absolutely love the sunshine on my face while gardening, however having said that! it is now well over a month from the shortest day and each day has a little more light to it so I will soon be able to visit the allotment during week days once again after work to start the preparation work.

Steve Woodward

I am 56 yrs young, and have been married to Joy for over 35 years, We have 2 children and 3 grandchildren, and have an allotment on the Notts/Derbys border. I am RHS trained to level 2 and have also passed a course in herbalism, I have had the allotment for about 20 years, that is mainly for the veg growing, whereas at home I grow fruit and have a love of anything big leaved, exotic-y looking, jungly type plants. I also help run a gardening forum at garden-friends.co.uk.

garden-friends.co.uk/

Was Buying a House Called ‘Brambles’ an Omen? (Part Two)

by Rachel Davidson-Foster | Jan 30, 2013 | Your Stories | 26 Comments

Was Buying a House Called ‘Brambles’ an Omen? (Part Two)

There is a famous quote by Thomas Fuller (English Churchman and historian) that goes “No garden is without its weeds”. Well, Mr Fuller was a very wise man and had he not been dead nigh on 350 years I would swear that he had in fact taken a visit to my little patch of England in order to be inspired to utter the quote. Perhaps I am being too literal and Mr Fuller had other more poetic meanings. But when it comes to the subject of weeds dear reader I am inclined to become somewhat dogmatic and obdurate!

Rachel Davidson-Foster

Rachel is the Marketing Director at Junari Ltd, a bespoke software company that has developed the JunariCRM+ product. She spends her time at work ensuring that the Junari team continues to place the customer at the centre of the universe. Whenever free time presents itself, Rachel likes to practice horticulture! She is Junari’s resident (cough, only!) ‘gardening expert’ and is well known for her admiration of the gardening maestro and all round plant-guru Monty Don. If you have any questions you get in touch via Twitter (@RDavidsonFoster).

Different uses for a hedge

by Catharine Howard | Jan 16, 2013 | Hedging, Your Stories | 0 Comments

Hedges – they’re not just for protection and privacy! Read Catharine Howard’s guest blog on the best uses for the humble hedge.

Catharine Howard

Catharine Howard is a designer, garden coach, the gardening editor of Essential Suffolk Magazine, and garden writer. Topics are anything to do with horticulture and the inspiration behind design. She lives and gardens in Suffolk. Catharine also contributes to ThinkinGardens, Guardian garden blog and IntoGardens.

www.catharinehoward.co.uk

Oca

by Phillippa Lambert | Jan 14, 2013 | Your Stories | 4 Comments

Guest blogger Phillippa Lambert writes about growing Oca – a versatile and tasty vegetable.

Phillippa Lambert

Phillippa Lambert is a landscape designer based on the Isle of Wight at a unique site in the Undercliff of the Island — a favoured microclimate sheltered by enormous south facing cliffs. In 2002 Phillippa and Stephen Lambert came across the ‘lost’ gardens of a Victorian mansion dating back to the 1820s, managed to acquire part of the site, including the walled garden and ornamental lake, and have since worked on their restoration. The result is not an ‘expert’ garden and does not try for technical perfection in any sense. ‘Make do and mend’ is the keynote — most plants being raised from seed or cuttings— and self-sufficiency is the motivation for all the growing in the walled garden. In essence, this site goes back to the philosophy of ancient gardens in sustaining the body as well as the soul. Read more at Lakehouse Design.

Posts from expert gardeners just like you!

The Good Life in Practice

How to improve clay or sandy soils with leafmould

How To Landscape Your Garden and Backyard Like A Professional

How To Landscape Your Garden and Backyard Like A Professional

Under the Weather

Trees for small gardens

Wild Ferments!

Steve’s Derbyshire Allotment

Was Buying a House Called ‘Brambles’ an Omen? (Part Two)

Was Buying a House Called ‘Brambles’ an Omen? (Part Two)

Different uses for a hedge

Oca

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Posts from expert gardeners just like you!

How To Landscape Your Garden and Backyard Like A Professional

Was Buying a House Called ‘Brambles’ an Omen? (Part Two)

Search Blog Posts

Meet the experts

Award-Winning Plants & Seeds

Categories

Top Posts

Archives

Pin It on Pinterest