by Carol Gubler | Jun 5, 2021 | Fuchsia Festival, Gardening News, Gardening Posts
Compact bushy fuchsias look fantastic planted in patio containers
Image: Fuchsia ‘Swingtime’ from Thompson & Morgan
Longtime fuchsia enthusiast Carol Gubler explains here how to pinch out your fuchsia plants to control flowering time, grow bushier plants, and kickstart extravagant blooming. Carol draws from a lifetime of experience with these fabulous flowers to create excellent tips and advice you can trust. Don’t miss the video demonstration below too!
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My family first got the fuchsia bug in 1963 when my late father stopped to admire the plants growing in a neighbour’s garden – they were fuchsias and he was hooked! Gradually the garden was overtaken by fuchsias – and in 1979 we moved as a family to a little village near Guildford, where to this day I grow lots of fuchsias (about 500 different types!)
I am Assistant Secretary of The British Fuchsia Society and involved in anything and everything to do with fuchsias!
by Kris Collins | Jun 1, 2021 | Expert Update, Flowers, Fuchsia Festival, Gardening News, Gardening Posts, Petunia Parade
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…
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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.
by Kris Collins | May 31, 2021 | Begonias, Expert Update, Flowers, Gardening News, Gardening Posts, inspiration for the garden, Summer gardening
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.
In a repeat of last year’s amazing hanging basket displays, volunteers and young learners from ActivLives have been busy growing baskets of Thompson & Morgans’ best selling Begonia ‘Apricot Shades’. This year they’ve added Begonia ‘Fragrant Falls’ to the mix, to provide scent as well as colour to the platforms.
Begonia ‘Fragrant Falls’ & Begonia ‘Apricot Shades’ from T&M at Ipswich Station
Not only will the baskets brighten up the journeys of everyone who passes through the stations on the London to Norwich mainline, the project has provided local young people with valuable horticultural experience. Participants from a number of organisations, including WS Training, Talent Match and Seetec, took part in training programmes at ActivLives’ two garden projects in Ipswich to gain skills for work.
The ActivLives team planted up the baskets back in April. They have since tended the Begonia blooms at the glasshouses in the walled garden at Chantry Park, bringing them into peak condition for display at the train stations.
Ipswich Train Station with Thompson & Morgan Blooms
Thompson & Morgan’s Horticultural Director, Paul Hansord said:
“We were pleased with last year’s baskets, but ActivLives has outperformed themselves this year, with bigger and better baskets for real impact. Planted in incredicompost® and fed with incredbloom® at planting time, these baskets look stunning and will continue to perform right through to autumn. Requiring minimal care from station staff – spent flowers simply fall off to be replaced by fresh new blooms. The addition of Begonia ‘Fragrant Falls’ should really lift the spirits of workers on their daily commute and provide a warm welcome for visitors and tourists passing through both stations.”
For help and information on growing and caring for your own begonias, visit our hub page for a wealth of resources.
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.
by Kris Collins | May 19, 2021 | Fuchsia Festival, Gardening Posts
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.
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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.
by Mirela Boston | May 18, 2021 | Gardening Posts, House plants
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.
©Shutterstock – Apart from adding to the beauty of your indoor spaces, plants also purify the air and make the environment healthy.
What are the best indoor plants?
There are many plants (especially, the tropical ones) that can be grown in small pots in your home. Sansevieria, Philodendron, Pothos, ZZ plant, and most succulents make excellent indoor plants.
A good indoor plant must have two basic properties. It should be able to grow in less humidity and less light than most outdoor plants. It also shouldn’t grow at a rapid rate, since you have limited space indoors for plants.
Here are a few plants that are perfect for being grown indoors.
Aspidistra:
A low maintenance plant which will not consume much water and can even survive periods of drought (when you are away on holiday). This plant also does not require much light to grow making it useful for shaded corners of your home.
©T&M – Aspidistra copes well with low light levels.
Aglaonema:
These plants are mostly planted for their attractive foliage but they will also grow in a wide range of light conditions and do not grow particularly quickly.
Philodendrons:
These plants are very easy to grow, even for beginners, and cope very well with indoor conditions. Climbing Philodendrons can be trained to make use of vertical spaces making them especially versatile.
How to take care of your indoor plants:
Choosing the right plants to grow indoors will make caring for them so much easier. Different plants need different kind of care. Therefore, a suitable amount of research must be done to ensure that plants are taken good care of. Here are some tips that could help you get the best from your houseplants.
- You must make sure that the soil in which you have planted your plant isn’t too dry or too moist. Take the time to learn what moisture level you plants require as they will all vary.
- Choose a pot that has holes in its bottom, so that excess water can be drained away through it to prevent waterlogging.
- Ensure that your plants receive appropriate amounts of light (either artificially or naturally). Again, take some time to learn what light levels your chosen plants require and then position them with this in mind.
©T&M – Ensure that your plants receive appropriate amounts of light.
Where can indoor plants be placed?
You could choose some small plants like Chinese Money Plant and Begonia rex and place them on your desk in your workspace, or on a windowsill or shelf. Some plants that are a bit larger are better positioned as a table centre piece or stood on the ground in your living areas to create a focal point. Philodendrons, Monstera and Kentia Palms make good choices.
©Shutterstock – Large plants are best positioned as a table centre piece or stood on the ground in your living areas to create a focal point.
By using potted plants, you can implement some home remodeling changes, adding those finishing touches to your interior design.
Conclusion:
There are many other benefits of having indoor plants. They increase the amount of oxygen in the air, make the air fresh, uplift your mood and also add to the decor of your house. There are so many houseplants to choose from that you are sure to find one to suit your style.
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.
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