Monthly Archives: May 2011

Some 20 plants were short-listed for the RHS Chelsea 2011 Plant of the Year award made by the RHS’s Plant Advisory Committee. All of the short-listed plants are on display at Chelsea until Saturday 28 May. The award went to Anemone ‘Wild Swan’, bred by Elizabeth MacGregor (www.elizabethmacgregornursery.co.uk/), a Scottish nurserywoman and plant breeder. The plant was shown at Chelsea

May brings all sorts of interesting things, including Chelsea. Each year I wonder if I will still be dazzled by RHS Chelsea Flower Show (www.rhs.org.uk/Shows-Events/RHS-Chelsea-Flower-Show/2011/Gardens) and usually I am. I look forward to seeing so many different aspects of the show. There is so much to take in on the last day of the build-up and also on Press Day,

I just do enjoy growing dahlias: they have wonderful flower shapes and they come in such a wide range of colours, from lustrous Florentine ochres with bronze stems, to jolly seaside colours, as well as almost luminous Day-glo colours. I say this defiantly, as dahlias are plants that you either love or hate, there seems to be no half-way house

Watercress is one of those leaves we most usually buy from the supermarket. In packets or from markets in bundles, and there is nothing better than English watercress to spice up a salad or to make a spring soup. However many people see watercress just as a garnish, but it is much more than that: it is packed with vitamins

When you move house you cannot always find certain things because they are still packed or you have stowed them in an unusual place. The same can be said for plants that you remember from your former garden. It is not until you are without them, that you remember why they were so important. One of these plants is a

Am I celebrating? I certainly seem to be a one-woman tomato fiesta. If I was on a desert island I would hope that I had tomato and basil seeds sufficient for several years. Fortunately, I am not yet on the island and I can confirm that I will celebrate British Tomato Week  (May 15-21) officially, and as long as there

Time is speeding by and there is so much to sow and plant and do. In May I am going to feed all (and it is a lot) of plants in containers and then top-dress the pots and mulch the surfaces of the containers. Because I have so many plants growing in containers, watering is a major task, and a

I have been harvesting leaves from a range of salad collections as well as micro-leaves. Since I have not yet made my decision about a proper and permanent outdoor greenhouse, I had to find a way to have my cake and eat it…. in terms of seed sowing and harvesting produce as soon as possible. I tried micro-leaves for the