News - Page 136
Stock up your pond from the great display of aquatic plants in stock now here in our garden centre at Lymington.
A pond is a calming oasis in the garden and is a magnet for wildlife, plus you get to grow a fascinating new range of plants which like their feet in water - and now is the perfect time to plant them.
Pond plants come in five groups, each planted in different parts of the pond. Deep-water aquatics include waterlilies and live at...
Prune early summer flowering shrubs once they've finished their display to keep them young and vigorous and guarantee a fantastic show of flowers this time next year. Deutzia, scented Philadelphus (mock orange), Kerria and Weigela can all be thinned out now.
Remove about a quarter to a third of the very oldest branches, cutting them out cleanly with sharp secateurs as close as possible to ground level. While you're at it, look out for b...
Put your asparagus to bed ahead of a long summer's rest and recuperation as a big thank-you for all the hard work it's put in to producing delicious, tender shoots all spring.
Asparagus is among the most coveted plants in the veg garden for its subtly-flavoured, much prized young shoots and its longevity - patches stay productive for 20 years. Plant in autumn or spring, choosing a sunny spot in well-drained soil. One-year-old crowns giv...
It's barbecue season and time to hone your grilling skills to the max, as all the reports are that we're going to have a great summer with long, warm evenings of al fresco dining.
Barbecues come in all shapes and sizes, so it's worth taking a look at the new range on offer in our garden centre here in Lymington before you commit. For ultimate flexibility, more than one outdoor cooker gives you multiple options: there's a barbecue for every dish from bak...
June's plant of the month is the rose, surely one of the most loved flowers in the history of gardening. Centuries of breeding has given us one of the richest heritages of different rose varieties imaginable, so we've collected together the very best for you here in our garden centre in Lymington.
To help make your choice easier we've picked out our top ten 'desert island' roses – truly lovely queens of the border we think no garden sho...
What to do in the garden in June:
It's the longest day of the year in a few weeks' time, so make the most of those long summer evenings to bring your garden to the peak of perfection. Here are a few jobs you can be doing – but don't forget to stop sometimes and admire how lovely it all looks!
General tasks:
Mow lawns once a week, but don't scalp them too close as leaving the growth slightly longer hel...
Move citrus outside for summer now the threat of a late frost is receding: they'll be delighted by a summer holiday outside on a sunny patio and will relish the higher light levels and extra rainfall outside.
Citrus trees are straightforward to care for and rewarding to grow, with sweetly-scented blossom in late autumn into winter which then takes a year to ripen into fruit - so the same tree can be flowering and fruiting at the same time.
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Tackle aphids in the greenhouse before they get to plague proportions and do some serious damage to your plants.
Once upon a time, a gardener could reasonably rely on the weather to kill off any aphids lurking in the greenhouse during winter. Not any more though. Rising temperatures mean they're emerging in spring unscathed, and with reinforcements – so you'll need to be on your guard from the word go.
Whatever you grow in your greenhouse...
Harness nature with biological controls, the environmentally-friendly way to tackle pests which uses the natural enemies of your pests to keep their populations under control.
Biological controls are usually tiny nematodes, parasitic wasps or mites, harmless to people and plants but fatal to many of our most-hated garden pests such as slugs, snails and vine weevils. Just choose the one you want from the shelf in our garden centre here i...
Get out your posh frock - it's the Chelsea Flower Show! If you aren't one of the lucky few who bagged a ticket before they sold out, clear every evening this week to bask in the world's greatest celebration of horticulture and gardening, where new ideas about design, plants and how to grow them will fill you with inspiration.
Highlights to look out for this year include a slick contemporary design from rarely-seen wűnderkind Italian des...