This is the time of year when colourful packets of spring bulbs appear on the shelves. The pictures of all those perfect flowers are alluring and the idea of them appearing in your garden can be irresistible. Think about your garden and how you can add to its spring appeal by procuring the right[…]
The bulbs are coming-ideas for spring colour
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Autumn, Bulbs, Container gardening, General Gardening, Guest post, Ornamental gardening Sep 05, 2017
Plantaholics choice-The best of the Sarah Raven catalogue Autumn 2017
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Autumn, Bulbs, Container gardening, General Gardening, Ornamental gardening, Plantaholics choice Sep 01, 2017
I have written in my previous article on tulip mixes about my great admiration for writer and broadcaster Sarah Raven and the way she mixes colours. I may have neglected to mention that I also admire her aptitude as a plantswoman and her ability to offer from her mail order website a mouth watering array of[…]
Easy-going clematis
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure General Gardening, Guest post, Ornamental gardening, Shrubs, Summer Aug 02, 2017
The summer-flowering clematis that belong to the viticella group are the easiest, possibly even the most-satisfying of them all. If you have never grown clematis before, or have had some disappointments with them, the Viticellas are the perfect solution. They flower from late June or July, sometimes going into autumn. They are vigorous climbing plants[…]
Five reasons to deadhead your plants
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Gardening for beginners, General Gardening, Ornamental gardening Jul 20, 2017
The practice of removing spent blooms, fruits and seed heads is known as deadheading. This should be carried out as soon as they become unsightly. Some plants with thick stems will require scissors or secateurs to remove the dead flowers. Other flowers may simply be removed with finger and thumb. But why is this necessary? Below[…]
Hebes in the garden
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure General Gardening, Guest post, Ornamental gardening, Shrubs Jul 11, 2017
Garden centres and online sites usually have a gathering of Hebes. The featured plants are generally small with long shiny leaves that may be green or carry bright, even curious variegation. There are often ‘tussocks’ of flowers in just about every shade but yellow or orange. They are indeed hard to resist, and are ideal[…]
Violas various
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Container gardening, General Gardening, Ornamental gardening Jun 20, 2017
Many of us use Violas as an annual in our winter and summer containers and baskets. They are however strictly a short lived hardy perennial. They are suitable for rockeries (hence they are often sold from the alpine section of the nursery), containers, gravel gardens and border and path edges. They prefer moist but[…]
Plants for summer drought and winter wet
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Garden design, Gardening for beginners, General Gardening, Guest post, Ornamental gardening Jun 06, 2017
In what will hopefully be a hot dry summer, the chore of watering the garden becomes significant. This is the time when ‘drought resistant’ plants are recommended as the ideal labour-free solution. However, come the long wet winter some of these plants just look miserable while others may die. The trick is to find plants[…]
Primarily pink
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Garden design, Gardening for beginners, General Gardening, Guest post, Ornamental gardening May 25, 2017
These are ideas for a garden border that has a gentle palette of mostly soft pinks enlivened by white, silver and purple. This should provide for a long season of interest in a sunny garden. Start your plan with a long-lasting collection of ‘background’ shrubs. These sit behind smaller plants and provide green foliage[…]
Tulip mixes for your garden
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Bulbs, Container gardening, General Gardening, Ornamental gardening, Spring May 03, 2017
The tulip has long been a beloved favourite of mine. Their innate beauty comes at a time of year when many of our garden plants are still dormant. Apart from a true blue, one would be hard pushed to imagine a colour of the rainbow in which their alluring blooms are not available. Their flowers[…]
Flowers for a summer container in shade
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Container gardening, Gardening for beginners, General Gardening, Ornamental gardening, Summer Apr 13, 2017
There are a multitude of planting options for a container in a sunny spot. But what if you have an area in the garden which is shaded? Perhaps it only gets a few hours of sun in the day. Well all is not lost. There are a number of options. Below are six flowering[…]