It is one thing to know how to grow a plant, but it is another to have an expert eye for amazing plant combinations. This is a skill that gardener, cook, writer and television presenter Sarah Raven posesses in bucket loads. A visit to her stunning garden ‘Perch Hill’ in Sussex is proof of[…]
Colourful Combinations – Rhodochiton Purple Bells and Thunbergia African Sunset
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Climbing plants, Colourful combinations, Container gardening, Ornamental gardening, Summer Mar 31, 2020
Plantaholic’s Choice – Begonia ‘Majestic Series’
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Container gardening, Ornamental gardening, Plantaholics choice, Summer Mar 24, 2020
Many of us have grown the tuberous Begonias in our garden and they are lovely plants to grow, but have you ever visited one of the flower shows such as RHS Chelsea and wondered why the exhibition quality blooms they grow there are so amazing and so huge. That is because of the wonderful varieties[…]
Colour Themed Collections For Your Hanging Baskets And Containers 2020
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Colourful combinations, Container gardening, Gardening for beginners, Ornamental gardening, Summer Mar 17, 2020
It is possible to design your basket and container displays by grabbing a basket full of plants you like the look of at the garden centre and shoving them in your chosen container, but don’t expect to achieve stunning results! It is often far more successful to purchase a collection of plants that have[…]
Plantaholic’s Choice – NEW Dahlia ‘Tropical Breeze’ (Dahlinova Hypnotica Series)
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Container gardening, New plants, Ornamental gardening, Plantaholics choice, Summer Mar 10, 2020
Dahlias are so popular in our summer gardens. This wonderful new variety really caught my eye as soon as I saw it. Dahlia Tropical Breeze is not one of the tall varieties that need staking, but rather a bedding variety that is ideal for our containers and front of border. Rather than having to wait[…]
Plantaholic’s Choice – NEW Calceolaria Calynopsis Collection
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Container gardening, New plants, Ornamental gardening, Plantaholics choice, Spring Mar 03, 2020
Some of the older readers may remember the Calceolaria from past times, but these wonderful Calynopsis varieties with their exotic, jewel-like blooms are a real breakthrough. The Calceolarias have been named things such as Slipper Flower, Pocketbook Plant, Pouch Flower and Slipperwort. Below I want to list some reasons why I think these new varieties[…]
Plantaholic’s Choice – Six reasons to grow the magnificent Roselilies
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Bulbs, Container gardening, Cut flowers, Fragrant plants, Ornamental gardening, Plantaholics choice Feb 25, 2020
Lilies are a long standing favourite in our summer gardens, but what is so special about the Roselilies? Well there are some important advantages that I attempt to list below:- Stunning, double blooms which unfurl like roses. A light and pleasant perfume which is not overpowering like the spicy scent of some traditional Oriental hybrids.[…]
Plantaholic’s Choice – NEW Alstroemeria ‘Valley’ Collection (Summer Paradise Series)
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Container gardening, Cut flowers, New plants, Ornamental gardening, Perennials, Plantaholics choice Feb 04, 2020
There are a great many varieties of Alstroemeria, some short, some tall, some bright and some in delicate pastel shades. The brand new Alstroemeria ‘Valley’ Collection (Summer Paradise Series) however have an attribute seldom held by other varieties. That is that they are exceptionally winter hardy. Many other Alstroemeria series have had the[…]
Plantaholic’s Choice – BloomChampion Reblooming Evergreen Azaleas
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Container gardening, New plants, Ornamental gardening, Plantaholics choice, Shrubs Nov 20, 2019
Rhododendron BloomChampion are the latest breeding in evergreen Azaleas. They not only produce blooms at the normal time for an Azalea to flower in April-May, they also rebloom in July-September. This means they can provide a huge flowering period of up to five months, as well as having evergreen foliage for the remainder of the[…]
Mini Fruit Trees – An Orchard On Your Patio
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Container gardening, Fruit and veg gardening, Gardening for beginners Oct 09, 2019
It is a great treat for us gardeners and allotment holders to have fresh, healthy and delicious fruit at our finger tips, but increasingly the majority of us do not have an acre or two to turn over to an orchard! Most of us however do have room on our patios for growing dwarf trees[…]
Plant Profile – Hardy Osteospermums
By Mark - Garden for Pleasure Container gardening, Ornamental gardening, Perennials, Plant Profiles Sep 30, 2019
Many of us are used to growing Osteospermum in our summer patio containers for their bright and cheerful daisy flowers. There are a wide array of beautiful varieties but they are not winter hardy in all but the very mildest areas of the UK. How many of us new though that there are a few[…]