Independent gardening advice for real gardens, balconies and windowsills.
Practical advice on growing food and flowers, improving soil, and making the most of small spaces. Start anywhere — the garden will meet you.
Brassica oleracea Caulo-rapa Kohl Rabi, or Knol Kohl, is comparatively little grown in this country, because we can almost always command tender and tasty Turnips. On the Continent it is otherwise. Th...
Half-hardy annual This remarkable variety of K. scoparia is a miniature annual shrub, which is also known as Summer Cypress, or Belvidere. It is singularly attractive, of rapid growth and graceful hab...
To some extent the crops will now take care of themselves, and we may consider the chief anxieties and activities of the season over. Our notes, therefore, will be more brief. We do not counsel the cu...
Antirrhinum.--A sowing in drills during the present month or August will supply plants for flowering next year. Transfer direct from the seed-bed to the positions where they are intended to bloom. Cal...
For its delicious fragrance and exquisite beauty the Jonquil has long been considered one of the most valuable of the Narciss family for cultivation in pots, and it is also a first-rate border and woo...
Helianthus tuberosus The Jerusalem Artichoke is a member of the Sunflower tribe, quite hardy, and productive of wholesome roots that are in favour with many as a delicacy, and by others are regarded a...
Work in the garden during the opening month of the year is entirely dependent on the weather, and it is futile to enter on a vain conflict with Nature. When heavy rains prevail keep off the ground, bu...
The common varieties of Iris are well-known favourites of the border, and the whole family have claims on the attention of amateurs, on account of their excellent faculty of taking care of themselves...
Sultan's Balsam. Tender perennial Early sowing should be avoided for two reasons. The seed germinates but slowly in dull weather, and the seedlings when raised are almost certain to damp off. We do no...
An excellent companion to Delphiniums, Salvias, and perennial Lobelias in the mixed border. The stately spikes of this flower also associate well with shrubs, and help to enliven a bed of Rhododendron...
One of the most valuable characteristics of the Hyacinth is the ease with which it can be flowered in a variety of ways by very simple modes of treatment. It may be employed as a hardy, rough-weather...
Cochlearia Armoracia This vegetable is highly prized as a condiment to roast beef, but as a rule it is badly grown. The common practice is to consign it to some neglected corner of the garden, where i...