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Keep bedding and border displays weed free this season with top tips from AG gardening editor Kris Collins
Aim to dig out weeds growing in border soils unless you’re faced with persistent weeds that re-grow from bits of root left in the ground (ground elder, bindweed and couch grass spring to mind) .
Digging is eco-friendly, cheaper, and it removes the risk…
Keep patios, paths and drive weed free with top tips from AG gardening editor Kris Collins
Allow weeds to mature in the joins between patio slabs or block paving and it can be a real problem to remove them by hand. With no room to dig out tap roots, perennial weeds will likely return soon after pulling off or scraping away…
Stay chemical free with regular soil cultivation, says AG gardening editor Kris Collins
Regular hoeing or cultivation of garden soils is the best way to prevent weeds taking hold. Scratch over the soil weekly with a hoe or clawed hand cultivator and it’s an easy job – but watch out for emerging perennial flowers. The soil never has time to compact,…
Usually we grow climbers up a wall or trellis, but how about trying to thread them through shrubs? It can make for a stunning partnership, says Graham Rice
Many shrubs and trees, when their main season is over, are less than appealing. In particular, this applies to the summer look of winter- and spring-flowering forsythias, viburnums, rhododendrons, crab apples and flowering…
1 At the end of March/early April sow seeds into 9cm pots. Use an equal ratio of loam, perlite and sand.
2 Stand pots in a warm propagator in the greenhouse – they’ll take about 7-10 days to germinate.
3 Put young plants outside during the day to allow the wind to thicken the stems, but return them to the greenhouse overnight.…
12 ways to make your garden as pretty as Claude Monet picture:
1 AIM FOR EXUBERANCE
Let one or two flamboyant, large-flowered hybrids provide the backbone to the garden, and then choose three or four subtler varieties as the ‘supporting acts’. In a late spring border for example, this could be: bearded iris, oriental poppies and peonies together with dame’s rocket, forget-me-not,…
Val Bourne has successfully grown Christmas roses for over a decade. She says the secret to growing perfect flowers is to plant them up into containers. Here’s how…
Start off by buying cheaper ‘tester’ Helleborus niger in smaller pots. If possible, buy them in flower, looking for rounded blooms and plenty of healthy foliage.
Pot them into slightly larger black plastic containers.…
Crown lifting is valuable pruning technique anyone can try. It simply involves removing the lower branches of a tree or shrub to raise the height of the canopy. There are a number of reasons for doing this but chiefly, it allows you to underplant the tree or shrub, as you are letting in a lot more light.
It can be tried…
Add some style and structure to the garden this autumn with multi-stem trees, says AG gardening editor, Kris Collins
Multi-stem trees combine elements of both trees and shrubs, bringing benefits that make them great garden choices.
Where dense shrubs might create an enclosed feel, or where bare tree trunks might bring a sparseness to planting areas, multi-stems can provide a sense of…
Train cuttings for low cost versions of these premium plants, says AG’s gardening editor Kris Collins
Cuttings and initial training:
1) Take a non-flowering tip with two or three leaf sets. Cut just below a pair of leaves, remove the lower leaf set and insert into compost. Place in a propagator or cover with polythene until rooted.
2) As the cuttings develop, start to remove…
