Miscellaneous

There is no such thing as a ‘zero maintenance’ garden. Like a house, any garden will need some care and attention to keep it in good condition. But you can certainly create a garden which is low maintenance, taking minimal time and effort to keep it neat and tidy. Here are some of our top [...]

Full details of Designing a low maintenance garden

With the Olympic Flame winding it way around the country, many of us are getting ready for this year’s Olympic celebrations. So why not prepare your garden for this exciting event? Below we’ve listed a few of our ideas and included a link at the bottom to the London 2012 site where you can find [...]

Full details of Create your own Olympic Garden

Feeding wild birds in your garden is important year round. But many bird feeders, particularly the plastic ones, can look a little ugly, especially in the winter when they are hanging off bare branches without leaves to disguise them.
So why not have a go at making a more natural looking feeder, which will help the [...]

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I recently attended a talk at our local horticultural society about growing vegetables and was intrigued by a suggestion by the speaker that, if potatoes were discovered today, they would be banned due to their poisonous nature.
Now, I’ve always been aware that you should avoid eating green potatoes, but I haven’t really considered them an [...]

Full details of Ban the potato?

When we moved into our house our front garden contained a scrappy piece of lawn, about 3m², with a rather unhappy Mahonia in the centre. A combination of an apathetic attitude to mowing this small area and my desire for a tidier aspect for the front of the house lead us to take up the [...]

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I have a confession to make…I like to touch plants. In fact, I like to touch them all over. I don’t just do this in the privacy of my own back garden, I’m ashamed to admit I also do it in public. When visiting gardens I will take any opportunity for a furtive leaf stroke [...]

Full details of Plantophile? I just can’t help touching plants...

Names are a big thing in horticulture. You have botanical or common names for plants, names for different tools (don’t get me started on the difference between secateurs and pruners!) and names for techniques (spliced side-veneer graft, anyone?).
We also like to name our gardens – in various ways. Thinking about famous gardens, we can see [...]

Full details of What’s in a name?

Following the recent outbreak of e-coli in France, which it is alleged originated from a batch of sprouting seeds sold by Thompson and Morgan, the popular UK seed and plant provider has withdrawn the following seeds from sale, and recommends that if you already own these seeds that you do not grow or consume them:

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Full details of E-coli outbreaks in Europe

There is something about celebrity that fills me with nerves. I’m not sure what it is. After all, celebrities are just flesh and blood with the same foibles that we all have, but the fact that they are celebrity sends a shiver down my spine. I’m not sure if it’s the fame that does it [...]

Full details of An audience with Christine Walkden

Welcome to the blog of a would-be gardener…
I say ‘would-be’ as I seem to find precious little time to practice the many gardening activities we preach about at Oak Leaf Gardening! So is dedicating even more time to my computer by writing this blog a bit counterproductive? Perhaps, but the fact is there’s so much [...]

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