Growing Blackberries – Rubus

Blackberries Blackberries are vigorous and exceptionally spiny, hardy perennial cane fruits belonging to the genus Rubus .The species and hybrids listed below are grown for dessert, bottling, tarts, jam and wine. Blackberries prefer deep, moist and rich loam but are adaptable to light sands and stiff clays, given free drainage and freedom from perennial weeds. Incorporate bulky organics such as […]

Fruit Trees for the home grounds

Even on the smaller home lots, there is usually a place for a few fruit trees. In many cases a small home orchard is possible. In smaller places, fruit trees can be worked in with the landscape planting. As a whole, fruit trees grow rapidly and if well cared for they are tidy and a desirable feature of the landscape […]

How to grow delphiniums

These young delphinium plants are suitable for planting out directly into their flowering positions but will need care and attention until they are established. Alternatively, they may be potted into 6″pots and grown on until the root system fills the pot – they may then be planted out. The growing tip has been “stopped” growth will darken and die back […]

Growing and care for Plum trees

Plums are popular for cooking, jam-making and bottling or canning, but the sweeter varieties are among our most delicious dessert fruits Damsons ripen a little later than most plums. The fruits are small, oval and richly flavoured, but not really sweet enough for the general taste for eating raw. They are, however, excellent for cooking, preserves and bottling. Bullaces are […]

How to plant and care a Iris

Garden Guides on Iris Iris are easy to grow This vast family of beautiful perennials is one of the most important of all garden plants. There are hundreds of varieties ranging through almost every color, differing in size, blooming seasons, and even habits of growth and method of propagation. The two most important groups for the average gardener are (1) […]

How to grow Lilies

There are many kinds of lilies with some differences in requirements for growth. By selecting an assortment varieties the home gardener can have a succession lily blooms from June through September. Growing information on Lilies SOIL AND SITE: Good drainage is essential for all lilies. If the soil is not naturally well drained, gravel should be placed in the bottom […]

Growing and Care – Cherry Fruit Trees

Cherries Two main groups of cherries are cultivated for the merit of their fruit, the `sweet’, dessert (Prunus avium) and the `sour’, culinary (Prunus cerasus); a third group, the ‘Duke’ cherries, form an intermediate class. The sweets are subdivided into the ‘black’ and ‘white’ varieties. All fruiting cherries are hardy in the British Isles, though the blossom may be damaged […]

Apricot trees – Planting and Growing

Of Mediterranean origin and flowering in late February and March, outdoor apricots demand a frost-free sunny site. Bush trees can be grown only in southwest and south-east England; elsewhere, as fan-trained trees on walls facing east, south, or south-west, or in greenhouses. Apricots prefer a moisture retentive, friable and well-drained soil: they object to stiff clay and heavy loam. A […]

Pear tree care

The pears grown in England is the European Pear which derives from Pyrus communis, native of the temperate parts of Europe and the western part of southern Asia as far as the Himalayas. In America some varieties are grown which are hybrids between the European Pear (as represented by `William’s Bon Chretien’, known in America as ‘Bartlett’) and Pyrus serotina, […]

Carnations and Pinks Dianthus

The genus Dianthus is large, but the popular garden flowers are border carnations, growing about 2 1/2 ft. tall, with exquisitely formed blooms and smooth-edged petals, and pinks in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and heights. They need a sunny, well-drained position, but are not suited to areas which have severe winters. Any soil suits them, so long as […]