In winter, low temperatures as well as too intense light, lack of water (when the soil has frozen the moisture in it cannot be absorbed by the roots), and wind may cause damage. Some harm is directly due to the effects of below-freezing temperatures on the tissues of tender plants; other damage is indirect for example, the tearing and drying […]

From alkemelych, an Arabic word, indicating the plant’s use in alchemy (Rosaceae). Lady’s mantle. Hardy herbaceous low-growing plants suitable for use on rock gardens or at the fronts of borders. The flowers are in clusters, in shades of green or yellow, in July. Species cultivated A. alpina, 6 inches, handsome foliage, grey green above, silvery below, flowers pale greenish-yellow. When […]

Sweet Corn Zea mays rugosa is known as sweet corn. This cereal is a native of America and is boiled as a vegetable. The John Innes hybrid varieties remain popular, but `Kelvedon Glory’ is a newer introduction of merit. In the south, seeds may be sown out of doors in May. Choose a sunny position and in areas exposed to […]

Celeriac This is a variety of celery forming a swollen root which may be used and eaten raw in salads, or cooked for soups and flavoring. The stem can be cooked in the same way as seakale and, unlike celery, it stores well. It grows on the flat and as it requires no trench it is becoming more popular, since […]

A shrub may be defined as a perennial woody plant, branching naturally from its base without a defined leader (a single main shoot), and not normally exceeding 10m (30ft) high. Shrubs may be deciduous or evergreen and range from plants no more than 3-5cm (1-2in) high, such as some heaths and creeping willows, to huge rhododendrons. Some woody plants may […]

Grass seed for lawns Of the 150-160 grass species found in England, but only about six are used for lawns. Proprietary lawn seed mixtures consist of the merchant’s special mixes of some or all of these seeds and are sold according to the type of lawn required and, of course, price. In purchasing proprietary seed mixtures it is important to […]

Pruning ornamentals Ornamental shrubs and trees by no means all require pruning; certainly not regularly. A number profit from it, however, even though they may survive without it. Pruning ornamentals is simply a matter of assisting them to appear at their best. Whether to prune or not to prune depends to a great extent on the nature, performance and growth […]

Bulb cultivation Botanically, bulbs are buds, commonly subterranean, producing roots from their undersides, and consisting of layers of fleshy rudimentary leaves, called scales, attached to abbreviated stems. There is considerable uncertainty in the minds of many gardeners as to the difference between bulbs, corms, rhizomes and tubers, for their function is the same—to tide the plant over a period of […]

A mulch is a cover spread over the surface of the soil. Newly-planted fruit trees and shrubs were traditionally mulched with strawy manure immediately after planting. This practice continues to this day. The mulch protects the newly planted tree or shrub from frost damage in winter and from summer drought. At the same time, the rotting manure supplies the young […]