Soil composts These are balanced mixtures designed to support healthy and active plant growth throughout all stages of propagation, pot and container culture and other forms of simulated growth conditions. They are also, on occasions, used for mixing into outside planting positions in order to give trees, shrubs and plants a good start. There were at one time innumerable, highly […]

Roses and their cultivation Almost no garden subject has been written about at greater length, or with more enthusiasm, than roses and their cultivation. Nevertheless, there is plenty that can be said on the matter, and the fact that roses grow easily in most parts of Britain only makes the keen gardener more than ever determined to think of everything […]

Apart from the various utilitarian species of grasses used for lawns (see Grass seed for lawns), there are quite a number of grasses grown purely for ornament. Some are annuals, others are perennials and some, the bamboos, are woody-stemmed. Not all are hardy; some need greenhouse treatment or, at best, maybe grown outdoors as half-hardy annuals during the summer months. […]

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 […]

Plant containers A wide diversity of design is to be found in plant containers, ranging from the humble and familiar flower pot to the sophisticated, automatically watered plant trough. Materials range in age and type from the old stone trough to the very latest plastic. They include cement, clay, metal, plastics and fiberglass and wood. They may be adapted for […]

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 […]