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Although window-boxes can be a ready-made, a made-to-measure job of teak, cedar or oak will look better than an ill-fitting affair made of artificial materials. Hardwoods look better unpainted and may be either oiled or varnished. Softwoods should be treated with preservatives and may be painted. The timber should be at least 1cm (1/2 in) thick and the inside depth […]
From the Greek chrysos, gold, anthemon, flower (Compositae). A genus of over 100 species of annuals, herbaceous perennials and sub-shrubs, distributed over Africa, America, Asia and Europe, including Britain. The well-known greenhouse and early-flowering (outdoor) chrysanthemums are descended from C. indicum, found in China and Japan, and C. morifolium (syn. C. sinense), from China, two closely related, variable plants. Hardy […]
Hardy annuals are easy to grow and will give a quick and brilliant display provided they are grown in an open, sunny position in any good garden soil. Many annuals are tender and easily killed by frost, so these kinds are sown under glass in the spring and planted out when all danger of frost is over. Some hardy and […]
This term is sometimes applied to the practice of growing plants in soil-filled barrels with holes made in their sides. In the holes, and in the exposed soil at the top of the barrel, too, suitable plants are set. All, or some of the ones used, are trailers, which ensure that the sides of the barrel will be well clothed […]
Soil testing Broadly speaking soil testing includes any kind of examination to which a soil is submitted; for example, when you rub some moist soil between your fingers to assess its texture or dig a hole to see whether it is badly drained, you are carrying out soil tests. But for most gardeners, it means soil chemical analysis to find […]
Propagation Increasing plants is one of the most interesting and rewarding aspects of gardening. Nature’s usual method is by means of seed, but in many instances, cultivated plants do not come true from seed, therefore to perpetuate particularly desirable plants, it may be necessary and quicker, to propagate vegetatively, that is by division, suckers, cuttings, layering (including aerial layering) and […]
Subdivided into the following sections for convenience: Watering General problems Problems with individual pot plants (a) WATERING Q. How can I water my pot plants? I know very little about care of these plants. A. Where the pot plants concerned are being grown indoors, i.e. not in a greenhouse, they will fall roughly into two groups—(a) flowering, and (b) foliage. […]
Asparagus This delicious vegetable is expensive to buy but easy to grow. The shoots are cut below soil level when they are about 10cm (4in) long, but all cutting must cease soon after the middle of June to allow the plants to develop over the summer and build up the crowns for the following spring. Asparagus plants must not be […]
Onions When the seeds are to be sown directly in the soil where the plants are to grow, the bed should be well prepared. Digging and manuring will have been carried out during the late autumn or winter and the soil needs raking before sowing so that the bed is level, even and free of large clods and stones. Sow […]
ARTICHOKES: CHINESE, GLOBE, AND JERUSALEM There are three distinct kinds of Artichoke grown as vegetables: the Jerusalem Artichoke, for its tubers; the Globe Artichoke, for the young flower heads, and the young shoots, which are blanched to provide “chards”; and the Chinese or Japanese Artichoke, for its small tubers. The name Artichoke is a corruption of the Italian articiocco, itself […]