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 […]

Seaweed One of the oldest manures known is seaweed, which is widely used for improving the soils of gardens and farms in coastal districts. The different weeds vary in plant food content; the long broad-leaved species, which is usually found […]

Protection The gardener not only has to protect his garden plants from pests and diseases but also against unsuitable weather conditions. Methods to combat these troubles are suggested here. Many gardeners evolve methods which suit their own requirements. For centuries […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]