House plants as friends. Foliage house plants can live a long time and positively thrive, cheaper and less demanding than a pet, they can become fantastic specimen plants. House Plants Devils ivy or Pothos They are very adaptable even in very…
When you buy plants online or from mail order, what you see, might not be what you get. If you remember father Ted trying to explain perspective to Dougal. Look at those tiny cows!’ says Dougal, pointing to some distant…
You would like to think nobody would deliberately sell the wrong type of plant but it does happen. Sometimes it is by accident or lack of knowledge, often it is central buyers sending in the wrong stock For instance, rhododendrons and…
Having warned you about plants on display that may be dead or dying, it would be sensible to mention a range of plants that are dormant (sleeping) when you buy them. Before Garden centres came along nearly all the garden…
It is time to think about colours, for our new gardener I think a simple hot or cool mix is probably the easiest. Using a designers colour wheel you can create a theme. Hot mix A hot mix creates a vibrant…
Plants that are hardy and can be planted out without worrying about the weather, this includes viola, pansy, bellis and forget me not. I would also include spring-flowering bulbs like tete-tete and tulips. When the weather is too cold for…
They will flower longer than pansies, often well into the winter. Most Violas bought in flower during the autumn may stop flowering in the winter but they will flower again in the spring. Some extra hardy violas will flower all…
A very common edging or trailing plant they look good in pots and hanging baskets. Popular for its blue flowers you should try some of the other colours. Modern breeding has improved the habit and increased the flowering time of…
Sun-loving plants that love a hot, dry summer. Tough, they can stand a light frost, an early flowering summer plant with a wide range of colours. Once tall and straggly with flowers that closed during dull weather, they have been…
Sun-loving plants that love a good summer. Marguerite or Argyranthemum to give them their Sunday name, are versatile bedding plants. If you remember the tall straggly plants that needed deadheading all the time, like canary primrose. You will be surprised…
Beautiful flowers the delicate pastel-coloured bell flowers are still popular and are so versatile you can choose trailing, climbing and upright varieties which are perfect for beds, borders, containers, hanging baskets, troughs or even in the house. You will be…
Brightly coloured long-lasting flowers you can have small, medium and tall types they are very versatile. They prefer the sun and will need watering in dry spells. In the autumn they form a tuber that can be kept over the…
Once the number one bedding plant, its demise was sudden. When bizzie Lizzie mildew broke out, there was no chemical solution available to the public and as it was likely your plants would become infected, most nurseries and retailers stopped…
Tough sun-loving plants that can provide height to displays. Compact and upright varieties are available which makes them perfect for beds, borders and containers. Bright vibrant colors, tough enough to stand a touch of frost or cold weather, they can…
Sun-loving plants that enjoy a hot, dry summer. Glowing orange, red and yellow flowers make them an indispensable summer plant The best choice for Orange and yellow flowers, good in patio pots. They need the sun and don’t like the…
Sun-loving plants that prefer a hot, dry summer. Petunias come in a wide range of colours and sizes, they make a versatile Summer plant Sold as trailing types for hanging baskets and upright varieties which are perfect for beds, borders…
Sun-loving plants that enjoy a hot, dry summer. Geraniums or Pelargoniums to give them their Sunday name, are versatile bedding plants for summer. Trailing types often called ivy leaf. They are perfect for beds, borders, containers, hanging baskets, troughs or…
Begonias come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, check the label for the final height. Small flowering begonias are often sold as begonia semperflorens or bedding. The well known begonia nonstop(c) grows taller with big double flowers. There…
Summer bedding is the planting of short-lived but fast-growing plants to provide masses of colourful flowers or foliage through the summer. The plants are normally annuals but just to confuse you, they can also be biennials, tender perennials or hardy…
Exotic long-lasting flowers, they are very easy to look after and very Affordable offering great value for money. Orchids once very expensive and rare, they are available all year round. Some well-known ones would be Phalaenopsis, Cambria and Oncidium. Habit A wide range of…
They are very adaptable even in very deep shade with an attractive climbing or trailing habit. They can be a bit confusing to buy, now called Epipremnum, older gardeners will call them Scindapsus, the name was changed in the ’60s to Epipremnum…
They are very adaptable, easy to grow and small plants are inexpensive to buy Monstera deliciosa, the swiss cheese plant has been around our houses for over 100 years going in and out of fashion. Habit Famous for its deeply slashed leaves, they can…
Wide range of foliage shapes and sizes. long-lasting Most dragon plants will be Dracaena, some well-known ones would be, fragrans probably the easiest to grow, marginata a very popular narrow leaf type, sanderiana often sold as lucky bamboo. Habit A wide range…
Wide range of foliage shapes and sizes, easy to grow and long-lasting. Ficus, some well-known ones would be, elastica the traditional rubber plant, benjamina the weeping fig with small leaves, pumila a small creeping plant and lyrata the fantastic fiddle leaf fig. Habit…
Can flower for up to 3 months. Exotic looking but easy to grow. Bromeliads, some well-known ones would be Guzmania, Aechmea and Vriesea, Habit A wide range of shapes and sizes, all have an urn-shaped base with a flower spike. Designed for a…
Jade plants are easy to grow, they are very adaptable and can live for a long time. Crassula ovata. Habit A busy habit with fleshy stems and leaves, they can be trimmed and shaped making them a good indoor bonsai plant. Slow…
Easy to grow, they are very adaptable and Inexpensive to buy Cacti and succulents, some well-known ones would be Aloe vera, Echeveria, Gymnocalycium, Haworthia, Kalanchoe, Sansevieria and Opuntia. Habit A wide range of shapes and sizes some do flower but most are bought for…
Ivy is easy to grow, they are very adaptable and inexpensive to buy Hedera helix, available in a wide range of leaf colours and shapes. Habit Low growing, trailing stems that can be trained up a frame or support, but normally allowed to hang…
We can help you start gardening, we have some easy projects that you can start right now. They are also great for kids. Easy Strawberries Remember when Strawberries were Sweet, juicy and full of aroma. They are not quite the same…
Spider plants are easy to grow They are very adaptable Inexpensive to buy Habit Low growing, forming a crown of upright leaves, they also throw lots of runners with baby plants. If you leave the stems with the runners on, the plant will…
Buxus or boxwood are very popular evergreen garden shrubs. Slow growing with small glossy leaves they are perfect for trimming and shaping. Grown in huge quantities in Europe they are trimmed and shaped into balls and pyramids and offered for…
Italian and French grown plants can be sold in March the big chunky plants offer good value. The British weather can catch them out they are expecting sunshine and warm weather and may get frost and rain. Think of them…
They are prized by gardeners for their ability to flower during the winter and early spring. Wide range of colours. Traditional winter rose colour but with more flowers. Beautiful long-lasting flowers and the plants are surprisingly frost-resistant and many are…
Tomatoes, peppers, chilli, cucumbers all need to be grown in a greenhouse, conservatory or plastic grow house. You can buy them now for planting later. If you don’t have somewhere to grow them, pick dwarf or windowsill types they can…
Primroses our most popular spring flower, stunning colours and sweet scent. Available in a wide range of sizes and qualities. Special colours, plant breeding at its best. Breeders have reintroduced stems to give height. perfect indoors or outside, with bright…
Quicker to flower than pansies, they are perfect for early spring sales. Two-tone flowers are popular. Plain or fancy flowers you will be spoilt for choice. They are just starting to wake up and will carry on growing to flower…
One of those flowering plants, in full glorious flower, that you never forget. Probably on most gardeners wish lists. Often sold in bud and flower in the spring to tempt you. Look for plants with buds Who can resist the…
Deep glossy leaves with stunning flowers in a wide range of colours, once an incredibly popular house and garden plant they are still grown in big quantities. You can often find them on special offer. Not all azaleas are the…
Instantly recognisable the weeping Kilmarnock willow is a popular spring plant, with its graceful weeping stems and fluffy catkins. It is actually a combination of two willows, The top is the Kilmarnock willow which is naturally weeping or spreading. This…
Stunning colours flowering in late spring in a wide range of shapes and sizes. They make good patio pot plants. Rhododenrons make great statement plants or they can be added to borders to give colour in late spring. Beautiful flowers they…
Often called forest flame, the young spring growth is brightly coloured. Everybody’s favourite, the bright red shoots are very seductive, most gardeners will have tried to grow one. They are slightly fussy, the soil or compost should be acidic and…
Normally summer flowering they can be forced into flower and are popular spring plants, the blue flowers and trailing stems are eye-catching. You will often find them sold as house plants and outside plants at the same time. They are…
Did you forget to buy and plant your bulbs in the autumn don’t worry, there are lots of pots on sale in the spring ready to enjoy? With potted bulbs you can enjoy spring flowers without going out in the…
Prepack plants usually filled with bare-root plants or bulbs are sold during the autumn and spring and can be good value for money. However this may not be the best time to plant out in your garden, there is still…
Baby bedding plants start to appear and can be very tempting. Once very popular they can be a useful alternative to buying a packet of seeds, the cost of heating a greenhouse in March and April may be the reason…
Plants that are hardy and can be planted out without worrying about the weather, this includes primroses, viola, pansy, bellis and forget me not. I would also include spring-flowering bulbs like tete-tete and hyacinths. I think it is important to…
Mothers day Plants have always been a popular gift for mothers day and there is always a wide range of planters available. There are beautiful house plants and colourful outdoor pots. But with a bit of planning, you could give…
Alpines Spring flowering alpines, grown undercover to flower earlier than normal they can be a good buy, just remember they will flower later next year. Instant colour hardy enough to plant in the garden or containers, often sold on price…
Very popular alpine the bright blue flowers catch everybody’s attention. Relatively easy to grow, the hairy leaves don’t really like wet weather, try to plant in a sunny but sheltered spot. They make good patio pot plants mix with other…
Sweetpeas Not traditional thought of as a bedding plant, they are sold in large quantities so I have included them, they can be used to add height and colour not forgetting the sweet scent. Usually sold as tall or spencer…
