Dorset retired teacher Joss Orton is now passionate about roses and here shares some of the things he has learnt on how to produce more flowers on his over 200 roses. When I retired four years ago gardening moved from being a worry to a pleasure. Before then I struggled to keep up with our acre and a half very …

Once you learn how to grow cosmos, a favourite annual for summer garden colour, and realise just quite how easy it is, you’ll be adding them all over your garden.  The pollen-rich flowers are a favourite of bees and other pollinators and are excellent for companion planting alongside vegetable and fruit crops in a kitchen garden, too, as they entice …

Fritillaria are uncommon and trendy additions to spring gardens, blooming in a dizzying array of unusual shapes, sizes, colours, and patterns that are truly out of this world. Many gardeners fall head over heels for fritillaria, exotic-looking plants which stand apart from the rest. It’s easy to understand their adoration.  In a spring garden full of daffodils, tulips, and other …

Trees give your garden structure, provide shade and make a wonderful resource for wildlife – every garden should have them in abundance. As spring appears on the horizon it’s worth remembering that no garden is too small for a tree, and there’s a wide and varied range of flowering trees suitable for small spaces. Year-round personality  Amelanchier lamarckii has flowers …

Floriography is the language of flowers. And perhaps no more relevant for flower arrangers or rose growers  than when they take part in the now popular trend of making sure the right colour means the right thing Roses are red, violets are blue. Let’s rewind that a little bit.  Roses come in all shades, and blue is just one of …

Discover how to stage an end of season plant performance in your garden in the form of evergreens, foliage, berries, and seed heads with designer and plant specialist Carol Smith. When flowers fade, leaves drop and early morning dew covers the ground, it’s as if plants know the vibrant, colourful main summer performance is drawing to its close; the last …

Discover how to create winter excitement and colour in your garden with designer and plant specialist Carol Smith. Winter gardens can be beautiful, but during these gloomy grey months many are desperately short of the wow factor. The cold weather and these days too much of the wet stuff leaves plants dead and dreary; there is little to entice us …

Bulbs are easy to grow and care for and are amongst the most rewarding plants we can nurture, so over the next few weeks it’s time to plant for spring and with it the chance to be more adventurous. Planting spring bulbs in a much-underrated joy. In its simplest form it is the perfect way to guarantee colour for spring …

Heucheras have been one of the boom plants in demand over the recent lockdown with record demand with online sales. New Forest nursery and specialists Heucheraholics share their expertise on this easy to grow plant. Twenty years ago heucheras (also known as Coral Bells) were grown for their wispy flowers which grow on long stalks held high above their foliage. …

Spring bulbs will be in garden centres later this month and it’s the chance to plant and plan in September for sensational colour next year. Planting spring bulbs is one way of coming to terms with the end of summer. September is the best month to plant these bulbs, to make the most of the dry, warm days forecast when …