Top Dressing Sand

The choicest cultivars chosen by the National Plant Collection holder, Susie White It’s all about burnet, a plant with flowers in an array of colours, shapes and textures. Susie White of Bridge Eal Garden in Northumberland holds the National Collection and knows a thing or two. Her top choices are – Sanguisorba minor, Sanguisorba canadensis and Sanguisorba menziesii. See our gallery, above right, to find out why…   You can find these varieties at: Claire Austi

2017 is the Year of the Bean – a great excuse to try a brand new variety in your kitchen garden. Here’s a sneak preview of seed companies’ new bean introductions for next year. Climbing bean ‘Python’ This new bean variety from Mr Fothergill’s produces plenty of uniform beans up to 15cm long on vigorous plants. “It has great flavour,” said Alison Mulvaney, technical manager for Mr Fothergill’s. “It can be late to get going, but once it does, it will shoot up its supports

Renowned plant collector and horticulturalist Dan Hinkley picks his favourite plants for autumn. Autumn should not be underestimated as a season of exceptional beauty in the garden. In this article, Dan Hinkley recommends four of his favourite plants for autumn, to dazzle and delight even the harshest critic. Top plants for autumn: 1. Hardy cyclamen Though there are numerous cyclamen species from which to choose, Cyclamen hederifolium stars in the September and October months

In the cool, damp, dark season from late fall to early spring, not a lot is growing outside. Even plants under cloche protection or in the greenhouse will be growing — slowly, struggling to turn the low light levels into useful energy for vegetative growth. This is the right time of year to study soil science and think about how to improve garden soil before new seeds are sown or transplants go out in the spring. There are four central issues that offer a better understanding of garden soi