Colour me happy! Fragrant phloxes help brighten up those tricky gaps between seasons

Colour me happy! Fragrant phloxes help brighten up those tricky gaps between seasons Nigel Colborn says border phloxes are valuable summer perennials Colourful, fragrant and with sturdy stems, best could carry flowers in September UK-based gardening expert they grow best in fertile, free – draining soil By Nigel Colborn for the Daily Mail Published: 22:05 … Read more

Loopy about lupins! These versatile favourites give a riot of colour all summer 

Loopy about lupins! These versatile favourites give a riot of colour all summer Colour of lupins run from blue, pink, red and white through creams to yellow Lupins are easy to grow from seed and much cheaper than buying plants Gardening expert Nigel Colborn, says lupins prefer free-draining soils in sun By Nigel Colborn for … Read more

There is nothing staid about Granny’s Bonnet – and they reproduce prolifically

Self-sowing seductors: There is nothing staid about Granny’s Bonnet — and they reproduce prolifically Nigel Colborn says Granny’s Bonnets, also called columbines, are delightful British gardening expert reveals almost all columbines are easy to grow He says columbines tend to be short-lived but will self-sow copiously  By Nigel Colborn for the Daily Mail Published: 22:07 … Read more

Thyme for sage advice: Home-grown herbs are best for fragrance and flavour

Thyme for sage advice: Home-grown herbs are best for fragrance and flavour Nigel Colborn says herbs are as pretty and fragrant as the finest garden plants British gardening expert claims they’re easy to grow, especially in sunny spaces He says each summer you can increase herb numbers with annual varieties  By Nigel Colborn for the … Read more

Plants with plum-coloured leaves may need more pampering but they’re worth it, says Monty Don

My purple patch! Plants with plum-coloured leaves may need more pampering but they’re worth it for the splash of colour they serve up, says Monty Don Monty Don says purple-leaved plants need more pampering than green-leaved British gardening expert claims purple-leaved plants add more depth to a border He reveals purple-leaved plants in his Jewel … Read more

Grow your own sensational strawberries – just like the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s children

Between the ages of seven and 16 I was at boarding school, and on my birthday in early July my parents would visit with the special treat of strawberries from the garden at home.  The quantity varied enormously. Some years I was presented with just one small punnet; in other years I could feed practically … Read more

Follow Monty Don’s advice for a garden aglow with lime hues of euphorbias

Monty revisits one of his classic books, Gardening at Longmeadow, in an occasional series. Euphorbias have an astonishing green intensity that adds an electric charge to the garden as they emerge, energising everything – including me – around them. The first to come into flower at Longmeadow is Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae, which is in … Read more

Poppies: These beauties will self-sow, giving you free flowers all summer

Top of the poppies! These beauties will self-sow, giving you free flowers all summer long Nigel Colborn advised people to begin sowing some of their plants for summer   The gardening expert said he is transplanting his crowded poppy seedlings Nigel also told gardeners to grow native yellow Welsh poppies in shaded areas By Nigel Colborn … Read more

Biologist Dave Goulson shares tips to get butterflies in your garden

Go on, have a flutter! Take a few tips from the new book by biologist Dave Goulson and it’s a safe bet that beautiful butterflies will start gathering in your garden Dave Goulson said if you have the right flowers you can still see some butterflies Biologist said numbers of garden butterflies are far lower … Read more

MONTY DON: It’s time to wake up your dahlias from winter hibernation

Back in the 80s, and even the 90s, there were only a few dahlias that were at all acceptable to self-appointed arbiters of horticultural good taste, but thankfully we have moved beyond all that nonsense and I’d recommend that every garden should grow as many dahlias as they have room for. I certainly do. Dahlias … Read more