Mike Clark's recipe for stovies - the Scottish comfort food par excellence!
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The problem we have determining the sexes of our hollies goes way beyond the genus Ilex. (cf Holly Aird; Holly Johnson.)
I can legitimately use sex as an introduction to the holly. If you think it’s just a headline-grabber, read on and I will justify.
So many people come to me with the question, “Why does my holly never produce berries?” And the answer is sex. There are male hollies and female hollies. Male hollies produce flowers with pollen, with the potential
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The plants therein
Mother Earth is a great insulator against frost. That’s why we have herbaceous perennials which die down at the end of the season, then burst forth again in spring.
Though the topgrowth cannot withstand winter temperatures, the roots are well below ground and out of harm’s way.
Not so with plants in containers, and the most common reason for failure of permanent containerised plants is freezing of the roots.
For a shrub or climber, planted in a pot, which is intended
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This is when the cracks start to appear.
Well, perhaps not with the very first frosts, but as winter progresses, and the frosts become harder and more prolonged, your outdoor pots and containers will begin to feel the strain.
In this piece, I want to deal with two aspects of the effects of winter on outdoor, containerised plants.
First, let’s consider the containers themselves, and their suitability for the winter elements. And secondly, the effects of harsh winter weather on containerised plants.
Already I’m
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The problem we have determining the sexes of our hollies goes way beyond the genus Ilex. (cf Holly Aird; Holly Johnson.)
I can legitimately use sex as an introduction to the holly. If you think it’s just a headline-grabber, read on and I will justify.
So many people come to me with the question, “Why does my holly never produce berries?” And the answer is sex. There are male hollies and female hollies. Male hollies produce flowers with pollen, with the potential
Read more...
The plants therein
Read more...
Mother Earth is a great insulator against frost. That’s why we have herbaceous perennials which die down at the end of the season, then burst forth again in spring.
Though the topgrowth cannot withstand winter temperatures, the roots are well below ground and out of harm’s way.
Not so with plants in containers, and the most common reason for failure of permanent containerised plants is freezing of the roots.
For a shrub or climber, planted in a pot, which is intended
Read more...
This is when the cracks start to appear.
Well, perhaps not with the very first frosts, but as winter progresses, and the frosts become harder and more prolonged, your outdoor pots and containers will begin to feel the strain.
In this piece, I want to deal with two aspects of the effects of winter on outdoor, containerised plants.
First, let’s consider the containers themselves, and their suitability for the winter elements. And secondly, the effects of harsh winter weather on containerised plants.
Already I’m
Read more...
Currant Affairs
Contrary to the myth promulgated by our southern gardening friends, who seem to dominate both TV and the gardening magazines, it is not too late to take hardwood cuttings.
Indeed, I have been successful until at least the end of April, and I’d even go right out on a limb and say it’s worth trying hardwood cuttings at almost any time of year.
Currants of all hues – black, red, white, and with a bit of licence we could even include gooseberries
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