You can add Wood Ash from your winter fires to your garden.

Pot change over can be such an ordeal so Neil came up with this solution.
We have 2 sets of pots which means we can get the next display going undercover as required and then perform a quick pot flip twice a year in Late Spring and Late Autumn.

Bulbs can then be allowed to do their dying back out of sight.

Black pots are 30 x 30 x 30cm 18L capacity.
Wooden boxes were then made to fit the pots.

As we head into Winter I will move my scented pelargoniums into an unheated greenhouse or polytunnel to overwinter.

It’s fairly mild overwinter here in Buckinghamshire and I find they don’t mind the odd cold spell too much as long as they are not wet.

Grow -A-Long Greenhouse Updates

Seeds started in the greenhouse versus seeds started on the windowsill.

Have you ever wondered what the difference is (for your plants) between Horticultural Grit, Perlite and Vermiculite?

Here is our set up for overwintering stored dahlia tubers.

Now and then garden tour

Short on storage space? Here is how we over winter our Dahlias in the ground.

It’s important to lift your dahlias if your ground floods or is excessively wet.

It is the water that freezes.

Water expands during the freezing process and this will cause the tubers to split.

Damaged tubers will rot, so it’s vital they are kept as dry as possible.

What’s the difference between Crown Gall and Leafy Gall?

How to lift and store your Dahlia tubers for the winter.

From November to May the complete picture including details of all the varieties!

Ranunculus and Anemones will transform arrangements and bring early colour to the garden.

Called the ‘Rose of Spring’, Ranunculus will provide gorgeous blooms throughout the start of the season, giving you an abundance of flowers long before the Roses wake up.

Not sure when to start your corms or where to plant them?

Here is an overview of when flowering starts in my garden.

Selling wedding flowers, at first to floral designers, then direct to clients for weddings and events, opened my eyes to a whole group of flowers that you might never have heard of: Ranunculaceae. The Ranunculaceae family (or ranunculus) is a genus of about 600 species. A ‘genus’ is a class of plants with similar traits,…

Larkspur needs both cold stratification to break seed dormancy and trigger germination and vernalisation (a period of cool growing temperatures) to trigger flower development.

Larkspur won’t germinate if the soil temperature is higher than 13°c so it’s vital that seed is sown outside in an unheated greenhouse and definitely not placed on a heat mat.

Once germinated Wild Carrot needs a period of cool growing conditions for good seedling establishment.
Excessively wet foliage from watering overhead or a very wet Spring can cause carrot leaf blight. This will cause the foliage to collapse and the plant will die.
For this reason I overwinter plants in a cold greenhouse to protect them from the worst of the winter wet.

Grow-A-Long Greater Quaking Grass (Briza maxima)

I found this grass did well from an Autumn sowing, the seeds germinate easily, growing strongly over winter, producing bigger plants earlier than seeds Spring started.
Officially this grass has a hardiness rating of H6 (-15°c), however, I have found this plant can suffer cold shock (foliage bleaching) if plants are exposed to extreme temperature swings following planting out.
For this reason, I have reduced the official hardiness rating for the purposes of the Grow-A-Long, to H4 (-5°c).
The hardness of plants is reduced by keeping them too warm in the greenhouse.

Give plants a good long hardening off period in late winter and be ready with horticultural fleece, a cloche or cold frame after planting if the weather is extremely cold.
You can of course plant in pots and initially locate them in a sheltered spot.

Grow-A-Long Cerinthe major ‘Purpurascens’ (Honeywort)

How to Grow Ammi majus

This method of growing our plants over a long and cool period is how we find it possible to obtain such huge blooms on long strong stems

Easy to grow from both an Autumn sowing and/or a late winter sowing.

Autumn sown plants will flower from late May and will be slightly taller at 120-140cm.

Late Winter sown plants will flower around a month later and a tiny bit shorter 110-130cm.

For best results Sow one seed per cell during September or early October while the temperatures are still warm.

Euphorbia oblongata is a short lived perennial so if you miss your sowing window you can try again in the Spring.
Germination can be slow and erratic. Never throw away the compost where seeds have not germinated. You can get a sudden surprise months and months later.

Nigella is not quite as hardy as some of the other Autumn Jump Starter seeds but over winters beautifully in a cold greenhouse.

Snapdragons (Antirrhinum majus), are technically a short lived perennial best grown as an annual.

I find that Snapdragons bloom best in their first year, especially from a Autumn sowing (Autumn Jump Start).

Autumn Jump Starter
Grow-A-Long
Sweet Rocket (Hesperis matronalis)

Welcome to the Autumn Jump Starter Grow-A-Long warm up videos

Shopping List
Compost
Watering

China Asters (Callistephus chinensis)

Video 1 How to Grow

Video 2 Harvesting China Asters

My list of essential kit is also available in the handbooks with pages you can print and take it shopping. In these videos I will also take you through each item and explain the use.

In this video I will explain what a seed is which will help you understand why we need to store them carefully in a cool dry place.