Gardeners' Heaven

If you’re serious about raising your own plants from scratch, there’s one piece of kit you’ll find incredibly useful – an electrically heated propagator. But there’s no need to invest in a great big elaborate one that costs a fortune. Nowadays most garden centres sell small economical versions about the size of a standard seed-tray [...]

by Alan Titchmarsh Midwinter isn’t the time you’d usually be thinking of doing some serious plant propagating, but its perfect for tip-layering – an old but effective way of propagating all sorts of cane fruit (blackberries, loganberries etc) and ornamental rubus species such as Rubus thibetanus and ‘Benenden’; also the unusual dual-purpose Japanese wineberry which [...]

by Alan Titchmarsh When you’ve cut your teeth – so to speak – on the usual radishes, lettuce, courgettes, carrots and perhaps a tub of tomatoes on the patio, most novice veg growers like to branch out into more exotic territory. And there’s plenty of scope. A lot of veggies that are rather pricy to [...]

A century or so ago, a hotbed would have been one of the vital tools in any self-respecting head gardener’s armoury, along with several acres of walled garden, a huge range of glasshouses and dozens of helpers. You might have to pass on the rest, but a hotbed is entirely do-able even in today’s tiny [...]

When your stack of seed catalogues reaches critical mass and the weather stops you doing anything useful outdoors, it’s time to make out your annual seed order and post it off. Oh, I know you could probably buy what you want from your local garden centre in spring, but there’s a lot to be said [...]

If anyone needs a crystal ball, it’s a gardener. It would be so much easier to plan for the gardening year ahead if we only knew what the weather will do, which particular pests, diseases or disorders will run riot next season, and which new fashion-trends will emerge. As it is, we can only make [...]

by Alan Titchmarsh Oh, we have a lot to thank plants for – but perhaps more so now than at most times of year. It’s plants, after all, that make Christmas merry. As you knock back a glass of your favourite festive tipple, consider – it’s all thanks to grape vines that you can enjoy [...]

Turkey, baked ham and rich sausagemeat stuffing may be the mainstay of your Christmas dinner, but a strong supporting cast of vegetables helps to make the occasion. A traditional feast features mountains of veg, so instead of the usual varieties that you can have at any time of year, it’s worth sourcing specially tasty ‘gourmet’ [...]

When there’s a seasonal lull in routine work round the garden, it’s a good time to catch up on admin. Oh, I know that’s not the sort of advice you’ll find in any gardening book, but believe me it’ll pay you hands down and save you hours of fruitless aggro. Hunt out all the instruction [...]

The Autumn colours herald the arrival in supermarkets and farm shops of one of my favourite vegetables – the pumpkin. They are fairly easy to grow in the garden, with varieties such as Jack of All Trades and Hundredweight being popular for those growing for a halloween lantern.  They must be a fairly recent introduction [...]