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February 2020

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If you’ve ever thought a caterpillar wasn’t a threat to your garden, you were wrong. Caterpillars might seem cute, but while they prepare to turn into a butterfly, they can destroy an entire plant whilst finding energy. A single caterpillar can grow exponentially in a given week, surviving off your garden plants. In fact, if you don’t check your garden daily, you might not notice the damage to your tomatoes or cabbages and many other…

If you grow broad beans on a regular basis then you know to be on the lookout for many pests and diseases, with one of the most common being blackflies. Blackflies are problematic because they not only weaken your plants but it leaves them subsequently susceptible to infections. Thankfully, controlling blackfly on broad beans is not as hard as it might seem.  What is Blackfly? Blackflies are small aphids that attack your broad beans, suck…

Strawberries are a wonderful fruit, that given the right conditions will provide ample fruit throughout the season. But what happens when the plants have finished fruiting? All too often gardeners forget about them until the next year, but by that point, the damage might have already been done. It takes only a little effort to keep the strawberries happy and healthy and produce an equally abundant crop the following year.  So, what should you do…

Heuchera presents with delicate shades of flowers and foliage, flowers that are well known for their bell-shaped growth that stands along slender stems giving it the nickname, Bells. Even though it does have a delicate appearance it’s actually quite strong and if you already have successful heuchera growing in your yard why not continue the bounty by simply propagating more? Don’t be scared off at the prospect of propagating these plants. Given how flexible they…

Heucheras are traditionally foliage plants and there are many varieties available today. These plants have a woody crown with bell-shaped flowers that run the length of their tall stems, hence their nickname “Coral Bells”. They are beautiful in colour, with evergreen leaves that will maintain their verdant colour, even in the snow. What’s more, they attract bees and butterflies so you can help our declining population of much-needed bees.  New varieties offer more options, with…

Heuchera makes wonderful edging plants and is particularly beautiful if you are able to grow them in large clumps, even mixing varieties to create an amazing display. The different colours you will get will serve to highlight any nearby flowers and the size and stature of the plant work well if you are trying to stack different geometries. Once you plant these you want to deadhead or cut back the flower stalks after they have…

Heuchera, otherwise known as Coral Bells, produces large sprays of bell-shaped flowers that run lengthwise up their tall stems. They are well regarded for these flowers but more so the foliage, adding a lot of beauty and colour to any garden, sometimes all year round in milder areas. There are many varieties out there that offer an array of leaf and flower colours, so you can plant them throughout your garden to create a stunning…

Spiraea bushes are beautiful upright shrubs that grow in a mound and have graceful, overhanging branches where you will find the beautiful clusters of small white flowers that literally take over the entire branch. These large shrubs can reach between 1 and 2 metres tall once fully established. Very easy to care for, they not only bring you stunning flowers for which they are well known but deep, blue-green leaves that remain stunning in their…

Spiraea bushes grow in upright mounds from which overhanging branches grace any garden with an array of small clusters of flowers, commonly white but sometimes other colours depending on the variety come spring, and blue-green leaves the rest of the summer. These shrubs are a showpiece in themselves for nothing but the floral displays they create, which are made even more appealing thanks to their large size. In fact, mature plants can reach just shy…

Spiraea, sometimes called Bridal Wreath, are stunning deciduous shrubs, full of blooms that grace the overhanging branches in small clusters of white flowers that smother the branches. The mounded growth can get quite tall, upwards of 1-2 metres with blue-green leaves that remain visually appealing throughout the summer, long after the late spring flowers have finished. The issue with such plants, while stunning, is that they can (at times) stop producing flowers. In fact, otherwise…