Hebes are evergreen shrubs whose size can grow upwards of 1.2 metres. Even though they originated in North America and New Zealand they do grow well in the UK given the hardness of the varieties. They prefer full sun throughout the year and they can tolerate semi-shade. They grow well in beds, borders, or in pots and are tolerant of slightly acidic through to slightly alkaline soil, heavy clay soil, or light soil, making them…
Berberis, or Barberries, can be great planted as specimen shrubs or used as hedging and offer a range of berries that are suitable for birds and other wildlife. With these plants, you want to prune them annually to stimulate the new growth on the different stems that are left behind, deadhead in some cases if you don’t want the berries to follow the flowers. If you have a healthy shrub or you want to turn…
If you have a Berberis (or a Barberry shrub as they are also commonly known) and you have suddenly noticed that the leaves are being eaten away leaving almost nothing in its wake, you might wonder what’s eating leaves on your Berberis. Thankfully, sort of, there is only one culprit: the Berberis sawfly. The Berberis sawfly made its way to England around the year 2000, and from that time it has spread quickly. It is…
Berberis, sometimes called Barberries might not be well known for drawing attention but they perform incredibly well when given the right growing conditions and there are so many different varieties, from dwarf evergreen varieties to larger deciduous ones. This plant comes in a wide range of sizes and no matter the size you select, you will enjoy flowers come spring, followed by fruit in the autumn, and then foliage for the rest of the year…
Mahonia plants are very popular for a variety of reasons, most commonly because of the rich, green foliage that serves well as a barrier against intruders as well as the bright, lemon yellow flowers that are produced in the winter. Thankfully Mahonia shrubs are generally free from any pests so you don’t have to head out to your garden with a hose to spray away the aphids or treat your plant against bugs trying to…
The Mahonia x media ‘Charity’ is a larger variety in comparison to most other types of Mahonia. This media ‘Charity’ variety reaches an ultimate height of around 400cm with an equal spread of around 400cm, which is just over a very impressive 13 feet. The good news is it’s not particularly fussy about where it is planted and will grow well in most soils as long as they are well-draining. It does prefer a full…
The Mahonia japonica prefers shade because it naturally grows in a woodland setting, but it will grow just as well in a semi-shaded location. Once fully established it can reach a height of around 200cm and a wider spread of around 400cm, so it eventually makes quite a large evergreen shrub, providing plenty of interest in terms of colour all year round. These are typically grown because of the dark green foliage along the bottom…
Try an experiment. Open a glossy home gardening magazine to a picture of a beautifully (and probably professionally) landscaped garden and look up at your own lawn. How do they compare? If you can genuinely smile with pleasure then congratulations, this review is not for you. But if your expression is more like a grimace, then our Best Grass Seed review is just what you need. You may think that one grass seed looks much…
If you have clay soil, you might be thinking that you can’t possibly grow any plants because so many plants require rich, loamy and perlite-infused soil, or at the very least free-draining soil, and this isn’t usually the case when you have clay soil. The problem with clay soil is that it’s typically compact so it’s very difficult to get water to flow through it or allow struggling weak roots to get down into it.…
If you have a shaded area in your garden you might think that’s the end of it, that you won’t be able to grow anything well. We often think that having a shaded garden means the end of beautiful flowers and colourful blooms but that’s simply not true. You can brighten up an otherwise sheltered area in your garden with colourful shade-loving plants that will come back year after year. The 12 best perennials for…
