News - Page 56

When the colder days approach, along with harsher weather conditions and the garden goes to sleep for a short time, you may want to stay home some days in the warm with your feet up and watch a movie. It does mean, however, that you will need to think ahead to what food you will need over the winter months that you can gather from the garden or allotment now. This is a great time of year to start storing lots of fresh food to use up the produce you’ve grown and still enjoy it all winter long. 

It’s so easy growing Ivy indoors with little care needs and so many varieties to choose from, you can really play with where you grow Ivy in the home and also the different pots and ways to display it. Since Ivy is so versatile, it can be grown in any room indoors and in plenty of fun ways to soften room decor and be aesthetically very pleasing. Whilst some people prefer not to grow it outside as it can take over, Ivy is actually a great source of food and shelter for wildlife so it’s an essential plant for both inside and outside. 

Evergreen foliage, gorgeous silvery leaves, and attractive peeling bark – three great reasons to love the eucalyptus. Native to Australia, this fast-growing evergreen tree looks great in any garden. 

This year National Allotment Week is all about celebrating the Shared Harvest from our plots. Allotments holders are often overrun with produce throughout the growing season and especially towards the end of the summer. After as much cooking and freezing possible, anything leftover can be shared with others from family and friends to charitable causes. This year that’s what its all about. 

August means holidays, and long summer days lounging in the sun. As the early summer blooms fade, there’s a natural pause in the flower garden before the glowing colours of late summer and autumn appear. In the vegetable garden, on the other hand, things are humming, with fruit and veg ripening everywhere you look. 

Watering the garden during summer can be quite a task, especially if the weather is particularly hot and dry for long spells. If you are growing on sandy soil it can be very hard to retain moisture and if you are growing in containers they can dry out really quickly in hot weather. Watering is essential to keep gardens thriving and as the climate changes and warms up throughout the year, rainwater collection and planting for dryer environments will become very important.