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    Archives

    Monthly Archive for: "February, 2020"
    Home » Archives for February 2020
     The Glowing Colour of Winter Stems
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    By Alan Down
    In Seasonal Gardening, Trees and Shrubs, Winter colour
    Posted February 28, 2020

    The Glowing Colour of Winter Stems

    The glowing colour of winter stems can shorten winter! I find that the colour they provide is long lasting. And when coupled with trees with great bark colour, it transforms the off season in the [...]

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     Heavenly Hellebores
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    By Alan Down
    In Hardy perennials, Plant Focus, Winter colour
    Posted February 25, 2020

    Heavenly Hellebores

    Heavenly hellebores filled my old garden. Unfortunately I had to leave most of them behind when I moved. I was able to rescue a few of the most interesting ones and get them established in large [...]

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     Winter Flowering Heathers
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    By Alan Down
    In Ground cover plants, Low maintenance gardening, Plant Focus, Winter colour
    Posted February 19, 2020

    Winter Flowering Heathers

    Winter flowering heathers give tremendous value for money and are arguably the most reliable winter flowering low growing plant. This is the type of heather that will grow in the gardens [...]

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     Modular growing of plants
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    By Alan Down
    In Annuals and half hardy seasonal plants, Gardening, Gardening tips, Grow your own, Plant Propagation, Sowing, Vegetables
    Posted February 18, 2020

    Modular growing of plants

    Modular growing of plants is on the increase and there are many advantages to raising plants this way.   This frustrating season! Here we in mid February and hardly a thing has been sown or [...]

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     Colourful Winter Bark
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    By Alan Down
    In Ornamental trees, Trees and Shrubs, Winter colour
    Posted February 18, 2020

    Colourful Winter Bark

    Colourful winter bark is a major plant feature that isn’t given the attention it deserves when selecting plants to grow in the garden. When most leaves have fallen and the only colour in [...]

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     Fashionable Succulent Plants
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    By Alan Down
    In Indoor Plants, Plant Focus, Succulent plants
    Posted February 15, 2020

    Fashionable Succulent Plants

    Fashionable succulent plants are everywhere now! You’d be forgiven for thinking that gardening is unaffected by fashion. Indeed many gardens are laid out to reflect times past and to be a place [...]

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     Which Seed Potatoes to Grow
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    By Alan Down
    In Grow your own, tubers, Vegetables
    Posted February 15, 2020

    Which Seed Potatoes to Grow

    Which seed potatoes to grow in your garden is a question foremost in many gardeners minds at the moment and so I thought that I’d give a bit of guidance. With so much rain this winter I [...]

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     Tips on Growing Camellia Plants in Your Garden
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    By Alan Down
    In Container gardening, Plant Focus, Trees and Shrubs
    Posted February 15, 2020

    Tips on Growing Camellia Plants in Your Garden

    Growing Camellia plants in your garden is really quite easy. Seeing Camellia plants in full bloom in a Cornish garden is truly unforgettable. It is one of the great spectacles of British gardens! [...]

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     It’s now time to sow chillies and peppers!
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    By Alan Down
    In Grow your own, Plant Propagation, Sowing, Vegetables
    Posted February 6, 2020

    It’s now time to sow chillies and peppers!

    It’s now time to sow chillies and peppers! Chillies and peppers have gone from a novelty vegetable to one of the most popular seeds and vegetable plants. This rise in popularity reflects [...]

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    About Alan

    Flora and fauna have always fascinated me but it was a lifelong career in horticulture that filled most days.

    Having grown up on a farm where boyhood days were filled with discoveries of the natural world I soon found that my passion for plants – wildflowers at that time – would direct my career…

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    Alan E Down @AlanEDown
    53 minutes ago
    Onions at the ‘loop’ or ‘crook’ stage. #gyo #gardening https://t.co/3i6V2bAVF1
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    Alan E Down @AlanEDown
    14 hours ago
    Could this be a newly emerged tortoiseshell #butterfly in #mynewgarden today @Butterfly_bros ?
    I think you’ll agree it’s beauty! https://t.co/kNXZGgfo98
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    Alan E Down @AlanEDown
    2 days ago
    Hungry gap? What hungry gap?
    Fresh #salad leaves from our @KederGreenhouse today.
    Just add wild sorrel for that extra special ingredient! https://t.co/mfrM3llhMY
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    @AlanEDown

    alanedown
    Spotted my first tortoiseshell butterfly yesterday Spotted my first tortoiseshell butterfly yesterday!
Could it be a newly emerged one? It was in very fine condition.
It was checking out the nettles that I’ve left for wildlife to enjoy and I think they are a favourite for this species’ caterpillars.
    Spot the butterfly! Brimstone butterflies for me Spot the butterfly!

Brimstone butterflies for me always signal the start of spring and this week I’ve seen two on the wing. They are strong fliers and rarely stay still for long. This is one I snapped two years ago on wild primrose where it’s colour provides excellent camouflage.

One that I spotted was on a sunny bank @thenewtinsomerset and not phased by all the large tree planting that continues there apace!

Have you seen any yet?

#gmgspring #springisonitsway #springisontheway #spring #signsofspring #march2021 #march #springflowers #springflowersmakemehappy #yellow #mellowyellow #butterfly #butterfliesofinstagram #butterflies #celebratethelittlethings #celebratetheseason #primrose #primula #wildflowergarden #wildflowerhour #wildflowers #somerset #somersetlife #thenewtinsomerset #horticulturelife #horticultura #brimstone #butterflies #lepidoptera
    Looking forward to Pink Dragonfly Bergenia blooms Looking forward to Pink Dragonfly Bergenia blooms again soon! This is an exceptional variety of pigsqueak or elephant’s ears and much more compact than most.
Bergenia are related to Saxifrage and come from Asia.

#gardening 
#horticulture
#garden #gardendesign 
#horticulturelife #horticultura 
#bergenia #pinkpinkpink #pink #colormehappy #color #colourpop #colour #march #marchmadness #celebratethelittlethings #celebratetheseason #pigsqueak #elephantsears #springblooms
 #mynewgarden #celebratetheseason #celebratethelittlethings #naturesway #inspiredbyflowers #alittlebeautyeveryday #slowsimpleseasonal
    Precision training @thenewtinsomerset . Fan traine Precision training @thenewtinsomerset . Fan trained plums and fig trained on south facing parobala wall. I love those (oak?) battens. Shoots held in place by recycled strips of fabric.

#gardening
#horticulture
#horticulturelife #horticultura 
#plum #fig
    Moth orchids offer such great value and are dead e Moth orchids offer such great value and are dead easy to look after. Little wonder that they are the most popular indoor plant. 
In my revisited blog I visit a large British grower but also describe new developments.
Link in bio

#mothorchid #phalaenopsis #phalaenopsisorchid #phalaenopsisorchids #doubleh #houseplantsofinstagram #houseplantclub #indoorplants #indoorjungle #indoor #indoorgardener #indoorgarden #miniorchid #plantsmakepeoplehappy #plantsplantsplants #plantparenthood #plantbased #plantsofinatagram #plantworld #plantwisdom
    Wonderful display and scent from this pot of #Narc Wonderful display and scent from this pot of #Narcissus Paperwhite from @HollandBulbs . Even the (unplanned?) mixture with Avalanche works! Perhaps that was their plan? Pic 2 Avalanche Pic 3 Paperwhite - might repeat this mix!
    Anemone blanda giving us a blast of blue! These ar Anemone blanda giving us a blast of blue! These are new corms planted in pots in autumn that will be planted very soon around shrubs where they will hopefully thrive and spread. We’ve white ones too but they are less well advanced. Should we mix them up or plant them separately?

#anemone #anemones #blue #windflower #springiscoming #springisintheair #gdnmediaguild #gmgspring #february #instablooms #slowsimpleseasonal #myquietbeauty #verilymoment #underthefloralspell #alittlebeautyeveryday #botanicalpickmeup #dsfloral #thebotanicalseries #noticewonderconnect #inspiremyinstagram #anemoneblanda #verilymoment #theslowdowncollective #thatvelvetfeeling #thebeautyofnature #thebeautyinwinter #blues
    Here’s a real early one! Thanks to @rogercrookes Here’s a real early one! Thanks to @rogercrookes , @taylorsbulbs1919 and Helen Brown of Little Ash Garden for the positive identification!
Need to get bulbs of this one from @taylorsbulbs1919 this autumn.

#springisonitsway #springisnear #springisnearlyhere #daffodils #daffodil #daffodilseason #yellowflowers #yellow #celebration #celebratethelittlethings #celebratetheseason #mybotanicalbungalow #february #february2021 #narcissus #gardeningismytherapy #garden #gardenerslife #springblooms #springbloom
    Iris reticulata Carolina #springiscoming #springi Iris reticulata Carolina

#springiscoming #springisintheair #blue #iris #irisreticulata #spring #celebratethelittlethings #celebratetheseason #botanical #flower #flowerbulbs #springbulbs #fresh #colourmyworld #aseasonalshift #myquietbeauty #allthingsbotanical #botanicalpickmeup #allwhatsbeautiful #verilymoment #dsfloral #inspiration #instagram #inspiremyinstagram #inspiredbyflowers
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