Garden Oops – The Outakes

I prefer you to think that  I know what I’m doing and that I don’t make major gardening faux pas. Sadly that is not entirely true although the two facts are related. You see I make lots of mistakes then learn what went wrong and how to avoid them next time round! So in the…

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A lesson in abundance – Filoli Garden

There are tulips – and there are Tulips. As I strolled around the magnificent Filoli Garden in San Francisco last week there was no doubt that these were TULIPS. For the most part these had been planted in simple, terracotta colored pots so that the flamboyant flowers could be brought out for display when each variety reached…

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Top 10 Healthy Heuchera

  In the gardener’s world there are two mortal enemies – deer and disease.  Or at least they are mine – if I ignore my parsnip-munching voles, Amazon-sized mosquitoes and steroidal slugs. When my show stopping Heuchera (coral bells) were cut down in their prime by rust, a fungal infection, it was almost enough to…

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Seeds of Temptation

Seed catalogs should carry a warning label "Beware, this may be hazardous to your …." You fill in the blank.   There is a certain addictive quality to them. You know that all you really need are parsnips and lettuce. OK and maybe you'll swing for those nice heirloom tomatoes you tried last year. Mind…

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Gaura – a whirl of tiny butterflies

Movement is important in a garden. It lends an informal atmosphere and softens otherwise stiff plantings. Grasses are often used for this, especially taller varieties but a few perennials are also perfectly suited for the job and one of the best is whirling butterflies (Gaura lindheimeri). The common name is a perfect description for these…

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