Penstemons to me are a great plant to have in any size garden, they flower all summer long and are loved by bees. They come in such a wide range of colours as well as well as being so easy to look after as well. They are one of those plants that don’t need much…
Author: thomashort
I am a professional gardener who has a love of plants and gardens. I grew up and worked at Mottisfont Abbey Gardens, with a spell at Sir Harold Hillier Gardens and managering two gardens in Hampshire and West Sussex as Head Gardener. I am now freelance and spend my time gardening, pruning, planting design, consultanting, speaking and blogging about plants and gardens. I love all forms of gardening but have a soft spot for roses, Geraniums, alpines and Topiary. That said, I love it all!
#rosewatch2017
Massive update! We are nearly there! The scent is stunning, first rose I have smelt in 2017 and it is divine!
Job of the week-tying in climbers
Well it’s not so much of a job of the week, but more of a job for almost every week for the next 4-6months, Although it’s a simple job, it’s an important one, even more so on the more vigorous climbers like Clematis and roses. It stops the new growths being broken and damaged, also…
#rosewatch2017
Well it’s been a few days since my last update and things are coming along ok as you can see, the problem with Louis opening up this early has been the combination of the sun and early morning dampness has scorched the outer petals causing a bit of minor damage, never had this happen in…
Plant of the week- Clematis Macropetala
Well it’s the first time since starting, a Clematis has made it to the plant of the week, maybe rightly or wrongly in your own views. For me while I like the flowers of some of the slightly earlier flowering Clematis like cirrhosa, it’s just the high amount of growth they can put on that…
Spring into April
Well that was a almost typical March wasn’t, in like and lion and out like a slow cooked lamb! But was it ever a busy one! Roses had to be pruned and trained into beautiful shapes, ones that not only coat the features whether it’s a old wall or wooden feature, in beautiful twists and…
#rosewatch2017 update
Well a little more open today, must of been the warm day and the moisture, nothing to do with the feed it had this week either……. Still we are getting closer
#Rosewatch
Well spring is well and truly here and on what is the warmest day of 2017, my thoughts are drifting towards summer and to my most favourite time of the rose, the rose season! How I look forward to seeing the first rose, slowly opening and filling my garden with its heavenly scent, sometimes this…
Job of the week-applying a feeding mulch
It’s one of the nicest and most rewarding jobs you can do in gardening, turning a weedy mess into one that is a delight to look at and that will reward you with a summer of less weeding and more enjoyment from the plants. I like to try and make a difference between the types…
Plant of the week- Fritillaria meleagris
With so many plants now coming into life, it’s becoming so hard to chose a plant of the week, There’s so many beautiful plants with such fascinating history. So how do I chose? Well it’s just down my what takes my fancy really, can be a plant that’s special to me from the past or…
Thomas Stone MCI Hort MPGCA 