Complete list of all of our gardening growing guides
Your guide to potato season
From first earlies through to late season potatoes, this guide explains how and when to plant all your favourite varieties, along with some top tips …
Which potato for your recipes
November is the time to start thinking about which potatoes to grow. We’ll be delivering seed potatoes from December onwards so best get your order …
How to grow potatoes
Here’s our ultimate guide to growing your own potatoes. An easy, low maintenance crop, home grown spuds are nutritious, highly versatile and …
How to grow mushrooms from spawn plugs
Mushrooms are fun and easy to grow at home and, once established, provide a tasty crop for up to 5 years. You can grow varieties that are often …
How to grow rhubarb
Here’s our ultimate guide to planting and growing rhubarb. Producing large leaves and attractive pink or red stalks, rhubarb is a striking crop …
Edible flowers guide
Flowers are not only beautiful to behold, many are edible too. What’s more, they attract pollinators to your garden, make excellent companion …
How to grow saffron crocus
Here’s everything you need to know about growing saffron crocuses in your own
How to grow ranunculus
Here’s our ultimate guide to planting and growing ranunculus bulbs. Producing lush foliage and stunning rose-clustered blooms from spring to early …
Hemerocallis Growing Guide
Hemerocallis are perennial plants with lily-like flowers, producing a succession of flowers over a long period of time from May-August. Planting …
Why Buy Plug Plants?
Plug plants are a great value way to buy plants if you don't wish to grow from seed. Our bedding plants are supplied in five size options, ranging …
Building a Natural Defence Against Climate Change
Guest blog: in an extract from her new book, The Climate Change Garden, author Kim Stoddart explains how working with wildlife will help bring a …
Mulberry Charlotte Russe Growing Guide
Hard to find the fruits in supermarkets, you can have all the joys of growing your own mulberries without the hassle of keeping a large tree. …
Planting and Aftercare of Bare Root Hedging Plants
Planting bare roots can be a daunting task for those new to hedging plants. But do not worry, here are a few tips from Hedges Direct for planting and …
Blackcurrants, Fourberries and Jostaberries Growing Guide
Site and Preparation Blackcurrants prefer a well drained, fertile soil, in a sunny position which is sheltered from cold winds (Do not plant in …
Raspberry Growing Guide
Raspberries grow best in a well-drained but moisture retentive, fertile soil in a sunny position. Ideally, the soil should be slightly acid with a pH …
Hybrid Berries and Blackberry Growing Guide
Blackberries grow best in a well drained, fertile soil in a sunny or partially shaded position. They can even be planted against a north facing wall …
Cranberries, Juniper, Sloe, Goji and Black Chokeberry Growing Guide
Cranberries Growing Guide Cranberries require a sunny sheltered position, a moist acid soil that does not dry out. In gardens that have alkaline …
Kiwi Growing Guide
The Kiwi is a vigorous climber and if allowed can reach a height of 10m (30'). The plants should be trained up a strong trellis, pergola or wire …
Walnuts, Chestnut, Cobnutt, Filbert and Almond Tree Growing Guide
Cobnuts and Filberts Growing Guide These are best grown as a bush tree with an open centre giving the classic wine glass shape. The young Cobnut or …
Apricot Tree, Peach Tree and Nectarines Tree Growing Guide
Before planting erect a trellis against the wall. The lattice should be 1ft square and the trellis should measure approx 2.1m (7') long by 1.8m …
Gage and Plum Trees Growing Guide
Plum trees will also benefit greatly from fruit thinning, removing fruitlets to a population that is likely to be consumed. The reward …
Apple Trees Growing Guide
Bush Apple Tree Probably the most widely seen style of apple and, well grown, can be a highly productive method. The aim is to arrive at an open …
General Guide to Planting & Growing Fruit Trees
Introduction to Growing Fruit Trees Our range of fruit and nut trees has been carefully chosen for their suitability for the modern garden. Knowing …
Sweet Pea – Queen of the Annuals
If asked on BBC’s Pointless programme to name a pretty and perfumed flower the sweet pea would be a high scorer and therefore an answer to be …
Plumeria Growing Guide Instructions
A no nonsense, straightforward guide on how to succeed with growing your plumeria
Sweet Potatoes (Ipomoea batatas)
Potato season has started with many seed potatoes chitting away in preparation for planting in a few weeks’ time and others ordered and on their …
The Art of Grafting
It would be easy to think that the art of grafting one plant onto the rootstock of another is relatively new but in fact evidence exists of it having …
Caladium Bulbs Growing Instructions
Caladium originate from Brazil and are fantastic foliage plants. Commonly known as Angel Wings or Elephant Ears, they are a frost tender perennial …
Growing Grapes
This guide provides cultural information to help you successfully grow
Preparing, picking and looking after your Tea Plant
This guide provides extensive information to help you prepare, pick and successfully look after your tea
Lofos Plants Growing Guide
This guide provides Lofos growing information whose latin name is Lophospermum erubescens but may be also be found listed as Asarina erubescens or …
Flowers, Fruit and Vegetable Sowing, Harvesting/Flowering Chart Information
Whether you’re sowing fruit and vegetables this year or planning for next, our user-friendly gardening charts provide a month by month view of …
Perennial Plants and Annuals Growing Guide
This is a general guide to planting both annuals and perennial plants. This guide features plain-speaking advice and instructions for maximum …
Climbing Plants Growing Guide
A no nonsense, straight forward guide to growing your clematis, honeysuckle, passiflora and
Stevia Growing Guide
This guide provides growing information for
Growing Sweet Potato Plants
Our Sweet Potato Growing Guide provides extensive information to grow stronger plants and bigger
Plants for Exposed Coastal Gardens
We've hand-picked some of our favorite plants for exposed coastal gardens. A-C Achillea Alyssum Alstroemeria Antirrhinum (Dwarf …
Growing Grafted Aubergine Plants
Our ‘Growing Aubergine Grafted Plants’ guide provides extensive information in an easy to digest format and provides all the information …
Growing Asparagus: A Simple Guide to Planting & Harvesting
From initial preparation, choosing a location through to different planting methods and aftercare; our ‘Growing Asparagus: A Simple Guide to …
What Vitamins & Minerals are in Vegetables
If you’ve ever wondered how much Vitamin B is in broccoli or how much protein is in parsnip, then this compact ‘What Vitamins & …
Vegetable Planting Companion Guide
Make attacks on your vegetables from pests & diseases a thing of the past simply by following the information contained within our handy …
Crop Rotation – Get the most from your Vegetable Plot
This article provides a clear example for crop rotation planning. A healthy crop rotation plan ensures that same ‘family groups’ are …
Outdoor Salad Collection Growing Instructions
Your young lettuce, cucumber & tomato plants have been grown under ideal conditions and they’ll develop best if you follow this growing …
Grow your own Union Jack Flag planting design
It doesn’t matter that the Olympics are over, you never know when you might need to grow your very own Union Jack flag. This concise guide …
What Type of Soil Do I Have?
Clay Soils Clay soils are also known as heavy soils. Clay has small particles, when it is wet the soil is very sticky and it will crack when …
Patio Vegetable Plants Growing Instructions
These growing instructions guide provide you with simple steps to ensure that your patio vegetable plant kits are a
Growing Grafted Pepper and Chilli Plants
This ‘Growing Grafted Pepper and Chilli Plants’ guide provides extensive information in an easy to digest format and provides all the …
Plants for Partial Shade
A-H Ageratum Aquilegia Begonia Campanula Canterbury Bell Cyclamen …
Plants that Show Drought Resistance
We've hand-picked some of our favorite plants that show drought resistance. A-C Achillea Agastache Alstroemeria Alyssum …
Success With Your Seeds
We want you to have the best possible success with your seeds which is why they have to pass the most stringent tests in our laboratory and at our …
Growing Instructions for Pot Ready Vegetable Plants
This guide provides complete growing instructions from potting on, growing on through to after-care ensuring you are successful with your pot ready …
Popular Vegetable Plants Growing Guide
This guide provides quick-tips for growing some of the more popular vegetable varieties. Our Popular Vegetable Plants Growing Guide is a great …
New Zealand Yam Growing Guide
The New Zealand Yam is also known as Oca. The tubers which vary in colour are best planted individually in 15cm (6″) pots using a multipurpose …
Handy Guide to Plant Size and Simple Growing Instructions
A guide to our plant sizes detailing the Miniplants, Easyplants, Garden Ready Plants, Pot Ready Plants, Perennial Pot Ready Plants we sell. To …
GROWING FOR SHOWING – potatoes, onions and garlic
I was doing so well. Most of the seeds and plants are ordered and now I'm awaiting delivery. Great. My potatoes are chitting beautifully and have …
Senetti Pot Ready Plants Growing Guide
For an early splash of colour in the garden Senetti plants are a great addition. Beautiful flowers from April through to early frosts, this simple …
Module Strawberries Growing Guide
This guide provides cultural information to help you successfully grow module
Disaster has struck..
..In the name of Blight! Below are some piccies of the disease: It is May, and already the English weather …
Potates nearing lift-off
Not long ago, I said that my second crop potatoes were doing well (see my post of 27th August). A month later, as you can see from this photo, …
There’s no stopping my Second Crop potatoes
I planted second crop potatoes in my potato buckets a few weeks ago - I've grown main crop potatoes in buckets before, but never late season. And …
Harvest Time
Took advantage of the weather yesterday and dug up our remaining crop of potatoes. We planted Maxine this year, a lovely rosy coloured potato …
Seed potatoes found!
An exhaustive stock check has revealed that we've got a limited number of potatoes left - there are some Vales Emerald potatoes and some Patio Potato …
What do you see?
My boss tipped his potato buckets out this weekend and brought this in for us to have a look at today and we have had several discussions... What do …
First Homegrown Lunch
Red Duke of York potatoes are so pretty when cleaned up... bright scarlet red. I was feeling a little lazy so just boiled them up, fried some onion …
First Homegrown Potatoes
Hooray! Please see pic for this evenings' tea. Am v. excited. Enjoyed myself throughly scrambling for potatoes in the soil. I have some …