John Warrington

For screening, securing, hiding, or emphasizing an area, there is nothing quite like a living hedge to do the job. 

Many new gardeners (and quite a few older ones) get confused about the terms ‘annuals,’ ‘biennials’ and ‘perennials.’

All gardeners know that water evaporates from the garden during hot dry spells. 

When I was a child gardeners all over the world spent a great deal of time in the garden on their hands and knees pulling out or digging out weeds.

Oscar Wilde is reported to have said that the man who could call a spade a spade should be compelled to use one, for it is the only thing for which he is fitted. I

Consider Solanum melongena, known as the aubergine. The aubergine, also known as the egg plant, the boulanger, the melongene, or the brinjal was first introduced into Britain in 1597, recorded by John Gerard in his great Herbal.

Lawns in the tropics are created by planting grass – not by sowing it.

Some people always have difficulty remembering which plants like to pretend they are still living in the Sahara from those which prefer life in a puddle.

During the past fifty years there has been a quiet revolution in the commercial production of pot plants.

The propagation of plants is one of the most fascinating areas of the science and art of horticulture, and has increased immeasurably the ability of gardeners throughout the world to maintain, extend and share their collections of plants.

When you are planning a garden it is nearly always the case that in order to get a fuller and more mature look in a short time you naturally (and rightly) plant more thickly than normal and thin out as plants begin to establish and grow.

Most house plants are grown for their foliage and most, including the ever popular African Violet, prefer shade to bright sun, and some moisture at the roots and in the atmosphere to dry conditions. This

The Bougainvillea ‘Mary Palmer’ is attractive, sometimes stunningly so, but when variegated can be wayward and unpredic-table. Nevertheless

There may not be too many readers who could name a lot of plants belonging to the plant family called the Bromeliaceae, and yet it is one of the most important groups of plants in the Central and South American tropics.  

 It is the palm tree which gives the tropical landscape its distinctive look and along with beautiful sea and sand beaches features in the brochures enticing people to holiday in the West Indies. 

There are a number of important things to remember when planting trees.

 This week I want to say a few words about softwood cuttings which are taken from the youngest parts of a plant.

Once more my apologies for what you are about to receive. 

No plant collection is really complete without a few ferns. Non-flowering they may be, but many of them have interesting forms and in many cases they are very graceful and beautiful additions to a collection of plants. 

Looking through the shelves at the supermarkets and pharmacies almost anywhere in the world you will see cosmetics and shampoos which are based on the aloe plant, a native of Africa.