John Warrington

Cut down your Acalyphas on a tree-year cycle It is my experience living in the quiet backwater of New Providence that a few yards can make a whole lot of difference in terms of weather.

Spearmint and old crocks In England it is called ‘flaming June.’

The Chelsea Flower Show The Chelsea Flower Show always takes place during the third week in May in the grounds of the Chelsea Royal Hospital, and as I write it will probably have ended.

Why not a bit of flowering meadow? Some time ago I mentioned the depletion of fertilizers from our soil after heavy rainfall, and the loss of nutrients from our gardens and the fact that we have the opportunity to replace some of that loss.

Don’t over-water the petunias When I originally moved into my home in New Providence there were two huge Casuarina trees at the north side of the property, close by the house.

Plants grown for their leaves Plants that are grown for the beauty of their leaves are just as important as those grown for their flowers.

Giving your potted  plants a new home You really have to knock a plant out of its pot to see if it requires a new home.

Don’t cram your patio We are in the middle of the great Christian festival of Eastertide, and tomorrow is the marvellously exciting time devoted to the flying of kites along the East Coast, in the National Park and throughout the interior of Guyana, all of which, I suppose, might be symbolic of the Resurrection.

A Gardener’s Diary You will all know the flowering shrub called Mussaenda (Mussaenda erythrophylla), at least most of you will.

A Gardener’s Diary It is hard to believe but in spite of promises from various friends I have still not acquired a plant of the breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, which used to be Artocarpus communis).

The giant passion fruit has a spectacular flower Looking back over my records of A Gardener’s Diary I note that in March 1998 we were suffering a prolonged period of drought and were concerned about conserving all the water we could.

Create a garden pool In Guyana, or at least in Georgetown, I don’t suppose that many gardeners feel any urgent need to have a water feature in the garden, because for a disproportionate amount of time we all have an excess of it!

The end of February saw the heaviest snowfalls in England for 18years, and there is more to come.

The golden rules for chemical use Over time, sometimes a very long time, the nature of all countries changes.

A prized possessionUnlike the gentle Ian I am not qualified to pass judgement on the economic consequences of the recent flooding.

You can sterilize loam yourself In Guyana seeds germinate very quickly; the climate is so perfect, sometimes it can occur in just a few days, and in no time at all you are replanting seedlings into boxes or pots, and in the case of some seedlings, straight into borders.

Bats can be garden friendly Since early childhood when I lived in the Lake District of England in an old farmhouse I have been afraid of bats.

Sow fine seed inside Just a quick recap from last week.

Sowing seed in seed traysIn the ‘olden days’ (I refer to the 1940s and ’50s) normal sized seeds were always sown in a standard seed tray made of wooden slats tacked together in such a way that moisture could drain from the base after the seedlings had been watered.

Bird wive and mistletoe are relativesFor years I have had questions about an apparent disease on the underside of the leaves of the breadfruit fern, so named because of its similarity to the leaf shape of the breadfruit tree.