John Warrington

Four days into the New Year, but I don’t think that it’s too late to wish each and everyone of you the happiest of New Years.

A time for plant inventories My Christmas will really begin in three days time on Christmas Eve when I sit down and listen to the ‘Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols’ which is broadcast by the BBC every year from the Chapel of King’s College, Cambridge.

Always use resistant rootstock Every Christmas I go to gatherings of dear friends.

Some people are shy about showing off their gardens My Gloriosa rothschildiana, a most aptly named plant, is in full flower, and embracing a large plant of Prickly Pear just by my gate.

The many members of the Solanaceae family The potato (Lycopersicum esculentum) is a member of that great family, the Solanaceae.

Cannas are an eyecatcher In Britain, and I suspect in many other places on this planet, the doyenne of Indian cookery is a marvellous lady called Madhur Jaffrey.

Plants, pests and soil I think a lot about visitors to our garden.

Let your imagination rule your pocket Here’s a bit of Keats for you: “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness.” 

Bougainvilleas and ixoras love hot,dry weather For quite a few weeks the weather has been blisteringly hot, and no one should be surprised that their bougainvilleas are flowering prolifically.

Security plants Say a prayer for me dear friends. I am shivering in what the English describe as late summer weather.

Petunias give my sprits a lift Life and work in the garden rotate with remarkable speed, and absolutely nothing seems to come round with such speed as the Christian festival of Christmas.

Patios are for sitting out In the past few months we have spent a lot of time sitting on our small patio, once the heat has gone from the day.

‘One year’s seed equals seven years’ weed’ Any man who calls a spade a spade ought to be forced to use one regularly.

Some plants can be propagated using leaf cuttings In the middle of September the nights get particularly cold in England, and further north in Scotland it is not unusual to experience the first frosts.

Coconut: The perfect answer for the idle gardener The largest seed most of us have had to handle in Guyana is the coconut.

Try rooting African Violets from leaf-stalk cuttings Everything seems to be growing at a rate of knots, and I still have what you might call an irrational fear of trees suddenly shedding large branches without a lot of warning.

Talk to your plants At the time of writing this article I am in England.

Hydrangeas and heliotrope It is at this time of the year that the hours of daylight start to slide towards equality with my home in Guyana, and in a few months it will be winter.

Never water fine seed with a can One very important thing we should all remember is that seeds first come from plants, not out of packets, so don’t forget that you can get seed direct from the plant without the expense of paying for them at the garden centre.

You can make your own seed trays I always try and use a standard seed tray box for sowing seeds.