Knowledgebase

Also known as the Silk tassel bush this is a large, evergreen shrub.  The male plant (female plants are rarely seen) is covered in long silvery catkins in January and February.  The variety ‘James Roof’ tends to be the one chosen as it has longer tassels than the species. They are great for growing at […] (Read More)

Dogwoods (Cornus) are grown for the colour of their stems in Winter.  The brightest stems are the new new growth so they are cut down to about 4″/10cm above the ground (Coppiced) every Spring.  They are pruned just as the leaf buds begin to break.  This encourages lots of new growth for the following Winter.  […] (Read More)

Witch hazels (Hamamelis x intermedia and Hamamelis mollis) are winter-flowering small trees or shrubs.  Their fragrant flowers range in colour from yellow to red.  The leaves turn orange and yellow in Autumn.  The ultimate size depends on the variety chosen (as does the flower colour) but in 10 to 20 years they can reach between […] (Read More)

The end of January/February is the time to prune your climbing roses to encourage lots of flowers in the summer. Roses have a ”thing” called apical dominance.  In very basic terms it means the main shoot is dominant and wants to reach the stars as quickly as possible.  It is the main shoot that will […] (Read More)

If you don’t venture out the garden can look pretty dead at this time of year. However, get outside and it is soon apparent that things are already getting ready for Spring. There are buds forming on some trees and shrubs, bulbs coming up with snowdrops and hellebores coming into flower. there are also some […] (Read More)