February’s plant of the month

February’s plant of the month is the humble Snowdrop. Snowdrop or Galanthus are dwarf bulbous perennials with linear or strap-shaped leaves, and solitary, often honey-scented, nodding flowers with 3 white outer tepals and 3 smaller inner ones often marked with green. They grow to approximately 20cm in height, with broad, grey-bloomed, dark green pleated leaves and solitary […]

What to do in your garden in January

It’s January and the start of a new gardening year. Despite the wintery weather here are some jobs you can be doing in your own garden this month:- Complete winter pruning of fruit trees; Prune wisteria shortening summer pruned shoots back to two or three buds from old wood; Remember to water planted containers in […]

January’s plant of the month

January’s plant of the month is Mahonia japonica – an evergreen shrub which flowers in winter (one of the few that does!). It has leathery, spiny leaves so is good to use as a barrier plant. Fragrant yellow flowers, sometimes followed by black or purple berries. It will grow to a height of 1.5m in […]

November’s plant of the month

It’s November and here’s our plant of the month! It’s Hylotelephium ‘Herbstfreude’ also known as Sedum ‘Herbstfreude’ (Autumn Joy). ‘Herbstfreude’ is an herbaceous perennial forming a clump to 60cm in height. It has fleshy, oblong, glaucous green leaves and large flat terminal clusters of starry flowers in early autumn. The flowers open from greenish-pink buds, […]

October’s plant of the month

October’s plant of the month is the autumn flowering crocus or Crocus speciosus.  This is a small deciduous perennial which grows from a corm.  Also known as ‘Naked Ladies’ it has linear leaves usually with a silvery central stripe, and goblet-shaped, sometimes fragrant flowers which appear in autumn. Crocus speciosus has silvery lilac-blue flowers in […]

What to do in your garden in October

Here are a few jobs to keep on top of as we approach winter:- Protect your plants – lift half hardy perennials and pot them up and put them in the greenhouse. Lift Dahlia tubers once the foliage is blackened by the first frost, dry them off and store them for next year. Lift and […]

What to do in your garden in September

We are nearing the end of the growing season but there are still lots of jobs to do in the garden – harvesting crops and preparing for next year. The 10 top jobs for September are:- – Lifting and dividing herbaceous perennials. They can be replanted somewhere else in your own garden or given away to […]

August’s plant of the month

August’s plant of the month is Crocosmia. Crocosmia are deciduous cormous perennials with erect, sword-shaped leaves and branched spikes of showy, funnel-shaped flowers in summer.  They are a perfect addition to the late summer border providing pops of hot colours in yellows, oranges and reds.  They like moist but well drained soil in full sun or […]

What to do in your garden in August

It’s late summer and there are still lots of jobs to do in your garden Flower beds Keep your hanging baskets looking good with regular dead heading, daily watering and weekly feeding. Give Camellias some TLC with regular watering as they’ll now be forming next year’s flower buds. Dead head sweet peas to maximise the […]

Drought tolerant perennial plants

As summer temperatures start to increase globally with less rainfall to irrigate our gardens it’s time to think about the ‘right plant for the right place’ in our drier gardens.  So what can you grow in your garden in North East Scotland which will look good all year round, survive the drier summers and also […]