The Genus Garden

Scion, cleft, four flap, and whip are some of the terms we’re getting acquainted with over the next few weeks; words we haven’t used since our college days! Last week...

2020 must surely go down as the gardeners’ ‘year of the cherry’.  We’ve waited years for our trees to produce a respectable crop and this year they excelled, benefiting from...

We’ve talked about the climbing plants at Genus HQ before and we’ve probably mentioned the philadelphus on the north side of the cottage.  Planted in the border some years ago...

No not the latest football scores!  We’ve already mentioned how organised we’ve been this year with our mulching and timely staking.  Another job we carried out was the much vaunted...

We’ve started spotting one of our favourite plants in several gardens recently.  Deservedly so.  Dianthus carthusianorum comes from Spain and other parts of Europe where it’s primarily a grassland species but...

High summer is here with gardens in full bloom and plenty of vegetables to crop and enjoy. Here’s how to keep on top of it all: With garden centres teaming...

After the excitement of spring and the fecundity of early June we have started to fill areas in the garden with annual flowers.  Some have already been sown in-situ and...

We’ve had a busy few days in the Genus garden.  For some time a large Choisya has threatened to block a path and crowd out a lovely variegated holly.  We...

Our pond at Genus HQ brings us so much joy as well as a myriad of life into the garden.  There’s not a month in the year when something isn’t...

Summer is here at last and roses and many perennials are flowering in earnest. There’s still lots to do but make time to appreciate the results of your hard work....

We paid for our enthusiasm and early planting when our french beans got nipped by the frost a few weeks ago but luckily a layer of fleece protected them from...

A couple of years ago, we were looking to change the factory where our clothes are manufactured.  We had been using a facility in the east of China, but we...

Genus HQ is looking fabulous at the moment with the cottage swathed in climbers at their absolute prime.  Blending the house into the garden, their enthusiasm for life requires a...

Last year we split and divided clumps of bearded iris that fill the border on the south side of Field Cottage.  Each rhizome was carefully checked for disease, some were...

Every year we promise ourselves that we’ll be a step ahead with the staking of plants at Genus HQ.  We rarely get it right but this year have avoided the...

Spring has sprung at last and there’s plenty to do in the garden. Here are our top 10 jobs for you to do now. Prune your penstemon now - provided there...

Lockdown is a great time to read and skill up, and for anyone wanting to learn more about garden design, this bestselling classic gives you a thorough grounding in the...

Visitors who come to Genus HQ pass by a small border that looks especially good at this time of year.  Early primroses in February set the theme and are followed...

Located to the side of a small copse our woodland garden is a great success at this time of year.  Recently carpeted with narcissi and snowdrops and containing a range...

We’ve left some of our pruning of the apple and pears rather late this year so it was a case of ‘out with the tripod ladder’ and ‘get up high’...

A small bed against  the north wall of Genus HQ is planted with a nice mix of  geranium, hellebores, saroccoca, and bulbs.  Several years ago a favourite philadelphus was threatening...