Swipe right for succulents: gardening in the age of Instagram

How to get the most out of propagation parties and #plantspiration

After years of rolling my eyes as my mother and grandmother rhapsodised over wisteria on my walk to school, or took covert cuttings from National Trust gardens, I’ve now, in my early 30s, accepted what’s clearly in my genes: I love gardening. And it’s not just me who’s come round to this viewpoint: millennials spend more than their parents on pot plants, and #gardeninglife is turning Instagram every shade of green.

So why have cuttings become cutting edge? One factor is that my generation are increasingly concerned about the environment, cutting down – or out – on meat and dairy, buying organic where possible, and yearning to grow. One sign of this is that allotment waiting lists are on the rise, according to the National Allotment Society.

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Why we need open pollinated seed | Alys Fowler

I don’t think the apocalypse is coming, but Brexit probably is

If you examine my pockets you will always find, among the lint, some seed. It’s an absent-minded ritual when I see ripe seed. I guess it makes me feel safe to walk around with a potential garden in my pockets.

I don’t think the apocalypse is coming, but Brexit is, and the climate is changing. We need seed that can cope with these things, seed that can adapt to our soils and our climate.

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Gardening tips: grow your own mixed native hedge

Plus, plant Cyclamen coum, listen to US landscape designer Leah Churner’s new gardening podcast

Plant this Cyclamen coum is a brave little ground-hugger, popping up from January to March. It carries upright dark pink or white petals like a headdress above a rosette of silvery leaves. Ants spread the seeds about, so you’ll gradually grow a colony. It is best bought in containers and planted out in partial shade.

Hedge this It’s the season to plant hedges. Save money (and garden wildlife) by establishing a mixed native hedge of hawthorn, dog rose, bird cherry, field maple and the like, grown as baby bareroot plants known as whips; habitataid.co.uk’s conservation hedge pack is ideal.

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2OP2caX
via IFTTT

Swipe right for succulents: gardening in the age of Instagram

How to get the most out of propagation parties and #plantspiration

After years of rolling my eyes as my mother and grandmother rhapsodised over wisteria on my walk to school, or took covert cuttings from National Trust gardens, I’ve now, in my early 30s, accepted what’s clearly in my genes: I love gardening. And it’s not just me who’s come round to this viewpoint: millennials spend more than their parents on pot plants, and #gardeninglife is turning Instagram every shade of green.

So why have cuttings become cutting edge? One factor is that my generation are increasingly concerned about the environment, cutting down – or out – on meat and dairy, buying organic where possible, and yearning to grow. One sign of this is that allotment waiting lists are on the rise, according to the National Allotment Society.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2OP5QBI
via IFTTT

Why we need open pollinated seed | Alys Fowler

I don’t think the apocalypse is coming, but Brexit probably is

If you examine my pockets you will always find, among the lint, some seed. It’s an absent-minded ritual when I see ripe seed. I guess it makes me feel safe to walk around with a potential garden in my pockets.

I don’t think the apocalypse is coming, but Brexit is, and the climate is changing. We need seed that can cope with these things, seed that can adapt to our soils and our climate.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2zdX7Eq
via IFTTT

Gardening tips: grow your own mixed native hedge

Plus, plant Cyclamen coum, listen to US landscape designer Leah Churner’s new gardening podcast

Plant this Cyclamen coum is a brave little ground-hugger, popping up from January to March. It carries upright dark pink or white petals like a headdress above a rosette of silvery leaves. Ants spread the seeds about, so you’ll gradually grow a colony. It is best bought in containers and planted out in partial shade.

Hedge this It’s the season to plant hedges. Save money (and garden wildlife) by establishing a mixed native hedge of hawthorn, dog rose, bird cherry, field maple and the like, grown as baby bareroot plants known as whips; habitataid.co.uk’s conservation hedge pack is ideal.

Continue reading...

from Home And Garden | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2OP2caX
via IFTTT

Is there a crisis of quality in new-build homes? https://t.co/rY3H5XVI1d Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/GmjoJxU3bM

Is there a crisis of quality in new-build homes? https://t.co/rY3H5XVI1d Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/GmjoJxU3bM (via Twitter http://twitter.com/conveyandmove/status/1063694084991258630)