Tag Archives: Gardening

Pretty in Pink – step-by-step guide to a wonderful late winter basket

Pretty-in-Pink

.

I would love to be green-fingered. My attempts at gardening have varying success and our garden is prettily passable.

I do love planting up pots and baskets though as I can follow a failsafe method, which yields a beautiful display. I take much inspiration from our book, Seasonal Garden Ideas, as there are lots of step-by-step projects, which take only an hour or so to create but give stunning results.

 

This easy project takes less than an hour and gives instant impact.

Pretty in Pink Planted Basket

A step-by-step guide to a wonderful late winter basket

Make a pretty basket of pink hyacinths
special by adding hoops of pussy willow
twigs with the soft grey catkins just
bursting out – a lovely display that
should last for several weeks.

When to prepare the Pretty in Pink projectPussy willow twigs are available in early spring, either in hedgerows or from florists. Pot-grown hyacinths can be found in garden centres from January through to May or even later.

Planting up a basket takes about an hour.

Plants required

  • Ten to twelve pink Dutch hyacinths just coming into flower.
  • Six to eight pussy willow twigs each about 45cm (18in) long.

Equipment required

  • Rustic-weave basket.
  • Hanging-basket liner (plastic, hessian, felt or moulded paper).
  • Bulb compost to fill.
  • Several handfuls of moss to tuck around the base of the hyacinths.
  • Trowel.

Method

1 Place the liner you have chosen in the bottom of the basket, pricking holes through for drainage if needed. Fill the basket two-thirds full with bulb compost.

2 Carefully remove each hyacinth, one at a time, from their pots and plant in the basket, adding more compost and setting each one to the same depth as it was in its pot. Place them as close together as you can, so the heavy flowerheads will support each other, and firm in well.

3 Tuck moss loosely around the base of the hyacinths to cover the soil completely. Water lightly.

4 Wedge the bottom end of a pussy willow twig into the basket weave then bend it over to form a hoop. Tuck the tip of the twig securely into the basket, then repeat with the other twigs all round the basket, overlapping the twigs slightly as you go.

5 Position your basket in a sunny spot for best display. The furry grey catkins will eventually turn bright yellow as they open.

Tips
Take great care not to knock the pussy willow catkins off the twigs as you handle them – they are quite fragile. If the hyacinth stems start bending over, insert thin bamboo canes into the compost and tie the stems to them as discreetly as possible with soft string. Bring under shelter if heavy rain is threatened.

Note
Reuse your rustic basket for a summer display by planting with nasturtiums or begonias.

Aftercare
By its very nature this is a temporary display. When the hyacinth flowers have withered, stop watering and allow the foliage to turn brown. Then remove the bulbs from the basket, clean them carefully and store in a dry, dark place until autumn, when you can plant them out in the garden. Discard the pussy willow twigs when the catkins have flowered.

 

Seasonal Garden IdeasProject taken from
Seasonal Garden Ideas

Now available for just £3.99

BUY NOW

 

 

 

 

 

 

And don’t forget to enter our free prize draw to win a £25 national garden gift card.

Win a £35 National Garden Gift Card

.

.

.

.

.

Competition | Win £25 HTA Garden Gift Card

Win £25 HTA Garden Gift Card

.

Win £25 HTA Garden Gift Card

Create a stunning spring display courtesy of the Dairy Diary.

Win the £25 HTA Garden Gift Card in our latest competition and you can choose from over 90,000 plants and products available at hundreds of garden outlets nationwide.

Anyone, anywhere in the UK can spend HTA Garden Gift Cards on pretty much anything to do with gardening.

Win £25 HTA Garden Gift Card

.

.

.

.

.

Competition | Win £25 HTA Garden Gift Card

Win £25 HTA Garden Gift Card

.

Win £25 HTA Garden Gift Card

Create a stunning spring display courtesy of the Dairy Diary.

Win the £25 HTA Garden Gift Card in our latest competition and you can choose from over 90,000 plants and products available at hundreds of garden outlets nationwide.

Anyone, anywhere in the UK can spend HTA Garden Gift Cards on pretty much anything to do with gardening.

Win £25 HTA Garden Gift Card

.

.

.

.

.

Spring gardening ideas | Summer baskets

Baskets that flower throughout the summer

.

Baskets that will flower throughout the summer

Bursting out all over in a profusion of blooms, this huge blue and yellow themed hanging basket contains no fewer than ten different kinds of plant – they come into flower at different times, so providing a long-lasting display.

Plant in spring for flowering throughout the summer. There are a lot of plants here, so allow an afternoon for the job.

Plants

  • Buy all the plants needed for this basket as small container-grown plantlets.
  • Three plants are included for their foliage: Helichrysum petiolare; creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia); and Swedish ivy (Plectranthus coleoides ‘Variegatus’).
  • Seven are chosen for their flowers: purple heliotrope ‘Marine’; petunia; trailing verbena; lobelia; nemesia; French marigold; tradescantia. Note: in the picture, not all plants are in flower.

Equipment

  • Large hanging basket with chains and hook.
  • Hanging basket liner (plastic, hessian, felt or moulded paper).
  • Potting compost.
  • Trowel.
  • Slow-release fertiliser spike.

Planting

1 Water all the plants thoroughly the day before you plan to plant them.

2 Insert the liner into the basket – prick small drainage holes through if necessary.

3 Planting such a large and varied basket requires a careful building up of layers of plants. Spread a sheet of newspaper or plastic on the ground, then take all your plants out of their original little pots and arrange them in size order on the sheet. Each should be placed in the basket according to the size of its rootball – bigger ones deeper in, smaller ones nearer the top.

4 Put a layer of compost into the bottom of the basket. Start planting, spacing the different plants around the basket, firming in, then topping up with more compost. Plant another layer and repeat the procedure. Note that the three foliage plants – the helichrysum, creeping Jenny and Swedish ivy – are all placed at the front so they can trail downwards, while the double-flowered petunia is placed centrally. Deep blue lobelias have been positioned all round the edges.

5 When the planting is complete, top up the compost to within 2.5cm (1in) of the top of the basket and insert a slow-release fertiliser spike. Hang it up in its designated position, making sure the hook and fixings are strong enough to take the considerable weight. Water thoroughly.

Tip
Invest in a long-handled, pump-action watering can to make watering your hanging basket easier – and to save you taking it down every day or climbing up a ladder to reach it.

Note
Many, but not all, of these plants are annuals and will not survive the winter. However, even those that are hardy and evergreen, such as the Swedish ivy, will be exhausted by the end of summer – so it’s best to discard the whole lot when flowering stops and plant anew in spring.

Aftercare
Water regularly – at least once a day in hot weather. Deadhead withered and faded blooms to prolong flowering and remove any damaged or discoloured foliage.

Project taken from Seasonal Garden Ideas. Available now.

 

Triple-Tested Recipes | Summer Herb & Smoked Salmon Pasta

Summer Herb & Smoked Salmon Pasta recipe

.

Triple-Tested Recipes

It’s been a frantic fortnight here in the DD office. The print deadline for our cookbook is looming and we are busy finalising its design, editing, doing nutritional analysis and reading tester comment sheets.

We have had a superb band of testers this year who have cooked every single recipe and given it marks out of 10 as well as checking everything is correct and the ingredients are easy to find.

There’s nothing worse than going to the trouble (and expense) of cooking a recipe only to find that it doesn’t work or that the results are disappointing. This is why I insist that everything is triple-tested – once by the writer, then by an amateur tester and finally by the stylist at the photo shoot.

Result? Tasty recipes that
work and happy customers!

(Drum roll)

Here’s the VERY first sneak preview of one of our cookbook recipes.

And this one got 10/10 from its tester, Kirstin! Enjoy folks……you’ll have to wait for the book for the rest.

Summer Herb & Smoked Salmon Pasta

Summer Herb & Smoked Salmon Pasta recipeServes 2
Time 15 mins

Fusilli pasta twists 200g (7oz)
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Spring onions 4, trimmed and sliced
Smoked salmon 120g packet, cut into strips
Lemon juice of 1
Chopped coriander 2 tbsp
Chopped parsley 1 tbsp
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Rocket leaves about 15g (½oz), to garnish

Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted boiling water according to packet’s instructions, which usually takes 10–12 minutes. Drain the pasta and set it aside.

Heat the olive oil in the pan over a medium heat. Add the spring onions and salmon and stir-fry the mixture for about 1 minute until the smoked salmon turns pink.

Add the remaining ingredients (except the rocket), including the drained pasta and salt and pepper to taste, and mix well.

Serve on warm plates, garnished with a spiral of rocket leaves.

Recipe taken from Clever One Pot… coming soon!

 

Don’t forget to enter our latest competition

Dairy Diary is giving you the chance to win a £25 National Garden Gift Voucher.

Celebrate the start of spring with something special for your home or garden; treat yourself to a stunning bouquet or plant up a glamorous hanging basket.
National Garden Gift Vouchers are accepted at over 2000 leading garden centres, shops and nurseries across the UK.

Simply complete the form by 31 March and you will be entered into the prize draw. Good luck.

Enter here http://a.pgtb.me/7s6SkX

How to grow kitchen herbs

Herbs

.

How to grow your own herbs for the kitchen

Whilst doing all the testing for our next cookbook, I have come to realise just how expensive fresh herbs can be. They don’t last long in the fridge either and often go to waste if I forget to freeze any leftovers.

So, this year I am
determined to grow
my own.

It will be wonderful to step out of the kitchen door to the subtle scent of sage, mint and rosemary, and be able to clip a few leaves off to add to salads, soups and stews.

Here are some tips on how to sow your own seeds. Something I haven’t done for a long while!

Grow kitchen herbs

Grow kitchen herbs

Pot Herbs for the Kitchen

Fresh herbs give a great lift to many foods – so grow your own in pots sited near the kitchen for ease of picking. And why not choose some colourful, fun containers to plant in?

Sow seeds in March, or buy small herb plants in April or May, pot up at once and start picking leaves as soon as the plants have grown slightly. A sunny position is best. The job will take about an hour.

What you need

Plants Seed packets or small plants of parsley, thyme, marjoram (oregano), sage, mint and rosemary.

Equipment Six small plastic pots for potting up seedlings bought at the garden centre. Seed tray, modular cell system or jiffy pots for sowing seeds, if using. Five containers such as the enamel kettles. Soil-based potting compost and proprietary seed compost if using. Broken crocks for drainage. Trowel.

Instructions

1 Fill the seed tray or modular cell system with seed compost and sow your seeds according to the instructions on the packets, or sow in jiffy pots according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Keep on a kitchen windowsill while the seeds germinate, then move them outside when all danger of frost is past.

2 When the seedlings are large enough to handle, pot them on into the plastic pots using potting compost and lining with broken crocks for drainage.

3 Or, line the plastic pots with broken crocks and fill with potting compost, into which you have mixed some sharp sand (if using). Then plant your garden centre seedlings, place into the containers and set out in an attractive arrangement. In general, allow one herb per container, but if the container is big enough, put several in together – here rosemary, parsley and mint have been put in the central container.

4 Place the young herb plants outside only when all danger of frost is past. If you’re uncertain, place them outside on sunny days and bring them in at night until the weather warms up enough for them to be left outside permanently.

5 Pick and use the leaves regularly. All these herbs can grow quite large and, by the end of summer, may well have outgrown their containers unless you keep them under control.

Notes Most herbs do best in full sun. They don’t require rich soil, but they must not be allowed to get waterlogged, so good drainage is essential. Rosemary, sage, thyme and marjoram are tough, shrubby plants and can be kept going for years if put into the ground or grown in large enough pots. Mint and parsley are herbaceous and will die down in winter, but reappear again in spring.

Aftercare Regular picking is needed, and watering with care.

.
Seasonal Garden IdeasThis project is taken from
Seasonal Garden Ideas 
a collection of lovely, easy
projects for any garden.

Now available online
for just £3.99  

PLUS FREE P&P!
(Feb/March 2013 orders).

1 2 3 4 5
Blog at WordPress.com.