Gnome Gardening - Danbury

Gnome Gardening - Danbury I’m based in Danbury and an RHS certified gardener. If you feel I can help, please get in touch �

We’re all busy getting prepared for the Danbury and Little Baddow Open Gardens this morning! The biggest event of the lo...
09/06/2024

We’re all busy getting prepared for the Danbury and Little Baddow Open Gardens this morning! The biggest event of the local gardening calendar and thankfully the sun is shining! My foxgloves are hanging on for dear life and the lupins have timed their blooms perfectly for the day!

If you’re planning on doing the rounds today, don’t forget, these gardens are normal everyday peoples gardens. We plan them for all year colour not just one day in June so forgive us if the forsythias are looking bare and the alliums are just past their best. Enjoy a glass of Pimms on route and don’t forget, this is all for Farleigh Hospice 🫶

We can’t wait to meet you all!

Danbury Open Gardens

Who says plants can’t be funny 🤭 😂
15/03/2024

Who says plants can’t be funny 🤭 😂

I don’t have much space at home for growing seeds but that doesn’t stop me finding a sunny windowsill for this year’s be...
14/03/2024

I don’t have much space at home for growing seeds but that doesn’t stop me finding a sunny windowsill for this year’s beauties! It’s a great way to add extra colour to your garden without spending a fortune at the garden centre.

I’ve not tried growing Knautia from seed before but they were very easy. These little chaps love the sunshine, make a great cut flower plus the bees love them. They’re non-toxic and won’t get eaten by slugs … what’s not to love? 😍

Spring is well and truly on its way! My tulip bulbs are sneaking an appearance and my newly purchased Fritillaria imperi...
06/03/2024

Spring is well and truly on its way! My tulip bulbs are sneaking an appearance and my newly purchased Fritillaria imperialis are just peaking through the soil. These bad boys can grow up to 100cm tall and are truely spectacular in late Spring!

If you’ve not pruned your roses yet, get it done ASAP. And don’t be shy, cutting back roses hard will promote strong growth. Cut back the dead, diseased and damaged growth first, then prune the remaining stems into a goblet shape to an outward facing bud. YouTube have plenty of videos, it’s really easy to do!

It also doesn’t hurt to give your secateurs a good clean and a sharpen. Keeping your tools clean not only stops the spread of disease but clears off all that sap from your blades making pruning a breeze 👍🏼 🌹

I had a great day today at RHS Hyde Hall learning the wonderful skill of live willow weaving. I need more of this in my ...
18/01/2024

I had a great day today at RHS Hyde Hall learning the wonderful skill of live willow weaving. I need more of this in my life, it was a lot of fun!

Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of the finished article, but it will be on show at Hyde Hall until March/April when the plants are pollarded ready for Spring.

https://www.facebook.com/rhshydehall/videos/910730917167098/?fs=e&mibextid=UalRPS

Who doesn’t love a beautiful rose in summer! If you’re thinking of growing one next year, now is the best time to plant ...
23/12/2023

Who doesn’t love a beautiful rose in summer! If you’re thinking of growing one next year, now is the best time to plant bare root roses so they get a head start when Spring arrives.

Bare root roses are dug from open ground, lifted while dormant, and will arrive with little or no soil around their roots. They are generally cheaper than container plants but are only available from leaf fall in late autumn to early spring, so if you’re wanting to save a few pennies, now’s the time to get planting!

They should be planted as soon as they arrive with lots of organic matter (such as well rotted manure), or if ground conditions are unsuitable, they can be heeled into a temporary planting area or pot until conditions improve, which is what I’ve done here. Ideally containers should be a lot bigger than I’ve used here but these are only temporary until they find their forever homes 🌹 🌹

And we’re back at Writtle planting up the winter bedding. Many hands make light work 👍🏼
07/12/2023

And we’re back at Writtle planting up the winter bedding. Many hands make light work 👍🏼

So I know I’m a gardener and I shouldn’t keep banging on about weeds but this one is a corker! I was at the shops yester...
30/11/2023

So I know I’m a gardener and I shouldn’t keep banging on about weeds but this one is a corker! I was at the shops yesterday when I saw a dandylion blooming in a pavement crack. In November. Now there’s not many plants out there that could survive life in a pavement, let alone keep blooming into winter!

It’s such a shame that most people detest these guys in their lawns and flowerbeds as they’re truly a super little plant.

Little known fact but every part of a dandylion is edible and can have medicinal properties. They grow pretty much anywhere, flower most of the year and give our little bees one of their first drinks after hibernation in Spring. They also attract butterflies to the garden and birds who feed on the seeds too.

They’re so good even the Victorian’s were know to dig up their lawns to grow these chaps as they were seen as a delicacy.

Unfortunately fashion has moved on and these are a bit too garish for our modern tastes. But when you start to see them again in Spring, just let them bloom, even just for a little while. Then just dig them up, no need for nasty chemicals. The local wildlife will really appreciate the boost 👍🏼

28/11/2023

If in doubt, wear gloves. If you get the toxic milky latex sap from Euphorbia on your skin it will burn, so wash it off immediately and whatever you do don’t touch your eyes! 👍🏼

From full bloom to a tidy winter bed at Writtle this week. The canna’s are off to the greenhouse for the winter months a...
13/11/2023

From full bloom to a tidy winter bed at Writtle this week. The canna’s are off to the greenhouse for the winter months along with the heliotrope’s. The salvia’s are all trimmed and tucked away from the frost … plus some of the remaining blooms are now gracing my sideboard 🥰

Anyone can bring a splash of winter colour to their garden this time of year for just a few pounds 🌸 Here I’ve used som...
12/11/2023

Anyone can bring a splash of winter colour to their garden this time of year for just a few pounds 🌸 Here I’ve used some Violas, Monterey cypress 'Goldcrest’ and a touch of Ivy. Crocus, Carex, Primula, Cyclamen and winter flowering heathers are also lovely choices this time of year plus you can always pop in some early flowering bulbs too.

This is also the first time I’ve used wool compost and I must say, I was really impressed with it. It’s completely peat free, water retentive and contains slow release natural fertilisers. It’s environmental impact is much lower than coir based alternatives as it was only produced in the Lake District 👍🏼 It was a little more pricy than a standard potting compost but one bag is all you need. Time will tell how the plants respond … I’ll keep you posted with my results in a few weeks!

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Danbury
Chelmsford
CM34AG

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Monday 9am - 3pm
Tuesday 9am - 3pm
Wednesday 9am - 3pm
Thursday 9am - 3pm

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