Broadly speaking, bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) is an easygoing, low maintenance evergreen tree that should give many years of pleasure in your garden. No garden plant is entirely maintenance free, and it’s worth knowing about the handful or so of common problems that can affect bay trees. Spotting issues before they escalate is the best… Continue reading 6 Common Bay Tree Problems & Solutions
Category: Trees
15 Ideal Trees for Growing in Pots
According to the proverb, ‘To be happy for a year, get married; to be happy for life, plant a garden.’A well-chosen tree makes the perfect finishing flourish, and by planting trees in a pot, it’s perfectly possible for even a balcony-sized garden to enjoy their many benefits. Container grown trees make an attractive focal point… Continue reading 15 Ideal Trees for Growing in Pots
62% of Brits enjoy gardening – here’s their favourite flower
With the first day of spring fast approaching, we asked 1,000 UK-based adults to choose their favourite flowers and trees, as well as answer a few key questions about their interest in gardening as a hobby or pastime. Across this blog post, we’ll look at a range of gardening statistics, uncovering how the nation feels… Continue reading 62% of Brits enjoy gardening – here’s their favourite flower
Your Guide to Oak Trees: Facts, Types & Essential Information
It’s no exaggeration to describe oak trees as the national tree of Great Britain. They have been integral to our countryside for centuries, so naturally, many people are interested in growing oak trees for themselves. Planting an oak tree is one of the most altruistic things a gardener can do. These slow-growing giants take a… Continue reading Your Guide to Oak Trees: Facts, Types & Essential Information
The best of bareroot trees
We’re slap-bang in the middle of bareroot planting season. And that’s something worth celebrating when you love trees and shrubs but are on a budget. If you’re new to the joys of bareroot, the bottom line is that these are brilliantly healthy – but dormant – specimens. All trees and shrubs enter a period of… Continue reading The best of bareroot trees
Pruning Jobs to do now: Coppicing
Requiring only a sharp saw or secateurs and the courage of your convictions, coppicing is a straightforward and satisfying winter job. This short burst of activity will both warm the body and enhance the garden, with the added benefit of perhaps providing a fresh crop of bean poles or even some of next year’s firewood.… Continue reading Pruning Jobs to do now: Coppicing
National Tree Week 2022
National Tree Week 2022 will take place from 26 November – 4 December 2022. Trees are the true heroes of nature. They sustain wildlife, create oxygen, purify our air, are the lungs of our planet and are extraordinarily beautiful. Ashridge is pleased to support National Tree Week – a moment to celebrate our trees, and… Continue reading National Tree Week 2022
Why I love hazelnuts. Or cobnuts?
What is the difference between a cobnut and a filbert? Are they the same thing, with regional variations of nomenclature? Is a filbert the fancier version of a cobnut with a longer husk? And how do they relate to hazelnuts? There must be a kernel of truth in there somewhere… Kent is where you’ll find… Continue reading Why I love hazelnuts. Or cobnuts?
Stop and Smell the Roses
I like to remember my mum smelling the roses, stopping to think, breathing in a lungful of sweet morning air (or the sharp, rich fug of a strong coffee) and listening to the excited trill of the blackbirds. She savoured the simple pleasures of life; even before the intrusions of phones and apps, it was… Continue reading Stop and Smell the Roses
Bring on the blossom
Every year the anticipation mounts. I look out of my bedroom window at the ornamental plum tree on the street, scouring its deep claret branches for signs that the colour is changing, life stirring within. Subtly, from a solid winter opacity to something with just a hint of deepest rose. Sometimes I think I see… Continue reading Bring on the blossom