Latest news with #SunGardening
The Sun
8 hours ago
- Lifestyle
- The Sun
Garden pro's £3.99 fast-growing flower from Lidl blooms all summer & brings ‘romance' to your outside space
THINK of lush blooms swaying gently, winding soft stone footpaths inviting you to who knows where and the rustling sound of grasses nodding along in the breeze. Butterflies zig zag from scented clematis and roses to foxgloves and jasmine climbing round your door - as water softly gurgles from a fountain. 3 3 3 Sound good? Then you'll probably be a fan of romantic gardens. They've been around for about 300 years - initially designed as a reaction to the strict formal, geometrical designs that went before them. But what's great - and why they're emerging as a serious trend this year - is that they're easy to create in your outside space, look stunning - and promote positive mental health. Garden designer Nilufer Danis is building a romantic garden called 'The Three Graces of Galicia' at RHS Hampton flower show - which starts on Tuesday - and is a big advocate for creating beautiful, serene spaces that evoke a sense of calm and wellbeing but are also designed with the environment in mind. She told Sun Gardening how to create your own. 'Forget about the more contemporary geometric shapes - and think more organic - like winding paths, with shaded covers like a pavilion, pergola, or lots of trellis", she said. 'You're aiming for lots of climbers - like roses, star of jasmine, lavenders and perennials like salvia - and you want scented flowers rather than evergreens and green foliage plants. 'And water fountains - with their nice trickle of water - are not only lovely, but birds and insects like them. 'Pastel colours are really important - they give a dreamy feel - and it's not very clean and neat - it should be more overgrown' Alan Titchmarsh's top 7 plants that 'transform ugly fences with gorgeous flowers & fragrance' & they grow for years From Tuesday, Lidl will be selling an English Lavender collection of three pots, for £3.99. While Crocus has got pots of Salvia 'Victoria Blue' for £3.50 - reduced from £6.99. English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) generally blooms from mid-summer to late summer. French Lavender (Lavandula stoechas) can bloom in flushes from late spring to late summer, especially if pruned after each flush. Nilufer's Romantic Garden at Hampton celebrates the power of literature, identity, and resilience through the legacy of three iconic 19th-century Spanish women — Rosalía de Castro, Emilia Pardo Bazán, and Concepción Arenal. She added ''I wanted to create a space that celebrates strength, resilience, and the transformative power of ideas. This garden is a tribute to Galicia's rich literary and natural heritage — and an invitation for reflection on identity, justice, and the role of women in shaping the world." Her plant list includes - Camellia japonica - chosen for it's glossy leaves and large colourful blooms are common in Galcian gardens - Hydrangea macrophylla 'Endless Summer' thrives in Galicia's cool, moist climate - Rosa 'The Ancient Mariner' and Rose 'Empress Josephine' - to add fragrance, timeless beauty and a touch of history - Polystichum setiferum - is low maintenance and supports biodiversity - Tall topiary trees (Carpinus betulus) Also in Veronica's column this week News, top tips and a competition to win a Blackstone Griddle outdoor oven NEWS! Families can discover a show themed around 'wonder' at RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival - taking place next week. Alongside show gardens, pavilions of roses and thousands of plants there's an exciting schedule of children's activities, workshops and lively music. Visitors will be joined by legendary children's icons, the Wombles - with Womble sculptures and a Womble-themed trail around the gardens, plus costumed characters making an appearance across the Go Wild Family Area hosts an array of family activities to encourage playfulness and stimulates a curiosity for gardening. Exhibits include the Schools Bug Barrels the Skinny Jean Gardener mini festival where Lee Connelly will be hosting interactive workshops and Kingston Forest School will provide hands-on nature-based activities. Children up to the age of 16 go free, students pay a discounted rate of £10.85 and adult full day tickets are £38.85. For tickets visit NEWS! A baobab tree in the Rainforest Biome at the Eden Project, Cornwall is flowering in what is believed to be a first for the UK. The Adansonia digitata is native to Africa and is known as the 'Tree of Life' - because it can live for over 3000 years - and for its ability to support both humans and wildlife, providing everything from food and shelter to clothing and medicine. It can grow up to 25m in height and equally as wide in circumference, with spindly, root-like branches protruding from the rotund trunk, coining another nickname – the 'Upside-Down Tree'. WIN! One lucky Sun Gardening reader can win a Blackstone 36inch gas burner griddle - worth £639. To enter visit or write to Sun Griddle competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm. July 12, 2025. T&C s apply. JOB OF THE WEEK! Pots and hanging baskets will be struggling in this heat - water them daily. Leave your lawn cuttings to mulch the grass - locking in lawn moisture - keep greenhouses ventilated. For more tips and gardening content follow me @biros_and_bloom
The Sun
a day ago
- General
- The Sun
Win a Blackstone Griddle gas-powered barbecue worth £639
IT'S definitely barbecue season - with temperatures hitting higher than 30C next week. So get your sausages on this super outdoor cooking station that's perfect for making mountains of food within minutes. 2 The Original Blackstone 36-in Griddle Cooking Station with Hard Cover boasts 60,000 BTU's and a 4,954 square centimeters of cooking area. You'll love using the magnetic strip to hold cooking tools, and the pivoting paper towel holder. Dual folding side shelves create extra prep space without taking up storage space. Or crack open a cold one on the featured Blackstone bottle opener and revolutionize your outdoor cooking experience. One lucky Sun Gardening reader can win the Blackstone 36 inch gas burner griddle worth £639. To enter, fill in the form below. Or write to Sun Griddle Competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK Residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm, July 12, 2025, T&C's apply.
The Irish Sun
a day ago
- General
- The Irish Sun
Win a Blackstone Griddle gas-powered barbecue worth £639
IT'S definitely barbecue season - with temperatures hitting higher than 30C next week. So get your sausages on this super outdoor cooking station that's perfect for making mountains of food within minutes. 2 Wow your friends with a Blackston Griddle Cooking station 2 One lucky Sun Gardening reader can win the cooking station by filling in the form below The Original You'll love using the magnetic strip to hold cooking tools, and the pivoting paper towel holder. Dual folding side shelves create extra prep space without taking up storage space. Or crack open a cold one on the featured Blackstone bottle opener and revolutionize your outdoor cooking experience. Read More Gardening One lucky Sun Gardening reader can win the Blackstone 36 inch gas burner griddle worth £639. To enter, fill in the form below. Or write to Sun Griddle Competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK Residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm, July 12, 2025, T&C's apply. Most read in Competitions
The Sun
20-06-2025
- General
- The Sun
Win a lawncare wildflower bundle and tin of seeds
MORE and more we're being encouraged to grow native wildflowers in our garden. Not only are they great for pollinators - they improve soil health and encourage biodiversity - a wider ranger of beneficial insects and birds. 3 3 One idea is to leave a part of your lawn to grow wild. But Johnson's seeds have gone one better with a new seed and wildflower mix. They're offering TEN Sun Gardening readers a Wildflower lawncare bundle worth £25 each. The Lawn Seed combines slow growing grasses with UK native mowable flowers - a pollinators dream - plus there's a tin of Celebration Wildflower s. To win fill in the form below. Or write to Sun Wildflower Lawn Competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm. July 5, 2025. T&Cs apply.
Scottish Sun
14-06-2025
- General
- Scottish Sun
I'm a gardening pro – my easy steps – including a £2.25 Dunelm trick – will banish garden pests like aphids this summer
WE may well be seeing lower slug and snail numbers this summer thanks to colder weather in winter and the recent dry spells. But mother nature never makes it easy for us. Instead - of course - there's a new pest in town. 2 RHS members have found aphids to be the biggest problem this year Credit: Getty 2 Adam Woolcott told Sun Gardening how to get rid of garden pests Credit: Supplied Aphid levels have rocketed this year - and the RHS reckons it's top of the list of gardening queries to their hotline. There's over 500 different species found in the UK - and can be red, yellow, black, green, brown or pink. They feed by sucking sap from plants - and can cause severe damage - including distorted growth, sooty mould and plant viruses - and sometimes plant death. Chelsea award winning gardener Adam Woolcott - and Webb ambassador - gave Sun Gardening some top tips on how to tackle the most common early summer pests. APHIDS Physically remove the aphids from the stems and leaves. Use natural insecticidal soaps. Blast off with water jets. Encourage predators such as ladybirds, lacewings, and hoverflies VINE WEEVIL Both the adult vine weevil beetles and their larvae cause damage. Adults — all female — chew distinctive 'U-shaped' notches in leaves, particularly on evergreen shrubs like rhododendrons, escallonias, and viburnums. Underground: larvae feed on plant roots and can kill container plants like Heucheras. Remove adults at night when they're most active Break the life cycle with biological controls such as nematodes (apply in spring and autumn when grubs are active) Chemical treatments are a last resort, but offer longer-term control LILY BEETLE The bright red beetles and their larvae are both covered in their excrement. They can strip a plant in days, affecting flowering and bulb health. Remove beetles by hand where practical Encourage wildlife into the garden. Birds and ground beetles will eat the larvae Grow a resistant variety. Tolerate some damage if you can — total eradication isn't always necessary. CATERPILLARS Especially troublesome in veg patches. Cabbage white butterfly caterpillars love brassicas, while box tree caterpillars are spreading rapidly across the UK, stripping foliage as they go. Remove the caterpillars by hand if you can and destroy any badly affected plants (if practical) to stop the infestation from spreading. Use biological sprays like nematodes. In some cases, hot water and a mild detergent can help. Ecover is on sale at Dunelm for £2.45. As a last resort, chemical controls can be effective Also in Veronica's Column this week... Top tips, Gardening news, and a competition to win a £250 lawnmower NEWS KING Charles made a surprise visit to Windsor Flower Show last Saturday. Celebrities including Alex Jones and Kirsty Gallacher were at the one-day show - which had wonderful village fair vibes, vegetable and cake competitions and fantastic floral displays. TOP TIP JUNE is actually a good time to take Hydrangea cuttings - and get your own plants for free. They'll have produced some soft green growth - which is what you want. Choose healthy, non flowering shoots that are 10-15cm long and cut just below the node (the leaf joint). Don't collect cuttings from plants with leaves that are turning brown. And try to collect in the morning if you can. Remove the lower leaves - leaving just one or two at the top. Then dip the end in rooting powder or gel - then pop it straight in a pot. You could splash out on seeding and cutting compost - but multi purpose will do - just add a bit of grit or perlite. Then keep them out of direct sunlight and keep moist. They should have rooted within about a month. NEWS A RARE 'sheep-eating' South American plant has flowered in an English primary school for the first time. The Puya Chilensis, with its iconic spike pattern, is normally found in the Andes in Chile. But after it was planted 10 years ago by school horticulturalist Louise Moreton, it has sent out a 10ft spike at Wicor Primary School in Portchester, Hants. It's called a Sheep Catcher as it would normally entangle wildlife, hold onto it - and then when the animal died - would take the nutrients. Ms Moreton said it was exciting but a worrying sign of global warming. WIN! Keep your lawn looking its best this summer by winning a Webb Classic Self Propelled Petrol Lawn Mower worth £249.99. To enter visit or write to Sun Webb competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm. July 5, 2025. T&Cs apply. TOP TIP IF you want to get more flowers from your sedums (now called Hylotelephiums) and prevent them from collapsing - pinch them out around now. Pinch off around four sets of leaves down - which will make them bushier. JOB OF THE WEEK Weeds thrive this month - keep on top of them by hoeing. Tie in sweet peas, and give your plants a good feed - liquid seaweed feed is great - and Tomorite works with nearly everything. Give agapanthus a high-potash feed every couple of weeks. For more top tips and gardening news, follow me @biros_and_bloom
