The Genus Garden

Witty and acutely observant accounts of what is going on in the Genus Garden week by week - written by Joff Elphick our Head Gardener.

Our Himalayan Honeysuckle

Incredibly reliable and requiring so little attention our two Leycesteria formosa or Himalayan Honeysuckle are real beacons in the garden at this time of year.  Making a change from the...
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Blowing in the autumn breeze

We love our beautiful anemones that grow quietly away with little fuss or interference from us.  They bring a splash of light into the north side of the house, welcoming...
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Growing tomatoes

We always grow far too many tomatoes.  Packets of tomato seeds seem to be one of the favourite choices for gardening magazines to give away and we sow all of these free seeds.  Unfortunately,...
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Your September gardening to-do list

There’s plenty to harvest this month. And with the days getting shorter and cooler, try to make the most of the remaining warmth and enjoy your late summer garden. Dig...
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The vole

Found in a hole in the large ash tree next to the front gate was this little fellow; not a mouse, but a vole.  We seem to have a lot...
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Trying to keep up with the work

Joff, our gardener, has been on holiday for the last three weeks so everything is behind and the rest of the team have been struggling to fit in some gardening...
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Harvesting

It’s a very busy time in the Genus garden.  The flower garden can pretty much look after itself for a few weeks, just a bit of weeding, tying in, and...
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Weeding with the hori hori knife

It’s June and the Genus garden is really beginning to bloom. The downside of all the seasonal growth is the constant battle with weeds. It’s one of the most important...
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As worn by...

Last weekend it was World Naked Gardening Day and just for once the weather was kind to those busying with their borders in the buff. Here at Genus we are of...
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Your May gardening to-do list

The days are getting warmer and it’s time to tidy up spring plants and get ready for the summer. Here are our top 10 jobs for you to do now:...
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Why do you garden? Let us know and win a pair of secateurs worth £80

We’ve been asking gardeners this question for some time now.   The answers embody universal truths, as well as being as personal and individual as the gardeners themselves.  They make great...
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Homemade Christmas from the garden

One of the very best things about Christmas is the gift giving, and how much nicer if those gifts come from the heart as homemade treats? The garden is a...
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Late summer flowers

Although many gardeners might think that summer abundance is coming to an end and the only option is for their garden to look ‘green’ at this time of year, with the warmer climate we have these days, the summer in recent years...
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Garden in a cold climate: Christmas is coming

Well, it’s here. December has arrived. The weather for the past three days has been gorgeous, cold, crisp, and frosty. The garden looks like Christmas is on the way, so...
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Digging up the Dahlias

With the extended autumn and above average warmth, it has been a little time coming, but we are now putting the Genus garden to bed...
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Dealing with the garden glut: Courgettes ahoy!

Too many courgettes? There are some really tasty ways to deal with the garden glutHere in the Genus vegetable garden, we have reached the season of the garden glut particularly...
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Chelsea is here, so give it the chop!

The Chelsea show is now upon us. Fantastic.The other thing that gardener’s turn their attention to at this time of year as well, is the “Chelsea chop”. We’ll be out...
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Galanthomania – A Mystery

The snowdrops are out en masse in the Genus garden. Carpeting banks in the woodland garden they bring a little spot of liveliness into the otherwise bleakness of late winter....
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Keeping warm in the garden as winter draws closer

It’s been chilly in the Genus garden this week, we think that autumn 2016 has probably arrived at last. The leaves have properly started to turn from green to their...
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A gardening bucket-list: 6 garden must-sees and must-haves

The Genus new edition gardening trousers come in three beautiful new colours. This is something that we have always wanted, and something that our customers have been asking us for....
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Gardening leave and preserving fruit liquer

The last few weeks have been such a very busy time for Genus, the big push for our trade stand at Hampton Court show, then running our Summer Sale as...
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