BBC Essex gardening presenter Ken Crowther answers all your gardening questions and queries. This week he is joined by Tom Cole, Senior Horticultural Lecturer at Writtle University College.
Based on the Suffolk/Norfolk border The Bressingham Gardens were founded by Alan Bloom of Blooms Nurseries in 1953. The gardens were opened to the public in 1962 with six acres and 500 different species and cultivars. His son Adrian Bloom went on to further develop the gardens as he explained to Ken Crowther when he took him for a tour of the site.
An easy way to create instant summer colour is by using hanging baskets and troughs. Garden centres and nurseries have plenty on display but it’s easy to create your own. Phostrogen Slow Release Plant Food and Moisture Control is an ideal solution for busy gardeners as Tom Cole, Senior Horticultural Lecturer at Writtle University College told Ken Crowther.
If you got your first early seed potatoes planted in February they should be showing their heads come June. These early varieties produced a heavy yield of short, oval tubers with firm and waxy white flesh. Thompson and Morgan’s vegetable man Colin Randall spoke to Ken Crowther.
We are well into the bedding season with garden centres and nurseries offering a variety of plants to give a colourful display. To ensure they keep looking great all summer long feeding is essential as Dave Gillam, general manager at Abercorn Garden Centre in Essex explained to Ken Crowther.