Fennel and Fern

the stylish gardening blog

The market garden

The market garden
Tamsin Borlase is the genius behind market garden Bosley Patch, where organic fruit and vegetables thrive.
Micro-lavender

Micro-lavender
Lavender seedlings make an incredible micro-herb for garnishing and popping in your mouth for a flavoursome surprise.
Apple mint salad

Apple mint salad
Apple mint isn’t just good for garnishes and hot drinks: it makes a fabulous salad leaf in its own right.
Win stylish salads galore

Win stylish salads galore
Win £60 worth of salad plants and seeds from Seed Pantry.
'Glass Gem' corn

'Glass Gem' corn
This heritage corn variety is possibly the most beautiful you’ll ever grow, if you manage to get your hands on some seeds, that is.

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Fall in love with these gardens, from balcony oasis to sweeping meadow.
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Grow

The Good Growing Guide is a series of easy-to-read flashcards on how to grow the most popular vegetables.

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…these Woolly Pocket planters from Garden Beet. Why do we love them so? Well, they are a simple and very realistic way of creating a vertical garden. Vertical gardens may be all the rage, but a lot of the equipment requires specialist knowledge

Sexy heleconias

August 6, 2010

by Ken-Marten

3 Comments

Sometimes my ideas do not translate into effective designs. This week I planned to create a ‘pink jungle’ with Medinula plants hanging from bamboo canes, their cascading pink flowers complimenting the snaking lines of the ‘Sexy Pink

Magnolia grandiflora

August 5, 2010

by F&F

1 Comment

You’d struggle to find a more magnificent plant than Magnolia grandiflora. This oh-so-fabulous tree is utterly beautiful all year round, with enormous waxy deep green evergreen leaves, and tremendous white waxy flowers the size of a dinner plat

‘Purple Queen’ climbing beans

August 4, 2010

by F&F

1 Comment

‘Purple Queen’ french beans are the sort of fun, sassy crop every stylish gardener wants to grow in their good-looking veg plot. They race up their supports, burst into shocking magenta flower, and then produce hundreds of gorgeous regal

Showstopping Sungold tomatoes

August 3, 2010

by F&F

5 Comments

Some harvests are big events in themselves. Each year, the firsts roll around again: first lettuce, first raspberry, and then there’s the first tomato. For someone who hated tomatoes until she started growing them, I have become extraordinarily

A plant to love: Veronicastrum

August 2, 2010

by F&F

No Responses.

Veronicastrum virginicum is the perfect plant for wide, sweeping prairie planting, but it’s also pretty fabulous-looking close-up. Airy-fairy spikes of hebe-like purple flowers site atop five to six foot stems from July to early September. Plan

The wrap-up

August 1, 2010

by F&F

No Responses.

First of all, we’re thrilled to welcome lots of new members to the F&F community. If you haven’t registered yet, don’t forget to sign up right away for your chance to win two Woolly Pockets worth £70. Thanks so much to our fabul

The mini meadow

August 1, 2010

by F&F

5 Comments

Poppies and cornflowers are quite the prettiest of weeds. This year, I decided to jazz up my vegetable patch using a packet of wildflower seeds from The Balcony Gardener. I followed the normal steps for creating a meadow, and sowed the seeds in rows

Collector’s Item: Clematis viticella

July 31, 2010

by F&F

2 Comments

Clematis are everywhere at this time of year, and that’s no bad thing. Spilling over fences, scampering up obelisks and peeking out between other plants: Clematis viticella are marvellous plants. But this month, we’re not looking at the c