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Queen bee gardening, Tynemouth (2026)

01/01/2023

15 gardening tips for January

1. Plant a new tree or shrub to celebrate the new year! Provided the ground isn't waterlogged or frozen, winter's a good time to plant trees and shrubs. The winter months are great opportunity to look at any gaps in your borders or hedges and choose a suitable tree or shrub to fill it.
2. Mulch your borders and vegetable beds with a thick layer (at least 5cm/2in) of well-rotted farmyard manure or garden compost. This will improve soil structure, helping the soil retain moisture during dry periods and drain better in wet weather.
3. Cut back any soggy-looking perennials that have died back and clear away leaves from beds, as they can be a harbour for slugs and snails over winter.
4. Prune wisteria, cutting back last summer's shoots to 2-3 buds from the main woody framework for a fantastic display of fragrant flowers in a few months' time.
5. Cut back old hellebore leaves. This makes the flowers easier to see and reduces the spread of hellebore leaf spots, a fungal disease.
6. Deadhead winter pansies to encourage a second flush of flowers.
7. Prune shrub roses, removing all dead, damaged and spindly growth, then cutting branches back by a third just above an outward-facing bud. Use sharp secateurs and make cuts that slope away from the bud so rainwater will run off the cut.
8. When working in the garden, watch out for the first bulbs – winter aconites, early daffodils and snowdrops are all coming up now, so take care not to tread on them.
9. Birds need plenty of food to keep warm at this time of year, so top up bird feeders with sunflower seeds, suet balls and other high-energy foods. Make sure there's clean water in bowls or birdbaths for birds to drink and wash their feathers.
10. Check any stored bulbs like tulips, dahlias and begonias to make sure they aren't drying out or rotting.
11. Get your tools in order while you have some time to spare. Sharpen lawnmowers and secateurs, and clean out old pots ready for seed sowing in spring.
12. If you want to sow early peas, prepare the soil now by laying fleece, black plastic or cloches over the ground now to warm it up.
13. Prune apple and pear trees, as well as soft fruit like blackcurrants, gooseberries and redcurrants.
14. Force some early rhubarb by putting a bucket over the plant's crown. This encourages the growth of delicious tender pink stems.
15. Sow microgreens on a sunny windowsill to give you a taste of fresh salad while you wait for spring to arrive.

Happy gardening 🐝

01/01/2023

Hope you have had a fun filled Christmas. Wishing you all a fantastic 2023.
Try and grow something new this year! Happy gardening 🐝

07/11/2022

Top 15 gardening tips for November

1. November is the ideal time to plant tulips in pots and borders for fabulous colour next spring. And if you haven’t planted daffodils, crocuses and other spring bulbs yet, there’s still time to do it.
2. Sow broad bean ‘Aquadulce Claudia’ outdoors now for an earlier crop next year. If mice are a problem, cover the beds with netting or sow your beans in pots in a greenhouse.
3. Sow salad on a sunny windowsill to give you a supply of fresh leaves through winter.
4. Sow sweet peas this month for earlier flowers next year. Soak the seeds in water overnight to improve germination, then sow in individual pots filled with compost, water them and place them in a cold frame or greenhouse.
5. Plant up patio pots and windowboxes with violas, cyclamen and colourful evergreens like heucheras and heather to give you winter colour when the weather is dark and gloomy.
6. Plant garlic cloves now so they can get growing early in spring. In light of free-draining soils, you can plant overwintering onions like ‘Radar’ and ‘Electric’ this month.
7. Plant new soft fruit and hedging plants provided the soil is not waterlogged or frozen.
8. Cut back faded perennials, but leave a few hollow flower stems standing to provide homes for insects over winter.
9. Cut old hellebore leaves off at ground level once you can see new leaves starting to emerge. This makes it easier to see the flowers and reduces the spread of hellebore leaf spot.
10. Cut back shrub roses by a third to protect them against wind rock (damage to the roots from winter winds).
11. Harvest parsnips after the first frosts, and they’ll taste sweeter—harvest carrots, cabbage and celeriac this month too.
12. Lift dahlias once the first frosts have blackened their leaves. Leave the tubers to dry, then store them in trays under a layer of compost to keep them from drying out.
13. Mulch beds with a thick layer of organic matter, such as garden compost or well-rotted farmyard manure.
14. Put pots on pot feet to save them from getting waterlogged over winter. In cold areas, wrap the pots in fleece or bubble wrap to give the roots extra protection. Move tender plants into a frost-free place.
15. Clean bird feeders and fill them with oil-rich seeds like sunflower hearts and suet balls to support birds through winter. Keep bird baths topped up so that birds have somewhere to drink and bathe.

Happy winter gardening 🐝

06/10/2022

October gardening tips
1. Cut back herbaceous perennials as they die back, but leave a few hollow flower stems standing to provide homes for overwintering insects.
2. Prune climbing roses and reduce shrub roses by half to protect them against damage from strong winter winds.
3. Lift and divide perennials like geraniums, salvias, daylilies and agapanthus. Tease clumps apart by hand or use two garden forks back-to-back to lever them apart. Cut woody roots with a knife or the sharp edge of a spade.
4. Prune summer-fruiting raspberries, cutting all this year’s fruited canes to ground level and leaving the new canes, which will bear fruit next year.
5. Harvest the last of your French and runner beans, then cut the plants down to ground level, leaving the roots in the ground to release their stored nitrogen.
6. Pick green tomatoes and let them ripen indoors, placing them in a paper bag together with a banana to speed up the process. Check the bag regularly and remove any tomatoes which are going rotten.
7. October is an excellent time to plant new trees and shrubs while the soil is still warm from the summer, giving the roots time to settle in over winter, ready for next spring.
8. Sow hardy peas like ‘Avola’ outdoors and cover the ground with netting to stop mice from digging them up. A layer of prickly holly leaves over the seeds also provides good protection.
9. Plant spring bulbs like daffodils, irises and crocuses this month, but wait until November to plant tulips.
10. Plant up pots with winter bedding like cyclamen and violas to give colour through the cold months.
11. Aerate and scarify your lawn, and give it a low-nitrogen autumn feed. Now’s a good time to fix bare patches by sowing seed or laying turf.
12. Lift dahlia, begonia and gladiolus bulbs in cold areas and store them somewhere dry over winter. In temperate regions, you may leave the bulbs in the ground and lay a thick mulch over them.
13. Move half-hardy plants into a frost-free spot like a greenhouse or a sunny windowsill indoors.
14. Raise pots on pot feet to prevent them from becoming waterlogged and frozen over winter.
15. Sweep up fallen leaves and collect them to make leaf mould. If you don’t have space for a leaf pile, put the leaves into black bin bags, make a few holes in the bags and put them somewhere out of sight. In a year or two, the leaves will break down into leaf mould, a fantastic soil conditioner.

Happy gardening 🐝

12/09/2022

September’s a beautiful month in the garden.

15 September gardening tips

1. As strawberry plants put out runners (long stems with clusters of leaves), peg down the leaf clusters on the soil where they will root and form new plants. If you don’t want new plants, cut off the runners to conserve the mother plant’s energy.
2. Maincrop potatoes should be ready to harvest this month. Cut down the foliage, leave it for three weeks and then dig up the potatoes – kids will love doing this! Leave the potatoes to dry for a few hours, then store them in hessian sacks or paper bags in a cool dark place.
3. Pinch out the growing tips of cordon tomatoes once they have produced seven trusses so they can focus all their energies on ripening the fruit.
4. Once you’ve picked the last of your French and runner beans, cut the plants down to ground level and leave the roots in the ground to release their stored nitrogen.
5. Prune summer raspberries. Cut back all fruited canes to ground level and tie in new canes to support in preparation for next year’s fruit.
6. Harvest plums, pears, apples, blackberries, and autumn raspberries in the orchard.
7. Get a head start on next year’s veg crop. Sow spinach and spring onions for next year and cover the seedlings with fleece to protect them from frost damage. Plant autumn-sowing onion and garlic sets for early harvests. Onion ‘Electric’, onion ‘Radar’, garlic ‘Germidour’, and garlic ‘Picardy Wight’ are all ideal for autumn planting.
8. Direct sow hardy annuals like poppies, cornflowers and nigella outdoors for early flowers next summer.
9. Plant out wallflowers and other biennials to give them time to settle in before winter.
10. Keep deadheading dahlias and roses for a last flush of autumn colour.
11. Cut back faded perennials. Now’s a good time to lift and divide geraniums, hostas and other perennials, reducing overgrown clumps and giving you extra plants!
12. Plant new perennials while the soil is still warm from the summer. The autumn rains will help to keep them watered.
13. It’s time to plant spring bulbs like daffodils, crocuses, alliums and irises. Wait until November to plant tulips, as they’re less at risk from viruses once the weather is colder.
14. Do your autumn lawn maintenance. Scarify and aerate the lawn, and give it an autumn feed high in potassium to harden the grass, ready for the cold winter weather.
15. Water camellias and rhododendrons regularly, as they are now developing the buds for next year’s flowers.

Happy gardening 🐝

09/09/2022

Such an incredible lady. Rest in peace.
Queen Elizabeth rose.

14/08/2022

Top 15 garden tips for August

1. Keep deadheading dahlias and roses to keep the flowers coming until autumn. However, if your roses are the types that develop colourful hips in winter (e.g. rugosa roses), then leave the flowers to fade on the plants and don’t cut them off.
2. Water camellias and rhododendrons regularly this month, as they are developing their buds for next year’s flowers.
3. Once lavender has finished flowering, cut back the faded flower heads to keep the plant in good shape. Take care not to cut back too hard, as lavender won’t grow back if you cut into the old wood.
4. Prune rambling roses now. Take out one in every three flowering stems on established plants to keep the plant under control. Tie in any loose stems if needed.
5. Give your wisteria its summer prune if you didn’t do it last month. Cut back all this year’s long whippy stems to within 5-6 leaves of the main woody framework. This helps keep the plant under control and encourages it to form plenty of buds for next year’s flowers.
6. Water container plants regularly, especially in hot weather, and feed flowering plants weekly with a liquid high-potash feed such as tomato feed. Container-grown tomatoes and peppers will also benefit from a weekly high-potash feed.
7. As annuals like poppies, cornflowers and nigella set seeds, collect them in paper bags and store them for sowing in spring.
8. Keep ponds and bird baths topped up to give your garden wildlife somewhere to bathe and drink.
9. Plant autumn flowering bulbs like nerines and colchicums, and start planning your spring bulbs now so that you’re ready when autumn arrives.
10. Cut back basil, mint and thyme for a flush of new growth before autumn.
11. As strawberry plants send out runners, peg them down in individual pots or on the ground to create new plants. If you don’t need any new strawberry plants, cut the runners off to preserve the mother plant’s energy.
12. Prune summer-fruiting raspberries, cutting back all fruit-bearing canes to ground level.
13. Keep picking courgettes, runner beans and French beans. Tomatoes, potatoes and beetroot should also be ready to harvest now, and when onion and shallot leaves turn yellow and flop over, it’s time to harvest them too.
14. Keep on sowing for those autumn and winter salads. Rocket, mizuna, pak Choi and lamb’s lettuce can all be sown now.
15. Hedgehogs are starting to fatten up before hibernating, and you can help by leaving out food for them.

Happy gardening 🐝

12/07/2022

It’s summertime, and in the garden, everything is growing like crazy! Now’s the time to really enjoy your garden, and to keep it looking great, here are the top 15 gardening tips for July.

1. Sow biennials like wallflowers, honesty and foxgloves now for flowers next spring and early summer.
2. Roses, cosmos, sweet peas, daylilies and dahlias all make excellent cut flowers, and cutting them for the house or simply deadheading them will keep more flowers coming all through summer.
3. Cut back faded perennials such as hardy geraniums and delphiniums to encourage fresh new leaves and a second flush of flowers.
4. Lift and divide bearded irises once they have finished flowering. Replant them with the rhizomes partially exposed so that they can be baked by the summer sun.
5. July is the time to summer prune your wisteria, cutting all this year’s long whippy shoots back to 5-6 leaves from the woody main stems.
6. Keep sowing lettuce to give you a regular supply of fresh-picked leaves for salads. Lettuce and other salad leaves are prone to bolt in hot weather, so plant them where they will get some shade from the hot afternoon sun.
7. Water container plants regularly in hot periods. It’s especially important to water tomatoes consistently, as sudden downpours are likely to result in split tomatoes after a dry period.
8. Plants that flower and fruit, including tomatoes, beans, peppers, courgettes, blueberries and gooseberries, will all benefit from fortnightly feeding with a liquid high-potash feed such as tomato fertiliser.
9. Pinch out (remove) side-shoots on cordon tomatoes. These are the small leafy shoots that appear in the fork between the main stem and the side stems. Pinch them out by hand to concentrate the plant’s energy.
10. Pinch out the tips of broad bean plants once the first pods appear to encourage bushy growth and lots of beans. This will also reduce the risk of blackfly infestations.
11. Earth up maincrop potatoes to prevent the sunlight from reaching them and turning them green (green potatoes are toxic). Early potatoes should be ready to harvest this month, but dig up one or two first to check that they are big enough.
12. Once beans and courgettes are big enough to pick, harvest regularly to encourage the plants to keep producing fruits.
13. Prune stone fruit like peaches, cherries, plums and apricots now while they are in leaf. This reduces the risk of silver leaf infection.
14. Plant autumn-flowering bulbs like nerines and colchicums this month for a burst of stunning colour just as other plants are starting to fade.
15. Lawns grow fast in summer, so to keep yours looking neat, mow it weekly. In hot, dry periods, mow less frequently and raise the lawnmower blades onto a higher setting to avoid stressing the grass.

Happy gardening 🐝

10/06/2022

Summer's almost here! The gardening season has started, and beautiful flowers are in bloom or already have flowered. This season, there's still plenty to do in the garden. With flowers in full bloom and crops ripening in the vegetable plot, June’s a beautiful garden month. Keep your garden looking its best with our top 15 garden jobs for June.

15 June's gardening tips

1. Sow basil seeds for a supply of fresh leaves all summer. The seeds germinate very quickly in warm conditions, so don’t sow them too densely and thin out once they emerge.
2. Sow lettuce, radishes, carrots and beetroot in the vegetable garden. Now’s also an excellent time to sow runner and French beans directly outdoors.
3. Plant out courgette, tomato, pepper and sweetcorn seedlings. If you started out runner and French beans indoors last month, plant them out as well. Plant tomato seedlings deep so that the first set of leaves is just above ground level. This will encourage the plant to produce more roots and give you bigger, more vigorous plants.
4. Pinch out side-shoots on cordon tomatoes to concentrate the plant’s energy on producing plentiful trusses of fruit. There’s no need to pinch out side-shoots on bush tomatoes.
5. Feed pot-grown tomatoes, peppers and courgettes fortnightly with a high potash liquid feed to promote the development of flowers and fruit.
6. Now that the leaves of daffodils, tulips and other spring bulbs are fading, cut them back to ground level to keep the beds looking tidy.
7. The w**ds will be growing just as fast as all your other plants, so w**d regularly to stop them from taking over. On dry days, use a Dutch hoe to cut down annual w**ds like chickw**d and hairy bittercress and leave them on the soil to dry.
8. Plant up hanging baskets with summer bedding like petunias, calibrachoa and geraniums to give you months of colour. Fuchsias, begonias and busy lizzies are fabulous for pots and hanging baskets in shady spots.
9. First early potatoes should be ready to harvest once the flowers have opened, but dig up one or two first to check whether they are big enough.
10. Strawberries will be starting to ripen now, so cover the plants with nets to stop birds from stealing the delicious berries.
11. Prune spring-flowering shrubs like weigela and forsythia once flowering has finished, cutting back the flowered shoots to vigorous side shoots and taking out one in every four old stems at ground level.
12. Check evergreen hedges for nesting birds before trimming them, and take care not to disturb nesting birds.
13. Deadhead roses and pick sweetpeas regularly to keep them flowering for a long period over summer.
14. Make the most effective use of your water by watering the garden in the morning or evening when it’s cooler.
15. Mow the lawn once a week. In hot, dry spells, raise the mower blades to a higher setting to not stress the grass.

Happy gardening 🐝

19/05/2022

World Bee Day is celebrated on May 20. On this day Anton Janša, the pioneer of beekeeping, was born in 1734. The purpose of the international day is to acknowledge the role of bees and other pollinators for the ecosystem.

02/05/2022

15 Gardening Tips for May 🐝

May’s a beautiful month to get out into the garden, with spring in full bloom and everything bursting back into life. Here are 15 gardening tips for May to get your garden looking its best for summer.

1. Plant summer bedding in pots, windowboxes and hanging baskets to add instant colour to patios and front steps. In colder areas of the country, wait until the end of the month to avoid any late cold snaps.
2. Once the leaves of spring bulbs like daffodils, bluebells and tulips have died back, cut them off at ground level. Lift and divide overgrown clumps of spring bulbs.
3. Sow annuals like sunflowers, poppies and cornflowers outdoors for a fantastic summer display.
4. Sow courgettes, runner beans and French beans in pots in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill for planting out next month.
5. Earth up potatoes to keep the tubers covered – if they are exposed to sunlight, they will turn green and become toxic. Plant them this month if you still have any maincrop seed potatoes.
6. Pot your tomato seedlings into larger pots, but wait until the end of the month to plant tomatoes outdoors, and remember to harden them off first.
7. Sow basil seeds in pots on a sunny windowsill for a constant supply of tasty leaves all through summer. You can also sow coriander outdoors now.
8. Sow a new batch of salad leaves every couple of weeks for fresh salads throughout summer.
9. It’s not too soon to start sowing your winter vegetables! Sow kale in pots in the greenhouse and parsnips and Brussels sprouts directly outdoors where they are to grow.
10. Make the best use of your water by watering plants in the early mornings or the evenings, constantly watering the earth, not the foliage. Install a waterbutt to collect rainwater and use this for watering – it’s perfect for plants.
11. Keep on top of w**ds, especially in the vegetable garden. Run a Dutch hoe over the ground to clear annual w**ds on dry days. Perennial w**ds with long taproots, like docks and dandelions, can be tackled with a hand fork or dandelion grubber.
12. Take care when trimming hedges – always check that there are no birds nesting in the hedge before you start cutting. Remember, it’s illegal to disturb nesting birds.
13. Once they've finished flowering, prune spring-flowering shrubs like forsythia, Japanese quince, flowering currants and choisya to keep them looking neat.
14. Once the frosts are over, it’s time to prune Group 1 clematis like Clematis montana and Clematis armandii that flower early in the year. Cut back as needed to keep them to size.
15. Water container plants regularly even if it rains, as their foliage often stops the rainwater from reaching the compost. Feed them fortnightly with a balanced liquid feed.

Happy gardening 🐝

15/04/2022

Happy Easter 🐣🌷🐝

Queen bee gardening

01/01/2023

01/01/2023

07/11/2022

06/10/2022

12/09/2022

09/09/2022

14/08/2022

12/07/2022

10/06/2022

19/05/2022

02/05/2022

15/04/2022

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