Welcome to the English Garden newsletter

Christmas will soon be here - almost too quickly - so if you are looking for some ideas as to what to give a gardening friend or neighbour then check out


http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art38175.asp for my Top Ten Gifts

Remember if you are really stuck then many companies sell garden gift vouchers allowing the recipent to get two presents - once when they get the voucher and another when it actually comes to spending it!

Now is a good time to pot up some of your herbs and bring them inside for holiday cooking - mint or parsley are a good choice.(But don't put them near a radiator, a place on the windowsill of a cool room that receives sunshine for half a day would be best.)

There are three shrubs in my garden that are just starting to bloom - Mahonia japonica with its lovely scent and delicate lemon yellow flowers.It is easy to grow and prefers a sunny spot with well drained soil.

The next is Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’ which has scented pink flowers on its bare stems and thirdly a shrubby honeysuckle - Lonicera x purpusii ‘Winter Beauty’. This has creamy/white small flowers that have a lemony scent and smell gorgeous. Try putting a few stems in a vase - they will fill the room with a strong natural fragrance!

A climber on my trellis - Jasminum nudiflorum (Winter Jasmine) is just about to break into flower. It has beautiful yellow flowers along leafless green branches and is another lovely scented plant.

This year I have lots of berries on my holly trees and the hawthorn bushes. The evergreen Pyracantha -Firethorn is covered with orange berries and the old fashioned roses still have their bright red hips.


Here's the latest article from the English Garden site at BellaOnline.com.

Royal Gardeners-Book review
Written by Alan Titchmarsh this is a history of Britain´s Royal Gardens with lots of stunning photographs.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art54174.asp

Please visit englishgarden.bellaonline.com for even more great content about English Garden.

To participate in free, fun online discussions, this site has a community forum all about English Garden located here -

http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=283

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!

Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!

Hellie T., English Garden Editor
http://englishgarden.bellaonline.com

One of hundreds of sites at BellaOnline.com