World Environment Day is on 5th June and it’s all about connecting people to nature. Get outdoors and into nature, appreciate its beauty, and think about how we’re part of nature and how intimately we depend on it. Do you have a garden or any outdoor space at all? Here are four ways of connecting […]

We all know that location is so important. You’re thinking of buying some rattan garden furniture? That’s great! It will make such a difference to your garden and you’re bound to spend much more time outside. But where are you going to put it? To ensure you put your rattan garden furniture in the best […]

Here are five fantastic ideas for a present which might suit your father on Father’s Day. It’s on 18th June 2017 so you’ve got a couple of weeks to sort it out. A spade is a spade on Father’s Day A good spade makes all the difference in the garden, whether you’re just starting out […]

Home-grown tomatoes taste so much better than ones bought in the shops and they’re fun to grow. You have to keep an eye on them and look after them – children are good at that! Now’s the time to choose and plant your tomato plants so plan a little trip to your local garden centre […]

For garden inspiration, a major resource is the annual RHS Chelsea Flower Show. It is wonderful. And rather daunting to ordinary gardeners like me. But press and TV coverage offers great ideas and lasting images of wonderful plants and garden designs that, with a little effort, could create 'the look' and a corner of Chelsea in your (and […]

Home grown salad leaves are so much tastier than shop bought packets. They are fresher and crisper, less waste (because you pick what you need when you need it), easy to grow, good for you and good value. So many reasons to grow a range of salad leaves in gardens and pots. Here we go! […]

A difficult word to pin down, glamour. You probably know it when you see it but teasing out its components somehow detracts from its essential nature. And that’s because, once upon a time, ‘glamour’ meant enchantment, magic. It encompasses allure and captivation, charm and spell. It’s a very hard thing to capture. Perhaps glamour lies […]

Mowing lawns The sound of lawnmowers on sunny evenings means summer has arrived with me. Just as lawns are central to summer gardens, so is mowing them. Mowing lawns once a week is usual from May to September or October. In damp, warm weather grass grows faster and you may want to mow more often. […]

Gardens are looking lovely – new growth and blossom and every shade of green. And happy gardeners listening to BBC Radio 4 Gardeners’ Question Time on 7th May 2017 will have frozen with horror at the description of slugs munching their way through more plants than many gardeners could imagine. The RHS 'top pests' list is […]

The garden centres are full of summer bedding plants, tempting you to buy and plant to brighten up your gardens now the bulbs are mostly over. The late spring bank holiday is the traditional time for a bedding changeover. In this post, we dig down (sorry!) for a little information to bring your summer garden […]

Today, we’re talking about storage. Specifically, storage in the garden and we're not talking about getting a shed. Having what you need close at hand really helps when you’re out on the patio or the decking or in the garden. Scenario 1 You may have started the evening in deliciously warm weather but later on […]

Summer flowers in garden centres are so tempting at the moment, but late frosts may damage summer bedding planted outdoors too soon. If this weekend leads you to thoughts of summer flowers in your garden, get ahead with summer bulbs instead. Depending on how tough they are, summer flowering blubs can be planted in autumn, […]