There’s no time to waste; let me, Lee Burkhill, show you how to use this site to go from zero to Garden Ninja in a matter of helpful guides and gardening videos. If you want to become a fantastic gardener, then let me help train you at your own pace! I’m an award-winning garden designer […]

Quick Answer Sloe gin is made by pricking ripe sloes, layering them with sugar and gin in an airtight jar, then leaving the mixture in a dark cupboard for at least three months, shaking it weekly. Sloes are traditionally picked after the first autumn frost, though freezing fresh sloes overnight has exactly the same softening […]

Quick Answer Pumpkins and squashes are ready to harvest once the skin resists a firm thumbnail press, the colour has fully changed for that variety, and the stem has dried out and gone woody. In the UK this usually falls in the last two weeks of September through to the first week of October, ideally […]

Quick Answer Acers most often die or decline in UK gardens because of leaf scorch from drying wind, hot sun or drought, which is environmental rather than a disease and is by far the commonest cause. Late spring frost damaging tender new growth, a container that has become root bound and dries out faster than […]

Quick Answer For most UK gardens, an 85 litre single wheel barrow with a pneumatic tyre handles everyday jobs comfortably. If you regularly move a lot of soil, compost or rubble, a two wheel barrow around 200 litres, such as the Agri Barrow twin wheel model, saves trips and keeps you steadier underfoot. If balance […]

Quick Answer For most UK gardeners, bypass secateurs are the best all-round choice. The Felco Model 2 and Okatsune 103 are the two professional benchmarks. If arthritis or grip is a concern, go straight to ratchet secateurs. The right pair for your hand size, maintained properly, will last years rather than months. What frustrates me […]

Quick Answer: For branches between 25mm and 50mm thick, quality bypass loppers are the right tool. The Felco 221-80 is my top pick, since its 80cm handles reach most jobs without a ladder. For thicker or dead wood, a telescopic ratchet anvil lopper such as the Spear & Jackson Razorsharp handles what secateurs cannot. I […]

Quick Answer The Wheel of the Year is an eightfold calendar of seasonal festivals, called sabbats, that marks the turning points of the natural year, the solstices, the equinoxes and the four cross quarter days that fall between them. For a gardener it maps almost exactly onto the growing year you already live by, from […]

QUICK ANSWER Monkey puzzle trees (Araucaria araucana) need a sheltered, sunny spot with moist but well drained soil and room to reach 12 metres or more, so check your space before planting. Browning is usually one of three things: natural shedding of the oldest lower branches, drought stress in a pot or newly planted specimen, […]