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Quick Answer Rolled turf in the UK costs about £3.30 to £5.40 per square metre delivered when you buy 40 rolls or more, and up to £10 per roll for very small orders. A typical 50m² lawn needs about £235 to £300 of turf if you lay it yourself, or roughly £750 to £1,750 for […]

Quick Answer To level a lawn, fill shallow dips by top dressing with a sandy loam mix no more than 1cm deep at a time, letting the grass grow through between layers. For deeper hollows or bumps, cut an H shape in the turf, peel it back, add or remove soil, then relay it and […]

Quick Answer Lay turf in autumn (September to November) or spring (March to April) when the soil is above 8°C. Clear every perennial weed, dig to 15cm, add compost or topsoil, rake level, firm it by treading, then rake a fine tilth. Lay rolls in a staggered brick pattern, butt joints tightly, and soak the […]

Quick Answer Plant garlic in the UK in October or November, ideally before Christmas, so the cloves get the winter cold they need to split into full bulbs. Push individual cloves into free-draining soil in full sun, pointed end up, with the tip about 2.5cm below the surface, 15cm apart in rows 30cm apart. Keep […]

Quick Answer To protect plants from frost in the UK, cover tender plants in the border with horticultural fleece on any night a frost is forecast, pegging the edges down so cold air cannot creep underneath, and take it off again once temperatures rise. Use cloches for individual plants and salads, a cold frame for […]

Quick Answer A Christmas cactus needs bright, indirect light, watering only once the top 2 to 3cm of compost has dried out, and a half-strength liquid feed once flowering has finished. For autumn flowers, give it six to eight weeks of cooler, darker nights from late September, then keep it settled once buds form. A […]

Quick Answer For most UK gardeners with a power supply, the best greenhouse heater is a thermostat controlled electric fan heater, about 1kW for a 6x8ft greenhouse and 2kW for 8x10ft or larger. Set it to 2 to 5°C for frost protection or 7 to 10°C for tender plants. Use a paraffin heater only where […]

Quick Answer Lift Dahlias about a week after the first frost blackens the foliage, usually late October to mid November. Cut the stems back to 10 to 15cm, fork out the clump and dry the tubers upside down for one to two weeks. Store them in dry compost or vermiculite, frost-free at 5 to 10°C, […]

🌱 Quick Answer Plant Camassia bulbs in September or October, 10 to 15cm deep and 15 to 20cm apart, in sun or light shade. They thrive in heavy clay and soil that’s wet in winter and spring, naturalise in meadows and long grass, and flower in late April to June before coming back year after […]

🌱 Quick Answer English bluebells droop to one side, have narrow leaves, deep violet flowers with curled back tips, cream pollen and a sweet scent. Spanish bluebells stand upright with flowers all round the stem, broad leaves, paler open bells and blue pollen. Plant cultivated English bluebells 10cm deep in autumn, or in the green […]