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Tree Rootstock Sizes Guide: how big will my garden tree get?
When it comes to selecting trees for your garden or landscape, one crucial factor to consider is the rootstock size. The rootstock serves as the base or foundation onto which the desired tree variety, known as the scion, is grafted. Fruit trees and some ornamental trees are grafted to control their growth making them suitable […]
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Plant Hardiness Ratings Explained: how cold can your plants get?
When it comes to choosing plants for your garden, it’s not just a case of simply picking what looks best. You need to make sure you’re always picking the right plant for the right place. This involves looking at a few factors, such as plant hardiness ratings, to ensure that your investment in plants is […]
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The Northern Star Show Garden: Community Spirit at RHS Tatton
The Northern Star feature garden aims to showcase 5 very different and diverse community gardens in one stunning garden design. The RHS and BBC asked me earlier this year to be the designer of this challenging brief. To help showcase the best of northern gardens in one show garden to help encourage new gardeners. No […]
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Hampton Court Flower Show 2018: The Plant Explorers for Hartley Botanic
After the success of the stand at Chelsea, I was keen to update the design and planting palette. That way people who had seen the original would have something new to uncover, whilst first-timers could still see the plant explorer theme. So I’ve managed to pack in even more plant explorer stories, different plant specimens and […]
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Garden design process
When it comes to designing a garden, you can feel overwhelmed, stuck or lost in choice. This is where a reputable Garden Designer can save you time, money and frustration in creating the garden of your dreams! This guide will take you through the process of using a garden designer or, if you’re a new […]
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Top 10 Garden Herbs Grow Guide – 1 in 4 Grow herbs in Britain
Herbs are a wonderful part of any container, kitchen or aromatic garden. Offering delicious scents in the garden and edible plants used for culinary, medicinal, and aromatherapy purposes. These easy-to-grow plants are a great starting point for any new gardener, which is why there’s been a rise in the number of people growing herbs here […]
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8 Winter Gardening Jobs for Beginners: Garden Maintenance made easy
It can feel daunting and uninspiring to try and garden in the winter, especially if you are a beginner or have just bought your first garden. Knowing how and where to start gardening can be enough to put you off from even trying. If you’re thinking of just waiting to see what pops up in […]
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How to grow yellow rattle: the meadow maker
If you’re considering starting a meadow, no-mow zone in your lawn or mini meadow in your garden, the yellow rattle is a vital plant ally you need to grow! This plant will help reduce the competition and vigour from native lawn grasses, enabling plants to flourish that otherwise would be overshadowed in the garden. So […]
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Fear of failure in gardening & how to overcome it
I get a lot of emails and comments from new gardeners who really want to garden but have no clue where to start. They don’t know what they’re doing and panic that they will mess it up! This is known as the fear of failure in gardening. So, I thought it was about time we […]
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10 Mistakes New Gardeners Make (then how to avoid them)
When I started this gardening blog, I was on a simple mission: to help inspire, educate and encourage all gardeners to succeed in their green spaces. One of the most exciting groups of gardeners I help is beginners or new gardeners. However, there are several common mistakes that all new gardeners make unless they have […]
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