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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 tree 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. […]

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, […]

Quick Answer Lawn care changes with the seasons. Feed and aerate in spring, mow weekly through summer without cutting too short, scarify and feed again in autumn, then let the grass rest from November to January. Follow this month by month planner and your lawn will stay thick, green and far less work than the […]

Quick answer: Get ahead of bumper crops by separating apples as they come off the tree and use windfalls and bruised fruit first. Turn a glut into apple sauce, chutney or apple butter within a few days of picking, or freeze prepared slices for later. Unblemished apples wrapped individually in newspaper and stored somewhere cool, […]

Quick Answer Most UK garden plums are ready to pick from the second week of August through to mid September, with Victoria plums typically hitting their peak in the third week of August. A ripe plum will have full colour, a faint powdery bloom, a slight give when gently squeezed and will twist away from […]

Quick Answer Prune a plum tree in September, straight after harvest, and never in winter. Plums belong to the Prunus family alongside cherries, and a winter cut leaves the wound open to silver leaf disease and bacterial canker for months in cold, damp weather. Remove dead or crossing wood first, thin any congested growth, and […]