Garden Advice

If you’re like me and have a nightmare garden border that’s both shady and awkward, then this guide for shade-loving plants is for you. Part of my garden here at Garden Ninaj HQ is a mix of deep, dappled, and dry shade. This flower bed also has competition from a hedge and mature trees. It’s […]

Pruning back herbaceous perennials is essential to ensure beautiful blooms in your garden year after year. However, many gardeners are confused about when and how to prune. Most new gardeners leave herbaceous perennials like Salvias, Heleniums or Verbenas, expecting them to regenerate themselves the year after magically. The fact is, they won’t. All herbaceous perennials […]

The soil type in your garden can make or break your plans for a successful garden design. Your plants will only be as successful as the preparation and planning that you, the gardener, put in! Rather than thinking of soil as dirt, you need to start treating it as the life force of your garden. This […]

This guide will show you how to make an easy compost bin from wooden pallets. This is by far the easiest method I have used over the years. Even with a small garden, if you have enough space for a wooden palette, it’s worthwhile to create a compost bin. You not only save on those […]

Have you just moved into a new property or new build? You may face bare earth or, in older properties, a lacklustre lawn that needs help ASAP! This ultimate guide to laying and fixing lawns will help you make the most of your garden and create a fabulous lawn in no time! Grass lawns are tough, […]

Greenflies, commonly known as aphids, are a persistent problem for many gardeners. These tiny, sap-sucking insects can cause significant damage to plants, leading to stunted growth, curled leaves, and a general decline in plant health. In some cases, an overwhelming number of greenflies on your plants can significantly reduce the flowering or fruiting potential of […]

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 […]

Green roofs are incredibly versatile and beneficial to any garden. This guide on how to fit a green roof will show you how easy it is to green up your back garden shed. What has caused the increasing popularity of green roofs, though? Green roofs can slow down the flow of torrential downpours, enabling sewers […]

Updated 2024: Artificial turf is now serious competition for real lawns in our gardens. One installer has seen a 200% year-on-year increase in the demand for artificial turf compared to living grass. A visit to a ‘Garden & Landscaping’ exhibition in 2019 gave me first-hand experience of the sheer amount of artificial grass being pushed […]

Working out which direction a garden faces is one of the first things I do when I’m working on new garden designs. The garden aspect is a crucial part of garden planning. If you ignore the position of the sun in the garden you will struggle to find the correct plants. It also means you […]