Garden Advice

Quick Answer Prepare the ground by digging to 15cm, removing all weeds and debris, levelling, and creating a fine tilth. Lay rolled turf in a staggered brickwork pattern, butt joints tightly, water immediately, and keep moist for four to six weeks. The best time to lay turf in the UK is September to November or […]

Quick Answer A sloped garden is not a problem to solve but a design opportunity to embrace. The most successful approach is to work with the gradient by creating generous, deep terraces connected by wide shallow steps, using retaining walls of sleepers, stone, or brick to hold each level, and slowing the eye and the […]

Quick Answer Prune most roses in the UK in February, cutting back to an outward-facing bud at a 45-degree angle. Remove all dead, damaged and diseased stems first, then prune crossing stems and reduce last season’s growth by one third. Always mulch and feed afterwards. Climbing roses are pruned in autumn after flowering; ramblers immediately […]

Real small garden makeover breakdown: £4,500-£9,000 costs, design decisions that actually work, and the specific mistakes I see repeated on every compact garden project. Honest advice from a BBC Garden Rescue designer.

Quick Answer Tree grafting joins a scion (a cutting from your chosen variety) to a rootstock (which controls eventual tree size) using a clean angled cut, grafting tape, and sealing wax. Late winter to early spring is the best time for whip grafting in the UK, when trees are still dormant but sap is beginning […]

Quick Answer Divide herbaceous perennials in early spring or autumn when plants are not in flower. Lift the clump with a fork, split it by hand, with back-to-back forks, or with a sharp spade depending on root type, and replant divisions immediately with good compost and thorough watering. Most perennials benefit from division every two […]

Quick Answer The Hayter Osprey 46 is one of the best petrol lawn mowers for medium-sized UK gardens up to 500m². Built in Britain with a steel deck, Briggs and Stratton engine, and Hayter’s excellent Easy-Wash system, it delivers a sharp, consistent cut. The Autodrive version is the one to buy: the fixed 2mph drive […]

Today, I’m giving you the exact template I use on private clients’ work and BBC Garden Rescue, completely free. This is not a tick box exercise, but a systematic ‘logical’ approach to understanding what you need from your garden. It helps demystify where to start with any garden design. Showing what’s possible within your constraints, […]

Growing a wisteria in your garden can be one of the most impressive plants to welcome you home. In summer, wisteria has jaw-dropping, pendulous (raceme) lilac flowers that hang like purple pendants. These climbing giants can add a green, vertical layer of gardening to your home. Whether around a door to soften an entrance, grown […]

As a garden designer who specialises in awkward and overlooked gardens, I use pleached trees a lot in my designs. Not because I’m lazy with my tree choice, but because they really do offer a host of benefits to a small garden. Whether it’s politely blocking out nosey neighbours, adding some contemporary drama or making […]