Propagating & Growing Plants

After all my years of gardening and teaching others how to grow things, I can tell you that strawberries are absolutely one of the most rewarding plants you can grow at home. There is something magical about picking a sun-warmed strawberry straight from your own garden and eating it there and then. The taste is […]

The reason vine weevils catch so many gardeners off guard is that almost all the damage occurs underground and at night. The adult beetle is nocturnal and hides expertly during the day. The larvae live entirely within the compost or soil, feeding on roots for months before the plant shows any above-ground symptoms. By the time […]

I have grown camellias in my gardens for decades and have answered hundreds of camellia problems on this forum and on BBC Garden Rescue. The good news is that most camellia problems are completely fixable once you identify the correct cause. The bad news is that several different problems produce identical-looking symptoms, which is why […]

Lavender dying or looking poorly is genuinely one of the most misdiagnosed plant problems in UK gardening, because the symptoms of almost every possible cause look identical. Brown, drooping, wilting foliage can mean overwatering, root rot, too much shade, wrong soil, overly woody growth, or simply old age. The good news is that once you […]

The critical point with hydrangeas not flowering is that different causes require completely different solutions. The fix for wrong pruning timing is not the same as the fix for frost damage, which is not the same as the fix for too much shade or too much nitrogen. Reaching for a general-purpose fertiliser and hoping for […]

Every time I visit a new garden client for the first time, I do the same thing before I look at a single plant or design element. I pick up a handful of soil and feel it. I look at what is already growing there, both the plants people have chosen and the weeds that […]

Silty soil is one of the most fertile and productive growing mediums available, holding moisture and nutrients in a way that suits an enormous range of plants from bold perennials and structural grasses to productive fruit and vegetables. Quick Answer The best plants for silty soil in the UK include Iris sibirica, Astilbe, Rudbeckia, Phlox […]

With the right plant choices, they can host some of the most dazzling, naturalistic planting schemes imaginable. As an RHS-qualified garden designer with over twenty years of experience, including gardens on some of the driest, sandiest plots in the UK, I can tell you that the secret is simply working with what you have rather […]

Quick Answer Container gardening works best when you match pot size to plant type, use proper potting compost rather than garden soil, ensure every container has drainage holes, and commit to regular watering and feeding. Most plants can thrive in containers if given enough root space and the right growing conditions. The biggest beginner mistakes […]

Quick Answer Plant allium bulbs in autumn, from September to November, in well-drained soil at a depth of four times the bulb’s diameter. Most alliums flower from May to June, though later varieties like Allium sphaerocephalon extend the display right into August. They are hardy throughout the UK, require very little attention once planted, and […]