Propagating & Growing Plants

Learning how to grow plants from seed is one of the most rewarding gardening skills you can master. This guide will show you just how straightforward it is to grow almost anything in your garden from seed, even if you have no previous gardening experience. It’s incredible to think that most plants in your garden […]

Confused about when to plant what in your UK garden? You’re not alone. After twenty years of designing gardens across Britain and answering countless questions from bewildered gardeners on BBC1’s Garden Rescue, I’ve learned that timing truly is everything. Quick Answer UK planting times vary by region and season. Hardy vegetables like broad beans and […]

It can be highly frustrating when trying to create a garden where the plants you choose struggle, look limp or fail to live up to your expectations. We have all been there trying to grow plants that, no matter how much love we give them, they struggle for a while and then end up dying. […]

When it comes to gardening in the United Kingdom, we often find ourselves battling unpredictable weather, with rain being a common occurrence. Coupled with the fact that most newly built gardens and plots come with heavy moisture-retentive, claggy clay soil, choosing wet soil plants can be a nightmare for gardeners. Sometimes, it’s a case of […]

If you have heavy clay soil and shade, your go-to plants will be hostas, ferns, astilbes, hellebores, hydrangeas, and hardy geraniums, all of which thrive in exactly the conditions many gardeners dread. These plants have evolved in moisture-retentive, nutrient-rich clay environments and tolerate low light levels perfectly, making them ideal for the UK’s many shaded, […]

Whether you’re designing a classic white border inspired by Sissinghurst or simply want to lift a shady corner with some luminous planting, white flowers are the most versatile and brightening colour in the garden designer’s toolkit. White is a garden colour (tone) that works absolutely everywhere, with nearly everything, in every style of garden, and […]

Knowing when and how to lift and divide spring bulbs is a common question that thousands of new gardeners have asked me, the Garden Ninja, over the years. I understand why it’s confusing, as you may think you should lift bulbs when dormant as you do with shrubs, but that would be incorrect. The three […]

The trouble is that March can be a bit of a deceiver. One week, it is mild and sunny, and you are convinced spring has landed. Next, it’s snowing, and you are wondering if winter ever actually left. This is completely normal in the UK, and the secret to March gardening success is knowing which […]

I hear this worry from gardeners constantly, and it arrives in my forum week after week without fail. The good news is that a dying ceanothus is rarely a mystery if you know what to look for. The less welcome news? Some ceanothus problems can be fixed, and some simply cannot. My job in this […]

Whilst the days are noticeably lengthening and there’s a palpable sense of spring approaching, frosty nights and unpredictable weather still dominate the garden this month. This creates both exciting opportunities and frustrating limitations, making February a month that requires careful planning, realistic expectations, and a strategic approach to what you plant and where you plant it. The […]