Grow Your Own Fruit & Veg

Damsons are a subspecies of the Plum family and have a really high fruit rate, which is great for bakers, preservers or foragers in the garden. As Damsons have a high pectin rate, they set jam with just sugar alone, with no need for manufactured pectin additives. Damsons are a nutritious and versatile fruit with […]

Companion planting is the practice of growing plants together to support one another as part of a thriving garden community, to avoid pests and diseases, and for plants to help each other. Companion plantings in close proximity help to benefit each plant in some way. Like two friends cheering each other on and helping them […]

Raspberries (Rubus idaeus) are one of the most rewarding cane fruits to grow in your garden. Their juicy dark pink berries and fuss-free growth raspberries provide an abundant harvest with minimal effort. They are the perfect soft fruit for beginner gardeners to grow even in smaller gardens. This guide will show you how to grow […]

Gardening can be a deeply rewarding hobby, allowing you to reconnect with nature and find mindfulness in our often frantic lives. However, no matter how carefully we garden, our plants sometimes start to look sick. Plant diseases are a common challenge for all gardeners, no matter their experience level. They can be caused by fungi, […]

The grow your own movement has really taken off over the past decade here in the UK, along with No Dig gardening. You only have to look online to see Instagrammers and social media full of grow-your-own tips. After all, who doesn’t want to be able to grow the food that they put on their […]

It’s a real surprise that the mighty Medlar tree isn’t more popular for small gardens. Not only is it a well-behaved small fruit tree, but it is self-fertile. Meaning it produces fruits without the need for a pollinator tree. It’s also one of the only winter-fruiting trees, so why aren’t they more popular? This is […]

Sustainable, peat and chemical-free gardening is nothing new for the Barnsdale Gardens team, who have been growing in a peat-free compost for over 30 years and have had great success with the wide range of plants using this peat-free medium. Geoff Hamilton, was a pioneer in organic gardening using peat and chemical-free techniques and the […]

When I started this gardening blog, I was on a simple mission: to help inspire, educate and encourage all gardeners to succeed in their green spaces. One of the most exciting groups of gardeners I help is beginners or new gardeners. However, there are several common mistakes that all new gardeners make unless they have […]

As small garden trees and fruit trees grow each year, the risk of lower branches becoming too heavy to support the fruit is a real concern. If you leave these lower branches to continue to grow and bear fruit, the likelihood is they will start to droop to the flower and could tear themselves off […]

Comfrey is an incredible plant as it tolerates nearly all soil conditions and will live in both full sun and shade. Meaning you can grow Comfrey pretty much anywhere no matter what garden soil you have. Comfrey has long been used to help activate compost heaps, brew liquid plant food and help improve vegetable beds […]