Laid-back swinging seats are the height of fashion this summer and a great way of creating a holiday vibe in the garden. Designers are increasingly incorporating everything from hammocks to egg chairs into their plans to help people chill out...
Like so many people, I’ve been appreciating my garden more than ever over recent weeks, but my favourite moment has to be first thing in the morning, before anyone is up, pottering around in the fresh cool air, cup of...
As the weather heats up, having cooling water in the garden is all the more appealing. It creates a calming focal point, adding gentle sound, movement and sparkling light to your outdoor space.
This lively and informative gardening podcast - which recently celebrated 10,000 downloads - makes for comforting and informative listening while you’re doing your gardening or cooking. Fellow head gardeners Saul Walker and Lucy Chamberlain are also good friends, which gives...
In his new book, Greg explores a fusion between the ever-popular cottage garden of roses and foxgloves and the prairie-style planting of designers like Piet Outdolf, with swathes of grasses and late flowering perennials.
The trend for green or ‘living walls’ continues in popularity, in both domestic and commercial situations, as the technology advances and more specialist companies are set up. These walls are a fabulous way of making use of limited space, really...
If you’re looking for extra growing space, either in a small garden or because you’ve already packed your garden to the rafters and want to squeeze in some salad leaves, this nifty product is a useful little garden extension for...
Keep deadheading your roses religiously for a succession of blooms. Removing heads instantly smartens up the plant and can keep repeat-flowering roses going for months. Remove the flowers as you go along and once all flowering heads are spent, cut...
As if being a brilliant actress and generally classy woman isn’t enough, Judi is also passionate about nature. She is often seen at RHS Chelsea and has a peachy-coloured David Austin rose named after her.
Courgettes are hungry plants but easy to grow and versatile. Aside from ratatouille, they’re great raw and are easy to grate into salads with a bit of lemon and oil. Alternatively, they can be steamed, grilled or roasted and are fab...
As crafty projects go, this is pretty relaxed as you don’t need any tools or particular material, just twigs, wood and old pots lying around the garden – in fact the kids can do most of the work while dad...
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show may not have happened this year but we can still think of it while we prune back our late flowering herbaceous plants to avoid them getting too leggy. By removing the top shoots, and cutting...
The world of garden design is seeing a growing shift away from sleek minimalism towards gardens with character and texture, with greater use of recycled materials reflecting growing environmental awareness.
Many designers are trying to reuse existing material wherever possible,...
Listening to birdsong is one of the great pleasures of being in our gardens more. And while all birdsong is a delight, getting to know particular bird song brings even greater satisfaction. Some people are pretty good at this already,...
The award-winning and charismatic celebrity garden designer, presenter and writer, is media friendly and has appeared on various Youtube videos sharing her extensive knowledge and experience of garden design and gardens and enthusing people about gardening. Recently she’s been turning...
The gardener and TV presenter of BBC2’s Gardener’s World is also a familiar face in the coverage of RHS shows – though we won’t have had the chance to see her in action this year after Chelsea Flower Show was...
Eating your own homegrown fruit and vegetables is one of the best ways of keeping your immune system strong and healthy – so important at the moment. In particular, eating a ‘rainbow’ diet with a variety of different coloured...
A delicious tart fruit, stewed rhubarb, flavoured with sugar and ginger, is fab cold with yoghurt or hot in crumbles. And it’s harvested from early spring when there are few other fruits and can keep going until early summer, though...
If you you’ve noticed any bald patches in your lawn, there’s still time to reseed them. Rough up the area with a rake adding a bit of sharp sand for drainage if needs be and a layer of topsoil, scatter...
The next time you weed a bed of nettles, crop them instead, well the tips anyway – they’re a surprisingly tasty, free and vitamin-packed fresh vegetable. They’re also excellent for boosting your immune system - so important at the moment. ...
