Ideas for strong bright colours Imagine how much more inviting a sunny patio will look with containers filled with blooms in the tropical shades of scarlet and orange. To maintain…
Plants
Summer bulbs to brighten up your garden
Tall and dramatic Known as desert candles or foxtail lilies, the stately spikes of eremurus like it sunny and dry and, in order to induce flowering, a cold snap in…
Top gardening tips – your ultimate how-to guide
Cultivating soil is fundamental to good gardening. It improves the soil’s structure as reducing compaction increases aeration, so that more air gets to plant roots and drainage is enhanced. How…
How to take care of your garden through each month of the year
February to March ✤ Sow frost-sensitive summer-bedding seeds, such as pelargoniums, in pots on a warm windowsill. For something a bit different, sow and grow climbers, such as Chilean Glory…
Grow an English country garden
Even if you live in the suburbs and your house is modern, it’s easy to create an authentic country-style cottage garden if you look to your granny’s garden for inspiration.…
Plant irises and bring colour to your garden
Irises have been a favourite flower since the Chinese fell in love with them thousands of years ago. Their picture-perfect blooms have also been a source of inspiration for many…
How to win the garden weed war
Stinging nettles Well-known for their painful sting, these weeds are widespread. They produce a dense mat of bright yellow roots and form thickets of erect stems more than a metre…
How to use alpine plants in your garden
The majority of alpine enthusiasts use rock gardens replicating their natural habitats to grow these mini mountain plants. Since the 1980s rockeries have been out of favour with less committed…
Plant bulbs ready for spring
Plant bulbs now for a garden full of colourful surprises in spring. They’re easy to grow – simply dig a hole, pop them in and wait! Most spring-flowering bulbs prefer…
Your garden: How to plant it
One of the toughest parts of planning your garden is figuring out how to plant it. For an instant, new-look garden, take a tip from the experts and reshape the…
Perfect perennials: Plant and flower ideas
Flower beds stuffed with plants is the key to creating a great garden and reliable, perennial favourites, like bee balm or Monarda which attract pollinators such as butterflies and bees,…
Gold plant inspiration for your garden
Plants that have yellow-gold leaves add a splash of instant sunshine to a shady corner, an effect that lasts longer than any flowers. They look fabulous beside perennials with red,…
Cactus tips: How to care for your cacti
It’s easy to get hooked on cacti as their spiked, ridged, tall, squat and hairy forms are very collectable – especially with children as they are often sold at pocket-money…
Clever climbers: Clematis blooms will make a bold statement
Clematis blooms come in a variety of shapes, from tiny bells and lanterns to enormous glittering stars. Flowers can be singles or petal-packed doubles and range in colour from white…
How to grow a cottage garden
The romantic cottage-garden image is unkempt and informal, with bulging borders spilling on to pathways filled with a joyful jumble of old-fashioned flowers with fruit bushes, vegetables and herbs squeezed…
Houseplants: Give your home an exotic vibe
Houseplants make a home healthier, cleaning the air from airborne contaminants and allowing you to breathe more easily. They also make a room feel cosier and with a bit of…
Create an indoor garden with a terrarium, succulents and cacti
How to create a mini garden with a terrarium, succulents and cacti. You will need: Terrariums Succulents and cacti Gravel Soil suitable for succulents Spoon Gardening gloves if handling cacti…
Christmas flowers and plants to decorate your home with
Decorating homes with holly and ivy has always been part of Britain’s winter traditions. The Pagans used them primarily to ward off evil and bring hope and good fortune. But…
Fabulous ferns
Lush ferny foliage can bring low-maintenance splendour to shade, and when mass-planted will allow you to transform an otherwise drab area into a leafy, tranquil paradise where you can sit,…
Your bamboo zen garden
Bamboo can be relied on to add texture and colour to an evergreen planting scheme and wind filtering through the stiff canes makes a gentle rustling sound, which in urban…