Autumn garden ideas – what works and what doesn’t
This year’s autumn garden has taught me a lot about choosing plants for late-season colour. I’ve always thought of trees and leaf colour as the defining element of an autumn…
This year’s autumn garden has taught me a lot about choosing plants for late-season colour. I’ve always thought of trees and leaf colour as the defining element of an autumn…
Does an accessible garden only matter to people in wheelchairs? Or to the partially sighted, or to someone with a chronic illness? What about mothers with small children, or grannies…or…
I asked garden designer Adam Frost about garden redesign. Especially if you have a middlesized garden and have recently moved in. (‘Recently’ in garden terms can be years, as we…
How to choose the right garden tree? I think we all dither over this because trees seem like such a big purchase. More like buying a sofa than buying a…
Have you run out of gardening steam by the time you get to the late summer garden? I know I do, which is why it’s so inspiring to visit a…
I’ve always wondered about ‘no dig flower borders’ for annuals, shrubs and perennials. Not that I ever do much digging. But I wondered if the principles of no dig veg…
August in the Middlesized Garden is a bit of a mixed bag. August has been called ‘the Sunday of summer’, and there’s a lazy, idle feeling about the garden at…
Garden seating is so much more than just a place to sit. A bench can be a focal point, work like a piece of sculpture, can punctuate a hedge or…
A small garden needs a big idea. You can let a larger garden evolve – and by ‘larger’ I mean any garden more than about 100ft long or quarter of…
I’ve recently been asked about plants and solutions for a windy garden. Even if you don’t have a windy garden, you probably have a windy spot. Our walled garden gets…
I’ve been meaning to organise the shed for years. It was cold, messy and full of clutter, with nowhere to put anything. So seeds and tools started to spread around…
Whitstable Open Gardens is held every year in June for the NGS. But even if you’re nowhere near Kent, let me treat you to a few of the summery seaside garden…
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How to find a gardener who’s perfect for your garden
What’s the first thing you think about when you decide to find a gardener? Is it ‘how much does a gardener cost?’ Or ‘how do I find a gardener who…
The best plants for amazingly low maintenance garden pots
What are ‘low maintenance garden pots’? After all, how low can you go? Can you go away on holiday for a fortnight without asking anyone to water your pots? Er,…
8 steps to the long thin garden of your dreams
Two years ago Emma and Mel moved to a house in Whitstable with a long thin garden. It’s open on May 19th 10am-5pm for the NGS. They came from a…
Fences for privacy – 9 great ideas for garden screening
Are you making the most of your fences for privacy and screening? Privacy is a big issue for middle-sized gardens, because high hedges and fences block light. But low hedges…
7 essential garden tools to make your gardening life really easy
Invest in good quality versions of the 7 essential garden tools. Then build up more useful tools gradually as you find you need them. The 7 essential garden tools a…
The 8 best perfect-for-privacy garden trees
Do you need trees for privacy? Perhaps you have a neighbour’s window over-looking your garden? An ugly view or a street-lamp? The days of planting gloomy conifers to prevent people…
