A tree is often the biggest feature in a garden. Prune your trees well, and it lifts the whole space—bringing in light, structure and beauty. But prune a tree badly, and you risk creating a dark, messy, unkempt garden with trees that grow back even larger – and thicker –…
Leave the leaves is the new gardening mantra. It appeals to me more than getting out a leaf blower or a rake,then bagging up leaves and finding somewhere to store them. They will break down into valuable leaf mould but they take their time – sometimes it is several years…
Garden border maintenance in both autumn and spring is mainly about the plants. Summer and early autumn is for dead-heading. Weeding goes on all year round if you have a mild climate. Watering is for dry spells. But in both autumn and spring, it’s time to plant new plants, move…
Kathy and Stuart Pickering created their rustic cottage garden in a stretch of field. And you can use the same techniques to turn an empty lawn into a haven of colour and scent, filled with butterflies and birdsong. Their space is equivalent to a long, narrow town garden, measuring around…
Gardening for biodiversity means gardening with nature rather than trying to control it. And it’s caused a revolution in our gardening rules. Firstly, it means less work for you. A few years ago, you would have been advised to scatter slug pellets, take your leaves to the local tip and…
I’m always being asked for ideas for breaking up the space in a shallow wide garden. Many people also want to know how to make it look longer. Many houses today are being built on small, individual plots. Gardens are getting smaller and they’re often shallow or odd wedge-shapes. So…
If you’re re-vamping your garden border this year, I’ve picked out the best borders from the gardens featured on the Middlesized Garden. Plus there are key tips from their head gardeners. The first tip is that if you’re going for a complete re-design, you do need to clear the border…
It’s easy to grow chrysanthemums. And they’ll add brilliant late-season colour. When the rest of your garden is collapsing gently into the beginnings of winter, chrysanthemums will carry on blooming. They come in a wide range of colours and styles, from demure daisy types to vibrant swirls of outrageousness. So…
Autumn and spring are the best time to plant perennials. So that’s also the best time to fill gaps in your border, move plants – or even revamp your border completely. Why spring and autumn are the best time to plant perennials In winter, the ground is not only cold,…
Do we take daffodils for granted? My Twitter feed is packed with people posting images of snowdrops in February. They’re beautiful. Snowdrops are so sweet and innocent – the first murmur of spring. Then, of course, there is the show-stopping beauty of tulips from late March onwards. Both snowdrops and…
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