Learn how the Chelsea chop keeps herbaceous perennials bushier, neater, upright, and flowering for longer. The phrase ‘the Chelsea chop’ is an odd-sounding one. The uninitiated gardener would be forgiven for thinking it refers to a type of lamb chop! In fact, it’s a term describing an easy pruning technique. Gardeners use it to [...]

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Welcome to my monthly newsletter, featuring gardening advice, latest prize draws, video updates and more. In the Garden This May Hi there, The garden changes so quickly in May. A single week can bring fresh blossom, new foliage, and before long, your entire garden begins to take on a fuller, richer look. [...]

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Simple tips for training climbers to create height, colour, privacy and structure in your garden. Climbers are a great way of solving various garden dilemmas, especially when training climbers for awkward spaces. They can hide an ugly wall or fence, or make the most of upward space in a smaller garden. They’re also great [...]

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Welcome to my monthly newsletter, featuring gardening advice, latest prize draws, video updates and more. Your Garden in April Hi there, April is a particularly exciting month in the garden. Growth is gathering pace, blossom is putting on a wonderful show, and borders are filling with fresh colour and texture. It is [...]

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Stake tall perennials early using supports to prevent flopping, breakage and damage as they surge. Early spring is the time when herbaceous perennials, dormant all winter, suddenly start to wake up. When conditions are right, they start to push fresh new stems out of the soil. This is especially true on sunny, warm days [...]

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Welcome to my monthly newsletter, featuring gardening advice, latest prize draws, video updates and more. March Gardening: Get Set for Spring Hi there, March is finally here, and I can already feel the garden shifting gears. Brighter mornings, softer afternoons, and those first real signs of growth make everything feel more cheerful. [...]

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Get ahead this March by building pea and bean frames for easier sowing and harvests. March is the month when the vegetable gardening year starts to wake up after its long winter slumber. Seeds are being sown under cover, the soil is warming, and daylight is increasing. So why not use this relatively quiet [...]

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Tomatoes are great crops for gardeners. With so many varieties available, you're spoilt for choice. Tomatoes are incredibly popular crops for gardeners. There are many varieties to try, from baby cherry tomatoes to huge fleshy beefsteaks. You can grow traditional tall cordon tomatoes, compact bush varieties or trailing types that suit hanging baskets. Despite [...]

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  Question submitted by Mavis Updated 28/08/2025 Understanding the Squirrel vs Bulbs Dilemma Ah, I completely sympathise with your frustration. I’ve lost more than a few bulbs to those cheeky diggers myself! It can feel personal when you find disturbed soil and bulbs tossed aside, but the truth is these garden pests [...]

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Updated 16/06/2025 QI have just moved back in with my mother and there is a lovely contorted hazel in the back garden. It is currently about 12 - 15ft high which is a little large for a small garden, when is the best time to prune it and how [...]

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Updated 16/06/2025 Banks, slopes, and ditches may seem like problem areas and can be difficult to maintain. However, some plants can thrive in these environments, so here are my top plants for banks and slopes to bring colour and easy maintenance to your garden. 1. Bupthalmum salicifolium (yellow ox eye) [...]

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Updated 13/06/2025 Sweet peas are a great all rounder in the garden. With delicate flowers with a delightful fragrance and climbing habit they're great when grown up wigwams and garden canes. Their habit makes them fantastic for any size garden, even small spaces. They lend themselves to cottage style spots. But even though [...]

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Updated 03/03/25 Spring is getting ever nearer, and the garden is edging back to life. This is a great month to get edible plants off to a good start. Getting the gardening prep done in March will give you a harvest to be proud of! Sort your garden soil Soil is [...]

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This October is the ideal time to start planting spring-flowering bulbs. It's an easy way to bring you colourful, scented joy for months on end from early New Year onwards. The Main Spring-Flowering Bulbs Snowdrops (Galanthus) The pure white flowers of snowdrops are some of the earliest [...]

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Companion planting is a traditional way of gardening, doing so organically without the need to use chemicals because the plants do the job! Rather than relying on chemicals, certain plants work together to improve the health of others when grown nearby and can even lead to better tasting crops. There are several ways this [...]

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Full sun is most people’s idea of heaven so, if you’re lucky enough to have a part of the garden doused with sun most of the day here are my 12 favourite spring flowering plants guaranteed to make you smile…  1. Pansies First on my list of 12 plants [...]

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Narrow shaded areas tend to get overlooked in a garden but there’s no reason why they can’t be transformed into an area of beauty that gives year-round interest. So, here’s a few tips on how to transform that problem patch with these plants for narrow shaded spots. GROW UPWARDS [...]

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It’s August and harvesting all the ripening crops in the veg garden is not only in full swing, but also starting to reach its peak. So once crops have been harvested, sow ‘green manure’ to enhance the soil quality to prepare it for next growing season. When harvesting, you’re probably occupied with finding different [...]

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Edging plants are the unsung heroes of the garden and can be used for many purposes; to hide an untidy border edge, untidy leaves of taller plants, define a walkway, or even placed around the base of containers. Choosing evergreen plants means there will be year-round interest. Scented leaved plants that are also evergreen [...]

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Read my article of top gardening tips, originally published in The Daily Express. With plenty of gardening jobs to be done, this is a good time to consider how we can stay safe and protected. Use these top gardening tips to get you started. Invest in the soil Adding in soil conditioner [...]

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