Do those small plastic mini greenhouses actually work?
What a four-shelf plastic frame genuinely does, the two things it fails at, and the modifications that turn a twenty-pound cover into something actually useful.
beginner20 min3 min read
Garden Maintenance
Pruning, weeding, watering and tidying up.
132 guides in Garden
How do I look after a laurel hedge?
Why a trimmer ruins a laurel hedge, the shot-hole and yellowing problems that look alarming and mostly are not, and the renovation laurel will happily take.
beginner2 hr4 min readHow do I look after garden tools?
Cleaning, sharpening and storing garden tools so they last decades rather than seasons.
beginner1 hr2 min readHow do I make a garden or balcony usable in winter?
Shelter, warmth and light — the three things that determine whether outdoor space gets used in cold months.
beginner1 hr 30 min2 min readHow do I mix two-stroke fuel correctly?
What the ratio actually means, how to get it right without guessing, and why the wrong mix destroys an engine in either direction.
beginner15 min4 min readHow do I put a lawnmower away for the winter?
Draining the fuel system, dealing with the oil and the blade now rather than in March, and where the machine should actually be stored.
beginner1 hr5 min readHow do I stop my clematis being bare at the bottom?
Why clematis naturally strip themselves bare from the base upwards, the support and training that prevents it, and the recovery routes for a plant that is already a bare stalk with a hat.
beginner45 min5 min readHow do I stop the sun ruining my garden furniture?
Ultraviolet light, not heat, is what fades fabric, chalks plastic and greys timber. What each material actually needs, and the small number of jobs that genuinely extend its life.
beginner25 min5 min readHow much water does a garden actually need in a dry spell?
How to turn rainfall in millimetres into watering-can loads, why the answer depends on soil and root depth rather than on plant type, and how to work out what you can realistically deliver.
beginner12 min4 min readWhat is the Chelsea chop and should I do it?
Cutting perennials back in late May to make them shorter, sturdier and later flowering, the half-and-half variation that extends the season instead, and the plants that must never be chopped.
intermediate30 min4 min readWhen should I prune evergreen shrubs?
Why evergreens follow different rules from deciduous shrubs, the spring-to-early-summer window that suits nearly all of them, and the group that will not regrow from bare wood at all.
intermediate30 min4 min readWhy does my strimmer line keep breaking, and how do I reload it?
Why line snaps at the eyelet, choosing the right diameter and shape, and the winding method that stops it welding together in the spool.
beginner30 min5 min readHow do I move a really heavy pot on my own?
The techniques that move a large planted container without lifting it or breaking it — pot trolleys, walking, the plank and pipe method, and knowing when to empty it instead.
intermediate30 min3 min readWhat staging should I put in a greenhouse, and where?
Slatted versus solid, fixed versus removable, and the layout that lets you grow tomatoes in summer and raise seedlings in spring without fighting your own benches.
beginner20 min4 min readCould there be bats in my tree, and what does that mean?
Which trees are likely to hold roosts, the features to look for from the ground, and what happens to your tree work if bats are found — which is usually less than people fear.
intermediate25 min5 min readHow do I cut back ornamental grasses without killing them?
The one test that separates the grasses you cut to the ground from the ones you comb through, when to do each, and why cutting an evergreen grass down often kills it.
beginner40 min5 min readHow do I stake perennials so they do not flop?
Four supports and what each one suits, why every one of them goes in during spring, and the alternatives to staking that remove the problem altogether.
beginner1 hr4 min readHow do I build a bug hotel insects will actually use?
Why most bought bug hotels stay empty, the tube sizes and materials solitary bees really want, and the maintenance without which they become disease traps.
beginner2 hr5 min readCan I use bath water or washing-up water on the garden?
Which household water is safe on which plants, what in detergents and soaps actually matters to soil, and the rules that keep greywater useful rather than a health risk.
beginner15 min5 min readHow do I prune honeysuckle and jasmine?
Two twining climbers that become bare tangles if left alone, the different timing each needs, and how to renovate a bird's nest of dead growth without losing the plant.
beginner1 hr5 min readHow do I stop my pots blowing over?
Why tall plants in light pots go over, and the weight, shape and shelter changes that keep them upright without moving everything indoors.
beginner30 min3 min readWhat do I do with all the hedge clippings?
Composting, chipping, dead hedging and green waste, which materials must never go in any of them, and the disposal duties that come with invasive species.
beginner1 hr5 min readWhen do I cut back dogwood for its winter stems?
Why only young wood colours, the late-winter cut to a stool that forces a fresh set, and the gentler one-third rotation for a plant that is also doing a screening job.
beginner40 min4 min readHow and when do I clip box and topiary?
The two-cut year that keeps box crisp, why you clip on a dull day, the hygiene that reduces blight, and how to bring a shapeless old ball back to a defined shape.
intermediate1 hr 30 min4 min read