How do I choose and look after a real Christmas tree?
Which species drop and which do not, the cut that lets it drink, and the watering routine that decides everything.
beginner45 min4 min read
Plants & Flowers
Choosing, planting and keeping things alive.
150 guides in Garden
How do I plant a pot so it does not dry out?
Pot size and material, the watering gap people leave out, and the mistakes that make a container need daily attention.
beginner40 min5 min readWhy is my plant wilting?
Why too much and too little water look identical, and the checks that tell them apart in two minutes.
beginner20 min2 min readHow do I keep houseplants alive?
The four things houseplants actually need — light, water, drainage and the right pot size — and how to diagnose an unhappy plant.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I choose plants for my garden?
Matching plants to the conditions you actually have — light, soil, moisture and exposure — rather than fighting them.
beginner45 min2 min readHow do I plant bulbs?
When to plant spring and summer bulbs, how deep to put them, and why most bulb failures are drainage rather than technique.
beginner1 hr 30 min3 min readHow do I revive a plant that has dried out completely?
Why water runs straight through bone-dry compost, the soak that actually rehydrates it, and how to tell whether the plant is still alive.
beginner1 hr4 min readWhich rootstock should my fruit tree be on?
The rootstock decides how big the tree gets, how soon it crops and whether it needs staking for life. What each apple, pear, plum and cherry rootstock gives you, and how far apart to plant.
beginner20 min5 min readWhy are my plant leaves curling?
Reading the direction of the curl and where it starts to separate water stress from pests, heat and weedkiller damage.
beginner25 min4 min readWhy are my plant's leaf tips going brown?
Reading the pattern of browning to separate dry air, salt build-up, watering problems and scorch.
beginner20 min2 min readWhy has my plant stopped flowering?
Too much nitrogen, too little light, and pruning at the wrong moment — the three causes behind most plants that grow well but will not bloom.
beginner25 min4 min readWhy do my houseplants keep dying?
The four things houseplants actually need, and why watering is almost always the thing being done wrong.
beginner20 min3 min readHow do I plant a bare-root fruit tree?
The winter planting job that decides whether a fruit tree thrives — hole shape, planting depth, keeping the graft union clear of the soil, and the low stake that builds a strong trunk.
beginner1 hr6 min readWhich plants cope with drought in a UK garden?
How to read a plant's leaves and roots to predict whether it will survive a dry summer, and the British complication that the same plants must also survive a wet winter.
beginner20 min5 min readHow close to a house can I plant a tree?
Which distances actually matter and why — soil type does more of the work than species, and the drains and the shade are more likely to cause you trouble than subsidence.
beginner30 min5 min readHow do I grow flowers from seed?
Sowing annual flowers indoors and direct, and the two stages where most seedlings are lost.
beginner3 days2 min readHow do I plant for year-round interest?
Building from structure outwards, the months most gardens miss, and the small number of plants that do the winter work.
beginner1 hr4 min readWhy is my plant leggy and stretched?
Stretching is a search for light — how to confirm that, where to cut, and why pinching early prevents it entirely.
beginner25 min4 min readHow do I grow things in a shady garden?
Distinguishing types of shade, choosing plants that genuinely thrive in it, and improving what light there is.
beginner1 hr2 min readWhich tree should I plant in a small garden?
How to judge mature size honestly, the characteristics that matter in a small space, and a shortlist of trees that stay genuinely small in British conditions.
beginner25 min6 min readAre my raspberries summer-fruiting or autumn-fruiting, and how do I prune each?
The one distinction that decides everything about raspberries — which canes carry the fruit — with the support system, the pruning for each type and the timing that saves or loses a crop.
beginner1 hr5 min readCan I grow a fruit tree in a pot?
Which fruit genuinely works in a container, the rootstocks that make it possible, and the watering, feeding and repotting regime that decides whether it crops or slowly dies.
intermediate1 hr 30 min5 min readHow and when do I repot a houseplant?
The signs a plant needs repotting, choosing the right pot size, and the aftercare that prevents transplant shock.
beginner30 min2 min readHow deep does a planter need to be?
Working minimum compost depths for salads, vegetables, shrubs and small trees in containers — and why width matters more than depth for everything except root crops.
beginner10 min3 min read