Page 103 - News

Person kneeling in garden feeding orange peels to blue and pink flowering plants on a sunny day.

How Orange Peel Helps Hydrangeas Thrive in Acidic Soil

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

Too often, the problem isn’t the shrub at all, but what it’s growing in: soil that simply doesn’t match the...

Hands holding a garden trowel on a wooden table with gardening tools, pots, and gloves in an outdoor setting.

Garden tools that you actually need (and what to skip)

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

The spade is still lodged halfway in the soil, the sun is already dropping into that late-afternoon slant, and beside...

Woman in a straw hat mixing soil in a blue bucket at a wooden table in a garden with plants and flowers.

Synthetic fertiliser getting scarce: natural alternatives for home gardeners

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

Rising energy prices and geopolitical tensions are pushing up the cost of synthetic fertilisers. Many home gardeners are already noticing...

Person pruning hanging green plant near window with several other potted plants in sunlight

Why Hanging Plants Never Get Bushy - and the Pruning Trick That Works

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

A hanging pot looks perfect in a Pinterest photo. In real life, two weeks after you hang it in the...

Hands using a garden trowel to dig soil in a raised wooden planter box surrounded by flowers and plants.

The Wooden Spoon Test for Your Vegetable Bed

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

A wooden cooking spoon sticking out of the middle of a vegetable bed is showing up more and more often...

Person gardening with a shovel near a flower bed and a wheelbarrow filled with branches in a sunny backyard.

Why Thuja hedges from the 1980s are failing - and what to plant instead

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

Those dense, dark Thuja hedges that framed so many gardens in the 1980s are now declining in large numbers. With...

Person wearing winter clothes placing a tennis ball on a small garden pond with steam rising.

The Tennis Ball Trick That Saves Birds and Hedgehogs in Winter Gardens

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

The first time you notice a bird lying perfectly still beneath a frost-dusted shrub, the whole garden seems to change...

Person lifting plastic sheet in garden to reveal a curled snake in the soil, with gardening tools nearby.

Black Plastic Sheeting in the Garden: Why It Attracts Venomous Snakes Like the Adder

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

Between the patio, the vegetable patch and the tool shed, there’s often one detail most people barely register: a sheet...

Person repotting a green herb plant into a terracotta pot on a sunny windowsill with gardening tools nearby.

The Pot Size Rule That Saves Supermarket Herbs

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

The basil looked flawless when you bought it: vivid green, full of that summer smell, standing tall on the worktop...

Woman relaxing on outdoor sofa with a cup, notebook, tape measure, and plants on a sunny terrace.

A Smarter Fence for Privacy and Outdoor Life

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

The first thing on show from the pavement usually isn’t your lounge or your kitchen. It’s that run of uprights...

Hand reaching to pick white flowers growing in a vegetable garden with fresh tomatoes in the background.

Flowering Carrots: A Simple Way to Let Beneficial Insects Control Pests

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

The neighbour’s pump sprayer whirred into life just as the sun dropped behind the rooftops. A fine chemical haze drifted...

Person tending to blooming lavender plants in a garden bed with watering can and gardening tools nearby.

Thyme carpet instead of lawn: the fragrant, drought-tough alternative

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

Recent summers have left many gardens looking more straw-brown than lush green - and that is far from unusual. Long...

Person reaching to switch on a bedside lamp on a table with a Christmas cactus, clock, and notebook by a window.

Get Your Christmas Cactus to Bloom with the Dark-and-Cool Routine

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

The Christmas cactus is sat there, shiny and green, with not a bud to be seen. Meanwhile the days slide...

Person tending to colourful flowering plant on balcony with bees and a watering can nearby.

Lantana: the tough, ever-flowering shrub for sunny gardens

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

While roses can be temperamental and hydrangeas often wilt in hot spells, a more exotic newcomer gets on with it...

Person using a magnifying glass and spoon to inspect soil of potted indoor plant on a windowsill.

The Teaspoon-of-Soil Test for Curling Leaves

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

The first time you spot it, you assume you’re seeing things. A leaf that once sat flat and confident is...

Small birds perched on purple coneflowers in a snowy garden with houses in the background.

Plant Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) in March and April for a Natural Bird Buffet

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

Many garden owners diligently top up their bird feeders in winter, then wonder why only the occasional bird appears. The...

Hands in wool gloves cutting green net with fat balls near bird feeder and birds on snowy branch outdoors.

Why Plastic Nets on Fat Balls Can Trap Garden Birds

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

I watched blue tits and robins flit back and forth and felt genuinely pleased with myself for doing something kind....

Cozy outdoor patio with wrought iron table and chairs, cushions, flower pots, and soft warm lighting.

Patina over Plastic: The Brocante Look for Garden, Balcony and Terrace

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

Patina instead of plastic: more and more garden lovers are picking up old finds at flea markets and turning balconies,...

Man in a beanie holding a halved papaya in a garden with papaya plants and a wooden crate of fruit.

The Pawpaw: the “Tropical” Fruit Tree That Survives UK Winters

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

On an icy January morning, there’s one fruit tree that looks as though it should be growing in the tropics...

Young man arranging a miniature bonsai landscape with rocks, moss and trees on a wooden table by a window.

Penjing: The Chinese Art of Miniature Landscapes - Not Just Bonsai

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

On a tabletop scarcely larger than a baking tray, entire mountain ranges, winding rivers and ancient forests come to life...

Person adding coffee grounds to a potted plant on a sunny windowsill with other plants nearby.

Using Coffee Grounds and Eggshells for Houseplants: A Kitchen-to-Canopy Routine

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

There’s a modest mound of spent coffee grounds by the sink, teaspoons chiming against mugs, and a little pile of...