Page 99 - News

Person pouring green liquid from a glass jug into a watering can on a wooden table with plants and garlic.

7 Essential Garden Helpers for a Chemical-Free Garden

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

Anyone who has stood in front of the pesticide shelf and felt as though they’d wandered into a particularly grim...

Person planting seedlings in a wooden raised garden bed with vegetables and gardening tools nearby

March sowing: how to secure your summer harvest before the Ice Saints

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

If you wait until after the Ice Saints, you can easily lose weeks of growth in the vegetable garden. By...

Person planting young sapling in garden with watering can, trowel, fruit bowl, and labelled seedling boxes nearby.

Jujube tree (Chinese date): plant at the end of March for best results

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

Many hobby gardeners instinctively choose apple, cherry or plum. Yet there’s a rarely planted fruit tree that shrugs off heat,...

Person applying granular fertilizer to green plants beside a dry, yellowing lawn in a garden.

Why Your Lawn Turns Yellow When You Fertilise - and How Lime Fixes the pH

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

Homeowners often respond on instinct by reaching for even more lawn fertiliser, specialist blends or pricey “miracle” products. Two seasoned...

Person planting rhubarb in a terracotta pot in a garden with gardening tools and a basket nearby.

Rhubarb forcing: how to get tender pink stalks from late winter

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

Many amateur gardeners don’t realise just how much potential sits in their rhubarb patch. Using an old, almost forgotten kitchen-garden...

Child pointing at daisies while adult pauses lawn mowing in a sunny garden meadow.

Daisies in the Lawn: Why You Should Let Them Grow

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

If you’re taking the lawnmower out for its first run in spring, you’ll face the same dilemma: should the little...

Person wearing a straw hat gardening with plants, a watering can, and a trowel on a wooden deck.

Black foliage in the garden: Black Lace elder and Obsidian coral bells for fewer aphids

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

Plenty of keen gardeners reach the end of winter and stare at their beds in mild irritation: everything is sort...

Woman planting seedlings in a garden bed with a mini greenhouse on a sunny day.

Hardening Off Tomatoes: the Pro Growers’ Crucial Extra Step

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

Professional vegetable growers never skip one crucial in-between step. The first warm days of spring pull you towards garden centres:...

Hand placing a pinecone into soil of a potted plant on wooden windowsill with watering can nearby.

Simple Pine Cone in the Plant Pot: Helping Houseplants in Winter

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

In January, many people look at their living room plants and see the same scene: monstera, ficus or a rubber...

Woman gardening in a lush backyard with flowering plants, including blue hydrangeas and a red maple tree.

The 5 best shrubs for shady garden corners

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

Many gardeners mentally write off these spots: a gloomy back courtyard, a north-facing wall, bare soil beneath an old oak....

Hands harvesting fresh radishes from a raised garden bed with a watering can and trowel nearby.

Perfect Radishes: The Simple Method for Crisp, Mild Roots

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

Plenty of amateur gardeners are puzzled when their radishes turn out fiery, woody or split, even though the seed packet...

Person cutting purple allium flowers and placing them into a metal bucket in a vibrant garden.

How to Control Purple Ornamental Allium in the Garden

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

Between perennials, in the rose bed, even right in the middle of the lawn. Plenty of gardeners know the pattern:...

Older man digging soil in garden with spade beside plants in pots and dried hedge on a sunny day.

Thuja Hedges: Why Councils Are Starting to Ban Them

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

Anyone who now checks with the local planning office about planting a dense, evergreen hedge along the boundary of their...

Person spraying tomato plants with water from a bucket in a garden with greenery in the background.

Copper Broth: the old method against late blight on tomatoes and potatoes

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

In the 1970s, plenty of village gardens had a straightforward answer to this nightmare: a blue liquid mixed in a...

Person tending to hanging plant on a balcony with various potted plants and outdoor seating area.

Balcony trend: raised planters and plant stands for small spaces

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

If your balcony has so far been lined with pots shoulder to shoulder, you’ll have noticed one thing: it rarely...

Elderly man carefully tending to a bonsai tree on a wooden table in a sunlit room.

Penjing: How China’s “Landscape in a Pot” Art Is Returning

Harriet M. Ashford • August 23, 2026

Tiny trees, strangely sculpted rocks, a trickling stream inside a ceramic tray and perhaps a minute little house: Penjing turns...

Person kneeling and removing weeds from patio joints with a knife, next to a brush and bucket.

Weeding Paving Joints on the Terrace: The Right Timing for Lasting Clean Gaps

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

Between paving stones and patio slabs, something always seems to push through again each year. Homeowners scrub, scrape, spray vinegar...

Person harvesting ripe yellow apples from a small tree in an orchard with a basket nearby.

Nashi apple-pear tree: planting, care and an impressive harvest

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

Many home gardeners reach for the same reliable fruit trees every year: apple, cherry, pear - job done. Yet an...

Person tending colourful pink and blue flowers with bees flying, near a watering can, trowel, and open sketchbook.

Lungwort: the insect-friendly early spring bloomer for the shade garden

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

Anyone thinking of insect-friendly spring flowers usually pictures sun-soaked borders. In cooler, semi-shaded parts of the garden, things can feel...

Person spraying tomato plants in a vegetable garden with fresh greens and a steaming cup nearby.

Rhubarb Leaf Brew for Tomatoes: A Chemical-Free Shield in the Veg Patch

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

Fungal diseases and aphids tear through garden beds, while gardeners reach-often in frustration-for spray bottles or familiar home remedies. Yet...

Hands pruning a potted poinsettia plant on a sunlit wooden table by a window.

Poinsettia (Christmas star): how to save it in March and April and get red bracts again

Harriet M. Ashford • August 22, 2026

The pot looks miserable: the red bracts have faded, a few leaves have turned yellow, and it’s very tempting to...