Is your garden holiday proof?

Are you going away on holiday this summer? Have you thought about how your garden will cope without you? Of course your plants can keep on growing by themselves but what if there is a really hot dry spell and there's nobody at home to water anything? It's quite normal even if you're not a gardener to hope it's raining back home all the time you are building sandcastles on a sunny beach somewhere far away, but if summer returns home before you do then you may come back to loads of shrivelled up shrubs and floppy, faded flowers. Not to mention a lawn full of dandelions. And will you have the energy to get the garden back to it's best after taking it easy for a week or two? Here are some simple ways to help your garden cope with being ignored, and leave you less to do when you get back...

8 great ideas for your garden inspired by a visit to Compton Acres

Visiting gardens is a great way to get ideas and be inspired to get the best out of your own garden. Compton Acres, between Poole and Bournemouth in Dorset, is always a pleasure to explore, but there are plenty of ideas you can take home with you. So here are 8 ways of adding some magic to your garden.

Garden Update - 6 things happening in the garden in July

Here is my latest update on what's happening in my own garden at the moment. I'm following on from The Propagator, who shared his Six on Saturday. Here are my six...
             

Find extra plants for free - in your own garden!

All these were free - I just helped myself!

If you hate weeding, but like getting extra plants for free, look carefully around your garden this weekend and you might find you can turn a bit of weeding into something far more productive.

7 easy ways to attract wildlife into your garden - A Guest Blog for The Handy Mano

I'm delighted to share with you a guest post I have written for The Handy Mano blog. The Handy Mano has a collection of ideas and tips for inside and outside the home. You can read my tips for helping wildlife thrive in your garden here.

Tulips - To Lift Or Not To Lift?

A "Rainbow Bed" of Tulips in April

Tulips bring a welcome burst of colour to the garden in spring before everything else really gets going. They are a great low maintenance option too because you can just plant them in autumn, leave them and wait for the show to start the following spring. But they do tend to flower less each year which means you have a choice - buy new ones each autumn to add to the existing show, or lift them and store them until it's time to replant them again in October. So is it worth the effort?

What food can I grow in containers?

Don't let a lack of space stop you growing your own fruit and veg, There are plenty of edibles you can grow in containers. Even if all you have is a few pots then you can grow something to eat, and it will be the freshest and tastiest that you've ever eaten! So what food can you grow in containers?

Garden Update - Six things I'm doing in my garden in June

I'm linking up with The Propagator again to share what's going on in the garden right now. Heavy rain has been followed by really hot sun here in Cardiff in the last fortnight so things are really growing well. I've been enjoying the poppies but at this time of year things in the garden tend to move fairly quickly, and they have already been surpassed by the roses. There's plenty to do. Here's what's been keeping me busy...

Sniff out your ideal rose by visiting a garden

If you want to add colour, scent, and a touch of glamour to your garden, then all you need to do is plant some roses. A traditional component of British gardens, there are now hundreds of varieties available with a wide range of colours and fragrance. The best time to buy one is right now, because the best way to buy one is to go out and smell them!

Grow Your Own Watercress - On Your Fence!

Watercress is a peppery and nutritious addition to summer salads and other recipes, and really easy to grow. However you use it, you wont get a better taste than if you've grown it yourself and just picked it moments before eating, so have a go at growing your own this summer. You can sow it right now. I thought I'd share with you how I'm growing mine this year, in recycled guttering on my garden fence!  

Can a vegetable garden or allotment be beautiful?

For many years I've thought that growing your own fruit and veg was more or less incompatible with having a stylish and beautiful garden. Vegetables just aren't that pretty to look at. But after seeing vegetable gardens at Westbury Court Garden in Gloucestershire and at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show recently, I think I might be starting to change my mind.