Your guide to Perfect Plants

A hot, dry summer provides ideal conditions for many things. Some plants love the weather, including cacti; succulents; alpines; ornamental grasses such as Stipa gigantea; Agarves; Bougainvillea; Portulaca; Oleander; poppy; lavender and most silvery or furry-leafed plants. But other things thrive in the heat too - including FLIES and other...

When the sun's shining and the air is warm, we are all drawn naturally to water. Most people can't resist dipping fingers into a cool pond and the sound of trickling and sprinkling attract people like a magnet. There's a practical side to adding a pond to a garden too....

  Well yes, and no... trees don't really eat bicycles but they look as if they might! They can grow around objects, the most common of which are metal fences. The living tree has the most amazing capacity for self-repair and it will simply incorporate foreign objects into its structure....

  Garden lore, it's often fascinating, but it is true? Knowledge is frequently handed down from generation to generation but how do you know if the facts have been lost in translation or been changed as in Chinese whispers or the 'phone game'?  Here are 21 tips and tricks for gardeners. ...

  Summer! With it comes the desire to make the most of the garden during all those long, pleasurable daylight hours. Whatever the weather, there is no getting away from the fact that this magical month plays host to the longest day on 21st of the month, which can be...

7 sensational reasons to love the RHS Chelsea Flower Show  RHS Chelsea Flower Show opens to the public every year in May. This is possibly the world's most famous flower show and it will lead us wisely and soothingly towards the summer.  It's so easy to become enthused by all the...

Six reasons why you need a water feature in your garden and in your life! Do you suffer from the worries of 21st century living? Mental or physical health problems; emotional stress; anxiety; high blood pressure or insomnia? Or perhaps you feel your life simply needs to tune into the...

Small can be beautiful and not the gardening disadvantage that you might think. There are so many people who stipulate needing a large garden when buying a property. But the majority of modern houses are set in small plots. There can be great benefits, however. Maybe you shouldn't reject the...

Ever thought about opening your garden to visitors? You don't need a garden that looks like Hampton Court in order to open it to the public. Your garden could be of interest to others, provided it is considered to be worth visiting and to be exceptional in certain respects. You...

Have you ever fancied having an allotment? It's definitely become a growing trend. There's no time better than NOW to get involved in your local community growing area, should you be lucky enough to have one. It seems that grow your own has enjoyed a surge in popularity over the past...

  March often comes bowling in 'like a lion' and temperatures can be well down into minus figures. However, as soon as storms have abated, there's not a moment to spare. Here are six garden tasks to attend to as soon as possible -  because we all know that the...

Clematis are the vertical stars of the garden and there's good reason why you need to plant them as soon as spring is in the air! It's definitely Clematis time as soon as the days grow longer and the air feels a little warmer.  These versatile climbers are bursting into growth...