If you're struggling to find enough time to take care of the garden, this guest post has some great low maintenance options. No matter what the time of year, there is something so satisfying about looking out onto a well-kept garden. Our outdoor spaces connect us with nature. In a world that is increasingly preoccupied with technology and screens, spending time enjoying nature is a vital way of decompressing and destressing. If ...
Tips for effective summer garden watering
Having spent the last few months coaxing seeds and plants to grow, everything in the garden and allotment is now shooting off at a crazy speed. Suddenly it feels as if I’m in a race to provide the plants with what they need in order to thrive. Watering forms a big part of this job; with the summer months upon us and plants growing so fast, the demand for water is at it’s peak. Providing your plants with adequate water at this time of year ...
7. The 10 minute gardener: quick summer gardening jobs
Welcome to the latest post in this series, looking at quick gardening jobs you can fit into a busy schedule. This time I'm looking at ways to stay on top of your summer garden. Things have certainly warmed up in the last couple of weeks, and I’m really enjoying my garden now the summer plants are bursting into life. I think the ‘little and often’ approach is best for gardening at this time of year; keeping on top of the garden through little ...
Putting Job done® Tough Ready to Use Weedkiller to the test
You may have seen my recent post on weed control, which shared my top tips for helping you manage pesky garden weeds. One of my tips was to use a weedkiller product to deal with tough, problem weeds, and I used Job done® Tough Ready to Use Weedkiller, which proved to be very effective. In this post, I’m going to put this product to the test against a leading competitor, to see how well it performs. In my experience, a weedkiller product is a ...
My top weed control tips
Weeds: the garden problem we all love to hate, right? Whatever type, size or style of garden you have, weeds will undoubtedly be a part of it. And dealing with those weeds will have probably had you grumbling at some point. I do think there’s a certain amount of satisfaction in transforming a weedy patch into a lovely clear chunk of soil or grass, but if you told me I never had to do any weeding again I’d still be delighted! Unfortunately, ...
Free plants – how to divide perennials
Does your garden have holes in it at the moment? Not actual holes in the ground you understand, but holes nonetheless. Are the borders are looking bare, with whacking great patches of soil with nothing in them? Mine certainly are, and it’s not very uplifting to look at! Gaps in your borders are perfectly normal for this time of year, because lots of plants are in their dormant phase until the weather warms up and they start to put on new ...
Bird-Friendly Garden Landscaping
Whether you’re hoping to kickstart a new hobby in birdwatching, or are looking to do your bit in reversing the decline of certain species, a bird-friendly garden design can work wonders for you and your feathered friends. Creating a bird-friendly haven in your own garden is bound to bring them flocking, but what exactly can you do to improve your garden and attract more birds? Here are a few helpful tips from the experts at Kennedy Wild Bird ...
Container plant care with Baby Bio Pour & Feed: 3 month update
How’s your garden looking now that we’re into late summer? We’ve had a good summer weather-wise in the UK - including some crazy heat in late June - and I’ve really enjoyed my garden this year. I’ve been trying hard to water effectively, and I’ve also been learning more about dealing with plant diseases and plant pests in an effort to keep everything as healthy as possible. The regular games of football and cricket that go on in our garden ...
Tips for controlling plant pests
Have you experienced problems with pests on your garden plants this summer? Whether you garden on a large or small scale, there’s a very good chance that your plants have been affected by pests at some point. I experience this every year at the allotment, with blackfly on my broad beans and caterpillars on my cabbages, and at home in the garden there’s always an invasion of greenfly on the roses and honeysuckle at the start of the summer. You ...
Tips for controlling plant diseases
Plant disease: it’s not the most glamorous of gardening topics, but it’s an issue that’s highly likely to have affected your garden at some point. To be honest, in the past I’ve struggled to understand and recognise plant diseases beyond a very basic level. Yes, I could tell when a plant has suffered from under or over watering, and recognise leaf scorching from bright sun, but beyond that I was pretty much out of my depth! I have noticed ...