Growing Family

UK home and garden blog sharing ideas, inspiration and tips for busy family life, written by Catherine Hughes

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Ten easy ways to get your garden ready for summer & outdoor entertaining

March 9, 2021 by Catherine 7 Comments

orange flower border

We all spend more time in our gardens in summer, but this year lots of us are planning on using them more than ever for outdoor entertaining. Is your garden ready for summer guests? During the colder months of the year, we naturally spend less time taking care of our gardens. When the weather warms up again in summer, we immediately want to get out there and enjoy them.  The trouble is, there’s often work required to get things looking ...

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Filed Under: Garden Tips Tagged With: Containers, Deck, Entertaining, Garden, Garden furniture, gardening, Grass, Home, Lawn, Lighting, Maintenance, Outdoors, Patio, Plants, Shed, Summer, Tools, Top Tips, toys

How to make the most of artificial grass

January 30, 2020 by Catherine Leave a Comment

Collaborative post Do you have artificial grass in your garden?  It’s certainly a lawn option that’s growing in popularity, offering a practical, low-maintenance way to green up your outdoor space. Whether you’re considering artificial grass for your garden, or looking for help with artificial lawn maintenance, these tips have got you covered.  Here’s how to make the most of artificial grass. A quick guide to artificial ...

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Filed Under: Garden Tips Tagged With: Artificial grass, Garden, Garden design, Garden maintenance, Garden tips, garden trends, Grass, Lawn, Low maintenance garden, Top Tips

Tackling my autumn garden maintenance with Gardena tools | AD

November 11, 2019 by Catherine Leave a Comment

This is a commissioned post in collaboration with Gardena I do love the slower pace of autumn in the garden.  There’s less weeding and watering to do, which gives me a chance to potter about, tidy up and make plans for new projects.  We’ve had a lot of rain so far this season, but also some gloriously sunny days - it’s hard to beat autumn sunshine isn’t it? I’ve been working with leading watering and garden tool brand Gardena ...

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Filed Under: Garden Tips Tagged With: Autumn, bulbs, Containers, Garden, Garden tips, Garden tools, gardening, gardening equipment, Grass, Lawn, Planting, Plants

Using artificial grass to tackle tricky outdoor spaces

March 18, 2019 by Catherine Leave a Comment

Artificial grass is becoming more and more popular as a low-maintenance way to create a lush-looking lawn, and it's particularly well-suited to situations where a traditional living lawn is difficult to achieve. This guest post explains the basics of artificial grass, and covers some key outdoor challenges that can be tackled using it. Garden styles and functions vary enormously, and of course every garden is unique in its own way. That ...

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Filed Under: Garden Tips Tagged With: Artificial grass, Children, Family, Garden design, gardening, Grass, Lawn, Outdoors

Is artificial grass a good option for family gardens?

January 30, 2018 by Catherine 2 Comments

artificial grass family garden

Picture the typical family garden in your mind, and chances are there’s grass involved.  Lawns are a popular choice in family gardens for good reason: they provide the all-important space that kids need to let off steam, be that through ball games, obstacle courses, imaginative role play, or plain old running around.  And of course, a lawn provides a softer landing than a paved area, while still being nice to look at. Lawns do require a fair ...

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Filed Under: Garden Design Tagged With: Artificial grass, Children, Family, Garden, Garden design, gardening, Grass, Outdoors

Perfect autumn garden projects

September 24, 2017 by Catherine 17 Comments

autumn trees

My garden is definitely looking very much like an autumn garden now; the leaves are starting to fall, the apple tree is weighed down with fruit, and most of the plants are dying back after a summer of flowering.  Things are gradually slowing down, and that change of pace brings with it opportunity. With relatively mild weather and less garden maintenance required, autumn is a brilliant time of year to tackle new projects in the garden.  Here are ...

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Filed Under: Garden Tips Tagged With: Autumn, bulbs, Garden, Garden design, gardening, Grass, Hard Landscaping, Patio, Seeds, Spring, Top Tips

6. The 10 minute gardener – quick garden jobs for April & May

May 15, 2017 by Catherine Leave a Comment

clematis montana white

I’m feeling more than a little behind with my gardening jobs this month.  Everything just grows so fast at this time of year!  I’ve managed to stay on top of things at the allotment, but the garden is another story.  And with all the loveliness and perfection of the Chelsea Flower Show on the horizon, it feels like I need some quick gardening jobs now more than ever. Despite this urge to gain control in the garden, I don’t think you can ever ...

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Filed Under: Garden jobs this month Tagged With: Climbing plants, Garden, Garden tips, Grass, Lawn, Maintenance, May, Planning, Plants, Top Tips, Weeds, Wildlife

Review: Robomow Robotic Lawnmower

July 9, 2016 by Catherine 2 Comments

robomow robotic mower

At this time of year, everything in the garden is growing pretty quickly - and that includes the grass! Our lawn isn’t enormous, but it still requires regular mowing in the Summer, and with the usual chaos of family life it can be hard to find time to look after it properly.  We’ve been guilty in the past of leaving it to grow quite long, which makes it difficult to mow and looks pretty messy. Robomow asked us to trial one of their robotic ...

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Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Gadget, Garden, gardening, Grass, Lawn, Maintenance, Reviews, Tools

Review: Ego Power+ Cordless String Trimmer

June 24, 2015 by Catherine 1 Comment

ego strimmer

Even if you're not battling hay fever at this time of year, grass can pose something of a challenge.  Lawns seem to be growing before your eyes, creating a need for frequent mowing, and those hard-to-reach areas can quickly get out of hand.  This is where garden strimmers come into their own, making a tricky job so much easier and neater. This week I’ve been testing a strimmer which boasts the latest technology on the garden tools market - the ...

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Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Allotment, Garden, Grass, Reviews, Tools

Hi, I’m Catherine. Welcome to Growing Family, a top UK home & garden blog sharing ideas, inspiration and tips for making the most of busy family life, indoors and out.
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Catherine Hughes is a home & garden blogger sharing ideas, inspiration & tips for making the most of busy family life, indoors and out.
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