Spring Gardening

An east facing garden receives direct sun from sunrise until roughly midday or early afternoon, depending on the time of year and any surrounding structures. After that, the garden transitions into shade for the rest of the day. This means you have the best of both worlds in many respects: enough morning sun to grow […]

If you have heavy clay soil and shade, your go-to plants will be hostas, ferns, astilbes, hellebores, hydrangeas, and hardy geraniums, all of which thrive in exactly the conditions many gardeners dread. These plants have evolved in moisture-retentive, nutrient-rich clay environments and tolerate low light levels perfectly, making them ideal for the UK’s many shaded, […]

Knowing when and how to lift and divide spring bulbs is a common question that thousands of new gardeners have asked me, the Garden Ninja, over the years. I understand why it’s confusing, as you may think you should lift bulbs when dormant as you do with shrubs, but that would be incorrect. The three […]

The trouble is that March can be a bit of a deceiver. One week, it is mild and sunny, and you are convinced spring has landed. Next, it’s snowing, and you are wondering if winter ever actually left. This is completely normal in the UK, and the secret to March gardening success is knowing which […]

The short answer is that neither approach is universally better. What suits your garden depends on your soil, budget, mobility, the plants you want to grow, and frankly, how much effort you’re willing to put in upfront. Let me explain why you would choose a raised bed or growing directly in the ground so that […]

I made the leap from IT project manager to BBC Garden Rescue presenter and professional garden designer. After 12 years of managing IT projects, I completely changed careers, and I’m here to give you the honest truth about what it actually takes. Not the motivational fluff you’ll find elsewhere, but the real deal based on […]

Quick Answer: Getting Rid of Leather Jackets What kills leather jackets in lawns? Nematodes (Steinernema feltiae) applied in late summer or early autumn are the most effective organic treatment, killing leatherjacket larvae within 2 weeks. Manual removal by encouraging birds, improving drainage, and scarifying heavily infested areas also works, but is less effective for large […]

There’s something truly magical about those first sunny daffodil blooms breaking through the cold British soil each spring. After 35 years of gardening, I can honestly say that daffodils remain one of my absolute favourite plants for adding effortless colour and naturalising in UK gardens. But one question I hear time and time again from […]

After presenting over 60 gardens on BBC Garden Rescue, viewers always ask me the same question: “How do you come up with designs so quickly?” The truth is, there’s a systematic process I use on every single project, the same one I teach in my online courses. Let me pull back the curtain and show […]

If you’re anything like me, you’ve either cracked, smashed or freeze damaged your fair share of terracotta pots over the years! I love the look and texture of terracotta pots but one clumsy or forgetful moment and you’ve got a pile of orange shards where your prize conatainer plant display used to be. After years […]