Essential Tips for Safely Relocating Your Plants and Garden When Moving House

Moving to a new property is an exciting milestone, but it often brings a unique set of challenges for garden enthusiasts and indoor plant collectors. While couches and dining tables can easily withstand a few bumps in the back of a truck, your beloved fiddle leaf fig or carefully cultivated rose bush requires a much gentler touch. Plants are highly sensitive to changes in the environment, temperature, and light. Without proper care, the journey from one home to another can cause severe stress or even permanent damage to your botanical companions. Fortunately, a little preparation and strategy can help your garden transition smoothly. Preparation is Key Before Moving Day The secret to a successful plant relocation begins weeks before you actually hand over the keys. Start by assessing your collection to decide which plants are making the journey and which might be better off gifted to neighbours or friends. Moving is a wonderful opportunity to declutter, and that applies to your garden ......

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Best Flowers to Grow for Summer Planting: Brighten Your Garden All Season

There's something genuinely exciting about a garden coming into its own over summer. The longer days, the warmth, the buzz of insects, all create the perfect conditions for growing some truly spectacular flowers. Whether you've been gardening for decades or you've only just started digging around, picking the right plants makes all the difference. Here are some wonderful flowers worth considering for summer planting , each one bringing something a little different to the table. Sunflowers: The Classic Summer Flower Honestly, is there a more cheerful sight than a row of sunflowers catching the afternoon light? They're bold, they're easy, and they reward even the most casual gardener with impressive results. Bees and butterflies absolutely love them too, so you're doing the local wildlife a favour as well. Don't feel limited to the towering varieties you see on allotments, either. Compact types like Teddy Bear or Sunspot suit smaller spaces and pots brilliantl......

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A Practical Guide to Sowing Spring Seeds in Small Urban Spaces

Urban gardening has quietly taken hold among people who simply want a bit of green in their lives. It doesn't matter whether you've got a balcony the size of a postage stamp, a narrow strip of garden, or just a draughty windowsill - there's usually something you can do with the space you have. Sowing spring flowers is one of the nicest places to start. They're forgiving, they're cheerful, and watching something you planted from seed actually bloom never really gets old. This guide covers the basics of getting seeds in the ground (or compost, more likely) in a small urban space. Nothing too complicated - just the practical stuff that actually makes a difference. Picking the Right Spring Flowers for Where You Are Space, light, and containers - those are the three things worth thinking about before you buy anything. A lot of people assume you need sprawling plants to make a garden feel full, but that's not really true. Compact varieties can look just as good, some......

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What To Think About When Buying Garden Furniture, even in winter

Adding furniture to your garden gives you a simple way to liven it up and get more use out of it. You now have an outdoor area to sit in and relax - or maybe even have dinner during the warmer months - and it improves the general ambience of your home. It’s something you’ve always wanted to do, but your first search for outdoor furniture leaves more questions than answers. Firstly, why are there so many different options?! It’s seriously overwhelming, and you don’t want to make the mistake of buying the wrong garden furniture. Taking that into account, let’s look at some important things to consider when you purchase furniture for your garden:   Quality over Quantity  A preliminary search for garden furniture will show you thousands of choices from all sorts of brands. You’ll also see prices ranging from a tenner up to a few thousand quid. Now, the temptation is to opt for the cheapest garden furniture because you’ve already spent a fortune on furniture inside your home. Howev......

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Creating the perfect year-round family garden

Creating a garden for the whole family isn’t just about style. You want outdoor areas to be practical, safe for your little ones, and provide year-round enjoyment. With a little planning, you can design a space that gives kids room to play, and adults space to unwind. Here’s how to transform your garden into a welcoming, multi-purpose family retreat. Design fun and secure outdoor spaces for kids Start by creating distinct zones: one that encourages activity or free play, one for relaxation, and one for flowers and greenery. Lay down turf or soft artificial grass for play areas. Define these areas with fencing – or be creative with hedging. You might also want a dedicated corner with a mud kitchen, den, or small sandpit. Safety is key, so build climbing frames or swings on level ground and make sure that there’s enough space around them. And remember, certain plants and flowers can be toxic to kids and pets , so do your research. Importantly, you need to have a comfy seating area close ......

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How to Create an Eco-Friendly Garden in 2025

In recent years, as we’ve all become more aware of our collective negative impact on the environment, many of us have pivoted towards living more sustainable lifestyles. It’s only natural that those who are more thoughtful about how they live their lives would want to extend this methodology to their gardens. Creating an eco-friendly garden is a rewarding way to contribute to environmental sustainability while transforming your outdoor space into a haven for biodiversity. By adopting green gardening practices, you can reduce waste, conserve resources, and support local ecosystems. Here’s how you can achieve this, with tips tailored specifically to the uniquely temperamental UK climate. Choosing Native and Pollinator-Friendly Plants Native plants are perfectly adapted to the UK’s climate, requiring less water and maintenance than exotic species. Additionally, they provide vital resources for pollinators like bees, butterflies, and other insects that play a critical role in maintaining ......

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Gardening with garlic

I love gardening, it's a natural mood booster and a hugely rewarding activity. I only have a small garden but every year I plant veggies and herbs to eat and make the most of the small space, I love being out in the fresh air and connecting with nature. Gardening has been a learning process of what does and doesn't work, of trial and error. Last year I had a bounty of onions and garlic so thought I would share five fascinating facts about garlic in the garden. Plant Garlic for a Spring/Summer Harvest In terms of timing, autumn planting garlic for the spring/summertime is best. It is important to plant your garlic before the ground freezes so that cloves can establish roots and then go dormant over the winter months, resulting in bigger, more flavourful bulbs in the spring/summer. Garlic is also an easy crop that requires minimal maintenance over the cold period. Extend Your Growing Season Winter gardening allows you to extend your growing season with cold-hardy plants. Along w......

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5 ways to live more sustainably in 2024

* This post may contain affiliate links.   Now more than ever we know we need to do what we can in terms of cutting down our personal impact on the earth and that some of our daily habits need to be changed to encourage this. However, it's not a bad thing, in fact, these changes usually have a positive effect all round and are fairly easy to implement. Changes like this also need to be seen as long-term goals and nothing one and one situation - I've already do most of these things.  So here are 5 ways to live more sustainably this year 1.  Travel - focus on flight-free destinations and reduce your car use  We all love to go on holiday but if you are based in the UK with Europe right on your doorstep, there are so many ways to completely cut out flying while still enjoying a sunny destination while taking advantage of the fantastic trains and bus networks across Europe. Travelling by public transport is the most sustainable and often economical way to go, in 2022......

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7 Ways to make gardening fun for kids

*This post contains affiliate links Not only is gardening educational for children but it's also a lot of fun and as many know, being outdoors has lots of health benefits. I feel very grateful that I have an outdoor space and while it may be fairly small, every summer my kids and I like to create a space that is fun, inviting and somewhere we enjoy spending time in. We always try to grow some veggies, undertake essential maintenance, and make our garden a safe and happy place. I know parenting, work, life, travel etc can make life very hectic but there are simple ways to get kids interested in gardening and having fun outdoors even when time is limited. So I thought I'd share a few tips on how I encourage and promote a love of gardening with my own kids and hopefully it will help you get outdoors more with your family as we head into spring.  1. Involve them in the planning  Involving kids in decisions really helps to pique their interest. We have already made a list of the ve......

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