Best gardening gifts for Christmas 2019 - top present ideas for keen gardeners

Everyone has a gardening lover in their life, and the tools they use can range from the most expensive secateurs to the simplest pot.

Best gardening gifts for Christmas

Everyone has someone in their life who enjoys gardening, and the tools they use can range from the most expensive secateurs to the simplest pot.

Planting bulbs and life after pests: October tips for balcony and urban gardeners

Been a bit of a damp squib, October. Seemingly relentless rain marking a premature end to many of late summer’s offerings, among them my white window box cosmos, which started the month off quite blowsy and bright and is now something of a straggle.

Are millennials at risk of killing the houseplant obsession they created?

When will the houseplant craze end? It’s a question that’s been bubbling around for the past few years – and earlier this year, I read something that felt prescient.

What urban growers can learn from London’s first all-edible street garden

Behind most imposing rows of grand houses in London’s smarter postcodes, you’ll find something far more endearing: a mews. Cobbled and dinky, these former stables and servants’ lodgings now (usually) house millionaires of their own, but that doesn’t stop me taking an idle wander down them most weeks. As a container gardener, I never fail to find inspiration from the pavement-bound landscaping that crops up outside the front doors.

How to feed your soil in autumn for better veg in spring

Healthy soil leads to healthy veg and, as we swing into autumn, it’s time to enrich your plot for 2020. Adding organic matter soon – compost or well-rotted manure – gives friendly soil organisms time to work their magic and incorporate the good stuff over the winter.

Winter greens and cuttings: September tips for balcony and urban gardeners

I know it might sound ridiculous, but it was the Harvest Moon and – bear with me – a gong bath that made me do it. I was acknowledging the former in the midst of the latter (a process of lying on a yoga mat while listening to a stranger banging a gong; it’s meditative) when I realised that I’d not sown much this year to reap.

Three gardens to visit this weekend

Hidden in the blissful setting of the Blackdown Hills, South Wood Farm is a garden that exemplifies how contemporary design can be brilliantly harmonious with the English country garden idyll. Designed by Arne Maynard around the 17th-century thatched farmhouse, this is quite simply a garden not to be missed, not least for its welcoming courtyard and mouthwatering kitchen gardens; the overall sense of place is unforgettable. All the details, from the immaculate knot garden to the various hard surfaces of gravel, cobbles and steps, are meticulous; add in the peacefulness of early autumn and you are in for a treat.

The best gardening events and flower shows and where to book tickets

If you love gardens and you're in need of some inspiration, here's our guide to the big gardening events and flower shows happening in the UK this season.

9 of the best real Christmas trees and where to buy them

Christmas wouldn't quite be the same without the aesthetic that comes along with it. Sparkling lights, Christmas trees and red, green and gold baubles.

Plant Lovers, You're Going to Want All of These Unusual Houseplants

Could 'green lamp posts' be the solution to our air pollution problem?

Clean air in the capital has been making headlines left, right and centre over the last couple of months; and for good reason. Public Health England has data showing that seven of every 100 deaths in central London can be attributed to pollution levels and, last year for brief periods, pollution levels were worse than Beijing.

The best apps to identify unknown plants and flowers

There are hundreds of thousands of different plant and flower varieties in the world, meaning it takes a special kind of knowledge to differentiate your Dracula simia (or 'Monkey Face Orchid') from your Rafflesia keithii (or 'Corpse Flower').

Neighbours embroiled in 'almighty row' over flowers using handwritten notes 'is most British thing ever'

"There have been no raised voices - just paper pinned to a post."

Chelsea Flower Show 2019: dates, tickets, transport advice and the best day to go

It's the most glamorous event on the gardening calendar and now the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show is returning for its 106th year.

What to do with your Christmas tree after Christmas

As January beckons and the festive season draws to a close, children across the land will soon be removing the angel atop their tree, and parcelling up the decorations for next year. One by one, our much-beloved Christmas trees will be left out in the cold to await their fate. This sorry sight of branches protruding from wheelie bins and limp, lacklustre trees on pavements is enough to bring a tear to one’s eye.