Gardening articles - Home & Garden

Gardening features

Contain your winter wonderland

If you're looking for colourful pots which will last a bit longer than a few shortlived pansies this winter, it's worth shopping around for evergreen and berried shrubs and grasses.

Find the best baby boomers

Baby veg have long been a favourite at the dinner table, but you can pay a lot for the pre-packed mini-carrots, courgettes and leeks in the supermarkets, which are often pretty tasteless.

How to play the name game

When you visit your garden centre, do you know your alba from your aculeatus, your japonicus from your officinalis?

How to increase your stock by cutting back

If you're watching your budget and want to increase your plant stock without spending money, late autumn is the time to take hardwood cuttings from many deciduous shrubs.

The perfect time to plant tulips

A decade ago, Anna Pavord's book The Tulip set a benchmark for biographies of the popular bulb, and the celebrated gardening writer has included the flower again in another informative and beautifully-photographed tome, simply titled Bulb.

Make autumn a colourful grand finale

Autumn splendour is always the grand finale of the growing season, as leaves turn vibrant shades of yellow, orange and deep red, while berries provide further interest - and not just for the birds.

Use formal lines to escape life's chaos

While natural gardens and meadow plantings may have increased in popularity in the last few years, formal gardens still have a place in our fast-paced, chaotic world.

A moving experience

As you tidy up your beds and borders this autumn, take a look at what has overgrown its allocated spot and also what didn't work in a particular place this year.

Make your garden safe

As the nights start to draw in, it's time to put away your patio furniture and other garden valuables - or at least make sure they're secure during the autumn and winter months.

How to choose the right gardening course

Now the schools have gone back, you may be considering returning to education yourself - and there are many gardening courses available, from one-day tasters to more in-depth studies which leave you with a qualification.