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Chitting potatoes sounds like complicated gardening jargon, but it’s honestly one of the easiest and most rewarding jobs you can do in late winter. Chitting is simply encouraging your seed potatoes to sprout before planting, giving you earlier crops and better yields. I’ve been chitting potatoes for decades, and it’s become one of my favourite […]

Now I know what you’re thinking, but you don’t need to be a Samurai to use one or train with a Sensei gardener for years on a remote Japanese island. Once you’ve got the hang of using a hori hori, I guarantee you’ll never look back! Whilst the Hori Hori gardening knife may look quite […]

You know what gets me every autumn? Those glossy gardening magazines showing pristine pots stuffed with layer upon layer of spring bulbs, promising you’ll have continuous flowers from February through May. Instagram is awash with them. YouTube tutorials multiply like rabbits. Everyone’s at it, stacking tulips, daffodils and crocuses like they’re building some horticultural wedding […]

Container gardening is absolutely brilliant because it’s accessible, flexible, and honestly, once you understand the basics, it’s actually easier than gardening in the ground. The trick is knowing which pots to use, what to fill them with, and crucially, which plants will actually thrive rather than survive. I’ve been growing things in containers for over […]

When it comes to planting hundreds of spring bulbs, any gardener will tell you, it can be back-breaking work, that is, unless you have the hidden tool all us pros use for speedy bulb planting. I’m talking about one of the absolute weapons in any gardener’s arsenal: the humble bulb planter. Now, I know what […]

Making your own compost is one of the most rewarding things you can do as a gardener. Not only does it save you a fortune on bagged compost, but it’s also brilliant for the planet and turns your kitchen and garden waste into absolute gold for your soil. I’ve been gardening for a long time, […]

After all my years of gardening and teaching others how to grow things, I can tell you that strawberries are absolutely one of the most rewarding plants you can grow at home. There’s something magical about picking a sun-warmed strawberry straight from your own garden and eating it there and then. The taste is incomparable […]

There’s a colour that British gardeners chronically underuse, and it’s the boldest, most dramatic one in the entire palette: vibrant, passionate, show-stopping red! Now, I know what you’re thinking. Red’s too loud, too in-your-face, too risky for proper garden design. Absolute nonsense! Red flowers are the ultimate statement makers, and they deserve way more space […]

There’s a colour and plant type that’s criminally underused in British gardens: bright, vibrant, in-your-face yellow flowers! Now, I know what you’re thinking. Everyone and their nan goes for the safe pastels, the gentle pinks and soft purples. But what you may not know is that yellow flowers are absolute show-stoppers in terms of garden […]

Staring out at your perfectly square garden through those patio doors, you might be feeling distinctly uninspired. That predictable rectangle of lumpy turf bordered by fence panels on all sides probably looks less like a garden and more like a green prison yard, especially if it’s one of those typical new build plots where developers […]