Nostalgia, Nature, and Life Lessons in a Spiky Shell
The horse chestnut tree is being battered into submission by a string of unpleasant ailments. The mighty giants are a sorry sight by this time of year but. we still have conkers.
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Mary Keen on good gardens and great gardens
What makes the difference between a good garden, and a great one? More importantly, who decides? It is a divisive topic, and Mary Keen has views, and some of them would shock an estate agent.
How not to garden: August
What begins as hosepipe-ban despair turns into one of the richest conversations they've had: a proper masterclass in secondary and tertiary colour, a working formula for building texture into a border, and a hard look at who you're actually gardening for. Spoiler: it isn't the neighbours.
Ground cover plants: The beautiful way to protect your soil
With our soil under threat from drought and erosion, keeping it covered is more important now than ever. Annie Guilfoyle turns her attention to finding the right ground cover plants for your garden.
When water is worth it
Alan names and shames his personal gardening nemesis: the water feature. Dodging any responsibility for its rise to popularity through Ground Force, Alan tries to find the ones whose beauty justifies the bother of maintenance.