Get a bigger garden!
Sitting outside in summer offers a good chance to look at the overall layout of your garden and question whether you are making best use of the space – especially if it is small and enclosed. Using perspective and the odd optical illusion can increase the sense of space and subtly change our perception of an awkward shape. I am...
Pruning fruit trees
Pear tree trained against wall into fan shape Pruning is an area where many gardeners seek advice and with fruit trees, where the object is to maximise your crop, it pays to understand how good pruning can help. Of course, nature produces apples on apple trees without the gardener’s intervention but left alone the branches grow longer and taller each...
Lawns – the good, the bad & the easy
A few tips on lawns as the summer progresses from my WoolliesAskAlison twitter tweetorial: Established, healthy lawn withstands dry summer without watering. Top may go brown but will recover when it rains. Spring & summer lawn feeds high Nitrogen for lush green growth, autumn higher potassium for tougher leaves pre winter. Newly turfed or sown lawns need to be watered in dry periods...
The tropic of West Kent
If you don't get a free copy of the Town Crier magazine - here is my June article It is easier to create a tropical-looking garden in our temperate climate than you might think and does not require without a greenhouse to protect all the plants in winter. Choose plants with a strong architectural shape or big leaves but survive...
Grow Your Own – Exotic Kiwi fruit
Have you seen Kiwi fruit growing over a sunny pergola whilst on holiday in Italy? Or bought them from the exotic fruit counter in a supermarket? Well how about growing your own right here in South East England? Many people have read that kiwi fruit are tricky to grow and needed warmth and a long summer to bear edible fruit....