Nature & Garden - Gardening, flowers & vegetable patch

Root day · rising moon, waning gibbous

Plant garlic cloves pointy-end up in autumn soil, spacing them 15 cm apart, so roots establish firmly before the ground freezes.

October Moon Planting calendar →

Schisandra chinensis

Schisandra chinensis: expert tips for growing this Asian vine

Stop Watering Your Newly Planted Bulbs—Here's Why and When to Resume

Stop Watering Your Newly Planted Bulbs—Here’s Why and When to Resume

Building autumn compost from kitchen scraps: a zero-waste renter's guide

Building autumn compost from kitchen scraps: a zero-waste renter’s guide

Parthenocissus henryana

Parthenocissus henryana: expert tips for growing this elegant climbing vine

Autumn fertiliser myths: why your bulbs don't need feeding now

Autumn fertiliser myths: why your bulbs don’t need feeding now

Open glass jars of dark russet green tomato chutney on a weathered garden table, spoon resting beside, whole green tomatoes, apples and ginger scattered around

Green Tomato Chutney with Apple, Ginger and Mustard Seed

Why autumn root vegetable harvesting cuts winter food bills in half

Why autumn root vegetable harvesting cuts winter food bills in half

Clematis viticella

Clematis viticella: varieties, planting and garden uses

Celastrus orbiculatus

Oriental bittersweet: invasive control and garden uses

Campsis grandiflora

Trumpet vine: expert tips for growing vibrant climbing flowers

Tabby cat sitting on a wooden floor looking up at a large potted weeping fig

Ficus benjamina and pets: what the sap does, and what it does not

Brown scale insects clustered along a weeping fig stem and leaf vein with sticky residue

Ficus benjamina pests: scale, spider mite and mealybug told apart

Secateurs cutting a weeping fig stem with a drop of white sap, prepared cuttings and a glass of water on a bench

Ficus benjamina propagation: cuttings, water or compost, and air layering

Weeping fig in a terracotta pot by a window with fallen leaves scattered on the wooden floor

Ficus benjamina leaf drop: the seven causes and how to tell them apart

Fungus gnats invading your houseplants? Here's the one fix that works

Fungus gnats invading your houseplants? Here’s the one fix that works

Stop Watering Your Newly Planted Bulbs—Here's Why and When to Resume

Stop Watering Your Newly Planted Bulbs—Here’s Why and When to Resume

Autumn fertiliser myths: why your bulbs don't need feeding now

Autumn fertiliser myths: why your bulbs don’t need feeding now

Spring bulbs in containers versus open ground: which survives winter better?

Spring bulbs in containers versus open ground: which survives winter better?

Why Your Newly Planted Bulbs Are Rotting Before Winter

Why Your Newly Planted Bulbs Are Rotting Before Winter

Stop planting spring bulbs in waterlogged soil—here's why timing matters now

Stop planting spring bulbs in waterlogged soil—here’s why timing matters now

Medicinal plants

Close-up of fresh lemon verbena leaves being harvested by hand in a summer garden

Lemon verbena: harvesting, drying and using it for calming infusions

Fresh elderflower clusters in full bloom on a Sambucus nigra shrub in summer garden

Elderflower and elderberry: traditional uses, growing and home preparations

Close-up of overgrown flowering thyme with woody stems in a summer herb garden

Pinching back medicinal herbs: the cut that keeps leaves aromatic all summer

Fresh aloe vera leaf broken open revealing thick clear gel on sunburned skin

Aloe Vera on the Windowsill: How to Cut, Drain and Use the Fresh Gel on Sun-Stressed Skin

Freshly harvested lavender and chamomile bundles laid on a rustic wooden surface in summer sunlight

Chamomile, lavender, elderberry and aloe: when to pick them and how to use them

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