News - Page 51

Having your own herb garden is a great way to not only have an attractive space and help wildlife but also to provide you with herbs for your own cooking and wellbeing. Starting your own herb garden is really easy and can be adapted to suit any size area that you have, from windowsills to patios and larger gardens. Herbs are incredibly adaptive and rewarding plants to work with.

Growing plants from seed can be great fun, but if you’ve never done it before it’s hard to know where to start. How do you know which seeds to plant when, and how to plant them? And what do all those strange terms on the back of seed packets mean? Here’s a quick guide to the language of seed growing, plus a few suggestions for seeds that you can plant now.

Easter is the perfect time to get creative with plants, baking and other colourful ideas. From table decorations to gift baskets and Easter bonnets, it’s a lovely time of year to celebrate with family and friends. So, whether you would like to spend some time in the garden and use plants for decoration or if you’d prefer to be in the warm cooking up a sweet treat, these 4 DIY decoration ideas should give you plenty of inspiration to enjoy Easter.

Are you joining Earth hour at 8.30 pm on Saturday 30 March? Earth hour is all about encouraging everyone to turn off non-essential lights for one hour, one day of the year. Organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), it’s a symbolic hour showing commitment to the preservation of our wonderful planet. The more people who participate the better we can all think and act to help conservation of the world. But outside of Earth Hour, what can we do to consider the earth at all times?

There is a lot about planting and garden design that we can learn from Piet Oudolf, his romantic and naturalistic approach to planting large landscapes is special and different to many other designers, which is why he is so influential in the industry. His style can be replicated in any size garden with some tweaks here and there for size but the natural drama and colour he creates for all year interest is second to none. Take a look at some of his work in places such as The Millennium Garden at Pensthorpe Natural Park to Battery Park in New York, also the High Line in New York to County Cork Garden in Ireland. So what can we learn from Piet Oudolf?

We all love the look of a lush green lawn, but keeping it that way can be a headache. Bare patches, moss and weeds are just some of the problems that face gardeners in their quest for the perfect piece of turf. But with a bit of maintenance, you can achieve a lawn to be proud of.