Peat-Free Compost: Choosing a Blend, Watering and Feeding
Choose peat-free compost for the plant and its purpose. Learn how to check moisture, read feeding instructions and avoid unnecessary extra fertiliser.
Journal
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Best Hedge Trimmer: How to Choose the Right One for Your Garden
Quick answer: The best hedge trimmer is the one matched to your hedge’s size and branch thickness, not the one with the biggest number on the box. A cordless trimmer with a 50–60 cm (20–24 in) blade and a 20–28 mm (0.8–1.1 in) tooth gap covers most garden hedges of privet, beech or boxwood. For…
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Growing Peonies: Planting Depth, Care and Reliable Blooms
Growing peonies comes down to depth. Set the eyes of a herbaceous peony only 3–5 cm (1–2 in) below the soil surface, in deep well-drained ground with six hours of sun. Plant in autumn, from late August through October. Planted too deep, a peony grows leaves for decades and never flowers. A well-sited plant lives…
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Planting fruit trees: the complete step-by-step guide
Quick answer: When planting fruit trees, dig a wide, shallow hole about 1.2–1.5 m (4–5 ft) across and only 40 cm (16 in) deep, and backfill with the soil you dug out. Set the graft union 5–10 cm (2–4 in) above the finished soil line. Bare-root trees go in dormant; container trees any time the…
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Herb Container Garden: How to Grow and Combine Herbs in Pots
Quick answer: Most herbs grow well in a container garden if they get at least 6 hours of sun, well-draining soil, and a pot of at least 3–5 liters (1–1.3 gallons) per plant. Group herbs by water needs rather than by flavor — Mediterranean herbs like rosemary and thyme in one pot, thirstier herbs like…
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Growing Tulips: Depth, Types and the Ones That Actually Return
Plant tulip bulbs 15–20 cm (6–8 in) deep and 10–12 cm (4–5 in) apart, in free-draining soil with at least six hours of sun, once the soil drops below 10 °C (50 °F). Darwin hybrids and species tulips come back for four to ten years. Doubles and parrots are one-season bulbs. Let the leaves yellow…
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Best String Trimmer: How to Choose the Right One for Your Yard
Quick answer: The best string trimmer (also called a strimmer, weed eater or line trimmer) is the one matched to what you’re actually cutting, not the one with the highest voltage on the box. A cordless trimmer with a 2.0 mm (0.080 in) line and a 25–30 cm (10–12 in) cutting swath handles most home…