Geoff Hodge offers some timely advice to make your hanging baskets spectacular this summer
Annuals
Growing cosmos for cut flowers
Cosmos are one of the easiest, most rewarding flowers you can grow in your garden. Their simple, open flowers have a friendly, smiley, summery demeanor and can be planted in beds, borders, pots and containers all around your garden with simply stunning results.
Which annuals should I grow?
Debi Holland shares her love of garden annuals and suggests five fabulous annuals to grow in your garden
Gardening for beginners – Planting containers
Plants in pots will elevate any garden, whether you have a patch in the countryside, small urban plot or even a narrow balcony.
How can I make gardening a bit easier?
When the aches and pains limit your gardening, it can be disheartening. Debi Holland offers advice on how to keep yourself gardening when faced with restricted mobility
What sort of containers can I grow plants in?
Bored of pots and planters? You don’t need to buy special containers for your plants. Why not recycle something to create a more unusual display? Debi Holland offers some suggestions
How can I save money on plants?
Geoff Hodge shares some hints and tips to make more of your garden plants and save some money by growing something for nothing – or just about!
Can I grow flowers with my veg?
Debi Holland offers five reasons why flowers are good to grow in among your veg.
Grow attractive edibles
In his Grow-Your-Own feature Martyn Cox recommends plants that look good and taste great.
Hardy annuals simplified
Fancy some colour in the garden this season? Follow Michael Perry’s advice. Here he takes the pain out of growing plants from seed.
How can I garden on a budget?
If you are stuck at home with little or no income, Debi Holland shares her tips and ideas for increasing your garden blooms without breaking the bank.
How do I get the most from my sweet peas?
Professional gardener, Debi Holland shares her tips for getting the best from these fabulous garden plants.
Winning with Flower Power – The Flower Power difference
Jean Willis started feeding her plants and garden with Flower Power and the results were so amazing that she was approached by a Britain in Bloom Judge to enter, and she won!
What’s a really easy annual to grow this summer?
Grow nasturtiums – these easy garden flowers create an amazing splash of colour all summer long
What are annual, biennial and perennial plants?
Martyn Cox unravels the difference.
What is companion planting?
Some plants offer additional benefits when grown in close proximity with others. Jean Vernon explores
How to really enjoy your garden
Geoff Stonebanks learns ways to enjoy his garden in lockdown and offers his hard earned advice. In a ‘normal’ year, Geoff Stonebanks opens his summer garden to hundreds of visitors, offering copious refreshments including tea, cakes and even lunch and afternoon teas. This year, the garden has been closed, giving Geoff a time to stand back and take stock.
Five plants to attract butterflies
Encourage more butterflies into your garden by choosing plants with nectar rich flowers
Buying plants
At this time of year, it’s all go in the garden. There’s lots to get on with, including planting up beds, borders, containers and hanging baskets. Geoff Hodge has plenty of advice about buying plants. Get the most from your garden centre purchases and choose wisely with his sage advice
Does Flower Power Plant Food really work?
Award winning garden designer Geoff Stonebanks reveals his most asked visitor question and explains why, for him, Flower Power has become indispensable.
My Flower Power Story – Our Magic Potion
Susan and Keith Wells were gifted Flower Power by a grateful neighbour, now they use it in their garden and call it their Magic Potion
How can I use colour creatively in the garden?
Geoff Stonebanks is an instant gardener, because he wants the area he is creating or changing to look like the image he has in his head, instantly
Garden highlights of a decade at Driftwood
As we enter the 2020’s, we reveal some of Geoff Stonebanks gardening highlights over the last 10 years and take a look at some of his aspirations for the coming decade!
Flower Power – The winning plant food
When a plant fertiliser helps you keep winning gardening competitions, it’s time to share the secret
What’s new in petunias?
If you thought a petunia was a petunia it’s time to think again, says Jean Vernon
How do you get the garden ready for winter?
Geoff Stonebanks explains what’s involved in putting his award winning garden to be for winter.
My Flower Power Story – Spectacular flowers on a budget
It might be October, but one garden in the West midlands is still a riot of colour thanks to the hard work of Dennis Amos and his garden helpers, plus the unrivalled vigor of his new plant food, Flower Power. New Convert Dennis is the first to admit that he used to use a popular […]
2018 is the Year of the Marigold
Plant marigolds – easy to grow garden stalwart – for zingy coloured flowers all through the summer, says Jean Vernon.
Grow a rainbow
If you love beauty and colour in your garden take a look at these plants. Each type offers a huge variety of colours to bring your garden alive.
Grow Calibrachoa ‘Calitastic’
For a spectacular summer display in your containers and baskets in the garden, choose the stunning new plant Calibrachoa ‘Calitastic’.