The first flower bed I ever planted was a disaster. Not the kind of disaster where things gradually go wrong – it was clearly wrong almost the moment everything went in the ground. The tall dahlias I’d planted at the front completely blocked the shorter plants behind them. Half the bed got maybe two hours …
Watering plants is something everyone thinks they know how to do. It couldn’t be easier, could it? You fill up a watering can or jug, pour it on the soil, job done. Except it’s not that simple and the proof is in the statistics. Overwatering is the main killer of houseplants. It’s responsible for more …
There’s a particular kind of garden that stops people in their tracks. One that has overflowing borders, an abundance of flowers, something always in bloom. That’s the cottage garden aesthetic and it’s one of the most popular styles in gardening for good reason. It’s charming and when it works it looks like the garden planned …
The first time I tried to train my Monstera to climb it was a disaster. I basically just shoved a bamboo stake into the pot and hoped for the best. Probably not a huge surprise it didn’t work! It just looked like it was trying to escape rather than climb. But after a few years …
I probably shouldn’t admit this but I’ve killed a number of Monsteras through watering mistakes. The truth is that a lot of people have. There’s this weird thing that happens when you bring home a monstera. You get all excited and start treating it like a needy pet. Which is a problem because before you …
When I first got my Monstera manny years ago now I thought it would just naturally grow into a full, gorgeous plant. Instead, what I got was a leggy mess. The problem is that monsteras don’t naturally grow bushy. In the wild they climb and so are programmed to grow UP, not OUT. So if …
Hyacinths fooled me for years. I always assumed they were pretty easy going. But like many plants and flowers they can be picky about what they’re planted with. And getting it wrong will result in everything struggling, not just the hyancinths. So I’ll take you through the plants to avoid planting with them, along with …
When I planted forget me nots for the first time in my backyard they made a real impact. Those beautiful and tiny blue flowers are wonderful. And I assumed they would be happy to be planted with anything else I decided to plant with them. Well, I was wrong! So I’m going to show you …
Fuchsias can be picky when it comes to what they grow with. So if you’re growing fuchsias and want them to do well you have to be careful what you plant them with. A few summers ago I planted a combination that I thought was going to work out brilliantly. But instead I had to …
So you’ve got yourself a Monstera deliciosa and… it’s just sitting there. Not dying but also not thriving. Sort of existing in a botanical purgatory. I can say with some confidence that a stagnant Monstera is usually screaming for help. But we are simply bad at hearing what it’s saying or noticing what’s wrong. I …