Lavender is a wonderful plant to grow in the garden. Not only does it have a stunning fragrance, reminiscent of warm summer evenings, but its flower spikes in varying shades of purple are so versatile and will lift any border or container display. Lavenders are low maintenance plants and needing little watering, unless planted in containers. They cope well with both drought and frosts are will reliably come back, year after year. A great choice if you’re time poor but still desire a spectacular display.

Bastin Nursery in the Netherlands has a renowned collection of Mediterranean plants, which includes well over a hundred different lavenders. if you’re thinking of buying a lavender but need some inspiration for which lavender plant to buy, take a look at nursery owner, Roger Bastin’s favourite types.

How to care for lavender

 Pruning lavender

Pruning is essential. At the nursery, we regularly pinch out the new growth on cuttings and young plants to stimulate lateral branching. Keep this up when you’ve just planted young lavenders.

When to prune lavender

Prune in spring to stimulate growth and prune in autumn to retain shape. Make sure you’ve finished pruning by the beginning of October, preferably earlier. Once the flowering season is over, there is no need to wait. One big advantage is the plant will continue to grow and you’ll spend your winter looking at beautiful silvery grey balls rather than bare branches. Be a bit more careful with Lavandula x intermedia, though, as it is much less hardy.

Fertilising lavender

There is hardly ever a need to fertilise lavender. And don’t water them, unless they are in pots.

When to plant lavender

Lavenders can be planted year-round, unless it’s freezing. The best time is October. Before planting, work lots of lime into the soil, about four times as much as the packaging says. Every two to three years add a maintenance dose, as prescribed. Note, however, that Lavandula stoechas cultivars and hybrids don’t want lime and are best pruned in summer.

The best lavender to grow

The Nursery’s own selection, with very pale violet, almost white flowers emerging from the deepest dark violet, almost black calyx.

The palest violet there is. Any paler and it would be white. Looks great when set off against darker colours. Hardiness rating USDA 6b-11.

The best white I’ve ever seen. Well-shaped, compact, but no dwarf. Hardiness rating USDA 6b-11.

Longest bloomer, as classically lavender-coloured as can be. Archetypal lavender at its best.

Fluffy flowers in a very special lilac. This plant is remarkable and in a colour category of its own. Hardiness rating USDA 6b-11.

The best pink flowers. Period. Hardiness rating RHS H4, USDA 6b-11.

The best dwarf cultivar – compact with dark flowers. Hardiness rating USDA 6b-11.

A new and very promising dark cultivar that keeps flowering.

A very full growing, vigorous and healthy plant with dark flowers. Hardiness rating USDA 6a-10b.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Downderry, Pillar Box Ln, Hadlock,
Tonbridge, YN119SW
Tel 01732 810081, www.downderry-nursery.co.uk
Open Thursday to Sunday, 10am-5pm.

Kwekerij Bastin, Nieuwenhuysstraat 29,
6336 XV  Aalbeek, Limburg, The Netherlands.
Tel +31 (0)45 5231475, www.bastin.nl
Open Wednesday to Saturday, 10am-5pm.

Support your climbing plants with one of these wall and freestanding trellis climbing plant support designs. Read more on the best climbing plants for your garden and annual climbers.

Climbing plants are a versatile addition to any garden, partly because they can be trained. Climbing roses, trailing shrubs, morning glories and vining fruits and vegetables will all benefit from a sturdy plant climbing frame.

Structural support enables stems to grow stronger and healthier so they bear more flowers, fruit and vegetables. But give your vines something to follow and they can also become a decorative addition to your garden, adding character and focal points to spaces that will spark inspiration.

Here’s why you need to use climbing plant supports

If you’re looking beyond using bamboo canes, we’ve carefully collated a range of attractive metal, wooden and plastic climbing plant supports, including trellises and obelisks. Find inspiration in everything from country classics to ornate gothic archways for growing healthy and decorative vine plants.

The best climbing plant supports for 2023

Hampton Plant Support Steel Obelisk

Claiming to be extremely strong and built to last, this characterful steel obelisk is finished with a black antique polyester paint, over an iron phosphate to boost its water and weather resistance. But you can also buy it with a bare metal finish, which will develop an aged look as it rusts over time.

Each leg is gathered at the top by one decorative ball and the overall effect is of an elegant support for climbers. Horizontal rungs in the frame should also offer training vines a great first step.

Barrington Arch Trellis

• Buy now from Amazon (£70.00), Garden Trading (£70.00)

Garden Trading

With a subtle gothic arch, the criss-cross design of the Barrington Arch Trellis allows for plenty of grips and angles for climbing plants and vines to hold on to. The bars form gentle curves for a characterful but unobtrusive natural screen that could be used anywhere around the garden, whether freestanding to break up a space or stood against a wall for decoration.

Over time the trellis will build its own aged, rusted effect so for a robust trellis to add character to your garden and guide climbers, this is a great option.

The lattice sides are perfect for adding climbing plants to grow over the top, and create a decorative, shaded spot in your garden. This striking steel arch comes in a stylish shade of grey and with a 10-year guarantee. The powder-coated frame helps make the arch more durable and helps to protect from seasonal elements. A purchase that will last for years to come, the modern, metal design opposed to a traditional wooden one, offers a contemporary look and feel.

Bloomsbury Market Hortense 3 Piece Birds Obelisk Trellis Set

• Buy now from Wayfair (£108.99)

Wayfair

This russet coloured trellises in this set of three have less of an industrial feel and more of an ornately decorated obelisk. Swirling birds adorn their sides with leaves and rods that mimic the look of climbing vines.

Protected by a powder coat and gloss finish, the small, medium and large metal supporters are designed for year-round durability and would make excellent climbing frames for runner beans.

This is our top pick for a durable plant support for honeysuckle and clematis that needs some training. Crafted in Raw Metal, its designed to rust once placed in the garden; adding to the rustic vintage aesthetic. It makes for a stand-out centrepiece in the garden.

Plant support 2D fleur de lis

It’s remarkably easy to bring a little continental charm into a garden with a climbing plant support like this 2D fleur de lis from Crocus.

The design itself is simple, offering five vertical bars for vines and four horizontal. Look a little closer and you’ll spot scrolls and French lilies embellishing the frame. Spiked feet should also help when pushing it into the ground.

Corlyn Bird Iron Trellis

• Buy now from Wayfair (£69.99)

Wayfair

Don’t be fooled by the design of this trellis. It’s an iron constructed climbing plant support that once staked into the ground, will support whatever climbs it.

The white finish gives the frame a summery feel that will highlight the colours of your plants. Alternatively, prop it against a wall to instantly brighten a neglected space or dull-looking corner of the garden.

Ophelia and Co 3 Piece Ginther Iron Trellis

• Buy now from Wayfair (£111.99)

This set of three obelisk trellises is a nice alternative to the traditional upright design of freestanding plant supports for climbers.

Each trellis features a crown-style circular topper that would help guide stems up and over their edges. But importantly, these become a decorative element to any bed of flowers, vegetables or vines.

This stunning set of three plant climbing racks, are both practical and extremely stylish. Made form iron, they’re weather-resistant and strong and sturdy to withhold the elements. It has easily installation through being staked into the ground. Both climbing plants and flowers can grow up the arch design with ease. The intricate leaf motifs and arched-roof, add charm and elegance to your garden or terrace.

If you’re short on space, or looking for some stylish support to add to your patio area, then this perching birds pot trellis is perfect! Measuring at 101cm in height, this is suitable to add some extra support to climbing potted plants such as, clematis or passion flowers. It’s durable and made with powder-coated steel, helping it to last through many seasons to come. The elegant design, charming birds and black matte finish, will add a sweet touch to your potted plants.

Minster willow trellis

• Buy now from Homebase (£11.95)

Bent willow climbing plant supporters bring a graceful grandeur to outdoor spaces. Their woody tones fit seamlessly in with most, if not all gardens, so if you’re looking to keep the natural theme, this Minister trellis will act as a sturdy support to climbing plants and vines.

Three poles across the centre allow for lateral growing as well as vertical vine support, so this is also a versatile option.

Compact and easy to install, this maypole is an ideal solution for sweet peas, clematis, and runner beans. Once assembled, the support stands out an impressive 6ft tall. It’s robust and durable. Through the strings, plants and vegetables are able to grow up through and this pulls the strings tighter, creating extra rigidity and strength.

The elegant Victorian-style design make this a stylish option to add to your vegetable patch and garden. Economically priced, pop a few up across a border and make a beautiful display.

Hamilton Vinyl Arched Trellis

Wooden trellises may need repainting over the years to keep them looking fresh, but a benefit of using them is that vines and flowers are protected from overheating during spells of hot weather. Better still, plastic trellises don’t need repainting.

The Hamilton Vinyl Arched Trellis can be staked into the ground and offer 35 cells for plants like hydrangeas and morning glory to bloom through.

• Buy now from Dobies (£143.99), Suttons (£143.99)

For any high-climbers or trainable vines, an archway is a great way to not only support your plants but also create a statement garden feature to enjoy year-round.

This VegTrug Cathedral Garden Iron Arch is designed to balance antique-style with modern functionality and has a powder coated frame for weather and waterproofing, a wide base and extended leg stakes for stability.

Claimed to be an easy-build without tools, this could be an interesting option for supporting your roses and vines.

Natural Steel Finish Arch Trellis

• Buy now from Artisan Plant Supports (£95.00+)

You can count on steel-made trellis’ to last a long time, purely by merit of the metal’s durability.

Supplied with pre-fixed mounting brackets, these particular frames by Artisan Plant supports can be attached directly to walls (including brick walls) or lent against something to offer a climbing plant support from the ground up.

8mm galvanised or rusted steel bars make up the frames and you can choose from a range of powder coated finishes.

Rustic Gothic Flower Trellis

• Buy now from Secret Gardens Furniture (£225.00)

With small flowers dotted across this bent metal climbing plant supporter, we can assume it’s designed to be both durable and decorative in any space around the garden.

The flowers follow a natural Gothic arch shape and will encourage plants into well-spaced criss crosses as they grow. The natural screen formed should also allow light through each section.

Diagonal Trellis Convex Arched Topper Panel

• Buy now from The Garden Trellis Co. (£31.00+)

Arched top trellis panels are great for adding shape and character to a run of fencing. These particular panels are suitable for timber or concrete fence posts. The grooved frame with eased edges holds a trellis with slim slats, spaced with 40mm gaps for climbing vines.

There are 11 different finishing options including 10 stain shades and these panels come with a 12-month timber guarantee. This means you can personalise the panels to your own garden.

Crab apple trees have a lot to offer. The perfect trees for small gardens, crab apples are compact and inject colour and interest into the garden all year round. In spring, the trees produce clouds of blossom that can’t fail to lift the spirits, while the fruits and foliage provide rich autumnal colour.

Crab apple trees flower even when young, often blooming when two or three years old, so they’re a great choice if you want a tree that performs quickly. The blossom is also invaluable to pollinators. There are many cultivars that are suited to cooking – especially to make crab apple jelly – so in all, they are versatile little trees.

Jump to

• What is a crab apple?
• When to prune crab apple trees
• The best crab apple trees to buy for blossom, foliage and fruit
• Where to see crab apple trees

Here are the reasons to grow crab apple trees

Everything you need to know about crab apple tree

What is a crab apple?

Few of the crab apples we grow in gardens are descended from our native crab apple tree (Malus sylvestris); most are derived from one or more of the 40 other wild species that grow in the temperate regions of Europe, Asia and North America. They make large shrubs or small trees, flowering prolifically, colourfully and often fragrantly in white, pink or purple in spring or early summer. Those with red flower buds opening to white flowers are the most dramatic in flower.

The autumn crop of colourful crab apple fruits often lasts well into the winter, as birds seem to leave them until last. Crab apple fruits can be small, some little more than 10mm across, but a few are as large as 5cm and weigh down the branches impressively. They can be yellow, golden, orange, scarlet, crimson red or dark purple; the yellow and orange fruits may be overlaid with pink or red.

Don’t miss our crab apple jelly recipe

Crab apples are self fertile, which means they don’t need another tree nearby to pollinate them. In fact, one crab apple tree can serve as pollinator for a wide range of culinary apple varieties nearby. They have a longer flowering season than culinary apples – and produce up to ten times as much pollen – so if you have at least one crab apple tree, neither you nor your neighbours need worry about the pollination of culinary apples.

When to prune crab apple trees

Crab apple trees need little or no pruning but dead, diseased or crossing branches can be removed in winter.

The best crab apple trees to buy for blossom, foliage and fruit

Malus ‘John Downie’

Discovered in Staffordshire in 1875, Malus ‘John Downie’ is considered one of the finest of crab apples. In spring, pale pink buds open to white flowers, which are much loved by pollinators. These are followed by striking oval orange-red fruits. In autumn, the leaves turn fiery shades of yellow and orange before falling. Its upright narrow habit, which becomes more conical with age, makes it a useful tree for a small or urban garden.

Grow Malus ‘John Downie’ in a sunny, sheltered spot for the best results. Height 10m.

Malus Sugar Tyme (=‘Sutyzam’)

The pale-pink buds of Malus Sugar Tyme (=’Sutyzam’) open to white flowers. The glossy red crab apple fruits are small but make an impressive display among autumn leaves. Noted for its excellent resistance to scab, this crab apple tree copes well with other diseases too. Height 6m.

Buy Malus Sugar Tyme now from Ornamental Trees

Malus ‘Sun Rival’

Malus ‘Sun Rival’ is by far the best weeping crab apple – the branches sometimes sweep the ground. It has deep red buds that fade to pink then open to white, pink-tinted blossoms. It bears bright red fruits in autumn. Height 4m. AGM.

Malus x atrosanguinea ‘Gorgeous’

Malus x atrosanguinea ‘Gorgeous’ has lightly blushed white flowers, given a starry look by narrow petals. These are followed by deep-red, sometimes orange-tinted crab apple fruits that persist for months on the tree. They make unusually good crab apple jelly. Height 5m. AGM.

Buy Malus x atrosanguinea ‘Gorgeous’ crab apple tree from Primrose

Malus ‘Evereste’

Malus ‘Evereste’ is a great choice for any garden as it looks good almost all year round. In spring, the scarlet flower buds fade to pink before opening into a flurry of unusually large, white flowers. Once pollinated, these then turn into to yellowish-orange fruits with a red flush that last on the tree well into winter. In autumn, the leaves turn yellow and bronze before falling, giving an additional season of interest. Originally marketed as a patio crab apple thanks its upright, conical shape, Malus ‘Evereste’ is an excellent tree for a small garden. Height 7m. AGM.

Malus ‘Butterball’

Malus ‘Butterball’ is a spreading crab apple tree with an appealing, slightly pendulous habit, especially when in fruit. Pink buds open to blushed-white flowers. The golden-yellow fruits that follow develop reddish tints on the tops or sides wherever they are not shaded. Height 4m. AGM.

Malus ‘Comtesse de Paris’

The white flowers of Malus ‘Comtesse de Paris’ are followed by slightly pointed, golden-yellow fruits that last well into winter. This crab apple is more balanced in shape than the similar ‘Golden Hornet’ and more resistant to scab. Height 4m. AGM.

Buy Malus ‘Comtesse de Paris’ now from Crocus

Malus ‘Adirondack’

Often sold as ‘Admiration’, Malus ‘Arindonack’ is valuable in small spaces, thanks to its upright habit. Deep, carmine-pink buds open to clusters of pure white flowers followed by pinkish-red fruits. An excellent crab apple pollinator. Height 5.5m. AGM.

Buy Malus ‘Arindonack’ now from Crocus

Malus x zumi ‘Professor Sprenger’

The pink flower buds of Malus x zumi ‘Professor Sprenger’ fade to blush before opening white. The scented flowers on this crab apple are followed by amber fruits that deepen to orange. This crab apple also benefits from yellow autumn foliage and exceptional disease resistance. Height 6m.

Buy Malus x zumi ‘Professor Sprenger’ now from Pippin Trees

Malus ‘Wisley Crab’

The rich, purplish-pink flowers of Malus ‘Wisley Crab’, dark towards the centre of each petal, open against the purple-tinted green foliage. These are followed by purplish-red fruit, which are red inside and the size of a small eating apple. Height 3m.

Buy Malus ‘Wisley Crab’ now from Keepers Nursery

Malus ‘Indian Magic’

Malus ‘Indian Magic’ is a broadly spreading but upright crab apple tree with deep-pink flowers that open from even darker buds. Later small, rather elongated orange fruits become red and last well into winter. Disease resistance is good. Height 5m. AGM.

Buy Malus ‘Indian Magic’ now from Crocus

Malus x robusta ‘Red Sentinel’

Malus x robusta ‘Red Sentinel’ has fragrant white spring flowers that open from pale pink buds. Large, glossy, deep-red fruits follow and last almost until spring. It also has yellow autumn leaf colour and impressive disease resistance. Height 8m. AGM.

Buy Malus x robusta from Primrose

Malus ‘Harry Baker’

The huge purplish-pink flowers of Malus ‘Harry Baker’ open against purple foliage that fades to green, followed by ruby-red fruits. The tree was named for a fruit foreman at RHS Garden Wisley. It has good disease resistance and makes a superb crab apple jelly. Height 5m. AGM.

Buy Malus ‘Harry Baker’ now from Pippin Trees

Malus toringo ‘Scarlett’

As well as offering pink spring flowers and long-lasting purple fruits, Malus toringo ‘Scarlett’ also provides leaves that are purple as they unfurl then mature to fiery orange and yellow in autumn. This crab apple’s slightly weeping growth only adds to the appeal. Height 4m. AGM.

Buy Malus toringo ‘Scarlett’ now from Crocus

Where to see crab apple trees

National Collection holders:

Brogdale Collections
Brogdale Farm, Brogdale Road, Faversham, Kent ME13 8XZ.
Tel 01795 536250, brogdalecollections.co.uk

Christabella Charitable Trust
Barnards Farm, Brentwood Road, West Horndon, Essex CM13 3LX.
Tel 01277 811262, barnardsfarm.eu

Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre
The University of Manchester, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 9DL.
Tel 01477 571766, jodrellbank.net

Terrariums not only add a dynamic element to a room, but also create a tiny eco-system you can enjoy close up.

Take a look at our pick of the best terrariums to buy online to get you started.

Here’s how to build and plant terrarium one of these miniature gardens in a glass dodecahedron. Plant enthusiast Ali Bell she says ‘the geometric shape of this terrarium both magnifies and frames the symmetric forms of the Echeveria and other small sculptural succulents, whose intricate details are best appreciated close up.’

Ali also says that, ‘although these water-retaining plants prefer hot, dry and well-drained conditions, they can thrive in a partly open terrarium, such as this one, in which the air is still able to circulate and keep humidity levels relatively low’. Read our piece on the history of terrariums. 

How to plant a terrarium

Plants

The three Echeveria plants are the stars of the show. Tones of cool greens and blues are linked by the red accents on the leaves. The Sedum will colonise happily between the rocks and other plants, and the Senecio provides height at the back of the terrarium. When it grows too big I will replace it with smaller pieces. You should place the terrarium in a cool, bright room, avoiding direct sunlight, which risks glass magnifying the heat and scorching the fleshy leaves. Water these plants very sparingly, hardly at all in winter, and once every two weeks in summer if required.

1. Senecio articulatus
   
2. Echeveria colorata
   
3. Sedum album ‘Coral Carpet’
   
4. Echeveria pulidonis
   
5. Echeveria nodulosa ‘Painted Beauty’

Materials

To create a terrarium you’ll need:

• Pebbles for drainage, ideally around 1cm in diameter.
• Activated charcoal. Mix in a handful with your pebbles to keep the eco-system sweet and avoid any stagnation and fungi that can occur when there is a lack of drainage.
• Soil, to suit your choice of plants.
• Moss or gravel to dress. As you’ll probably need to use sphagnum, pincushion and sheet moss in fairly large quantities, it is best to buy them from a specialist supplier.
• Natural objects found in your garden to enhance planting ideas.

Planting process

Start by putting 2.5cm-layer of pebbles for drainage, mixed in with a handful of activated charcoal into the base of your chosen container. It’s much easier to work out your plant combinations on the table first before planting as you have more room for manoeuvre. After you’ve decided on a design, start placing them in the terrarium. As this container had an opening at the front I planted it up from the back to the front so as not to damage or bruise the plants.

The easiest way to plant in a confined space like this – and to some degree all terrariums – is to use a long-handled spoon to place soil around them. After dressing with gravel I placed some stones I had collected to match tonally around the plants to make it look more like the plant’s natural environment. Finally, I used a paintbrush to remove any soil or gravel that had been spilled.

More ideas for planting a terrarium

Bell jar beauty

Bell jar cloches provide the most sealed-off and humid environments of all terrariums. It creates the perfect growing conditions for subtropical plants like this Streptocarpus ‘Polka-Dot Purple’. Team it up with the simple, delicate foliage of Geranium robertianum and pin cushion moss like Leucobryum glaucoma and you have a beautiful natural-looking indoor display.

Victorian style

A modern-day nod to the Warden cases used by Victorian plant hunters for transporting exotic treasures. This lovely terrarium has been planted up with a tropical version of the lady’s slipper orchid, Paphiopedilum sukhakulii x charlesworthii, a young Dryopteris filix-mas and a small amount of Polytrichum commune, a moss with a starry appearance.

Terrarium tools

For displays like this you’ll need:

• A homemade tamper for firming in plants – a chopstick with a cork on the one end is perfect.
• Long-handled wooden salad spoon and fork to use as a trowel and for evening out soil or raking gravel
• Large wooden spoon, wrapped in kitchen roll, to clean around edges of terrarium after planting
• Large wooden knitting needles for making smaller holes or moving plants around
• Long tweezers or tongs for placing stones or rocks
• Scissors for maintaining plants
• Fish fork for removing moss from your garden
• Paintbrush to remove spilled soil

Recommended suppliers

• Cactus Shop
• Dee Puddy
• Dibleys Nurseries
• Kelways
• Ray Creek Orchids
• Shady Plants
• Waen

PLEASE NOTE

Never take any plants from the wild. All mosses shown came from the author’s garden or were bought as cultivated moss.

Hedge laying is a country skill that has been practised for centuries. Although a well-laid hedge looks beautiful, the original aim was to create a fence to stop sheep, cattle and other stock from straying. Styles of hedges vary across the country (see below), but the principles of hedge-laying remain the same. By laying a hedge you not only create a living fence, you also help to encourage new growth, making it an excellent way of regenerating an old, overgrown hedge without replacing it. While initially quite tricky to grasp, it’s a skill that really is a case of practice makes perfect. Once laid, a hedge simply needs regular trimming to keep it in good order for decades – far longer than a wooden fence and infinitely more beautiful.

Don’t miss our piece on alternatives to box hedging

How to lay a hedge

When is hedge laying season?

Hedge laying is a seasonal job carried out between October and March when trees and shrubs are dormant, and birds have finished nesting in the hedges. It is also the time of the year when many of the materials you’ll need for hedge-laying, such as the hazel and ash for the stakes and bindings that add strength and stability to the hedge, can be easily sourced.

A step-by-step guide on how to lay a hedge

First you need to remove the lower side branches from each stem, ideally using a pair of loppers (see here for our selection of hedging tools). This will allow light to reach the base of the hedge and encourage new growth, ensuring that the hedge thickens.

When cutting into the stem (or ‘pleacher’), you need to slice down at an angle just above ground level. Make the cut quite deep, far enough to allow the stem to bend over sufficiently for you to lay it down, but take care not to slice it all the way through.

Once you’ve made a cut in each stem, you can lay these down along the length of the hedge. You should never lay the stems completely horizontal as some upward slant is required to allow the sap to rise through the plant.

To add strength and stability to your hedge you will need to drive in a series of upright stakes, at intervals of around 50cm, along the whole of its length. These stakes need to be sturdy enough for you to hammer in, around 40-50mm thick, and cut to a length of around 1.6m. Hazel and ash are good woods to use, and you should be able to source stakes from a local woodland worker.

Bind the stakes firmly together, using long, thin and flexible hazel rods, known as binders, heathers or weavers. Ideally, these should be no thicker than around 25mm – the thinner they are the more flexible they will be for weaving – and around 2.5-3m long. Again, you can source these from a local woodland worker. Starting at one end, weave your binders around the tops of the stakes to hold the stakes firmly in place and add further strength. They also create a very attractive top to your hedge.

When your hedge is firmly bound, cut the cleft stumps (the stumps from the part of the stem not cut) down to just above ground level and be sure to leave them as clean and tidy as possible, as this is where regrowth is most desired.

Tools for laying a hedge

Traditionally, most hedge layers use a billhook for cutting through stems and branches. There are numerous different styles of billhook, which vary dramatically in weight and length. As with any tool, the feel of it in your hand is important, so it is worth finding a good tool supplier with a range you can try out for yourself. Vintage tools, such as those pictured below, can often be a good option.

1. French loppers are the perfect tool for removing side branches.
2. Yorkshire billhook is the preferred billhook for many professional hedge layers. It is generally larger and heavier than many other designs, making it ideal for cutting through bigger stems. It has a square-shaped, doubled-edged head and a short nose (the hook on the end).
3. Pruning saws are ideal for cutting down cleft stumps.
4. Nottinghamshire pattern billhook has some similarities to the Yorkshire pattern, with its distinctive double blade, but is smaller.
5. Berkshire, or Moss pattern, billhook is smaller than the Yorkshire pattern, and offers a well-balanced blade and handle that is easy to use.
6. Spar hook is a light and slim tool more commonly used by thatchers, but is also used by some hedge layers.
7. Kent pattern billhook has a deeper blade than the Berkshire pattern, with a short nose that is useful for working at the bottom of a hedge.

Traditional county styles of hedges

Many different hedge-laying styles have evolved to reflect a region’s farming practices and its native trees and shrubs. Here are just a few:

Yorkshire
The Yorkshire style creates a very thin hedge. The hedge is cut close to the ground with plenty of thickness of material along the bottom; new shoots will grow from the already established root system. As with most hedge laying, the hedge is always laid uphill. Sawn stakes and rails are then used to finish the hedge. This method was adopted in Yorkshire because trees suitable for making stakes and binders did not grow well on windy uplands.

Devon
The Devon style hedge is normally laid on top of a bank. The pleachers, or steepers as they are sometimes known in the region, are laid much closer to the horizontal than the usual uphill angle, and are pegged down with crooked hazel sticks that are used to secure the hedge. The bank is an important element as this acts as the main barrier against livestock until the hedge develops.

South of England
In the South of England style the hedge is cut and laid over to create a double brush on both sides. A single line of hazel stakes are driven into the centre of the hedge, with the top bound with hazel binders. Both sides of the hedge are then trimmed immediately after the hedge has been laid. New growth from the base will keep it healthy and thick for years to come.

Midland
This is also known as the bullock style because it was traditionally used by farmers with large animals, where the hedge needed to be able to withstand the weight of cows pushing against it. Some would argue it is the most attractive of the hedge-laying styles. A combination of distinctive stakes and binders is used. The binders are woven along the top for maximum strength and the ends wedged behind the stakes.

Somerset
The Somerset style uses a row ofstakes that are driven in alternately on either side of the hedge. The stakes hold the pleachers in place, some of which are woven behind the stakes. Once the stakes are in place, any remaining branches, known as brash, are woven between the bent-over pleachers to give structure, thickness and sturdiness to the finished hedge.

Welsh Border
This method uses hazel stakes that are sometimes driven in at a 35-degree slant. Dead wood is used to protect the regrowth from being browsed by stock. The dead wood and live layers are woven along the centre line, with the top and side of the hedge being trimmed. Any large gaps should have new whips planted to fill the spaces. A few long, thin binders are then bound between the stakes.

More information

Find out more about the craft from the National Hedge Laying Society (hedgelaying.org.uk), which provides information on courses along with details of professional hedge-layers.

You can get a taste of the skill involved in hedge-laying at the annual National Hedge Laying Championship, where over 100 competitors enter eight regional styles to become supreme champion.

If it is more garden hedging plants you are interested in, check out our guide you are looking for a guide to the best hedging plants.

Suppliers

• A Morris & Sons Ltd. Tel 01647 252352. Small company that has been making billhooks and other tools since the 1800s.
• Carters, another small manufacturer making hand tools since 1740.
• Coppice Products. Tel 01952 432769. Provides details of local hedge-layers and locally sourced coppice products.
• Garden & Wood. Tel 01844 279170. Excellent range of vintage tools.
• Readyhedge. Wholesale nursery providing instant hedging and screening plants.
• Timeless Tools. Wide range of vintage tools.

Evergreen, easy to grow, small, manageable and long-flowering, winter heathers are the ideal low-maintenance plant, although their image suffered after their rise in popularity in the 1960s when they became associated with dwarf conifers and dull ornamental grasses.

Winter-flowering heathers have another great attribute: they are bee-friendly plants. They are a lifeline for bumblebees and solitary bees, which do not store food and emerge in mild spells in winter and early spring.

Some cultivars have gold or bronze foliage that add colour at ground level, although the combination of pink flowers and yellow foliage is not pleasing to everyone. Some heathers produce compact heads of blooms at the tips of the shoots; in others the blooms crowd a length of the stems. These cultivars make excellent cut flowers, and lend themselves to informal garden and wedding posies.

The best winter heathers to grow

Erica carnea

Erica carnea cultivars tend to be low growing, with a spreading habit. 

Erica carnea f. aureifolia ‘Bell’s Extra Special’

A compact heather with sparse, whisky-coloured foliage. Heliotrope, almost-red blooms from late winter to mid-spring. Bred from Erica carnea ‘Myretoun Ruby’. Height/spread 15cm x 45cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H7, USDA 5a-9b.

Erica carnea ‘Clare Wilkinson’

A vigorous and trailing heather with long shots clothed in mid-green foliage. Shell-pink flowers in long spikes in late winter through to late spring. A long season of nectar and pollen. Height/spread 10cm x 45cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H7, USDA 5a-9b.

Erica carnea f. alba ‘Isabell’

Spreading mats of short, upright stems carry bright-green foliage. Pure-white flowers with brown stamens from late winter until early spring. An excellent heather for pots and containers. Height/spread 15cm x 45cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H7, USDA 5a-9b.

Erica carnea ‘Nathalie’

Compact and bristling with dark-green foliage and jewel-like, glowing flowers from midwinter to mid-spring. This heather originated from seedlings of ‘Myretoun Ruby’. Height/spread 15cm x 45cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H7, USDA 9a-9b.

Erica carnea ‘Corinna’

A compact, bushy winter heather with abundant, dark-green foliage. Cerise-pink flowers in late winter to mid-spring. A good ground cover plant bred by Kurt Kramer in Germany. Height/spread 15cm x 45cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H7, USDA 5a-9b.

Erica carnea ‘December Red’

A vigorous and spreading winter-flowering heather with mid-green foliage that forms low, loose mats. Pink flowers darken to red-pink as they age, opening in midwinter and lasting to early spring. Height/spread 10cm x 30cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H7, USDA 5a-9b.

Erica carnea ‘Eva’

A neat and compact heather with dark-green foliage turning bronze in winter. Light-red flowers from late winter to mid- spring. It is one of the earliest red-flowering heathers to bloom. Height/spread 10cm x 30cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H7, USDA 5a-9b. AGM.

Erica carnea ‘Saskia’

Unusual colouring with rose-pink flowers, darker toward the tips and clustered at the end of the shoots from late winter to mid spring. A lovely winter heather against mid-green foliage. 20cm x 30cm. RHS H7, USDA 5a-9b.

Erica carnea ‘Winter Rubin’

Formely called ‘Kramer’s Rubin’, this compact cultivar has dark-green foliage and clear-pink flowers from late winter to mid-spring. Selected from seedlings of ‘Myretoun Ruby’. Height/spread 10cm x 30cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H7, USDA 5a-9b.

Erica carnea f. alba ‘Whitehall’

With pure white flowers and a similar habit to ‘Isabell’, this heather starts to bloom earlier, in midwinter. The flower spikes are less dense and the brown stamens less prominent. Height/spread 10cm x 30cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H7, USDA 5a-9b.

Erica x darleyensis

Erica x darleyensis heathers are a cross between Erica carnea and Erica erigena. They form clumps or small bush shapes. 

Erica x darleyensis ‘Arthur Johnson’

Long spikes of magenta-pink flowers, darkening from midwinter to mid-spring. Spreading habit with mid-green foliage, the spring shoots are tipped with cream. Height/spread 45cm x 60cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H6, USDDA 6a-8b.

Erica x darleyensis ‘Aurélie Brégeon’

Comparatively large, lilac-pink heather flowers from late autumn to spring on compact plants with mid-green foliage. A sport of ‘Darley Dale’, it’s not as hardy as other cultivars. Great in pots. Height/spread 30cm x 45cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H5, USDA 7a-9b.

Erica x darleyensis ‘Darley Dale’

A popular winter heather with profuse pale-pink flowers, darkening with age from early winter to mid-spring. Mid-green foliage with cream and pink tips to the shoots in spring. Height/spread 30cm x 45cm. Hardiness rating USDA 6a-8b.

Erica x darleyensis f. aureifolia ‘Mary Helen’

Mid-pink heather blooms open in late winter to mid spring. The new yellow-gold foliage lasts all summer, turning bronze in winter. Height/spread 20cm x 30cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H6, USDA 6a-8b.

Buy Erica x darleyensis f. aureifolia ‘Mary Helen’

Erica x darleyensis f. aurefolia ‘Moonshine’

A bushy heather with yellowish-green foliage that does not darken in winter. The pale-pink flowers open from early winter to mid spring. Height/spread 30cm x 45cm. RHS H6, USDA 6a-8b.

Erica x darleyensis ‘Phoebe’

A compact and free-flowering cultivar with profuse, rose-pink flowers from autumn to midwinter. Excellent ground cover, this heather has dark-green foliage and a dense, bushy habit. Height/spread 15cm x 20cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H6, USDA 6a-8b.

Buy Erica x darleyensis ‘Phoebe’ from Burncoose

Erica x darleyensis ‘Katia’

A bushy, compact heather with mid-green foliage, large, pure-white flowers and prominent brown stamens from early to late winter. Excellent with hellebores. Height/spread 30cm x 45cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H6, USDA 6a-8b.

Erica x darleyensis ‘Lucie’

A sport of ‘Kramer’s Rote’, with large, showy, magenta flowers on spikes of dark-green foliage in spring. This heather blooms later than many cultivars, so is less damaged by frost and rain. Height/spread 45cm x 60cm. Hardiness ratings RHS H6, USDA 6a-8b.

Erica x darleyensis f. aureifolia ‘Tweety’

A striking heather with bright, golden-yellow foliage that turns orange in winter. The sparse magenta flowers contrast with the foliage from early winter to mid-spring. Height/spread 30cm x 45cm. Hardiness ratings RHS 6G, USDA 6a-8b.

Erica x darleyensis f. albiflora ‘White Perfection’

Left unpruned, this heather produces long spikes of pure-white flowers with brown stamens from midwinter to mid-spring. Height/spread 45cm x 75cm. Hardiness ratings H6, USDA 6a-8b.

You can find more information in our guide to plant hardiness ratings.

Where to see heather

• Holehird Gardens, Patterdale Road, Windermere, Cumbria LA23 1NP
• Nymans, Staplefield Lane, Handcross, West Sussex RH17 6EB
• RHS Garden Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB

Where to buy heather

• The Heather Garden, Woodlands, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 8LJ

Heathers are widely available from garden centres and nurseries. Heather World, the former Heather Society website, is a good source of information for choosing and growing heathers.

For many, the word conifer conjures an image of a large tree or tall hedge, but there are lots of slower growing, small and dwarf conifers that are ideal for modern gardens. Many can even be grown in containers.

Small conifers can form attractive shapes, including cushions and mounds, or become small, manageable small trees. Some have colourful foliage, or foliage that changes colour in winter. Miniature cones and attractive bark add to their appeal. Some small conifers are excellent for clipping into shapes, and even cloud pruning.

Perhaps driven by the pest and disease issues affecting box (Buxus) recently, including box blight and box tree caterpillar, there’s been a sharp focus on small-leaved evergreen conifers, including pines, spruce, Podocarpus, cypress (Cryptomeria) and Chamaecyparis. Mountain pines, Pinus mugo, have been used to great effect as evergreen mounds by designers Chris Beardshaw and Matt Keightley at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in recent years.

Podocarpus is probably my number one box alternative. It can take close clipping, doesn’t grow too fast and, usefully, regenerates from old wood.

In winter, many conifers are a wonderful foil for winter-flowering plants, plants with winter seedheads, or the buff-gold of dormant ornamental grasses. Shade-loving conifers work well with ferns, epimediums and other woodland shade plants.

Small conifers: how to grow

Where to plant conifers

Most conifers grow best in a bright, sunny spot.

Chamaecyparis generally prefer full sun. They show their most glamorous foliage habit in good light levels, and do not like their feet sitting in water.

Most pines prefer full sun, and well-drained soil. Those that turn a golden colour in cold weather will give the most vibrant display in full sun. The exceptions to this rule are those with variegated needles, such as Pinus parviflora ‘Fukai’, which may suffer some sunburn on heavily banded needles. For these, a position away from the blazing midday sun would be beneficial.

Cryptomerias and Podocarpus can tolerate shade, and even some winter wet.

How to care for conifers

Conifers are remarkably easy plants to please. They should be kept watered through the first couple of summers if conditions are dry, but once established, rarely need additional irrigation.

Pruning small conifers

Conifers do not need regular pruning, but you can prune them to shape them or to control their size. Conifers are easy to prune by trimming or removing new growths, sometimes known as ‘candles’, in spring. These new shoots, which appear in the terminal growing points, often have a clear central leader that can be shortened with a sharp pair of scissors, or simply plucked out with index finger and thumb.

For a more vigorous prune, use secateurs to shorten the previous two- to-three seasons’ growth back down to a whorl of branches. You should, however, avoid pruning too severely – this never ends well. Many conifers do not regenerate from old wood and the pruning cuts will gaze back at you for years to come.

How to propagate conifers

Pines are best propagated by grafting, as the cultivars will not come true from seed. A grafted pine will cost more than an average shrub or perennial.

Chamaecyparis can be propagated by cuttings, most commonly through semi- ripe cuttings, with some gentle bottom heat, ensuring they do not dry out. I’ve had more success with heel cuttings, taken in winter, planted into a pan and popped into a cold frame somewhere cool, outdoors, where they sit, seemingly doing nothing, until roots sprout from the base of the pot.

Both Cryptomeria and Podocarpus root from semi-ripe tip cuttings, taken in late summer. Podocarps are the easiest of all to root – useful if you are planning to replace extensive box hedging.​

The best small conifers to grow

Picea pungens Glauca Group ‘Glauca Globosa’

© Jason Ingram

Its wonderful, ice-blue needle colour makes this spruce a real stand out in the border. At RHS Garden Wisley, we have used it with wine-red maples, purple pittosporum and grey corokia. Height: 60-70cm. AGM. RHS H7, USDA 2a-7b.

Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Nana Gracilis’

A fascinating plant with deep- green foliage that appears in small, fan-like arrangements to create an extremely elegant talking point. Can be left to form a bubbly looking mound, or, in older age (the example shown here is nearly 100 years old), effectively cloud pruned. Height: 1.5m. AGM. RHS H7, USDA 4a-8b.

© Jason Ingram

Pinus mugo ‘Winter Gold’

A low, slow-growing cultivar that produces mini cones, and flushes yellow in cold weather. It slowly reverts to green as the temperatures rise again in spring. Can be easily shaped by candle pruning (see page 57) in spring. Height: 1-1.5m. AGM.
RHS H7, USDA 2a-7b.

Cryptomeria japonica ‘Little Sonja’

Useful in both sun and shade, this is a tangled, textural feast for the eyes. Its fresh green, almost succulent-like, stems have flattened green leaves that are arranged close to the stem. Height: 50-60cm. RHS H6, USDA 5a-8b.

Pinus strobus ‘Sea Urchin’

A photogenic and fluffy, bun-like pine, which over time creates a fuzzy mound with soft, delicate needles. Happiest in full sun to very light shade, it looks good in an elegant pot or urn. A personal favourite. Height: 40-60cm. RHS H5, USDA 3a-8b.

Pinus strobus ‘Green Twist’

A cultivar that almost has to be seen to be believed. Its small needles are twisted, allowing the white undersides of the needles to be shown off, creating a wonderful foliage effect. Height: 40-50cm. RHS H6, USDA 3a-8b.

Pinus mugo

This is the typical and very dense, compact mountain pine. Excellent cold tolerance and easy to shape. Good for evergreen structure, and can look elegant in a pot. Known for their cold tolerance, these mountain pines seldom grow with any apical dominance, so plants growing wider than tall is not uncommon. Height: 30-50cm. RHS H7, USDA 2a-7b.

Chamaecyparis thyoides ‘Rubicon’

A cultivar that flushes purple-plum in winter and turquoise green in summer. Grows naturally as a mini cloud-pruned tree without any assistance. Best grown in full sun. Height: 30-50cm. RHS H6, USDA 4a-8b.

Pinus contorta ‘Chief Joseph’

A vibrant, zingy, golden yellow in winter, it reverts to green in summer. Best grown in full sun, this cultivar can make a small tree in time, but is very slow growing. Height: 70-90cm. AGM. RHS H6, USDA 4a-8b.

Pinus parviflora ‘Fukai’

A personal favourite, with variegated needles and colourful pollen cones, set off by smooth, silvery grey bark. The growth habit resembles a giant bonsai, and at Wisley it always stops people in their tracks so they can take a closer look. Height: 1-1.5m.

Podocarpus nivalis

Podocarpus is probably my number one box alternative. It can take close clipping, doesn’t grow too fast and, usefully, regenerates from old wood. The muted green foliage of Podocarpus nivalis is a good foil for other plants. It doesn’t go bald in the shade, and can straddle the line between sun and shade. Growth is slow, so an annual clip can keep it in bounds. Height: 1-1.2m. RHS H5.

Podocarpus ‘Guardsman’

A hybrid podocarp that turns a deep burgundy- red in winter, before putting on a flaming red show in spring, then deep green in summer. Able to perform in both sun and shade, and tolerant of close clipping. Height: 1-1.4m. RHS H5.

Podocarpus ‘Young Rusty’

In winter to late spring, the deep-green foliage of Podocarpus ‘Young Rusty’ is flushed a deep red-bronze, after which colourful new shoots appear. Brilliant in sun or shade, and able to withstand clipping, it can regenerate from old wood. Height: 1-1.3m. RHS H5.

Where to buy and see small conifers

RHS Garden Wisley

Wisley Lane, Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB. Tel 01483 224234, www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley

Ashwood Nurseries

Ashwood Lower Lane, Kinver, Kingswinford, West Midlands DY6 0AE. Tel 01384 401996, www. ashwoodnurseries.com Home also to John Massey’s own garden, a great source of inspiration.

The Bressingham Gardens

Low Road, Diss, Norfolk IP22 2AA
Tel 07300 100445, www.thebressinghamgardens.com
Home to Adrian Bloom’s garden, Foggy Bottom, which is an inspirational place to see creative pruning and shaping.

Larch Cottage Nurseries

Melkinthorpe, Penrith, Cumbria CA10 2DR. Tel 01931712404, www.larchcottage.co.uk

Lime Cross Nursery

Herstmonceux, Hailsham, East Sussex BN27 4RS. Tel01323833229, www.limecross.co.uk

No dig gardening is becoming increasingly popular, largely thanks to one man: Charles Dowding.

Charles started experimenting with no dig gardening back in the early 1980s, inspired by Ruth Stout’s No-Work Garden Book and the pioneering work of F.C. King, Arthur Guest and Shewell Cooper, which had received little attention in the gardening world.

The results Charles achieved from initial trials – healthier plants and soil, improved harvests, fewer weeds and pests and much less labour – encouraged him to keep going. At his current market garden, Homeacres in Somerset, he uses the no-dig method of growing veg over 1,300 square metres, involving just 10 hours of his own labour per week, plus 10 hours of part time help, mostly with harvesting.

Watch Charles Dowding answer your questions on No Dig live

Charles also runs no dig courses online and in person and has written 12 books on no dig gardening, including his latest ‘bible’, No Dig: Nurture Your Soil to Grow Better Soil with Less Effort (Dorling Kindersley, September 2022), which sums up his ethos and years of experience and gives detailed growing advice for a myriad of individual crops.

We asked Charles Dowding to explain the principles and benefits of no dig gardening in more detail.

What is no dig gardening? Charles Dowding explains

What is no dig gardening?

No dig is about two things: minimal soil disturbance, and feeding the soil by adding organic matter to the surface.

No dig is basically about copying nature, where you don’t have soil disturbance and and debris falls on top, from old leaves and so on. Soil organisms come up to the surface, eat it, take it down, excrete it as food for other soil organisms – so you get a whole network building up in the undisturbed soil.

The embellishment, if you like, for growing veg is to get your soil more fertile than it would be in nature – I always say, you don’t walk in a forest and see carrots growing! It’s not a natural thing to have beautiful vegetables, so you need to feed the soil more than nature would. So putting compost on top of the soil is a short circuit of the decomposition process – it enables a rapid build up of soil fertility and rapid success, basically. You can make a no dig bed in the morning and plant it up in the afternoon, if it’s the right time of year.

When you get your soil healthy by leaving it alone, and feeding it on top, you’re building health in the soil. That translates to health in your plants and frees you up to do other things.

No dig is not the slog that we had before of digging and weeding and a four-year crop rotation, which actually comes from 18th century farming and somehow made its way into gardening.It’s actually cheaper in the end – people worry about the initial cost of the compost and I get that, but it’s a long term investment.

Read Charles’s advice on how to improve your soil.

Tell us about the dig vs no dig trial beds that you run.

The no dig beds highlight the problems with digging!

I get much more weeds on the beds where the soil has been dug and disturbed.

It’s also harder to water the dug beds as the water tends to smear on top and then runs off. You’ve got to water carefully, in stages. On the no dig bed, the compost mulch acts like a sponge and soaks the water up.

And there are big differences in yield. I’ve been at Homeacres for 10 years now and every year we get 10 per cent more yield from the no dig beds. And that’s for the same amount of compost being added each year. People say, “I can’t do no dig because of all the compost you need,” but you actually need less compost year on year.

I’ve also been doing some work with a soil scientist, and her initial findings show that there’s a significant increase in carbon in the no dig bed. So for anyone concerned about climate change, it’s a winning argument.

Read the Land Gardeners’ guide to improving soil health.

How big does a no dig bed need to be?

A bed of 1.2m x 2.4m can grow a sizeable amount of food. If you’re starting out, that’s the size bed I’d recommend. I’m always saying don’t take on too much. I like to think that people feel in charge of what they’re doing and not feeling daunted. The beauty of no dig is that you can scale up or down very easily.

How do you create a no dig bed?

If you’re starting on lawn, put cardboard on top as that smothers the weeds – enough to stop them growing. Only woody plants, such as brambles, need to be dug out. Then put compost on top of that, around 10cm deep.

You can plant into the compost straightaway. The plants will root into the compost and eventually into the soil, once the cardboard has decomposed after around 10 weeks.

From then on, I add a mulch of compost in late autumn or early winter, ready for planting in spring.

Read Charles’ advice on growing winter vegetables.

What type of compost can you use?

When I say compost, I mean anything that is decomposing. I’m not setting the bar too high here, as I think people believe they have to use ‘perfect’ compost. But actually, especially if you’re making a new bed, you can put quite lumpy stuff at the bottom as long as you have 3-5cm of fine compost on top.

The origin of your compost can be anything from old manure to leaf mould, home made compost, the stuff you can buy like green waste compost or spent mushroom compost. You can even use really old wood chip if you can sieve out the biggest bits.

Read about 15 of the best compost bins.

Can you use bagged compost?

Yes, if that’s what you can get your hands on. And it’s actually fine to use an old bag of compost.

One thing you don’t read about is that there’s a shortage of compost at the moment as so many people are gardening. And it’s a bit too fresh and is still decomposing in the bag – one sign of this is that it feels warm. It’s not really ready to use for plants as it’s still fermenting and is going to take nutrients for its own decomposition. I’ve had quite a few people reporting this year that they’ve made a new bed and their plants aren’t growing. Then about eight weeks later, they grow – once the fresh compost has decomposed.

No dig involves less weeding – can you explain why?

If you disturb the soil, it needs to recover and it will ‘recover’ itself with weeds. Farmers around here in Somerset say “chickweed follows the rotavator” but in no dig gardens you very rarely see chickweed. There are obviously still some weeds, but far fewer. You can remove them by hand very quickly, before they set seed, and then you’re free to do other things.

What about slugs and snails?

Pests are a massive discouragement for people wanting to grow veg. No dig gardening doesn’t damage the soil flora and fauna, and so allows the system of pest predators to flourish.

We’ve always been told that we dig the soil to expose pests to birds. But if you think about that, it makes zero sense – it implies you’re only exposing the pests. What about the earthworms, centipedes and spiders that are exposed too, and the myccorrhizal network, which has been damaged?

With no dig, you get fewer slugs, but it’s really important to maintain the tidiness of your garden. It’s something I’m really big on. For example, removing the lower leaves of brassicas.

Find the area in your garden that doesn’t have much habitat around it, if possible – if you plant veg next to your herbaceous border, they probably will be slugged. I realise this can be a challenge in a small garden.

It’s also better to not have sides on your raised beds. If they’re new, fine, but once the wood starts to decay where it meets the soil, it creates cavities in the wood that slugs live in – the perfect habitat for them on a sunny day. They then they come out at night and eat your plants. I’m always looking for the places where they hide by day to reduce their population – not to get rid of them, though, as we want the toads and blackbirds that might eat them.

Read about the best plants to feed birds.

You often advise against sowing too early. Why is that?

I’m always advising people to not sow seeds too early! I got an email this year from a seed company on 20 February, saying it was time to sow cucumbers. I actually recommend mid April, because the plants won’t get checked by cold conditions then and they’ll grow fast once you get them in the ground in May. In my new book, I lay out the best sowing times for each vegetable. There is a lot of misinformation out there.

You also tend to sow seeds under cover, instead of direct in the ground. Why?

Sowing seeds in a warm, protected environment such as a greenhouse means they have a better chance of germinating successfully and are less likely to be eaten by pests. As a greenhouse can still be cold at night in spring, I often start my seeds off in the house. I grow them on in the greenhouse and transplant outside after three to five weeks.

The exceptions are carrots and parsnips as they have long tap roots and don’t transplant well, and potatoes, onion sets and garlic.

Can no dig work anywhere in the world?

I’ve had positive feedback from veg growers in very different climates.  No dig is working brilliantly for a man in a tropical rainforest environment in the Philippines. He says he gets less erosion in the heavy rain and better moisture retention when it’s not raining. I’ve also had good feedback from the high desert of Utah, where they have very little rain. In really hot sun, I’d advise putting dry grass or hay on top, to protect the compost a bit. I’ve had lots of positive feedback from south India and Bangalore, and a lot from Canada and the USA. A lady running a rooftop garden on an office block in Singapore told me she couldn’t believe how much fewer weeds she had.

Can no dig be applied to growing flowers?

Totally. I think something like 80 per cent of British cut flower growers are no dig now. If you’ve got a problem with couch grass or ground elder in a border, cardboard is a useful way to tame it. You can cut cardboard like a jigsaw and butt it right up to a shrub or tree, then put a little bit of compost on top to hold it down. The later regrowth won’t be as strong and easier to remove. Weeds give up more easily when you don’t disturb them.

Do you think no dig gardening is becoming more mainstream?

For years, veg growing was all about crop rotation and artificial fertilisers and chemicals, and looking back now, that just seems crazy and old fashioned. People find it easier to change the way they look at things if a lot of other people have done it. There has been a growing environmental awareness. I noticed a big shift in 2015, which was the International Year of Soils. People started looking at soil as an entity in itself. When I was going to lectures in the 1980s, lecturers would say that soil was like a bank balance – nutrients in, nutrients out, like it was a holding mechanism with no properties of its own. A lot of people have heard about the mycorrhizal network now.

You’ve embraced social media and have a popular YouTube channel. How did that come about?

I felt frustrated by the lack of media exposure from the mainstream media, so I embraced social media. There’s a lot of bad information out there, and I wanted to correct it. I can now go direct to gardeners with a beautiful image of a harvest and an explanation of how I’ve done it, and they can embrace that and try it out. It works, and they tell a friend. It’s actually building a strong worldwide movement.

What’s next?

I’m writing a no dig book for children, coming out in 2023. A lot of youngsters have a strong environmental awareness and a strong interest in gardening. We’re also meeting a huge demand for courses here, with people are coming from all over the world. I’m also writing and speaking a lot. No dig is a really strong, positive news story at a time when the world really needs it.

You can find out more about the no dig method at Charles’s website.

Central Spain is not the most hospitable of gardening environments. Winters are cold, while summers can be be intensely hot for long periods and with little rain. Traditionally, Spanish gardens have followed French or Italian models, but now a new generation of garden designers is emerging, inspired by a love of the Spanish landscape and by the plant communities that naturally thrive there. Here, Spanish garden designer Fernando Martos gives advice for planning a dry garden and shares some of the combinations of plants he uses in his design.

Here’s more on how gardeners need to adapt to drought. 

Planning a dry garden

1. Choose plants from regions with a long, hot, dry season that have a ‘low water requirement’ rather than tolerance to drought.
2. Encourage plants to root deeply by breaking up the soil in the planting hole as deeply as possible at the base. Water infrequently and heavily; ‘little and often’ only encourages surface rooting.
3. Plant when small. Older or larger container-grown plants will have shallow root systems, which make them vulnerable to heat and drought.
4. Grow plants ‘lean’ and don’t feed them. Plants are more resilient if grown slowly. Feeding plants from stressful environments may result in several years of strong growth followed by a sudden demise.
5. Mulching keeps moisture in the soil and, crucially, roots cool. Chipped bark is good, but gravel or other mineral mulches are better, but only if the soil in the planting is not going to be disturbed.
6. Irrigation is essential for plants to look good, rather than just survive. But as some plants, such as lavenders, suffer an increased risk of fungal disease, plants should be grouped according to their irrigation needs.
7. Ugly irrigation pipes can be disguised with mulch. Drip irrigation systems where pipes lead water to individual plants are the most economical.

More on dry gardening

Everything you need to know about hosepipe bans

Drought tolerant plants

Four drought-tolerant planting combinations from Olivier and Clara Filippi’s garden in France

Dry garden plant combinations

Light and airy

Teucrium fruticans – clipped into mounded shapes – dominates here, its spring flowers add to the beauty of the grey foliage that complements the Lavandula angustifolia‘Hidcote’. Several clumps of Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ add bulk while, in the background, the taller Stipa gigantea is illuminated by backlighting – crucial to make the most of this early flowering grass.

Golden glow

Backlit grass Stipa tenuissima grabs the attention here, its feathery plumes complementing the more defined Phlomis russeliana. In the foreground Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’ is in full flower, about to be joined by similarly toned Lavandula angustifolia‘Hidcote’  and yellow Achillea filipendulina ‘Parker’s Variety’. Further back, the silver-leaved Stachys byzantina makes a dramatic intervention among a drift of lavenders.

Bright and bold

Surrounding an airy clump of Stipa tenuissima the golden-yellow Phlomis ‘Edward Bowles’, the densely shrubby hybrid Achillea filipendulina ‘Parker’s Variety’, and the richly coloured Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’ and Iris ‘Syncopation’ – all plants that have a low water requirement – create a light and fluid composition. Behind is a veil of Stipa gigantea flower heads – these airy displays never block views, but add extra sparkle.

Soft curves

A Quercus ilex trunk links the garden to the landscape. A soft mound of the flower-covered Cistus x skanbergii echoes the curve of the grass Sesleria autumnalis, which slowly forms tight mats of pale foliage that complements the colours around it. Behind, the more flamboyant Stipa gigantea draws the eye towards drifts of Nepeta ‘Six Hills Giant’ and Stachys byzantina.

For more on dry gardens, don’t miss our piece on dry garden guru Olivier and Claire Filippi’s Le Jardin Sec. 

Here’s our list of the best drought tolerant plants. 

The oft-repeated mantra ‘right plant, right place’ applies as much to bulbs in pots as to those in a garden. Many plants thrive in pots and bulb planting in pots allows for a much more flexible display, a moveable feast for the eyes, that you can adjust and update throughout the year. In autumn, gardeners are thinking about planting spring bulbs, and it’s worth taking the time to consider planting combinations, where you want the display to sit, plus the size and style of your pot.

Below you’ll find the do’s and don’ts of container gardening and inspiring ideas for using bulbs in pots. Don’t miss our guide on when to plant bulbs.

How to plant bulbs in pots

Follow these ten top tips to ensure you get the best from your bulb pots

DO fill the bottom few inches of the planter with crocs – broken terracotta pots work well – to help with drainage and reduce the amount of compost you need.

DO use a good compost. Loam-based composts, mixed with grit or crushed bark, formulated for container growing, are far better than multi-purpose composts. Read our detailed guide to the best composts.

DO feed your plants regularly during the summer months. Flowering plants should be fed once a week with a liquid fertiliser during their flowering period.

DON’T forget that plants in pots and containers need a considerable amount more watering than those in the garden. During really hot days water at least once a day.

DO add water-retaining crystals to the compost. Containers will dry out much more quickly than borders and the crystals will help store water. Using a mulch will also help retain moisture.

DO buy the best terracotta pots and containers you can afford. Cheap terracotta pots with flack or crack during hard frosts.

DON’T forget pests and diseases. Plants grown in containers are under more stress than those in the garden so are more susceptible to pests. Treat regularly for aphids, slugs and mildew.

DON’T skimp on the size of the pot or container. Most plants look much better in big groups in large pots.

DON’T forget that your pots and containers will be heavy, so plant them where you want them to end up or alternatively use specially-designed pot rollers or a trolley.

DON’T overdo the number of plants you use. Although when you first plant up a container it may look skimpy the plants will soon grow and spread to fill out your pot.

Inspiration for planting bulbs in pots

Here are three container displays that celebrate the beauty of bulbs. Some have been planted en masse to stunning effect, or grouped together to give a strong sense of the arrival of spring.

A bowl of Fritillaria

This display uses Fritillaria melegaris bulbs, delicate snake’s head fritillaries. By planting them in a bowl, they can be elevated to a prominent position and their stunning checkered bell-shaped blooms can be fully appreciated.

Fritillaria bulbs are very fragile and can often dry out in storage. To give your display every chance of success, soak them in lukewarm water for a few hours before planting. You can also buy them ‘in the green’ in spring. If you’re planting bulbs in autumn, plant them as soon as possible in early autumn in moist, humus-rich, loam-based compost at four times their own depth, ensuring that the pots have holes for drainage. Protect with plastic netting or chicken wire.

Using small pots helps to prevent disturbing their roots when eventually planting out and if grouped together on a window ledge or table in decorative containers they will still create the meadow look.

Use 30-50 bulbs. The display will be in flower from March until May.

Here’s everything you need to know about growing fritillaria

Grouped grape hyacinths and scillas

The arrival of spring is always a time for gardeners to celebrate, but we can often overlook some of the smaller flowering bulbs, such as the lovely, classic grape hyacinths.

This display combines Muscari aucheri ‘White Magic’, a very fragrant white cultivar, and Muscari armeniacum, which produces fragrant blue flowers from April to May and is followed by decorative seedheads.

Also seen is Scilla siberica (squill). Planting muscari in pots to bring indoors not only allows us to appreciate their beauty in greater detail, but it is also a great way to experiment with new bulbs in small numbers. The copper pots add a stylish edge to the display.

Read our advice on growing scilla.

Pot the bulbs up in autumn, using a loam-based compost with extra sand for drainage and leaf mould for the squills as they appreciate humus-rich soil. Leave outside in a sheltered spot and bring into a polytunnel in January to encourage early flowering. You can transfer the plants into their final containers as they come into flower. Top dress them with garden gravel for a finished look.

Grape hyacinths require plenty of light but not direct sunlight and will benefit from a liquid seaweed feed after the display has finished. Leave the foliage to die down before planting out in lawns or borders.

Daffodils en masse

Using pots offers you the great convenience of setting down a haze of colour just when you need it. But when you’re using narcissi you can easily end up with an arrangement that has an unnatural look or one that is too yellow biased. Narcissi (daffodils) work best if you plant separate pots of just a few carefully selected kinds or, if the pot is impressive enough, one single star variety.

This display uses Narcissus ‘Elka’. It’s a delicate daffodil with ivory-white petals and a pale-yellow trumpet that fades to china white. It also has a scent that is light and sweet.

Narcissi bulbs need to be in the ground by September and if grown in pots need plenty of grit, roughly one part grit to three parts John Innes No 1. A pot 80cm in diameter can take up to 75 bulbs of mid-sized narcissus. With troughs, ensure the drainage hole is kept open by using crocks over it.