Now’s the time to spring into action and get that garden ready for the summer. To help you, we’ve gathered together nine bloggers who also work with gardens regularly. Ready for some inspiration from the professionals? Read on!
No dig home
Image: No dig home
When Kevin McCloud of Channel Four’s Grand Designs describes your garden as a work of ‘brilliance and expertise,’ you know you’re doing something right. The garden in question is Stavordale Priory, transformed by blogger, Stephanie Hafferty, using the no-dig method.
Stephanie’s blog is a must for anyone interested in saving money by growing their own food. How about affordable, healthy lunches for just 60p per head? Stephanie will show you how to double your family’s 5 a day without breaking the bank.
Cleeve Nursery
Image: Cleeve Nursery
‘We are witnessing a remarkable time in the life of garden hellebores’, say the people at Cleeve Nursery in Bristol. What started out as a muddy-white Lenten rose is now transformed, with eager growers breeding myriad new colours and shapes of this early flowering perennial.
With a staff that between them combine 170 years of gardening experience, the Cleeve Nursery blog is well worth a read. Got a gardening question you want answered? Check out their wide range of ‘how to’ videos and articles.
Jack Wallington
Image: Jack Wallington
2015 saw Jack Wallington join the BBC’s Big Dreams, Small Spaces programme. With mentoring from Monty Don, he set out to transform his urban garden in Clapham into a 'Victorian botanical wonderland’. The results are spectacular.
A fan of exotic foliage, RHS qualified garden designer Jack specialises in contemporary gardens with unique planting, and travels the world to see plants in their natural habitat. Morocco turned out to be greener than expected and ‘filled with stray cats, colour and people on scooters who don’t care about mowing you down’. A good read.
Rosewarne Gardens
Image: Rosalind Roswarne
Rosalind Rosewarne won a Silver Gilt with her first ever show garden at RHS Tatton in 2016. Perhaps it’s her background in graphic design, home interiors, design consulting and project management that halved the perfect preparation!
A professional garden designer, if you’re thinking of entering a garden show be sure to read Rosalind’s 10 things to know about doing an RHS show garden. This gardening blogger’s pro tip: Buy a cuppa for your neighbouring competitor – you never know when you’ll need their help.
Mr Plant Geek
Image: Mr Plant Geek
Meet Mr Plant Geek, a man who loves to develop new plant concepts – like the magnificently named Egg and Chips plant – a crafty combination of aubergine and potato plant. The man behind the moniker is Michael Perry, a plant expert who’s featured among the Sunday Times top 20 most influential horticulturalists.
Despite appearances on the Alan Titchmarsh Show, This Morning and The One show, Michael admits he’s a ‘tiny, tiny bit lazy’, which is great because it makes him a go-to source for gardening shortcuts. Need some people-proof planting? Michael gives you the lowdown – Geraniums, apparently...
Sally’s garden blog
Image: Sally's garden blog
A good gardener should always carry a camera, a notebook, a pair of secateurs and a good waterproof, says freelance garden designer Sally. She also advises taking the time to deliberate over your design ideas, and then make a plan and stick to it. Something many of us struggle to do!
Sally blogs about her working week, discussing the things so many of us gardeners feel passionate about, like taking time to prune properly. Some great insights here, and the photography is lovely.
Kew
Image: Kew Gardens
The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew is a world leader in plant science and conservation. And with teams of experts working in the UK and around the world, it’s no surprise that Kew’s blog offers such a wealth of knowledge.
Find out why the Madagascan suicide palm having an edible heart is alarming news. Or go to the In the Gardens Blog to learn how to care for a chocolate tree – not easy in the UK apparently. More intrigued by history? Explore the Library, Art & Archives Blog. There’s something for everyone here.
Rona quirky bird
Image: Rona Quirky Bird
Ever tried to grow plants at 850 feet above sea level? Quirky Bird has. After 30 years in the gardening game, north of the Scottish border, she’s clearly every bit as tenacious as her plantings.
New to gardening and not sure what to grow? The Quirky Bird’s Top 100 Plants is a great place to start. It includes trees, shrubs, conifers, bulbs, grasses, herbs, climbers, and more. You’ll also find some wonderful location reviews here – perfect for anyone who’s ever dreamed of visiting the gardens of Scotland. Take a look at Dryburgh Abbey or Dawyck Botanic Gardens, both are beautifully photographed.
Fantastic Gardeners
Image: Fantastic Gardeners
If you’re one of the 12 million or so seasonal allergy sufferers here in the UK, here’s a blog for you. Read about how to keep pollen out of your home, and take note of the Fantastic Gardeners’ Guide to an Allergy-Free Garden. Nobody wants to just shut their windows and doors all summer!
The Fantastic Gardeners started out as a small London-based cleaning company, but today they can teach us a thing or two about gardens too. Well worth a read.
If you write a garden blog or know somebody else who does, do pop over to our Facebook page and let us know. We’d love to take a look.
Lead image: Alexey Stiop/Shutterstock
