Over the last 20 years of working in my family garden centre as well as being a professional gardener maintaining customers’ gardens, I’ve looked after hundreds of topiary plants both in the nursery as well as for customers as part of our garden maintenance side of things. I talked about how artificial topiary can be a good option in the past, but you can’t beat the real thing, especially when you’re looking to position two…
In my 20 years as a professional gardener, working in my family’s garden centre and in clients’ gardens, I’ve come to appreciate the value and beauty that evergreen groundcover plants bring to the landscape. I’ve also come to understand their role in sloped gardens where traditional planting isn’t always convenient. I’ve previously discussed fast-growing groundcover plants as well as groundcover plants in general, so in this guide, I wanted to focus on evergreen groundcover plants…
As a nurseryman who has spent over twenty years as a professional gardener working in my family’s small nursery, one of the most common questions we get asked is, what plants are fast-growing and evergreen? I’ve previously talked about tall plants that are ideal for screening, as well as fast-growing shrubs in general, shrubs for open sunny sites and more recently evergreen ground cover plants so in this guide I wan to focus on fast…
As an experienced gardener who has worked in my family’s nursery for well over 20 years, one shrub that has consistently been a favourite of mine is the Photinia ‘Red Robin’. It’s actually one of many different varieties of Photinias, however, ‘Red Robin’ is by far the most popular. There is also a smaller variety called ‘Little Red Robin’, but it’s smaller not just in overall size but also has smaller leaves. Over the years,…
I’ve talked alot in the past about how many ornamental grasses can be grown in positions where many other plants fail and growing grasses in general. I’ve even written an article on which grasses grow well on pots and even took it a step further with evergreen grasses. However, in this guide, I want to focus on the ornamental grasses that grow well in more shady positions, such as in a north-facing garden that barely…
Magnolia growing pot
I’ve been a professional gardener and worked at my family’s garden centre for over 20 years. If there is one thing most people want in their gardens, it’s privacy, and they usually want it yesterday. When it comes to privacy, I always recommend a handful of plants, which I’ve shared in this guide to help you choose the best tall plants for screening and creating much-needed privacy. There are a few things to consider when…
As a professional gardener with over 20 years of experience, one of the most common questions I get asked is what plants I can plant in the shade? and which I can plant in pots and containers?. The good news is you can plant plenty of wonderful and colourful plants in a shady position in containers. In this guide, I’ve got some of my top recommendations for plants that thrive in shady spots and adapt…
As a professional gardener working in my family’s garden centre and running a garden maintenance service for over 20 years, fast-growing climbing plants have been my go-to solution for breathing life into those often overlooked corners of the garden as well as covering up those unsightly structures or simply providing a splash of colour quickly. They are a great alternative to screening ideas, such as the usual bamboo screening, artificial hedging, or even taller plants…
I’ve always been an avid DIY’er, and having access to a pillar drill I could use at my family’s garden centre, I’ve always had access to a decent floor standing pillar drill. However, I’ve also done many projects at home and wanted a more compact pillar drill in my garage at home. This is when I first started looking at the more modern, easy-to-use pillar drills with features like electronic speed control, which means no…
