Even before the pandemic, portable hot tubs were considered the best ways to relax at home without breaking the bank. When the pandemic came about, more and more people bought hot tubs to take away the stress; you could get into a hot tub and soothe a serious headache in a matter of minutes. Like all things, you set out to buy that is going to be expensive, choosing a reliable portable hot tub takes…
The only thing better than a fire pit in your garden on cooler nights is one that heats up instantly. Gas fire pits do just that and most produce flames with just the push of an electronic ignition button. We review a wide range of gas fire pits, listing their pros, cons and individual features before recommending their best use. Our Buyer’s Guide tells what your choices are, as well as reminding you of the…
As well as being the epitome of coolness, hanging garden egg chairs are the ultimate way to relax in your garden, feeling safely cocooned while you swing lightly to and fro. We bring you reviews of the best, and some of the latest, outdoors egg chairs, whether you want to go solo or with a friend. We list the pros and cons of these single and double models along with their features and our recommendations.…
Stay warm in your garden and have somewhere handy to put your food and drink with a patio table with a fire pit (aka fire tables). And why stop there? How about actually cooking that food on the fire pit as well? We review the best patio tables with fire pits, some of which do have BBQ features. We discuss the features of each model and follow that with a brief list of pros and…
The thing with hose pipes is they can get in the way, one way around this is by installing a wall-mounted hose reel as I did. I choose to install the Gardena Automatic Hose Reel which is a well-built piece of kit. Personally, I think it’s the best auto hose currently available and it put most models to shame in terms of quality and reliability, it even comes with a 5-year warranty. This article is…
If you have a cat and have not grown cat grass before, your feline friend is seriously missing out, not only does it help them cough up fluff balls but it also keeps them entertained rolling around and chewing it. Our cat Daisy (she’s a tiny thing even though she nearly 9) absolutely loves the stuff so I try and keep it around all year round, indoors over winter and then outdoors over summer. This…
Summer hanging baskets produce some of the most colourful displays you can have in your garden while also giving some vertical colour. In my guide on how to plant a summer hanging basket, I have chosen a mixture of plants including geranium for a centrepiece but you really can choose whatever basket plants you want as long as you have some beautiful bush plants to fill out the top of the basket and some stunning…
Perhaps you need a garden day bed if you just can’t get comfortable enough on your sun lounger for the perfect outdoors nap. This piece of outdoors furniture is a cross between a chaise lounge, a couch and a bed and just screams relaxation. We review a range of the best models available and list their pros and cons, along with a more in-depth discussion of their features and our recommendation for each model. Our…
This review is my experience with the Black + Decker 36V Cordless Strimmer after using it for over 12 months. I have also been using the more expensive Dewalt DCM561P1S Li-Ion XR Strimmer as well which gives me a premium model to compare it to. Straight off the bat, the DeWalt model is obviously more durable for professional work, better for cutting thick brush such as brambles (also some with steel brush cutter), however, this…
I have always grown plants in what many gardeners would call a real greenhouse or polytunnel and being brought up in my families small nursery in the North West of England with greenhouses houses and polytunnels, this was never an issue. However, what if you don’t have space for a permanent greenhouse. What then? Well, the answer is a mini greenhouse but what I was interested in was more of a compact portable greenhouse to…
