What and how to plant

Homegrown Lovage Is Not Just for Soup

Lovage is a hardy perennial herb with a bold, celery-like flavour and plenty of uses beyond stock and soup. Learn where it thrives, how to propagate it, and how to harvest and use every edible part.

5 min read

This Plant Repels Mosquitoes, Scented Summer Evenings and a Prettier Balcony

Scented pelargoniums can help make evening seating areas less appealing to mosquitoes while adding fragrance and colour to balconies and patios. Plant them in late spring for the strongest growth and best effect through summer.

5 min read

Canadian Blueberries With Giant Fruit and How to Harvest Bigger, Sweeter Berries

Highbush and rabbiteye blueberries can produce cherry-sized berries, but size and sweetness depend as much on soil acidity, moisture, pruning, and pollination as on the cultivar itself. Learn which varieties to choose and the key growing steps that reliably improve berry size and flavour.

5 min read

Bergenia A Year Round Feature for Shade or Sun

Bergenia is one of the most reliable perennials, valued for its bold evergreen foliage and early spring flowers. It thrives in shade or sun, is easy to care for, and adds colour right through winter.

5 min read

Grow this plant and you get a decoration, a spice and a natural remedy

Nasturtium is far more than a splash of colour in beds and window boxes. It’s edible, pleasantly peppery, and traditionally used as a natural support for colds and urinary or respiratory complaints.

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How to Grow Peaches in a Cooler Climate for Sweet, Juicy Fruit

Home-grown peaches often outshine shop-bought fruit for fragrance and flavour. With the right site, frost protection and pruning, you can harvest reliably sweet, juicy peaches even in cooler areas.

5 min read

Go on holiday without worry, these plants will survive two weeks

A summer getaway doesn’t have to mean coming home to crisped pots. With the right compost mix, placement and drought-tough plants, your containers can cope for up to two weeks without regular watering.

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Why Your Hibiscus Barely Blooms and How to Get Huge Flowers

Hardy hibiscus can produce dinner-plate blooms, but only when light, moisture and soil are right. Learn how to plant, feed and care for it so it flowers longer and bigger.

5 min read

Why Experienced Gardeners Start Echinacea in a Pot First

Echinacea is a tough, sun-loving perennial, but it benefits from a more careful start in its first year. Pre-growing in a pot helps young plants establish stronger roots before they face tougher garden conditions.

5 min read

Globe Thistle Brightens Sunny Borders, Attracts Bees and Looks Great in a Vase

Globe thistle (Echinops) is a striking, drought-tolerant perennial with steel-blue flower heads that pollinators love. It thrives in sunny, free-draining borders and also makes an excellent cut or dried flower.

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Discover Tayberries and Learn to Grow Them Like a Pro

Tayberries are a delicious raspberry-blackberry hybrid with aromatic, juicy fruit and generous yields. With the right support, planting spot, and care, they’ll thrive even in a smaller garden.

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Exotic Aeonium Changes Colour with Light and Turns Towards It Like a Sunflower

Tree aeonium is a striking succulent whose rosettes flush from green to deep red in strong light. With the right watering and a bright spot, it’s easy to grow and simple to propagate from cuttings.

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Forget Weeding Five Wild Plants That Smother Weeds and Lift the Garden’s Mood

Weeds don’t have to mean endless hoeing and sore knees. With a few tough, fast-spreading wild plants, you can cover bare soil, outcompete unwanted growth, and create a corner that buzzes with pollinators.

5 min read

Gaura is an airy, light perennial that flowers all summer

Gaura (Gaura lindheimeri) adds movement and a soft, airy look to borders and containers, while flowering for months. Give it sun and free-draining soil and it will reward you with minimal fuss and a long season of bloom.

5 min read

Proper Care for Sweet Peppers for Heavy Cropping and Steady Growth

Sweet peppers are generous plants when given warmth, sun, consistent moisture and the right feeding. Learn when to plant, how to prevent growth checks and disease, and how to harvest for the best colour and flavour.

5 min read

Exotic akebia in a Czech garden surprises with fragrant flowers and edible fruit

Five-leaf akebia is a hardy, fast-growing climber with richly coloured, sweetly scented spring flowers and unusual, edible fruit. With the right siting and two compatible plants for pollination, it can thrive and crop even in Czech conditions.

5 min read

Runner beans can crop more if you avoid these growing mistakes

Runner beans are easy to grow and highly productive, but a few common missteps can cut your harvest short. Get the basics right—warm soil, sturdy supports, steady moisture and frequent picking—for weeks of tender pods.

5 min read

Growing herbs in challenging temperatures with minimal effort

Even if your garden is hot and dry, windy, or persistently damp, you can still grow great herbs. The key is choosing species that naturally suit your site rather than fighting the conditions.

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Low Maintenance Sun Loving Plants That Handle Drought and Summer Heat

Got a spot that bakes in sun from morning to night? These tough, sun-loving plants cope well with heat and dry soil, and many will reward you with long flowering and reliable ground cover.

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Currants are a small garden treasure with big uses

Juicy, pleasantly tart currants are versatile in the kitchen and easy to grow. With sensible pruning and feeding, they’ll reward you with heavy crops for many years.

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A Forgotten Plum Like Fruit Is Returning to Gardens and Surprises with Its Practicality

Myrobalan plum, often dismissed as a wilder cousin of the true plum, is making a comeback thanks to its toughness, adaptability and useful fruit. It shines both as a reliable rootstock and as an attractive garden tree with plenty of culinary potential.

5 min read

Want Begonias Covered in Flowers, Watering, Light and Feeding Make the Difference

Begonias can flower continuously from early summer until the first frosts, but they only perform at their best with the right light, watering routine and feeding. Learn how to grow tuberous and semperflorens begonias in pots, baskets and beds, and how to overwinter and propagate them successfully.

5 min read

How to Grow Red Hot Pokers Successfully for Flowers All Summer and Into Autumn

Red hot pokers (Kniphofia) bring bold, torch-like flower spikes in warm shades from summer into early autumn. With full sun and free-draining soil, they’re long-lived, pollinator-friendly perennials that are surprisingly easy to keep going year after year.

5 min read

Are Hydrangeas on the Way Out Experts Say What to Plant Instead

Hydrangeas still look spectacular, but increasingly erratic weather can make them harder to grow well. These tougher flowering shrubs offer a similar effect while coping better with heat, drought and frost—and often do more for wildlife too.

5 min read

A tree that grows faster than bamboo with stunning flowers you won’t miss in the garden

Paulownia tomentosa, the Chinese empress tree, is a spectacular, fast-growing tree with showy spring flowers and huge leaves. Give it sun and space and it will quickly become a standout feature.

5 min read

A Hydrangea Substitute That Blooms for Up to 120 Days and Handles Drought Better

Hotter summers and longer dry spells can make hydrangeas struggle, even with regular watering. Crape myrtle offers a similar show of flowers with far better tolerance of sun and drought.

5 min read

An Ancient Egyptian Legume Now Taking Over Czech Gardens

Cowpea (Vigna) is a heat-loving legume with exceptionally long, tender pods and a surprisingly high yield. With warmer summers, it’s becoming a realistic and rewarding crop for gardens—especially in sheltered spots or under cover.

5 min read

The perennial that smells like cola and brightens a sunny garden effortlessly

Southernwood is a hardy, low-maintenance perennial herb with finely cut foliage and a distinctive cola-like fragrance. Give it sun and free-draining soil, and it will reward you for years with minimal care.

5 min read

The Legendary Velké Pavlovice Apricot Named Heritage Variety of the Year for Its Outstanding Flavour

The Velké Pavlovice apricot has been crowned Heritage Variety of the Year 2026, celebrated as a Moravian classic and a benchmark for apricot flavour. Learn what makes it so valued, and how to grow it successfully in the garden.

5 min read

How to grow a pistachio tree in a Czech garden as a hardy ornamental rarity even if the nuts never ripen

Pistachio (Pistacia vera) can be grown in Czech conditions mainly as an ornamental specimen or even as bonsai, but the nuts usually won’t ripen. Success hinges on sun, free-draining soil, careful watering, and protecting the roots from winter freeze.

5 min read

Hardy climbing roses up to three metres that are fragrant, bloom for ages and cope with rain and sun

Looking for a reliable climbing rose around 3 m tall that smells wonderful, repeats well and stays attractive in both heat and wet weather? These proven cultivars come close to the ideal, combining resilience with long-lasting flower power.

5 min read

Mandevilla as the Successor to Geraniums That Loves Full Sun and Brightens Any Balcony

Mandevilla (often sold as dipladenia) thrives in heat and full sun, rewarding you with long waves of trumpet flowers. With the right compost, careful watering and regular feeding, it can flower for months and even be overwintered indoors.

5 min read

A long-lasting crop with minimal care Grow rhubarb in your garden

Rhubarb is a hardy, long-lived perennial that returns every spring and can crop for years with very little attention. With the right site, patient harvesting, and simple annual care, it will reward you with reliable stems season after season.

5 min read

Why Your Onions Aren’t Thriving and the Most Common Mistakes with Easy Fixes

Onions can be brilliantly reliable, but only if the variety suits your day length and you get the basics right. Here are the most common growing slip-ups that lead to lots of leaves and disappointing bulbs, plus straightforward fixes.

5 min read

Marsh Marigold for a Wet Garden, an Easy Perennial with Spring Flowers

Marsh marigold is a tough, low-maintenance perennial that thrives where soil stays consistently wet. It brings bright spring colour to pond edges, ditches and other waterlogged spots where many plants struggle.

5 min read

Speed Up Cucumber Germination by Soaking Seeds for an Earlier Harvest

Cucumbers hate cold, but you can still get a head start by soaking the seeds before sowing. With the right warmth afterwards, seedlings can emerge about a week earlier and bring harvests forward.

5 min read

How to Plant in Odd and Even Numbers for a Beautiful Garden

Planting in groups of odd or even numbers can completely change how cohesive and intentional a border looks. Use odd-numbered groupings for a natural flow, and even numbers where symmetry and structure are the goal.

5 min read

You Can Sow Dill Almost Anytime, Depth and Site Matter Most

Garden dill is easy to grow and can be sown for much of the season. For the best results, focus on the right sowing depth, a sunny spot, and staggered sowings for a steady harvest.

5 min read

Tricks for Sowing Carrots So They Germinate Quickly and Evenly

Carrot seed is tiny and slow to sprout, which makes even sowing tricky. These practical methods help you get straight rows, even germination and well-shaped roots with less thinning and hassle.

5 min read

How to Make the Most of Partial Shade and Grow Tasty Vegetables

A partially shaded corner doesn’t have to be wasted space. With the right crops, you can harvest tender, flavoursome leaves and avoid bolting in summer heat.

5 min read

Planting tomatoes sideways can help but sometimes reduces yield

Laying tomato seedlings on their side at planting can boost root growth and improve stability in warm soils. But in short, cool seasons it may delay flowering and ripening, cutting the final harvest.

5 min read

An Impenetrable Barberry Hedge, an Ornamental Shrub That Delights With Colour and Berries

Barberry (Berberis) is a tough, thorny shrub valued for colourful foliage, yellow flowers and decorative berries. It excels as a specimen, in mixed shrub borders, or as a dense, security-style hedge.

5 min read

Tricks Seasoned Gardeners Use for Gooseberries Laden with Large Fruit

Gooseberries are hardy, long-lived shrubs that can reward you with heavy crops for years. Learn how variety choice, siting, watering, feeding, and pruning make all the difference to fruit size and flavour.

5 min read

Roses in the Garden from Planting to Pruning to Healthy Blooming

Roses are classic garden shrubs that thrive for years when planted correctly and given thoughtful early care. Learn how to choose plants, plant at the right depth, prune by group, and prevent common problems for strong, healthy flowering.

6 min read

Gardeners Make a Mistake After Planting Tomatoes and Lose Dozens of Fruits

The first weeks after transplanting largely determine how heavy your tomato crop will be. A simple feeding schedule matched to each growth stage can mean far more flowers and fruit later on.

5 min read

Seasonal Care Plan for Fruit Bushes in the Garden for Healthy, Vigorous Plants

Fruit bushes reward you with blossom, structure, and reliable harvests—especially when care follows the seasons. Use this year-round plan to time planting, watering, feeding, mulching, pruning, and protection for stronger plants and better crops.

5 min read

Peppers Need the Right Routine in May for a Heavy Crop

May is the make-or-break month for peppers: timing, warmth, and steady watering decide how well they settle in and how many flowers they set. Get planting and early care right now, and you’ll be rewarded with a long, generous harvest.

5 min read

Homegrown Strawberries for a Fraction of the Price and One Simple Runner Trick

Homegrown strawberries are more fragrant and flavourful because you can pick them fully ripe. Choose the right types, plant well, and use runners to renew your patch cheaply year after year.

5 min read

The Secret to a Beautiful Clematis Is the Right Position, Pruning and Easy Propagation

Clematis rewards you with months of bloom when you match the variety to the site, keep roots cool and evenly moist, and prune at the right time. Learn how to plant, train, prune and propagate clematis for reliable, long-lasting performance.

5 min read

Chinese leopard lily, a beautiful beginner-friendly perennial for a home herb cabinet

Chinese leopard lily is a striking, easy-care perennial valued for its spotted summer flowers and its traditional reputation for soothing throat and respiratory discomfort. With the right sun and well-drained soil, it’s a reliable plant that also supports garden biodiversity.

5 min read