Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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7 easy, effective water saving garden tips
Why do you need water saving garden tips? You probably have rain drumming down on your roof at this very moment. However, we use 30-60% of our household water in the garden during the summer. And even in ‘rainy England’, we experience droughts and hose pipe bans every few years. And if your water is…
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5 types of slug resistant plants – the easy way to beat snails and slugs in the garden
Planting slug resistant plants is the most effective way of stopping slugs and snails from devouring your garden. You may have read articles promising that you can get rid of slugs and snails permanently. But you can’t. They will always return, no matter what you use. Garden snails were imported as food into Northern Europe by the…
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An easy tip for weeding without chemicals
This is a very simple, effective way of weeding without chemicals (and almost without effort). It comes from the Abbey Physic Garden in Faversham. The Abbey Physic garden is a wildlife-friendly, organic community garden with a specific aim to improve mental and physical health. Start with some cardboard I visited them last March. And I saw a number of…
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How to clean and maintain garden tools – make them last longer and work better
If you clean and maintain garden tools regularly, they’ll probably last a lifetime. Secateurs and shears will cut more smoothly. They’ll be easier to use. Spades, forks and trowels won’t rust. And handles won’t swell or split. It only takes a few minutes to clean secateurs, trowels and spades after you use them. And if you add…
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Brilliant garden border inspiration – how to choose colours, shapes & structure
If you’re re-vamping your garden border this year, I’ve picked out the best borders from the gardens featured on the Middlesized Garden. Plus there are key tips from their head gardeners. The first tip is that if you’re going for a complete re-design, you do need to clear the border completely. As I said in ‘how to…
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How to choose the best garden furniture for your garden
When our garden furniture began to fall apart last year, it was surprisingly difficult to make the right choices for our garden. The factors are style, cost, durability and maintenance. We don’t have anywhere to store chairs and tables in winter, and I don’t want to cover them. I want to enjoy our winter garden, and be…
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10 gardening goals – and how to make sure you achieve them
Scientific research has proved that if you write down specific gardening goals, you will get a better garden. So I’ve researched the most popular goals for gardens today and looked at my own garden to come up with 8 gardening goals to transform your garden this year. And I’ve identified where to start or what is…
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Indoor outdoor plants: 9 garden plants that also thrive as house plants
Indoor outdoor plants are plants you can grow in winter as house plants, then move out onto your terrace or garden when the warmer weather comes. If you don’t have a greenhouse but want to grow plants that won’t survive your winters, then plants you can bring indoors when the weather turns are not just beautiful.…
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How to grow chrysanthemums for magical late season colour
It’s easy to grow chrysanthemums. And they’ll add brilliant late-season colour. When the rest of your garden is collapsing gently into the beginnings of winter, chrysanthemums will carry on blooming. They come in a wide range of colours and styles, from demure daisy types to vibrant swirls of outrageousness. So I asked Dan Cooper of the…
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How to design a garden
This post will explain how to design a garden if you’re not a garden designer? Not only do you want the most beautiful garden possible, but you also need to avoid making expensive mistakes. A good garden designer can really make all the difference to your garden. But if you want to try it yourself or you…
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