Inside Ideas, Tips & Guides

In this exclusive video for BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine subscribers, Adam Frost takes us on a private tour of his garden.

Have you ever wondered, “Is Wheat a Vegetable?” It’s a common question that might make you scratch your head. Let’s dig into it together and determine what makes wheat different from the veggies you see on your plate.

Do Umbrella Plants Bloom? All About Schefflera Flowers

Growing mushrooms in a bag is one of the easiest ways to cultivate homegrown mushrooms. If you’ve ever tried one of the boxed, mushroom-fruiting kits available online or in specialty stores, then you may already have some experience with growing mushrooms in a bag. That’s because the kits frequently include clear polypropylene bags filled with growing mediums that have been inoculated with mushroom spawn. As a result, by the time a mushroom growing kit makes it to you, that bagged substrate is almost fully colonized by bright white mycelium—the fungal organism which ‘fruits’ by putting out loads of tasty mushrooms. Still, relying on a pre-packaged grow kit isn’t the only way to grow mushrooms at home. With a few supplies and close attention to detail, you can cultivate many different kinds of mushrooms—and a lot more of them—economically in bags. Keep reading to learn more.

Last week Kathy Sandel shared her former garden in Calabasas, California, and today we’re back visiting her current garden in Sacramento:

A fishbone cactus is easy to care for, durable, and fast-growing which makes it ideal for beginners.

Every year, new trends and tricks pop up for holiday decorating. And this year, one holiday question that is perplexing us is: should you be washing your artificial Christmas tree?

It is claimed that some houseplants purify the air of our homes. They are said to rid the indoor environment of pollutants, in turn improving our breathing, our mood, and our overall health. So, is it true, and, if so, how many plants does it take to clean a room?

Using a grow light to start seeds or grow houseplants, microgreens, and herbs inside your home is an efficient way to promote healthy plant growth. LED grow lights have become the standard for indoor gardeners for their energy efficiency and long life. Yet with so many options available you might be wondering how to choose the best LED grow lights. Over the years I’ve used many LED light systems to grow all types of indoor plants. Below I share my top choices for LED spotlights, tabletop models, and multi-tier grow stands. Keep reading to learn more.

Gift-wrapping season is here, and with it comes those awkward scraps of wrapping paper that you're not quite sure what to do with. But if you have a bunch of wrapping paper that doesn't fit any gifts, there's solution that’s so adorable you just might end up wanting to save every scrap of leftover wrapping paper you’ve got: turning it into ribbon for your gifts.

Greenhouse Gardening 101: How to Get Started

There's something magical about discovering the perfect thrift store find. It's partially luck, partially strategy, and partially dedication to the hunt. As we roll into 2024, we wondered: what are the thrifting trends for the new year? What secondhand home decor items should thrifting enthusiasts be nabbing before everyone else does? To get the inside scoop, we turned to two professional treasure hunters: interior designers Jason Saft and Alex Bass. Read on for their suggestions on what to thrift in 2024.

I cherish my time outdoors, enjoying meals on the patio with my family and soaking in the scenery. However, the pesky presence of flies can quickly ruin the serene atmosphere.

Kritsada Panichgul

Fernando Leon / Getty Images

Integrating pothos plants into your aquarium not only adds a lush, verdant touch to your underwater world but also brings surprising benefits to your aquatic ecosystem – like enhanced water quality and natural habitat for fish, as well as creating a visual impact!

Today we’re off to California to visit with Kathy Sandel.

Our fifth advent prize draw comes with your chance to win a Deluxe Hedgehog House XXL, worth £124.99 from CJ Wildlife.

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If you're planning an IKEA trip in the next couple of months, you'll want to ensure that you're making the most of your visit, no matter whether you've frequented the retail store just once or have shopped there dozens of times.

Soaring through the skies, bald eagles are known for their sharp eyesight and hunting skills. Because of their low population, it is rare to see them, but what if you get lucky and see one? What is the meaning behind their appearance?

You can take an Englishwoman out of England, but you can’t change a deeply ingrained English garden aesthetic. Pom Shillingford has lived in America for 26 years, but she still yearns for the garden she knew as a child — her grandmother’s beloved Arts & Crafts garden in Hampshire, which she remembers always being filled with seasonal flowers. She and her husband David and their three young children moved from Manhattan to the small town of Salisbury in Connecticut in 2013. ‘I had always loved Manhattan, but suddenly I didn’t love it any more and needed to go back to green fields and the outdoors,’ says Pom.

The USDA recently released a new Plant Hardiness Zone Map, and although you may have used the interactive map in the past, it got its first full revamp in over a decade.

Between my gardening practices, the plants I dig into my garden, and structures like my pollinator palace, I’m always looking for ways to support bees and other beneficial insects on my property. While bee houses have become quite popular, they don’t always come with the information on how to use one.

Caught out yet again by the sudden descent towards darkness, I had to quickly pluck a few things from the garden to make a posy for my lift-giver to choir early last week. Having been working in the greenhouse, I snipped a few blooms from the overwintering Salvia ‘Mystic Spires’ and plucked greenery from some ivy on the way back to the house. Back inside with my cup of ta and cake, I found my friend had messaged me to say she was unwell and not going after all, so the posy was no longer required. Rather than keep it in its interim jam jar, I sought a vase with a degree of sultriness to match the dark moodiness of the salvia blooms and deep green of the ivy and its curious flowers, coming up trumps with a blue hyacinth vase.

Keeping indoor plants safe as the year approaches its end is essential to ensure they thrive in the colder months. Here are some creative and cost-effective Ideas to Provide Warmth to Plants in Winter!

Many people set the intention of using the start of a new year to get more organized—once the holidays are over and decorations are put away, it's nice to create a blank slate for yourself at home. That said, there are some organizing techniques that professionals would rather that you skip over entirely.

So, you bought a real Christmas tree: your entire house is about to smell like pine, your Christmas spirit couldn’t be higher, and your divine connection to nature couldn’t be stronger. But there’s one issue—real Christmas trees are notoriously messy.

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If you’ve been searching for a professional-looking DIY to take care of your holiday gifts this season, DIY cocktail candles might be the perfect option.

Dusk caught me unawares yesterday afternoon – with sunset officially occuring at about 4.00, I shouldn’t have been surprised, although it still seemed light as I finished cutting up the prunings from R Cécile Brunner (with only the teeniest bit of shed roof clambering required…) and headed inside for a cup of tea and piece of cake… to remember I hadn’t prepared for IAVOM!

Summer is made for backyard BBQs, picnics, and camping. But sometimes it isn't very comfortable to sit ground-level while enjoying an outdoor meal.

Terracotta is such a classic choice for garden pots. It has been used in pottery for millennia, and today there are designs available to suit all styles and budgets.

When it is full of newly-planted bulbs, of course!

We're big fans of upgrading your current Christmas decor on a budget and want to encourage you to do the same. With the new decorating trend that uses velvet ribbon bows as an elegant (and easy) Christmas tree decoration, the latest viral ornament upgrade is a no-brainer to try.

Celebrate the season with these festive 2-for-1 Garden events. Use your2-for-1 Gardens entry card this December to discover some of the most exciting winter events taking place, be transported to Narnia at Leeds Castle or marvel at the 18m dried flower garland at Cotehele.