Look after your tools

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Q: Could you please recommend a good peat-free seed compost? I’ve tried a few over the last few years but haven’t had great results. I’d really like to do the right thing environmentally but am now at the point where I’m sorely tempted to go back to using a conventional peat-based compost. CF County Kerry

The bird species that visit your garden will vary depending on your location, the size of your plot, what type of plants you grow and what supplementary bird food you offer. In some areas of the UK, birds such as tree sparrows and nuthatches might be relatively common in gardens, whereas in other places they are unlikely to be seen. The birds on the list below can be seen in gardens, but none is included in the top 20 species in the last two years of the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch.

Dated cabinets, dingy backsplashes, and forgettable generic light fixtures, oh my—designing any room on a budget is a challenge, but that’s especially the case with a kitchen. Every element in a kitchen, from appliances to tiles to cabinets, can becostly to replace. Still, there are easy and wallet-friendly ways to create a classic kitchen that looks expensive—without maxing out your credit card.  For insiders’ knowledge, we asked interior designers how to make a kitchen look expensive, even if it’s not. Your secret’s safe with us—no one has to know.

Cherry wood-stained cabinetry was once a popular home feature in the 1990s. But after years of use, these cabinets started to feel outdated in some homes, especially in the wake of light wood cabinets and all-white kitchen trends.

A good pair of loppers can make spring pruning a breeze. However, most loppers seem to make even a strong person feel pathetically weak if the branch is thicker than half an inch. Attempting to cut bigger branches with such inferior loppers, particularly branches in the Goldilocks size of 1 to 2 inches, can be difficult even with all the muscle in the world. The Corona extendable DualLINK bypass loppers allow you to adjust the length of each handle from 29 to 37 inches to gain more leverage from different angles, and the blade-and-hook end is nearly twice as large as those on other loppers I’ve used. I find that I can use these to easily slice through stems up to 2 inches in diameter.

Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images

PHOTO: Rachel Marek, PROP STYLING: Sophie Babcock

Mint has a distinctive leaf pattern, and many specimens share similar foliage traits with the herb in question!

We bring you a beautiful array of blooms that resemble impatiens but also offer a different charm with their vivid hues and lush foliage!

We'll help you recognize weeds that look like wheat. Some, like Wild Oats and Cheatgrass, seem similar but differ in seed heads. Others, like Jointed Goatgrass and Volunteer Barley, share features but have distinct characteristics. Learning to spot these differences can help you easily identify weeds that might be mistaken for wheat in your garden.

Often, these are timeless items that have truly stood the test of time, but there’s also room for innovations that have transformed the way we garden – battery-powered tools that have done away with electric cables and noisy, smelly two-stroke fuel, for example. We asked the country’s top head gardeners which tools they couldn’t contemplate gardening without.