Your gardening questions answered: Are there any slug-proof plants?

Planting annuals in your garden provides continuous blooms throughout the season. Grow them directly in the ground, in raised beds, in pots, or even in hanging baskets to use vertical space. Annuals, unlike perennials, need to be planted each year. Growing annuals allows plenty of opportunity to experiment with what flowers you like and thrive in your geographical area and which blooms you want to have in your landscape year after year.

There’s nothing like a crisp cucumber freshly harvested from your garden, then chilled to perfection. They’re so much better when you grow them yourself! They’re also one of the easiest vegetables to grow from seed. New compact varieties of cucumbers grow well in containers on a deck, patio or balcony, too.

Long before modern pharmaceutical companies did their best to persuade us to rely on a battery of synthetic chemicals to treat pests and diseases, gardeners used a wide variety of planet-friendly methods to keep our plants hale and hearty, utilising natural materials found close to hand. Great for plant and soil health and kind to the environment. They’re also cheap and easy to make.

Being out in the garden is a feast for the senses, particularly when you're surrounded by fragrant plants. There's color, texture, the sound of breeze blowing through the trees, and, of course, the scent of a sweet smelling flower wafting through the air.

Sure, Bambi is cute. But what’s not so cute is when she’s chowing down on yourvegetable garden or devouring yourhostas anddaylilies. Even if you’ve never had deer visiting your yard before, there’s always a first time. And no plant—even those said to be “deer resistant”—is truly safe from their voracious appetites.

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It’s almost Bloom time, that weekend in the Irish gardening year when we collectively convince ourselves that the sun shines in Ireland all year round and that picnics on the lawn dressed in boater hats and gingham sundresses are a good idea.

If you’ve been looking for ways to make gardening more practical this spring, we’ve got you covered. Not only can you add to your garden’s aesthetic with a sleek potting bench, but it will also make gardening much easier. 

RHS Chelsea 2024 – or the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, to give its full name – is the most prestigious flower show in the world.

In the arc of an Irish gardening year, May is the month of magical things. The first rose. The first swallow. The first properly hot day. The first beech tree in full leaf. The first sighting of wisteria in magnificent lilac bloom, draping itself languidly against a high, sunny wall. As nature flashes its brilliant feathers, it’s also our last real opportunity before summer finally arrives to make a substantial difference to our gardens or allotments, whether that’s filling them with fast-growing annuals to provide plenty of homegrown produce for the months ahead, planting up spectacular summer containers, or fine-tuning flower borders for maximum impact. With all of this in mind, here’s a handy little to-do list to help you stay on course.

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With the third series of the hit drama about to start and The Bridgerton Garden coming to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show later this month, now is the ideal time to invest in some new plants to bring a touch of Regency glamour and romance to your garden.