Gardeners' Heaven

by Alan Titchmarsh With rising birdseed prices, you may wonder about the best way of feeding feathery garden visitors without breaking the bank. For a start, a lot of kitchen scraps could go out for the birds. They’ll enjoy stale bread, biscuits, cake and pastry, but what’s really worthwhile in winter is fat, so save [...]

by Lindsey Gray As September widens the gap between Summer and Autumn, memories of long balmy evenings fade like the suntans they attracted and our thoughts turn to bonfires and fireworks. If, like me, you love a good excuse for a party then Halloween will probably feature pretty prominently on your social calendar.  An outdoor [...]

Squash, Zuccini, call them what you will.  Courgettes of all shapes and sizes are in abundance right now and making a healthy wholesome soup from them couldn’t be simpler. Courgettes are a good source of vitamin A, and low in calories. They contain a healthy supply of manganese, folate, and potassium. They’re  a great food [...]

by Alan Titchmarsh What could be nicer, when you’re out and about in the summer hols, than to drop in at a pretty country pub for a relaxing beer, or perhaps lunch – sitting outside in the garden if it’s sunny? In the rush to visit stately homes, flower shows and gardens-open, we tend to [...]

Ever wished you just had an extra room in the house ?  Somewhere you could throw the kids/other half while you concentrate on the job in hand ? Or better still, somewhere you could escape to, slipping away unnoticed from the daily grind for a few stolen moments of peace and quiet? Those lucky enough [...]

by Alan Titchmarsh It’s not enough for plants just to sit around looking pretty. Oh no. Nowadays our little green chums need to make themselves useful too. That’s why herbs are so popular; their compact shapes, flowers and fragrance are a delight in the garden, and their sophisticated good-taste works wonders in the kitchen. But [...]

by Alan Titchmarsh After several truly dud summers, it would be wonderful to say this one was going to be a corker – and then plan a summery planting scheme for your patio, seating-out area or summerhouse surrounds to suit. But frankly I feel it’s wise to hedge our collective bets and go for plants [...]

Here at Gardeners Heaven we spent the Easter weekend seeing to the deck.  Not in the lounging-on-a-bean-bag or enjoying-a-bbq way we would have liked, but in a much less fun cleaning-all-the-algae-off-and-retreating-the-wood kind of way.  It might have been much less fun, but when we had finished it was hugely rewarding to see the decking looking [...]

Men. Now you’ve got the hang of your grill and can produce a reasonable meal on it along with true adulation that such an achievement deserves (women everywhere roll their eyes), it’s time to learn a few top tips to keeping it in tip top condition. There are lots of expensive bottles produced with the [...]

It’s  BBQ time so if you’ve got it, flaunt it! Nothing says “sunny day” more than the smell of a sizzling bbq on a hot afternoon or a warm evening,  but once you get used to cooking outdoors, or “grilling” as the Americans call it, you’ll be doing it in all weathers. If you’re a [...]