Ellen Willmott: 5 Warley Place lessons
Explore Ellen Willmott's Warley Place through five practical garden lessons, with seasonal planting advice and a simple small-border plan.
Open guideDesign ideas for balconies, courtyards, patios, and compact gardens — big impact from small areas.
UK seasons Plain advice Free to read
Margery Fish: 7 Cottage-Garden Lessons
Borrow Margery Fish's cottage-garden ideas for a small UK plot: a winding path, cosy planted rooms, layered plants and self-seeders kept in check.
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Decorative Water Butts and Rain Chains
Decorative water butts and rain chains for UK gardens: slimline, oak and stone-effect styles, smart screening, and how to fit a rain chain that works.
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Outdoor Seating Ideas: The 450mm Rule
Outdoor seating ideas that people actually use: built-in benches vs furniture, comfy seat heights and depths, where to put seats and small-garden tricks.
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Parasol Trees: Shade for a Small Garden
Parasol (roof-form) and multi-stem trees bring shade to small UK gardens. What they are, which trees to choose, where to plant them and how to prune.
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Small Square Garden Design: Break the Box
Small square garden design ideas for UK plots: diagonal layouts, circles, a screen to hide the far corner, deep borders and a worked 6m by 6m plan.
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Living Walls: Build a Green Wall That Lasts
How to build a living wall in the UK that stays green: choosing a system, fixing it safely, setting up drip watering and picking plants that last.
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Chinese Garden Design: 7 Rules for UK Gardens
Chinese garden design for UK plots: borrowed views, moon gates, rocks with water, zig-zag bridges and meaningful plants that grow happily here.
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Rental Garden Plan: Grow Now, Move It Later
Plan a rental garden that moves house with you: what to plant for your tenancy length, a simple shopping list, and how to pack pots for moving day.
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Privacy Design for an Overlooked Garden
How to make an overlooked garden feel private: screen the right sightlines, add an overhead layer for upstairs windows, and use pleached trees or climbers.
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Jungle Garden Design Ideas for UK Plots
Jungle garden design for UK plots. How to layer big leaves, hide the boundary with winding paths and turn a small garden or courtyard into a lush jungle.
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Pocket Woodland: Mini Forest in a Small Garden
How to plant a pocket woodland in a small UK garden corner: dense native whips in four layers, no-dig soil prep and a simple first-year care plan.
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Wide Shallow Garden Design: Add Depth
Wide shallow garden design for UK plots: split the width into zones, run paths on a diagonal, layer planting and screen the back fence to add depth.
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Potscaping: Grouping Pots for Impact
Potscaping turns scattered pots into a styled group. How many pots to use, how to vary heights, which materials to mix and a season-by-season swap plan.
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Rental Garden Ideas You Can Take With You
Deposit-safe garden ideas for renters: pots, planters on legs, freestanding trellis, no-drill fixings and solar lights you can take when you move.
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Rooftop Garden Ideas: Wind, Weight & Pots
Rooftop garden ideas for UK flats and terraces: check the roof can take it, tame the wind, keep pots light and pick plants that cope with exposure.
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Circular Lawn Ideas to Reshape a Square Plot
Eight circular lawn ideas to soften a square garden, how big to make the circle, the best edging, and an easy way to mark out a perfect curve.
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Spanish Courtyard Garden Ideas for UK Plots
Spanish courtyard garden ideas for the UK: terracotta and tiles, a wall fountain, shade, warm colours and pots of hardy and tender Mediterranean plants.
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Side Return Garden Ideas That Work
Side return garden ideas for UK terraces: slim bin and bike storage, wall planting for deep shade, drainage, the best path surface and lighting.
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Make a Small Garden Look Bigger: 9 Visual Tricks
Nine simple tricks to make a small garden look bigger: diagonal lines, cool colours at the back, mirrors, narrowing paths, screens and fewer, bigger pots.
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How to Design a Long Thin Garden
Stop a long thin garden feeling like a bowling alley: split it into rooms, move the path off-centre and plant the fences. Easy UK design steps.
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Garden Obelisk Ideas: 10 Ways to Add Height
Ten garden obelisk ideas for UK borders, pots and veg plots, from sweet pea towers to bean wigwams, with the best climbers and how to anchor them.
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Pocket Garden Ideas for Tiny UK Spaces
Pocket garden ideas for UK spaces of just a few square metres: light-wells, side returns, tiny courtyards and balconies, planted upwards to feel bigger.
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Winter Hanging Baskets: Colour Until Spring
How to plant winter hanging baskets in the UK: when to plant, the best hardy plants, four easy recipes, and watering and frost care from October to March.
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Alpine Trough: Plant a Mini Mountain Garden
How to plant an alpine trough in the UK: the gritty compost mix, drainage, five planting ideas for sun, shade and spring bulbs, and easy year-round care.
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One Pot, One Year: A Container Planting Plan
A planting plan for one large pot that looks good all year: an evergreen, four perennials and layered bulbs, plus what to do each month.
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Hide Your Bins: 8 UK Screening Plants
Eight living screens to hide wheelie bins in a UK garden, from pleached hornbeam and clumping bamboo to star jasmine for scent, with simple care notes.
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Summer Hanging Basket Recipes: 6 Easy Mixes
Six summer hanging basket recipes for UK sun, shade, dry spots, bees, edibles and foliage, with plant lists and how many to fit in 35cm and 45cm baskets.
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Window Box Plants: 4-Season UK Colour
The best window box plants for every season: spring, summer, autumn and winter plans for a 60cm box, plus picks for sunny and shady windows.
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Growing Tables and VegTrugs: A Practical Guide
Thinking about a growing table or VegTrug? What to look for, which crops thrive at waist height, the best compost mix and how to keep one going for years.
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Pot Planting Recipes: 6 Star-Plant Combos
Six pot planting recipes for big UK containers, each built around one star plant, with a plant list, the right spot and simple aftercare.
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Perennial Pot Combinations That Last for Years
Perennial pot combinations for UK patios: foliage-led mixes of grasses, heuchera and ferns that stay planted for years, with simple seasonal top-ups.
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New Build Garden: From Rubble to Real Garden
Turn a new build garden into a real one. How to check the soil, break up compaction, fix drainage, add topsoil and plan the planting over three years.
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Container Planting Ideas for the UK
Easy pot combinations for every season, plus the best pots, compost and watering tips to keep UK patio containers looking good all year round.
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Making a Fairy Garden Step by Step
How to make an outdoor fairy garden step by step: the best container, tiny plants that stay small, safe accessories and simple care through the year.
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Container Pond Ideas for Small Gardens
Make a mini pond in a barrel, trough or old sink. The best containers, plants and spots, plus easy year-round care and how to keep it safe.
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City Garden Ideas: Beat Shade, Wind and Rubble
City garden ideas for UK urban plots: how to handle building shade, wind tunnels, rubble soil, overlooking and noise, and still grow food and flowers.
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Container Gardening Ideas for Beginners
Container gardening ideas for beginners in the UK. Which pots, sizes and compost to choose, what to plant in sun or shade, and how to keep pots thriving.
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Small Garden Design Ideas for UK Gardens
Easy ideas to make a small UK garden feel bigger. Simple layouts, climbers for fences, plants that earn their space and cosy lighting tips.
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Raised Bed Garden Design Ideas UK
Raised bed ideas for UK gardens: the best sizes, which materials to use, layouts for small to large plots, what to fill them with and what to plant.
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Garden Storage Solutions: Ideas Beyond the Shed
Garden storage solutions for small UK gardens: wall racks, lean-to stores, deck boxes, bike and bin stores, plus how to keep everything dry and secure.
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How to Create a Herb Garden: Plans and Layouts
Plan and set up a herb garden that suits your space: where to put it, four easy layouts, a raised bed planting plan, pots, and which herbs to group.
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Courtyard Garden Ideas for the UK
Ideas for small walled courtyards: pale walls to bounce light, easy paving, shade-loving plants, water features, lighting and furniture that fits.
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Vertical Gardening Ideas for Small Spaces
Short on space? Grow up your walls and fences with trellis, pocket planters, gutter gardens and living walls, plus the best plants for each spot.
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Balcony Gardening Ideas for the UK
Friendly balcony gardening ideas for UK flats: light pots, weight and wind tips, easy watering without annoying the neighbours, and plants that thrive.
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Patio Garden Ideas for Small Spaces
Friendly ideas for small UK patios, from picking the right pots and plants to growing food, using walls and making a tiny space feel bigger.
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