Summer house paint colours

Summer house paint colours

Summer house paint colour schemes

Summer house paint colours

Our top summer house colour schemes with real customer photos

Asking “what colour should I paint my summer house?” – Here are our ideas

Choosing the right colour to paint your much loved summer house can be problematic. The last thing you want to do is pay out a small fortune on paint, spend half a day studiously decorating, and then discover your choice of colours doesn’t work. The wrong shade of green could make your summer house disappear into the surrounding plants. Pick a bright colour to help it stand out, get the wrong shade, and you could end up with an eyesore.

To help you pick the best summer house paint colours we’ve selected photos showing real customer summer houses in a range of different colours.

1. Why paint your summer house?

Paint a summer house

There’s a practical element to painting a summer house or any other timber garden building: it gives protection from the weather, insects, mould and fungus. Even if you opt for a dip treated summer house, we recommend that all our timber buildings are finished with paint or varnish as soon as they are constructed.

But practicality is just the start of it. You can use the colour scheme of your summer house, shed or garden room to say something about yourself, complement certain aspects of your garden, help the building blend into the background or make it a focal point of your garden design.

2. Choosing a summer house paint colours

A dash of paint can be the difference between a traditional English-style summer house and a contemporary garden office. It can conjure up the beach, a Nordic forest, the Scottish Highlands, some urban cool, or leave the eye free to focus on the plants around it.

And for those who already own a summer house, a paint job is a relatively hassle-free way to transform or revive an ageing garden building.

Obviously, that’s empowering; it’s also a bit daunting. Given the power of colour to transform, where on earth do you start?

3. A few basics about choosing a paint colour for a summer house

The ‘classic’ summer house paint scheme is to have the walls in a darker shade, and the doors and windows a lighter shade – white, cream, or a paler shade of the wall colour.

Greens, beiges and greys work well with this format, as do a wide variety of styles and sizes of building. A great example is the beige and crisp white scheme one of our customers used on a traditional clockhouse garden building, which has been nicely enhanced with garden furniture and topiary.

Summer house paint colour

For a darker colour scheme, look at the dark/light combination on this Melanie corner summer house. The olive-green walls help it blend with rest of the garden, whilst the blue plant pots add a dash of colour.

Top summer house colour schemes with real customer photos

4. Bold and bright Summer house paint colours

The darker walls / lighter trim approach works well with bolder colours too. You’re making more of a statement, but still not breaking any rules. Blue and white gives a good nautical or vintage feel, and colour contrast also helps to highlight the excellent design, build and features of a summer house. Take a look at:

What colour should I paint my summer house

Bold and bright Summer house paint colours

We love both these shades of blue, which give a Mediterranean feel in summertime, and inject some cheer in the autumn and winter months, without looking out of place against greyer skies. See how a blue roof can add to the effect.

Another popular colour with our customers is dark red or burgundy. Take a look at these two beauties, both with a distinct Nordic style – one looks like an enviable island summer house, the other is straight out of an enchanted forest. In both cases, the lighter doors and windows add definition.

5. Use just one summer house paint colour

Another option is to use the same colour throughout and it’s interesting to see the different effects this can achieve. Generally, a single colour makes a summer house merge with its surroundings more – though of course it depends on the colour. Pink walls and window frames certainly don’t disappear into the background – however vibrant your garden.

This octagonal Hanna summer house has been painted an attractive pale green which blends with the surrounding garden – it’s certainly not camouflaged or invisible, but it’s not saying ‘Admire my fine door and window features!’ either.

6. Using neutral summer house paint colours

You can take this blending effect a step further with neutral colours, and we particularly like two customer examples of this. First is a modern, white garden room that pulls your eye towards the horizon and lengthens the garden. Lighting inside and out adds warmth to the stripped-down design, and we would happily spend many a day there.

We would also happily while away the summer in this Veronica pavilion and the beautiful garden that surrounds it. With a natural dark wood stain throughout, the structure almost disappears into the surrounding garden. Windows on all sides of the summer house mean the garden is visible from every angle.

7. Stain or paint a summer house with colour?

This brings us onto another basic ‘rule’ about colour – that using stain rather than paint allows the natural grain of the wood to show through. And stain doesn’t have to be brown. Using a pale limewash-effect stain can give a vintage feel, or you could go bolder in your colour choices, as with this Hanna summer house.

Using a stain makes the colour less ‘in-your’ face than paint, and more rustic – not so great if you were looking for a more urban effect.

8. Summer house paint colours for modern living

If you’re after a more modern or urban feel for your summer house paint colour choice, matte paint is a good bet. Greys, black, charcoal, or the dark, dark greens and midnight blues that you see on front doors in Amsterdam make a good colour palette here.

These colours make even a traditional summer house look more twenty-first century, and work very on contemporary designs too. A contrasting white or grey trim will catch the eye, as can a reversal of the usual dark/light principle – so you have pale walls and darker doors and/or windows.

9. Adding summer house colour through accessories

Finally, a word about accessories and touches of colour. Borrow a great tip from many a boutique hotel, and use a grey palette (or other neutrals) for walls, floors and doors and add touches of bright colour (eg inspired by flowers and other plants) for anything from cushions to garden furniture to plant pots.

10. Keep things flexible

As well as adding sophistication to the overall look, the ‘boutique hotel’ approach is practical – you can keep the neutral backdrop to your summer house unchanged, and change the accessories to alter the look. A pale-grey Japanese-inspired garden room with minimal decoration could transform into a seaside theme with the addition of some blues, and stripes and different furniture.

Need more summer house paint colour inspiration? Check out more GardenLife Log Cabins customer photos or our Pinterest pinboard on summer house colour schemes.

Sustainable garden design – 15 quick tips

Sustainable garden design – 15 quick tips

Sustainable garden design - 15 quick tips

Sustainable garden design – 15 quick and essential tips

It’s odd to think that a garden may not be an environmentally-friendly or natural place. Most have a lawn, greenery and some trees. However, these days it is often normal for paving slabs, non-native species, fences and chemical sprays to prevail. Together, these can all make for a rather hostile and unsustainable habitat that is far from natural.

Creating a sustainable garden design that’s healthy, supportive of nature, an ethical food source, and that is also good for the environment and climate doesn’t have to be a huge commitment however. There are lots of simple steps you can take, and they don’t require expensive kit, specialist environmental knowledge, or a lot of time.

Here are 15 quick steps toward a sustainable garden design that will allow you to turn your lot into a rewarding food source, a haven for indigenous species and an ally of the wider environment and climate.

1. Encourage native trees

Encourage native trees

Unsurprisingly, native garden wildlife prefers and benefits from indigenous tree species, which means more biodiversity and healthier wildlife in your garden. Native trees such as Alder increase nitrogen levels in the soil, and nitrogen helps other plants grow. Downy Birch and Silver Birch both draw up nutrients from deep within the soil, again, benefitting other nearby plants. You can read more about the benefits of indigenous species on our blog post about planting native British trees. When it comes to a sustainable garden design, you can’t beat native trees that support wildlife and feed and nourish other plants in the garden.

2. Grow a native hedge

Grow a native hedge

Instead of installing a fence or building a wall, what about planting a native hedge instead? A hedge may not provide instant security or privacy, but it will provide pollen, food, shelter and a home for moths, butterflies, spiders, insects, birds and hedgehogs (and with hedgehog numbers in steep decline, a native hedge could make a difference). Building a fence consumes natural resources and can lock out native wildlife. However, a healthy growing hedge helps to capture and store carbon dioxide (which can help fight climate change). A mix of field maple, beech, hawthorn, blackthorn, elder, dog rose, hazel, holly and crab-apple is ideal, but if you do opt for a fence, consider a hedgehog hole.

3. Make a log pile

Make a log pile

If you can’t source sustainable logs locally, buy a sack at the local garage, drill some holes in the ends with a 5mm drill bit, and make a small pile in the garden ensuring that the holes catch the morning light. This little log pile will provide a home for numerous insects, beetles, bugs and bees, all of which will help with pollination (and with bee numbers declining rapidly they need all the help they can get). In time the log pile will rot down and the nutrients it releases will benefit other nearby plants.

4. Create a veg patch

Create a veg patch

The most obvious element of sustainable garden design is a veg patch. It’s incredibly rewarding to cook with your own homegrown food, and growing it doesn’t have to be complicated. Peas, broad beans, purple-sprouting broccoli, beetroot, salad leaves – they’re just some of the great veg you can grow easily in your garden, and they taste so much better than shop-bought versions. You’ll also cut down on pollution and carbon dioxide from food miles that supermarket veg stack up in order to reach your plate. If you don’t have much room that’s not a problem either. To grow your own potatoes all you need is a sack full of soil, you can train peas and beans to grow up around existing trees, and garlic and spring onions will grow in tubs.

5. The same goes for fruit gardens

Plant fruit trees and bushes

Even the UK’s unreliable climate produces everything from apples and pears to cherries, blackcurrants, strawberries and rhubarb, and you don’t have to have a huge garden. Pollinators flock to fruit trees and bushes, and if you’ve ever tasted a raspberry or bramble straight off the bush you’ll know there’s something about it that plastic-wrapped fruit just can’t replicate. When you eat seasonal fruit that you’ve grown yourself you are helping to reduce pollution, carbon dioxide and packaging waste. When planning a sustainable garden design, a mix of fruit trees and native trees is a must.

6. Grow salad and herbs in containers

Grow salad and herbs in containers

Lack of space, or even a garden, doesn’t have to stand in your way of growing your own. Herbs and mixed salad leaves can thrive in a window box, or if you have space but no soil, a small raised bed. They’ll taste great, and you’ll be saving on food miles. You could also integrate vertical vegetable gardening as part of a sustainable garden design.

7. Make your own compost

Make your own compost

All it takes is a bin, and those scraps of food, lawn clippings and garden waste that you would otherwise throw away. The bins themselves are extremely cheap – or you could DIY it with an wooden pallet. Composting will give you a sustainable and nutrient-rich source of soil without having to buy in chemicals or peat-based compost. You’ll save money as well as recycling your waste into a highly useful product.

8. A weed is a flower growing in the wrong place

A weed is a flower growing in the wrong place

This may require a mental U-turn for many gardeners. Allowing native grasses, flowers and other plants referred to as “weeds” to flourish could greatly improve your garden, help the wider environment and local wildlife. Native species will attract plenty of pollinators, which could also be helpful for flowers, fruit trees and other plants in your garden. Species such as clover and vetch are often eradicated from lawns and beds, but they are both nitrogen fixers, enriching the soil to the benefit of plants around them. Even if you don’t want weeds growing throughout your garden, setting aside a space for a wildflower patch would be highly beneficial. As with alder and birch trees, having vetch and clover improving the soil is an important part of any sustainable garden design.

9. Spurn the chemicals

Chemicals have no place in sustainable garden design

Pesticides, weedkillers and solvent/oil-based timber treatments can all make your garden hostile territory for wildlife. With oil being a major ingredient in both the products and manufacturing process they aren’t sustainable either. Chemical traces can linger in soil and water sources for years to come too. Opting for alternatives like organic pesticides or natural herbicides will still get rid of unwanted bugs and weeds without warding off the nice ones. Simpy deadheading weeds before they flower is often a highly effective solution.

10. Look for organic fertilisers

Look for organic fertilisers

Feeding your garden plants is important to help keep them healthy and strong, but the production and use of chemical fertilisers has a high environmental cost (in resource use, shipping and waste). Chemical fertilisers can also flood water systems with excess nitrogen, which can lead to numerous other environmental problems far afield, such as algal blooms. Instead, for your sustainable garden design consider pine needles and pine wood chip to help enrich acidic soils that ericaceous plants such as rhododendrons and azaleas need. Use wood ash (from a wood burning stove), liquid seaweed solutions (available from most good garden centres), home made compost, and cow manure or horse dung (if you can get them locally) to feed and support plants and naturally improve poor soils.

11. Collect rainwater

Collect rainwater as part of a sustainable garden design

Our climate is changing. In the UK we’re seeing more intense downpours and longer, hotter dry spells. If you opt to collect free rain water you’ll avoid paying the financial and environmental cost of getting water from the tap. It’s also worth noting that rainwater is generally better for your plants than chemically-treated tap water. We’ve already got a handy article about using water butts to collect rainwater here. Rainwater collection really is an essential element of sustainable garden design.

12. Help to avoid flooding

Help to avoid flooding

With storms and extreme rain becoming more frequent, we can all to do our bit to deal with run-off water. Do whatever you can to avoid paving over your garden, or using paving slabs for patios and garden paths – instead look at alternatives such as woodchip or gravel. If you collect rainwater in butts (above) and allow your garden to soak up heavy downpours, you can reduce runoff and the chances of local flooding.

13. Dig a pond (or make a small rain garden)

Dig a pond (or make a small rain garden)

Yes, this can seem like quite an undertaking, but in a past blog post we outlined some really straightforward ways to create a pond in your own back garden. You’ll create the perfect habitat for frogs, toads and newts, especially if you dig one with shallow edges for them to slip in and out (avoiding steep sides also reduces the risks of small mammals such as hedgehogs falling in and drowning). Dragonflies and water beetles can usually be spotted after just a few weeks, and birds will use it for drinking.

14. Provide water sources for other wildlife too

Provide water sources for other wildlife too

Birds and animals need to drink, and in a long hot summer that can be a problem. Bird baths are an easy option, and you don’t necessarily have to go the whole hog with a stone bath – you could just fill a plant pot with water. Meanwhile, a small bowl of water, kept topped up, can attract hedgehogs and keep them around over the summer. There are other tips on making your garden hedgehog-friendly, and since hedgehogs help keep down slugs, they’re definitely a gardener’s friend.

15. Build a bee-hotel

Build a bee hotel

Don’t be deceived by the name – these are easy to build, as you can see in this guide. They’ll support bees (especially solitary ones) which in turn will increase pollination in your garden. All of which means, more beautiful and healthy flowers – not just for you, but all the other gardens in your area!

If you look at the above list, panic, and wonder where to start on your sustainable garden design, don’t worry. You can transition your garden to a more natural wildlife-friendly habitat over time.

Gardening, therapy and mental health

Gardening, therapy and mental health

Gardening, therapy and mental health

Gardening, therapy and mental health

Have you noticed how people are talking about gardening, therapy and mental health recently? ‘Horticulture therapy’, as some people call it, is an increasingly popular prescription for everything from depression and anxiety to loneliness and lack of purpose.

In one recent survey, four out of five people said gardening has a better impact on mental health than hitting the gym. The Metro newspaper quoted a psychotherapist saying, ‘Gardening is a brilliant de-stressor. Hacking down shrubs, mowing the lawn, digging in bulbs, even just weeding and planting can lower blood pressure and create a healthy mindful state.’

According to the report, the combination of fresh air, exercise, natural light and Vitamin D can help fend off depression and low moods.

Gardening; therapy for modern life

Gardening; therapy for modern life

You don’t just have to take Metro’s word for it. There’s a growing (no pun intended) number of organisations using gardening and farming to help people with disabilities, health or mental issues.

There’s Thrive, for example, a charity that ‘uses gardening to change lives’. It helps people with disabilities or mental health issues to garden, and it runs a wonderfully practical website with tips on gardening after a stroke, in a wheelchair, with one arm, or other conditions. It has a nice leaflet you can download giving advice on using gardening to improve your emotional wellbeing. It’s called Gardening: The feel good factor.

Meanwhile, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) is funding a pilot scheme for GPs to refer patients with a variety of ailments to ‘therapy gardens’ – there’s an interesting article about it here.

But you don’t have to be clinically depressed or ravaged by stress to get the benefits of horticulture – anyone can give themselves a wellbeing boost by getting out the gardening gloves. In fact, when it comes to gardening, therapy and mental health, you don’t even need your own garden!

No garden, no problem

No garden, no problem

When you think about what gardening actually is, it’s really not surprising that it’s a powerful destressing mechanism. As long as you leave your mobile behind, being outside, surrounded by nature, away from the pressure of the office and free from nagging email inboxes and notifications, what better setting to relieve tension and promote calm in our hectic lives?

If you aren’t lucky enough to have your own garden, then spending some downtime in a city park or strolling out of town through fields or woods can be just as effective.

Scientists have actually found that as humans, we instinctively relax when we’re in a natural setting – one Stanford University study found spending time outdoors decreased activity in areas of the brain responsible for depression and negative emotions, as well as lowering levels of stress hormones. It’s in our DNA: we like to be outdoors, and when we are, our bodies and minds thank us for it.

Breaking a sweat to beat the blues

Breaking a sweat to beat the blues

When considering gardening, therapy and mental health, it’s worth considering getting active outdoors. While perhaps not akin to Olympic weightlifting or marathon running, gardening certainly counts as exercise. You can burn almost 400 calories from an hour of lawn-mowing, according to Saga.

Just like running or weightlifting, gardening releases the feel-good hormones known as endorphins, along with a whole host of others including the so-called ‘happy chemical’ serotonin. Regular endorphin release has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety and improve sleep and even self-esteem.

And, there’s one benefit that running and weightlifting certainly can’t offer – if you use your garden to grow some fruit and veg, you’ll get a further health boost from all the vitamins and other nutrients they’ll bring to your diet. You don’t get that from 10 minutes on the treadmill.

How to reap the rewards, gardening, therapy and mental health

How to reap the rewards

You don’t have to be gardening to relax or destress, but it does give you an incentive to spend time outdoors, keep moving and do something life-affirming.

Apparently, designing your garden to be a ‘myriad of greens’, rather than a riot of colour, is particularly restorative. And having a design that forces you to move slowly – with winding paths and stepping stones etc – is also suggested to be therapeutic and an aid to mental health. It’s based on the mindfulness concept.

On the other hand, you may prefer bright colours and geometric patterns – we each have own feel-good preferences.

You could also think about creating a separate ‘you’ space in your patch, such as a summer house or other garden building, which can create a peaceful sanctuary – a safe space, if you will, that adds a layer of protection between you and the worries of your daily life.

We have a great range of garden buildings on our website for you to take inspiration from, and to suit a range of budgets. There are spacious garden rooms like the Iris model that you could use for yoga or mindfulness; sun rooms like Inis where you can open the bifold doors wide and enjoy fresh air and natural light; and summer houses like Veronica with windows on all sides and timber gazebos so you can sit outside under shelter and admire the fruits of your labour.

Community gardening

Part of something bigger; join a gardening group

At some point, most of us will be hit by feelings of isolation or loneliness – it seems like a 21st-century pandemic. This too is something gardening therapy can help with.

Many of us garden alone, but social gardening is also very much a thing. It’s a great way to connect with people you wouldn’t otherwise have met, alongside reaping all the health benefits we’ve already covered.

Thanks to organisations like Farm Garden, you should be able to find gardening groups and initiatives in your local area. The RHS also has some good community gardening webpages, where you can find local groups or get ideas for setting one up. Groundwork is another great example of a nationwide community gardening initiative.

Gardening with a goal

As humans, we seem to be hardwired to work towards a goal, and gardening gives us one – be it a grand flower garden worthy of the Chelsea Flower Show, a community project or just a mini herb garden in a couple of window boxes.

Of course, when considering the crossover of gardening, therapy and mental health, gardening alone isn’t an instant cure-all for modern life’s ills. The process of creating a garden is a slow one, and plants don’t always thrive like you want them to. But the commitment you put in is always well-rewarded – not necessarily with a bumper crop of carrots, with a sense of purpose, a stake in the future, and something to care for. Doesn’t that sound like just what the doctor ordered?

Buying a garden gazebo in the UK

Buying a garden gazebo in the UK

Buying a garden gazebo in the UK

Buying a garden gazebo in the UK

Cheap or quality? Pop-up or permanent? Metal or timber?

Thinking of buying a garden gazebo in the UK? If you live somewhere windy, where rain regularly comes at you diagonally, a wooden garden gazebo may not be for you. But if you live anywhere else, it could be your ideal solution for garden living.

The Americans love gazebos because they provide shade from the sun. In the UK, we love them because they shelter us from rain as well.

They also offer a degree of privacy, without you having to go the whole hog and buy a summer house. That’s why gazebos are so popular for garden hot tubs and barbecues. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. First, let’s go back to basics and say what they actually are.

The short answer is that a gazebo is an open-sided garden structure with a roof – a pavilion or summer house without walls. If you want to know the precise difference between gazebos, pergolas, pavilions and the like, there are more detailed descriptions on The Spruce website. But to our minds, there are more important questions to think about:

How can a gazebo help you get more from your garden?

How should you go about choosing a garden gazebo?

The perfect garden gazebo?

Gazebos and garden living

So, let’s look at the first question, how could a gazebo help you get more from your garden. We’ve already said a gazebo could protect you against sun, rain, and curious eyes. You could use it to do yoga, lounge with a good book, shelter a barbecue, sitting or dining area, or provide a covered play area for the kids (that’s if the hot tub has not got there first).

In other words, it can turn your garden into an extra living space.

A gazebo can also be a focal point for a garden design – the eye is drawn towards it, but the open sides allow you to see beyond to the rest of the garden as well.

How to choose a gazebo for the weather in the UK

Old-fashioned gazebos were permanent structures, built of wood, brick and/or cast iron. But that all changed with the advent of the ‘party gazebo’ – lightweight, pop-up gazebos that are now a staple of parties, school sports days, fun runs and anything else that takes place in the open air in the British Isles.

Cheap garden gazebos

Prices for these start from about £20, though that will likely get you something flimsy that won’t survive more than a gust of wind that’s typical in a UK summer.

There are also more upmarket and robust versions of the temporary gazebo, with design styles modelled on marquees, safari camps or vintage garden fetes. These tend to cost from £100 upwards, depending on size and sturdiness.

Metal garden gazebos

Then you get semi-permanent models – with sturdy aluminium, steel or cast iron supports, and available in contemporary designs as well as traditional. These work well on patios as well as lawns, and may run into hundreds of pounds.

A great selection of different styles is available on the Wayfair website, and there’s also a useful blog with reviews of different temporary gazebos.

Permanent metal or timber garden gazebos

What if you want something more robust and longer-lasting, a gazebo that won’t blow away or buckle if the wind blows?

If you really want permanence, you’ll be looking at bricks and cast iron – like a Victorian bandstand. More feasible for most of us, though, is a high-quality timber gazebo, built to withstand the damp English, Scottish or Welsh climate. Below we look at a few of the factors to think about when buying a garden gazebo.

Four sided timber garden gazebo

What you’re going to use it for: do you want a completely flexible open space, where you can sit with deckchair or book one day, or lay out a table of party food another day? Or do you want it as a shelter for a hot tub? If you’re planning a hot tub, GardenLife sell a gazebo with a back wall that provides extra privacy and shelter from the wind.

Wind proof timber gazebo

Whether you want a floor: the answer to the above will help you decide this; so will your budget. On some models, the floor comes as optional, so you’re free to decide which would suit your plans and price range.

How much space you want: you’ll want to balance flexibility vs aesthetics vs budget. And you don’t want too big a structure to over-dominate a garden. And your kids won’t thank you if you ruin their back-garden football games with a gazebo plonked in the middle of the lawn (though technically the open sides mean it shouldn’t stand in the way of a curling free kick).

Hexagonal wooden gazebo

The best shape for your garden: a simple four-sided gazebo is cost-effective and practical but it can look quite plain and functional. A hexagonal gazebo or octagonal shape will look softer and make an attractive centrepoint. If you take a look at GardenLife’s Betty gazebo, you’ll see for yourself how the same design takes on a very different character depending on which shape you go for.

Octagonal timber gazebo

Traditional vs contemporary: the usual advice is that the gazebo should reflect the style of your home – so a period home gets a period-style gazebo. But don’t feel trapped by that – you could set up a good contrast in the same way that a contemporary bathroom style can work well in a period home. However, it’s still a good idea to have colour and roof shape blend with the house or other garden buildings. You’re looking for a centrepiece not an eyesore.

Whatever style you choose, you’ll want it to be as low maintenance as possible. On a timber model, that means looking out for:

  • slow-grown timber; this has a denser grain than fast-grown timber, so the gazebo will be sturdier and less likely to warp
  • laminated timber support posts – lamination helps protect against damp, and the warping and swelling it can cause
  • pressure-treated flooring that’s resistant against rot and decay.

When it comes to buying a garden gazebo in the UK, touches like these can make all the difference in terms of finding a durable, long-lasting gazebo that can withstand British winters.

Choosing the best garden water butt – our advice

Choosing the best garden water butt – our advice

Choosing the best garden water butt

Choosing the best garden water butt

Our advice on why you need a water butt, and which water butt to choose

We live in a mild, rainy climate in Britain, so water shortages are not really high on our radar. But as recent summers and unseasonal dry spells have proved, hosepipe bans and the need to conserve water are likely to become more of a thing.

So, we’d all do well to think how to keep our gardens green without just turning on the taps.

The answer is a good old-fashioned one – a garden water butt connected to the guttering of your house, garden room or shed. Even without the prospect of hosepipe bans, they’re a good idea for anyone with a garden:

  • If you’ve got a water meter, a garden water butt will save you money
  • Water butts are good for the environment – even in a country where water is plentiful, the processes involved in getting clean water to our taps use a lot of energy resources
  • Your plants will thank you – rainwater is free from chlorine and treating agents found in tap water

But with some garden water butts stretching into £1000-plus territory, your wallet won’t necessarily thank you if you make a rash purchase. So, when it comes to choosing the best garden water butt, here’s our guide to making an informed and cost effective decision.

Your rainwater butt options

There’s a huge range to choose from when it comes to picking the right rainwater butt. Water capacities can range from 100 to 1000+ litres, and even more with some multi-tank systems. You can choose from simple plastic garden water butts to terracotta designs with fancy brass taps and built-in planters. Here’s a look at some of your choices for the best garden water butts.

Cheap garden water butts

Cheap garden water butt

Your cheapest and simplest option is going to be a plastic barrel-style garden water butt. For £25 to £40, you’ll get a durable tank with roughly 200-litre capacity and a built-in plastic tap. They’re not especially pretty, but they’ll get the job done just fine.

Garden centres and DIY shops sell a good choice of rainwater butts, and some councils sell a limited range too. You’ll also find some good examples of budget-friendly water butts online at Evengreener.com and B&Q.

Things you may want to check, even if your budget is very tight, include whether:

Slimline water butts

Slimline garden water butt

If city-living has left you with a small plot and you’re tight on space, there are plenty of slimline water butts with unobtrusive designs. They’ll fit well into tight corners or restricted spaces, albeit at the cost of having smaller capacity. You’ll find some of the best garden water butts with a slimline design at Water Butts Direct and Homebase.

Rustic garden water butts

Oak barrel effect water butt

A plastic rainwater butt may look out of place by an old country cottage or in a rustic-style garden design. But don’t worry – a wooden (or ‘wood-effect’) water butt will blend in nicely. Smaller oak barrel style designs or huge 500-litre tanks are both functional and elegant.

A tree trunk water butt

You can even find garden water butts disguised as tree trunks. However, if you do want a water tank that looks like a sawn-off tree, expect to pay more – certainly upwards of £75, going all the way up to the hundreds.

Getting fancier – stone and terracotta water butts

Antique amphora garden water butts

Here you were, thinking you’d never describe a garden water butt as classy – especially after looking at the fake tree trunk versions.  Some of the best garden water butts have an antique-style or stone effect look, with a choice including terracotta, granite, sandstone – many with a distinctly Mediterranean style.

You’ll find tasteful brass taps galore, vase and amphora styles, and the option to have planters and bird baths on top of the butt. Prices can be hefty, and you’ll need to watch out for the cost of extras like downpipes and fittings (see the section below on installing a garden water butt). But they can be a distinctive or complementary part of a garden design, in which case the cost will be worth it.

Multi-tank garden water butts

Multi tank water butts

Blessed (or cursed) with a huge plot? If you go through lots of water or just fancy the peace of mind from having more storage, single garden water butts are no match for multi-tank systems. You have a choice here of hundreds or thousands of litres capacity. And you don’t have to spend a fortune.

A basic twin set of rainwater butts offers 700 litres of capacity with special filters for getting rid of gutter debris. Also exceptional value is a triple tank system for under £150 that stores 1050 litres of rainwater.

Alternatively, it can work out cheaper or more flexible to buy individual butts of your choice and use a connector to make a DIY multi-tank system.

Installing a garden water butt

 

With any garden water butt, big or small, plastic or rustic, you need to work out how you’re going to gather rainwater.

Some smaller butts collect water by having no lid, but these are far from ideal as their surface area is not enough to gather a significant amount of rainfall (and the open lid allows for water loss by evaporation). Instead, most water butts attach to the downpipe from your gutters (be it home, summer house or shed) and gather the rainfall that the whole roof collects. Even a small 2m x 2m roof can collect over 3000 litres a year with average UK rainfall.

The best garden water butts come with a kit for you to connect the tank to the pipe. However, there could be complications. Most will work only for certain sizes of downpipe, and not for cast iron ones, so you may need to buy a different connector kit. You may also want to look at diverter kits, which take away excess water.

For step-by-step guides to installing a garden water butt properly, there are plenty of guides online.

What else you’ll need

Universal water butt stand

Filling up buckets or watering cans from a tap a few inches from the ground can range from tricky to impossible. The best garden water butts come with stands included, but with others it will be an optional extra, to be factored into your cost calculations.

There are also universal stands, but it’s still important to double-check if the stand is compatible with your tank size and weight.

Garden water butt maintenance

Water butt freshener

Keeping your water butt well covered will help to stop debris falling in, and reduce slime and algae forming. It will also avoid the water being used as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The best garden water butts come with secure lids, but even then you need to prevent algae and slime, so a splash of non-toxic rainwater treatment a few times a year will keep your water nice and clean.

There is a small risk of nasty Legionella bacteria breeding; you can fix this with an annual emptying and deep cleanse. Placing the water butt in the shade or painting it white (to reflect heat) can also help.

Although water butts are most likely fill up in autumn and winter, it is advisable to keep an eye out for extreme cold spells. If located in an exposed spot, or should persistent sub zero temperatures be forecast, it’s best to temporarily insulate the tank (and connecting pipe) or empty the butt altogether to stop the water from freezing and splitting the plastic.

Some people also use garden water butts to gather ‘grey’ water from baths, basins and the kitchen, but keeping this water clean and fresh will take a bit more work than simple rainwater. You also have the issue of the water containing detergents. There’s advice on re-using grey water available here.

Now’s the time…

When it comes to choosing the best garden water butt spring and early summer are the perfect time to get onto this. You’ll have a few damp weeks to collect rain before the summer and you’ll be well prepared if we get another ‘barbecue summer’ this year.

And if you do already have a water butt, it’s a good time to spring-clean it and make sure you’re all geared up to use it effectively and safely this summer.

Native British trees – what you should (and shouldn’t) plant in your garden

Native British trees – what you should (and shouldn’t) plant in your garden

Native British trees - What you should (and shouldn't) plant in your garden

Native British trees

What you should (and shouldn’t) plant in your garden

When picking out plants and trees for your garden, it’s easy to bypass native British trees and be seduced by exotic species. You go to a famous garden and see wonderful designs based on themes from Japanese formal gardens to Alpine meadows. However impressive they are, don’t let them blind you to the advantages of native British trees and plants.

Adding native species to your own garden can bring some real practical benefits, including:

  • improving soil quality
  • reducing erosion
  • better drainage
  • attracting wildlife to your garden
  • cutting down on maintenance

So whether you want to give the local wildlife a helping hand, or just improve the view from your summer house, let’s look at some native British trees in a little more detail. We’ll also offer some practical tips for choosing the right native trees for your garden, and advise why you shouldn’t plant certain species.

Why plant native British trees?

Silver Birch

Strong roots and lower maintenance: It’s an obvious point when you think about it, but native British trees have evolved to flourish here. They’ve spent centuries adapting to the local climate and conditions, and are likely to grow strong roots. This in turn means soil is less likely to be washed away when the UK weather is at its wettest.

The fact they’re adapted to our climate means they need less protection against the British seasons – whether they bring sun, rain or frost. So that’s less work for you.

Improved soil condition: It is not commonly known, but some native British trees (mentioned below) actually have the ability to improve the soil around their roots. They help feed the plants around them and enrich poor quality soil (which is a big benefit if your garden soil is full of building rubble).

Wildlife: Again, it’s obvious once it’s pointed out, but native British wildlife and native British trees have evolved to live together. Native trees will provide homes, shelter and sustenance for native species of birds, small mammals, including hedgehogs, insects and other wildlife.

According to the RSPB, which has a really useful blog on planting a wildlife garden, native species of holly and hawthorn are especially wildlife friendly.

What exactly is a native British tree?

Hazel

We’re not going to get into intense levels of scientific detail here, but it’s basically one that started growing ‘naturally’ in the British Isles from the Ice Age onwards.

Some quintessentially British-sounding trees, such as apple, cedar and chestnut, are actually foreign imports, and not ‘native’ at all (though some may fall into the category of ‘naturalised’).

If you’re looking for a true native, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)’s top five recommendations are:

  • field maple
  • silver birch
  • hazel
  • holly
  • rowan

But before you baulk about that being a limited choice, don’t worry: there are many more native British trees to choose from. And you certainly won’t have to miss out on colour or interest.

Planting native British trees in smaller gardens

Holly

If your space is limited, you want to look at trees that will peak at 5-8 metres when they’re fully mature. The RHS can be your guide here, with a good list of suggestions including some varieties of maple, hawthorn and blackthorn. The latter have really attractive white blossom and purple berries, which can be used to make sloe gin (though check that the variety you choose has edible berries).

Crab apples are another one to look at for smaller gardens (and larger ones too). They can thrive in many different soil types, and have beautiful pollen-rich, white blossom. Though you’ll certainly not want to eat a crab apple raw off the tree (far too sour), they’re brilliant for jellies and chutneys.

Also great for your store cupboard is elder. Admittedly, it’s not an especially attractive tree, but elderflowers make wonderful cordial (and it’s easy to make) and berries can be used for wine-making, among other things. Full height is around 6m, so again it’s feasible for a small garden. However, if this is going to be your only tree, opt for something more attractive…

…like a holly tree. As well as being glossy and green all year round, and great for Christmas decorations, they’re extremely wildlife-friendly. They grow best in the shade, where toads and hedgehogs often hibernate in the deep leaf litter beneath the plant.

Other good native species include yew or box, which can be kept clipped back to a manageable level and used as shrubs rather than full-blown trees.

For a full list of native British trees and shrubs suitable for smaller gardens, take a look at this rather inspiring RHS guide.

Another good thing to read if you have a small garden is this article in Garden Design Journal on the best smaller trees. Not all its ideas are native species, but it will certainly convince you that every garden needs its own tree.

Buying native British trees for larger gardens

Oak - A classical native British tree

For those with more space, we’d still recommend all the native softwood trees we mentioned above. They can hold their own in any garden, and you can also use them for hedging or windbreaks. Planted in combination, they’ll support a whole array of wildlife.

But with more space, you have other choices too, including large hardwood trees. If it’s a ‘proper’ tree you’re after, you could look at an English oak, which could eventually reach around 30-35 metres.

If you live in the North of England or Scotland, your soil may be well suited to a the wych elm. These can reach 40 metres in height and hold the claim of being the only elm truly native to Britain. Caterpillars and birds especially are attracted to them.

For something prettier and slightly smaller (though still reaching up to 20 metres), consider a wild cherry tree, with beautiful purple bark and crimson cherries. The nectar and pollen-rich blossom is perfect for insects, but if you want the blossom to last more than a few hours or days, plant the tree somewhere sheltered from the worst of the winds.

The rowan (or mountain ash) is a good native British tree for medium-sized gardens, as it’s relatively slender and should stall at about 15 metres. Its berries turn a lovely orange-pinky colour in the summer, and are great recipe ingredients (they’re also very popular with thrushes and redwings). Traditionally, rowan trees were thought to ward off witches, so that could be another attraction.

Alder (which is known for loving poor and/or boggy sites) is a fast growing native British tree, but it also fixes nitrogen into the soil around its roots. This process is highly beneficial to nearby trees and plants, most of which are dependent on nitrogen for growth. Likewise, downy birch and silver birch both draw up nutrients from deep within the soil, again to the benefit of neighboring vegetation. Alder and birch trees effectively nourish and support the plants around them.

Again, the RHS guidance on native species are your friend and guide here, with a detailed list of trees and shrubs for larger gardens.

Another excellent source of information and inspiration is the Woodland Trust. Its website has user-friendly guides on how and where to plant native British trees and shrubs, and taking care of them once they’ve grown.

Why you shouldn’t plant some native British trees

There are plenty of benefits from planting native species in your garden, but do be aware of some of the pitfalls too.

It’s definitely worth remembering that, with the larger hardwood trees especially, they’re not a quick fix. Hardwood trees such as oak, beech and elm can take decades to reach maturity, and may need plenty of TLC and protection in the early years.

With larger trees, you’ll want to be very wary of roots, how far they grow, and the distance from your (and your neighbours) property. You should plant them well away from walls and buildings, and also check if any pipes or cables run underneath your garden. Although beneficial to the soil and wildlife, willow and alder are bad culprits for damaging old foundations and pipes, so you probably shouldn’t plant these trees in smaller gardens.

Finally, whilst berries of native British trees such as yew and holly are wonderful for various forms of wildlife to eat, they’re not so good for human consumption. Ideally you shouldn’t plant them if you have children who are still at the stage of eating anything that looks like it may be a sweet.

If we’ve not convinced you to plant one or more native British trees in your garden, the Woodland Trust website has an online shop where you can buy single trees or handy mixes/packs. There’s everything from a special pollinator tree pack to the ‘Scottish mix’.

Seven of the best gardens to visit in spring

Seven of the best gardens to visit in spring

The best gardens to visit in spring

Seven of the best gardens to visit in Spring

Spring is a showpiece season for Britain’s gardens, and anyone looking for inspiration is really spoilt for choice. Formal or informal, classical or directional, it’s easy to get ideas or just a great day out, but what are the best gardens to visit in spring?

The main thing worth highlighting here – and we’re sorry if we’re pointing out the obvious – is that ‘spring’ arrives at different times depending on where you are in the UK. The gardens of the mild Cornish and Devon coast could be in their full spring glory weeks earlier than those in the North and East. So plan your visit accordingly.

Below we give you seven of the best gardens to visit in spring; there are dozens of other contenders across the UK too.

Cambo Estate, Fife

Think of this Scottish estate as the snowdrop mecca of the North. Cambo is famous for its 350 snowdrop varieties (also for sale on its website), and it runs a snowdrop festival starting at the beginning of February. Snowdrop collection tours are included free with the £5.50 ticket price.

There’s also a quaint walled garden and – thanks to its 70 acres of woodland and 2 miles of coastal trails – plenty of dog (or child!) walking territory. As well as this, there is B&B at Cambo House, glamping, a golf course, cafes and, for when the fresh air is getting a bit much, a distillery! If you love snowdrops then this is definitely one of the best gardens to visit in spring.

Cragside, Northumberland

Visit Cragside in the spring and you’ll find out why it won an award for Britain’s best garden for 2016. Contained in its 1000 acres are, among other things, a Victorian formal garden, a vast and rugged rockery, an orchard house (ie a greenhouse used for growing fruit), and a labyrinth cut into a rhododendron wood.

For horticulture aficionados, the inspiring thing about Cragside is it’s proof you don’t have to live in a mild climate to garden on a grand scale or plant an Italian-inspired terrace. For younger visitors, the play parks and statue-filled labyrinth should do nicely.

The house is interesting too – Lord Armstrong who designed the garden was also an inventor, so it’s crammed with gadgets he designed and it was the first house in the world to be powered by hydroelectricity.

Tickets are not cheap – £19 for an adult for the house, gardens and woodland – but entry is free if you’re a National Trust member.

Pashley Manor, Sussex-Kent border

If it’s tulip fever you’re after, look no further than Pashley Manor. In fact, visit during the Tulip Festival which runs from Easter Monday until May and you’ll find 35,000 of them, beautifully arranged into different ‘rooms’ according to colour and species. In case of showers or tulip fatigue, there’s a nice café and gift shop.

In addition to the tulips, spring highlights at Pashley include a very pretty ‘Bluebell walk’ – all very ‘English’. You will have to leave the dogs at home though, and adult tickets cost from £11. The gardens close during winter, opening from the start of April. Definitely up there as one of the best gardens to visit in spring for admirers of bluebells and tulips.

West Dean Gardens, Surrey

Not too far from Pashley is West Dean, near Chichester – with attractions ranging from the 13 Victorian glasshouses to a sunken garden to a 300-ft long Edwardian pergola.

Particularly nice at this time of the year are the spring gardens and pond, with hidden walkways and benches and some good ideas for water features. Check out the restored Victorian summer house too – if you leave wanting your own garden retreat check out our summer house designs (a little smaller in scale and price).

And if you’re more interested in growing food than flowers, the walled kitchen garden is a place of joy. It’s planted on a four-course rotation of potatoes, brassicas, legumes and salads and root crops. If you want inspiration for an allotment, this alone could be worth the £9.50 ticket price. Children under 16 enter for free.

Caerhays Estate, Cornwall

While all the gardens we’ve mentioned are certainly impressive during the springtime, they’re not exclusively spring-focussed (apart from Pashley’s Tulip Festival).

Caerhays, and its 140 acres of castle and gardens, is the exception: it is only open from February until June, by which time the 600-odd species of magnolias it’s known for are in their full majesty. Be warned that these gardens are not particularly manicured or landscaped, but that’s one reason for liking them – you could imagine doing some of this on a smaller scale in your own garden, if you have lots of space and a long timeframe.

Tickets are £9 for adults for the gardens (unguided, but you can arrange guided tours too), or £15 if you want to visit the castle as well. Children go half-price.

Caerhays Estate is not a stereotypical garden, but definitely on of the best gardens to visit in spring.

Killerton, Devon

‘Spectacular’ and ‘stunning’ are over-used words, but if anywhere deserves them, it’s Killerton, both the house and the 6400 acres of gardens. By the start of spring, expect blankets of daffodils, bluebells and cyclamen. on the website telling you the best places to find them.

There’s also an action-packed events calendar, photogenic grazing cattle in many of the fields, a good café and, if you’ve indulged inside said café a little too much, a grand chapel where you can seek absolution!

Adult tickets are £12, though family tickets are available for £18 – there’s plenty to do for kids and dogs, including a forest school for the former.

Brockhampton Estate, Herefordshire

As much as we like them, there’s a chance you’ve had enough of massive country houses with grand old gardens like some of the ones we’ve talked about. If you have, then you’re in luck with Brockhampton.

This medieval manor is both wildflower and wildlife focussed; there are dormice, frogspawn and ducklings in plentiful supply during the spring, and fields full of snowdrops and wild garlic instead of pristine flowerbeds. The six waymarked paths are great for dogs and kids, both of which the Estate welcomes, and access to all of this along with the orchards are included in the £9 adult ticket price.

The best gardening magazines for inspiration

The best gardening magazines for inspiration

The best gardening magazine

The best gardening magazines for inspiration

We’re always hesitant to recommend straying from our own GardenLife blog and going in search of inspiration elsewhere. But we must admit that even our monthly offerings can’t cover the whole of garden design and gardening.

So just in case you want a change of scene or a second opinion, there are a wealth of other garden publications, print or online. You may have seen some of them on newsagent or supermarket shelves, but you’re probably missing out on others.

So here’s our list of the best gardening magazines, with a couple of blogs too, which are worth a browse and perhaps even a subscription.

Illustrated Gardens

The best high-end glossy gardening mag

Gardens Illustrated is not really about getting down to basics – you won’t find many nitty gritty soil guides here. Rather, it’s all about beautiful projects that will make you inspired and/or green with envy! It’s definitely material for a coffee table or very upmarket reception area.

There’s a practical element in each monthly issue, but the real substance is the gorgeous pieces on grand landscapes all over the world. Think Vogue, only for gardening instead of fashion. It’s probably the biggest gardening magazine in the world, and you can find details about online or print subscriptions here. Definitely top of our list for the best gardening magazines for inspiration.

House and Garden

The best gardening magazine for upmarket homes and gardens?

Another one which hits the shelves and digital newsstands monthly and will come in handy if you win the lottery is Conde Nast’s glossy House and Garden.

Each issue features both grand gardens and grand houses that will make your jaw drop. Expect double-page spreads of gorgeous interior and exterior designs and well-written pieces on entertaining.

If you’re after planting guides, budget gardening tips or other practical information, you may be better off elsewhere but this is definitely worth a browse for daydreaming purposes. Its website is also very good, and free!

BBC Gardeners World Magazine

Best gardening magazine for tips from TV gardeners

BBC Gardeners’ World magazine is made by the people behind the BBC TV show of the same name. It has an all-star cast of past and present hosts of the show (Alan Titchmarsh and Monty Don seem to be regulars – in fact, the latter is such a fixture that he just goes by his first name. If you have a spare £1750 plus, you could ‘Meet Monty in Provence’; but a Mississippi Cruise with Alan Titchmarsh will set you back a hefty £4995!)

Apart from being starstruck by Monty, Gardeners’ World has a more practical grounding than the likes of Gardens Illustrated. It’ll tell you anything from how to choose tools to how to build a pergola, and there are useful monthly checklists of tasks in your garden and greenhouse.

A subscription gets you access to the “secret garden”. Disappointingly, it’s not an actual place, just an online one, but it does grant access to exclusive articles and videos and so on. There’s an offer on right now which gets you the first 5 issues for £5. Definitely one of the best gardening magazines for down to earth advice.

Two great gardening magazines for practical advice

Garden Answers has a much more practical focus than the coffee-table glossies. There are pages upon pages of planting guides, allotment advice, pest control and mini-projects.

The approach is inclusive and goes out of its way to avoid being intimidating. The ‘Easy Gardening’ section has ‘Weed It or Feed It?’ guides for those who struggle to tell a pest from a perennial. And the reader-submitted garden stories are also a nice touch.

It’s decent value too, at £34 for a year’s sub. One to consider when reviewing the best gardening magazines out there.

Another good practical guide, whether you’re a complete novice or just want some new ideas, is Amateur Gardening. It’s weekly, so the advice will come thick and fast. It’s not exactly cutting-edge magazine design or glossy magazine production, but the articles are easy to follow.

And if you can’t face going outside in the garden till spring, there is advice on indoor gardening and windowsill gardening.

Grow your own

A gardening magazine for those who want to grow fruit or veg

Grow Your Own is another great publication for those like to get a bit of soil under their fingernails.

It really does do what it says on the tin – every month it offers extensive guides to fruit, veg and herb growing for plots of all shapes and sizes. There’s at least 15 of these in every issue, along with the usual DIY mini-project guides. Look out for this in supermarkets and newsagents, or there’s a digital version on the website.

A little extra: two great gardening blogs

Sometimes other people’s glossy photos and project ideas get a bit intimidating, and you just want to identify with the trials and errors of a ‘gardener like you’. There are some really great blogs out there, ranging from inspirational to tragi-comic. Here are a couple we’ve come across recently.

A blog about urban gardening
Many of our readers, like London resident Caro Shrives, don’t have much plot space to work with when it comes gardening. Her blog is about getting everything from avocados to exuberant flowers and shrubs out of her limited space, and her ideas are well within even the complete beginner’s grasp. She includes few good recipes for her produce too.

Good blog about container gardening
Another good blog for those with limited space is Vertical Veg, which focuses on container gardening. Stand-out posts include a short video on how to keep supermarket herbs alive longer – probably the most sought-after piece of gardening knowledge of our age.

The best gardens to visit this winter?

The best gardens to visit this winter?

Stowe - One of the best gardens to visit this winter?

The best gardens to visit this winter?

OK, it’s cold outside, but don’t let this put you off a trip to some of the best gardens to visit this winter. While the trees may be bare, there are beautiful gardens up and down the country that stay open throughout winter. In fact, there are so many gardens offering dedicated winter events and plantings that it would be wrong to miss out. So, here’s a selection of some of the best gardens to visit this winter in the UK.

Visiting Aberglasney, Carmarthenshire, Wales this winter

Aberglasney - One of the best gardens to visit this winter?

This is one of the select few gardens to have had its own programme on the small screen. This Elizabethan estate was restored to its former glory on the BBC’s A Garden Lost in Time. The fame hasn’t gone to its head though. Children under 16 can enter the gardens, with their winter-proof evergreens and impressive yew tunnel, completely free.

When the cold gets too much, there’s an indoor tropical garden in the Grade-II listed mansion. You can also stay warm in the tearoom, where you can get a free voucher for the value of your admission ticket up until late February.

If you’re not quite sure when’s the best time to visit, the website has a useful calendar which tells you which plants you’ll see in the gardens during each month. It’s worth noting the gardens aren’t massive – don’t expect to play Frisbee or get an all-day hike, but it is definitely one to consider when it comes to the best gardens to visit this winter.

A winter’s day at Anglesey Abbey, near Cambridge

Anglesey Abbey - One of the best gardens to visit this winter?

Check out Anglesey Abbey, and its Winter Walk, on TripAdvisor, and you’ll be hard pressed to find anything short of a raving review.  And given that over 400,000 people visit each year, that’s quite an achievement.

Unlike many winter gardens, this one is known for its colour and scent. There are gorgeously-coloured maple trees and acers lining the paths, long copper grass, scarlet willow, mahonia and winter honeysuckle.

You may not be able to plant on this scale, but it will certainly show you that winter gardening can be more exciting than the same old evergreens and bulbs. (But rest assured, if it’s traditional snowdrops you’re after, they have 240 varieties!)

The website will tell you all the practicalities about ticket prices, opening hours and the fact it’s wheelchair and buggy friendly.

It’s also worth checking out the review on the Guardian site which has some great photographs. Anglesey Abbey has to be considered as one of the best gardens to visit this winter.

Pay a winter visit to Stowe, Buckinghamshire

The best gardens to visit this winter

If there’s any garden on this list you’ve heard of, or seen in a coffee table book, it’s probably Stowe. It’s been described as “gardening on the grandest scale” and its classical statues, arches and fountains have been the subject of numerous poems and prose.

Because these gardens are all about landscaping and architecture, rather than plants, they’re very much an all-year-round attraction. Their various events, such as “toddler Tuesdays” and “wild Wednesdays”, also run around the calendar.

A family ticket is £30, but you can probably get a whole day out of it, given the acreage and the sheer number of garden structures.

Dunham Massey, Cheshire, for winter flowering plants

Dunham Massey - one of the best gardens to visit this winter

The main house shuts over the winter, but the gardens at Dunham Massey remain open year-round. It’s currently the setting for a National Trust ad campaign about family days out.

Just a stone’s throw from Manchester, Dunham Massey has a park full of fallow deer (alongside owls and woodpeckers) and a gorgeous grove full of ancient trees. Expect to find plenty of irises and cyclamen in the seven acres of winter flower plantings; or stretch your legs in the surrounding 300 acres of parkland, which are certainly dog-friendly.

Unless you’re a National Trust member, expect to pay about £9 for an adult and £4 for a child in terms of tickets, though there are family options. A café and gift shop are on-site; and if you need something stronger, there’s a craft brewery right across the road. A great garden to visit in winter, and ideal for getting some garden design inspiration.

The best gardens to visit this winter in Scotland?

Edinburgh Botanical Garden - One of the best gardens to visit this winter?

Two things are essential for winter garden visits: places to warm up and a good café. Edinburgh’s famous ‘Botanics’ offers both. And it does so in abundance, with 10 glasshouses (covering 2 acres) and a choice of different cafes.

The glasshouses replicate a range of different zones, from tropical and temperate palmhouses to arid desert zones. Not all of them are heated, though, so choose a zone like the hot and humid rainforest zone if you want to be sure of a warm spot.

For the hardier, the outside gardens offer something for everyone: a Chinese hillside garden, rock gardens, a pond with ducks and swans, lots of Scottish native plants, rhododendrons, a Queen Mother’s memorial garden for the royalists. And, though winter doesn’t show it at its best, there’s the famous beech hedge, 8 metres high and 165 metres long, which takes 2 gardeners 2 weeks to cut.

You have to pay to go in the glasshouses, but entry to the rest of the gardens is free, so this could be a really good-value day out in Edinburgh. It’s open every day of the year except Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. With its warmth, variety and cafes Edinburgh Botanical Garden is right up the list of the best gardens to visit this winter.

South West London – Barnes – the London Wetland Centre

London Wetland Centre - One of the best gardens to visit this winter?

And now for something completely different – a wildlife-friendly garden. And in London, of all places.  As with all of these gardens, some aspects of this may be hard to replicate at home – the daily ‘Meet the Otters’ sessions, for example. But you should get a few good ideas for using ponds, rain gardens, living roofs and wild flowers to attract dragonflies, butterflies, birds and other wildlife to your garden.

As well as otters, the London Wetland Centre is a home for various winter ducks, such as wigeon, teal, shovelers and pintails. If you’re lucky, you may also spot a bittern – nowadays pretty rare in the UK.

It’s not cheap, at about £15 for an adult ticket – blame London prices! But there are plenty of exhibitions, events, walks and talks, as well as hides for viewing wildlife. And, of course, the ‘Meet the Otter’ sessions.

However, the water and wetland-themed exhibitions and structures are features you’d struggle to find in other winter gardens – they even run dedicated wildlife sightings, and sounding “Meet the Otters” sessions. If you’re in the southeast then the London Wetland Centre is one of the best gardens to visit this winter.

If you’re planning a trip to the UK for next year, check out our earlier guides to the best gardens to visit in the summer months as well as the best gardens to visit in autumn.

The best gardening books for beginners (UK)

The best gardening books for beginners (UK)

The best gardening books for beginners uk

Best gardening books for beginners (UK)

Even if you’ve never picked up a spade in your life, there’s a gardening book out there for you. But the question is, which is the best gardening books for beginners? The right gardening book could inspire you with a new garden design, an idea for a water feature or garden building, or simply tell you which way up to plant a bulb.

We’ve put together a list of useful (and sometimes just funny) books about gardening which can help you if you’re just starting out or want to try something new. So without further ado, what are the best gardening books for beginners in the UK?

The best all-in-one gardening book

The best gardening books for beginners uk

Monty Don is a household name in the gardening world, more or less a permanent fixture on TV schedules. His The Complete Gardener: A Practical Guide is packed with great photography and advice about – mainly – organic gardening, including fruit and veg.

First published in 2009, the fact it keeps on being reissued is a tribute to its practical and user-friendly approach, and the main reason why we’ve included it in our list of the best gardening books for beginners. There’s a dense 440 pages of advice and most shops offer a discount off its full cover price of £22.

The best gardening books for design inspiration

Gardeners’ World 101 Ideas for Small Gardens

Has city living handed you a small garden? There’s still loads you can do with your space, even if it really is tiny, as the very handy Gardeners’ World: 101 Ideas for Small Gardens proves. It comes complete with pictures and instructions to help make your plot feel bigger and look fancier, and you should be able to pick it up for not much more than a fiver.

RHS Encyclopedia of Design

For a more comprehensive tome on garden design, have a look at the RHS Encyclopedia of Design. It covers everything from modernist Japanese gardens to installing proper water run-off. However, these 400-odd pages aren’t cheap, at £30, and are definitely for the more committed gardener.

The best month by month gardening books

RHS Gardening through the Year

We approve of gardening books that tell you what to do each month – they’re great for beginners and have useful reminders for experienced gardeners too.

Here again, the RHS has a solution – in the form of RHS Gardening through the Year. There’s a lengthy chapter for every month in this thorough encyclopaedia – you’ll find yourself occupied year-round as it tells you what, when and how to plant about 350 species (with photographs and diagrams galore).

It’s an updated edition of what has long been a bestseller and has a particular focus on first-time gardeners; an essential for any list of the best gardening books for beginners. You’ll be set back about £20, which isn’t bad value for its 350 pages.

Allotment Month by Month How to Grow Your Own Fruit and Veg

Another good month-by-month guide is Allotment Month by Month: How to Grow Your Own Fruit and Veg. You’ll find information on just about every fruit and veg under the sun, so it’s excellent for helping you eat your 5-a-day.

Gardening under cover

The Greenhouse Gardener’s Manual

Another pretty comprehensive read is The Greenhouse Gardener’s Manual, covering everything from basic fruit and veg to pest control and the basics of hydroculture. There are over 300 pages of tips on taking care of what you grow in your greenhouse, and your greenhouse itself. Heating, glazing and venting are also covered and there are plenty of photos.

RHS Practical House Plant Book

If a greenhouse is not your thing and your gardening activity is confined to your sitting room or kitchen, take a look at the RHS Practical House Plant Book. This has all the information you need on nearly 200 house plants, and there are eye-catching design ideas like a ‘string garden’ or shrub vivariums.

The best gardening books for dummies

100 Plants That Won't Die In Your Garden

If everything that you have ever planted in your garden has died then this is the book for you: 100 Plants That Won’t Die In Your Garden.

The best garden pond books

Ponds

Ponds can be a tricky business – a lot of preparation is needed and unlike some aspects of gardening, a trial and error approach is not advised.

Thankfully, the straightforwardly-titled Ponds should sort you out – although it’s short, it’ll guide you through the process of building whichever you style you choose from start to finish.

We also like Ponds: Creating and Maintaining a Wildlife Pond. It’s nicely produced, and its succinct 100 pages have good, practical advice on creating a micro-ecosystem in your garden. Definitely one of the best gardening books for beginners when it comes to ponds.

The best log cabin inspiration

Cabin Porn

As we’re in the business of making log cabins and summer houses for gardens we had to mention a certain book. Yes, the title Cabin Porn might raise an eyebrow or too, but the compilation of innovative and beautiful log cabins this book showcases is enchanting. Stemming from an online campaign where users submitted their own back garden designs, the result is scores of inspiring designs ranging from quaint DIY projects to full-blown grand residences.

The best garden shed books

The Joy of Sheds

Don’t expect learned technical advice on buying, maintaining and improving your very own shed from The Joy of Sheds; but if you want a funny and idiosyncratic read about just what is so great about sheds, look no further. It’ll even tell you how to ‘pimp your shed’ (their words not ours!)

Another good stocking filler for garden shed lovers is 101 Things to Do in a Shed. It’s quirky, endearing and does what it says on the tin.

The best classic gardening books

Photogenic TV gardeners like Monty Don tend to dominate the displays of gardening books in bookstores and lists of the best gardening books for beginners, but don’t forget the classics – the writers who more or less invented the genre.

Two names always seem to come up here: Christopher Lloyd and Beth Chatto, both now dead (the latter only this year).

Christopher Lloyd was described in his Guardian obituary as ‘the best informed, liveliest and most innovative gardening writer of our times’ (the same obituary also pointed that his 80th birthday party lasted 24 hours, so he certainly does sound lively). His best-known book is The Well Tempered Garden – a classic in the best sense, full of readable, practical advice. It’s a few decades old now, but don’t let that put you off.

The Well Tempered Garden

Beth Chatto is less of an easy read, but she was famous for her books on specific types of climate or garden. This all started when she set up a nursery and garden in a dry, windswept site in Essex – from this came her book The Dry Garden. Others followed: on damp gardens, gravel gardens, shade gardens, woodland gardens, and drought-resistant planting.

These, of course, are more relevant than ever, given the possible effects of climate change on the UK’s gardens. All are packed with detailed plans and advice and are highly recommended if you have – or want – one of these gardens.

Finally, if you want more ideas on the best gardening books for beginners, we recommend reading through the Gardenista blog. Prices are in dollars, but most of the books are British. So not only will they just right for a UK garden, they’ll also probably be more easily available and cheaper than the blog suggests.

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