Help & Advice

Here is a brief outline of the basic soil types – chalk, clay, loam, peaty, sandy and silty. To find out your soil type, take a look at it and feel it. Add some water and try rolling it between your hands. Observe how your soil looks and feels, and whether it’s sticky, gritty, friable, or slimy. This will tell you what type of soil you have.

Preparing to plant When planting, make sure that the top of the compost in the pot is level with the surrounding soil surface. Take a little time to plant carefully so that your plants settle snugly into their new home.

Shrubs create fantastic structure in the garden, so it’s a good idea to keep them in top condition. Regular pruning can improve a plant’s shape and encourage flowers and fruits.​ When pruning, always remove any dead, dying or diseased material before you start shaping. Cut close to buds, but not into them, and always prune just above an outward-facing leaf node. And, depending on the species, avoid cutting into old wood.

Hardiness Determining if a plant will be hardy enough for your garden (or wherever you intend planting it) is far from an exact science. It’s relatively easy for an average garden, as plant hardiness has been reasonably well established. But for the likes of town and city gardens, or rural frost pockets, the trouble is knowing not just your geographical climate, but also the microclimate of the planting area.

During the dormant winter period, less hardy plants may succumb to frost, or to cold and excessively wet soil. Leaves may become frost-bitten and roots can rot. So it’s important to protect your plants before first frosts strike to ensure the continued health of your plants.