All eyes to the skies – and the weeds
March can seem like a false start, but you can crack on indoors, and watch the weather for signs to sow outsideWhatever TS Eliot says, March may be the cruellest month. The days are longer, the vernal equinox...
Three neglected herbs to enrich your kitchen garden
Plant lovage, hyssop and summer savory for both your patch and your table’s sakeAs a botanist obsessed with food, I have always found one particular statistic perplexing. Of the estimated 300,000 plant species on Earth, about one in...
Cabin of curiosities brings Camden garden extension to life
An interior designer’s clever use of space and light gives a London flat a remarkable new spaceThe long, light-filled hallway of Katie McCrum’s north London flat leads to a sign marked “The Cabin”. Expecting to find a garden...
Five ways to make your home less toxic
We are surrounded by chemicals – in food and drink, cleaning products, household items and furnishings. Here’s how to reduce household pollutionVentilateCleaning products, cooking, candles and building materials all contribute to pollution inside our homes. The British Lung...
Creating The Perfect Guest Room In Your Home
There are many people who have a spare room in their home that is filled with junk and not really used for anything constructive. If this sounds like you, it is well worth considering clearing out the junk and...
How to buy and set up a tall cold frame
It’s a big investment, but you’ll reap the rewards if you sow and grow under glass, says our gardening expertEvery gardener dreams of one day owning a greenhouse. It is an inevitable path that starts with a bit...
Gardening tips: Camelia ‘Yuletide’ will spice up winter gardens
Plus, visit The Enchanted Garden at the William Morris Gallery and keep pelargoniums going through the coldPlant thisCamellias that flower over Christmas offer a splash of glamour and colour as gardens sink into winter. My favourite is ‘Yuletide’,...
Gardening tips: plant a Japanese pink pussy willow
Then brush up on your botanical Latin and use leftover bubble wrap to insulate pot plantsPlant this If you’re looking for a plant that channels the Pantone colour of the year, Living Coral, look no further than Japanese pink...
This way to the house of easement
Other words for toilets | Arms to Saudi Arabia | Wasabi KitKat | Clergy as tulipsLinda Fishwick objects to the use of “bathroom” to designate the room where one goes to relieve oneself (Letters, 25 February). Unfortunately, two...
Gone to print: space and colour in a textile designer’s cottage
Her home studio may have changed little in 40 years, but Pauline Caulfield is revisiting and reinventing her workTucked down the side of a London terrace is an enclave of 12 red-brick studio houses built in the late...
How to get the best harvest from seed potatoes
Our gardening expert on the case for chitting spuds before planting themIt is most likely too late to debate whether to chit or not. Across the land, egg boxes are full of sprouting potatoes willing on the first...
Plants to raise the winter spirits
When it’s cold and gloomy outside, let’s hear it for plants that flower in the depth of winterIt seems so vulnerable to bloom in these darkest of days, with the thinnest of sun rays to warm your nectar,...
