Gardening Guides
Practical plant advice to help you grow a thriving garden. From shade-tolerant picks to understanding your soil, these guides answer the questions gardeners actually ask.
The Pollinator Drift Bed: Flowers Every Month
A 1.5 × 3 m pollinator bed layout planted in drifts, with bee-friendly plants flowering from month to month. Plan, plant list and care.
The Zigzag drought-tolerant border in three climates
A drought-tolerant border plan with plant swaps for the UK, dry Mediterranean Europe, and the cool, wet north of Europe, matched by height.
Zigzag Drought Border: Care Through the Year
What to do in a drought-tolerant border each month: first-year watering, spring cut-back, summer deadheading and autumn tidy.
The Zigzag Drought Border
A drought-tolerant border design for full sun, with a planting plan, plant list, sizes and flowering months. Low watering once established.
The Shade Formula: Three Plants, Four Seasons
A simple shady border planting plan: three plants repeated, with quantities and how the bed looks through the seasons.
The Full-Sun Formula: Three Plants, Repeated
A simple full-sun planting scheme with three plants repeated, a UK plan and an Australian native version.
5 Plants for Dry Shade Under a Deciduous Tree
Five tough plants for dry shade under trees, chosen to cope with root competition, with planting tips for the first year.
Sunny Balcony Planting for Wind-Exposed High-Rise Spaces
Plants for a windy balcony in full sun: windbreak plants, sheltered lee-side plants and what survives the rail gap.
Planting a Mediterranean Gravel Garden Border
Gravel garden plants for full sun: an evergreen structure of five shapes plus a seasonal layer, with planting tips for gravel.
Planting a Full-Sun Dry Bed Border
Plants for a hot, dry border in full sun: evergreen structure, a pollinator layer and planting tips for dry beds.
Planting a Heavy Clay Border That Sits Wet
Plants for heavy, wet clay soil: how to recognise it, five evergreen shapes, a seasonal layer and planting tips for clay.
Shade-Tolerant Outdoor Plants for Patios and Gardens
Shade-loving plants for pots, shady beds and focal points, sorted by how much shade you have.
Best Indoor Plants for Low Light Rooms
Indoor plants for genuinely low light, ferns for dark bathrooms, and care tips so they last.
How to Match Plants to Your Soil and Moisture Conditions
Clay, sandy, chalky or loam? Simple home tests to tell your soil type and plants that suit each.
Full Sun vs Partial Shade: Choosing the Right Plants
What full sun, part shade and full shade mean in hours of sun, how to check your garden, and plants for each.
Climate and Hardiness Zones: Choosing Plants That Survive Your Winters
What RHS hardiness ratings H1 to H7 and USDA zones mean, and how to use them to pick plants that survive your winters.
How Garden Pal's Plant Finder Works
Find plants for your soil, light and location. How Garden Pal's plant finder matches plants to your garden.