Latest news with #gardeningexpert
The Sun
2 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Bindweed taking over your garden? The little-known use for the pesky weed that can help your other flowers thrive
BINDWEED can take over your entire garden, but one plant expert revealed a sneaky trick to turn your fortunes around. The pesky plant has a little-known use which can help your other plants thrive. 3 3 Simon Akeroyd is a gardening expert who was previously Head Gardener for the National Trust and the Royal Horticulture Society. The star took to Facebook to share how you can turn having bindweed into an advantage. Although bindweed can produce some beautiful flowers, it can take over your entire garden and will start 'outcompeting' your other plants. According to Simon, you have to remove every single root - otherwise the pesky weed will come back. If you add it to your compost or to a landfill, bindweed just takes root again and spreads back into your garden. Instead, the gardening expert has a secret trick to make bindweed into a 'super-charged' plant tea. First, you have to drown it in a bucket of water and leave it for several weeks. Wait until it turns to mush and the water turns brown. Simon says it is the perfect colour if it looks like 'swamp water'. Bottle the brown liquid and pour some into your watering can. This is a superfood for your plants and can help the flowers you actually want grow even faster. In the caption to his post, Simon wrote: 'I'm truly sorry if you have bindweed in your garden as it is a real menace, swamping and smothering any plants in its wake! 'However, at [sic] an attempt of turning a negative into a positive…bindweed makes the most amazing, super-charged liquid plant feed. 'Give your plants some of this, and your plants will romp away! 'It's a great way of getting rid of bindweed roots because you can't add them to your compost as they will regrow and spread quickly.' The news comes after gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh revealed his trick for transforming your garden. He says that you should buy one or two 'hardy' plants every month, to steadily build up your collection of plants. He said: 'The best way of bringing interest all year round, is to go to your local nursery or your local garden centre, once a month, every month of the year, and buy one or two hardy plants for the garden that are in flower when you go. He added: 'Instead of visiting once in May or June, when everybody goes and buys up everything and plants it and it looks lovely - if you go every month of the year and buy something in flower, you end up with a garden which has always got something interesting in it. 'It's such an obvious thing to say, but it's a lovely easy way of making sure that you always have colour in your garden." 3
CBC
6 days ago
- General
- CBC
How to keep your garden happy and healthy in a heat wave
Garden expert Luay Ghafari shares tips to help your plants thrive through scorching summer temps.
CTV News
08-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
Get Growing: Layers in landscaping
Kitchener Watch Tanya Olsen from Royal City Nursery shows us how to take your garden to new heights.
The Sun
05-07-2025
- Climate
- The Sun
I'm a gardening pro – five tips to ensure you have the best lawn on the street, including the exact time to mow
WITH Brits set to enjoy glorious sunshine towards the end of next week, many of us will be tempted to spruce up our gardens. But before you dash to start mowing, a gardening expert has listed five tips that will ensure you have the best lawn in the neighbourhood. 2 2 And according to the pro, only known as TikToker Ifzaal, there's also a specific time that will give you the best results. While many green-fingered Brits may think that it doesn't matter when you give your grass a trim, Ifzaal urged to never mow your lawn early in the morning. Dropping the knowledge bombs on his TikTok page, the whizz advised to leave the mowing to later in the day. He said: ''Never cut your grass between 6am and 8am in the morning because the grass might still have dew on it. ''This could lead to uneven cutting and cause your lawn mower to clog up. ''Instead, you should always mow your lawn when the grass is dry,'' Ifzaal recommended in the video. Another pro tip was inspecting what your blades of grass look like after they've been cut - as it could easily tell you the lawn mower needs some repairs. If the blades of grass appear ''jagged'', it's time to sharped the blades on the mower - or replace them altogether. In the informative clip, the guru also talked about something called the ''1/3 rule''. ''Never remove more than 1/3 of the grass during any cutting. This will reduce the amount of stress that you put on the grass.'' Watch the moment home owner walks over their new-build's lawn and shows how landscaping turned it into a water bed According to the gardening expert, green-fingered Brits should also mow their lawns in the different directions. Ifzaal explained that not only will this method ''prevent ruts'' but going criss-cross with the mower will also ''encourage upright grow'' of the grass. He elaborated in the comments: ''Mowing in different directions each time helps the grass grow straighter and healthier, prevents ruts, and gives your lawn a more even, professional look. ''I usually go over the lawn with the rollers on the back of the mower at the end to create the stripes.'' Once you've finishing mowing, you will be left with a pile of clippings - but what do with them? Rather than chucking the pile out, Ifzaal claimed that the fresh cutting can be used as ''free mulch that feeds your lawn'' - saving you money.
The Sun
20-06-2025
- General
- The Sun
Gardeners told to use 22p kitchen staples for ‘vampire trick' which can banish slugs from your garden for good
A GARDENING expert has revealed a 22p hack to banish slugs from gardens using a very common kitchen staple. Now that summer is finally here, many Brits will be looking for ways to spruce up their outdoor spaces - including getting rid of any nasty critters. 1 Slugs and snails are notorious for wreaking havoc on gardens, in particular during rainy patches when they come out in their swathes to feast on crops and plants. Over the years, experts have come out with a whole host of - often ineffective - methods to combat these garden pests. From splashing beer and sprinkling eggshells on crops to surrounding veg patches with copper tape. But one savvy expert believes they have found a cheap, store cupboard hack that could rid gardens of these pests once and for all. Gardeners have been urged to introduce garlic to their gardens as a means of deterring the slugs. And at just 22p a bulb, this could be the cheapest hack yet. Garlic wash involves boiling two whole bulbs of garlic in two litres of water until they soften, then pulping them to make a juice. After removing the garlic skins, the concentrated liquid should be diluted with water and put into a spray can which can be used over plants. The liquid should then be sprayed on plants across the summer right into October. A gardening expert wrote: "We use garlic wash as a slug deterrent on the nursery. 6 ways to get rid of slugs and snails "Please find below the recipe that we use and find very effective. The quantities aren't exact and you can always alter them as you wish." If the smell of garlic is too pungent Homes & Garden writer, Thomas Rutter, suggests using cucumber instead. Stopping slugs and snails using the cucumber hack is surprisingly simple. While it may not eradicate these pests, it can help gardeners control their numbers. Rutter said: "First, raid your fridge drawer and retrieve a cucumber, before slicing it thinly. "Don't worry about the quality of the cucumber here, in fact, it is best to use those that are past their best." Rutter then advises to place the slices near your more vulnerable plants in the evening. Slugs and snails will be lured to the scent and moisture of the cucumber. Then, after a few hours or the following morning, you can collect the pests and dispose of them. It's not too dissimilar from companion planting or trap plants for pest control. But what's better is that it's a chemical-free approach, safe for pets and requires almost no effort.
