Nature & Garden - Gardening, flowers & vegetable patch

Leaf day · rising moon, waning gibbous

Collect dry fallen leaves today and tuck them around tender perennial crowns to shield roots from early frosts.

September Moon Planting calendar →

Perilla frutescens

Perilla frutescens: varieties, planting and garden uses

Golden sesame-topped filo pie cut into wedges on a wooden board, revealing dark green chard and white feta filling, rainbow chard stems scattered alongside

Swiss Chard and Feta Filo Pie with Dill and Sesame

Why autumn scarification is becoming a spring-lawn game-changer

Why autumn scarification is becoming a spring-lawn game-changer

Store Apple Varieties Wrong and They'll Rot Within Weeks

Store Apple Varieties Wrong and They’ll Rot Within Weeks

Levisticum officinale

Lovage: expert tips and planting advice

Why aphids are swarming your garden right now—and what it signals

Why aphids are swarming your garden right now—and what it signals

Why Your Newly Planted Bulbs Are Rotting Before Winter

Why Your Newly Planted Bulbs Are Rotting Before Winter

Tulipa clusiana

Tulipa clusiana: varieties, planting and garden uses

Stop planting spring bulbs in waterlogged soil—here's why timing matters now

Stop planting spring bulbs in waterlogged soil—here’s why timing matters now

Oxalis triangularis

Oxalis triangularis: your complete care and growing guide

Tabby cat sitting on a wooden floor looking up at a large potted weeping fig

Ficus benjamina and pets: what the sap does, and what it does not

Brown scale insects clustered along a weeping fig stem and leaf vein with sticky residue

Ficus benjamina pests: scale, spider mite and mealybug told apart

Secateurs cutting a weeping fig stem with a drop of white sap, prepared cuttings and a glass of water on a bench

Ficus benjamina propagation: cuttings, water or compost, and air layering

Weeping fig in a terracotta pot by a window with fallen leaves scattered on the wooden floor

Ficus benjamina leaf drop: the seven causes and how to tell them apart

Fungus gnats invading your houseplants? Here's the one fix that works

Fungus gnats invading your houseplants? Here’s the one fix that works

Why Your Newly Planted Bulbs Are Rotting Before Winter

Why Your Newly Planted Bulbs Are Rotting Before Winter

Stop planting spring bulbs in waterlogged soil—here's why timing matters now

Stop planting spring bulbs in waterlogged soil—here’s why timing matters now

Stop cutting back autumn perennials—messy plants mean better spring blooms

Stop cutting back autumn perennials—messy plants mean better spring blooms

Spring bulbs in containers vs ground: which establishes better roots?

Spring bulbs in containers vs ground: which establishes better roots?

I planted spring bulbs in wet autumn soil — here's what survived

I planted spring bulbs in wet autumn soil — here’s what survived

Medicinal plants

Close-up of fresh lemon verbena leaves being harvested by hand in a summer garden

Lemon verbena: harvesting, drying and using it for calming infusions

Fresh elderflower clusters in full bloom on a Sambucus nigra shrub in summer garden

Elderflower and elderberry: traditional uses, growing and home preparations

Close-up of overgrown flowering thyme with woody stems in a summer herb garden

Pinching back medicinal herbs: the cut that keeps leaves aromatic all summer

Fresh aloe vera leaf broken open revealing thick clear gel on sunburned skin

Aloe Vera on the Windowsill: How to Cut, Drain and Use the Fresh Gel on Sun-Stressed Skin

Freshly harvested lavender and chamomile bundles laid on a rustic wooden surface in summer sunlight

Chamomile, lavender, elderberry and aloe: when to pick them and how to use them

Your reactions: