Gardening Blog

This month our Secret Gardener has heard from a volunteer who's been making her village in the Scottish Highlands a haven for butterflies and creating lots of Pitstops for Pollinators.

Don’t just plant to look pretty, plant with purpose! We want as many people as possible to turn their green space into a habitat that will help butterflies thrive. But we’re also aware that a lot of first-time gardeners don’t always know where to start. We can help.

The Secret Gardener explains how, during worrying times, we can find hope in nature and that we all have the power to help make a positive difference to our wildlife.

Ensuring garden birds have everything they need to raise their chicks in your garden means providing habitat for moths.

Whether you have a single decaying log or a stately stack of sticks, having fallen wood in your garden is a vital resource for insects.

While you eagerly await your first glimpse of a butterfly in 2022, why not enjoy other wildlife and take part in the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch.

With hundreds of caterpillars and pupae tucked away in our gardens over the harsh winter months, sometimes the best thing we can do for nature is nothing! Here the Secret Gardener explains why leaving leaves and not cutting back hedges is the best thing to do for butterflies and moths in the winter.

November is still a good time to plant bulbs that will flower in spring and summer of the following year, and if you're planning to establish a mini-meadow in your garden, now is the time to get started.

When gardening in autumn and winter, I am always mindful that there are likely to be dozens of butterfly and moth species around me that I simply can't see because they are spending the winter extremely well-camouflaged or hidden in fallen leaves.

As we head into Autumn later this month, CJ Wildlife share some expert advice on how you can care for creatures visiting your garden.

Garden wildlife specialists and sponsors of the Big Butterfly Count, Vivara.co.uk, share expert tips on attracting wildlife to your garden.

In the last instalment of our Nurture for Nature blog, Dobbies Garden Centres' Marcus Eyles shares his top tips for getting gardens looking their best over summer.

Dobbies' Horticultural Director, Marcus Eyles, shares some top tips for ways in which you can use your garden to boost your mental and physical health as part of Nurture for Nature campaign.

Dobbies Garden Centres, official partners of our Nurture for Nature campaign share their top tips on how to keep your soil healthy.

This month the Secret Gardener explains why we shouldn't be wishing for the warmer weather too soon and shares some ideas on what to do in the garden this month.

The Secret Gardener reminds us that we need to give nature the space it needs this winter, and when we do, the results can be magnificent. 

This Autumn, CJ Wildlife, remind us that all of our gardens, no matter what size, can become bustling nature reserves for our local wildlife.

As the days begin to shorten in late summer, we know we are on the cusp of autumn and need to consider how we can help insects like butterflies and moths get through the coming winter.

Summers never seem long enough here in the UK, and later in June there’ll be the summer solstice, after which the days will begin getting shorter again. So all we can do is make the best of these long days and short nights by being outdoors as much as possible to soak it all up. 

In May our gardens are getting into the swing of summer. Here is what you can do to make your garden better for wildlife. 

This April, with life not as we know it, our gardening tips get creative. 

By the time February comes around, it can seem like such a long time since anything new grew in the garden.

Cultivate your passion for gardening this January with our latest blog from the Secret Gardener.

Late season nectar for hibernating species and migrating moths

See the Secret Garden makeover. From paving to pollinator pots and bare earth to butterfly blooms.

Discover how to make your garden more moth-friendly by providing night-time nectar.

Get your peat-free garden started by growing your own plants from seed.

Snowdrops are one of the earliest spring bulbs to bloom, providing a useful source of nectar for bees and butterflies such as the Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and Brimstone.

It is resolution time again so why not choose to help butterflies and moths in your garden this year? Here are five suggestions for activities to engage your brain and body.