A wealth of late-blooming plants are bright stars of the autumn garden
What the daisy family, Asteraceae, have in common is daisy-shaped flowers and ability to feed bees, butterflies, hoverflies and many other pollinating insects
Gardening
Articles on gardening
How do I get rid of ant nests in my polytunnel?
There are simple things you can do to discourage them without resorting to harmful and often ineffective insecticides
‘Good looks aren’t enough for potatoes. They’ve got to taste delicious.’
Raymond Higgins grows champion-level potatoes from his allotments near Blarney in Cork
I want to go with peat-free gardening: how can I do it?
Fionnuala Fallon: Use of peat is gradually being phased out due to EU targets to mitigate climate change, support biodiversity, and protect wetlands
Forever flowers: the handful of biennials on my must-grow list
Canterbury bells, Sweet William, foxgloves and wallflowers are among my favourite flowers
Is my compost doomed after all this rain?
After returning from a week away, the freshly composted areas were thriving with tiny nettle plants
How do I get rid of coltsfoot without using weedkiller?
I am avoiding chemical weedkillers for environmental reasons
Order spring-flowering bulbs now to get your pick of the bunch
If you have a polytunnel or glasshouse, August is also the month to sow seeds of a variety of delicious crops to keep it well stocked over winter
The simple home-maintenance jobs that are ideal to do at this time of the year
While Irish summer weather may not be ideal for the beach or a barbeque, it can be just right for taking care of jobs around the house
Irish wildflowers: Growing your own mini-meadow isn’t always easy but the results are magical
A home for native wildflowers isn’t always easy to cultivate, but careful planning makes for fun and magical results
My garden is being wrecked by a fox: what to do?
Fionnuala Fallon Q&A: Much to my dismay the soil was dug up in my raised bed in various spots and the blocking material was torn. Every night, the same thing
I think I might have vine weevils: Should I be worried?
This is a common pest in many Irish gardens but can be managed
How to cope with a slope: Challenges of the Irish garden
Helping plants thrive in uneven conditions can be tricky but there are solutions
The 20 houseplants that are hardest to kill
There’s a range of plants ideal to keep in the home that can withstand ranging temperatures, poor light and even serious neglect
How to edit your garden: the one big skill all great gardeners share
Creating a beautiful garden means constantly reappraising and reassessing with a view to the future
What quick-cropping fruit and vegetables can I plant in the coming weeks?
Have the wet spring and summer disrupted your gardening plans? You’re in good company
Edible flowers: how to grow them and how to use them to bring flavour, colour, fragrance, and texture to food
Edible, organically grown flowers offer goodness for the body as well as a spectacle for the eyes
My plants have aphids. How do I get rid of them?
Fionnuala Fallon: Their numbers are best controlled by leaving them alone for their natural predators to consume
Birr Castle’s head gardener: ‘We see leaves coming out in December. That is totally not normal’
What I Do: Shane Hollywood is head gardener at Birr Castle
Millennials and house plants: ‘I couldn’t live without plants; they give me so much joy’
‘Generation rent’ are increasingly drawn to the pleasure - and pain - of growing house plants. After all, they’re a lot easier to bring with you if you have to move house
My bearded irises did not flower: what am I doing wrong?
Fionnuala Fallon: If it’s any consolation, my own young plants also flowered very poorly this year
Trees with fragrant blossoms perfect to grow in Irish gardens
A rich perfume is an intoxicating draw for wildlife and humans alike
This is the otherworldly flower that got me hooked on gardening. But here’s the reality of growing them
Fionnuala Fallon: Truth is, nothing comes close to them in terms of the size, stature and brilliance of their flowers as well, of course as their magical range of colours
Our friend has warned us against planting a hawthorn boundary hedge. What can we use instead?
Your gardening questions answered: We were planning on using native hawthorn as a boundary hedge around our country garden
Where do we start with sowing a traditional lawn around our new-build house?
Your gardening questions answered: Creating a garden from scratch gives you a great opportunity
Revisiting Fieldman: Seasonal extracts and exquisite illustrations bring 1940s natural world magically to life
Republishing of Larry de Lacy’s newspaper columns offers rich trawl through history for nature lovers
Your gardening questions answered: How can I save my rose plant?
Fionnuala Fallon: Roses are greedy, thirsty plants that need deep, fertile, humus-rich, moist and free-draining soil to flourish
This week is a turning point for Irish gardeners. Here’s why
Still have young plants and sturdy seedlings in trays and liners? Then make haste and start planting
My anemone is out of control. How do I get rid of it?
Your gardening questions answered: Flower can become a thug if allowed to spread unchecked
What every Irish garden needs: exceptional but hardy and resilient plants
Fionnuala Fallon: Every garden requires its fair share of plants with let’s-just-get-on-with-it attitude
‘We’re the grumpy twins of the veg scene’: Comedian Kevin McAleer’s adult children turn to organic farming
Twins Josiah and Louis and sister Florence have been operating Fréamh Farm since March – despite their father’s adivce to pursue anything except farming
My acer looks dead. How can I help it?
Your gardening questions answered: These trees need sheltered, lightly shaded spot with protection from cold winds
Smart strategies to get plants to grow in stony ground
Not every gardener has the luck to have easy growing conditions, but there are ways to adapt and thrive
Natural liquid nettle feed is superb for keeping your plants healthy – it just smells terrible
It's possible to promote plant growth and be kind to the environment at the same time
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