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The sun shone on Melbourne’s gardens in May – and kept shining. Warm-weather plants that had begun to die back in expectation of winter got a second wind. Basil started sprouting leaves again and roses shot new buds. The state’s second-warmest May on record also confounded cold-weather plants starting to make their way out of … Read more

Within a week of moving house, three years ago, I was dreaming of climbing plants: anything that could clothe the uninspiring domesticity of my new garden’s bare fences. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Three summers on, I have a good sense … Read more

Gardening is good for our physical and psychological health, and there’s great pleasure in plucking ripe tomatoes, salad leaves or fresh herbs to add to a meal. Growing your own food has environmental benefits too, especially if you use a compost heap, worm farm or bokashi bin to divert kitchen scraps from landfill. But can … Read more

Few, if any, British garden birds are as well-known or well-loved as the blackbird. Yet a combination of warmer, drier springs and a mosquito-borne disease in the UK – both the result of the climate crisis – have put this member of the thrush family under threat. Like many other common and familiar species, blackbirds … Read more

I grew up in a house where cosiness was a year-round thing, not just a winter trend. Mum should have been an interior decorator – she chose nursing instead – but her love of decorating meant our childhood home was filled with perfectly fluffed cushions, chunky knit throw rugs and so many candles that Dad … Read more