Home & garden
Practical ideas for the house and the plot around it — vertical planting and climbers, storage and furniture that earns its space, and the everyday upgrades worth making.
Searcher needs plants for their own region A plant bought locally has already been filtered for the conditions it will have to survive — a national catalogue or a truck of stock…
What to put in the bottom of a pot Nothing needs to go in the bottom of a pot beyond the growing…
Room gets little natural light A plant sited by a north-facing wall or deep in an interior room is working with whatever…
The "3-hour rule" is a rule of thumb, not a botanical standard: size the garden — its bed area, plant count, and…
Build or buy: why the cost differs Buying a kit costs more per square foot of growing space than building from lumber,…
Free tool · runs in your browser
Enter the length, width and depth of a raised bed or planter and it tells you how much soil or compost to buy — in litres, cubic metres and standard bags, with a bit extra for settling.
Open the calculatorWhat you’ll get
Suggestions & corrections
We are always after practical, tested ideas for the house and garden. If something here could be clearer, or you have a fix worth sharing, tell the editors.
