Gardening experts share their ultimate tips on how to make life easier in your outside space for 2026

TWIXMAS is the time for dreaming about what you’ll do in the garden next year.

So I’ve spoken to horticultural experts across the UK to get their top tips for making life easier in your outside space in 2026.

And we don’t mean flash-in-the pan trends — here we’re talking tips handed down from generation to generation, or advice that has been truly tried and tested over the years.

So whether you’re new to horticulture or an old hand, our cut-out-and-keep guide is definitely worth keeping up your sleeve for spring.

TOM HART DYKE

“My granny always used pencil on her plant labels because pencil doesn’t fade like pens and is legible for far longer. She also swore by coffee grounds to keep slugs and snails away.

“If you grow camellias or other acid-loving plants in pots, the spent tannic acid from tea bags can be a real tonic. Break open the tea bags and sprinkle the spent leaves on the soil.”

ALAN TITCHMARSH

The best way of bringing interest all year round, is to go to your local nursery or your garden centre once a month, every month of the year, and buy one or two hardy plants for the garden that are in flower when you go.

“That means you’ll always have something in flower or that looks good.”

TOM MASSEY

“One of my go-to garden habits is mulching and adding organic matter far more often than people generally think is necessary, not just in spring, but throughout the year.

A thin layer of leaf mould, compost or composted bark (around 2.5cm) around plants helps stabilise soil temperature, retain moisture, feed soil life and significantly reduce plant stress.

KIM STODDART

Get blackberry plants for free with cuttings.

Wait until the plants are dormant and cut roughly about a hand’s length of cutting from a healthy-looking branch.

You can use one branch to divide into a few cuttings.

“Plant them about an inch down into the ground in a bare patch of soil, then leave them over ­winter.

CHARLOTTE DENNE

“My grandmother used to scatter wildflower seeds by hand on the windiest day she could find, saying the breeze knew better than she did where each flower should grow.

She taught me never to bury them: ‘Wildflower seeds’, she’d say, ‘must feel the sun to grow’.

NEIL MILLER

“If you can’t cut the grass, due to wet in the winter or drought in the summer, keep edging — it will look a million dollars.

“My grandad was king of composting — I always remember digging out a trench to fill with compost and damp newspaper, filling it back and planting the runner beans.

“It was eggshell city in the compost and you would find potato peelings, other ­vegetable peelings, grass cuttings and mouldy orange peel, etc.”

STEVE EDNEY

“My grandad Bert told me that peppers like to hold hands (plant them close), tomatoes like a little space to stretch out (plant them further apart to avoid blight).

“Ornamental-wise, give cow manure to roses on light soil and horse manure on a heavy soil.”

DAN COOPER

“To clean surface rust and grime from secateurs, or snips, stand them blades down in a jar of white vinegar.

Leave them overnight and the next day, a quick scrub with a toothbrush or a scouring pad should restore a smooth, clean surface. Wipe them down with an oily rag to stop the rust from returning.”

MARK LANE

“My grandad would rub his ­fingernails over a bar of soap before heading outside. This keeps your nails clean.

“Not many of us have CDs any more, but any shiny surface works great to deter birds off your crops.

“My nan threaded foil milk bottle tops together and hang them from a bamboo cane. Aluminium pie tins work great, too.

“I still remember seeing melons and squash being supported by my nan’s tights. Also, my grandad would cut them up to use as soft, stretchy ties — perfect for plants.

“My grandma was a flower arranger and she never wasted a thing. When the floral display was past its best, she would remove the spent flowers, re-cut the stems below a leaf node and then insert it into compost.

“A clear plastic bag over the top until the roots formed provided a perfect environment.

“When roots had formed, she would plant them out in the garden.

SUE O’NEIL

“To stop wasps eating your fruit, cut a plastic water bottle in half and make a hole at the top on each side.

“Attach string to the holes. Fill the half bottle with sugar water and hang on your fruit tree. It will attract the wasps and act as a trap.”

TOM CLARKE

“If you want to mulch a new garden bed, follow this simple trick.

“Once you have added the new plants, put the empty pots upside down over them, spread the mulch, then whip off the pots so you don’t bury the plants in fresh mulch, or damage them.

“A simple hack to cut the perfectly shaped new bed in a lawn is to use a hosepipe to mark a curvy line edge when cutting.

“For free plant ties, shred pruned Phormium leaves vertically.”