Blog: giving advice and tips to new gardeners
National Gardening Week 2025 runs from Monday, April 28, until Sunday, May 4 and this year’s focus is on new and inexperienced gardeners. It’s the brainchild of the RHS and their website has a host of tips, how-to guides, videos and easy gardening challenges.
It can seem overwhelming to create a garden – but it doesn’t have to be! The key is to start small so you can enjoy a few easy plants and the pleasure of growing them. Bask in the success of these healthy plants rather than attempting to grow lots of tricky varieties which die and put you off for good.
Remember this phrase: healthy garden, healthy ecosystem. This isn’t just the few plants you grow – it’s the microscopic creatures that live in the soil, birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians that inhabit the space. If you create an area that has a balanced environment, it will attract other animals. As our natural countryside shrinks, gardens have become tiny havens for the UK’s wildlife.
Being a ‘messy’ gardener is the way forward! Leaving a chunk of your garden uncultivated will create vital habitats and food sources to herbivores. Of course, it helps if the ornamental plants you grow are good for pollinators – easy annuals like Calendula (pot marigolds), sunflowers and nasturtiums are ideal. If you let seedheads form, they’ll seed themselves for plants next year.
Many posts and pages on this site will help you, from gardening in containers to easy annuals to grow. I’ve listed a few below. Do check out the information pages in the main menu – here you’ll find information on gardening for children, taking cuttings and growing from seed – all the basics. There’s a comprehensive search feature if you’re looking for something more specific:
National Gardening Week 2025 information posts
- Filling gaps in the garden
- Gardening advice, tips and products for beginners
- Keep calm and start gardening!
- Growing an apple tree from a pip
- Growing cucumbers from seed for beginners
- Gardening without plastic – a beginner’s guide
- Gardening for beginners – always have a backup plan!
- How to harden off plants
For more information on National Gardening Week 2025, visit www.rhs.org.uk.
