Fiann Ó Nualláin
Fiann is an award winning garden designer, author and broadcaster with a background in fine art, ethnobotany and complementary medicine. theholisticgardener.com / @HolisticG
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in Advice, Design, Designing the outside space, Exteriors & Landscaping, Landscaping: Watchpoints, On site
Winter plants
By planting out your garden with winter in mind, the starkness of those shorter days won’t seem so bad. In this article we cover: Winter can be long, but it is not boring or still when you plant it with life. And if you bed out with seasonality in mind, you will have a sustainable […] More
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in Advice
Adding a fire pit to your garden
A fire pit creates a primal connection to the garden. One that’s layered with social and communal meaning. Here’s how to add one to your patch of green. In this article we cover: What we get out of gardening seems to change every couple of years. From something to do (to potter about or grow […] More
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Guide to cleaning your patio
Tidying up structures and hard landscaping will let your plants sing without any distractions to the eye. There are plenty of jobs to get on with in the spring. A lick of paint to the shed, a coat of varnish to benches, a wash of the cloches and greenhouse panes, a debris pick up from […] More
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Container gardening
Container gardening will keep the garden’s momentum going through the winter months. That’s because potted plants will add colour and life to any part of your house or garden. Just follow these simple steps to get started. In this article, we cover: Choosing the right container for different types of plants Finding the right […] More
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Top 6 health reasons to start gardening
Doctor-prescribed gardening and Forest Bathing may be recent trends, but the notion of gardening for your health to be restored and cured is older than the Grecian garden temples for Aesclepius – the god of healing. In this article, Fiann Ó Nualláin gives you six reasons to pick up a spade. He covers: Specific health […] More
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Planting Bulbs
After a dormant or slow moving winter season, spring is all about creating a buzz. There is plenty happening and plenty to be done, including divisions. Spring divisions are not just a way to generate new plants and bulk up your borders with fresh and healthy clump sections. They are also a way to help […] More
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Garden: bareroot planting
In winter, one of the great enjoyments for the gardener is bareroot planting – plants that are dormant and have no soil around their roots. In this article we cover: What is bareroot planting Why it’s better to buy bareroot plants than ones in containers Which plants are best suited for bareroot planting How to […] More
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in Advice
Seed Saving
Seed saving is fun and yes, frugal, but above all it is a fundamental way to both connect with the garden and play your part in saving the planet and its biodiversity, writes ethnobotanist Fiann Ó Nualláin. Gardening should be about getting your hands dirty – to engage in all the aspects, from making your […] More
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Planting your site boundaries
As we become more attuned to the environmental cost of modern living, the trend for fancy fencing and statement walls of the past few decades is now losing ground to planting living screens. Traditional and cost effective, hedges mark the boundaries of your property and make a pleasant neighbourly divide – as the saying goes […] More
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in Advice
Grow your own herbal tea
Thankfully the majority of herbal tea plants are a cinch to grow. Fiann Ó Nualláin shows you how. In this article we cover: The original tea plant is Camellia sinensis and even though it’s a cousin of garden camellias, it is not as easy to maintain. But most herbal tea plants are thankfully much easier […] More
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How can I get rid of Japanese Knotweed?
Q: How can we get rid of Japanese Knotweed, my understanding is that if I try to remove it, there is a risk it will further spread, and so treating it is the best solution? A: Don’t dig it as it spreads by roots, not seed, and any disturbance just makes it regenerate quicker. It’s […] More
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in Advice
How to create your own moonlit garden
Bask in the nocturnal majesty of a moonlit garden. Gardeners like their grounds to be multi-seasonal. With spring comes colour, with summer much-loved exuberance. Autumnal leaf colour changes never fail to disappoint while winter brings with it a degree of structure that can only be admired. We gardeners plan for all of that. We understand […] More