Recent articles by Penny Woodward

Tips for growing hellebores, also called winter roses

Hellebores love shade, thrive in frosts and have glorious flowers that appear right through winter into spring, writes Penny Woodward.

Drough-tolerant herbs

Penny Woodward loves drought-tolerant, grey-leafed herbs. Here are a two of her favourites that you can plant in early Autumn.

Make your own calming herbal tea

Herbs not only add colour to your garden and flavour to food, they can also be made into calming teas and soothing oils. Here Penny Woodward looks at basil and chamomile.

Plant your garden for the planet

Penny Woodward, who has written for OG for over 15 years and been the horticultural editor for seven, knows gardeners can make a difference.

Protecting your plants from pests

Deploying a range of barriers and exclusion products will help protect your crops from marauding creatures.

Grow your own aloe

Penny Woodward looks at the many practical uses of soothing aloe vera and how to grow and harvest this succulent.

Solutions to reduce textile waste

Don't throw those old clothes away, put them to use in your garden, writes Penny Woodward.

Handy tools for your garden

When it comes to small hand tools, such as trowels, Penny Woodward says look for comfort and durability to last you a gardening lifetime.

How good bugs work in an organic garden

A well-balanced garden replicates a wild environment filled with beneficial insects that can help keep pests under control.

Heeling in bare-rooted trees

If you have a bunch of bare-rooted trees and can’t plant them quickly, you can do what’s called ‘heeling in’: Penny Woodward explains the process here. Plus, basic tips from Karen Sutherland.

Saving seeds for our future

Penny Woodward talks with Peter Carlyon and Robin Koster-Carlyon about how they changed their organic farm into a thriving seed-growing enterprise.

How to make a worm farm

You can use a bath, trough, sink or even a large tin to make a worm farm, says Penny Woodward