Gardener Guru

Gardener Guru Kate Turner - professional garden consultant in south devon.

Simple garden advice without the overwhelm.
27+ experience as a garden expert
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01/09/2026

It’s hard when you’re in your late 50s to suddenly become a ‘content creator’ especially when a lot of your working life has been spent talking to plants and not giving a monkeys what you look like!
In January I seeked some help & started posting consistently instead of a few times a year as I was losing work & was told I needed to be visible!
It’s been hard, but what I didn’t expect was to become part of a wonderful community of passionate and caring people, so instead of this being about me, it’s now become about sharing my knowledge and love of plants and if I can inspire just a few people to start growing then this weird talking to my phone thing is working😊

I just love a country show, especially in Devon and especially one with a fabulous horticultural tent and beautiful dahl...
01/09/2026

I just love a country show, especially in Devon and especially one with a fabulous horticultural tent and beautiful dahlias.
I love talking to the passionate growers who even in this summer have managed to grow massive veg too! It’s also a massive bonus to have show up on Dartmoor with an amazing view (this is Lustleigh, soon to be seen as Goodrich’s hollow in the new Harry Potter series.
Here comes September!😊

30/08/2026

Growing your own salad is cheap, quick, easy and infinitely tastier than the plastic bags full of wilting leaves you get from the supermarkets.
Simply sow in a seed tray or direct in the ground, keep moist, keep an eye out for slugs, cut, eat and repeat.
Wild rocket, spinach, winter lettuce and many other green leaves much prefer the cooler autumn weather and if you keep sowing every 2 weeks and use a bit of protection when it turns cool, you can be eating fresh salad from now till winter.
No special skills needed, just some seeds, some soil and moisture - what’s not to love 💚

28/08/2026

Hydrangeas have really suffered in this heatwave — and the clue is in the name… Hydra comes from the Greek for water! 💧

Yes, you may be able to rescue yours, but it’s got me wondering… should we still be planting so many hydrangeas if these hot, dry summers are becoming the norm?

I’m even questioning whether mine are worth keeping.

What about you? Would you rescue yours, or choose something more drought-tolerant? Let me know in the comments. 🌿

26/08/2026

Once your lavender has finished flowering, give it a light trim to keep the plant compact and tidy.

But don’t put those cuttings on the compost heap. Chop them up and use them as a mulch around susceptible plants.

The strong scent of lavender can help deter vine weevil from laying their eggs in the compost— so it’s a simple way to make use of your prunings while giving your plants a little extra protection.

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My seed grown Zinnias have performed so well this year, even in the heat and dry so I’ve decided to collect as many seed...
25/08/2026

My seed grown Zinnias have performed so well this year, even in the heat and dry so I’ve decided to collect as many seeds as I can so I can grow them again next year.
It’s so easy to collect the seeds from these beautiful plants and this is what you need to do:

• snip off your faded flowerheads
• place them in a dry jug or vase, don’t add any water and let them dry even more for a few days.
• make sure your seed packet is ready, I make my own from a template and always label and date the seed packet.
• pull off the petals carefully, I always go from the bottom up, and you will see a small seed at the bottom of each petal.
• check that each seed is dry and then remove it carefully from the petal.
• place the seeds in your seed packet or an envelope and then store somewhere cool and dry but not where you will forget about them!
The seeds will be perfect for sowing next spring although be aware they might not be exactly the same colour as the parent plant but I’m sure they will be beautiful!

Do you have a favourite seed to collect? Let me know in the comments below👇

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