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Daily gardening tip · Northern hemisphere · Tuesday 27 October 2026 · mid autumn

Plant a Winter-Hardy Doorstep Container

Planting hardy flowers and evergreen foliage now keeps your doorstep bright through the coldest months.

Plant a Winter-Hardy Doorstep Container
20 minuteseasycontainers
  1. Choose a terracotta or plastic pot with good drainage holes.
  2. Fill the pot with peat-free multi-purpose compost, leaving a gap near the top.
  3. Plant a outdoor-hardy winter cyclamen in the center for autumn color.
  4. Plant ivy near the edge so the leaves trailing over the rim.
  5. Water the soil gently to settle the roots without soaking the plants.
A garden in mid autumn

Why it works

Winter cyclamen can endure cold temperatures and keep flowering, while ivy stays green all winter. Together, they tolerate dark, cool days better than tender summer bedding plants.

English Hawkweed

Plant of the day

English Hawkweed

Hieracium anglicum

A perennial herb found on rocky outcrops and mountain ledges. It is characterized by its hairy leaves and bright yellow, dandelion-like flower heads.

Read about it →

Gardening news

Gardening news

Oliver Doubleday steps down as East Malling Trust Chair

Dr Oliver Doubleday has left his position as the leader of a gardening charity in Kent after nearly forty years and offered a final encouraging message to the plant industry.

The Dirt · 2026-10-26
New research

Scientists Discover How Tiny Duckweed Compresses Its Body Plan

Researchers studied duckweed to see how the tiny floating plant stays so small. They found that duckweed keeps the same structural parts as large plants, but compresses and fuses them together. This discovery could help scientists cultivate miniature, fast-growing plants as future food crops.

scitechdaily.com
On this day

Botanist Alphonse Pyrame de Candolle Was Born in 1806

Swiss botanist Alphonse Pyrame de Candolle was born on 27 October 1806. He pioneered the study of plant geography, examining where different species grow around the world. He also organized the first International Botanical Congress to create standardized rules for naming plants.

britannica.com

Written for the northern hemisphere. Gardening south of the equator? See the southern edition

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