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EnglishWhat Gardening Advice Does the RHS Offer and How Do I Find It?
Updated
The RHS offers free gardening advice through its website, organised into sections for growing your own produce, monthly jobs, pests and diseases, a beginners' guide, garden design and wildlife gardening, plus a search-all-advice tool for specific plants or problems. Start with the beginners' guide if you are new to gardening, or go straight to "Problems, pests & diseases" if you already have a garden issue to solve. The advice sits alongside related resources such as the plant finder, the RHS Grow app and the RHS gardens, which are useful when you want to see plants growing in person.
What the advice sections cover
The RHS "Advice" menu is the main entry point. Its sections map to different gardening situations:
| Section | Use it when you want to… |
|---|---|
| Search all advice | Find guidance on a specific plant, task or problem |
| Grow Your Own | Start or manage fruit, vegetables and herbs |
| This month | Know which seasonal jobs to do now |
| Problems, pests & diseases | Diagnose and deal with a plant problem |
| Beginners' guide | Learn the basics if you are new to gardening |
| Garden design | Plan or restructure a garden |
| Gardening for the environment | Make choices that reduce environmental impact |
| Wildlife gardening | Attract and support wildlife |
| Health & wellbeing | Understand the wellbeing side of gardening |
Each section is a starting point rather than a single article, so expect to move between pages as you narrow down what you need.
How to find advice for your situation
If you are a complete beginner
Work through the beginners' guide first, then use "This month" to build a routine of seasonal tasks. The beginners' guide gives you the underlying principles; the monthly pages turn those into concrete jobs. If you do not yet know what to grow, the plant-finding pages under "Plants" help you choose plants suited to your conditions before you commit to buying.
If you have a specific plant or problem
Use "Search all advice" rather than browsing the menu. It is the fastest route when you already know the plant name or the symptom — for example, yellowing leaves on a particular shrub or a pest you have spotted. For pests and diseases specifically, the dedicated section groups guidance by problem type, which helps when you can describe the symptom but not the cause.
If you are planning or redesigning a garden
The garden design section covers layout and structure. Pair it with "Gardening for the environment" and "Wildlife gardening" if your priorities include lower water use, pollinator-friendly planting or habitat. These are design decisions, so read them before you buy plants rather than after.
Where the advice connects to other RHS resources
The advice pages are one part of a wider set of tools:
- Plant finder and plant pages — detailed plant information, including the RHS trials and awards, which indicate plants that have performed well in RHS assessment.
- RHS Grow app — a companion tool for growing, referenced in the Gardening section.
- RHS gardens — Wisley, Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall, Rosemoor and Bridgewater. Seeing plants and design in person is often more useful than reading when you are deciding what suits your space.
- RHS flower shows — including Chelsea, Malvern, Tatton Park and others, useful for seeing plants and design ideas first-hand.
When to go beyond the website
The website advice is general guidance. Choose in-person or membership options when:
- You want to see plants growing before choosing them — visit an RHS garden or a flower show.
- You want structured learning — the RHS runs courses, workshops and qualifications, listed under "Learn".
- You want to support the charity and get member benefits — membership is a separate paid option; the site does not state that advice pages require membership, so treat the free advice and paid membership as distinct.
For most everyday questions — what to plant, when to prune, what is eating your leaves — the free advice sections and search tool will answer them without any further step.