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Mow power to you: 'I never used to want a lawn; now I'm obsessed'

Sat, 25 May 2013 23:00:00 GMT

I never imagined I could become the kind of person who would be interested in lawns. I never actually wanted to have grass, to tell you the truth. I thought it was a stupid idea. You've got to find somewhere to put the mower, and somewhere to put the extension lead for the mower, and somewhere to put all the clippings created by the mower, and that's before you've stored all the poisonous chemicals you need to keep the lawn in anything like good condition.

Starved of sun? Algarve offers Brits attractive property escape route

Sat, 25 May 2013 17:00:00 GMT

Memories of the fierce winter may have you planning your escape to a second home in a milder climate. If far-flung, exotic destinations like the Caribbean are too far removed from life and work in the UK, the Algarve might offer a tempting compromise.

May has been a good month for gardeners

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:00:00 GMT

When it came, it came all at once. Spring, I'm talking about. I've seen it happen like that in New York, the tulips on Fifth Avenue in bud at the beginning of the week, dropping their petals in a heat wave at the end. But over here, it's usually more gradual. We seem to have been waiting forever for the trees to leaf up, for the grass to get greener, for the plants to have the courage to grow again. And finally it's happened. Hallelujah!

Remortgaging at its lowest level for 15 years

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:15:17 GMT

Remortgaging accounted for around 316,000 loans in 2012, worth £41 billion, according to the Council for Mortgage Lenders, the lowest number of borrowers remortgaging since 1997.

New house price figures show London continues to be a driving force

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:01:37 GMT

Figures from the Office for National Statistics out today show that in the 12 months to March 2013 UK house prices rose by 2.7 per cent (compared to a 1.9% increase in the 12 months to February 2013).

Homeowners increasingly optimistic about price rises

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:43:42 GMT

Around 13.5 per cent of the 1,500 homeowners surveyed across the UK by Knight Frank/Markit believe that the value of their home has risen over the last month. This is the highest proportion since June 2010.

The winners and losers in overseas property game

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:00:00 GMT

Ah, the good times. Back in 2006 the insatiable British appetite for buy-to-let and holiday home investment meant we did not settle for Brighton or the Costa del Sol but sought ever-more exotic locations in which to sink our spare cash. Remember those "emerging markets"?

Tough property market causes rent price hike

Sat, 18 May 2013 17:00:00 GMT

Rents are rising throughout England and Wales for the first time since November 2011, according to LSL Property Services.

Boxes of delight: Will one man and his cubes of yew take gold at the Chelsea Flower Show?

Fri, 17 May 2013 23:00:00 GMT

The Chelsea Flower Show, the 100th, opens next week and this is an anxious weekend for the makers of the show gardens. Will a sudden frost murder tender plants hauled prematurely from their beds? Will an unexpected wind tear new leaves from trees uprooted from their comfortable nurseries and brought to stay for a razzmatazz week in town? Will the sponsor's money cover bills which by now may be reaching monumental proportions? Some of the big gardens will have cost more than a quarter of a million pounds to install.

Average rent in England and Wales now £736 per month

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:09:10 GMT

The average rent in England and Wales has risen by 0.2 per cent since March, to £736 per month, according to the latest figuress from LSL Property Services. Rents in April are now 3.9 per cent higher than a year ago.

Interiors insider: James Lohan of Mr & Mrs Smith

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:33:59 GMT

My wife and I live in… a Victorian townhouse in Chiswick in West London. It’s homely and comfortable, full of pieces we’ve picked up on our travels – and it’s well worn-in, thanks to the combined efforts of our kids (three and six).

Flood insurance agreement for homeowners extended as discussions continue

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:33:39 GMT

The Association of British Insurers has confirmed that they will continue to voluntarily meet their commitments to offering flood insurance for an extra month after the current industry flood insurance agreement expires on 30 June.

First-time buyer numbers rising

Tue, 14 May 2013 09:10:59 GMT

Just over 19,000 loans - worth £2.4 billion - were advanced to first-time buyers in March, say the CML, up from just under 16,000 in February but down on the 24,400 in March 2012.

Help to Buy scheme boosts demand

Tue, 14 May 2013 00:58:44 GMT

Demand for property hit a three-year peak in April as state initiatives boosted the market.

Jump rabbit, jump rabbit, jump jump jump: Showjumping bunnies star at London Pet Show

Mon, 13 May 2013 17:05:43 GMT

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. The accompanying picture is indeed a showjumping rabbit, taking part in an agility test at the London Pet Show, which took place at the weekend.

Have 'Generation Rent' given up on plans to buy a home?

Mon, 13 May 2013 08:58:05 GMT

New research from Rightmove suggests that only two in five renters who would like to buy but cannot afford to do so are currently actively saving for the deposit needed to get them onto the housing ladder.

Best in show: The RHS is seeking the 'plant of the centenary' to mark 100 years Chelsea

Sat, 11 May 2013 23:00:00 GMT

There's a space in my garden. Finally, a space. A space that could be filled with something new. Or possibly something old, as it turns out, because I am perusing the David Austin roses at my local garden centre, where they have a particularly good selection, and the ones I hanker to put in my trolley are soppy traditional roses such as "Albéric Barbier" and "Madame Isaac Pereire".

Leap in the dark: Bright and breezy was never going to do it for the designer Abigail Ahern

Sat, 11 May 2013 23:00:00 GMT

When it comes to her home, it all changed the day Abigail Ahern decided to paint it black. Well, dark grey at least…

Cashing in on London is Britain's new property trend

Sat, 11 May 2013 17:00:00 GMT

"You used to be able to sell a town house in a nice part of the capital and buy a rectory with some land in the countryside. Now, with the influx of foreign buyers into London, all that has changed: in recent years the same house will pay for two rectories," said Charles Ellingworth, director of the exclusive residential company Property Vision.

Wealth Check: It's so hard to buy my first house thanks to the cost of renting

Sat, 11 May 2013 17:00:00 GMT

The patient

Weekend work: Time to plant dahlias

Fri, 10 May 2013 23:00:00 GMT

What to do

A very rare breed: Plantsman Nick Macer fills his eclectic nursery with fine specimens

Fri, 10 May 2013 23:00:00 GMT

"Seven-year cycles," says Nick Macer, owner of a superb nursery called Pan Global Plants in Gloucestershire, “they’ve had a lot to do with the way my life has worked out.” And because I don’t really get what he’s talking about, I’m rather relieved I’ve turned up at the nursery in the year that he is 45 years old. However I do the sum, I can’t make that anything to do with seven.

House prices in England and Wales went up £707 in April

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:46:30 GMT

The latest house price figures from LSL Property Services show Greater London still leads the way in terms of house price rises, followed by East Anglia.

Welcome gnome: Kitsch garden ornaments are now allowed in to the Chelsea Flower Show

Thu, 09 May 2013 17:00:25 GMT

Britain’s smallest minority is taking its fight for recognition to the heart of the gardening establishment this week in what gnome rights activists are calling a horticultural revolution.

Spending on DIY at its lowest level for a decade

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:35:45 GMT

UK households spent a total of £10.5 billion on DIY in 2012 – equivalent to around £400 each - the lowest total since 2000 and the fifth successive annual fall.