Editorial LeadSomerset, United Kingdom

Fenella Hawthorn

Fenella Hawthorn is the Gardening Editor for The Nestiora, writing about soil, light and the slow mechanics of why plants do well or badly.

Title:: Horticulture & Gardening Director
Location:: Somerset, United Kingdom
Expertise:: Organic soil health, heritage kitchen gardens, houseplant diagnostics, climate-resilient landscaping, and no-dig permaculture.

“We don't grow plants; we grow the soil. The plants simply take care of themselves.”

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Highlights

Writes on soil health, no-dig growing and kitchen gardens
Diagnoses houseplant problems by cause rather than by symptom
Prefers chemical-free pest management, and says when it is not enough
Will tell you when the evidence for a popular technique is thin

Experience

Fenella writes about gardens on the timescale they actually work on. Her guides are built around soil biology, light, aspect and season, and they usually explain what is happening underground before they suggest anything be planted above it.

At The Nestiora she covers soil health, no-dig beds, kitchen gardens and houseplant diagnosis. She leans on published plant science where it exists, and says plainly where it does not — which is more often than most gardening writing admits.

Background

Fenella writes about gardening as a slow science rather than a checklist. Her guides tend to explain the mechanism — what the soil is doing, what the light is doing — before they recommend an action, and she is comfortable saying where the evidence is thin.

Areas of Expertise

Organic Soil HealthHeritage Kitchen GardensIndoor Plant PathologyClimate-Specific LandscapingChemical-Free Pest ControlNo-Dig Permaculture

About The Nestiora

The Nestiora is an independent home journal dedicated to thoughtful decor, accessible woodworking, and slow gardening. We believe that trustworthy home advice comes from real experience in real rooms—not stylized showroom sets staged for a single photograph.

Learn more about our team and our editorial process, and our commitment to ensuring we provide you with the most trustworthy advice verified by certified experts on our Home Improvement Review Board and Gardening & Plant Care Review Board.

Guides & Articles by Fenella Hawthorn

7 Guides Published

Someone measuring a balcony railing above a city, with a notebook of dimensions on the floor

Gardening

Wind and Weight Decide a Balcony Garden

A balcony at height is windier, drier and effectively colder than the garden below, so plants that thrive at ground level fail there. Wet potting mix weighs roughly 8 pounds a gallon, and large pots add up fast. Check what the balcony can carry before buying.

22 min read20 Sept 2026

Basil, parsley and flowering chives in terracotta pots on a kitchen windowsill

Gardening

Why the Basil Dies and the Parsley Never Does

Basil, parsley and chives are usually sold together and grown together, though they want quite different light, water and pots. Basil is the one that fails first, and it almost always fails for the same reason. Match the herb to the windowsill you actually have rather than the one in the photograph.

15 min read20 Sept 2026

Matched green glazed planters holding clipped lavender either side of a dark front door

Gardening

Glazed Pots Suit Hydrangeas and Kill Lavender

Glazed pots hold moisture, which suits hydrangeas and kills lavender. Terracotta breathes and dries fast, so it suits the Mediterranean plants. Paired planters also need something forgiving, because one failure breaks the symmetry entirely.

11 min read20 Sept 2026

Weathered oak arch covered in pale pink climbing roses over a gravel path

Gardening

A Small Garden Should Not Be Visible at Once

A garden you can read in one glance is a garden you have measured. An arch, a hedge or a bend in the path buys more perceived space than any planting. What grows on that arch depends entirely on the sun it gets.

13 min read20 Sept 2026

Warm string lights crossing overhead above a small terrace at dusk

Gardening

Run String Lights Overhead, Not Along the Fence

Lights strung along a fence outline the boundary and shrink the garden; lights crossing overhead build a ceiling. Posts, arches and pergolas take real load in wind, so they go into the ground and carry the wire. The rest is placement: where a spike light aims, where a mirror points, where the table sits.

13 min read9 Jun 2026

Hand-painted flower garden calendar on a wooden bench with a pink rose, dried lavender and an open watercolour paint box

Gardening

Fresh Wood Mulch Starves New Annuals

Wood chip decomposing at the soil surface draws nitrogen out of the top few centimetres, which is exactly where a newly planted annual has its roots. Keep mulch off the root zone until plants are established, or use compost instead. Cosmos and zinnias will then fill the gaps far faster than most people expect.

12 min read8 Jun 2026

Blue mophead hydrangea in a matt black glazed pot against a whitewashed wall

Gardening

Blue Hydrangeas Do Not Stay Blue in Pots

Mophead hydrangeas take their colour from aluminium, which ordinary compost locks away within a season. In a container, what you plant it in decides everything. Use ericaceous compost and the blue holds; use multipurpose and it drifts to pink.

12 min read7 Jun 2026

Fenella Hawthorn

Highlights

Experience

Background

Areas of Expertise

About The Nestiora