Hobbies · Crafts
Gardening & growing
Cultivating plants, from a windowsill to an allotment.
Sage Ross / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Bonsai
Growing and shaping trees in containers over decades — horticulture first, aesthetics second.
£100–£300 to start · indoors or out · gentle
Rowan Adams / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Composting
Turning garden and kitchen waste into soil — the methods, what a heap is telling you, and why almost every problem is one of three things.
Under £25 to start · outdoors · moderate effort
Hydroponics
Growing plants in nutrient solution rather than soil — which system suits which plant, what it genuinely costs, and the gap between the windowsill version and the tent version.
£100–£300 to start · indoors · gentle
Smallholding
HobbyWorking a few acres with livestock and crops — the scale between a garden and a farm, and the registrations nobody mentions.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsVery demanding
Horticultural showing
HobbyGrowing and staging produce and flowers for judging — where presentation counts as much as cultivation.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
Herbal preparations
CraftHobbyDrying, extracting and keeping plants as a craft — the forms, the vocabulary, the law, and the line this page will not cross.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
Goat keeping
HobbyKeeping goats at home — the registration nobody expects, what goats actually need, and the honest commitment before any of the pleasure.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
Also in this category
Classified but not yet written up.
70 activities in the catalogue, 7 written up so far.
Allotment gardening
HobbyGrowing on a rented plot, with waiting lists, site rules and a social world of its own.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Alpine gardening
HobbyGrowing mountain plants in troughs, raised beds and frames, where drainage decides everything.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Aquaponics
HobbyRunning a fish tank and a growing bed as one nitrogen cycle.
Over £1,000 to startIndoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Aquascaping
HobbyCraftDesigning planted underwater landscapes in an aquarium, competitively.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bantam keeping
HobbyKeeping the small breeds, which suit gardens too small for large fowl.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bioactive vivarium keeping
HobbyBuilding self-cleaning enclosures with live plants and a clean-up crew of invertebrates.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Bokashi composting
HobbyFermenting food waste in a sealed bucket with inoculated bran before burying it.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Carnivorous plant growing
HobbyGrowing sundews, pitchers and flytraps, which need rainwater, poor soil and a winter rest.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chicken keeping
HobbyKeeping hens in a garden for eggs, and everything that comes with them.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chilli growing
HobbyGrowing chilli varieties from seed under cover, with a strong collector and swap culture.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Chrysanthemum growing and showing
HobbyGrowing chrysanthemums for exhibition, with disbudding and timing as the core skills.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Community gardening
HobbyGrowing on shared land with other people, where the organising is half the activity.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Community orchards
HobbyPlanting, pruning and harvesting a shared orchard, usually with a wassail and a cider press attached.
Free or near-free to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Competitive vegetable showing
HobbyGrowing produce to exhibition standard for village and national shows, judged on form as much as size.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Container gardening
HobbyGrowing in pots on a balcony, yard or doorstep, with no ground at all.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Dahlia growing and showing
HobbyGrowing dahlias to exhibition standard, with classification by form and size.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Decorative concrete casting
CraftCasting planters, tops and garden objects in concrete and GRC.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Exhibition onion and leek growing
HobbyGrowing onions and leeks to competition size and form, strongest in the north of England.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Flower arranging
CraftHobbyComposing cut flowers, with a competitive club circuit most people never notice.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fruit growing
HobbyGrowing top and soft fruit, where pruning and rootstock choice decide the outcome for years.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Fruit tree grafting
CraftHobbyPropagating varieties by joining scion to rootstock, which is how heritage apples survive at all.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Garden pond keeping
HobbyBuilding and maintaining an outdoor pond, for wildlife or for fish.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Garden railways
HobbyCraftModel railways built outdoors at larger scales, where weather and planting become part of the layout.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Gardening
HobbyMaking and keeping a garden — the parent of a very large family of hobbies.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Green roof building
HobbyCraftPlanting a shed, garage or extension roof, which is a loading and drainage problem first.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Guerrilla gardening
HobbyPlanting neglected public ground without formal permission, which is where its whole debate sits.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hay making
HobbyCutting, turning and gathering hay by hand or with vintage equipment.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hedgelaying
CraftPart-cutting and bending living stems to make a stock-proof hedge that keeps growing.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsVery demanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Herb growing and use
HobbyGrowing and preparing herbs for cooking, tea and household use.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Horticultural judging
HobbyTraining and serving as a show judge, which turns a growing hobby into a formal expertise.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Hot sauce making
CraftHobbyGrowing, fermenting and blending chillies into sauces, with a large amateur trading culture.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Houseplants
HobbyKeeping indoor plants alive, and then keeping a great many of them alive.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Koi keeping
HobbyKeeping koi in a filtered outdoor pond, judged on form and pattern at shows.
Over £1,000 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Moss gardening
HobbyCultivating moss for shade planting and containers, a slow craft with a strong Japanese tradition.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Moth gardening
HobbyPlanting deliberately for moths and night-flying insects, and recording what arrives.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Mushroom growing
HobbyGrowing edible fungi at home on logs, straw or sterilised grain.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
No-dig gardening
HobbyGrowing vegetables on undisturbed soil under compost mulch, a method with a large following.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Orchid growing
HobbyGrowing orchids, which need different care from almost every other houseplant.
£100–£300 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Permaculture
HobbyDesigning growing systems that work with ecology rather than against it.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Pizza oven building
CraftHobbyBuilding a wood-fired masonry oven, from the base and dome to the curing fires.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Planted aquariums
HobbyGrowing aquatic plants as the point of the tank, balancing light, carbon and nutrients.
£300–£1,000 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Preserving
HobbyCraftJam, chutney, pickles and bottling — putting a glut into jars.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Quail keeping
HobbyKeeping quail for eggs in a small space, considerably easier than chickens for a suburban garden.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Rainwater harvesting
HobbyCollecting and storing roof runoff for garden or household use.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Scything
HobbyCraftMowing grass with a hand scythe, revived for meadow management and competition.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Seed collecting
HobbyCollecting and exchanging heritage seed varieties, which is conservation as much as gardening.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Seed saving
HobbySaving, drying and storing your own seed, and keeping varieties going.
Under £25 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Seed swapping
HobbyTrading saved seed through local swaps and libraries, which keeps rare varieties in circulation.
Free or near-free to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Succulents & cacti
HobbyCollecting and propagating drought-adapted plants, indoors or under glass.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Terrarium building
HobbyCraftBuilding closed or open glass gardens that mostly look after themselves.
£25–£100 to startIndoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Therapeutic horticulture groups
HobbyStructured group gardening run for wellbeing, usually through a charity or social prescribing route.
Free or near-free to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Top-bar beekeeping
HobbyKeeping bees in horizontal hives on natural comb, a lower-intervention alternative to framed hives.
£300–£1,000 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Topiary
CraftHobbyClipping shrubs and hedges into deliberate shapes, over years.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Trained fruit growing
HobbyGrowing fruit trees flat against walls and wires in trained forms.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Vegetable growing
HobbyGrowing food on a plot, allotment or in beds, to a yearly rhythm.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Vertical gardening
HobbyGrowing up walls and structures where there is no ground to plant in.
£100–£300 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Waterfowl keeping
HobbyKeeping ducks and geese, which need water and forage rather than a run.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wildlife gardening
HobbyManaging a garden for insects, birds and amphibians rather than for tidiness.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsModerate effort
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wildlife pond building
HobbyCraftDigging and planting a pond for wildlife, the single most effective garden intervention there is.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Willow growing and preparation
CraftHobbyGrowing, cutting and grading your own willow for basketry, which changes the craft entirely.
£25–£100 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wormery keeping
HobbyComposting kitchen waste with worms, which works indoors and in a flat.
£25–£100 to startIndoors or outdoorsSedentary
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Wreath making
CraftBinding foliage, dried flowers and seedheads onto a ring or frame.
Under £25 to startIndoors or outdoorsGentle
In the catalogue, not written up yet
Yamadori collecting
HobbyCraftCollecting stunted wild trees for bonsai, under permission and with a long recovery period.
£100–£300 to startOutdoorsDemanding
In the catalogue, not written up yet