Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2025 i Garden Answers

“Sowing night-scented stock for summer fragrance.” Louise Curley’s picks for spikes and spires are spectacular, p14 “Planting sweet peas in tubs and weaving wigwam supports from hazel and willow.” Sue Fisher rejoices in violets, p34 “Tending hundreds of new plants I’m growing from seed.” Adrian Thomas looks at gardening for mental health, p50 “Planting out my sweet peas and sowing more annuals.” Olga Grieves welcomes you to her allotment, p78 “Sowing seeds to fill the veg garden with bountiful crops.” Geoff Hodge reviews the best lighting, p98 “I’ll be pruning all my hydrangeas ready for the glorious new summer blooms.” Features editor Elise Sargent…

1 Make a wreathfrom flexible twigs (willows are good), twisting them to form a hoop. 2 Add more branches, starting each new branch at a different point. 3 Cut your blossom stems, making your cut just above a leaf. 4 Secure themto the wreath with florist’s wire so the base is concealed. 5 Tie a ribbon or string at the top and hang on a nail.…

A pond, no matter the size, is a wonderful addition to any garden not just for its calming effect on gardeners and the benefits for wildlife but for the new and exciting planting opportunities it opens up for your garden. Aquatic plants add colour and soften the edges so that the pond nestles into its location and looks natural, and offer structure and form. They’re crucial for creating wildlife habitats so that insects have places to land, lay their eggs and hide from predators, and some provide food for pollinators. Then there are the oxygenating plants that are vital for keeping the water in your pond clean. A diverse mix of different aquatic plants will create a long season of interest and provide the widest array of food options and…

STAKE PERENNIALS The secret to a beautiful border full of flower-packed perennials is successful staking. For the plants to show off the blooms to full effect, it’s best to get supports in place now while the plants are still small. If you leave it until the plants start to wobble, it is very hard to give them support and keep them looking natural. Push ready-made plant supports into the ground over clumps of perennials now, or insert canes around the edge of the clump and wind string around the canes in at least two places and tie it securely. Deadhead daffodils While they are a glorious treat in March, announcing the end of winter, daffodils will lose their lustre this month. Deadhead them as soon as the petals have lost…

Flower-greedy gardeners can take a slice of inspiration from this vibrant cutting garden, created by Sarah Raven for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Its strength lies not only in a sumptuous clashing colour palette of purple and orange, but also in its continuity, with a raft of hard-working cut-and-come-again performers. As long as you keep ‘live-heading’ the flowers (by regularly cutting them for the vase to make your house beautiful) the annuals and perennials will continue to deliver more buds. You’ll get the best display on fertile but welldrained ground. Aim to create a bed that can be accessed from all sides, for easy pickings. Now is the time to start sowing and planting to achieve a peak of bloom over the coming months. GET STARTED WITH A PLANTING PLAN…

Gardens offer so many benefits to us, and high up on this list is what it can do for our health and wellbeing. While many gardeners have known this for a long time, it is only in the last 20 years or so that research has begun to identify and quantify these effects, with more studies emerging each year to add to the picture. They point to gardens having the potential to help with everything from weight loss, heart disease and diabetes through to helping reduce anxiety and depression and increasing the quality of life. But what of nature in gardens? Can gardening to help wildlife provide an added boost for all of us, too? There is still much more we need to learn on the subject, but the evidence…

Garden answers Visit greatmagazines.co.uk/gardenanswers PHONE 01858 438884 QUOTE AMAA Garden answers At Garden Answers magazine our aim is to help you make the most of your outdoor space by creating your perfect garden, whatever the season. Now’s the perfect time to take out a subscription with spring just around the corner. This rich source of gardening ideas and inspiration can be delivered direct to your door, 13 times a year, with a free packet of seeds with every issue if you choose the Print Subscription. Or try our Print+ Subscription, which allows you to enjoy Members-only rewards and discounts. Simply scan the QR code (below on the left-hand page) with your smartphone or tablet camera to find out more. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE ON SHOP PRICES Subscribe Print Subscription: Get 6 months…

1 Use a galvanised planter for your herbs, making sure it is at least 30cm deep and has plenty of drainage holes. Choose young plants, which will establish quickly, a mulch and sticks for labelling. 2 Fill the pot with equal parts multi-purpose and soil-based compost to 5cm from the top. Put broken clay pieces at the base if pot is over 40cm deep. A 40cm compost depth will suffice. 3 Use a trowel to make holes a little deeper than each rootball. Mix grit into each hole to help drainage. Plant the herbs quite close together if you will be picking regularly. Firm around the plants and leave a gap between compost level and rim to allow for mulch. 4 Use a sharp garden knife to remove the bark…

Q How can I make the most of this sunny corner of my space? This little corner has so much potential; often the most challenging sites provide the most planting fun! A position in full sun and a freely-draining soil suggest drought-tolerant, Mediterranean plants–just look at how well the variegated yucca is thriving! Filling the bed with a mix of statement, clump-forming and low-growing evergreens and silver-leaved ‘evergreys’ will provide a blast of summer colour while covering the bare soil all year round. Good statement evergreens include clipped Ligustrum ovalifolium (privet), variegated Rhamnus alaternus ‘Argenteovariegata’ (Italian buckthorn), a small pittosporum or Laurus nobilis (bay tree). Enhance the fences by painting them a chic grey (or white, or even blue to max out on the Mediterranean theme) then add trellis to support…

Reader tips I’ve found a use for my old Christmas tree trunk. Potted up with climbing plants at the base to keep it secure, I’ve hung bird feeders on it, and it’s a hit! Susan Walker, by email I save empty cardboard egg boxes, cut a rectangle out of the lid and insert a piece of plastic. Then I sow seeds inside my little mini propagator. Carol Casan, Tiverton, Devon Instead of expensive horticultural grit, I always use poultry grit. It looks more attractive and the birds love it at eggshell-making time. Jeremy Laurie, Brecon Fiery focal point I brought my clivia into the front room and in the sunshine it sent up three flower spikes. Diana Yendell, by email Star letter STICK WITH IT I was really inspired by…

CLUES ACROSS 1 Pineapple flower genus distinguished by its long, spiky racemes (7) 5 Colour of snowdrop blooms (5) 6 UK native woodland tree with ‘lamb tail’ catkins and late summer nuts (5) 8 Botanical name of the genus to which 6 Across belongs (7) 10 Culinary herb of the mentha family (4) 11 Salix aegyptiaca–Persian or - - - -willow with purplish-red shoots (4) 15 Chilean desert plateau where plants can bloom in autumn (7) 16 Any dry edible seed of a legume (5) 17 Sweet, juicy greenhouse fruit in the genus cucumis (5) 18 Tagetes erecta, - - - - - - - marigold, annual larger than its French relative (7) CLUES DOWN 1 Genus of the borage family to which viper’s bugloss belongs (6) 2 Layer of…

Tulip ‘White Triumphator’ is the very essence of spring. There’s an elegance to these fluted, lily-flowered tulips that’s hard to beat. Here, the snow-white blooms are mirrored by the variegated edges of hosta ‘Patriot’, whose radiant good health can’t help but draw the eye. April and May bring exponential leafy growth in our gardens and this border shows just how effective contrasting leaf forms and textures can be, providing lots of detail to look at. From the shimmer of fresh buxus leaves to plate-like flowering sea kale, it offers a series of treats. 3 easy steps STEP 1 DESIGN YOUR BORDER LEAFY LOVELIES Hosta ‘Patriot’, box and giant sea kale create contrasts of foliage texture, with speckled pulmonaria and tulip ‘White Triumphator’ STEP 2 CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS CRAMBE CORDIFOLIA…

Any planting deserves to be made with a generous dollop of fun, and playing with the whole colour spectrum is an exhilarating way to add pizzazz to your plot. The Colour Box Garden, designed by Charlie Bloom and Simon Webster for Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, proved that a careful selection of high-voltage, hard-working plants can create a spectacular garden. To produce this exuberant display, plant in drifts so the flowers mingle together. The verbena will float above the other plants on its tall willowy stems; all of them will look good interspersed with grasses if you’d like to tone down the effect. 3 easy steps STEP 1 DESIGN YOUR BORDER BRAZEN SHOW Lipstick-pink achilleas, orange heleniums and a veil of lilac Verbena bonariensis, with agapanthus behind. Neighbours may well…

The stunning flowers of buddleja are a magnet for pollinators, drawing in butterflies, moths and bees with their long-lasting, nectar-rich panicles. Together with salvias, nepeta and anthemis daisies, they’ll offer colour and interest that lasts from May into autumn. Purples and blues bring tranquillity to summer borders, but to stop them sliding into the background requires a deft planting touch. Here, a pop of pale lemon-yellow anthemis accentuates the blues, while the shimmer of silver foliage from buddleja ‘Lochinch’ lights up the back of the border. All these plants prefer well-drained soil and a sunny position; they’ll even cope with drought once established. 3 easy steps STEP 1 DESIGN YOUR BORDER STEP 2 CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS ANTHEMIS TINCTORIA ‘EC BUXTON’ Long-stemmed, lemon-yellow daisy-like flowers June-Aug and aromatic, finely divided…

Choose plants with pollinators in mind and you’ll soon be visited by those ever-busy butterflies, hoverflies and bees, whose tumbling flight is so hypnotic to watch. This blush-and-blue planting of herbaceous perennials has huge pollinator appeal, while also winning points for serious longevity, both in flower and the skeletons left behind. Find the plants a sunny site then sit back and watch the show. Just make sure you pay attention to the conditions–monarda, phlox and echinacea prefer moist, humus-rich soil with sufficient drainage to prevent prolonged winter wet, while the agastache and hylotelephium require a well-drained soil. 3 easy steps STEP 1 DESIGN YOUR BORDER STEP 2 CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS ECHINACEA PURPUREA Pink-petalled coneflower with dusky orange centres. A pollinator pleaser, flowering July-Sept. Finches love the seedheads. H: 90cm,…

Yellow flowers attract that particular low autumn light, until each petal seems to radiate sunshine in its own right. For this reason no garden should be without indestructible rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’, with its beaming daisy-like flowers. And, while you might be tempted to shy away from goldenrods on the grounds they’re too invasive, Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ has clump-forming growth and elegant wands of tiny flowers, so is worth making room for. October is a pretty good time to establish new borders in your garden but remember to position these plants carefully so the flowers and flame-like berries catch autumn’s low-raking sunshine. 3 easy steps STEP 1 DESIGN YOUR BORDER BRIGHT STUFF Yellow rudbeckia needs a strong partner, and these plump red hypericum berries are perfect. Other yellow-flowering plants such as solidago…

Keep your garden lush and thriving this summer with Flopro, the go-to brand for leak-and-fuss-free watering solutions. One lucky winner will receive a Flopro watering bundle worth more than £100–including the brand-new Cobra expanding hose. Flopro’s strongest-ever expanding hose stretches to 3x its size, never kinks, and even neatly retracts so can be easily stored away when not in use. It is also designed to be 20x tougher than standard fabric hoses, so it stands up to rose thorns and rough terrain, meaning you can water with confidence. Also included is a Flopro Spray Gun Multi 7 Start Set, Flopro Quick Fill&Flo watering can, and the Flopro Soaker Hose (15m). • To enter, visit gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk/freeforyou by midnight on April 22.…

More than 10,000 trees on National Trust estates were toppled by Storm Éowyn, the charity has revealed. The January storm brought hurricane force gales of up to 100mph, wreaking havoc and closing many National Trust destinations, with Northern Ireland and the north of England hardest hit. The trust is now appealing for donations to help repair damage, to include tree planting, and climate adaptation work. Sheila Das, the National Trust’s newly appointed head of gardens and parks said: “We’ve lost some very significant and precious trees, which is hugely sad. “We know climate change is making extreme storms like Éowyn more likely, posing a real threat to gardens and landscapes everywhere.” Donations can be made at nationaltrust.org.uk/support-us.…

Playing with contrasts is a key garden design tool. A border consisting of the same type of flower–say lots of different daisies–would lack sufficient variation and visual stimuli but add in different flower shapes and varying heights and you create something dynamic and interesting. Spikes and spires are plants with upright, tapering flower stems, like botanical rockets shooting up towards the sky. Plants such as lupins, delphiniums and foxgloves, which add drama to a planting scheme by breaking up the line of sight, create focal points where the eye can rest and introduce a sense of movement to the planting. Some spikes and spires, such as veronicastrum, are tall and tower over plants around them. There are mid-height ones, such as lythrum, that can be used to punctuate the spaces…

In his new book, the pioneer of no-dig gardening has put the importance of feeding the soil firmly at the heart of his renowned methods for growing. Charles Dowding’s Compost sheds light on the joyful alchemy of turning household waste into a valuable, free resource. The book dispels the many myths and mysteries of compost making. Charles has packed it with practical, fun and easy to follow advice on how to make perfect compost, whether you garden on a balcony, a small plot or across a large outdoor space. He says: “Experience has told me that when it comes to improving soil to produce healthy growth, it’s compost that provides the answers we need. In this book I use my understandings from decades of compost making to strip away the…

Ideally, site in partial shade for the summer months with sun from autumn to spring; under roses and deciduous shrubs is ideal. Grow in soil that’s reasonably fertile and retentive, but which has good drainage. Plant from spring to early autumn. When growing in pots, water as required to keep evenly moist and boost flowering with a weekly liquid feed in the growing season. Perennial violas become straggly and leggy so trim back with shears at least once during the growing season. Feed and water to encourage rapid regrowth. Propagate by seed, division or cuttings. Sow seed in spring; take cuttings of stem tips in spring or summer and then divide established clumps of plants in autumn.…

Spring is peak alpine season, with an array of small, pretty plants to be enjoyed in gardens. The key for most of these is to give them good drainage and exposure to sun. Because of their size, planting an attractive feature is easy to achieve and it can even be done in the smallest of spaces as well. To start off, mix two parts soil-based compost with one part alpine grit and one part garden sand. This will give the plants the sort of growing medium and drainage that they require. Plant alpines so the crown of the plant is just proud of the compost surface and then, after that, spread a 3cm layer of alpine grit over the soil surface and water them in. Push small rocks or slates…

AWESOME ANNUALS COSMOS BIPINNATUS ‘DAZZLER’ Stand-out crimson-pink cosmos flowering July to the frosts, with delicate ferny foliage. Half-hardy annual. H: 90cm, S: 60cm. BUPLEURUM\ ROTUNDIFOLIUM ‘GRIFFITHII’ Hardy annual with bright green euphorbia-like flowers July-Sept. H: 90cm, S: 30cm. PACK A PUNCH DIGITALIS PURPUREA ‘SUTTON’S APRICOT’ Semi-evergreen foxglove with large, erect spires of pale apricot-pink May–July. H: 1.2m, S: 60cm. DAHLIA ‘LABYRINTH’ Decorative dahlia with informally shaped flowers in peach and shocking pink. Flowers July to the frosts. H: 90cm, S: 75cm. GLORIOUS GRASSES MELICA ALTISSIMA ‘ALBA’ Clump-forming perennial deciduous grass with airy sprays of white droplet-like flowers May–June on slender stems, which wave in the breeze. H: 90cm, S: 60cm PENNISETUM ALOPECUROIDES ‘HERBSTZAUBER’ Chinese fountain grass has fluffy bottlebrush flowerheads that turn from pale beige to pink as they age. Loves sun.…

An antidote to ‘prim and proper’ gardens trimmed to within an inch of their life, Stillingfleet Lodge is a place where plants have space to breathe. A garden that has developed around a Yorkshire farmhouse, it is chock-full of different areas, each with their own identity but all with a love of plants and wildlife at heart. The Avenue–double herbaceous borders, separated by a grassed avenue of ‘Dawyck Gold’ beech–is a natural tapestry of plants allowed to grow without support. Rambling roses and clematis scramble up trellis and pergolas and smother the farmhouse. The Wildflower Meadow–a hay meadow full of native grasses such as Yorkshire fog (Holcus lanatus) rather than a collection of annual flowers–is oozing with food plants for moths and butterflies. The natural clay-lined pond is home to…

Personally, I love the arrival of April but, quite frankly, if you gave me 300 pages to write about what’s happening at the allotment this month, it still wouldn’t be enough! In my first year on the plot, I very quickly realised all the hard work needed to be done in autumn and winter. I can still remember frantically trying to get everything sorted while my seasoned neighbours were relaxing and firing up their first spring barbecues. There was no way I was going to make that mistake again! Now, I spend winter preparing the beds, fixing structures and cleaning, all without the pressure of growing. By the time April arrives, I’m ready to sow, plant and bask in the sunshine. As they say, hindsight is a wonderful thing but…

Our experts GEOFF STEBBINGS gives expert answers to all your gardening problems. Geoff is an author and gardening writer and was head gardener at Myddelton House, north London. GEOFF HODGE will be answering subscriber questions in our new Live Zoom Q&A events. Geoff is a horticultural author, radio broadcaster and speaker, and former online editor for the RHS. IAN HODGSON casts an expert eye over unruly borders, providing advice on how to revamp them. Ian is the author of Great Gardens, in association with the Society of Garden Designers. CONTACT US By post: Garden Answers, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA Email: gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk Web: gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk Social media: Find us on Facebook as Garden Answers X@GardenAnswers Instagram as gardenanswers Send us your queries! BALCONIES Solution of the month Q…

Garden lovers always want to make the most of every single minute in the great outdoors, reluctantly going back inside only when the sun goes down. But that doesn’t have to be the case if you’ve added the dark-defeating delights of garden lighting. Whether you’re entertaining al fresco after dark and need to create some ambient mood lighting, want to light up a garden object to transform it into a nighttime garden feature, have steps or other obstacles that need highlighting to prevent them becoming a hazard, or just want more light to carry on gardening in the darkness, there are garden lights for all occasions and every situation. Post or stake lights can be positioned anywhere around the garden. Just push the post or stake into the ground, or…

FREE*! 24 plants for just £23.96 Bring a burst of colour to garden borders with this collection that has been specially selected to flower in succession from late spring until autumn. This ensures your garden looks at its best for the entire growing season. Plant them in bold groups for maximum impact. The collection features six each of the following plants: • Aquilegia ‘Mrs Scott-Elliot’ Nodding spurred blooms, in a range of pretty colours, are carried delicately on tall wiry stems. These pretty charmers will quickly naturalise to form a crowd of spring blooms. Aquilegia ‘Mrs Scott-Elliot’ is perfectly suited to cottage garden borders and woodland planting schemes–it makes fabulous cut flowers, too. H: 60cm, S: 40cm. • Lavender ‘Munstead’ This neat, compact variety of English lavender bears masses of…

As May glides towards summer it’s fun to wave goodbye to the sunshine yellows of early spring and embrace a more sultry palette. Dark cherry-reds of lupins, decadent peonies and astrantias team well with hot pink cirsium thistles, offering a welcome touch of glamour. Crucially, the inclusion of aquilegia ‘Black Barlow’ brings a shadowy depth to the whole planting scheme that makes the blushing lupin and peony shine all the brighter. 3 easy steps STEP 1 DESIGN YOUR BORDER GLAMOUR GIRLS Bold lupin spires sway among hot pink peonies, cirsium and astrantias, while violet-black aquilegias add shadowy depth. STEP 2 CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS LUPINUS ‘BEEFEATER’ Brilliant red lupin with strong, tightly-packed flower spikes slowly opening from their base, May-July. H: 90cm, S: 60cm. AQUILEGIA ‘BLACK BARLOW’ This columbine has…

This elegant Chris Beardshaw planting scheme is a celebration of all that’s good in a June herbaceous border. The sweep of purples and blues range from the true sky-blue of bearded iris ‘Mer du Sud’ to the more recessive blues and purples of salvias and lupins, lifted by the pale sugar-pink of statuesque Geranium palmatum. In the background (not shown) Chris has also included lots of rich green foliage from multi-stemmed field maples (Acer campestre) and a tapestry of box hedging and ferns to help the blues and purples glow even brighter. 3 easy steps STEP 1 DESIGN YOUR BORDER STEP 2 CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS LUPIN ‘MASTERPIECE’ Dramatic purple lupin with tightly packed flower spikes and a suggestion of orange to the petals. Flowers June and July. H: 75cm,…

Chocolate and lemon form a delicious late summer plant duo when placed together, and when you start to seek out these hues, it’s remarkable how many plants teeter towards the CHOC-A-BLOC burnished brown Lemon-yellow paintbox. rudbeckias From bronze zing out end of the rudbeckias against the to sultry dusky bronze maroon scabious foliage and of Lobelia cosmos, there are plenty cardinalis, of opportunities with scabious for you to ‘Chile experiment. Black’ and a brown rudbeckia To help these behind sultry colours sing, choose a sunny spot and pep it up with dabs of yellow or orange, such as the golden daisies of rudbeckia ‘Goldsturm’ or red-eyed dahlia ‘Moonfire’ and you’ll have a border that’s both bright and mouth-wateringly opulent. 3 easy steps STEP 1 DESIGN YOUR BORDER CHOC-A-BLOC Lemon-yellow rudbeckias…

Every garden deserves a large cloud of blue Michaelmas daisies to steer the way into autumn. Symphyotrichum ‘Little Carlow’ is exceptional, with masses of pale violet-blue flowers backed up with good mildew resistance and wiry growth that side-steps staking. In this planting scheme, it’s contrasted with large-leaved Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Firedance’, whose salmon-red flowers add warm spikes against the blue. To strengthen this perennial pairing we’re going to add a flash of vibrant Japanese blood grass in the foreground, and an elegant fountain of silvery Miscanthus sinensis ‘Morning Light’ behind, to introduce movement as well as a lingering winter silhouette. In addition to the late colour and valuable structural form, the contrasting daisy flowers of the asters, scarlet persicaria flower spikes and reddish miscanthus seedheads help provide much-needed late food for…

Sparkle is key to the winter garden and the silvery evergreen foliage found in some Mediterranean shrubs is a brilliant way to introduce it to your space. The fine, ever-grey leaves of santolina and lavender provide two dependably twinkly backdrops, seen here after frost in the dry garden at Cambridge University Botanic Garden. Against them, the golden-leaved yucca and butter-yellow foliage of hylotelephium ‘Autumn Joy’ seem to glow all the brighter. This planting would suit a sunny site and free-draining soil; use these conditions to your advantage by planting this dazzling winter gravel garden. 3 easy steps STEP 1 DESIGN YOUR BORDER CREATE CONTRASTS As winter progresses, shrubs and perennials such as hylotelephium, santolina, berberis and spiky yucca offer a range of textures and leaf shapes. STEP 2 CHOOSE THE…

Conjuring flowers in February is a magic trick worth learning. By June, floral extravagance is ten a penny but in the last month of winter, every bloom counts. For sheer colour, winter-flowering violas are hard to beat, coping with hideous conditions and flowering from autumn until spring in kind weather. Equally cherished are reticulate irises, thanks to their capacity to shrug off the cold and produce jewel-like blooms through February and March. Throw in the long-lasting blooms of a Lenten rose, epimediums, narcissus and heucheras, and you’ll stretch the colour out right through spring. 3 easy steps STEP 1 DESIGN YOUR BORDER PURPLE PROFUSION Hellebores and reticulate irises chime with dainty purple and yellow violas. STEP 2 CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS VIOLA WITTROCKIANA Tiny flowers in a sparkling colour mix…

Patio project PINK AND PURPLE PARADISE While there are seemingly limitless colours to choose from in spring, restricting your choice can create some special displays on the patio. This blend of hot pinks and purples is easy on the eye and shows how stylish small plants can be. Using different levels by raising up pots, with lower ones beneath, is an easy of way of adding tiers of colour in a small space. Low-growing phlox are perfect for spilling over pot edges and the erysimum will delight with flowers almost all year, year after year. The stipa is perhaps the ultimate filler plant and cheerful violas will flower until the end of spring. Give these pots a position in light shade.…

JOY OF SPRING BULBS April 1, 10.30am-12.30pm, St Timothee, Darlings Lane, Pinkneys Green, Maidenhead, Berkshire SL6 6PA Enjoy a talk and slideshow by Sarah Pajwani and a walk around the gardens. Admission £20 including drink and cake. • ngs.org.uk MEDICINAL HERBS April 4-5, 9am-4pm, Jekka’s Herb Farm, Rose Cottage, Shellards Lane, Avon, Bristol BS35 3SY Herb specialist Jekka is encouraging visitors to grow their own first-aid kit with talks, tours, stalls and food. Admission £25. • jekkas.com CYCLAMEN SHOW Apr 5, 9am-4pm, RHS Harlow Carr, Crag Lane, Beckwithshaw, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG3 1QB A wealth of cyclamen plants to admire and buy. • cyclamen.org BLOSSOM TOURS Apr 5-6 & 26-27, 11.30am & 2pm, Brogdale Farm, Faversham, Kent ME13 8XZ Book a free tour of the 400 cherry varieties in the…

1 Small is beautiful. If you fill a compost heap within three months and then leave it without any more additions, that gives a quicker and better result than a larger heap that might take a year to fill. 2 Following from that, if you can scrounge other waste materials, that will speed up decomposition, as well as giving you more compost. 3 Balance the greens and browns. In winter, stockpile tree leaves and woody materials for use in the summer when you have plenty of greens. That’s any fresh leaves, including weeds. 4 Keep to one quarter brown and three quarters green as your proportion of addition. For brown woody material, cut any wood lengths to maximum 10cm so that heap contents can bed down and be touching each…

One of the first perennials of the year to come into bloom, violets are dainty darlings that bear masses of little five-petalled flowers, with contrasting clumps and carpets of evergreen foliage borne on low-growing plants. Depending on the species, violets can be grown at border edges, under deciduous shrubs and hedges or in woodland and wild gardens. They may be small in stature but they are big on beauty. The genus Viola is found worldwide with up to 500 species, though UK gardeners are likely to be most familiar with the many short-lived viola cultivars popular for bedding, particularly in the winter–spring period when there’s little else in flower. The blooms are often intricately marked to give the effect of little faces and come in many different colourways from pure…

VIOLA CORNUTA Also known as horned violet due to its slender-spurred flowers, this species has blue or white forms. Can be wide-spreading, H: to 15cm, S: to 45cm. VIOLA ODORATA Fragrant violet-blue or white sweet violet flowers appear as early as late winter. It forms spreading clumps of heart-shaped leaves. H: 10cm, S: 30cm. VIOLA SORORIA The woolly blue violet forms clumps of large, stemless leaves and bears white, blue or speckled flowers in spring and summer. Readily self seeds. H: 10cm, S: 20cm. VIOLA RIVINIANA PURPUREA GROUP Also known as the Labrador violet, due to its northern origins. Attractive purple-flushed young foliage and mauve flowers. H: to 10cm, S: to 40cm. VIOLA TRICOLOR Also called wild pansy and heartsease, this native flower with multicoloured blooms thrives in sun. It’s…

Dig over the soil, breaking up any compacted ground, remove perennial weeds and add a generous layer of well-rotted organic matter and some extra grit if you’re on heavier ground. While the perennials are young, you can increase the proportion of hardy annuals to cover bare ground, altering the number as the perennials mature. 1 Sow the hardy annuals Cerinthe, linaria and calendula are easy to grow, produce enormous quantities of flowers, and keep performing as long as they’re fed, watered and regularly picked. You can start them under cover in modules in March and April, or sow direct outside in April and May. To get flowers really early in the year, make a September sowing, either overwintering plants outside if your garden is sheltered, or in a cold frame with…

YOU WILL NEED • 1 tbsp olive oil or butter• 500g potatoes• 1 carrot• 1L stock• 1 bunch beet greens (with small beets attached)• 1 tbsp lemon juice• ½ tsp ground pepper• 125ml double cream• 4 eggs METHOD 1 Heat the olive oil or butter in a large pot. Add peeled and diced potatoes, and sauté for 5 mins. 2 Grate the carrot and add to the pot. Sauté for another 2 mins. 3 Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 mins. 4 Separate the beet greens from the beets. Wash thoroughly. Peel the beets and slice them thinly or into half-moons. 5 Add the sliced beets to the pot and cook for 4 mins. Then add the chopped greens and cook for another 4…

Perfect for adding height to borders, these dramatic and architectural foxgloves will add plenty of colour. Long-flowering throughout summer, tall spires of bell-shaped blooms appear in abundance, making an impressive statement. The nectar-rich flowers are loved by pollinators and are excellent for cutting, giving you armfuls of cut flowers all summer long. Supplied as 24 young plants for £24–just £1 per plant, delivery from May. • Buy Digitalis Collection (12 plants, 1 of each) for £19. • Buy Digitalis Collection (24 plants, 2 of each) for £24. • Buy Digitalis Collection (36 plants, 3 of each) for £34. DELPHINIUMS FOR JUST £1 EACH DELPHINIUM ‘PACIFIC GIANTS MIX’ These cottage garden favourites will make a dramatic statement in your garden with majestic spires that will add height to borders and beds.…

Sometimes we’re happily planning and planting our gardens six months ahead at other times it’s a struggle to plan for the following weekend… The great thing about this border is you can start it now and then enjoy a display this spring as well as in the years to come. This pretty combination is essentially a woodland scheme using plants that like a humus-rich, moisture-retentive soil. The white spires of tiarella lift the whole picture, while the unusual scented perennial wallflower ‘Winter Orchid’ echoes the warmth of the red-stemmed dogwood. 3 easy steps STEP 1 DESIGN YOUR BORDER STEP 2 CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS PULMONARIA ‘BLUE ENSIGN’ Violet-blue flowers that fade to purple, from March to May. Loved by pollinators and supported by a neat rosette of dark green leaves.…

Come August, hot borders turn up the garden tempo. For a really eye-stopping, heart-quickening and smile-inducing colour spectrum, the flames have it hands down. Inky-leaved dahlia ‘Moonfire’ and the flickering flames of crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ provide the fireworks here at Bourton House Garden in Gloucestershire, supported by the stripy foliage of orange canna ‘Durban’. You could embellish the very solid foundation of these three plants by using classic hot border perennials, such as kniphofias or ephemeral annuals such as zinnias, helianthus, amaranthus, poppies, eschscholzia, as well as ricinus. 3 easy steps STEP 1 DESIGN YOUR BORDER HOT PROPERTY Fiery canna leaves and crocosmia flowers make impressive partners for dark-leaved dahlia ‘Moonfire’. Add kniphofias and tithonias to boost the drama. STEP 2 CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS DAHLIA ‘MOONFIRE’ Peachy-yellow flower with a…

Evergreens serve to remind us that the garden still lives, even if the sun fails to make its way through the January grey. Skimmias are glossy-leaved shrubs that deserve a spot in every garden and ‘Kew Green’ with its months of conical buds followed by pale cream flowers is a winter leading light. Here it has been given an equally handsome supporting cast with vertical rosemary, arching carex and lance-like iris. Imagine this as a welcoming cluster of plants by your front door; it’s a combination that would look good whatever the season. 3 easy steps STEP 1 DESIGN YOUR BORDER FROSTY SHIMMER A sprinkling of frost pinpoints the varying textures of this carefully orchestrated assembly of evergreens STEP 2 CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS CAREX COMANS ‘FROSTED CURLS’ Slender, arching,…