Garden Answers May 2025

Green is a colour we often take for granted in our gardens. We love the hot reds and oranges, or the pastel hues of lilac and pink, but green is rarely on our list of must-haves. It’s odd, because almost every one of those ‘colourful’ flowers relies on a green stem to hold it up; maybe it’s because it is so omnipresent that we tune it out. Lawns can suffer by comparison too; rather than rejoice in the slab of effervescent green in our garden, we often see them as something to walk across to get to the more interesting bits. All of which brings us to our feature this month on euphorbias, which starts on page 24. We call them the perfect partner plants, for the very reason that…

“Refreshing my pond with moisture-loving plants around the edges, including bushy willows and iris.” Sue Fisher on tulips, p14 “I'll be busy hardening off my sweet peas and planting them out.” Louise Curley waxes lyrical on zingy euphorbias, p24 “Sowing, growing and not mowing! Revelling in the thrill of spring with its birdsong and tadpoles.” Adrian’s pollinator passion, p50 “Planting out some tomatoes and going to RHS Chelsea show, for the first time!” Join Olga Grieves on her busy allotment, p76 “Planting out halfhardy bedding, with fleece ready to protect them from cold.” Geoff Hodge’s firepit guide, p94 “I’m planting out sunflowers around the edges of the garden.” Greg Loades on growing carrots in pots, p80…

1 Euphorbias add froth and fullness to the garden in spring, when it’s easy for the garden to still look bare. Euphorbia palustris is full of greenish yellow flowerheads that pollinators love. H&S: 90cm. 2 ‘Ballerina’ is a lily-flowered tulip for a hot-coloured planting scheme and comes into bloom towards the end of spring, adding colour to the abundant foliage of early May. H: 50cm, S: 1m. 3 Greater celandine (Chelidonium majus) and its double flowered form ‘Flore Pleno’ pump out masses of buttercup-yellow flowers as spring segues into summer. A good choice for colour in a shady spot. H: 90cm, S: 50cm.…

Patio project SPRING TEXTURES The beauty of May is that it is the month when foliage and flowers start to team up beautifully. And by mixing pots together, a tantalising mix of colours and textures is easily yours. Fresh heuchera foliage in every colour, and intricately-shaped sedums and sempervivums add a wonderful flourish around mixed spring pots. Wallflowers are perfect pot plants for adding extra oomph among tulips and polyanthus. While evergreen Carex testacea and Euphorbia mellifera provide a subtle, but essential, backdrop. GET THE LOOK Blooming marvellous Everything you’ll need to display your spring flowers in superior style CHELSEA NEWS CHELSEA GARDEN FEATURES UNDERWATER BLOOMERS A garden planted with seagrasses, the only true flowering marine plants, is set to be one of the highlights at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower…

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SPRING COMPETITION May 3-4, 10am-4pm, RHS Garden Harlow Carr, Harrogate North Yorkshire HG3 1QB • rhs.org.uk BIBLICAL GARDEN May 3, 11am-3pm, Elgin Biblical Garden, Moray, Scotland IV30 1HU More than 100 Biblical plants with plant sale for Scotland’s Garden Scheme. Donation. • scotlandsgardens.org CHILLI FESTIVAL May 4-5, 10.30am-5.30pm, Eastnor Castle, Herefordshire HR8 1RL Chillies to try and buy, cookery demos. Entry £15.50. • eastnorcastle.com SPRING FESTIVAL May 8-11, Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Worcs WR13 6NW Show gardens, nursery and trade stands and celebrity guests. Book from £24. • rhsmalvern.co.uk AGS EAST ANGLIA SHOW May 10, 11am-3.30pm, Connaught Hall, Attleborough, Norfolk Range of unusual alpines on show and to buy. Entry £3. • alpinegardensociety.net CEANOTHUS COLLECTION May 11, 2-4pm, Eccleston Square, Pimlico SW1V 1NP NGS open day to visit National Plant Collection…