CATEGORIES

Our Guide To The Best Bulbs To Plant For Spring 2021

With tens of thousands of bulbs to choose from, what should you order? Val Bourne selects the finest, chosen for looks, performance and reliability

How To Create Your Own Compost

Planning on doing some garden tidying this month? Now’s the perfect time to start your own compost heap…

How To Force Bulbs For Christmas

Winter flowers

So Many Perfect Days For Our Friends, The Butterflies

Let’s Talk nature writer Barry Madden has been enjoying what has turned out to be a fantastic year for something we all have in our gardens ... butterflies.

Summer harvest successes

These varieties have really proven their worth, says Peter

The bellflower bee

Val looks at a tiny black bee that relies on bellflowers

Cluster-flowered roses

Arthur Hellyer, MBE, VMH, describes his choice of the finest cluster-flowered (floribunda) rose varieties. All those listed are still available today

Lilies with a difference

Autumn is the best time to plant Turk’s caps and Madonna lilies – two beautiful additions to a flower border that will also suit container growing, says Graham Clarke

Make gardening inclusive

Minorities should be encouraged, says top food producer

Lawn breakers

Trouble-making bunnies have demolished Toby’s lawn, so it’s time to set things straight and fix his tattered sward…

Set Boundaries Ablaze With Colourful Climbers

No trees? No problem. You can still enjoy the classic autumnal colour palette by clothing walls and fences with fiery leaves, berries and flowers, says Hazel Sillver

Prep Houseplants For Winter

Prep houseplants for winter

A Healthy Start To Autumn

Warmth and damp need not lead to problems, says Ruth

Looking After Garden Structures

Tidy up after summer and protect for winter, says Ruth

Better safe than sorrel

Thanks to a visiting elephant, Toby has a problem with a feisty pink sorrel. Luckily, he’s found a way to deal with it

Seasonal bedding rethink

Longer-flowering new plants create a challenge, says Peter

Create a bee-loved glade

These woodland gems thrive in tricky areas, says Ruth

Grasp the nettle!

Grow nettles to attract butterflies and caterpillars, says Val

Add some sparkle with Shrubby salvias

Late-season gems in vibrant shades – given the right conditions these plants have a surprisingly long flowering season and may even survive the winter, says Val Bourne

A tough nut to crack

If you want to go gathering nuts, try picking slightly unripe ones before the squirrels get them, says Bob

A Japanese water garden

Creating an oriental-style idyll with harmonising water features has truly been a labour of love for Dorset couple Terry and Dawn Heaver, as Sue Bradley discovers…

My Garden Life

Harry Hoblyn took the reins at the gardens at Charleston, the former residence of the Bloomsbury Group, this year and loves the wonder of nature

Get Blooms Into Autumn With Late-Flowering Clematis

Whether you want it to cover a fence or scramble through a shrub, the right clematis will do the job beautifully. Anne Swithinbank offers options for September and beyond

My Magnificent Seven For Spring

Cheshire gardener Linda Sage chooses her favourite bulbs to light up your new year garden

Purr-fect catmint

Peter looks at one of the best new garden plants in 10 years

Late-summer greenhouse

Misting, water, humidity and feeding are all key, says Ruth

My favourite plant, and why

In these extracts from 1939, AG readers reveal their favourite plants and explain why they wouldn’t be without them in their gardens

Wind of change

Val looks at a report aiming to reverse the decline of insects

My delphinium dilemma

I don’t want to lose them this late in the game, says Ruth

Going green

Toby doffs his cap to some of the most important plants he will be sowing in late summer: his precious green manures