Garden Answers

Garden Answers is a vibrant and inspiring gardening magazine filled with ingenious design ideas and exciting plant combinations guaranteed to make your garden beautiful.

Meet the Contributors “This month in the garden I’ll be…”

Welcome

Celebrate THE JOY OF SPRING • Light filtering through the Japanese maple leaves adds an iridescence to this informal border filled with spring flowers, shrubs and trees

Be inspired by… • Plants, books, events & buys for the month

Keeping mum • Spoil the special lady in your life on Mother’s Day

RARE PLANT HUNT

Wish list • The RHS has matched the warm, earthy hues of Mocha Mousse, Pantone Colour Institute’s colour of the year, with plants from its collection

WIN THE ULTIMATE LAWN CARE BUNDLE

What’s on…

Springing into bud • Can you identify which flowering shrubs are bursting into bloom this month? Give yourself an extra point for their full names!

NATIONAL GARDEN SCHEME CEO TO RETIRE

POSITIVE RHS PEAT-FREE TRIALS

30-minute makes • Iris reticulata is one of the earliest spring bulbs to appear. Have fun finding interesting ways to show off these dainty beauties.

Book of the month • Weeds by Nina Edwards, Reaktion, £15.95 in paperback

Spectacular SUMMER BULBS • Sue Fisher recommends transforming patios and borders with bulbs offering a bonanza of colour and fragrance

The joy of BOUNTIFUL BLOSSOM • Bring Hanami, the Japanese festival of blossom, to your garden with a succession of flowers over the coming months

Clusters of CATKINS • Celebrate nature’s pollen-rich feast for early-rising pollinators, says Sue Fisher

March • Spring is sprung! So keep your plot sparkling in the season’s early days

SOW CHEERFUL SUNFLOWERS • Grow a mix of annual sunflowers to add a shot of zinging yellow to summer plantings

TRY LAYERING PLANTS • Create new shrubs and climbers through layering – it’s easy but requires patience

Create a carpet of woodland treasures • Take time to cultivate a collection of winter-bright hepaticas, growing them among these other woodland gems, says Helen Billiald

SHADE-LOVING COMPANIONS • Extend the planting with taller and later-flowering woodlanders, colourful foliage plants plus low-growing silvery shrubs that can cope with a degree of shade, too.

Looking out for LADYBIRDS • Adrian Thomas profiles one of the most useful and attractive insects in the garden, and explains how to boost their numbers

Let the foliage create the drama • Contrasting shapes, colours and textures create verdant layers in this soothing Wiltshire town garden

A garden of pure tranquility • A series of 20 peaceful seating areas invite visitors on a spiritual journey through this calming Derbyshire garden

Jewel of Lancashire • The former home of the eccentric Clifton family is a 78-acre natural paradise

Enjoying Garden Answers?

Welcome to my lovely plot • It’s time for a spring clean on the allotment and Olga couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come

How to grow CHIVES • Simple to grow and easy to look after, chives are a great addition to your herb garden

Ask the Experts • Our experts will help you get the best from your garden

Q&A • Are French beans easy to grow? Why didn’t potted canna flower? Read on…

Garden RESCUE • This border in a Devon garden is in need of more colour and interest. Our garden guru Ian Hodgson has some tips

Gardenwear that fits like a glove • Geoff Hodge says that kitting yourself out with the right clothing could make your gardening much easier

Dial up the colour with VIBRANT FOLIAGE

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