Amateur Gardening

Every week, Amateur Gardening is the first choice for both beginners and knowledgeable gardeners looking for advice and easy-to-follow practical features on growing flowers, trees, shrubs as well as fruit and vegetables. Be inspired, by our beautifully illustrated features covering plant and flower groups, both home grown and exotic, and take a sneak peek into some of the most beautiful private gardens around the country. Plus, every week we feature expert opinion and tips from some of gardening’s most influential exponents including Toby Buckland, Bob Flowerdew, Anne Swithinbank, Peter Seabrook and Jo Whittingham.

Editor’s Letter

Our three-day bonanza! • Make the most of the weekend in the garden, says Ruth

Four bank holiday jobs • Keeping the garden going into the autumn

Two things we don’t do now!

Look after garden wildlife in the heat

Scottish peat ban delay plea • Campaigners say that a rushed ban would cause immense damage

It’s time to get tasty • Ruth starts sowing herbs for winter’s windowsills

Think about feeding the soil • Ruth hits a snag with soil and her home composting

A heap of tips • Making and recycling compost

Green manures: an easy way to boost the soil

Poppies with a pop of glamour • Flouncy blooms bring drama to the garden, says Ruth

What’s On

Save your seed spuds • Save money and get a head start on next year’s potato stash by keeping your own seed spuds, says Bob

Beetle mania • Val looks at the good, bad and ugly of the beetle world

Focus on… Plums and damsons • Whether preserved as jams or enjoyed fresh from the tree, these stone fruits deserve a spot in every garden. Lucy reveals how to grow the perfect plums, damsons and gages

See the latest great plant deals

Easy-to-grow achilleas • Ideal for giving the garden a vibrant boost in midsummer, achilleas are a great option to keep the interest going for months, says Graham Rice, as he reveals some of the best

Frequently asked questions

Cheering reds • Hazel Sillver looks at the best plants to get in the ground now for scarlet berries, bark, flowers and leaves to brighten the dreary months of autumn and winter

Frequently asked questions

This week… Petunias • Whether for baskets, borders or containers, petunias are a colourful summer staple

Frequently asked questions

Ask JOHN NEGUS • John will reply personally to all your gardening questions

Quick questions & answers

Land of the giants • We look at a range of large herbaceous plants suitable for the small garden

Indispensable hydrangeas • Christopher Lloyd explains why hydrangeas are ‘utterly indispensable’ in the garden in late summer

A gardener’s MISCELLANY • Gardening’s king of trivia and brain-teasers, Graham Clarke

AG’s Garden Wall

Word search

Crossword …just for fun!

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Peat-free compost trial • Steve and Val Bradley compare five peat-free composts against a peat-based sample

Peat-free compost trial results

Growing a Mexican hat

Monocarpic plants

Your LETTERS TO WENDY

Get up and grow

Amateur Gardening

Cuts both ways • What could be worse than a bad haircut? Toby knows the answer, as he contemplates pruning his lavender

Out with the old, in with the new