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 Letter
Pops of seasonal colour • Planting bedding is so easy and economical, says Ruth
Planting and aftercare • How to help your bedding last until its spring flowering
Future drought-proofing • Create a garden that can tolerate the dry, says Ruth
Autumn perennial care • Plant, split and cut back border stalwarts now, says Ruth
Sow autumn sweet peas • Start them now for strong, early blooms, says Ruth
Timeless garden colour • Dwarf larkspur are a traditional cottage beauty, says Ruth
Good garlic sense • While it can grow at any time of year, garlic crops do best if started now. Bob reveals the secrets to perfect bulbs
Marjoram the magnet • Val is hopeful for a gatekeeper butterfly revival
Focus on… Dessert grapes • If you’ve got the right soil and a sunny spot or greenhouse, it’s easy to grow dessert grapes. Lucy reveals all you need to know in order to enjoy a vine romance
Garden Ready Plants SAVE UP TO £25 • Big, strong plants for fast results! Flowers for months on end!
Best shrubs for berries • Winter gardens can look stark and colourless, but there are shrubs that bring a splash of colour to break the monotony, says Camilla Phelps, as she reveals her favourites
Perfect pincushions • Scabious, also known as pincushion flowers, produce gorgeous blooms that lure bees and provide cut flowers for the vase. Hazel Sillver looks at the best types to plant now
This week… Daffodils • Daffodils are easy-to-grow spring-flowering bulbs with thousands of different varieties
Ask JOHN NEGUS • John will reply personally to all your gardening questions
The appeal of yuccas • Christopher Lloyd takes a look at these bold evergreens with their spectacular exotic foliage and flowers
Gardeners with a story • We look at the life of Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)
A gardener’s MISCELLANY • Gardening’s king of trivia and brain-teasers, Graham Clarke
Word search
Crossword • …just for fun!
Get issues for £6
Hand trowels • Steve and Val Bradley try six very different trowels to see which is best
Perennials to plant now
Your LETTERS TO WENDY • Write to us: Letters, Amateur Gardening magazine, Future Publishing Limited, Unit 415, Winnersh Triangle, Eskdale Road, Winnersh, RG41 5TP (please include your address). Email us: amateurgardening@futurenet.com
Amateur Gardening
The need for seed • As he contemplates filling gaps in borders, Toby looks to seeds of plants that fared well during the hot summer