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 Letters

Our new free seeds are here! • A wide range of new varieties and old faves, says Ruth

Sow now for spires of colour • Verbascum (mullein) is a stylish beauty for all gardens

Taking hardwood cuttings • There is still time before buds unfold, says Ruth

Spice up your life! • Start sowing chillies for this year’s harvest, says Ruth

It’s time to sow sweet peas • Midwinter plants flower before spring-sown, says Ruth

Beating the season’s chill • Brave the cold and keep your plants healthy, says Ruth

Try new fruits • Fancy broadening your horizons? Make this your year for growing a more unusual or exotic fruit tree, says Bob

Going for a song • Val loves ravens as she can hear them croaking like frogs

Focus on… Raised beds • Give crops a lift, help with soil health and protect from pests. Whether you opt for tanalised timber or repurposed wood, it’s easy to make raised beds, says Lucy

Spread cold comfort with winter wonders • Bring on the snow, frost and ice, says Graham Rice, whose ultra-hardy suggestions will light up the garden whatever the midwinter weather brings

Dwarf spring bulbs • Ready-potted bulbs can be repurposed for the following spring, says Graham Rice

This week… Mahonias • Evergreen mahonias are good for ground cover or statement plants in the border

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

WORDS OF WISDOM • From Amateur Gardening’s historic 139-year-old archive

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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Treating apple canker • Steve and Val Bradley explain how to tackle a disease that can be fatal if left untreated

Ask ANNE SWITHINBANK • Masterclass on: Japanese maples

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

Moving pictures • While it may not be recommended in books, relocating his self-sowing snowdrops now works a treat and gives Toby a chance to appreciate more stunning spring displays