Amateur Gardening

Money may be said to make the word go round, but some of the best things in life are still very much free. Take being kind unto others. Yes, it can be tricky at times, as lots of people we encounter are a little quicker to stronger emotions after the

The annual floral extravaganza that is the RHS Chelsea Flower Show offers a fascinating peek into the world of garden design, growing and inspiration. All areas of gardening are celebrated, and this year’s show will be offering visitors an insight in

Editor Kim Stoddart E-mail: Editor@amateurgardening.com Website: www.amateurgardening.com CEO Steve Wright Managing director Steve Kendall Group publisher Fiona Mercer Group web editor Rachel Harper Subscriptions marketing manager Claire Aspinall Ret

After the dreary start to the year that segued into a cold, damp and generally miserable spring, I’d like to think that the upcoming late May bank holiday will be a portal to the warmer days of summer. So I am going into it full of optimism and brimm

Do you love tomatoes, yet don’t have a glasshouse or polytunnel? Don’t let that stop you! Outdoor tomato growing is increasingly viable these days in most areas due to blight resistant varieties, so let’s look at how best to cultivate them. In AG’s A

While it might seem easier to pop to the shop for a vacuum-packed bag of salad, this can’t rival the taste of homegrown - and you’ve no idea where or how they’ve been grown. Sowing your own seeds takes just a little effort but will save you money. My

Hawk-moths are a group of insects that are commonly encountered in gardens across the UK. They have acquired their name from their impressive size and ability to manoeuvre well in flight. The adults have spectacular colours and the caterpillars have

Herbaceous peonies, with glorious romantic blooms heralding the start of summer, have featured in Beth’s garden for many years and are partnered with other late spring/early summer favourites such as dicentra and forget-me-nots. As with most plants i

Choosing which fruit and veg to grow can be a challenge, especially when time and space are at a premium. Topping the list for me have to be crops best eaten super fresh, the elusive and expensive. Purple sprouting broccoli is a hot contender, being

Comic writer, performer and producer Armando Iannucci once wrote that Chelsea was the only London football team to have its own flower show! It raised a giggle from the Radio 4 audience, but it also gave awareness of the most prestigious horticultura

Every gardener has a nemesis, a plant that just won’t grow as you want it too. For years, mine was onions. I hated them, but each year I came back for more punishment and failure, lamenting to anyone who would listen that in my last garden, down in t

We have been looking for an evergreen scented honeysuckle to scramble up a bare trellis on the back wall of the house. The local garden centre was the obvious first port of call, but their plants cost in the region of £20 and I was hesitant to splash

We are having a bit of an issue with our raspberries, in that their extensive root systems are sending out shoots all over one side of the garden. They are popping up in the lawn and also in one of the beds, among the delphiniums and alliums, and whi

Q I have two garden pinks which have a lovely perfume and colour when they bloom. They have both gone woody and leggy and some of the stems break very easily. Can I take cuttings as replacement plants, and if so, how? Carol Barrett (via email) A I am

Your lovely letters, emails and social media posts continue to flow in beautifully. Every message, poem, idea and comment matters. Please keep them coming. We will send out a thank you gift for every item published in the magazine so do please send y

Where do new plants come from? The answer, of course, is everywhere! It could be an international breeding company with a specific aim, a skilled nurserymen with a keen eye, sometimes even a home gardener might dabble in a bit of crosspollination and

Those of you who have been following along with my column will know that as well as splashing some cash on a new, quality tool once in a while, I’m also dead keen on saving some of those hard-earned pennies and crafting something of my own too. Past

Read all about it - the many uses of paper and cardboard The Chinese have a saying: ‘if you believe everything you read, better not read’, and it’s as true today as when the philosopher Mencius put his pen to rice paper 2000 years ago. With so many u