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

SUGAR-COATED TREATS • This fabulous candy-coloured border is the horticultural equivalent of walking into your favourite sweet shop!

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

Drip, drip, drop • Take inspiration from April showers with these practical and beautiful gifts

BEGINNER BENEFITS

Wish list • The world of primulas is full of colour throughout spring and you can plant now

COMPETITION • WIN A FLOPRO GARDEN WATERING BUNDLE WORTH MORE THAN £100!

What’s on…

Pearly white dazzlers • Can you name these bulbous spring-flowering plants with charming and elegant snowy blooms? Answers p12

GALES DEVASTATE NATIONAL TRUST TREES

DANCER AMY INSPIRES NEW SWEET PEA

30-minute makes • A fresh wreath made from beautiful spring blossom makes a delightful door centrepiece. Use stems from old apple trees that produce excess fruit, or snip some stems of hawthorn.

Book of the month

QUIZ ANSWERS

Brilliant BOTANICAL ROCKETS • It’s easy to get fixated on colour when planning garden borders, but height plays an equally important role

SPIKES AND SPIRES FOR CUT FLOWERS

SUMMER BORDER SUPERSTARS

BLACK GOLD How to make beautiful compost • No-dig expert Charles Dowding explains why good compost, the gardener’s precious ‘black gold’, is the key to healthy, happy plants

CHARLES’ TOP 10 TIPS FOR BEAUTIFUL COMPOST

Celebrating POND PLANTS • A diverse mix of aquatic pond plants is vital for making the most of yourwater feature and supporting a myriad of wildlife

MUST-HAVE POND PLANTS

Vibrantly vivacious VIOLETS • These dainty darlings flower at Easter time, forming sweetly-scented carpets of purple and white that are big on beauty

Expert notes

How to grow violets

OUR PICK OF THE BEST

April • With spring getting into its stride, there are lots of ways to embrace the new growing season, from adding colourful plants to tidying, feeding and weeding

PLANT AN ALPINE FEATURE • Easy alpines are a must for a sunny place and perfect for patio centrepieces

Plant a SPRING CONTAINER • Give your patio or door front an instant lift by planting a mixed container that’s big on colour

PLANT SOME SHALLOTS

Create a mix & match FLOWER PATCH • Plant this vibrant mix of long-flowering bulbs, annuals and perennials now for a colour clash that works all through summer

ENHANCE THE MIX • This abundant planting can be supplemented with additional annuals, showstopping dazzlers and textural grasses to keep the party going right into autumn.

HOW TO PLANT

HEALTHY BY Nature • Adrian Thomas looks at how gardening with wildlife in mind can help us mentally and physically

WILDLIFE GARDEN JOBS FOR APRIL

Next month in Garden Answers • MAY ISSUE on sale April 23

A perfect Haven • A dedicated couple turned a featureless field into a plot to be proud of by learning on the job

JACKIE’S ESSENTIAL PLANTS FOR A LARGE GARDEN

The art of relaxation • Stillingfleet Lodge’s garden is a northern jewel that’s flowing, natural and gently allows the plants to express themselves!

Panoramic beauty • Hyde Hall is the largest garden in the charity’s portfolio. Its rolling hills, ornamental horticulture, wild woodlands, majestic meadows and stylish gardens are just 30 minutes from London

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Welcome to my lovely plot • April heralds the...