BBC Gardeners' World Apr-22

Editor of the Year: Homes & Gardens Longer days, bank holiday freedom, the touch of proper warmth again… who can resist the call of the garden as clocks change and Easter approaches? With life moving outdoors again (at least for a cuppa if not yet a meal!), it’s the perfect time to check that the space still works for you. Doing it now means you’ll reap all the benefits in the months to come. So we’ve asked Monty to share his design secrets – particularly for many of us with just small gardens, as it can be tricky to know where to start and what to leave out! Discover his approach from page 38 (and don’t miss our subscription offer on his book – below). Many readers are already well down the path of…

“April hath put a spirit of youth in everything”William Shakespeare We are always about love on these pages of this excellent magazine, but this month it is particularly appropriate. The sap is rising, the birds are scurrying about gathering twigs, the bees are waking up, the buds are bursting, the boy rabbits are looking at the girl rabbits in that particular way and spring is definitely upon us. April is all about love, so I dedicate this month’s column to all things romantic and in the words of the Bellamy Brothers, “Just let your love flow like a mountain stream, And let your love grow with the smallest of dreams, It’s the season”. STAR OF THE MONTH Myosotis sylvatica (forget-me-not) Very possibly the most overtly romantic flower we have, not for any botanical reason, but…

Ever since double-flowered tulips first appeared in The Netherlands way back in the 1580s, gardeners have hated them! The 18th-century botanist John Hill reported that most gardeners “dispise double tulips [and their] ragged multiplicity of ill-shaped petals.” As recently as 1929, The Book of The Tulip reported that doubling a tulip destroyed its “finest and most distinctive qualities”. These remarks referred to the early-flowering varieties which, long ago, had such weak stems that their heavy heads simply flopped. As later-flowering double tulips were developed, with stronger stems that held the flowers up well, and early doubles with stouter stems came along, opinions began to shift. In fact, opinions changed to the extent that the red and white ‘Carnaval de Nice’ has been described as combining “brilliance, formality and even humour in…

WORTH £12 Buy any shade-loving Astrantia Collection and receive fve free lilies of the valley. Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis) signifes the return of happiness and these beauties will certainly add joy to your garden’s shady areas. The scented white bells nod in the breeze in late spring on arching stems and spread freely, flling your garden with fragrance. Supplied as bare roots. Height x Spread 23cm x 30cm Flowers May For more offers and details on how to order. see opposite page Shade-loving astrantias Commonly known as Hattie’s Pincushion, astrantia’s posies of tiny flowers are surrounded by ruff-like bracts, creating sprays of intriguing star-like blooms on upright, branching stems from May until September, sometimes even longer if deadheaded. Plant in a shady bed or border where their distinctive blooms in shades of pink,…

One of the most charismatic people I have ever met was Dame Elisabeth Murdoch. In December 2006 we filmed her garden Cruden Farm, just outside Melbourne, as part of my series Around the World in 80 Gardens. Arriving early in the morning we heard a vigorous call from a hedge: “Hello! I’ll be with you in a tick”. That was the 98-year-old Dame Elisabeth just finishing her morning swim – unaided, unattended and joining us a few minutes later with all the energy and enthusiasm of one of her 47 great-grandchildren. She was a charming dynamo, commanding any company by the force of her personality and, while her son Rupert Murdoch was at the height of his power and notoriety, you got the sense that in that house, under her…

HOT TOPIC Can they do more? Following on from February’s Hot Topic and all the excellent articles about sustainable gardening, I do wonder why the onus is always on the gardeners. What about the manufacturers and wholesalers? What about the garden centres and DIY stores? All of them are now being forced to change to peat-free composts, but the changes need to be more fundamental than that. For example, how much plastic is used in the horticultural industries? Plastic labels, plastic pots, massive plastic bags of compost, miles of plastic wrapping – all used in vast quantities every day. Thousands of lorries drive from nurseries in Europe, supplying all the plants we are encouraged to buy in garden centres. And then there is garden furniture, outdoor gas heaters, hard landscaping – all transported from…