BBC Gardeners' World Mar-22

Enjoy… a high-impact garden for low cost, with our 132-page Your Garden from Seed special edition. This full guide to the seed-sowing year is just £7.99 (+p&p) atmagsdirect.co.uk/YGFS22 Explore… the iconic Cotswolds on our exclusive tour – including two of the finest British gardens created in recent times! Tour places are limited – read more on page 91 Learn… about wildlife gardening from experts Kate Bradbury (right) and David Hurrion, in our online Masterclass on 11 March, from just £15. Go to GardenersWorld.com/Grow-How Save… over £45 on tools and gloves when you subscribe – you’ll receive hard-wearing leather gloves, a stainless steel trowel and Japanese snips. See page 28 Keep up to date with us at FACEBOOK @GWmagazine INSTAGRAM @gardenersworldmag TWITTER @GWmag PINTEREST @GWmag Looking to get in touch? Turn to page 167…

And with thewords “Hello, and welcome to Gardeners’ World”, spring is here… As the nation’s gardeners gather again to watch Monty and friends on a Friday night (because nothing beats the mood of a real-time watchalong), we tune in and breathe out. The seasons are turning, the cycle begins and a whole new growing year – full of promise – lies ahead of us. What a time to be gardening! And what an opportunity we all have, however small our plots, to feed our passions, our families and our souls and, even more, to be part of something big and vital – supporting nature and our wider environment. Our individual gardens add up to a great sweep of this land – so small steps together do make a difference. Growing more plants…

“In March the soft rains continued, and each storm waited courteously until its predecessor sunk beneath the ground” John Steinbeck STAR OF THE MONTH Tulipa ‘Heart’s Delight’ We have been eagerly waiting for this moment ever since that rainy day in November when we got round to planting the last of the bulbs. This is one of the first tulips to push themselves into fower and is always as welcome as a warm buttered crumpet. One of the most important viewpoints in any house is the view from the kitchen sink – plant lots of bulbs so there is always something more inspiring for whoever is doing the washing-up to look at than a dirty casserole dish. Alternatively, plant them in a pot so they can be moved around. Plant bulbs in November. Spent…

Bergenias Which would you prefer in your garden? Elephants or pigs? Doesn’t sound like much of a choice, does it? But, when you plant bergenias, you get both. Let me explain. Elephant’s ears is the common name for bergenias. Not that their leaves are 2m tall and 1.5m wide. Or battleship grey. If they were, we wouldn’t want them. Then there’s the notion that bergenias sound like pigs, as in another common name, pigsqueak. This is said to originate either in the idea that if you rub together two leathery bergenia leaves, or rub a leaf between thumb and forefinger, you hear a squeak. So in the spirit of scientific enquiry I’ve just been out in the garden to rub two bergenia leaves together. The variety is ‘Eric Smith’, its foliage looking especially beetrooty. The…

Height x Spread Up to 60cm x up to 45cm Flowers May-Oct Collection consists of six plug plants each of the following varieties: Verbena bonariensis ‘Buenos Aires’ (main pic) For more offers with no added postage and order details, see opposite page MORE GREAT OFFERS with no extra postage Salvia Collection S. ‘Strawberry Lake’ S. Salgoon ‘Lake McKenzie’ S. Salgoon ‘Lake Tahoe’ H x S 45cm x 30cm F Jun-Sep 3 jumbo plugs (1 of each) £9.99 6 jumbo plugs (2 of each) £19.98 £16.99 SAVE £2.99 Phlox ‘Pharao Blue Eye’ Ideal for rockeries and gravel gardens Makes an effective ground cover Profuse with bright, fragrant flowers H x S 15cm x 50cm F Apr-May 5 Postiplugs £9.99 10 Postiplugs £19.98 £14.99 SAVE £4.99 Alstroemeria Penstemon Ice‘Indian CreamSummer’ Collection P. ‘Blackberry’ Purple blooms P. ‘Sweet Cherry’ Bright-red, bellshaped flowers…

One of my bugbears is the use of the word ‘pests’ when referring to creatures in the garden that don’t minutely and obediently fit into any particular horticultural scheme of things. It is unhelpful because it closes down any possible engagement with a wider view of the world. We share our gardens with lots of other animals. Some of the things we do – like growing masses of soft succulent plants where they would not naturally – encourage certain animals to take advantage of our hubris and tuck in. Slugs and hostas come to mind. Other things we do actively deter and even destroy other creatures, by taking their preferred habitats or food. Excessive tidiness or chemical controls have a lot to answer for in this respect. But we willingly share…