Early-pollinator planting
Spoil early pollinators in your garden with a container that's a great source of pollen and nectar, as well as bursting with colour. Euphorbias and wallflowers are well recognised as supporting bees before many other blooms are out, and the mixture of purple and green is a classic colour-harmonising combination. Planting aquilegia among these will offer height to your design, as well as a frothy and light texture. Around the base, orange violas provide an injection of warmth, while complementing the rusted finish of a weathered steel cube planter. Most plants can be replanted in the garden once the display has gone over, with the exception of the wallflowers and aquilegias, which are short lived.
WE USED
This story is from the April 2023 edition of Gardeners World.
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This story is from the April 2023 edition of Gardeners World.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Travel Ideas For Garden Lovers
Looking for green-fingered holiday inspiration? The GW team share recent destinations for garden getaways
Your wildlife month
December is a time for reflection in the garden. What worked for wildlife in 2023 and what didn't? How could you do more? Looking at the bones of the garden now, is there space for more plants? Are your fences bare? Are there enough berries and hips? You have until March to plant bare-root trees and shrubs. What would look good? What would better serve wildlife?
The Full Monty
I can, and occasionally do, manufacture jobs in a kind of gung-ho, boy-scout spirit
Expert's choice
Smaller variegated ivies still pack a big punch all year round, says Graham Rice
YOUR PRUNING MONTH
Frances Tophill explains what to cut back now, including grapevines and hardy shrubs
Hardwood cuttings
It's the zero-fuss way to make free new shrubs - just follow our guide from Nick Bailey
Hassle-free harvests
While veg-plot activities slow down in winter, there is still plenty to do, from planting fruit trees, and harvesting sprouts and salads to taking stock of your growing year so you can plan next year's crops, says Jack Wallington
The happy house plant guide
In the first of a seven-part series, Jane Perrone shares expert advice on how to give your house plants the best start to a long and healthy life in your home
The science of soil
Healthy soil is teeming with life - Becky Searle delves below the surface to explore how this fascinating system works and how it can benefit our plants
'It's like another lung - like having oxygen on tap. It makes you breathe in a different way'
Helen Maxwell's garden in rural Carmarthenshire surrounds the house that her husband (who's an architect) designed.
