Home DIY can bore or worry in equal measure but if you adopt the 'have-a-go' principle you'll find it's so much easier to get results.
Whether you're making paths, plant supports or raised beds, there's wriggle room to interpret and work up designs of your own. Make use of materials you might have to hand, like bricks stashed behind the shed or some lengths of old timber, and the alchemy of upcycling from 'rubbish' to a fit-for-purpose feature is incredibly satisfying. Of course, anything with serendipity in its DNA will save you money but don't make the mistake of mixing up economy with looking cheap. Like vintage clothing, a handmade cold frame crafted from quality materials can outlast anything shop-bought.
Age is a virtue, so features made from materials with a previous life will blend seamlessly with their surroundings if you get it right.
Three classic garden makes
Dig out some old timber and get started with these recycling ideas
Raised beds with character
Reuse chunky, pre-treated wood or old scaffold planks for easy and straightforward raised beds. To extend their working life, line the inside with plastic to keep the wood dry, and upgrade from timber pegs in the corners to metal fence spikes or 'L' shaped angle irons. These last for years and have the heft to hold the sides more firmly.
High-capacity compost heap
Four pallets of a similar size and some rope to lash the corners together are all you need to corral autumn leaves or bulky council green-waste compost.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2023 من Gardeners World.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April 2023 من Gardeners World.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
We love June
We're cruising towards midsummer: this is a month full of love and abundance. Wherever you look there will be something in your garden that lifts the spirits and makes you glad to be alive. We have colour to cheer us, we have leaves that still have the bounce and freshness of small puppies, we have the first berries fattening up, there are birds frantically parenting very demanding broods of chicks, the bees are all over the place, it's prime barbecue and picnic season, and we have lawns as lush and green as billiard tables. What a month to fall in love.
Your wildlife month
The female will usually lay one clutch of up to eight eggs
An edible garden in pots
Join Lucy Bellamy in creating an edible container garden for all seasons, as she harvests what's ripe now and starts later-season crops
Garden craft with kids
Fill the summer holidays with fun nature makes for kids, including botanical printed t-shirts, seed sowing in upcycled food containers and a hanging home for beneficial insects. Jaime Johnson and family show you how
Secrets of a COLOURFUL GARDEN
Using a colour theme is an easy way to give any garden a strong, unified character - Nick Bailey shows you how
Indoor plants, outdoor treats
Break the rules and give your house plants a summer holiday, with Michael Perry's mixed pot display ideas
YOUR PRUNING MONTH
The first few weeks of summer are a good time to get spring-flowering plants in shape. Follow Frances' guide for best results
Gardening for wellbeing
As the pressures of modern living bear down, our outside spaces can provide soothing respite for our minds and bodies, says Arit Anderson
Your greenhouse guide to A fruitful summer
Get the best from your greenhouse fruit and vegetable crops this summer, with these tried and trusted growing tips from Adam Frost
Stars of the show
Agapanthus is the perfect midsummer plant, flowering with spectacular blooms from June onwards and, as Monty explains, it loves to grow in a pot