Even as winter prepares to loosen its grip, Frank finds himself worrying about the tender plants that might not survive its final blast
It is a dangerous time for the somnolent. Warm days and lengthening days will have them stirring in their stores and there will be a great temptation, after months of mean trickles that kept the soil just this side of dust, to give everything a good drenching. Leaves are crisp, stems are withered; tubers and rhizomes shrivel with every passable day. Those salvias look as though they are past saving, and some of them are, but the best chance of the survivors is that you keep your head well into March. We may be about to have our coldest weather.
This story is from the February 2018 edition of Gardens Illustrated.
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
This story is from the February 2018 edition of Gardens Illustrated.
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
LAZY DAYS
Alice Vincent has had a hectic 2023, but for next year she's come up with a cunning plan to give herself more time and reduce her carbon footprint
SCULPTING THE LANDSCAPE
Charlotte Rowe's elegant design for a country garden in Hampshire fuses modern and traditional styles and captures the Zeitgeist for naturalism with a contemporary edge
Flavour of the seasons
Smallholder and former chef Julius Roberts suggests three easy, warming recipes for a winter feast with seasonal produce
JOINT ENTERPRISE
In southwest Germany, a couple have combined structural grasses and perennials with good seedheads in their garden to great effect, especially when touched by winter frost
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
There is a biodiversity loss crisis, but research into the wildlife found in gardens has made it clear just how important these spaces are as habitat. Discover how much you can learn, and gain, by identifying and documenting what you find beyond your back door
MATTHEW BIGGS
Horticulture's nicest practitioner on his journey from sweeping playgrounds to Gardeners' Question Time via offering gardening advice to insomniacs
YOUNG AT HEART
The garden of the late, great landscape architect Jacques Wirtz, which is more than 50 years old, is now being renewed by his children
PITTOSPORUM
These evergreen shrubs come in a multitude of sizes and shapes with shiny, often variegated or colourful leaves and small scented flowers
Festive flourishes
Entertain in style this Christmas with ideas for natural decorations from Swallows & Damsons
LUKE SENIOR
A former Ruth Borun scholar at Great Dixter, Luke is now one of the garden's full time gardeners
