Making a garden: A PLACE TO ENTERTAIN

Sunny days and warm, balmy evenings are here at last, so make your garden the perfect welcoming space for meals, parties and celebrations with Alan Titchmarsh's easy guide

All shapes & sizes

In the first of a two-part series, Joe Bagley reveals the weird and wonderful world of cacti and other succulents, with his top 12 favourites and why you should have them in your home

Creative cottage style

Cottage gardens tap into an age-old tradition that merges crops with flowers for an atmosphere that's both romantic and casual. Learn how to create your own as Monty shares his wisdom from Longmeadow

2 for 1 Gardens - Cottage gardens

Celebrate summer by visiting some of the most charming cottage gardens in our 2 for 1 Gardens scheme, using your entry card from the May issue

Digging deeper

Putting the spotlight on the biggest issues in gardening today

Over the fence

Is it feasible to ban pesticides in commercial growing’?

YOUR PRUNING MONTH

With many plants in full growth, there's lots of pruning you can do now, as Frances Tophill explains

Hassle-free harvests

With warmer approaching, spring days and nights May is when seedlings get going and planting outside begins in earnest - follow Jack Wallington's time-saving tips to get growing

Small space big flavour

May is when things spring to life in Rukmini Iyer's garden, with an early crop of peas being the perfect excuse for some crisp, herby vegetable fritters

Growing edible flowers with the experts

Flowers bring natural beauty, colour and flavour to homegrown salads. The experts at Aweside Farm share their tips on growing plants for delicious, edible blooms

Making a garden: A PLACE FOR WILDLIFE

Keeping nature at the heart of the garden, Alan Titchmarsh shows how to encourage wildlife in and still have a beautiful outdoor space that you can enjoy, too

Thrifty garden style

In the latest of our budget-savvy series, Tom Massey shares design tips that needn't cost the earth

Softwood cuttings

Get more plants for free by following Nick Bailey's guide to propagation. This month: softwood cuttings

Pots of joy

Growing in containers is the perfect way to be creative and make the most of every space in your garden, however small. Adam Frost shares his tips on how to grow - almost anything in a pot

Flowering house plants Hanging plants

Draped over the edge of shelves or suspended from a curtain pole, trailing plants are ideal for those short on space, says Sarah Gerrard-Jones

2 for 1 Gardens

Join us in celebrating the incredible diversity of the 416 gardens that have joined our 2 for 1 Gardens scheme this year. Visiting a garden is a great way of getting out in nature and gathering gardening inspiration. And there are plenty to choose from, be they national landmarks, hidden gems, fairy-tale castles or horticultural havens. And to get you started, here's our pick of gardens that are new to our scheme this year and perfect for a visit this month.

Container of the month

Add a touch of modern sophistication to your garden with a container that provides form, colour and scent

Digging deeper - Major bid to save historic British trees

Putting the spotlight on the biggest issues in gardening today

The Full Monty

As climate change makes temperatures ever more erratic, Monty reflects on how it could be time for big changes in the way we garden and the plants we grow

We love may

Oh blimey, summer is nearly here: sun on our faces and joy in our hearts. I had snoozed off a little and suddenly realised that everything is growing like crazy and the garden, which for the past few months has been quite well behaved, is now flowering and growing and doing its thing with extreme enthusiasm. I would like to think that the universal distress call of \"May Day, May Day\" was inspired by this moment (it wasn't of course: it comes from the French \"m'aidez\", meaning \"help me\". Anyway, let us all shake off the travails of winter, gird our loins and wander into the garden.

Hassle-free harvests

With sowing and planting kicking into high gear, April is the month when everything speeds up on the plot - so follow Jack Wallington's time-saving, efficiency-boosting tips to get ahead of the game

Growing herbs with the experts

Discover how to grow your best-ever herbs this year with the experts at Aweside Farm as they reveal their tips for growing masses of plants for flavour

Tomatoes whatever the weather

Discover how to grow your best-ever outdoor tomatoes with Jack Wallington's expert guide

Propagation made easy

Get top results from your seed-sowing with the first of our propagation masterclasses from Nick Bailey

Thrifty DIY projects

In the latest of our series, Toby Buckland shows how to make the most of old materials in the garden

Flowering house plants: Less bother more blooms

Beautiful, elegant and surprisingly tough, this selection of indoor plants is high on impact but low on effort

Making a garden: A PLACE FOR PLANTS

Good planting combinations give your plot structure and impact and getting them right is easier than it looks

The high climbers

April is the perfect month to plant a clematis. Monty reveals his favourite varieties and shares his growing tips

Container of the month

Treat both your garden and early pollinators with plants to brighten up an area of dappled shade

"Can you imagine being confronted with a plot like this?"

Steep inclines, exposed conditions and a truly remote location were just some of the challenges overcome by the couple behind this glorious 2022 People's Choice award-winning garden