Garden News (UK)

Let’s work with the weather

Well it was certainly a case of ‘in like a lion’ where the weather was concerned in 2026! Snow and ice across the country meant that gardening took a back seat, but – as we’ve said in these pages before – cold weather is no bad thing. It’s the best way...

What to do NOW!

1 Start off pelargoniums 2 Sow your chilli seeds 3 Plant up a bottle garden 4 Grow early salads under glass

Stefan Buczacki solves your garden problems

Make the most of Christmas lull!

The first thing I need to do here is wish all readers of Garden News a very happy Christmas. Now some of you – notably our subscribers – will receive your magazine before the big day, while others may pick it up in the shops afterwards. Either way, I...

5 Premium Quality, Highly Fragrant ‘Old English’ Roses

Each variety will give you waves of classically perfumed, goblet-shaped, fully double blooms for up to six months each year The roses are very similar to the Chelsea Flower Show winning varieties that are so expensive in garden centres Give them...

Take time for a garden visit

It’s not easy to grow a classic ‘winter garden’ – there aren’t many among us who want our outdoor spaces to be at their best in the coldest months! However, it can still be great to have elements of the garden that come into their own in winter,...

What to do NOW!

1 Start off bareroot rose plants 2 Take cuttings of grapevines 3 Protect brassicas 4 Mulch your borders

Is heritage veg key to success?

If the forecasters are to be believed, we could be in for a prolonged cold snap. About time too. Certainly in my garden, the recent wet, mild weather has only benefited lingering pests and diseases. I’ve still been seeing plenty of slugs in the garden!...

Keep a spot for some conifers!

Aconfession – when we moved into our house some 15 years ago, the first thing we did in the garden was chop down about 20 very large leylandii around the perimeter. Impressive plants, no question, but not only did they block out all sunlight, they took...

‘Find out what is my favourite plant!’

What to do NOW!

1 Plant a pot of tulips 2 Plan a spring veg plot 3 Wash your bird feeders 4 Add colour and elegance with grasses

Confusion reigns among my plants!

Last weekend my garden had its grand autumn tidyup. There’s a case to be made for saying that right now – freshly chopped, weeded, edged and mulched – it looks better than it has done all year! A thoroughly rewarding couple of days, with the plot ready...

What to do NOW!

1 Give some TLC to houseplants 2 Grow garlic 3 Plant pots of bulbs 4 Deadhead your roses ahead of winter

Late stars of

October 11, 2025 £2.99

Let’s leaf it to lovely nature!

Our gardens are incredibly selfcontained areas. Sure, they need some intervention from us, but as Rob Smith says in his column this week (see page 36), they produce very little that is actually waste. As we clear our gardens at this time of year it can...

Let’s stop sitting on the fence!

If I had a magic wand, one of the first spells I’d cast in my garden would be to spruce up the fencing. The ‘rustic’ look is all well and good but I can’t help thinking that a lick of paint might transform the plot for the better – the trouble is...

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What to do NOW!

1 Force bulbs for Christmas 2 Keep plums healthy with some TLC 3 Harvest blackberries 4 Sow your hardy annuals

Embrace the seasonal change

As we head towards September it’s easy to become slightly melancholy. The nights are drawing in, there’s a nip in the morning air, the line-up for Strictly Come Dancing has been announced and many flowers have finished for the year! But rather than...

Gardens are good for the soul

The positive effects gardening can have on our mental health are well-documented, although I do wonder if the people who really understand them are already gardeners. To us, it’s obvious that just being outside is good for the soul, even in a year such...

Rain must mean hosepipe bans!

Funny old world isn’t it? No sooner have the heavens opened (and dramatically so in some parts of the country) and hosepipe bans (see page 4) come into force! But it’s a timely reminder that our water resources are under real pressure, and careful...

RESILIENT STARS!

What to do NOW! 1 Plant up a pot for late summer 2 Get green manures started 3 Prep for holidays 4 Freshen up your rockery

Leave the lawn for hoverflies!

Hopefully most of us have finally seen some rain in the last week! After the intense heat of the previous month, a good soaking came as a welcome relief – though it feels as if we need it to continue for some time if everything is going to recover...

A few benefits to the drought!

And so the hot, dry weather continues. There was a welcome break last weekend when we did see at least some rain, but since then the mercury has gone into the 30s once more. It’s tough to garden in these conditions, but there has been one unexpected...

What to do NOW!

1 Plant a hydrangea 2 Grow edibles in containers 3 Seed collecting starts now! 4 Display bedding in pretty tower pots

How to thrive in the hot weather

Well so far this year we can’t complain about a lack of sunshine, can we? It’s been the sort of weather that makes you grateful for a bit of shade and a cool drink – and our gardens probably feel the same way! Lawns crisping, containers drying out in...

What to do NOW!

1 Sow plenty of herbs 2 Plant an unusual hanging basket 3 Damp down the greenhouse 4 Fill gaps in borders

Time for some beetlemania!

Afew weeks ago I spotted a small wasp beetle in the garden – a funny little black and yellow thing going about its business. With its striking colouring, I thought how interesting it was, but then realised I had no idea what it actually contributed to...

What to do NOW!

1 Give your sweet peas some TLC 2 Create an alpine rockery in a pot 3 Turn compost 4 Thin out young apples

Let’s give our noses a treat!

Somehow, we can often take summer fragrance in the garden for granted. Perhaps it’s because in other months it can be the standout factor (who doesn’t love a bit of winter scent on a frosty morning?) whereas in summer there is so much more going on...

Let’s prepare for a hot summer!

It’s probably raining where you are right now – but even so, it has been one of the warmest and driest Mays on record. I expect most of us have been out there in the evenings watering our containers, just to keep them going before they even start...

Wisteria is in the spotlight

Now, I have to confess I don’t have any wisteria at home – we can’t all grow everything, after all! But there’s no doubt it’s a truly glorious plant and we know, from speaking to readers of Garden News, that it is enormously popular. Even people such...

‘Tulips bring the spring garden to life’

What to do NOW!

1 Beat pests the natural way 2 Plant out bedding 3 Water newly planted shrubs 4 Try growing thornless berry bushes

Let’s all give bees a chance!

Afew years ago I made the decision that when it came to any new plants in the garden, they should, as much as possible, be pollinatorfriendly. After all, why not? True, it means there’s no room for what we might term traditional bedding plants, such...

What to do NOW!

1 Prune spring bloomers 2 Plant for pollinators 3 Tidy up your heucheras 4 Start off herbs in containers

Make the most of Easter hols!

Easter’s slightly late arrival this year means that for many, the gardening year is yet to really get going. We know there are lots of readers for whom it never actually stops, but the four-day Easter break tends to signify packed garden centres and...

What to do NOW!

1 Start planting dahlia tubers 2 Get your spuds in the ground 3 Sow tasty sweetcorn indoors 4 Lift and divide snowdrops

Tell us about your helpers!

Gardening can be an odd pastime because so much is done on our own, or with our partner. Most other hobbies involve other people but unless we have an allotment or spend a lot of time chatting over the fence, gardening is more solitary. That’s why...

It’s time to pep up the patio!

My patio containers need an overhaul. There’s not much rhyme nor reason to them – they’ve just ‘happened’ over the years and while there’s a charm to this ragtag group of mismatched pots and plants, they could benefit from some attention! Several need...

ULTIMATE VEGPATCH GUIDE

What to do NOW! 1 Prune clematis 2 Plant crowns of asparagus 3 Make a wreath for spring 4 Water your houseplants

START A NEW BORDER THIS WEEKEND

What to do NOW!

1 Create a fabulous mini pond 2 Find the right spot for a clematis 3 Build a bug hotel to help wildlife 4 Sow your own stir fry leaves

WORTH £3.49 Expert advice!

Rob Smith on his busy start to the growing season

What to do NOW!

1 Pre-potted bulb ideas 2 Lift and divide peonies 3 Prune hedges before nesting 4 Sow onions in the greenhouse

Classic blooms that we all love

What a bonanza of blooms we have in this week’s magazine! Roses and dahlias – two of the most popular flowers up and down the country – feature heavily and, frankly, why not? We’ve had enough of the cold and damp and are gearing up for a summer of...

Banish those winter blues!

At this time of year I think it’s perfectly natural to look out of the window at the garden, which I have just done as I write this, and think “what a mess”! It’s raining, the sky is slate grey and a stiff breeze has dropped the temperature by a few...

Stunning Snowdrops!

Our cover star: The winter garden

If you’ve got a greenhouse (or even just an indoor windowsill!) you can carry on gardening in cold weather – see page 12.

‘Hellebores are such stars right now’

What’s your resolution?

Right, how are we doing with the New Year’s Resolutions? Are we still going out for daily walks and laying off the chocolate? Personally I’m terrible with them so I tend not to commit to anything – January always feels like a long, dark month and I’m...

Here’s to a very merry Christmas

Welcome to your bumper Christmas issue of Garden News! We’ve pulled out all the stops to bring you 84 pages of gardening goodness to see you through the festive season. While it’s wonderful to spend time with friends and family over Christmas,...

Our cover star: A winter container

Want some extra wow in the garden right now? Then turn to page 12 for ideas to make a seasonal splash!

What to do NOW!

1 Plant a pot full of festive berries 3 Make Christmas decorations 2 Get young apple trees in the ground 4 Tidy borders of weeds and leaves

Why we should welcome winter

Well winter certainly arrived with a roar last week, didn’t it? After a long period of mild weather the mercury dipped into the minus numbers with some gusto! Last Tuesday I awoke to see my garden covered in snow. Did you get snow too? But in truth, we...

What to do NOW!

1 Look after your houseplants 3 Plant a blueberry in a container 2 Take hardwood cuttings 4 Divide and pot up mint plants

Our cover star: Tulips

Bringing classic elegance or wild drama, tulips are spring stars and guaranteed to steal the show. See page 14 for our growing guide.

What to do NOW! 1

Plant new shrubs for instant impact 2 Compost your bedding 3 Try fruit bushes in a new spot 4 Make a home for hedgehogs

The benefits of raised beds

There are a couple of raised beds in my garden, one filled with ornamentals, the other for veg. Not only do they make life easier, they give the plot more interest – it’s amazing what planting at different levels can do from a visual perspective. And...

What to do NOW!

1 Refresh your patio containers 2 Give the veg plot a tidy-up 3 Keep harvesting chard crops 4 Sort out the greenhouse!

‘I love these seasonal colours!’

What to do NOW!

1 Keep your pond healthy 2 Start off garlic 3 Protect tender plants 4 Harvest pears

Playing roulette in the garden!

It feels as if we’ve now hit that point in the year when we need to choose carefully when we’re going to get into the garden – Mother Nature is very much in charge! What with high winds and torrential rain seemingly liable to strike at any moment,...

Quick fixes can be the answer!

Patience is the gardener’s friend; in a world of instant gratification, ours is not a pastime that can be rushed. Growing plants takes time, and we wouldn’t have it any other way! However, sometimes even we gardeners want to get from A to B in a hurry...

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