The Gardener Magazine

The Gardener is a monthly, national magazine dedicated to inspiring gardeners, providing practical advice and showing step-by-step garden projects. Our monthly features include garden design, in-depth plant features, growing vegetables and herbs, water gardening, garden wildlife and pets, specialist plant articles and much more. We have an extensive database on our website that is growing daily.

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FRESH PICKS AND CLIPS

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Carpenter bees

Taking root on WHALE ROCK RIDGE • Creating a multiple award-winning garden from scratch in Plettenberg Bay’s windy, nutrient-poor soils is no small feat, yet this garden demonstrates how careful planning and local expertise can deliver striking beauty and year round interest.

The Accidental Adventurer Inside the botanical world of Robbie Honey • Global adventurer and plantsman Robbie Honey has spent the last ten years seeking out and deconstructing some of the world’s most diverse flora.

Power cleaning the easy way • Looking for a compact, powerful way to take on outdoor cleaning? Then the Husqvarna PW130 Pressure Washer is the one to get – small in size, big on performance.

Local prize

Beautiful BRASSICAS • Flowering kale and cabbage are not planted to be eaten (although they are edible), but rather as cute annuals to add colour in a winter and early spring garden.

FLOWERS to grow and dry • Floral artists gravitate towards flowers and leaves that last the longest, and while some flowers will keep for months, most do not. The best way to preserve flowers is to dry them. Some of our common garden flowers are perfect for drying and still keeping their natural colour. These are our favourites for growing and drying.

Brighten up your day in the sun or the shade • This month, you can colour-up all parts of the garden with pretty flowering annuals for shady areas and some for the full sun. These are the stars of the show that will be available at garden centres countrywide for instant colour and to attract more pollinators to the garden.

Long-lasting POTS OF FLOWERS • Mothers deserve a good deal of flowers on Mother’s Day, and there is plenty to choose from, but what about flowers that last for months and can then be planted in the garden or kept for flowering next year? Here are just three to choose from, and one of them is an exciting new arrival!

A trio of bulbs • There are many bulbs you can plant now for spring colour, but these three are a must for colour and long-lasting blooms in the garden and in a vase.

GROWING the best alocasias • Tropical alocasias are known for their interesting leaves, some as big as elephant ears, which give them their common name. They are great to grow indoors as houseplants with the right environment.

Popping blooms and garden zest • With the right plants, containers and garden beds will be alive with winter colour. Cover all your bases with our choice selection.

IN THE FOOD GARDEN

SMALL TREE Sweet fruit • In every modest-sized plot and even in large pots, fruit trees bearing the sweetest fruit can grow. It is not as tricky as you might think, and picking your own is one of the most rewarding activities.

Turmeric • Often called the golden spice, Curcuma longa (turmeric) is packed with health benefits, essential in the kitchen for many dishes, and is easy to grow.

Winter COVER CROPS • We can learn a lot from farmers. They can see soil degradation caused by intensive tillage and planting the same crop over and over in the same fields. Once the crop is harvested, the soil becomes sandy, and even that washes away in heavy rains. This is a problem, especially if you plant your main vegetable and herb crops in spring. To get through the winter, specific winter cover crops offer...