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I love April. Spring is doing its thing

We love April

Spring is properly here and this month we will be celebrating using the medium of song. There are lots of suitable tunes about April but I am settling on a PJ Harvey and John Parish song as it has the line, “April how could I’ve worn inappropriate clothing”. This is because I can vividly remember how cold April showers can be as they drip down the back of your neck. But, as we all know only too well, we need those rains because next month we plunge recklessly into summer – and we won’t get all those flowers without a good soaking.

Expert’s choice

Grape hyacinths

The Full Monty

Reflecting on the passing of time, Monty celebrates our renewed connection with nature and the benefits of planting for future generations

Have your say

The view from your side of the fence

Over the fence

Can all plants grown in UK nurseries be peat free?

Container of the month

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

More container inspiration

Give your garden an instant lift with these fresh and floral planting ideas

10 FREE Lily of the valley with every order

WORTH £14 The highly scented white bells of

THEATRE AND FOUR-STAR HOTEL BREAK FROM JUST £150pp

A GREAT GIFT Enjoy a magical short break,

Grow your FREE seeds

Sow your poppy and cosmos seeds now, for summer displays

Plant of the month Primula collection

P. japonica ‘Alba’ P. japonica ‘Apple Blossom’ P.

SAVE! 10% off* with our online partners

AS A SUBSCRIBER… you can save with these

Sempervivums

Fill rockeries and containers with colour and interest

Half price corydalis

Save on this fragrant and colourful, compact flower

The high climbers

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

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, says Sarah Gerrard-Jones

Making a garden: A PLACE FOR PLANTS

PART 4

Thrifty DIY projects

Plant supports can be elaborate or simple, and

FABULOUS FOXGLOVES

With tall spires of bell-shaped blooms, foxgloves make

Propagation made easy

Get top results from your seedsowing with the first of our propagation masterclasses from Nick Bailey

YOUR PRUNING MONTH

Frances Tophill shows you how to tidy and shape forsythia

What this competition could do for you

Our Gardens of the Year Competition has been a springboard to help many readers delve deeper into their passion for gardening – from TV appearances to changing careers. We caught up with some of our finalists from previous years to find out how life has changed since entering

Homes for wildlife

BUYER’S GUIDE

SAVE MORE ON YOUR SUMMER GARDEN

Boost your planting schemes for less with this

MIX & MATCH GARDEN-READY PLANTS

Take your pick from the following packs of

BUY TWO, GET THE CHEAPEST FREE

◼ Begonia Apricot Sparkle Rich blend of

SAVE ON WISTERIA ‘AMETHYST FALLS’

Unlike most varieties of wisteria, ‘Amethyst Falls’ will

PATIO MINI ORCHARD

These patio fruit trees are on dwarfing rootstocks,

BACK TO BASICS

A pot combo like this adds instant colour

Your wildlife month

Our gardens are busy now. Birds are sitting on eggs, while bees gather pollen and nectar to take back to their nests. Tadpoles are emerging, while insects frantically reproduce. Let’s hope there’s an ideal mix of gentle sun and showers to help them on their way. Leave aphids and caterpillars on plants for birds to feed to their chicks, keep areas of grass long, make log and leaf piles and have a large, open compost heap, all of which give food and shelter for a wide range of species. If we have a dry spring, water plants with rainwater so they keep producing nectar – make sure there’s some mud on the ground for red mason bees and house martins to use to make nests

Tomatoes …whatever the weather

Part 2

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

Small space big flavour

This month, Rukmini Iyer can’t get enough of homegrown radishes and salad leaves – easy to grow and delicious in her baked feta recipe

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 guide

Get greenhouse crops under way and look ahead to long-term harvests by growing perennials

GARDENERS’ WORLD TOURS

NEW DATE Castles & gardens of North Wales

EXCLUSIVE TOUR FOR GW READERS

Quirky topiary along Thyme Walk Meet Arit at

FRUIT AND VEG

20 MINUTES TO SPARE Put up supports for

GARDENERS’ WORLD TRAVEL OFFER

Discover the gardens of the Netherlands 6-12 Sept

Monty’s month

Water containergrown tulips weekly to keep the foliage

FLOWERS

STEP BY STEP Dig up and weed perennial

ADAM’S ESSENTIALS

After flowering, snip off daffodil heads, but wait

GREENHOUSE

STEP BY STEP Care for plug plants 1

AROUND THE GARDEN

Look for weeds in brick paths Scrape out

Your questions answered

This month 159 Gardeners’ Question Time The BBC

GQT Gardeners’ Question Time

Our experts tackle your queries, including rampant celandines, bovine invaders and a shipment of new topsoil that’s totally devoid of life

Crossword

Put down your trowel, pick up a pen and exercise those brain muscles instead…

NEXT month...

May issue on sale 13 April

Tales from Titchmarsh

We may spend our gardening days tending and tweaking, but sometimes it pays to rip things up and start again, says Alan

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