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BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine
April 2023
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BBC Gardeners’ World
Subscriber CLUB
Last chance… Due to its popularity, we’re adding
Dear subscriber
I love April. Spring is doing its thing
We love...
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?
Digging deeper
Putting the spotlight on the biggest issues in gardening today
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
Gardeners' World offers
10 FREE Lily of the valley with every order
WORTH £14 The highly scented white bells of
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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
Do it now
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
Be inspired
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
Plants
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
Wildlife
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
Grow & Eat
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
Travel
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
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Discover the gardens of the Netherlands 6-12 Sept
WHAT TO DO NOW
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
Q&A
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
Last words
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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