Garden Answers February 2024

“Enjoying snowdrops and catching up with my snowdrop friends across the country.” Val Bourne on sparkling winter plants, p14 “Starting to pot up, divide and top-dress my container plants, including tubs of lilies.” Sue Fisher on hellebores, p28 “Winter pruning my deciduous hedge, done one side one year, the other the next.” Adrian Thomas bird box advice, p44 “Sowings half-hardy flowers and ‘exotic’ veg in my heated propagators.” Geoff Hodge gives expert advice on spades, p86 “I’ll be collecting as many snowdrops in the green as I can from generous friends and family.” Features Editor Elise Sargent “Sowing early chillies and peppers, and prepping the cut flower patch.” Gill Lockhart designs the magazine CONTACT US By post: Garden Answers, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA Email: gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk…

The first months of the year are magical in the garden, as it emerges from its winter slumber. The first bulbs poke their noses through and before we know it they’re flowering... snowdrops, aconites, crocuses and more. They’re the heralds of spring for good reason – when we see them, we know warmer days are not far away. In this issue, Val Bourne looks at these jewels of winter, that can bring such joy – not to mention some very welcome pops of colour. Every garden can benefit from them, and some are welcomed by early pollinators, too. Also in this issue we welcome a new columnist, Olga Grieves, who will be writing about her fabulous allotment each issue. Olga is something of a social media sensation (check out @lovely_plot)…

1 Winter hazel (Corylopsis pauciflora) is a fantastic specimen plant with clusters of pale yellow flowers that offer up a sweet scent throughout the garden. 2 Alpine squill (Scilla bifolia) is a beautiful and reliable addition to the border and rarely troubled by pests or diseases. Happy in all soil types. 3 Corydalis solida with Puschkinia libanotica ‘Alba’ is a charming combination with the tubular corydalis flowers and the star-shaped blooms of pushkina. Both happily naturalise.…

Patio project BEAUTIFUL BULB AND EVERGREEN ELEGANCE Blending evergreens with vibrant winter bulbs pays off when creating a wonderful display that provides an optimistic look for your patio in February when everything else feels rather bleak. As the bright purple irises burst open, they work in perfect combination with the pure white of the crocus ‘Jeanne d’Arc’. The ivy spills elegantly over the side of the preserving pan, with pinky-purple erica providing the border and the delicate pink buds and white flowers of the hellebores adding structure, bringing the whole look together. Afree-draining compost mix is important here. Get it right, and this pretty display will last into early April, bringing you joy every time you step into the garden.…

Hidden Valley Gardens in Cornwall is the RHS Partner Garden of the Year 2023 after winning the regional title for South West and Wales. Owners Tricia and Peter Howard have transformed the three-acre, cottage-style space over 24 years. Regional winners were Attadale Gardens (Scotland), Holehird Gardens (North of England and Northern Ireland), Wyken Hall (Midlands and East Anglia), Denmans Garden (South East and Channel Islands) and Brahman Hills Garden in South Africa (Overseas). Visit rhs.org.uk/partnergardens.…

Blenheim Palace and Estate in Oxfordshire is home to the greatest number of ancient oak trees anywhere in Europe, with some of the trees at this UNESCO World Heritage Site dating back to around 1,000 AD. Its Forestry team has been collecting acorns since 2016 to ensure that these incredible trees will still be there hundreds of years from now. Rob Burgess, Blenheim Estate Forester, collected 11,400 acorns in 2020, which developed into 10,200 oak trees. In 2023 he collected 20,000 acorns as well as 50,000 other seedlings from 20 species of tree, including beech, sycamore, hornbeam, horse chestnut and cherry bark, among others. Seedlings from 2016 that were planted in the parkland are now sprouting out of their tubes and are measuring around one to two feet high –…