Garden Answers

Garden Answers is a vibrant and inspiring gardening magazine filled with ingenious design ideas and exciting plant combinations guaranteed to make your garden beautiful.

Meet the Contributors • “This month in the garden I’ll be…”

Welcome

Celebrate JUNGLE BLOOMS THRIVE IN SEPTEMBER ABUNDANCE • At Great Dixter, an exotic garden corner erupts in September with lush foliage and bold blooms, blending tropical and traditional beauty

Be inspired by… • Plants, books, events & buys for the month

Saving seeds • Collect seeds to save for next year or gift to friends and family

Wish list • Ornamental grasses that bring warmth, texture, and rich golden tones as crisp autumn days come gently knocking

Dazzling Dahlias • Dahlias are a mainstay of the September garden – but can you name these popular cultivars?

HEAVENLY HYDRANGEAS • These trendy shrubs are full of flower power now and there’s a great diversity within this much-loved group of plants, says Val Bourne

Make way for BUTTERFLIES LANDING • Val Bourne examines the plants that make the best platforms for these pretty insects to touch down upon

Excellent ECHINACEA • Colourful coneflowersg finale to the summer season and their prominent shapes add drama to autumn plantings, says Sue Fisher

WHAT TO DO THIS Month September • Fill border gaps, spruce up container displays and divide perennials. Get ahead for next year by planting crocuses for spring and taking salvia cuttings

LEAVE HIPS & SEEDS FOR BIRDS • Provide a natural autumn and winter food source for our feathered friends

TAKE INSURANCE CUTTINGS OF SALVIAS • It’s worth taking cuttings of both hardy and tender salvias to increase your stocks and as an insurance. September is an ideal month to do this, while the growth is still soft or just beginning to harden

Fuss-free garden stars SENSATIONAL SALVIAS • Dazzling, aromatic and resilient, salvias are garden stars. Mike Palmer looks at how to keep these easy-care, high-impact plants thriving all year

Mini meadows bring wildlife BACK HOME • Adrian Thomas shares how creating mini-meadows in your garden can restore lost habitats and bring beauty and wildlife buzzing back

A Banquet of Leaves and Light • With more than 70 Japanese maples donning their fiery regalia, this Buckinghamshire garden is a foliage spectacle

MAKE YOUR GARDEN Beautiful 3 issues for £5*

The Art of Reinvention • Putting her own stamp on an inherited garden was the mission of one adaptable plantswoman

A Welsh garden masterpiece • A spectacular and diverse Edwardian garden with exciting plans for further renovation

Welcome to my lovely plot • Far from winding down, this is when gardening kicks off – especially if you have a greenhouse!

Grow flavour-packed SALADS IN A BASKET • These easy, stylish planters are full of flavour and goodness

Q&A • Why are courgettes rotting? Will bare patches fill out on acer? Read on…

HOW TO GET GREENER… HEDGES • A thriving hedge does more than mark boundaries – it brings structure, beauty and calm, while offering shelter and sustenance

FIND YOUR PERFECT LOPPERS • Geoff Hodge cuts through the undergrowth to help you choose a pair of loppers

Over to you!

Garden Answers

Free* spring flowering mixed bulbs • Brighten your garden with this dazzling collection – you just pay postage!

Complete Spring Flowering Bulb Collection • Winter can go by so slowly but with this collection, you can look forward to a riot of life and colour exploding in spring – and for years after!

Win these gardening goodies • Enter this month’s crossword for a chance to win one of five pre-planted...