Gardens Illustrated Magazine

Widely regarded as the Vogue of the gardening press, Gardens Illustrated aims to inspire you with an eclectic and international editorial mix of remarkable places, plants and people. With superb photography, authoritative journalism and exceptional design, this award-winning magazine is a style bible for garden designers, garden lovers and enthusiasts alike.

Editor’s letter

Contributors

CONTRIBUTING CONTRIBUTING EDITORS EDITORS

Gardens Illustrated Magzine

CONTEMPORARY IRISH GARDENS • Join plantsperson extraordinaire Jimi Blake to explore some of the best gardens around Dublin and the Wicklow Mountains

Dig in • What’s happening, what’s in flower and what to buy this month

News

KITTED OUT • For seed sowing

March plants • With spring in the air, Jimi chooses a selection of bright bulbs and delicate woodlanders to add colour to borders alongside lush foliage plants

ERROL FERNANDES • Alongside a busy role as senior gardener at Kenwood House, Errol is working towards involving his local community more in horticulture and its benefits

TIDES OF MARCH • From mid March onwards there is no stopping the forward tide of spring. Days are getting longer and warmer, and there is no time to waste in finishing your soil preparation and finalising your plans on which crops to grow. Soon there will be many seeds to sow, both outside and under glass, potatoes to chit and weeds to wage war against. But also take some time to relax with pink gin made with forced rhubarb

IN BRIEF

Beyond borders • In the first of a new series Malverleys’ head gardener Matthew Reese explains the importance of trees, shrubs and early flowering perennials for creating a dynamic planting scheme to carry the garden throughout the year

16 KEY PLANTS

Fashionably early • In the first of a new series, designer Alison Jenkins creates three stylish container displays to help brighten the chill of early spring

SCILLA • Grown under trees or naturalised in grass in these unassuming, flowering bulbs bring a wash of colour to early spring

PLANT PROFILE

TO THE MANOR ADORNED • A hidden delight of a garden in the grounds of a secluded, Grade-I listed Cotswolds manor house is a treasure trove of hanging woodland, grassy riverside glades, crisp topiary and informal wildflower plantings

12 SPRING PLANTS

SEEDS TO SOW NOW • With thoughts turning to the growing season, we ask five leading garden designers to pick their favourite plants to sow from seed. Some are old hands, while others are newly receptive to the opportunities seed sowing provides for variety and interest. Some choose seeds that germinate easily, while others are open to the challenges of those that require more patience. But all have one thing in common: our designers are all captivated by the magic of growing something from seed, and a sense of wonder at the life that materialises from a tiny dot of nothingness.

SHARON FISHER • The series producer of the BBC’s Gardeners’ World on the challenges of filming outdoors, designing her own garden from scratch and learning how to please everyone

One man’s passion • In the latter part of the 19th century, a country clergyman, the Rev G Engleheart, began breeding daffodils. The more than 700 beautifully simple cultivars he raised now form a unique National Collection split across six different holders

16 Engleheart introductions

The experimental plot • Garden designer Stefano Marinaz’s Chiswick allotment is both a productive space and a place for him to trial new plants and combinations

EASY PLANTS FOR ALLOTMENT INTEREST

Private paradise • Wildflowers and multi-stemmed trees combine to create a wonderful feeling of seclusion in this Hampstead garden

Creating seclusion...