Amateur Gardening 18 August 2018

What’s in Amateur Gardening
18 August 2018

Veg seed revolution: reader trial update
Do new seeds give better results? AG reader’s appraisal

Mid-summer border care
Ruth Hayes explains how to cope with the hot, dry weather

Looking after rockery plants
Cutting back and weeding are top priorities this week

Greenhouse care in the heat
Plus, four tips to beat drought and pests in containers

Free seeds/What’s On
How to sow the calendula seeds on the cover

Pick of the very best: hebes
Well-behaved and attractive, but which are the six best?

The seed people: Kings Seeds
The 130-year-old firm that’s famed for its sweet peas

Umbels for froth with substance!
Airy flowers with great shapes for summer and winter

Plan a potager
Flower and veg combos that look great and help each other

Get the look
The 1920s garden with all manner of rare plant gems

Peter Seabrook
Choose tomatoes for next year on taste – not looks

Bob Flowerdew
Are your veg seeds worth saving? Bob helps you find out

Val Bourne’s garden wildlife
How a small pond can help your garden and wildlife

Lucy Chamberlain’s fruit and veg
Smart salad sowing, harvest courgettes, prune fruit trees

Ask John Negus
Galled by wasps, a mystery plant and naughty badgers

Anne Swithinbank’s masterclass
How can you stop earwigs? Anne knows the answer

How to grow figs
Cultivate some Mediterranean foliage and succulent fruit

A gardener’s miscellany
Carnations and pinks quiz and trivia this week

Your letters
Efficient water use, smart plastic use, free seed success

Toby Buckland
The parched grass gives Toby a chance to inspect his soil

Kew’s ‘Great Pagoda’ is reborn
257-year-old tower is restored and opened to the public

Tried and test: cordless grass trimmers
We test three lithium-ion battery-powered models

Cover photograph: Nasturtium ‘Banana Cream’ (pic: Alamy)