What’s in Amateur Gardening
26 May 2018
Free seeds – worth £2.29
Jobs for this week
Bank holiday jobs
Ruth Hayes shows you how to build a raised bed
Preserve, plant and pests!
Key bank holiday jobs and how to repot a spider plant
Holiday-time watering
How to keep plants irrigated when you’re away from home
Plant out your dahlias
Ruth Hayes shows you how to get your tubers in the ground
Time for the ‘Chelsea chop’
When to cut back perennials to keep them tidy
Plant a perennial
Ruth Hayes’ step-by-step guide and words of wisdom
Plant your free seeds/what’s on
How sow your free aubrieta, plus what’s on near you
Great garden ideas
Make the most of vertical space
Six plants to transform walls, fences, sheds and even roofs
Pick of the very best: hardy fuchsias
Valued for their long display, but which are the six best?
Wedding-worthy dahlias
We choose the best varieties for a bouquet
The wonder of weigela
A low-maintenance shrub that is long overdue a revival
Get the look
A bee-keeper’s beautiful ‘spring garden’
Gardening wisdom
Peter Seabrook
Peter considers the favourites for Chelsea plant of the year
Bob Flowerdew
Wait until later to plant tender flowers and veg, says Bob
Val Bourne’s garden wildlife
Val warns against the use of chemicals on your lawn
Lucy Chamberlain’s fruit and veg
Plant out tomatoes, try ‘intercropping’ and advice on weeds
Anne Swithinbank’s masterclass
When and how to prune a smokebush
Your questions answered
Straggly lavender, unhappy container bay, gardenia buds
Gardener’s miscellany
Facts, quizzes and fancies on the Chelsea flower show
How to grow creeping phlox
Anne Swithinbank explains how to grow this attractive carpeting plant
Your letters
Smart tip with blinds, massive planting, strange-looking spud
Toby Buckland
Strange weather means birds need more help, says Toby
Product tests
Tried and tested
Tim Rumble tests six pocket knives designed for garden tasks
• Cover photograph: Dahlia ‘Jessica’ (pic: Alamy)