For beginner gardeners, getting to grips with the fundamentals can seem daunting. But in this 12-part exclusive series, Alan Titchmarsh is sharing his wisdom to help you master the skills that really matter. This month, discover ways to garden that benefit wildlife and, ultimately, you. Follow Alan's advice and you will learn to see your garden as a valuable ecosytem where pests and pollinators all have their place.
You'll learn about:
- Making your garden a wildlife haven
- Identifying creatures
- Separating pests from pollinators
Wildlife-friendly gardening
You walk out of your back door to the sound of silence. The air is still. There is no movement. No birdsong, no stirring in the leaves. No greenfly on your roses; no slugs munching your hostas. It is the perfect garden. Oh no it isn't! This isn't a garden; this is a lifeless desert. Gardens are living organisms that can - and should support many forms of wildlife. Each living thing in your patch is part of a complex food chain that gardeners have a duty to maintain, and that duty comes with many rewards: you will marvel at the blackbird's song, the whirr of a dragonfly across a garden pond and the earthworms that incorporate organic matter into your soil. Greenfly feed ladybirds, slugs feed frogs and thrushes: we learn to tolerate the wildlife that irritates in order to have a vibrant, healthy garden.
The garden ecosystem
Esta historia es de la edición April 2022 de Gardeners World.
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Esta historia es de la edición April 2022 de Gardeners World.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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A new plot for tasty crops
Taking on a new allotment needn't be hard work. By simply following a few easy tips you can have bumper crops in no time, just like Alessandro Vitale
We love July
July is an island floating between the joy of June and the slightly fatigued month of August. It's a grown-up month: the year has shrugged off its adolescent exuberances, the weather is (hopefully) warm enough for ice cream to be one of your five a day, the sea should be swimmable without (too much) danger of hypothermia and thoughts will be of holiday shenanigans and family barbecues. School's out this month, the next tranche of glorious summer colour is washing across our borders and it's my birthday. Lots of reasons to give three rousing cheers for July!
YOUR PRUNING MONTH
Now, at the height of summer, Frances Tophill shows how to boost your plants' health and productivity with a timely cut
Hassle-free harvests
Flowers are out in abundance this month and for Jack Wallington, many of these blooms make delicious, low-effort pickings
Bite-sized bounties
Glorious doorstep harvests can easily turn into gluts, so let Rukmini Iyer's recipes help you savour every last bit
Upcycled outdoor living
Create unique and stylish garden features for minimal cost using reclaimed materials and simple DIY skills. Helen Riches shares four step-by-step projects and more inspiring eco tips
Secrets of a COLOURFUL GARDEN
Buildings and landscapes can play a vital role in supercharging your space, as Nick Bailey demonstrates
Greening up a city balcony
Looking for sustainable, small-space gardening ideas? Take inspiration from Oliver Hymans' transformed balcony garden in north-east London - now a lush, green haven for humans and wildlife
The dry and mighty garden
As we adapt our gardens to a more volatile climate, Alan Titchmarsh reveals how to create a drought-tolerant plot and picks his top plant performers
Nature knows best
Carol Klein explains how to choose plants for specific growing conditions, based on what has naturally adapted to thrive there