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ARTHUR PARKINSON
Arthur is a gardener and writer, who co-hosts the Grow, cook, eat, arrange podcast with Sarah Raven @arthurparkinson_
The romance of scattering seeds around the garden and pots is valuable mental child's play for gardeners.
1 Myosotis sylvatica 'Bluesylva' A self-seeding biennial but it is therefore a helpful weed suppressant; the more, the merrier for flower beds that are to be planted with tulip bulbs. I like that once they are over, it's a job of seconds to just pull the old plants out. 20cm x 20xm. AGM*. RHS H6, USDA 3a-8bt.
2 Echium vulgare Starts out its biennial life as a hairy, green, star-fish seedling that can appear from the tiniest of patio cracks. The following year, beginning in late June usually, come the towers of flowers of royal blue set alive by neon, electric-light-like stamens and anthers of pink. 75cm x 50cm. RHS H7, USDA 4a-8b.
3 Linaria maroccana Little Sweeties mixture Germinates like mustard and cress so sow lightly by the pinch. The flowers are like miniature snapdragons, and thrive on little attention, so are ideal seeds to gift to children for them to try. 45cm x 30cm. RHS H5, USDA 4a-9b.
4 Helleborus argutifolius A must-have, late-winter plant with lime-cordial-toned flowers. Does well in places many plants would not cope - in dry and dappled shade among equally thuggish cottage garden perennials, and directly under trees. 50cm x 90cm. AGM. RHS H5, USDA 6a-8b.
5 Foeniculum vulgare I'd be happy to reach old age and have an entire garden all a-fizz with fennel. For a more cultivated charm, 'Purpureum' with its brown ostrichlike foliage is a favourite froth of welcome clumping in my garden. 1.8m x 45cm. RHS H5, USDA 4a-9b.
Bu hikaye Gardens Illustrated dergisinin April 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Gardens Illustrated dergisinin April 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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Bright blooms
Flowering shrubs bring much needed colour and scent to the garden in late winter and early spring. Expert Tony Kirkham selects the best
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SWEET DREAMS
A new book on one of the UK's favourite flowers is filled with beautiful photography, but is more than a coffee-table tome, says cut-flower grower Georgie Newbery
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VERDANT VALLEY
For his own Mediterranean garden, designer Maurizio Usai has gone against the trend for drought-tolerant planting and created a lush, green natural oasis
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Food for thought
More people than ever want to grow their own, for a variety of reasons, says Dr Richard Claxton, and this one thing can improve our health and help the planet
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CREATING CONTEMPORARY PLANTING BEDS
Designer Charlotte Harris reflects on the shift towards organically shaped 'island' planting beds, and reveals inside tips on how to get the right effect
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ARE PLANTS PEOPLE TOO?
Some recent research suggests plants may be able to learn, sense and communicate. So, asks Darryl Moore, should we now rethink how we treat them?
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HEUCHERA AND TIARELLA
With their striking foliage in a range of bold colours, heucheras, and the associated heucherellas and tiarellas, are low-maintenance plants that offer year-round colour
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The future for Sissinghurst
The climate crisis is affecting us all. Head gardener Troy Scott Smith outlines the challenges he faces and explains how he is now working differently
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JINNY BLOM'S - favourite plants
Award-winning landscape designer Jinny Blom set up her studio in 2000 and has since designed many beautiful, thoughtful gardens, both large and small, around the world.
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BEECH GARDENS at the Barbican, ten years on
As a new phase of planting begins, Professor Nigel Dunnett looks at how the iconic public gardens he created at The Barbican Estate in London have evolved over the past decade