Every week, Amateur Gardening is the first choice for both beginners and knowledgeable gardeners looking for advice and easy-to-follow practical features on growing flowers, trees, shrubs as well as fruit and vegetables. Be inspired, by our beautifully illustrated features covering plant and flower groups, both home grown and exotic, and take a sneak peek into some of the most beautiful private gardens around the country. Plus, every week we feature expert opinion and tips from some of gardening’s most influential exponents including Toby Buckland, Bob Flowerdew, Anne Swithinbank, Peter Seabrook and Jo Whittingham.

Editor Letter

Focusing on perennials • There’s lots you can get on with now, says Ruth

Dividing in four easy steps • Create several strong new plants from one parent

More awards for Team AG! • Lucy and Val garlanded at national ceremony

AG free seeds are back next week!

Blessed beans • Heritage seeds on sale in 2021

Moving an overgrown shrub • Get your moving and planting done now, says Ruth

Hardy annuals and cuttings • Sow some colour and check on your cuttings, says Ruth

Best veg to grow in ’21 • Here are the top cropping varieties from trials, says Peter

Top of the crops • Struggling to decide which crops to choose? Bob looks at your best options, depending on site and time required

Hard-pruning your roses • A tough cut will send them shooting away, says Ruth

Bird Watch: The lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) • Be in awe of the flying skills of this farmland bird, says Ruth

Bring on the butterflies • After a poor butterfly count, Val looks forward to the next…

Focus on…Early spuds • Harvest great potatoes even sooner, says Lucy

Make 2021 the year you Grow soft fruit • Delicious and nutritious, berries are brilliant entry level options for anyone new to fruit growing as they give a good crop in a small space, says Kris Collins

For early colour, plant Hellebores • Varied and versatile, these fail-safe flowerers combine a tough constitution with blooms in different colours and shapes, plus interesting foliage, says Tamsin Hope Thomson

Why every garden needs Cotoneaster • The ultimate berried treasure, these useful shrubs offer so much more. They’re good for winter interest, wildlife, walls, hedging… pretty much everything, says Louise Curley

Ask John Negus • John has been answering reader queries for 50 years

This week it’s: Wonderful witch hazels • We take a close look at this bewitching plant

How to deal with problem plants • There’s a range of popular ornamentals that can cause problems, says Tim Rumball

Ask Anne! • Anne Swithinbank’s masterclass on: low-maintenance border gaps

Letters to Wendy

Amateur Gardening

Deer prudence • A close encounter with a stag leaves Toby pondering the effects of lockdown on these magnificent creatures