Gardenlife

I don’t often buy gardening magazines these days as I usually don’t get around to reading them. I have, therefore, blamed Cherryblossom for this (sorry Sharon) as, having read her recent review and having a few moments to wait for the family at the supermarket, I found myself looking at the magazines. Nothing much of interest, I thought having glanced at the soap updates on the covers of the TV mags – THEN I found this one! Hello I thought, I haven’t seen that one before. I did, on closer perusal, discover why; it was because it was the ‘launch issue’. This discovery only served to whet my interest even more and off the shelf it came.

First appearance: A large-ish glossy magazine with a cover photo of Drumstick Alliums. A quick browse shows that there are plenty more plant photos inside – but what’s this? Cookery? Floral wellies? Hold on – I’m going to have to actually BUY this one – if only to see what it’s like! So, how much am I going to have to part with – it LOOKS expensive - £2.90? Yes, I can just about manage that!

The first page has a ‘Welcome’ letter from the Editor, Paula McWaters. She says that their aim is to take a new approach to gardening. I would really like to reproduce her introduction to the magazine as I feel that it explains so much. However, it is obviously aimed at everyone, and here I WILL quote; “we believe that gardens and gardening are for everyone, whether you’re an old hand at taking cuttings and well-versed in Latin-speak, or about to plant your first container.”

Turning to the contents page we find that two of the regular experts are to be Alan Titchmarsh and Gay Search. This month we have “Alan Titchmarsh’s dream garden guide” and “Hands on with Gay Search” - easy-to-follow advice on this month’s tasks in the garden.

Other articles include “Just gotta have it!” – Joe Swift has advice on how to get the most from a garden centre visit. “Fast returns” – Barbara Segall takes you from seed to salad bowl in just a few weeks. “Fun for all” – Days out that cater for garden lovers and their friends and families. There is also a very interesting item about taking clematis cuttings which I found most useful.

One article “Dig for your dinner” includes recipes by Matthew Drennan suggesting easy suppers for the gardener. Choose from: Poached chicken with ginger and chilli relish on baby salad leaves; Seared aubergines, courgettes and tomatoes with mint dressing or Grilled salmon with spiced chickpeas, yoghurt and sprouting salad. Not quite the usual type of gardening magazine!

There are two reader offers: Scented climber collection and Cottage alliums collection. There is also a special offer on the subscription saving not only £5 on the usual subscription price (£29.80 instead of £34.80 for twelve issues) but also a gift of secateurs worth £16.99.

This is just a very small sample of what is included in this magazine. I could go on to list every article but I am sure that if you have found any interest in what I have already written you will want to look for yourself. I can honestly say that it is one of the most interesting gardening magazines that I have ever read – and I HAVE read it which is unusual for me! There is certainly a wealth of information and I find that I learn something new each time I ‘dip’ into it.

I thoroughly recommend it to those of you who enjoy gardens and gardening – even if only an ‘armchair’ gardener.

I hope that you have found this interesting – and I thank you for reading