Gardens Made Easy

Advantages: Great if you don't know how to garden
Disadvantages: none

...was amonst them. Gardens Made Easy - does exactly that - makes gardening easy! There are LOADS of descriptive illustrations and sumptuous photos, which means the inexperienced gardener like myself doesn't have to rely fully on the text. The front cover is very glossy and friendly looking. It almost invites you to pick the magazine up from the shelf it is so appealing. THe issue I picked up had 2 lovely competitions in; One to win some garden plans ...
...timber deck. There's also some free gifts and money saving offers. Apart from the gardening stuff proper, there is a feature on compost containers, one about different ways of tagging your plants, and of course there is a large classified section at the back of the magazine where you can order your supplies and stuff :-) An excellent offering for beginning gardeners ... Read review

Advantages: Plenty of information, free seeds
Disadvantages: A few adverts but not many

...I am a regular reader of Amateur Gardening, in fact I hardly ever miss an issue. It is published every tuesday and costs £1.10 and more often than not comes with one or two FREE packet of seeds which always cost more than the magazine itself. It is packed full of useful hints and tips, full length articles by famous gardeners such as Charlie Dimmock, Bob Flowerdew and Peter Seabrook and many others. There is a postbag where you can send in letters and a helpline that you can email, write, phone or fax to get answers to various problems. Regular articles include Whats new, Pestwatch, This week in your garden, Readers garden and Anne Swithinbank's garden diary. It is full of information pertaining to anything you can grow from flowers, vegetables, fruits, unusual plants and interesting new varieties. The picture content is very... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Wide range of articles, great photos, lots of offers
Disadvantages: Lots of adverts, quality photos make your garden look dull

...gardening websites � Pruning made easy – an article on how to prune climbers � Dig in – an article on the best new potatoes Eastern delight – featuring the best camellias � Plant partners – combining spring flowers for effect � Oriental poppies – a look at easy to grow varieties � Pippa’s organic kitchen garden – advice on organic gardens � Your garden in March – what to do in the garden this month This is only about three quarters of the articles in March’s edition, so as you can see there is a wide range of articles, none too long or taxing. The magazine is usually around 170 colourful pages long and is packed with information. Each month the articles are relevant to the gardening year, so in winter they will not be talking about mowing the lawn or growing strawberries and in summer they will not be talking about frost cover... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Not expensive, great hints and ideas
Disadvantages: to each his own!

...). There are various sections, like Tricks of the Trade, Bargain Buys, Decorating Made Easy (this issue it’s bedrooms), also how to mix old and new furniture across the whole house! Linda Baker has a section in the magazine and she writes on ‘how to’ do things around your home. This is usually a main decorating feature; this time it’s how to make room feel light and bright, plus a few tips on flooring and using patterns on walls and fabrics. Major competition - £20,000 (top prize) spending spree at Debenhams, plus various other monetary rewards. Downside – it costs 75p a minute to find out if the number on the front cover has won anything! Back to the magazine – quite good tips on how to brighten up a small, dull kitchen without spending a fortune (going to use some of these tips!). Then there is an 8 page pull out on DIY – some... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful