Modern Gardens Minimag NEW

NEW!
£2.99
NEW!
Create your perfect outside space - no green fingers required!
TRY ME!
APRIL 2016
ISSUE ONE
388
GREAT IDEAS
FOR YOUR
GARDEN!
READER GARDENS | EASY IDEAS | SHOPPING
F
BRAND NE W!
I R
S T
ONLY
£2.99
I
S
S U E
Garden makeovers
“ MY BUDGET GARDEN
IS SO EASY TO KEEP!”
GET THE
EXOTIC
MOROCCAN
LOOK
Outdoor living
OPEN AIR KITCHENS
FOR ALL SIZE PLOTS
Including
✽ 18 inspiring ways to transform a deck
✽ Sweetly scented tulips for pots
✽ Make a home cinema in your garden
✽ Speedy upcycling to add character
✽ Plant a purple corner & much, much more!
Fresh spring buys
STYLISH IDEAS FOR
OUTDOOR SPACES

Earthy
PLEASURES
DREAM PLANT GROW PICK MAKE BUY
6 MODERN GARDENS APRIL 2016

LIKE WHAT
YOU READ?
TRY IT...
On sale from
March 23rd
GOLDEN
TRUMPETS
Many people don’t realise that certain varieties
of daffodil (Narcissus) are scented and make
wonderfully fragrant cut flowers for the house.
The scent is strongest during warmer weather,
so go outside on a sunny day to gather the best
blooms for a sweetly scented posy. Or you can
buy ready-blooming daffs in pots at garden
centres now for some instant scent and uplifting
spring cheer.
GAP ALAMY
Pot luck
Seek out local spring plant fairs held
in halls and community spaces. They
are open to everyone and a boon if
you have a patch of bare soil to fill
and a limited budget. They are the
best place to pick up lots of lovely
annuals at very little cost. Check
local newspaper listings and event
websites to track them down. The
people selling the flowers have
usually grown them too, so it’s a good
opportunity to ask for advice if you’re
unsure what to do with your plants.
OUTSIDE TIDY
This enamel storage tin with a cute
guinea pig and rabbit design is just
the thing for neatly storing all your
garden bits and bobs.
‘Arthur and Squeak’ tin £17.95
www.burgonandball.com
PHOTO GAP, SHUTTERSTOCK
CREDIT HERE PLEASE
WORDS: LUCY BELLAMY. MAIN IMAGE: GAP ALAMY
CUPPA IN
THE GARDEN
With a pattern
inspired by richly
coloured wallflowers
and sweetly scented
narcissus, this large
cup and saucer is
brilliant for hot tea
on chilly days.
Large teacup and
saucer £32.95 www.
emmabridgewater.
co.uk, stockists
nationwide
We
LOVE
THIS!
DIG THIS!
A pretty, flowery hand fork
helps make spring planting
a pleasure. Lightweight yet
strong, this one is far too
glamorous to hide away
in the shed.
£6.99 www.homesense.com
APRIL 2016 MODERN GARDENS 7

Reader
MAKEOVER
“My budget
garden is so
1
CLIMBERS such
as honeysuckle and
clematis grown against
a bare fence will quickly
cover it with foliage
and flowers.
easy to keep”
COLM SHEPPARD’s surburban garden is
packed with stylish low-maintenance ideas
With vibrant planting, a sweeping
gravel path and an avenue of
slender lime trees, you’d never
guess that this formal
Cambridgeshire garden measures a modest
five by 12 metres (16 x 39ft). When Colm
Sheppard moved here eight years ago, it was
just a small patch of grass surrounded by fences.
“There wasn’t anything in the garden and it was
overlooked by the neighbours. So I set about
planting the trees to add height and privacy,” he
says. “Most people wouldn’t dare plant trees in
a small garden like this, but I thought ‘why not’?”
A WEEPING
MULBERRY is a fussfree
small tree whose
golden catkins look
pretty in winter.
3
PURPLE HAZEL
“At the far end of the garden I’ve planted a row
of three purple-leaved hazelnut trees (Corylus
maxima ‘Purpurea’) to hide the wheelie bins.
Everyone complains about their bins being
unsightly but they aren’t going away, so I made
a solution as part of my overall garden plan.
“In the middle of the garden I’ve used a
weeping mulberry as a focal point I can see
from the kitchen. I have a slender yew tree at
the end for evergreen interest and cordon apple
trees (small apple trees that grow on a single
stem) planted against the fence. But the pièce
de rèsistance is my avenue of lime trees that
I’ve trained into a weaving hedge, like a hedge
on stilts. All I have to do is climb a ladder
COLM created his stunning garden
in just two weeks
each August to prune them. You do have
to be quite brave to plant 10 trees in such a
small garden, but I knew I could keep them
to size, which gave me the confidence to do it.
“The main thing with gardening in such
a small area is not to be constrained by the
dimensions. Many people think only about
a little bit of the garden at a time and seem
frightened of gardening on a large scale.” ➣
PHOTO: ELOISE HAYES
TIP Painting a fence in
a dark colour highlights
plants and turns foliage
into a feature
PHOTO CREDIT HERE PLEASE
14 MODERN GARDENS APRIL 2016

THAT’S CLEVER!
These purple hazels
hide the wheelie bins
READER GARDEN
BEFORE
LIKE WHAT
YOU READ?
TRY IT...
On sale from
March 23rd
LIME TREES create
a smart hedge on stilts
that’s easy to clip to
shape in August.
2
Colm inherited a garden that was tidy
but featureless
4
GROUND COVER
PLANTS keep weeds
down by covering bare
soil with pretty summer
flowers and foliage.
MY GARDEN
PL AN
LOCATION
“A modern development in
Cambridgeshire where none of the
gardens are big and we’re all overlooked.
My idea was to make the garden more
private and add some shape to the layout,
keeping it all very low maintenance.”
THE LOOK
Formal in a pocket-sized patch
SITE & SOIL
Size 5 x 12m (16 x 39ft)
Faces West Soil Light and sandy
PHOTO CREDIT HERE PLEASE
5
THE GRAVEL PATH
is underlaid with black
landscape fabric to
hold back weeds.
AFTER
MY BUDGET
Natural stone paving £220
Patio installation £1,100
Golden gravel £56
Cuprinol Black Ash fence paint £40
Trees, plants & shrubs £307
Box hedge from a friend Free
TOTAL £1,723
HOW LONG IT TOOK
Spraying weeds 1 hour
Rotavating the soil 16 hours
Laying the path and edging 8 hours
Painting the fence 16 hours
Planting up 8 hours
Laying the patio 16 hours
TOTAL 65 HOURS
WORDS; LIZ POTTER. PHOTOS: COLM SHEPPARD, SHUTTERSTOCK
APRIL 2016 MODERN GARDENS 15

GOOD
IDEA
Plants in pots can
be moved around to
complement your
seating area
18 great ideas for
DECKS
Clever TIPS AND TRICKS to smarten
up your space for sunny days ahead
1
MAKE A MINI VEG PLOT
Pot radish, chives and salad leaf plants for
quick-grow crops in tidy wooden planters.
CREATE VINTAGE-STYLE
POT CONTAINERS
You can use anything as long as you drill
some drainage holes in the bottom.
Try old drawers or wicker baskets.
2
Recycle
your
stuff!
CLEVER
ACCESSORIES
A traditional
watering can adds
rustic charm
40 MODERN GARDENS APRIL 2016

UPCYCLE A BUCKET
Plant flowers in vintage enamel
buckets that colour-coordinate. Ebay
is an excellent source for these.
4
LIKE WHAT
YOU READ?
TRY IT...
On sale from
March 23rd
EASY IDEAS
SO EASY
Collect pretty
pebbles and stones
to display
with plants
5
GET STREAMLINED STYLE
WITH BOX HEDGE BALLS
Steel containers are on trend right now. Box
only needs a trim twice a year, so this combo
provides fuss-free style.
3
ADD HEIGHT AND INTEREST
WITH A POTTING BENCH
This doubles up as a drinks station and bbq
helper too. Try B&Q and Homebase for
inexpensive options.
EDGE YOUR DECK WITH HERBS
They create a striking colour contrast – and you
can pick them for cooking.
6
WORDS; FIONA CUMBERPATCH. PHOTOS: M&S, ALAMY,
GAP, RONSEAL, WWW.LISA COX DESIGNS.CO.UK
APRIL 2016 MODERN GARDENS 41

5 NEW WAYS
to fall in love with
Violas keep producing
flower after flower
throughout the spring
and summer months.
VIOLAS
If you think these little beauties are old-fashioned,
think again. SWEETLY SCENTED in a painter’s
palette of colours, they’re perfect for pots
LIGHT UP A DOOR 2
Loop strong twine around
pots filled with violas and
hang them outside from a
spare nail or hook. They’ll
flower non-stop for months
with an occasional watering.
So
EASY!
WE LOVE THIS
Hang scented viola’Purple Face’
near a favourite seat. The honey
scent is strongest in the morning
and the evening
1
BUILD THEM UP
Use terracotta pots and wooden
steps or shelves to make a pretty
display. Violas grow happily in shade
and are perfect for brightening up
gloomier corners.
78 MODERN GARDENS APRIL 2016

PICK AND MIX
Group pots filled with violas,
pansies and ranunculus in
sorbet shades for a pretty
spring display.
3
LIKE WHAT
YOU READ?
TRY IT...
On sale from
March 23rd
EASY IDEAS
Instant
colour!
4
BAG IT!
Plant some violas in an
old shopping basket for
a cheerful look.
WE LOVE THIS
Upcycle an old box by
adding a lining and planting
a mix of colours inside
5
GET CREATIVE
Upcycle empty tins
and kitchenalia with
a pot of paint. Use
a hammer and nail
to punch holes in
solid bases for
drainage. Match
the paint colour
to the flowers.
Vibrant violas for any spot
Violas have small flowers and lots
of them. Their fragility belies
a robust little plant that is happy
in any awkward spot.
You can often spot a viola that has
seeded itself into a gravel path or between
the cracks in a pavement. Violas are
smaller than pansies but with lots more
flowers. Unlike pansies, their blooms stay
pristine even after a heavy shower of rain.
There are few flowers that bloom for as
long as a viola.
DIY stores, supermarkets and garden
centres sell them in a vast range of colours,
but plant trays are often mixed,
which makes it difficult to create a simple,
impactful colour scheme. Buying the
plants in small individual pots, or even
scattering a few seeds in pots and growing
them on the windowsill, means you can
choose pretty tones and hues of the
same colours for a contemporary display.
Think brilliant blues, sky blues and indigos,
or canary yellow with zingy apricot and
vermillion orange.
HOW TO PLANT
✽ When buying young plants, choose
those with healthy, bright green leaves
and tiny buds that are just starting to show
the colour of the flowers. If the petals are
still hidden, the colour of the stem will
often provide a clue as to the eventual
colour of the petals. Look for bright, white
roots at the base of the pot as these are
a sign of new growth.
✽ To pot gently tip the violas from their
pots and tease out the roots with your
fingers. Plant three or four plants together
in a big pot of multi-purpose compost,
and water well. Snipping off the faded
blooms will make extra flowers grow.
PHOTOS: ALAMY, GAP, FLOWER
COUNCIL OF HOLLAND
APRIL 2016 MODERN GARDENS 79

AN OUTSIDE CHEST
OF DRAWERS
Part potting bench, part storage unit, an
outside solid wood chest of drawers is both
useful and attractive when customised in a
vibrant colour of your choice. Use it to display
plants in beautiful pots, stow away your small
tools such as trowels and secateurs, and store
essential items like plant tags and garden
string. Make it weatherproof with two coats
of exterior oil-based paint, or set it up in your
shed away from the elements.
You can source an old set of drawers on
Freecycle or via charity shops. Emmaus has
a good range of furniture (www.emmaus.
co.uk) as does Sue Ryder (www.sueryder.org).
Or bag an eBay bargain.
£30
£8
PHOTOS: GETTY, GAP
WINE CRATE
RAISED BEDS
Perfect for a small garden, old wooden wine
boxes are a good way to grow herbs or simple
salad crops. Some wine merchants and offlicences
sell the boxes, or they’re available for
£8 each (plus postage) from www.etsy.com.
Before planting, drill eight to 10 holes in the
bottom of the box so water can drain out freely.
If you don’t have an electric drill, add a layer
a few inches thick of pea gravel in the base,
then pop in a layer of plastic (a black bin bag
cut to fit the box is fine) with 10 holes punched
in. This will ensure that your crops don’t get
waterlogged roots, which could kill them.
Now fill with potting compost, plant your
herbs and watch them grow! We planted thyme,
rosemary, sage, bay and chives.
TIP Apply an exterior
primer before the paint to help
protect from the elements

LIKE WHAT
YOU READ?
TRY IT...
On sale from
March 23rd
SIMPLE MAKES
Free!
WELLINGTON PLANTERS
YOU WILL NEED
✽ Old wellingtons
✽ Electric drill
✽ Small offcuts of wood
✽ Potting compost
✽ Potted plants, such as nasturtiums and
marigolds, or flowering spring bulbs for
instant colour
60p
WHAT TO DO
1 Using the electric drill, bore some holes in
the bottom of each boot – about seven or
eight, depending on the size of the wellies – to
provide drainage.
2 Place a piece of wood in the sole of each
boot to help stabilise it. Now fill with potting
compost.
3 Plant flowers according to the pot or label
instructions. If you are putting in bulbs, plant
them at the same depth as they are growing
in their pot.
SPOON HOOKS
Hooks are invaluable in the garden – you
can never have too many for hanging
pots, shed keys, tools or baskets.
These little hooks are made from old
spoons and make an unusual feature
hung on your shed wall or fence, so start
hunting through your cutlery drawers and
set to work!
YOU WILL NEED
✽ Some old spoons
✽ Drill and metal drill bit
✽ Screws, around 20p each from
DIY shops
So
EASY!
WHAT TO DO
1Take an old metal spoon and gently
bend the handle near the middle.
Carefully form it into a U-shape. You
don’t want to bend it too much.
2 Leave the tail of the handle pointing
outwards rather than back towards the
head of the spoon. Drill a hole in the
bowl, then simply fix it in your chosen
spot with a screw.
APRIL 2016 MODERN GARDENS 89
PHOTOS: FIONA CUMBERPATCH, GAP

Garden
LIKE WHAT
YOU READ?
TRY IT...
On sale from
March 23rd
CINEMA
A MOVIE SCREEN UNDER THE
STARS is simple to set up, and the perfect
way to entertain family and friends outside
IN THE
SPOTLIGHT
A folded sheet
pegged to a
line creates the
perfect screen.
SET THE MOOD
Use flickering lanterns
to create ambience.
100 MODERN GARDENS APRIL 2016

LIGHT UP
THE TREES
Fairy lights add
atmosphere.
TAKE
THE
INSIDE
OUT!
TAKE A SEAT
Comfy chairs make
your garden cinema
set-up complete.
BEST BUYS
With a laptop, a basic Netflix
subscription and a digital
projector it’s easy to set up an
outdoor film night for late night
romcoms, action adventures and musicals.
Just string up a white sheet, light a few candle
lanterns and settle back to watch the film.
Many of us with wifi and a laptop or tablet
are familiar with downloading favourite films
in a single click or swipe. With a mini-projector
it’s easy to watch these films on a big screen,
even without a blockbuster budget. The right
projector will give you a crisp, colourful image.
Mini-projectors are small, portable, simple
to use and can be bought online, in electrical
shops and supermarkets from around £170. The
USB port means they are brilliant for projecting
images from tablets, laptops and smartphones.
BIG SCREEN
A crisp, white cotton double sheet slung over
the washing line, or a rope between trees
or posts, creates the perfect cinema screen
and is set up in seconds. Position the ‘screen’
away from nearby houselights, streetlights or
passing car headlights so everyone can see
the projected movie easily, and use tent pegs
to tautly secure the sheet at the bottom. Any
sheet will do. You can peg two sheets together
to make your improvised screen thick enough
to capture the clearest image.
Aim to have viewers 6-10m (20-30ft) from
the screen. You can adjust the size of the image
by moving the projector closer or further away,
to make it comfortable to look at.
Don’t forget, you’ll need room for the
projector table and chairs and somewhere to
put out food and drink that people can reach
safely and easily in the dark.
➣
Easy
to use
PHOTO: OLIVER PERROTT FOR WWW.LIGHTS4FUN.CO.UK,GETTY, ALAMY
INFOCUS IN122A DLP PROJECTOR
Brightness 35 lumens Resolution 800 x 600
Contrast 1500:1 £318 www.tesco.com
PHILIPS PICOPIX PPX2055
PORTABLE PROJECTOR
Brightness 55 lumens Resolution 854 x 480
Contrast 1000:1 £169.99 www.currys.com
Budget
buy
APRIL 2016 MODERN GARDENS 101

MAKE IT!
RHUBARB TART
INGREDIENTS
✽ 225g plain flour
✽ 100g butter
✽ Pinch of salt
✽ 3 tbsp cold water
✽ 15 sticks of rhubarb
✽ 150g caster sugar
WHAT TO DO
1 Heat the oven to 180°C.
2 Sift the flour into a large bowl and
use your fingertips to rub in the butter
until the mixture looks like crumbs.
3 Stir in the salt and add the cold water.
With a fork, mix into a dough.
4 Wrap the dough in cling film and chill
for 20 minutes.
5 Chop the rhubarb into 3-4cm (1-
1½in) pieces and toss them in sugar.
6 Roll out the pastry to line a 25cm
(10in) tin and fill the case with rhubarb.
7 Bake for 40 minutes, covering the
tart with tinfoil for the last 10 minutes.
TIP Serve your tart
with crème fraîche –
it pairs well with the
sweet-tart rhubarb
120 MODERN GARDENS APRIL 2016

MAKE IT!
RHUBARB
CORDIAL
GROW AND EAT
LIKE WHAT
YOU READ?
TRY IT...
On sale from
March 23rd
INGREDIENTS
✽ 15 sticks of rhubarb
✽ Caster sugar to taste
✽ 1 lemon
WHAT TO DO
1 Chop the rhubarb into small pieces
and heat in a pan with 75ml (2½ fl. oz)
of water.
2 Once the rhubarb softens, tip it into
a sieve over a large bowl to drain.
3 Measure the liquid and return it to
the pan. For every 1 litre of juice add
75ml of water along with the juice of
one lemon.
4 Add sugar to taste and warm until
it dissolves.
5 Allow to cool, decant into clean
bottles with screw tops and store
in the fridge. Dilute cordial with
sparkling water to serve.
TIP Ideal for using
up older, larger sticks
of rhubarb
TIP Eat warm with
creamy custard for
a delicious pudding
MAKE IT!
RHUBARB AND
GINGER CAKE
INGREDIENTS
✽ 225g golden caster sugar
✽ 225g butter
✽ 4 eggs
✽ 225g self-raising flour
✽ 1 tsp ground ginger
✽ 1 tbsp demerara sugar
✽ 8 sticks of rhubarb
WHAT TO DO
1 Heat the oven to 180°C.
2 Cream the butter and sugar until pale.
3 Beat in the eggs one at a time,
adding a spoonful of flour after each.
4 Sift and fold in the remaining flour
and ginger.
5 Pour the mixture into mini loaf tins.
6 Chop the rhubarb into 10cm (4in)
lengths and lay one piece along the
top of each cake.
7 Sprinkle the cakes with sugar and
bake for 20-25 minutes.
8 Turn out onto a wire tray to cool.
APRIL 2016 MODERN GARDENS 121

AVAILABLE
FROM
ALL GOOD
RETAILERS
On sale from
March 23rd
Buy 3 issues
for just £5
greatmagazines.co.uk/tryme