EDITOR'S WELCOME
Scotland has recorded its sunniest spring on record, and this season also claimed the title of warmest spring for mean temperature since monitoring began in 1884, with a mean temperature of 9.5°C surpassing the long-term climatological average in Scotland by 1.6°C. It’s worth noting that eight of the ten warmest UK springs have occurred since the year 2000, and the three warmest springs have all occurred since 2017, a sign of our changing climate.
So what does this mean for us as gardeners? As ever, it means we need to remain adaptable and inside this issue we bring you our advice on watering wisely to preserve a precious natural resource - and your time and sanity - alongside top tips on how to holiday-proof your hanging baskets, and Joanne Evans’ pick of the best drought-tolerant perennial plants for our Scottish climate.
Our columnists, as always, look to give you their tried and tested formulas for success and inside this issue Katrina Gelderbloem recommends some perfect companion planting combinations, Kelly Ireland shares her beekeeping experience and why she’s now making friends with slugs, and Eli Appleby-Donald brings you the next instalment of her year-long tomato growing series.
Katie Reynolds offers garden design solutions for urban gardens, Discover Scottish Gardens takes us on a tour of some fabulous Castle Gardens to visit this summer, and we look at some brilliant projects going on around Scotland at HMP Perth and in Blooming Inverkip, which highlight the positive power of plants to support transformation.
We are also delighted to feature an extract on lawn care from Becky Searle’s new book, ‘Grow A New Garden’, as well as Rona Dodds’ regular recommendations of the best seasonal plants for Scottish gardens, and we look at how to successfully grow gooseberries and alliums.
It’s been a busy time in the gardening world and I bring you my round up of the successes of our Scottish designers and growers at this year’s RHS Chelsea. Our front cover image for this issue is of the stunning ‘Down Syndrome Scotland Garden’ from the show, beautifully captured by the extraordinarily talented Julie Skelton.
As always, please do get in touch by email or in our Readers’ Facebook Group and tell us what you love inside this packed issue, as well as sharing your gorgeous garden pictures with us.
Happy gardening,
M.T. O’Donnell
Editor
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