Gardeners

IT’s been HOT this summer – it’s no surprise if some of your usual garden favourites are wilting somewhat.

But as the climate changes it’s worth thinking about new varieties that can cope a bit better going forward.

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There’s a whole host of wildflowers out there that can handle the heat and still put on a beautiful show.

Dr Emily Attlee, conservation scientist and co-founder of Seedball has shared her top picks with Sun Gardening.

CONEFLOWERS

“Not just a feast for the eyes, these are tough and reliable perennials that come back year after year. Easy to grow and adored by pollinators, coneflowers bring long-lasting colour and drought resilience to any garden.

OXEYE DAISY

“Spotted on roadside verges, the oxeye daisy is a fuss-free flower that thrives on neglect. It handles poor soil well and requires very little watering once settled in.

These cheerful self-seeders return annually and spread with ease – bringing with them rustic charm and a welcome haven for pollinators.

MEADOWHALL CRANESBILL

Although young plants may need a little more water to begin with, meadow cranesbill is a fantastic choice for dry, well-drained soil once matured.

With rich violet blooms and a place in the geranium family, this plant supports pollinators while adding definition and charm to beds and borders.

MUSK MALLOW

With soft pink flowers and a classic cottage garden appeal, musk mallow is both beautiful and hardy. Low maintenance and drought tolerant, it dies back in Autumn but reliably reappears in spring. Its vintage look and wildlife-friendly nature make it a garden favourite.

CORNFLOWER

These eye-catching blue blooms feature open faces, frilled petals, and curly stamens. Loved by bees and other beneficial insects, cornflowers are easy going once established and thrive with minimal watering. Ideal for adding colour and texture to a dry garden.“

She added: “These are just a small selection, as most native wildflowers are naturally suited to withstand drought once they’ve taken root.

“Many have evolved over time to adapt to the UK’s unpredictable weather patterns, including long dry periods. Some even store seeds beneath the soil, ready to regenerate when conditions improve.

“So, if you’re planning for the future of your patch, wildflowers are a smart, sustainable choice.”

For more tips from Emily and the Seedball team, visit  www.seedball.co.uk.

Also in Veronica’s Column this week

Top tips, news, Plant of the Week and a competition to win a Spring Bulb Bundle with 183 bulbs!!

NEWS! Multi award-winning garden designer, Pip Probert, from BBC 2’s Your Garden Made Perfect, is designing the headline feature garden at this year’s BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair, taking place at Audley End House and Gardens in Saffron Walden, Essex next weekend.
 As reported previously in Sun Gardening – the  ‘Make a Metre Matter’ campaign encourages gardeners to transform a metre of outdoor space for the good of the planet. More than 13,500 eco-friendly metres have been pledged at gardenersworld.com to date, and Pip’s feature garden is brimming with meaningful metres to inspire Autumn Fair visitors to get involved. For tickets, visit  www.bbcgardenersworldfair.com.

TOP TIP! If you’re thinking about attracting birds to your garden and keeping them happy in Autumn – then Honeysuckle is a win-win plant for your outside space.
It will provide you with a gorgeous scent and lovely trumpet-shaped flowers, as well as being a great climber for trellis and walls.
But in September it also provides lush red berries – a favourite food source for birds and other wildlife.
Or consider Cotoneaster shrubs – blackbirds and thrushes absolutely love them – just check the size of the one you’re buying as you don’t want it to take over.

TOP TIP! IF you’re coming to the end of your tomato journey for this year and you’ve still got some on the vine that look like they’ve got no chance of turning red – don’t despair.
Some experts suggest putting them in a bowl with a banana! The bendy yellow fruit emit ethylene – a compound that helps fruit ripen. Or you can just make green tomato chutney. Remember to chop up your vines and chuck them on the compost.

JOB OF THE WEEK! If you’re lucky to have wisteria – cut back this year’s current green shoots to five/six leaves. It will prevent it from growing too large and unwieldy.

PLANT OF THE WEEK! Spider Lillies are blooming now – and are named after the stamens resemble spider legs. Great for tropical borders, they look really exotic, best in full sun, in well drained soil and are full hardy to -5ºC

TOP TIP If your kitchen ginger has started sprouting, plant in a shallow tray with the shoot poking out – as it grows, keep topping up the soil. Keep on a sunny windowsill and you can grow year round as long as it doesn’t get too cold.

WIN! Win one of FOUR Spring Saver Bulb Bundle – 183 Bulbs WORTH £64.94 from Suttons Seeds. 
Featuring a variety of beloved spring-flowering bulbs to bring colour from February all the way through May, they’re ideal for beds or rockeries and can be layered in patio pots. To enter visit www.thesun.co.uk/SPRINGBULBS or write to Sun Spring Bulbs competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm. September 6, 2025. T&Cs apply

For more gardening content follow me @Biros_and_Bloom

Monty Don was on hand to give viewers at home tips on how to harvest elephant garlic, but some BBC Gardeners’ World fans were left ‘in shock’ at the results

Gardeners’ World fans were in for a treat as the show aired on Thursday, a day ahead of its usual schedule, to make way for the Glastonbury Festival coverage. In the latest episode, Monty Don demonstrated how to harvest elephant garlic, explaining to viewers that despite its name, it’s actually a type of leek and boasts a milder flavour than traditional garlic.

The green-fingered guru, aged 69, approached a bed of the oversized plant, declaring it was ripe for picking. He advised BBC viewers to always use a fork when lifting the garlic to preserve the roots, essential for storage, reports the Express.

Monty shared further advice, noting, “It stores very well, it’s easier to use, and it doesn’t dominate in the way that garlic can do.”

However, the episode took a turn when he discovered some of the regular garlic bulbs had succumbed to rot. He remarked, “That’s no good. Interesting.”

Upon unearthing another spoiled clove, Monty described it as “completely horrible” and added “Look how that’s rotted. The cloves are in there, but I don’t think they would keep.”

Puzzled by the unexpected decay, Monty wondered: “No, no, no. What I am asking myself is why this garlic from a very reputable supplier, for the first time ever since I’ve grown garlic, is no good. It’s rotting. It’s difficult to see if there’s a virus or a fungal problem.

“But the elephant garlic in the same bedding and in the same growing conditions is untouchable.”

Monty revealed his decision to avoid planting in that particular garden bed for the next three years after showing his garlic crops succumbing to rot.

The response from viewers watching at home was swift, with several taking to X to express their reactions to Monty’s gardening mishap.

One viewer sympathised on Twitter, “Oh a garlic fail for @TheMontyDon Disaster! #GardenersWorld.”

Another joined in with a sigh, “Disappointing garlic.”

A third shared their concern, tweeting “That was worrying about @TheMontyDon’s garlic #GardenersWorld.”

A fourth found humour in the situation, jokingly tweeting “Maybe a vampire is buried under that bed. #gardenersworld.”

Gardeners’ World is available to stream on BBC iPlayer

BBC’s Gardeners’ World is facing a wave of backlash as fans have accused the programme of becoming “a lifestyle program”.

The BBC’s treasured show Gardeners’ World has left its viewers reeling with some claiming the programme is leaning more towards becoming “a lifestyle program.”

The episode, which aired on June 20 to coincide with the summer solstice, took viewers to Damson Farm’s enchanting setting in the stunning Somerset countryside where Frances Tophill was gardening.

Yet, seasoned watchers promptly alleged that the series had veered dramatically from its original intentions.

One irate viewer vented on X, once known as Twitter, saying “Percy Thrower would be turning in his grave. He was a great gardener,” recalling the esteemed presenter who led the show during the 1970s.

On screen, Frances delved into edible gardens and wildlife-conscious planting and Carol Klein dispensed advice for creating vibrant summer pots.

Meanwhile, Adam Frost visited a gardener customising her garden to withstand recurring flooding. Despite the captivating scenes and moving narratives, a portion of the audience remained discontented.

But the gripes don’t stop at the perceived shortage of actual gardening advice – even the birdsong at Monty Don’s Longmeadow abode has been caught in crossfire, with dubious viewers levying charges against the BBC for allegedly adding artificial chirps, reports the Express.

Monty himself, however, has assured fans that the mix of bird calls is completely authentic, though sometimes it’s more overwhelming than intended.

Monty Don has responded to a common gripe from Gardeners’ World viewers on the podcast, saying: “We’ve had a number of letters along the lines of, ‘I watch Gardeners’ World and I really enjoy it, but it’s spoiled for me by the fact that you impose this bird song which is so unrealistic and so over the top… why don’t you just record the natural sounds?’ And the answer is, ‘I hate to disappoint you, but that is the natural sound’.”

One disgruntled fan tweeted their dissatisfaction with the show’s direction, commenting: “Not much horticultural guidance on #GardenersWorld these days.”

Another viewer expressed their longing for the programme’s past focus, tweeting: “#GardenersWorld is becoming a lifestyle program for people with chronic anxiety. I remember when it taught you how to garden. Now anything goes.”

Monty also revealed that the birdsong at Longmeadow is sometimes so overwhelming it disrupts production: “It is really loud. And occasionally when we’re filming, we delay filming because the bird song is so loud, that even to us it feels a bit odd and unnatural.”

Since Monty and his wife Sarah took charge of Longmeadow in 1991, they have turned a two-acre patch of neglect into a verdant sanctuary featured on the series.

The couple’s garden stands out as a wildlife refuge amidst neighbouring farmland ravaged by excessive use of chemicals.

“So Longmeadow is like, literally an oasis surrounded by not-so-good,” Monty said. “We have great density of blackbirds and song thrushes and blackcaps and all kinds of songbirds.”

Gardeners’ World is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

WHAT could you do with a square meter in your outside space?

Turns out – quite a lot – says Gardeners’ World presenter Nick Bailey – who’s spearheading new campaign Make a Metre Matter.

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He wants to get Sun Gardening readers involved too – supporting wildlife and sustainability – and making the planet a better place.

“There’s 20 million gardens in Britain. If 20 million people just dedicated one metre, that’s quite a lot of metres isn’t it?,” he told me.

“There are loads of ways you can make a meaningful difference, including growing plants for pollinators, growing veg to cut down on food miles and creating a compost heap.”

Nick’s created a Headline Show Garden for BBC Gardeners’ World Live later this month – with lots of Make a Metre Matter ideas to take home.

He added: “You can grow nine lettuces in that space. You could grow four compact courgettes and supply your family with more courgettes than you could eat for the summer.”

Currently Asda are selling courgette seeds for £2 – and you can get them in the ground now.

“You could choose to put acid compost in there and put four blueberries in there ” he said.

“Within your first harvest you’ve made your money back.”

“Equally you could just sow some British native wildflowers, which could be as cheap as £2 to £3 for a packet.

“It will give you a brilliant long run of colour from May through to October,  with lots of interest for pollinators.

“You could also create a square metre pond. In the first month you’ll have about 10 species in the pond.

“A year down the line you’ll have 20 plus species and it just goes up and up and up.

“Insect and bees will come and feed from there, you’ll support birds, you’re supporting the aquatic life itself.

“It doesn’t have to be a big space to make a big impact.”

If you’re inspired to make a difference – you can register your meter to be entered into a Gardeners World prize draw to win a £1k voucher to spend at Crocus or two runner up Crocus prizes of £500.

Visit www.Gardenersworld.com for more information. Gardeners World Live takes place at Birmingham NEC from June 12 – 15.

Also in Veronica’s Column this week…

Top tips, news and a great competition to win a £100 Westland plant feed bundle.

TOP TIP Salvias are coming into their prime right now – especially the Mexican hardy shrubby ones like Hot Lips, Limelight and Amistad.
To ensure you get the best blooms all summer, we’ve got some top tips from expert William Dyson, from Great Comp Garden in Kent

• Grow them in pots, or in your borders – they like free draining soil and sunshine.
• If you give them an extra chop in mid to late of July – cutting a third of the growth-  they’ll spring back and reward you with tons of flowers until November.
• Companion plant with perennials to give a cottage garden look
• Or make a statement in a large pot.
• Don’t let them get too dry – they do like to be watered,
• Don’t feed them with nitrogen plant food because you’ll get more leaves and less flowers.

Great Comp’s summer garden show is on August 9 and 10.

NEWS! The Beardy Gardener – an award-winning garden designer, broadcaster and mental health advocate, is hosting his first ever Garden Gathering on June 21 at the Longstock Park Nursery on the Leckford Estate, near Andover. 

The event supports Andover Mind’s ‘Garden for Mind’ initiative, a therapeutic green space dedicated to enhancing mental health and wellbeing.
The Garden Gathering promises a vibrant day filled with expert-led workshops, live demonstrations, plant sales, and family-friendly activities. For more info visit www.beardygardener.com/garden-gathering

NEWS! The National Garden Scheme gives visitors unique access to over 3,500 exceptional private gardens across the UK while raising money for nursing and health charities. Visit the website to find a garden near you open this week.

WIN! Thanks to Westland  – we’re giving away two amazing plant feed bundles worth over £100 each. Each one contains Boost Boost All Purpose Granules, plant feed, Big Tom, Rose feed, bug gard and others. To enter visit www.thesun.co.uk/WESTLANDBOOST or write to Sun Westland Boost competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm. June 28, 2025. T&Cs apply.

JOB OF THE WEEK You can move a lot of houseplants outside now to make space or give them a bit of a boost with natural light. Water hanging baskets daily, start deadheading roses.

TOP TIP – if you, like me, are struggling with blackfly right now – make a spray of washing up liquid (Ecover is best) and water – and give them a good soaking. 

FOLLOW ME for more top tips and news @biros_and_bloom