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MODERN GARDENS I JANUARY 2018 I ISSUE 22 CREATE YOUR PERFECT OUTSIDE SPACE – NO GREEN FINGERS REQUIRED!<br />
100s<br />
OF EASY<br />
IDEAS!<br />
JANUARY 2018<br />
ISSUE TWENTY TWO<br />
£3.99<br />
NEW!<br />
Create your perfect outside space - no green fingers required!<br />
READER GARDENS | EASY IDEAS | SHOPPING<br />
500<br />
FRESH IDEAS<br />
AND BRILLIANT<br />
NEW BUYS<br />
Including<br />
YOUR<br />
TRANSFORM<br />
THE YOUR BEST OF<br />
OUTDOOR<br />
GARDEN<br />
IN 2018<br />
LIVING<br />
✽ Beautiful ways to add value to your garden<br />
✽ Clever updates with the key trends for 2018<br />
✽ Plant a pot of jewel-toned heathers<br />
✽ Our inspiring makeovers of the year<br />
JANUARY ISSUE 28 DEC - 30 JAN<br />
TRY ME!<br />
Garden makeovers<br />
“OUR EASY GARDEN<br />
LOOKS LUSH ALL YEAR”<br />
Easy ideas<br />
BRIGHTEN UP DULL SPOTS<br />
WITH A POP OF PINK<br />
Outdoor living<br />
HOW TO HIRE A CINEMA/<br />
PIZZA OVEN/HOT TUB
Inside this<br />
MONTH...<br />
14<br />
42<br />
Reader garden<br />
makeovers<br />
14 “Our garden looks good<br />
in every season”<br />
Clever design means this outdoor space<br />
transforms from winter to summer in style.<br />
28 “It’s such a great place to<br />
have fun”<br />
Vivid colour and atmospheric lighting<br />
make this garden sparkle at night.<br />
Simple makes<br />
& projects<br />
38 Floating leaf wall art<br />
Bring the beauty of winter leaves indoors.<br />
74 We love to make<br />
Get creative with your plant displays.<br />
87 Revamp and refresh<br />
Upcycle items you didn’t love in 2017 into<br />
pieces you’re proud of for 2018.<br />
96 Adding value to your garden<br />
On-trend ways to make the most of your<br />
best asset. Your home.<br />
108 You’re hired!<br />
You can have a pizza oven, sauna, hot<br />
tub... just hire one for the weekend!<br />
Easy ideas<br />
20 Create the look<br />
Add an island bed to your garden and<br />
make it look instantly modern.<br />
24 Stack in style<br />
These modern log stores will keep your<br />
firewood neat, tidy and handy.<br />
34 In the pink<br />
Make a stylish statement and add<br />
welcome warmth with a hot hue.<br />
42 15 garden updates we<br />
loved in 2017<br />
Our favourite bold and beautiful ideas for<br />
transforming your outdoor space.<br />
52 New year, new ideas<br />
Update your garden with the key trends<br />
and best buys for 2018.<br />
60 All about witch hazel<br />
The tiny flowers warm up the winter<br />
months with sizzingly bright colours.<br />
74<br />
SMALL<br />
GARDENS<br />
BIG<br />
IDEAS<br />
We<br />
LOVE<br />
this!
40<br />
106<br />
SUBSCRIBE TODAY!<br />
6<br />
✽ Subscribe to <strong>Modern</strong> <strong>Gardens</strong> and<br />
get a set of tea light holders worth £12.95<br />
118<br />
66 Plant a frosted pink corner<br />
Bring spring to your garden early with a<br />
dusting of sugar pink blossom.<br />
68 Our 2017 favourite gardens<br />
Inspirational makeovers that really caught<br />
our attention.<br />
76 Winter bells<br />
Sparkling with frost or glowing with<br />
colour, make heather your <strong>Jan</strong>uary star.<br />
82 Designing with houseplants<br />
A look you’ll love for the kitchen.<br />
92 Plant icons<br />
14 reasons we love paperwhites.<br />
Best buys<br />
40 10 buys...<br />
To dress up your windowsill.<br />
Grow & eat<br />
113 Garden to glass<br />
Mix up your own Prosecco cocktail.<br />
118 Lemons<br />
Make sweet and savoury dishes with<br />
these zingy fruits.<br />
Regulars<br />
6 Earthy pleasures<br />
Top ideas for what to buy, make and do.<br />
12 Blooming lovely<br />
Plants and shrubs to buy now.<br />
22 Fresh garden office<br />
Stylist Selina Lake on how to get the look.<br />
48 What to do now<br />
How to keep your plot looking good.<br />
51 Upcycle with style<br />
Make a felt pennant.<br />
58 We love outdoor living<br />
Your garden highlights.<br />
81 Paws & whiskers<br />
Enjoying your garden with your pets.<br />
106 Subscription offer<br />
Sign up for a year’s supply of <strong>Modern</strong><br />
<strong>Gardens</strong> and get a set of tea light holders.<br />
115 Q&A<br />
Got a question? We’ve got the answer.<br />
122 Enjoy sweet perfume<br />
Make your patio a fragrant paradise with<br />
our reader offer.<br />
124 Add winter colour<br />
Save money on our selection of vibrant<br />
heather plants.<br />
126 Garden notebook<br />
All you need to know to get started.<br />
130 Our garden crush<br />
The garden of our dreams!
We<br />
LOVE<br />
this!<br />
1<br />
MAGICAL MINI POND<br />
Put a layer of gravel in a metal<br />
container, fill with rainwater and<br />
add a pond plant such as purple<br />
loosestrife plus an oxygenating<br />
plant such as scirpus to keep the<br />
water clean, then pop in several<br />
floating candles.<br />
15 garden<br />
updates we loved<br />
IN 2017<br />
Check out our favourite BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL<br />
ideas for transforming your outdoor space<br />
WORDS: JULES BARTON-BRECK. PHOTOS: TORIEJAYNE.COM,<br />
PLAINPICTURE, GAP, FLORA PRESS<br />
2<br />
ARTWORK FENCE<br />
Make a plain picket fence an<br />
eye-catching feature by painting<br />
it in two contrasting colours, rather<br />
than just one solid colour. Choose<br />
colours that will highlight the blooms<br />
in your garden. To create the look<br />
seen here, try Proteck wood stain in<br />
lilac, £8.50 protekwoodstain.co.uk<br />
HORIZONTAL CLIMBER<br />
Climbers don’t have to go up, they can go<br />
along too. Fix two to three rows of vine eyes<br />
to a wall, then thread garden wire through<br />
them and pull taut. Plant the roots of a<br />
clematis about 30cm from the wall and tie<br />
the stems along the wires using twine.<br />
3<br />
42 MODERN GARDENS JANUARY 2018
EASY IDEAS<br />
4<br />
PRETTY IVY TRELLIS<br />
Measure and mark out a diamond-shape<br />
grid, then fix eye hooks to the fence. Cut<br />
lengths of garden wire and feed them<br />
through them the hooks. Position pots<br />
of ivy at the base of each point and wrap<br />
stems around the wires.<br />
EASY CHIC<br />
Paint your fence<br />
grey or black<br />
for an<br />
on-trend look.<br />
TIP Use a drill to create a<br />
small hole before trying to screw<br />
in the eye hooks for your trellis<br />
JANUARY 2018 MODERN GARDENS 43<br />
➣
Earthy<br />
PLEASURES<br />
DREAM PLANT GROW PICK MAKE BUY
PERFECT MATCH<br />
In a lovely range of jewel-like colours, these ink<br />
bottles look beautiful teamed with delicately<br />
scented irises. Choose your favourite colour<br />
from navy, amethyst, dark green or purple,<br />
£6.50 each, or buy one of each colour as a set<br />
of four, £22.95, sarahraven.com<br />
INSTANT<br />
COLOUR<br />
PHOTO: JONATHAN BUCKLEY<br />
Dress the<br />
table<br />
Winter is the time for friends and family<br />
to be gathered around the table, so set<br />
the scene with gleaming glasses and<br />
twinkling lights. These rose gold metal<br />
leaf lights look wonderful intertwined<br />
with seasonal foliage and make a great<br />
centrepiece. £14.99 lights4fun.co.uk<br />
WHAT A HOOT!<br />
These handmade glass<br />
vases are certainly quirky.<br />
Choose from three sizes in<br />
smoke, amber or fig.<br />
From £14 magpieline.com<br />
WORDS: CLARE HOWCUTT-KELLY. MAIN PHOTO: GAP<br />
We<br />
LOVE<br />
this!<br />
FEED THE BIRDS<br />
This enamel bird<br />
feeder comes in green,<br />
white or blue and can<br />
be fixed to a fence,<br />
wall or tree. £8.95<br />
dotcomgiftshop.co.uk<br />
SITTING PRETTY<br />
Wood and metal<br />
come together to add<br />
rustic glamour to your<br />
outdoor space. £35<br />
sainsburys.co.uk<br />
TOOL BOX BBQ<br />
If you’re looking for<br />
a mobile outdoor<br />
barbecue, get the right<br />
toolbox for the job. £67<br />
smithersofstamford.com<br />
➣<br />
JANUARY 2018 MODERN GARDENS 7
EVERYTHING YOU NEED<br />
TO KNOW ABOUT…<br />
Witch hazel<br />
Like GLOWING EMBERS, tiny witch hazel flowers warm<br />
up the winter months with their sizzlingly bright colours<br />
WORDS: MELISSA MABBITT. PHOTOS: GAP, FLORA PRESS, SHUTTERSTOCK, VISION IMAGES<br />
W<br />
itch hazel blooms are like<br />
fiery filaments that curl and<br />
twist against the bare stems<br />
of this elegant winter shrub.<br />
Each flower is a cluster of delicate threads<br />
in shades of molten gold, copper or glowing<br />
ruby, creating welcome bright colour during<br />
the darkest months. The orange varieties<br />
look almost like pinches of saffron, while the<br />
yellow types look like clusters of spun gold<br />
in the low winter sunlight, clustering along<br />
slender, outwards-reaching branches that<br />
form a beautiful ‘V’ shape.<br />
Like most winter-flowering plants, witch<br />
hazel have delicious scent. On a cold day<br />
you might need to cup a flower in your hands<br />
to warm it up and release the rich and spicy<br />
clove perfume. But if you cut a stem and<br />
bring it indoors it will soon scent the room.<br />
The golden varieties such as ‘Boskoop’ and<br />
‘Jermyns Gold’ have the strongest scent.<br />
The ‘witch’ part of the name may come<br />
from the fact its long flexible stems were<br />
once used for water divining. It’s also known<br />
for its healing qualities, with witch hazel<br />
ointment used to treat spots, stings and<br />
burns. You can simply gather a few of the<br />
flowers and mix them into an unscented<br />
moisturiser to make your own.<br />
It’s called a hazel because in summer it has<br />
almost identical rounded leaves to hazelnut<br />
trees. But witch hazels are much smaller<br />
shrubs, so easy to find a space for even in<br />
small gardens. They can eventually grow up<br />
to three metres tall and wide, but this takes<br />
over ten years. If you buy one as a plant a<br />
couple of feet tall, it won’t take up more than<br />
a metre in height and spread for a few years<br />
yet. The larger they get though, the better<br />
they flower, so if you have the space and the<br />
budget, it’s worth buying one that’s at least<br />
waist height.<br />
3 of the best for fiery colour<br />
‘JELENA’<br />
Combines yellow, orange and red<br />
for a molten lava effect.<br />
£21.99 jacksonsnurseries.co.uk<br />
Add a<br />
touch of<br />
loveliness<br />
HINT OF<br />
SPRING<br />
Buy white<br />
anemones from<br />
a florist’s shop to<br />
team with lemon<br />
witch hazel. Place<br />
the anemones<br />
in the centre<br />
bottle of a group<br />
of 12, and a twig<br />
of witch hazel in<br />
each one round<br />
the edge.<br />
‘ORANGE BEAUTY’<br />
Long yellow petals are flushed<br />
copper at their heart, creating a warm<br />
glow. £39.99 ornamental-trees.co.uk<br />
‘DIANE’<br />
Deep scarlet flowers shine in a<br />
sunny spot with plenty of shelter<br />
from wind. £25 burncoose.co.uk<br />
60 MODERN GARDENS JANUARY 2018
TEAM PLAYERS<br />
Red ‘Diane’, ‘Orange Beauty’<br />
and yellow ‘Arnold Promise’<br />
work together in a group of<br />
three to make a dazzlingly<br />
fiery display.<br />
EASY IDEAS<br />
TIP Ivy and moss planted on the<br />
container surface gives witch hazel<br />
a relaxed woodland look<br />
➣<br />
JANUARY 2018 MODERN GARDENS 61
LEMONS<br />
Sharp and zesty, lemons add a<br />
MOUTH-WATERING TANG to<br />
a range of sweet and savoury dishes<br />
WORDS: MELISSA MABBITT. PHOTOS: STOCKFOOD, SHUTTERSTOCK,<br />
GAP, JOHN PAUL URIZAR & WILLIAM MEPPEM/BAUERSYNDICATION.COM.AU<br />
Refresh your palette this month with zingy<br />
lemons. These handfuls of dimpled<br />
sunshine will wash away the excess of<br />
Christmas with their fresh flavour and<br />
zesty fragrance. Every part of the lemon has a<br />
unique quality and use, from the thick skin that<br />
can be grated for slivers of tart rind, to the juice<br />
that’s an ideal ingredient for lightening creamy<br />
sauces and desserts. A simple slice of lemon is<br />
both a brilliant garnish in drinks and an easy way<br />
to add a lift to fish and meat dishes.<br />
Although they are a fruit that you might<br />
associate with sunny holidays in the<br />
Mediterranean, lemons are actually a winter<br />
fruit, coming into season in autumn. The trees<br />
have fragrant white flowers that bloom in late<br />
winter followed by fruits that take up to a year to<br />
ripen, and we can grow them in the UK. They<br />
last a long time on the tree once they mature, so<br />
a tree can be adorned with glowing fruits for<br />
months at a time.<br />
Most lemon trees don’t like freezing<br />
conditions and need a space to grow indoors for<br />
winter. The good news is they make a beautiful<br />
POT IT!<br />
Grow your lemon tree in a<br />
container so you can easily<br />
move it in and out of doors<br />
between the seasons. Sit it on<br />
your patio in a sunny spot<br />
from April to October, then<br />
bring it indoors for the rest of<br />
the year. They don’t like<br />
sudden changes, so put it in a<br />
south-facing window indoors<br />
and when you take it outside<br />
in spring, put it in a shaded<br />
spot for a couple of days<br />
before moving it into the sun.<br />
A terracotta pot will give your<br />
plant a Mediterranean vibe<br />
and lets water evaporate from<br />
the compost quickly, giving<br />
the lemon the drier conditions<br />
it needs. A pot-grown tree<br />
stays naturally smaller, only<br />
growing to about 1.5m tall.<br />
houseplant. Move them indoors in October and<br />
put them somewhere bright but cool. An<br />
unheated conservatory or porch is ideal, but the<br />
windowsill of a cool spare room will also be fine.<br />
Just don’t keep them in your lounge or kitchen,<br />
which will be too warm.<br />
Hardier lemon varieties ‘Eureka’ and ‘Meyer’<br />
can grow outdoors in the ground all year round<br />
if you live in the south and have well-drained<br />
soil. They will thrive even given a touch of frost,<br />
so are great for city and town gardens that have<br />
lots of buildings around providing shelter.<br />
The other trick to a happy and thriving lemon<br />
tree is to water all year round, pouring on<br />
enough to completely soak all the compost in<br />
the pot, which will usually be at least half a<br />
watering can full. Don’t let the pot sit in a saucer<br />
of water, let it completely drain away. And<br />
before you water again, let the top of the<br />
compost dry out. Drop a capful of liquid citrus<br />
feed (such as Westland Concentrated Citrus<br />
Plant Food, £3.99/250ml, marshalls-seeds.co.uk)<br />
into the watering can every couple of weeks<br />
from March to October.<br />
1YOUR<br />
GARDEN<br />
LARDER<br />
118 MODERN GARDENS JANUARY 2018
GROW AND EAT<br />
HOW TO PLANT<br />
If you can’t find citrus compost at your<br />
garden centre, just mix half a bucket<br />
of horticultural grit into multi-purpose<br />
compost to improve the drainage.<br />
TIP Slicing your lemon lengthwise<br />
rather than crossways will give you<br />
much more juice when you squeeze it<br />
YOU WILL NEED<br />
✽ Pieces of broken pot (crocks)<br />
✽ 1 x 30cm terracotta pot<br />
✽ 1 x 12-litre bag Verve citrus<br />
compost £2.50 diy.com<br />
✽ 1 small lemon tree<br />
WHAT TO DO<br />
1 Cover the drainage holes in the<br />
bottom of the pot with the crocks<br />
to stop compost escaping.<br />
2 Fill the pot with compost, leaving an<br />
inch gap at the top to allow water to<br />
pool on the surface when watering.<br />
3 Carefully take your lemon tree out<br />
of its pot. If it’s tricky to get out, tap<br />
sharply on the pot, but avoid pulling<br />
on the stems.<br />
4 Make a hole in the compost and<br />
stand the lemon roots inside, making<br />
sure the stems are straight and<br />
upright. Position it at the same height<br />
in the compost as it was growing in its<br />
original container, adding a little more<br />
or taking some out as necessary.<br />
5 Fill any gaps around the roots with<br />
more compost and press it down with<br />
your hands to firm the plant in.<br />
6 Water with a full can. Support the<br />
pot on feet to allow good drainage.<br />
➣<br />
JANUARY 2018 MODERN GARDENS 119
We love to make...<br />
Each issue, we bring you easy ideas and quick makes. Here, we<br />
show you how to GET CREATIVE with your plant displays<br />
30<br />
MINUTES<br />
RUSTIC ROPE<br />
SHELVES<br />
Display your pots wherever you<br />
fancy with these floating shelves.<br />
£17<br />
YOU WILL NEED<br />
✽ Saw<br />
✽ Wooden pallet fence 24.1 x 33cm, £5<br />
hobbycraft.co.uk<br />
✽ Drill<br />
✽ Sandpaper<br />
✽ Darice 4 ply jute twine, £5<br />
hobbycraft.co.uk<br />
✽ Ronseal crystal clear outdoor varnish clear<br />
matt, £6.99/250ml homebase.co.uk<br />
WORDS & PHOTOS: EMMA HOWCUTT-KELLY<br />
WHAT TO DO<br />
1 The wooden pallet is made up of seven slats.<br />
Saw off and discard one slat, then saw the<br />
remaining pallet into two shelves of three slats.<br />
2 Drill two holes in each end of both shelves,<br />
making sure they’re big enough to fit the twine<br />
through. Gently sand the shelves to get rid of<br />
any rough splinters of wood.<br />
3 Apply the varnish to the panels, following the<br />
instructions on the can. Leave to dry.<br />
4 Cut four pieces of twine to your desired<br />
length. Thread it through each hole on your<br />
bottom shelf and tie a knot at each end. Decide<br />
where you want your second shelf to go, then<br />
tie a knot in each bit of twine at equal lengths<br />
just below this point.<br />
5 Thread the twine through the top shelf, so<br />
that it sits on your four knots, gathering the ends<br />
together in a final knot. Now you’re ready to<br />
hang your shelves and decorate it with plants.<br />
TIP Hang your shelf<br />
planter in a sheltered spot<br />
to stop the pots from<br />
being blown over<br />
4<br />
74 MODERN GARDENS JANUARY 2018
SUPERFAST MAKE!<br />
BRICK SUCCULENT DISPLAY<br />
You wouldn’t normally put<br />
a brick on display, but plant<br />
it with succulents and it’s<br />
transformed! Simply dust<br />
off any excess dirt and line<br />
the holes with pieces cut<br />
from a bin bag to stop soil<br />
falling out. Push a succulent<br />
(£3.99/3, homebase.co.uk)<br />
into each hole, fill any gaps with<br />
potting compost and voila!<br />
£3.50<br />
SIMPLE MAKES<br />
15<br />
MINUTES<br />
PRETTY<br />
IN PINK<br />
15<br />
MINUTES<br />
STAR JAR<br />
Turn a glass jar into the star<br />
of the show.<br />
YOU WILL NEED<br />
✽ Sandpaper<br />
✽ Piece of wood 30 x 15cm<br />
✽ Cuprinol Garden Shades seagrass wood<br />
paint, £1.97/tester diy.com<br />
✽ Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch white spray<br />
paint, £4.50 diy.com<br />
✽ Fresh embossed clear glass jar 490ml,<br />
£1 hobbycraft.co.uk<br />
✽ Leather strap cut from an old belt<br />
✽ Wood screws & nail<br />
✽ Gorilla wood glue 118ml £3.20<br />
homebase.co.uk<br />
£13<br />
✽ Rustic wooden stars, £2/21<br />
hobbycraft.co.uk<br />
✽ Plant of your choice – we’ve used<br />
a cyclamen<br />
WHAT TO DO<br />
1 Lightly sand the wood. Apply the wood paint.<br />
2 Spray the jar with white paint and leave to dry.<br />
3 Place the jar towards the bottom of the piece<br />
of wood and secure it in place with the leather<br />
strap, attaching it to the wood with the screws<br />
and cutting off any overhang.<br />
4 Put a small dab of wood glue on the wooden<br />
stars and stick them to the top of the wood.<br />
5 Make a small loop with a piece of the leftover<br />
leather and nail it to the back of the planter to<br />
create a hanger.<br />
6 Add some small stones to the bottom of the<br />
jar to help with drainage. Add soil and your<br />
plant, and it’s ready to hang.<br />
Bring life to a small space<br />
or bare corner with this<br />
macramé plant hanger.<br />
YOU WILL NEED<br />
✽ Scissors<br />
✽ Pink macramé thread, £3.50<br />
spellboundbead.co.uk<br />
✽ Tape measure<br />
✽ Plant of choice with pot<br />
WHAT TO DO<br />
1 Cut the thread into eight 60cm lengths.<br />
Tie all the pieces together in a strong knot<br />
at one end.<br />
2 Lay the pieces of thread on a flat surface<br />
and fan them out so you can see each<br />
strand individually. Starting on the<br />
left-hand side, gather together the first<br />
two strands and tie a knot 10cm up from<br />
the first knot. Repeat this process with the<br />
other strands.<br />
3 Fan out the now double strands. Starting<br />
from the left take the second pair, measure<br />
8cm up from the knot below and tie to the<br />
one to the right. Repeat with each pair.<br />
4 Place your potted plant into the<br />
basket-like structure, resting on the big<br />
knot at the bottom. Gather the ends<br />
together at the top and tie a knot to make<br />
a loop for hanging.<br />
JANUARY 2018 MODERN GARDENS 75
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