Alys Fowler

Alys Fowler is a horticulturist, garden writer and Guardian columnist.

Recent articles by Alys Fowler

Chitting potatoes in an egg box on a windowsill

Chitting potatoes: how and when to chit potatoes

Sambucus Nigra

How to care for your edible hedgerow

Ozichi Brewster portrait

Meet the gardeners

Ozichi Brewster on developing a love of nature and putting people first

Rubus fructicosus

What to plant for an edible hedgerow

Growing pumpkins: our guide to planting pumpkins

How to grow pumpkins and squashes

Hippeastrum 'Merengue'

How to pot amaryllis bulbs

The Science of Compost

Gardening books

Book review The Science of Compost

Tijana Blanusa

Meet the gardeners

Tijana Blanusa on green façades and the science behind the best hedging plants

Mynd Hardy Plants

Living Dream – Behind the scenes at Mynd Hardy Plants

Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’) combining with the yellow of Achillea ‘Coronation Gold’ as if waving hello to the pink coneflowers, Echinacea pallida. Behind these is the 4.4m wall surrounded by the towering pin oaks, (Quercus palustris). The sculptures are Pitchfork (Yellow), 2013, by Sir Michael Craig-Martin and The Three, 2017, by Rebecca Warren.

Gardens to visit

Tom Stuart-Smith's Hepworth Wakefield garden design

Chris and Toby Marchant's garden

Naturalistic planting in an Oxfordshire garden

One of Matt’s rocket hives sitting in his Hampshire garden.

Wild bee hives: become a bee watcher rather than a bee keeper

JOHN LITTLE photo Charlie Hopkinson ©

Meet the gardeners

John Little on green roofs, reusing waste materials and helping the environment

Mulching and foliar

What is foliar spray and how do you make it?

Making the most of the good drainage provided by the steep bank beneath the wall, Jo has introduced a thyme meadow that tumbles down into the main meadow mix from Emorsgate Seeds, which is based down the road from Jo’s farmhouse. The tall spires of Verbascum thapsus add vertical accents that link to the tower of the 14th-century village church beyond.

A natural managed meadow garden