Alys Fowler
Alys Fowler is a horticulturist, garden writer and Guardian columnist.
Recent articles by Alys Fowler
Discover the biodiverse, brilliant and beautiful garden that features on Monty Don's British Gardens this week
The garden of designer Nigel Dunnett, who worked on the planting at the Olympic Park, is brimming with a harmonious and joyful mix of naturalistic and biodiverse planting.
How to grow pumpkins and squashes
There is a huge variety of winter squash and pumpkins out there, all easy to grow in an allotment or garden if you know how. If you want to grow pumpkins for next year, here's a few of our favourites, plus some extra advice on sowing and planting. Illustration Kerry Lemon
Meet the former Blue Peter gardener who is now a guru on organic gardening
The former Blue Peter gardener, and now head of horticulture for Garden Organic, on his colourful CV, selling roses to the Japanese and the perils of living next door to hungry gorillas. Portrait Charlie Hopkinson
Richard Mabey's new book is filled with musings on his first garden to call his own and his remarkable life with plants
Part memoir, part rumination on the relationship
between humans and the natural world, this new book
from Richard Mabey is a delight, says Alys Fowler
This former brownfield site has been transformed into a natural managed meadow garden that's a haven for wildlife
Out of the rubble of a former brownfield site, Jo McKerr has
created a beautiful and natural managed-meadow garden. Words Alys Fowler. Photographs Jason Ingram.
Reducing plastic in your garden and allotment
The invention of plastic changed how we gardened forever. Now it is everywhere, here's why we need to deal carefully with our plastic usage and how to get closer to a zero waste garden. llustration Vicki Turner
Let’s talk about grex: Alys Fowler explains why we shouldn’t just grow our own veg, we can breed our own too
Don’t just grow your own – breed your own too, creating ‘grexes’ bespoke to your garden and resilient in our changing climate, says Alys Fowler. Illustration Rosanna Morris
Peonies that can last for 100 years: the remarkable plants that can come with a high price tag
At Primrose Hall Nursery Alec White specialises in breeding rare and desirable intersectional peonies – plants that can last for 100 years. Words Alys Fowler, photographs Richard Bloom
Miniature narcissi and how to plant them
From her small nursery in a North Yorkshire back garden, Anne Wright grows the most exquisite tiny narcissi. She gives her expert advice on how to plant and care for these miniature daffodils. Words Alys Fowler, photographs Jason Ingram
How to forage in your garden
Discover how you can forage and pick things to eat that will be growing wild already in your garden with our expert guide from forager and garden writer Alys Fowler
Is your potato sprouting? Don't chuck it: You could get a crop out of it next year
Writer and expert grower Alys Fowler explains everything you need to know about chitting potatoes and how to get the most from your potato harvest
How to pot amaryllis bulbs
Garden writer and expert Alys Fowler shares six tips for planting amaryllis, or Hippeastrum, bulbs indoors
What to plant for an edible hedgerow
Planting an edible hedgerow provides flavours you can’t buy in the shops and rich pickings for the larder
Wildegoose Nursery: restoring a walled garden and Georgian glasshouses
At Wildegoose Nursery in Shropshire Jack and Laura
Willgoss specialise in growing choice hardy perennial plants. Words Alys Fowler, photographs Jason Ingram
How to care for your edible hedgerow
Alys Fowler explains how to care for your edible hedgerow
Ozichi Brewster on developing a love of nature and putting people first
The gardener helping people to better health on developing a love of nature at her grandmother’s knee, the pleasure of finding a purpose in life and the importance of putting people first. Portrait Jason Ingram
Book review | The Science of Compost
Writer Alys Fowler reviews Julian Doberski's book about the science of what's in your compost
Tijana Blanusa on green façades and the science behind the best hedging plants
The head of the RHS Ecosystem Services Research Programme, on identifying the plant traits that can benefit the wider environment and why you really need to plant a hawthorn hedge. Portrait Jason Ingram
Living Dream – Behind the scenes at Mynd Hardy Plants
Mynd Hardy Plants in Shropshire is everything Jill and Richard Rallings could wish for – a thriving nursery awash with superb perennials in a lovingly restored walled garden. Words Alys Fowler. Photographs Richard Bloom.
Tom Stuart-Smith's Hepworth Wakefield garden design
Designing a public space from scratch, Tom Stuart-Smith created a changing spectacle of colour in front of the Yorkshire gallery, with the garden being developed by gardener Katy Merrington. Words Alys Fowler. Photographs Jason Ingram
Naturalistic planting in an Oxfordshire garden
Plant experts Chris and Toby Marchant have used a relaxed mix of plants in a naturalistic style in their rural garden. Words Alys Fowler, images Jason Ingram
John Little on green roofs, reusing waste materials and helping the environment
The grass roof and brownfield gardening expert has always gardened with wild abandon and believes a more liberal approach will help build back the nature we so desperately need. Portrait Charlie Hopkinson
What is foliar spray and how do you make it?
Garden writer Alys Fowler explains the benefits of using foliar spray to support your growing plants and how to make foliar ferments
Wild bee hives: become a bee watcher rather than a bee keeper
In his Hampshire workshop, Matt Somerville crafts bee hives that mimic the way bees live naturally in the wild. Words Alys Fowler, photographs Andrew Montgomery