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