Hartley Magazine

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Gardening expertise from famous writers in the gardening sector come together in one place in our gardening magazine.

Lia Leendertz, Bob Flowerdew and John Walker (an award winning environmentalist) write passionately about their organic gardening lives and habits.

Matthew Biggs takes you through the seasons with his monthly gardening diary whilst Val Bourne, award winning writer and journalist of the year shares her gardening experiences.

Jean Vernon talks of self sufficiency and the ‘raison d’etre’ to which most gardeners will cite for their ‘grow their own’ activities.

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Bob Flowerdew

Explore with Bob the amazing range of plants you can grow in a greenhouse or conservatory.

All views expressed are that of the author and not necessarily that of Hartley Botanic

Jean Vernon

Jean Vernon is an award-winning garden writer and winner of The Beth Chatto Environmental award from The Garden Media Guild in 2020 for her writing about bees. She has a passion for wildlife and especially pollinators. She gardens with nature in her greenhouse and garden and writes for a number of national gardening magazines and newspapers. Her first book The Secret Lives of Garden Bees was published by White Owl Books in 2020.

“Every bud that bursts in the garden, every glimpse of garden wildlife is a privilege. Our gardens are a nature reserve that should nurture and protect wildlife as well as be a place to grow and produce healthy, nutritious food and spirit lifting flowers and plants.”

John Walker

John Walker is an award-winning gardening and environment writer and author. His latest book is The Vegan Gardener: Using Vegan-organic Techniques for a Planet-friendly, Wildlife-abundant, Beautiful and Productive Garden. Despite occasional squirrel-fuelled frustration, John is enjoying eking a wild-spirited earth- and climate-friendly garden from a once bracken-riddled hillside at his home in Eryri (Snowdonia), North Wales. His large lean-to greenhouse is powered by free, non-polluting and renewable modern sunshine. All views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of Hartley-Botanic.co.uk

Lia Leendertz

Lia is a garden writer and mum of two young children, with a greenhouse at the end of her city garden and an allotment round the corner.

All views expressed are that of the author and not necessarily that of Hartley-Botanic.co.uk

Val Bourne


Val Bourne is an award-winning writer and winner of The Garden Media Guild’s Digital Gardening writing of the year 2023, awarded to her due to content produced for Hartley Botanic. This joins her six other major GMC awards, including; Journalist of the Year in 2020 and 2014; Columnist of the Year in 2018; and News Story of the Year in 2016. She writes regularly for many publications and she’s a life-long organic gardener with a real interest in wildlife. She gardens in the cold Cotswolds, growing flowers, fruit, and vegetables – with the aid of a Hartley Botanic Greenhouse. Although bought for ornamentals, the Best Beloved has commandeered it for tomatoes and peppers!

Archived Writers

Alice McGowan

Alice McGowan and her husband, Brian, operated Blue Meadow Farm for many years. Her articles have appeared in Fine Gardening, Martha Stewart Living, The New York State Archive Magazine, and Horticulture.