Innholdsfortegnelse for 15 August 2015 i Amateur Gardening

“BLAST, I’VE done it again!” My wife, Kath, was holding up a freshly laundered tee shirt – blinding white except for a rash of small brown stains down the front. “It looks like someone sneezed chocolate all over it,” I volunteered. “What is it, anyway.” “I think it’s pollen from some of the plants in the garden. I was cutting back withered stems around the main beds yesterday. “What’s weird is you can’t see anything until after the tee shirt is washed, then the stains show – and nothing will remove them, not even the Oxy-action stuff they advertise on telly.” “You need to be careful,” I said. “You do realise that pollen transports male plant DNA material to the female parts of flowers for reproduction. It’s obvious the flowers…

GET THE best from your plants by feeding them with Gro-Sure All Purpose Plant Food. This liquid feed is packed with nutrients and enriched with seaweed, to boost both flowers and edible crops. We have five one-litre packs to give away to readers. To enter the draw, send your name and address on the back of a postcard to Gro-Sure All Purpose Plant Food Draw, Amateur Gardening, Westover House, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1JG. Or email your details to ag_giveaway@timeinc.com , heading the email All Purpose Plant Food Draw. The closing date is: 19 August, 2015.…

• 15 August: Shadwell Horticultural Society Flower, Vegetable & Craft Show; Shadwell Primary School playing field, Main Street, Shadwell, Leeds, LS17 8JF 0113-2738821 • 15 August: Bream Gardening Society Show; High St, Bream, Lydney, Gloucestershire GL15 6JE 01594 719314; breamgardeners.net • 15-16 August: Summer Vegetable Weekend; Barnsdale Gardens, The Avenue, Exton, Rutland LE15 8AH 01572 813200; barnsdalegardens.co.uk • 23 August: Plant Fair; Hoghten Tower, Nr Preston, Lancs PR5 0SH 01572 81320007855 625572; meadowviewplants.co.uk • 23 August: Plant Fair; Abbeywood Gardens, Delamere, Cheshire CW8 2HS 01270 811442; planthuntersfairs1.co.uk • 29 August: Epping Annual Horticultural Show; St John’s Church, St John’s Road, Epping, Essex CM16 5JU 01992 890591 • 29-30 August: Durham Flower Festival; East Durham College’s Houghall Campus, Durham DH1 3SG 01572 8132000191 375 4700; eastdurham.ac.uk • 30 August: Borde Hill…

Saving honesty seeds A MASSIVE stand of honesty flourished in our garden this year, and I wanted to save some of its seeds. Here’s how I did it: 1 When the pods are dried, brown and brittle, cut trusses of them and place on white paper to spot any falling seeds. 2 Remove seed cases by tugging them off the truss (easy when ripe), then peel each case open to reveal the seeds. 3 Store seeds in a labelled envelope somewhere cool, dry and dark, or sow biennials like honesty and foxglove now!…

WITH AUTUMN approaching, I can start sowing more spinach. I don’t mean perpetual spinach or chard, but ‘true’ annual spinach – the sort whose dark green baby leaves are tasty in salads, and which melts in the mouth when cooked. This is quick growing, and makes a useful ‘catch crop’ before or after main summer crops. However, it is also quick to run to seed. To make good leafy growth, it needs a very fertile soil with plenty of organic matter (compost or well-rotted manure) to retain moisture. Summer sowings do best in semi-shade, but may still only produce a harvest of baby leaves before a flower stalk forms. The shorter days and cooler nights of spring and autumn suit spinach better. I make my first sowing in March –…

Q How can I divide my pot-bound agapanthus without damaging either the plant or its 12in (30.5cm) pot? Rod Lephard (via email) A It is going to be difficult to extract the agapanthus from its pot without causing damage to one or the other, and without tipping the pot on its side. Your best bet is to score down the edge of the rootball (between it and the pot), all the way round, and as deep as possible, with a long knife. This will at least loosen it from the side of the pot, and may give you enough leverage to lift the plant out – but it will be extremely heavy. The best time to split agapanthus is in spring, just before or as new growth appears. Clumps can…

OUR PORCH had reached a parlous state, festooned with cobwebs and decorated by debris and tatty plants. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve caught seven massive spiders in the soft bristles at the end of my long-armed spider trapper and taken them out to a stony bank in the lane. Like many people, I have an illogical fear of house spiders, though I’m not afraid of other species. This week, I was ready to empty the porch, hoover down the webs, clean it inside and out and create a new display of plants potted on and cleaned of their dead leaves and flowers. This is satisfying but time consuming work but I enjoy examining each plant and working out what it needs. Some, like this fabulous calla lily, can…

GARDENERS WORLD Live (GWL) has ambitions to become the “biggest plant-selling show” in the UK. The Royal Horticultural Society pulled out of involvement in the show following June’s event and has set up a rival show at Chatsworth in Derbyshire. Former RHS shows director Stephen Bennett (below) is now working on GWL and has appointed Oak Tree Nursery’s owner Cliff Plowes as the first nurseryman to be horticulture director of a big garden event. Grass specialist Cliff’s last show after 20 years as an exhibitor was Chelsea. FREE TO CHANGE Shows expert Stephen is now a freelance events manager. He left the RHS after 28 years’ service in 2013. Speaking to AG at the RHS Tatton Park Flower Show last month, Stephen said GWL was now free to change its…

YOUNG VEGETABLE plants are becoming more popular at the expense of seed sales, garden market figures show. The vegetable packet seeds market struggled from January to June, registering a four per cent value decline compared to 2014, according to industry analyst GfK. Seedsmen W Robinson, speaking at Tatton Park, said that while veg seed sales remain steady, young veg plants are taking off. MORE VALUE Preston-based W Robinson’s Andrew Redmayne said: “We’ve noticed this year in garden centres we supply with young veg plants – it’s been ridiculous. We used to do one delivery a week and now it’s two. A packet of seeds is £1.50 or £2 and young plants are more expensive so there’s much more value in seeds but people like anything that’s ready. The big question…

MINI KNOTTED ROPE PLANT HANGER £15 knottedinteriors.eleanorbolton.com Now that the decade is in fashion once more, your plants will be bang on trend with a hanger that gives a contemporary twist to classic 1970s styling. Made from hard-wearing acrylic rope in a range of colours (including fluoro red, pictured), it can accommodate pots with base diameter of 1½in-2¼in (4-6cm) and height 1½in-3¼in (4-8cm). Simply add your chosen container (not included) and attach the looped end to a ceiling hook. Larger sizes available. ROPE BRIDGE £165 01253 205128 gardenbridge.co.uk Add a touch of quirky fun by installing a curved wooden bridge with thick rope handrail. Suitable for foot traffic, it can be positioned on lawn or used to accessorise a pond. Bridges are made from pressure treated wood for…

WE OFTEN put a lot of effort into our crops at the start of the year but then slacken off when the harvests start coming in. But a little extra attention now will repay all our earlier efforts even more by extending the harvest for weeks longer. Almost every crop needs you to keep on feeding and watering but there is a tendency to neglect these tasks. This is not a good idea as the reason most crops give up cropping is their soil or compost drying out. With regular watering many will go on yielding well into the autumn. But with crops like carrots, parsnips and leeks you just keep watering and feeding as keenly as you did in spring, and they will simply swell the more. Peas, runner…

Also try: • Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’ – shrub for a smallish border, with purple foliage all year round • Self-seeders – love-in-a-mist, cornflowers, poppies and calendula • Asters – for late border colour in pinks, mauves and whites • Hardy geraniums – for a range of foliage and colour • Alpines – they do well in free-draining raised beds, and they add early colour in the spring • Interplanting – try some of the smaller hebes (for evergreen foliage) and dianthus (for scent)…

I’M A compulsive collector of seeds. Whenever I spot something unusual bearing ripe kernels, I can’t help but shake some into my coat pocket. Unfortunately, like a squirrel, I often forget them only to rediscover the haul, perhaps when rooting for a Polo, many months later when I’ve forgotten what they are. This problem is exacerbated because I’ve also been collecting coats with the fervour of Imelda Marcos and have Gortex, wax and puffer jackets for every occasion. This sartorial seed-bank takes up a lot of space and although to Lisa’s annoyance all are absolutely indispensable, I would (should someone from NASA be reading this and ask politely) donate a blouson or two to sow new life and the odd Polo on Mars. I mention this as the long summer…

THIS YEAR, our weigela bushes have been an absolute picture, and the blossom on our philadelphus (or mock orange) has filled the air with the sweetest scent. This beautiful pair are two of my favourite early summer-flowering shrubs – the vigorous pink weigela and towering, bridal-white branches of the philadelphus add such beauty to the garden. Both shrubs flower on strong new wood, so to create the right environment for a successful show each year, you need to prune them immediately after flowering. This also gives you the chance to check for pests and disease, and get rid of old, weak and spindly growth. Here’s how I do mine: top tip Shrubs that are growing in containers should be re-potted every year, or every other year, in spring. Re-pot into…

RUTH SAYS: Too much light and heat will spur cyclamen into early dormancy, but if kept cool they can flower until May. WHILE YOU’RE busy keeping your garden in order through the late summer, it’s important not to neglect the plants thriving indoors. With their glorious spectrum of pink and red flowers that brighten the dreariest day, Cyclamen persicum are a hugely popular plant to cultivate indoors over the winter months. Cyclamen are easy to care for. After flowering, you should stop watering them, and allow them to ‘rest’. Their foliage dies back naturally, and their tuber and compost dries out – very similar to bulbs after flowering. If you left yours to rest over the spring and summer following their autumn and winter blooming, they are now ready to…

MAR or AUG 1 Prepare growing site by adding lots of compost or well-rotted manure to the soil before sowing. APRIL or AUG 2 Sow seeds 1 in ( 2 . 5 cm ) apart ,  1/2in (1cm) deep, in rows 10in (25cm) apart. Cloche autumn sowings. APRIL-SEPT 3 Thin seedlings to 3-6in (7.5-10cm) apart. Keep the soil around seedlings moist. SEPT-MAR 4 Protect against slugs; remove weeds and decaying leaves. Ventilate cloches on warmer days. SEPT-MAR 5 Harvest leaves when large enough - 6 weeks for baby leaves, but big ones are good too.…

A TREE of large fuzzy apricots is a joy to behold and every day I prod them slightly in the hope they are ripe enough to eat. But my interest in these potentially ambrosial fruits is nothing compared to that of our resident blackbird tribe. Every time I look out at my apricot, there are hungry birds tapping the fruit with their beaks. We are all waiting to pounce and as soon as the fruits soften, those beaks are going to be sinking into that soft, sweet flesh before I can gather any for us. The tree has to be shrouded in mesh, so I wrestled a large sheet around it, secured by pegs. A few branches are still poking out, and I’ll probably remove the cover while there are…

THE NATIONAL Allotment Society has joined a chorus of disapproval after Charlie Dimmock called for allotments to be carved-up into smaller plots in a bid to cut waiting times. “It appears that Ms Dimmock is of the opinion that allotments are for doing a bit of gardening and growing a few exotic fruit and veg. Not so,” said Karen Kenny, president of the National Allotment Society. Last week, we reported how the Scottish Allotments and Gardens Society (SAGS) was upset by Charlie’s comments (AG, 8 August). KEEPING HENS Karen went on: “The standard size plot of 250 square metres is specifically the size needed to feed a family of four for 12 months of the year, which includes provision to keep a few hens. “Some may wish for half a…

GARDEN DESIGNER Paul Hervey-Brookes says Royal Horticultural Society medals still have the most kudos. Paul, a rising star in the world of garden design, won best-in-show at Tatton Park for his Perennial Garden, sponsored by Glendale and built by GK Wilson Gardening and Landscape Services. GARDENING WORLD CUP Overseas shows are burgeoning and he plans to compete at the Gardening World Cup in Japan in September and Melbourne and Singapore shows in 2016. Paul said: “I like international shows. The designers have a different cultural identity. “I love doing them but doing well at RHS shows gives more weight because the judging criteria is stricter and you’re with your peers.” Paul mentored the young designer of the year contest at Tatton, won by Tamara Bridge. Paul is a previous Gardening…

PICKING THE crops you grow at the right time is essential if you want to get the best return for your effort. Collected too soon, many fruits and veg will not have developed flavour, or put on enough weight; collect them too late and the edible bits can be tough or stringy, and the fresh, sweet flavour long gone. Most of us are familiar with supermarket fruit and veg. Using these as a rough guide will give you reasonable results. It takes trial and error over several seasons to get a ‘feel’ for the ripeness of crops – to know which ones can be picked earlier or later and still give reasonable returns, and which must be picked before they spoil. Here’s my guide to picking some widely grown crops:…

• While different shrubs have different pruning needs, there are universal requirements for all. • These are the ‘three Ds’ – the removal of branches that are diseased, dead or damaged. • This can appear harsh on neglected shrubs, which may need severe pruning to help regeneration, but it is a good gardening practice to follow. • Cut damaged and dead shoots back to their point of origin, or to ground level, and remove congested branches to open up the plant and boost air circulation, which lowers humidity, and reduces the risk of disease. • Completely take out any weak and spindly shoots so the plant will put its resources into strong new growth.…

IF YOUR garden is, like mine, starting to look a bit sad and bedraggled, you will be itching to get out there and tidy it up . But hang fire before you chop down everything that has gone over, and cart it off to the tip or compost heap. Many of the plants will be setting (or have already set) seed, so take the opportunity to gather some now. Then you can sow them where you want them to grow – rather than where the wind chooses to scatter them! The seeds of annuals, perennials, fruit and vegetables can all be harvested, and some will remain viable for several years. Here is my guide to collecting seeds, and storing them correctly. top tip For the best results, only collect seeds…

IF YOU have ever seen The Muppet Show and the Swedish chef at work, you’ll have an idea how much fun Robbie and Joe had creating their own pizza – and how funny it was to watch them do it. This activity is one that I have set up for my children many times, to encourage them to eat vegetables. In the summer we make our pizzas from ingredients that we have grown together - which is always a great way to end a gardening project. It was lucky that I had the camera on a tripod during our cooking mayhem, because I was laughing so much as they bungled their way through the recipe. My two hungry muppets (one slightly more random than the other) had their own ideas…

EVERY YEAR when touring the international seed and plant companies’ summer trials I come to the conclusion that we have reached the ultimate in plant quality… only to be confounded by even better cultivar introductions 12 months later. This fact is clearly demonstrated by begonias. Once, we just had rather coarse, fibrous-rooted Begonia semperflorens, followed by compact F1 hybrids; there were large-flowered, upright and smaller blooming pendula tuberous kinds, plus coloured foliage houseplants in B. rex. Now the fibrous rooted types come in much-improved compact bedding kinds and tall, vigorous, ground-covering giants, including B. ‘Mr Big Series’ and B. ‘Whopper’, with red or pink flowers plus green or dark bronze leaves. These big begonias really cover the ground and make spectacular bedding displays in both full sun and partial shade.…

Spinach and Mushroom Risotto The ultimate one-pot recipe that’s sure to please. You must stir the rice continuously to get that creamy risotto texture. Prep time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 25 minutes Total time: 35 minutes Serves: 2 Ingredients Method 1 Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan. Add the onion and cook gently for 5 minutes until softened. 2 Stir in the rice to coat with the butter. Then add the mushrooms and garlic and cook gently for 2-3 minutes, ensuring you don’t brown the garlic. 3 Add a ladle of stock and cook, stirring continuously, until the liquid is absorbed. Repeat with the remaining stock, one ladle at a time, until it is all…

Q I have managed to grow an impressive sweet corn crop this summer. How can I tell when the cobs are ripe enough to eat? Geoff Healey, Abersoch, Wales A What a lovely crop to grow and pick fresh from your own garden! Two methods may be used to tell if the cobs are ripe. Firstly, an indication of the ripeness is when the tassel at the top of the cob turns brown. This colour change can take place over several days, so I also tend to pull back some of the leaves covering the cob and push a thumb nail into a kernel. If the liquid is milky the cob is ripe, if watery it still needs more time to ripen. But if it feels doughy, it’s gone too…

A GARDENER’S late-night pottering sparked a major police operation with armed officers, a dog unit and a helicopter scrambled after reports of a man brandishing a weapon. In fact, it was only 55 year-old plumber Stephen Hogan, from Dorset, who was rolling his soil and raking his lawn under an outdoor light. HELICOPTER Stephen had been gardening late with friend Wayne Dodd when cops swooped. Police received a 999 call from a nearby nursing home, where staff reported seeing a man with a weapon. Officers raced to Stephen’s bungalow at midnight while a National Police Air Service helicopter hovered overhead, in an operation that cost thousands of pounds. Stephen had bought a roller to help with a garden project. That evening he and son Sean, 23, (below) put it together.…

HANDS UP if you’ve ever misplaced your secateurs or a hand fork, sometimes never to be seen again or, if you’re lucky, reappearing in autumn in a rusted state. Quite often they end up in the compost heap, having been swept up with all the clippings. Tool belts alleviate this problem (assuming you remember to put things back in the pockets after use) and prevent constant bending down to retrieve the item you need for whatever task is at hand. Some people do find them a little restrictive, though, and you can buy tool bags that offer a similar function, or even smaller tool specific holders. We tested five belts: some with lots of small pockets; others more like aprons with a couple of deep pockets. Your choice comes down…

TV STAR Sherrie Hewson is to swap the sunbeds of the Costa Blanca for the pier and promenade at one of Britain’s favourite seaside resorts as she opens the 2015 Southport Flower Show. Sherrie, who has entertained millions of viewers in the hit show Benidorm, says that despite her spell in the Spanish sun she still shares the British national obsession with gardening. She confesses she was once so determined to keep her lawn tidy that she trimmed it with scissors! Sherrie is heading for the Lancashire coast as guest of honour at Southport, with the annual flower show celebrating its 86th year on August 20-23. The popular actress plays social climbing hotel manageress Joyce Temple Savage in the ITV1 comedy, her latest acclaimed role in a hugely successful 40-year…

BEING STUCK in traffic on the bus into Bath led to a dream day for Jacqui Nolan, 58, from Paulton in Somerset. Passing the time on her tablet, she came across the Garden Secrets competition on Westland Horticulture’s ‘Garden Health’ website, where gardeners were being asked to send in a gardening tip. She says: “I use my son’s old skateboard for moving plants and slabs, so I typed that in, sent it off and forgot about it.” So the phone call telling Jacqui she’d won a consultation with gardening celebrity Charlie Dimmock, plus £250 of vouchers to spend with Charlie at a local garden centre, was a wonderful surprise. Jacqui recalls: “My first reaction was huge embarrassment: we’ve got a concrete garden with just one raised bed, and I thought…

Tales of the unexpected! WHEN I started reading AG 18 July I was thrilled to find the Twycross Zoo story. My husband was a zoo-keeper who trained at Flamingo Park in 1962. His friend Jimmy Clark trained Molly Badams’ TV chimps who featured in the Brooke Bond Tea adverts at the time, and this is a picture of him with his monkey friend at Twycross taken in the same year. Only recently, Jimmy turned up at our house having travelled over from Australia. We hadn’t seen him for over ten years so it was lovely to catch up with him again. Then we tuned into BBCFour to watch British Gardens in Time, Great Dixter and lo and behold, a feature on the…