Innholdsfortegnelse for 14/11/2015 i Amateur Gardening

AM I alone in suffering the strange malady that prevents me from looking after one or two particular plants in my garden properly? There are two groups of plants I regularly mistreat. The first is several potted-up cuttings of redcurrants, rarely fed, and watered only when they’re wilting – but three years on they just hang in there. I can sort of understand my (morally abhorrent) neglect of these plants, because I don’t need them. I’ve tried to give them away but had no takers. The other group comes from a pot containing a spray chrysanth – a ‘pot mum’ I was told should be chucked out after flowering. That was five years ago. I potted it up, pinched it out religiously over the following year, and it flowered again…

I HAVE planted many ‘traditional’ winter bedding and container plants this season – and they do look lovely. But wallflowers, cyclamen, pansies and bellis flower on and off through winter. I wanted to plant a container with lasting good looks that will shine when others don’t – something that blended different textures with more unusual plantings. For this I bought two ornamental cabbages, a dark pink heather, two grasses (an anemanthele and a carex), a silvery calocephalus, and a Ceratostigma plumbaginoides. As well as planting my container, I had to think about it surviving the winter... Five winter container plants to consider IF, LIKE me, you are looking for something a little bit different (or textured), to the usual ‘pretty’ winter container plants, there are some delightful plants out there.…

AUTUMN HAS its good points, but it’s extremely hard to motivate yourself to get out and do some gardening when the house is warm, the kettle’s on and it looks like rain outside. These tasks won’t do themselves however, and any work put in now will reap benefits come the spring, when things start back into life and a whole new raft of tasks appears. All areas of the garden can keep you occupied at this time of year, but I have chosen four areas to focus on. A fifth, and this is vital for your own safety and that of family and friends, is to keep paved areas, paths and decking free from leaves and algae, as they are treacherously slippy when wet. Use leaves for leafmould, and scrub…

AUTUMN AND winter are the ideal times to pant woody specimens. You can buy young trees, shrubs and fruit bushes with bare roots from specialist suppliers. These are ready for immediate planting, and cost less than larger, container-grown plants. Mind you, if you can’t find bare-root examples of plants you want to grow, pot grown ones can be planted too. Blackcurrants are a particular favourite of mine – I love the sight of the dark, shiny berries, and the tangy versatility of the fruit. They’re dead easy to grow. So this, year, I’m planting a row of bare-root currants – and am looking forward to bumper harvests and lots of vitamin C! Blackcurrant varieties to try: • ‘Ben Sarek’ AGM: Good for small gardens, and is mildew-resistant. • ‘Ben Lomond’…

GLOBE ARTICHOKES come up every year, look after themselves and produce a delicious early crop. I love the Mediterranean look of their giant silvery leaves, too. Eating the plump flower buds involves nibbling the green ‘petals’ and scraping out the hairy ‘choke’ before you reach the hidden heart. You can’t wolf them down – but that is part of the pleasure! The tall plants need to be grown separately from annual vegetables, but their architectural foliage is attractive enough for an ornamental flower bed, or they will fit into odd sunny corners of an allotment. In my garden, they make a dramatic addition to a border of perennial vege and edible flowers. The plants don’t like to be waterlogged in winter but otherwise are not fussy about soil, although they…

• Gather spent plant material that’s diseased or too woody to compost, and burn it on an open fire or in an incinerator – Thursday November 5 is an ideal time! • When the fire has died down and cooled completely, spread the ash around the base of plants - it’s great for deterring slugs and snails from brassicas - or put it on the compost heap. • If you’re going to dig your veg plot over, start now before the ground freezes - it’ll make the job a lot easier! • Check that climbing plants on walls and fences, such as grape vines, kiwi fruits and any wall trained fruiting shrubs are tied securely to the framework of wires or trellis that’s supporting them. • Move pots with tall…

Q I love cyclamen and want to try raising some from seed, but I’ve heard it’s difficult. How do I do it? Jenny Hardwicke, St Mellons, Cardiff A I find the comment that they are ‘difficult’ a little strange, as in my experience they are not – providing you use fresh seed. It should be sown immediately into John Innes Seed and Cutting Compost, into which I add 25 per cent sharp grit – not sand. I sow the seeds on the levelled surface of the compost, and then cover with a ¼in (8mm) layer of the sharp grit, and position the trays outside. I then just leave them to it, ensuring they do not dry out. Seeds sold in packets should be soaked overnight in cold water to help…

THE TWO plants of perennial ‘Taunton Deane’ kale have grown to magnificent proportions and are leaning over the pathway. These tough, durable cottager’s kales are ridiculously easy to propagate by pulling away or cutting long side stems, removing most of the lower leaves and then inserting them in a fresh spot where you want them to grow, preferably with lots of space around them. I started a new plant last spring, so my plan is to take a few more cuttings even this late in the season, then try to use as much leaf as possible before getting rid of the old plants come spring. I have the variegated Daubenton’s kale as well, so we’ll be eating perennial kale with everything this winter. The ‘Taunton Deane’ is such a strong…

A BRIEF stint of allotment gardening has wide-ranging health benefits, a new study has concluded. Researchers from the Universities of Westminster and Essex studied 269 people, to determine the effects of gardening on self-esteem, mood and health. They found that just one session on an allotment can lift our mood, via reductions in tension, depression and anger. It was discovered that neither the amount of time spent gardening in a session, nor how long the participants had been allotment gardeners for, significantly contributed to the uplifts in self-esteem or mood that were observed. Dr Carly Wood said the findings could impact public health policy. She said: “Health organisations and policy makers should consider the potential of allotment gardening as a long-term tool for combating ill health.” The report concluded that…

NOT EVERYONE has the space in their garden for a proper greenhouse, glasshouse or even cold frame. Maybe you just have a small patio or space against a sunny wall where you’d like to offer some extra protection for tender plants, or where you’d like to get seedlings going in the spring. A pop-up greenhouse is the answer – non-permanent, easy to erect and just as easy to dismantle and put away when you need to. When it comes to choosing a site it’s important to place your greenhouse in a very sheltered spot where it won’t be vulnerable to heavy rain and strong winds. But just how easy are they to put together, and how durable are they likely to be? We check out four different models. GARDEN OASIS…

SOON THE last of autumn’s leaves will have fallen and disappeared. Do you ever wonder where they go? Not the ones collected by road sweepers, but those just left to blow in the wind. They have to end up somewhere and although a percentage will be trapped in places and slowly decay away, the majority come to rest on the ground and are harvested by worms. Worms love leaves and pull them down into their tunnels; they are amazingly clever, even knowing which end to tug on! These dead leaves are good tucker to a worm but also important food for micro-organisms like fungi and bacteria. Without fallen leaves and other decomposing plant matter these microscopic organisms have nothing to feed on, and the knock-on effect is an impoverished soil.…

JUST THREE weeks since the clocks went back, and it’s fair to say that many of us are already fed up with waking up before the sun’s risen and eating tea in the dark. Fortunately, we’ve had some pretty spectacular autumn colours this year, courtesy of trees, shrubs and climbers. But with gales now blowing the last of the season’s leaves into oblivion it’s important to keep the colour coming through the winter months. The easiest - and quickest - way of doing this is to plant up a container with gems you can get hold of right now at the garden centre Ð but also consider planting pots of winter iris ( Iris reticulata ) and narcissus bulbs for colour in January and February. First choose a suitable container.…

HELP GARDEN birds survive the winter weather with a Peckish Winter Warmer ready-to-use feeder. The feeder is filled with a nine-seed mix packed with fats for the essential energy needed to help birds fight off the cold. We have five filled feeders to give away. To enter, send your name and address on the back of a postcard to RTU Feeder Draw, Amateur Gardening, Westover House, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1JG. Or email your details to ag_giveaway@timeinc. com , heading the email RTU Feeder Draw. The closing date is: 18 November, 2015.…

1 For new plants, sow seed indoors in 3in (7.5cm) pots, or direct outside in April 2 Mulch established plants with manure or compost; take offsets with roots to make new plants 3 Set out new plants 3ft (90cm) apart on a sunny well-drained site. Add compost to poor soils 4 Cut big buds, before they open, from established plants; smaller ones will grow from the leaf axils 5 Cut down old stems; mulch with straw or cover with fleece to protect crowns from hard frosts…

Q My Datura flowered well this summer. Then it dropped all its leaves, but is now flowering again. Is this unusual? By now, I have usually cut it back and taken it into the conservatory. Mrs Elizabeth Nicholas, Bristol A The normal advice for pruning is to do as little as possible. Although Daturas can cope with hard pruning, it can affect their flowering ability. However, if the plant is to be moved somewhere warm for the winter (where it will continue to grow, rather than go dormant), it can be pruned hard as it has plenty of time to replace the removed stems. If you can get the plant into your conservatory without pruning, you will be able to enjoy the flowers for longer. But by flowering without leaves,…

HILLIER BOSS LEAVES Hillier boss Andrew McIndoe, the force behind 25 gold RHS Chelsea Flower Show exhibits, has left the company after a 37-year career. CAPABILITY BROWN FESTIVAL A national festival of events to mark 300 years since the birth of ‘father of landscape architecture’ Capability Brown, will take place in 2016. PLANT FEEDING Phostrogen, the established plant food brand, is bringing out a Patio Plant Food for pots and containers, in time for the 2016 spring season.…

IT IS a feature of our gardens and parks that fills passers-by with joy after winter. But Britain’s spring blossom is under threat from new pests and diseases coming from the Continent. Flowering ornamental cherry trees, a feature in UK gardens and streets, are being hit by so many new attackers that they were added to a government notification scheme last month. Introduced after ash dieback hit the UK in 2012, it previously only applied to oak, plane, sweet chestnut, pine, elm and ash trees. EXOTIC CHERRIES Now, importers of trees ranging from laurel to exotic cherries (prunus) must supply details including the date of introduction of the trees, their country of origin, and their first UK destination. The information may be used in the event of an outbreak, to…

A few items to help you feed and care for garden birds through the winter ROYAL BEMPTON BIRD TABLE £29.99+ P&P £3.95 0845 1 200 501 rspb.org.uk Specially adapted for the RSPB, this attractive table has a removable side and floor section to ensure it’s safe for birds and easy to clean. The low verdigris copper roof deters larger birds from landing and will gain even more character as it weathers. Comes with a rope hanging cord. Size: 12¼in (31cm) tall x 8in (20cm) square. FAT BALLS (12.75KG) £13.79+ FREE P&P 01772 440242 gardenwildlifedirect.co.uk Pickings can be thin for wild birds during the winter months. Suet is a great food, providing them with instant energy when they need it most. This 28lb (12.75kg) pack contains around 150 un-netted fat balls…

Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae Tenacious spreader loved for its acid green late-spring flowers. Sun or shade – even dry shade. Campanula poscharskyana Tenacious mat-forming perennial for sun/partial shade. With beautiful star shaped violet-blue flowers in summer and early autumn. Ceanothus thyrsiflorus var. repens A reliable evergreen shrub for sunny slopes, it has light blue flowers in May and June, and needs well-drained soil. Ceratostigma plumbaginoides Short, spreading perennial with vivid-blue flowers in late summer, and green leaves that turn red in autumn. Cerastium tomentosum Vigorous mat-forming perennial with silver leaves and long-lasting star-white flowers. Needs a sunny spot with space to spread. Cotoneaster horizontalis Shrubby cotoneasters are ideal for banks as they cover quickly and need little TLC. Versatile – suits all…

THIS MAY be the time of year when we are putting things to bed and covering things up, but on pages 8/9 this week I’m looking at some of jobs that need doing just to keep things going. The lawn, for example, is something that stays put throughout the year, and right now we could still be mowing, scarifying, topdressing and even turfing. Don’t forget, too, to put down some autumn feed and moss killer, and then to rake out the dead moss in a week or two. Come the warmer weather in spring, you’ll be thanking me for the suggestion!…

HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS are the hardworking footsoldiers of the garden, bringing colour and interest with relatively little effort on the gardener’s part. To keep them looking their best year-in, year-out, they need regular deadheading in the summer, and then cutting back in autumn when flowering has finished. Once they have been trimmed, apply a mulch to insulate the crown and help the plant survive freezing winter conditions, then feed in spring to help re-growth. How to cut back your perennials in autumn • Using a clean knife, shears or secateurs, cut stems close to the ‘crown’ or base of the plant. If there is any young growth, cut to just above it • Take this opportunity to have a good weed around your perennials. Dig out perennial weeds, such as dandelions…

IF YOU are at a loose end over the next week or so, why not visit one of these gardening events taking place around the country? • 14-15 November: Plants for Autumn Interest; RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH; 01805 626823; rhs.org.uk/gardens/ rosemoor • 15 November: Woodland Walk; Fairhaven Woodland and Water Gardens, School Lane, South Walsham, Norwich, Norfolk NR13 6DZ; 01603 270449; fairhavengarden.co.uk. • 17 November: Winter Pruning of Tree Fruit; RHS Garden Wisley, Wisley Lane, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB; 01653 648948; 0203 1765 830 rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley • 20-21 November: Christmas Wreath Workshop; Mount Pleasant Gardens, Yeld Lane, Kelsall, Tarporley, Cheshire CW6 0TB; 01829 759359; mountpleasantgardens.co.uk • 20 November: Christmas Wreath Workshop; Yorkshire Arboretum, Castle Howard, York YO60 7BY; 01653 648948; yorkshirearboretum.org • 21 November: Day of the…

Artichoke Pizza  Topping your homemade pizzas with homegrown artichokes elevates this dish to something quite luxurious. Prep time: 45 minutes Cooking time: 15mins Makes two pizzas Ingredients: For the dough For the topping Method 1 Put both flours into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the dry yeast, oil and the water into the middle and mix, add the salt and knead the dough for 10 minutes until it’s smooth and elastic. Put in a clean bowl, cover with a cloth and leave to rise for 30 minutes to an hour, or until the dough has doubled in size. 2 Meanwhile prepare the artichokes. Cut off the stems, and peel off…

IN OUR large garden, we’re not fussy about clearing leaves but enjoy letting them drift down and pool around the tree trunks for a few days. Deciduous trees and shrubs don’t all turn colour and dump their leaves at once but take their turn over a long period, starting with amelanchiers, followed by Japanese maples, cherries, with oaks coming in last. Each produces hormones to encourage the development of the abscission layer where the leaf meets the branch. This bulge of cells eventually pushes the leaf away from the twigs, so the tree can shut down for winter. Raking leaves has been one of my favourite gardening jobs since I was a student at Kew Gardens. We used to tickle shapely Japanese maple, fiery liquidamber and massive tulip tree leaves…

FOUR CLASSES of children from a Galleywood Infant School visited a set of allotments last month. It was a lovely sunny day and one of the plot holders went to great lengths to show the youngsters everything from cobs of sweet corn to brandling worms at the bottom of a compost heap. One lad said on the way out: “It is my best day ever and much better than Alton Towers!” Another pupil was impressed by: “The orange flower (dahlia) by the entrance – the stem was huge!” Top in the plots were large pumpkins – the kids loved them, no doubt prompted by the approach of Halloween. The thing that impressed me was the way they all took notes, counting the beans in pods and learning so much in…

Moles – love ’em or hate ’em! I’VE BEEN battling with moles for a number of years. I’ve not been able to trap them as I couldn’t establish where their runs were in our very stony soil, not to mention the fact that we’re surrounded on three sides by a field full of them! l moved my greenhouse and put in a foundation barrier down to the bedrock to keep the wee monsters out, and had to adapt most of my gardening as a result. I eventually learnt to leave them alone as they just dug anew if I destroyed any of their work. It appears once they’ve established a network of tunnels they’re quite happy patrolling them for prey. I also found that toads and field voles liked the…

IDON’T like trellis. In fact, I’m making it my life’s mission to dissuade people from using it. Brought to these shores by Romans (along with taxes) trellis was used to create airy enclosures for wealthy Ciceros and Caesars. It wasn’t simply a cheap alternative to walls but offered architecture where solid stone felt oppressive. Since then, trellis has shrunk down from the grand and bespoke to single panels sold in bulk to unwitting gardeners as a support for climbing plants. I have grown a lot of climbers in my time but I’ve never seen one that grew into a six foot square. Plant a climber at the base of trellis and very soon it’ll be perched on and crushing the top, while looking for an escape from the now bent…