Innholdsfortegnelse for 14-may-16 i Amateur Gardening

THE chilly spring slowed seed germination (some early sowings failed altogether), checked growth on plants outdoors, and, it being too cold to set out bedding and veg, left my greenhouse bursting at the seams... literally – part of the rotting wooden frame collapsed with a loud crack while I worked in it at the weekend. The enforced hesitation (caused by the cold, not by the collapsing greenhouse) in my usual spring gardening stampede was an opportunity. Most of my life I’ve been a chaotic gardener, messy and careless (which infuriates my wife, Kath). I’m just fascinated by how plants grow. But age is making me hanker for a smarter plot, one that’s not a continual work in progress. So I took the opportunity to tidy up. Sorting out 26 years…

• Polyanthus These primula variants come in dozens of colour shades. • Bedding daisies: The pink and white shades of bellis, or double daisies. • Pansies: Open faces in combinations of colours, like the smaller violas. • Cyclamen coum: delightful pink flowers that brighten shady areas of the garden. • Hybrid primroses: Not just pale yellow: they are a sure sign spring is on its way.…

DAFFODILS offer a lovely splash of spring colour, but as their bulbs grow and multiply, they can lose vigour over time. It’s not essential to lift and divide clumps every year, but every three years or so will boost flowering. Lift them when the flowers have finished and the foliage is starting to die back. If replanting in the same spot, choose the biggest, strongest bulbs. Space them 2in (5cm) apart and 4-6in (10-15cm) deep after nourishing the soil with garden compost. When replanting, let the foliage die back naturally – never knot it or cut it off. Feed with a high potassium liquid feed to help bulbs gather energy for next year. Top Tip  Always make sure you plant – or replant – daffodils to the correct depth of…

LAWNS should be growing well now. But this only means that they need a corresponding amount of care, in order to keep them healthy and looking their best. The first important task is mowing, which keeps the lawn in good health and offers you the opportunity to keep an eye out for problems such as moss or bare patches. Around now you should be aiming to mow once a week; this will keep the grass looking good. But be prepared at peak times (in warm weather following rain) for the grass to grow so quickly you’ll need to cut it twice a week. While you’re mowing, keep a look out for moss and, if it appears, treat it to kill it before raking out, or you may spread it. Although…

“Check out the first pair of seed leaves” FLYING ace, the late Douglas Bader, said: “If you are going to do a job old boy, do it right or not at all,” an instruction I keep very much in mind when sowing seeds. Take the cucurbits for example, while most advisors emphasise the need to sow seeds on their sides I am more set on sowing single seeds in a pot half filled with seed compost. Once sown courgettes, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins and squashes need warmth and moisture to germinate quickly, in just a few days. At the first sign of an inverted “U” shaped shoot pushing up from the compost they need moving close to the glass of windows and greenhouses to get maximum light. They can go back…

WHEN I was little, I always knew summer was on its way when dad started buying plants to put in baskets and patio containers. It’s a tradition that has carried on down the years, and this week I decided to plant up a simple, early summer basket. I bought my plants from the market, where several local nurseries have stalls. They are a brilliant source of top quality plants for very reasonable prices, and the nursery staff are more than happy to share their wealth of knowledge and advice. I used a scarlet pelargonium as my central plant, and surrounded it with violas and trailing surfinias, bacopa and nemesia. Top Tip Hanging baskets are often exposed to more wind and sun than patio containers, so check their moisture levels regularly,…

THE onion and shallot sets I planted back in mid-February have been growing well, so far largely without much interference from weeds. But now we are in peak weed season, they are starting to compete with the crops for light, air, water and nutrients. Because their thin, strap-like leaves don’t cast much shade, the land around onions is susceptible to invasion by unwanted plants, so for a healthy crop you need to keep on top of weeding. Hand weeding also gives you the opportunity to keep an eye on your crop’s progress, and act against any problems that might be developing. If the foliage of young plants starts to wilt and collapse, they may have been attacked by onion fly maggots, which feed on the inner material of the stem.…

I LOVE it when I get introduced to new things. The owners of East Donyland Hall where I work love eating dill, and yet I’d not really come across this feathery little herb before being employed there. Now I’d never be without it! Its flavour, which I can only describe as a cross between fennel and tarragon, is truly delicious and one that works incredibly well with fish dishes. Keen cooks will know it as a major component of gravadlax and it also makes a mean creamy sauce. It’s a hardy annual so you sow seeds of it every year. I’ve already got one batch on the go, and will soon start another off to ensure a steady supply well into autumn. Maggot-free apples! YOU want your first bite into…

IN March I encouraged you to sow some celeriac. Now, two months on, my plants are ready to be planted outside. It doesn’t look much, but it wins hands down for flavour. Try it sliced and slowly baked in a garlic and cream sauce, or grated raw and mixed with mayo and mustard to make crunchy remoulade. Its in the same plant family as carrots, parsnips, celery and parsley, so don’t plant it where these crops were growing last year. It revels in cool, moist soils so actually prefers a shadier spot. I’m spacing my plug plants 8in (20cm) apart, in blocks. I’ll keep it well watered and weeded all summer, and remove the oldest outer leaves which helps to build up the size of the crown.…

• If you’re planting your patio pots and taking cuttings, be aware that we are now in peak vine weevil season, so act accordingly. • Adult weevils eat leaves, while the grubs attack roots and can kill plants. • If you are re-using pots, always wash them first to make sure no vine weevil eggs are stuck to the sides. • Avoid re-using compost, as it will have been leached of nutrients by previous plantings, and may also be containing vine weevil eggs or larvae. • Control vine weevils by picking off and squashing any adults you see on the foliage, and treating planted containers with a nematode drench, or chemical such as Bug Clear Ultra Vine Weevil Killer, both of which are available from garden centres and online.…

THERE’S lots of activity to be seen on the garden bird front at the moment. A combination of spring warmth, nest building by some late birds and the tracking down of food for their offspring by others means there’s no better time to take up the hobby of bird watching. So read on to find the 10 species I think you’re most likely to see on your bird tables and hanging feeders this weekend. Although my list is based on the results of this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch (the annual nationwide survey conducted by the RSPB), I’m not including the blackbird (the 4th most often-seen bird), nor the woodpigeon (5th), nor the robin (9th), as even the newest of bird watchers can recognise these a mile off. Of course, there…

I ALWAYS order my tulip bulbs at Malvern Spring Festival in early May. Bloms Bulbs have an incredible display each year and I adore choosing tulips for October arrival with the flowers in front of me. As the borders here are packed with plants our tulips are all grown in terracotta pots. Each pot is dedicated to one variety and then displays are dotted around the garden. It is always an exciting day when the first tulip flower joins us – this year it was 14 April. Yellow-flowering ‘West Point’ is a favourite here, as is the green and white ‘Spring Green. Buying new bulbs every year may seem a little flamboyant but displays are never as uniform in the second year. Speaking of uniformity, I regularly turn the pots…

IN my 5 March column I shared the excitement of our auriculas arriving. They have now been potted on into terracotta pots and placed on the theatre. The single-flowered are presently stealing the show as the doubles tend to flower later in the month. For a successful display flowers must be kept dry (hence the idea of a theatre) and if the stems flop they will need to be supported by very small green canes and green plastic-coated wire. Once the flowers are over the plants will be placed in a heavily shaded cold frame that is well ventilated. However, before moving them to their summer home I intend to look for offsets and pot them on. Watering will be reduced dramatically. The big question is – what to display…

PINK ‘Pink Capricorn’ produces beautiful pink flowers for months on end and has silky soft leaves that smell of roses and lemons. H23in (60cm). It has a fulsome habit that gently trails. WHITE P. australe Tasmanian Form – “Utterly gorgeous and far removed from the normal bedding types,” says Heather. “A cascade of white flowers and dark leaves.” H6in (15cm). RED ‘Mystery’ is a big bushy Unique pelargonium that produces heart-stopping velvet wine-red flowers with black throats above bright green leaves. H39in (1m) TWO-TONED ‘Quantock Perfection’ is a vigorous Angel pelargonium that produces masses of cheering bright two-toned magenta and shell pink flowers. H19in (50cm). CLARET P. sidoides is a gem, producing non-stop delicate dark crimson flowers above silver-green foliage. Pair with ‘Lord Bute’ and ‘Mystery’ for smouldering impact. H7in…

• Always soak root balls of new plants overnight in rainwater before planting. It’s important that the entire volume of soil is wet, to allow good establishment. • Every spring apply a dressing of chelates or sequestrene of iron, at the manufacturers’ recommended rate. These treatments will help to reduce the possibility of iron deficiency, which is common in camellias. • Remember to water well from July to September, when flower buds are being initiated. Being short of water does not prevent buds forming, but they can form incorrectly or drop off before flowering.…

2-Way Tap Connector £19.99 SRP Hozelock at garden centres and specialist retailers. 0121 313 4242 hozelock.com A nifty add-on for the garden tap, the Flowmax™ allows you to fill buckets, or watering cans, while continuing to provide water to the hoses attached. Plant support rings £8.50 p&p £4.90 01844 217060 henandhammock.co.uk High tensile wire hoops combine with a traditional cleaved chestnut stake to wrap around mature plants, the spiral hoops extend from 15in (38cm) – 19in (48cm). Bypass lopper £24.99 RRP 01753 547790 for stockists Further details darlac.com Make cutting even easier and reduce the possibility of twisting while pruning, thanks to the compound action on this heavy duty lopper from Darlac.…

Cosmos ‘Xanthos’ This recently-introduced annual has stunning, delicate yellow blooms produced on compact plants. Great for pots and the front of borders. Flowers from June to October. H23in (60cm). Achillea ‘Moonshine’ The vibrant sunshine-yellow, flat flower heads of this achillea work well mixed with other herbaceous perennials and grasses to create the popular prairie-style planting. H23in (60cm). Clematis tangutica Lantern-like flowers with petals that resemble lemon peel are followed by fabulous fluffy seed heads. A vigorous climber, train it to scramble over a pergola or up a sunny wall. H14ft (4.5m). Rosa ‘Graham Thomas’ Fragrant double flowers in golden yellow with a hint of apricot are produced from July to September by this shrub rose. Ideal for cottage garden borders. H4½ft (1.4m). Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus…

THIS timeless collection of perennials features the rarest colour palette found in flowering plants – blue and mauve – together with harmonising and relaxing pale yellows. Inspired by West Dean’s fabulous walled garden in Sussex, which is jam packed with exciting plants, including a gorgeous blue and yellow border, these plants offer a sophisticated look. Plant them side by side in beds and borders to provide an informal, relaxed tone to the garden. All are sun-lovers but will cope with a bit of shade. Cerinthe major is an unusual hardy annual that reaches 18in (45cm) high. It’s adored by bees and butterflies. • All plants supplied as young plants and delivered in 14 days. Geranium ‘Orion’ A larger hardy geranium, which is smothered with violet-blue large flowers. Quick…

“Plants grown and bought in Blighty are simply better” WHETHER you’re a Remain-campaigner from Staines or a Brexiter from Exeter, when it comes to plants it’s always best to buy British. Now I know what you’re thinking: this is little more than a partisan article from an English nurseryman hungry for cash for his Cayman Islands tax haven. And of course you’d be right, but even so, plants grown and bought here in Blighty are simply much better. As flowers travel they become stressed, evidenced by so many gardeners who buy electric blue Senetti or a daisy-flowered chrysanth full of flower only for the buds to shrivel before opening. This happens when plants spend too long on the road in the back of a refrigerated truck. Home-grown versions might cost…

I KNOW it may seem strange talking about the bare borders of winter at a time when our gardens are bursting into summer colour, but there is a method to my madness. Good gardening involves planning ahead, and part of the reason why we are currently at the busiest time of year is because we should also be getting ready for next winter. Once this summer’s perennial and bedding plants have died away, the garden will suddenly seem very drab and empty. But there should be plenty of new plants to stock it with – if you act now! This week I am sowing my first batch of winter bedding plants, including pansies and violas. As more space and seeds become available, I will also sow stocks for autumn, and…

MY cosmos seeds germinated successfully, but because they are on a well-lit and warm windowsill, they have grown too fast and have become a bit leggy. When I pricked them out, I filled 3in (7cm) pots with potting compost, and made deep holes in the centre of each one. After gently lifting each seedling from the tray, using a plant label to loosen the roots and holding the leaves with my fingers, I transferred it to the individual pots. The roots and much of the stems went into the compost hole, and I firmed them in lightly for support. After two weeks they’ll be hardened off in a cold frame then planted out in the garden.…

1 Start by carefully digging around the clump of daffodils, and gently lifting them intact, taking care not to cut through any of the bulbs with your spade blade. 2 Place the lifted plants on a plastic bag or tarpaulin. Brush off soil and check the bulbs for pests and disease. Discard any that look diseased or rotten. 3 Bulbs produce offsets. Remove bigger ones from the parent, pot them up and grow on for a year before planting. Leave smaller ones attached until they are larger. 4 To store bulbs, put them on a clean tray somewhere light, cool and dry. They can be replanted in August. Or pot up bulbs (left) to let them die back.…

LIKE many residents of suburbia, I have a plastic front door, and it is not an object of great beauty. To smarten up the area, I’m going to plant two small box (Buxus sempervirens) trees in pots, one either side of the door. Traditionally, box has been easy to grow. All you have to do is keep it watered (even in winter), top-dress with fresh compost in spring, give it a trim between May and August to keep things neat, and feed once a month in summer with a general-purpose fertiliser (circled). Recently, box has had a run of bad luck. Box blight, a fungal disease, has spread across the UK, leaving plants suffering from severe dieback. And the Royal Horticultural Society revealed that box tree caterpillar and moth was…

PLANTS can be grouped into three growing categories. Annuals, in general terms, have a one-year grow-flower-seed cycle. Perennials die back at the end of the each year but reemerge in spring, and live for a number of years. Biennials, on the other hand, take two years to complete their life cycle. If you sow them now, their seedlings will be strong enough to survive winter, and then return to growth next spring, ready to flower a few months later. However, some annuals – such as honesty (Lunaria annua, which also has attractive, papery seedheads that look wonderful in flower arrangements) - can also be treated as biennials. They can be sown directly into the ground (they are hardy), or under cover. I sowed some in drills of finely raked soil…

1 Stand your basket on a bucket or pot to keep it stable, and fill it with compost. Add 2-3 teaspoons of water-retaining crystals to help retain moisture. 2 Get your ‘focus plant’ in place at the centre of the basket. Plant it to the same depth as the top of its rootball, and gently firm the compost around it. 3 Carefully add the surrounding plants. Include trailing varieties such as surfinias, bacopa or lobelia. They will hang down and not swamp the central plant. 4 Give the basket a good water to help firm in the plants and settle their roots. If you have added water-retaining crystals or gel, the water will activate it.…

• Whether you are growing potatoes in the ground or in containers, earthing the shoots as they grow will greatly increase this year’s yield. • We earth up the plants to elongate their crop-bearing stems. • If you are growing in containers, earth up stems with extra compost so just the tips of shoots show • In open ground, gently rake soil around the stems and leaves until the tips of shoots are just visible. • Water plants when necessary to prevent them from drying out, but don’t let them get waterlogged.…

1 The soil is warm enough now to sow directly into it, but if you want to ensure very good germination rates then sow into modules indoors to plant out later. Sow 2-3 seeds per cell. 2 Once seedlings are large enough, harden them off and plant them outside in a sunny, sheltered spot. Space plants (unthinned) 8in (20cm) apart and water them in well. Keep weed-free. 3 Star-burst yellow flowerheads appear in summer, which are loved by wildlife yet limit leaf growth which is why I sow a new batch every six weeks or so. Just harvest leaves as required.…

IN late March you might remember that I showed you the two grapevines we have at East Donyland Hall. They’re in the eaves of a large greenhouse and came into leaf about six weeks ago Since then I’ve kept the greenhouse well ventilated to deter powdery mildew (a real nuisance for us) and have thinned out the shoots. They’re very easy to snap off, and I’ve left on the plant those that bear the best flower bunches. Each of these remaining shoots is roughly 16in (40cm) apart along the length of the main stems. They’re now blooming so it’s up to me to pollinate them. I gently run my hands over each bunch of flowers which dislodges and transfers the pollen, hopefully leading to lots of grapes.…

1 Cut a healthy non-flowering shoot from the parent plant. Cut just above a pair of leaves to leave parent tidy. 2 Trim cutting to just below the next leaf set. Pull off lower leaves. Dip cut end in a hormone rooting product. 3 Fill a 6in (15cm) pot with seed and cutting compost. Dib in cuttings, evenly spaced, around the edge. 4 Water, and place in a warm spot, but do not cover. Keep them light and warm, with damp compost.…

• 14 May: Scottish Rock Garden Club Aberdeen Show (11.30am-4pm, admission free), David Welch Winter Gardens, Duthie Park, Polmuir Road, Aberdeen, AB11 7TH 01224 310188 14 May: Rhododendron Walks with Lord Ashbrook (11am & 2pm), Arley Hall & Gardens, Cheshire, CW9 6NA 01565 777353 (ext. 20); arleyhallandgardens.com 15 May: Little Ouseburn Open Gardens (10am-5pm), Little Ouseburn village (12 miles NW of York on the B6265), 01923 339622; loopengardens@yahoo.com 15 May: Plant Hunters’ Fair (10am-4pm), British Ironwork Centre, Oswestry, Shrops. SY11 4JH, planthuntersfairs.co.uk 16-17 May: Spring Vegetable Weekend (11am-4pm), Barnsdale Gardens, The Avenue, Exton, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 8AH 01572 813 200; barnsdalegardens.co.uk 19 May: Discovering Capability Brown, Compton Verney, Warwickshire, CV35 9HZ, 01926 645500; comptonverney.org.uk 22 May: Plant Hunters’ Fair (11am-5pm), Middleton Hall, Tamworth, Staffs. B78 2AE planthuntersfairs.co.uk 28 May: Plant…

1 Make parallel drills 10in (25cm) apart in well-cultivated, raked soil using the edge of a draw hoe blade. Soak the drills generously and leave to drain. 2 Station-sow two to three seeds at 10in (25cm) intervals along the drills and then brush soil back over them using a rake. Tamp down gently using the flat tines. 3 Keep the seeds moist (circled) and after germination, thin seedlings to one per station. Spares can be transplanted to stations where none have come up. Remember to water-in afterwards.…

THE sweet smell of success with roses, shrubs and annuals is yours with the help of an entire range of weed, feed and control products from organic specialists Neudorff. From granular and liquid fertilizers to bug and larvae killer and revitalising sprays, all incorporate natural active ingredients to keep your prize blooms in tip-top condition. This week AG has teamed up with Neudorff to give 22 lucky readers the chance to win a pack each of all four products worth £23.45. For more information on Neudorff visit neudorff.co.uk * Use plant protection products safely. Always read the label and product information before use. Organic Rose & Shrub Plant Food Encourage strong rose plant growth with this solid fertiliser made from organic materials and containing mycorrhiza fungi and soil-improving micro-organisms. Comes…

Helenium ‘The Bishop’ Something a bit different from the more usual orange heleniums, this striking yellow variety would work well combined with the wiry stems of Verbena bonariensis. H3ft (1m). Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii The orangey-yellow flowers with dark brown centres mingle well with late season salvias. The ideal height for the middle of a border. H23in (60cm). Echinacea ‘Mac and Cheese’ A recent introduction with beautiful, warm yellow petals and the classic, central orange cone. Works well with autumn colours of reds and oranges. H23in (60cm). Dahlia ‘Glorie van Heemstede’ These water lily-like blooms in lemon yellow will provide a glow to late season borders. Keep deadheading for flowers up to the first frosts. H4½ft (1.4m).…

Inspiration for kids WE HAVE just brought your magazine for the first time and were particularly impressed with the junior gardening content, and all the family projects we found on your website. Having four children, a garden and an allotment, your features provided real inspiration and fresh ideas that we’ll definitely be putting to good use. We thought other AG readers might like to see what our children did in the garden this weekend. They were tasked with decorating the patio table. So they chose to use the deadheaded primrose flowers to mulch the miniature bay tree, amass the auriculas and (with help) paint some Welsh slate from the Easter holidays with their chosen words and phrases about the garden. With a lick of varnish, we hope that these stones…

Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ There are many dark aeoniums available, but this is by far the best. Young plants are single stemmed, but will become multi-branched shrubs with near black, glossy leaved rosettes. Sometimes sold as ‘Black Cap’ or ‘Schwarzkopf. Aeonium canariense Going by the common name of velvet rose, this species boasts fat, fleshy leaves covered in a fine down that is slightly tacky to touch. The plant only grows to 20cm (8in) high, but has whopping rosettes that measure 30cm (12in) across. Aeonium ‘Sunburst’ The most desirable of all aeoniums due to its solitary, 30cm (12in) wide, multicoloured rosettes that perch on 60cm (24in) tall stems. The green leaves have wide yellow margins with a touch of red around the tips.…

• Here at AG we often get calls to the helpline from gardeners whose seeds have failed to germinate, or whose seedlings have died of. • In many cases, the cause is damping off – a fungal disease that can wipe out whole trays of infant plants. • You can help avoid it by always using new or well-washed seed trays and clear plastic lids. Always use fresh seed compost, and dampen it with fresh water straight from the tap. Avoid water from butts as it may be contaminated with debris, pest eggs and fungal spores.…

1 Start by filling a new (or cleaned) seedtray with fresh seed compost. Tamp it level and water it well with fresh, clean water from the tap. 2 Sow seeds thinly on the compost. If they are very fine, make it easier by dabbing some on to a dampened fingertip before sprinkling. 3 If instructed on the seed packet, cover the seeds with a fine layer of seed compost or vermiculite (above); do not cover very small seeds. 4 I stood the pansy seeds in their tray (with a clear placed lid over it) inside a cold frame, and will check regularly for germination.…

• My amaryllis flowered brilliantly in the New Year, and I hope it will give a repeat performance next year. • I am growing the bulb on, and giving it a balanced liquid feed of houseplant fertiliser once a week. • I will transfer it to my unheated greenhouse when the weather warms up, and keep watering it until September. Then I will reduce the water, and keep it somewhere cool for 8-10 weeks so it becomes semi-dormant. • I will then cut back the old foliage, replace the top 2in (5cm) of compost, and treat as a new bulb.…

1 Containers without drainage holes are a recipe for disaster. Drill plenty, then add lots of crocks to help with drainage. 2 Where pots can be seen from the street, I add weight with a house brick, to deter light fingered passers-by. 3 Fill with a loam-based compost. I’m using John Innes No3, which is suitable for mature plants that will be in the same containers for several years. 4 Add the plant, firm in, top-up the compost then water. Once established, feed with seaweed extract.…

1 Weed and rake the soil to remove large debris and create a fine tilth. Mark out a drill using twigs and twine. 2 Take out a drill 1in (2.5cm) deep using the sharp edge of a hoe, or a cane. Water the soil before sowing. 3 Sow seeds 2in (5cm) apart to give seedlings space to grow. Gently cover the drill with a thin layer of soil. 4 Water again. Cover the area with twigs and use repellant spray to deter birds, cats. Protect from slugs.…

• The basket I planted only needed top planting, but many are designed to have trailing plants down the sides. • Plants can be damaged as you push them through the basket’s lining, but there is an easy way to get round it. • Add compost to the basket until you reach the level where you want your side plants to sit. Then cut a slit in the lining. Wrap either the plant’s roots, or the stem and leaves, in kitchen clingfilm, and carefully feed it through the slit in the fabric. • If you’ve wrapped the roots, feed them into the basket from the outside. If you wrap the steam and leaves, feed these through from the inside of the basket, out.. Top up with compost.…

• The cucumber, aubergine and courgette seeds I sowed a few weeks ago germinated well on windowsills, pictured left, and will soon be ready to move to larger pots. • I will start hardening off the cucumbers and courgettes in my unheated greenhouse, before moving them to growbags in a warm, sheltered area of the garden. • Aubergines rarely do well outside in our climate, even in very warm areas, so I am going to transplant the seedlings to 9in (23cm) pots and grow them on in the greenhouse.…

THERE is something very satisfying about propagating favourite perennial plants – not least because it can save you money. Late spring is the perfect time to take softwood cuttings from healthy young shoots that have yet to mature and then flower as the season progresses. There are many plants that are relatively easy to propagate by this method. I have chosen tender pelargoniums because they’re one of our most popular pot and bedding plants... and they’re easy so a great one for beginners to try. Other tender plants that you can multiply by the same method include coleus, osteospermums and even aeoniums. If you take cuttings from flowering plants now, they may mature enough to put on a show this summer. Top Tip  Cuttings from young plants will root more…

“We commonly reduce pumpkins to one or two fruits” IF you’ve ever grown courgettes, you’ll know that these very productive plants often produce more courgettes than you know what to do with. But if you turn your back on them for a day or so, you return to huge marrows and hardly any new courgettes. The principle being, that once plants swell fruits, they set seed and stop producing – and they stop growing. Now last summer I utilised this natural process – but in reverse. My butternut squashes were miserable, the cold dry weather hadn’t suited them and they’d grown rather poorly. Here and there a couple of fruits had set and I knew if these were left there would be no more. Ruthlessly, I went over the plants…

FROM May to July the purple (and occasionally white) spires of wild foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) make a stunning natural display on hedge banks and in woodland clearings. These are biennials, or short-lived perennials, meaning that after flowering, seed is shed and germinates but the young plants over-winter to bloom the next summer. If you learnt your botany a while back, note that digitalis has recently moved out of the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae) to join the plantains (Plantaginaceae). Foxgloves are poisonous but are the natural source of the heart medicine digitalin. The architectural flower spikes work well in gardens too and these white foxgloves (D. purpurea ‘Alba’) are particularly cool and elegant. Spikes 4ft (1.2m) tall, of creamy-white blooms show up well in the evening, are great for cutting and favoured…

WITH four acres of lawns to cut I can be mowing one full day a week in May. As a result I am very familiar with my mowers! Visitors to the garden often assume that I use a ride-on mower, but a push type is my preference. We have two petrol rotary mowers, one with a roller (which is used to create stripes on the more formal lawns) and one without for slopes and banks. You don’t need me to tell you that a dry day is essential for mowing. Before you pull the cord check that plants aren’t overhanging the edges of borders. If yours is an informal garden with tumbling foliage then keep a few plant supports at the ready for holding back plants whilst you mow. Pick…

IN A CONSERVATORY Pelargoniums will overwinter in a frost-free conservatory, and flower all year round (intermittently) so why not start a collection, just like the Victorians did in glasshouses? IN HANGING BASKETS The popular trailing Ivy-Leaved forms, such as ‘Cascade Red’ (shown here) are the best pelargoniums for hanging baskets. Pair them with clouds of lobelia. ON A WINDOWSILL Go for Miniatures, Angels, Regals and Ivy-leaved depending on the size of your windowbox, but all must be overwintered somewhere frost-free unless you live in a mild area. IN POSH PLANTERS You can bed out most pelargoniums, but Regals, Species, Angels and Miniatures fare best in containers. Bold varieties, such as ‘Bushfire’ (shown here) look stunning in elegant planters. IN A TABLETOP PLANTER The increasingly popular Regal pelargoniums often have frilly…

Why does my camellia look sickly? Q When I bought my house in 1975 there was a healthy camellia in the garden. Now it’s yellow and weak, with few flowers and leaves. Has it reached the end of its life or does it need feeding? Should I admit defeat, take it out and plant a new camellia in its place? Steven Perrin (via email) A Camellias can grow for many years. Yours, which was thriving when you bought the house in the 70s, should have plenty of life left in it. However, the description of your plant sounds like it has classic symptoms of lime-induced chlorosis, where the leaves become yellow or bleached. Plants can become sickly, and in severe conditions, fail to flower and eventually die. You should prune…

MAY is the busiest month for planting and it’s essential to protect delicate plants from slugs and snails. As many gardeners like to use barriers because they are organic we’ve trialled six non-chemical products and found that all the systems worked well. So your choice is going to be down to personal taste, budget and even appearance – all of which were taken into account in the final findings. We set up a three-week ‘outdoor larder’ in three different gardens, using young lupins and lettuce plants. Prior to establishing our samples the soil was thoroughly checked for slugs to ensure none would be lurking inside the barriers. The products act as either a physical barrier or as an uncomfortable surface for slugs to cross. Some would also be suitable for…

Aquilegia chrysantha ‘Yellow Queen’ Bright lemon flowers with dramatic long spurs are held on thin stems above bluey-green foliage. Perfect for dappled shade gardens. H2½ft (90cm). Rhododendron luteum A gorgeous shrub that’s worth growing if you have the space and acid soil. Sweet-scented blooms in late spring, with the added bonus of good autumn leaf colour. H13ft (4m). Phlomis russeliana Whorls of pale yellow flowers are held on tall stems. Will flower from May to September. Works in a mixed or herbaceous border. Seedheads look good through winter. H2½ft (90cm). Epimedium × perralchicum ‘Fröhnleiten’ The delicate primrose-yellow flowers are perfect for lighting up a shady spot under a tree or shrubs. Pretty evergreen leaves make this a great ground cover plant. H15in (40cm). Geum…

LOOK out for berries, fruit and coloured stems as a way to incorporate yellow into your garden design for year-round interest. Try the berries of Pyracantha ‘Saphyr Jaune’ or Viburnum opulus ‘Xanthocarpum’ to add a splash of vibrant yellow to your garden in autumn. Plant Cornus sericea ‘Flaviramea’ with its yellowy-green stems in a border that catches the low winter sunshine. The crab apple, Malus ‘Comtesse de Paris’, produces golden-yellow fruit which remain on the tree well into winter. And for zesty, yellow foliage plant Philadelphus coronarius ‘Aureus’ in a partially shaded spot – it comes with the added bonus of fragrant white flowers. Add sunshine to your garden with…

It’s a great time to pick a sweet scented posy What is it? A hardy rhizomatous, spreading perennial that thrives in the wild in light woodland and Alpine meadows. Broad, lance shaped leaves of vibrant green, held on short reddish-brown stalks, appear from April. These are followed in May by strings of small, pendent, waxy bell-shaped, richly scented flowers on an arching stalk above the leaves. Flowers can be pink (var rosea), and leaves cream-striped (C. ‘Albostriata’). Height and spread up to 12in (30cm). In an ideal spot can be a vigorous spreader. Why grow it? This classy little plant has the charm of wood anemones or bluebells – but beats them both because it’s flowers are strongly sweet scented (anemones have none) and its foliage is attractive in its…

• Hardy plants grown undercover will have softer leaves than those grown in the open. When plants catch a cold they develop a yellow or purple tinge. Hardy plants grow out of it but tender tomatoes (pictured) and bedding may not recover. • Hardening off takes about two weeks, but depends on weather. If it’s cold put plants into a coldframe/greenhouse for the night for the first week and leave out in a sheltered spot and cover with fleece if the forecast is cold for the second week.…