Innholdsfortegnelse for 04-jun-16 i Amateur Gardening

THERE’S a kind of unofficial ‘law’ in gardening which decrees that, whatever size of greenhouse you have, at this time of year it will always be choc full, and it just won’t be big enough. You fill the space you’ve got – and in late spring, just before planting out your summer bedding flowers, the greenhouse is packed with trays, pots and old yoghurt cartons. Benching, shelving, flooring and any other surface will be full to the brim with young plants and seedlings. Even established gardeners who, through their enthusiasm, invest in ever bigger greenhouses, have the same problem! I actually think the same principle can be applied to home composting. Ruth’s article on page 8 has reminded me that my own (open) compost heap has now reached gargantuan proportions.…

Osteospermum Cheerful, easy-to-grow and flowers all summer: osteospermum is a magnet for bees and pollinators. Grow in a sunny position. Flowers close in the evening and open in full sunlight. Bedding geranium (pelargonium) A summer bedding essential, widely available in a range of colours. Flowers keep on coming if spent blooms are promptly removed. Most prefer full sun, but they will tolerate partial shade. Petunia ‘Night Sky’ There are hundreds of petunias available, but the new purple-and-white speckled ‘Night Sky’ is this summer’s most talked about novelty. It is pleasantly scented, too, and repeat flowers with ease. Erysimum ‘Bowles’ Mauve’ A classic perennial wallflower that bears tall mauve flowers from April onwards. Ideal for adding height to the back of the container, and as it’s hardy,…

1 Fill 3in (7cm) pots with John Innes No 2. Mix it with perlite for improved aeration, and water well. 2 Scoop each seedling and rootball from its seed tray using the end of a plant label. Hold the plant by a leaf. 3 Make a hole in the compost for the rootball. You can bury some of the stem if it is too leggy and spindly. 4 Firm the compost around the plant. Plant them outside, but only when they have been hardened off.…

HOME-MADE compost is a fabulous addition to the gardener’s arsenal, and will save you a lot of money. You’d think it would be relatively straightforward to make, but a recurring question to our helpline is ‘why is my compost heap slimy/smelly/not breaking down?’ Whether your bin is a plastic, lidded ‘Dalek’, or wooden-sided and open to the air, creating good compost is largely down to what you put in it. Up to 50 per cent of it should be soft green material, such as grass clippings, weeds, the deadheads of plants, and uncooked vegetable and fruit waste from the kitchen. The rest should be made up of woody garden waste broken into small pieces, plus bits of cardboard and paper. When you add new materials, fork over the heap to…

AFRICAN violets (saintpaulia) and cape primroses (streptocarpus) are two of our most popular houseplants. Relatively cheap to buy, their cheerful flowers brighten rooms up and down the country. African violets have clusters of flowers in pinks and purples, nestled among a rosette of dark, furry leaves. Streptocarpus plants have finer, longer leaves, and they produce trumpet-like flowers on long, elegant stems. Both varieties can live for several years, but can start to look a bit tatty over time. The leaves of African violets fade from firm and dark green when young, to shrivelled and brown. Streptocarpus plants can also look unkempt and straggly if left untended. However, both plants are easy to propagate from leaf cuttings, and late spring and early summer is the best time. Here, I show you…

IN the middle of April I set some runner bean seeds into large modular packs. The resulting seedlings are now bursting to get out – these fast-growing plants certainly live up to their name! I’ve already put the supporting poles up in the garden, but if you haven’t yet done yours, make sure they’re sturdy – because the plants can become top-heavy in the height of summer. By far the trickiest point in a runner bean’s life is when it is planted outside. Even if plants are hardened off fully (which is essential) strong winds, blazing sunshine or cold snaps can cause the large, lush leaves to scorch and shrivel. If cold weather is forecast, wrap a double layer of fleece around the rows once they’re planted out.…

CALABRESE – broccoli – whatever you’d like to call it, is one of the most popular in the supermarkets, and is incredibly easy to grow at home. It’s handy to sow two or three batches throughout the spring and summer to ensure a succession of those delectable spears. I also choose varieties that bear a good number of sideshoots once the main head is harvested (‘Ironman’ is my favourite for this). Around five weeks ago I sowed a batch, into modules in the greenhouse, and they need to get into the ground before they become root-bound (which can cause small heads). I’m planting them out now and will simultaneously sow another row, so these latter seedlings will take up the baton as the first batch are fading. Net against cabbage…

• 4 June: RHS London Rose Show, RHS Lawrence Hall, Greycoat Street, Westminster SW1P 2QD rhs.org.uk/shows-events • 3-5 June: Holker Garden Festival, Holker Hall & Gardens, Cark-in-Cartmel, Near Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, LA11 7PL, 01539 558838; holkerfestival.co.uk • 4-5 June: Plant Hunters’ Fair (10am-5pm), Hodnet Hall Gardens, Market Drayton, Shrops. TF9 3NN planthuntersfairs.co.uk • 5 June: Southill Park, Bedfordshire, opening for NGS as part of Capability Brown’s 300th anniversary.ngs.org.uk • 5 June: Wadhurst Open Gardens (2-6pm), Wadhurst, East Sussex TN5 6AA 01892 785658; opengardens.co.uk • 5 June: Barnard Avenue Gardens, Stockton on Tees TS19 7AB (1.30-5pm) ngs.org.uk • 5 June: Oliver Ford Garden, Longedge Lane, Rowley, Consett DH8 9HG in aid of NGS; gardensanctuaries.co.uk • 6 June: Crook Hall & Gardens, Sidegate, Durham City, DH1 5SZ (10-5pm) in aid of NGS 0191…

1 Spread a layer of crocks on the bottom of the container to improve drainage. I didn’t have any broken bits of terracotta pot so used slate shingle instead. 2 Herbs that come from the Mediterranean, like thyme, will rot if their roots are too wet, so fill with gritty John Innes No.2 compost - place herbs inside to check the level. 3 Once you’ve arranged the herbs inside fill gaps around them with compost, firming the rootballs in place. Water, and put in the sunniest spot possible.…

1 Fill a number of small pots with seed compost, pushing lightly with fingers to make sure there are no air gaps. Placed in a well-drained seed tray, deal the seeds out, one per pot. 2 Using a dibber, or your finger, sow each seed being careful to bury it by no more than its own size. If compost is too soft and spongy, seeds can be washed too low. 3 Water in using a fine rose on the can and then place in a ventilated greenhouse, cold frame or on the patio to germinate. Temperatures should be warm enough outside by now – but cover gives control over watering.…

Geranium ‘Rozanne’ (‘Gerwat’) Flowers from midsummer ‘til November. The paler inner zone, bordering on white, frames black stamens and purple veining. The foliage reddens in autumn. Sprawling habit. Sterile. 18in x 4ft (45cm x 120cm). G. ‘Mavis Simpson’ Needs a sunny edge to creep along. Soft, grey-green foliage and a succession of soft pink saucers appear from summer to autumn. Found at Kew by Mavis Simpson in 1982. Sterile 8in x 22in (20cm x 55cm). G. ‘Nimbus’ Very fine foliage and gappy purple-blue flowers are held on long stems. A pale eye adds delicacy to this airy, summer-flowerer. Found at Cambridge Botanic in 1979. Sterile 2ft x 3ft (60cm x 90cm). G. ‘Patricia’ (‘Brempat’) A substantial, show-stopping geranium forming a rounded mound…

What is it? A tender perennial herb, up to 3ft (1m) high or more make this the largest geranium of all. It’s still found naturally in a few mountainous sites in central and northern Madeira, hence the name ‘maderense’. It’s found on north-facing rocky sites, in moister places away from the glare of midday sun. It’s often confused with another slightly hardier, shade-loving geranium from Madeira, G. palmatum, but this is found in rocky positions close to water courses. Why grow it? G. maderense is an eye catching specimen plant and its sculptural shape and considerable size make it highly desirable as a summer patio plant because it’s so architectural and bold. A mass of swollen, stem-like petioles grow downwards and surround the stem, rather like mangrove roots in a…

Can I cut back my hellebore leaves? Q My hellebores were magnificent, but I am left with lots of leaves that are encroaching on other plants. Can I cut them back, or will I risk damaging them? Christina Slade (via email) A If you look closely at your hellebores you should be able to distinguish between the old leaves left from last year, and the new leaves that have grown this year. The former will be coarser, darker green and probably blotched and a bit tatty. You can remove the old leaves from late winter, but the earlier the time after this the better. It will make way for the flowers and new leaves to come through. However, I would be wary of removing too many new leaves, as these…

WHEN you’ve finished the mowing and need to trim around tree trunks and along fence lines, or if you have small awkward areas of grass and weeds to cut, the tool to grab is the line trimmer. There’s a huge range of trimmers to choose from these days. However, when it comes to battery units, they have the advantage of giving the same freedom of movement as a petrol one but without the need to mix fuel, no shoulder-wrenching pulls to fire up the engine or unpleasant fumes when working. Prior to the use of each tool in this review, a full-throttle test was conducted to determine approximate battery run-time without load. Obviously these run-times will be considerably shorter when cutting grass and weeds, the actual timing for each battery…

Courgette cake Small, flavourful courgettes make a great cake ingredient, contributing flavour, moisture and an attractive summery green speckling to the sponge. You’ll need a spring-form, round cake tin, 9in (23cm) diameter, greased and base-lined. In a bowl, beat together 6oz (180g) unsalted butter and 8oz (250g) of caster sugar. Stir in 14oz (400g) of finely grated courgettes, before sifting in 12oz (350g) of plain flour. Bake for 45mins in an oven set to 160°C/gas mark 3. When cooled, top with frosting: 3oz (100g) icing sugar mixed with 8oz (250g) mascarpone cheese. Blackcurrant mini pavlovas These little meringues are a stylish addition to an afternoon tea, or when served as petit fours as a dessert after dinner. You’ll need a baking sheet, lined with baking paper. To make 24 meringues,…

SITTING on the patio on a summer’s evening, glass of wine in hand, surrounded by container plants in flower, is one of the great joys of gardening. Okay, it’s not exactly gardening, but why make so much effort if you can’t relax and enjoy your hard work! Containers offer an easy way to bring colour to areas of the garden where plants may otherwise not survive: by doors and entrances, on paving and decks, and alleys where adding greenery would be impossible. They also allow us to cheat nature. If you have alkaline soil but want to grow acid-loving plants, then a container filled with ericaceous compost provides an easy solution. As it’s June and the risk of frost should be over in all but the most exposed areas, I’m…

SUMMER containers are great value for money and often trouble-free – but to avoid plants running out of steam before autumn, regular feeding and dead-heading is essential. I feed my containers, hanging baskets and window boxes every 10-14 days in mid-summer using a liquid feed. One that I have used for years is Miracle-Gro, a balanced water-soluble feed that claims to grow plants twice as big. Phostrogen is another well-balanced plant food containing trace elements that is tried-and-tested for giving summer displays a boost. The newcomer is Incredibloom, introduced by Thompson & Morgan. It combines a fast-acting feed with slow-release nutrients and claims to produce 400 per cent more flowers. With containers, it’s advisable to keep an eye out for aphids and sap-sucking pests (chemical or organic ready-to-use bug sprays…

EARLY flowering perennials such as hellebores, pulmonaria (lungwort) and bergenias help return colour to the garden after the drab days of winter. But by the time early summer arrives, they are well past their peak and can start to look tired and tatty, and make borders look untidy. They can also start to encroach on other plants, so this week – before the summer-flowering plants really get going – is a good time to cut them back. It will also give you the opportunity to check them over for pests and diseases, and deal with anything untoward you may find. Improve hellebores (Christmas or Lenten rose varieties) by cutting back spent flower heads and tatty or damaged leaves, as well as those that have become invasive. Also cut to the…

1 Grass clippings are ideal composting material, but mix them with other things to avoid creating a slimy mess. 2 Woody material can be added to the compost, but break it into small pieces to speed up composting. 3 Uncooked kitchen waste – veggie peelings, fruit skins, coffee grounds and tea bags – are fine for composting. And what NOT to add: 4 Never add cooked kitchen waste, meat, dairy products or animal waste to your compost heap.…

1 Fill 3in (7.5cm) pots with seed and cutting compost mixed with perlite, to help improve drainage. 2 Water the pots so the compost is damp, but not waterlogged, as this can cause the cuttings to rot. 3 Take healthy leaves with their stalk from the plant, and insert in the compost, the leaf base on the surface. 4 Place in a propagator or in plastic bags on a warm, light windowsill. New plants will develop in 4-5 weeks.…

• Stand the plant, in its pot, in water, and while it is soaking, remove the old, dead leaves from the edges. • Carefully remove the plant from its pot and remove some of the old, spent compost. Put a layer of fresh compost at the base of the new pot (I used houseplant compost); place the plant’s roots on top of it and carefully in-fill around the edges with fresh compost. • To keep African violets looking their best, water from beneath, and them keep out of direct, strong sunlight.…

1 First, separate the leek seedlings into individual plants. Do this carefully so as not to damage the roots – if the compost is dry, water it well before splitting up the plants. 2 The old practice of trimming the leaves and roots can reduce yields, so don’t bother with it. Make holes in the soil with a dibber, 6in (15cm) deep and 8in (20cm) apart each way. 3 Drop one leek plant into each hole, and water it in thoroughly. As the leeks grow, keep them well weeded to limit competition, and apply a high-nitrogen liquid feed regularly.…

YOU might have taken my advice in February to plant some of these spiny bushes, or you may have already fallen in love with their sugar-tart flavour and be gazing at established plants. Either way, you now have the opportunity to dive in and modify the final size of the fruits, should you want to. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, gardeners in the north often did this in earnest – growing gooseberries for showing was mainstream and fruits the size of a hen’s egg were common. These days it’s those of us growing dessert varieties that might want to thin them out for showpiece puddings (normal cooking varieties don’t need thinning out). Aim to leave just one fruit per 4in (10cm) of stem. Cook the thinnings, as they’ll…

“What delicious bread and what a whole load of work” SOMEONE asked me this question recently. They had an allotment, so could they grow their own bread? Well a farmer with good land, the best modern varieties, heavy feeding, frequent spraying and efficient combining equipment can get 4.5 tons an acre. So 1 acre (4840 sq yd) yields 2240lb x 4.5, and this works out to approximately 2lb per sq yd (or, even more roughly, 1kg per sq m). Assuming you can get a similar yield, and harvest all your grain, then in theory a square yard could make a wholemeal loaf of 3lb (of course a white loaf would be smaller as both the bran and wheat germ would be removed). If you wanted two such loaves a week,…

MY advice to anyone wanting plenty of pickings from their herbs, but none of the hassle, is to choose long-lived perennial varieties or easy-going annuals that hail from the sun-kissed climes of the Mediterranean. Members of this club include thyme, bay, rosemary, tarragon, sage, savory, fennel and oregano. Looking for a few of these drought tolerant species suitable for a large terracotta pot, I enlisted the help of leading herb expert Jekka McVicar, who runs Jekka’s Herb Farm, near Bristol, and has worked with a host of culinary heroes, including Jamie Oliver, who dubbed her the ‘Queen of Herbs. She suggested four herbs for my 12in (30cm) pot – upright Thymus ‘Silver Queen, creeping Thymus herbarona, sweet marjoram (Origanum majorana) and Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Jekka’s Blue, a semi-prostrate variety that will…

I’VE spoken to many gardeners over the years who have stopped growing hostas as they consider them ‘slug food’. Yet, there’s really no need to give up. Although no hosta is completely slug-proof, those with thick leaves, blue leaves or waxy foliage, tend to be more naturally resistant to attack. Among the best are ‘Daybreak’, ‘Devon Green’ and the aptly named ‘Invincible’. Sadly, I’m not growing any that will put up much of a fight. As a result, I have to take other measures. My first line of defence is to sprinkle some pellets around the plants - I like to use those certified for organic use, rather than metaldehyde based pellets. As a further precaution, I’ve decided to recycle my coffee grounds by spreading a ring of them around…

I FEEL sorry for shrubs. Once considered the backbone of any garden, they’ve been replaced in our affections over recent years by flowering perennials, trendy grasses and a host of architectural plants from far-flung places. Although I appreciate all of these plants, I don’t think any of them are quite as versatile as shrubs. They can draw the eye; cover bare patches; attract wildlife; and are ideal for punctuating displays. There are dwarf ones, tall ones, and those that are grown for flowers, foliage or both. I’ve planted numerous shrubs in my garden. Cut leaf black elder (Sambucus nigra f.porphyrophylla ‘Eva’) is grown for its fancy foliage and pretty flowers, while a golden elder (Sambucus racemosa ‘Sutherland Gold’) makes a great foil for red crocosmias. Then there’s a dwarf heavenly…

“I squealed when I touched one of them” A WOMAN has been left trying to “rip her own arm off” after being stung by a toxic caterpillar – covered in two million spines. Dozens of residents have been left with chronic skin irritation after hundreds of thousands of brown tail moth caterpillars emerged in their gardens, each coated with millions of irritating spikes. The pests are covered with barbed hairs which are easily capable of penetrating human skin. Local Cheryl Andrews, 50, thinks the bugs started arriving in their gardens in Erith, south east London, three weeks ago. She said: “It started with just one or two and now more and more are coming into the house. My husband has killed about 15 of them on the fence in the…

CHELSEA CHOP Many geraniums begin to flower in May and June and the sterile, repeat-flowering varieties, such as ‘Rozanne, ‘Orion’ and ‘Patricia, can be cut right back in early July if they’re looking a little tired. Within a week they will put out new foliage and within the month they will be in flower again. WATERING & DIVIDING If your hardy geranium gets dry and the foliage flags, or gets mildew, cut it back hard and give it a reviving bucket of water every few days. If your plant is clump-forming, it will not need dividing. However, if you want more plants, the best time for dividing most is in spring, just as growth begins. Spring flowering varieties should be divided in autumn.…

What’s best for growing in sandy soil? Q My daughter’s garden in Worcestershire is long, relatively exposed and has very sandy soil. What plants do best in sandy, exposed conditions, and what advice do you have on gardening in such a place? Elizabeth Shaw, Walsall. A Lots of people think of a sandy soil as being ideal. It’s often described as warm, making it suitable for early crops. It’s easily worked even when wet, and it’s free draining due to its open texture. Sandy soils do have their issues, though. They need regular supplies of nutrients as these are easily washed out of the soil. And they dry out very quickly in summer, so new plants need a lot of watering to establish correctly. Shallow rooting plants can be difficult…

Q Ants are undermining my brassicas, so they don’t grow strongly. What can I do? P Haldenbury, Bingham, Notts A Eradicate them by installing one or more Nippon Ant Control Systems, or Home Defence Ant Stop, which kills ants and their nests. Q The leaves of my almond tree are distorted and browning. What is the problem? Michelle Norman, St Peter’s, Guernsey A It looks like peach leaf curl. Remove and bin affected leaves, and feed the tree with 1oz/sq m of sulphate of potash monthly from now until August. Sprinkle it over the root area, and water it in. Q Why have my onion sets grown two stems out of one onion? I have removed one stem from each plant. Mrs E Gillott Devizes, Wilts A It is unusual,…

2000E Pressure Washer £189 rrp hcuk.co  for nationwide dealers Put your patio under pressure and come up with sparkling results with the aid of this Briggs and Stratton electric washer. Part of the Sprint series it has a maximum PSI of 2030, with a 140 bar. There’s an integrated steam clean option as well as a turbo nozzle wand with three spray tips. Weighing just 21lb (9.7kg) it’s the lightest option in the range. Orla Kiely Grow Your Own Kits £18.99 each plus £3.95 p&p hcuk.co  for nationwide dealers Add something useful and pretty to your windowsill in the form of these Orla Kiely enamel herb pots. Complete with soil, seeds and instructions there’s a choice of basil, coriander, chilli and chives to grow, all in their own unique and…

Beetroot Use freshly cooked beets puréed in a food processor, to create moist brownies and cakes. The sweetest varieties to try include ‘Detroit Dark Red’ and ‘Sanguina’. Courgettes One of the commonest veg for using in cakes. ‘Romanesco’ is flavoursome, while ‘Parador’ is yellow-skinned. Grate the courgettes first, skin and all, to add colour and texture. Raspberries Use for muffins, cakes, cookies and even a fruity pizza. Go for ‘Joan J’ for a fresh summer crop, and ‘Autumn Bliss’ for an autumn harvest or freeze fruits and use during winter. Florence fennel Not an obvious choice, but its aniseed flavour lends itself to cakes. ‘Finale’ is a bolt-resistant variety, and ‘Victorio’ is good for late summer. Gooseberries Ideal for my fresh fruit cake, as well as in a gooseberry &…

It’s our Tam! ON Thursday 12 May my husband and I visited Stockton Bury Gardens at Kimbolton, Herefordshire. I was so thrilled once there to be greeted by Amateur Gardening’s own Tamsin Westhorpe – and I can testify that she looks much younger than her photographs sometimes portray! We hadn’t been to the garden since the late 1990s and we found such a beautiful transformation. We viewed the Auricula Theatre that she mentioned in AG 14 May issue, and saw Raymond Treasure planting roses, who is both the garden’s owner and Tamsin’s uncle. We had a lovely lunch of pork cassoulet in The Tithe Barn and can honestly say that we had a wonderful day, made even better by meeting Tam. Sheila Martin, Malvern, Worcs Jenny says... Tam will be…

Zinnia ‘Benary’s Giant Purple’ This magenta zinnia looks fabulous with green zinnias and foliage plants. It can be grown in a container and makes a great cut flower. Sow outside in full sun. Don’t overwater. H 31in (80cm). Ridolfia segetum This relatively unknown late flowering annual looks a bit like dill. Its firework-like yellow-green flowers are fabulous in the vase with pinks and purples. Direct sow in sun, and provide support. H 3ft (1m). Limonium suworowii Known as pink pokers, these slender baby pink flowers, which look like pipe cleaners, make excellent dried flowers for the house. Direct sow in June, in a sunny, well-drained spot. H 20in (50cm).…

“A new veg garden will reap rewards” ONE of the rules of being a gardening ‘expert’ is to give advice but very rarely follow it. That’s certainly been my approach to the soil at the foot of an old apple tree that regular readers will know I felled and removed just last week. My recommendation would be to cover the earth where the old tree stood with mulch so well-rotted it wriggles with worms, and then leave for a month for the ground to settle. In short, not to rush in. As wise as this advice clearly is, it takes no consideration of my imperative to stake a claim to this sunny corner before Lisa puts chickens on it, my sons create a cricket pitch or my daughter sets up…

1. Use the right compost Choose a compost that’s designed for baskets and pots, such as Miracle-Gro Moisture Control Enriched Compost or Gro-Sure Easy Containers Compost. 2. Consider water-retaining gel If using standard multipurpose, mix in some water-retaining gel. It’ll help plants to survive spells of hot weather by retaining moisture in the compost. 3. Water before planting The day before planting your container, water all plants well and leave to stand overnight. It’ll reduce root damage and help them to survive the move. 4. Stand in a shady corner After you have planted, filled gaps with compost, firmed in and watered well, stand the pot in a sheltered corner for a few days to help the plants settle in.…

THE greenhouse is starting to resemble Seedling Central, with every surface covered with trays of young plants. Some, such as the tomatoes, runner beans and courgettes, are almost ready to go out. The half-hardy mesembryanthemum and ageratum seeds (both annuals) that I sowed a few weeks ago have germinated into small seedlings. These need moving to larger pots for more growing space, before going anywhere near the outside world. Pricking out seedlings can be a daunting prospect, but young plants are resilient, and as long as you follow a few simple rules they should transplant successfully. Conventional wisdom says that seeds are ready to move to a larger pot once their ‘real’ leaves have appeared after the first rounded cotyledon, or ‘seed’, leaves. When moving seedlings to a larger pot,…

• The key to propagating hellebores from seed is to collect and sow seeds as soon as the seedpods have ripened, usually between June and August. • Sow seeds into 3in (7cm) pots, on the surface of quality, dampened seed compost, and cover them with a fine layer of vermiculite or more compost. • Place the pot outside in a shady spot, and don’t let it dry out. Seeds should germinate by the end of the year. • Move the pot into a cold frame or greenhouse, and prick out seedlings when they are large enough to handle. • Pot on as necessary. However, it may be two years before plants are large enough to be planted in the garden.…

“Several of the root crops have proved successful” THERE are plenty of vegetables that are suitable and practical to grow in containers and others, such as long season, tall brassicas (including Brussels sprouts) that are not. Several of the root crops have proved successful; beetroot, carrots, potatoes and turnips seem to work particularly well. When sowing seeds of root crops in pots be sparing with the seed. Sowing in good universal potting compost, pretty well everything will come up, so they can be spaced 1in (2.5 cm) and more apart. I use the more costly F1 cultivars, to get high germination, rapid growth and the best quality vegetables. One packet of turnip ‘Sweet Bell’ F1 (from T&M) will have 100 seeds for £2.29, enough to sow eight 4ltr pots and…

1 Create a 50/50 mix of seed and cutting compost, and perlite. Fill a seed tray with the mix, and water well. 2 Select a healthy leaf about 6-8in (15-20cm) long, and cut it lengthways down both sides of the central vein. 3 Set the leaf halves into the compost mix, cut side down. If they start to lean over, support them with a toothpick. 4 Alternatively, cut a leaf into several pieces across its width, so that each piece is 2in (5cm) deep. 5 Press the cut end of each piece of leaf firmly into the compost mix, so they are upright, but not touching. 6 Place the tray in a propagator or sealed bag, on a warm, bright windowsill. New plants should develop in 4-6 weeks.…

Lucy is a former AG gardening editor, and edited a national Grow-Your-Own magazine. A BBC Essex radio gardening expert, RHS author and lecturer, she’s also Head Gardener at East Donyland Hall, Essex. BACK in March I sowed a little pot of leeks in the greenhouse, and now the resulting seedlings are ready for life outside. I chose ‘Sultan, an F1 hybrid that matures in deep winter. These days you can sow varieties that are ready for cutting in autumn, but in my mind leeks are for winter and early spring, when there’s not a lot else about. Try to choose quite an open site when planting your leeks – good air movement discourages the fungal disease rust. In the past dozen years or so we’ve also had to become more…

THERE are some gardening jobs that even I’m a bit nervous of doing, but I have to reassure myself that it’s all for the good of the plant. I’m thinking specifically of pruning young trees, because getting the shape right in these early years is absolutely essential. You might want to grow a free-standing open-centred tree, or a wall-trained espalier, cordon or fan. If you try to buy one part-trained from a nursery to omit the task yourself, you’ll pay through the nose for the years it takes, which is why I’m now standing in front of the cheaper option! Back in the winter I bought six young bare-root trees with the intention of training them into fans and espaliers against a fence or wall. They’re now shooting well, but…

IT’S hard to beat the sweet taste of home-grown strawberries and, now that the plants are flowering and the earliest berries are forming, you should act so they produce the best-tasting fruits over the longest possible time. As the berries develop they get heavier and heavier, and their weight brings them down to the soil. This will quickly cause them to rot and, even if they survived that, they will be much more vulnerable to slug and snail damage. So before this happens (but no earlier than necessary), mulch the soil around the plants with either straw, black plastic sheeting or proprietary strawberry mats. I find that plastic, however, is more trouble than it is worth. It needs to be kept in place with stones, and you need to make…

THE US-based Association for Butterflies has declared the first Saturday of June each year as Butterfly Education and Awareness Day. The aim is to make this a global event. With the continual threat to butterfly habitats (in the UK this is essentially the loss of wood and pastureland through development and road building) there has never been a more important time for gardeners to choose plants that are crucial to butterfly existence. You can support the life cycle of these beautiful insects, regardless of your garden size. Up to 18 butterfly species could typically visit a UK garden, as long as they can feed from suitable nectar plants. And if your plot includes food plants for the caterpillars, you would probably have many more. Here are my five golden rules…

MY old shed was sticking out like a sore thumb in our new look side return, so my plan was to disguise its stark look by painting it black. Some people are scared of using a colour so dark, but black and heavy green shades actually trick the eye, making structures disappear into the background. Outdoor paints with a matt or eggshell finish are best. Prior to painting, I brushed down the outside to remove dirt (lightly sanding the surface, would have been better if I’d had more time). The effect was immediate – my shed has receded into the background, while the colour makes the perfect backdrop for the lush green fronds of my ferns.…

ROWS of runner beans have their place, but it’s not in a garden my size. Instead I go for dwarf French beans. These form bushy, 18in (45cm) tall plants that produce masses of roundish pods up to 10in (25cm) long. Some are brightly coloured or have showy flowers, which adds an ornamental touch. Dwarf French beans can be sown directly into the ground or pots from late May until July, providing pickings until October. I’ve sown a variety called ‘Maxi’ into a 12in (30cm) pot filled with multipurpose compost. All I had to do was fill the pot with compost then make a series of 2in (5cm) deep, 4in (10cm) apart, holes over the surface, and drop a seed into each. Simply water sparingly until they’ve established, increasing the amount…

WITH names like flame creeper and canary creeper, members of the tropaeolum genus are as brightly coloured and exotic as you’d expect, their showy flowers decorated by a definite spur at the back. They have their origins in the cool, upland regions of central and South America, and while the species are worth exploring, it is the annual nasturtium that is most commonly grown. A range of cultivars have been bred from two or three species, notably Tropaeolum majus. In the wild, this is a scrambling climber reaching to 15ft (4.6m), and this vigour has been passed down to some of the taller cultivars. In Monet’s garden at Giverny, they are allowed to sprawl over pathways, forming a dazzling mat of colourful flowers. Plants of ‘Gleam Mixed’ are semi-trailing and…

Roses - the perfect partnership Good geraniums to plant around roses include doubles and dark foliage forms of G. pratense, blooming just before roses. Deadhead to prevent the singles setting seeds. ‘Orion’, a sterile deep-blue, is good with roses. Shady woodland - natural neighbours Spring-flowering hardy geraniums go well with hardy ferns, hellebores and spring bulbs. Geranium macrorrhizum has pungent foliage. The pale-pink ‘Ingwersen’s Variety’ is my favourite. Dianthus - ground covering combination Diminutive hardy geraniums such as the Cinereum Group, including ‘Ballerina’ and ‘Rothbury Gem’, mix well with smaller dianthus, rock roses, and other matt-forming alpines, ideal for tubs and rockeries. Silvers and steely blue - perfect harmony The low-growing, pale pink ‘Mavis Simpson’ flatters strong blue eryngiums (such as ‘Picos Blue’ and ‘Dove Cottage Hybrid’) or you could…

• Ensure the soil is mulched every year with good quality, well-rotted garden compost or a bulky manure such as farmyard or horse manure. Alternatively use a soil conditioner obtainable from most garden centres. • Because sandy soils soon lose nutrients you’ll find it beneficial at planting time to use a mycorrhiza preparation. This helps establishment by allowing the plant to absorb soil nutrients before they leach away. • Plants that have a waxy or shiny leaf surface – like this mahonia – or ones with either silver or grey foliage, or small, rolled or leathery leaves will all thrive in well-drained, open soil.…

BRED BY world-renowned clematis expert Raymond Evison, the Boulevard series of compact, long-flowering clematis have taken the world by storm! These beauties will produce bright, star-shaped blooms continuously from spring to late summer; they’ll even re-bloom in autumn if you cut them back in midsummer. Growing to just 4ft (1.2m) tall, they’re perfect if you’ve got limited space. They’ve been developed specifically for smaller gardens and patios where conventional clematis can be too vigorous. They’re ideal for growing in larger pots with trellis, or obelisks, or even hanging baskets, where they’ll flower all summer long. If growing in a pot, choose one that’s a least 18in (45cm) deep and wide. Use a soil-based compost like John Innes No2 or No3, which is recommneded for long-term plantings. Pots dry out easily…