Innholdsfortegnelse for 25-jun-16 i Amateur Gardening

THE plastic, Easy-Fill hanging basket I planted up last month (AG 21 May) has been hanging outside my front door for a couple of weeks now. As I promised, the plants have quickly grown to cover the rather clunky looking basket. I had feared its black colour might be a problem, but if anything it makes the plastic even less obvious. I’m delighted with the fairly ordinary selection of plants my wife Kath and I picked from the local garden centre shelves, but there are 22 of them– well-filled baskets don’t come cheap! I’m using the new Incredicompost and Incredibloom fertiliser from Thompson & Morgan. The compost looked and felt really good when I was planting the basket, and the slow release fertiliser is said to be all the feed…

When planting, ensure plant roots are healthy. They should white, with no obvious signs of rotting or damage. Arrange your plants, while still in their pots, to see if they look good. Once happy you can confidently plant them in one go. Deadhead summer bedding plants. Even if they are not seed producers, removing the old flowers keeps them looking tidy. After planting, go over the soil between the plants with a small hand rake to remove scuffs and footprints. Tomato feed is high in potash, which promotes flowering. Feed bedding plants with it every few weeks over summer.…

IN AG’s 9 April issue I planted up an Elho GrowHouse, a budget plastic raised veg planter (£39.99), to see if it could rival pricier wooden models. To date, it has been fantastic. Crops have suffered less slug and snail damage than those grown at ground level. Lettuce and strawberries were ready for picking in late-May and are still going strong, while carrots are almost ready for pulling. Herbs have come on a treat, too. • Verdict: Great for a patio or balcony, but too small to produce a serious succession of crops. It looks like I’m going to have to fork-out for a bigger wooden VegTrug after all!…

“Asking the advice of several people can be conflicting” PROGRAMMES like Gardeners’ Question Time often feature questions about breaking established gardening rules. Panelists freely admit to taking cuttings or propagating perennials at the ‘wrong’ time. These things can work, but inexperienced gardeners, and those new to cultivating plants are well advised to follow the rules accurately. Once success is achieved, then experimentation can be introduced to see if a better way can be found. If you are not sure about something, seek advice from someone with experience. Asking several people can be conflicting as there is often more than one way to do a gardening task. Ask one, and if the advice doesn’t work you can go back to them. You can’t do that with more than one opinion. Knowing…

THIS ‘Cambridge Gage’ cropped its socks off last year, so I’m keen to repeat the performance come August. The round fruits are predominantly green in colour, but as they ripen they soften and take on a yellow tone and a lovely sweet taste. This is because the tree is trained against a west-facing wall (south-facing is also good). The extra warmth and sunshine this offers boosts sugar production within the gages. Fanning out the branches helps sun to reach the fruits, but as the fan grows during summer, you need to keep pinching out or tying in new growth to let light in. So, tie in new shoots to fill in any gaps in your fan or, if the tree is well shaped, simply pinch back any shoots growing directly…

LAST year I netted winter cabbages and Brussels sprouts to protect them against pigeons and cabbage white butterflies. The mesh size of our netting was 1cm x 1cm, which I thought would do the job. Well, the pigeons never got in but those butterflies are contortionists! They squeezed through the netting with ease, merrily laying eggs on the lush leaves beneath. It was a disaster! I’m not a fan of spraying insecticides, but the garden where I work at East Donyland Hall isn’t organic, so we decided to use Provado Ultimate Fruit and Veg Bug Killer. This killed the caterpillars but I couldn’t keep up with the number of eggs that were laid. This year we’ve invested in some finer 5mm x 5mm mesh netting.…

“Many gardeners handle crops too roughly” THERE’S a right time and a best way for harvesting each and every fruit and vegetable in our gardens. And as we are picking for our table and not for the supermarkets, this can make a big difference. Fresh foods that are fully ripe and mature do not travel well or store for long. Thus most fruits and vegetable sold are not also at their peak for flavour and quality. Whereas when we pick for ourselves we can get perfection, but then we must also handle the crop more carefully and use it more quickly. I do think many gardeners are too rough with crops – they need handling so they don’t bruise. I’ve seen potatoes and apples dropped or even thrown into buckets,…

THE pots of tulips that decorated the gardens here at Stockton Bury are now a distant memory. To fill their shoes we’ve been growing potted lilies in the polytunnel. These are now carefully moved from their plain plastic growing pots to more showy terracotta ones – a tricky task made far easier with a second pair of hands. The pots of lilies have been with us for a few years – unlike the tulips that are now dying back. The tulips will be transplanted to borders in the autumn – they’re never as impressive in pots after the first year. What we hope for now is a big show of our giant, scented lily blooms. However, they’re threatened by the dreaded lily beetle, Lilioceris lilii, that eats buds and foliage.…

WHAT on earth has happened to our November-sown sweet peas this year? For some reason they had a very bad start so they were planted out quite late. In the hope of a full recovery they have been well watered and supported by the hazel poles that I cut in my 19 March column. They are slowly making their way up the supports but on occasion I’ve been checking that they are heading in the right direction and not sprawling on the ground. I am also keen to remove any competing weeds from my cutting garden. The clay soil here is very rich and in early spring well-rotted farmyard manure was dug into the bed, so I have no need to feed them. If you’re gardening on a poor soil,…

Caterpillars sometimes chew holes in the leaves and sap-sucking capsid bugs can cause slightly distorted leaves. Fortunately, neither are usually responsible for lasting damage. By far the biggest problem is hollyhock rust. Collecting and disposing of infected fallen leaves is common sense. Healthy plants will tolerate rust best but avoid overfeeding as leaves become too large and soft, hiding the blooms. Should plants treated as biennials and perennials become badly infected, clear up, wait a year and then treat hollyhocks as spring-sown annuals.…

17a Navarino Road, East London Feel swept to the Orient by bamboo, acers, and a Japanese teahouse; and enjoy the Mediterranean feel of topiary, cypress trees, and fountains. Open on 17 July for the NGS; ngs.org.uk Dalemain, nr Penrith, Cumbria This magical garden is divided into many different garden areas with themes, which could inspire the smaller garden. Open Sunday to Thursday; 01768 486450; dalemain.com Millgate House, North Yorkshire This walled town garden has secret sitting areas, and lush green pockets. Enjoy roses, hostas and ferns, all planted with style. Open daily; 01748 823571; millgatehouse.com Barnsley House, Gloucestershire This Cotswolds hotel garden was designed by the late great Rosemary Verey, and contains a knot garden, potager, pond garden, and walkways. Open daily; 01285 740000; barnsleyhouse.com Monk’s House, East Sussex Virginia…

How do I take cuttings from shrubs? QI have five of these shrubs (pictured above) in my garden. Please can you tell me what it is, and if it’s possible to take cuttings, as I would like to increase my stock? In general, is summer a good time to take cuttings from garden shrubs? Laura Cook (via email) A The photo you supplied is of Spiraea ‘Gold Mound’. It’s a popular shrub with a good compact habit. A lot of shrubs can be propagated during June and July by taking softwood cuttings. These are cuttings that are taken from the current season’s growth while it is soft, before it starts turning woody. Parent plants should be healthy, showing no signs of pests or diseases and typical of the parent plant…

THE choice of size, style, mechanism and material for garden parasols is almost bewildering, but the basic function is the same – to offer some shade from the sun. The British climate being what it is, however, they could just as easily spend time in the wind and rain, so you’ll need to take them down often to protect them from the vagaries of the weather. We checked out a variety of sizes and styles: ones with pulley mechanisms, push-ups and ones with crank-winding. When scoring we concentrated on build quality, ease of use, the protection offered, how easy they were to put up and take down, and how practical they were to move and store. The type of parasol you need, though, will very much depend on what you…

The gardeners at Doddington Hall in Lincolnshire ‘thin out’ their irises immediately after the flowers have gone over. They slice off 30-50 per cent of a rhizome, leaving one piece in situ (look for fat, first-year rhizomes). Then they cut back the early-summer leaves on the pieces in the soil and cut or break off the flower stems. The rhizomes are then topdressed with bonemeal. Where to buy Claire Austin , 01686 670 342 Cayeux Iris , +33 (0) 972 121 155…

T is traditional for British gardeners to plant up summer flowerbeds containing annuals – the likes of pelargonium, petunia, salvias and the rest. And, if you haven’t already planted your beds and borders up, do it without delay – the warmth and bright sun will drive strong growth. Annual bedding has been a popular facet of our gardens since Victorian times. These days, with gardens being much smaller, and plants being much more expensive, we have to be careful – or clever – in how we design our beds, choose our plants, and get them planted. Fashions change, too. Years ago it was common to see a ‘fruit salad’ of flower colours filling a garden. Then came the soft pastels of pink, pale blue, mauve and cream. We’ve also seen…

• Fruit salad: A patchwork of colours (above) can be successful, as found in cottage gardens. Choose single colour plants, as mixing bi- or multicoloured flower types can look dreadful. • Formal bedding: Bold displays in small ornamental gardens. Neat-edged beds are usually symmetrical. Planting should be dense, in blocks of colour, and occupying entire beds. • Informal bedding: Use bedding plants to brighten up the front of a border or to fill bare soil under taller plants. Beds should have curved edges. Have fun with textures and colour.…

ARGE tender perennials – such as bananas, ensetes, cannas, palms, gingers, tree ferns, and so on – can at last be released from their winter wraps with complete confidence. If you were sensible back in the autumn you wrapped these up under straw-filled polythene, or bubble plastic and fleece, to protect them from the winter cold. I even wrapped my potted ensete and cannas, despite the fact they were stored under cover in the greenhouse over winter. And I’m glad I did. Outdoors I grow the so-called hardy banana (Musa basjoo) which, although the hardiest of bananas, can still come a cropper in the British winter. I am unwrapping this now, too, and it is unscathed. The fronds of tree ferns may be looking brown after so many months under…

JOB 1 IT’S that lovely time of year when we stop having to coax plants to grow, and actually have to try and control excess growth all around the garden. My first task this week might surprise some gardeners – I’m cutting off stems of allium flowers before they open. Alliums left in good, light soil multiply freely over the years. You end up with a tight clump of plants that send up flower stems close together. When the round flower heads open, they grow into one another creating an ugly, lumpy clump of colour. That’s not what alliums are supposed to look like. The answer is either to dig up the bulbs in the autumn every three years and replant them at 12in (30cm) spacings, or cut off flower…

RUNNER beans are easy to grow – and delicious to eat! We can’t get enough of them in our family; they are the one vegetable type we wish we could have all-year-round (most others we enjoy for their season only and, when it ends, we happily move on to something else). Shop-bought runner beans can be tough and stringy, but I’ve never had that problem with my homegrown ones. Most varieties grow tall, and produce red, white or bi-coloured flowers – very pretty in themselves, and a magnet for bees. Now that we have no fear of frost, you can plant out either bought-in bean plants, or your own grown from seed (see right). Step by step The planting out process Here I am planting out my runners, grown from…

THE ‘longest day’ is 22 June – the day of the year when sunrise is at its earliest (4.43am in London) and sunset is at its latest (9.22pm). Including pre-dawn and post-dusk that’s around 18 hours of light. Consequently the night is really short – and this can cause real problems for nocturnal wildlife. They have just six hours or so of darkness to hunt, scavenge and feed themselves, and this isn’t always enough – especially if they also have young to feed. They frequently have to take risks, such as venturing out in daylight and, of course, this is when you are most likely to see them. Here are the creatures that are most affected: Fox cubs: Fox cubs have boundless enthusiasm for life, and during long days are…

THE garden here has been created by my uncle and his partner over the last 30 years and I now share it with them. Sharing a garden means you’re constantly surprised by the new plants that we are all growing and adding. After being away for a few days I returned to the gardens to find pots of dashing argyranthemums in the greenhouse. They’re a pink that some might describe as a little gaudy, but I love them. You often see argyrathemums (marguerites) for sale unnamed but they all have one thing in common – they flower their socks off. They are the one ‘bedding’ plant that I think can command a pot on its own. These tender perennials can be overwintered and go on for years. The trick is…

Setting up a pond pump Martyn gets his new raised pond set up for summer by installing a pump to run a fountain. Putting up fences Turning attention to garden boundaries by installing new fencing. Trim Japanese holly Early summer is the best time to give topiary plants their first trim. Martyn has some top tips on how to do it. Growing sweet potatoes How to get a bountiful crop of these healthy, tasty tubers. Micro irrigation Worried about getting water to your pots while you’re on holiday? Martyn sets up a micro irrigation system.…

Special Plants, Wiltshire. Unusual, stunning perennials. Open Wednesdays in July and August, plus other dates; 01225 891686; specialplants.net Marchants Hardy Plants, East Sussex Wonderful perennials and grasses. Open Wednesday to Saturday; 01323 811737; marchantshardyplants.co.uk Great Dixter, East Sussex Unusual perennials, climbers, and shrubs. Open daily; 01797 254044; greatdixter.co.uk Stone House Cottage, Worcestershire Wall shrubs, climbers and herbaceous plants. Open Wednesday to Saturday; 07817 921146; shcn.co.uk Dove Cottage Nursery, West Yorkshire Lovely perennials and grasses. Open Wednesday to Sunday; 01422 203553; dovecottagenursery.co.uk Wildside, Devon Alpines, and grasses. Open the last seven days of June & July; 01822 855755; wileyatwildside.com…

Q My Magnolia ‘Susan’ is multi-stemmed. Most of the stems make a nice bowl, but two are at an odd angle. When can I cut them back? Joan Walton (via email) A This shrubby magnolia is one of the most floriferous, and one of the latest to flower, which means the flowers are rarely damaged by the frost. The best time to prune is right now, straight after flowering. Q Why does my Salvia ‘Hotlips’ have all red flowers this year. They are three years old, and grew red and white last year. Angela Clayton (via email) A The flower colour of ‘Hotlips’ is normally red and white, but the colour does vary according to temperature. Sometimes the flowers are a solid red colour, and sometimes they are solid white.…

1 Pick a decent amount of herbs – Jekka says late morning is the best time. Sage, mint, chives and coriander all work well. 2 Strip off the leaves (discarding the tough stalks) and chop as you would if preparing to use fresh. 3 Take a clean ice cube tray and pour a small amount of fresh water into the bottom of each compartment. 4 Add a single portion of chopped herbs per compartment. Stick to one type of herb per tray. Place in the freezer. 5 Once completely frozen, remove the cubes and transfer to a plastic freezer bag. Seal and return to the freezer. 6 Label bags and the date of freezing. Store for up to six months and use as needed, directly from frozen.…

Plastic Garden Parasol Base £9.99 + £3.95 p&p if required 0345 640 2020 argos.co.uk  for store finder Easy to move when empty, this sturdy plastic parasol base can be filled with either sand or water to give it the weight to hold up a garden umbrella. For use with parasol poles up to 1¼in (32mm) in diameter. Base diameter 12½in (32cm). LÖKÖ Parasol Base £40 020 3645 0000 IKEA.com  for store locator This wide, heavyweight concrete base of 88lb (40kg) should hold up the biggest of portable parasols, and plenty of handholds make it easier to shift without doing yourself an injury. Suits pole diameters ¾ in to 17/8in (18-48mm). Base diameter 23¼in (59cm). Flat Granite Baseweight £59 including free delivery 03456 049 049 johnlewis.com Attractive-looking 66lb (30kg) base of…

Bureaucracy again! I RECENTLY retired to a residential park home, only to discover that you weren’t allowed to have a veg plot. No matter I thought, I’ll have a small greenhouse. So I contacted the park owner who said it was OK but that I’d better check with the council. Their response was that I would need planning permission for a 6x6 greenhouse! I pointed out it was a small non- permanent structure but was told it was not a council, but a government directive. So if I want to erect a small greenhouse costing £199.99 I will have to submit drawings, a planning application, wait eight weeks for a reply and pay £172.00. The ironic thing is that I’m surrounded by allotments (with greenhouses), and the park owner is…

“Police rushed in and headed for the back garden” TV soundmen are listeners by nature so don’t often tell interesting stories but while filming the other day, Tim, our sound technician, recounted this fascinating tale from the night before. It was 2am, when a loud rapping on the front door woke him from his slumber. He dashed to investigate and discovered seven men with machine guns from a police armed response unit standing in his porch. When he opened the door they rushed in and headed for the back garden where they said, heat-seeking cameras on the police helicopter had located an armed gunman lying in wait by his shed. For his safety, Tim was asked to stand out the front as his boxer shorts would offer no protection should…

THE risk of frost is finally over, which means it’s safe to plant outdoor tomatoes into their summer growing positions. As the disease late-blight has been a big problem in recent years, I’m trialling two ‘blight tolerant’ outdoor varieties from Suttons this season: the grafted F1 ‘Crimson Crush’ (large tomatoes up to 200g) and a newcomer for 2016 called ‘Crimson Cherry’ (also an F1 hybrid grafted variety, that produces big cherry tomatoes). Good soil preparation is essential, so a few weeks before planting I incorporated lots of well-rotted manure into my veg beds, and a dusting of fish, blood and bone fertiliser. See step-by-step (right) for summer tomato-growing tips. Step by step Summer tomato care guide 1 Water pots the night before planting out. Once planted, firm-in and add a…

CLEMATIS pruning is a common problem for gardeners, as some types of clematis need cutting back every year, while others may be pruned only if you want to. And just how do you know which category yours come under anyway? Well, there is a phrase that experts often quote which may help you: If it flowers before June, don’t prune! For clarification on how to tackle the three clematis pruning groups (known as 1, 2 and 3), see panel (right). Meanwhile, I have an issue with my Clematis montana (Group 1). It has finished flowering now, and it is so congested and top-heavy, it needs renovating. See below. Clematis groups • Group 1: These flower through spring on shoots produced the previous year. Only remove dead and weak stems…

• Runner beans need a support to climb up. You can grow them up a wigwam of canes set in flower beds. This gives a nice decorative feature, as well as crops. • But I’m growing mine up inwardly sloping 8ft (2.4m) tall canes, set 15in (38cm) apart. These are tied together near the top, to a single horizontal cane. • Runner beans are heavy plants. It’s essential with lightweight supports like these that you pinch out growing tips when the beans reach the cane tops, or the plants just keep getting bigger!…

25-26 June Garden Festival, Arley Hall and Gardens, Arley, Northwich, Cheshire CW9 6NA 01565 777 353; arleyhallandgardens.com 26 June 15+ open gardens, Village of Nunney, Nr Frome, Somerset 01373 836105 26 June Woolton in Bloom (noon-5pm), Woolton village, Liverpool 26 June Plant Hunters’ Fair (10am-4pm), Whittington Castle, Shropshire, SY11 4DF planthuntersfairs.co.uk 26 June Cottingham Open Gardens (10am-4pm), Cottingham village, East Yorks HU16 5AY 01482 875 129 26 June Romaldkirk Village, Teesdale, County Durham DL12 9DZ, eight gardens open (2-5.30pm). ngs.org.uk 27 June-3 July Hever in Bloom, Hever Castle & Gardens, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 7NG. hevercastle.co.uk 2-3 July Warrenfell, 2 Filter Cottages, Tunstall Reservoir, Wolsingham, Bishop Auckland DL13 3LX (10am-4.30pm) 01388 538392, warrenfell@btinternet.com 3 July Cotherstone Village Gardens, Barnard Castle, Yorkshire DL12 9QW (11am-4.30pm). Approx 15 gardens open. ngs.org.uk • Please…

MANY of you will be picking strawberries already. If you’re still waiting for your crop to ripen and you haven’t mulched around them with straw, jump to it. The straw protects the fruits from resting on the soil – there’s nothing worse than taking a bite of a gritty strawberry! Straw also prevents fruits from rotting and goes some way to suppressing weeds. We have no shortage of straw here in rural Herefordshire. If you can persuade a local farmer to give you some it will be far more suitable than the fine, often chopped pet shop straw that tends to be very light and is easily blown around the garden. Last year I planted the heritage strawberry ‘Cambridge Favourite’ – I can’t wait to bite into them.…

MANY years ago I used to look after a cottage garden whose owners had gone abroad for a few years. It sat prettily by a village green and all along the pathway from gate to front door towered an avenue of hollyhocks. When in bloom, they’d greet you like an adoring crowd, tickling you with their blooms and the air was filled with the contented buzzing of bees. These plants were short-lived perennials and also seeded themselves into the same bed, germinating one year to flower the next. All I had to do was keep the soil weeded and make sure there were a few bare spots where seeds could germinate. Hollyhocks (varieties of Alcea rosea) were Victorian garden favourites until two things happened to blight their popularity. First, hollyhock…

Less is more It’s best not to plant a tree in a tiny garden because over time it will take over and create shade. Instead create height using obelisks of clematis or pillars of juniper. Ever glorious Ensure evergreens form some of the backbone of your small garden so that it looks good all year. For instance plant low box hedging, and install some topiary. Things are looking up Draw the eye upwards to create an illusion of height and space. Install a wall trellis or add trellis to the top of a fence and grow climbers and vines up them. Lush shade Don’t let shade decrease your sense of space by being gloomy – instead plant lush greens, golden greens, and whites (such as Hosta ‘Francee’ ) to inject…

Sow parsley, chives, coriander, rocket, basil and dill outside, in pots or raised beds, every couple of weeks until mid August for a summer-long supply. Harden off indoor-grown basil, oregano, parsley, rosemary and sage before planting outdoors at the end of the month. Protect young plants from slugs and snails. Propagate sage from cuttings. Take a cutting about 4in (10cm) long and trim off lower leaves. Dip in hormone rooting powder before inserting in a pot filled with compost. Jekka’s Complete Herb Book by Jekka McVicar (Kyle Cathie, £16.99) has lots more advice and tips on growing herbs. Jekka’s Herb Farm will be having open days on 8 and 9 July. For more information visit jekkasherbfarm.com…

To make a hot heap, stack green materials and brown waste in separate layers, watering each as you go. After each brown layer, stand on the heap to press materials together but don’t compact completely as air is essential for fast decomposition. Making the heap in one go and covering with carpet is the ideal. It should start to heat up after a few days. When temperatures drop off, turn the heap, moving material from the outside to the centre where it’ll heat up again.…