Innholdsfortegnelse for 18-Mar-2017 i Amateur Gardening

BY the time you read this I’ll have all of my seed potato tubers planted – early ‘Lady Christl’, second early ‘Charlotte’, and maincrop ‘Pink Fir Apple’ and ‘Cara’. They’ve all been put in around the same time. This is not the traditional approach. Generally speaking we are advised to plant earlies, second earlies, then maincrop in succession over a period of about six weeks. The idea is to get the earliest possible crop from earlies (even though haulms will need protecting from frost), while the others follow to avoid frosts because they won’t be lifted early. The longer maincrops stay in the soil the better the crop. But I got some different and very good advice many years ago: “Plant earlies late, and lates early.” (Was that Geoff Hamilton?)…

GARDEN centres are full of pre-planted spring containers now, but often they’re thrown together with little imagination while many are nothing more than a few primroses with a sprinkling of moss to hide the compost. Whether you’re looking for a floral gift for Mother’s Day (26 March) or planning to brighten-up a conservatory, porch or patio in the run up to Easter (16 April), it’s easy to make your own by pick and mixing spring bulbs and plants for colour and scent. Don’t worry if plants have varying growing requirements: they can be permanently planted in the garden when the container display is past is prime. Choose a container with good drainage and fill with multi-purpose compost. The plants I’ve chosen below have low nutrient requirements and don’t like sitting…

• This year, as every other year, our garden has been brightened early on by a beautiful big pink clump of winter-flowering heather. • Unlike other varieties, Erica carnea seems more than happy in our heavily chalky, alkaline soil. It also makes a protective and welcoming hibernation spot for overwintering ladybirds. • To keep it looking its best, it needs pruning once its flowers have faded. This annual trim helps keep plants in shape, and encourages more flowers. • Cut each stem back to just below its faded flowers. Do not cut into the old ‘brown’ wood, because if this is removed, the plant may not produce new shoots in the coming year. • Shears are the best tool for large plants, and secateurs are fine for smaller specimens.…

THE strawberry plants growing in a pot in my greenhouse are looking extremely healthy, and the time has come to give those in raised beds outdoors attention. As this is only their second year of growth, I don’t need to replace my plants. Diseases can build up in the soil where strawberries grow, so every three years they should be dug up and disposed of, and new plants grown in a new site. My plants survived the winter in our outside beds, but need to be tidied up, as well as weeded and fed, to get the best results come harvest time. I started by removing dead and diseased foliage, and any old runners that weren’t cut off back in the autumn. The raised beds have been allowed to become…

• In late April, and throughout May, you can sow your Rudbeckia seeds directly into borders where you want them to grow. • This is less effort, but the later start will reduce plant vigour and make flowering later. Seeds will also be vulnerable to attack by pests and diseases. • To sow directly, remove stones, weeds and other debris, and rake the soil to a fine tilth. • Dampen the soil, and sow the seeds. Either broadcast them in drifts for a more natural look, or sow them in straight drills. • Cover with soil, and cover with a cloche or twigs to deter birds and cats.…

MANY of us have a potted blueberry or two, a delicious fruity superfood. There’s one task that’s vital in obtaining maximum yields, and that is pruning. The time to complete this is now, but don’t worry. It’s an absolute synch to do. Young blueberry bushes pretty much look after themselves where pruning is concerned, but four or five years down the line it’s essential to step in with the secateurs. You see, blueberries crop best on mature but not old wood, so as soon as bushes begin to look congested you need to sort them out! While the main advantage to pruning is boosting berryyield, it’s also an ideal opportunity to shape your plants. See panel (right) to find out exactlywhat to do: Top Tip   Don’t waste your blueberry…

A PUNNET of cherry tomatoes costs £1 to £1.50, yet for the same price you can buy a packet of a dozen cherry tomato seeds? I grew just six plants last year, each one delivering at least five punnets worth of tomatoes. That means if I’d grown the whole lot I would have saved myself a whopping £90 at the shops – not bad! We are a nation of tomato lovers, and growing our own doesn’t just save cash. Fresh fruits have nutritional benefits; we can grow lots of varieties that aren’t available in the shops; and we can pick them at perfection to get the best flavour rather than days early to preserve shelf life. Both indoor and outdoor varieties can be sown now if you have a greenhouse…

“If you’ve stored furniture well all it’ll need is a wash” GARDEN furniture can set you back a pretty penny, so it’s worth looking after. Although I keep mine under waterproof, protective sheets through winter it still always gets a bit damp and requires a little bit of attention when the wraps come off in spring. Fortunately, this is fairly easy to do. What your garden furniture is made of will determine what maintenance is required. Modern plastic, rattan and metal products are relatively easy to care for, while wooden furniture needs more attention. A lot depends on how they’ve been stored – items tucked into a garage might need no care at all, while those that have been left exposed all winter could be in a sorry state. Wooden…

BLUEBERRIES are ideal plants for small gardens – their fruits, flowers and striking foliage providing a long season of interest. They can be squeezed into a bed or border if you’ve got acidic soil, or raised in large pots filled with soil-based ericaceous compost – a 12in (30cm) to 18in (45cm) container should do it, depending on the size of plant you start with. Before buying check that the plant is suitable for a small space. Varieties range in growth from 2ft (60cm) to 6ft (1.8m) tall. Taller plants can be grown in pots by pruning back to restrict height by about a third and moving them into larger pots on a regular basis. However, it’s easier to raise a naturally compact plant in the first place as it will…

GARDENERS can now grow fan-shaped tomato plants, thanks to advances in nursery grafting techniques. Suttons is exclusively introducing Quad tomatoes in a bid to appeal to gardeners who want edibles to look ornamental, too. Quad plants are raised on nurseries to produce four fruiting stems of the same variety on one plant. It is claimed that the grafted plants have superior disease-resistance, while producing up to 75 per cent more fruit per stem. These can be trained as a fan or a four-stem tower. Three varieties are available: Quad Cherry Magni (sweet, small tomatoes), Quad Plum Minerva (ideal for soups, sauces or drying) and Quad Standard Maxima which is said to be best for salads or cooking. A potted Quad plant in a 12cm pot costs £8.99. Go to suttons.co.uk…

IT’S March and the phrase :“As mad as a March hare” alludes to the sight of the brown hare behaving strangely and excitedly during its breeding season. This always used to be thought of as March, but these days (probably due to global warming) it lasts throughout the year. The odd antics displayed by hares include jumping vertically for no reason, and ‘boxing’ at other hares, often the females fighting off courting males. Although often mistaken for rabbits, hares are quite different. They grow up to 28in (70cm) long and can weigh as much as 15.5lb (7kg). Fur is yellowish-brown with grey tints, while the belly and underside of the tail are white. The hare’s ears are long and their large eyes are set on either side of the head.…

Q How can I get rid of slugs and snails without harming hedgehogs? Mrs M Burgess, Exeter, Devon A You can use Slug Gone – wool pellets that you scatter around plants. Alternatively, circle plants with Shocka Mats, which have a copper content that gives an electric shock to molluscs. Copper strips can be stuck around the rims of containers, and slugs will drown if you set beer traps. Q How can I sow the seeds of grape hyacinths for the best results? Cath Holmes (via email) A Sow seeds in pots of seed compost and just cover them. Top them with a thin layer of grit, and water them in. Cover with a pane of glass or plastic to conserve moisture, and germinate them in a cold frame shaded…

Be inspired Read one of Beth Chatto’s books about achieving low maintenance via clever planting. For example her wonderful book Drought-resistant planting (Amazon, £14.88) will teach you how to save hours of watering. Sow Direct sow hardy annuals and biennials on a day before rain is forecast to avoid watering. Cornflowers (Centaurea), California poppies (Eschscholzia) and foxgloves are all fuss-free. Plant Choose low-maintenance summer-flowering bulbs and corms, such as Allium sphaerocephalon and Crocosmia ‘Harlequin’; and buy ready-grown low-maintenance spring bulbs, such as daffodils. Plant Go for low maintenance shrubs, such as Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’ (pink winter flowers), Ceanothus ‘Concha’ (blue spring flowers), and Euonymus alatus ‘Compactus’ (scarlet autumn colour). NEXT WEEK: Part 4: Modern minimalist style…

Combine mound-forming herbs and fragrant plants, such as ‘Hidcote’ lavender and Origanum ‘Nanum’, and fill in with low-growing thyme. Add in white highlights by planting feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium). Kale, aubergine, painted sage, thyme and Viola ‘Rebecca’, with its edible flowers, contribute to a purple, green and white theme in an outer section of the garden. Vibrant orange pot marigold (Calendula officinalis) flowers look great planted in rows between the rich green leaves of kale and tomatoes. Use calendula petals to perk up salads or for brewing tea. Plant sage around a seat and enjoy its fragrance every time a leaf is rubbed. Jane used contrasting purple and painted sages, Salvia purpurascens and S. officinalis ‘Tricolor’, behind which she put in colourful cannas and dahlias, which have edible tubers. Believe it…

Pop-Up Net Cloche £8.95 + £4.95 p&p 0333 777 3936 mr-fothergills.co.uk Protect tender young plants against light frost, insect and bird attack with a pop-up mesh cloche. A useful 39in (100cm) long x 16in (40cm) tall and wide, it has a powder-coated steel frame and is covered in a woven net mesh. Steel ground pegs are included. Gutter Mate Rhubarb Forcer £69.99 free delivery 01462 429765 guttermate.co.uk Designed to exclude light from rhubarb this traditional-looking forcer isn’t traditional at all – it’s made of UV-stabilised plastic. Advantages over terracotta forcers are this one is light in weight so is much easier to move around, it’s pretty well indestructible and a fraction of the price of a clay pot of this size. Height is 32in (81cm) including…

‘Dividing clumps of viola seedlings is an easy task’ SPRING bedding, which is also known as winter bedding and usually planted in autumn, should be flowering beautifully now. However, if you did get plants in the ground before the worst of the weather set in at the end of last year, they may be looking rather bedraggled and in need of tidying up. Indeed, some may have failed altogether, and should be dug up and composted, unless they’re affected by fungal diseases. If they are, bin them or burn them - fungal spores can live on in compost, and re-infect soil and plants when the compost is used. Pansies and violas self-seed very easily, and if left to their own devices, large clumps of seedlings can often be found growing…

1 Campanula Ambella series This mat-forming evergreen is smothered with mauve bell-shaped flowers in spring. It’s ideal for rock gardens and will tolerate cold, but it does not like wet winters. 2 Narcissus ‘Tete-a-Tete’ and ‘Topolino’ Both RHS AGM varieties growing to just 8in (20cm). ‘Topolino’ (left) has cream petals and golden trumpets while ‘Tete-a-Tete’ has cheery golden yellow blooms. 3 Iris reticulata ‘Joyce’ Dwarf iris that reaches 5in (12cm). Dainty blue flowers have gold and white blotches. Perfect for planting in rockeries and at the front of borders after the container is over. 4 Primroses Primroses and polyanthus shrug off winter cold to put on a remarkable show of colour. They can come a-cropper if the compost is too dry. Keep them moist but not waterlogged. 5 Crocus ‘Jeanne…

• If your Hippeastrum (amaryllis) has finished flowering, don’t throw it away! • Once the flower has died back, pull its stalk out of the bulb and compost it. Place the plant on a light windowsill until the summer. • Then move it outdoors to a sunny spot, watering and feeding weekly with a general-purpose plant food. • In autumn, the leaves will start to yellow and die back. Return the plant indoors and let its compost dry out completely. • The leaves will die back, feeding the bulb, and you can re-start feeding and watering around Christmas time to bring the plant back to life.…

LAST year I grew six aubergine plants from seed, and harvested… none! Even though the plants flowered, no fruits developed and I am at a loss to know why. They grew in the greenhouse alongside tomatoes, and although the toms were pollinated by insects and cropped brilliantly, and aubergines were destined for the compost. Undaunted, I am giving them another go this year. The variety I am growing is ‘Ophelia’, a compact variety that is happy outdoors in a sheltered, sunny spot, and produces an abundant supply of small fruits. Sow five seeds in a 4in (10cm) pot of dampened seed compost, and cover them lightly with vermiculite. Label, and place the pot on a warm, bright windowsill. Keep the compost damp, and germination should take 2-3 weeks. Let the…

A GOLDFISH plant in full bloom is a head-turning sight, as tubular flowers with flaring petal lobes look like a shoal of jumping fish. Presumably on account of its fiery orange blooms, this variety is named after the volcanic Indonesian island of Krakatoa that erupted in 1883. Columneas are in the same plant family as African violets and there are around 150 species mainly from rain and cloud forests in the West Indies, Mexico, Central and tropical South America. In the wild, they grow epiphytically, rooting into mossy trunks and branches. As indoor plants, most are bought either dangling or swaying from hanging baskets. They are quite easy to grow and flower for ages. Our much admired Columnea ‘Krakatau’ has a waiting list for cuttings. Taking them doubles as pruning,…

THE mere mention of this crop gets my mouth watering. Those gourmet spears smothered in butter or hollandaise sauce are divine! Now is the perfect time to plant ‘crowns’ – the thick, fleshy root system – into well prepared soil. F1 hybrid varieties like ‘Dariana’ and ‘Guelph Millenium’ (both have received the Award of Garden Merit from the RHS) generally give the best yields as plants are all-male; female, berrying crowns can yield less so growing them is pointless. Give them a weed-free, free-draining and sunny spot – don’t skimp as they can keep cropping for up to fifteen years! Dig a mounded trench 8in (20cm) deep and spread the crowns on top so the central growing tip is just below the surface, yet the fleshy roots are deeper. Cover…

THIS simple, single task reduces drought stress, keep weeds at bay, insulates roots from cold, and supplies essential nutrients all in one go. No wonder I’m keen to get a layer down as quickly as possible! Organic mulches of well-rotted manure or garden compost can be applied each spring, as soon as the soil begins to warm up. Together, all those benefits bring improved yields and reduce maintenance later. Make the layer about 2in (5cm) deep for best effect, and spread it at least as far as the canopy. Avoid mounding material up against stems as it can encourage rots. Acid-loving crops like blueberries, cranberries and raspberries, won’t appreciate mushroom compost as it contains lime.…

1 Use hot, soapy water to give the top and underneath surfaces a good scrub. Rinse down with clean water to make sure you haven’t missed anything. 2 My table has recessed parts that are difficult to clean with a normal brush. An old toothbrush is great for hard-to-reach nooks and crannies. 3 Once the aluminium has been cleaned, pat down with a tea towel and leave it to dry in the sun. Rub some car wax over the surface to help make it more water resistant.…

CHIVES are an essential kitchen herb offering a mild onion taste that’s delicious in all sorts of dishes. It’s a perennial that is so easy to start from seed. Among the best varieties is ‘Fine Leaved’, which has thinner leaves and a milder flavour than common chives. Then there’s ‘Black Isle Blush’, boasting showier, light mauve flowers with a deep pink centre. ‘Forescate’ has slightly garlic flavoured leaves and pale pink flowers. All you need to do to get chives started is sow a few seeds thinly in a small pot filled with seed compost, and then place in a heated propagator or cover with a small, clear bag to aid germination. Keep pots undercover until late spring or early summer, then split the rootball into several pieces. If you’ve…

THE RHS Garden at Harlow Carr, Harrogate, is not only blooming – it’s booming. It has chalked-up record visitor numbers for the sixth year-running, topping 400,000, in 2016, for the first time. When the RHS took over the garden in 2001 it had 70,000 visitors a year. “Within 10 years we more than quadrupled that figure,” said Liz Thwaite, head of site. “Topping the 400,000 mark for the first time is a huge achievement and a real testament to the vision and dedication of the staff and volunteers who work here.” The 400,000th visitor was Laurie Hickling from nearby Wetherby who, with his wife, Pauline, are regular visitors to Harlow Carr. They were presented with a “little patch of Harlow Carr” in the form of a planter, featuring some of…

• 18 March: Beginners’ Gardening (Soil, pruning, seed sowing): RHS Garden Rosemoor, Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH; 0203 1765 830; rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor • 19 March: Rare Plant Fairs, The Bishops Palace, Wells, Somerset. 10am-4pm. Admission £5 includes palace and gardens. Information Line 0845 4681368 • 21 March: RHS Free Tuesday. A chance to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the RHS’s four inspirational gardens in spring – for free rhs.org.uk • 22 March: Spring Propagation: RHS Garden Hyde Hall, Creephedge Lane, Rettenden Common, Chelmsford CM3 8ET; 0203 1765 830, rhs.org.uk/gardens/hyde-hall • 22 March: Beginners’ Propagation: RHS Garden Wisley, Wisley Lane, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB; 0203 1765 830, rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisely • 23 March: Success with Seeds and Cuttings: RHS Garden Rosemoor, Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH; 0203 1765 830; rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor • 24-26 March: Spring Plant Fair:…

Chilean Guava Evergreen with small leaves and edible aromatic red fruits. Great for hedging or edging. Grow this South American native in sun or partial shade in a south- or west-facing spot. Globe Artichoke This architectural plant has attractive leaves and large edible flower buds and looks great towards the back of a border. It can be grown from seed or young plants. Strawberry ‘Just Add Cream’ Pink-flowered strawberries make unusual edging plants, while this new T&M cultivar also produces tasty fruit. Grow in a sunny spot. Hemerocallis The trumpet-like blooms of daylilies are good to eat, especially as buds, and will keep coming all summer. Rinse well to dislodge any insects. Grow in sun or partial shade. Anise basil Aniseed-scented herb with clusters of small mulberry flowers in summer.…

1 Deadhead regularly, so plants put their energy into repeat flowering, rather than maturing their seeds. 2 Remove dead and damaged foliage, which looks unsightly and can act as an entry point for diseases. 3 Look for black spot on the leaves of pansies and violas. This is a fungal problem. Bin or burn affected foliage. 4 Many spring bedding plants are low-growing and can quickly be smothered by weeds, so tidy around them regularly. 5 Fill any gaps with new plants. Always choose healthy-looking plants with plenty of buds still to open.…

ONE of my New Year resolutions for 2017 was to improve the look of our front garden. It isn’t a particularly good advert for a horticultural household. The previous inhabitants of the property planted several shrubs next to the road that, over the years, have become badly overgrown. We have removed the worst of the tangle, but the rest needs urgent renovation. One plant that is doggedly keeping going, and apparently thriving on neglect, is a large hebe. It grows robustly, though many of its branches are spindly and with few leaves, and produces attractive purple flowers every summer without fail. But to continue thriving, it needs cutting back and feeding, and early spring is the best time. Hebes are low-maintenance shrubs that don’t like hard pruning. Simply remove dead…

“Why the sudden interest in succulent houseplants?” NEW gardening trends and a sudden increase in popularity of a specific group of plants always interests me. Good examples that spring to mind are Harry Wheatcroft and fellow growers of roses in the 1960s, Adrian Bloom using dwarf conifers and heathers in the 1970s and the sudden extensive use of grasses – thanks to mass production of them on Dutch and German nurseries. Most recently, though, it’s the introduction of succulents as houseplants. I got the chance to find out more at an international trade show in Germany earlier this year, where I came across a Danish exhibit with lots of succulent houseplants, including some in ceramic containers strung up as mobiles. They were selling under the Easy Care brand and I…

THIS week’s free seeds from Mr Fothergill’s are Rudbeckia ‘Gloriosa Daisies’. They are also known as Coneflowers and black-eyed Susans, and are a close relative of Echinacea. Where echinaceas usually flower in shades of pink and purple, Rudbeckias come in hot shades of yellow, red and orange. This week’s variety has dark red centres, with petals that start the same colour and turn a vibrant yellow towards their tips. These Rudbeckia are half-hardy perennials, but due to our chilly winters, are best treated as half-hardy annuals, and discarded when they have finished flowering. Germination takes 2-3 weeks, and plants grow to 3ft (90cm) tall, filling out to a width of 18in (45cm). Make sure there is good ventilation around developing seedlings, and don’t let their compost dry out. Thin out…

• Stand or hang columneas in good but not direct light. They may need different positions for summer and winter. • Normal room temperatures are ideal, with min 60°F (15°C). Raise humidity by displaying your plant near others. • Water only when the compost surface dries and never leave standing in water, as roots hate being wet. • Bring water to room temperature, as chilly water applied to roots or splashed on leaves causes ugly marks. Aphids cause similar blemishes. • Add a half strength liquid feed fortnightly while in active growth. • Columneas don’t need massive pots and are often best root-pruned by shaving an inch (2.5cm) off the base and a little off the sides before repotting into the same container, during spring.…

“Make soil drier, as wet soil is slow to warm” ACCORDING to the old saying, there’s no use sowing until you see weeds turning the surface fuzzy green with emerging seedlings. This is so true: if weeds will not grow, nothing will. And more to the point, even when weeds have started it’s still only warm enough for the hardiest vegetables – the likes of carrots, cabbages and broad beans, which are derived from natives, or are long used to our erratic cool springs. Many of our favourites come from warmer climes and we either start them indoors or wait until the soil has warmed up and the frosts have passed. The trouble is, often the soil warms up too slowly in spring; so anything we can do to help…

THE hanging basket outside the front of my house has provided a welcome shot of colour since the autumn, but it’s beginning to lose its dazzle. A Cyclamen persicum and several other plants have stopped flowering completely, while a winter pansy has seen better days so I’ve replaced them with spring flowerering plants. An ivy and silver leaved cineraria will remain to give structure to daffodils, hyacinths and the other new occupants.…

THE impact of climate change on gardens will be a key feature at a major new flower show. According to the Royal Horticultural Society, more than 42,000 tickets have already been sold for its RHS Chatsworth Flower Show 2017, which takes place in Derbyshire from 7-11 June. The RHS Garden for a Changing Climate will present two scenarios for a small garden – now and in 2100 when “our climate will become increasingly warmer and drier in summer, but also more turbulent with intense and sometimes unpredictable heavy showers”. ‘Design revolutionaries’ will be the theme of the show, focusing on gardening greats such as Sir Joseph Paxton and Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown – both of whom had an impact on Chatsworth. A new, un-judged category called FreeForm will “encourage freedom of…

A SEED company is offering £500 of vouchers to the gardener who grows Britain’s naughtiest vegetable. Van Meuwen wants to highlight “veg patch misfits”. It wants to find veg with the “quirkiest shape or anatomy”. Its inaugural Naughty Veg competition last year coincided with the re-launch of Chilli ‘Willy’ – a chilli pepper variety that produces phallic-looking fruits. The 2016 contest was won by a carrot grown by Mrs D Brand from Weston-super-Mare (left) which, said Van Meuwen, was “chosen from stiff competition”. Speaking at the launch of the 2017 contest, spokesman Graham Ward said: “So-called wonky or imperfect veg has really caught the attention of he public recently.” Go to vanmeuwen.com/ competitions for entry details.…

How do I grow cannas? Q I’ve noticed cannas in more gardens in recent summers and would love to grow them for the first time. What advice can you give me? Laura Thurlow, Port Isaac A You can buy canna rhizomes in spring. Always check rhizomes are firm and not shrivelled. Some retailers keep rhizomes too warm and this causes them to dry out. This makes it more difficult to start them into growth. If you can’t pot the rhizomes up or plant them straight away, they should be stored in a cool, frost-free place. Plant in damp compost to prevent rhizomes drying out. Ideally, start the rhizomes into growth in a greenhouse at a temperature of 10°C (50°F). Pot into an open, loam-free, well-drained compost (multi-purpose is fine). The…

1 Enthusiastic plants Introduce gorgeous self-seeding plants, such as aquilegia, Verbena bonariensis , foxgloves, and love-in-a-mist. Avoid thugs (such as Euphorbia amygdaloides robbiae ) that are hard to remove, and go for spreaders that are effortless to pull up if required such as sisyrinchium and Geranium macrorrhizum ). 2 Grasses Most grasses are fairly low maintenance, with the deciduous forms requiring only to be cut back in spring, and evergreen specimens needing only to be cut back after a few years. Carex comans and Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’ are excellent evergreens, as are deciduous types miscanthus and stipa. 3 Stalwart plants Choose plants that flower all summer without any TLC, for example…

FORGOT where you planted the bulbs? Can’t remember whether it’s a line of lettuce or a line of carrots you sowed nearest to the path? Or perhaps you always find yourself stumbling over the name when a neighbour asks you to identify that nice flower in the corner? Plant markers and labels come into their own when you want to distinguish between sowings, recognise the spot where bulbs and tubers were planted or are looking to add harmony with a consistency of labelling throughout the garden. Markers are available in a wide variety of sizes and styles ranging from small ones for use in propagators to much larger ones designed to make a statement in the garden. Some you write on yourself and some are pre-written. There are markers for…

Gardens heal you HAVING always been a keen gardener, it was quite a shock four years ago when I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and, as symptoms have progressed, gardening has become more and more difficult. However, last year was my first attempt at a wild flower garden. I was really thrilled with the result as most of the seeds were just hand-thrown over the soil. Even though it’s hard going due to my hands not doing what I want them to do, and not quickly enough, I’m still determined to keep my garden as lovely as I can. Nothing is more wonderful than getting out in the garden, and the results are so uplifting that it keeps me going for days! Mrs Christine Thornley, Ashford, Kent Dastardly Doris! AT…

“Stand back and choose the best plants as keepers” I WAS waiting for Lisa in M&S when I sensed that someone was looking at me. I smiled back but when the gawker didn’t stop I held up my palms in a ‘what?’ like gesture. And then it dawned on me I was looking at my own reflection in a distant mirror. Though Lisa took great delight in mocking my ‘Mr Bean moment’ I put this mistaken identity down to how easy it is to lose sight of what the very familiar actually looks like. It’s a trap that explains why so many gardens don’t look as good as their owners think, simply because they don’t see them as others do. I’m as guilty of this as anyone. For years I’ve…