Innholdsfortegnelse for 11-Nov-2017 i Amateur Gardening

IT may be cold outside, but the best antidote for staving off the winter blues is spending a couple of hours creating bedding containers. Planting for impact and long-lasting colour is possible with a good mix of plants. The trend for mixing evergreens with grasses and instant bedding makes a substantial display and if you pop in spring bulbs as well, you can be assured of a succession of flowers to take you through until into the spring. Choose from evergreen shrubs and small ornamental grasses such as Stipa tenuissima and ophiopogon, combined with heucheras in shades of purple, amber or silver, senecio, lamium and trailing ivy. Structured foliage plants will create a backdrop to miniature cyclamen, pansies, ornamental cabbages and violas. ‘Creating a colour palette is all part of…

THEY may look beautiful and smell divine, but roses certainly don’t offer up these gifts cheaply. Having nursed them through the pests and droughts of summer, you now need to set them up to survive the winter. The first thing you need to do is cut back the stems by around a half. This can be heartbreaking if you still have plants in bud or bloom, but it is for their own protection. Rose roots grow fairly shallow, so removing excessive top growth prevents them being rocked and weakened by winter storms. You should also remove any dead, diseased, crossing or damaged growth now, creating an elegant, open plant with good ventilation. If you have a standard rose, shaped like a lollipop on a stick, snip off dead and shrivelled…

THE winter/spring bedding I put in a few weeks ago has grown and flowered well. However, as temperatures drop and the weather deteriorates, things will start to slow down. There are a few things you can do to bedding now, to help it through the winter months in good condition. Deadhead spent flowers, because the last thing you want is lots of ripe seedheads and little seedlings. We are entering a tough time and plants need to muster their resources, rather than wasting them on reproduction. A warm, damp autumn like the one we have experienced is also perfect for weeds. Remove them as soon as you see them, and check for pests and diseases. The leaves of low-growing pansies and bellis provide cover for slugs and snails, and if…

1 It will be easier to remove deciduous trees and shrubs in winter after leaf fall, when there is less foliage to clear and the soil is moist. Landscaper John Sexton (pictured) uses the trunk of the tamarix for leverage. 2 Big trunks can be split in half with wedges working from the cut top downwards, so the workload is halved and it is removed in two pieces. 3 Shrubs that have outgrown their space are best removed and replaced by something smaller, rather than repeatedly pruning back hard.…

NOW as I’m sure you may have gathered I’m hardly ecstatic about some aspects of the current obsession with Health & Safety. I’m more of the “If I choose to take the risk it’s up to me” school of thought. However, having active children has made me reassess my garden somewhat – and perhaps we all should do likewise. No one wants an accident, after all. So what are the biggest gardening risks to life? Surprisingly it’s not eating poisonous plants or berries, or even mushrooms. Indeed according to official records for the UK there have been no accidental deaths (more than a couple of suspicious ones though) attributed to those since the Second World War, and not many more if any since the First World War. “What are the…

1 Straw is the simplest insulation material to use (it doesn’t matter if it’s barley or wheat) and it also protects against slug damage as a bonus! Lay a 3-4in (7-10cm) layer on the soil around your root crop, fluffing it up well to ensure plenty of insulating air pockets. 2 On all but the most sheltered of plots, you’ll need to secure the straw in place. This is easily done with a cover. Old sheets, fleece or even pea and bean netting work well. Weigh or pin the edges down. It doesn’t matter if the foliage gets flattened in the process. 3 Now that your crop is safely tucked away under cover, you can simply lift the roots as and when needed. If the straw starts to get soggy…

Wisteria brachybotrys f. albiflora ‘Shiro-kapitan’ (AGM) Has large, deliciously scented pure white, yellow-eyed flowers. Racemes are fairly short (6in/15cm) but prolific, opening among downy foliage on young plants. Wisteria floribunda ‘Rosea’ (AGM) Held in 2ft/60cm racemes, the fragrant pale lavender-pink flowers have a creamy central zone and darker pink flashes. A lovely soft shade, this is definitely the best pink wisteria, with the clearest colour. Wisteria floribunda ‘Domino’ (AGM) Flowering dependably well on young plants, ‘Domino’ has fragrant lilacblue blooms in 8in/20cm racemes as the leaves emerge. These are followed by long (sadly inedible) velvety seed pods. Wisteria sinensis ‘Amethyst’ (AGM) Opening from deep purple buds, fragrant, violet blue, slightly red-tinted and strongly scented flowers are held in 10in/25cm racemes and are quickly followed by unfurling bronze-tinted foliage. Superb as…

How can I help my lily in winter? Q How should I overwinter my Hedychium (ginger lily)? Last winter I kept it in the greenhouse but had to cut it back significantly, which may have been a mistake as it didn’t flower this summer. So what should I do? John White (via email) A The natural flowering time for Hedychium is late summer and I wonder, given their Mediterranean origins, whether they need a longer warm season than we had this year. The autumn warmth obviously did the trick but too late for the flowers to open. At this time of year the top growth will naturally die away, and the plants overwinter by their tuberous roots. During the autumn and winter, plants should be kept barely moist and at…

RUSH, rush, rush. It’s started to rain and you’ve left the secateurs outside, or perhaps you’re preparing dinner and are short of some herbs. Maybe the evening has turned chilly and you need to pop out and shut the greenhouse door – there are dozens of reasons for keeping a pair of shoes by the backdoor, ready to be slipped on to make a quick dash into the garden. When time is of the essence, you need footwear that you can don with speed. A wide entrance point helps and you certainly don’t want to waste time tying laces, fastening buckles or fixing Velcro. And, because you’re going into the garden, the shoes need to be waterproof and have good traction so there’s no danger of slippling on wet grass.…

1 Insulate your pot with bubblewrap to help prevent the compost freezing, killing plants and cracking the pot. 2 Don’t cover the base with bubblewrap, as water needs to drain away. Add pot or polystyrene crocks to boost drainage. 3 Add compost to the level of the rootball of your main plant. I mixed multi-purpose with John Innes No 3. 4 Tease out any tightly-wound roots. I planted my Hypericum, added more compost and then planted my bulbs. 5 After covering the bulbs with more compost, add the rest of the plants, taking care not to damage any roots. 6 Water the pot well. Autumn and winter can be dry, so make sure the compost is always kept moist.…

1 Lift a plant and wash of the soil to see the roots. With large woody plants, simply expose some thick roots by excavating with a trowel. 2 Using a sharp knife or secateurs, cut several thick roots into sections. Make a straight cut at the top and angled cut at the base. 3 Make each cutting around 2-3in (5-7cm) in length. Longer pieces of root can be cut several times to make several cuttings. 4 Insert cuttings into a pot of compost and grit, so that their tops are flush with the compost’s surface. Water and place in a cold frame.…

THERE is always the opportunity to grab the secateurs and get pruning, and now it’s the turn of indoor and outdoor grapevines. Vines are rampant and, if left unchecked, could swamp a back garden. They come back from even the hardest cutting. Tough pruning also encourages higher quality grapes. It is best to carry out pruning between now and Christmas, as vines bleed sap if pruned at any other time. If you are after large bunches of grapes, the vines should be trained a certain way from year one. If you have a vine that is rambling over a fence and getting out of hand, you can be quite brutal with pruning. Remove any unwanted sideshoots and any overcrowded stems and also shorten the main stems. If vines are trained…

1 Be snugger, cosier and quieter in your shed by hanging carpet on the walls and roof, even on the floor. 2 It’s still okay to take cuttings of easy subjects like buddleija, roses, currants and gooseberries, so have a go now. 3 Keep a full watering can near a radiator so house plants get less of a shock when you water them. 4 Eject all rotters from your stored crops then put down mousetraps with apples and slug traps with potatoes – or even both.…

WHEN I do gardening talks about being green and organic there are always people who rush up afterwards and say: “oh it’s alright for you, you live in the countryside and you’ll get plenty of wildlife.” If only it were true! You might imagine that The Cotswolds is a rural idyll, but we are short of bees, we have very few wildflowers in the parish and we don’t get that much bird life at our end of the village. The reason is that land nearby is intensively farmed. This not only requires nitrogen-rich feeds, metaldehyde slug pellets, pesticides and herbicides, it also claims every bit of space. Often there are no hedgerows and headlands so wildlife has nowhere to go. Sadly, most farmers concentrate on productivity at the expense of…

How do I sow trees and shrubs? Q Having been successful with AG’s free seeds, propagation is proving addictive and I’d now like to try germinating seeds of trees and shrubs. How do I go about collecting or obtaining seed and sowing? Edna Welthorpe, Stockton-on-Tees A While the seeds of most annuals and biennials will germinate soon after sowing, trees and shrubs can take their time. I’ve sown seeds of Japanese maple and tree peony in autumn to have some germinate within a month, more the following spring and still more the spring after. Tree peonies were still emerging four years after they were sown, so patience is well rewarded. The seeds of hardy plants usually enter dormancy to prevent them from germinating during harsh conditions. Many develop hard seed…

Write to: Wendy Humphries, Amateur Gardening, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF or email: amateurgardening@timeinc.com Star letter HAVING READ the recent letter by a reader who is surrounded by concrete (AG, 14 October), I thought I’d share a photo of my front garden. When I moved in the front was grey slate intended as a ‘parking area’. It is now a haven for bees and butterflies (and my neighbours love it too), thanks in the main to my free seeds and advice from AG. Keep up the good work. David Leese, Stoke-on-Trent Wendy says: Beautiful! The best front garden we’ve seen in a while Late blossom! AFTER a lot of blustery weather in the past couple of weeks, I was surprised to see blossom on my Bramley apple…

Cactus vase £14.99 rrp + £4.95 delivery 0114 233 8262 burgonandball.com Cacti and succulents make for great indoor collections and here’s a fun twist on showing them off. Burgon and Ball’s quirky glazed stoneware vase is bound to turn heads and, with its three necks, you can also make your floral displays truly unique. The medium size (pictured) is W. 11.5cm x H. 18cm. A smaller one to keep it company is £7.99. RHS Glove Collection £15 + £2.50 delivery 01483 211320 rhsshop.co.uk From the makers of the world renowned Gold Leaf range these gloves bear the same hallmarks of comfort and strength. Made from deerskin leather, they also have added padding in the palm and come in a choice of three designs inspired by original artwork in the RHS…

nurseryman and former Gardeners’ World host DURING a brief spell as a pistenraupe – someone who shovels snow onto ski-runs for a living – I found myself lost in the German Alps. Stranded in heavy snowfall I ended up spending the night outside on the mountainside in subzero conditions. I say outside… actually, I stumbled across a deserted ski lodge and slept on a sofa. It was the amazing mountain rescue teams scouring the slopes while tearing apart snowmen in the hope of finding a frozen English teenager that really braved the elements. “Cold and wet kills quicker than cold!” That didn’t stop me feeling sorry for myself though and at first light, oblivious to their efforts, I trudged down to the cable-car station where the relieved rescue team welcomed…

1 Plants in pots are more vulnerable to extreme cold than those in the ground. As well as insulating inside your pot, throw fleece over the plants on very cold nights, removing it as the temperature rises to allow trapped condensation to dry out. 2 Pests are a problem whatever the time of year, so protect your plants as you create your pot. I use copper tape against slugs and snails getting in – it is said deter them by giving them an electric shock as they crawl across it.…

1 Re-pot your amaryllis bulb into fresh potting compost. Make sure the pot is large enough to contain the roots without damaging them. 2 Check the bulb is healthy, with no signs of rot or disease. Insert the bulb onto the compost. 3 Top up with more compost and make sure the top of the bulb is poking out above the surface. Water it well. 4 keep the compost moist and position in a sunny spot. Buds shoot within seven weeks of re-potting, in time for christmas!…

I OFTEN get letters and e-mails requesting advice on the removal of tree stumps. These will arrive with pictures and descriptions of large shrubs and/or garden trees having been chain sawed off at ground level. I find this really frustrating because, apart from the expense of bringing in a stump grinder, getting a stump out with no trunk to use as leverage is pretty difficult. When we first arrived at our present house there was a large seedling cherry dominating the front garden with a trunk close to 12in (30cm) in diameter. The head of the tree was cut back and an 8ft (2.4m) high trunk left in position. Working 3ft (0.9m) out from this trunk a circular trench was dug, followed by sawing through and removing each section of…

▪ 9: Outdoor Propagation, Cold Frames, Cuttings and Seeds: Aberglasney Gardens, Llangathen, Carmarthenshire, Wales SA32 8QH. 01558 668998, aberglasney.org ▪ 10-12: The Enchanted Woodland: Syon Park, London Road, Brentford, Middlesex TW8 8JF. 0208 560 0882, syonpark.co.uk ▪ 11-12: Christmas Shopping Showcase, RHS Harlow Carr, Crag Lane, Harrogate, North Yorks HG3 1QB. 0203 176 5830, rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr ▪ 16: Christmas Shopping Evening: RHS Garden Hyde Hall, Creephedge Lane, Rettendon, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 8ET. 0845 265 8071, rhs.org.uk/gardens/hydehall ▪ 16: Seed Collecting, Cleaning and Storing: Aberglasney Gardens, Llangathen, Carmarthenshire, Wales SA32 8QH. 01558 668998, aberglasney.org ▪ 16: Willow Weaving Christmas Decorations: RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Rosemoor, Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH. 0203 176 5830; rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor ▪ We would love to know about events in your area, so please send details to ruth.hayes@timeinc.com write…

HAVE you ever trudged down the garden in mid-winter and attempted to prise a mammoth parsnip from frozen-solid earth? Let me confirm that it’s not much fun! If you’re being utterly half-hearted about it and just use your hands the leaves rip off in a huge tuft, and if you try more enthusiastically with a fork you can barely get the prongs into the soil. In such instances it’s far better to prevent the soil becoming frozen in the first place, which can easily be achieved with some insulating materials. It’s not only parsnips that benefit from protection – carrots, celeriac and swedes also appreciate this treatment. Here’s what to do, step by step: Try Brussels sprout leaf tops IMAGINE the most succulent baby cabbage, sliced in half and lightly…

Biennials Forget-me-nots Myosotis sylvatica are easy to grow, and spread like wildfire. They look great with tulips like ‘Menton’, which tower up out of the blue carpet. Wallflowers A classic partner for tulips. At Perch Hill in East Sussex, Erysimum cheiri and Tulipa ‘Ballerina’ and ‘Doll’s Minuet’ are artfully combined with grasses and honesty. Perfoliate alexander The acid yellow-green foliage plant Smyrnium perfoliatum dramatically offsets dark tulips (try ‘Black Hero’), or fiery orange ones (such as ‘Ballerina’). Perennials Solomon’s seal The ivory flowers of Polygonatum x hybridum AGM are flattered by fresh white tulips (‘White Triumphator’ is ideal). Tellima grandiflora will add to the luminous green-and-white show. Euphorbia Essential for brightening spring borders, E. epithymoides is the perfect backdrop for tulips. Mounds of chartreuse limeyellow flower bracts light up cup-shaped…

1 Take a clay pan or pot, place crocks (broken pot shards) over the drainage holes and fill with well-drained compost ideally with sieved leaf mould and grit added. Press lightly to achieve a flat surface and water if necessary, using a fine rose on the can. These are freshly collected hornbeam seeds. Remove the seeds from their wings. Snip wings from maple seeds, or squash ripe berries to smear seeds into the compost. 2 Space the seeds out and cover by only their own size with a light dressing of compost. 3 Cap the pot with grit or fine shingle and place where the seeds will feel winter cold but not experience waterlogging. Protect from rodents.…