Innholdsfortegnelse for 17-Feb-2018 i Amateur Gardening

IT has been an interminably long, grey, wet and windy winter here in the south. We may have escaped the snow, but the garden looks like it’s done 10 rounds with the elements and come off very much the worst. However, the gardening memory is relatively short-term and once the days warm up, flowers start to bloom and the bees get busy again we will forget these dreary, sodden days and revel in the beauty of spring. Before that happens, though, there is plenty to do in preparation. I was looking out at the garden one morning this week, when there was a break in the weather, and felt compelled to get out and get to work. The ground was too wet to do much, but even the few tasks…

THE lemon tree that returned, Lazarus-like, from apparent death a couple of years ago has been going from strength to strength ever since. It has been flowering strongly and fragrantly, and this winter produced its first little lemons. It has also grown considerably and now needs moving to a larger container. In this country, citrus trees are best grown in pots so they can be moved under cover in winter. The pots shouldn’t be too large – move them up a size each time – as the roots will suffocate in too much empty compost. Citruses prefer free-draining compost, so add plenty of grit when planting. I use John Innes No3, which has plenty of nutrients, with a little added ericaceous. Use a straight-sided container, as a bowl-like one will…

IT isn’t often that I get excited about a bunch of dead-looking twigs, but I made an exception this one time. I’d been looking for a grapevine for the garden for some weeks, fruitlessly in every sense as it turned out. Then I popped into a rarely visited garden centre on the off-chance and discovered they had several for sale. The plant I chose is a hardy variety called ‘Regent’ that produces bunches of attractive pinky-red grapes. It will happily grow outdoors so long as it is in a sunny position and has its roots in free-draining soil – vines hate to be waterlogged. Tradition states that you should plant your vine on the body of a dead sheep, so there are plenty of nutrients for the roots to feed…

Mini snack-sized cucumbers, such as ‘Passandra’ (Mr Fothergill’s) and ‘Nimrod’ (Thompson & Morgan) can be sown now and grown on to cropping size on window sills. Sow cucurbit seeds singly, on their sides, in pots half-filled with seed compost. Once the seed leaves are over the edge of the pot add the rest of the compost. This gives shorter, more compact plants. French bean seeds will germinate better in spring if kept in the warm for a few days before you sow them. Make sure all glass in greenhouses, frames, cloches and windows is clean to let in maximum light onto emerging seedlings.…

• I’m thrilled to see Echinacea ‘Large Flowered’ in this year’s seed collection as they are one of my favourite border perennials. • Also known as ‘coneflowers’, these are a favourite plant of many beneficial pollinators including bees and butterflies. • Clumps thicken over the years and the statuesque, daisy-like flowers grow to 48in (120cm) tall and look majestic in borders. They are also beautiful in cut-flower arrangements. • Echinacea like a sunny site and well-drained soil.…

17: Snowdrops at Craufurdland: Craufurdland Estate, near Fenwick, Kilmarnock, KA3 6BS. 01560 600760, craufurdland.co.uk 17-18: Snowdrops at Colesbourne Park: Colesbourne, Cheltenham, Glos, GL53 9NP. 01242 870264/870567,colesbournegardens.org.uk 17-25: Snowdrop Week: Easton Walled Gardens, Easton, Grantham, Lincs, NG33 5AP. 01476 530063, visiteaston.co.uk 17-27: Snowdrop Days: Evenley Wood Garden, Evenley, Northants, NN13 5SH. Evenleywoodgarden.co.uk 17-18: Snowdrop Walk: Rode Hall, Scholar Green, Cheshire, ST7 3QP. 01270 873237, rodehall.co.uk 18: Snowdrop Sensation Plant Fair: Great Comp Garden, Comp Lane, Platt, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN15 8QS. 01732 885094, greatcompgarden.co.uk 18: Snowdrops at Danevale Park: Crossmichael, Dumfries and Galloway, DG7 2LP. 01556 670223, scotlandsgardens.org 22: Terrarium workshop: RHS Garden Hyde Hall, Creephedge Lane, Rettendon, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 8ET. 0203 176 5830, rhs.org.uk/gardens/hyde-hall • Please send details and images of your events to ruth.hayes@timeinc.com or What’s On, Amateur Gardening,…

SOWING tomatoes is always a landmark moment in my gardening calendar. As well as being popular with many of us, there are also dozens, if not hundreds, of tempting varieties to choose from – the range is luxurious (my particular favourites at the moment are cherry ‘Sweet Aperitif’ and beefsteak ‘Corazon’). Not all of us have a greenhouse, but those of us lucky enough to own one will, guaranteed, be filling it with tomatoes this summer to gain an early harvest. Those tomatoes destined for life outside don’t need to be sown for another month or more, but tomatoes you intend to crop in your greenhouse should be sown now. Here’s what to do (see right). Next week: Last chance for winter pruning, place cloches over strawberries, protect peach blossom…

I’M developing a bit of a ‘thing’ for baby carrots – my whole focus on sowing dates is to get a succession of tiny roots throughout the year. Having just finished lifting the last of my autumn-sown crop (these gave me baby carrots from November until January) I’m keen to get some more started. It’s still too cold to sow directly outside, but there’s nothing to stop us sowing them indoors. There are major advantages to sowing under cover now: you get super-early crops, but you also gain 100% protection from the biggest scourge of carrots – root fly (it can only attack outdoor crops). In very early spring you want a variety that’s quick out of the blocks, so look for ‘Amsterdam’ types as these do just that. You…

I’VE been having a debate – with myself, and with a friend who’s a better cook than I am – about whether it’s worth growing your own onions. The fact is that onions are not expensive to buy; I’ve just checked and I can buy a whole kilo for 55p. Why bother growing them, then? With onions, it’s not as easy to compare flavour as it is with, say, the early potatoes that I discussed a few weeks ago. For many of us, it’s all a question of strong or mild, and that’s it. The trouble is, with shop-bought onions you have no idea whether what you are purchasing is mild enough to bite into raw, or strong enough to blow your head off. At least if you have grown…

SOME onion sets are given a high-temperature treatment before they are sent out to gardeners. The idea is to prevent bolting – the emergence from the set of a stem and flower that, from a culinary point of view, ruins the bulb. The heat kills off the embryonic flower bulb in the centre of each set, and the standard advice has always been to plant heat-treated sets. However, the RHS trial of 2013 cast doubt on this. Of 175 non-heat-treated sets across seven varieties that won the AGM, just four bolted. Of 100 heat-treated sets across four AGM-winning varieties, 11 bolted. At the very least, this suggests that we pay no attention to whether or not our sets are heat-treated. Untreated sets also have the advantage of being available earlier,…

Argyranthemum ‘Jamaica Primrose’ The single daisy flowers with a butter-yellow colour are perfect for pots and thrive in a sunny, sheltered spot. The plant flowers for six months. If overwintered from year to year it will reach 24in (60cm) in height and spread Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’ This is an easy-to-propagate plant that Derry Watkins highly recommends. If kept warm it will flower all year. The flowers are small and white. It tolerates sun or a bit of shade. Height and spread 16in (40cm) Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ Grown for its shiny black, succulent foliage rather than its occasional yellow flowers, this plant thrives on neglect. It is ideal for containers in a sunny spot. Height and spread when fully mature, 31in (80cm) Pelargonium ‘Ardens’…

■ In spring, place tubers in pots filled with multipurpose compost. Cover with compost so that the stems are buried. Label and water sparingly. ■ Keep the compost on the dry side until signs of growth appear, then water more frequently. ■ Keep protected from frost, harden off in May and plant outside in early June. ■ Add plenty of compost to the planting hole. ■ Stake medium-to-tall dahlias using bamboo canes placed in a circle around the plant, and wrap with twine. ■ Water during dry spells and feed with a high potassium fertiliser, such as tomato or comfrey, every week or so. ■ Deadhead regularly. Where to buy Sarah Raven sarahraven.com 0345 092 0283 Peter Nyssen peternyssen.com 0161 747 4000 Pheasant Acre Plants pheasantacreplants.co.uk 01656…

The time will come when a tired blueberry plant needs to grow new feeding roots and the answer lies in potting it on to a larger container. Like most plants, blueberries object to being “overpotted”, so avoid setting small young plants straight into large containers. Surrounded by wet, empty compost, the roots could suffocate due to lack of air. We’re often encouraged to plant cranberries under blueberries because they enjoy the same growing conditions, but having tried this I found the plants competed with each other and neither cropped as well as they would if grown separately. Choose a pot large enough to be able to feed some new compost between the rootball and the side of the pot. When it becomes impractical to increase the container size any further,…

Q Could I grow broad beans after early potatoes? Sue Mann, via email A Do go ahead and plant broad beans after you have harvested your early potatoes. Next year grow something other than beans and potatoes in this plot. Crop rotation can be a very effective means of disrupting the life cycle of pests and diseases and helping to eradicate them. Q Please can you tell me what this plant is? Mr G Coe, Chippenham, Wiltshire A It is a flowering plant called pearlwort, a rampant weed in lawns and borders. It can be controlled in lawns with Verdone Extra, a hormone weedkiller. In beds and borders use Roundup – but use it carefully so you don’t kill other plants. QI saw a strange-looking worm looping across my patio…

Tim Rumball tests a range of products that are designed to clean muddy gardening boots and shoes. Which one would work best for you? TRAMPING muck into the house is one of the few negative aspects of gardening. It’s a particular problem in winter when soils are almost constantly damp and sticky, clinging to boots and shoes the moment you step outside. That’s when good boot-cleaning tools come into their own. A simple, flat doormat often can’t cope with removing lots of mud – especially when it’s firmly embedded in the tread or up the sides of your footwear. A hard, sharp-edged scraper is good for clearing the arch between heel and sole; a flat, long bristled brush will clear mud from the tread; and side brushes will remove dirt…

• 13 February 1743 Sir Joseph Banks, botanist, naturalist, patron of the natural sciences, and after whom the banksia is named, was born. He is also credited with introducing eucalyptus and acacia to the UK. • 15 February 1842 Archibald Menzies, plantsman who introduced the monkey puzzle tree ( Araucaria araucana ) to Britain, died. • 16 February 1926 David Charles Henshaw Austin, rose breeder and nurseryman, was born in Shropshire. Since he founded his famous David Austin Roses nursery in 1969, he has introduced more than 190 new rose varieties. • 17 February 1795 It is reported that gardener Thomas Siddal dug up a potato weighing 17lb 4oz (8.275kg) in his Chester garden. It measured 38in (95cm) in circumference!…

Unwins has teamed up with popular pottery designer Emma Bridgewater to create a bespoke limited-edition milk jug vase. Usually available when you buy Unwins Beautiful Bouquets flower seeds from your local garden centre, we have a vase and five packs of seeds to give away to a lucky reader. See below for details of how to enter the prize draw. How to enter Send your name and address on the back of a postcard to Unwins/Emma Bridgewater Draw, Amateur Gardening, 2 Pinehurst, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 7BF. Or you can email your details to ag_giveaway@timeinc.com, heading the email Unwins/Emma Bridgewater Draw. The closing date is 22 February 2018.…

For growing in containers, use an ericaceous compost. Choose a frost-proof container with ample drainage holes and a wide, stable base. When planting, keep the old compost surface at the same level as the new. It’s especially important never to bury a graft union, as it could rot. Once plants are established, apply a slow-release fertiliser for trees and shrubs in spring, or a general-purpose fortnightly liquid feed from spring to mid July. In colder regions, wrap the pot sides with hessian or bubble polythene as insulation for roots over winter.…

1 Weeding: Weeding is extremely therapeutic and satisfying. Make sure you remove every last bit of perennial weeds otherwise they will re-emerge. 2 Pests: Get pests before they can get going in spring. I threw these snails into the road where they provided lunch for passing birds. 3 Citrus: Give unruly citrus trees a trim before they surge back into growth, but don’t remove too much. Check them over for pests at the same time. 4 Lawns: It’s been a hard winter for lawns, so help them by tidying their edges and aerating compacted areas with a garden fork. 5 Perennials: If a perennial is closely growing with a weed, dig it up and carefully separate the roots before replanting it. 6 Container: Bring instant brightness to the garden by…

Unlike many plants that require no food during the winter months, citrus trees are hungry beasts and need feeding throughout the year. This is largely because they can flower all year and tend to fruit in the winter months. In spring they need a fortnightly feed with a specialist high-nitrogen citrus food. Double-up and feed them weekly with it in summer. A general-purpose liquid fertiliser can be used in autumn and winter, although specific winter citrus feeds are also available. Always water your citrus plants with rainwater where possible.…

1 Dig a hole that’s deeper than the vine’s container and roughly twice as wide. Rough up the sides with a fork. 2 Add a generous amount of well-rotted compost, leafmould or manure and mix it with some of the removed soil. 3 Ease the vine from its pot, gently tease out the roots and place it in the hole so the top of the rootball is at soil level. 4 Infill around it, firm down the soil and water well. Add mulch and wrap fleece around the waxed graft if extremely cold conditions are forecast.…

WHEN I was growing up, every garden seemed to have splodges of violet aubrietia spilling down from walls and out of rockeries. Then this tenacious plant went out of fashion for a while – but luckily it’s back in vogue and we can help you be on top of the trend with this week’s free seeds. Mr Fothergill’s Aubrietia ‘Cascade Mixed’ is a cushion-forming mass in attractive shades of pink. Sown now, this hardy perennial can be nurtured through spring before being planted out where you want it to flower. Plants will then put on root and top growth and be in a prime position to romp away and flower fantastically next spring and early summer. For the best results, sow undercover in a tray or series of pots. Keep…

PLUG plants are essential tools in the gardener’s kitbox – but what are they, exactly? They are basically a halfway house between seedlings and mature plants, and you can buy vegetable plugs as well as ornamental varieties. The main advantage of plug plants is that someone else has done the fiddly germinating and pricking out for you. All you need to do is pot them on once you get them home, nurture them for a couple of months and plant them out after hardening them off. If you are planning your summer garden now, this is a good week to start ordering plug plants. Big companies, such as Suttons, Thompson and Morgan and Van Meuwen supply them, as do many independent nurseries. If you buy online, care for them properly…

“It helps to hand pollinate flowers” DON’T we so look forward to enjoying those first fruits of summer? That first strawberry of summer is just divine. Then each of the other fruits arrives, each in its own time – the blueberries, raspberries and so on until in autumn come the grapes. Wonderful. But would it not be even better if you could enjoy all these even earlier? Well, you can. It’ simple, all you need is somewhere light under cover – ideally, a proper greenhouse or plastic tunnel – but just a bright bay window can serve. Then you have your favourite fruits already in pots, tubs or containers, depending on size, and bring these in under cover over the next few weeks. The sudden change is almost as if…

IF you’re going to plant any tree on your plot, it needs to earn its keep. Cobnuts and filberts tick all the buttons for me. They look beautiful, they produce a delicious harvest and I can coppice the stems for plant supports in my garden – result! Young trees don’t need much pruning, but after four or five years it pays to intervene to ease congestion (and harvest those all-important pea sticks). I do all my February pruning work with loppers or a saw for these two nuts. Essentially, cutting stems off at the base gives you longer, more usable sticks. So take out all stems four years or older as close to the base as possible, which also helps limit your tree’s size.…

FOR those of you with large plots at home or on allotment sites, green manures are a tempting project. Many are sown in autumn onto bare soil, and promise to keep down weeds, boost soil fertility and improve soil structure. Some are tender and generally get killed off by winter frosts, such as fenugreek, buckwheat and phacelia, but many are hardy. Field beans, grazing rye and red clover are some that will happily grow through the winter months. Now, as spring approaches, you’ll want your land back, ready for cropping. So chop down your green manures and incorporate them back into your plot. Large areas can be strimmed or (on level ground) mown. The growth is then either dug in by hand or rotavated in, ready for planting or sowing…

■ Choose an open, sunny, well-drained site that is not overhung by trees. ■ Plant untreated sets in March; treated sets in late March or April. ■ Prepare the soil by forking over and spreading a general fertiliser. Ideally, incorporate some weed-free garden compost or soil improver in the months before planting. ■ Plant with the pointed end of the set uppermost – using a trowel to plant each set individually works better than simply pushing them into the soil. ■ To get the most onions from the available area, plant your sets in staggered rows, 6in (15cm) apart. ■ Any spare sets can be planted 2in (5cm) apart and the tops cut for use in salads.…

IMAGINE a plant that flowers longer than any annual or hardy perennial. You’d want one, wouldn’t you? Well, such plants are not just the things of fairy tales. They do exist and among them they produce the most wonderful show-stopping flowers. I’m referring, of course, to tender perennials. Before you hastily turn the page – stop! Tender perennials are largely easy to grow, very rewarding and you don’t need a greenhouse to overwinter them. Those that step away from tender perennials at the nursery and garden centre are missing out and should think again. Just in case you don’t believe me, I’ve spoken to expert growers to validate my claim. Derry Watkins of Special Plants Nursery (specialplants.net) and Jane Lindsay of Tynings Climbers (tyningsclimbers.co.uk) have years of experience in growing…

Happy Single Kiss Single flowers provide easy access for passing pollinating insects to the dark brown centre and yellow stamens. Peach-coloured petals with magenta-red splashes at the base are complemented by lush, dark foliage. H: 2ft (60cm). ‘Gallery Art Deco’ (AGM) Container-friendly mini option boasting warm orange-coloured petals with a gentle twist that showcases their dark pink undersides. The foliage is quite lovely too: dark green and tinged purple along the edges. H: 16in (40cm). ‘Honka Fragile’ The flowers of this eye-catching cultivar consist of eight single petals, each curving inwards to create a windmill or spider shape. Mainly white, they are tinged pink along the edges and around the golden yellow centre. H: 32in (80cm).…

How can I get my blueberry to crop? Q We have two blueberry plants, each in a 12in (30cm) pot. They cropped well at first, but fruiting was a bit sparse last summer. Can I improve their performance by extra feeding or do they need a bigger container? Olivia Browning, Sidcup, Kent A Blueberries are one of the best fruiting plants to grow in a container. Relatively small, deciduous and shrubby, they crop well over a long period. Few of us have the acidic soil they need, so growing them in ericaceous compost solves the problem. Blueberries are as ornamental as they are productive, with reddish winter stems and bell-shaped white flowers in spring. These are much visited by bees, and although a single blueberry is able to set fruit…

1 First, make sure the roots are moist. This container has almost fallen away on its own. To remove plants, try placing pots on their side and rapping sharply backwards on the rim with a block of wood. I’ve sometimes resorted to cutting around the outside of the roots. 2 Old compost and roots are loosened from around the edge of the rootball. 3 Crock the base of the new container well before adding some compost and sitting the roots on top so it will be at the correct height. Fill in around the edge with new compost, firming gently. Water in using a rose (sprinkler) on the can.…

IMAGINE being able to pick fresh fruit from your own garden. These miniature fruit trees are specially bred dwarf varieties that produce fruits on stems reaching only 40in (1m) tall. Supplied in 3 1/2in (9cm) pots; grown 12-16in (30-40cm). • Buy 1 of any variety for £9.99 • Buy 5 (1 of each) for £39.99 – Saving £9.96 • PRIORITY ORDER ONLINE thompson-morgan.com/amateurgardening HOW TO ORDER TELEPHONE ORDER LINE 0844 573 2021 please quote TM_AG8. All orders will be acknowledged by letter or email, advising you of the expected despatch date. This offer is subject to availability. Offer enquiry line 0844 573 2021. Order lines are open 9am to 8pm (weekdays) and 9am to 6pm (weekends). All correspondence concerning this offer should be sent to: Amateur Gardening Fruit Trees Offer,…

Birds on the wing Our feather friends will be delighted: 14-21 February is National Nest Box Week, so we’re looking at some amazing facts about garden birds and their relationships to gardeners. European research carried out in 2014 examined the population numbers of 144 species of common birds. While overall many bird species appear to be in serious decline, there were others that showed an increase in numbers. Blackcaps, robins, blue tits, blackbirds and chiffchaffs were all found to be increasing. Less common species like marsh harriers, ravens, buzzards, white storks and stone curlews also showed to have increased in recent years. Many of these species are legally protected in the European Union and have benefited from conservation projects aimed at increasing their numbers.…

• The yew tree (Taxus baccata) is well known for being poisonous. All parts of the tree are toxic, but birds can get away with eating the berries. • The red part of the berry – the “aril” – surrounds the hard seed inside, and this aril is not poisonous. The birds digest the aril, while the inner seeds pass straight through them. • Yew foliage is more toxic than the berries, and toxicity actually increases in potency when dried.…

M. laevifolia ‘Summer Snowflake’ Originally classified as Michelia laevifolia, small leaves are joined by fragrant white, cup-shaped flowers with golden stamens. Reaches 7ft (2m) and hardy to 14 ° F (-10 ° C). M. liliiflora ‘Nigra’ Upright, fragrant blooms, deep purple-pink outside and pale pink inside, open in June so rarely succumb to frost. Deciduous and very hardy. Height and spread 10ft (3m). Magnolia Fairy Blush Bred in New Zealand with M. laevifolia as a parent, this evergreen reaches 9ft (2.7m). From March to May blush-pink, scented blooms open along the branches. Good for a west facing wall. Hardy to 14 ° F (-10 ° C). Magnolia ‘Jane’ Reaching only 10ft (3m) in 20 years, this pretty and hardy deciduous magnolia produces…

“Test the viability of seed on a windowsill” NESTLED among the impedimenta or, as Lisa impolitely calls it, “clutter” beneath the greenhouse bench, I’ve discovered a bundle of lost seeds missing in action since last spring. They must have got knocked off the bench and during their months of confinement they’ve clearly had a time of it. Dripped on from above and nibbled by mice, the paper sachets containing them wouldn’t look out of place in King Tut’s tomb! As a schoolboy I was taught that ancient wheat kernels found in Tutankhamun’s catacombs germinated and grew into healthy plants. This, like the “fake news” surrounding the tooth fairy, is untrue. However, that doesn’t mean prehistoric seeds can’t survive. In 2012 Russian plant scientists discovered a stash of alpine Campion (Silene…

1 Dig up your perennial, keeping as much soil around the roots as possible, and place it on a tarpaulin, bin liner or newspaper. 2 Split the plant using two forks back-to-back or by cutting through stubborn roots with a knife. You may get 3-4 new plants. 3 Discard any damaged roots and unhealthy parts of the plant, then replant the parent and divisions quickly and at their original depth. 4 Firm in the soil, water well and add a layer of mulch. Protect the plant from pests and keep the surrounding area free of weeds.…

After planting, water the tree well and give it a light trim to tidy up the branches. 1 Carefully lift the tree from its pot and place it where you can easily check the health of the roots. 2 Where needed, trim the roots if they are circling the pot as this shows they have been constricted. 3 Place crocks in the base of the pot for drainage and add a layer of loam-based compost and grit. 4 Place the tree on the compost and infill around it, firming down as you go to remove air pockets.…

“Optigrow seeds are already primed into germination” MOST fruits, salads, herbs and vegetables raised from seed have optimum sowing dates. Sowing too early, when days are short and/or soil temperatures too low, can result in poor germination and failure. Similarly, sowing too late will give insufficient time for plants to grow big enough to yield their full potential. Aubergines and peppers are relatively slow to germinate and can be sown in the warm indoors now. They grow slowly as seedlings, which allows windowsill raising for a month or two. Cucumbers, courgettes, melons and tomatoes are quick to germinate and develop, so sowing these can be delayed for at least a month. The exception to this, of course, is for those with heated greenhouses and conservatories, but it is costly to…

1 Fill a clean 4in (10cm) pot with sieved compost and tamp it down to create a level surface. 2 Aubrietia seeds are quite small, so I mixed mine with some clean horticultural sand to help me sprinkle them thinly and evenly onto the compost. 3 Dampen the compost, label the seeds and seal the pot in a clean, clear, plastic bag to create an airy, humid atmosphere for the seedlings. 4 Place the pot in an unheated greenhouse, mini greenhouse or coldframe. The seeds will start to germinate in 3-4 weeks.…

Our Westland giveaway on page 47 and next week (24 February) gives you the chance to win a limited-edition vase by the ceramicist Emma Bridgewater. Five entrants selected at random each week will also receive 5 packs of Unwins Beautiful Bouquets seeds: Orlaya (White Lace Flower), Love in a Mist, Sweet Pea, Cosmos and Cleome. You can also go into any participating garden centre and buy 3 packets of Beautiful Bouquets seeds and send off for one of the Emma Bridgewater vases. The offer closes on Wednesday, 14 March 2018.…

“Male wrens are not faithful husbands” MY favourite bird is the wren and I see them most days in the garden. They’re jaunty little things, scurrying around the lower reaches, tails cocked in the air. This year I’m rather worried about them because the cold weather’s against these tiny birds as they only weigh about as much as a £1 coin. In cold winters their numbers can plummet, and the Arctic winter of 1963, which I remember well owing to my six weeks off school, saw off 80% of them. They do cluster together in winter and the record number is 61 in one Norfolk nestbox during the winter of 1969. The size of wrens varies and it gives me great pleasure to tell you, as someone with northern blood,…

1 Fill some large shallow pots or seed trays with good-quality seed and cuttings compost, level off and firm gently with a pot tamper to 1/2in (1cm) below the rim. Water the pots in gently but thoroughly, and then allow to drain for a few minutes. 2 Sow your tomato seeds thinly on the top (I usually space them a good 1/2in (1cm) apart so they’re not too crowded). Press each seed gently into the surface of the compost with a pencil or dibber. Cover with a 5mm layer of vermiculite, then water lightly in. 3 Place the pots in a well-lit heated propagator, set at a minimum of 18°C (20-24°C is ideal). Keep them lightly watered and germination should occur within a week. Once seedlings are large enough to…

■ Replant any sets pulled out by birds. ■ Water in dry spells through spring, but cease as maturity approaches. ■ Keep the plants well weeded from immediately after planting – onions hate competition from weeds. ■ Start to harvest as soon as your bulbs reach a usable size, easing the largest ones out individually. ■ As the leaves begin to die down and the tops bend over naturally, use a fork to lift bulbs for storage. Never bend the tops down as doing so increases the risk of rotting during storage. Similarly, try not to damage skins when lifting as small wounds let in storage rots. ■ Spread on upturned seed trays or on greenhouse benches to dry. ■ Store by stuffing them into old tights and hanging in…

Don’t mollycoddle your tender plants. Too much water and large pots with rich compost will do more harm than good. Keep tender climbers cut back to the size that makes them manageable to move in winter. Put tender plants in containers and sink them into borders rather than planting direct. This will restrict the roots, which encourages flowers and makes them easy to move. If overwintering your tender perennials outside, keep them dry by placing them in a sheltered spot under the eaves of the house. Tender plants can be overwintered in the house in a cool well-lit room. Reduce watering in winter as you would with house plants.…

‘Labyrinth’ This decorative dahlia is a cracker, with loosely arranged wavy petals that give it a slightly shaggy appearance. The large flower heads in soft tones of peach mixed with hot pink shouldn’t work… but they do! H: 40in (1m). ‘Linda’s Baby’ A ball dahlia with tightly packed, rolled petals in soft salmon-pink with hints of cream. This particularly free-flowering cultivar has sturdy, weather-resilient stems and makes an excellent cut flower. H: 32in (80cm). ‘Downham Royal’ Another ball-type, this time featuring sumptuous flowers made up of claret-coloured velvety petals with hints of purple. It combines equally well with other rich, deep colours or with more subtle pastel tones. H: 40in (1m). ‘Edge of Joy’ Two-tone petals – white with brushstroke-like magenta markings – make for an impressive flower. Loosely held,…

‘David Howard’ (AGM) A robust, highly floriferous decorative dahlia – one of the earliest into flower. Combines rich orange blooms with dark, almost black, foliage. Makes a great cut flower and a worthy addition to a hot border. H: 30in (75cm). ‘Karma Choc’ (AGM) A member of the ‘Karma’ series, which was bred specifically for cutting. Straight stems are topped by wine-coloured flowers that have a luscious, velvety appearance. Will last up to 12 days once picked. H: 32in (80cm).…

Polyanthus Plant en masse in borders to bedazzle your neighbours with their jewel shades, or in containers for easy spring colour from February to May. The Crescendo (above) and Piano ranges are among the earliest to flower. Primrose This British native is a true sign that spring is here. Flowering from February to May, Primula vulgaris can be planted in shade or sun and will make a cheery addition to any container or window box. Wallflowers Available in a range of colours, bedding wallflowers make great companions for spring bulbs – especially tulips. Both are at their peak from April to May, and with the right variety you can synchronise flowering times. Bellis perennis These daisies resemble small colourful pom poms and are often used as underplanting for spring bulbs…

1 Blueberries don’t require pruning every year, but occasionally they do need thinning out. Remove one or two of the older stems that are less productive, cutting low on the plant above a node or healthy side stem. 2 Using rainwater, make sure the compost is moist. Weed the surface and remove any loose compost to make room for a top dressing. 3 Scatter a slow-release fertiliser for ericaceous plants over the surface of the pot. The alternative would be regular monthly liquid feeding. 4 Apply a top dressing of ericaceous compost. I often mix mine with some leaf mould and composted bark.…

Planting up a shady courtyard Q What plants would grow well in a small white-walled courtyard garden that gets very little sun but is well lit? Would a small tree be suitable? Miss C Bakes, York A The only small tree that might be appropriate is a Japanese maple. If you grow a fatsia, it will need cutting back annually to stop it overgrowing other plants. You could also try Clematis tangutica, which is famed for its yellow flowers and fluffy silver seedheads. The following shade-loving plants should also thrive in the garden: Ajuga ‘Catlin’s Giant’: famed for large, quilted leaves and small spires of blue flowers, it romps in a damp spot. Alchemilla mollis : Also known as lady’s mantle, it has a froth of lime-green…

Healthier choices for our gardens I AM writing to comment on Bob Flowerdew’s article ‘Growing cleaner air,’ (AG, 13 January). I have been a gardener my whole life, as a hobby and a career, and I have been operating petrol and diesel garden machinery on a daily basis for over 30 years. Throughout my career I was regularly pestered by exhaust fumes from the equipment I used. Now at the ripe old age of 46 I suffer permanent eye, nose and mouth problems when exposed to minor amounts of fumes, to the extent that I am no longer able to use or be in the vicinity of fuel-burning machinery. I wholeheartedly agree with Bob and I urge anyone thinking of buying any new equipment this spring, to please consider electric…

1 There is a high mortality rate for robins in their first year of life, but once they have passed their first year the average life span is 12 years. One robin has been recorded as reaching 19 years of age. 2 Generally, birds do not sing when they are on the ground; they only sing when standing on something off of the ground, or while flying. 3 The bones of a pigeon weigh less than its feathers. 4 Fourteen hundred wrens weigh about the same as a fully grown adult swan. 5 It’s well known that swans mate for life. However “divorce” does sometimes occur, particularly following nesting failure. 6 Birds dream when they sleep. Research conducted by the University of Chicago found that they dream about their songs,…

These eight songs all reached number one in the UK Singles Charts – and they are all relating to birds. Fortunately, The Birdie Song by The Tweets (1982) only got as far as No2! • She Wears Red Feathers – Guy Mitchell (1953) • Broken Wings – The Stargazers (1953) • Little Red Rooster – The Rolling Stones (1964) • Pretty Flamingo – Manfred Mann (1966) • Albatross – Fleetwood Mac (1969) • Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep – Middle of the Road (1971) • The Chicken Song – Spitting Image (1986) • Mouldy Old Dough by Lieutenant Pigeon (1972)…

WRITE the names of the seed you want to test onto labels and place, along with half a dozen or so of the seeds you want to check, onto a sheet of kitchen roll on top of a plate. Put another sheet on the top and wet through, dampening the seeds and making the labels visible. Then place somewhere warm and bright like a windowsill. Most seeds take a fortnight to sprout, but signs of life, such as swelling, cracking of the seed coat and changes in colour, are easily spotted after just a few days.…