Innholdsfortegnelse for 11-Aug-2018 i Amateur Gardening

WHEN we experience a summer as glorious as this one it is all too easy to devote your time to the garden, relaxing and nurturing your plants, while ignoring what’s going on indoors. But spare a thought for houseplants – it is their peak growing time, too. In the warm, still conditions created indoors they are at risk of drying out and are more vulnerable to pests. They need feeding and an escape from scorching direct sunlight. Consider watering them once a week, checking their compost beforehand to make sure they actually need it and avoid waterlogging. Stand plants on a saucer of gravel that will retain moisture and create a humid microclimate, which is healthier than the warm, dry atmosphere of a typical house. Dust and pests accumulate on…

It has been so relentlessly hot that any houseplants that were moved outside for summer will have benefited from a little shade. Orchids and bromeliads, for example, do well when hung from trees. It gives some protection from the sun and also keeps them above and away from many pests. Other plants should be fed and watered regularly. Watch out for pests, too. Vine weevils may be a problem, but scale insects and mealy bugs transferred from indoors will disperse in wind and rain or be eaten by predators.…

IF you want a book about gardening basics that is written in an easy-to-follow style, with plenty of photographs, ‘workshops’ and recipes, this could be just for you. Emily Murphy, who teaches organic gardening in Canada, states that this is ‘more than a book about gardening and food-making – it’s about cultivating joy’. It’s certainly an easy read, and she explains how her approach to gardening can fit into modern life with little time and effort. There is a chapter on getting started, a 12-part plant directory with recipes, and details about sowing, planting and propagating. Obviously, North American references are included, such as time zones, ‘critters’ (gophers!) and less well-known veg varieties, although many are available in the UK. This is a great introduction to gardening, written in an…

1 Add crocks and a little compost to the pot them check your plant will be deep enough to let you bury its stems. 2 Tease out congested roots with your thumbs to help them stabilise the plant and maximise food and water uptake. 3 Fill the container leaving a 1in (2.5cm) gap at the top for watering, then prune away any dead or damaged stems and dead flowers. 4 Water well and don’t let the container dry out while the plant gets established. Move it undercover in winter.…

“Good pollination is essential for full cobs” SWEETCORN has become very popular, mainly because newer varieties are more reliable, with bigger cobs and sweeter kernels. Old sorts were not cold tolerant and only did well in good summers, while newer types crop well most years. Even so, they’re much sweeter if they ripen while the sun is strong, so the sooner you got them sown and planted, the better. The next wrinkle is to not be too greedy – the more cobs you leave per plant, the slower they are to ripen. Be ruthless, and remove any after the first couple to form. Good pollination is essential for full cobs of kernels, so help them out; naturally, these are wind pollinated, but you can run your hands over the male…

BAKED, roasted, mashed or chipped – it’s fair to say that maincrop potatoes are the ultimate comfort food! Provided you’ve been irrigating your spuds this summer, you should get a decent yield, and now is the time to harvest them. Although our new potatoes have long been eaten while still small, the idea with maincrop varieties such as ‘Cara’ and ‘Desiree’ is to leave them long enough in the ground to bulk up and set skins. This latter part is important for storage – any blemishes or punctures to the skins are potential entry points for rots. It pays to pick over your lifted spuds and select only the very best quality for long-term storage. With luck, they’ll keep well into February. In our guide, we show you how to…

MANY gardeners have the impression that cyclamen are rather fragile: difficult to grow and not very hardy. Well, let’s start right now by saying that this is all rubbish. In fact, most cyclamen are tough, a doddle to grow and hardy across the country. What’s more, you can have them in flower in the garden in almost every month of the year. Suddenly, they sound a lot more appealing, don’t they? Members of the primrose family (albeit unlikely ones), cyclamen grow wild in France and east of there as far as Iran. Once known as sow bread because the tubers were said to be very popular with pigs, they tend to favour dry habitats, stony places and gravelly hillsides. They have been found in the British countryside since 1597, and…

Hardy cyclamen, and C. coum in particular, are lovely as an ingredient of the spring flower tapestry that’s so effective in the dappled shade of deciduous trees. Only trees with large leaves, such as sycamore and horse chestnut, can pose problems as these can smother the cyclamen. Intermingle them with hellebores, primroses and dwarf bulbs such as snowdrops, Crocus tomassinianus, scillas, chionodoxas and pushkinias. Cyclamen hederifolium is unexpectedly happy at the base of conifer hedges, as long as plants are not overhung with foliage, and will also naturalise happily in grass – just ensure that mowing is timed to coincide with dormancy. Many cyclamen grow well in raised beds. They also make superb specimens in terracotta pots – a collection of different species can be grown in containers, clustered together…

Rudbeckias This classic colour combination will light up your borders from late summer into autumn. The sunny yellow of Rudbeckia fulgida var. deamii is the perfect complement to lilac asters such as A. laevis ‘Calliope’. Sedums Asters such as ‘Monch’ and ‘Little Carlow’ will reach 3ft/90cm, making them a good pick for the back of a border. Pair with red sedum, which works well with those purple flowers and adds contrast in both form and height. Grasses The elegant, upright form of ornamental grasses will accentuate mounds of daisy-like flowers. For maximum impact, try compact Pennisetum alopecuroides and Molinia arundinacea with bushy S. novibelgii ‘Herbstgruss vom Bresserhof’. Autumn colour Flowering until October, asters are great planting partners for shrubs, trees and perennials with flaming autumn leaves. The orange and red…

Annuals Annuals need to make seeds in their one year of life; prevent this and the flowers just keep coming. Calendulas and sweet peas, in particular, respond to seed development by stopping flowering altogether. Shrubs Many shrubs, such as viburnums and pyracantha, develop attractive berries. But buddleja seed heads, for example, are ugly and generate seedlings that sometimes turn up in impossible places such as the tops of walls. Roses A number of roses produce attractive hips, but the blooms of Hybrid Teas like ‘Andeli’ (above) and old-fashioned roses with fully double flowers turn into brown blobs as they age. First snip off individual flowers, then the whole head. Container plants In general, plants in containers are easier to deadhead than other plants because they’re often raised up to a…

Is my bougainvillea unusual? Q I took a cutting of a bougainvillea on holiday and it has started to flower in peach. Is this rare, as I have never seen one this colour before? Lee Battersby (via email) A Bougainvillea with magenta bracts are common around the Mediterranean, but there are many other shades, too – including white, peach, cream, pink and lilac. The plant can be grown in a conservatory or well-lit room in the UK and kept within bounds by pruning hard in late winter. Alternatively, do this in early spring before growth resumes. They flower on the current seasons growth, so shorten last year’s shoots by two-thirds. The laterals should be cut back to two or three buds. Old plants may not recover from hard pruning and…

1 This recently moved climbing rose flowered well in June, but after a long drought is showing signs of dieback and black spot. 2 Clear weeds and debris from the base and remove any dead stems. Make sure the soil has been thoroughly re-moistened by rain, or several consecutive waterings. 3 A week or so after rain or wetting, give the rose a general-purpose liquid feed. 4 Follow the feed with a generous mulch of well-rotted garden compost, but be sure not to pile this around the stem or stems.…

Erysimum x cheiri The fragrant, old-fashioned wallflower sown in May or June to bloom the following year. Originally from Southern Europe and considered biennial, there are many seed strains to choose from. Erysimum ‘Sugar Rush’ This short ‘common’ wallflower in scented red, gold, yellow and purple needs no cold weather to initiate flowering and will bloom in autumn. Remove dead heads and it flowers again in spring. E. ‘Bowles’s Mauve’ Of mysterious origin and possibly unknown to the famous E.A. Bowles, this perennial sub-shrub to 30in (75cm) high produces lightly scented mauve blooms from February into June. E. ‘Caribbean Island’ Lightly perfumed flowers in changeable soft shades of pink, mauves, peach and yellow appear together on the same perennial plant. This wallflower reaches 10in (25cm).…

Tons of toms! According to the 2016 figures for the number of commercially produced tomatoes worldwide, Britain comes in at number 78! It’s understandable, as we don’t get the year-round warmth and the sunshine hours that are needed for growth. In our gardens, however, the tomato ranks as our number-one vegetable – or is it a fruit? See page 48 for the answer to that one! Tomatoes are cropping nicely now, so let’s look at their history and some of the amazing facts about them. The Spanish dedicate the last Wednesday of August every year to La Tomatina – a tomato-throwing festival in Buñol, Valencia. Said to be the world’s biggest food fight, 100 tons of overripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets by crowds of up to 20,000 people.…

The shed roof garden AFTER moving house and losing my beautiful established garden, I struggled to find ways to make my backyard look colourful. My partner came up with the idea of planting on the shed roof. I bought a packet of mixed seeds from Aldi and I am very impressed with how well they took. We have received many compliments about the flower display on the roof. Next year, I plan to grow strawberries here (out of reach from the children). Sally Wafford, Withernsea East Riding, Yorkshire Enjoying my potted hostas HOSTA plants don’t always do well in our garden as it gets very dry in summer. This year, I have potted some up in a rectangular tub and given them some chicken pellets for energy. As you can…

1 Lay crocks at the base of the container, especially if there are no drainage holes, to help prevent waterlogging. 2 Start adding compost and plants. A compost designed for cacti and succulents will give them the best growing environment. 3 Use a collar of newspaper when planting cacti – it will give you more protection and flexibility than gardening gloves! 4 Place somewhere light, warm and well-ventilated, but out of direct sunlight. Water when compost is almost dry and feed monthly April-September.…

1 My neglected streptocarpus had outgrown its pot, its foliage looked dreadful and flowering has decreased. 2 Before re-potting, remove tatty or dead foliage to make room for new shoots to come through. 3 Using a pot one size larger than before, add gravel for drainage then some houseplant compost. 4 Slip the plant from its pot, tease out the roots and place in its new container. Infill and water well. 5 Place the re-potted plant somewhere light and warm, but out of direct sunlight. Keep it watered and it will soon recover.…

WHAT do you do if you don’t have a garden big enough to accommodate a compost bin? Perhaps Hozelock’s new kitchen Bokashi Composter is the answer. Launched this year, it is ideal for indoor composting. Vegetable waste, small bones and cooked food can be composted thanks to bran that is added, containing natural micro-organisms. This reduces the waste anaerobically to produce a liquid ‘fertiliser’. At the end of the process, you can add the waste to the compost bin or throw it away. The airtight lid stops smells, and Bokashi will fit into a large cabinet. I tried out the composter over three months. I forgot to drain off the liquid until about three weeks after adding the first waste, but drained enough ‘fertiliser’ to fill the supplied container. The…

I LOVE a challenge and a bargain so buying reduced plants from the ‘TLC’ stand at our local (expensive) garden centre ticks all the right boxes. I know we usually advise readers to only buy healthy-looking specimens, but there are times when a plant that seems to be past its best is definitely worth taking a risk with. There are several reasons why plants have found their way to the ‘bargain bin’. They may look tatty after flowering (in which case they just need deadheading to spruce them up), or require food and water. Others may have been left to grow out of shape, but can be restored by pruning at the right time of year. If you want to bag a bargain, check the plants are otherwise healthy before…

“25,000 plantlets from just one runner tip of Nephrolepis” THERE are usually several factors involved when plants increase or decrease in popularity – and so it is with the current interest in ferns, both the hardy kinds for gardens and especially tender house plant types. Propagation naturally from the dusty brown spores formed beneath their fronds is a tricky business, demanding special disease-free sowing composts and sterile germinating conditions. Commercially, this has all changed with mass production by micro-propagation, where a tiny piece of the growing tip is rooted and proliferates on agar gel under laboratory conditions. Even genera such as Nephrolepis, the popular indoor ladder fern, which will produce young plants from runners (akin to strawberries), is propagated much more quickly by micro-propagation. Plants from runners have unbalanced growth,…

1 Cut hollow stemmed sticks into lengths, bind in bundles and hide inside evergreens as nests for insects through winter. 2 Use hot, sunny days to dry onions and garlic – ideally on nets or in string bags, as they’ll keep much better. 3 Watch main crop spuds for unearthing themselves, turning green and inedible – cover with soil or mulch to prevent this. 4 Keep cutting your grass, even if it’s not growing much: otherwise, weeds and tussock forming grasses will get a hold.…

HANDS up, who likes carrot and coriander soup, a hearty casserole and dumplings... or cake? Well, sit up and read on – this project is for you. I know it can be tricky to think of winter at the height of summer (which is why I mentioned cake to lure you in), but it really does pay dividends, trust me. Root crops like carrots thrive in cool, moist autumn conditions, but they take a long time to bulk up, so get them into the ground now. That way, you’ll bag pullings of beautiful, finger-sized roots from October until March: not bad for a single sowing! ‘Autumn King’ is the best type to sow if your garden is in a chillier part of the country. Sown in August, it will develop…

GRIDDLED on a barbecue, boiled whole or removed from the cob and blanched for the freezer – sweetcorn sits firmly in my kitchen repertoire. So how can you get a bountiful, butter-smothered yield? We discussed planting in blocks to ensure good pollination and cob fill in May and June. Some early-maturing varieties such as ‘Lark’ and ‘Earlibird’ can be picked at the start of August, but most of us need to be patient for a few more weeks. In this time, young cobs will be developing in the leaf joints with juvenile green tassels. This is the crucial stage to commit to regular watering (a good soak every four days, if possible) so plants will swell their cobs to their absolute best. • See Bob’s column (p16) for more tips.…

Cyclamen are best planted in soil with good drainage (add grit to heavy soils), which will provide dry summer conditions and avoid waterlogging in winter. They are not fussy about pH. They are happy amongst tree roots and mingling with other plants, but avoid situations exposed to cold winds. Plant so that the top of the tuber is just under the soil surface. A site in dappled, though not dense, shade usually suits them. Cyclamen can be planted at any time of year but July and August, just before root growth usually starts, is ideal.…

As gardeners, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to plants. However, it’s no surprise that we are often stumped by the identity of certain plants. No one can know it all, but there are many ways to try to solve the mystery. A quick flick through the RHS Plant Finder 2018 will reveal 76,000 plant names and where you can buy them. This valuable resource also keeps us up to date with name changes. Visitors to my open garden often come armed with plant identification questions such as: “My friend has a rose called ‘Queen’ of something. It’s pale pink. Any idea of its full name?” This is solved by looking through the ‘Qs’ under roses and reeling off all the ‘Queens’. Where do you start if you…

‘Prairie Purple’ This tall, upright aster has purple-tinted stems and foliage that perfectly complement the flowers. The long flowering season brings plumes of deep lilac daisies from early September. Mildew resistant. H: 52in (1.3m). Symphyotrichum lateriflorum ‘Chloe’ A branching, bushy plant. In September and October, it produces masses of white daisies with prominent centres that start yellow, then turn the colour of silvery crushed strawberries. Good mildew resistance. H: 39in (1m). S. novae-angliae ‘Betel Nut’ A fairly recent introduction from Great Dixter, this is utterly gorgeous (and no, that isn’t overdoing it). It produces purple-pink daisies from late September and is mildew resistant. H: 56in (1.4m). S. novi-belgii ‘Blue Moon’ A very strong but compact clump-former. Despite being a New York aster, ‘Blue Moon’…

Asters need moist, well-drained soil, and a position in full sun or partial shade. Many varieties reach 3-6ft (90-180cm) tall and will need staking to stop them flopping over. Deadhead regularly to keep the flowers coming. Don’t overwater as this can lead to mildew. The Novi-belgii varieties are the most prone to mildew, but there are steps you can take to try and prevent it. Don’t let the soil get too dry as mildew is more likely in drought, and keep on top of weeds as they can spread it around. Cut plants back at the end of the season to prevent mildew overwintering. Or, alternatively, grow a more disease-resistant species, such as Aster novae-angliae. To keep plants at peak performance, it’s best to divide them every four years. This…

Petunias and calibrachoa Most patio and basket varieties of petunia and calibrachoa (above) produce no seed and flowers just drop off. But it pays to trim back trailing shoots that fall too far, as this will encourage new flowering growth from the base. Fuchsias and begonias Double-flowered begonias (above) and fuchsias in baskets are self cleaning: fading flowers will simply drop off – just sweep them off the patio. Single fuchsias may produce fruits that should be removed as they’ll stain pale paving. Lobelia Lobelia and other plants with large numbers of small flowers are just too fiddly to deadhead individually. If flowering slows, the best approach is to cut back the whole plant by half, then water and feed immediately.…

Q What exactly is this plant? It smells like a herb. Iris Day (via email) A It is fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica). A British native is likes damp, sunny situations such as ditches, water margins and water meadows and grows to around 2.5ft (76cm). It attracts hover flies and other beneficial insects, so it is a good thing to have in the garden. It will die back in autumn. Q Is there a story behind why this morning glory is called ‘Grandpa Otts’? Alan Dean, Colchester, Essex A It gets its name from John Ott, a Baptist who lived on a 40-acre farm at St Lucus, Iowa. He gave some seeds to Kent and Diane Whealey, who started Seed Savers exchange in 1972. It comes true from seed, and the seeds…

THE rich perfume of wallflowers on a warm spring day takes me back to the cottage-style gardens of my childhood. They evoke embroidered fireplace screens, beehives, Lucie Attwell jigsaw puzzles and trays of fresh home baking. In fact, wallflowers are retro enough to make them newly fashionable. Brought to Britain by the Normans and thought to have a variety of medicinal properties, they were widely grown in monastery gardens and much admired by the Elizabethans. Victorian gardeners valued the wallflower to plant in autumn for spring bedding displays, and they are still widely used for ‘bedding out’, especially as a backdrop for tulips. Colours are dense but mellow and easy to mix with other plants, including shades of pale, creamy lemon, orange, butterscotch and plush crimson. Traditional wallflowers (Erysimum cheiri)…

7 August 1802 Johann Graefer, botanist and garden designer, died. In 1780, he was issued with the first-ever royal patent for the preparation of cooked and preserved (dried) vegetables for the Royal Navy. 9 August 1892 Edward Kent Balls, plant collector, was born. He became known for collecting wild potato species, and bringing them back to the UK for research and breeding. He died in 1984. 10 August 1885 Frank Ludlow, plant collector and naturalist, was born. The Tibetan tree peony, Paeonia ludlowii , is named after him. 10 August 1966 TV gardener Charlie (Charlotte Elouise) Dimmock was born. She first became famous when Ground Force was aired on BBC1, in 1997. 12 August 1827 The Bishop of Carlisle, the Rev Samuel Goodenough, died. An amateur botanist and plant collector,…

‘Sawfly’ refers to the anatomy of the adult female which, should you see one, resembles a delicate flying ant without the narrow waist. They lay eggs from ovipositors that have saw-toothed edges; these cut slits in the stems and leaves to anchor the eggs. There are dozens of species affecting apples, roses, gooseberries, plums and Solomon’s seal, to name a few. Thankfully, each species sticks to one type of food but they can appear on anything, as adults occasionally lay eggs on the wrong host by accident. This means their immobile young are forced to eat what they’re given and not what they want.…

“Knotweed can break through walls and floors” JAPANESE knotweed is the most invasive plant in the UK – but a worryingly small number of people know what it looks like. Fewer than 19% of people polled by Environet, the UK’s leading knotweed removal experts, could identify what the Environment Agency calls ‘the UK’s most aggressive, destructive and invasive plant’. The most common plants that people confuse it with are bindweed, ivy, Russian vine and Houttuynia. • Russian vine is related to Japanese knotweed and grows almost as fast; • Ivy is a very common climber that can smother trees and walls, damaging plaster, but it is good for wildlife; • Houttuynia likes damp soil and spreads to create dense groundcover via underground stems; • Bindweed is a common problem, strangling…

AG’S TOBY Buckland will be returning to beautiful Forde Abbey on 15-16 September for this year’s Harvest Festival. The autumn celebration will include gardening and crafts, workshops, tree tours, scything and meadow-making demonstrations, and much more. Speakers will include gardening experts Alys Fowler and Matt Biggs, Blue Peter gardener Lee Connelly (aka ‘The Skinny Jean Gardener’) and actor John Challis, who played Boycie in Only Fools and Horses. He will be talking about how he created his beautiful garden at Wigmore Abbey in Hertfordshire. Tickets for the event in Somerset are available now and on the day. Visit tobygardenfest.co.uk…

This echinacea had outgrown its pot and had no support, but there was nothing obviously ‘wrong’ with it. In fact, it looked extremely healthy, with one main flower and several unopened buds. I checked its roots were free from pests and disease, planted it in a sunny bed and staked it. When tying plants to supports, tie the twine in a figure of eight that allows them some movement but also acts as a buffer to stop the cane grazing the stem. Keep new plants well watered until they get established, especially if the soil is very dry.…

EVERY garden needs a colourful pocket of cheer, and this week’s free seeds deliver that in spades. ‘Carmine King’ are California poppies, or Eschscholzia, easy-going hardy annuals that love poor soil but need full sun to look their best. This particular variety was introduced to the UK back in 1906. It produces glossy, single red blooms above a clump of attractive frondy foliage. The bushy plants grow to just 8in (20cm) tall, so will look fabulous sown under taller shrubs and border plants, and at the front of beds. Their robust nature and ability to thrive in thin soil means they can also be sown to add colour to rockeries. An added benefit of California poppies is their long flowering season. Sown now, they will flower from June to October,…

11: Plant Fair: Carsington Water, Ashbourne, Derbyshire DE6 1ST 11-12: Carnivorous Plant Weekend: RHS Harlow Carr, Crag Lane, Harrogate, North Yorks HG3 1QB. 0203 176 5830, rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr 11-12: Hardy & Tender Fern Show: RHS Wisley, Wisley Lane, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB. 0845 6121 253, rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley 12: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (bugs): Barnsdale Gardens, The Avenue, Exton, Oakham, Rutland LE15 8AH. 01572 813200; barnsdalegardens.co.uk 12: Plant Fair: Southwell Minster, Church Street, Southwell, Notts NG25 0HD 12: Local Produce Show: RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Rosemoor, Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH. 0203 176 5830; rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor 12: Dog Day: Easton Walled Gardens, Easton, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG33 5AP. 01476 530063, visiteaston.co.uk 13: Gardening in Shade: Barnsdale Gardens, barnsdalegardens.co.uk 15: Teddy Bear’s Picnic: Easton Walled Gardens, Easton, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG33 5AP. 01476 530063,…

“Within days, we noticed a difference in the garden” ALMOST nine years ago, the Best Beloved and I were adopted by a stray black cat. She’d been in the village for a couple of years and was responsible for lots of tipped-over milk bottles on doorsteps. She was also known to enter cat flaps and steal the resident moggies’ food. We encountered her when we saw a tin can racing across the garden on a cold December day. She’d got her head stuck in an empty can of baked beans. At the time we had a cat called Sylvester, but he was 22 years old. The black cat sensed the end was nigh and hung around. We adopted the stray and christened her Poppycat, and she repaid us by being…

1 If possible, wait for a sunny day with a light breeze to lift your spuds, then they can rest on the soil surface for a couple of hours to dry. To lift, gently slide the fork prongs vertically alongside each row and lever it upwards. A cascade of beautifully plump potatoes should be the result! 2 If a lot of earth is sticking to the tubers, gently rub some surplus off. You can wash them if you like, but then you must allow them to dry thoroughly before storage. Pick over the tubers, removing any with slug or wireworm damage or skin blemishes, and eat these up first. 3 The remaining tubers should be in top condition. Gently place them in hessian or paper sacks or wooden crates: these…

MOST people’s first introduction to blackberry harvesting is along a country lane with stinging nettles lashing at your ankles – growing them at home is far less painful! For one thing, those thorny stems can be tied in and controlled, leading to fewer pricked fingers. You also have access to far higher quality fruits, as you can choose to grow named varieties rather than take your chances with wild strains. Blackberry ‘Fantasia’, for example, offers 50p-sized berries with that classic hedgerow-style taste – the best of both worlds, in anyone’s book! If thornless is your preference, then ‘Navaho’ is worth a look. I should add a word about vigour, as some of these varieties are incredibly rampant. Around 15ft (4.5m) of wall space is required for the most brutish forms…

Once established, cyclamen need little in the way of care, although it’s important not to let them become overshadowed by evergreens or other dense foliage. In their dormant period – when there is no foliage to indicate their position – take care not to damage tubers when weeding or planting. Feeding is not usually necessary, although I sometimes feed newly planted specimens with the liquid tomato feed that everything else gets. They will also appreciate an annual dose of bonemeal. A shallow mulch during the dormant period is helpful. Traditionally, shredded leaf mould was always recommended; however, I’ve found that finely ground pine bark works well.…

Hemerocallis ‘Pandora’s Box’ Often mistaken for H. ‘Piano Man’ (see right), but the flowers of ‘Pandora’s Box’ are much smaller. Both are early- to mid-season flowerers, which adds to the confusion. Height 20in (50cm) Hemerocallis ‘Piano Man’ An early- to mid-season flowerer with blooms of 4½in (12cm), which are much larger than ‘Pandora’s Box’ (left). Height of 27½in (70cm). Choose a sunny spot in a well-drained, fertile soil. Fully hardy Pennisetum orientale ‘Karley Rose’ Mound-forming, deciduous ornamental grass with deep rose-pink flowers in summer. Height 39in (1m). Often confused with P. orientale ‘Shogun’ (below), but it has different foliage and pinker flowers Pennisetum orientale ‘Shogun’ Similar to P. orientale ‘Karley Rose’, but foliage is more glaucous. Height 39in (1m). Pink flowers almost…

Allium The straw-coloured balls of A. christophii, in particular, last well after the flowers fade and the seeds have dropped. Echinops Bees love the silvery blue spherical flower heads; but after they’ve faded, balls of black seeds develop. These are much enjoyed by birds – especially finches – in autumn. Eryngium Thistle-like heads, usually in blue and surrounded by a ruff of leaves, turn tawny as they mature, but remain on the plants for months. In winter, they are lovely rimed with frost. Nigella After flowering, fat inflated seed pods develop, often streaked in darker colours. Leave these on the plants for self-sown seedlings. Alternatively, they can be cut and dried indoors. Sunflowers Finches love sunflower seeds, and it’s a delight to see them extracting them. If you find the…

Q I have a 15-year-old climbing ‘Danse de Feu’ (inset) on an east-facing wall, but the show of flowers is 10ft (3m) in the air! Can I prune it to produce flowers further down without losing the display further up? At present, clematis has been planted to hide the bare stems. Martha Belden, Birmingham A ‘Danse de Feu’ was an inspired choice: the double scarlet blooms really stand out against pale brickwork. Flowering high is a familiar problem where roses are trained against house walls, due to the narrow gap between windows and doors. In your case, stiff vertical stems have run quickly upwards, but once trained horizontally between the lower and upper windows, they were able to sprout many flowering laterals. Botanically, this is explained by apical dominance. The…

Try to rotate wallflowers to a different part of your garden every year. They are in the family Brassicaceae ( Cruciferae ) and they are vulnerable to the disease club root. Avoid planting in wet soils, because stodgy, airless soil will encourage various root rots. Plant wallflowers 12in (30cm) apart in well-drained, preferably alkaline soil and in full sun. After flowering, deadhead, mulch over their moist soil and leave them in for another year. Prune perennial sorts back after flowering to help them overwinter and maintain a compact habit of growth.…

Westland Gro-Sure Smart Patch mix is designed to repair any patch in any lawn quickly and easily. It can be used in high-traffic areas where the lawn is worn away, in patches caused by pet urine damage, in shady conditions such as under trees, and in and around children’s play areas. The 1.2kg pack will treat 15 patches of 45cm diameter using approximately 75g per patch. We have three 1.2kg packs to give away, each worth £9.99. 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 Westland Gro-Sure Smart Patch Mix Draw (11 August), Amateur Gardening, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 7BF. Or you can email your details to ag_giveaway@ti-media.com, heading…

SAWFLIES should really be called Never-Saw-’em-Flies, as they defoliate and disappear before you even know they’ve arrived. But just as the Scarlet Pimpernel left a note after his smash-and-grabs, these tiny green caterpillars have their own calling card, eating their way between the leaf’s veins and ribs so that only the skeletal remains are left behind. I’ve never known a year when they have been such a problem as this one, stripping gooseberries, roses and the mint in my garden of their foliage. The speed at which they eat is simply phenomenal, and plants that appear healthy can be robbed of their leaves overnight. By the time the damage is spotted, the culprits have likely fled the scene. Sadly, that doesn’t mean they’ve gone. Chances are the caterpillars have simply…