Innholdsfortegnelse for 1-Sep-2018 i Amateur Gardening

AT the time of writing the heat is showing no signs of abating and the newspapers are talking about an Indian summer stretching on for several more weeks. But with September now here, it is time to look ahead and plan for autumn and winter. Who knows what is waiting in the wings – there’s no complete protection from something like last year’s Beast from the East – but there are certain preparations you can make to give the garden a fighting chance of coming through as well as possible. Keeping plants healthy makes them less vulnerable to problems, so water and mulch but avoid feeding them now, as this will encourage fresh growth that may be killed by colder weather. One of the most important jobs is to cut…

This is your last chance to cut back fruited summer raspberry canes and tie in the new shoots The old ones will look woody and sad, and the leaves will be starting to yellow. Simply cut them back to the ground using sharp secateurs or loppers. Make sure you wear long sleeves and sturdy gloves! Then tie in the new batch of fresh green canes that will produce next summer’s berries.…

1 Keep mower blades high when cutting very dry grass and let the fine clippings fall back onto the lawn to act as mulch, holding in the moisture. 2 Remove individual perennial weeds using a proprietary weed puller. If a hole or bare patch is left behind, sow it with fresh lawn seed. 3 Aerate the turf by sinking the tines of a garden fork 2-3in (5-7cm) into the lawn. This lets air and water down to the roots, improving the grass. 4 Re-sow bare soil. Fork over the soil, water, scatter the recommended amount of seed, water again and protect against disturbance by pests.…

1 Start by taking off the overgrown top growth using a saw or loppers. Always make sure your tools are sharp and clean. 2 Then use secateurs to remove slimmer branches. Be brave – the shrub may start to look devastated, but it will grow back. 3 Cut away the lowest branches – you can go to within a few inches of the ground and new shoots will soon spring up next year. 4 Don’t feed the shrub after pruning, but do mulch it with well-rotted compost or manure to improve the soil and protect and nourish the roots through winter.…

IT would not have entered my head to grow sweet potatoes in a greenhouse, let alone outside, in Britain 20 years ago, and yet they are now widely offered by mail-order companies. Our main specialist growers, Iain and Jacqueline Thorne, have been producing crops and slips (the rooted tips from which sweet potatoes are propagated) on the Black Isle in the Scottish Highlands since 2003. I have grown sweet potatoes with modest success for several years, and the hot weather this summer has certainly suited them. The soil was covered with black polythene in spring to warm it up, ready for my first plantings through crosses cut in the polythene. Slugs were a problem until protective measures were taken, and even then the small subterranean keel slug attacked the tubers…

1 Dig a hole slightly deeper and wider than the plant’s rootball. Rough up the edges so roots can move out into the soil. 2 After standing the plant in water as long as possible, slide it from its pot and tease out any congested or circling roots. 3 Place the rootball in the hole and infill with soil and compost. Firm it down to support the plant and remove any air pockets. 4 Water the plant. In very dry conditions, create a ‘moat’ of soil around the plant so the water won’t immediately run away.…

1: Plant fair: Bodenham Arboretum, Kidderminster, Worcs DY11 5TB.planthuntersfairs.co.uk 1: RHS Gardening Advice: RHS Harlow Carr,Crag Lane, Harrogate,North Yorks HG3 1QB. 0203 176 5830, rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr 2: Autumn Country Market. Easton Walled Gardens, Easton, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG33 5AP. 01476 530063, visiteaston.co.uk 2: Plant fair: Ness Botanic Gardens, Neston Road, Little Neston, Ness, Wirral, CH64 4AY 2: Plant Heritage Fair: RHS Harlow Carr 4: Garden Tour with Friends of Harlow Carr: RHS Harlow Carr 4-9: RHS Garden Wisley Flower Show: RHS Wisley, Wisley Lane, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB. 0203 176 5830, rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley 5: Little Acorns pre-school gardening and craft club: RHS Garden Hyde Hall, Creephedge Lane, Rettendon, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 8ET. 0203 176 5830, rhs.org.uk/gardens/hyde-hall 9: Plant fair: Weston Park, Weston-under-Lizard, Shifnal, Staffs TF11 8LE 10am-4pm Gardens & Fair: £2.50 8-9: Holker…

“This hot summer has suited the harlequins” THERE’S an ‘R’ in the month, so it must be autumn, and finally it’s the ‘Keatsian’ season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. And about time, too, for my garden hasn’t taken such a frazzling since I came here almost 14 years ago. The lawn was browner than I’ve ever seen it and my beloved border phloxes wilted before they flowered. Despite all that, we have a strict policy on watering, and it’s only the containers and greenhouses that get daily attention. It’s the royal ‘we’, by the way, for it’s the rufty-tufty one who does the watering. The rest of the garden has to take its chances, because water is a precious resource. I’ve learnt that the garden recovers. A brown lawn will…

1 The larger your heap, the hotter it will become and the better the compost will be as a result. More weed seeds and pathogens will be killed, and decomposition will be rapid and thorough. Aim to have a heap with a minimum size of 4ft (1.2m) cubed. 2 Turn your heap regularly. Ideally, have two bin ‘spaces’ placed side by side. Every month, transfer the whole heap from one side to the other – this will mix materials up, ensuring that at some point all the compost has spent some time in the middle, which is the hottest part. 3 A dry heap of compostable materials won’t rot down, no matter how large it is or how frequently you turn it. Keep a continual eye on moisture levels, dousing…

Order bare-root plants now and plant as soon as possible after they arrive in late autumn or winter. Before planting, soak the roots overnight in a seaweed tonic such as Maxicrop or Seasol. Prepare the general area for planting – don’t create an island of rich soil as the roots may never leave it! Dig a hole that accommodates all the roots. Spread them out well and work soil in among those roots before firming – first with fingers and then with the toe of your boot.…

The first David Austin rose, ‘Constance Spry’, grows best as a climber, as do Graham Thomas and a number or other English Roses. The blushed Heritage (‘Ausblush’) has been a superb climber in my garden for 20 years. Other AGM English Roses that I especially like as climbers are peachy-pink A Shropshire Lad (‘Ausled’) and the well-scented soft yellow Teasing Georgia (‘Ausbaker’). The Generous Gardener (‘Ausdawn’) is soft pink, beautifully scented and, according to David Austin, “our most important English climber”, while The Pilgrim (‘Auswalker’) is yellow with golden tints. Prepare the ground well before planting these roses at least 1 1/2ft (45cm) in front of walls. Simply tie in the shoots in their first year – strong climbing shoots may not appear straight away. In following years, spread and…

Cordyline australis Purpurea Group Cabbage palms are architectural plants whose rosette of purple leaves make a striking centrepiece. It’s not completely hardy, so needs protection in a cold snap. Pansy ‘Matrix’ A compact form up to 6in (15cm) tall that has more flowers per plant than many other types. Available as a mixture or in more than 20 vibrant shades. Hedera helix ‘Glacier’ This popular ivy is great around the edges of autumn baskets, thanks to its long trailing stems clothed with silver, grey and cream variegated leaves. Erica x darleyensis ‘Kramer’s Red’ This heather’s dark-bronze foliage adds interest in early autumn, until its blooms of deep magenta open on 18in (45cm) stems in November that last until spring. Primula Husky Series A fairly…

Campanula lactiflora ‘Prichard’s Variety’ With soft-purple flowers that open to star-like blooms, use to add height to borders from June to September. Likes neutral-to-alkaline, moist but well-drained soil. HxS: 2½x2ft (75x60cm). Verbena bonariensis AGM A short-lived, airy perennial with tall, thin, virtually leafless stems and clusters of tiny purple flowers. Great for butterflies and moths. Will self-sow in free-draining soil and a sunny spot. Flowers: July to November. HxS: 5x1ft (1.5mx30cm). Salvia ‘Amistad’ AGM This tender perennial has tall, almost black stems, rich-purple, trumpet-like flowers that are loved by bees, and bright-green leaves. Bring under cover in winter, and take cuttings to ensure plants for next year. HxS: 5x2ft (1.5mx60cm). Allium atropurpureum Flower heads are made up of clusters of small blooms with slender…

Q I have just been given an allotment. This is very exciting, but it needs some clearing and tending. Should I sow or plant anything this month, or just try to clear it and dig it ready for the spring? Stuart Bagnall, Grantham, Lincolnshire A Do a bit of everything, and enjoy engaging with your new allotment! Try balling some moist soil in your hand, and throw it gently up and down. If it shatters quickly, you have sandy soil. Should it break up after two or three throws, it’s a good loam – and if it stays resolutely ball-shaped, assume it is clay. Carry out a pH test. If alkaline, you won’t need to bother with lime. Where soil is neutral or acidic, liming a couple of months before…

Asters and other daisies We are now entering the month of September, famed for Michaelmas daisies, dahlias and rudbeckias, so I thought we would look at the plant family that links them all – Asteraceae. The word ‘aster’ means ‘star’ in Greek, referring to the appearance of most daisy flowers as a ‘star’ surrounded by the petals or ‘rays’. When I was a horticultural student, I had to learn about ‘Composites’ – the name given to all members of the daisy family. These days, botanists prefer to use the name Asteraceae, but the plants are the same and there are thousands of them. Many are real stars of our gardens at this time of year, so let’s consider some of the stories surrounding them. Daisies in numbers 32,900 Approximate number…

The unfurling cyclamen I NEVER cease to be amazed at the delicate unfurling of flowers, whether in the garden or in pots. Nature surely does package them beautifully. The picture above is of a cyclamen that I feared I had lost due to drying out in a too-hot conservatory while I had been away – my mistake, of course, as I should not have left it there during such a hot summer. Anyway, I’m glad to say it has revived and is rewarding me with the promise of fresh blooms wrapped up in these tiny umbrellas. Barbara Trevitt, Newcastle upon Tyne Why is this compost ‘sandier’? I WAS interested in the letter from a gentleman who was unhappy with the peat-free compost he had bought (AG, 28 July). I was…

Asters and heleniums flower so prolifically that they’re prone to toppling under their own weight, especially in windy weather. If this happens, pick up the fallen stems before they start to bend towards the sunshine and prop back into place on pea-sticks. To prevent them falling again, I push a corral of sticks (five bamboo canes will do, if you can’t find any hazel) into the soil around the clumps and then loop around the stems with soft twine. The supports also hold the stems in place to catch cobwebs and frosts when the leaves go to ground in late autumn.…

1 Rake up leaves as soon as they start to fall, so they don’t stop sunlight getting to the grass and encouraging damp and mould. 2 Store the leaves in a simple homemade leafmould bin. Hammer four tree supports into the ground and staple wire mesh around them. 3 Alternatively, keep leaves in black plastic bin liners that have had holes punched into their sides. Keep the leaves damp to speed up decomposition. 4 When the ground is wet, tip the compost or leafmould onto borders, rake it over and leave it to break down naturally and enrich your soil.…

PITY our poor lawns. They have carried the weight of the hot, dry summer and most have become crunchy plains of moss and desiccated grass. But don’t worry, September is the best month to undertake autumn care and repair, and a few days of rain will soon see your blades greening up again. Lawns will need a little extra TLC after the battering they have had, so start now to help your grass survive the oncoming autumn and winter weather with as few problems as possible. If grass has become sparse and weak-rooted during the summer, allowing weeds and moss to prevail, you should over-sow it with fresh lawn seed after raking out the thatch (excess moss). You can also kill off moss with an appropriate treatment (some are combined…

IF you moved your more robust houseplants outside to make the most of the summer, you should now be starting to think about bringing them back inside. More temperamental weather – high winds and autumnal downpours – can cause stems to snap, leaves to tear and pots to become waterlogged, leading to drowned and rotting roots. Periods of extended cold will also finish off many indoor plants that often originate in Mediterranean or tropical climates. Before bringing plants back in, check them for problems. Summer breezes and showers should have washed away debris, dust and any pests carried out from inside, but garden pests are just as likely to cause problems. If possible, slide the plants from their pots and check there are no slug or snail eggs, small slugs…

1 Leave sweet potatoes in the ground for as long as possible into the autumn, because tuber weight increases as the days shorten. 2 Names can indicate both skin and flesh colour. For example, Carolina Ruby (pictured) has dark-red skin and orange flesh. 3 When slips arrive by post, put them in a jar of water for 24 hours before potting. Once potted, keep on a warm, light windowsill to become established. 4 Early cultivars, including Beauregard with rose skin and orange flesh, need 90 days growing time. Tainong 65 (pictured), with plum-coloured skin and white flesh, needs 120 days.…

Keeping your plants healthy and productive in adverse conditions will take a little more care, but it will be worth it. Water deeply so plant roots are encouraged to grow down and outwards, rather than upwards towards water on the surface, as this can destabilise the plant. Deadhead regularly so plants are prompted to produce more flowers instead of using up energy to create and ripen seeds. Treat pests immediately, and remove dead and damaged foliage before the plant becomes diseased. If your plant develops fungal problems such as rust or black spot, remove and dispose of affected material. Never compost it as spores will survive in the heap and risk contaminating other plants.…

IF you haven’t dug up all your spuds by now, then it’s about time to do so. True, if the weather stays fine, your plants may put on a bit more weight, but at the same time the damage from slugs and so on will be increasing, so there’s not much to gain by waiting. If there is any blight about, it’s a good idea to cut the haulms off at ground level and wait a fortnight before digging, but otherwise dig on the first dry day. If you dig spuds and their skins are not dried off then they do not keep so well, so it’s also good practice to leave them exposed to the sun and air for a couple of hours before packing them away. I spread…

IF you’re anything like me, your compost heap is making its annual takeover bid of your garden now: mine is enormous! It’s the result of summer crops coming to an end, and while we can put materials into our green waste scheme, there are only so many bags you can put out for each collection Any gardener will tell you that we can fill those bags up in a flash. So with the heap getting ever more voluminous, how do you ensure that it produces good-quality compost? A heap does take up valuable garden space, so it’s frustrating to end up with a pile of rotting vegetation that you can’t actually use. Conversely, a well-tended compost bin will supply valuable organic matter for the plot. Follow these steps to ensure…

IF you’re one of those lucky souls with an ample garden (or an allotment plot or two), chances are you’re looking out onto a lot of bare soil come the autumn. Yes, leeks and winter brassicas will still be growing on the plot, but they generally don’t cover the whole veg garden. When bare soil is left for winter, weed seedlings can readily colonise it and essential nutrients can be washed out via heavy rainfall. Nobody likes coming back to a spring plot to be greeted by a rash of weeds, so let’s do something about it! ‘Green manures’ are plants that can be sown on bare land to prevent weed growth and nutrient wastage. There are hardy types (such as winter tares, grazing rye and white clover) that stand…

Bare-root roses will have been pruned before they were sent to you. Once your English Roses are established, prune earlier than you would other roses: in January or February. The best general rule is to cut back by about a third each year. Feed with rose fertiliser in early spring, then again once the first flush of flowering has faded. Mulch with weed-free organic matter in spring, after applying the fertiliser. In dry summers such as this one, watering should ensure that flowering continues prolifically. Mature plants with deep roots may not need watering.…

THEY may have put a shift in over the past few months, but there comes a time when every summer hanging basket runs out of steam. No amount of feeding, deadheading or watering will change anything at this stage, so most gardeners simply evict the entire contents of their baskets and put them away until next year. But don’t be in too much of a rush to retire your empty baskets to the shed. If you fill them up with fresh plants, they’ll continue to brighten up the garden until spring. There’s plenty of choice out there, including seasonal bedding plants, grasses and trailers, along with both flowering and foliage shrubs in tiny pots. For sheer colour, you can’t beat bedding plants. Most garden centres will stock a good range…

Dwarf lilac The compact lilac Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’ can be grown in a container as a small shrub, or trained as a standard. Positioned in a sunny spot, it will produce panicles of pale-pink/purple, scented, late-spring blooms. H: 39in-5ft (1-1.5m). Individual hyacinths Traditionally, it’s auriculas that are displayed together in individual pots, but the bold, fragrant flowers of hyacinths look equally good planted in this way. Select a range of colours for the most eye-catching display. White narcissi Enjoy the elegant flowers and delicious scent of Narcissus ‘Silver Chimes’ in patio pots near an open kitchen window during April. They also last well in a vase. Plant bulbs 4in (10cm) deep, in sun or semi-shade. H: 1ft (30cm). Scented violets The true flower of Valentine’s Day isn’t the rose, it’s…

Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo’ AGM The handsome foliage emerges bronze-green before gradually turning a rich, deep-purple. Clusters of small white flowers appear in early summer. Plant in the middle or back of a border, in full sun and in a moist, free-draining soil. Very hardy. HxS: 61/2x8ft (2x2.5m). Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ AGM A deciduous shrub or tree, the reddish-purple leaves of which take on fiery tones in autumn. In summer, fluffy plumes of tiny purple-pink flowers appear, giving it the common name ‘smoke bush’. Needs full sun and moist but well-drained soil. H&S: 16ft (5m). Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ AGM This spreading tree is covered in a mass of large, reddish-purple, heart-shaped leaves that look fabulous backlit with sunshine. Crimson-pink blooms appear before the…

1 After clearing, weed the ground thoroughly and, if dry, moisten well. Prior to planting out, add a generous layer of well-rotted garden compost and fork in. 2 Before sowing, there must be a fine surface tilth in which to make a drill. Mix in fine compost and then rake smooth. 3 Make a drill in the soil and water the base well if soil is dry. 4 Sow kohl rabi, land cress radish or (here) Swiss chard as soon as possible. Cover and tamp down. Water lightly if necessary, using a fine rose on the can.…

‘Delicate Joy’ This warm, peachy Asiatic reaches only 24in (60cm) and is pollen free, so it’s safe for patio edging as it won’t stain clothes or adhere to cat fur. Lilium leichtlinii Striking stem-rooting Japanese species, rising to a slender 4ft (1.2m). Fragrant golden yellow flowers with slightly reflexed petals, speckled with chocolate. Likes sun or semi-shade. ‘Brasilia’ A fragrant oriental with white flowers that are delicately margined and speckled with sugar pink hues. This lily rises to 3-4ft (90cm-1.2m). ‘Honeymoon’ A fragrant tree lily, capable of reaching 8ft (2.5m). ideal for the middle or back of a border, or a container display. Expect large, buttery yellow blooms, best in year three.…

27 August 1937 Lionel, 2nd Baron Rothschild, banker and plant collector (after whom Gloriosa superba ‘Rothschildiana’, pictured, is named), died. 29 August 1673 The Apothecaries’ Company first signed the lease on the Chelsea Physic Garden at Cheyne Walk in London. 30 August 1716 Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, often called ‘England’s greatest gardener’, is born. He designed more than 170 parks. 31 August 1896 Urban Huttleston Broughton, 1st Baron Fairhaven, was born. He created the garden at Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire, said to be one of the largest British gardens of the 20th century. 1 September This date is a feast day of St Fiacre of Breuil (c600-670), patron saint of gardeners, although some claim his feast day is 11 August. 2 September 1914 The Dahlia Conference at White City in London was…

Lawn problems aren’t just caused by the elements – pest larvae do serious damage too. Chafer grubs, active between now and spring, live underground and eat the roots of grasses. Leatherjackets, the larvae of crane flies (daddy long-legs) are active towards the end of winter and do the same. Symptoms include yellow patches of dead grass and damage caused by birds digging up the lawn to get at the grubs. Both pests can be controlled using nematodes. Alternatively, lay carpet on the troubled area of lawn, and when the grubs come to the surface you can pick them off after lifting the carpet.…

If you live somewhere mild, you can remove faded mophead flowers, although in colder areas they should be left in place until spring to protect the tender buds emerging below. Lacecap varieties are hardier and can be deadheaded after flowering. Cut them back to the second leaf pair below the head. Established lacecap and mophead hydrangeas should have one or two old stems removed at base to encourage new growth. Neglected plants can have all their stems cut back, although they may miss a year of flowering afterwards.…

ONE of my favourite plants is Alchemilla mollis or lady’s mantle. Its leaves capture and hold raindrops, and its acid-green, fluffy flowers are a perfect foil for gem-coloured summer blooms. They love our light, chalky soil and self-seed with abandon, often in places where they become swamped by taller plants. Like many perennial, they are easy to lift and overwinter before re-locating them somewhere more suitable. Simply raise them from the ground, keeping as much soil around the roots as possible. If you are overwintering them undercover or on a sheltered patio, pot them up in multi-purpose compost, which will see them happily through the winter months. Don’t let them dry out and they will be easy to replant next spring once the frosts have passed. If your lifted plants…

EARLY autumn is traditionally an excellent time to plant out new perennials. The soil is still warm from summer and should have been soaked by seasonal showers, so it will make a welcome bed for roots developing before winter dormancy. This autumn may be different, due to the prolonged hot, dry weather that has left soils hard and inhospitable. Even the occasional days of rain have done little more than soak the top couple of inches of ground, leaving the lower soil bone-dry and solid. However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plant out at all, especially if there are gaps in your borders you want to fill or dead plants you need to replace. There are a couple of things you can do to help your plant get established (see…

IF you are looking to get some real bang for your buck, look no further than this week’s free seeds. Packed with Flamenco frills in shades of red and pink, Godetia ‘Azalea Flowered’ Mixed are easy-going and will give you stunning colour next summer. Godetia (Clarkia amoena) are hardy annuals that like a sheltered site in full sun where they can attract bees and other pollinators. Their flamboyant blooms make them a border favourite and they are long-lasting as cut flowers. You can sow your godetia seeds now where they are to flower next year, or save them until spring. Those sown now will flower earlier than seeds sown next year, though also sowing between March and May will give you a second welcome burst of blooms. Sow them in…

1 This is the last week in which you should feed just about anything – from now on, feeding makes growth too soft for winter. 2 Unless rainy weather is forecast, tie paper bags over ripening bunches of grapes to keep flies, birds and wasps off them. 3 Place lots of squirrel scarers on your nut trees – use the same items as for birds, but move them about more often. 4 As soil becomes empty, sow pea, bean and lupin seed; these will provide nitrogen when you hoe off their tops later.…

WHILE I don’t have a blackberry in my garden (our rural setting means we’re surrounded by them in hedgerows), I do grow related plants on my home plot. Most are called hybrid berries, as they are the result of crossing two plants – for example, a loganberry is a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry. Others, like the Japanese wineberry, are a species in their own right (in the wineberry’s case, Rubus phoenicolasius) but their treatment in the garden is the same. Most bear canes that yield fruit in their second year, much like summer raspberries. The stems are highly flexible, which means you can train them into a variety of shapes; they’re ideal over arches. Most have now finished cropping, so cut out the old canes to the…

THE first English Roses I grew were Graham Thomas (‘Ausmas’) and Mary Rose (Ausmary’). I planted them when they were first introduced and both did exactly what I expected: they looked like old-fashioned roses but they flowered all summer. That was way back in 1983, and those two varieties went on to become the signature English Roses. They were the ones that proved the point to everyone: at last it was possible to enjoy roses that looked (and smelt) like the old-fashioned shrub roses we all love – but could be relied upon to last far longer than two or three weeks in June. Back in the day, Graham Thomas and Mary Rose had pretty good disease resistance, too. Over the past 35 years, eliminating the necessity to spray has…

This summer has been a testing one for my English Roses. They were pruned and fed early, and flowered well – James L. Austin (‘Auspike’) and Graham Thomas, in particular, were especially prolific. But the weather was heating up. I deadheaded and watered deeply – twice – during those ferociously hot weeks. They grew steadily but with few flowers. Then, in early August, slightly cooler days (combined with their extended roots) prompted a flowering renewal, which is proof of just how tough English Roses are.…

Start by placing your basket in an upturned container to ensure it remains steady for planting up and remove the chains to prevent them getting in the way. Make sure there are holes in the base of the liner for drainage. Half-fill the basket with your chosen compost and firm gently. If you are using baskets with open ‘windows’ or slots cut around the sides, fill to just beneath the openings. If you are using a basket with holes around the outside, plant up the first layer, add more compost and plant the next layer, continuing in this way until all holes are filled. Leave a 2in (5cm) gap between the surface of the compost and the top of the container. Arrange the plants on the surface. Place taller varieties…

Shrubs Syringa vulgaris ‘Sensation’ AGM Most lilacs smell wonderful, but the picotee purple and white flowers of this cultivar have arguably the best fragrance. Can be trained into a small tree. Plant in full sun. H: 6 1/2-13ft (2-4m). Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Miss Jessopp’s Upright’ AGM When the sun shines, this evergreen releases the strong herbal aroma of the Mediterranean maquis, where it grows wild. It also has blue flowers in May. One for full sun. H: 39in-5ft (1-1.5m). Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’ AGM A cracker during winter and early spring, when the bare branches are adorned with white-pink flowers that fill the air with high-pitched fragrance. Sun or semi-shade. H: 5-8ft (1.5-2.5m). Bulbs Narcissus ‘Cheerfulness’ AGM A charming…

Will my nicotianas return? Q I have some Nicotiana sylvestris in the garden that is 5ft (1.2m) high. Am I right in thinking that it won’t come back next year? Royston Jenner, Aylesford, Kent A Sadly, Nicotiana sylvestris is only half-hardy. Plants do sometimes come through the winter if grown in a very sheltered spot, but more often than not they die in the cold weather. However, they do produce a lot of seed so you might find seedlings popping up all over the place next year, which would save you the job of starting again from scratch! It is this plant that tobacco comes from, though there are two other species – N. Tabacum and N. Rustica – that are grown for it. There are lots of different varieties…

WHETHER woodland turk’s cap, brash Asiatic hybrids, fragrant oriental beauties or coy trumpets, lily flowers always attract plenty of attention. Their delicate-looking, scale-like bulbs grow well from an autumn planting, plumping up and rooting down ready to make a grand show the following summer. Most flower in July and August, just when the garden needs some big, bold blooms. Many cultivars have been bred over the years, but it is well worth growing some of the species that gave rise to them. One of the most famous is the golden-rayed lily, Lilium auratum; its glistening white blooms, 8in (20cm) across, are marked with gold and gifted with a tremendous perfume. This is a parent of the popular oriental hybrids, but in its native Japan the bulbs are more likely to…

BATTERY power has come of age through lithium-ion technology. I’ve recently tried lawnmowers and nylon-line grass trimmers powered by lithium-ion batteries and have been impressed. But I think the new lithium-ion-powered hedge trimmers are even more impressive. Having in the past struggled with weighty petrol-powered hedge trimmers, and sliced through the cable of my almost-new mains-electric model, I appreciate the benefits of light weight and freedom from cables that battery power offers. What’s more surprising is their capability to tackle tough hedge jobs. Even the smallest model on test here whizzed through regular hedging plants and coped well with thicker woody shrub stems like holly and pyracantha. How long the battery lasts with each outing depends largely on the type of material you’re cutting. A light trim of privet will…

The Peckish Complete Easy Feeder is a refillable bird feeder that provides a ready-to-use complementary feed for wild birds. Included in the feeder is the high-energy, no-mess Peckish Complete Easy Feed All Seasons seed mix that contains 12 different ingredients, including kibbled wheat, red millet, sunflower hearts and oyster shell grit. The feed is proven to attract the UK’s top 10 garden birds and has been enriched with natural Calvita vitamin mix. We have three 400g feeders to give away, each worth £4.99. 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 Peckish Complete Easy Feeder Draw (1 September), Amateur Gardening, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 7BF. Or you can email…

“You do have to be careful with late bloomers” FULL of flower and the promise of quadrupling in size by next summer, the fresh pots of 3½in (9cm) perennials arriving in nurseries and garden centres now are a big temptation. You do have to be careful though, especially with the late bloomers like rusty-red helenium and daisy-flowered rudbeckia and echinacea. If they’re crammed in with early-flowering perennials, they can become shy to bloom or, worse, die back to nothing through winter. This has led to the misconception that echinacea are tender, but I’ve been to America and seen them growing like summer weeds where later in the year the soil is frozen under thick drifts of snow. The reason they die in our gardens is because they are loners that…