Innholdsfortegnelse for 10-Nov-2018 i Amateur Gardening

“I’m looking at a blood-red sunset, with trees framed as crimson-tinged silhouettes against the burning sky. Aching muscles weary from an afternoon’s garden graft are erased by the beauty before me. The cold is forgotten, as work generates heat – and the conflagration of toil, soil and nature has its stimulating and fulfilling effect. Hands dirty with earth feel worn but good, and soon they will caress a mug of tea... with perhaps a little brandy!”…

The UK’s wild animal populations are increasingly under pressure from shrinking open spaces and increased pesticide use. You can help them by planting native trees in your garden, or opting for a native hedge, as we did. We chose a mix of wild roses, dog roses, guelder rose, field maple, hazel, hawthorn and blackthorn and spindle. They grew quickly – faster than a more mature spindle sapling planted in the front garden – and are maturing into a dense thicket where birds nest, pollinators breed and hedgehogs seek shelter. In spring there are flowers, while scarlet berries and hips boost autumn days with bright colour.…

10 Nov: Winter Garden Bird Watch: Plas Brondanw Gardens, Llanfrothen, Penrhyndeudraeth, Gwynedd, North Wales LL48 6SW 15: Box – Does It Have a Future? RHS Wisley, Wisley Lane, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB. 0203 176 5830, rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley 16: Glorious Evergreen Foliage for Garden Structure: RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Rosemoor, Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH. 0203 176 5830, rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor 16: A Practical Introduction to Hardwood Cuttings: RHS Harlow Carr, Crag Lane, Harrogate, North Yorks HG3 1QB. 0203 176 5830, rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr 15-17: See How our Garden Glows opening: RHS Rosemoor 20: George Lockwood – Climbing and Rambling Roses: Ruislip Central Horticultural Society, St Lawrence Church, Bridle Road, Pinner HA5 2SJ, £5 plus concessions, ruisliphorticultural.org.uk 21-25: Christmas Craft Fair: RHS Wisley 23: Winter pruning: Crown Nursery, High Street, Ufford, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP13 6EL, crown-nursery.co.uk…

1 Fill your basket to the depth where you want your trailing plants to emerge, then cut holes in the lining. 2 Wrap the roots of trailing plants in plastic and carefully slide them through the holes. Remove the plastic. 3 Plant your central top plant (I chose a frosted sedge), teasing out any congested and circling roots first. 4 Add the peripheral plants, planting to the same depth as their rootball. Add bulbs as well. 5 Top up the basket with compost. Don’t worry about gaps –they will be filled as the plants grow. 6 Water the basket well, even if rain is forecast, to settle the soil around the roots and stabilise the plants.…

1 Place your water butt on its stand and use a spirit level to work out where it will join the downpipe. 2 Mark the pipe and cut through with a hacksaw. Cut straight, otherwise the diverter may not fit on properly. 3 Attach the diverter and link hose to the pipe. Make sure that the hose is long enough to reach the butt. 4 Drill a hole where the hose will join the water butt. The area you need to open should already be marked out. 5 Finally, attach the hose from the drainpipe diverter to the water butt. Make sure it is secure, and wait for the rain to come!…

ONE of the best things about autumn – apart from seasonal colours, log fires, hearty stews and dumplings – is using up the summer’s glut of fruit and veg. This year has been a bumper one for many things, most of all tomatoes – in our garden, at any rate. Every one of my 32 seed-grown plants survived and produced an embarrassment of riches, to the point where every kitchen surface was covered in bowls of their fruit. As I am allergic to waste, they soon got used up in soups, stews, rich roasted sauces and, of course, green tomato chutney. Chutney-making is a family tradition I have embraced with gusto, and this year I have bubbled up batches of rhubarb, courgette and tomato. The recipe stays much the same…

1 Check the name and re-write or re-label each tree and shrub before it fades, and also check each tree’s stakes and ties. 2 Cut back any herbaceous flowering plants, globe artichokes and asparagus stems after their stems have withered or the plant loses nutrients. 3 Dig up and split up older congested herbaceous plants, then replant the healthy ones in groups of five, seven or three. 4 Don’t give your houseplants a shock when you water – keep a full watering can near a radiator or another warm place.…

UNDERSTANDING pollination is useful when you’re buying a new fruit tree, cane or bush. Without successful pollination, the flowers won’t turn into harvestable fruit! Some fruit crops have simple pollination requirements, while others are more complex. Cane fruits (raspberries and blackberries), bush fruits (currants and gooseberries), plus figs, grapes, strawberries, peaches, nectarines and apricots are ‘self-fertile’. This means they’ll set a crop by themselves: just plant, water and wait for the harvests. Other tree fruits such as apples, pears, cherries, plums and gages are termed ‘self-infertile’, which means they need to be planted alongside another suitable tree for pollination to happen and fruit to set; blueberries will also set a larger number of fruits per bush if you grow more than one variety together. An apple won’t pollinate a pear,…

BUYING fruit trees, canes and bushes bare-root (with no soil around the roots) is a great way to purchase plants while they’re dormant. Transportation for the mail-order companies is far easier, and this is reflected in the price – they’re way cheaper than pot-grown stock. It’s essential that the roots don’t dry out either during transport (which is the responsibility of the company you ordered from, and their courier) or once you take delivery. As soon as you receive bare-root plants, either plant them or – if the soil is frozen or waterlogged and undiggable or their site isn’t ready – heel them in. This simply means to temporarily plant them in a big tub of moist compost or, if the ground is workable, in a sheltered part of the…

THANKFULLY, we have all come to our senses and dahlias are firmly back in fashion. Why would a plant that produces a rainbow of colours from summer to autumn ever be out of favour? What puts many gardeners off these incredible plants is the thought of having to lift and store them over winter. If you aren’t a risk-taker, then lifting them is probably wise. Your decision should also be based on your soil type. If you live in the South of England and have a well-drained soil, then leaving them in the garden is fairly low risk. If, like me, you have a heavy clay or a waterlogged soil, you should consider storing them under cover. How to lift your tubers Dahlias shouldn’t be lifted until the foliage has…

Mahonia x media ‘Winter Sun’ AGM Worth growing for the bright-yellow flowers – they smell like lily of the valley and last from November to March. Evergreen. Prune after flowering if required. An option for semi-shade or shade. H: 16ft (5m). Helleborus niger ‘HGC Josef Lemper’ This cultivar of the Christmas rose flowers from early December, producing snow-white saucer-shaped flowers above generous foliage. Cut off the leaves for a better display of the blooms. Semi-shade. H: 1ft (30cm). Chimonanthus praecox The bare stems of wintersweet are hung with fragrant golden flowers from December to February. A sun lover, it can be grown as a wall shrub against a south or west-facing wall. H: 6 1/2-13ft (2-4m). Prunus x…

Of course, there’s no absolute assurance that winter plants will come up trumps for Christmas. But to encourage the best show possible, plant in the right place. For instance, the Algerian iris (I. unguicularis) enjoys poor soil at the bottom of a sun-baked wall, and dogwoods (such as Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’) must be grown in full sun to ensure their stems blaze bright scarlet. If buying containerised plants now to put in the ground for Christmas, make sure they look healthy and show no signs of being pot-bound.…

Brunnera ‘Alexander’s Great’ A double-sized brunnera with large, robust, silvered foliage and clouds of dainty blue spring flowers. Perfect to light up shade. I was suspicious at first, but it has proved a real star. H: 20in (50cm). Buy from: Plants for Shade, Paddock Plants Lamprocapnos (Dicentra) ‘Valentine’ Newer form of the classic pink-flowered bleeding heart, this has rich-red stems, red-tinted leaves and pendulous red lockets on elegant branches. Needs shelter from early morning spring sun. H: 2ft (60cm). Buy from: Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants; Urban Jungle Euphorbia characias ‘Portuguese Velvet’ Neater than most; slightly woody, with short, bluish, silvered, almost velvety leaves, plus tight heads of dark chocolate-centred lime-green flowers. Full sun. H: 2ft (60cm). Buy from: Barracott Plants; Beth Chatto Gardens Helleborus…

How can we cultivate a calathea? Q My sister-in-law doesn’t have much luck growing Calathea crocata and has tried three times with no luck. What should she do? They are such lovely plants. John Clay, Market Harborough, Leicestershire A Calathea crocata grows to about 2ft (60cm) tall in a tight clump. It needs light shade in summer (a north or east-facing aspect is ideal), but a brighter spot in winter (west-facing is good but keep it out of direct sun as this will dull the colour of the leaves). It needs a reasonably steady temperature with a minimum of 16˚C/60˚F throughout the year and won’t tolerate draughty conditions. Keep the plant moderately well watered in summer. Calatheas love high humidity so mist the plant daily, ideally with rainwater, or…

Your very own hedge fun! These days, hedging plants can be bought and planted at any time of the year, but the traditional time was always November. In years gone by, hedging plants were only available as bare-root plants, lifted from open ground on a nursery. These plants needed to be planted in gardens when they were dormant, between November and March. It was only in the 1950s and 1960s that nursery plants for sale were grown in pots. So, with an eye to the traditional timing for hedges, let’s look at some of the fascinating stories that are connected to them. The vertical rule The sides of a formal clipped hedge should never be vertical – they should taper to the top. There are two reasons for adhering to…

Why do I have fewer apples? Q We have several apple trees in the garden, and they usually provide fruit to eat and store with some left over for the birds. Why are there so few this year – is it just down to the dry summer? Jenny Barber-Riley, Birmingham A Drought can cause smaller fruits, but it doesn’t explain scarcity. We may need to look further back to make an assessment. Most apple trees produced a generous harvest in 2017, with fruits laying thick on the ground, providing a bonanza for blackbirds, pheasants, redwings and fieldfares. A good year often appears to exhaust the trees, and after the feast can come a famine. The habit of taking a year off is known as biennial bearing and some varieties, notably…

IT’S great to have big, blousy hanging baskets for real impact, but the smaller gardens can be made to look more cute with smaller items of colour. I was thrilled to find these hanging cans and now our winter flowering pansies are already giving a super colour on the fence. I will soon be buying some more for other fences to bring life to them, too. At least with tin they can be repainted if, in time, they start to rust, and they are not that plastic we are all trying to veer from in our gardens. Sylvia Monk, Hayling Island, Hants…

AS a reader of Amateur Gardening for many years I was surprised and disappointed to read Ruth Hayes, a much respected writer, advising us to leave the greenhouse door slightly open during very windy weather (AG, 13 Oct). In my experience this causes more damage and I would be interested to hear others’ views. I will of course continue to read the best gardening magazine around! Louise Hardy by email Ruth says: Thank you for your letter. It’s something we always do, following advice from a local gardener with years of experience who has a theory that if wind is blowing in one way it needs an escape and if you leave the door slightly open for the duration of the storm, it can do so without popping panes…

MUCH of my career has followed in the Wellington boot steps of Beatrix Potter’s Mr McGregor – chasing rabbits out of the veg patch. Now, thanks to my daughter’s new pets, I’ve spent the last week trying to keep my once furry-foes inside a designated garden space. Although rabbits aren’t the brightest buns in the cakeshop window, they have excellent memories. Trying to keep them penned inside their run has been a challenge, due the fact that during their first daring escape – minutes after they arrived from the pet shop – they found a narrow space behind the greenhouse and they have spent every waking moment since trying to get back there. Maybe there’s some carrots or home-burrowed beer stashed there? From the guilty glint in their doe-eyes and…

ONE of the best things about moving house is having a new garden to play with, assessing the potential and deciding what to tackle first. When we moved into our house six years ago, the decision was already made for us – one side of the garden was bordered by a leylandii hedge of monstrous proportions. According to the neighbours it had been growing for around three decades and by the time we arrived it was around 30ft (9m) high and 10ft (3m) wide, dying in patches, shading out much of the garden and robbing the other plants of light, water and nutrients. We hired a team of tree surgeons and once they had removed the evergreens we dug over the soil, added lots of compost and ordered 120 bare-root…

1 Dig a trench with a sloping side and lay the whips in so their roots are completely below soil level. 2 Fill the trench with soil and tread it down to keep the whips secure and make sure their roots remain covered. 3 Water well so the roots are saturated. If soil is extremely free-draining, you may need to water again during dry spells. 4 Whips can stay in place all winter, but the soil around the roots may need firming again if it cracks and lifts during hard frosts.…

IF the hot summer proved one thing, it’s that you can never have too many water butts. Our four butts soon ran dry, so we relied on grey water to keep the tomatoes alive. The butts started to fill up again once the dry spell ended, but by that time they were producing a pretty ripe smell whenever we drained off some water. Now, with winter just around the corner, is the time to empty your water butts and clean them out. Once clean, you can then either reinstall them and let them fill up or keep them empty to reduce the risk of water freezing and cracking the plastic. As we live in the south and have a sheltered garden, I’m doing the former, which should give us plenty…

LAST month, I spent the large part of a day up in Lincolnshire looking at Brussels sprouts, talking about them and tasting them. Did you know that 60% of all the sprouts grown commercially in the UK are sold and eaten over the three-week Christmas period? Also, the Americans are just discovering them, following their passion for super health food kale. The UK-bred kale/sprout cross gave us Flower Sprout (for example, Petit Posy, Dobies) and encouraged the addition of sprouts to American menus as a starter, a side vegetable, as well as stir fried and a salad mix. This should come as no surprise, because modern cultivars of Brussels sprout have pretty well lost that bitter taste and are now sweet and crunchy enough to eat raw. The latest introductions…

IF you want a good tree fruit harvest next year, now is the time to start protecting your plums, cherries, pears and apples. November is the key time to attach grease bands or barrier glue to tree trunks to prevent an infestation of winter moth caterpillars next spring. These barriers are an excellent organic solution to codling, plum, mottled umber and winter moths, which are species that have wingless females that emerge from chrysalids in the soil, crawl up the trunks, mate and lay their eggs. The results are damaged leaves and blossom, as signs of attack start showing in spring, followed by maggoty fruit. The insects also target many ornamental trees including oak, sycamore, dogwoods, roses and hornbeams. Using widely available grease bands or trunk paint stops the wingless…

OUR climate has changed an enormous amount in the past 30 years, in my view. One of the biggest changes has been the arrival of the first frost. Thirty years ago it always came at the beginning of September and had your runner beans and dahlias just as they were getting going. These days you might get a touch of frost in September and then it might be November before you get another one. Admittedly, I get frost later than most because the cold air plunges down into the Windrush Valley in the Cotswolds. It’s the only advantage of being 700-800ft (213-244m) above sea level. Most of the time it’s chilly in Cold Aston, as you might expect from the name. My dahlias play a part in the village’s Harvest…

1 You can sprinkle your wood ash directly onto the soil around crops that might appreciate its potash content. Pass it through a coarse riddle to remove large lumps, then add at a rate of 50g per square metre, gently forking it into the upper 8in (20cm) or so of soil. 2 The potassium in wood ash is very water soluble, so ideally you should use it within a few days of being created (especially if heavy rainfall is due, as this could leach out the ash’s nutrients). Plant roots will then readily take it up before entering their winter dormancy. 3 Wood ash is generally quite alkaline (the opposite of acidic) so it’s best used around crops that are happy in soil with a neutral or slightly alkaline pH…

WITH shortening days, plummeting temperatures and less bounty on the plot, it’s no wonder that mice, voles and rats turn their attention to our food stores. Gnaw marks, droppings and the smell of urine are all signs that your crops are under attack. Stored fruits, potatoes and other root and tuberous crops are easy targets, unless you intervene. Nobody likes killing these animals and it’s definitely not something I’d promote, so what are the better options available to gardeners? Sourcing entry holes in sheds, garages or similar buildings where your crops are stored is the best step. Block these up or, if that’s tricky, stuff them with fine wire mesh to prevent intruders. Storing your crops in wire crates is also a good option. Humane traps are available for mice,…

Dahlia ‘David Howard’ An orange dahlia with fully double flowers about 4in (10cm) across. The foliage is a bronze colour. Height 30in (75cm). Flowers July to November. Dahlia ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ A much-loved dahlia thanks to its semi-double red flowers and dark foliage. Flowers 3in (8cm) across. Height 39in (1m). Flowers July to October. Dahlia ‘Ambition’ Dark-purple/pink semi-cactus shaped flowers measuring 6in (15cm) across. Very reliable plant. Height 35in (90cm). Flowers from July to November. Dahlia ‘Bright Eyes’ A dahlia ideal for the middle of a border. Height 28in (70cm). Single purple and yellow blooms that attract bees and other pollinators. Flowers are 3in (8cm) across. Dahlia ‘Honka Fragile’ A star-shaped dahlia with white single flowers. Each petal is edged…

Asters Old Court Nurseries is a long-standing specialist, with everything from classic favourites like A. amellus ‘King George’ (above) to modern additions. Farmyard Nurseries also lists a large range, plus many hellebores and other perennials. Geraniums G. clarkei ‘Kashmir White’ (above) is just one of about 1,500 hardy geraniums that have been grown in Britain, with more added all the time. Cranesbill Nursery and The Hardy Geranium Nursery are unbeatable for choice. Salvias Dyson Salvias and Ashwood Nurseries are top picks for salvias. Both offer masses of choice – from dwarf shrubs and perennial varieties, to biennials and annuals, including ‘Amistad’ (above), with purple flowers opening from black buds. Peonies Most of the peonies we grow today were introduced long ago – some, like Paeonia lactiflora ‘Festiva Maxima’ (above), more…

IT’S that time of year again, when lawns and borders disappear under a thick blanket of autumn leaves. If left in place, these leaves can smother and kill small plants and lawns so they must be gathered up. The leaves can either be taken to the tip or, if you have space, rotted down and turned into a top-class soil conditioner or mulch. Autumn leaves are light and bulky, easy to rake into piles but difficult to pick up with gloved hands. That’s where leaf grabbers come in, quickly shifting large volumes into your barrow for processing elsewhere. In effect, they’re just giant hands – very Kenny Everett – though some have long handles to save you bending. We tried six different models to help you choose the best for…

6 November 1885 English botanist Frank Kingdon Ward was born. He brought back to the UK the first viable seed of the Himalayan blue poppy (Meconopsis betonicifolia, pictured) and the giant cowslip (Primula florindae) – which he named after his first wife Florinda. 7 November 1959 English botanist William Dallimore died. He published Handbook of Coniferae and played a key role in creating Kent’s Bedgebury National Pinetum. 8 November 2017 The tallest rose bush was measured on this day. At 18ft 8in (5.689m) it was grown by Christopher Rose (really!) in, California, USA. The variety is ‘Bewitched’ (pictured). 9 November 1865 English botanist Thomas Bridges, who specialised in flora from South America, died at the age of 58. Penstemon bridgesii (pictured) is named after him, and he is credited with…

1 In a good year there is an abundance of blossom; given sunny weather, insects will be on the wing for pollination. The absence of late frost brings a good set. 2 In a year of abundance, it is a good plan to thin apples for improved size and quality, but also to place less of a burden on the tree and avoid biennial bearing. 3 Make the most of the apples you have by picking fruits regularly when they come away easily, stalk attached. They will store better fresh and unbruised. 4 During winter, thin branches from congested trees but don’t take out too much in one go and avoid lopping branches halfway. Shorten some thin, sappy shoots and overcrowded spurs.…

FENCING is the most effective way of keeping rabbits away from garden plants but if this isn’t possible, the options are to protect individual young plants with a homemade tree-guard or apply a deterrent spray such as Grazers, which will make leaves and stems unpalatable. Create guards using a hoop of chicken wire pinned in situ with bamboo canes, and leave in place around trees and shrubs until the plant develops thicker bark – as then, the rabbits tend to leave it alone. You can often tell when a shrub is safe, as the bark goes grey or develops a rough texture.…

1 After clearing and digging the ground for planting, cover it with a length of weed-suppressing membrane. 2 Cut slits in the membrane for your whips. Keep the slits short and narrow to stop weeds growing through. 3 Dip the roots in mycorrhizal fungi or sprinkle Growmore in the planting holes to help root growth. 4 Dig holes under the slits and plant the whips to the same depth as the soil marks around their stems. 5 Firm in the whips after planting to keep them stable and get rid of air pockets under the soil. 6 Tie each whip to a support while they get established. Remove them once the trees can support themselves.…

OUR dahlias have been tremendous this year, flowering profusely for what seems like months on end. Now it is time to pack them away for the winter, storing them somewhere frost-free undercover until next spring. If you are lucky to live somewhere sheltered and mild, you may be lucky enough to get away with leaving your dahlias in the ground, with their crown and roots protected by a 4in (10cm) layer on mulch. However, to be on the safe side, in most areas the best advice is to lift them or, if they are growing in pots, cut back the top growth and move the containers into a greenhouse, garage or shed. Dahlias are lifted once the first frosts have blackened their leaves. Cut away the foliage to within 2in…

Hanging baskets take quite a lot of time and thought to put together, so you want them to last as long as possible. Once they are hanging, make sure they don’t dry out or get too much water. Keep plants flowering by deadheading and make sure you remove dead and damaged foliage to stop the spread of diseases. Check for pests and deal with any you find immediately. If high winds and storms are forecast, take down your basket and store it in a greenhouse, shed or well-lit porch. Position it so that it is raised on a pot or bucket. Return it outside when weather conditions improve.…

Keeping your water butts clean is essential for healthy plants. A dirty butt not only smells foul, but is also likely to contain pest eggs and larvae, as well as fungal spores washed down from guttering. Keeping gutters clear is one way of reducing the risk of contamination, but so is washing out the butt regularly. A solution of Jeyes Fluid will work and there are also lots of environmentally friendly washes on the market. These work by restoring the natural balance of the water and keeping it free from algae and slime. Popular products include Garden Genie Water Butt Cleaner and Hozelock Water Butt Treatment.…

1 New Brussels Sprout ‘Redarling’ F1 is very hardy, a deep-red colour with good flavour, and will be arriving on Christmas dinner plates this December. 2 Flower Sprout ‘Frivole Red’ F1 is a late maturing kind, and its leaves are colourful enough to go into flower borders. 3 Belgian growers are after small, neat round sprouts for deep-freezing. It’s a major crop for them. 4 If, after all of this, you still do not like sprouts, then garden centres are selling foil-wrapped chocolate sprouts at £1.99 for 16 (The Great Character Candy Company). They might suit the Belgians, but I would prefer larger chocolates!…

WE all have to do some pruning – add to this any hedging you do, and the annual amounts of woody waste can soon add up. This used to be burned, and if it’s thorny or diseased that is probably still the best course of action in those areas where it’s allowed. Shredders came in as a sort of greener alternative: these are amazing. You can feed one of these howling monsters with all sorts of material, twigs, stems and thick branches, even – and it will all then be noisily converted into a remarkably small pile… along with a big dent in your electric bill! I do know of hand-powered shredders, but these are just not tenable. Not really very green, then. Some might put these woody wastes in…

DID any of you celebrate Guy Fawkes night with a bonfire for the children or grandchildren? The burning of the guy not only gives you an excuse to rid the garden of prunings and general mess, but it also results in a useful product: wood ash. This powdery product is a great source of potash, which is the main nutrient used by fruiting crops. It helps wood to ripen, mature and ultimately produce flowers and fruit – you can see why it’s important to make sure your plants receive good levels. So once the embers have died down and cooled sufficiently, collect up the ashes and put them to good use on the plot with this guide… Next Week: Grow the best garlic, understand fruit tree varieties, lift and divide…

WHY is it that when we have an important space to fill in the garden, viburnums tend not to be the first shrubs we think of? Perhaps it’s because they don’t have a catchy common name – after all, butterfly bush beats arrowwood for appeal any day. But with a triple whammy of benefits – flowers in winter or spring, often scented, followed by berries in autumn, plus evergreen foliage or fiery seasonal colouring – not to mention additional marks for good behaviour, you can see that these all-rounders have plenty to recommend them. Viburnums vary greatly in size, from low-spreading ground cover (Viburnum davidii), to bold and impressive specimens that are likely to be too large for many gardens (V. rhytidophyllum) so we’ll set those monsters aside. The heads…

COLOURFUL and usually fragrant flowers are the most appealing feature of so many viburnums, but autumn foliage colour – plus colourful autumn and winter berries – add immeasurably to their appeal. Their autumn colour is often fiery, and can be truly dramatic. For red, orange and yellow tones, look to varieties of V. carlesii, V. dilatatum, and those of our native guelder rose, V. opulus. For richer wine-red and purplish tones, consider V. sargentii and forms of V. plicatum. When it comes to berries, often they’re red, dripping from the plants in glossy clusters in the case of most forms of V. opulus. Mature berries can also be jet-black (V. carlesii), blue-black (V. cinnamomifolium), yellow (V. opulus ‘Xanthocarpum’) or even bright blue (V. davidii). Most will produce berries without another…

Euphorbia pulcherrima Princettia Place this pink poinsettia away from draughts and direct sun. Don’t buy plants that have been kept in cool shop conditions, and protect from the cold on the way home. Water sparingly and mist regularly. Helleborus niger You can enjoy the Christmas rose as a houseplant during the festive period, then plant it outside in the new year. Place in a cool spot away from radiators and direct sun – a porch windowsill is ideal. Don’t overwater. Cyclamen persicum During winter and spring, the Persian cyclamen produces scented pink or white flowers above heart-shaped silvery-green leaves. Place on a bright windowsill, away from direct sun and radiators. Never overwater. Schlumbergera x buckleyi AGM The Christmas cactus is a wonderful…

Do your research and get some recommendations from friends, plus check review sites such as Trust Pilot ( uk.trustpilot.com) and Reviews ( reviews.co.uk), although lots of nurseries have yet to be rated. Many mail-order nurseries are also open for shopping in person. If possible, pay them a visit so you can assess plant quality yourself. Opening times should be displayed on their websites. Unpack plants immediately after receiving them, and if you’re dissatisfied with your delivery take a picture as evidence. Most suppliers are happy to do what they can to sort out problems.…

Ashwood Nurseries ashwoodnurseries.com 01384 401996 Barracott Plants barracottplants.co.uk 01822 832234 Beth Chatto Gardens bethchatto.co.uk 01206 822007 Binny Plants binnyplants.com 01506 858931 Brookfield Plants brookfieldplants.co.uk 01233 624934 Claire Austin Hardy Plants claireaustin-hardyplants.co.uk 01686 670342 Coblands coblands.co.uk 01452 742445 Cottage Nurseries cottagenurseries.net 01507 466968 Cranesbill Nursery cranesbillnursery.com 01684 770733 Dorset Perennials dorsetperennials.co.uk 01963 210643 Dyson Salvias dysonsalvias.com 07887 997663 Farmyard Nurseries farmyardnurseries.co.uk 01559 363389 Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants hardysplants.co.uk 01256 896533 Harperley Hall Farm Nurseries harperleyhallfarmnurseries.co.uk 01207 233318 Heucheraholics heucheraholics.co.uk 01590 670581 Kelways kelways.co.uk 01458 250521 Knoll Gardens knollgardens.co.uk 01202 873931 Long Acre Plants plantsforshade.co.uk 01963 32802 Meadowgate Nursery meadowgatenursery.co.uk 01243 641997 Old Court Nurseries oldcourtnurseries.co.uk 01684 540416 Paddock Plants paddockplants.co.uk 023…

Spear & Jackson Plastic Leaf Grabber £19.99 suggested selling price 0114 281 4242 for stockists spear-and-jackson.com Features Tubular-steel scissor-action handles with non-slip grips. Deeply dished paddles with toothed leaf-gathering front edges. Dimensions: Overall height 36in (92cm), paddle width 191/2in (50cm). Performance The scissor-action long handles have a light and easy action and save bending. The big paddles grab generous scoops of leaves and hold them securely with no fall-out. They drop debris accurately into a big tub or wheelbarrow, though the long paddles can drop leaves over the edge of smaller tubs. The toothed edges pick up small debris thoroughly leaving a nice clean lawn. Value A good price for effective leaf grabbers that will shift large amounts of leaf litter or other debris fast and efficiently without hurting your…

‘Blue Frost’ Luxuriant pale blooms possessing ruffled lilac edges, and rising to 4ft (1.2m) from July to September. ‘Plum Tart’ Spires of rich, satiny magenta-purple flowers rise to 4ft (1.2m). Blends well with soft pink blooms and gold or silvery foliage. ‘Priscilla’ Large flowered sort with generous creamy blooms that are edged in bright pink and have warm, yellow throats. Reaches 36in-4ft (90cm-1.2m). ‘Ruby’ The rich crimson hooded blooms of this G. papilio hybrid will add sophistication to borders. Reaches a height of 30in (75cm).…

Birds all aflutter I LOVE to read my AG magazine and when there are things about ponds, even better. We have a pond 8ft x 5ft for koi fish and a waterfall which is a bathing place for lots of birds: blackbirds, sparrows, blue tits and chaffinches. It’s great to watch them and see them drinking from the waterfall. When you are with them, you forget all the bad things in the world, don’t you? We also have a smaller pond for frogs, toads and tadpoles but I have only seen one frog this year, which is a shame. We really love our ponds as they bring life to our garden. We have feeders and buy bird seed and mealworms to keep our wildlife happy. A robin visits which is…