Innholdsfortegnelse for 06-aug-16 i Amateur Gardening

READERS may think me just plain stingy. I like to think I’m frugal in what I spend on gardening, a hobby that lends its self to make-do-and-mend. Anyway, after three years of environmental soul-searching, hand wringing over the £150-odd cost, and sheer hard labour on my knees with a pair of hedge clippers and a push-pull cylinder mower that seemed to cut every third blade of grass, I’ve gone and bought a petrol powered lawnmower. Not for the lawn at home, but to cut the grass paths at my allotment. When I took on the plot, I convinced myself that paths would only need cutting a couple of times a year, and that I could manage it quite quickly with simple hand tools. But grass grows quickly on fertile soil…

THE alpine trough I planted in the spring flowered beautifully and for a long time, and now needs some TLC to prepare the plants for next year’s blooms. An important task with alpines is to keep their growing environment free from weeds and debris. Alpines are designed to put all their energy into establishing themselves and growing in difficult and poor terrain, so are not robust enough to withstand invasion by weeds. Make sure you keep their growing area clear (this is easier in a trough than in an open rockery). Get rid of fallen leaves and other debris that can smother low-growing alpines, and provide hiding places for pests and fungal diseases. It is also important to trim and deadhead more invasive varieties of alpines, such as bellflowers, columbine…

“It would make a great divide across part of the garden” THE move to vertical and alternative panting surfaces is gathering speed to match the steadily shrinking size of modern gardens. Growing upwards on walls and fences, and even on green roofs, is now commonplace with a whole range of specially designed systems. Nurseries are responding to this changing requirement by offering a wide range of climbers and trainable shrubs on trellis and tower. If you are looking out onto a leafless wall, you can simply buy 6-8ft (1.8m-2.4m) tall wooden frames or galvanised mesh, already neatly clad with ornamental, woody perennials. You can also get pleached trees (a stilted hedge on tree trunks) ready to give instant privacy. At a recent trade show I was interested to see trachelospermum…

LIFE in the garden is pretty heavenly at the moment – lunchtimes are spent sitting outside, eating local eggs and fish with home-grown salad leaves, cucumbers and tomatoes. Evening meals are flavoured with herbs and supported by courgettes, mange-tout, kale and new potatoes. Dessert consists of yoghurt, granola and a mixture of strawberries and raspberries. I pick these literally minutes before we eat them – it really does make you feel so in touch with your garden. I mentioned last week that the strawberries are doing especiallywell so I’m going to bulk them up by pegging down some of their runners. This is such an easy method of propagation, and I’m keen to share the method with you, step by step. Top Tip   Only peg down as many strawberry…

I SOWED some calabrese back in April and it’s ready for cropping now. I have twenty plants that will all mature within a week or so – so it’s handy that it freezes well! To grow calabrese and avoid a glut is a faff – you need to stagger sowings or choose varieties that mature at different times. I prefer to sow once in spring, freezing the surplus, and then once more in early August. I use the same variety (‘Ironman’) and it works a treat. By sowing now I’ll be getting a harvest in late October. Again, most of this will be destined for the freezer but it means I’m pretty much self-sufficient in calabrese year-round. My parents make an additional sowing in early September in their unheated greenhouse.…

• 6 August: Plant Hunters' Fair (10am-4.30pm), National Memorial Arboretum Alrewas, Staffs. DE13 7AR planthuntersfairs.co.uk • 7 August: Hilltop, Woodville, Stour Provost, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5LY (2-6pm). Open in aid of NGS 01747 838512 ngs.org.uk • 7 August: Plant Hunters' Fair (10am-4pm), Donington Le Heath Manor House, Leicestershire LE67 2FW planthuntersfairs.co.uk • 7 August: British Red Cross Open Garden at Mapledean Farm, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 6LG (2-5pm) 01245 291014. redcross.org.uk • 7 August: British Red Cross Open Garden at Thwaite Hall Gardens, University of Hull, Thwaite Street, Cottingham, East Yorks HU16 4QX (11am-4pm) redcross.org.uk • 7 August: 4 Stockley Grove, Brancepeth, Durham DH7 8DU, (1-5pm), for NGS. Mr and Mrs Bainbridge 079445 23551 ngs.org.uk • 9 August: Garden Safari (10.30am-2.30pm), Chelsea Physic Garden, 66 Royal Hospital Rd, London SW3 4HS…

Living in rural Herefordshire i pass many small roadside retailers every time i pop into town. Within a mile of my home i can buy fresh eggs, plants and bags of horse manure, all for bargain prices. A sign outside one of these sellers recently caused me to pull in and purchase some wonderful cosmos, ammi and tithonia. grower Jane Fields, who is the proud owner of seven greenhouses on the B4361 to Richards Castle (if you’re ever in the area!), sells a wonderful selection, so i filled the boot. Buying plants with almost zero road miles has to be the way forward. The plants have been used to spruce up pots outside my front door, which never took off as i was far too stingy with my planting in…

WE’VE feasted on strawberries and cream for weeks. But the plants in the fruit frame are not resting – no, they’re on a mission to reproduce by putting out runners. These are baby plants that are growing on offshoots from parent plants. To encourage them, remove the straw from the bed and then pin down the runners to the soil and they will root. If you’d rather grow in containers, pin the runner into a pot and once rooted cut the umbilical cord and set it free. Strawberry plants only tend to produce good fruit for about five years so it’s wise to plan for new plants – and this is a great way to get new ones for free.…

• Parasols can be freestanding, with their central poles firmly fastened into a heavy base, or overhanging from a frame. • There’s also a wide choice in terms of different covers, ranging from neutral canvas to fluttering raffia and embroidered, brightly coloured Indian textiles. • Take down parasols when it’s particularly windy to stop them from blowing away, and try not to leave them out during prolonged wet weather. Always allow them to dry out before folding them up and putting them away for the winter to avoid rotting. • Good suppliers include: B&Q, Hayes Garden World, The Range, Argos and Greenfingers.com.…

How do I plant for midsummer glory? QI work at a nursing home and the residents plan to enter a garden competition next year. Can you suggest shrubs, climbers and herbaceous plants that bloom in high summer? Georgina Rowland, Riverside, Dorset A Given reasonable weather, good growing conditions and healthy plants, you can plan a garden that will look wonderful during summer. I’d apply a 4in (10cm) thick layer of mulch or soil conditioner to all beds, having applied a general fertiliser such as Growmore at 28g/sq m before the mulch. Ensure the soil is damp before mulching. In dry weather, ensure all plants are given a through soaking at least once a week, applying 22 litres (about five gallons) per square metre each watering. Keep an eye open for…

A HEDGE can be a valuable feature in any garden. While marking the boundary, it may also provide privacy, security and shelter, perhaps form a backdrop to borders and offer a home to birds and wildlife. But hedges must be maintained – and they’re not always near an electrical power source. The advantage of a petrol-powered hedgetrimmer is that it’s free from cable, and gives mobility and freedom of movement where many yards of cutting are required. They’re usually designed to cope with heavy-duty work. In this test we look at four hedgetrimmers with double-sided blades – a good choice for shaping hedges and for work up to chest height. When choosing which one to go for, consider available power and blade length in relation to the material to be…

’Cos we’re British THIS year has proved a real challenge and not only to me. I’ve watched my cuttings and young plants sat lethargically in their pots, no doubt wondering what time of the year it was. Earlier in the year we decided our garden needed more perennials so, seduced by the adverts, we ordered several sets from various nurseries and then sat back and waited. One by one the apologies came in: ‘Sorry, your plants will be delayed’. When they finally arrived some were barely ‘out of nappies!’ It must be said, quality and service varied hugely. One would think, with modern technology, that the inevitable vagaries of the British weather could be overcome, even at a cost. But, when Plantsman’s pride and Accountant’s bottom-line clash, guess who wins?…

AUGUST is traditionally a time of holidays and – weather allowing – enjoying the garden. But you still have a duty of care to the plants and animals living in it. Basic maintenance such as feeding, watering and deadheading is still required, and as pests don’t recognise the holiday season, you need to keep watching out for them too. However, if the summer is wet and cold, there may be fewer caterpillars and bugs for the birds to eat, so continue to fill your bird feeders. Keep harvesting crops and deadheading spent flowers. Remove new growth from tomato plants, as there is not enough time for them to develop fruit before the cooler, shorter days of autumn. I also cut the lower foliage from my greenhouse toms, to make watering…

WE are in the throes of the holiday season, and everywhere people are wondering what to do with their plants when they go on holiday. It isn’t always convenient to ask a neighbour to pop in and keep an eye on things while you’re away, but there are several ways of helping your plants get through your absence without wilting and dying. The obvious first step is to water well before you go, so the soil is properly saturated, but not waterlogged. Plants will also need less water if you remove flowers that are in full bloom, as well as faded ones that will go on to make seed heads while you are away. This has the added benefit of encouraging buds to bloom in time for your return home,…

AFTER being told not to, Joe (age 5) graffitied the patio with his coloured chalks. The blackboard and the chalk were confiscated and he had to spend five minutes on the naughty step.(Yes, we have a naughty step in the garden. In fact any step can be instantly converted - and the boys know this.) When one son is naughty, the other grows a halo. “Hello Mummy” leered Robbie “What helpful job can I do for you?” He declined scrubbing the patio, and I decided to leave it to be washed by the rain rather than trust the other naughty son with a bucket of water. It’s been a wet summer so I didn’t have to wait long. A few days later we were harvesting strawflowers and discussing how the…

WE’VE been busily picking raspberries for around a month now – are we sick of them yet? No! Even the canes we planted this spring have rewarded us with ample harvests, making raspberries generous and quick-to-deliver in the fruit growing world. Summer raspberries like my ‘Glen Moy’ may well be coming to an end now, but that’s where autumn varieties such as ‘Polka’ pick up the baton. They keep running right through until November in mild locations, so are well worth the space if you can spare it. Inevitably there will be gluts with this fruit, but they freeze incredibly well so that’s not a problem. Jam, too, is a favourite in our house. The secret to happy raspberries is to pick over canes every few days, as fruits can…

WHILE my broad beans are now safely tucked up in the freezer, my runner and French beans are still cropping their socks off! These plants are incredibly generous when it comes to yields as long as you remember one golden rule: pick them thoroughly every few days. The plants will respond by producing loads more pods to replace those you’re removing. If you don’t and the beans go old on the plants, cropping will stop in its tracks. I pick my runners while they’re still quite small, and so tender and sweet. It also guarantees steady crops way into October, which is a pretty good return from one sowing made in May!…

“Working conditions are more pleasant in summer!” RIGHT now most of us are thinking more about harvesting fruits than about pruning trees and bushes. Somehow that seems a task more suited to the bleaker months. However, there are good reasons for doing annual fruit pruning now, apart from it being more pleasant working conditions. Most importantly the right pruning now encourages more flowering and fruiting next year, whereas winter-pruning mostly encourages more growth replacing whatever was cut away. Winter pruning is ‘saw and secateurs’ removing woody shoots and branches and is important for establishing the shape and framework of branches of young trees and bushes. Then once these are established and cropping well, some of the annual pruning can change to a ‘summer-shearing’ where most of the new shoots are…

“Double flowers look like rosettes of tissue paper” WITH pretty, ruffled blooms in rich shades, clarkia makes a fine summer show to fill gaps in beds and borders. Stems reach 24in (60cm) high and are decorated at intervals by double flowers, looking like rosettes of coloured tissue paper. This is a hardy annual bred from Californian wild flower Clarkia elegans, at home on the dry, sunny slopes of the Golden State. In the garden Clarkias prefer an open, sunny site where soil is slightly acidic, well-drained and of medium fertility. Overfeeding can lead to tall, floppy plants with more foliage than blooms. Hardy annuals like this are suitable for either autumn (August to October) or spring sowing (March to May, though wait for soil to warm up) and are ideal…

BY August many of the early summer perennials have faded in the borders. There is still plenty of colour however, with campanulas, alstroemerias and heleniums in full bloom. Some of the faded perennials, such as the alliums, have attractive, well-structured seed heads that are well worth leaving in the borders – but others only bring the display down. Some of the borders at Stockton Bury are very deep so making your way through them to cut faded stems to the base is a delicate operation. A plant that I am keen to cut right back to the base is Anthriscus ‘Raven’s Wing’ (otherwise known as the black cow parsley). In early summer its umbelliferous blooms were a show piece but now they look scruffy. Also in the same bed are…

ANTS cause little damage in the garden so there is no reason to control them unless they’re becoming a nuisance. I love to sit on the lawn so ants in turf frustrate me and it’s at this time of year we notice them most, especially if a picnic or paddling pool is involved. Chemical controls are mainly designed for use within the home and on hard surfaces, so I’m left simply brushing away the nests before mowing. An alternative for very bad infestations is Nemasys Natural No Ants. This organic control contains nematodes that kill the larvae and encourage the adults to move on. The product only keeps for two weeks in the fridge, so ensure that you can apply it within that time.…

Humulus lupulus ‘Aureus’ Golden hop puts on a beautiful display of yellow leaves and produces clusters of aromatic flowers followed by attractive hops. This deciduous plant is best in full sun, as long as it gets enough moisture, but will tolerate partial shade. Supplier: Wyevale garden centres Honeysuckle ‘Halliana’ Surround yourself with the sweet smell of honeysuckle with this climber, which produces hundreds of perfumed white flowers that age to yellow between April and August. Many of the leaves remain throughout the year. Thrives in sun or partial shade. Supplier: Wyevale garden centres. Clematis viticella ‘Luxurians’ White flowers with unusual green stripes, blooming from July to September. This toughie can cope with shade and any aspect, and will grow in coastal areas and tolerate extremely low temperatures. Benefits from a…

Shade sail This Australian innovation combines style and practicality to provide cooler spots in the garden. Available in various colours and styles, they can be positioned at different angles. Fix properly to prevent sagging and beware strong winds; look for models that are fire retardant. Supplier: Kookabura. From £17.99 at Amazon.co.uk. Arbour These small wooden structures have been used to provide shaded seating for hundreds of years. Available as freestanding or corner-fitting features. Can be pricey but will last several years with careful upkeep. Make sure water is not able to pool around the base and cause rot. Supplier: homebase.co.uk Pergola Go Mediterranean with this light and airy long term option that will provide a beautiful garden feature for many years. Gives some shade but allows rain to reach the…

• Take six to eight chunks of cucumber and eight to 10 mint leaves and “muddle” them together in the bottom of a glass with a wooden pestle to release their flavours. • Add 25ml lemon juice, 25ml elderflower cordial, 50 ml apple juice and 50 ml gin and fill to the top with crushed ice. • Carefully mix ingredients with a spoon and garnish with mint and apple slices. For an alcohol-free version, replace the gin with more apple juice.…

Sparkling Bowls £219 Dobbies Garden Centres dobbies.com  for nearest stockist Watch the water shimmer on a sunny day as it cascades down four stepped bowls, lit by three LED lights. Self-contained with its own pump, simply plug in, fill and go. Made from polyresin it stands H. 2ft 7in (85cm) x W. 1ft 3in (41cm) x D. 1ft 4in (44cm). Solar Glitter Jars £2.99 Each Home Bargains Stores homebargains.co.uk Left to soak up the sun during the day, these jars will provide plenty of sparkle to proceedings at night thanks to the built-in solar panel. Available in three different colours – green, lilac and turquoise they’re ideal for paths, driveways or simply hanging from a tree and stand 7½in (19cm) tall. Buy individually in store or…

Fuchsia procumbens Creeping species with golden flowers followed by large pink berries. Best in well-drained soil and some shade. One for milder, coastal regions. H 4in (10cm). ‘Lady Boothby’ Unusually tall and vigorous, ideal tied in to a trellis or arch, the deep violet petals contrast nicely with the rosy red sepals. H 9ft (3m). Where to buy • Little Brook Fuchsias 01252 329731 littlebrookfuchsias.co.uk • Potash Nursery 01449 781671 potashnursery.co.uk • Thompson & Morgan 0844 573 1818 thompson-morgan.com…

1 Place plants on the soil, in their pots, to get the right arrangement. Stand them in water before planting. 2 Dig a hole the same depth as the rootball and slightly wider. Make sure the plant has space to develop. 3 Remove the plant from its pot, tease out the roots, and plant it. Infill around the roots and firm in. 4 Water, and top dress with compost or manure. Keep the plant well watered until it is established.…

1 Drip irrigation systems, which can be attached to a timer, are an effective way of watering containers, growbags, and larger areas. 2 Planters with integral watering systems are increasingly available, but you need to think ahead and plant them up at the start of the summer. 3 Watering cones work well in pots. Attach them to bottles of water, with added feed, and stick them in the compost. They gradually release water. 4 Move houseplants out of bright sunlight. Water them, and stand them on capillary matting hanging in a bowl of water for continued watering.…

BY August, a lot of plants around the garden are going over, or getting overgrown. That’s true of pond plants, too. Tidying the pond is often a job left for autumn or spring, but in autumn frogs will be heading back to ponds after their summer ‘holiday’ foraging around the garden, and in spring there’s frog and toadspawn to worry about. So a summer tidy-up makes sense to minimise disruption to wildlife. It’s largely a case of cutting back and clearing rubbish. Plants should be lifted and divided in autumn or spring if necessary. Tidying ponds can be a mucky job, and when you’ve finished the murky water and sparse remaining foliage may not exactly look attractive…. but it will all grow back and settle down in a few days.…

These miniature lavender hats make pretty gifts and are easy for children to assemble. You can buy hats like these in craft shops or from florists suppliers. • Using clear glue, stick the dried flowers around the brim of the hat. • Fill the centre of the hat with dried lavender flowers (see AG 30th July for tips on lavender harvesting). • Glue a circle of netting over the centre of the hat to prevent the lavender from escaping, and attach a looped ribbon for hanging.…

BLIGHT – it strikes as fast as a traffic warden when you’ve parked briefly on a yellow line, and similarly it shows no mercy. This wind-borne disease is at its worst in humid, wet summers (like this one!) and can reduce tomato plants to a decaying mass of shrivelled foliage and rotting fruit in a matter of days. The poor summer has proved to be the ultimate test for my outdoor toms, both of which are blight-tolerant varieties. So far, my tomato ‘Crimson Crush’ (large fruits, from Suttons) has shown no signs of blight, but growth has been sluggish and cropping below what I’d expect for this time of year, despite regular feeding. The new blight-tolerant cherry tomato ‘Crimson Cherry,’ also from Suttons, has fared better, towering above ‘Crimson Crush’…

EVER seen a glow-worm? Although more common a century ago you may be surprised to hear they can still be seen. Found mainly on uncultivated, grazed pasture land, there have also been sightings in larger gardens, especially in wild, untended areas. The well lit streets and gardens of today mean the tiny lights of glow-worms usually go unseen, but it’s now, at the beginning of August, that you might be lucky and spot the brightest displays. The adults start their breeding period in mid-June, which lasts for about eight weeks. Towards the end of this time the remaining females and males are desperate to mate, so are putting as much energy as they can into attracting partners. The best time to see glow-worms is at dusk, on a dry, warm…

1 Prepare previously dug and settled soil by raking the surface to a smooth tilth, removing weeds, stones and lumps. Water if the soil is dry and mark the areas for sowing a variety of annuals, using dribbles of sharp sand. 2 In the chosen area for the clarkia seeds, take out drills 9in (23cm) apart using a cane or the edge of a draw hoe. Soak the base of the drill if necessary and sow thinly and evenly, or at stations 9in (23cm) apart. 3 Cover the seeds by brushing soil back over them lightly, using your hand or a rake. Avoid covering them too deeply. Keep moist. After germination, thin gradually to one every 9in (23cm).…

IF I’m honest the best plant combinations I’ve ever created have been a happy accident. Sometimes the most unlikely colour combinations can be wonderful. One of these unexpected partnerships is Alstroemeria ‘Tessa’ and Tradescantia x andersoniana ‘Concord Grape. Another, this time planned, combination that works is Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ and the grass Stipa tenuissima (renamed nassella, but I can’t get used to that!). I have added extra colour to the duo with some bright orange calendulas. Orange and purple are always winners. A successful combination is not just about colour, it’s as much about structure, movement, shape... and size. For example – what do you plant next to an almighty gunnera? How about the lofty Campanula lactiflora? In our garden this campanula has far exceeded the often advertised height of…

• If in doubt about pruning flowering climbers, think summer solstice. In most cases, those that bloom before the longest day – such as Clematis alpina - should be pruned straight after their flowers have faded. • Those that put on a display after June 20 should be cut back the following spring. These include late flowering clematis, which can be cut back to a pair of strong buds. • Large-flowered clematis – the so-called ‘Group 2’ types – should be pruned in early spring and again in early summer after their first flowers have gone over. • Climbers such as golden hop should be cut back hard in autumn.…

Crataegus ‘Prunifolia Splendens’ Plant a frosted thorn tree for a dome-like canopy of glossy green leaves. Enjoy pretty white blossom in May and red haws and striking orange, yellow and red foliage in autumn. H 16ft/ 5m. Supplier: ornamental-trees.co.uk Prunus ‘Shirotae’ The spreading crown of this flowering cherry makes it a great shade-giving canopy. Produces white, semi-double flowers in spring and its foliage turns to red and orange in autumn. H 13 – 26 ft (4-8m). Supplier: majestictrees.co.uk Amelanchier ‘Ballerina’ Graceful yet vigorous: this Juneberry tree has bronze-tinged young leaves in spring that turn orange and then purple-brown in autumn, along with pretty white flowers and small red berries that are popular with birds. H 13 – 16ft (4-5m). Supplier: chewvalleytrees.co.uk…

Q What is this? As we watched, it raised it’s head and seemed to follow our movements with its eyes. Richard Jackson, Colchester A The caterpillar in question is that of an elephant hawk moth. Its eye spots are for deterring predators. The caterpillar feeds on bedstraw, fuchsia and many other plants. It overwinters as a chrysalis in leaf litter. Q What is this plant? We’ve been told it’s called ‘Dragon’s Tongue’ but can’t find anything about it. Ken and Jackie Hill (via email) A Your plant is Persicaria microcephala. There are several cultivars, all with arrow-shaped leaves with chevrons of green, purple and silver. Yours looks like a variety called ‘Purple Fantasy’. Q I was given one of these plants. I think they are some sort of lucky clover…

Strawberries Blitz with lime juice, white rum, sugar and crushed ice to make a cooling Cuban-style strawberry daiquiri. This is a great way to use up blemished strawberries. Rhubarb Chop up stems and cook gently with sugar and water until soft. Liquidise to create a thick syrup. Combine with vanilla vodka, lemon juice, sugar syrup and fresh apple juice. Beetroot Juice young beetroot and mix with whisky, apple juice and carrot juice for a warming and earthy drink with a jewel-like colour. Beetroot and fresh ginger is also delicious. Raspberries Make a liqueur by placing 150g of raspberries and 175g of sugar into a preserving jar and adding a 70cl bottle of vodka. Shake and leave in a dark place for at least three months. Mint Scented mints such as…

Check plant labels Make sure you are buying a hardy variety and not a tender bedding fuchsia. If winter temperatures get very cold where you live, check plant name against RHS hardiness catagories (H6 is very hardy, H3 hardy in mild areas). Prune in autumn and spring Lightly trim established hardy fuchsias in autumn to tidy them up. Use the prunings to cover the crown to give winter protection if you live in an area where winter temperatures dip below -10°C/14°F. Prune again in the spring. Overwinter tender types You can keep tender (bedding) varieties for another year by moving pots or baskets into the conservatory or greenhouse for the winter. Or take cuttings in September, or overwinter small plants on the windowsill.…

“When rain clouds roll in a zesty aroma fills the air” THE sweet fragrance of coconut-scented sun-cream is one of my favourite summer aromas, although this year I’ve smelt more rain than even a drizzle of factor 50. And rain really does have a smell, as anyone who has been caught without a coat on the allotment can testify. When rain clouds roll in, a zesty aroma reminiscent (to me at least) of an outdoor swimming pool fills the air. It comes from ozone (03), a form of oxygen which our noses are highly attuned to recognise. Ozone usually resides in the high atmosphere but as thunderclouds billow upwards they create downdrafts forcing this fragrant gas down to nose level just before the deluge. After a dry spell, summer rain…