Innholdsfortegnelse for 17-Oct-2020 i Amateur Gardening

“Peter Seabrook throws scorn on those who say the gardening season is over when the clocks go back and the evenings draw in (see page 10). I agree: we have fewer daylight hours, but I think autumn into winter is when garden creativity (and a little hard work) begins. My garden was the best it’s ever been this year, and I’ve kept it going as long as possible, but next year I want it to be even better. Now is the time to start planning and planting to make it so. Don’t you agree?” Contact us: Editorial: 0330 3903732 Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com Advertising: 07817 629935…

Top Tip Before removing bean plants, leave a few pods in place to ripen. Harvest the beans inside and store somewhere cool and dry to sow in spring. IT has been a tremendous year for fruit and veg. Our trees have been groaning under the weight of plums, apples and pears, with gluts of raspberries, strawberries and grapes, plus enough shallots, onion and garlic to see us well into winter. And all in a relatively small space, too! Our runner beans have been the star of the show. Just two cane teepees in a raised bed kept us harvesting these delicious legumes right until the end of September. Their productivity was helped by the late-summer surge in warmth that brought about a fresh flush of flowers and pods, and now…

Listen to Peter’s free podcast every Thursday. Search for ‘This Week In The Garden with Peter Seabrook’ on iTunes amateurgardening.com Daily blog and news WHEN I hear people talk about the garden season coming to an end when the clocks alter and days shorten, I think their lack of gardening understanding really beggars belief. Personally, I find it more difficult to fit everything in with the steadily reducing number of daylight hours. First, many of the free-flowering summer annuals will continue to bloom freely – the four colours of Petchoa ‘BeautiCal’, for example, withstanding several degrees of frost. There are spring-flowering bulbs to plant; biennials such as forget-me-nots, stocks and wallflowers to plant; the turf needs renovation after summer wear; there are root crops to lift — the list goes…

amateurgardening.com Daily blog and news AS the year wears on it gets harder to identify the bees in the garden. I seem to see a lot of larger bees with tapering abdomens, but I’m unsure whether they’re queen bumblebees or cuckoo bees. The smaller workers all seem to look the same, too. However, looking at the flowers they’re visiting helps, because some bees have shorter tongues than others so they tend to visit flowers with simpler shapes. At the moment we have lots of honey bees feeding on annual borage (Borago officinalis), which germinated after the summer rains. This coarse-leaved annual has blue starry flowers and these are often floated in drinks, although anything acidic, like a slice of lemon, turns the cornflower-blue flowers pink. Members of the borage family…

Q I’ve read that ornamental grasses should not be planted or moved during autumn, as spring is the best time. Is this true, as I’d like to put some in now? Jill Thurrock, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire A This is both true and false, as ornamental grasses are divided into two sorts for cultivation purposes. Those known as cool season grasses begin their growth in late winter and produce flowers by midsummer. Examples include the showy golden oat grass (Stipa gigantea) and shadetolerant Bowles’ golden grass (Milium effusum) ‘Aureum’. It’s generally thought that they establish better from an autumn planting than a spring one. As with everything in gardening, advice is tempered by soil and climate. On well-drained soils or in slightly raised beds – and as long as they are planted…

amateurgardening.com daily blog and news THE devil may have all the best tunes, but summer doesn’t have to have the best of the seasonal colours. With garden centres full of spring bedding and bulbs, and fun foliage plants with interesting leaves, what better time to plant up a container or basket to bring light to, and make a statement through, the so-called ‘dark’ winter months? Pansies and violas, cyclamen and dwarf spring bulbs, including snowdrops, species tulips ‘Honky Tonk’, ‘Cynthia’ and ‘Persian Pearl’ or muscari and Iris reticulata, are guaranteed to pep up pots through winter and into early spring. Plants bred for their fascinating foliage are another winner, such as cineraria, leucophyta or ‘cushion bush’, ferns, trailing sedums, herbs and variegated ivies. There is so much to choose from…

Got a story? email ruth.hayes@futurenet.com THEY start them young at Honda, but few are as young as the company’s latest Master Technician – 10-year-old Essex schoolboy Leon Poots. With a whole summer of lockdown ahead of him, Leon decided that he wanted to try his hand at something practical, so his dad Richard, who works for Honda, presented him with a 10-year-old Honda lawnmower that was heading for the scrapyard. The HRG 465 C2 PDE, known as the Izy, was in a poor, rusting state – but the engine still worked and Leon was determined to restore it to its former glory. Before starting work, he was drilled in the necessary health and safety by his dad and then he built himself a workshop bench out of two chairs and…

ALTHOUGH wild poppies flower in summer, their symbolism is at its greatest in autumn, as our minds turn towards those who have fallen in war. This week’s free seeds are for wildflower poppies that will cut a bloody swathe through the garden and, if left, ripen and self-seed. They are easy to sow and will tolerate even hostile environments. Sow them thinly now, in arcs and curves to create a natural, flowing display, or save them until next spring. You can also sow them with other wildflower seeds such as corncockle, cornflower and annual ornamental grasses to create an eye-catching swathe of colour and texture that moves in the wind. I am adding these gorgeous scarlet poppies to our wildflower lawn. It already contains a diverse range of flowers, including…

WITH the nights drawing in, our thoughts are turning to the crisp, nutty flavours that these two veg can offer. Add cheese and wine, or cream and garlic, and you have some delicious winter evenings at your fingertips. Both celery and celeriac are known botanically as Apium graveolens, with celery being A. g. var dulce and celeriac A. g. var. rapaceum. Being biennial plants, they would naturally run to seed in their second year, but we harvest the crunchy stalks or ‘petioles’ of celery, and the bulbous ‘hypocotyl’ (not the roots) of celeriac beforehand. Both require very similar growing conditions (see my tips on the following page) to succeed. “Keep a close eye on moisture levels” Early bulking up Patience is needed with germination. Set your propagator to 16-18oC (61-64oF),…

MODERN ROSE HISTORY PART 8 This is the eighth of a 10-part series on roses written by AG’s former Editor Arthur Hellyer (MBE, VMH), originally published in Amateur Gardening in 1973. In this part, he looks at climbing roses. The last two articles in the series will focus on shrub roses. CLIMBING rose varieties are defined as ‘plants climbing or rambling with long sprawling or arching stems normally requiring support’. This is a broad category, including roses of moderate height that reach around 7ft (2.1m) and giants that will clamber to the top of tall trees. Ramblers consist of climbing roses with lax stems, in contrast to climbers that have stiffer stems. These roses grow up pillars and tripods, drape over arches and pergolas, and train against walls and fences.…

Nice and cosy: In next week’s AG I look at precautions we should be taking to protect plants through winter, and the various structures that help make this task easier. IT may be tempting to throw out all your summer container plants and replace them with new, but hold fire before you do so. Many plants can be potted up and successfully overwintered, and tired containers can be refreshed with a bit of thought and planning My summer hanging basket contained a very sad-looking fuchsia, but when I scraped off a little bark I saw green flesh underneath, meaning there was life in the old plant yet! I have potted it up and will nurse it through winter in the greenhouse. Hopefully it will perform well again next year. If…

Top Tip Invest in lots of horticultural fleece and a greenhouse heater, if possible, to help keep your most tender plants safe through the coldest nights. 1 A plant-packed summer greenhouse is a buffet for pests, so make sure you get rid of any lurkers. A fumigating candle is a good idea, but make sure you follow the instructions closely. 2 Remove stuck plant matter and mould from between the glass and frame using a thin piece of plastic. Make sure the panes are secured against winter storms. 3 Poor ventilation creates a breeding ground for mould and rot, so open doors and vents on warm days, closing them when the temperature drops. 4 Maintain floors and greenhouse beds by refreshing scuffed gravel (where does it all go?) and replacing…

HERE’S a handy herb (or rather, flavouring) that’s easy to grow, wonderfully tasty, and healthy into the bargain. Horseradish sauce is a traditional accompaniment to roast beef, although it also goes well with many other kinds of savoury dishes. If you’ve never tried horseradish, it’s almost indistinguishable from Japanese wasabi, and much like a mustard. Indeed, horseradish can be substituted for either, and being related to brassicas and scurvy grass (Cochlearia) it is also nutritious. One great advantage, though, is that horseradish is easy to cultivate, whereas wasabi is a miffy subject, only happy in the cool damp north and west of the UK. To start your own horseradish patch, transplant roots from a friend or buy them online or fresh from a supermarket or speciality store (try those catering…

THE signature flower of Coco Chanel and popular with 20th century French novelist Marcel Proust – who wore a white one in his buttonhole rather than the customary red carnation – the camellia is certainly a classy bloom. Bold yet elegant, sumptuous and romantic, the flowers appear when there is precious little colour around, bringing a splash of joy to the winter garden. Camellias are evergreen shrubs with bright, glossy, green foliage. They love a shady spot and, despite once being considered tender plants (they were traditionally grown in greenhouses), are hardy enough to be very happy outdoors in the UK climate. Flower buds may need temporary protection during periods of extreme cold and frost, which turns them brown, but generally camellias are relatively trouble-free, with few pest and disease…

Jhon will reply personally to all your gardening questions every week Is it safe to repot my elderly Strelitzia? QMy bird of paradise plant is 25 years and has flowered every year despite never being repotted. I think it needs a new pot, but what compost should I use? Dorothy Loveridge, Old Basing, Hampshire A What a splendid Strelitzia reginae and how marvellous that it has performed so well. It would, however, certainly benefit from being repotted. If it has outgrown its existing container and the roots are pot-bound, reset it in a pot 8in (20cm) larger in diameter than its current one. Start by using a hand fork to tease apart the rootball, especially if the roots are starting to grow in a circle. Then cover the new pot’s…

This week it’s: ALL around the nation right now, deciduous trees and shrubs are turning to amazing shades of gold, yellow and orange. But there is also one group of evergreen garden plants that, too, have vibrant deep-yellow foliage at this time of year – and all the year, come to that! I’m talking about golden conifers. Some are a rich golden-yellow, while others are closer to lime-green with a yellowish hue. The vast majority are evergreen, providing colour and interest all year-round, and of course some are tall trees more suited to forests or parkland. However, there are plenty of golden conifers that have been bred to add structure, form and colour to even the smallest of gardens. Let’s look at some of the stories surrounding them. Outward and…

CLUMP-forming hardy perennials that grow from a crown of buds and roots are some of the easiest plants to grow and provide a stunning array of flowers. However, if they’re just left in the ground to get on with it, after about five years they can look tatty. Growth becomes irregular as the centre of the plant weakens. To avoid this, clump-forming perennials (as opposed to shrubby types like fuchsias and lavender that are best propagated from cuttings) should be lifted from the soil every three years, divided into healthy chunks, and replanted in improved soil. If treated in this way they quickly grow back into tidy clumps and flower much better. When dividing crowns you get at least two healthy chunks to replant. The freebies can be planted elsewhere…

Write to us: Letters, Amateur Gardening magazine, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hants GU14 7BF (please include your address). Email us: amateurgardening@futurenet.com Versatile herbs for health I HAVE always been passionate about herbs, so seeing three of my favourites within your pages (AG, 13 June) really cheered me up [sage, oregano and lemon balm]. I have had two herb patches, and over the years have grown some rare varieties for culinary, medicinal and cosmetic use. I regularly dry them in a low oven and put them in small plastic bags to give to friends, and write suggestions for their use on a label. It’s not just the scent wafting about on a breezy day, but their calm and vibrating colours, which also ward off many pests, either…

IF I had a penny for every pedantic remark I made, I’d be £436.72 better off. Jokes aside, nit-picking pedantry is a terrible trait, and why I reach for the dial when shock-jock radio phone-ins are on the wireless. One illinformed remark, and I will morph from mellow potterer to angry yelling pedant, often in shouty Anglo-Saxon. Yesterday was a case in point, when the anchor-woman asked whether the listeners preferred ‘weeds in their garden to (and I quote) plants’. “Weeds are plants!” I shouted (£436.73) – and what exactly is your definition of a weed? (£436.74) Lisa once pointed out that we would have less arguments if I weren’t so pedantic – she meant to say ‘fewer’ but I got the gist (£436.75). So rather than get riled, I…