Innholdsfortegnelse for 28-Nov-2020 i Amateur Gardening

What do you like most about gardening? I realised recently that for me it was about playing my part in the creation and prolongation of nature. I know that sounds a bit worthy, but it’s true. It’s great when my roses are trouble-free and bloom, and nice chunky spuds are pulled from the earth, but I’ve come to really enjoy creating compost. There is a pleasure in converting waste into something naturally beneficial. It’s a slow process, but when you finally get to add that crumbly black goodness to your plantings, there a real sense of achievement and the feeling that you are giving it all back to the soil.” Contact us: ■ Editorial: 0330 3903732 ■ Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com ■ Subscriptions: 0330 333 1113 ■ Advertising: 07817 629935…

Vitax Rose Guard Rose Tonic is a great new all-round rose feed. It is diluted in water and sprayed onto the plant, to be absorbed through the leaves to encourage growth. It includes seaweed for strong roots and trace element copper to fight mildew and black spot. (£18.99) G C-W Vegebag Named Product of the Year 2020 by the RHS, Vegebag gives gardeners of all abilities the chance to produce fantastic crops in small spaces all year round. Its sturdy enviro-mesh sides keep pests and animals at bay while still allowing the crops to get the air and water they need. Its size makes it ideal for city gardening, balconies, patios and larger spaces and it can be rolled down and up as your plants grow. (£29.99. From Vegepod.) RH…

YOU may imagine that in deepest darkest winter there’s not much you can grow fresh. Well, some real gourmet treats are to be had, such as rhubarb, seakale, chicons, turnip and beet sprouts, and, with planning, even asparagus. These are the fresh shoots forced early from the roots of plants set in spent compost in tubs. All you need is somewhere that is dark, warm with a fairly constant temperature, and a little ventilation – maybe under a sink, the bottom of an airing cupboard, any cupboard or just a spare wardrobe (do adapt it to catch drips), or possibly behind the sofa (within perforated black bin bags). Now, ideally, you would first grow many of these yourself just to force, though for some you can buy plants already grown…

OUR climate is so much warmer than it used to be that it’s possible you’ll see a hedgehog still active in November if there’s food around. At this time of year hedgehogs consume a lot of slugs and they are estimated to be 23% of the hedgehog’s diet. Their favourite summer foods, in order of popularity, are beetles, earwigs, caterpillars, millipedes and worms, but they aren’t keen on snails because they’re hard to crunch up. It seems that these nocturnal carnivores enjoy a varied diet, but it doesn’t include bread and milk because hedgehogs are lactose intolerant. They eat it readily, but it makes them ill. The best food supplement is protein-rich cat food and I prefer to give them the sort with gravy, rather than dried food, but either…

C. tommasinianus AGM Has lovely, long-tubed flowers in a shade of purple between sapphire and lavender; the outer petals are usually paler. Blooms appear in early spring (March), as the narrow leaves emerge. Increasing freely, this is one of the finest crocuses for naturalising. H: 4in (10cm). C. chrysanthus ‘Cream Beauty’ AGM Produces pale cream-yellow flowers, each with a deep yellow throat and bright orange stigmas. They also have a mild fragrance. The smaller Chrysanthus varieties, known as the ‘snow crocus’, tend to flower earlier than larger hybrids. Flowers: Feb/Mar. H: 4in (10cm). C. biflorus ‘Blue Pearl’ AGM Pretty oval petals – in a pale, silvery lilac-blue and flushed golden yellow at the centre – form an open, cup-like flower. Inside, they are pale blue to almost white. Great value…

White or cream ‘Blanc Double de Coubert’ AGM (Rugosa) Pure white, almost fully-double flowers – with a rich Old Rose fragrance–open from slightly blushed buds set against rich, dark foliage. Very long flowering and with fiery autumn foliage colour. H: 5ft (1½m). Also try: ‘Desdemona’ (English). Pale pink ‘Fantin-Latour’ AGM (Centifolia) The deliciously fragranced flowers start out prettily cupped and pale pink, then the outer petals curl back to create elegantly shaped blooms that are a richer pink in the centre. H: 5ft (1½m). Also try: ‘Paul’s Himalayan Musk’ (Rambler). Red ‘Royal William’ AGM (Hybrid Tea) Classically formed blooms in a rich and sultry red are beautifully scented and held against plenty of dark green foliage. Good as a low garden hedge and in containers. A worthy winner of Rose…

Q Our new house has an unheated (at the moment) greenhouse in the garden that I’d like to use this winter. What can I grow? Mary Troubridge, Stevenage, Kent A An unheated greenhouse can keep overnight temperatures as much as 5°C warmer than outside, which will keep plants frost-free in all but the worst of winters. It will also ensure plants stay dry, which greatly aids their survival. There are lots of plants that will appreciate the cover of your unheated greenhouse. These include: Winter salads: try hardy lettuces, such as ‘Salad Bowl’, as well as rocket, pak choi, mizuna, lamb’s lettuce and spinach. Hardy herbs: pots of chives, parsley and mint brought into the greenhouse in autumn will continue growing all winter. Fruit: you could grow strawberry plants in…

Star letter I AM sending some of my flower photographs, a selection from the many blooms grown from AG’s most welcome seeds, showing French marigolds, angel’s wings (new to me and delighted with them) phlox, aster, petunia and cosmos, which are still flowering happily even now, well through October and in the north-east. You might be interested to know that the delphinium and hollyhock seeds were sown a good number of years ago and keep flowering beautifully year after year. The foxgloves, likewise, perform well each year because they self-seed so readily. Thank you so much to John Negus and Ruth for your kind and helpful replies to my emailed question about my Clematis ‘Jingle Bells’. I must say that the practical side of gardening, plus John Negus’s advice with…

MOVING house is a grim experience at the best of times, and not just for us. Relocating trees and shrubs is stressful for them too, especially if they have been in the ground for a substantial length of time. But sometimes it needs to be done, maybe because you are moving house and want to take it with you, or because it is planted in the wrong spot. Deciduous trees should be moved between November and mid-March when they are dormant, evergreens in October when the soil is still warm from summer, or March/April when it is starting to warm up. Even if done at the right time, root disturbance is traumatic and if they have been in the ground for five years or more they are less likely to…

HAVING spent summer keeping flowers and crops free of pests and disease, it’s now time to turn our attention to winter problems. Pests shouldn’t be as much of a menace due to breeding cycles and the colder, wet weather. Watch out for slugs and snails though, especially if the temperatures refuse to dip to bugbusting lows. They, and aphids, will shelter in greenhouses or anywhere that has warmth and food laid on. This is your last chance to protect fruit trees against winter moths that damage their flowers, fruit and leaves. Attach sticky bands around the trunks, or paint them with barrier glue. Fungal problems caused by damp, still and relatively mild conditions are the main issues now. They include mildew, leaf spot, grey moulds and lawn moulds, and can…

LAST weekend, I spent a very satisfying morning cleaning the greenhouse and getting it ready to house tender plants unlikely to survive a winter outside. It was quite a job, removing the last of the tomato and aubergine plants, then hunting down the legions of snails that had found their way in, washing green muck off the glass and accumulated debris off the work surfaces before making sure all the window panes are clipped in securely. Today’s job is disinfecting the watering cans that have become slimy and collected snails and leaves over the summer, adding probiotic tablets to the water butts, and making sure gutters are clear of debris and flowing well. While you are in cleaning mode, give used pots and trays a good scrub to remove any…

Next week: Caring for blueberries, using growlights for indoor gardening, protect exotics, scrape indoor grapes, grow garlic mustard. Did you know? Rhubarb leaves contain roughly twice as much oxalic acid as the stems. However, weight for weight, parsley and purslane contain more than rhubarb. AS well as being a great time to plant rhubarb, November is your cue to lift and divide poorly performing clumps. Rhubarb thrives in cool, moist summers, and clumps will happily yield for years (if not decades) when properly looked after. Congestion is the main issue – thin, weak stems and the production of flower spikes are signs that your plants are due for division. This process allows you to slice off and replant the vigorous, outer (and younger) pieces and throw away the old middle…

Blossom only Malus ‘Evereste’ AGM Fans of classic blossom will love the mass of rose pink buds, which unfurl to exquisite white, cup-shaped flowers in April/May. Orange-red crab apples droop from the branches through autumn and well into winter. H: 20ft (6m). Prunus ‘Kojo-no-mai’ AGM A shrubby ornamental cherry with a mass of wiry branches covered in the palest pink blooms in March and April. Ideal for small gardens thanks to its compact shape and good autumnal leaf colour. H: 6½ft (2m). Blossom + fruit Malus ‘James Grieve’ AGM An apple with pale pink buds opening to white blossom in spring, plus juicy yellow-green fruit speckled with orange and red. Good for areas of high rainfall; blossom tolerates frost well, so you won’t lose a crop. H: 20ft (6m). Pyrus…

This week it’s: MOST of us call it ‘broccoli’ or sometimes ‘sprouting broccoli’. Some of us call it ‘calabrese’. And in the USA they call it ‘asparagus’! Whatever it’s called, broccoli is one of our most commonly grown vegetables – but only in recent decades. You won’t find broccoli in the wild because it is a man-made vegetable, actually an 18th century development. It derives from Brassica oleracea: loose, leafy, cabbage-like crops that grew in areas around the north Mediterranean coastline, around the 6th century BC. Let’s take a look at this green vegetable. ■ Broccoli (plus cabbage and Brussels sprouts) contains a minute amount of cyanide. Eating these vegetables ‘primes’ your liver to deal better with other poisons. Year-round cropping FOR those who like broccoli, it may be harvested…

I ENJOY vigorous work in the garden through autumn and winter, but only if I’m well kitted out. The right footwear is essential, and when the going gets wet the wellies come out. Gardening wellies are essentially protection against wet conditions – many don’t have reinforced soles for digging, and I avoid digging when the soil is wet because it weighs a lot more! For digging, wait until the soil drains after a few rain-free days, and wear a strong pair of work or walking boots with stiff soles and ankle support. But for leaf clearing, pruning and generally plodging around in damp conditions, wellies are ideal. As with all footwear, it pays to try before you buy. Fit differs widely from make to make, and an ill-fitting pair of…

AT its best, autumn colour is a feast for the eye, arriving in a super-sized serving and falling at once in easy-to-sweep and generous heaps across the garden. This year, though, thanks to weeks of windy weather, the fall has come in fits and starters like a 10-course taster menu. And if the mature beech tree that stands like a sentinel over the wheelie bins at Buckland Castle is anything to go by, this autumn has been messier than a dropped amuse-bouche. Thankfully, weeks of leaf sweeping have finally come to an end, and it’s time to make use of the piles by turning the coppery leaves into soil improver. Deciduous trees like my beech drop their leaves for good reason. Primarily, it’s their way of protecting their stores of…

Whatever the weather It’s time to make plans for winter weather, and in next week’s AG I show you how to be ready for whatever the season throws at us. 1 Measure the spread of branches. The roots should be roughly the same, so you know how wide you need to excavate the planting hole.. 2 Make it easier to dig into turf by cutting around the circumference with a spade, then dividing and lifting the turves in pieces before digging. 3 Because I dug the hole one day and moved the tree the next, I added a hedgehog ramp to the excavation in case any fell in overnight. 4 Dig widely around the tree to expose the extent of the roots, taking care you don’t damage any. Carefully lift…

Listen to Peter’s free podcast every Thursday. Search for ‘This Week In The Garden with Peter Seabrook’ on iTunes SATURDAYS are really welcomed, as it’s normally a non-work day with no ‘urgent’ phone calls and emails, no timed appointments that have to be prepared for, and no journalistic deadlines to meet. The home garden has really lacked attention recently and now needs a really good autumn clean. There are so many little things which do not get done when I am busy elsewhere, including last year’s cyclamen languishing in a 4in (11cm) pot. It was making new leaf and root, and has now been potted on into a larger 5in (13cm) pot, then brought indoors onto a light cool windowsill, and soon looks so much better in a fertile new…

STAND outside on a still autumn night and listen hard; you may be lucky enough to hear a medley of faint ‘tsee tsee’ calls flitting overhead. This is the sound of incoming redwings, members of the thrush family that overwinter in the UK before heading north again in spring. Although a few pairs are thought to breed in the UK, most of the birds migrate here from Scandinavia, mustering together on the coast before flying 500 miles across the North Sea in one go. In rough weather, many redwings are lost at sea, but of those that make it, Icelandic birds settle in Scotland and Ireland while travellers from Russia and Scandinavia settle in southern England and Europe. They are attractive birds, with a cream eye stripe and orange-red patches…

CROCUSES are, for me, a sheer delight. You can forget your snowdrops (just white) and muscari (just blue) – crocuses offer sumptuous early colour: purples, whites, creams and yellows, in lots of shades, with orange, purple and brown markings, and (sometimes) near-red stigmas and stamens. They are just so cheerful to have around. It’s true that these early spring flowerers are not ideal for borders, where the time of maximum activity (weeding, cutting-back plants, mulching, etc) happens just when they are at their best. But they really come into their own when naturalised in grass; or planted in a gravel garden or on a rockery. Also, they provide little bursts of colour in containers, planted in groups of five or more. Crocuses – and yes, that is the plural, as…

‘Charles Darwin’ (English) Neat, bushy, yet robust, with yellow flowers. Rounded at first, the buttery blooms become cupped over time and feature mustard tones, which add extra richness. The scent is a blend of tea and lemon. H: 4ft (1.2m). ‘Enchantress’ (Hybrid Tea) Relatively undiscovered, this Hybrid Tea rose features elegant buds that open to rounded flowers in an old-fashioned shape. Each bloom is deep pink – paler at the tips of the petals – and carries a lovely, fruity fragrance. H: 3ft (90cm). ‘Emily Brontë’ (English) Crowded, rather flat flowers are palest rose pink at the outside, shading to rich, apricot pink in the centre. Beautiful as a patio specimen where it’s not too hot, this English Rose has a lovely scent: part Tea; part old rose. H: 4ft…

Q My friend says I can take root cuttings of the verbascums in her garden. They are good upright ones with white flowers. How do I propagate them from root cuttings and how long does it take for the plants to flower? Corinne Calderbank, Birmingham A Your plants are likely to be a white-flowered cultivar of European Verbascum chaixii, also known as nettle-leaved mullein. Slender spikes of white flowers to 3ft (1m) high might have yellow or purple stamens and make useful uprights in borders, with seed heads persisting well into winter. Plants seed themselves around in a useful way, but weed out unwanted seedlings promptly before they put down deep tap roots. Ground-hugging basal leaf rosettes often persist throughout winter. The deep, anchoring roots help plants tolerate drought, making…