Innholdsfortegnelse for 2-Jan-2021 i Amateur Gardening

“Happy New Year to you all, and let’s hope 2021 will bring a solution to Covid 19 and people will be able to get back to relative normality. In the meantime, I’m starting my gardening year with some housekeeping tasks. First on the list is an unhappy rose bush to re-site, and then a beech hedge to plant, which I hope will cover an unsightly gap. Then I need to revitalise the soil in my borders. Some good, solid work to start the year!” Contact us: ■ Subscriptions: 0330 333 1113 ■ Editorial: 0330 3903732 ■ Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com ■ Advertising: jessica.wong@futurenet.com…

THOMPSON and Morgan has bought renowned national brand Suttons Seeds Ltd and its three subsidiaries Suttons, Dobies and the Organic Catalogue. This brings the well-known companies into the ‘super firm’ of BVG, which also owns T&M, bird food retailer Happy Beaks, plant supplier Van Meuwen, gardening equipment firm Garden Gear, and shed, garden room and fencing specialists Waltons and Mercia Garden Products. The acquisition makes BVG one of the largest global gardening brands, with estimated sales of £150million this financial year. Chris Wright, the joint MD at Thompson and Morgan, said: “Thompson and Morgan is pleased to announce that it has acquired 100% of the share capital of Suttons Seeds Ltd and its three brands: Suttons, Dobies and the Organic Catalogue. Company ‘dwarfs’ nearest online rival “The combined horticulture, e-commerce…

USUALLY in early January, I look into the future, but not having foreseen the mid-March lockdown and its implications, my last January forecast was a bit inadequate, to say the least. What is pretty certain is that the coming gardening year will see some prices rise. This concern comes from several directions: whatever happens over Brexit, plant importing is likely to become more expensive. Availability of David Austin Roses is reduced, with their prices already increased, and the clear move to peat-free composts will put prices up because the alternatives to peat are more expensive. The sudden renewed interest in home gardening by over two and a half million homeowners will continue. Garden mail-order seed companies reported increases in orders for 2021 when their catalogues went out late autumn, and…

IT always lifts our spirits when Russell and Sheryl drop in. They are the pair of crows (or a succession of pairings we have named the same) that live in the pine trees behind the house and often perch on our TV aerial for an evening grooming session or to regurgitate a pellet or two (owls aren’t the only birds to do this) They are members of the Corvid family, which includes ravens, jays, jackdaws, choughs, magpies. rooks and, in the north of the country and Scotland, hooded crows. Carrion crows are large, intelligent, glossy black birds with strong beaks and a rough, grating ‘caw’ call. They eat carrion and will also predate eggs and baby birds, supplementing their diet with invertebrates and grain. Once they are used to you,…

NOW that the Christmas decorations have been packed away for another year, it’s time to start thinking about the garden, and looking ahead to spring and summer planting plans. Most gardeners are champing at the bit to do something green-fingered by now, but it’s easy to get carried away when it comes to seed sowing. Providing sufficient light at this time of year is tricky; not enough will cause weak and spindly growth and make seedlings more prone to fungal diseases, so it’s worth holding off for another month or so before sowing most seeds. However, there are some plants – tender flowers and vegetables – that take a long time to mature, so getting a head start with these is a good idea. Meanwhile others, such as peas and…

Broad beans Super hardy broad beans can be sown into 9cm pots in a cold frame or unheated greenhouse over the coming weeks. They will be ready for planting out in March, when they’ll grow away strongly to crop in late spring/early summer. Tomatoes While outdoor tomatoes need later sowing, those destined for a greenhouse can be sown in trays or pots from the end of January. Place on a heated propagator, or cover with a clear plastic bag and put them on a bright windowsill. Chillies If you want to kickstart your chillies into growth, you’ll need to give them plenty of warmth – ideally between 21ºC and 27ºC. Sow seed on the surface of the compost, and cover with a fine layer of vermiculite. Peas Varieties like ‘Avola’,…

COLD fingers make gardening in winter a misery. Keeping the rest of your body warm with layers of clothing and a hat will help, but the best remedy is a good pair of gloves. Winter gloves should be thermally lined to hold in body heat, and ideally waterproof because wet hands get cold much faster – and there’s lots of wet around in the winter. Modern fabrics work brilliantly to keep hands warm and comfortable, but few manufacturers claim their gloves are waterproof. Thermal fitting issues Fit also seems to be something of an issue. I don’t have particularly huge hands, but the large-sized gloves I ordered all seemed a bit tight. Kelly Cooney of Gold Leaf Gloves explained that thermally lined gloves (especially leather gloves) should feel a bit…

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 Star letter AS a relatively recent devotee of AG, I am heartened to see a few more column centimetres being allocated to the wildlife in our gardens. This is greatly appreciated, and needed, as our gardens are vital to supporting wildlife, especially many of our native species that are in catastrophic decline. We are regularly informed of the unexpected benefits that the pandemic has brought to us, particularly the welcomed time to rediscover and appreciate our gardens. So many projects have been completed and, hopefully, interest in gardening and time spent gardening can be sustained. However, my concern is that supporting wildlife is too often…

LAST year gardening became a national occupation as millions of us turned to growing things to soften the edges of lockdown and supplement kitchen store cupboards. John Negus’s ‘agony uncle’ postbags were full of questions starting ‘I am new to gardening and…’ We hope this trend continues into 2021 and beyond as there is so much to be gained, physically, mentally and financially, from gardening Traditionally this is the time of year for fresh starts, for stocktaking our lives, totting up the pluses and minuses and resolving to do (or not do) all the things that will make us better people. It’s also the perfect opportunity to take stock of what’s going on in your garden. Think about it: much of the soil lies empty so we can see gaps…

IF you are feeling a little stodgy after the festive season (you’re not alone), get out and start prepping your borders for the year ahead. A half-hour or so of forking, weeding and digging (make sure you have warmed up well beforehand) will leave the garden looking much improved and give you a rosy glow. Working your soil now means it will be ready for a few weeks’ time when you can start planting and sowing for the year ahead. Weeds are more robust than many cultivated plants and will still flower and seed through the colder months. Run a hoe over your borders every few days and dig out perennial weeds such as thistles, chickweed and dandelions, making sure you remove every last bit of plant. Block further weeds…

A COMFORTABLE way we can improve our gardens during these dark evenings is to sit in the warm and plan on paper (or on your screen). The idea is make a rough plan of your garden Show things that are hard to change in bold, such as walls, buildings, concrete paths and trees. Lightly pencil those areas that could, if wished, be changed – the beds, borders, turf lawns and paths. Think about last year, and those regular jobs mowing and edging – were there any difficult spots that required undue effort? Could you reshape areas to make those weekly chores easier? Perhaps amalgamate a couple of beds into one larger one? This could save considerable effort in the mowing, and reduce edging by much more. Here’s the maths bit:…

I WAS lucky enough to have a gardening grandmother, so I started early in a London garden in the 1950s. We were still living in the shadow of the Second World War and many a garden still had an Anderson shelter, a few chickens and a vegetable patch. Most flower gardens began in May, likely as not with a lupin followed by a one-week-wonder cottage-garden peony. Next came the aquilegias, the upright leggy hybrid tea roses, perhaps a few border phloxes and then the swansong – a mandatory clump of Michaelmas daisies in murky purple. It wasn’t inspiring. However, Margery Fish, who gardened at East Lambrook Manor in Somerset, wrote a series of game-changing books between 1956 and 1969. She popularised astrantias, pulmonarias and hardy geraniums. Although ubiquitous now, these…

Achillea Summer Pastels Group Yarrow is a perennial that will flower in its first year from an early sowing. Blooms come in a range of pretty pastels that look equally good in borders or pots; the stems also make long-lasting cut flowers to brighten the house. H&S: 2ft (60cm). Antirrhinum majus ‘Liberty Classic Crimson’ A superb snapdragon with tall stems – ideal for cutting – clad in velvety red blooms from June to the first frosts. Slow-growing. Sow thinly and don’t cover with compost. HxS: 2ftx16in (60x40cm). Dahlia ‘Bishop’s Children’ Dahlias from seed are easy, and cheaper than tubers if you want lots. These come in rich shades of orange, purple and red. Sow on the surface of seed compost, cover with vermiculite and keep at 18-21ºC. HxS: 3ftx20in (90x50cm).…

John will reply personally to all your gardening questions every week Shall I prune my Hypericum now? Q We have two Hypericum, grown from cuttings some years ago. They are healthy and bloomed well last summer, but have a large amount of dead wood from the ground upwards, underneath the healthy top-most leaves. Cutting this out would mean losing the green foliage at the top of the plants. What should I do? Edward Isaacs, via email A I suspect the outer leaves have created so much shade beneath that the inner leaves can’t photosynthesise effectively so the plant saves energy by shedding them, leaving bare stretches of stem without leaves. I have a Hypericum that has done much the same, so last spring and summer I cut some of the…

Ejendals Tegera 297 insulated waterproof work gloves £16.79 (Plus delivery £5.94) 020 7501 1104 safetygloves.co.uk Features Waterproof work gloves with leather palm and fingers, Thinsulate thermal lining, latex stitching, fabric back with knuckle guard, and Velcrofastened cuffs. Sizes: 8, 9, 10 and 11. Wipe-clean leather palms. Performance I ordered the large size (10), but the label said they were extra-large. They fitted very comfortably, though fingers were a bit long and the tips sometimes got in the way when using secateurs or doing fiddly jobs. The felt-like lining was warm. Leather palms resisted thorns effectively and gave fair grip when lifting heavy, smooth items, and they protected hands well while digging. They didn’t let water through even in wet conditions. The adjustable Velcro wrist fastenings were deep and a snug…

IF I was to make a list, here, of my gardening resolutions for 2021 it would be so long and frightening that I’d probably retire to bed and not emerge until 2022 was well underway. However, it’s time to grasp the nettle (in a gloved hand) and look at the essential jobs I have lined up for this year. Let’s start with the shed. We are lucky enough to have a large shed that is great for working in and storing lots of things, but also gives me lots more room to make a mess. Last summer it was comprehensively tidied and organised and this year I will keep it just so. One of the best reasons for this is that its neatness encourages me to put things away in…

WE spend all year trying to be green and environmentally conscious, then the aftermath of the festivities sees us ankle-deep in paper and packaging, polystyrene, envelopes, uneaten food and a sad Christmas tree. All this before we take into account the CO2 emissions damage caused by the deliveries of all our online purchases! However, there is no need to despair at the piles of rubbish around you as much of the detritus left in Christmas’s wake can be given a second life in the garden, saving you money and sending less rubbish to landfill. Paper, envelopes and cardboard can be shredded, torn up and slowly added to the compost heap as ‘brown’ waste. Just don’t add it all at once so you create a balanced mix of ingredients (your green…

EVERY garden needs sweet peas in summer and now we are at the coldest, darkest days of winter it’s an excellent opportunity to think optimistically and sow some of yours. Of course you may have already started some off last autumn, in which case you need to nurse them through winter and help them develop into robust, bushy plants. Pinch them out regularly to encourage bushy growth with lots of sideshoots that will hopefully result in more flowers, and check them for signs of pest attack (aphids will love their soft new growth). Whether they are overwintering in your greenhouse or coldframe, make sure they get plenty of ventilation as they can be prone to moulds and rotting. I’m sowing my second batch now, but not in the beds where…

OPINIONS are changing about how we should protect our plants during winter. Gardeners are more concerned about the environmental impact of their actions, so pumping harmful waste gasses into the atmosphere or buying yet more plasticbased items are frowned upon. Where does this leave the greener gardener? At the moment, it may put us in a quandary because technology is still catching up with desire. An idealist DIY pioneer could rig up a solar panel or wind turbine to power a battery that runs their electric heater. The rest of us must remain content with what is widely available and affordable. The conventional materials that gardeners use to conserve heat are also looking rather dated. Bubblewrap, horticultural fleece and thermal screens used by commercial growers are predominantly made from plastics…

This week it’s: WE generally think of wild birds as welcoming, friendly, often colourful, occasionally playful, and mostly vulnerable creatures. We love to watch them and, because of this, many plant breeders name flower varieties after them. There are, for example, a whole series of plant groups named after them, including the Penstemon Bird Series, the Dianthus Early Bird Series, the Delphinium Blue Bird Group and the Rhododendron Bluebird Group. Over the years, many plants have also been given common names that are associated with birds, such as the bird cherry (Prunus padus), bird’s-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and bird’s-nest fern (Asplenium nidus). Let’s look at some more connections. Hibiscus flying high! AT the end of summer, after many plants have ‘done their thing’, the hardy hibiscus cultivar ‘Blue Bird’ is…

Q My new year’s resolution is to forage more leaves and flavours from the garden, starting with weeds. Which weeds, herbs and flowers are your favourites? Annabelle Johnson, Brighton A Foraging from your own plot is a satisfying and very natural thing to do. We end up with patches of branching nettles, where fresh young growing tips have been repeatedly nipped out for soups and curries. Ground elder is another favourite gathered young. Both make great substitutes for spinach, and our son Eric’s red lentil curry would not be the same without them. Eating weeds helps to see these wild and uninvited plants in a totally different light. Winter is potentially a lean time, but in our plot there are always ingredients for fresh herb tea. This varies, according to…

AFTER all of the feasting Chez Buckland, a diet would probably be a good idea, but who would finish the unwanted stollen and orange cream Quality Street still rattling round in the tin? ‘Waste not, want not’ is what I say, and going without may not be necessary. Science has shown that Christmas cake intake can be offset by activity, and reaching this ‘excess equilibrium’ isn’t hard. All that’s required is a few hours of vigorous gardening. Clearing through borders and bagging up spent leaves burns between 350-450 calories per hour – that’s the equivalent of two modest mince pies! Not only that, bending and stretching wakes up muscles that could be completely redundant – if it wasn’t for reaching into the back of the fridge for the cheese, that…