Innholdsfortegnelse for 29-May-2021 i Amateur Gardening

“I quite enjoy dead-heading. There is a real sense of satisfaction in gently pulling off the now decaying flower heads, knowing that their removal will lead to a new lease of life and renewed colour in our beds, baskets and containers. In our modest gardens this is not an onerous task, but spare a thought for AG’s Peter Seabrook and his team – they have an estimated 40,000 heads to remove every seven days amongst 277 rows of pansies. I can’t say I envy them the task, but it gives insight into all the hard work that goes into creating the Floral Fantasia displays at RHS Hyde Hall in Essex. Peter deserves credit for his dedication in creating truly colourful displays that the public enjoys. They buck the trend of…

IF you have a garden pond it is no doubt a hub of activity right now, with fish, frogs, newts and all sorts of aquatic insects going about their business. With April being so dry, ours became an essential oasis for the garden’s birds and wildlife. They used it for drinking and bathing and also as a source of nesting materials. Every day we would watch song thrushes, blackbirds, sparrows, starlings and goldfinches flying out of it, their beaks crammed with mud and grass. So while a pond might be a sweet distraction for us, it is a vital lifeline for all sorts of wildlife. Always make sure your pond has a ‘shallow end’ or a ramp so that wildlife that drops by for a drink and a wash is…

THE days may be getting longer and daylight brighter, but there seems to be less time to keep up to date with the many gardening jobs at this time of year. The 4,000 pansy plant trial in Floral Fantasia at the RHS Hyde Hall Garden, for example, soaks up the time. If each plant opens 10 flowers a week (some are now yielding more than this), it means there are 40,000 dead heads to remove every seven days. You need to get your eye in, because the opening flowers can easily be mistaken for those which have set seed and are fading; once petals have fallen, the green seed pods are easily lost amongst the leaves. Hoeing for weed control and removing old flowers is but a part of the…

FRUIT and veg gardens don’t need to consist of regimental rows of crops with bare earth in between. Imagine walking in a small woodland glade plucking nuts, berries and herbs – that’s the essence of forest gardening, and it sounds heavenly to me. This kind of gardening is a low-maintenance agroforestry system based on woodland ecosystems; key planting elements are fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines and perennial vegetables. And the great news is that we can all enjoy the benefits of glade growing. The concept of this growing method evolved in millennia past alongside the ecosystem, but the idea of using it as a way to cultivate crops was pioneered by Robert Hart in the 1970s, and Martin Crawford since the 1990s. It’s an organic, low-impact method that…

LAWNS play an essential part in many gardens and an area of plain green grass is a calm foil to bright colours in the borders. The practical value of grass is that it offers somewhere to sit or play. A good lawn needs regular attention to keep it in top condition, and one of the most important aspects of this is mowing to keep the grass plants healthy and encourage them to ‘tiller’ (or branch from the base) to thicken the lawn and help it withstand wear and tear. Other operations include feeding to boost the growth, spiking to improve drainage and scarifying to remove any build-up of dead material that might harm the roots. As mowing takes up more time than any other lawn-care job, a reliable, easy-to-operate mower…

■ We delve into the archives of Amateur Gardening to share some interesting readers’ letters, this week from the edition dated 17 June 1978 A sense of taste BEING an ‘old-time gardener’, I most wholeheartedly deplore the apparent deterioration in the flavour of our fruit and vegetables. There are, however, two practical points which we must not lose sight of. First, we are all prepared to admit that as we advance in age our senses deteriorate to a greater or lesser degree – eyesight, hearing and smell. But nobody ever seems to mention our taste. Isn’t it reasonable to assume that our taste buds likewise lose some of their sensitivity? Unfortunately, while our sight, hearing and to some extent our smell, can be tested against certain standards, there is no…

1 It is warm enough to give your evergreens a trim, either using shears to shape small-leaved varieties such as box, or secateurs, for larger-leaved plants, which are cut back to a healthy pair of buds. Remove any signs of all-green reversion, see inset picture, from variegated types. 2 Create instant colour by planting up baskets or patio containers with cheerful summer bedding. Ideally use peat-free compost enriched with granular fertiliser. Water-retaining granules are another useful addition to help reduce the amount of watering needed. 3 Look after garden wildlife, providing them with fresh water and food every day especially during prolonged dry spells. I use Wildlife World bird and hedgehog food ( wildlifeworld.co.uk, 01666 505333) as it is natural, contains no sugar and is packed with nutrients and protein.…

FOR failsafe variety and beauty on a budget you can’t go wrong with a packet of aquilegia seeds. They literally are the gift that keeps on giving, because they self-seed so prolifically that one packet (or one or two plants) will keep your garden in aquilegias for years! Not only that, but the varieties are prone to cross-pollination so you are likely to get lots of slight variants from one or two plants, and all of them will be a stunning range of shades and shapes. Today’s Mr Fothergill’s free seeds are for Aquilegia ‘Lime Sorbet’, an exceptionally pretty and pale variety of this hardy perennial. ‘Lime Sorbet’ creates clumps of blooms and blue-green foliage that are 30in (60cm) high. The flowers don’t have the rear spurs associated with some…

AS more of us plant smaller growing and trained fruit trees, it becomes easier to look after them. Instead of staring up at immense canopies, we now have highly productive trees where every part is reachable. Admittedly, you need a stepladder for some, but with the truly dwarf varieties you stand over them. This means that you can do a proper job and there’s no excuse for not thinning. This is usually done once in early July after the June drop, when trees shed unviable fruitlets. You select and retain only the best fruit, removing congested, damaged and any with signs of disease or pests. Those remaining are clean and, receiving all resources, will swell bigger than otherwise. However, you don’t need to wait until July to thin, as removing…

John will reply personally to all your gardening questions every week What clematis would suit my west wall? Q Could you please advise what, if any, clematis would grow on a west-facing wall that gets full sun from around midday until sunset? The soil is at present quite dry and sandy. I know that you have to keep clematis roots in the shade. If not clematis, what else could I train up a trellis in the above conditions? Mrs E Hammond (via email) A I suggest that you plant evergreen Clematis armandii to cover your west-facing wall. Prized for its leathery-textured, broad pointed leaves and almond-scented snow-white blooms in March, it is amazingly vigorous and will serve you well. AI suggest that you plant evergreen Clematis armandii to cover your…

Q I have a couple of orchids that gave up flowering several years ago and yet cling to life on a cool, lightly shaded windowsill. Can I bring them back to their original glory, or shall I bin them? Eleanor Kendall, Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire A Ah, the familiar tale of the moribund orchid; I must confess to having a few of those myself. For such gorgeously exotic plants they are incredibly durable, remaining alive for years despite neglect. In the wild, many grow epiphytically, clinging to the branches and bark of trees, and they can sustain themselves through harsh times from nourishment stored in pseudobulbs. Bringing plants back to life is fun, so I would give them a go. Imagine the triumph when they make new flowers. Orchids are usually…

Melcourt have been producing top-quality peat-free products for the past 20 years. This year their organic and vegan Sylvagrow Farmyard soil improver was named ‘best product’ at the Garden Press Event. It feeds the soil, boosts water retention and suppresses weeds. (£5.99 for 60L sack.) Battery-powered kit is the latest green development. Husqvarna’s LC 137i battery lawnmower is made for small and medium lawns, is quiet and easy to move and store. Its battery fits other Husqvarna tools. £259 for mower, £339 for mower, battery and charger, £449 for mower, full kit plus Husqvarna 115iL trimmer. The cold April caught many gardeners off guard. Protect your plants with Town and Country’s single and double-burner greenhouse heaters. Compact and easy to use and store, they have 5L paraffin tanks. The single…

WE’VE all had more time on our hands due to the pandemic, and many of us have found nature a reassuring presence. As a result, 20,000 people (twice as many as usual) took part in the British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO) Garden Birdwatch during 2020. These surveys first took place in 1995, and you can take part this year by visiting bto.org. The BTO is the leading research bird charity; 60,000 volunteer birdwatchers contribute to the site, and they employ 100 people. Their website is very informative. If you cast your mind back 15 months, you may remember that the winter of 2019-2020 was mild but wet. I’m in the western half of Britain and have never known so much rainfall. It was the year the farmers couldn’t get onto…

Gardening’s king of trivia and brain-teasers, Graham Clarke This week it’s: Blueberries and cranberries All the juicy details about this fruity twosome BLUEBERRIES and their close relations, the cranberries, are native to North America. The blueberries that we buy from supermarkets are Vaccinium corymbosum, and are known as ‘highbush blueberries.’ This is because, in nature and in commerce, the fruits come from tall (high) bushes, growing up to 13ft (4m)! Commercial growers prefer these tall ones for reasons of yield but, for home gardens, much smaller varieties have been bred. Amateur gardeners can have lots of success with blueberries, but the same can’t really be said of the cranberry (V. oxycoccos); this is a completely different prospect, and below I explain how they grow. Now is a good time for…

Write to us: Letters, Amateur Gardening magazine, Future Publishing Limited, Unit 2, Eelmore Road, Farnborough Hants GU14 7QN (please include your address). Email us: amateurgardening@futurenet.co.uk MANY years ago in 2008, I entered a pot of Verbena ‘Seabrook’s Lavender’ into a flower show competition. I noticed on QVC recently, they were selling Peter Seabrook’s verbena varieties ‘Margaret’s Memory’ and ‘Seabrook’s Lavender’. I’ve purchased some plants and waiting for delivery. It’s brought back so many memories. I won the class! I was over the moon as I’d never ever entered a flower show competition before. I shall cherish these plants when I get them. I’ve already got a place for them in the garden, awaiting their arrival. I still have the pictures that were taken by my daughter. Thought you’d like to…

THE plant lab at Buckland Castle, aka the patio, is a nerve centre for radical research that could revolutionise the way I grow petunias. The usual method for these colourful container bedders is to plant them on the edge of pots or baskets, where their long stems can cascade. This summer, though, as part of a gravity-defying experiment, I’m planting them – cue dramatic music – to climb. Just as Newton discovered gravity in an apple-related accident, I came up with this idea because I accidentally put the wrong petunia pack into my garden-centre trolley. What I wanted to buy was a shrubby variety to billow 12in (30cm) high and wide, but what I bought (after the fates had intervened) was a clutch of Surfinias – plants that trail with…