Innholdsfortegnelse for 11-Sep-2021 i Amateur Gardening

“Where we live, the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is also the season of rural shows, where farmers show off their finest livestock and gardeners display their oversized vegetables and fabulous flowers. It is also a time to take stock of our own gardens, to celebrate the successes and work out why other projects have failed – delayed deployment of netting meant the blackbirds were the only things to enjoy our blackcurrants! Please share with us your triumphs, disasters, and problem-solving tips, and help us all to be better gardeners.” Contact us: ■ Subscriptions: 0330 333 1113 ■ Editorial: 0330 3903732 ■ Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com ■ Advertising: 0330 3906566…

AFTER a year of absence – for the first time since the Second World War – RHS Chelsea Flower Show is roaring back, but things are still not quite the same. Due to Covid restrictions back in May, when the show traditionally takes place, the RHS took the decision to move its landmark event at the Royal Hospital Chelsea to the early autumn. RHS Chelsea 2021 is now taking place from Tuesday-Sunday, 21-26 September, and because of the change of season there will be a host of different flowers on show. “We welcome new plants and exhibitors” Instead of foxgloves and alliums, visitors will see late-flowering bulbs, salvias and grasses take centre stage in the Great Pavilion, with the emphasis this year firmly on showcasing the very best in autumn…

Listen to Peter’s free podcast every Thursday. Search for ‘This Week In The Garden with Peter Seabrook’ on iTunes MY date to sow autumn sweet peas in the soil where they are to grow and flower has always been 10 October. Sowing them on this date allows the seedlings to grow large enough to survive the winter, but not too big so they succumb to cold, searing winds. It also allows a good deep root system to form to pull up moisture should the temperatures soar in late May/early June when this sowing starts to flower. There are a number of similar hardy annual flowers that benefit from autumn sowing, although suggested sowing dates vary. Larkspur is slow to germinate and this week is a good time to get the…

T HE word dynamic is usually associated with positive proactive people who get lots of things done. However, it has another less well-known dictionary meaning that describes ‘a process or system characterised by constant change, activity or progress’. Wildlife is dynamic in this sense, and the last two years is a good indication of just how dynamic it can be because we’ve had peaks and troughs. In the lockdown spring of 2020, our garden was abundant from April onwards, and our aphids were controlled by teams of hoverfly larvae, and adult and juvenile ladybirds. Birds nested and thrived, and we had bees galore, including the black ruderal bee (Bombus ruderatus). There were huge numbers of orange-tip butterflies floating through the garden in April, but the cherry on the cake was…

SEED production is a plant’s way of continuing the species and, because it usually involves both a male and female to create fertile seed, it is known as sexual reproduction (as opposed to asexual, such as taking cuttings). The mixing of genetic material results in variation, so the outcome cannot be predicted unless the first-generation cross of two parents gives a uniform outcome (known as F1 seed). Seed can be collected from many plants, including peas, beans, sweet peas and foxgloves. These are termed ‘dry’ seeds as they originate from a seed capsule, such as a pod. They need to be collected as the capsule starts to split to allow seeds to disperse naturally. Other plants, particularly trees and shrubs, produce seeds surrounded by a fleshy outer part, such as…

A UTUMN may be a time for saying farewell to the sun and summer flowers, but it is also a time of new beginnings and ‘hellos’. The next few weeks are perfect for perennials, for planting, dividing, cutting back and generally nurturing. I have several plants in need of a home, including a sedum, as well as some thriving bergenia cuttings that need to wriggle their roots in some fresh soil and compost. There is also a scented pink phlox that initially failed to thrive in the soil, was dug up and set in a container to recover, and has been in potted purgatory for the past year. It has grown considerably, too, so I plan to split it, which will help its productivity. Whether you are planting, dividing or…

AS September draws on, I’m spending time cutting back spent perennials, removing annuals that have had their day, and deciding what to do with the gaps they leave. Early autumn is the perfect time to plant, as the soil is still holding on to summer warmth and is dampened by showers. Anything planted now has time to establish and put on root growth before it beds down for winter, and hardy annuals sown now will nestle into the soil and burst into life next spring One of the delights of this summer has been the unexpected appearance of a night-flowering catchfly (Silene noctiflora) in a corner of the garden. A member of the campion family and standing a good 3ft (1m) tall, it is a delight, with starry flowers in…

THIS week’s ‘Giant Imperial Mixed’ larkspur seeds have proved so popular that we are giving away a second batch. Easy to sow and grow, long-flowering on sturdy stems and perfect for indoor arrangements, they really are an ever-giving gift and will thrive if sown in a sunny spot. Larkspur prefers to grow in light soil, so if you garden on dense clay you can expect better results if you dig in plenty of organic matter (well-rotted manure or compost) or grit before sowing. Best of all, they self-seed easily, as I have found to my delight this year. We grew some last year from seed and left the plants to mature, but without collecting the seeds. This year the garden has been lifted by several self-seeded clumps of the attractive…

PRODUCING homegrown table grapes sounds like the height of decadence, but is it possible? Trust me, if you grow the right variety and you practise sound growing techniques, then the answer will be a resounding ‘yes’. For the past six years, I have been curator of two mature dessert vines in a vast Victorian lean-to greenhouse: what a treat! That said, there have been pitfalls and lessons learnt, as well as triumphs. Let me share them. The roots are planted outside, then the stem is trained inside – this gives far easier maintenance than if they were totally under glass (even though that might give earlier harvests due to warm roots). I simply top up gaps in rainfall via a good soak with the hosepipe. “There are plenty of outdoor…

This week it’s: THERE is considerable skill in successful foraging for food from hedgerows and common land, and it is now when foragers are particularly looking for fruits and berries. These are some of the most rewarding of foraged edibles as, unlike leaves, roots and fungi, wild fruits often don’t require preparation or cooking. This makes them good for beginners and, because of their sweetness, they can sometimes offer instant gratification. Which fruits are out there? ■ Nuts are, of course, the fruits of certain trees. However, they’re not ‘fleshy’ like blackberries or sloes, so I’ve excluded chestnuts, hazels, walnuts, acorns and beech nuts, all of which can be picked wild. I’ll cover these in the future. Brambles and blackberries WE grow named blackberries in our gardens, but the common…

Q My wife read about No Mow May and persuaded me to leave a section of lawn uncut. The problem is she likes the effect so much that I have not been allowed near it and we are now into No Mow September. Surely we should cut it at some point? Bernard Chisholm, Corby, Northamptonshire A No Mow May was suggested by the charity Plantlife and is a catchy title encouraging us to rethink how we manage our lawns. Horticultural advice has always been to mow once a week when grass is growing strongly. This was to prevent coarse grasses and weeds from taking hold, plus small domestic mowers tend to cope more easily with shorter grass than long. Yet these days many gardeners derive as much pleasure from the…

AS every soothsayer worth their salt knows, the sight of an overweight hog or a holly branch bending under the weight of its berries is a sure sign that an icy winter is on the way. That’s why I’m sharing the worrying news that our holly has an unusually heavy crop and my genuine concern about Peppa Pig’s father, who is so portly he barely fits on our widescreen TV! Call it twaddle, if you will, but I’m not taking any chances. That’s why I’ve been busily propagating tender plants just in case Daddy Pig’s expanding waistline proves prophetic. September is the perfect time for propagating tender plants. Cuttings strike easily, and ‘splits’ or offsets, dug from the outside of plants with multiple stems, pot up and quickly fill out…

DIVIDING plants can seem slightly daunting at first, but if you follow a few rules it’s incredibly easy and the benefits outweigh the problems. You get more of your favorite plants to dot around your garden for free, and the original plant is cut into more productive, smaller pieces, which usually gives it a second lease of life. Many perennials perform brilliantly when they are first planted, but after a few years they outgrow their space, lose structure and run out of steam, falling outwards and forming unproductive, woody hearts. Dividing gives you the chance to get rid of the old, failing parts and start again with fresh new pieces of plant. As long as each portion has healthy sections of root and top growth, they will regenerate and grow…

THE weather this year has been far from ideal and our gardens have suffered. The cold, dry spring gave way to an indifferent summer with a brief spell of scorching heat followed by some torrential downpours. Lawns have struggled accordingly, and now with winter waiting in the wings we have a short window to give them some love and prepare them for the return to cold, wet weather. The relative warmth and dampness of October and early November are ideal for sowing and turfing a lawn, but September is often still too dry, unless you have the time and patience for regular watering. But there are still several tasks you can do to keep your lawn healthy and looking as good as possible. One important thing not to do is…

AS autumn arrives, it’s soon time to bring our tender conservatory and house plants safely back under cover again. Naturally, some are more urgent than others, with softer, more succulent ones needing to come in soonest. Larger, older, tougher specimens, and plants like citrus, can endure some cold (though not frosts, of course) so can stay out a tad longer. Most will probably be happier staying outdoors until the weather really deteriorates. Indeed, one year, when I failed to bring in my largest lemon with the others, I noticed it was in much better condition than the others when I eventually did retrieve it. This got me thinking about how we harden off plants (setting them outdoors each morning and bringing them back undercover each night for a few days)…

How do I propagate my giant hollyhocks? Q I have an 11ft (3.3m) hollyhock growing in heavy clay soil, that has produced almost 60 blooms. How can I propagate it? Robert Algar, Glasgow A What a tall hollyhock! If it has made a large plant, with several shoots appearing from the base, you could, in spring, when the soil is warming nicely and the plant has started to grow again, lift it carefully and split it into several well-rooted and budded portions. Replant them in organically rich soil. Alternatively, this year, wait for seeds to ripen – they will turn brown and be easy to remove from the seed pod – and store them in a dry jam jar, with the lid on, in a cool, dark frost-free place. Sow…

Star letter I HAVE been an avid cacti grower for years and have grown many from seed. This one, Opuntia leucotricha, from a packet of mixed seeds is one of them. After nearly losing it in a bad winter a few years ago when I had to re-root the one remaining pad, it has flowered. There is nothing too unusual about that, but this one has taken 45 years to finally flower. However with the beauty of the flower it was worth the wait. David Lee, Mansfield, Notts Trumpet fanfare, please I REALLY have the utmost admiration for plant breeders who work on improving species all the time. For many years, Busy Lizzies suffered from such dreadful mildew and now are perfect, colourful flowers. But what I am so pleased…