Innholdsfortegnelse for 6-Nov-2021 i Amateur Gardening

“I rather like this time of year, when late autumn melds into winter. Leaves change colour and fall, and you can see nature evolving to its next phase all around you. There seem to be more tasks to do, and the colder weather makes the physical side of gardening more enjoyable for me. A couple of hours of bulb planting, clearing leaves and some rigorous forking of the compost heap sets you up for a hot brew and a hearty late lunch. You feel a sense of achievement that is very different from garden work in the summer. I do wonder if we nurture our garden, or is the gardening nurturing us?” Contact us: ■ Subscriptions: 0330 333 1113 ■ Editorial: 0330 3903732 ■ Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com ■ Advertising: 0330 3906566…

WHILE buying peat-free compost is a top priority for many environmentally-conscious gardeners, many of the plants on sale at garden centres remain rooted in pots that are brimming with peat. Peat consumption by UK commercial nurseries, which grow millions of shrubs, trees and seasonal plants for gardeners, fell from 63.9 per cent in 2015 to 62.3 per cent in 2020 – a decline of just 1.6 per cent, according to the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA). Machinery headaches for growers AG set out to find out why growers, who produce plants on an industrial scale, remain so dependent on peat. Firstly, the Government gave professional growers until 2030 to phase peat out, although a current consultation may see the deadline reviewed. Growers use high-tech, computerised nursery automation that has been engineered…

LOOKING across the rolling countryside from the Hyde Hall hill top to a recently planted vineyard is a pleasing sight. Parallel rows of vines stretch up the south west-facing slope, with their strips of mown grass between, reflecting the season – and they are currently aglow with pre-fall yellow foliage. I like straight lines and am reminded of a comment by Richard Ayres, former head gardener at Anglesey Abbey, who likes neat hedges. One of his gardeners suggested a line was unnecessary for a length of hedge out of public view, which “nobody would see”. Richard’s reply? “I will see it!” Current trends are towards curves and more relaxed mixed planting can be observed in the fruit and vegetable area around the new Hilltop Centre at Wisley. This has not…

THE Best Beloved and I are cat lovers, but we’ve been without a cat for four years or so following Poppy Cat’s sudden and upsetting passing. During eight months of lockdown, when we saw nobody, we decided to get another cat, carefully weighing up the effect on our wildlife. After all, Chris Packham once said that cats are ‘sly, greedy insidious murderers’ and the RSPB substantiates his view, so don’t rise up! They estimate that cats in the UK catch up to 100 million prey items over spring and summer, of which 27 million are birds. This is just the number of prey items that were known to have been caught, presumably presented to their owners as trophies. Poppy Cat caught voles and sometimes ate the bodies, but she ignored…

John will reply personally to all your gardening questions every week Can I grow alstroemerias from seed? Q My alstroemerias flowered brilliantly this year and have produced seed pods. I’ve harvested the seeds, so do I sow them now or wait? Jerry Knight, Roath, Cardiff A They are best sown as soon as they are harvested, as they tend to enter a dormant phase which is quite hard to break if they dry out. Soak the seeds in warm water, then put them into individual pots of compost and just cover them with a little more compost. Keep the pots somewhere warm – 20°C/68°F or warmer – for about four weeks, then move them somewhere cooler (100C/500F) until next spring, when they should show signs of germinating. Even with perfect…

“Never too old to learn” MY runner beans were progressing as usual through the summer and despite the cold May they were showing lots of promise as usual. Loads of flowers started but none were developing, something in over 60 years of gardening I had never known. Was it ‘duff’ seed, something wrong with my own compost and mulch, or a disease, I just could not work out why my flowers never matured. Then I noticed one early morning in August that my mob of sparrows were picking off the very young flower shoots. Later I read in AG that even your experts had noticed this. I took their advice and covered the beans with netting. The bees soon got to work and my crop was bountiful. Conclusion — lesson…

GARDENING is a joy, and one of the greatest pleasures for us is the wildlife it can bring into our orbit. This year our garden has hosted baby hedgehogs (hoglets), a violet carpenter bee, more wild birds than I can count plus several savage forays by a sparrowhawk that sweeps through and scatters the sparrows and starlings, often departing with one of their number in its talons. We have had so many grasshoppers that the wildflower lawn has sounded like a sewing machine factory, while bees have been a constant presence since early spring. Nationwide, our gardens are increasingly important to wildlife and insects as their natural habitats shrink. Autumn is the perfect time to think about how you can help them, often by making the simplest of alterations to…

AS the days grow shorter and cooler and the central heating is switched on, we need to rethink how we care for our houseplants. During spring and summer, they grow just like plants in the garden, but as winter arrives they have different requirements. Feeding isn’t necessary in winter as houseplants stop growing. They also need less water, so only add moisture when the compost is dry to the touch. The exceptions to this rule are flowering plants such as African violets, streptocarpus and orchids, which will need watering and feeding fortnightly. Position plants where they can get the most light, but keep them off windowsills where curtains are drawn at night, as this traps cold air that can damage the leaves or stunt the plants’ growth. Your houseplants will…

EARLIER this year I took cuttings from a number of mature bergenia plants growing in the front garden. They rooted successfully and now the soil is damp and still warm from summer sun, it is the perfect time to plant them where I want them to grow and flower. Bergenias are worth adding to any garden. Also known as ‘elephant ears’ thanks to their large, fleshy leaves, they are incredibly versatile and will thrive in and brighten tricky areas of dry shade. However, with their bell-like flowers in shades of magenta and pink, as well as white, held on short stems above their statement foliage, they are also deserving of a more prominent place in the garden. Modern varieties are more compact that the traditional cultivars and many have foliage…

THEIR long cropping season, generous yields and kitchen versatility have earned raspberries a permanent place on many plots countrywide. If you’re one of the few gardeners who doesn’t grow them, now is the time to redeem this oversight – winter is the perfect season for planting! So, what are the key pieces of information you need to succeed? Common ground All raspberries have certain growing requirements (see checklist). They will thrive in cooler summers with adequate rainfall. While traits of American and other species have been bred into modern varieties, the raspberry is still predominantly European in origin. A chilling period is important, too, with around six weeks of cold needed to synchronise bud burst and flowering in spring. While plants are self-fertile, bees still need to visit blooms to…

This week it’s: The need for blue! Blue is the colour this week… IT struck me the other day that, during autumn, the garden is, to all intents and purposes, devoid of the colour blue. Deciduous trees and shrubs turn to glorious shades of everything from pale yellow to deep red, along with golds, bronzes, coppers and purples. Autumn flowers are mostly pinks, reds, oranges or yellows. Autumn berries are the same. With just a handful of exceptions, blue is mainly absent. Even during the rest of the year, intense blue – albeit more frequently seen – is nowhere near as prolific as practically every other colour. I thought, therefore, that we should take a closer look at blue, and all its mysteries. A time to dye! GRINDING up blue…

Please note, prize monies will be sent approx 10 weeks after publication What’s that in my planter? Itdoesn’t look right.I gingerly poked outsomething white,Long, soft, and flaky. Itshouldn’t be there.In fact, it gave me a bit ofa scare. The fox had rejected theneighbour’s meal,And the sneaky, grey squirrelwas quick to steal.Its snack dug in; my bulbsdug out.It made me want to screamand shout. The earth’s dug up beneaththat tree.There’s a bulb on the surface.Could it be?For now, I’m alwayswondering when,Sausage roll squirrel willstrike again.…

BIRD, insect and mammal life may be quietening down in your garden, but there is still lots you can do to lay the foundations to welcome more wildlife back when spring comes around. I will be spending the next few weeks adding to our habitat pile of twiggy prunings stuffed with moss and straw. If space is tight in your garden, you can do your bit by leaving a little corner to grow wild, or by filling plant pots with straw and tucking them away beneath shrubs and in quiet areas. We also have a ‘hedgehog barn’ from Wildlife World ( wildlifeworld.co.uk, call 01666 505333). It is tucked away in a quiet spot and stuffed with straw so hopefully one of our local hogs will consider it des res enough…

THERE’S one vegetable above all other that our kitchen is never without, and that’s garlic. This member of the allium (onion) family is an essential part of everyday cookery chez Hayes and each autumn we make sure we plant enough bulbs to see us as far through the following year as possible. Tradition states that garlic does best if put in the ground by Christmas, as it needs winter’s cold to produce truly flavourful and healthy cloves. It likes a sunny, sheltered spot with fertile soil that drains well. If space is tight, this versatile crop will also do well in large containers. However, as it is a member of the allium family it should not be planted in soil that was used the season before for onions, shallots and…

HALLOWE’EN and 5 November means bonfires in gardens all over the country. Hopefully, we have learned to burn only woody stuff and stopped adding sofas, plastic tat and other rubbish, as these cause so many pollutants. Anyway, provided your bonfire was ‘clean’, then by the next morning, or the one after, it will have burned away to ash. The first job is to sieve and bag the ash, provided it has cooled enough to do so safely, and be careful not to breathe any in. You could just spread the ash round your plants right away, but ashes become mellower if kept for a while and are better sprinkled in spring when growth has resumed. “Ashes are mellower if kept for a while” Small bits of charcoal are as valuable…

Q I have been waiting patiently for my cup and saucer vine to flower. The seeds were sown in April and plants grew well to about 3ft (90cm), but so far no buds. Should I give up now? Enid Gornall, Solihull, West Midlands A The cup and saucer vine is such a good name for Cobaea scandens because held upright, each bell-shaped flower resembles a cup complete with rim sitting in a saucer formed by the calyx. The other name, cathedral bells, isn’t bad, either. This is a spectacular tendril climber originally from Mexico and South America which, although perennial in warmer climates, is grown in the UK as an annual. The large seeds germinate readily in warmth, but plants need a long growing season in order to reach a…

It’s time for our just-for-fun puzzle – AG’s Garden Wall. This wall comprises 12 bricks in three courses. Each brick has a different word, or phrase on it. The first brick in each course, with BLOCK capitals, is cemented in place and cannot be moved. Just rearrange all the other bricks, so that the four words in each course of bricks are linked. There are three different connections to look for, one for each course. You may find that some words have more than one connection to other courses, but there is just one correct answer. You’ll either find this puzzle fiendishly difficult, or incredibly easy! Answers below. Hint: In one of the courses, the words are all plants known for their predominantly blue flowers! Answers: RACE (acer) = Axils…

AKEEN gardener always tries to squeeze in one extra plant, but how often do you dig a planting hole and discover half a bulb on the spade? Or hoe through the new shoots of bulbs or corms that were not visible at the time? Even finding a label, carefully placed next to the bulbs as you planted them, can be hard once the group has grown bigger. All these potential problems can be overcome with a bit of forward planning. Bulbs can be planted in baskets as long as the sides of the container are porous and have sufficient strength to protect the bulbs inside. You can use an old hanging basket, an aquatics basket bought from the aquatics department of a garden centre, or a bulb basket designed for…

THERE’S only one thing more satisfying than hands-on gardening… and that’s when the garden gets off its you-know-what and does the work for you. I’ve been reflecting on this while planting my newly bought box of tulips – bulbs that, once they’ve flowered, generally can’t be relied upon to come back year after year, because there are exceptions to the tulips’ ‘flower once and buy again’ rule. The species tulips are the wild parents of the highly bred parrots, lily-flowered and triumph varieties – and not only will they self-sow, but they also bloom from smaller bulbs so they don’t take long to reach flowering size. Just like their luxuriant and man-made progeny, they’re happy in windowboxes, pots and borders, but when planted somewhere that remains undisturbed when the bulbs…