Innholdsfortegnelse for 27-Nov-2021 i Amateur Gardening

“At this time of year it makes me chuckle when non-gardeners say, ‘Oh! But it’s the quiet time of year for you gardening lot.’ To which I reply, ‘If that’s the case, how come we still manage to produce magazines packed with great advice, ideas, inspiration and features right through winter?’ The days may be shorter, but there is still plenty to do – and this week is no exception. After all, it is prime planting time for perennials and woody plants. And, as our experts will tell you, it’s the perfect opportunity to add more colour and interest to your plot for next year so you can create your own haven of beauty and mellow fruitfulness.”…

Hozelock water butt pump Rainwater is better for gardens than tap water. It’s free and environmentally sound, but it’s tiresome to keep filling up watering cans to carry to the end of the garden. The answer is the Flowmax Collect 2200 from Hozelock, a device that slips into your butt and pumps water out through your hose. It saves time and makes life easier. (Price approx £70, GC-W) Subscribe to your favourite mag! Don’t forget your weekly gardening friend and companion. AG is packed with practical advice, great ideas, insightful plant features, amazing facts, step-by-steps and a community of like-minded people to draw inspiration from and to help you get the best out of your garden. It’s the best value on the market and the majority of issues include free…

1 Wrap pots to keep the compost and plant roots from freezing. Pots containing hardy summer bulbs can be wrapped and laid on their sides to help water drain. Raise other pots on feet. 2 Rake up the last leaves so light and air can get to your lawn and keep it healthy and pest-free. Let worm casts dry before brushing them away, and don’t tread on them. 3 Keep overwintering plants in the greenhouse healthy by opening doors and windows on milder days, and closing them at night. Make sure the panes are securely clipped in place. 4 Keep patios and decking areas free of fallen plant material and debris that gets slippery that can harbour pests and diseases. Make sure gutters run clear to avoid over-spilling and floods.…

IT seems the potato has been stealing the limelight for too long. While gardeners still love this tender tuber, others have been vying for our attention. First, the sweet potato, then oca, yacon and dahlias – all these bulky crops can provide us with a hit of carbs, whether it’s mashed, roasted, stir-fried or, in some cases, raw. Growing essentials The growing method for many of the tender tubers is similar to the potato: position in full sun, start off crops early under glass to maximise their growing season, protect the tender shoots from spring frosts, and lift the tubers before harsh winter ones. Hailing from Central and Southern America, in this sense they have needs comparable to the potato (which itself originated from Peru). Bear in mind, though, that…

Outdoor Narcissi Bucket This metal planter contains everything needed to grow cheerful daffodils on a patio, balcony, or anywhere in the garden. Outdoor Allium Bucket This metal planter contains everything needed to grow striking alliums on a patio, balcony, or anywhere in the garden. Chilli Metal Fire Bucket Grow your own chillies with this fun kit and look forward to adding some home-grown flavour and heat to your cooking! Large Hyacinth Bosket (Blue) A lovely addition to any home, this stylish, flower packed planter will burst into life and fill any room with colour and rich perfume. Large Hyacinth Bosket (White) A lovely addition to any home, this stylish planter will burst into life and fill with fabulous flowers - such a treat! Indoor Gin Garnish Kit All packed up…

NON-GARDENING folk often think that autumn and winter are the gardener’s quiet time, but in fact nothing could be further from the truth Of course, the shorter days and less kind weather mean that going out and getting things done isn’t as pleasant as in the summer, but it does mean that time is more precious so more gets packed into the frugal hours of sunlight. Pruning is the autumn and winter ‘biggie’, with most deciduous trees and shrubs now ready for their seasonal trim. Take it steady, removing dead, diseased, crossing and damaged branches, as well as fiddly little ones cluttering the inside of the plant. The end result should be an attractive, open shape that lets plenty of light and air through the branches. Ideally, stop cutting before…

TAKING cuttings doesn’t only have to be a good-weather pursuit – several plants can be propagated via root cuttings in winter when the soil is workable and not sodden or frozen. Oriental poppies, verbascum, Primula denticulata (drumstick primulas), Japanese anemones, phlox and globe thistles can all be carefully dug up now and their roots used to make new plants. Taking root cuttings is an easy process that gives you lots of new plants. It has the added benefit that because the new growth starts underground, rather than on top growth, the plantlets are less prone to attacks by pests and diseases. Use mature plants, as the roots of young plants are too thin, and never cut from more than a third of the root system, as this will weaken the…

WITH the days so short and the sun so dim, the outdoor garden can seem a tad bleak. Sure, there are a few gorgeous scented and berried shrubs giving us some relief, but they’re a small comfort during these cold, dark days. However, if we step under cover, be it into a grand botanic garden’s winter palace, a greenhouse, a conservatory or a humble polythene-covered tunnel, then everything changes. The wind disappears, the slight warmth from the sun multiplies and many more plants are still in growth. True, it’s slow growth, but with their verdant foliage and flowers our world becomes a finer place. It’s astounding how many plants can be fitted into a small porch, and given more space it’s amazing how many more are possible. Of course, providing…

This week it’s: National Tree Week We look at plants that are the lungs of the planet NATIONAL Tree Week, the UK’s largest annual tree celebration, starts this Saturday, 27 November. It was first held in 1975, and every November since it has marked the start of the winter tree-planting season; the ideal time for planting trees (whether they’re sold in containers or bare-root) is during their five-month dormant period between November and March. This is, therefore, the perfect time to take a look at trees in general – and there are some fascinating stats and facts! National Tree Week is organised by The Tree Council, an organisation that brings together individuals and communities ‘with a shared mission to care for trees and our planet’s future’. For more details on…

Three sisters planting Q I would like to try three sisters (corn, squash and climbing bean) planting. How can I get the best crops and which varieties should I choose? Jason Armstrong, Ipswich, Suffolk A The ‘three sisters’ describes a canny companion planting method evolved by the indigenous peoples of North America to grow crops of maize (sweetcorn), beans and squash. Originating in South America, the technique was honed as it spread north and enabled communities to settle, store and trade food, especially as all three can be dried. Sturdy corn stalks support beans, beans fix nitrogen and steady the corn with their twining stems, while squash plants shade the soil, helping retain water and keep the weeds down. There were local variations, including the addition of flowering plants to…

Winter glory: Summer doesn’t have all the colour and scent – next week I show you how to plant a winter-scented shrub to delight festive visitors 1 Remove all unripened figs as they will just rot on the tree. Leave the tiny figlets (inset) in place for next summer’s fruit and don’t prune until February. 2 Cut back overwintering pelargoniums to 4-6in (10-15cm) from the base. Use the healthiest offcuts as cuttings, protecting them through winter. 3 Cut back perennial stems and remove old and battered foliage. Tie hollow stems together and insert in trees and shrubs as insect shelters. 4 Sweet peas are hardy and can be sown in winter and kept undercover. Harvest any remaining dried pods you find while clearing away spent stems. 5 Give birds fresh…

TURNING the central heating down and, where possible, turning it off, in an effort to reduce fossil fuel consumption and the release of CO2 into the atmosphere, is fine by me because another layer of clothes can be added. What I hadn’t quite considered was the effect that it would have on my recently sown seeds and houseplants sitting on cool windowsills. Some of the tougher kinds are fine. The ‘cast iron plant’ (aspidistra) spent all last winter outdoors and was OK given the protection of a south-facing wall, so it will be fine in colder rooms. Cyclamen, too, are better in lower temperatures. Given a light and frost-free position, they will be slower to come into flower, but the flowers should last much longer. “Cyclamen flowers should last much…

LATELY, I’ve been mentioning my rescue cat Frank, a large and very nervous ginger tomcat we got in mid-July this year. Having kept him in for the recommended four weeks, we let him out and he duly disappeared for three days. We finally lured him back with tinned pilchards in tomato sauce, as recommended by the RSPCA refuge. We also had to leave his dried food outside at night and that attracted at least one hedgehog. We are still leaving the door open most evenings because we don’t have a cat flap in our old oak door. As a result, the doormat in the porch is getting sodden when it rains heavily. However, this has had an unexpected upside. Toads are coming into the porch and the kitchen, proving that…

What plants would suit a sensory area? Q I would like to turn part of our garden into a sensory area. What combination of plants could I use? Sarah Rogers, Meols, Wirral A Almost any plants could fit the bill for one of our senses, and here, I have selected a number of plants that take care of themselves with little input from the gardener. Sight can be satisfied with interesting foliage, beautiful colour and the garden’s overall effect. Plants could include Sambucus racemosa ‘Sutherland Gold’ with its deeply divided yellow leaves, Weigela ‘Florida Variegata’, which has variegated leaves and gorgeous pink flowers, and heuchera, which has many varieties with different coloured leaves and delicate, attractive flowers. Sound tends to come from rustling in the breeze, and grasses and bamboos…

THE best way to give any plant a clean start is to use clean pots, sterile compost, and provide a pest and disease-free environment. This cleanliness also applies to plants that you intend to overwinter in a greenhouse, conservatory or polythene-clad structure. With such structures there is always a risk of carry-over of previous pest and disease problems, but the tender plants you move inside to protect them from the ravages of winter can also bring hidden problems with them after spending the summer outdoors. Ideally, you need to have as clean a protected environment as possible, especially if you intend to propagate seeds for next year in the same area as plants being overwintered, and you need to get your winter quarters as clean as possible. If there has…

Write to us: Letters, Amateur Gardening magazine, Future Publishing Limited, Unit 415, Winnersh Triangle, Eskdale Road, Winnersh, RG41 5TP (please include your address). Email us: amateurgardening@futurenet.com Foxes on my doorstep I LOVE reading Val Bourne’s weekly article. However, this week’s (AG, 23 October) was particularly depressing until I thought of my own nature-loving garden. It does have its down side, though! The cherries are eaten by the blackbirds, the walnuts by the squirrels and over the past few weeks we have lost all our fish to an otter. Am I sad? Not on your life. Sharing is part of the joy of seeing such a diversity of nature outside my back door. No more fish for us, though! Christine Wheeler, Beccles, Suffolk Clever Mr Fox LOOKING at the pictures from…

MAYBE it’s the warming climate, or perhaps the plants in my garden are so tightly packed that, like penguins incubating eggs on an ice sheet, they shrug off the cold? All I know is that winter’s icy grip seems to arrive later every year. The range of flowers still clinging on is amazing, and a rough headcount includes a selection of salvias, orange bidens, Mexican sunflowers and even a few of the dahlias. I can’t pretend any look good enough to win prizes, but if there were a late-November flower show (and no other competitors turned up) then I could be in with a shout! So I’ll leave the grasses and hardier herbaceous perennials to catch the frosts or stand as hollowed-stemmed homes for overwintering insects. However, with tender plants…