Innholdsfortegnelse for 8-Jan-2022 i Amateur Gardening

“It’s funny how some folk – non-gardening I hasten to add – believe that everything comes to a grinding halt in winter, and that there is little pleasure or value to be derived from the garden. Yet how wrong they are! The seasons are all special, and I love the stark duo-tone effect of winter browns and greens, especially when they are blessed with a smattering of snow. Tasks completed in a bitingly cold winter garden give a greater feeling of achievement than in any other season. And when the work is done and numerours layers of clothing removed, hands are warmed around a piping hot brew as a well-earned reward. Let’s all enjoy the winter garden.”…

IT is doubtful whether any of us will be adding plants to the garden this week – for starters, the soil is probably too cold and wet. But we can be planning new additions and preparing the soil for their arrival. Keep on top of weeds through winter as many will grow whatever the weather. Small ones can be easily hoed off and left to rot down on the soil as a form of green manure. Winter is a good time to feed and condition beds for spring planting, either by layering mulch on the surface to break down, or by digging it in. If you are using the former method, mulch when soil has been wet by rain and isn’t frozen. A layer of mulch on dry soil will…

THERE has been much talk, for over the last 40 years, about the garden and horticultural world in Britain going peat-free, and there are very good reasons to do this when it comes to soil improvement. We have plenty of alternatives for mulching and digging in, making our own garden compost first and foremost, followed by leaf mould, well-rotted animal manures, municipal green waste and digestates, to mention a few. When it comes to using peat specifically for seed, cuttings and potting composts, there has been too much said and written, while not enough has been done to restore cut-away bogs and farm sphagnum (Paludiculture) for growing media use. Had we returned water tables to where they were and had we reintroduced sphagnum to those harvested areas, by this point…

I DO worry about how much the climate has warmed up in the past 20 years. Last November I was still picking dahlias – something I could never have imagined 20 years ago. I also worry about my carbon footprint, so I’m dedicating more space to growing my own because that’s one of the greenest things you can do. There are no air miles involved when it goes from plot to plate. When you grow your own you eat seasonally, and I will be feasting on kale, cabbages, parsnips and leeks straight from the garden right up until March. My stored potatoes, winter squashes and borlotti beans are also winter warmers, and there are broad beans and sweetcorn in the freezer, plus bags of tomato passata. It’s the food I…

John will reply personally to all your gardening questions every week How can I help my cotinus to thrive? Q Our purple cotinus is affected by powdery mildew and all its leaves have fallen off. Is there anything we do about this? Steve and Julia Bailey (via email)) A Cotinus coggygria ‘Purpurea’ is a deciduous plant so the fact that it dropped its leaves in the autumn is not anything to worry about. Powdery mildew tends to appear when plants are dry at the roots but growing in a humid atmosphere. If you can increase airflow in and around your cotinus this will help to deter the fungus from taking hold. A solution might be to prune or remove a neighbouring shrub, which would allow more air to flow around the…

This week it’s: Plants connected to sport We look at plants with sporting links I ALWAYS feel, I’m sure wrongly, that there is a sporting ‘lull’ during January. All the cricket is on the other side of the planet, and there’s a distinct absence of gymnastic or athletics events, and marathons. I’m probably wrong about this, and I’m also sure you’ll tell me! Of course, there’s footie and rugby but, for me, January isn’t exactly top of the pile when it comes to sporting events. And it seems like an age since the Olympics, Paralympics, Wimbledon, the Grand National and the Boat Race! So, for sports fans who feel that January is somewhat barren, I thought I would take a look at some of the plants – and gardening stories…

YOU may be wondering why the main photograph of an article about winter lawn care shows me pruning a tree. Don’t worry, I’m not having a senior moment – the two matters are actually very closely related. The tree is a weeping ornamental pear tree, Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’, which looks amazing in summer with striking grey-green foliage and pretty white flowers. But it is very vigorous and by the end of the growing season its lower branches are almost touching the lawn around it. While this looks attractive, it means that the grass becomes covered with leaves in autumn and the branches block light and air from the lawn, increasing the risk of soil compaction, damp and fungal problems. So I use a mild winter day to trim back the…

THE middle of winter can be a tough time for plants in general, but it is extra hard for those growing in containers. Even hardy varieties growing in pots can fall prey to wintry conditions, but there are plenty of rescue remedies you can use to keep them looking good. Compost in containers is more likely to freeze solid than soil in the ground, damaging and killing roots and therefore the plant. Most containers are sold as frost-proof, but they may still crack if damp compost freezes and expands. Give protection by swaddling them in fleece or bubblewrap, making sure drainage holes aren’t blocked. If not provided with adequate drainage, the compost in containers can quickly become waterlogged, either by heavy rain or melting snow. Waterlogging forces the air out…

IF, like me, you are thinking about what crops to grow this year and where they are going to go, don’t forget to implement crop rotation. This is a system that’s as old as food cultivation itself, and can be used in raised beds as well as larger allotments and vegetable gardens. It helps maintain and balance soil fertility as different crops take different nutrients from the soil, it can help control weeds, as crops such as potatoes and squashes have dense foliage that suppress unwanted plants, and it prevents pests and diseases common in certain varieties from building up in the soil. It isn’t difficult to set up a three-or four-year cycle of crops. Start by organising what you plan to grow into groups: brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower, sprouts, kohl…

THERE is no fruit to match the intensity of flavour of a blackcurrant. The whole bush is literally bursting with fragrance that you can release the distinct aroma just by brushing past a plant. Robust, trouble-free and prolific, the bushes are also incredibly simple to grow – there’s not much going against them, to be honest! Happy in sun or shade, one bush is all that’s needed because plants are self-fertile. If you have room, the vigorous and lofty ‘Ben Hope’ is very abundant and worthwhile growing. For those with tiny plots, compact ‘Ben Sarek’ is for you, and it grows happily in a pot as well. Blackcurrants crop best on vigorous two and three-year-old wood, so an unpruned mature plant will ultimately become less and less productive. Worry not:…

Skimmio 'Peroso' A great choice if you're looking for a plant that looks good all through the year, 'Perosa' will deliver. Compact and easy to grow, it'll always give you something beautiful to see, whatever the month. Supplied in a ZL pot for you to plant out, eventually reaching 75cm (3ft) in height and spread. ONLY£9.99 SAVE £5.00! ZL Potted Plant - ITEM: 511059 'Anny's Wmter Orange' Also known as the Bloody dogwood or bloodtwig on account of its glowing winter colour, Cornus 'Anny's Winter Orange', is one of the best for colour, being much prized for its vibrant orange-flushed red stems. Grow in sun or partial shade. Supplied as an established plant in a 9cm pot. ONLY £9.99 GOOD DEAL! 9cm Potted Plant-ITEM: 511012 Star Jasmine Need something to…

This word search comprises words associated with gardening and sport. They are listed below; in the grid they may be read across, backwards, up, down or diagonally. Letters may be shared between words. Erroneous or duplicate words may appear in the grid, but there is only one correct solution. After the listed words are found there are six letters remaining; arrange these to make this week’s KEYWORD. SPORT FENCE LAWN NECTARINES ROSES TURF BOWLING GREEN FOOTBALL PITCH GOLF COURSE CRICKET BAT FIELD GAME GOAL MEDAL OLYMPICS RUGBY HOW TO ENTER: Enter this week’s keyword on the entry form, and send it to AG Word Search No 602, Amateur Gardening, Future Publishing Limited, Unit 415, Winnersh Triangle, Eskdale Road, Winnersh, RG41 5TP, to arrive by Wednesday 19 January 2022. The first…

FOR many years we grew big ball-shaped Amaryllis bulbs as indoor plants, enjoying their huge blowsy blooms over Christmas or as a great way to brighten up the New Year. Now these same plants are called Hippeastrum and the name Amaryllis refers to the hardy outdoor varieties. Longer lifespan Although Hippeastrum is a flower closely associated with Christmas because it makes an excellent gift, the bulbs can be potted from October until the end of April. This means that depending on planting time, you can get flowers from late December until the end of June. If you buy several bulbs at the same time when the shops have a good range of colours, you can pot them in stages to get a succession of flowers and the others can be…

Pots of scent WHILE reading Ruth’s article on planting shrubs in pots (AG, 4 December), I was reminded about some seedlings of sweet box (Sarcococca confusa) that I dug up earlier this year. There must have been hundreds of plants that had germinated under the established parent that has been growing in my back garden for about eight years. The seedlings grew strongly and I gave a few to neighbours. I also kept one for myself. I was rather foolish in planting the original plant halfway up the garden, so I don’t get the full effect of its magnificent scent in winter. To rectify this, I planted the new box in a pot that I can move around! As you can see from the photograph, it’s already starting to produce…

THERE are a couple of quick jobs you can do on dry, mild days to help see your lawns safely through winter. Areas that get a lot of traffic are likely to be compacted underneath, causing muddy spots and soggy, waterlogged soil. You can alleviate this by laying a simple stone path, see right, and aerating with a border fork. Simply plunge the fork into the ground a couple of inches (5cm) deep, and give it a wiggle. This will open up the soil, letting air in around the grass roots and helping water soak away. Edging the lawn is an instant way of creating a neater garden. Either use a half-moon tool or a spade to create a ‘moat and mound’ effect. Edging creates clear boundaries between borders and…

LIKE all roses, climbers need regular pruning to keep them in good shape and flowering well. Winter, when they are dormant, is the time to do this. The same applies to bush roses, while rambling roses are given their trim in the summer when their sole flush of flowers has been and gone. Last year seemed to be a good year for roses and the ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ climbing up the front of our house gave us two wonderful periods of flowering. She now needs a trim and as she suffered from some late-season black spot I need to clear any fallen infected leaves from the soil around her stems. This is important as the leaves contain the disease spores and they will live on in the soil if not collected.…

AS you’re well aware, each crop has conditions that suit it most – with the wetter, milder west benefiting leeks and raspberries, while the more continental east is better for strawberries and tomatoes, in a sunny year. And that’s the rub – in a sunny year. We became accustomed to a series of springs and summers that were fine for crops that never used to be that suitable before, such as sweetcorn, chilli peppers, soya beans, sweet potatoes and the finer squashes. The breeders had done wonders with many crops, making these more reliable in a wider range of soils and conditions. But even so, the erratic weather we have experienced in recent years – with wetter and drier, warmer and colder spells – has been too much for many.…

Q I’ve been reading about the flavour of old-fashioned gooseberries and would like to plant some of the older cultivars. What is the best way to grow them, and how do I avoid mildew? Fiona Westfield, Grantham, Lincs. A I recall an old gooseberry bush in my grandpa’s garden whose large berries were so delicious we would pick and eat them raw. The memory of that sweet gooseberry flavour makes me sympathise with your curiosity to explore some of the older cultivars. To a large extent, they have been sidelined by newer varieties such as green-fruited ‘Invicta’, pink ‘Captivator’ and ‘Hinnonmaki Red’, offering not only tasty fruit but also excellent resistance to American gooseberry mildew. This fungal disease appears as whitish-grey and then brown patches on leaves and fruits, with…

YOU don’t need to set the digital clock on your DeLorean car back to the 15th century to know that tools and technology have made gardening so much easier. Back in the Middle Ages, pointed shoes called poulaines were de rigueur, and if those winklepickers didn’t make manual work hard enough, digging with a wooden spade certainly did – never mind the shenanigans of cutting the lawn with a sheep! I’d go so far to say that everything we use in our gardens has evolved and improved beyond measure. From sundials to wristwatches, clogs to Gore-Tex boots, bellows for dusting pesticide to biological controls, there isn’t a single tool or technique that remains unblessed by better design and improvement. Or so I thought… Back in October, I was adding a…