Innholdsfortegnelse for 2-Jul-2022 i Amateur Gardening

“Are you enjoying your garden this summer? I mean: are you really enjoying it? This may seem a daft question, as most gardens are reaching the height of interest. What I mean is, are you taking the time to enjoy it, rather than just making sure you have completed all your tasks? I have to keep reminding myself to do that. It’s easy to get so caught up in the process that you forget to appreciate everything your hard work and planning has created. Just sit and watch the bees and butterflies lapping up the fruits of your labour – it’s good for your health. This is also the time to take a look at what has worked well (and what you’d like to improve or change). Take the time…

DO you love strawberries? Are you growing any yet? Of almost all the crops, strawberries can be the easiest. There are many varieties to spread their season and each can have a different flavour, though all are delicious. Plus there are alpines, woodland and ever-bearers that start late and continue to ripen fruits until hard frosts return. (I must recommend ‘Toscana’, as this new introduction has pretty pink flowers that makes it attractive enough to slip into decorative borders and even hanging baskets. It also has one of the longest cropping seasons). However, for the finest flavours you may enjoy my favourites: ‘Malwina’, ‘Mara des Bois’, ‘Marshmello’ and the gorgeous, though 130-year-old, ‘Royal Sovereign’. Now is a good time to start, as new plants growing through autumn will become large…

From Mature plants will produce delicious fruits, and are winter hardy to -5C - this trio will grow and fruit perfectly in the UK. The sweetly-perfumed white flowers contrast against the deep green citrus-fragranced foliage, and the fruits smell divine - plus they're packed full of vitamin C. Your trees arrive as young plants, 20-30cm tall including 9cm pots, and are ready to grow on, making them great value. Our Top Tips 1 We recommend using our Soluble Citrus Fertiliser to ensure your trees grow into healthy specimens and bear lots of fruit. 2 For best results, bring indoors to a cool area for winter. 3 Feed with specialist feed every month in spring and summer growth - they are hungry fellows. Lemon 'Citron' Sweetly scented blossom in late spring…

THE flowering stems of daylilies, which are sometimes upright and sometimes arching, and the long narrow leaves emerge separately from very dense crowns of growth, although some varieties spread more widely. The leaves are gathered in fans and in some the leaves die down in winter, some are evergreen, while for others the foliage dies off for the winter but only in the coldest areas. The tough roots are almost wiry. In height, daylilies vary from about 10in-4ft (25cm-1.2m). In bloom for weeks or even months Each flower remains open for only one day, opening in the morning and closing in the evening – the origin of the plant’s name – but the flowering stems branch at the top so a continuing series of new flowers ensures that plants can…

DID you celebrate Britain’s National Picnic Week (18-26 June)? If you didn’t, you can still piggyback the American celebration of National Picnic Month – the whole of July! I love a picnic: the fresh air gives me an appetite, and home-grown salads and fruits give that extra je ne sais quoi. I have to say, though, that I prefer putting a blanket down on the back lawn and eating something prepared in the kitchen a few yards away, rather than travelling miles to an event with lots of people (I think I’m getting antisocial as I get older). Let’s take a sideways look at picnics. ■ National Picnic Month is not a new thing – the American Bakers’ Association founded it in 1952! Wasps – good and bad! WASPS, infamous…

WITH the RHS Chelsea Flower Show now a distant memory, the real fun begins – choosing the best new plants that will create a riot of colour in our gardens. The sheer number of new perennials, shrubs and roses launched at flower shows can be overwhelming, so we’ve narrowed it down to the star performers. Here’s our pick of the finest novelties and strongest specimens for 2022! Rosa ‘Elizabeth’ NAMED in honour of the Queen for the Platinum Jubilee, ‘Elizabeth’ is a shrub rose with pink blooms. Flowers fade to blush white as they mature and fill the air with a lemon sherbet and old-rose fragrance. Repeat-flowering, plants grow to a height and spread of 55x55in (140x140cm). Tip: Plant in sun or part-shade, ideal for large containers. ■ Suppliers include…

I KNOW that many of you love the wildlife in your gardens, just as I do, but I often feel that we’re the silent majority. We’re drowned out by a vocal minority, because it’s much easier to scream and shout about what you don’t want, rather than wax lyrical about what you already have. I often feel this way about our village in the Cotswolds, an area with mega-expensive housing that local people can’t afford. We attract wealthy buyers and many have been city-based for most of their lives. They buy and renovate, adding more value to their properties, and then discover that not much happens in a small ‘parky’ village of 200 or so. They move back to the city and the whole saga begins again. This means there’s…

Help needed for magnolia and hydrangea Q A few months ago we planted a Magnolia stellata and this past week the leaves seemed to be going a darker colour. Is it OK or does it need a feed? Also, two of our hydrangeas aren’t flowering, though they have healthy leaves. Ken Fern (via email) A I am sorry that the leaves of your Magnolia stellata are not as green and healthy as they should be. The best way to encourage foliage to develop the lustre you are seeking is to feed the tree with Sequestrene, a plant food that provides nutrients which improve photosynthesis. Additionally, mulch the root area with 4in (10cm) of moisture-conserving composted manure. As for two of your hydrangeas failing to flower, it’s probably because they are…

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 bricks are all things you might take on a picnic! Answers: OBSTRUCT = Hamper, Hinder,…

FOR some reason, grapes are not widely grown in this country and there seems to be an assumption that they only grow well in warm countries. In fact, grapes were introduced into the UK by the Romans, and Henry VIII had extensive vineyards from York to the south coast. Correct site New varieties can cope with northern regions although, as you might expect, they prefer a warm, sunny position outdoors to fruit well. The great advantage is that they take up very little room at the base and only as much space at the top as you let them. Ideally, grape vines need pruning to a framework on a wall, fence or pergola that allows fruiting spurs to develop, making pruning and picking easier. Regular training The secret to success…

WE’VE got mediaeval French monasteries and chateau owners to thank for the potager concept – a creative and artistic design of a fruit and vegetable garden that’s as easy on the eye as it is productive. I’ve always had a soft spot for them – to me, edible plots can be just as beautiful as ornamental gardens. So how do you go about creating your own? Add florals, shrubs and herbs Anything goes when it comes to potager plants. Fruits, vegetables and herbs should supply the backbone, but because cut flowers and foliage are also key components, many ornamental plants can be chosen. Viburnums, peonies, irises, lilies, aquilegias – as long as you can plonk it in a vase, it’s fine. “Anything goes when it comes to potager plants” Creative…

SUMMER is the season for wandering through the garden and picking flowers to take into the house. Almost anything can be cut – the issue is that some flowers last far better in water than others. Of course, if you cut too many flowers from beds and borders then your garden display might start to look a little thin, so setting a few plants aside in the veg garden, or out of full view, will provide flowers for the house without plundering the borders. Whichever flowers you grow for cutting, there are a few simple rules to ensure that your fresh cut flowers last as long as possible. First, most flowers are best cut first thing on a dry morning, when the flowers are not dewy and before the sun…

Q Could you please tell me what this insect is? H. Wood (via email) A This is a larva of the harlequin ladybird, a relatively recent introduction which, sadly, feeds on our native species. However, all ladybirds and their larvae feed voraciously on aphids, so they are splendid allies. Q Please could you tell me what this beautiful plant is? Sandra Steeple, Blackpool A The mystery plant appears to be a form of Helleborus orientalis. Flowering from January to March, it enlivens late winter and early spring with its beautiful blooms. Q What is this plant, please? Sue Morgan (via email) A This is a spider flower (cleome), probably a variety of C. hassleriana, a robust annual. There are several enchanting forms sporting pink, rose or white flowers. It is…

BLAME the shortages in the shops on what you like – ‘ineptitude’, ‘Brexit supply chain issues’ or ‘Russian aggression’ – but it won’t alter the fact that it’s you and me who have to deal with them. And I’ve been doing just that… ditching the barbeque gas that’s now in short supply and going ‘old-school’ and back to the Bronze Age art of cooking over charcoal. I know that garden gourmets reading this will wonder why anyone would stoop to gas when a smoke and fire barbeque makes for a much better flavour. Well, that same smoke taints washing hanging on the line, and when the kids were young waiting for the coals to heat up and become safely cool after cooking took an age. Gas, in a word, was…