Innholdsfortegnelse for 20-Aug-2022 i Amateur Gardening

“It’s good news (page 7) that more people are making their own compost. There are so many reasons to do this aside from the benefit of not buying it — have you seen the prices? You also reduce the waste that needs to be collected and processed. Did you know decomposing waste in landfill creates methane, which is another cause of climate change? And then there are the beneficial insects it encourages, which help to create the gorgeous rich dark stuff that our plants love. Everytime I contribute to my composting bin, I feel I’m doing my bit for the planet – and that can’t be a bad thing! Not everyone has the space for a large compost bin, but even a small one makes a contribution. Do it!” Contact…

THE greenhouse has had a busy summer, with tomatoes, chillies and courgettes fruiting well. Its shady shelved area has also become home to a hippeastrum resting after flowering, a Venus fly trap that had been by the pond but started to look less than happy during the July heat wave, and a sprouting avocado stone found in the compost heap. We’ve been watering and feeding the tomatoes consistently but somehow skipped a beat during the very hot spell as one plant has fruits with blossom end rot, caused by erratic nutrient take-up. It’s a one-off as, luckily, the others are all developing normally. Our mini greenhouse is shaded by the house and is perfect for germinating seeds and growing seedlings. It is currently hosting trays of seedling lupins and violas…

FORGET fig rolls as your source of consumption – fresh figs are where it’s at! Naturally sweet, with that unique soft and crunchy combination, how exactly do you secure such a sublime harvest? Liking it hot Have you heard that a fig’s yield is fickle? To reassure you, the three mature fig trees that I grow are loaded with more than 200 fruits each this year – that’s hardly fickle! Just understand that, originating from western Asia, the common fig (Ficus carica) likes it hot. “In the temperate UK expect only one crop” In its native climes its closeness to the equator allows it to grow and yield almost continually. In the temperate UK (unless overwintered in a heated glasshouse or polytunnel) expect only one crop, which matures in late…

When, where and how to plant SPIRAEAS are among the most winter hardy of shrubs and will thrive anywhere in Britain. They can be planted at almost any time that the ground is not waterlogged, frozen or parched, and when the plants are dormant or in growth or in flower. Choose a site that receives at least six hours of sun each day and, first, soak the rootball in a bucket of water while you prepare the site. Spiraeas need no special planting treatment, although they appreciate thorough preparation so add multi-purpose or garden compost. Irrigate well after planting, then mulch with 2-3in (5-7.5cm) of bark chips or other weed-free material to conserve soil moisture and prevent weed growth. When planting in containers, use fresh, moist planting mix and stand…

WHEN my friend Jack – a man with more cash than sense – asked for help planting a wisteria, I thought he was making heavy weather out of it. How hard can it be to dig a hole and (delicately, of course) bung the plant in? The answer, it turns out, is ‘very hard indeed’. Jack’s ‘beanstalk’ was no ordinary climber, but a mature 15-footer in a container the size of a roll-top bath. Anyone who says that size doesn’t matter hasn’t carried a behemoth wisteria up a flight of garden steps or excavated a huge planting pit to accommodate its rootball. I kid you not, the stony sides of the hole looked like the Grand Canyon. Coping with house foundations and rubble-filled earth goes with the territory for climbers…

OUR gardens (and us) suffered in general during July’s short, sharp heatwave, but baskets and containers found it particularly tough. A lot of plants growing in a small space with limited access to food and water can easily become stressed and depleted so they need more care than other things growing in the garden. This is compounded at this time of year by the gradual move towards the end of the summer, when plants have been in their containers for several weeks and may be running out of steam. But with a bank holiday waiting in the wings and the chance of an Indian summer, it is a good idea to keep pots and baskets in good order for as long as we can – and it isn’t difficult to…

WHY should Poldark and DEATH, Terry Pratchett’s delightful take on the Grim Reaper in the Discworld books, have all the fun? Our wildflower lawn in the back garden has gone through its early flush of colour and the oxeye daisies and kidney vetch are past their best. They need cuttings down to make room for later varieties such as harebells, bedstraws and knapweeds. The best way to do this partial cutting is with a scythe, which is traditional, effective and hard work, especially in a heatwave. Luckily there wasn’t a massive area to clear, so once the stems of the daisies and vetch had been levelled I had time to get on with the rest of my lawn jobs. It has been a tough summer for lawns, and below average…

THERE’S a widely held principle that we shouldn’t continue feeding regimes once summer’s over. The point was that with frosts on the way, growth needed to slow so the shoots could ‘harden’ and be ready for winter. Certainly, adding nitrogenous feeds would be counterproductive by promoting softer growth. Similarly, adding nitrogen now will make annual crops such as potatoes and carrots grow more lushly (more watery), so they are more easily damaged and less suitable for long storage. However, there is less reason for withholding potassium and phosphate fertilisers as these could be helpful. It was once thought that feeds were not worth applying as much of their value would be wasted as winter washed them away. But times have changed… “Many crops will just keep going” When I started…

When should I plant young hollyhocks? Q I have a number of hollyhock seedlings that I grew from seeds. They have been potted on twice and are hardening off in a sheltered spot outside. When should I plant them in their permanent spot in the garden? Geoff Gauntlett, Gower Peninsula, Wales A I would be inclined to plant your hollyhocks this year, before the onset of winter as they are hardy and shouldn’t have any problem in winter. Planting them in early autumn gives plants several weeks to establish roots in the soil before the onset of winter, so they are less vulnerable to cold weather. Also, established plants get off to a quicker start in the following growing season and need less care than those trying to establish roots…

CROCOSMIAS are the sort of perennial border plant you either love or hate. Those who love them, as I do, value them for their bright summer nodding flowers on tall stems, providing bright pinpoints of vivid colour in the border. The detractors consider them garish, common and, in many cases, invasive – creeping thugs that will take over the garden if you’re not careful. As many crocosmias are in flower now – in fact, since the beginning of June this year in my garden – let’s take a closer look. ◼ If you do find that your crocosmia of choice is becoming invasive, just pull up and remove any unwanted spread: the corms lie close to the soil surface, making them easy to remove. Crocosmia overview CROCOSMIAS come from South…

ONE of my main jobs this week has been replenishing a large patio pot that I planted in late spring with a mixture of seasonal bedding and woody fragrant herbs. While the bedding is well past its best, the sage and thyme have plenty of life in them so instead of composting the whole lot I patched the pot with a few new plants. After composting the dead plants I removed the top few inches of old compost, replacing it with fresh growing media mixed with some Growmore. I then planted around the remaining herbs, adding a striking pink and gold Calibrachoa ‘Starlight Pink’, a trailing striped petunia ‘King of Hearts’ and a sweet white Scaveola ‘White Whirlwind’, before watering the pot well. At this time of year you are…

LUPINS are a cottage garden staple, with spires of dense flowers in pastel shades, yellows and reds. They usually grace the centre and rear of borders but this week’s free seeds are for a charming dwarf variety, ‘Pixie Delight’, that will add colour towards the front of beds, and also grow well in containers. They reach 16in (40cm) in height and their pastel petals have a delicious scent that is also attractive to pollinators. Lupins are hardy annuals and members of the pea family, so they develop long tap roots and substantial root systems. We usually sow them straight into the soil where they can get deeply rooted and strongly established. But because I am sowing these in the middle of July’s heatwave and soil is parched, I’m starting them…

THE great thing about being a natural gardener and eschewing all that chemical jollop is that you get more insect life in your garden. And it’s fascinating to watch, so I deliberately cater for insect life. I always grow red valerian (Centranthus ruber) along the south-facing wall of the cottage, especially for my hummingbird hawk-moths (Macroglossum stellatarum). Valerian is their favourite and I love to watch them circling the flowers as they seem to travel in a clockwise direction as they extend their proboscises and suck up the nectar. Red and pink-flowered valerian seems more popular than white-flowered, but we also grow the mauve Moroccan valerian Centranthus lecoqii, which is popular, too. We rate our summer days according to the number of hummingbird hawk-moths seen all at once, and spotting…

SPIRAEAS are tough, easy-to-grow, deciduous shrubs, flowering in spring or summer, that are grown for their colourful foliage, their attractive heads of tiny flowers or both. Long-lived, well-behaved, adaptable and tolerant, the flowers of spring varieties are usually white, often a very clean and bright white, presented in flat heads or they may come in pink cylindrical spikes. The flowers of summer varieties are mostly pink or reddish-purple and are gathered into broad flat heads. Adaptable plants Spiraeas are unusually cold-hardy and are adaptable plants, happy in most soils in full sun, although some grow less well in chalky conditions. They have a preference for their roots not drying out too much in summer. Spiraeas are easily pruned – although some rarely need pruning at all – and are generally…

Q We found this plant in our new garden. What is it? Caroline and Denyer Smith (via email) A The fleshy-leaved specimen with mushroom-headed blooms is an ice plant (Sedum spectabile). Pollen and nectar rich, it attracts lesser tortoiseshell and other butterflies. Q Please can you tell me what this plant is as I have no idea? Mark Holt A The intruder is black nightshade (Solanum nigrum), a British wild flower. Widespread south of the Humber, it contains a poisonous alkaloid so, if you have very young children, remove it immediately and bin or burn it. Q Can you ID this? It is about 4ft (1.2m) tall. Philip Mills (via email) A It is a variegated form of tree mallow (Lavatera arborea), native to the coasts of western Europe…

No: 076 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 popular cultivars of crocosmia. ANSWERS: LUCIFER = Venus, Mars, Columbus…

You can listen to Steve on alternate Sundays 10am-2pm on BBC Radio Kent’s Sunday Gardening (BBC Local) LAWNS serve many purposes, from playing and sunbathing to acting as a cool foil to colourful borders. They may fall in and out of fashion, but a large number of gardeners see their lawn as a major feature and take pride in keeping it in as good a condition as possible. Whether you create a striped lawn every time you mow or not, one thing that stands out and makes a lawn look ‘finished’ is a neatly trimmed, well-kept edge. Even if you have allocated an area for rewilding or wildflowers, edging saves plants straying into the borders. Get a feel for ease of use When you are looking for lawn-edging shears or,…