Innholdsfortegnelse for 19-Nov-2022 i Amateur Gardening

“What determines the plants you grow? Is it loyalty to a variety? Shape? Longevity? Value for money? A mixture of all these or none of the aforementioned? This week Anne Swithinbank offers some choices of plants if you want a great show and long interest (see page 20). I find this information fascinating and it’s good to know some of these feature in my garden, as it makes me feel I’ve made a good choice. Yet there are plants I grow – in particular, antirrhinums – because they were in my parents’ garden and I just like to have them around. As practical as we gardeners like to think we are, I believe many of our gardening decisions are quite emotional. Its about how plants make us feel. What do…

AUTUMN and winter are when the gardener’s thoughts turn to pruning. Deciduous trees and shrubs are dormant and therefore less likely to lose too much sap, and their leaf-bare boughs make it easier to see what needs doing. Always start with sharp, clean tools that are up to the job. Secateurs are ideal for thinner shoots, loppers and hand saws are needed for broader branches. Shears are perfect for trimming small-leaves shrubs such as potentilla and large heathers. Always ‘look twice and cut once’ to make sure you preserve the shape of the tree or shrub and don’t remove too much material. Start by tackling the ‘three Ds’, branches that are dead, diseased or damaged. Then move on to spindly and crossing growth that clutters up the centre of the…

SPARKLING autumn colour, either in the foliage or the fruits – or both – is the main attraction of this varied group of large and small shrubs and small trees. Most species are deciduous, although some of the most widely planted are evergreen, and there are two obvious features they all have in common. First, there are the small, five-petalled, mainly white flowers which open in late spring or early summer and which are exceptionally popular with bees. These are followed by clusters of showy berries, usually in red, though also in orange or occasionally yellow. Many varieties have black berries but have less impact and so are seen less often. Birds appreciate the berries as much as we do but often feed on other berries first, so lengthening the…

This week it’s: CHRISTMAS, Easter, Mothering Sunday and birthdays are the times of year, and occasions, when the majority of African violets (let’s refer to them as AVs) are sold by garden shops. Also, many home-owners who have never kept a houseplant before ‘dip their toes in the water’ with an AV. The plants are seen as inexpensive, and they certainly give many years of colour and interest without the owner having to put in very much effort. Well, they’re not difficult once you give them the right conditions. Plus, when a plant gets old and gnarly, then it is simple to propagate an identically new plant just from a single leaf cutting. Let’s look at these gems of the indoor plant world. AVs – an introduction AVs are small,…

THERE are many unwritten rules about Christmas and it’s important to stay across them. Bauble earrings, Santa jumpers, tinsel mankinis – they might be acceptable workwear in December, but turn up to the bank/coalmine/Ministry of Defence wearing one now and you’ll look like you’ve gone Christmas crackers. However, there is one place where getting ahead for the holidays and going ‘all out’ early is essential… Every December the front door (aka ‘drawbridge’) at Buckland Castle is adorned with a wreath made with sprigs and fluffy seedheads – all gathered during November from the garden. This year, the list of good stuff is long and includes the sparkling wands of miscanthus grass (great as a final flourish above holly) and clematis blooms that resemble fluffy baubles. C. tangutica hybrids are especially…

THERE’S always something to do when you have a garden – and it always seems that just as your jobs list is full up, something unexpected crops up that needs to go straight to the top of the to-do pile. The other night we were woken by a strange noise from the patio below the window, followed by the sound of a pot moving about. We dismissed it as a local badger having a forage (we’d had to shoo one away at 4am a few nights before having been woken by it trying to harass a hedgehog) and went back to sleep. If only it was so simple! The next morning we discovered that our large Clematis montana growing up the house wall had completely collapsed. It was attached to…

THE combination of Mediterranean holidays and climate change mean that more UK gardeners are growing ‘exotic’ plants. We have an olive and a lemon tree and last year both survived winter tucked away in a sheltered spot outside, well wrapped up in fleece and bubble wrap, with a straw and compost mulch over their roots. Bananas have long flourished over here too, especially hardy Musa basjoo, and with warmer weather becoming a trend, maybe more tender varieties such as Ensete will become more popular. However, hardy bananas still need wrapping and sheltering, maybe being moved undercover in colder regions, while Ensete plants definitely need to spend winter in a frost-free place. Our lemon and olive have grown well this summer, though the lemon has been giving some concern. It lost…

Will our surfinias survive the winter? QWe had great success with our hanging baskets this year and our Surfinias and petunias are still looking healthy. We’d like to save them for next year to cut costs, is that possible? Ian and Becky Carter, Redditch AThe Surfinia petunia, which comes in a wide range of varieties, is perennial. To keep yours safe, overwinter them in a gently heated greenhouse in which the temperature does not fall below 7ºC (45ºF). Alternatively, position them on a warm, sunny windowsill indoors. If you wish to propagate them, take 2-3in (5-7cm) shoot-tip cuttings in April. Remove lower leaves that might be buried and insert cuttings to half their depth in a 4in (10cm) pot of proprietary cutting compost. Space shoots 3in (7cm) apart and carefully…

JUST FOR FUN 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 connected with the African violet family. Answers: YAM (May)…

FOR many years, products that allow us to care for wild birds, including bird feeders, food and shelters, have been top-selling items in garden centres and other outlets, often only surpassed by Christmas sales and restaurant takings. Even though winters are currently milder on average, most gardeners still cheerfully help their feathered friends through the colder months when their food is less plentiful, knowing they will be repaid next summer as the birds dine on aphids and other pests. Types of food The type of food birds need (or prefer) varies, with seeds being the most popular. Commercially available food ranges in size from peanuts and sunflower hearts down to minute nyjer seeds, and includes irregular items such as mealworms or fat balls. Some bird feeders will cope with all…

AS most herbaceous perennials are dying back for winter, one spectacular variety is just starting to come back into new growth. Hellebores are one of the earliest flowering perennials, their flowers appearing when the year is still new and there’s a dearth of colour elsewhere in the garden. The first shoots of ours started poking through the soil in October, which is the cue to start cutting them back, removing old tatty leaves to make room for new growth and keep the plants healthy. Give them a feed too, and mulch the root area with well-rotted organic matter. I’m also engaged in a race against time to plant the rest of my perennials currently sitting in pots on the patio. They should survive winter as they are, but they will…

THERE’S been a lot of coverage recently about our late Queen, and the BBC’s Countryfile showed a programme about Windsor Great Park in Berkshire, shortly after her passing. It took me straight back to a day I spent with the late Mark Flanagan, who was Keeper of the Gardens for 20 years until his untimely death aged 56 in 2015. Mark was a tree man through and through, and I first met him when he cared for Plant Heritage’s Birch collection at Kew’s Wakehurst Place in London. He guided me through the information with great patience, because a tree woman I’m definitely not! It was very fortuitous that Mark was at Wakehurst Place, Kew’s country home, when the Great Storm of 1987 cut through and felled a number of irreplaceable…

This word search comprises words associated with African violets. 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 10 letters remaining; arrange these to make this week’s KEYWORD. AFRICAN VIOLETS TANZANIA KENYA LEAF CUTTING SPECKLED STREAKED DAMPISH GESNERIAD HOUSEPLANT LIGHT POT REAL THREAT YEARS HOW TO ENTER: Enter this week’s keyword on the entry form, and send it to AG Word Search No 647, Amateur Gardening, Future Publishing Limited, Unit 415, Winnersh Triangle, Eskdale Road, Winnersh, RG41 5TP, to arrive by Wednesday 30 November 2022. The first correct entry chosen at random…