Innholdsfortegnelse for 14-Jan-2023 i Amateur Gardening

“I had not grown flowers specifically for cutting in the past, but last year I had gained such a bountiful supply of antirrhinums and, particularly, cosmos that I became hooked on enjoying them in the house as well as the garden. It’s funny how one can get set in a certain pattern of doing things, especially with seasonal hobbies. It takes a ‘Eureka!’ moment to change the pattern of what you do – and so this year, I will be growing more with cutting in mind. So I was fascinated to read Louise Curley’s article on growing for cutting on pages 20-23. What really struck me was the wonderful variety of plants I would not normally have considered, like Phacelia tanacetifolia and physocarpus, which I’m now looking to grow. Perhaps…

IT’S been a day for dealing with those fiddly little jobs that have been piling up so high they are in danger of toppling over and burying me! Our flowerbeds are looking very sorry for themselves, with weeds and rogue clumps of couch grass popping up here and there, bedraggled hardy annuals that germinated last autumn but are now being browbeaten by the cold and wet, and the last standing annuals from summer finally breathing their last. It was very satisfying to get out there and remove the weeds that would have swamped new shoots and seedlings, thin the annuals so the remaining plants have space to grow healthily and remove the last of the summer bedding. It was also a chance to take stock of the spring bedding in…

WE may be in the depths of winter but this doesn’t mean it’s too early to start preparing the soil for this year’s plantings. We are still a few months away from sowing half-hardy annuals – early batches need starting undercover – but hardy annuals can be sown in the soil, as can a range of weather-resistant vegetables including broad beans, peas, parsnips, spinach, onions, ‘Winter Gem’ lettuce and ‘White Lisbon’ spring onions. But even hardy seeds will struggle in damp soil that’s holding onto winter’s cold, so warming the soil first will aid germination and early cropping. It takes around six weeks to raise the soil temperature so this week I’ve been covering our raised beds and veg patch borders with old compost bags and cardboard boxes saved from…

Next week: Focus on raised beds, buy herb seeds to save money, winter-wash fruit plants, force rhubarb, and harvest winter radish. THERE is no fruit to match the intensity of flavour of a blackcurrant. The whole bush is literally bursting with fragrance – 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! ‘Ben 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 well worth growing. For those with tiny plots, compact ‘Ben Sarek’ is for you, and it grows happily in a pot as well.…

In this extract from AG 13 January 1968, Christopher Lloyd, of Great Dixter fame, on tiny plants that won’t swamp each other Perfect mini partners Christopher Lloyd looks at miniature plants that grow well together IT is not too difficult to find places in the garden where tiny plants will grow without being swamped. The trouble may start, though, when you try combining these innocent-looking tinies so as to get an interweaving pattern of flowers and foliage. There is always a danger of one partner turning out to be a thug in disguise, ready to do a cuckoo-in-the-nest act on its neighbours. But if you can achieve a balance of forces, the result is very satisfying. Often there is an awkward spot where a lawn runs up to the foot…

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FOR Sir Isaac Newton, creating a law of universal gravitation was as easy as… well, falling off a log. As was developing chemistry, the laws of motion and the world’s first mirrored telescope. But these are mere trifles compared to his most magnificent accomplishment. Sir Isaac Newton invented the cat flap, so he didn’t have to leave his desk and open the door for his demanding moggies. Newton’s ingenious invention has been on my mind lately, due to a spate of mice-related attacks on the overwintering plants in my greenhouse. Rodent damage during winter is inevitable, but the recent cold weather has meant that attacks to my potted bulbs have escalated, and a luxuriant and expensive semponium has been reduced to a chewed stub. Although I haven’t caught the mice…

They’re back! Next week sees the start of 2023’s free seeds schedule, with a wide range of flowers, fruit and veg. Order your copy today! DESPITE the fact that we are half-way through January, it isn’t too late to make New Year resolutions. One of the best decisions you can make for your garden and its plants and creatures is to go organic. If that feels like too much of a stretch (the idea of not using chemicals can be off-putting to some people), try gardening in a more ecological way. Not only does this benefit the environment, it will help keep your pennies in your pocket and give you a better feeling for the garden you are nurturing. Take weeding for instance. Yes, you could use weedkiller, but if…

WINTER is the perfect time to think about reshaping your garden, relocating perennials, trees and shrubs to places that suit them better. Moving trees and shrubs should be done within five years of the original planting, otherwise they are less likely to take successfully, but most perennials can be moved or divided safely during the dormant months. This week I have been moving a bush honeysuckle that I planted in the centre of a border a couple of years ago. It hasn’t thrived so I thought I’d give it a second chance elsewhere. Dig the planting hole first and add lots of well-rotted compost and manure. It can make it easier to move deciduous shrubs in winter if you prune them or tie in the branches. Dig widely around the…

IT all started with a pub challenge: maybe you can grow your own potatoes, but what about the oil you fry them in? We have all sorts of productive plants, yet I’d never heard of anyone growing their own oil. It seemed something that had to be carried out on a commercial rather than an amateur scale, so I put the thought away. But the astronomical rise in the price of cooking oils means that it’s time to reassess the possibilities. Even with climate warming, olives may remain a pipe dream. Fortunately, there are crops that are simpler and quicker than olives that are just as full of oil, and some of which we already grow. The difficulty has always been not so much the growing of the crop but…

THE spectrum of colours of cranesbills, which range from cool to electric, is rivalled only by their ability to create soft mounds and flowing carpets of lush foliage in ordinary garden soil. Cranesbills, also known as hardy geraniums, are indispensable and easy-to-grow perennials. They have a rootstock that is sometimes tight and woody, sometimes looser and more spreading. The leaves and flowering stems spring separately from the roots, The showy flowers have five petals, which are sometimes notched at the tip and sometimes overlapping, in shades of purple, blue, pink and white, often veined in darker shades or with a white throat. There are a few double-flowered varieties whose extra petals ensure that the flowers last a little longer than normal. Most flower in spring and early summer, with some…

This week it’s: The National Trust We look at facts and figures relating to this conservation organisation REGULAR readers will know that each week there is an item on these pages called ‘This Week in Gardening History’, where I look at something, or someone, significant to gardening in that particular week in years past. Well, in these Miscellany pages all the items are commemorating something that occurred on 12 January 1895. It was on this day, after many months of discussion, that the National Trust (NT) was founded. Social reformer Octavia Hill, civil servant Sir Robert Hunter and conservationist Hardwicke Rawnsley were the founders, whose aims were to promote “the permanent preservation for the benefit of the Nation of lands and tenements [buildings] of beauty or historic interest”. This, of…

Q Five years ago, I planted a schizophragma to climb up a south-facing wall. In this time it has moped about on the ground and shrunk in size, but is still clinging to life. Should I leave it alone or take action? Jeanette Birchill, Colchester, Essex A The Japanese hydrangea vine, Schizophragma hydrangeoides, is similar and related to the climbing hydrangea. A hardy deciduous climber, this clings using stem roots and the sprays of small summer flowers are decorated by showy white sterile florets. The creamy bracts of Chinese S.integrifolia are slightly longer and show well against pale walls, while S.h. Rose Sensation and S.h. var. hydrangeoides ‘Roseum’ bear pink florets. These are large climbers that in the wild would scale trees and cliffs. Although often described as being suitable…

I AM a cat person and, just like children, all cats are different. My current love is Frank, a shaggy ginger tomcat that sleeps all day and fights all night, judging by the bodily injuries he seems to accrue. He was rescued by the RSPCA and we adopted him 18 months ago. I have tried to realign his body clock so he spends days out and nights in, but to no avail. He strides out, just as we go to bed, and then occupies the lounge for most of the day. You can feel him tut-tutting should you dare go in there. Frank eats for England, on a diet of cat biscuits and tuna, but he rarely catches anything that moves. My late lamented Poppy Cat was a sleek black…

Contact John Negus by email address below Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com When should I take camellia cuttings? Q Can you advise me on the method and timing to take cuttings from my mother’s unnamed camellia that flowers in March/April time, please? Phillip Mills, Derby A I am delighted that you wish to propagate your mother’s camellia from cuttings. The best time to take cuttings is in late summer when bases of side shoots are turning pale brown. Initially, use secateurs to remove a healthy spring of new foliage. Then, using a Stanley knife or very sharp penknife, take 4in (10cm) cuttings of terminal shoots. Additionally, remove large leaves at the base of the stem. Finally, insert cuttings to half their depth in a mix of three parts, by volume, of ericaceous compost…

No:096 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 linked to the subject of this week’s Miscellany! Answers: NOT NATURALIST…

WHENEVER you use a tool for cutting, a sharp, well-maintained blade makes the task easier. If you make sharpening part of your routine, then far less effort is needed as you work. Gardening tends to involve a multitude of cutting tools, ranging from knives to mower blades, so it is inevitable that there should be a wide range of sharpening tools available to cope with the different blade shapes and sizes. ‘Whetting’ The process of sharpening used to be called ‘whetting’, so any stone used for sharpening became referred to as a ‘whetstone’. Over time, this changed to become known as a ‘sharpening stone’, although both terms are still used. On occasion, the word is misspelt as ‘wetstone’, giving the mistaken impression that the stone must be damp when used…

SHARE YOUR STORIES TIPS AND PHOTOS and you will receive a fantastic pair of Town & Country’s Master Gardener gloves — the UK’s best-selling gardening glove and a perfect companion to help you in the garden. State small, medium or large with your letter. 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 Star letter You can’t beat a greenhouse OUR new greenhouse (from the Greenhouse People) was delivered in early spring 2020, before we knew about lockdown. We erected the building ourselves, but the most benefit was spending time alone out of the house enjoying a wonderful hobby. During lockdown and since then, the greenhouse has helped produce a vast variety of…