Innholdsfortegnelse for 8-Apr-2023 i Amateur Gardening

“The Easter break is finally upon us, and we have four days to really focus on the jobs that need doing to get our gardens ready for summer and, if weather permits, spending time relaxing in our precious outdoor spaces. It seems like aeons since I’ve been able to sit outside with a cuppa (or even a glass of vino) and just enjoy watching the natural world. We put so much effort into making our gardens wildlife-friendly, and I wonder if we spend enough time enjoying seeing our fellow creatures going about the business we have enabled. It’s not all about work. Take the time to look and enjoy.” Contact us: 03303331113 03303903732 03303906566…

AS spring advances, we aren’t the only things busy in the garden – birds, insects and larger wildlife are all feeding up after winter, nesting and breeding. One of our garden’s main wildlife hubs is the pond and it is starting to return to life after a long winter that saw it freeze often and almost become swamped by excavated soil from a precipitous molehill. The dry weather in late winter and early spring caused the water level to drop alarmingly, making us wonder whether the lining had sprung a leak. However, it seems that ponds everywhere have suffered so we added some rain water and hoped spring would do the rest. Rainwater is better than tap water for ponds, but if you have no water butts, fill your cans…

THIS week’s free seeds are for a mixture of flowers that will attract pollinating insects to your garden. It is called ‘wildlife’ mix rather than an insect mix, because once the insects arrive, the birds, amphibians and hedgehogs shouldn’t be too far behind. It is a beautiful blend hardy and half-hardy seeds. To protect the latter when late hard frosts are forecast, secure fleece over the seedbed at night, removing it next morning. The blend includes borage, California poppy, clover, cornflower, corn marigold, zinnia, larkspur and field poppy. Scattered over raked, dampened soil in a sunny or lightly shaded spot, they will produce a gorgeous summer of colour and many will self-seed. Before sowing, rake the soil and break up clumps so it has the consistency of crumble topping. Scatter…

MOST of the hoverflies we get in our gardens are extremely beneficial to the gardener. They feed on pollen and pollinate flowers as they go. After breeding they lay a single oval egg close to colonies of aphids, because their pale larvae predate on aphids and other tiny creatures. The larva of the marmalade hoverfly, Episyrphus balteatus, is said to be able to consume between 250 and 600 cabbage aphids in its lifetime – a very helpful thing indeed. Hoverflies are true flies and they follow the same lifecycle of adult, egg, larva and pupa. Like all true flies, the adults have just one pair of true wings. Most hoverflies have a small club-like structure, known as a halter. This acts like a gyroscope and gives them incredible control over…

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 a pulse! Answers: LOWER = Ig, Ruit, Oliage(all become gardening…

GARDEN hose or tap connectors are the link between the mains water supply and the garden hosepipe. Ideally, this should be without any leakage and they can be used to attach both hosepipe and water supply system with ease. Metal over plastic Older hosepipe connectors were made of metal, usually brass, but also other metals such as steel or steel alloys. These are heavy and cost more to manufacture than plastic versions, but have the advantage of being more sturdy, more durable and they last longer. They are the connectors of choice on plant nurseries. There are cheaper forms of metal connectors, but they are often poorly finished, so choosing a metal connector is not a guarantee that it is a superior product. Durable and reliable The manufacture and use…

AT last, we’ve made it through to the first bank holiday weekend of the year! I tend to think of Easter as the start of the gardening year – the weather is improving, garden centres are full of floral temptations and the itch to get out there and really get fingers back in the soil gets stronger with each passing day. As I will mention on P10, while it is exciting to be sowing and planting for the year ahead, it pays to be cautious as winter is unlikely to have finished with us yet, and frosts that continue well into April and May can wreak havoc on premature tender plants. So we must curb our green-fingered impatience and keep summer bedding, tender tubers such as dahlias and cannas and…

WHO doesn’t love sunflowers, those lofty sentries standing guard over the summer garden, so easy to grow, so cheery to see. This week I have been starting my sunflowers in pots because past experience has taught me that small seedlings in the soil can swiftly fall prey to slugs and snails. This year I am trying a new annual variety called ‘Desire Red’. This award-winning plant is dwarf, growing to 28in (70cm), and produces a profusion of dramatic dark red flowers through summer that look amazing in pots and borders and are popular with pollinators. ‘Desire Red’ (available as plants from plantsofdistinction.co.uk, call 01449 721720) is the latest in a long line of sunflowers that have moved from the traditional giant yellow ‘dinner plate’, though these are still hugely popular,…

ASPARAGUS is a perennial veg that is often referred to as ‘gourmet’ and ‘luxury’ thanks to its specific season and time from starting off to cropping – but everyone can afford a patch of asparagus on their plot! Let’s look at less costly growing methods, plus some growing techniques that guarantee luxury for all. Time is on your side Don’t let the time needed to wait before your first cut put you off: just get on with it! Once started, a well-tended bed can last for 20 years. You’ve got two propagation options: open-pollinated or more modern all-male F1 varieties (see page 20). Open-pollinated seed (less vigorous than F1 hybrids, so cheaper) sown direct needs at least three years to bulk up; one-year old crowns two years; and F1 hybrid…

This extract from AG 31 May 1975 is part 4 of a 12-part series on how to propagate a wide selection of indoor and outdoor plants by various forms of propagation. Note: peat will often be mentioned in these articles, and while many new peat-free alternatives are available, peat composts are still on sale for those who choose not to use peat-free. If using peat-free, please note that details of watering and nutrients will vary. BASICALLY, layering is a method of propagation that induces stems to produce roots, and eventually new plants, while they are still attached to the parent plant. This is accomplished mainly by pegging the stems down into the surrounding soil, but there are modifications. The stem, which is encouraged to root, is known as a layer.…

This word search comprises words associated with lupins. 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 seven letters remaining; arrange these to make this week’s KEYWORD. LUPINUS LUPINS LUPINES GEORGE RUSSELL NEW ZEALAND COTTAGE LEGUMES NITROGEN PERENNIAL ROMAN SEED SLUG SPIRE SPRING TREE WOLF HOW TO ENTER: Enter this week’s keyword on the entry form, and send it to AG Word Search No 666, Amateur Gardening, Future Publishing Limited, Unit 415, Winnersh Triangle, Eskdale Road, Winnersh, RG41 5TP, to arrive by Wednesday 19 April 2023. The first correct entry chosen at…

ONE of the joys of spring is starting to fill the garden with colour and dreaming of warmer days ahead. One of the easiest ways of injecting some brightness into the season is planting up patio containers and hanging baskets. The Easter bank holiday is the perfect time to do this, but we are not out of winter’s woods yet and with the climate becoming increasingly erratic, play safe when it comes to early spring planting. Frosts can still strike in any part of the UK, so limit your plant choices to hardy bedding varieties and bulbs, such as pansies, primulas, daisies, crocuses and dwarf daffodils, tulips and irises. You can add extra interest with herbs and foliage plants, but it is too early to start adding summer plug plants…

A tasty climber that’s worth a try Q This plant is growing in a friend’s garden and I’d love to have one, too. He inherited it when he moved and is unsure what it is – please can you identify it? Tom Spurge (via email) A The plant is a chocolate vine (Akebia quinata). Its common name comes from the scent of its flowers, though you need a still and sunny day to get their full effect. It is a lovely climber, native to Japan, China and Korea, but possibly not hardy in the UK except in a sunny, sheltered spot. The flowers appear in spring and are often missed as they are dark in colour and hidden by foliage. If pollinated by a second plant, they will create purple,…

This week it’s: Lovely lupins We look at the facts behind this colourful cottage-garden favourite LUPINS, often referred to as lupines, are in the Legume (pea and bean) family. Mostly they are herbaceous perennials 1-5ft (30-150cm) tall, but some are annual plants and a few are shrubs up to 10ft (3m) tall. There are around 200 species in the wild, but a relatively small number of hybrids tend to be grown in gardens. By now, lupins in gardens around Britain will have formed nice little tufts of fresh green leaves, and are preparing to start flowering in around a month’s time. Let’s take a look at these fabulous plants. ■ Young spring shoots of lupins are prone to slug and snail damage, so protect plants with wildlife-friendly slug pellets, or…

NEVER mind April showers – with so many gardening possibilities and so few hours in the day, April FOMO (fear of missing out) is my main concern! That’s why I prioritise the gardening jobs that make the biggest difference, and leave the rest to mañana. Sowing seeds is top of my list of April jobs. However, these new plants would soon come to a chewed and sticky end if I didn’t reduce the resident slug and snail population at the same time. When I first started gardening, molluscs were given no quarter. The aim was to poison, squash or throw them all over the garden fence. But the thinking has changed – not only is slug and snail extermination impossible (as neighbours throw them back), but it’s also undesirable. Slugs…