Innholdsfortegnelse for 6-May-2023 i Amateur Gardening

“In garden centres, you will find a vast array of supplements, grass seed, pest repellents, and much more. Personally, I find the choice bewildering: three different brands of tomato feed, multiple varieties of grass seed… If that isn’t confusing enough, when it comes to buying a modern hedge trimmer, say, you discover that you are not just buying into one machine but also being locked into one brand’s battery system. Hopefully, we can offer some clarity with Steve and Val Bradley’s assessment of battery powered garden tools on page 46. We aim to make life less complicated. Good luck!” Contact us: ■ Subscriptions: 0330 333 1113 ■ Editorial: 0330 3903732 ■ Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com ■ Advertising: 0330 3906566…

WHEN people think of growing vegetables in containers, they usually think of tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers and other things you can grow in growbags But there are loads of tasty, easy-to grow summer crops that can be grown in pots and bags, even old compost bags and ‘bag for life’ carriers. Root vegetables such as carrots, beetroot and radishes are an obvious choice, as are quick-growing spring onions to add some pep to salads. If you are growing potatoes in containers, keep them in a sheltered, sunny spot, and water, feed and earth up the plants as they grow until you have almost reached the top of the container. You should be able to harvest your first and second earlies between June and August when the plants are still in flower,…

WE get several requests to include vegetables in our annual free seeds list and this week we are giving away one of the most delicious low maintenance varieties. Courgette ‘Black Beauty’ is an easy and prolific variety to grow as long as you remember to harvest as soon as the fruits are large enough (around 4in or 10cm long) otherwise plants will only produce a few large courgettes and think their job is done. The plants take up a lot of room and do best in a sunny, sheltered site in soil that has been generously enriched with well-rotted manure and compost. They can be sown directly outside from later this month when temperatures are reliably warmer, but for now I have started mine in little pots of Dalefoot peat-free…

I SPENT a lot of time birdwatching in my early 20s and some of my best sites were far from glamorous. They included a sewage works above Ilmington in Warwickshire, where I could see goldcrests and various finches in the conifer hedge nearby. I used to visit Ham House Power station, ten miles away from Birmingham’s city centre, when it was a working power station. In winter there were always wigeon, teal, shoveler, goosander, gadwall and mallard to be seen on the lake, and the area is now a nature reserve. Ham Hall has welcomed many unusual visitors, including the spoonbill and alpine swift. Another site at Brandon near Coventry was also superb, although I don’t know whether the bearded tits are still among the reeds. These were untidy, undisturbed…

Q Is this a sloe bush? Linda Griffin (via email) A It certainly is a sloe (Prunus spinosa). In spring its branches are clad in white blossom and in autumn it produces dark blue, bitter tasting fruits that are the main ingredient of sloe gin. Q Please could you help identify this water plant. Keith Jones (via email) A The mystery plant is marsh marigold or kingcup (Caltha palustris). A British native of pond and stream sides, it cheers spring with an abundance of golden blooms. There are several variants including a white-flowered form, C. alba, C. laeta (polypetala) which has extra large blooms and foliage and a prized double-flowered kind, C. palustris ‘Flore-Pleno’. Q What is this? It has appeared in our garden. Julie Cole. Hampshire A It is…

ADVANCES in lithium-ion technology mean that it has now become possible to power even large garden tools using batteries, rather than using petrol or mains electricity. Unfortunately, there is no universal battery size, such as AA or D, that will work with garden tools. Over the past few years, most garden power tool manufacturers have brought out their own proprietary battery systems. This has usually meant developing a battery that works with their tools, but nobody else’s. Within each range, though, the battery can often be swapped from one machine to another, so you can buy one battery and use it to run different tools. One battery fits all The advantage for the consumer is primarily cost. After the initial purchase of a battery and charger, it is cheaper to…

GARDENING has not been immune to the nationwide rise in prices and good quality plants from reputable sources are likely to cost more this year. However, perennials are a long-term investment that should improve year on year as they mature and increase in size and productivity. Moreover, as they grow they are a source of cuttings and divisions, so the initial outlay could (and should) pay you back handsomely. The soil is warming nicely and still holding onto spring dampness, making early May the perfect time to plug annoying gaps in the border with new plants.. Watching my wallet, this week I only bought one decent-sized lupin from our local garden centre whereas in previous seasons I might have splashed out on a couple of smaller plants or a selection…

I WISH I could predict this summer’s weather but unfortunately that is way above my AG pay grade so instead I am making every effort to be ready for whatever the coming weeks bring. It has been a strange year so far, with prolonged dry spells through winter, a soggy patch in March and a clinging cold that felt like it held the country in its grip for far too long. My overriding feeling is that more extreme but largely drier weather may become the norm and there are lots of things gardeners can do to make sure their plants survive with reduced rain. Installing as many water butts as you can is the first step, and as they come in all shapes and sizes, there is one for almost…

This week it’s: Gardening names and phrases We look at the stories behind lots of gardening words IT’S National Gardening Week from 1-7 May, which is designed to get people into their gardens. This year’s overall theme is the coronation. Ever since the first celebration in 2012, the annual event has grown in popularity and, each year, thousands of people share their love of gardening by hosting events, and talking about their gardens on social media. To mark the week in my own fun way, I thought we could look at some popular gardening terms, phrases and plant names, to see how they originated. ■ We all know what a daisy looks like, but did you know that this flower is very sensitive to sunlight; it opens in the morning…

AFTER decades of denial, I’ve woken up to the fact that I am an obsessive plant collector after all! But where most horticultural hoarders gather from a single group – say, colourful heuchera, roses for scent and cacti to, err, keep cats off the windowsill – I am a groupie for the flowering rockstars. Rockstar plants are often a pain in the proverbial to grow, as they have so many peccadilloes. But if and when they do put on a show, it’s akin to witnessing Elvis in his pomp – unforgettable. Centre stage right now in my garden is one of the greatest floral virtuosos of them all: a giant viper’s bugloss (aka Echium pininana). It’s as demanding as Mariah Carey – no, it doesn’t need 20 white kittens and…

Pot luck: Next week I will be showing you how to create beautiful summer planters and hanging baskets SUCCESS with perennials starts in the garden centre or online. When you pick a plant, always read the description, follow the planting instructions and make note of how large it will grow. Choose plants that suit your garden’s soil and situation, otherwise you waste time, energy and money helping them thrive. This week I moved a sea holly that self seeded close to its parent plant. It spent the winter in a pot in the cold frame and now has gone into a sunny spot where the soil isn’t the best. I know it will be fine there because sea hollies are tough plants, but a more fussy variety might turn up…

THE free alpine strawberry seeds I sowed in early March were hugely successful and I now have a tray of delicate seedlings that are now ready to pot on. This will be a delicate operation as the seedlings are relatively small with very slender stems and roots, so it is easy to damage them by rough handling. I am moving most of the seedlings into individual cardboard pots, and have transplanted three into one 3in (7cm) pot. I used Sylvagrow peat free compost with added John Innes, which should have just the right amount of nutrients for the developing plants, but isn’t strong enough to scorch their roots. The safest way of moving small seedlings (in fact, any seedlings) is to gently lever the rootball from the compost using the…

Choosing plants to edge a pond Q We’re after a bit of advice if possible please on plants to edge/trail around our fishpond to cover the liner and maybe add a little colour. They must be fish safe. Kieran Morris (via email) A I suggest that you plant the following questing trailers around your pond’s soil edge to apron the sides and camouflage the liner: ■ Golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’): A wealth of small golden leaves and white flowers colour summer; shoots don’t mind ‘swimming’. ■ Water forget-me-not (Myosotis scorpioides): Trailing shoots massed with bright blue flowers in late spring and early summer. ■ Water mint (Mentha aquatica): Spreading shoots sleeved with rounded, often purplish-tinged green leaves. Houttuynia cordata ‘Plena’: A bluish green-leaved carpeter with double-white flowers. Ideally,…