Innholdsfortegnelse for 6-Jan-2024 i Amateur Gardening

1 Weeds can steal vital resources from plants and can harbour pests and disease so it’s best to weed little and often to keep on top of them (it’s also very therapeutic after a bad day). 2 Cut back dead stems and foliage to keep plants neat and healthy and stop free-seeding where you don’t want it. 3 Keep a pair of snips or secateurs by the back door and take them with you every time you go into the garden. Regular deadheading keeps plants healthy and flowering for longer. 4 Trees and shrubs are the framework of our gardens, so learn how and when to prune them to create a perfect skeleton to work with.…

I don’t know about you but I kind of let things get a bit cluttered, there is a place for every tool, it’s just they’re all in a pile by the door. So now’s a good time to sort and tidy-rather than searching for something in panic mode when desperate to get going in spring. Get tools oiled and sharpened Whilst sorting tools give wooden handles a wipe over with an oily rag. I use old frying oil, it’s kind to hands and wood (and means I can locate my tools in the dark by their slight odour of chips). Also, sharpen all their edges, not just your hoe, knife and secateurs but also your spade and trowel as that’ll make for easier work. You can sharpen quickly enough with…

1 Get yourself organised for the veg seed sowing ahead by purchasing some seed compost. Very good peat-free formulas are available these days, all finely milled and low in nutrients. 2 January can be a very cold month, so check any insulation on tender or borderline hardy crops, such as pomegranate and ginger. Be sure it’s still securely in place, well into March. 3 Keep harvesting winter kales, but don’t overdo it. Snap off fully emerged, young leaves but retain a strong rosette of central foliage so that the plant is capable of recovering. 4 Check over stored bulb and root crops frequently. A rotting onion, potato or beetroot can quickly spoil its neighbouring edibles, so remove any showing signs of decay asap. 5 Want a herb garden in 2024? Order seeds for it now.…

I love the start of January with the promise and excitement of another great gardening season ahead. But for me, there’ll be no New Year’s resolutions about losing the few extra pounds that I’ve undoubtedly put on over the festive period. Oh no, any resolutions I make are going to be geared towards making my garden, my precious outdoor space, the best it has ever been, and I just know I’ll not be the only one. And so this month you’ll find me taking advantage of the cold, wet, dark days of mid-winter to sit in a cosy armchair and plan and ponder some exciting changes for 2024. Changes for my garden, and also the way that I garden. But, where to start? The planning process can appear bewildering at times,…

There’s no better signal that spring is on its way than the snowdrop. The graceful yet steely flower that thrusts its way valiantly through the frozen soil to fill gardeners with much-needed hope in the dark depths of January and February. Yet while we’re well used to seeing drifts of white blooms at this time of year, there’s no reason why we can’t inject a few extra colours into our beds and borders, an entire chorus of vibrant blooms keen to share the spotlight. From the vibrant yellows of winter aconites and early daffodils to the purple hues of some hellebore and crocus cultivars, there are many winter blooms ready to join snowdrops in taking our minds off the gloomier days. Most will happily share free draining, moist soils in…

Times are far from easy and it doesn’t look as though our financial burdens will be easing any time soon. The cost of living crisis hits all areas of our life, and gardening is no exception, so over the next year think about ways you can keep pennies safe to spend elsewhere. In this issue of AG I suggest 12 ways we can all make savings this year, but there are many others too. Compost is a major expense, so try and make some of your own - even a solitary plastic bin is better than nothing and will produce a fantastic soil improver and plant nourishment. Tools are another cost outlay, so get into the habit of cleaning, sharpening, oiling and maintaining those you already have and, when they need…

SUBSCRIBE TODAY Britain’s original outdoor magazine is packed full of stunning photography, top class writing and brilliant walking and backpacking routes, along with authoritative gear reviews from the country’s most experienced team of testers and essential skills advice from highly qualified outdoor instructors. Great reasons to subscribe ❱ Save up to £48* ❱ Delivery directly to your door before they hit the shelves ❱ Never miss an issue ❱ Complete control – manage your account online ❱ Free weekly e-newsletters VISIT SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/TGOHA OR CALL 01959 543747 and quote code TGOHA Scan our QR code – the easiest & quickest way! HOTLINE OPEN: MONDAY-FRIDAY, 8.30AM-5.30PM. CALLS ARE CHARGED AT YOUR STANDARD NETWORK RATE SCAN HERE Terms & Conditions: UK Direct Debit offer only. You will pay £50.96 every 12 months. *Savings…

When do I prune my fuchsias? Q Should I prune and feed my hardy fuchsias now or in spring? Some are in the ground and some are in pots. A Let’s start with those which are growing in your garden. Hopefully, you’ve retained all last year’s shoots to help protect roots from hard frost. Indeed, top growth should remain until temperatures rise in spring and frosts disappear, which usually coincides with a burgeoning of new shoots from the base. When these are visible, cut back the previous year’s growth to within 2in/5cm of the ground. Follow by sprinkling a balanced granular fertiliser over the root area and watering it in. Repeat feeding monthly, until September, with sulphate of potash to stimulate a wealth of blossom. As for your potted fuchsias…

The garden’s left to me now(It’s truly not my thing)But I can readily admitThe joy and peace it brings My partner liked it wildYou couldn’t see it for the weedsYet now I’m doing all the workThere’s shrubs and plants from seed I’m really quite astonishedIt has turned out so wellI’ve made a little rockeryOf pebbles, chalk and shells My friends say I’m original(It hides a wealth of muck)And if it look’s presentableThen that’s beginner’s luck! Please send us your letters, poems and musings Your contribution is such an important part of this magazine for the future. AG is for you the people, for gardeners and proud custodians of gardens everywhere, so please do write in. We will send a gift for each letter, poem and musing published. Address: Kim Stoddart…

The New Year is a precious time for training, project and ideas planning ahead of spring and early summer when we will be so busy ‘doing’. I’ve worked in business for 25 years and horticulturists love to tell me that selling plants is not like selling say, tins of baked beans on the shelf. You can say that again!!! We are propagating living things over 2,500 different species from 570 different genera – using various methods (stem cuttings, seeds, divisions, bulb chippings and leaf cuttings) over 12 months of the year. I had hoped that by being the grandchild of Beth and Andrew I would automatically understand plant science - but this isn’t the case! It has a whole different language that I am continually learning about and totally fascinated…

1 The flowering period lasts over several weeks and there may be new buds opening as old flowers fade. To keep plants looking good, twist away spent flowers. 2 Repot every few years in spring. Here, the old pot was used as a template to create a hole of just the right size in a new pot. 3 Red stems indicate stress, caused by excess light, insufficient water during spring and summer, overwatering, a need for potting on, or long cold spells. 4 Start new plants from spring to summer by removing a stem section consisting of two or three segments. Let the damaged end dry before inserting into 50:50 peat-free compost and potting grit.…

Rare garden plant catalogue Plant Heritage has recently launched an online plant catalogue which provides images and information on an initial 200 rare garden plants. As part of a National Lottery funded project, the catalogue aims to enable those working in horticulture, amateur gardeners and anyone looking for an unusual plant to access information which is vital to ongoing garden plant conservation. The aim to is eventually list all 2,252 plants protected through the charity’s Plant Guardian programme. The plants featured are all cared for by Plant Guardians. The charity says: “if a plant isn’t commercially available, gardens – and passionate gardeners – are often one of their last strongholds and ensure their continued existence. Plant Guardians play a key role in Plant Heritage’s plant conservation work; they grow and…

I don’t know about your November 2023, but mine was mild and wet, wet and yet more wet. The leaves stayed on the trees until the end of the month and my herbaceous plants refused to die down. I found myself cutting phlox stems back when they still had plenty of green leaves. I needed to cut them back by the second half of November, because I have lots of snowdrops in my rose, phlox and peony beds and didn’t want to inadvertently flatten them with my size 5s. Hunting for signs of spring While I was in the midst of the border, I peered at the ground to see if I could see any of those little green snowdrop points. I couldn’t, because small bulbous plants don’t appreciate wet…

The health of our soil is key to a flourishing, resilient garden. As a resourceful gardener, I am always looking for easy and thrifty ways to boost productivity on my plot, as well as mulching with compost. Here are five of my favourite soil-friendly crops, which also help enhance and protect the soil whatever-the-weather in 2024. 1. Comfrey One of the easiest and most beneficial soil-friendly plants you can grow is comfrey. For smaller spaces, choose one of the non-spreading varieties such as Bocking 14, because wild comfrey can be very invasive. Once established, comfrey lives for around 20 years, producing an abundance of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium-rich leaves, which make a superb soil and plant feed. The flowers are nectar-rich forage for bees and other beneficial pollinators, and comfrey…

We spend a lot of time each year diligently sowing seed and caring for our fledgling vegetables, before harvesting and then looking to do the same all over again and again. It’s not just very time-consuming and costly, but it uses up resources also. So why not grow more perennial vegetables? Plant them once and you can reap the fine rewards of lower-maintenance harvests for much longer. Perennial edibles can look after themselves generally. Rhubarb and globe artichokes, for example, return each year. Their large leaves cover the soil and help to suppress weeds. Such longer-lasting edibles are also more resilient against increasingly challenging weather conditions. This is mainly because their deeper root structure enables them to seek out moisture more effectively during a dry spell and will also help…

Salvaging stories ■ “My upcycling journey began many years ago when I had four very small children and very little money, attempting to find items to divide the garden and protect my precious plants from the incessant footballs landing on them. Over the years, I have regularly gone for walks bringing home anything unloved or unwanted. The chest of drawers that became a potting shelf. The 1950s green drinks cabinet which arrived on my doorstep from a neighbour is yet to become a plant theatre. Everything I have has a story to tell. My favourite book growing up was Frances Hodgson Burnett’s book 'The Secret Garden' and I always loved the idea of a doorway into a secret garden. As soon as I saw the door on a skip last…

1 January: Make this the year you grow your own, and start now with tomatoes and chillies. These have long germination periods and need light and warmth. I put mine on a sunny bedroom windowsill, and sometimes use a heated propagator. Why not try growing on from the seed of shop-bought chillies. 2 February:Use the dark, wet days to do a shed inventory, checking and overhauling tools, binning what’s broken and stockchecking supplies. If nothing else, it will stop you buying duplicate items, saving you money. 3 March: Check the tender perennials in the greenhouse and use some of the healthiest growth to make cuttings. Quick starters such as pelargoniums should be ready to plant out this summer.…

A few issues ago I showed you how to make a bug hotel for free - or cheaply - with sourced pallet wood. So to start the New Year with some thrifty sunshine, I’m going to explain how to make a simple, but rather sensational planter out of this lovely salvaged wood. For anyone who hasn’t built anything with pallets before, I’m sure you’ll come to appreciate them as much as I do when you realise how easy they are to work with. Just be careful (and protect your eyes and hands) when separating and cutting the wood. STEP 1 Source your pallet Just to recheck, pallets can be sourced for free (or a very small fee) from garden centres and builder merchants. You can also ask about on social…

SUBSCRIBE TODAY Top Santé is the leading health magazine for women over 40; packed with realistic, life-enhancing tips on everything from health and fitness to food and beauty. With a balanced diet, effective exercise and a positive mindset you can stay younger for longer – inside and out. Read up on expert advice and support every month! GREAT REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE • Save up to £48* • Delivery directly to your door before they hit the shelves • Never miss an issue • Complete control – manage your account online • Free weekly e-newsletters VISIT SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/TSHA OR CALL 01959 543747 and quote code TSHA Scan our QR code – the easiest & quickest way! HOTLINE OPEN: MONDAY-FRIDAY, 8.30AM-5.30PM. CALLS ARE CHARGED AT YOUR STANDARD NETWORK RATE SCAN HERE Terms &…

We like to think of the New Year as a time for fresh starts, the season where we look at the coming months with optimism and resolve to be better than we have been over the past 12. In my personal experience, the most common January resolutions tend to involve fitness, diet, moderation, money saving and tidiness but this year, please try to make room for the garden in your Chart of Goodness. On the next two pages I suggest some of the gardening resolutions you could make for 2024, ranging from plant care to tool maintenance and being a little bit kinder to your soil. An increasingly important resolution for this and the coming years is to think about climate-proofing our gardens. As weather becomes more extreme, veering from…

1 Digging disturbs weed seeds and can damage soil structure so try no-dig, by simply adding well-rotted compost directly to the bed and planting through it. 2 Our wildflower lawn is maturing year on year, with new varieties appearing. As a result we are also seeing many new varieties of butterfly, pollinator and insect. 3 Attract beneficial pollinators and predatory insects with a bug hotel. Set it somewhere warm and sheltered and guests will soon arrive. 4 Leave a quiet area of garden to get a bit scruffy, with long grass and a log pile or two for wildlife and insects to hide, feed and breed within.…

6 Jan: Orchid Society of Great Britain Orchid Auction, Cole Court, 150 London Road, Twickenham, London, TW1 1HD. From 1pm, to join the society visit osgb.org.uk/membership 10 Jan: Hadlow College Plant Sale, Hadlow College’s Main Site, Tonbridge Road, Tonbridge Kent, TN11 0AL. 1-4pm. 11 Jan: Westcroft Garden Opening, Westcroft, Boscombe Village, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP4 0AB. £4 admission. 13 Jan: Beetham Nurseries Orchid Show, Beetham Nurseries, Pool Darkin Lane, Beetham, near Milnthorpe, Cumbria, LA7 7AP. 9am-4pm. 14 Jan: Scottish Orchid Society Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) & Plant Sale & Plant Swap, Hopkirk Room, Glasgow Botanic Gardens, 730 Great Western Road, Glasgow, Scotland, G12 0UE. 2pm. 20-21 Jan: Burnham Nurseries & Orchid Paradise Open Weekend, Burnham Nurseries, Forches Cross, Newton Abbot, Devon, England, TQ12 6PZ. 10am-3pm. 20 Jan: Snowdrop Day at…

Sow chillies Gardeners can be forgiven for getting twitchy fingers when the New Year appears, and frequently garden writers such as myself are telling you to “wait!”. But, chilli peppers (especially the very hot varieties) can, and indeed should, be sown now, so there’s not a sanctimonious finger waggle in sight. The hottest chilli varieties tend to be varieties of perennial species such as Capsicum chinense and C. frutescens, and frequently these can take up to 28 days to germinate – that’s a whole month! So, starting them off in a very warm (24°C minimum) heated propagator now, is perfect. If you’re experienced in growing these scorching chillies, you may well have some plants overwintering indoors, and indeed this is a great way to keep them as they are longer-lasting.…

Making vinegar is a fun, thrifty way of transforming left over wine and other alcoholic drinks into a delicious, useful condiment. Mix those odds and ends of wine left in bottles at the end of a party together (I prefer to keep red and white separate), add the mother and a few months later, enjoy your fragrant homemade vinegar. You can also create your own specific brews, such as ‘Merlot’ or ‘Prosecco’ vinegar! Traditionally, vinegar is made in wooden barrels or earthenware e pots with a spigot at the bottom for removing the vinegar. You can improvise with what you already have at home, large preserving jars are ideal, or search charity shops for Rumtopf or other large pottery containers. Ensure that everything is sparkling clean and sterilised before you…

In our first issue of the new year, you will find all our regular columns and features to inspire your gardening plans in 2024, plus practical content from your favourite columnists, including Bob Flowerdew, John Negus, Ruth Hayes and Anne Swithinbank. To guarantee a whole year’s worth of Amateur Gardening direct to your door, why not take advantage of this special, limited-time only subscription offer? You’ll never miss an issue and it’s great value too! Or treat someone special to the gift of Amateur Gardening. Happy Gardening, Editor, Amateur Gardening REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE • Save up to £88* • Pay only £2.85 per issue • Get two packs of seeds WORTH OVER £4 with every copy • Receive 25 packs of seeds worth over £60 FREE with your subscription**…

1 April:Perennials are starting to shoot, so strike while the iron is hot and take basal cuttings from lupins and delphiniums, and divide large clumps of other varieties to plant elsewhere around the garden. 2 May:Start saving plastic drink bottles and fruit and veg punnets for use on the greenhouse. Litre bottles can be halved to make handy single pot cloches, and punnets are perfect for germinating seeds. 3 June:Comfrey and nettles are rich in nutrients thanks to their far-reaching root system, so harvest fresh shoots and steep them in water until smelly and brown. Dilute one part solution to 8-10 parts water. 4 July:Our gardens are growing well and offering an enticing buffet to many pests. Add companion plants such as nasturtiums and calendula. They attract predators to help…

Beware bonfires Why do we call them ‘bonfires’? Because, in origin, they’re ‘bone fires’, where our ancestors used to burn their left-over scraps of animal. You may be tempted to light a bonfire to get rid of garden rubbish, but just be aware of the following: ■ Burning fresh wood and green material releases smoke that contains 350 times more cancer-causing chemicals than cigarette smoke. ■ Smoke, smuts and smell from bonfires are the subject of around 30,000 complaints to local authorities every year. ■ Recurrent bonfires which cause a nuisance to neighbours can lead to legal action by the local authority – with a maximum fine if found guilty of £5,000. Wow! I didn’t know that… ■ The seed of the horse chestnut tree is better known as the…

SUBSCRIBE TODAY Psychologies is the biggest mental and emotional wellbeing magazine in the UK. Our aim is to make each day better by providing you with inspiration and advice from experts in the field, to lower stress and anxiety, and boost happiness. GREAT REASONS TO SUBSCRIBE ❤ Save up to £48* ❤ Delivery directly to your door in 100% plastic-free packaging ❤ Never miss an issue ❤ Complete control – manage your account online ❤ Free weekly e-newsletters VISIT SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/PYHA OR CALL 01959 543747 and quote code PYHA Scan our QR code – the easiest & quickest way! HOTLINE OPEN: MONDAY-FRIDAY, 8.30AM-5.30PM. CALLS ARE CHARGED AT YOUR STANDARD NETWORK RATE SCAN HERE Terms & Conditions: UK Direct Debit offer only. You will pay £51.90 every 12 months. *Savings based on…

Your lovely letters, emails and social media posts have been flowing in fast and furious these past weeks and we continue to be delighted with the response. I can only share but a few on these pages but every message, poem, idea and comment matters. Please keep them coming. We will send out a thank you gift for every item published in the magazine so do please send your address and contact details when you get in touch. Also, I’m delighted to say that the Facebook account for Amateur Gardening magazine is now up and running again so we hope to see you there. So glad to be back Dear Kim, What a lovely Christmas present to see AG on the shelf with three packets of seeds. I have read…

Happy New Year to you all. Now, I’d usually be the type to shy away from trends articles so please see this more as a collection of my freshest ideas, all inspired by my 2023 travels and countless enjoyable conversations with breeders, growers and consumers at events and nurseries across Europe. More resilient bedding plants The perception of bedding is changing. Breeders are starting to recognise our changing needs when it comes to filling our borders with long-lasting colour. Those neat little soldier-like plants of times gone are being replaced by more open, branched specimens-with plenty more flowers and border presence. Remember, the more soil you cover, the less chance you’ll have weeds to deal with and watering requirements can be lessened! It’s also possible for bedding plants to keep…

◼ Carrying on with propagation after the winter break, we return to taking root cuttings; a simple method used to propagate several genus of plants including acanthus, houttuynia and cichorium. This process involves digging up plants from our stock bed, or turning out stock plants grown in pots, and cutting off approximately ⅓ of the root. This is also the perfect time to check the general health and quality of stock plants in pots and to also refresh their compost mixes for the growing season ahead. ◼ Once the plants have been dug up and cleaned, we cut each length of root into approximately 4cm pieces. To avoid planting root cuttings the wrong way up, we keep track of the orientation using different angled cuts for the top and bottom-a…

This unusual form was named by Beth after she couldn’t find another valid name. Known commonly as lamb’s ears, Stachys byzantina is grown predominantly by gardeners as a ground cover, creating an evergreen, sprawling mat of spear-shaped, woolly leaves. The flowering form, S. byzantina ‘Cotton Boll’, produces upright stems of silvery-white, bobble-like flowers in summer, standing tall above the carpet of velvety foliage. When they are at their whitest, flower stems can be cut and dried for use in everlasting arrangements. Thriving in full sun and poor, free draining soil, this drought tolerant perennial happily grows in our unirrigated Gravel Garden. A richer soil is also suitable, but just be mindful that plants will spread more vigorously. Fortunately, any growth encroaching on neighbouring plants or onto pathway can easily be…

Back in the summer a friend asked me if I would mind adopting a rather large and venerable Christmas cactus and of course I said yes. Apart from their showy blooms, what I admire most about these jungle cacti is their longevity. Look after your plant well and you could be handing it down to future generations. I was thrilled when the short days of autumn encouraged small pink buds to form at the tips of the flattened stems and flowering reached its peak around 1st December. Most Christmas cacti in cultivation are hybrids of Brazilian Schlumbergera truncata, with flower colours of white and all shades of pink and red. They happily make do with pots but in the wild, their ancestors grow epiphytically from nooks and clefts in the…