Innholdsfortegnelse for 3-Feb-2024 i Amateur Gardening

I know there is still some way to go, but spring definitely does feel like it’s in the air. The days are getting longer, brighter and (occasionally) warmer, bulbs are shooting, birds are nesting and the hazel trees in our hedge are laden with catkins. All in all, it gives us a psychological boost and makes getting out into the garden a much more enticing prospect. It is time to start sowing and planting; hardy annuals can be started undercover now and sown directly in the soil later in the month. We should be checking over our overwintered tender corms and tubers to make sure they are healthy (discarding any that feel soft or are rotting) and seeing which of our autumn cuttings are ready to be potted on. One…

It can be absolutely delightful finding a plant that has sown itself, something beautiful we do not at first recognise. We may naively think it new and unique, unfortunately it seldom is. We may idly entertain thoughts of making our fortune selling this lovely discovery, sadly we won’t. Such findlings will be from seed long dormant, blown on the wind or most probably in bird droppings, and always of a plant already known. There’s a huge likelihood seedlings will be just like their parent, with just a small chance of any new variation. That does not mean such discoveries have no value Many may become excellent specimens, save they’re probably in the wrong place and need moving. It’s not unusual to find seedling holly, yew, bay, laurel even Daphnes, all…

1 If you’re on a budget but you desire that luxury lifestyle, why not order yourself a packet of asparagus seed? Far cheaper than buying crowns, all that’s needed is a bit more patience. 2 Keep dipping into your winter stores, to use up potatoes, beetroot, Jerusalem artichokes and other roots. They won’t last forever, so eat them up quickly to enjoy them at their best. 3 If you’ve ordered bare-root plants yet your soil is too cold or waterlogged to plant them, temporarily heel them in a sheltered spot until planting conditions are more suitable. 4 Green manures sown in autumn can be dug into the plot, now. Chop up woody growth first, then turn it into the soil. This gives it plenty of time to rot down before the bed is used…

It’s a bitterly cold, February day and I’m dreaming of summer and heavily scented, pale pink roses underplanted with drifts of English lavender, bees buzzing noisily, frantically harvesting pollen before floating off on the warm summer breeze. It all sounds too good to be true, but I bring you great news. Keep your rose-coloured spectacles right on the end of your nose, as now is the perfect time to nosey through a catalogue or your preferred online retailer to buy the roses of your dreams. And the good news keeps on coming; if the ground isn’t frozen or waterlogged, roses can be planted right now as bare-root or potted plants. I’ve been surrounded by roses since I was seven. My parents adored roses; well, they were completely smitten by one…

There’s nothing like the flavour of home-made jam bursting with juicy fruit grown in the garden or allotment. Even the process of stirring a bubbling pan of produce is a promise of a satisfying sweetness to come and incredibly rewarding to do. The more fruit options you have at your disposal, the wider the array of exciting flavour combinations you can try, creating masterpieces not readily available to otherwise buy. There’s still time in February to get planting for a summer of fruit. Don’t forget that jam can also be made using produce grown from seed, such as tomatoes and chillis, while hips from rugosa roses make a delicious preserve likened to ‘Turkish delight in a jar’. Making jam is a great way to save money, reduce waste and, ultimately,…

Veg seed viability ■ If stored in a cool, dry and dark place, vegetable seeds will, on average, last (stay ‘viable’) for a number of years: 2 years – onions, parsnips, salsify, scorzonera, seakale, sweetcorn 3 years – asparagus, beans (all), leek, parsley, pea 4 years – beetroot, carrot, fennel, pepper, pumpkin, tomato 5 years – aubergine, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celeriac, chicory, Chinese cabbage, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, melon, radish, spinach, turnip, watercress 6 years – celery, cucumber, marrow Wow! I didn’t know that… ■ The shortest plant name used to be a species of American blue grass, Poa fax, but this plant now seems to be defunct. Poa as a genus exists, and so does Ada (an orchid), so these are currently the shortest genus names among plants.…

I don’t know about you, but the combination of atrocious weather and economic uncertainty has sent me scurrying into the shed to make extra sure I save as many pennies as possible this gardening year. Tidying the shed not only makes gardening easier through the year, it lets you do a stocktake of equipment, seeds, pots and other essentials so you avoid wasting money by buying duplicates. It also gives you the chance to test your seeds for viability - see panel, right - and sharpen and clean your tools. While I was sheltering in the shed I also made time to take the season’s final hardwood cuttings. This is a brilliant way of increasing your stocks of deciduous trees, shrubs, fruit bushes and roses without any financial outlay, and…

Your lovely letters, emails and social media posts continue to flow in beautifully. I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying receiving them. 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. The Facebook account for Amateur Gardening magazine is now up and running again so we hope to see you there. Gardening group support Hi Kim, Great to see Amateur Gardening back on the shelves, and I would like to put forward a suggestion. Gardening groups like ours are struggling with numbers up and down the land, and even with the use of social media, many people don’t know of…

Step by step 1 The process of bringing your hand tools back to their finest, should always start with a clean and polish. 2 Begin by brushing off any dry debris or soil with a soft brush. Then once that’s done, give the rusty parts a spray with WD40 and let it soak in for a couple of minutes. 3 Wire wool can then be used to gently wipe away any rust from the blades. You may need to repeat this exercise a few times if your secateurs are particularly bad (I’ve got my fair share of mistreated pairs!) 4 If you are feeling confident you could also go a step further by taking apart your snips to enable you to get into all the nooks and crannies unhindered. Most…

As we finally find our feet in this New Year, we slowly but surely start turning our backs on the winter and striding into the garden in search of any sign of spring. For many, this will mean the welcome emergent buds of a faithful winter perennial such as helleborus, or the unfurling flower heads of winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis). For me however, it is the appearance of the humble snowdrop that heralds the true sign of spring. January, February and March are the ideal time to see Galanthus in all their glory, although it should be noted that they can be found as early as October due to autumn flowering varieties. Whether it be in large swathes, often seen with Galanthus ‘James Backhouse’, Galanthus ‘Atkinsii’ or Galanthus ‘Mrs…

Lichens are so tough, they can survive in space These fascinating, rather beautiful composite organisms are known for their hardiness and ability to live in remote, extreme corners of the world, living off materials such as rock. Now it seems they can, for a time, also exist outside of our atmosphere in space. As an experiment, lichens were attached to the outside of the International Space Station and were seen to stand firm (and continue photosynthesising) against the extremities therein for an impressive 18 months. That’s with no water, extreme temperatures and the vacuum of space to name but a few challenges. Similar experiments have also been conducted with lichens through the creation of a simulated Mars-like environment on Earth (with dry, cold, low-atmospheric pressure and radiation) and they survived…

Like many mothers, I look back at having young children as the best part of my life. My two daughters were both born in the mid-1970s and they grew up in a small, remote village in Northamptonshire, midway between Banbury and Daventry. The garden opposite my cottage was owned by a ninety-year-old widowed lady. It hadn’t been tended for over twenty years. It was a thicket of brambles, overgrown hedges, conifers and, of course, weeds. This bothered some of the villagers, although it didn’t bother me and I was her nearest neighbour. You see, that untidy garden had a fantastic upside. Treecreepers visited my south-facing cottage wall on a daily basis. They were residents, not the usual winter migrants and they would have found plenty of suitable nest sites in…

Growing any food to bring to the table is of course incredibly enjoyable and worthwhile, especially with a continued cost of living crisis showing no sign of abating anytime soon. The more we can broaden the range of edibles that we grow the better, and doing so will afford us the golden opportunity of experiencing some extremely exciting culinary gems. Personal taste is important of course, as there’s no point growing crops that you do not enjoy eating, or wasting energies on vegetables that take a long time or effort to grow, with little to no edible reward at the end. Yes, chickpeas, I’m referring to you! Then again, I live in the wilder West of Wales, 750 ft above sea level so the crops I recommend are also hardy…

Amateur Gardening will celebrate its 140th birthday this year and I’m proud to have contributed to its pages for 25 years. In that time, our children have grown up, my parents who helped in the garden have passed on and I’m not as limber as I used to be. Everyone has their own gardening style and looking back, mine has come full circle. My childhood garden was a ‘private, personal wilderness’ to quote William Robinson and I can remember primroses, forget-me-nots, lily of the valley and bearded iris free-growing. I made a ‘spider farm’, hatched caterpillars into moths and butterflies and rescued unwanted pets including two catfish. A 1970’s bedding plant phase was followed in the 80’s by a period where I enthusiastically collected difficult and unusual plants such as…

Q Our globe thistle has spread with little babies attached. Can I divide it and, if so, how do I do it? Jonathan Merrells, South Shields A By all means. Ideally, wait until late March or April when the soil is warmer and temperatures are more conducive to robust growth. Then carefully remove well-rooted offsets, as new plantlets are called. Replant them 18in/45cm apart each way (or wherever you wish them to grow) in a sunny, well-drained patch of prepared soil. Ideally, enrich it with crumbly well-rotted garden compost or a proprietary brand of composted manure to encourage plants to excel. Augment manure with 6oz/168g per sq m of fish, blood and bone meal worked into the soil surface. Repeat the latter monthly throughout the growing season. A statuesque member…

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Step by step 1 To also offer hand forks and trowels some TLC, give them a wipe or brush down to ensure they are clean and dry. 2 You can then prepare a tooldeep bucket of sand with a top layer of oil (just enough to coat the top of the sand). I use food-safe mineral oil which is available from most DIY retainers and standard construction sand (which is coarse enough to create an abrasive surface with the oil). 3 Allow the layer of oil to soak down into the sand for about an hour then you can submerge the metal surfaces within, before moving tools back and forth to scrub away dirt and rust. The sand acts as an abrasive agent, while the oil lubricates and protects the…

Snowdrops are one of the most joyful plants to grow, signalling the end of summer and the advent of brighter, warmer days ahead. All around the country at this time of year, open gardens and nurseries are holding special ‘snowdrop days’ where you can marvel at their beauty and variety and buy more plants for your own plot. Although we plant most spring flowering bulbs in autumn, some varieties including snowdrops, bluebells and yellow winter aconites are best planted now, when they are ‘in the green’. This means when the plants have almost finished flowering but still have plenty of healthy leaves on show. Put in the ground in this state means they have time to bed in before dying back naturally and refuelling for next year’s display. This is…

I don’t know a gardener who doesn’t like potatoes – and for good reason. Between the bakers, jackets, roasts, chips, mashes, salads and news there are a plethora of uses for the humble spud – we just can’t get enough of them. So, be sure to hit the potato season running by buying some seed potatoes now. Of course, the super-organised among us will have already done this. ‘Seed’ potatoes (virus-free tubers sold by variety name at garden centres and online) are on the shelves as soon as the New Year arrives. They’re grouped as ‘earlies’ or ‘maincrops’ depending how long they take to mature (100 and 130 days respectively). Your seed potatoes can be ‘chitted’ now (laid in trays in a light, frost-free but cool spot such as a…

I am a huge fan of heirloom tomatoes because they offer such a tantalising array of colours, shapes and sizes and the flavour they deliver is off the charts. We have become so used to uniform red and round tomatoes on supermarket shelves and through hybrid (F1) seed varieties, yet there are so many more exciting options also available. Why grow something that’s readily available in the shops when there’s a much more colourful, wider-world of varieties at your home-grown disposal? From tomatoes as big as your head to currant-sized gems, with such varying flavours and all generally no more difficult to grow than more familiar brands. Top tips for amazing tomato harvests 1. When deciding what to grow this year do think about what you want your tomatoes for…

In every issue of Amateur Gardening, 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**…

Q What does bare-rooted mean? A These are trees, bushes and shrubs that are planted over the colder months, when they’re in a dormant state. They are dug up as required and sold online or by mail order. When they arrive they’ll have no soil around their roots and should be planted as soon as possible so that their roots can establish themselves as the weather warms. The bare root season is generally November to March. Q Can jam be made from damaged fruit? A Yes, as long as it’s fresh and any damaged flesh and unwanted passengers, such as slugs and earwigs, are carefully removed. Q What does AGM mean? A The Award of Garden Merit awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society denotes plants that have been extensively trialled…

1-2 Feb: Colesbourne Park Snowdrop Gardens Pre-booked Group Tours, Colesbourne Park, Colesbourne, Near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL53 9NP. Tours 11am and 2pm, visit colesbournegardens.org.uk to book. 2-4 Feb: The Wye Valley Sculpture Garden Snowdrop Days, The Wye Valley Sculpture Garden, The Nurtons, Tintern, Brockweir, Monmouthshire, NP16 7NX. Varieties for sale. 3 Feb: Devon Hardy Plant Society Meeting: Growing Greener Trees for Gardens: a talk by Tony Kirkham, Longdown Village Hall, Longdown, near Exeter, EX6 7SN. Doors open 2pm. 3 Feb: Skelmersdale Potato Day, Concourse Shopping Centre, Skelmersdale Town Centre, Southway, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN8 6LN. 10am-3pm. 3-4 Feb: Hill Close Gardens’ Snowdrop Weekend, Hill Close Gardens, Bread and Meat Close, Warwick, Warwickshire, CV34 6HF. 11am-4pm. 3 Feb: Hardy Plant Society Cambridge & Bedfordshire Group Meeting: The Weatherley Centre, Eagle Farm Road, Biggleswade,…

As winter lingers on and impatience for spring seriously builds, there’s no better time to embark on a thrifty DIY journey, restoring garden tools to their former glory. Although the idea of cleaning tools may appear initially daunting, the reality is rather uncomplicated and very rewarding. All you need for these two projects will be likely lurking already in your shed, along with a bag of sand, but we’ll delve into that later – let’s get to it!…

The winter still seems never ending, but at least we are starting to see the benefits of slightly longer evenings, each day bringing forth those few extra precious minutes. Althoughit’s still rather too cold (and wet) to use them very productively in the garden. As a business that is intrinsically connected to the seasons, we alter our opening hours for the winter, closing at 4pm. As is to be expected in the depths of winter the gardens are not very busy (probably just as well with the dampness of our lawns). So, each year we totally close over the Christmas period and reduce our public opening days to Thursday, Friday and Saturday each week We quickly become accustomed to this pattern, so when it expands back to the full five…

Gesneriad. No, I’m not sneezing, I’m telling you about a plant you might not have heard of. Although you probably have. The Gesneriad family feature many old favourites-from Streptocarpus to Saintpualia and I’m recommending them as the perfect way to lift those winter blues. Gesneriads come in almost every colour of the rainbow, and are easy to grow (as long as you don’t overwater them.) Sounds like the perfect houseplant! They were very popular in the 80’s, and I remember propagating many with my grandma. But, somehow, they fell out of favour whilst everyone salivating over Calathea, Anthuriums and all the showy leaf plants. Well, just like Strictly Come Dancing, Kate Bush tracks, and lycra, Gesneriads are having a long overdue revival in 2024. And when you think of Gesneriads,…