Innholdsfortegnelse for 23-Nov-24 i Amateur Gardening

with AG’s gardening expert Ruth Hayes As well as the day-to-day jobs we tackle throughout the year, most gardeners have larger projects to complete that they either crack on with as soon as they need doing, or talk about for a few weeks, procrastinate a wee bit longer and then get caught up with something else and ‘forget’ about them. Guess which camp we fall into! In our case, the job lurking in the shadows and occasionally tapping us on the back and saying ‘remember me?’ has been the pond or, specifically, the refurbishment of our fairly small garden pond. We first added a wildlife pond to the garden six years ago and while we’ve never had frogs or newts, it has given us hours of enjoyment watching the mini-beasts…

with Lucy Chamberlain, AG’s fruit and veg expert Are you lucky enough to own a greenhouse? Or perhaps it’s one of your aspirations, and you’re looking for guidance on its management. Whatever your situation, heating one through the colder months allows you to overwinter exciting tender edibles like ginger, citrus and lemongrass, plus it offers an excellent propagation environment for raising early spring vegetable plants. So, what are your options? Let me explain what I do. Heating your whole greenhouse requires a large heater and can be costly, plus, it wastes resources. So, instead I block off a small area of my 1.8 by 2.4m (6x8ft) structure using bubble wrap (this is recyclable) and fixing clips. This alone will raise the temperature inside by a few degrees so if you’re…

With Julia Boulton, Beth Chatto’s granddaughter and chief custodian of the world-famous gardens, and her team No matter the vagaries of the Great British weather, one thing which can always be relied upon is the eventual arrival of each season. Autumn, being the transition from summer to winter, gives us the opportunity to adjust to a slower pace in preparation for winter’s slumber after the intensity of summer. As the nights draw in and temperatures fall, we can look forward to the season’s colours in the trees, shrubs and herbaceous perennials around us. The intensity of colour will depend on a number of factors, with cold nights and warm, sunny days encouraging the best autumn colour. As Beth Chatto said: ‘The long season is coming to an end, with almost…

Starlings are familiar visitors to many gardens and they are an incredible bird, not least because of their ability to flock together in numbers, called murmurations, which produce some of the most magnificent visual wonders of winter. They aren’t always viewed positively though, and this dislike stems in part from their reputation for being quite greedy birds. It’s true that they can empty a bird feeder in minutes when a flock of them arrives in a garden, but this is because they are a species which has evolved to feed efficiently in large numbers for survival. They make the most of any food source available and being omnivores, they eat a really varied diet, from seeds and fruit to a wide range of insects and even some vegetation. Starlings up…

Starting with rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus formerly Rosmarinus officinalis) It is one of those aromatic herbs that remind you of hot, sun-baked ProvenÇal hills and markets. Its small, spiky green shoots are packed with aromatic oils that are released when you crush, or brush against, them in the garden. Rosmarinus means ‘dew of the sea’ and it is a plant with a long history, used to flavour food, and in herbal cosmetics and remedies. Rosemary is an evergreen shrub which comes in many shapes and sizes: there are bushy forms, plants that grow low to the ground or are prostrate, and then there is the tall and erect, ‘Miss Jessopp’s Upright’, which can be used as a hedging plant. Not only does rosemary have such varying shapes and sizes, but its…

with Ruth Hayes, AG’s gardening expert It’s that time of year when shoppers with gardeners in mind think about potential festive gifts for their green-fingered loved ones. My main advice is to step away from the gimmicks, the gift ‘sets’ that are often little more than poor quality tat dressed up as ‘equipment’. Instead opt for something genuinely useful - it need not cost the earth and will be hugely appreciated. Here are some ideas for you. (*Prices correct at time of going to press) Boost home-made soil improvers with an electric shredder If you’re wondering what to do with this autumn’s prunings, look no further than STIGA’s Bio Silent 2500 electric garden shredder. It quietly gets on with crunching through garden waste that can then either be added to…

Unripe figs and wheelchair gardening Q My next door neighbour is very excited as the fig tree in her garden has finally produced lots of hard green fruit. She would like to know if there is anything she should be doing to encourage the process. My husband and I are very interested in any information on gardening with mobility challenges as we had to give up our three allotments when I became a wheelchair user. We have a small garden and lots of pots now, and very limited time. Joy Bussey, Watford A I don’t wish to disappoint your neighbour, but the ‘hard green fruits’ that her fig tree has produced are very unlikely to ripen this year. Had they formed in summer they would have produced luscious juicy and…

During holidays from primary school, I’d go to work with my dad and uncle on one of their building sites. The graft was hard but exciting, especially when tasked to carry bricks up a ladder and onto the scaffold. This was a job that required the use of a ‘hod’ - a three-sided wooden box fixed to a long handle that, if you were strong, enabled you to stack and carry up to 18 bricks at a time. I could barely manage four but loved being part of a team and the thrill of shinning up a ladder, hod on shoulder, and teetering along the scaffold planks to supply the brickies. Now I know what you’re thinking…, you’d like to have a go too (lols!) but sadly working at height…

With Chris Collins, Garden Organic’s Head of Horticulture Everything is so expensive nowadays that a new-look garden may seem out of reach, but with a little bit of innovation an affordable and creative design is perfectly attainable. Second-hand materials can be inexpensive (or free) and offer an empowering way to upgrade a garden at a fraction of the price. For inspiration, it’s often good to visit an allotment site. Allotmenteers are the masters at reusing, recycling and generally making the most of what other people consider to be waste materials. Let’s start with the magic of the pallet. Abundantly available, this object has multiple uses as the frame for home-made compost bins, vertical herb planters and furniture. Many gardeners also produce beautiful bug and bee hotels from them, there’s lots…

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With expert broadcaster, author and long-standing AG columnist, Anne Swithinbank Gardening in one location for 26 years shows how much can change in a quarter of a century, especially when it comes to pests and diseases. In the early years there were so many rabbits here, you could sometimes see 20 at once, nibbling on the lawn. Recently, they’ve become a rare sight. Our crab apple used to be infested by woolly aphids and in the last three years, they’ve gradually disappeared. Broad beans were routinely covered in blackfly and rose buds in greenfly but recently there’s been hardly any, perhaps because there are more small birds. There used to be many toads but I haven’t seen any at all this year and we definitely have fewer blackbirds. Maybe this…

With expert gardener and AG columnist, Stephanie Hafferty Almost everything has been gathered in now, except for overwintering vegetables that remain outside, including brassicas, leeks and parsnips. The season’s frosty mornings have turned any remaining non-hardy crops into a mush on the soil, so I leave it there, to mulch the ground and feed the soil life. There are still two root crops to bring in before the end of the year: yacon and oca. Both are ready to harvest in late November or early December and benefit from several hard frosts. These unusual vegetables originate in South America and are an excellent addition to the food garden, being very pest resistant, easy to grow and perennial, so you only need to buy them once. In the UK, next year’s…

With Adam Kirtland, AG’s garden DIY ideas expert Which products, or projects would you like Adam to cover and trial in his column? Please contact editor@amateurgardening.com with suggestions. At this time of year, the cogs start whirring, the brain kicks into gear and thoughts shift to the Christmas period ahead! If you’re still scratching your head for potential gifts, or you’re wondering what to buy for the gardeners in your life, here’s my top four slightly different ideas for festive gifts. Easy houseplant alternative If you’re a houseplant fanatic or you know someone who is, then you may be excused for thinking the only option is a plant, when in fact you could try this - Nicole’s Jungle. This is an ingenious little kit I discovered at the RHS Urban…

with Ruth Hayes, AG’s gardening expert Bergamot, which is also known as Monarda didyma and ‘bee balm’, is one of my must-have garden plants. Easy-going perennials, they are the gift that keeps on giving - gorgeous shaggy blooms in a variety of gem-like tones, deliciously scented leaves that can be used for pot pourri (and were once used to flavour tea) and, best of all in these times of climate uncertainty and wildlife depletion, they live up to their nickname and are a reliable magnet for pollinators. Monarda can be bought as young plants or grown from seed. To do the latter, start your seeds off in covered trays of pots of seed compost, with a little vermiculite scattered over the top of the compost. Once seedlings appear, remove the…

As gardeners, one thing which we are often asked is why do we grow? This is always a difficult question for me, as there are just so many reasons; just as My love of gardening, which I thought was ‘just’ the inspiration of my mother and my grandparents, has been a discovery in its own rights. I have found that I have a long horticutural heritage going back many generations in the royal kitchen gardens of the Windsor Estates. It would seem that the need to get my hands into the soil is, in fact, a part of my DNA. Connection and healing through growing I get annoyed by the stereotype of poorer families not eating healthily as a result of poor budgeting or lack of knowledge, because it often…

With Michael Perry Your plant recommendations from expert plantsman, Michael. It is time for thinking about (getting excited by) spring bulbs. Just half an hour of planting now will reward you with so much colour and joy next spring, so wrap up and let’s get planting. This is also probably one of the easiest tasks for a gardening beginner too, as long as bulbs are planted the right way up (pointed ends skyward), although they generally find their own way! So, it’s definitely time to grab your credit card, and your trowel, and start planting the promise of glorious spring blooms to come. Ginger Snap Tulip Mix by Sarah Raven Have you ever seen such a luscious, colour-drenched bunch of tulips as this? All I can say is wow, Sarah…

To plant a new bare-rooted rose, dig a generous hole in prepared soil and set the rose in position so that the place where the cultivar was budded (grafted) onto the rootstock will sit at soil level. Sprinkle a product containing mycorrhizal fungi over the roots as instructed and backfill, firming as you go. To move an established rose bush or shrub, first prune the branches back to a manageable height. Dig a trench around the plant a good 30cm (12in) away from the stem and then lever under the plant using a spade, cutting through thick roots using secateurs or loppers. Dig a generous hole to plant as above. Should roots be damaged or over-long, prune them rather than trying to bend them in. In the damp and chill…

Ground cover plants serve a variety of purposes and can make the garden look great all year round. They suppress weeds by limiting the amount of light that reaches the soil, reducing the number of unwanted seeds that germinate. Ground cover lessens the likelihood of soil being eroded by wind or rain, and the plants’ roots will add to and support the essential mix of life within the soil. Ground cover plants also provide shelter for wildlife. There is a wide selection of plants that provide cover for the soil during summer and autumn and I love the impact that those herbaceous plants provide in our borders. But for the winter and early spring months, the choices are less obvious. Here are some exciting evergreen and semi-evergreen ground cover plants…

Heavenly hellebores We are at the start of the hellebore flowering season. From now until next summer, our gardens will be adorned with blooms from pure white through stages of pink and red, to purple and brown – and bright flecks, spots and even bright green flowers in the mix as well. The helleborus genus comprises some 20 species of herbaceous or evergreen perennials ennials – and they are full of history and fable. Despite names such as winter rose, Christmas rose and Lenten rose, hellebores are not closely related to the rose family at all. Lenten roses Without question the most popular hellebores for garden use are forms of H. orientalis. It has spawned many colourful hybrids (H. × hybridus) which, in the northern hemisphere, flower in early spring,…

Reader wildlife plant tips Dear AG, It was very good to see in the 26th October issue of Amateur Gardening Nick Hamilton’s article on ‘Wildlife and planet-friendly tips’ and cotoneasters recommended as beneficial garden helpers, providing fruit for birds throughout the winter when food is scarce. This family of attractive (and important) bee and insect and also birdfriendly shrubs have been very much maligned, mostly on the internet, over the past couple of years. The cotoneaster family consists of around 400 taxa of which only two species can sometimes become a problem in some old disused quarries and in some areas on coastal cliffs and grassland. Where this has happened, the insect and bird-life are thriving. The two species which have been most successful in the wild (especially in chalk…

21-24 Nov: Chelsea Physic Garden Christmas Fair, Chelsea Physic Garden, 66 Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, London SW3 4HS. 24 Nov: Norfolk Plant Heritage Meeting, AGM, & Plant Sale, Bawburgh Village Hall, Stocks Hill, Bawburgh, Norwich, NR9 3LL. 2pm. 29 Nov: Low carbon gardening, RHS Garden Bridgewater, Occupation Road, Worsley, Manchester M28 2LJ. 30: Hardy Plant Society Western Counties Group Meeting, Corse and Staunton Village Hall, Gloucester Road, Corse, Gloucester, GL19 3RQ. 10am. 1 Dec: Chiswick Flower Market, Old Market Place outside George IV, Chiswick High Road, London, W4 2DR. 9.30am-3pm. 2 Dec: Marshalswick Horticultural Society Meeting & Talk Plant Trials with the RHS, Marshalswick Baptist Free Church, Sherwood Avenue, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 9QL. From 7pm. 2 Dec: Designing for a small garden (2-day course), RHS Garden Wisley, Wisley Lane, Wisley,…

Backdoor and blooming useful shoes and boots These stylish and practical clogs from Backdoorshoes are easily slipped on and look simply fantastic. They come in a range of fab designs for men and women from sizes UK 3-14 and their high quality design means they can be washed and reused for many years to come. The lemon daisy design pictured retails at £34.99. Visit www.backdoorshoes.co.uk to see more from their radiant range. Meanwhile the good people at Muckboot offer a range of exciting hard-wearing shoes and boots designed to provide the protection, grip and comfort you need in the great outdoors this winter. Their hard-wearing 100% ‘muckproof’ designs are waterproof, made with premium neoprene and rubber and made to impress. They offer a range of exciting options including the 25th…

with Bob Flowerdew, long-standing AG contributor, broadcaster and all-round expert. All gardens have shady parts, and areas hemmed in by buildings, massive trees or hedges may be shaded throughout much of the day. Provided you keep the soil moist enough, it’s fairly straightforward to make an attractive ornamental area using shade-tolerant plants, ferns and so on. However, we always insist, quite rightly, that productive areas (especially vegetable plots and greenhouses) must be situated in the sunniest spots. The problem in practice is that even those places, the sunniest positions, likely still translate as ‘spots with least shade’. Simply because in an enclosed garden, everywhere else is even shadier still. With less sun, we can forget about growing most of the tender crops such as tomatoes, French and runner beans, and…