Innholdsfortegnelse for 17-May-2025 i Amateur Gardening

As I write I am travelling on my way to Toby Buckland’s fine flower festival to talk about climate change-resilient gardening and host an ASK AG clinic with our fantastic deputy editor Ruth Hayes. The train journey has been somewhat challenging with delays, and during the first segment a sweltering hot carriage with no air conditioning at all. The very kind train conductor was walking around giving passengers personal advice on how they could take other connections, which I thought was out of his way helpful and eased the frustration of the predicament for everyone on board massively. Further on, waiting for a later connecting train, the drinks seller had sold out of water due to the heat but gave me some ice cubes to help cool down. Admittedly I…

Nature abhors a vacuum and gardeners abhor waste, so it stands to reason that by deciding to work together we are already halfway along the process of creating a joyful and plantpacked piece of land. Take our garden, for instance. A row of raspberry canes runs part way along one side of the fence, at the top end of which there’s an empty piece of scrubby lawn with not a lot going on within it. Nature has obviously looked askance at this and decided to populate it with wayward raspberry shoots, which is wonderful, but unfortunately she didn’t stop there. Raspberries can spread like the wind, swiftly taking over, and young canes have started popping up in the lawn and border that lies in that area of the garden. While…

Judging by what I see on allotment plots far and wide, runner beans are still a hugely popular edible within the grow-your-own community. And rightly so, because given the right treatment you can be picking delicious, succulent pods from July through until November – and plenty of pods, at that. Now is prime sowing and planting out time, so what do we need to know about runner beans to maximise their cropping potential? Read on! Varieties: Back in the 1980s my smallholder parents grew half an acre of ‘White Emergo’ to sell to London markets – it’s still available today and considered a good traditional variety. But breeders have now incorporated some French bean genetics into modern varieties like white-flowered ‘Moonlight’ and red-flowered ‘Firestorm’. The results are less ‘string’ in…

The sparrow is a bird most people can quite confidently recognise and name and we rarely think of it as a remarkable species. Yet its population is now so widespread thanks to its incredible adaptability, learning to supplement its diet with scraps from humans alongside its natural food sources. It’s as likely to be seen hopping around outdoor tables at a city café, looking for fallen crumbs, as perched on a hanging feeder in a village garden or chirping from an agricultural hedgerow. And that’s actually pretty remarkable! The sparrow’s reputation for being gregarious is well-earned and comes from centuries of living in such close proximity to people. Its confidence around humans makes it easier to observe, and because it doesn’t defend territories in the same way some birds do,…

Annuals With their retina-searing, bright orange single flowers (red, yellow, pink and white varieties are also available), California poppies will ensure you ‘have a great day’ all summer long. Growing from 30 to 60cm (1 to 2ft) high, they nestle most accommodatingly between other sun-lovers, including Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ and Ceratostigma plumbaginoides in mixed borders, containers, or in wildflower meadows. Deadheading will keep those vibrant blooms popping but allow some flowers to go to seed (much like I have, before you say it!) to ensure more sunshine blooms next year. If pressed to choose my desert island annual poppy, it might have to be this dark-plum temptress, with her regal purple petals floating majestically a-top contrasting glaucous, ruffled foliage. She grows to approximately 1.2m (4ft) and if backlit by the…

Favourites of the Tudors and Elizabethans, garden pinks belong to the genus Dianthus along with carnations and sweet williams. Many bear pink flowers but their name comes from the ‘pinking’ or serrations of their petal tips. If you want to be truly old-fashioned, call them gillyflowers; a general term once used for a group of plants grown for their fragrance, including wallflowers and stocks. There are around 300 species of dianthus, originally from Europe and Asia, and the older pinks with their rich, strong scent descend from D. plumarius. These mostly flower only once, but their blue-green leaves arranged in a compact, spreading shape look great along path edges. A good example is the singleflowered ‘Queen of Sheba’ whose white petals are laced with feathers of rosy pink. To breed…

Afew weeks ago I had tulips and spring-flowering perennials growing in this container. I now want to replace them with super summer stunners, including a short clematis. You might recall I placed a large pot upside down in this container to save on compost as the spring plants were all shallow-rooted. As the clematis needs a deeper root run, the upside-down pot has been removed and extra compost added, which will not only help its roots stay cool as they reach down to the bottom of the container, but also provide a greater supply of nutrients to feed the plants throughout the summer. This beautiful compact clematis, C. Acropolis (‘Evipo078’) from the Boulevard Series, should only reach a height of just 1.2m (4ft). It came with a wigwam support already…

Looking after young citrus trees Weekly feeding should herald robust growth Q We recently purchased the orange and lemon trees shown in the photo. Unfortunately there were no care instructions with them, so please can you advise us on how best to keep them healthy and happy?Marilyn Allen, Sutton, Surrey A The best way to help your orange and lemon trees thrive is to position them outdoors in summer and bring them inside when nights threaten frost in late autumn, keeping them cool in winter, at a temperature of 10-12C (50-55F). As for encouraging robust growth, feed them weekly with summer and winter food for citrus trees, or a brand that supplies nutrients to keep them growing strongly all year round. When the root ball appears to be rising in…

Westland has partnered with Amateur Gardening to give 10 lucky winners the chance to win an incredible gardening bundle, packed with everything you need to keep your garden looking its best this summer. This fantastic prize includes the innovative Boost Growing System, designed to help you achieve the very best container and basket displays in just three simple steps: 1. Boost All Purpose Compost – Locks in moisture and releases it as needed, giving your plants the very best start. 2. Boost All Purpose Multi-Action Granules – A new slow-release feed that nourishes plants for up to six months, supporting strong roots, lush foliage, and vibrant flowers. 3. Boost All Purpose Liquid Feed – Use to nourish your plants and enjoy up to 4x more blooms* for a spectacular, long-lasting…

The longest-lived pot plant in the world is a giant cycad that’s been thriving at Kew Gardens for an incredible 240 years. During its potted history, epoch-defining inventions - the internal combustion engine, computer and… onesie - have changed the world. And through it all, generations of caring gardeners have tended to its needs, terrified that they’d be the one to overwater and kill it. That old pot plant has been on my mind because after many years of service, I’ve decided to plant my oldest containergrown plant, a European blue palm, in the soil. It’s been in its half-barrel for 10 years - a mere blink in comparison to the Kew cycad, but long enough for it to start to display signs that it was ready for a move.…

Something missing from most older textbooks are capsicum peppers, both sweet and chilli. Gardeners, even those with a greenhouse, tended to neglect these until recently, but now we’re overwhelmed by a multitude of mouth-searingly hot, hot, hot peppers. These have introduced many gardenless city dwellers to gardening as they are often successful grown on a sunny windowsill. Hot peppers and sweet peppers are similar, as both require more warmth than tomatoes so are much happier in a cold frame or greenhouse than outdoors. But on a sunny patio, chillies crop marginally better than sweet, probably because hot are generally smaller, more compact plants with smaller fruits so they can sit on tables that are warmer than down on the ground where the bulkier sweet sorts have space to live. Plus,…

I am a life-long fan of tender perennials, primarily because they are such good value for money. I use them to boost areas in the smaller gardens at Barnsdale in different ways. They are generally either long-flowering or later flowering; they will survive the winter if protected and are very easy to propagate. I like the idea of putting out plants in full flower and instantly boosting the look of not just my borders but my walls and patios too. It also means that I can use varieties that flower all summer and autumn in pockets of a small garden border, leaving space to grow plants that give interest at other times of the year. Transform a drab spot with colour If you are a keen propagator then buy one…

Asparagus spears Asparagus is the one vegetable that is worth growing to save money. It’s expensive to buy, because the grower has to wait a long time from planting to harvesting (at least two years), and then the cropping season is short. So, in order to make the ground pay for itself, high prices have to be charged. Quicker crops, which give a quicker turnaround of cash, are invariably cheaper. Asparagus spears are harvested for just about six weeks in the year, and the season is starting now. White asparagus In restaurants, you are often served with thick, ‘white’ asparagus, very unlike the spears you grow at home. These are produced by farmers who cover their asparagus rows with fabric cloches, or pile soil over the crowns, to ensure the…

Guacamole is traditionally made with avocado, but this ingredient is very difficult to grow in the UK. Peas, which are abundant in our climate, make a delicious - and much cheaper - homegrown alternative guacamole-style dip or salad. Simply treat them the same as you would an avocado. Peas need picking regularly to encourage them to continue producing more flowers and pods. Harvest garden peas when the pods feel plump and full of peas and shell the peas, placing them into one bowl and the pods in another. The pods can be used to make soup or turned into pea pod wine. Freshly shelled peas will store for around four days in the fridge. These recipes are gorgeous made with freshly podded peas, and are equally delicious made with frozen…

It is said that every dog has his day, and for Monty Don’s treasured canine friend Ned his time to shine comes next week at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. For the first time ever, a dog has had input into creating a show garden at the historic floral event - for Ned has helped Monty and his team design the RHS and BBC Radio 2 Dog Garden for the landmark floral event. Jamie Butterworth, who helped create the plot, laid out the RHS and Radio 2 Dog Garden at his nursery, Form Plants near Woking, and Ned randomly ran through pots and plants to create the paths that will feature in the Chelsea garden. Jamie explained: “Ned followed his nose and forged the routes that we will copy…

The sheer joy of harvesting freshly picked produce from your garden offers so many benefits. From saving money and promoting wellbeing to producing the freshest possible fruit and vegetables, home-grown edibles are exciting and nurturing in equal measure. Yet, let’s face it, some fruit and veg have a reputation for being just that bit more ‘bling’. Picture-perfect heritage tomatoes from the vine, plump and fresh as you like, sweetcorn cobs, giant cucumbers, luscious, interestingly shaped salad leaves…. Yet why should they take all the glory when more traditional, less racy vegetables still have an incredibly valuable role to play? Here are some further ideas to help you on your productive and varied veg patch growing way… Let’s celebrate all carrots great and small I grow my edibles in a free-spirited,…

Summer squash can be as ordinary as marrows and courgettes, or as extraordinary as patty pans (custard marrows) and crooknecks. Unlike pumpkins and other thick-skinned winter squash, the summer varieties have only thin skins and are cooked fresh or after a brief storage period. Marrows can be scary when the torpedo-like fruits all ripen at once, but make good eating stuffed and baked or cooked and served in a buttery white or cheese sauce. Marrow flesh changes from pale greenish-white, juicy and refreshing early in their season to dense, yellowy and flavoursome after some keeping. There are mouth-watering recipes about, including soups and curries. Chopped or in thin chunks, courgettes are useful to sweat down with onions and garlic as a basis for many a pasta sauce or sliced and…

I think a good cottage garden plant needs to be either very easy to care for, or give such a beautiful flower display that it is worth the attention lavished on it. Luckily, there is a huge selection to choose from and I’ve picked a few of the favourites that have featured in my gardens over the years. With the exception of a rose, these are all herbaceous perennials that spread each year to fill spaces in the garden. If they outgrow their allotted spaces, they can be divided and moved to other areas, or given to friends. Phlox paniculata ‘Bright Eyes’ There are so many varieties of phlox to choose from, two of my favourites are a pure white-flowered variety called ‘White Admiral’ and ‘Bright Eyes’, a pale pink…

I always think that groundcover plants are very much the unsung heroes of the garden, yet they are incredibly useful and many of them are perennially beautiful too. They block weeds, are often happy in shady or rocky areas that don’t suit other varieties, and in these times of increasing climate uncertainty, they protect the soil from torrential rain and baking sun. One of my favourites is Saponaria ocymoides, also known as rock soapwort and tumbling tom. It’s a perennial member of the soapwort family, a low-growing, mat-forming evergreen that is covered with pretty pink flowers during the summer months. It is easy to grow and easy to maintain, even though it can spread quickly, and makes a delightful splash of colour as a ‘spiller’ plant pouring down the sides…

Poetry corner special The trials of weeding Making the most of life An inspiring community garden Hello Kim I thought you might be interested to hear about our community gardening group. Knowing how beneficial green spaces around hospitals are for the mental health of patients and staff we work in partnership with the management of our local hospital here in North Wales, Wrexham Maelor Hospital, to create beautiful gardens around the hospital. If any of your readers would like to get involved by either volunteering with us or by donating plants for the gardens they can contact us through our website www.wrexhamcommunitygardeners.org Ruth Tesdale Kim says; thank you for writing in Ruth, that’s so lovely to see the joyful planting around the hospital.…

Let’s face it, shrubs used to have a bad rep. They were seen as uninspiring, you might even say a bit boring. They were purchased to ‘fill a gap’, and intended to be almost invisible, simply used to bulk out the border. Well, all that has changed with modern breeding, and shrubs have had what we might call a ‘glow up’! Not only is there myriad brightly coloured foliage, but there’s also cracking autumn colour, winter interest… the list goes on. These are not just glossy on the outside either, they are also super-hardworking, creating the ideal backdrop to your dream garden. You might have seen a few shrubs in bright purple pots in your garden centre recently too. They’re from the leading plant brand First Editions®, who are about…