Innholdsfortegnelse for 31-May-2025 i Amateur Gardening

We are excited to share with you in this latest issue of AG lots of lovely suggestions for great gardens to visit across the land. June is an especially lovely time to start exploring, to walk around and immerse yourself in many of the inspiring gardens that throw wide their gates to the general public. From the National Garden Scheme home garden open days, to sprawling botanic estates, the process of taking time out to walk around and explore different, exciting plant playgrounds in this way lifts the spirits and provides us with so much horticultural and creative inspiration as a result. I love the fact that you can learn so much from hands-on visits and at the same time momentarily pause thoughts of all the things you need to…

Here’s a question - although gardening is one of the best ways to connect with the natural world and improve our mental and physical wellbeing, why are gardeners never completely happy with their lot? We can be the stewards of our own glorious, productive patches, be they garden, allotment, patio or balcony, yet always find an imaginary cloud somewhere to grumble about. My current bugbear is water. Having spent the winter wondering ‘will it ever stop raining?’ as the water meadows and winterbourne streams surrounding the town filled to the brim, I’m now starting to worry about having sufficient water to keep the garden flourishing through summer. We have several water butts including two attached to the shed and two connected ones harvesting rain from the garage roof, but it’s…

While those of us with greenhouses or polytunnels are probably looking at tomato plants 1-1.2m (3-4ft) tall, growers who choose to plant their toms outside are only really able to do so now. That’s no problem though, because despite UK summers not being identical to those in the Mediterranean, these days our weather does fall more often in that direction when it comes to supplying sunshine and warmth. There are also many other tricks gardeners can use to ensure that growing tomatoes outdoors isn't a gamble. Let me share a few with you. Choosing appropriate varieties helps secure success – there are those that mature early, thus being more likely to ripen in a cooler summer, and others that show strong resistance to late blight, the fungal disease that can…

If you adore pinks as much as I do, then you’ll be delighted to hear that propagating them is straight forward and reliable. The cuttings, or pipings, as they’re known, are best taken from late spring to mid-summer. Simply pull a non-flowering side shoot from the plant between thumb and forefinger and remove the lower leaves. I’m greedy, so I take a few cuttings in case some fail. Plunge the cuttings into a small pot containing a 50/50 mix of peat-free multi-purpose compost and grit and water well, putting the cuttings somewhere warm and bright, but not in direct sunshine. Ensure the compost is kept slightly moist at all times, increasing watering when the cuttings show signs of growth in a few weeks’ time. When roots appear from the base…

As the days and evenings grow longer and lighter, the temptation to stay outdoors for ‘just five more minutes’ gets stronger. If you’re anything like me then you’ll be out there right until it’s dark and even then you’ll have to be dragged back in kicking and screaming. Even when I’m done with the day’s gardening, I’m likely to still sit out there, enjoying the sounds, smells and sights of the garden at dusk. But I do like to have a few additions, perhaps a blanket and a mug of hot chocolate, and some gentle ambient lighting. Recently I’ve been making some tissue paper lanterns with my daughters to add some soft illumination to the garden at night when we are outside. They're lit with LED tea lights. Research has…

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Conifers are king again! It’s a plant family that can offer so much, from evergreen colour to wildlife habitat, carbon capture to durable drought tolerance. And, all is not what it seems either, not all conifers look like great strapping leylandii hedges - there are a lot of different shapes and sizes, as you’re about to discover! Pinus mugo ‘Little Gold Star’ A conifer that will thrive in all soils, and is hardy down to a staggering-20C too! A medium-speed conifer, reaching 2m (6.5ft) eventually, it’s a great feature plant to plan into a rockery, or into containers, with a well-behaved globular habit. Flowering in spring, and a surprise pollen source for bees, the tightly packed needles have a yellow tinge, creating an effervescent glow in borders. Juniperus chinensis ‘Kaizuka…

I love garden birds - who doesn’t? - but when I ‘share’ my cherries with them they take the blooming lot. And that’s a problem, as just a few birds left unchecked will quickly decimate our ripening crops, particularly soft fruits. They just can’t resist those sweet moist morsels, robbing our currants and berries remorselessly. Birds have preferences and can be fooled, so yellow raspberries remain untouched when positioned next to apparently ‘riper’ red versions. Likewise, red currants disappear in a flash while white currants hang on, and yellow pyracantha berries long outlast the orange. Green gooseberries may escape for a while too, whereas dark red fruits are soon gone. The delicious Japanese wineberry has small orange-red ‘black berries’ which birds ignore as not ‘ripe’. (The cunning wasps are not…

The return to outside events by Amateur Gardening started in brilliant fashion when the magazine received a rapturous reception at Toby Buckland’s Garden Festival in Devon. AG editor Kim Stoddart and deputy editor Ruth Hayes were at the hugely popular bank holiday event at Powderham Castle to meet readers, and both were overwhelmed by the response. Hundreds of people visited the AG stall to say hello, ask questions and share their thoughts about the magazine itself. Kim said: “It was incredible. It was the first time we had done anything like this with Amateur Gardening so we didn’t know what to expect, but the response from readers was marvellous, really, really positive. “There was so much love for the magazine, so many joyful and uplifting comments that Ruth and I…

Compost creatures have always fascinated me – and none more so that the humble worm. In a compost bin, these are not earthworms however, but smaller, redder ‘brandling’ or composting worms (Eisenia foetida). And they do a fantastic job of turning your kitchen waste into a valuable and free soil conditioner. If you don’t have space for a compost bin, a wormery is an ideal way to recycle small amounts of food waste all year round. Worm composting relies on worms consuming organic material and breaking it down in their gut, and it’s these ‘worm casts’ that become nutritious compost for your garden. Ready-made wormeries are purpose-built and come complete with taps to siphon off the liquid feed, but they can be expensive. So why not have a go at…

Gardening and the environment World Environment Day takes place every year on 5 June. Spearheaded by the United Nations, it aims to encourage worldwide awareness of, and action in, protecting the environment. As gardeners we are responsible for our own immediate environments, but what we do collectively can also impact on national and even international levels. Here are five facts connected to gardening and the environment. ■ Due to climatic change, the ‘Lake of Pine Trees’ in Sweden is now surrounded by birch trees. ■ Smoke, smuts and smells from bonfires are the subject of around 30,000 complaints to local authorities every year. ■ When you see ‘organic seed’ for sale, what makes it organic? It must be grown on land that has not been contaminated with synthetic fertilisers or…

We’re looking for a small tree for a narrow garden An upright cotoneaster or flowering shrub might fit the bill Q I’m looking to add a small tree to our narrow garden, something that still leaves room to walk around but that will make a statement all year. What would you recommend? Julian Easton (via email) A I suggest that you plant Cotoneaster ‘Hybrid Pendulous’, an evergreen with weeping branches and attractive red berries. Growing to around 2.4m (8ft), it makes an elegant small tree which would be in perspective with the width of your garden, so you would have room to walk comfortably by it. Most trees, however – rowans, hollies, birches, ornamental apples and pears and Japanese cherries, apart from ‘Amanogawa’ - a slender variety that would also…

Sweet williams Everyone’s favourites, sweet williams are short-lived perennials or biennials typically growing to 30-60cm (12-24in), providing their unique joy for two to three years. For the greatest choice, sow seeds in mid to late-summer or, like me, head to your local garden centre in autumn and buy garden-ready sweet williams which will produce an abundance of deliciously scented blooms the following late spring through to early summer. Pinks & carnations Dianthus ‘Mrs Sinkins’ I’d be pulled in front of the horticultural magistrates if I neglected to mention the dianthus doyenne ‘Mrs Sinkins’ with her serrated, pure white flowers and powerful scent. Like all dianthus, she will luxuriate in a cottage garden planting. (H&S: 30cm/12in). Dianthus ‘Carnelia Pink & Proud’ This is an eruption of semi-double blooms in shades of…

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) brings us some fabulous aniseed flavours for a range of dishes, and also two different versions of one plant. Easy-to-grow common or herb fennel is a tall perennial whose feathery leaves, flowers and seeds are used as flavourings. Many’s the time I’ve been working near a fennel plant and snacked on the tasty yellow flowers. They are surprisingly satisfying and fennel seeds have long been eaten to stave off pangs of hunger. Florence fennel (F.v.var azoricum) is similar but different, in that it is grown as an annual for the succulent swollen leaf bases that give it the name ‘bulb fennel’. These develop above ground and make good eating, whether fresh in salads or baked until soft and almost caramelised. Florence fennel is a crop that craves…

I have always wanted a white garden, a sanctuary of calm and quiet where I can sit and escape the busy thoughts of work or the hectic need to get the next task completed at home or in the garden. The reality is that I’m not sufficiently disciplined to have an all-white garden and anyway, most of us do not have the space to dedicate a large area to just one colour. So instead, I group a few plants with pale flowers together and let my imagination do the rest! Plants with pale foliage, especially silvery leaves, also help to create a sense of peace, while white, cream and the palest of pastel-coloured flowers add to the feeling of contentment and calm. Tellima grandiflora Here’s an interesting herbaceous perennial for…

Unlike Monty Python’s knights who say ‘Ni’, who demand King Arthur brings them a shrubbery, I wasn’t always a fan of shrubs. I used to see them as something that was caught in a no-man’s land between flowers and trees. For several years I dragged around the only shrub I had, a cotoneaster, which was planted in an old washtub. It went from house to house and then came here to my home at Pig Row, where I instantly forgot about it, dumping it behind a freshly planted hornbeam hedge. Last year, after a decade of planning to do something with it and instantly rushing off to do something supposedly more enjoyable, I took stock of the bedraggled thing and considered two options: either planting it in the ground or…

The twinkling blue of a clump of forget-me-nots is one of the sweetest sights of spring. They are incredibly easy to grow and once you’ve added them to your garden, they are with you for the long haul thanks to their propensity to self-seed with abandon. I love them, and they love our garden, possibly because there is plenty of dappled shade cast by several trees - the ‘sylvatica’ in their Latin name Myosotis sylvatica hints at the plant’s woodland origins. Forget-me-nots are biennials and if sown now, either directly onto prepared soil or in pots of good quality seed compost, they will spring up and open their sweet blue eyes next spring, providing essential food for early pollinators. ‘Royal Blue Improved’ is a smashing variety that flowers early in…

Your lovely letters, emails and social media posts continue to flow in beautifully. 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. Learning as we grow Good afternoon Kim I have a new, south-facing garden that I am slowly digging up and planting up with everything I fancy! I thought I would have a go at creating my own arch, and failed! It was dismantled the following day, but I still feel proud for giving it a go. Thank you to Ruth Hayes for celebrating garden centre plug plants, as it provides them with an income, plus growing seeds…

Research by NASA has confirmed what King Charles has known all along: talking to plants can help their growth. In tests, yucca, yarrow, you-name-it, all photosynthesise more efficiently when washed with sound waves from a human voice. Who knew! Apart from King Charles obvs. This experiment was on my mind because I caught up with an old friend who worked for NASA, travelling the world from Cape Canaveral to Kazakhstan to keep satellites in orbit. When he started, these heavenly bodies were kept in position manually. Then, as an experiment, a computer was rigged up to take over while maintenance took place and to the surprise of everyone at Mission Control, it flew the satellite far more efficiently because unlike human pilots, it didn’t ‘muck about’ with the joystick and…