Innholdsfortegnelse for 15-Nov-2025 i Amateur Gardening

Amateur GARDENING 141 years of practical advice 1884 The world’s oldest gardening magazine 2025 With each and every issue of Amateur Gardening magazine, the behind-the-scenes reality is that our family of experts get very excited about what to write for you, our dear readers. The process invariably involves some actual gardening while we mull ideas to enable us to bring the on-the-ground reality to print! Yes, of course we mainly plan ahead way in advance, but we are real hands-on, practical gardeners and we love what we do. This enables us to bring you the latest tips and growing advice to help boost your results around our tried-and-tested methods as they evolve over time, season to season. There’s no standing still here - well, only to enjoy the garden with…

I am a big fan of hardwood cuttings – they save you money and are easy to take. It also helps you keep your plot productive as your plants get old. Use them for currants, figs, grapes, mulberries and gooseberries. My gooseberries are now getting a bit long in the tooth, so to secure crops in the future I’m taking a few hardwood cuttings – here’s how:…

With Chris Collins, Garden Organic’s Head of Horticulture While spring and summer are all about the visual power of plants, winter is the time for quieter, more fragrant plants to show off their talents. Winter-flowering shrubs can bring texture and intensely scented blooms, and many varieties are happy growing in containers. Better still, they’ll bring early pollinators to fill your garden with life and the promise of spring to come. Placed near your kitchen door or garden path, my favourite varieties create a burst of fragrance as you brush past. Wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox) This Asian evergreen delights with its waxy yellow flowers that appear on bare stems over the colder months. It likes a warm, sheltered location, so next to a wall is ideal. Be patient as it can take…

With expert broadcaster, author and long-standing AG columnist, Anne Swithinbank Back in the 1990s, I used to write gardening columns for the News of the World. My horticulture was serious but the subs would have fun with our headlines: ‘Off to beds with some hoe hoe hoe’, ‘Make friends with anemones’, ‘Alpines are summit else’ and ‘My gourd! I’ve got a lot of bottle’ are just a few examples that still make me chuckle. For five years I enjoyed the rapport with readers and also charging around the country in search of stories and interviews. One summer I set off for Cheshire on the trail of giant gooseberries, the headline for which would say ‘Gooseberry fools’. I remember opening the door of Swettenham’s village hall, where instead of the usual…

Whips These immature plants are called ‘whips’, because that’s what they resemble. Usually the cheapest option available and an excellent consideration for hedging projects. Best planted in the dormant season(October to February). Bare-root These smaller plants are lifted from the ground during their dormant season, with soil removed from their roots. It’s the cheapest option although plants will require time to mature, which varies depending upon the plant you’ve selected. They need to be temporarily heeled in or properly planted upon purchase. Young plants, however, are generally vigorous growers, so if you’re happy to allow plants to grow into their space this is a great option. Good for hedging projects. Rootball These plants are generally larger specimens, dug out of the soil and made available with soil around their roots,…

In this edition I’m focusing on Anisodontea capensis, commonly called African or Cape mallow. This is a plant that falls into the ‘why don’t more people grow this?’ category and, I suspect, by the time you finish reading all about it, you’ll be wanting to add one to your garden. If you do so, many visitors to your garden will want to know what it is and where to buy it. Shining the light on a South African shrub History A cloud of mystery shrouds information about when this delightful shrub was first introduced to the UK. It’s believed to have arrived in the early 1800s, at a time when plant hunters were exploring South Africa, but nobody knows who first brought it here. It most probably arrived via the…

‘El Rayo’ Height and spread 100cm (39in) Found as a chance seedling and introduced to the UK by Bob Brown of Cotswold Garden Plants, who states the correct name should be ‘El Royo’, but you’ll find it predominantly sold as ‘El Rayo’. Like most anisodontea, it produces more flowers during the autumn and winter months. The single flowers are mid-pink with deeper reddish-pink centres on airy, bendy, branching stems amid mid-green leaves. Give it a sunny spot in free-draining soil and prune by about half after all risk of frost has passed in late spring to encourage more flowers. ‘Lady in Pink’ Height and spread 40cm (16in) by 30cm (12in) A compact variety ideal for growing in pots due to its size, shape and frost tenderness. Smothered in strawberry-pink flowers,…

Don’t overwater Thyme is a superb addition to a drought-tolerant garden, especially planted with other Mediterranean herds such as lavender and rosemary. Use regularly Trimming thyme for use also helps to manage its growth, keeping it productive and in good shape. Plant in sunshine As a Mediterranean herb, thyme enjoys the sun and the leaves will be more flavoursome for it. Use gravel It is great for drought-tolerant plants and can recreate the natural environment. It suppresses weeds, helps drainage and increases soil temperature. Provide shelter Thyme is hardy but frozen conditions can damage plants, especially when they’re in pots. Move to a sheltered spot if possible or cover with some horticultural fleece as needed.…

14 Nov: Bug Hotels workshop, RHS Garden Bridgewater, Occupation Road, Worsley, Manchester M28 2LJ. 15 Nov: Max Walters Memorial Lecture given by clematis expert Raymond Evison, The William Collyn Centre, Wellbrook Way, Girton, Cambridge, CB3 0GP. Doors 2pm, lecture 2.30pm, £12 Plant Heritage members, and students, £15 for visitors, free parking. Email Rosemary Buisseret to apply for tickets/information: ppsrjb@gmail.com 15 Nov: Plant Swap, Community Hub at Manchester Craft and Design Centre, 17 Oak Street, Manchester, M4 5JD. Noon-1pm, Come and swap your plants, seeds, or cuttings and grow your collection and meet other plant lovers. 21 Nov: An Introduction to Soil, RHS Garden Wisley, Wisley Lane, Wisley, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB. Discover the life and mysteries of what’s beneath our feet. 22 Nov: Wokingham Horticultural Association’s Winter Flower Show, St…

How can I deter cats? Q How can I stop cats using our garden as a toilet? Dave Seymour, Wiltshire A There is no infallible answer, but there are several ways you can deter them. Organic, scented deterrents are widely available from garden centres and there are many sonic products available online. You can also consider growing strongly scented plants such as rosemary, pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) and lavender, which they don’t like, or covering bare soil with ground cover plants. Another ruse is to cover soil with thorny prunings, holly leaves or a lattice of sticks. Can you name this new arrival? Q Please can you name this sapling that appeared in the garden this year? Ruth Hannam (via email) A I feel sure that the interloper is goat willow (Salix…

Growing morning glory from seed Q Can I propagate morning glory from collected seed? Sara Chedley (via email) A Morning glory can be tricky to grow, so congratulations if yours have flourished. Yes, you can sow from harvested seed. Wait for seed pods to form. Gather seeds when fully ripe and store them in a greaseproof bag indoors or in a frost-free shed for winter. Then sow them in spring. Pelly cuttings through the winter Q I have taken some tender geranium cuttings and they are in individual pots and starting to bud. What do I do with them? Sue Hollis (via email) A Now that your tender geraniums, or pelargoniums, are growing strongly, it’s important to keep them going over winter. The best way is to consign them to a…

Exciting recommendations from our expert plantsman Within the grounds of Hertfordshire-based Rochfords, one of the largest plant cash-and-carry outlets in the UK, the International Rose Trials are quietly shaping the future of rose breeding. Founded in 2019 after the closure of the original Rose Society site, Rochfords is now an accredited trial centre under World Federation guidelines. Each new rose variety is judged many times over three years, and gold or silver winners automatically progress to the coveted Award of Garden Merit from the RHS. Open to amateur and professional breeders, the trials attract many entrants, including David Austin Roses. Each grower submits five plants free of charge. Committed to sustainable growing, Rochfords has been peat-free for over two years and uses companion plants like phacelia to attract helpful insects.…

Miscanthus - all flowering types have fabulous silver seedheads, but my favourite is M. ‘Morning Light’ as the green leaves have a silver ‘go-faster’ stripes down their edges. Thistles like cardoons, echinops, sea holly and teasels look fab and architectural. Prairie perennials such as rudbeckias, sedums, asters and phlomis are great en masse, creating tawny-coloured cushions of spent blooms.…

Bringing you some of the gardening news highlights Rare pink and purple fungi are starting to colonise new areas of the UK. Clavaria zollingeri, or violet coral, has been discovered in 18 new locations during a citizen science survey carried out by the charity Plantlife. The rarer waxcap Porpolomopsis calyptriformis, which is a delicate baby pink, has been seen in 300 new sites. “They are internationally vulnerable which puts them in the same category as snow leopards and giant pandas in terms of their extinction risk. We have an international responsibility in the UK to protect these fungi,” said Plantlife’s Senior Fungi Conservation Officer, Dr Aileen Baird. The survey was carried out by 850 volunteers who searched gardens, graveyards and sheep farms. The new finds have substantially increased the fungi…

I was talking to a friend the other day and we both said that though we are ‘news junkies’, we’d stepped away from it of late because a lot of it seems to have a lowering effect on our spirits and peace of mind. We agreed that matters weren’t helped by the arrival of a spell of grey days when light levels slumped, taking our energies with them. This led to a discussion about what we like to do to boost our cheerfulness. In her case it’s dog walking and foraging; for me it’s, of course, getting out into the garden. While events beyond our control (including the weather) can make us feel a little helpless and ineffectual, being able to harness and create beauty and meaning in our gardens,…

As a species, humans are very adept at exploiting plants for our own gain (in this case, food) – and one plant family in particular has served us very well. The rose family (Rosaceae) contains the vast majority of fruits that we eat: apples, pears, quinces, medlars, plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, almonds, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries – to name the main ones. When, as gardeners, we want to remove one of these crops from our plot because it’s unproductive, dead or diseased – this is where this exploitation can come back to bite us, in the form of replant disease. My summer raspberry row died totally this year – it’s 10 years old, so well established, and I’m presuming this summer’s drought was to blame. I love raspberries (my…

Getting truly connected with your outdoor space allows you to reap many benefits year-round. Rather than doing what you feel you have to do because that’s what the gardening calendar or other people tell you, it’s much better to look, listen and learn from your patch of the great outdoors, and balance this with the time you have to garden. Everyone’s garden is different, with varying locations, heights and with differing soils, geologies and microclimates. Then there’s the change in seasonality and weather patterns to add to the heady mix, which means that an exacting one-size-fits-all approach can lead to variable results, disappointment and even, sometimes, a sense of disempowerment. Of course, rules and following instructions may provide you with some comfort, but know that not doing so can massively…

Perfume Dreams (‘VISSechdam’) Golden Gate (‘Korgolgat’) Peter’s Persica (‘Chewgoldeye’) Rambling Rosie (‘Horjasper’) Super Fairy (‘Helsufair’) Summer Wine (‘Korizont’) WB Yeats (‘Dicoodles’) Sweet Dream (‘Fryminicot’) Absolutely Fabulous (‘Wekvossutono’) Minerva (‘Visancar’) Blue for You (‘Pejamblu’) ‘Red Phenomenon’ Centre Stage (‘Chewcreepy’) Oranges and Lemons (‘Macoranlem’)…

If you’re looking at a finely branched, elegant, airy shrub with small, toothed, soft, velvety leaves and dainty, slightly nodding pink flowers, it’s most likely to be an anisondontea. If it’s a woody shrub with coarserlooking leaves and congested branch structure with very prominent stigmas sticking out from the centre of the flower, it’s probably hibiscus. If the flowers are large and rounded with very little gaps between the petals, and the leaves are large on a more upright, bushy shrub, the chances are you’re looking at a lavatera. The big giveaway is the time of flowering. If you see dainty pink flowers between late autumn and spring, it’s almost certain to be anisodontea, as lavatera generally flowers from summer to early autumn and hibiscus from late summer to early…

Acers are ace! Maples (forms of acer) are best known for their autumn foliage that has tints of gold, orange, ochre, copper, red and russet. And, this autumn, they have not disappointed! ■ For most of us, the small and medium sized Japanese maples tick our boxes; a garden centre displaying a ‘Maples’ sign might stock just these! However, the acer is a diverse genus, giving everything from small plants for patio pots, to enormous parkland trees. ■ Although the Canadian flag contains what is supposed to be the leaf silhouette of a North American sugar maple (Acer saccharum), it is actually a stylised 11-point leaf. Normally, a real sugar maple leaf has 23 points! Maple syrup Commercial maple syrup is made from the sap of several maples, particularly the…

Seeds The cheapest option is to sow seeds undercover during early spring in some moist peat-free compost. Seeds usually take a couple of weeks to germinate and can be moved on from trays to individual modules or pots when they are strong enough to be handled. Harden off and plant outside after the last frosts once they are large enough and have established roots in the pot. It may be another year before you are able to harvest sprigs, but it’s so worth it. Division The easiest and free way to propagate is by gently lifting an established plant and dividing it into smaller clumps, which can each be replanted straightaway. Cuttings Softwood cuttings of about 10cm (4in) long can be taken in late spring. Remove the lower leaves and…

with Ruth Hayes Morning glory, or Ipomoea purpurea, is one of my favourite annual climbers but also, frustratingly, one of the ones I find hardest to grow from seed. I love the way they swiftly twine their way up through a trellis or even an obliging tree or shrub, and produce numerous boldly coloured, trumpetshaped flowers. Sadly, these blooms only last a day, if that in hot weather, but by regular deadheading you can keep them flowering throughout the summer and into autumn in warm, sunny years. They are half hardy and don’t care at all for our chilly, damp winters, but next spring I’m going to have another go and sow some seeds, nurture them in the warmth and keep fingers crossed for a good result. The seeds are quite…

John is a gardening legend and here to answer your lovely questions Q A beautiful, very healthy camellia (13 years old), has produced two ‘apples’ this year. What are they? I love the magazine, having been a subscriber for many, many years. So glad it has been resurrected, and I much prefer the paper it is now printed on as the old paper reflected our lights and made it difficult to read! Yvonne Eady (via email) A Thank you for your kind comments. We, too, are so pleased that we’ve revived our beloved magazine and it is doing so well.As for the ‘apples’ on your camellia, these are actually seed pods, each filled with three to 12 seeds. If you enjoy propagating plants and would like to raise some camellias…

Q As I get older I am trying to make my garden easier to manage, so please can you suggest a selection of plants that flower in spring and summer and will thrive in pots all year? Margaret Foster, Lincoln AI suggest that you plant the following shrubs in pots to bring colour to spring and summer: Spring Azalea ‘Hino-crimson’: Evergreen; thickly sleeved with small scarlet blooms. Holds the Award of Garden Merit (AGM) from the RHS. Pieris japonica ‘Debutante’: Evergreen; massed with white flowers. Choisya ternata Sundance (‘Lich’): Mexican orange blossom is evergreen and prized for its glowing yellow foliage and white blooms. Holds AGM. Corylopsis pauciflora: The buttercup witch hazel has primrose-yellow flowers and holds AGM. Summer Cistus x purpureus ‘Alan Fradd’: Evergreen; white blooms with a chocolate blotch.…

Q I have had a climbing hydrangea for about six years and it hasn’t flowered. What should I do to rectify this? Cyril Jones-Evans (via email) A I am sorry that your climbing hydrangea, presumably H. petiolaris, has yet to flower. Unfortunately, it can take several years from planting to blossoming. Mine was around four years old before it deigned to bloom.As yours still hasn’t flowered after six years, I urge you to encourage it to perform by feeding it monthly, from April until September, with sulphate of potash to boost potatssium levels. Water it in. Do this every year until flowers appear. Hopefully, this treatment will quickly reward you with a riveting display of large white ‘cartwheels’ that will have you enjoying them for several weeks. That’s not all,…

Impressive pumpkin harvest helps charity Hi Kim Last year my daughter Rebecca took a small selection of pumpkins that I grew to decorate her office windowsill. They were admired so much. We have had a fantastic crop of over 130 pumpkins this year from the allotment so Rebecca thought of the idea to take a few pumkins to her workplace to see if there was interest from the staff and to collect any kind donations for the Guide Dogs charity. The few pumpkins she took caused a sensational response with requests : “Have you more pumpkins” so all the 130 were taken. Rebecca said all the staff have been so generous. A final total of £260 has been raised for Guide Dogs. I hope that you like the photo which…

Are you a gardener that snips up spent stems, flowerheads and foliage and lets it rot down where it falls - also known as a ‘chop and dropper’, or are you a ‘clearer out’ who collects and barrows the above to the compost heap? I’m a ‘drop-out’, as I do a bit of both. In places where leaf litter might smother smaller plants, I clear it, and I’ll remove leaves and debris from border edges to stop them blowing onto the walkways. I’m also fastidious about removing leaves from veg beds as I like to ensure the birds get to peck off molluscs and naughty planteating pals in plain sight. For the most part though, I chop ‘n’ drop dead flower heads and stems where they are. After all, Mother…

with Bob Flowerdew, long-standing AG contributor, broadcaster and all-round expert. The leaves have fallen and although some have been cleared away, many are just piled up here and there. If they were £5 notes you’d grab them, and by the barrowload these are almost just as valuable. You see, leaves were long regarded as ‘untidy dead stuff’ so we had smouldering bonfires to ‘be rid of them’. Fortunately, most folk realised this was foolishness and stopped. Admittedly, piles of dead leaves left where they have fallen will cause dead patches of turf, kill low-growing plants and choke almost anything they lay thickly on for long. Even strong-growing horizontal conifers suffer if thatches of leaves are not promptly cleared off them. When decaying on gravel paths or drives, leaves significantly encourage ‘weeds’,…

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Why not try…? Anchote ✿ I love an unusual cucurbit as much as the next person, so let me welcome anchote to the gang (Coccinia abyssinica). This member of the pumpkin family is definitely quirky in that it’s the tuberous roots you eat, rather than the fruits (the fruits, while very attractive, taste bitter). You can start anchotes off via seeds or tubers. The tubers look like a cross between a dahlia and a sweet potato, and they can be planted in April into a large tub or border in a sunny spot outdoors, or into a glasshouse or polytunnel bed (the plant grows very large so give it ample room to climb). Seeds can be sown, again in April, just like a pumpkin (i.e. use a good-sized pot of…

I’ve always associated cloches with Victorian walled gardens. For me, they were wrought iron structures that cost a fortune, while the modern ones I saw did not live up to the romance of yesteryear. Cloches are great for starting off crops in early spring and protecting them in winter. They don’t have to be fancy, and in the past I have used old window frames to protect my winter lettuce and leaves. A cloche can even be a fizzy pop bottle, its bottom cut away and the screw top opened on warm winter days and closed when the temperatures plummet. Cloches maintain a level of warmth for the plant but also provide security against marauding pigeons. They are not a closed environment, but are a line of defence against first…

There are numerous trees and shrubs that lend themselves perfectly to being shaped. Some of my recommendations provide tight-knitted foliage that the neighbourhood moggy could walk across; a horticultural cat-walk, if you will. Other options have a looser appearance, but can equally be shaped or topiarised. Yew (Taxus baccata) This holds the number one slot, for me. Its use became popularised in Tudor, Elizabethan and later formal gardens and those clever gardeners clearly knew a thing or two about yew, because while it symbolises eternal life, more importantly its dense growth and tolerance of heavy pruning make it an ideal candidate for formal hedges and topiary. It has a reputation for being a bit of a slow grower, but not as slow as you might think. I planted two small,…

November is often the wettest month of the year, which means that we may well spend less time outside in the garden. That’s why right now it’s even more important to have colour in our borders to lift our spirits and encourage us to venture out between rain showers. It is possible to have flowers, fragrance and vibrant berries in your garden all year round, you just need to know which plants to choose to secure these qualities during the cooler months. For most of us, tender types will have succumbed to frost by the end of November, but there are still plenty of hardy plants from which to choose. I’ve been sorely lacking in my own planning because I have very few of these useful plants in my garden,…

The most important things are to shelter cape mallow from cold winds and avoid planting in soil that becomes waterlogged. It prefers full sun but will cope with part shade. Needs free-draining soil, and this is very important as excessive moisture around the roots is more likely to kill it than, say, a heavy frost. Water regularly until established, after which it should be remarkably drought-tolerant. In colder or more exposed regions, plant in a large container close to the shelter of a house wall so it can bask in the reflected heat. Make sure it’s watered regularly. Since it roots so easily from semi-ripe cuttings, you could plant some near your fruit and veg patch to encourage pollinators.…

By mid-November the garden gives a sigh as deciduous trees are almost, if not fully, bare, leaving their structure visible and stately for us to admire. Seeing bare trees against a clear winter sky brings me some ease as it’s a sign that we too can take time to rest and re-energise, and that wonderful earthy scent on a cool morning, with dew on the grass and leaves holding on hedges, is both beautiful and calming. Cultivated beds may be less full and many crops will be over, meaning it’s a time to sit back and reflect on what’s been achieved in the garden this year before beginning to slowly plan for the following one. Herbs can really boost the winter transitional period, either in the form of herbal concoctions…

Thyme will thrive in well-drained soil and full sun. I have some growing in my herb patch on the allotment; it is slightly overshadowed by some overgrown rosemary, having initially been planted as edging. The thyme tolerates shade but definitely prefers the sunshine - think of the Mediterranean climate. You need at least six hours of sunshine for a fully thriving plant. My soil is sandy, which works well for drought-tolerant herbs, but if you are gardening on heavy clay, it is better to grow thyme in pots or raised beds as it won’t thank you for soggy roots. Water when first planted and during dry weather, especially if you’re growing in pots, but otherwise thyme is a self-sufficient stalwart. In very cold weather, move the pots to a sheltered…

■ Tobacco plants, Nicotiana spp, are one of my must-have summer plants and I am always on the look-out for a new variety. ■ ‘Marshmallow’ is a N.mutabilis cultivar that produces a froth of sweet flowers that change colour as they mature, shifting from white through various shades of pink. ■ Tobacco plants are half hardy, so wait until the spring to sow them undercover, keeping seedlings somewhere frost-free and light indoors - a greenhouse or light windowsill are ideal. They should be planted out after they have been hardened off and the frosts have finished. ■ Nicotiana like a sunny spot with fertile, free-draining soil. You can aid their prolific flowering by feeding them with tomato fertiliser once buds have formed and through the summer. ■ Regular deadheading will…

Toilets in Bloom I’ve no grand garden, no rolling green,Just a little yard—humble, serene.Concrete beneath my steady feet,But oh, what life makes it complete! While others boast of lawns so wide,With roses prim and hedges pride,I found my joy in porcelain gleam.A gardener’s odd but blooming dream. Old toilets saved from being tossed,Now cradling flowers, moss embossed.Each bowl a cradle, each cistern a bed,Where daisies dance and violets spread. The sparrows bathe, the bees still hum,Butterflies visit, the snails all come.This patch of grey turned green and wild,My heart’s own haven, sweet and mild. Yet passers-by can’t help but shout,“Look at those! Toilets outside!”They laugh and point — oh, what a scene,But they don’t see what I have seen. They see old loos; I see delight,A garden born from broken…