Innholdsfortegnelse for 16-jan-16 i Amateur Gardening

I’VE BEEN struggling to find suitable flowering plants for a heavily shaded area beneath my topiary holly tree for 10 years. The area is north facing, and shaded by both the holly and the back of the garage. Under the holly’s dense domed canopy little other than a few cyclamen struggle by – even though the canopy has been lifted to start 6ft (2m) off the soil. Two years ago I read that the biennial Lunaria annua, better known as honesty, would do the trick. I bought seeds, set out a couple of plants in late summer, and the following summer (last year) they performed really well with big, deep green leaves, a bushy habit and lots of lilac-purple flowers. However, I didn’t get around to sowing seeds (collected from…

1 Root trainers help plants develop strong root systems, and are ideal for deep-rooted plants, like broad beans and early peas. 2 Put compost in each cell, leaving 2in (5cm) at the top for the seeds. Always use good quality seed and potting compost. 3 Place a seed in each cell. Cover it with a layer of compost, and gently knock the whole tray, to help settle the soil. 4 Label the seeds and water well. Cover with the propagator lid and leave somewhere light and warm until germination.…

YOU CAN never have too much garden compost. Hungry, free draining soils like mine gobble up vast quantities of it, both in the garden at home and at the allotment. I’m a great believer in composting everything that will rot, including cooked food waste and meat scraps, but for this I want a really effective, quick rotting compost heap – and that means a big one. Wooden pallets are fairly easy to get hold of – you need four for each bin. Sometimes they’ve got deep runners to stand on, or are double sided. Mine are slimmer than usual – I scrounged them from a plumber, but all will do fine, you just need to work out the best way to fix them together. With heavy pallets, it might be…

WINTER ONIONS, those planted in autumn (usually as sets, but there are seed varieties you can sow to grow over winter) should be good, stocky plants by now Mine are planted alongside garlic and shallots. All are doing well in the warm, wet weather, but sadly so are the weeds. Weeds can have a dramatic effect on onion crops, reducing yield by 30 per cent or more if they are not kept under control, so regular attention with the hoe pays big dividends when the crop is finally lifted in early summer. I used to be an old fashioned Dutch hoe man, and I still like the design for some weeding and soil preparation. But a few years ago Peter Seabrook wrote about the Winged Weeder (circled) – a spear…

Hyacinths: Cut off dead flowers and, once the leaves have died back naturally, plant the bulbs in the garden at a depth of twice their height. Narcissus ‘Paper White’: These tender bulbs often fail to flower in subsequent years after forcing. It’s better to buy fresh bulbs each year for a reliable display. Hippeastrum (amaryllis): Continue to feed, then let the bulb go dormant. In September, store cool and dry, and return indoors in November. Feed and water. Iris reticulata: Treat as you would hyacinths. These vibrant purple perennials look spectacular planted out in large drifts, or dotted through a rockery.…

Hot Smoked Salmon with Potato, Apple and Cabbage A quick and satisfying dish to prepare, with smoky salmon, crispy cabbage and sweet apple Serves: 2 Preparation time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 5 minutes Ingredients: Method 1 Preheat oven to 200°C/fan180°C/gas 5 2 Heat the oil in a large ovenproof frying pan, then add the onion, sauté for 5 minutes. 3 Add the chopped cabbage and let it wilt for 1 minute whilst stirring. 4 Next add the apple and potatoes, fry for a further 5 minutes. Sprinkle in the nutmeg, and season with plenty of salt and pepper. 5 Add the red chard, mix in, then flake the salmon on top. 6 Make two ‘nests’ for the eggs, by making…

LES STAFFORD from Hull called because his lawn is full of weeds and moss. We advised him to apply a combined fertiliser, weedkiller and moss killer, such as Evergreen Complete, in late March and early April. If he doesn’t want to use chemicals, he can weed by hand and rake out moss in spring, then feed with 4oz (112g)/sq m blood, fish and bone meal monthly from April to August, in dry periods. *Calls cost 5p per minute from a BT landline, call costs from other networks may be higher. EMAIL US: amateurgardening@timeinc.com EXPERTS HELPLINE: 0843 168 0200 (12 to 1pm weekdays) Calls cost5p per minute from a BT landline, call costs from other networks may be higher. WRITE TO US: AG Helpline Westover House, West Quay Road, Poole,…

FREESIAS ARE gorgeous and delicate exotics from the other side of the world – they grow wild in the Cape Province of South Africa – so we tend to think that growing them here will be difficult, but this simply isn’t true. You can have beautiful freesia flowers pretty much all year round – an autumn planting (indoors) will give you flowers from January to April, and plantings from April to July (outdoors), will give you flowers from summer til the first frosts If you want to grow your own it’s important to buy prepared corms rather than so-called ‘garden varieties’. Prepared means that the freesia bulbs (corms) have been subjected to a dormancy-breaking heat treatment – an average of 12 weeks at 30C. The idea behind this is to…

“I settled on a variegated creeping fig” BEFORE THE new growing season takes all my attention, I decided to plant up the carboy I was given last year. This came from a neighbour and fellow member of our local horticultural society and is an original, though of no great age. The word carboy is thought to derive from the Persian word qarabah, meaning large flagon, and such vessels were used to transport strong chemicals including acids. They were sometimes encased in wicker and would sit in wooden crates or boxes. This takes me back to the bottle gardens popular during the 1960’s and 70’s, when we’d wire old forks and spoons to long canes. So I delved into the bookcase for my copy of Readers Digest Success With Houseplants, first…

“They caught me on the hop. I’d been duped” SCAMMERS HAVE turned to gardening as a new way to con people out of cash. Criminals in Salford sent fake council letters to homes threatening to issue ‘fines’ unless branches overhanging pavements were cut back. HEAVY FINES The scammers turned up later posing as town hall workers and tried to trick a local resident out of £650 for doing the felling work that would spare him a heavier council fine, reports the Manchester Evening News. The victim, who didn’t want to be identified, said he’d received two letters with Salford Council logos telling him he’d be fined if he didn’t have his trees trimmed. He obtained quotes from legitimate firms, but before he’d had a chance to have the work done,…

GROWING AND eating red peppers, parsley, thyme and chamomile could be the smart thing to do. Researchers in Brazil discovered that a compound in spices and herbs has the ability to increase connections between brain neurons. Scientists at the D’Or Institute for Research and Education and universities of Rio de Janeiro and Bahia have shown in lab experiments that the compound apigenin improves neuron formulation and strengthens connections between brain cells. It’s been known for some time that substances from the same chemical group as apigenin can improve memory and learning in animals, but this latest work shows it does the same for human brain cells too. The researchers now believe apigenin can be developed as a treatment for diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.…

THESE cutting-edge self-watering Strawberry Growin-Pods will transform how you grow juicy strawberries and indeed virtually anything else on your patio – this year and for many seasons to come! This innovative, modular system is incredibly flexible and has been specifically designed so you can create the format, shape and style of planting arrangement you need. They will produce perfect results every time with the absolute minimum of effort and in a traditional terracotta colour, they look great too – they are made from the highest quality high-density polypropylene that is totally UVproof and they come with a complete and unconditional-five year manufacturer’s guarantee! Flexible and stylish Growin-Pods can be configured to meet virtually any requirement you may have – make use of corner spots, doubled up in to a wall…

Lock it or lose it? I HAD to write in about Bob Flowerdew’s tip to fit strong locks on garden sheds ( AG 12 Dec). I did have three locks on my own shed but the local ‘low-lifes’ decided to break in, as you can see from this picture. They took nothing but left it damaged. It seems they’re convinced that if you have a lock fitted there must be something of value inside, like electrical or petrol-powered tools. I wouldn’t store such items in my allotment shed for fear they’d be stolen anyway! I’ve now fitted new bolts and repaired the wood but won’t bother with the padlocks as that seems to encourage them. The general consensus of opinion at our allotments is to leave…

BAKSAVER BARROW £129RRP 01769 579 862 for stockists backsaver.co.uk Already winner of two product awards at the UK’s largest garden trade show, the Baksaver has all you’d want from a wheelbarrow – galvanized pan, pneumatic tyres powder coated steel frame and sealed precision bearings. But the ergonomically designed handles and tipping system make it stand out from the crowd for ease of use. POC-KIT BELT £14.95RRP 0114 2338262 burgonandball.com Put a stop to pockets bulging with screws, plant ties and secateurs. The Poc-kit utility belt has a storage space for all those bits and pieces, right down to a handy twine dispensing eyelet. Machine washable, and waterproof it’s made from light and spongy neoprene and comes in six bright colours. PUTTY PATCH £57(10kg PACK) P&P EXTRA 01483 418 418 watco.co.uk…

OWNERS Jim and Maureen Cowley LOCATION 10 Brewery Lane, Billingborough, Sleaford, Lincolnshire, NG34 0LN SIZE OF GARDEN Quarter-of-an-acre ASPECT South-facing SOIL Neutral to acidic VISITED Mid June SPECIAL FEATURES A garden designed for easy maintenance with as much interest as possible. Many features salvaged from everyday items over the years. Jim and Maureen raised £530 when they opened their garden in aid of the NGS on June 14, last year. For similar gardens open to the public under the scheme visit ngs.org.uk…

IT’S A well-worn saying but winter really does reveal the ‘bones’ of a garden. And if those bones have an aristocratic bearing, so much the better, as formal lawns, York paving and symmetrically-clipped knot gardens create a smart backdrop for the coming chorus of spring flowers. The trouble is that when most gardens are stripped down to their skeletons they are more ‘missing link’ than Marchioness of Salisbury, with very little to catch the eye. That’s where evergreens come in and they don’t have to be big or, for that matter, sombre graveyard-green. A lovely new evergreen is Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’. Where most mahonias are as prickly as holly its palm-like foliage is soft-to-the-touch and despite the tropical good looks, are hardy down to -10°C. It stays small and looks…

PECKISH COMPLETE Energy Balls are designed to keep wild birds and gardeners happy. Packed with goodness to see our feathered friends through the winter, they are also easy to use and make no mess. We have five six-packs to give away. To enter the draw, send your name and address on the back of a postcard to Peckish Energy Balls Draw, Amateur Gardening, Westover House, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1JG. Or email your details to ag_giveaway@timeinc.com , heading the email Peckish Energy Balls Draw. The closing date is: 20 January, 2016.…

I WAS looking at my borders the other day, and trying to remember how colourful and glorious they looked throughout the summer and autumn last year. They were packed with colour, scent and interest – a far cry from the current dull expanses of brown, dotted with leafless shrubs and drab wintering perennials. It is tempting to leave borders to their own devices in winter, but this can be a mistake. In mild weather, weeds continue to grow, dead and decaying foliage is a perfect winter refuge for pests, and many perennials still need protecting from freezing conditions with a spot of mulch around their crowns. So I stopped just looking at my borders, donned wellies and gloves and got on with sprucing them up instead. Here is what I…

RHUBARB IS one of those plants that bring joy to the garden and kitchen. It is easy to grow, cropping happily in any soil for up to 10 years, as long as it is well-drained and gets a lot of sun. It is also spectacular to look at, with its sturdy stalks and massive leaves (that have such a large span they can also help suppress weeds). Early cultivars should be ready to harvest in March or April, but you can speed up the process by ‘forcing’ the plants. This involves covering the crown. You can use a specially designed terracotta cover, or just a large bucket. Covering makes the stems grow faster, and tender, blanched stems can be picked 2–3 weeks earlier than usual. Never eat rhubarb leaves, as…

RUTH SAYS: Forced bulbs may not flower vigorously the first year after planting out, but should put on a good show after that. MILLIONS OF forced bulbs – hyacinths, irises, narcissi and amaryllis – are bought and given as gifts every Christmas. They bring colour and scent to the home during the drab days of mid-winter, and once their flowers have faded, most of the bulbs can be successfully stored away and started back into growth the following year. After flowering, hyacinths and irises can be planted out into the garden, where they can flourish for several years to come. Here are my aftercare tips: top tip As with all plants grown from bulbs, if the bulbs go soft, or start to look rotten or discoloured, throw them away and…

“Lime acid soils to beat clubroot” WINTER CABBAGES are a valuable New Year vegetable – as stars of a meal rather than a soggy side dish. Finely shredded and lightly cooked, they are delicious. Savoy varieties, with their dark green crinkled leaves and creamy hearts, are said to be the hardiest type – and from my cold hillside site, I can vouch for this. 'January King' is the other winter stalwart – it is in between a white cabbage and a savoy in texture, but still shrugs off snow and frost. Seed packets usually give a range of sowing times for winter cabbages. However, for a January or February harvest, don’t sow too early – the end of May or early June is soon enough. Young plants can be raised…

• If the weather is awful outdoors, you don’t have to stop growing edibles. Try growing microgreens – basically mustard and cress using different seed varieties. Fill a shallow tray with sieved compost, water it and let it drain, then sprinkle seeds across the surface, fairly closely spaced – about ¼in (5mm) each way. Use mustard, cress, chard, lettuce, any brassica or other leafy crop seeds (not root crop seeds). Put the container on a warm, bright windowsill and mist regularly with a hand spray. When the seedlings are about 3in (7cm) tall, snip them off with scissors in big bunches to garnish salads and sandwiches. • It’s a bit early to be starting new potato tubers into growth, but if you have a frost-free greenhouse you can plant a…

Q We have a ground floor apartment with communal gardens. A gardener takes care of maintenance, but we are allowed to do some gardening too. There is a 10ft high x 60ft (3m x 18m) north-facing wall with a 4ft-wide (1.2m) border along its length. The border is also vulnerable to high winds. It was full of trees and brambles, but these have been cleared. What should we plant in it? Christine Roylance (via email) A It sounds like you have a lovely opportunity, but quite challenging conditions! You need plants that tolerate shade, wind and perhaps quite dry conditions (if the prevailing weather comes from the south or south west). However, given that there were plants growing (albeit not the kind you want) the soil must be in OK…

CHICORY: pot up tap roots of Whitloof chicory in late winter; keep in a cool, dark place (about 50F/10C). Delicious crisp ‘chicons’ form in about a month. HERBACEOUS HERBS: divide plants of chives, mint and French tarragon in winter and pot up clumps. Put on sunny windowsill; harvest shoots early in spring. POTATOES ‘Chit’ seed of early varieties (like ‘Rocket’ and ‘Orla’) inside in January. Plant into pots in a cold greenhouse in February/March. You’ll be harvesting tasty new potatoes a month earlier than usual, in mid May. LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY Buy potted plants in late February/early March or dig clumps from the garden. Bring into a cool light room for scented flowers within a few weeks.…

PLANTING Plant in a greenhouse (March) or outdoors from April to July, to flower this summer into autumn. They need a well-drained spot, in sun or light shade. Add plenty of organic matter to improve thin soils. Plant them 2in (5cm) deep and 2-3in (5-8cm) apart. The bulbs look like small, slim onions. Plant them with the pointed end facing up. If planted in good soil or compost, they will not require feeding. Flowering takes around four months from planting. Stagger plantings to extend the flowering season. IN POTS Plant six bulbs, pointy end upwards (again at 1-2in deep) in a 13cm/5in pot, or spaced at that equivalent in a larger pot. They like a rich, loam-based compost with a little extra grit added for drainage. Go for about two…

“Tools don’t last unless you look after them” HAVING CLEARED and sorted pots last week, I’ve tidied the tool shed before gathering all my gardening and maintenance tools together in one place. Now I can see what I’ve got and make sure they are mended, clean, sharpened and ready for work. Some have been passed down from mum and dad, auntie Edna and even further back, from grandad (a carpenter and joiner) and great grandad (a master craftsman). I’m working on their bench, a massive, heavy old thing full of character. Grandad lived and worked in Dartford, Kent (which is also where I went to school) and dad (a piano tuner) always loved wood and noted how his father would select timber from the Surrey Docks at Bermondsey and buy…

HAWORTHIA – these largely form stemless, compact rosettes with slender tapering leaves. The zebra haworthia ( Haworthia fasciata ) is instantly recognisable thanks to its 4in (10cm) long green leaves that are marked with raised horizontal white bands. AEONIUM – native to the Canary Islands, these succulents are highly varied. Some make large multi-branched plants topped with rosettes, others produce single rosettes as flat as a pancake. A must-grow variety is Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’, with its dramatic black leaves. CRASSULA – there’s no typical foliage or growth habit to tell crassulas apart. Rat tail plant ( Crassula muscosa ) produces clumps of stems clothed in tiny leaves, while Crassula falcata has large, propeller-shaped leaves. Best known is…

WHEN THE weather is cold, wet and grey, it can be hard to look ahead and get enthusiastic about the productivity of our gardens and vegetable patches later in the year. Yet this is the perfect time for getting a march on other growers, and sowing seeds under cover for an earlier yield. On these pages, I’m working towards an early harvest of some produce, and showing you two ways of sowing seeds for earlier cropping. For deep-rooted crops of broad beans ‘Aquadulce Claudia’ and peas ‘Meteor’ I’m using root trainer cells with a lid, and for my cauliflower ‘All Year The Round’ a half sized tray and clear plastic cover. I also look at tasks we can do in the veg patch to encourage a good harvest, and help…

• Deadheading: It’s been a mild winter so far, and my spring bedding pansies, primroses and bellis have all flowered. Cut off spent blooms to encourage plants to keep flowering. • Chop old foliage: I’m getting rid of dead foliage as it’s an ideal hiding place for pests. I’ve kept any upright hollow stems as they are a hibernation spot for ‘good’ insects. • Keep weeding! The mild weather has given weeds enough warmth to keep on growing, so I’m continuing to dig them out of the borders before they set seed. • Mulching: Frosts are a constant winter problem, so I’m mulching the crown of my evergreen Agapanthus ‘Lapis Lazuli’ with compost to protect it from freezing conditions.…

TRADITIONALLY, LARGE terracotta pots are used to place over sprouting rhubarb crowns. I don’t have a ‘proper’ rhubarb forcer, so instead I am using a large bucket weighted with a brick. The stems should be ready to harvest in around eight weeks. I’m not forcing plants that were new last year as they are too young, and forcing will weaken them. Also avoid forcing a rhubarb plant two years in a row. Instead, leave it to grow naturally for a couple of years to regain its strength, before forcing again. In the ‘rhubarb triangle’ – the area in Yorkshire between Wakefield, Morley and Rothwell that traditionally supplies most of the UK’s early rhubarb – the plants are forced by being dug up and left outside for two weeks, exposed to…

IF YOU are at a loose end over the next week or so, why not visit one of these gardening events taking place around the country? • 16-17 January: Great Gloucestershire Potato Weekend; Dundry Nurseries, Bamfurlong Lane, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL51 6SL; 01452 713124; dundrynurseries.co.uk • 19 January: New Plant Collection House walk and talk; Pershore College, Avon Bank, Pershore, Worcs WR10 3JP; 01386 554609; warwickshire.ac.uk • 20 January: Traditional Orchard Management; Thornhayes Nursery, Dulford, Cullompton, Devon EX15 2DF; 01884 266746; thornhayes-nursery.co.uk • 21 January: Apple pruning; RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH; 01805 626800; rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor • 23 January: RSPB Big Garden Bird Walk; RHS Garden Wisley, Wisley Lane, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB; 0203 1765 830; rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley • 26 January: The World of Hellebores (lecture) and garden walk; Ashwood…

FEB-MAR 1 Prepare a well drained, sunny site by adding compost or well-rotted manure. Lime if necessary. MAY-JULY 2 Sow seeds in modules under cover. When big enough plant them out 15-18in (38-24cm) apart. JUNE-SEPT 3 Cover plants with insect-proof mesh to beat cabbage root fly, butterflies and pigeons. JUNE-SEPT 4 Water plants in dry spells, and as the heads start to swell. Weed and check for slugs & snails regularly. DEC-MAR 5 Cut heads from the garden when you need them for cooking. Leave firmest until last.…

Q Last spring I bought a Rehmannia elata (Chinese foxglove), which I grew in a container. It bloomed and grew well into a large plant. I have moved it into the cool, frost-free greenhouse for the winter – and it is still blooming! Should I leave it, or cut it back? Pat Jones (via email) A The natural flowering season for Rehmannia elata is summer and autumn, and I guess your plant must ‘think’ it is still autumn – so perhaps you haven’t had many frosts yet, so your greenhouse is maintaining a pleasant temperature! As a general rule for growing these stunning plants, they don’t need any pruning, just deadheading to remove the spent flowers. I would be inclined to stick to this and enjoy…

QI am planning lots of colourful pots for my patio this year. What are the benefits or drawbacks of terracotta and plastic containers, and how to they compare? Terry Mathers, Conwy, North Wales A Clay pots are normally only available in one colour, the familiar red. They are more fragile than plastic, and will allow water to evaporate through their porous walls. They are quite heavy, so well-suited to balancing top heavy plants. Plastics are available in a wide range of colours, and are generally less expensive. They also only allow water to evaporate from the surface of the compost. This means that moisture is retained for longer, which is beneficial to plants requiring a damp growing medium. Plastic is also lighter and easier to move. I prefer to see…

RHUBARB Cover crowns of an early variety such as ‘Timperley Early’ in January. Use straw plus a pot or upturned dustbin. Pick sweet, succulent forced stems as early as February SEAKALE Cover the crowns of this perennial brassica with a pot or old dustbin in late winter. Harvest sweet crisp white stalks to fill the April ‘hungry gap’. They taste like a cross between asparagus and celery. Goes well with fish or hollandaise sauce. MINIATURE WINTER IRISES Pot up bulbs in early autumn; keep cold (below 50F/ 10C) and dark for 12-15 weeks. Bring into a cool room (60°F (15°C)) to enjoy delicate blooms in late winter/ early spring. ANEMONE CORONARIA (florist’s anemone). Pot up corms in autumn; they don’t need dark or much chilling - a cold greenhouse is…

“Modern sprays and dusts have to pass such stringent tests” A RECENT article in the fortnightly Chemistry & Industry magazine gave some facts that surprised me. Did you realise the use of pesticides to protect crops has decreased by 71% from 1990? If we stopped using the current 29% our food supply would reduce by about a third, but we need to increase production by 60% to feed the 200,000 new mouths every day. There are many reasons for this reduction in use of man-made plant protection materials, notably they are now more effective and can therefore be applied at lower dosages. Biological controls are being refined and as we gain experience with them they are more widely used. Also, cultivars have been bred with built-in pest and disease resistance…

CAMELLIA SHOW Chiswick House and Gardens Trust will hold its Camellia Show from 11 February to 13 March. Rare camellias will be shown. Go to chgt.org.uk. SNOWDROP DAYS Over 70 unusual snowdrop cultivars will be on show at Chelsea Physic Garden’s Snowdrop Days, which run from 30 January to 7 February. GARDENERS’ QUESTION TIME GQT’S GARDEN experts gather at RHS Garden Harlow Carr in Harrogate to answer listeners’ queries. BBC Radio 4 at 3pm on Friday 15 January (repeated at 2pm on Sunday 17 January).…

THE RHS’S youngest curator Matthew Pottage (below), 29, says it is a “hell of an honour” to be appointed at Wisley, where he has worked since he was 18. He takes the role as two investment projects get underway and he wants his team to be involved in the landscaping around the new visitor entrance and a new science building. SKILLED GARDENERS Matthew said: “There are a lot of skilled gardeners who are keen to be involved. In the past with Robert Myers at the Bowes-Lyon Rose Garden, and Tom Stuart-Smith at the Bicentenary Glasshouse, we’ve worked with the planting plans. This will be similar.” Matthew adds: “A lot of Wisley won’t be affected by the investment projects, but they are going to be significant.” This year the curator will…

“You’ll get better results sowing later” A WELL-KNOWN gardening saying is: there’s a right time for everything and it was usually last week, or worse, last month. In gardening it’s all too easy to let things slide, especially in autumn and then you have the awful task of playing catch up. But we also have another naughty habit, which is champing at the bit to get going in spring and starting many things off too soon. I know we want to get going and there’s no harm in trying for one or two extra early crops or flowers – I especially love early cucumbers and will usually be eating them from the end of March (sow all-female mini-cucumbers, like ‘Zeina’ now on a warm windowsill – you’ll be surprised how…

GREENHOUSES, GARDEN sheds and allotments often don’t have a kettle for making a cuppa. And not everyone wants the bother of filling a big vacuum flask, so we’ve tested a range of travel mugs and beakers you might want to carry out into the garden with you. Ability to slot into a cup holder wasn’t a priority (not many potting sheds are fitted with those!) and neither was the ability to keep drinks hot all day. Few of the mugs tested claim to be leakproof, so if you knock them over you’ll have to pick them up pretty smartish. What they do have in common though is their claim to keep drinks warm for an hour or more (around 60°C is most people’s preferred temperature for tea and coffee), and…