Innholdsfortegnelse for 06-feb-16 i Amateur Gardening

BLACK mondo grass, Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens, seems to love my free draining garden soil. I grumbled loudly at having to shell out over eleven quid for three small pots of the stuff seven years ago. It’s said to be slow-growing , taking time to reach a saleable size, and so commands a premium price. Well, if prices have kept pace with its speed of growth I reckon I have about five hundred quid’s worth around the main bed in my front garden. It’s black strappy leaves make great ground cover and are wonderful for setting off all other garden plants, but it also has intriguing pale lilac flowers in late summer, followed by glossy black fruits. The autumn fruits aren’t very obvious, and I tend to forget they’re there at…

The path looks messy now, but it will soon bed in and the grass will quickly grow up around the stones with less footfall on it. 1 Lay the stones on the grass to get the shape of path you want. Cut around each stone using a knife, spade or lawn edger. 2 Lift the cut area of turf. Remove the soil to the depth of the stone plus a couple of inches (7cm) for a base of sand. 3 Before laying the paving, add a layer of builder’s sand and tamp it down well to form a stable cushion for the stone. 4 Finally, sweep some extra sand and soil into the cracks between the edges of the stone and the surrounding lawn.…

1 Prune deciduous, summer-flowering shrubs such as Buddleja davidii and hardy fuchsias in autumn or winter. New growth produced in spring will carry the summer flowers. 2 Cut branches back to a bud close to the base of the plant. This will encourage it to put on strong new growth, and keep a good shape. 3 Don’t be tentative! Prune back hard to create a thick ‘stool’ of wood at the base. If they aren’t, rampant shrubs such as buddleja and lavateria will grow out-of-shape and straggly. Pruning:Prune winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) after flowering. Cut backthe previous season’s growth to within 2in (5cm) of old wood to improve shape and strength.…

PEOPLE often comment on my clean hands adding the rider “Do you really garden with such clean fingers and nails?” I certainly garden and find I can work more quickly and accurately with clean hands. Now my skin is thinning with age I regularly wear gloves in winter to help prevent cracked finger-tips and scratches that are slow to heal. From spring to autumn, however, my hands go unprotected when potting, planting, pruning and weeding, but I keep them as clean as possible through all these tasks. I also make every effort to keep footwear clean when working on soil. Where boots are concerned gardening on very heavy clay is a challenge until it is improved by digging in lots of well-rotted compost. A layer of friable fairly dry garden…

• Wrap a length of rope around the outside of large clumps of grass, and tie it into a tight column of foliage. It will be easier to cut. Alternatively, ask a friend to hold the grass back as you cut. • Wear long sleeves when cutting back grasses, as many have rough leaves or stalks that can damage sensitive skin. • Grasses look good in patio pots, but choose evergreens that look good all year. Plant with winter bedding to added colour. Pluck out leaves as they fade.…

1 First things first, cut out completely any wood that’s compromising the bush’s health. Known as the three ‘d’s, this is anything that is dead, diseased or damaged. 2 Fruits on lower branches tend to get splashed with soil or nibbled by mice/slugs. Remove these branches, along with any congested stems in the middle of the bush. 3 Redcurrants bear fruit at the base of one-year-old shoots, so cut back all sideshoots to 1in (2-3cm). It’s not an essential step but it improves air flow and sunlight penetration no end.…

BABY, finger-sized carrots, raw or cooked, taste absolutely divine. In mild locations you can risk sowing an early variety under cloches now (I always use ‘Amsterdam Forcing’). Alternatively, sow them in a deep box. The protection of a porch, or frost-free or heated greenhouse, will ensure quick and even germination. Find yourself a large pot or crate with drainage holes and a minimum depth of 10in (25cm). Fill it with any compost – it doesn’t need to be anything fancy or expensive – and water in well. Scatter your carrot seeds thinly on top (there’s no need to sow in rows), cover with 1/4in (0.5cm) of compost or vermiculite and water lightly in. Because the compost is light, open and stone-free you’ll get perfectly straight roots. In a greenhouse you’ll…

• 6 Feb: Gardening From Scratch, RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH 01805 626800; rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor • 6-7 Feb: See the Snowdrops, Colesbourne Gardens, Colesbourne Park, Nr Cheltenham, Glos GL53 9NP 01242 870264/01242 870567; colesbournegardens.org.uk • 6 Feb: Open Winter Garden, Ashford Nurseries, Kingswinford, West Midlands DY6 0AE 01384 401996; ashwoodnurseries.com • 6 Feb- 6 March: Snowdrops at Hodstock Priory, Blythe, Nr Worksop, Notts S81 0TY. 01909 591204; hodstockpriory.com/snowdrops • 6 Feb-6 March: Orchid Festival, Kew Gardens, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB 0208 332 5655; kew.org • 6 Feb- 6 March: Snowdrop Spectacular, Burton Agnes Gardens, Driffield, Yorkshire YO25 4NB 01262 490324; burtonagnes.com • 8-21 Feb: Spring Flower Fortnight, Barnsdale Gardens, The Avenue, Exton, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 8AH 01572 813 200; barnsdalegardens.co.uk • 9-10 Feb: Rose pruning Talk and Demo,…

• Slugs and snails (above) eat the soft leaves of seedlings and overfed plants, so pick them off, use traps, ferric phosphate-based pellets or nematodes to control them. • Aphids distort growth and flowers, and transmit viruses. Unless there are lots of natural predators around, use soft soap solution, SB Plant Invigorator or a similar product in the evening after bees have gone to bed. • A hot, dry summer can finish plants earlywhere soil does not contain sufficient organic matter.…

• Pinch out the growing tip after four leaves to encourage branching. • Harden plants off gradually by standing them outdoors for a few days. • Choose a sunny spot where plants can climb a fence or free-standing support. I make wigwams from 6ft (1.8m) lengths of hazel, beech or bamboo with fans of beech at the base. Sweet peas climb by tendrils but main stems need tying in. • Add well-rotted organic matter to create a cool, moist root run. Ideally, you’d do this the preceding autumn but adding it just before planting still gives good results. Pelleted chicken manure helps plants to take off on poorer soils. • Open the root trainers and plant 25cm (10in) apart, along or around the supports. Water-in well and during droughts. Apply…

• TAMSIN, a trained horticulturist, writer, lecturer, magazine editor and former features editor of AG, now gardens four acres in rural Herefordshire, where she lives with her husband and young son. Stockton Bury Gardens has been created by Tamsin’s uncle and his partner over the last 30 years and its here that she helps them plant, plan and propagate. “In April we throw the gates open to the public, so it’s vital that we are ready and have new and exciting features and plants to share,” she says. Stockton Bury is 350ft above sea level and has a rich clay soil with a pH of about 6.5. The land accommodates a kitchen garden, water garden, herbaceous borders and several smaller gardens, while wrapped around it is a mixed farm that…

MUCH of the garden was planted 30 years ago, so pruning shrubs to keep them to size is vital. The beauty of the pollarding technique is that it allows you to enjoy large trees and shrubs in a small space. So at this time of year I always pollard our 20 year old catalpa tree in order to keep it in check and to encourage a healthy crop of giant leaves. If left unchecked it would reach 39ft (12m)! At the same time our Colutea arborescens is also pollarded. The process, which is thought to extend the life of a tree, simply involves cutting all stems right back to the top of the trunk. Then, over a number of years, a ‘knuckle’will form. I use a pair of long-handled loppers…

Great for cutting ‘My Wedding’ is a beautifully scented Oriental double lily that doesn’t produce pollen. A lovely choice for bridal bouquets or the patio. Best in ericaceous soil/compost. Flowers in late July. H59in/150cm Best at back of borders ‘Nymph’ has a stunning show of blooms atop sturdy tall – up to 8ft/2.4m – stems and a sweet, cinnamon-like scent. Looks fabulous between other plants and shrubs. Lime-tolerant. Flowers in late July. Prized for its perfume L. auratum ‘Gold Band’: Highly-scented Oriental lily from Japan with striking yellow striped and speckled white flowers. This plant grows to 59in/150cm in height and needs acid soil or compost. Perfect for the patio Roselily ‘Isabella’ is a top choice for a pink double-flowered Oriental lily. It grows up to 31in/80cm in its first…

TV baker Mary Berry has finally agreed to have a rose named after her - because she likes to buy British. The Mary Berry rose is pale-yellow and comes from Mary’s favourite grower, Harkness Roses in Hertfordshire. It will be launched at Chelsea in May. The Great British Bake-Off star Mary, interviewed at a Chelsea launch last month byAlan Titchmarsh, said: “Foryears I’ve bought from Harkness. I’ve always liked the idea that all the roses they grow are British. “They don’t import anything. I’ve been to their nursery in Hertfordshire and I’ve always taken their advice and had great success with ‘Chandos Beauty’. We have two beds of those. “My rose is pale-lemon, not unlike ‘Chandos Beauty’. It flowers twice. It has the most beautiful scent, which is important to…

Will my rhododendron recover? Q My daughter purchased a rhododendron from a large nursery as a Christmas present. It was kept outside in its original plastic pot, and its leaves became discoloured and diseased. What caused this and can I save this plant? Michael Roberts (via email) A I am sorry that it is losing its leaves. The usual reasons are that the compost has dried out, or the leaves have succumbed to disease. I suspect the former. Then again, it may have been stressed before it was purchased. I urge you to transplant it, as soon as possible, into a well-prepared and humus-enriched border. Water copiously after planting. Hopefully, if its falling leaves are healthy theywill, in spring, be replaced by strong new growth. Invigorate it by liquid-feeding monthly,…

UNHEATED propagators are fine for starting seedlings or cuttings off on a warm windowsill indoors. Self-watering ones are even better if you’re away for a few days. The propagatoryou choose depends very much on what you’re growing. Designs here range from mini trays, modules and plug plant cells while the Seed Success kit lets you grow large plugs to plant straight out. All the propagators have a reservoir so that water is drawn up to keep the compost moist. It’s also better to water trays from the bottom to avoid disturbing the emerging seedlings. Advice on topping up the water level ranges from a few days to two weeks but this depends on the ambient temperature and at what stage the seedlings are at. Seed Success Kit £10.99 + P&P…

Few flowers are more majestic than fragrant lilies, and few reward such little effort with such an outstanding show of summer blooms year after year. ‘Stargazer’ is one of the best oriental lilies and one of our most popular cut flowers, boasting large pink and white blooms with a delicious scent. Each bulb produces a strong stem adorned with upward-facing flowers that bloom in mid to late summer. They can be planted straight into well drained soil and look spectacular massed in pots, where they can be planted more densely. Height 36in (90cm). * Just pay £4.95 P&P ...and why not try some of these other great bulb offers? Nerine bowdenii Nerines are one of our favourite flowers providing superb colour in the late summer border and lasting right through…

“I want plants to do the work for me” THEY might not be great for croquet but sloping gardens have their advantages. From the top of mine I can see the sea and the high ground makes slinging slugs over the fence much easier! Not that I’d ever do such a thing. Views come at a cost however, as gravity tugs at the soil on the borders and the gravel on the paths and pulls them down the hill. After 10 years, I’ve finally come up with a solution to fix the gravel by ‘glueing’ the chippings into a layer of concrete spread 2in (5cm) thick over the soil where the gravel used to be. While the concrete was still wet I put a thin layer of chippings over the…

THE winter’s flooding has left hundreds of homeowners bereft, and gardens underwater. It is once the floods subside that the real damage can be seen. It’s heartbreaking if it’s your home – but luckily gardens are usually easier to salvage. Keep off affected areas for as long as possible to give them time to dry out and recover. At this time of year, most garden plants are dormant so theywon’t be transpiring and shifting water from the soil into the atmosphere through their foliage. However, this can also work in their favour, because their respiration rate is reduced so they can survive longer underwater than they can in summer, when they are in full growth. Putting in a simple stepping stone path, as I did (see right), can help to…

ALTHOUGH the threat of frost and snow remains, there are signs that we are heading out of winter and into the brighter days of spring. And if we’re feeling good about that – so is the garden! Many plants will be starting to emerge from winter dormancy this month, while others – snowdrops, daffs, crocuses – will already be adding colour to the garden. Here at AG we have received reports of unseasonal flowering of daffodils, Iris reticulata and primroses right through the winter, but now the full palette of spring colour should be starting to emerge. While these plants are going strong, it is time for gardeners to start preparing their plots for sowing and planting, and prune summer-flowering shrubs for the best results later in the year. Houseplants…

1 Test your soil to establish its pH. Get it done professionally, or buy a simple DIY kit. Ideal soil is on the acid side of neutral (pH 6.1-7). Plants such as rhododendrons like acid soil, while alkaline soils keep clubroot disease in brassicas at bay. 2 Check your winter-flowering patio containers. Keep them weed-free, and make sure the compost hasn’t dried out (especially if they are against walls or under house eaves). If a freeze is forecast, wrap containers in fleece or bubblewrap. 3 Stock up on essential odds and ends. Check your supplies of stakes, plant labels and ties, and restock if necessary. Throw out broken pots (or use them as crocks), clean off garden canes, and replace old and damaged tools. 4 You only have until the…

DECORATIVE garden grasses look fabulous in season, but in the depths of winter they are not always pretty. Many are reduced to a mass of dry straw, while others go mushy and brown, and some even disappear completely. Grasses that go like this are deciduous; a few that are evergreen (see panel below right) keep their leaves green, or blue/silver/golden depending on variety, throughout the year. Deciduous types need to have their top growth removed everyyearwith shears or secateurs, otherwise it rots back and you will need to pull the dead leaves away to keep things looking neat. Do this annual removal between mid-winter and mid-spring; if your plants only turn brown but remain dry, with no rotting mush, you can leave them until the last moment. Theyprovide shelter, and…

I’M itching to get some veg seeds into the ground. While it’s not wise to be overly-hastywith all crops, there are some that thrive from an early sowing. This week I’m focusing on two of my favourites – broad beans and baby carrots. The fruit garden is getting some attention, too, as I spruce up my trees and bushes. Extortionate fresh fruit prices and deliciously tart, tangy fruits mean I’m never without a redcurrant bush or two in my garden. I’ve bought a couple of new plants, presently heeled in, which I’ll plant as fan-trained bushes in the next fewweeks at home. But for now, the globe-shaped 10-year-old redcurrant bushes at Donyland where I work, need pruning to keep them productive. Here’s how to go about it:…

I absolutely love broad beans, so consequentlywe grow lots! Forget floury, bitter beans in leathery skins – with my help you’ll be growing juicy little emerald-green pearls this year. Broad beans revel in cooler soils, and a February sowing will give you harvestable pods in May and June. I’ve already sown an overwintering variety, ‘Aquadulce Claudia, back in October so my plan is to sow a quick-maturing variety now and again in mid-March for a succession of pods. In the sheltered garden you can get awaywith tall varieties, so I’m sowing ‘Masterpiece Green Longpod’. You can’t go wrong with ‘The Sutton’ in exposed gardens or in pots (it only gets 16in/40cm tall). Sow the plump seeds in self-supporting grids 8in (20cm) apart each way, and 1 1/2in (4cm) deep. Protect…

THIS week I’m on a mission to turn Amateur Gardening into the gutter press – but in a productive and green-fingered way. While garden centres are piled-high with seed trays and propagators to tempt you to part with your cash, you can’t get a better seed-starter than guttering. Widely available in skips and at the local tip (also at DIY stores!), these former rain-collectors offer your seeds a sturdy and deep-rooted start in life. And there’s no betterway to get an early sowing of peas underway. The technique was championed in the 1980s by the Gardeners’ World presenter Geoff Hamilton, who was a fan of using old guttering to raise early pea crops. Sow peas in a greenhouse in late-winter, in lengths of old gutter, and you’ll reduce the risk…

LONG-TERM monitoring carried out by the British Trust for Ornithology shows that the song thrush population in England declined by more than 50 per cent between 1970 and 1995. This has now lead to it being ‘red listed’ as a bird of serious conservation concern. Fortunately, since 2005 there has been a partial recovery in numbers, but there are still things we can do to help the bird thrive. The thrush family is large, with robins, fieldfares, redstarts, redwings, nightingales and blackbirds among their numbers. Slightly smaller than a blackbird, the song thrush has a specked breast and an olive-brown back. As its name suggests, it is a champion singer, with a melodic phrase that it repeats many times – I could listen to its performance for hours. For much…

1 Sow seeds under unheated glass from January to March. Root trainers are ideal. Hinged, they open like a book so roots can be lifted out. Fill with multi-purpose seed compost. 2 Place one seed on the top of each filled module. Sow by making a hole using a dibber. Roll the seed in, so it rests half an inch (1.5cm) deep. Label with the name and date. 3 Water in lightly, using a fine rose. Stand tray on greenhouse staging to germinate. Root trainers come with plastic covers, or place a propagator lid over seeds by night to keep mice off.…

Forget about the Euro millions or the billion dollar Powerball, we have the sweepstake everyone wants to win right here! TO celebrate our reunion with Mr Fothergill’s we’re making someone out there a seed millionaire! That’s right, one lucky readerwill receive one million seeds of various flower and veg varieties including; asters, begonias, cleome, foxglove, poppy, larkspur, forget me not, daisy, rudbeckia, beetroot, pea, carrot, onion, cabbage, mint, thyme, radish, spinach and many many more. That equates to a whopping 1255 packets worth over £2,600! Now, we know that’s a lot of seeds to be planting so we’re opening the competition out for all groups and communities to enter! The more people you get involved – the more chance of winning! Schools, allotment clubs, gardening groups, neighbours, friends and family…

We want to plant more kniphofias (red hot pokers) so we’ve decided towiden the border on the top lawn. The turf won’t be lifted quite yet as we plan to use it to repair a damaged area of lawn in the next fewweeks. When you’re marking out a border use an old hosepipe to playwith informal curves and hold it in place with short garden canes. For a formal bed use a plumb line and tape measure. Then mark out the new shape with a can of sports turf spray paint once you’re happy. For a major garden project it’s best to use this spray on its own as it avoids the trip hazards of hose pipes and string.…

Plant new bulbs in the soil or in pots 4in (10cm) deep. Old bulbs can be left in the soil or in pots over winter as long as there is adequate drainage. It’s important to feed lilies just as the flowers are going over, to bulk up the bulbs for next year. Water sparingly, especially the Asiatics. For a succession of colour, put them in every two weeks throughout spring and into summer – July at the latest for October blooms. Many lilies are self-supporting but some will benefit from staking or other forms of plant supports, especially in windswept areas.…

QI want to turn part of my lawn into a wildflower meadow. Is this the right time of year to do so, and where do I start? What native plants and grasses do I sow? James Kirkby, Cirencester ADon’t be in a rush to convert your lawn until you have established what is already growing in it. Choose an open, sunny area and allow the fertility to decline over this season (don’t feed!) . Sowing wildflower seed into existing grass is seldom successful – so to reduce fertility and help establish a meadow with newwildflowers, sowyellow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) seed. It’s a semi-parasite on grass, producing its own chlorophyll. Flowering in late-May to July, it will take energy from adjacent grass and weaken it, allowing wildflowers to establish. It also…

Cotswold bird bath £64.99 +£4.99 delivery 0118 903 5210 primrose.co.uk Cast from natural barley-coloured Cotswold stone aggregate with a smooth weather and frost-resistant finish for long life. This attractive bird bath will tone down and look even better as it ages in the garden. Height: 18in (46cm), width and depth: 13 3/4in (35cm), weight: 66lbs (30kg). Roman numeral clock £19.99 RRP 01406 372227 gardman.co.uk  for stockists With an art deco twist, this clock has pierced metal numerals and comes complete with a weatherproof metal case for outdoor use. It also has battery operated quartz movements and a bronze finish. Diameter: 13 1/2in (34cm). Requires 1 x AA battery. Carolina Rattan garden set £239 delivery included. 0800 323 4050 tesco.com This four-piece art deco-inspired garden and patio…

Biggest flowers Galanthus elwesii – the ‘Turkish’ snowdrop with larger than average blooms. One of the earliest to flower. Delicious scent Galanthus ‘S. Arnott’ – unusual scented flowers, good for picking and bringing inside. Bulks up quickly. Double blooms ‘Flore Pleno’ – a pretty, double flowered variation of the ‘common’ snowdrop, which spreads easily. Yellow coloured ‘Wendy’s Gold’ – beautiful snowdrop with distinctive yellow markings. Leave undisturbed for the best yellow colour.…

Write to: Jenny Bagshaw, Amateur Gardening Westover House, West Quay Road, Poole, Dorset BH15 1JG or email: amateurgardening@timeinc.com Our Star Letterwins £40 in National Garden Gift Vouchers; tip of the week, £10; other letters £5 (£10 if we use a photo you’ve sent). Vouchers can be bought and redeemed at over 2,000 UK outlets offering more than 90,000 Star letter Show your support I WAS so sorry to read in AG News (23 Jan) that the Suffolk & District Horticultural Club is to close after 96 years. In my opinion they’re not the only horticultural club or society that’s under threat due to reduced membership numbers. Nowadays the average age of members tends to err towards more senioryears, and yet those are the gardeners who have experience! My husband is…

Abeliophyllum distichum An unusual white fuchsia! This deciduous shrub bears star-shaped white flowers in February. Grows to 5ft (1.5m). Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ The red-barked dogwood is famed for its winter stems, which look superb against a snowy backdrop. Prune hard in early spring. Erica carnea Winter heathers are stalwarts of the winter garden and theywill grow in any soil, even alkaline. Trim back everyyearafter flowering. Hamamelis x intermedia Scented spidery flowers from Jan-Feb in yellows, oranges and reds. Some have vivid autumn foliage. 13ft (4m) in 20 years. Stachyurus praecox A graceful shrub or small tree with the most delightful catkins, which appear before the leaves, from February. 6ft (1.8m). Top Tip  These deciduous winter shrubs (bare root or potted) can be planted now, but wait until spring to plant…

• Symptoms of waterlogging can be easily confused with other disorders, including being short of water. • The first signs appear on the leaves, which can turn yellow. Evergreen leaves turn brown. • Waterlogged roots turn blue-black, and have a sour, rotting smell. • Shoots may die back as water-swollen roots are unable to supply any more moisture. • The end result is plants that either fail to shoot or, when they eventually do so, are stunted and soon die back. Bulb trouble: If the soil gets waterlogged, bulbous perennials such as tulips and crocus may rot underground and fail to appear…

1 Prepare for sowing. Get rid of weeds and stones, and break up large clods of earth. Create a fine tilth by raking the soil one way, then again at 90 degrees in the opposite direction. 2 Warm soil by covering it with fleece, black plastic or even cardboard. If you have clay soil, use a cloche as this encourages retained cold water to evaporate. 3 Warm the soil for 6 weeks if covered in winter, 4 weeks if later on. Remove the covering immediately before sowing. Weed, then sowor plant crops/flowers and coverwith a cloche.…

I sowed my pelargonium seeds in early January, hoping they would germinate healthily and eventually give me some early colour for the garden once the threat of frosts has passed. I kept them warm and in good light with a clear cover on the seed tray, and made sure the compost never dried out. Now, almost a month later, I have a tray of healthy seedlings that are ready to be carefully pricked out into their own 3in (7cm) pots, and grown on. Once they are pricked out, the seedlings need to be kept at 65¡F (18¡C) at night and 70¡F (21¡C) during the day for a week or two to encourage rooting (a warm, bright windowsill indoors is OK. Development will be slow if kept any colder. Keep them…

• Small grasses These include Japanese hakone grass (hakonechloa), switch grass (panicum) and fountain grass (pennisetum). Old leaves rot, so cut them back before they do, or pull dead leaves away. • Larger grasses Larger grasses include maiden grass (miscanthus), feather reed grass (calamagrostis) and giant pheasant’s tail grass (stipa). Tackle them after they go brown, before they become a mess.…

YOU don’t need to feed fruit everyyear – it can be wasteful to routinely reach for the fertiliser packet. However, if crops are poor then an application now can boost them. The need to feed varies: if you prune hard, if the crop was heavy last year or if your soil is light and sandy, then it’s likely that feeding this spring will help. We’re on sandy soil so we feed more regularly. Potash is a key element for fruit crops, helping to ripen woody stems which in turn aids better flowering. I’m giving all fruit trees and bushes an application of sulphate of potash now because it takes a fewweeks to work. I’ve chosen a non-windy day so I don’t end up feeding the grass, too!…

WHAT are the three most important things required for plants to grow? Air, light & water. So why do we give so much attention to watering, and then almost neglect the others? Sure we might remember to open and close ventilation on the greenhouse but what else can we do? Other than fitting fans and enriching the airwith carbon dioxide (stand a fermenting bottle of juice inside) there is only one thing you can do to improve the air: space out plants. If air can move freely around plants then the leaves have the materials they need to photosynthesize. The other reason to space plants out is to let the light reach each plant more fully. Crowded means each plant receives less light. This is really important right now, early…

AMONG the loveliest of flowers, sweet peas add height, colour and delicious perfume to the garden, and bunch after bunch of cut stems for the house. Like edible peas, they enjoy cool weather, so it pays to start them off early in the year. Looked afterwell, they’ll flower all summer-long. Scarlet-flowered ‘Air Warden’ is a frilly, Spencer type and we’re told by the packet that it was introduced by Thomas Cullen in 1942. Highly fragrant wild sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) were brought over from Sicily over 300 years ago and from these were bred the larger flowered Grandiflora types with a wider range of colours. In 1901, variants with waved petals appeared. One was named ‘Countess Spencer’ and these long-stemmed, frilly-petalled varieties became known as ‘Spencers. So who is the…

A MECCA for mistletoe, the market town of TenburyWells, is just down the road from Stockton Bury. Being surrounded by cider orchards we are not short of this festive plant. Before the birds feast on the last of the berries remove a couple. Put them in your pocket and head out to find a mature apple or poplar tree. Mistletoe will grow as a parasitic plant in ash, cedar and hawthorn trees but in my experience apple and poplar are the most reliable hosts. Select a branch 3ft (1m) from the ground that’s thicker than you can get your hand around. With a sharp and clean knife make a cut in the bark. Then squeeze the seed out of the berry and put it under the flap of bark. Cover…

ANEW makeover show fronted by Charlie Dimmock is set to hit TV screens – 11 years after Ground Force was dropped. But Alan Titchmarsh and TommyWalsh will not be fronting the as yet un-named BBC1 series with Charlie. Instead, producer Spun Gold TV has signed-up harry and David Rich, two young garden designers who won RhS gold at Chelsea in 2014. The BBC says Charlie and the Rich brothers will “combine talents to transform garden dreams into garden realities”. They’ll help “frustrated homeowners with money set aside for their gardens to realise their ambitions”. Charlie said: “I’m thrilled to be taking on Britain’s gardens again. harry and David are two of the most exciting young talents in gardening.” The Rich brothers explained that they’d “grown up watching Charlie”on TV. There’s…

• Spring-flowering meadow: An established spring-flowering meadowwith bugle, lady’s smock, selfheal, cowslips and fritillary should be mown from July, to reduce the vigour of the course grasses. Leave the area un-mown from February. • Summer-flowering meadow: For a summer-flowering meadow containing plants such as lady’s bedstraw, knapweed and Devil’s-bit scabious, don’t mow until late-August or September, ensuring that the seed has set before mowing.…