Innholdsfortegnelse for Dec-15 i BBC Gardeners' World

Write to Have your say, Gardeners’ World , Vineyard House, 44 Brook Green, London W6 7BT or email letters@gardenersworld.com and you could win National Garden Gift Vouchers What’s more dangerous – weedkiller or bacon? We asked for your views on glyphosate in the last issue. Here is a selection of your letters, but keep them coming as we will return to this subject next spring. I’ve just read Tom Heap’s feature Are you at risk from your weedkiller? (November issue) and I commend you on a well-balanced and informative commentary. I recently tackled a neglected allotment and while I removed all the couch grass by hand, I used carefully applied glyphosate to treat an area infested with bindweed, which has made it easier to cultivate. Bernard Croft, Leicestershire There are…

The results of this year’s competition have been fiercely debated by our judges and magazine editors, thanks to the sheer quality and quantity of entries (over 1,500!). But we’re sure you’ll agree that the spectacular image of an Oriental poppy is a worthy overall winner, as are our three category winners – with special mention to Jasmine Evans, our under-17s winner. Our four categories 1. PLANT PIN-UP Glorious photos of a single plant, bloom or leaf. 2. SEASONS An image that encapsulates a particular time of year. 3. GARDEN WILDLIFE Creatures, great and small, spotted on your plot. 4. UNDER 17s Any garden subject from entrants aged 16 years and under. The judges Jason Ingram is an award-winning photographer, specialising in gardens and food. He regularly contributes to BBC Gardeners’…

BY THE FRONT OR BACK DOOR AND WINDOWS A few winter gems by the entrance to your home, preferably the most-used door, will provide seasonal cheer whenever you step outside. Winter-flowering jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) copes with most conditions and can be trained easily. Or use scented plants – a clematis over the porch or Iris unguicularis tucked by the doorstep. IN POTS ON THE PATIO A step or two further away but still within easy reach, pots and containers can supply instant delight. For impact, group together different sized pots, perhaps made of the same material, such as frost-resistant terracotta. Skimmias are an excellent choice for pots, and you can embellish them with winter-flowering bulbs such as Iris reticulata or snowdrops. BESIDE PATHS At Glebe Cottage several of our winter-flowering…

THE ETHNOBOTANICAL GARDEN, OAXACA, MEXICO “Another garden that still restlessly walks my memory, nine years after visiting it. Created by Luis Zárate, a painter who had never gardened before, it celebrates the local plants in a brilliantly uninhibited, inspiring way.” academictoursoaxaca.com THE ROCK GARDEN, MAGALIESBERG, SOUTH AFRICA “Made originally to re-home succulents rescued from road building, the whole garden has become a vast and beautiful living sculpture. Thrilling.” everything.co.za/ category/gardening JUAN GRIMM’S GARDEN, LOS VILOS, CHILE The weekend home of South America’s most famous garden designer. The garden runs from the house (that he designed) down to the Pacific in a seamless sweep. All the plants come from a 30-mile radius. Probably my favourite garden in the world.…

Azaleas Flowers should keep blooming for weeks on a light, bright windowsill, but don’t allow them to dry out or get too hot. Buy in bud and place on a wet pebble tray. Cyclamen Heart-shaped leaves and delicate flowers complement any scheme. Buy in bud and grow in a cool but bright place, out of direct sunlight. Soak the pots once a week. Hyacinths Look for plants with stems 4-6cm long that have been previously ‘prepared’. These should flower two weeks later for a fortnight if acclimatised in a cool, bright spot. Moth orchids Plant in free-draining glass vases packed with orchid compost. Buy plants in flower and keep the blooms going by soaking then draining once a week, and misting the whole plant often. Paperwhites These fragrant bulbs flower…

Measure up Choose where you want to place the tree in your home and measure up before going shopping. And remember that trees tend to look smaller in large barns and outdoors, so stick with your measurements. Weight lift Lift the tree to check its weight. A heavy tree has been cut recently and has a high water content. A light tree is a dry tree! Health check Growth should look healthy, not dull or dry. Check for freshness by gently bouncing the base on the ground – expect a few brown needles to fall from inside, but beware of trees shedding lots of green or outer ones. Branch out Run your hand along the branches. They should be springy and only shedding old needles as described above. Base forwards…

Laithwaite’s Wine and BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine have teamed up to help you enjoy some award-winning Cru Bourgeois. Château Ramage La Batisse 2010 is a fine claret with a string of international Gold medals and a score of 91 points from Wine Enthusiast magazine, and you can get six bottles sent to you for only £96 while stocks last. The 2010 vintage produced some of the greatest wines in Bordeaux’s illustrious history and affordable examples are now all but impossible to come by. Only through Laithwaite’s outstanding network of contacts has it been able to secure this remarkable offer. Made only a stone’s throw from First Growth Châteaux Lafite and Mouton Rothschild, this superb Cru Bourgeois displays hallmark cassis and cedarwood characters with beautifully polished tannins. It can be decanted…

THERE ARE advantages to buying and planting a bare-root, rather than container-grown tree. As well as being cheaper, it will have a well-developed root system that will help it get established in the garden and grow away more quickly. Bare-root trees and shrubs must be planted immediately as they have no soil to protect them, just wrapping material. They are available at the time of year when the weather’s at its worst, so your soil may be too wet or frozen for planting. You need to get them in the ground as soon as possible but if planting in the position you’ve chosen is not feasible, heel them into a trench or keep them in a bucket of damp compost. Soak the roots before planting and trim off damaged ones.…

HELLEBORES, prized for their pretty flowers in winter and early spring, often develop unsightly grey or brown blotches on the foliage and, in severe cases , on the flower stems. To control this fungal leaf blotch, cut back all the foliage this winter, just as the flower stems start to emerge. You’ll be left with a clean display of flowers, and fresh new leaves will soon appear beneath the flower stems. Then give your hellebores a dressing of fertiliser in spring, and during the year remove any badly infected foliage as soon as you see it. This, together with the winter chop, should really reduce the problem. VISIT gardeners  world.com/ hellebores for expert advice on growing different species of hellebores…

ALTHOUGH parsley is hardy enough to survive outside in winter, it will stop growing during the coldest months. But if you keep a few plants in the greenhouse, you can continue to enjoy fresh pickings all winter. Groom your parsley plants occasionally by snipping out and discarding all the oldest, yellowing leaves. This will encourage new shoots from the centre of the plants. Keep them well watered, pinch out any developing flower stems, and crop regularly so they keep on producing new leaves.…

AS CHRISTMAS APPROACHES, our homes fill up, not only with festive decorations but with houseplants too, bought as gifts or for seasonal colour. However, central heating doesn’t provide the best conditions for many houseplants. Most like to be on the cool side, at 10-15°C, although a few prefer it warmer, at around 20°C. So place them carefully, avoiding temperature fluctuations, cold draughts, chilly nights (behind the curtains on windowsills) or excessive warmth from radiators. Many houseplants are best watered by dunking the pot in a bucket of water until the bubbles stop, then letting the excess water drain out. After that, don’t leave them standing in water; you can provide humidity by placing on a tray of damp pebbles. Finally, remember that festive houseplants aren’t just for Christmas – with…

AT THE TIME of writing, we don’t know what’s in store for the winter ahead, but my advice is to expect the worst! Many tender or borderline hardy plants will need protection to get through the winter. Some, such as dahlias, can be lifted; others potted up and taken into a greenhouse or cool conservatory. Many will be too big to dig up or in pots that are impossible to shift, so will need protecting in situ. It’s often the cold combined with wet that does the damage, so good drainage is key. Protect with fleece, hessian, straw, deep mulches and bubblewrap for pots (not the plants as it’ll trap moisture and rot). A fleece wrap is ideal for plants that hate cold, drying winds. In spring, remove wraps on…

USE GLOSSY-leaved evergreens cut from the garden in your Christmas wreaths. Holly, myrtle, euonymus, skimmia, mahonia and Portuguese laurel all work well, but will last longer if they are conditioned before being used in the wreath. Split the base of the cut stems before putting in a deep bucket of warm water mixed with a sachet of flower preservative. Leave them overnight and re-cut before using the foliage. Keep the wreath fresh with a fine mist spray. CAROL ON : HOME-MADE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS“ Gathering foliage and berries always beats buying ready-made glitz, and it’s sustainable – the materials travel no further than the distance from your garden to your home ”…

Seeds are a rich source of fat and protein for birds in winter, giving them the calories and nutrients they need to withstand the low temperatures. Buying seed can be expensive, but most gardens have an abundance of seed-bearing plants that birds will happily feast on, if only we can restrain ourselves from tidying up our borders at the end of the season. Below are three common plants that produce a ready supply of oil-rich seeds for garden birds. Most gardeners cut back lavender after flowering, but if you leave the job until spring you’ll attract birds such as house sparrows, which will pick out the tiny seeds. Why buy sunflower hearts when you can grow your own seeds? Simply leave the tall stems of your sunflowers in place or…

There’s no doubt trees are vital in attracting and supporting all forms of garden wildlife. Where I live, many of the narrow urban gardens are now part of a large woodland glade, sheltered beneath a canopy of sycamores. In spring their flowers hum with bees and hoverflies, and in late summer clouds of sycamore aphids attract feeding birds. Trees provide food for a vast array of invertebrates including aphids, beetles, and caterpillars, which make them hunting grounds for predatory wasps, spiders and other insects, which in turn attract birds such as tits, nuthatches and woodpeckers. They also provide valuable garden shade and their falling leaves enrich the soil, encouraging damp-loving centipedes, millipedes, molluscs and earthworms. Even if you don’t appreciate these, your local frogs, hedgehogs and song thrushes will. Evergreen…

It’s easy to slip into growing the same vegetable varieties year after year – after all, you know they work and how to get the best from them. Sometimes it’s tempting to try something a bit different, but many of us don’t want to risk investing considerable time and effort into growing a new variety that might turn out to be a complete flop. To help you take the plunge, we’ve asked our expert growers to share the new varieties that have been a runaway success in their gardens this year – so you can follow in their footsteps without the risk. Here, you’ll find new varieties of familiar vegetables, as well as some crops you may not even have heard of before. So why not make 2016 the year…

Planting is a gardening skill that is often underestimated. Having spent good money on new shrubs, trees or herbaceous perennials, it’s worth investing time and effort in good planting, otherwise, you could find your new addition sits and sulks. Also, plants that don’t get off to a good start are more prone to pests, disease and dying. It’s important to get the roots in close contact with the soil and not create air pockets that would cause them to dry out in summer. Digging a wide hole opens up the soil structure and allows you to mix in compost to retain moisture in dry conditions, while improving drainage and aeration in wet soil. Use a border fork to loosen the base and sides of the hole and, after setting the…

A new gardening year always brings so much to look forward to, but 2016 is extra special for us because it’s the 25th anniversary of the launch of BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine. To celebrate, we’ll be bringing you a host of extras and special events over the course of the year – you can see a taster of what’s coming up opposite. And your 2016 calendar is extra special, too. It’s full of seasonally glorious images, with three photos taken by readers, including the spectacular cover image of poppies, which received a massive 30% of votes in our competition to decide the cover. The response was overwhelming, with more than 10,000 of you voting for your favourite photos. We hope you enjoy using this calendar as much as we’ve enjoyed…

In this season of reflections and resolutions, it’s tempting to rate our gardens as if they were a production line. While it’s only natural to take pleasure in totting up what we produce (my biggest spuds haul ever!), let’s celebrate the joy we’ve gained from our gardens and allotments this year. That mood-enhancing pressure release you feel when stepping into a green space you’ve created? It’s an indisputable benefit of the activity we all enjoy. And now – breaking news! – there’s real evidence from health experts about the benefits of gardening. A study in the Journal of Public Health showed that as little as 30 minutes a week on an allotment boosts energy levels, self-esteem and mood. Monty has long championed the view that gardening is good for you,…

Think of a dwarf bamboo, add flowers and berries, take away the problems associated with many bamboos and you have Nadina domestica ‘Richmond’. In fact, the wild species from China, India and Japan, known as a sacred bamboo, is more closely related to berberis, but has none of the problems associated with those plants. Sacred bamboo brings us several special features of its own that provide us with colour and character throughout the year. The evergreen foliage resembles large rose leaves, with a slightly bluish and metallic sheen to its rich green colouring. It looks good in a vase and is very long lasting. And in spring, the new foliage emerges in pinkish coppery tones that contrasts well with the dark leaves from the previous year. In summer, large triangular…

As an allotment enthusiast glowers across the chamber in the House of Commons at the Eton-educated toffs, who can doubt that class warfare is alive and well? It’s still with us and can still involve the haves taking from the have-nots – as in the Manor Garden Allotments in London’s Hackney Wick. Bequeathed in 1900 ‘in perpetuity’ to deprived east-enders to grow veg, they were bulldozed in 2007 to create landscaping for the Olympic Park, now fashionably planted with designer ‘meadows’ and nary a cabbage to be seen. In the working-class garden, colourful bedding can dominate, or sometimes be squeezed in between the newly fashionable ornamental grass and the flowering shrub. But at Waddesdon Manor, in the Rothschild’s Buckinghamshire backyard, bedding has been appropriated as art – in sculptural bedding…

The point of berries is to get eaten. Through the digestive tracts of birds and mammals, the seeds within are spread far and wide, and deposited in a nutrient-rich, well-manured position. This is why they’re brightly coloured and plumply attractive – there’d be no point in hiding them from the seed-spreading vectors. Botanical textbooks distinguish between pomes (fleshy fruits with seeds at the core, such as hips and apples) and drupes (those that have a stone, like plums and cherries), but we’re using the colloquial idea of small round fruit here; many plants are spring flowering but will retain their berries well into winter, after their leaves have fallen. They may appear dried and wrinkly, but they’re still nutritious for winter-resident birds. Whether harvested for human food, or left for…

Once upon a time, the majority of amateur gardeners would have looked upon winter as a time to polish their boots, clean and sharpen their tools and forget about the great outdoors until the following spring. There might have been some energetic digging in the veg garden on occasional sunny days, but as far as enjoying the garden, that would have been highly improbable. No longer. Our relationship with our gardens has changed. As life becomes more and more hectic and the demands on our time seem more onerous and frequent, our gardens and outdoor spaces come to represent peace, solace and enjoyment, more deeply than ever. Every season has its own individual character, yet many of us are only just beginning to appreciate fully the very precious charms that…

Hellebores are a wonderful perennial for providing winter colour in the garden and for planting in shady borders or beneath trees and shrubs. These highly-commended plants are the continuing legacy of world famous hellebore breeder Elizabeth Strangman. Thompson & Morgan has chosen four of the most stunning varieties for this special collection. Flowers February to April. Height x Spread 45cm • Hellebore White • Hellebore Red • Hellebore Pink Spotted • Hellebore Slate SUPER SAVER COLLECTION Buy all 4 varieties for just £27.98 SAVING £27.98 . Single plants available for £13.99 each Terms and conditions: 7cm potted hellebores dispatched from January 2016. Offer closes 31 January 2016. Please note your contract for supply of goods is with Thompson & Morgan, Poplar Lane, Ipswich IP8 3BU.Terms and conditions available on request.…

4 weeks to go 4 weeks to go BUY • Look for emerging buds on pot plants (perhaps lurking under the leaves) and healthy green shoots on bulbs. • Shrubby plants, such as poinsettia and azalea, should have lush even growth and leaf coverage right to the base of the plant. It’s got to look healthy planted up and viewed from lots of angles. • Buy a less developed plant rather than one that is in full bloom too early in the month. 3 weeks to go 3 weeks to go POT UP • Transfer your growing plants into something more interesting than garden centre plastic pots. Experiment with Christmas pudding bowls, baskets, small wooden crates or reuse old soup tins and glass jars. • Be vigilant if using a…

It’s not as hard as you think to grow your own grapes and make wine. Vines can be cultivated easily, crop prolifically and are grown commercially in many parts of the UK, though mostly the southern half. With a warm site (or under cover) and with the right variety, crops can be produced almost anywhere – the Victorians even managed it with the more difficult dessert varieties. Wine making is straightforward, as grapes ferment on their own and all we do is use different techniques to adjust the quality. Saying that, though it’s unlikely you’ll produce high-end fine wines – that depends on many factors, including local soil conditions and climate – it is easy to grow and make a drinkable table wine, requiring just attention to choice of variety,…

IN DECEMBER, the garden at Longmeadow goes into sulky decline, especially during cold, wet weather. There are only two reasonable ways to deal with this: make sure that the bones of the garden are good, so lots of structure and evergreens; and enjoy the jobs that can be done indoors, preferably within the luxury of a potting shed. One of the earliest winter jobs is to sow onion seeds for harvesting in July. Onions are usually grown from sets put out when the ground is ready between January and April, but there is a much wider range of seed varieties to choose from. The seeds are sown in plugs of potting compost – ideally three or four seeds per plug – and put somewhere warm to germinate. I plant them…

SEEDLINGS OF sweet peas sown in October will need looking after so that the plants remain strong and sturdy with robust roots, to be planted out in April. The seedlings will perform well in a greenhouse that is kept frost free. Avoid giving them extra heat as it leads to fast and lush growth, which will be too weak to cope with the harsher conditions outside in spring. Good light through clean glass is necessary in winter to prevent lanky growth. Check the dampness of the compost by testing it with your finger and water when dry. Avoid overwatering, which causes mould to grow on the compost surface and could even rot the plants. If you’re not aiming for large-flowered cordon sweet peas, pinch out the main tip when the…

A DRY STONE WALL or raised bed with stone walls is perfect for growing alpines. These charming little plants from mountain habitats usually flower in spring, so now is a good time to prepare a home for them. They need very little soil and good drainage, so put a deep layer of stones or grit into the base of the raised bed for drainage, then top up with a mix of weed-free sterilised loam and grit. Plant up the bed in spring with a selection of hardy alpines, including dwarf dianthus, saxifrages and sedums, and mulch with grit to avoid crown rot. Also plant into any gaps in the stonework.…

KEEP A CLOSE eye on young broad bean seedlings to ensure their compost doesn’t dry out. Water them from above and let the moisture soak in. Avoid splashing water about, wetting the foliage or leaving the pots standing in water. Once the plants are well rooted and growing strongly, transplant them outside about 20cm apart in double rows. Choose a warm, sheltered site and cover them with cloches to provide extra protection from cold winter weather.…

FEEDING RESIDENT birds through the winter ensures that a healthy population will be around to eat emerging pests such as snails and aphids next spring. Set up a range of different feeders, such as hanging seed, peanuts and fat balls for tits and finches, as well as leaving food such as fruit pieces on your patio or lawn for ground feeders like robins and blackbirds. Clean birdbaths regularly and keep topped up with fresh water, especially during freezing periods.…

CAROLE’S HOUSEPLANT collection of amaryllis, gloxinia, achimenes and oxalis provided a dazzling display of colour this year, and now it’s time to give them a well-deserved rest to ensure a repeat performance next year. The compost was allowed to dry out and the foliage has died back. The pots are now tucked under a bench and kept at 10°C until early spring. By contrast, Jim’s young standards (fuchsias, Solanum rantonetti, Lantana camara and Streptosolen jamesonii) will keep growing over winter. They’re kept watered inside a warm greenhouse with good light and ventilation. The shortened sideshoots will draw up the sap, so the standard’s stem can provide a sturdy support for the head.…

BARE-ROOT PLANTS must be prepared with care for successful transplanting into the garden. They should always be covered at the root before the moment of planting to prevent drying out. Once unwrapped, soak the roots in a bucket of water for a couple of hours to help the new roots grow after planting. Root pruning by a third of the length will encourage more lateral roots to grow near the central stem. Once planted, damaged shoots should be pruned back to healthy buds.…

Leave out oil-rich food such as peanuts, sunflower hearts, niger seed and suet products for hungry birds during winter. Keep your feeders stocked up and don’t allow them to stand empty – birds will come to rely on your food and waste energy flying to empty feeders. Keep an eye out for underweight hedgehogs. Leave water and meat-based dog or cat food out for them until it is no longer taken. If you see a hedgehog out during the day, call the British Hedgehog Preservation Society on 01584 890801 for advice. Look out for queen bumblebees that may have been roused early from hibernation by a sunny day. If you can, carefully pop the bees onto a nearby flower so they can feed. Alternatively, pour a 50:50 water and sugar…

What’s the best hedge for a boundary? David answers A The boundaries of your plot are one of the most important elements of a good garden. Fences and walls can look stark, even if partially covered with climbers, but a hedge has a softer, more natural look even if its leaves have fallen. There is a huge choice of plants to make a hedge from, but it depends on the function you want it to perform and the look you want to create. Gardeners can be demanding when they require a hedge to provide screening. Readers regularly ask, “what can I plant that will grow quickly, up to 2m and then stop?” and the simple answer is nothing. Fast-growing hedge plants eventually make large trees, so will always need trimming…

The birds and the berries As we don’t have any trees tall enough to safely support a nest box my solution was to drive a post support into the soil, fix a wooden stake into it, and grow a pyracantha up it. Blue tits now nest there safely each year. Christine Butcher, Essex If the pot fits I’ve been doing all I can to help hedgehogs by putting peanuts in my flowerpots every night for them and checking each morning for evidence of visitors. This little chap was so comfy and full that he went to sleep in the pot. I took this picture just as he woke up. Sarah Darnell, by email We say: Unsalted peanuts help hedgehogs fatten up before they hibernate. Leave some water out too, and…

January • Join in and help name our new sweet pea • NEW SERIES Small space solutions February • Cut out and keep seed sowing planner • FREE sweet pea seeds with every issue March • Your 25th anniversary collectable issue • Britain’s Best Garden – enter our competition April • Collect-and-keep BACK TO BASICS guides – Part 1 • FREE tomato seeds with every issue May • Your 2 for 1 ENTRY CARD AND GUIDE • BACK TO BASICS pullout guides – Part 2 June • SCENTED PLANTS special summer issue • Part 3 of your exclusive BACK TO BASICS Don’t miss out SUBSCRIBE NOW 12 issues for only £29.99 Special subscriber issue with FREE cosmos seeds in March Exclusive offers and events Delivered to your door See…

NAME OUR SWEET PEA • Unique opportunity to name and grow this new sweet pea variety • Beautiful, white, highly-scented blooms • Bred specially for BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine GROW FREE SEEDS • Free seeds with spring issues • Look out for veg and flower varieties • Specially selected for guaranteed results GO BACK TO BASICS • Master the 25 essential techniques every gardener should know • Step-by-step guides to take you from cautious to confident • 3-part series free inside April, May and June issues BE SPACE SAVVY • Expert tips for tiny spaces, from a Chelsea Flower Show designer • From January to August, tackle a different tricky spot each issue • Includes windowsills, courtyards, front gardens and much more... SUMMER CRUISE WITH CAROL • Join Carol Klein,…

I am of a certain age and I know from all the surveys that this self-respecting journal undertakes that many of you are too. We no longer shimmy; we twinge instead. There’s also the occasional creak. When we fill in health forms, the ‘yes’ ticks tend to outweigh the ‘nos’. To paraphrase Leonard Cohen, I am starting to ache in places I used to play. My parents had an old Atco mower that I used to cut the grass with every week. It was pre-war vintage, with lovely wooden handles and roller, a pedal kickstarter and a starting process that was more akin to elaborate seduction than mechanical operation. But when it finally got going, it cut like a dream, never stalled and had a personality that made me feel…

• A pickaxe or mattock. Break up the surface, then cover it with well-rotted manure or garden compost. Steve 309 • A roofer’s or slater’s hammer might do it (hands and knees job!) or pickaxe if you prefer standing up. B3 • Invest in a pickaxe… I’ve often had to use one. Fairygirl • A pinch bar. Thats what I use for hard ground, but it’s hard work. Buddyboy • Digging over I’m afraid is the best way. Have you tried using a spade rather than a fork? 2121marty • As others have said, it’s just down to hard work but if you get it right, you’ll only have to do it once. Hostafan1 • We fixed ours with determination and a garden fork. The trick was timing it right…

For groovy growers Hozelock AquaDéco Watering Globes These handmade, mouth-blown glass globes from Hozelock offer a stylish solution for watering plants. Water is released through capillary action, so your plant takes only what it needs. With a 200ml capacity, plants can be kept watered for up to two weeks. • £9.99 (for a pack of three) + £3.95 p&p, millracegardencentre.co.uk Lou’s Christmas Poo, Dried Alpaca Fertiliser, 400g Say ‘Merry Christmas’ with a bag of alpaca poo. This all-natural fertiliser is packed with slow-release nitrogen, phosphorous and other nutrients that your plants will love. • £9.99 + £5 p&p, The Archers at The Larches, 01746 718760, thearchersatthelarches.com Sweet Pea Seeds Gift Box The pretty gift box comes filled with five varieties of Easton’s favourite sweet pea seeds. This makes the perfect…

Iris unguicularis 'Mary Barnard' This iris can open its showy flowers before Christmas, but is often at its best during January and February. Each scented, elegant flower lasts no longer than a few days, but they are produced for several months. Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’ Many daphnes come into flower early and will continue for several months. ‘Jacqueline Postill’, an evergreen hybrid of Daphne bholua, has exquisite perfume but may need the protection of a wall. Helleborus niger Known as the Christmas rose, this elegant flower often appears on Christmas cards, as it blooms in the bleakest weather. However, even skilled gardeners may have trouble getting it to settle in, although the effort is well worth it. Cyclamen coum In January and February, this…

ROUSHAM, LOWER HEYFORD, OXFORDSHIRE “The best garden in Britain and a surviving masterpiece by England’s greatest garden designer, William Kent. It is perfect.” rousham.org JACQUES WIRTZ GARDEN, NR ANTWERP, BELGIUM “This endlessly enthralling garden is the perfect example of simplicity in the hands of a master. It is not open to the public, but you can see his work at Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, and Jubilee Park, in London’s Canary Wharf.” wirtznv.be LE JARDIN PLUME, NORMANDY, FRANCE “The ideal combination of traditional French order and symmetry. It combines prairie planting with immaculate hedges and topiary, brilliantly and with great wit. A triumph.” lejardinplume.com JARDIN DE LA LOUVE, BONNIEUX, FRANCE “This garden haunts me. Created by Nicole de Vesian, with no gardening knowledge…

A real Christmas tree makes a glorious festive centerpiece to the home, glowing with natural beauty and often wonderfully scented. The quality and choice of cut trees has improved over recent years, so if you have memories of carpets covered in fallen needles, think again. While the traditional Norway spruce is still widely available, it does ‘drop’, and as a consequence needle-fast types have become more popular, with Nordmann fir at the head. Trees on test Over the page we test the four bestsellers for their key features: • Colour From green to blue, choose which best suits your décor or festive colour scheme • Scent This varies from quite strong to non-existent • Needle retention Norway spruce is prone to dropping, many others are needle fast • Value Expect…

Creating a framework GRAPEVINES have been grown for thousands of years and many training methods have been developed to get the best out of them. These have names such as cordon, guyot and standard. But basically, to get a good crop of grapes, you need a woody framework that stays in place permanently and fits the supports you’re growing it on. Vines fruit on the green new shoots they’ve grown that year. The diagram below shows how you could create a framework suitable for wine grapes in a greenhouse or conservatory. See the ‘Learn more’ box opposite for places to find out more about growing grapes and methods for training outside. YEAR 3 & 4 SUMMER • Train a leading shoot up and into the top-most wire • Tie in…

• Use clipped evergreens to give your garden year-round form. Clip yew and Portugal laurel in late summer so that their outlines remain crisp throughout the year. • Remove older stems on dogwoods each year. These are less brightly coloured than the younger stems, which have greater impact. A mulch of manure each spring will encourage the growth of new wood. • Prune young trees to make sure they are equipped with a sturdy trunk that is not marred by smaller branches erupting from it. Snip out weak and crossing stems in the head of branches, and any that are damaged. • Clip young topiary twice a year to thicken it up. Plant several youngsters in a pot containing John Innes No.3 potting compost and snip them as they grow…

• Inspect crops of salad growing in the greenhouse and pick out any brown leaves • Check stored tubers and summer bulbs for rot and throw out any affected ones • Keep off the lawn when it’s frozen to avoid grass damage • Look out for slugs sheltering in cold frames and bin them • Winter prune your apple and pear trees to encourage good cropping next year • Mulch between herbaceous perennials when the soil is moist • Protect climbers and bushes from wind, rain and snow • Move deciduous flowering shrubs in good weather • Check notes from the summer and plan improvements • Stop fallen leaves from damaging the crowns of plants by removing them • Design alterations to beds and start reshaping them • Continue digging…

POTTED AMARYLLIS, or hippeastrum, get increasingly top-heavy as their tall flower spikes develop and large trumpet-shaped blooms open. So always plant in heavy terracotta pots, rather than light plastic ones, to provide more stability. Insert a tall cane into the pot and regularly tie in the flower spikes as they grow. Also turn the pot a little each day so the stems don’t bend towards the light. Water sparingly, enough to prevent the compost drying out, until the bulb has formed a strong root system. Never leave the pot standing in water.…

ENJOY AN EARLY display of fragrant lilies by potting up bulbs now. Choose oriental hybrids, which root from the base of the bulb, making them better able to cope with the restricted space in a pot. Plant the bulbs into a large deep pot, spaced 5cm apart, or 5cm from the pot edge if planting singly. Use controlled-release fertiliser, as lilies are heavy feeders, and cover the bulbs with twice their depth of compost. Water well and keep cool over winter to promote buds. Support the top-heavy stems with canes and keep well watered. Be vigilant for scarlet lily beetles, as they will readily devour your plants. VISIT gardenersworld.com/lily-bulbs for our simple step-by-step guide to planting lily bulbs in containers…

HERBS ARE useful for cooking through winter, but as the weather gets colder some plants need extra attention to ensure you have a good supply next year. In exposed areas, bay can be severely scorched by hard frosts and cold winds, so use fleece to protect it during the vulnerable months until spring. Make way for early and lush oregano growth in spring. Remove fallen leaves, which might cause the crown to rot. Then trim back last year’s shoots. Pots containing tender herbs, such as hyssop or tarragon, can be bubble wrapped to protect the roots. Terracotta in particular is prone to cracking in hard frosts.…

• Make the most of fine weather to get on with digging • Cut out diseased, damaged and dead branches from deciduous shrubs and trees • Cover spring bedding displays with fleece during cold weather • Apply winter tree wash to all fruit trees and bushes after pruning to protect them from pests • Plan landscaping jobs and start work if the weather is good • Continue raking up fallen leaves from the lawn and add to your leafmould pile • Keep paths and patios swept and tidy to reduce hiding places for slugs and snails • If it's frosty, avoid walking on the lawn, as this can damage and disfigure grass • Carry on planting bare roots if the weather is good. Otherwise keep them in buckets of moist…

BIRDS WILL begin looking for nesting sites as the days get longer so prepare nest boxes now for their spring visitors. When cleaning boxes, never use chemical cleaning agents. Site them out of direct sun and away from the prevailing wind. 1 Take your old box down and open the lid so you can remove the old nest that was constructed by birds this year in the spring. 2 Brush out the box, then pour boiling water into it to kill any parasites or fungal spores. Let it dry thoroughly. Put the lid back on. 3 Avoid damage to trees by using a strap to tie the box a round the tree and secure it with the face tilted down slightly to keep it dry.…

Results from the 2015 Big Butterfly Count have been good news for the holly blue, with a 151 per cent increase in numbers compared with 2014. The holly blue suffers a boom-and-bust life cycle due to a parasitic wasp, Listrodomus nycthemerus. The wasp inserts a single egg into the living caterpillar, the egg then hatches and develops, killing it at the chrysalis stage. If populations of both species are low, butterfly numbers can increase. But the wasp will eventually catch up with the glut of caterpillars, causing the butterfly population to crash again. This year it looks like the holly blue enjoyed a temporary advantage over the wasp. For full results from the Big Butterfly Count, visit bigbutterflycount.org/results…

Anne Swithinbank A keen fruit, vegetable and houseplant grower, Anne was formerly the glasshouse supervisor at RHS Garden Wisley. Matt Biggs Matt trained at Kew and has been gardening professionally for more than 20 years. Matthew Wilson Garden designer Matthew was curator of RHS Hyde Hall and Harlow Carr, and often appears on television. Q I found this in a wildflower mix – what is it? Judith Greenall, Winchester A MATTHEW SAYS: It’s a zinnia, a wildflower yes, but native to southwestern USA and Mexico. Zinnias grow in dry, scrub-like conditions, so are a good addition to direct-sown annual mixes as they don’t require much attention from the gardener to thrive. You’ll need to sow it again this autumn or next spring in order for it to return. Q Can…

Are we gardeners easy to buy for at Christmas? You would think so from what you read in those helpful columns that always appear at this time of year. There are endless suggestions in magazines and newspapers that we should be given a ball of twine and a packet of white plastic labels with a felt-tip marker. That’s us sorted then. But I have twine cascading from shelves and drawers and my potting shed is full of white plastic labels whose legends have faded and which have become so brittle that they’ve snapped in two. Yes, twine and labels really are the hankies and socks of the gardeners’ gift world. So what would we really like? Gift vouchers seem like a cop-out, but they do at least allow us to…