Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2021 i BBC Gardeners' World

Join us… Discover the Cotswolds and meet Adam Frost on our new reader tour. The highlight is a visit to Thenford, Michael and Anne Heseltine’s private garden. Hurry as places are limited, see p116. Discover… how to make the most of a tiny plot with our guide to Small Space Gardening, a 132-page special. Buy yours in selected stores nationwide, or have it delivered. From £7.99. gardenersworld.com/gw-special-editions Listen up… Season 2 of our podcast is completing this month, with new episodes from Carol, Monty and Raymond Blanc. Find us on Apple, Spotify and gardeners world.com/podcast Save… as you visit gardens this year with our 2021 2 for 1 Entry Card and Guide – order yours for £6.99 by going to bit.ly/GWMay-gw-MG Save even more... Subscribe today at £9.99 for six…

With so many colours in our fabulous plant world, I challenged myself to find one to represent every colour of the rainbow, just in time for Pride month! I echoed the rainbow motif with curved planting, and set it off against a jet black container (elho.com, £99) that has wheels, making it easy to move about and brighten different parts of the garden. I planted in waves, from red, orange and yellow to green, blue and then purple, and had fun seeking out exact shades for the blue and violet. Dense planting creates instant impact and most perennials will continue to flower through the summer. At the end of the season, you can transplant them into borders so the rainbow lives on. For lots more container ideas, see Love your…

Heart of the matter Thumbs up to The Full Monty (May issue) – as a healthcare professional for 43 years, I suddenly had a heart attack. Like Monty says, I then had to consider my own mortality and came to the conclusion that it’s a case of not so much what you’ll miss but, for the majority of the working population, what you never had a chance to thoroughly enjoy. So, my advice is, along your busy journey of life, do not forget to put a reminder in your diary to stop and infuse yourself with nature. As Monty states, often the most simple scenarios are some of the best. Georgina Isaac, Essex Weed burner warning Two years ago, we became the victims of the weed burner. Our conifer hedge…

■ BUSH TOMATOES need much less training than single-stemmed cordon varieties and will often crop more reliably outdoors. Go for them rather than varieties that need more elaborate staking and the removal of sideshoots to keep them growing and cropping well. ■ CLIMBING FRENCH BEANS are an easier choice than the more popular runner beans. Plant for plant, they will crop more heavily and the pencil-thin beans are, to my palate, tastier, more tender and less stringy than those of runners, which can become coarse and chewy. ■ COS LETTUCE can be sown now in preference to the butterhead varieties or the cut-and-come-again heartless types, which, it seems to me, have become more rubbery over the years. ‘Little Gem’ takes up less space than the cabbage-shaped varieties, and has a…

Great for wildlife spotting Bodrhyddan Hall The grounds are home to many species of animals and birds, making this an ideal destination for nature lovers. From the formal Victorian parterre and flowing lawns to the organised wilds of the Pleasance, these historic gardens offer more than 12 acres to explore, at their peak over the summer months. Take a tranquil stroll through the woodlands and around the ponds to spot some of the wide range of birds, mammals and amphibians. i Open 2 Jun-29 Sep, Tue & Thu only, 2-5pm. Adults & seniors £10, under-16s £5. Booking may be required. Plant lover’s paradise Picton Castle Gardens These 40 acres contain many rare trees and plants from around the world. In the Grade II listed walled garden, an eclectic and colourful…

Outdoor seating A good quality garden sofa is a wise investment, and while you may not get quite as much use from it as your indoor one, a comfy outdoor seat will pay off in the long run as using it will encourage the whole family to spend more time outside. “Garden furnishings are a great way to introduce trendy colours into a garden. Outdoor rugs can provide a burst of welcome colour. Beautiful prints and patterns can add interest and luxury to seating. Introduce these through cushions and throws”Manoj Malde, garden designer Outdoor sofa Florence Garden Corner Sofa Set, £1,100, homebase.co.uk Rugs An outdoor rug is essential for creating that ‘outside in’ vibe. Fab Hab Cancun Outdoor Rug, in Candy, £94.95, cuckooland.com Relax and have fun Enjoying your outdoor…

“If you follow some simple rules, making your own compost is not only easy but a beautiful thing” Compost bin My step-by-step guide If you have space, making garden compost is one of the most important things you can do as a gardener. Homemade compost is beneficial for your plants, your soil, the environment and, best of all, it transforms green waste from our gardens and kitchens – for free. Most of the compost I make tends to get used as mulch or is dug in to enrich the soil. But occasionally, if I’m really pleased with how it turns out, I will bag it up to use in potting mixes. Some people see making compost as a complicated, smelly and dirty job, which, in honesty, it can occasionally be…

“The rose chafer is a beautiful iridescent green beetle that flies clumsily from flower to flower, with a deep buzz” Our gardens are bursting with new life. Yellow-washed blue tits follow their parents among the branches, while blackbirds feed demanding youngsters on the lawn. Froglets make tentative steps out of the pond, hiding in long grass from hungry mouths and beaks. After dark, hedgehog mums forage, so they can provide milk for their pups – help them out by leaving water and meaty dog or cat food. Look closely into lush, leafy borders to spot froghoppers, caterpillars and other critters, living quietly, nibbling the odd plant but largely doing no harm. Food for many species further up the food chain, they’re the bedrock of our wildlife gardens, without whom little…

Harvest peas to prolong cropping Pick peas regularly – ideally daily – to keep plants producing flowers and pods. If you leave them for a few days, the pods will mature and the plants will stop cropping, as they’ve done their job of providing seeds. So keep on picking to keep the pods coming. WATCH videos and get tips at gardenersworld.com/ fruit-veg 10 MINUTES TO SPARE Runner beans can be planted out once hardened off – take the potted plants outside during the day and bring in at night for a week. Before planting, water well and build a wigwam of tall canes for them to climb. Dig a hole at the base of each cane and set the plants at the same depth they were in the pot, then…

With the summer solstice this month, I am heading to my allotment with a light step. As we enter a new season, my plot has started to become more luscious – its green swathes are dotted with blue from cornflowers and borage, mauve from knautias and white from sweet rocket peeping out from the cottage-garden themed flower path, heralding the even bigger profusion of colour to come next month. Just to seal the deal, a symphony of buzzing bees over the comfrey flowers is announcing that summer is most definitely here! My frenzy of planting out over recent weeks – beans, peas, tomatoes, winter squashes and blocks of barely squeezed-in sweetcorn – is giving height and structure to the plot. Long gone now is the green manure carpet that covered…

While the roller-coaster of frosty nights and brighter days this spring turned every gardener into an obsessive weather-watcher (or was that just me?), the warming hug of June sees our gardens shifting gear. Summer’s here – and outdoor living becomes reality. So we’ve all you need in this issue to help you create a memorable summer outdoors in your garden. Discover the homegrown food to start now and our readymade recipes for summer pots, plus creative ideas that’ll make your garden a place to relax and escape into – whether as a quiet retreat or a venue for those longed-for gatherings of family and friends. The other visitors we’re welcoming as never before is wildlife – and it’s influencing the way we garden today. Whether new to gardening or seasoned…

Calendulas are intriguing plants. Often called pot marigolds, because they were once grown in pots for their medicinal and culinary use, their Latin name, Calendula officinalis , confirms this – ‘officinalis’ denotes plants used in medicine or cooking. But this cheerful hardy annual flower is also known as the English marigold, having been grown in English gardens since at least 955 – yes 955, not 1955. And although plants have escaped from gardens and established themselves in the countryside since the middle of the 19th century, this is not a native English, or even British, wildflower – in fact, the English marigold is thought to have been created in gardens as it has no natural wild home, so it’s not native anywhere. For most of their time in gardens, English…

Astrantia major Hattie’s pincushion and melancholy gentleman are two names for this quaint yet highly desirable perennial. Provided you can give it what it needs – reasonably good soil that doesn’t dry out – it will reward you with masses of starry flowers with a circlet of papery bracts. These persist and catch the seeds. No need to deadhead, but more flowers will come if you do. Flowers June-Aug Height x Spread 30cm x 45cm Campanula latifolia A British native that grows on shady banks and is particularly prevalent in northern England and Scotland. On its tall straight stems, the upward-facing buds gradually hang down as they open into big bells of blue, white or sometimes palest lilac-grey, depending on the variety. It makes a strong vertical statement, needs no…

✔ Always choose a sunny spot for your veg patch. The crops will grow far better when they do not have to struggle for light. ✔ Make sure your garden shed and greenhouse are fitted with water butts connected to downpipes. That way you will make the most of sweet rainfall, which vegetable crops always seem to prefer to the water that comes from the tap. ✔ Grow your veg in raised beds for ease of access. They will raise the crops to a more easily manageable height and the soil within them can be enriched more easily. If they are no more than 1.5m across, you will be able to cultivate them from either side without having to walk on the earth and compact it. ✔ Make the space…

Grow foxgloves from seed Foxglove seeds should be sown thinly on the surface of the soil or in a tray of seed compost, and not covered as the very fine seed needs light to germinate. To protect pot-grown seedlings as they emerge – and to retain humidity, which helps them germinate – cover them with a piece of glass or a plastic bag. Once they’re growing, remove the glass or bag. Start off your seeds in June and thin them or prick them out when their first true leaves comes through. Pot them on when their roots come out of the base of the pot, ready to be planted out in September/October, to then flower the following May/June. Alternatively, they can also be sown directly outside. Water the soil before…

A few weeks ago I bought eight pre-grown yew domes for the Cottage Garden. They look terrific and were hard-earned money well spent. While not huge, they are 10 years old, and have the solidity and density that only age can bring. But I feel that I have cheated a little. It is like dipping a toe into a make-over, with its instant gardening territory. I can rationalise that – after all, I have happily bought 18 largish Irish yews for the Herb Garden in recent years, as well as large olive and citrus trees for the Paradise Garden. I can also justify it in terms of design in the same way that we build steps or lay paths. The yew domes exist to add form, now that the box…

Succulents are the ultimate easy-care plants. Although they are visually attention seeking, they are fairly undemanding, which makes them perfect for busy gardeners who desire a stylish potted display without the usual level of aftercare. Examine them closely, and you’ll see just how fascinating and colourful these plants are, with brilliant blooms often matched with strikingly sculpted leaves. Use Bob’s selections as a guide for inspiration – there’s a huge variety available. Many are superb year-round indoor plants that will also enjoy some fresh air on a doorstep or patio during the warmer months. Success with succulents lies in providing similar growing conditions to their native arid habitats. Good drainage is critical, so choose pots with plenty of holes in the base, support them on blocks or pot feet, and…

Nepenthes Also known as a pitcher plant, this carnivorous chandelier looks incredible, but is simple to care for with the right conditions. The dangling pitchers are actually modified leaves containing sweetly scented digestive fluid – enabling it to lure, trap and feed on small insects, a bit like a Venus flytrap. It’s perfect for house plant fans who want to add wow factor to their collection or simply reduce fungus gnats and flies in the home without using chemicals. Nepenthes x ventrata is a great beginner carnivorous plant, producing an abundance of gem-coloured pitchers that glow when sunlight shines through them. Nepenthes x ventrata is a hybrid pitcher plant that copes better with less humidity and lower temperatures than its parent species, making it easier to grow as a house…

Seek shade When it's time to eat, you’ll want to set your table up away from the glare of the sun. To save moving around the garden, invest in a pergola – it will give you years of dappled shade for lazy lunches. Or you could even try making your own as a project. They also make great focal points and give you the option to grow fragrant climbers. See gardenersworld.com/plants/ best-plants-for-a-pergola/ for ideas on what to grow on them. “For cocktails that use fresh herbs, such as mojitos, why not experiment with different herbs from your patch? Avoid anything in the onion family, but basil, rosemary, fennel or lemon thyme are great on their own or in a combination with mint.”Miriam Nice, Drinks expert Good Food “Using plants such…

Now summer’s here, we continue to focus on helping pollinators and it’s great to see some of the plants we sowed in spring bearing flowers and attracting pollinators. This month, our pledges are from our writer, Chris Thorogood, and Surrey Wildlife Trust’s principal ecologist, Claire Gibbs. Choose these or others at gardenersworld.com/pollinator-pledge JOIN US IN OUR PLEDGES 1 Nurture a nettle patch I’m going to leave that sprawling patch of nettles at the end of the garden to its own devices. It’ll be perfect for egg-laying butterflies like small tortoiseshells. By the time I cut the nettles back in late summer to prevent them seeding, the first brood of caterpillars will have already developed. Chris Thorogood, botanist at Oxford University Botanic Garden Go to gardenersworld.com/caterpillar-plants 2 Support moths…

TOP TIP Stop tomatoes from splitting by keeping the soil moist during hot spells. The skin of the fruit breaks due to fast growth caused by heat and heavy watering following drying out. Keep up with regular watering, open vents and use shading when temperatures are high. 20 MINUTES TO SPARE Soak house plants in a bowl of water or a sink, then drain outside. If bubbles come out of the pots when soaking, this means that the soil was very dry. Soaking creates a uniform level of moisture and makes it easier for compost to absorb water again. Pot up shop-bought plug plants Pot up plug plants as soon as you get them. Unpack them from their plastic wrapping to stop them rotting. Air the plants and water if…

Don’t forget ■ After harvesting leafy crops from containers, apply fertiliser to boost nitrogen levels for the next sowings ■ Cut back the foliage of daffodils that has been left to die back ■ Deadhead lupins as soon as they go over to encourage another display ■ Trim off new growth on trained cherries and plums during the summer to maintain their shape Remove fading leaves from ponds Pull out any yellowing leaves of water lilies before they rot and sink to the bottom of your pond. As they decompose, they’ll use up oxygen and eventually pollute the water with more nutrients than the plants and wildlife can live with. Cut back as much of the leaf stalk as you can reach without stirring up the water or disturbing the…