Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2021 i BBC Gardeners' World

Discover… how to get the most from shady spots with our 132-page guide to Gardening for Shade. On sale now in selected stores for £7.99 or at gardenersworld.com/ gw-special-editions Join us… Last chance to book our discovery tour of the Cotswolds! Join Adam Frost on a tour of Michael and Anne Heseltine’s garden. gardenersworld.com /adam-cotswolds-tour Listen up… Season 3 of our podcast launches this month, with episodes from Alan, Monty and Joe Lycett. Find us on Apple, Spotify and at gardenersworld.com Learn… New to gardening? Get to grips with the basics in our online, 5-week course for beginners led by expert David Hurrion. gardenersworld. com/futurelearn Save even more... Subscribe today and enjoy two years for the price of one, saving 50% – plus extra savings and benefits. Turn to p144.…

I got involved mostly for a bit of fun! I love all things gardening and Gardeners’ World is an invaluable place to learn more – and I wanted to be a small part of that. By being a part of the Reader Takeover issue, I wanted to share a real beginner’s perspective and show that you can never underestimate how much there is to know and find out when starting out gardening. Often, the biggest barrier is just knowing where to start and I wanted to change that. Being part of the Reader Takeover has also opened my eyes to the inner workings of how the magazine comes together, and I found the process collaborative and completely open to all ideas. It showed just how accessible and inclusive the magazine…

I love writing and it has been fascinating to get an insight into the work involved in each part of the magazine. I appreciate the time, dedication and knowledge that goes into each bit. I started gardening seriously at the request of my identical twin, who died in August 2020. Her wish was for everyone to plant a tree for the wildlife she loved so dearly. It’s been a wonderful tribute and a place for me to reflect and process my grief. Lockdown and Covid-19 have taught us all to appreciate nature more and I wanted to share my twin’s message to plant more trees and make a difference in the world. Planting trees and researching wildlife-friendly plants has helped me to process my grief while giving me a place…

Sunflowers. We know all about them, right? Big, bright-yellow daisies, knee-high, as tall as you or maybe as high as the house. Big seeds, easy to grow. Well, if that’s what you think, then it’s time to think again… First of all, there’s more to sunflowers than the colour yellow – set aside, of course, the double pink-flowered ones that pop up on Facebook, which are created on the computer, not by the seed company. Sunflowers now come in cream, orange, maroon, purple and an almost chocolate black, as well as in fiery bicolours – and there’s even one for cutting, ‘Sun Fill’, that doesn’t have any petals at all. There are some that are dark-eyed, green-eyed and orange-eyed; there are sunflowers with one row of petals and there are…

I do love August (not just because it’s my birth month!) as at this time of year the baton has been truly handed over to the high-summer plant palette. The colours are rich and intense, with the likes of dahlias and salvias continuing to reward us with flowers in return for us deadheading them. Our patios still exude warmth well into the evening from the heat of the daytime sun, extending our stay in the garden. This is when containers come into their own – they can literally chase the sun as we move them around to their greatest vantage point. Bringing together a family of containers, similarly coloured or shaped, will reflect some of the principles of great design – unity, simplicity and harmony. And if you have a…

1 Take a long, hard look at your plot and decide what you like about it and what you don’t, what you could do without and what you’d like to add. Be realistic about your finances and the time you have available. There’s no need to go at it like a bull at a gate. It’ll take time. You’re not decorating a room (which you can do in a weekend), you’re starting on a magical journey that will continue to evolve. 2 Look at the gardens around you to see what grows well in your area. Ask advice from friends and neighbours who seem to have the knack – they will almost always be only too happy to pass on their expertise. If they love gardening, they’ll want you to…

Peace Lily Increase serenity in your home with a peace lily (Spathiphyllum wallisii). Not only is it pleasing to look at, but this popular plant is so undemanding that you’ll be left feeling positively zen with the lack of maintenance required. Peace lilies cope well with poor light, so are great for brightening areas where other plants might fail. They can also bounce back from a missed watering or two with a good soak, so are perfect for busy or forgetful house-plant owner. The peace lily is not only near bullet proof, but according to the principles of Feng Shui it can bring harmony to any space and boost positive feelings. For those who invest extra care in the plant, you’ll be rewarded with year-round blooms, too. VISIT gardenersworld. com/houseplant…

7 ways to go wild this summer Wildlife gardening isn’t complicated, so it’s a great way to get kids into the garden and absorbed in nature. Simply leaving a corner or two to go wild can benefit wildlife, while making bespoke habitats – like my giant bug hotel – can provide five-star accommodation for a range of invertebrates, and the animals that eat them. Here, I’ve listed seven things you can do in your garden to help wildlife, all of which will appeal to nature-curious kids. They’re also cheap or free and easy to make, and will enable more creatures to feed and breed in your garden. Following these steps will help to make your garden its own self-regulating ecosystem, busy with the sound of birds and bees feeding and…

This month we’ve focused on two very different but closely related groups of pollinators. Will you make a pledge to help the beautiful and enigmatic moths or the butterflies we spot in daylight on the wing or perching on summer flowers? Or both? Our featured pledges this time come from our expert panellist Dr Amir Khan and hands-on ecologist Claire Gibbs. Make your pledges here gardenersworld. com/pollinator-pledge JOIN US IN OUR PLEDGES 1 Vlant nectar-rich fowers I pledge to plant butterfly- and moth-friendly plants and encourage others to do the same. I want these wonderful creatures fluttering from flower to flower in every garden, bringing joy to all who see them. Having them in our gardens is good for their health as well as ours. Dr Amir Khan , GP…

Keep borders looking good Freshen up your borders by deadheading flowers and trimming back some of their exuberant growth. There is still time for more late flowers and fresh foliage to form that will last into the autumn. Also, trim away yellowing foliage and pull out any weeds that may be hiding under it all. While doing this, try to avoid treading into the bed as this damages plants and compacts the soil. Use a soft kneeler for a comfortable way to get close to your plants without stressing them or damaging your back. VISIT gardenersworld.com/ deadheading for more advice on keeping plants in shape Don’t forget ■ Keep deadheading dahlias to ensure a longer display of fresh blooms ■ Take cuttings of lavender and hyssop, using their non-flowering…

Salvia cuttings Now is a good time to take salvia cuttings from this year’s new shoots. Salvias are easy to root and make wonderful long-flowering plants for the border. Most are hardy but propagating them now is good insurance in case you lose any plants over winter. Choose shoots that haven’t flowered yet. Although flowering shoots are less easy to root, if there are no others and you pinch out the flowers there’s a good chance of success. The best shoots are found growing on the side of the plant that gets most light. Collect the cutting material in the morning and put it into a plastic bag with a few drops of water to keep the cuttings moist. Keep them cool and plan to prepare and pot up the…

Best for stubborn, deep-rooted weeds Fiskars Xact Extractor £12.99 “This is very sturdy and copes really well with a lot of force and pressure when taking out established weeds with deep roots.” Maggie Davis Best for individual weeds and lawns Spear and Jackson Select Stainless weeder & fulcrum £13.49 “This has great leverage and the forked metal end is great at digging out individual weeds and those with long tap roots, such as dandelions in lawns.” Fran Gibbons Best all-round hand weeder Corona ComfortGEL weeder £13.99 “Comfortable and well-designed, this works hard and is robust enough to tackle any job. My trowel won’t be needed so often now!” Simon Kempster Best versatile hand weeder Niwaki weeding hoe £18 “Sturdy and sharp, it can remove weeds from pots, borders, grass and…

RUNNING WILD Follow our one-stop wildflower growing guide and do your bit to help garden pollinators Get ahead and plant bulbs in pots for a pretty, early spring display How to preserve your harvest and enjoy flavour for months to come Grow indoors with a terrarium – it’s easy with our planting advice Also in the issue... New to gardening? ALAN explains where to start with understanding your plot Discover how to feed plants – and when not to – in MONTY’s plant health masterclass Get your honeysuckle in shape with FRANCES’ simple step-by-step pruning guide MARK reveals ways to create an accessible garden suitable for all abilities PLUS hedge trimmers on test ■ picking for the best flavour ■ crops to start now ■ dahlia inspiration ■ house plants…

Viewer videos have been a discovery and joy for everyone on Gardeners’ World over the past 18 months – and we know you, our viewers and readers, love them too. They poured in at the height of last year’s pandemic and continue to delight the production team, so keep them coming! (Find out how at bit.ly/gw-viewer-videos). In this same spirit of putting our audience at the heart of not just WHAT we produce but HOW we produce it, we’ve thrown open the doors of Magazine Towers to all of our readers – a genuine first in this, the magazine’s 30th anniversary year. And how you responded! Hundreds of readers got in touch via email and social media, offering enthusiasm, ideas and inspiration – and we whittled this down to 48…

When BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine announced the Reader Takeover, I knew I had to apply. The regular contributors are mines of information and, as readers, we can learn a lot and pick up wonderful tips and tricks along the way. But what about the view from the other side? This was a chance to give my input to a dramatic splash from the audience perspective. Being involved in the editorial process was interesting and fulfilling, and made me feel part of the GW family (of readers and contributors) rather than an outside observer. The peek behind the scenes showed that articles and images are carefully considered. There’s a lot of work in choosing that ‘perfect’ image, which is not as easy as it sounds. There is a multitude of photographs…

A dedicated group of five readers worked with the Art Director and Picture Editor to select images for our subscriber and newsstand front covers. Editor, Lucy, followed this with a session on honing the words that appear on both covers. Taking part in the GW Reader Takeover because offered the chance to indulge in something I love, flex my creativity and take on a challenge. It was interesting how our own gardening goals and experiences shaped our selections. It made me realise that we all just want one thing from gardening – the chance to be optimistic. Whether it’s to grow something new, adapt to changing needs, create a sanctuary or simply preserve and protect, the images, stories and advice in the magazine all foster hope and confidence that we…

Rule number one when planning anything from a barbecue at the weekend to a gardening column with a six-week lead time: do not double guess the weather. However, it is not unreasonable to assume that there will have been some sunshine between me writing these words and you reading them, wherever you are. Gardens will have to deal with heat and drought in some measure, although here at Longmeadow, not once has it been too hot or too dry for me or the garden in the past 30 years. “You have to adapt and work with what is happening to your garden rather than fight it” But I do appreciate that a mere 100 miles or so to the east of here things start to be very different. Most of…

Our reader group were loud and clear that they wanted to put the spotlight on the importance of ALL garden wildlife, including an honest look at what’s struggling. How frank should we be about wildlife declines? As a general rule, here at the magazine we try to focus on the positives, to inspire rather than overwhelm, which could have the effect of making people feel that their actions won’t make a difference. It was agreed, however, that a bit more negativity might be in order, as Stacey said: “sometimes a wee bit of negativity creates action, and I wonder if that’s the bit that’s missing? What do these declines mean for me? For us?” Put simply, our wildlife is in trouble. Most of us know about individual declines of bees,…

Finally, August brings to us that peak summer weather after all the unsettled spring months. I am very glad it is here but along with the leisurely summer evenings come very active slugs! Let me apologise in advance as I might just end up mentioning these munching molluscs a few times this month. All it takes is a little bit of summer rain hitting the warm soil and the slime trailing slugs descend, sticking out like sore thumbs among my crops. So, since my evening meals are alfresco dinners, I’ll crack open two bottles of cider, and it’s a case of “one for me and one for the slug traps”. Dear slugs, don’t say I don’t feed you! Harvests are coming home faster than we can eat them. But any…

BEECHGROVE GARDEN The TV programme continues this month, on Thursdays in Scotland and Sundays nationwide – check TV listings for full details. VIEW FROM BEECHGROVE Remove blighted potato foliage During August, blight often infects potato leaves. Resistant varieties stay healthy for a bit longer but can still succumb to this fungal disease. A brownish-black leaf tip or few freckly spots on a healthy plant can rapidly spread and devastate the foliage. Despite removing leaves at these first signs of blight, little seems to prevent the spread. Cut stems and leaves down to ground level (and burn, don’t compost). Tuber growth will stop, but they are often still sizeable and the disease rarely affects them. Harvest a few weeks after stem removal, as required, and remove all tubers from the soil.…

“It is creating, sharing and nurturing.” Maureen Barton, Bucks “My garden is my place of escape.” Simon Kempster, Bristol “Gardening connects you with living things.” Elizabeth Williamson, Herts “Outside, gardening, everything is better.” Lorna Jordan, Powys “You can see the beauty of nature.” Steve Sinnott, Liverpool “It’s great to see the fruits of your labour.” David McDonald, Aberdeen “Every year can be different.” Peter Kelly, Edinburgh “Chilling in the garden with tea and a book.” Jonathan Prince, Kent “Growing my own chemical-free food.” Fran Gibbons, Wiltshire “Gardening is nectar for my soul.” Maggie Davis, West Sussex…

My involvement was primarily to share my passion for gardening and bounce ideas among like-minded individuals. I hope to learn and adapt my gardening practice to be ecologically aligned, and one of the participants expressed this ideally. I found the participating magazine staff open to new ideas and willing to translate them into practical solutions, which is encouraging and I see myself wanting to remain a member of this gardening community. Although we talked about the impact of gardening on mental wellbeing, I would like to see more concrete and practical suggestions around this topic in the magazine with, for example, basic (or top 10) ideas or simple things to do in one day that would help individuals who are struggling to organise their lives. Dr Vaishali Purbey contributed to…

Bolton Castle Gardens, North Yorkshire Medieval-style gardens % 01969 623981 w boltoncastle.co.uk Mount Grace Priory, House & Gardens, North Yorkshire Monastery garde. % 01609 883494 w english-heritage.org.uk/ mount-grace-priory Newby Hall Gardens, North Yorkshire Beautiful and rare plants % 01423 322583 w newbyhall.com Parcevall Hall Gardens, North Yorkshire Formal gardens and woodland % 01756 720311 w parcevallhallgardens.co.uk Scampston Walled Garden, North Yorkshire Historic walled garden % 01944 759111 w scampston.co.uk Thorp Perrow, North Yorks 100-acre arboretum % 01677 425323 w thorpperrow.com…

A few years ago ‘The Grass Garden’ became a thing and we were urged to plant our grasses together, perhaps with some in pots standing in a gravelled area and some planted in the gravel itself. At Wisley, there was a monocotyledon bed with masses of grasses. It was interesting, but not exciting. The major quality that grasses possess is their versatility and for me, and I think for most of us gardeners, the joy of using grasses is mixing them with other plants where they can change a static scene of clumping perennials into one that moves and changes. The anti-grass brigade will often say, “All very well, but they’re all the same”, but nothing could be further from the truth – the pro-grass contingent will tell you how…

QI grow three tomatoes to a grow bag and pinch out side shoots and growing tips, but they always seem to fill the greenhouse like a dense forest. Is there a way to limit their growth? Chris Billson on Facebook Some varieties are much more vigorous than others but I suspect that the problem lies in pinching out the growing tips, which is simply encouraging more side shoots. Cordon tomatoes will easily grow to 8-12ft tall so limiting their height puts all that energy into lateral growth. You should only feed weekly and avoid a high nitrogen feed that would encourage lots of leafy growth with no extra fruit. Use a tomato feed high in potash that will put the plants energy into flowers and fruit. Q Any advice about…

“I want to give you the courage to have a go, in the hope your life will be enriched more than you ever imagined” Daunting. Scary. All those long Latin names. It’s no wonder so many people delay making a start on their garden. If you’re coming to it cold, without any experience imparted by parents or grandparents, the whole shebang seems so complex. It’s easier just to let it lie fallow and call it re-wilding. But to do that is to deprive yourself of the thrill of creating a relaxing haven, an escape from life’s stresses and strains. To germinate a seed or root a cutting, to make a flower border where once ugly weeds grew will lift your spirits like no other activity. Just remember that 90 per…

Gravel A relatively cheap covering that can suppress weeds. Make it about 2.5cm thick so that it is easy to walk on (deep gravel is not) and hoe off any weeds that push through. Spread gravel over a layer of firmed scalpings for best results. Best for Informal pathways and drives. Weed-suppressing membrane A black, close-weave mesh that allows rain through but stops weeds growing. Cut slits in it to plant through and cover with bark mulch to hide it. Best for Among shrubs where regular access is unnecessary and for paths in woodland gardens. Newspapers Several thicknesses can be laid over light weed growth to smother it. It will need to be weighted down and will eventually rot and add organic matter to the soil. Can be topped with…

Dr Amir Khan is a practising GP, keen wildlife gardener and ambassador for Butterfly Conservation and the Wildlife Trusts. He wants to spread the word about how we can all help our native pollinators: “Butterflies and moths form an intrinsic part of our natural world, and yet they’re threatened by habitat loss, climate change and pollution. Three-quarters of British butterflies and two-thirds of moths are in decline, with four species of butterfly and more than 60 moth species having already become extinct in the last century. “As daunting as these declines are, there is hope, and gardeners’ actions can make a huge difference. Simply growing some nectar-rich plants and providing a safe space for them will help to boost their numbers. “Many caterpillars feed on native plants that we consider…

Don’t forget ■ Cover cabbages and other brassicas with a fine netting to prevent cabbage white butterflies getting to them ■ Sow last batches of peas and dwarf beans for a late-season crop ■ Check crops for aphids and pick them off straight away ■ Pot up any runners from strawberries to make new plants ■ Keep watering fruit trees and bushes to keep harvests coming Pickle chillies If you have a good harvest of chillies and find that you have more than you can use fresh, pick now for pickling. The chillies will need to be ripe, fresh and clean with perfect skins to be suitable. There are many pickling recipes, some add herbs and garlic, while others have extra spice. Pack them into sterilised jars, whole or sliced,…

Reviews Editor Kay Maguire worked with 10 GW readers to put hand weeders to the test Warmer weather is great for encouraging growth in the garden, but not all plants that are romping away now are welcome. Weeding is a constant job throughout the summer, with both annual and perennial weeds popping up, unwanted, in beds and borders, veg gardens, lawns and even containers. The best way to banish weeds is to dig them up, roots and all, and although hoeing and forking them out are good ways of tackling large, weedy areas, when you need to attack individual weeds or are working among other plants, the best way is to simply get down on your knees and deal with them one by one. A hand weeder is about the…

The edible part of a potato plant ( Solanum tuberosum ) is its underground tubers or, put simply, potatoes. These are full of goodness, containing health-giving fibre, antioxidents, vitamins and minerals. But it is only the tubers that are edible, as all parts of the plant growing above ground contain poisons. The most significant of these is called solanine, an alkaloid named after the potato genus, Solanum . Solanine can also build up in the tubers when they’re badly stored and exposed to light. Turning green (making chlorophyll through photosynthesis) and sprouting are the signs that tell you to leave a potato alone, as it will contain high levels of solanine. In 1969, 78 London schoolboys returned to school for the autumn term and were given potatoes left over from…

Gardeners’ Question Time Enjoy a fascinating crop of listeners’ questions and answers from the experts every week, on BBC Radio 4, Fridays at 3pm, repeated on Sundays at 2pm. Contact us Email your questions to Q&A@gardenersworld.com Write to Q&A, Gardeners’ World Magazine, Vineyard House, 44 Brook Green, London W6 7BT We regret that we cannot offer a personal garden advisory service. VISIT gardenersworld.com/how-to for more pest and disease advice, along with creative and problem-solving projects…