Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i Garden Answers

Meet the Contributors “This month in the garden I’ll be...” “Building wigwams made from canes for my sweet peas to climb up.” Elise Sargent looks forward to RHS Chelsea, p14 “Sowing carrots, salad leaves and beetroot and hardening off seed-sown plants.” Ade Sellars plugs the June gap, p22 “I’m doing the never-ending greenhouse shuffle and hunting for a bargain arbour!” Olga Grieves, p74 “Planting up my newly expanded butterfly border.” Adrian Thomas hones in on helping out pollinators, p44 “Checking forecasts to see when to put out indoor-raised plants.” Geoff Hodge’s on self-watering containers, p94 “Leaving the lawn to come alive with wildflowers as part of No Mow May.” Dan Masoliver spots a glorious goldfinch, p114 Here at GA we can’t get enough of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show –…

The UK’s first pub and first prison have both been awarded National Plant Collection status by Plant Heritage. The White Hart, between Bristol and Bath, and HMP Eastwood Park, a prison and young offender institution for women located north of Bristol, hold prize collections of crocosmia and tulbaghia respectively. The organisations join the growing community of more than 700 National Plant Collections found in gardens, greenhouses, allotments, arboretums, plant nurseries, botanic gardens, historic houses, zoos, and public parks across the UK and Ireland. The collections ensure different plant groups remain in cultivation for future generations.…

Nymphaea ‘Black Princess’ A truly exceptional waterlily with blood red velvety petals contrasting with burnt orange stamens. It has a light fragrance. H: 20cm, S: 2m, £25.50 for a bareroot, lilieswatergardens.co.uk. Nymphaea ‘Denver’ Denver displays creamy white double blooms with up to 48 petals. This astonishing waterlily also has a gentle fragrance. H: 30cm, S 1.2m, £24 for a bareroot plant, wetland-plants.co.uk. Nymphaea alba The only waterlily native to Britain, Nymphaea Alba’s petals turn star shaped as they mature. A great source of nectar while flowering. H: 15cm, S: 1.5m, £15 for 11cm pot, hayloft.co.uk. Nymphaea ‘Fabiola’ Make a statement with this pretty, cup-shaped waterlily. The petals get lighter at the edges, fading to palest pink. It has a delicate fragrance. H: 10cm, S: 1.5m, £17.99 potted, lincspplants.co.uk. Nymphaea ‘Attraction’…

Agarden filled with everlasting blooms is what all gardeners dream of. We work so hard throughout the autumn and winter months to ensure our early season displays are at their best, that we don’t always take into account the moment when spring passes the baton onto summer. This point is a stop gap where flowers can fade, bare patches in beds appear and green seems the only colour on the garden palette. For bees and pollinators, the lack of pollen and nectar can be a real problem, as they struggle to feed themselves and provide for their colonies and hives. However, with a little forward planning you can guarantee to fill the June gap with colour and keep garden wildlife happy and well fed. Here are 10 glorious plants you…

Pollination by insects is, if you stop to think about it, pretty astonishing. An insect is drawn to a plant’s special landing pad – its flower – with the offer of food and drink. While tucking in, it picks up grains of pollen, effectively the male sperm of the plant, and unwittingly couriers them to other flowers where they fertilise the female egg cells. It means that pollinators are the essential link that allow flowering plants to produce seeds and produce the next generation. Pollination by insects is surprisingly recent in Earth’s history. If you condense the time our planet has been in existence into a single day, then it only began about 45 minutes before midnight. The emergence of pollinators went hand-in-hand with the evolution of the first flowers.…

TREES ● Fruit trees apple, crab, pear, cherry, plum. ● Willows are fast growing trees, with bee-perfect catkins in spring. Weeping willow, salix ‘Kilmarnock’, is suitable for small gardens. ● Lime is a native tree species for big gardens only. A lime tree in flower can roar with bee noise. ● Alder buckthorn is suitable for small gardens and is one of the very best for bees. It is also the caterpillar foodplant of the Brimstone butterfly. ● Hawthorn – the native ‘May’ tree with its spume of white blossom is glorious. SHRUBS & CLIMBERS ● Deutzia Single-flowered cultivars, such as ‘Strawberry Fields’, are a hit with bumblebees. ● Buddlejas are the best for butterflies, in whites, pinks and purples. ● If allowed to get its head into the sun,…

Where and when did you train? I trained at Merrist Wood College, near Guildford, more than 12 years ago, having had a previous career in marketing and communications. How long have you been at Chiswick House and how did you get here? I’ve been at Chiswick for almost two years. Before that, I spent almost 10 years working in gardens in the National Trust at Polesden Lacey and Ham House. Tell us about Chiswick House Gardens... Chiswick Gardens is known for being the birthplace of the English Landscape movement in the 18th century and for its history of camellia growing indoors. My job is about caring for these well-known areas and opening up and recreating the other historic garden spaces that have been somewhat overlooked. We have a 17th century…

Q What is affecting rubber plant leaves? JEAN FORD, DEVON A The damage on the leaves looks as though it was caused by either too much water or low temperatures. It’s most likely to affect the lower leaves, which may then turn yellow and fall prematurely. When indoor temperatures are low, it’s best to keep the plant slightly dry or the cold, wet compost can damage the roots. Don’t repot it but, when growth starts, apply a liquid fertiliser to maintain health and to promote growth. Q How can I treat yellow, sticky leaves on Kentia palm? ALISON BRAITHWAITE, BY EMAIL A Kentia palms (howea) are generally long-lived, easy and robust palms, but they can succumb to mealy bug. This is a common pest on thick-leaved houseplants. The sap-sucking insects…

Q How do I know if duckweed or blanketweed is invading my pond? SARAH BROWN, WORCESTER A Duckweed (above right) has minute flowers and spreading, floating leaves. It prevents light from reaching submerged aquatic plants, and can grow quickly in summer, transforming a pond into a ‘lawn’. Remove it with a rake or net. In comparison, blanket weed (right) is a primitive algae that forms masses of green ‘candy floss’ filaments under the water. It often sticks to other plants and is hard to control, especially in new ponds where protective, surface-covering plants are yet to form and light reaches the algae deep in the water, prompting it to grow. You can pull it out by hand or wrap it around a stick. Planting floating plants such as waterlilies will…

Layer upon layer of statuesque plants make for a magnificent border in The Collector Earl’s Garden, at Arundel Castle, in West Sussex. The globes of the alliums, ‘Purple Sensation’ and ‘Gladiator’, provide the accents and loom over Alchemilla mollis, Stachys byzantina and nepeta ‘Bramdean’. The formally-shaped yew hedge allows the pom-pom heads of the alliums to burst forth with exciting pops of colour 1 Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ (Allium hollandicum) is the absolute rockstar of the garden. Its burst of purple flowers can reach 8cm across on stems of up to 1m. 2 Lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantina) is a herbaceous perennial with silvery-green, fur-like coating. Planted next to colourful plants, the palette changes allow both to zing. H & S: 1m. 3 Nepeta grandiflora ‘Bramdean’ produces a profusion of lavender-blue flowers…

Heritage apple trees at RHS Garden Rosemoor will be sampled as part of a research project to recover lost West Country apples and identify varieties that hold important genetic traits for breeding and climate resilience. Leaves from RHS Rosemoor’s Devon Collection of apples will be sampled as part of the project led by Sandford Orchards and the University of Bristol, to ‘DNA fingerprint’ apples from rare and important orchards across England. The research project will examine varieties that have survived but have not previously been recorded, along with individual trees that are likely the last of their kind.…

Families have been given lots of ideas for making the most of National Garden Wildlife Week, which begins on Monday, May 27. It is an opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy British nature while raising awareness of the worrying decline in animal and plant diversity. Ark Wildlife, the organisers of the event, have put together ideas for children and families to take part: 1. Make a wildlife garden quiz 2. Build your own bird nestbox 3. Make homemade bird food 4. Create a water feature for wildlife 5. Create a bug house 6. Make a gap for hedgehogs 7. Plant a tree  8. Simply get outdoors to absorb the wonder of the natural world ●For more ideas, visit Ark Wildlife online: arkwildlife.co.uk.…

1 Choose carefully! There are several hundred plants that are great for pollinators, but thousands that aren’t. Pick those that are 100% proven to be good, and don’t always believe the plant catalogues. 2 Include a range of flower shapes Some pollinators have short tongues and need flat-topped flowers; others have long tongues and choose flowers with a deeper ‘throat’ or which are bell-shaped. 3 Keep it simple Many garden flowers have been cultivated to have masses of petals at the expense of pollen and nectar. So, try to avoid those such as blousy roses and pompon dahlias and, instead, go for varieties with just a single whorl of petals. 4 Go blue Bees are especially focused on flowers at the blue and purple end of the spectrum. 5Aim for…

IN THE GARDEN WITH… Rosie and Robin Lloyd AT: The Long House, The Lane, Westdean, East Sussex SIZE: One acre SOIL: Free-draining chalk FEATURES: Classic cottage planting with roses and hollyhocks in abundance VISIT: June 29, 2024, 11am-5pm and by appointment for small groups. Visit thelonghousegarden.co.uk Tucked into a fold of the South Downs, in the medieval hamlet of Westdean, the Long House is the kind of place where time seems to stand still. On awarm summer’s day, the only sounds that can be heard are a chorus of birdsong and the buzz of bees flitting across the abundantly planted borders. Owners Rosie and Robin Lloyd have made a quintessentially English cottage garden, which perfectly matches the unspoilt setting of their home. There’s a wildflower meadow with gently winding paths…

Q Why does my Christmas camellia bloom biennially? PETER GREENHALGH, RUGELEY, STAFFORDSHIRE AMost camellias bloom in spring but the forms of C. sasanqua bloom in autumn and winter. Their flowers are smaller than most spring-flowering kinds but open over several months, in mild spells. ‘Yuletide’ (pictured) is a popular red-flowered variety, which may be what you have. Once mature, provided it’s not pruned, it should flower every year. But like other camellias, developing buds can be damaged by drought and last year’s hot summer may have affected the plant, especially if it’s potted and was allowed to dry out. Q What’s stressing ‘Red Robin’ plant? SUSANNE MARSHALL, BY EMAIL A Photinia ‘Red Robin’ is usually easy to look after, but this past winter and spring has been trying for many…

CAROL WATTERS, BY EMAIL A The ‘spray’ and ‘bloom’ carnations bought in shops are ‘perpetual-flowering’ carnations that are grown commercially because they have the potential to bloom all year. They will survive, but won’t flourish, outside in winter and need frost-free conditions to bloom, so you won’t have blooms outside in winter. You could plant them in the garden for summer but you’d need to dig them up and bring them back inside – or take more cuttings, overwintered indoors – to guarantee their survival in winter, so your conservatory is probably the best place for them. Individual plants do not live long so keep taking cuttings because young plants grow and bloom best.…

WRITE TO US AT Garden Answers, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA EMAIL gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk WEBSITE gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk Feathered first-timers We live in the North of England and I was very surprised to see parakeets eating from my wild bird feeders. They have been coming since December and love the bird fat balls. What a lovely addition to my garden! The smaller birds don’t seem to mind sharing either. Jen Davidson, Leeds We were so surprised to see this goose land by our pond, but our resident heron seemed to take it in his stride! Corinne Brindle, Thetford, Norfolk Since I moved to my home 24 years ago, I’d never had goldfinches in my garden. At last I’ve seen two of them on my teasel plants and now hear…

CLUES ACROSS 1 Orange-berried herbaceous perennial known as Cape gooseberry (8) 5 ‘Prince - - - -’, Borodin opera and an orange-red blooming red hot poker (4) 6 Baby - - - -, Fenestraria rhopalopyalla, succulents with cube-like leaves (4) 8 Sea - - - -, common name of Crambe maritima, edible perennial (4) 9 Type of hydrangea with a flatter flower cluster than the mophead (7) 12 N American wild bergamot also known as - - - - - - - fistulosa (7) 15To sprout or force seed potatoes into growth before planting out (4) 17 Aromatic culinary herb of the genus mentha (4) 18 Arching Polygonatum hybridum popularly known as Solomon’s - - - - (4) 19 Toxic annual delphinium – a stately cottage garden species (8) CLUES…

It’s the most prestigious celebration of gardening in the world, the place to see and be seen by everyone from the Royal Family to rock stars. But at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (May 21-25) in the grounds of London’s Royal Hospital Chelsea, it’s the fabulous gardens that take centre stage. The highlight of the horticultural calendar sets the trends for the year ahead in the gardening world and beyond. Gemma Lake, the show manager, says 2024 will not only be a year of yet more brilliant design, it will be the greenest Chelsea yet, with the focus on sustainability in all the show gardens. So what can we expect to see at the show and how will it filter into our own plots? Water Our increasingly dry summers have…

1 Hopefully you started lots of plants from seed in March and April. Now is the time to pot them or plant them out. Gently snap-off 2 non-flowering sideshoots of lavender. Put them in pots of free-draining compost to root. 3 Removing weeds leaves room for all your specially selected pollinator plants. Look out for... ● BLACKCAPS One of the UK’s fastest Shield bug increasing bird species, the males are taking to leafy gardens, where their sweet, fluty song is a spring joy. ● SHIELD BUGS Looking like a small shield with legs, a few species are common in gardens, quietly sucking juices from leaves. ● SMALL TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLIES Once ubiquitous, numbers have crashed recently.…

IN THE GARDEN WITH… Fabrice Aru and Martin Thurston AT: Turpins Lane, Chigwell, Essex SIZE: 17x4m SOIL: Heavy London clay has been removed and replaced with a variety of topsoils FEATURES: Densely planted rich, lush foliage, tree ferns, hostas, topiary and an abundance of well maintained shrubs complemented by a small pond and three water features designed for year-round interest VISIT: Through the National Garden Scheme on Sunday, July 28, 11am until 6.30pm. Entry £4. Visit ngs.org.uk When it comes to gardening, patience is a virtue, but usually it’s the gardener that has to do the waiting rather than the site itself. When Martin Thurston moved into his end-of-terrace cottage in the London end of Essex, all he could do was his best. The site sloped away to one corner,…

Q What can I grow in an east-facing corner bed that’s home to three shrubs? CATHY DUGMORE, BY EMAIL A The obvious choice here are hardy geraniums. Most will thrive in this spot, which is sunny for half the day, and there’s an enormous choice with flowers in shades of pink, purple, blue and white. As well as being hardy and perennial, they help smother weeds and bees visit their flowers. Various forms of G. endressii, G. nodosum and G. oxonianum (pictured) are all easy to grow and will flower all summer. If you want a change of colour, the enormously popular ‘Rozanne’ (inset) will fill the border with attractive blue flowers. Q Which plants suit an unheated conservatory? HEATHER CUNILD, BY EMAIL A An unheated, sunny conservatory is a…

Q Why do I have no success with French beans? GEORGINA CUMMINGS, KENT A French beans are generally easy and very productive but the seeds do need warm temperatures to germinate and, if sown too early, when the soil is cold, they’re more likely to rot than to germinate. It’s generally better to wait until May or June before sowing outside. To get an earlier crop, it’s best to sow the seeds in pots or cell trays in warmth from April onwards.  Q Will any veg grow in a shady bed under some trees? JENNY BOWER, BY EMAIL A Few vegetables grow well in shade. The exceptions are salad leaves and leaf beet but these need rich, moist soil and the problem in this area is that the tree roots…

Enter our wordsearch to win 1 clematis ‘Kokonoe’ and a £30 Hayloft voucher. The words are all flowering climbers. They may appear in any direction and/or overlap but you need to find them all for a chance to win. Entry coupon is below. WORDS TO FIND: ABUTILON AKEBIA BILLARDIERA CAMPSIS CHAENOMELES CLEMATIS ECCREMOCARPUS HOLBOELLIA IPOMOEA JASMINUM LATHYRUS LONICERA PASSIONFLOWER ROSA THUNBERGIA TRACHELO-SPERMUM WISTERIA HOWTO ENTER 1. Please complete the crossword and/or wordsearch grid(s) 2. Fill in this entry coupon and send the page to: May Puzzles, Garden Answers, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA or email a scan of your entry marked May Puzzles to gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk The closing date is May 28. I have entered (please tick): Crossword Wordsearch H Bauer Publishing (publishers of Garden Answers) may like to…