Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2024 i Garden Answers

AUTUMN ORCHID SHOW November 2, 10.30am-4pm, Wraysbury Village Hall, Berkshire TW19 5NA Beautiful orchids on display, sundries & books on sale. Free entry. • osgb.org.uk SWISS GARDEN TALK November 2, 2pm, The Weatherley Centre, Biggleswade, Beds SG18 8JH Hardy Plant Society Cambs & Beds AGM with talk on Swiss Garden. Visitors and new members welcome. •  hpscambsandbeds.co.uk LATE AUTUMN SHOW November 9, 2-5pm, Community Hall, Banstead, Surrey SM7 3AJ Banstead Horticultural Society show with plant sales. £2 non-members. bansteadhorticulturalsociety.com GARDEN OPENING & PLANT SALE November, 11am-3pm, Gresgarth Hall, Caton, Lancaster LA2 9NB Admire fine autumn colour in the beautiful grounds of Arabella Lennox-Boyd’s home with terraces, lakes, woods and herbaceous borders. Admission £12.50. •  arabellalennoxboyd.com/gresgarth-hall LATE-FLOWERING CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOW November 10, 11am-3.30pm, RHS Bridgewater, Worsley, Salford, Greater Manchester M28 2LJ Enjoy…

Hedges were first used thousands of years ago when humans transitioned from being hunter gatherers to farmers and they needed a way to delineate their land and contain their livestock. In more recent times, hedges became part of our gardens too, used not just for enclosure, security and privacy but for design and ornamental reasons as well. Now, we’re increasingly understanding their value in terms of their environmental benefits, as scientific research is uncovering how important they can be in mitigating the negative elements of modern life, such as pollution and noise, and the role they can play in boosting biodiversity and reducing the impact of climate change. Hedges can provide seasonal splendour, from the delicate flowers of the blackthorn that appear as winter merges into spring, to the magnificent…

PLAN NEXT YEAR’S TULIP DISPLAY Tulips make a gorgeous show in the late spring garden and this month is the ideal time to plant them – though you can plant as late as December, provided there’s no frost. They work equally well in pots or borders and look especially good popping up through wallflowers. For container plantings, add some multipurpose compost to the base of a large frost-proof pot. Plant the tulip bulbs first, at least three times the depth of the bulb (approx 15cm deep) to allow room for the wallflower roots above. Space the tulip bulbs so they’re close but not touching and cover with compost. Plant the wallflowers above the bulbs, lightly firm and water. Plant a seasonal hanging basket Jazz up a doorway with a seasonal…

For a few brief hours, the first autumn frosts can put a whole new spin on our otherwise familiar garden scene. For the best effect you need a collection of robust late performers that can shrug off the end of season rain and wind with seed heads, foliage or stems still intact. At Bressingham Gardens in Norfolk, the eupatorium ticks all these boxes with its striking pink frosted domes. As well as being structurally impressive, their muted colours are echoed by the buff and rose plumes of the grasses, bringing movement and softness to the setting. The contrasting cool blues spread across their feet is a clever juxtaposition to stop the picture becoming too sugar sweet. Pick a silver-leaved pulmonaria like ‘Diana Clare’ to keep this frosted contrast even when…

There’s nothing predictable about Robin Roose’s garden. Tucked behind a characterful 17th century house in a Kent village, visitors might expect it to be a flowery, cottage-style plot. Instead, there’s an instantly calming landscape of exotic trees and shrubs where feathery fronds mingle with large, paddleshaped palm leaves, tree ferns create a secluded glade and variegated foliage at every level forms interesting patterns and textures. Birds swoop and flutter around many feeders and two large ponds add to a sense of being deep in nature. “I’ve always loved going for woodland walks and experiencing the feeling of tranquillity that happens in a glade, and I wanted to create that for myself,” Robin explains. After retiring as a garden landscaper, he looked for a plot of land large enough to plant…

As the evenings draw in and we retreat indoors, it’s time for me to put my feet up by the fire and reflect on what worked and what didn’t on the plot this year. A vegetable I’ve always thought I could grow with ease was the carrot, but not this time. I tried four times and ended up with just five carrots in total, which is five more than I expected. I’ll think of it as a lesson, reminding me that no two seasons are the same and what works one year might be a complete failure the next. Tomatoes, chillies and aubergines did make me proud, though, and as I’m typing this, I’m snacking on a delicious yellow Polish tomato variety called ‘Cytrynek Groniasty’ and dreaming of all the…

December ISSUE on sale November 6, 2024 ♥ Create show-stopping contrast in your winter garden with fiery reds and glistening silvers ♥ Let ferns take centre stage with winter green foliage ♥ Plant sweetly-scented sarcococca for uplifting Christmas spirit ♥ Join the head gardener for a walk around The Cotswolds’ Whatley Manor ♥ Look back on a year of garden wildlife with our expert, Adrian Thomas ♥ Don’t forget our bumper Christmas Gift Guide! + ♥ Inspirational reader gardens ♥ Olga’s lovely plot ♥ Expert Q&A ♥ Puzzles & prizes ♥ Jobs for the month…

FREE* 21 corms worth £23.78 These sword lilies are so easy to grow – just plant the bulbs in spring and forget about them until midsummer when you can enjoy the abundance of gladiolus flowers in borders or cut for a vase indoors. H: 60cm, S: 15cm. This super free collection includes seven bulbs of the following varieties: ‘Hunting Song’, ’Rose Supreme’ and ‘Priscilla’. Pre-order for January despatch. *Just pay £5.95 postage. TRY THESE MONEY-SAVING OFFERS TOO! ENGLISH BLUEBELLS IN THE GREEN English bluebells rekindle memories of springtime woodland walks. The nodding, violet-blue flowers of these hardy, native bulbs attract insects to their scented flowers. At their happiest when growing in the dappled shade of deciduous trees, English bluebells are ideal for a woodland garden or naturalising in informal areas…

“Making a chicken wire cage to store the leaves I’ve gathered to make leaf mould.” Louise Curley’s picks for winter texture, p14 “Bringing hyacinths out of the dark, where they’re being ‘forced’ for scented early blooms.” Sue Fisher on nerines, p32 “Mulching my veg bed with all the two-year-old compost I’ve made.” Adrian Thomas focuses on garden birds, p46 “Sorting through my saved seeds and turning them into Christmas gifts.” Visit Olga Grieves’ Devon allotment, p70 “Cutting back perennials, but leaving anything useful for winter structure.” Geoff Hodge’s pick of leaf collectors, p88 “Liberating a patch of land from my lawn to create a fruit bush corner.” Join Dan Masoliver on his horti adventures, p106…

Seedball is thrilled to be giving four lucky Garden Answers readers a chance to win a set of its brand new Herb Tubes. The beautifully illustrated tubes come as a set of five favourites, including basil, chive, mint, parsley and wild rocket salad, each containing 20 seedballs, enough to cover one square metre of garden or three to five medium-sized plant pots. These decadent herbs not only add delicious flavour to dishes and drinks, but the plants also provide vital food for pollinators and wildlife. *To enter, visit gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk/freeforyou by midnight on November 5.…

Don’t waste beautiful fiery autumn leaves. Those that aren’t going on to make leaf mould can be used to make fantastic decorations for your home. 1 You will need dry fallen leaves such as Quercus rubra or prunus (or a mixture of both), a clean, dry jar, a tea light and raffia palm string. 2 Tie the string round the jar just loose enough to slot the leaves in, overlapping each one. 3 Once they are all in place, tighten the string. 4 Light the candle and pop it into the jar for a seasonally magical glow.…

Climate change is a challenge that all gardeners are dealing with, and the disruption in global temperatures is impacting our own vegetable plots. That’s why growers – from major food producers to allotment holders – are looking for crops that can withstand the unpredictable climate. The Heritage Seed Library, which is part of the charity Garden Organic, is encouraging gardeners to consider a wider choice of vegetable varieties to grow because they believe it could be the key to increasing climate and food resilience. Heritage varieties (such as those preserved by the Heritage Seed Library and offered up each winter in its yearly Seed List) provide a diverse range of heirloom vegetable plants, many of which are better suited to the UK’s warmer and wetter climate. Even better, many of…

As a child, I spent a lot of time playing in my family’s garden, set in a little Worcestershire village. Three of the familiar sounds of summer were the purr of the turtle dove in the ash trees at the foot of the garden, the soft ‘chuk-chuk’ calls of the spotted flycatchers that brought their newly fledged youngsters into the same trees, and the liquid, bubbling calls of the house martins as they swooped up to their nests under the eaves of our little semi-detached. My mum still lives in the same house. She hasn’t seen spotted flycatchers there for over 20 years, while turtle doves are now almost impossible to find in the whole county let alone the garden. And this year, 2024, house martins didn’t breed on the…

1 You’ll need a hanging basket, plastic bag, peat-free compost, chionodoxa bulbs, iris bulbs such as ‘JS Dijt’, ivy, violas and helleborus. To limit plastic, you could use moss from the garden as a liner. 2 Cut holes in the liner for drainage and fill the basket a third of the way up with peat-free compost. The next step is to add the iris and chionodoxa bulbs a few centimetres apart. 3 Every hanging basket needs a thriller, spiller and a filler. The iris and chionodoxa will act as thriller, albeit they will take a couple of months to bloom but look spectacular. 4 Add another thin layer of compost to the basket and get ready to add your fillers. Place the violas and hellebores around the edge, leaving a…

Q How can I make my autumn border work harder? This autumn border has a wonderful, romantic, unkempt look. After the rigours of summer, seedheads have formed, perennials have begun to die back, leaves are blushing vibrant golds, pinks and reds and many are scattered on the dewy lawn. Yet there are still ways to bring some fresh seasonal excitement. First off, I’d add in a few fresh pink autumn flowers. The Japanese anemones used here have gone over, but later-flowering A. hybrida ‘Königin Charlotte’ and ‘Elegans’ should both last into October. At the front, I’d plant a few goblet-shaped autumn crocus, Colchicum autumnale; they also come in a white form ‘Album’, and can sprout straight from the bulb. Other options include ivy-leaved autumn cyclamen C. hederifolium for its dainty…

WRITE TO US AT Garden Answers, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA EMAIL gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk WEBSITE gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk Seed sensations Zinnias, cosmos and phlox in the evening light make all the nurturing from seed to plant worthwhile! Clare Saunders, by email I love the cosmos that have grown from my free GA seed. So many different ones to choose from but this is my favourite so far. June Deaton, Moulton I sowed Malope trifida (known to us as triffids) as a bit of a joke due to the name, but the results are great. Colin Burton, by email My GA cosmos seeds bloomed all summer. Colin Ellson, by email Pride and joy My homemade alpine bug chalet was made from chopped logs, pine cones, hollow bamboo stems and twigs.…

CLUES ACROSS 1 Bulbous, early-spring flower (8) 6 Perennial whose bearded varieties include ‘Beverly Sills’ and ‘Art Deco’ (4) 7 Abnormal swelling on plant often caused by infection (4) 8 Deep pink shrub rose named after Princess Alexandra of - - - - (4) 9 Sweet-scented herbaceous plants also known as mignonettes (7) 12 and 4 Down Dianthus cultivar taking its name from a Somerset gorge (7,4) 15 Magenta-flowered succulent - - - - purslane or Calandrinia grandiflora (4) 17 Fruits having hard shells around edible kernels (4) 18 King of beasts whose tail is a common name for leonotis (4) 19 Name often given to the legume Galega officinalis (5,3) CLUES DOWN 1 - - - - - snap peas, sweet, crunchy pod greens (5) 2 Elizabethan, Sir -…

Patio project POPS OF PINK With few plants in flower at this time of year, it’s time to turn to berries to lift any patio display. The vibrant, candy-coloured sorbus ‘Pink Pagoda’ berries are an inspired choice for this scene and elevate it to new heights with a gorgeous flash of colour. The cream-striped, sword-shaped leaves of cordyline ‘Torbay Dazzler’ provide the structure for the soft pink Calluna vulgaris to nestle against, which in turn picks up the brighter pink in the berries. The golden leaves on sprigs of beech, coupled with the variegated ivy make for a fantastic contrast. The larger pots at the back are kept simple with Dodonaea viscosa ‘Purpurea’ in the metal container and Acer campestre in the wicker pot.…

In our homes we often combine different materials such as wool and leather, stone and wood or rough tiles with polished ceramics to add detail and interest and to create a sensory experience, and the same principle can be employed in the garden. Simply by using plants with different textural characteristics – smooth bark, feathery flower heads, papery seedheads and prickly leaves – we can stimulate the senses of sight and touch, which in turn encourage us to interact with the garden, even during the bleakest months of the year. Using texture as a design feature relies on contrast if it’s to have a real impact. This means combining plants with fine texture – the slender needles of pines, the fern-like foliage of some conifers or the faded flowers of…

Latest to bloom of all the hardy bulbs, nerines and their close relatives amarines bring a glorious touch of sparkling autumn magic to the garden when showy blooms erupt from bare ground. Lush, strap-shaped green leaves have grown and mostly gone dormant by the time the stout flower stems appear, topped with large, rounded heads made up of six or more flowers, the petals prettily reflexed and often waved at the edges. Lasting for at least three to four weeks, the colourful flowers bring a splendid last hurrah of colour to the growing season. Nerines originate from South Africa and although there are around 30 species in cultivation, the hardy species to grow outside in UK gardens is Nerine bowdenii. While sometimes called the Guernsey lily, this name correctly belongs…

This smart wooden house, eight miles north of Perth, Scotland, is an exciting showcase of modern, energy-saving design. It has its own wind turbine, ground source heat pump and solar panels, its garden is eco-friendly too, featuring an enormous wildlife pond and beds of nectar-rich planting. “We bought the plot with a dilapidated cottage on it in 2002,” says owner Helen Lunan, who lives here with her husband Burnett. “It was five years before we eventually moved in. We struggled to find an architect and builders who would take on our environmental vision; an energy efficient, well-insulated home using locally sourced materials free of toxic chemicals and a future-proof design that would accommodate up to 16 family visitors, including our eight grandchildren.” “We thought, let’s pull it down, start from…

Garden Answers At Garden Answers magazine our aim is to help you make the most of your outdoor space by creating your perfect garden, whatever the season. Now’s the perfect time to take out a subscription with Christmas just around the corner. This rich source of gardening ideas and inspiration can be delivered direct to your door, 13 times a year, with a free packet of seeds with every issue if you choose the Print Subscription. Or try our Print+ Subscription, which allows you to enjoy Members-only rewards and discounts. Simply scan the QR code (below on the left-hand page) with your smartphone or tablet camera to find out more. Subscribe Print Subscription: 6 issues for £19.99* when you subscribe PLUS 1 free packet of seeds per issue (UK only) THE…

Many deciduous trees and shrubs provide tremendous value at this time of year with their gorgeous displays of autumnal leaf colours in shades of red, yellow, orange and purple. But when the display is over and all those leaves are lying on the ground, starting to rot, you’ll want to gather and remove most of them. Decomposing leaves look unattractive, those left on paths, patios and other hard surfaces create slip hazards, and those on the lawn and on top of plants cause damage to the plants below. But don’t throw them away, they can be used to make leaf mould, which is a superb soil improver and mulch. Leaf blower or garden vac? Leaf blowers are just that – they are used to blow the leaves off surfaces and…

Buy one get one free Quick and easy, our pre-planted hanging baskets are the perfect solution for instant displays. Giving you superb colour in your garden, flowering all winter long and into summer, they are hardy to-6C and will withstand the worst of the winter whatever the British weather throws at it. They will cascade over the sides of hanging baskets, providing a splash of subtle colour on dull days. The ready-made basket results from extensive trialling to find the perfect partners to grow together and perform consistently – plus you'll have the basket to use again next year! The hanging basket comes straight to you, ready-planted with top-quality, UK-grown plants so with no work required!. The Viola 'Pansy Cool Wave' variety offers a stunning mix of golden orange, sunny…

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