Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2025 i Garden Answers

A community food growing initiative backed by 3,500 gardens across the country is celebrating its second anniversary. The initiative, Coronation Gardens for Food and Nature, was set up to give a lasting legacy to King Charles’ love of nature and all things harvest, and has been working to empower local communities to breathe life back into their local green spaces. Each community garden has to pledge to grow fruit and vegetables sustainably, while also helping nature along the way to be part of the project. To get your community space involved, visit mycoronationgarden.org.…

LATE AUTUMN SHOW Sat November 8, 2-5pm, Community Hall, Park Rd, Banstead, Surrey SM7 3AJ Banstead Horticultural Society Show with plant sales & refreshments, £4. • bansteadhorticulturalsociety.com LATE CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOWS Sun 9, 11am-3pm, Saughton Park & Gardens, Balgreen Road, Edinburgh, Scotland EH11 3BQ New show in Scotland, in collaboration with the Chrysanthemum Society. • thecaley.org.uk Sun 9, 11am-3.30pm, RHS Garden Bridgewater, Worsley, Salford, Gtr Manchester M28 2LJ Prize-winning displays by growers from the National Chrysanthemum Society. Garden entry £17.80. • rhs.org.uk AUTUMN GARDEN OPENING Sun 9, 11am–3pm, Gresgarth Hall, Caton, Lancaster LA2 9NB Admire the autumn colour in the grounds of Arabella Lennox-Boyd’s home with terraces, Millennium Wood and lakes. Garden plants & ornaments on sale, £12.50. • arabellalennoxboyd.com/gresgarth-hall ORCHID AUCTION Fri 14, 7.30-9.30pm, Costessey Centre, Longwater Lane, Costessey, Norwich,…

The late blooming glory of Michaelmas daisies brings fresh and vibrant colour to the autumn garden in a blaze of splendour The late blooming glory of Michaelmas daisies, as asters are familiarly and better known, brings fresh and vibrant colour to the autumn garden to finish off the season in a blaze of splendour. Once a mainstay of cottage gardens, asters have transitioned seamlessly into today’s popular garden styles, from naturalistic and prairie-style plantings to garden borders. These marvellous hardy perennials are easy to grow, long lived, wonderful for wildlife, and perfect for perking up any spot that has decent, well-drained soil with a fair amount of sun. Asters offer a wealth of purples, pinks, and whites, their nectarrich blooms alive with butterflies and bees Asters are incredibly diverse, with…

Planting bulbs in grass is a great way to brighten lawns in spring. Remember that lawns will need to be left for six weeks after mowing, to let the leaves die down and feed the flowers. So if you need to mow, choose crocus and earlyflowering daffodils, which finish blooming early in the season. In areas where grass can be left unmown for longer, try later daffodils and Narcissus poeticus, species tulips, camassia and Allium siculum. The best way to achieve a natural look, is to roll a handful of bulbs on to the lawn and simply plant them where they fall, making planting holes three times their depth. Alternatively, lift a square or squares of turf and fill each with a mass of bulbs. Backfill with soil and replace…

Put simply, trees are incredible habitats for wildlife. They offer song perches, nesting sites, shelter, massed blossom, a glut of seeds, and copious amounts of leaves for insects to eat, which themselves then feed other wildlife. Whole ecosystems can exist in a single tree. Trees are also brilliant for us, creating structure in the garden and often providing privacy, too. The shade they bring feels ever more important as the climate warms – the most used bench in my garden is the one under an oak tree. But in a garden setting, it is important to have the right tree in the right place. When I moved into my current property, there were already plenty of trees in the garden, three of which were very close to the house. In…

Just a few miles from Hull city centre and occupying a modest setting in the middle of a council estate, 17th century Southwood Hall and its relaxed formal gardens come as a very pleasant surprise to those who visit it. A euonymus parterre complements the perfect symmetry of the front of the Grade II listed house, but the geometric lines are softened with the addition of hydrangeas, scabious and colourful penstemons, and a riot of pink roses runs around the front door. A secret walled garden tucked behind double gates has a storybook quality, with whimsical Alice in Wonderland sculptures and a fountain surrounded by relaxed planting. A newly created Pottering Garden blends decorative elements with essentials such as a potting bench, shed and compost heaps. This truly epitomises the…

1 Select vigorous, healthy stems that have grown this year, using sharp secateurs to make a cut just above a leaf joint, to prevent the stem that you’ve just cut from dying back. 2 Cut the cut stems into 15-30cm lengths, making a slanted cut at the top of the cutting. This allows rainwater to slide off the top of the cut, which reduces the risk of the cutting rotting. 3 Make a straight, horizontal cut at the base of the cutting, just below a leaf bud. Making a straight cut rather than slanted helps identify which way up to insert the cutting. 4 Hardwood cuttings need good drainage. Mix equal parts multipurpose compost and horticultural grit in a tray, then fill deep pots with it, ready for adding the…

Growing crops in the garden used to be an activity that had similarities with waging war. Noxious sprays would be the first line of defence against plant diseases and disorders, with unwelcome insects blasted to oblivion with a spray gun. Thankfully, growing food in the garden has become a much less adversarial activity, with many of the lotions and potions previously available for gardeners now banned due to their negative impact on the environment. And there is a lot that we can do to reduce the amount of water and fertiliser that we need to use in order to coax some delicious harvests from our garden. Choose crops that love your garden One of the best ways to have success with edible crops in your garden is to grow ones…

6 bareroots worth £19.98 for free *just pay £5.95 postage This stunning mix of ‘Russell Hybrids’ lupins bring tall spires of tightly-packed flowers rising above clumps of palmate foliage in a wonderful kaleidoscope of colours. They are ideal for adding height and structure to the back of perennial borders and woodland edges. It’s a distinctive hardy perennial that remains a cottage-garden favourite. H: 90cm, S: 50cm. • 6 FREE* bareroot ‘Russell Hybrids’ lupins – just pay the postage MORE GREAT MONEY-SAVING OFFERS ECHINOPS RITRO Echinops ritro is a well-loved perennial with strong architectural impact. Spiky globes of electric-blue flowers perch upon silvery-green stems, which make superb cut flowers, whether fresh or dried. The late-summer blooms rise above clumps of spiny, deeply cut foliage which forms an attractive contrast with other perennials.…

Enter our wordsearch to win a three-plant collection of Decadent Helleborus ‘Double Ellen’ and a £30 Hayloft voucher. The words are all plants beginning with the letter H. They may appear in any direction, but you need to find them all for a chance to win. Please use the entry coupon below. WORDS TO FIND: HALESIA HAMAMELIS HEATHER HEBE HEDERA HELENIUM HELIOTROPIUM HELLEBORE HEMEROCALLIS HEPATICA HESPERIS HEUCHERA HEUCHERELLA HIBISCUS HIPPEASTRUM HONEYSUCKLE HOSTA HYDRANGEA HOW TO ENTER 1. Please complete the crossword and/or wordsearch grid(s) 2. Fill in this entry coupon and send the page to: November Puzzles, Garden Answers, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA or email a scan of the entry marked November Puzzles to gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk The closing date is November 6 I have entered (please tick): ◻…

“Planting my onions, shallots and garlic for next summer’s harvest.” Ade Sellars has bareroot planting plans, p14 “Cutting seedheads from grasses and alliums for Christmas decorations.” Sue Fisher on why she loves asters, p20 “Keeping ponds free from falling leaves, which can be smelly and bad for wildlife.” Adrian Thomas talks trees on p40 “Taking it slow, feeding the birds and planning next year’s plot adventures.” Olga Grieves is slowing down for winter, p68 “Planting a new rose or two in the front garden as bareroot season begins.” Greg Loades grows figs from cuttings, p72 “Taking hardwood cuttings of cornus to fill a soggy area of the garden.” Geoff Stebbings answers your questions on p74…

Bareroot planting makes it more affordable to fill your garden with scent and colour for years to come Autumn has arrived and it’s easy to retreat into the warmth of our homes, pining for the embrace of spring. From behind frosted windows, we can only spectate as the frozen landscape becomes a playground for Jack Frost. Skipping through our gardens and allotments, his icy grip leaves nothing untouched. Yet, despite the seasonal chaos, gardeners still have the edge. We can get out there with spade to plan, prepare and plant. Our arsenal? Bareroot plants. November to March is a dormant period for most plants, trees and shrubs. There is little demand to put on growth, so it allows plants to conserve energy and focus on their root systems. Perennials, roses,…

Hardy shrubs that bloom in winter are treasured gems that are invaluable to cheer the garden with fragrance and colour during these bleak and darker months. Come frost, rain, wind, even snow, these hardy beauties make an outstanding display year after year, with plants of all sizes to suit different spots around the garden. While matching the right plant to the right place is key with all long-lived plants, it is especially so with winter-flowering ones to enjoy their blooms to the full, for the weather is only sometimes kind enough to allow us to linger out of doors. Plant at least some of these shrubs in prime viewpoints seen from the comfort of indoors, as well as close to frequently used entrances and routes such as to the garage…

Before you strip back your borders with an exhaustive winter tidy up, some perennials can be left intact to enjoy their winter structure or attractive seedheads. Leave standing silvery-stemmed perovskia; echinacea, rudbeckia and sedum for their seedheads; and dianthus, which remain green in most winters. Cut them back in spring ready for the flush of new growth to emerge. Plants with large, soft or fleshy leaves such as hostas are likely to turn to mush, while daylilies, fennel, nepeta and asters suffer blackened stems after a hard frost, so tidy them away before they make borders look bedraggled. Cut them right down, trimming the leaves back to ground level but keep a tiny bit of stem showing so you can avoid them when planting bulbs. For others, such as hardy…

Visit greatmagazines.co.uk/gardenanswers PHONE 01858 438884 QUOTE XM25 At Garden Answers magazine our aim is to help you make the most of your outdoor space by creating your perfect garden – not just for summer, but all year round. As Christmas approaches and evenings are cosy indoors, it’s the perfect time to take out a subscription. This rich source of gardening ideas and inspiration can be delivered direct to your door, 12 times a year, with a free packet of seeds with every issue if you choose the Print & Digital Subscription. Or try our Digital Subscription, which allows you to enjoy Members-only rewards and discounts. Simply scan the QR code (below, left) with your smartphone or tablet camera to find out more. FREE SEEDS WITH EVERY ISSUE! Subscribe Print+ Subscription: Get…

Our experts GEOFF STEBBINGS gives expert answers to all your gardening problems. Geoff is an author and gardening writer and was head gardener at Myddelton House, north London. GEOFF HODGE is a gardening and horticultural writer, author, editor and radio and TV broadcaster. He is a regular member of Q&A panels at flower shows. IAN HODGSON casts an expert eye over unruly borders, providing advice on how to revamp them. Ian is the author of Great Gardens, in association with the Society of Garden Designers. CONTACT US Send us your queries! By post: Garden Answers, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA Email: gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk Web: gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk Social media: Find us on Facebook as Garden Answers X@GardenAnswers Instagram as gardenanswers…

A lovely, lush, green lawn is a thing of beauty. It looks great as a standalone feature, but it also sets off the rest of the garden, especially plants growing in neighbouring beds and borders. But after a busy summer of wear and tear, and this year’s very dry weather in most parts of the country, many lawns are in need of some assistance right about now to help them recover and prepare for whatever winter and spring will throw at them. Autumn is a major time for lawncare, improving the underlying conditions to aid the movement of vital oxygen, water and nutrients away from the lawn surface and down to where they’re needed – the grass roots. If the grass and underlying soil can’t breathe, they will ‘suffocate’, which can…

Less than 5p per bulb! Save £15 with this collection Transform your garden with months of fabulous colour each year – this fantastic offer is less than half the normal price you’d pay for 300 bulbs of this quality! From February to July, you’ll be amazed by a dazzling array of colours and variety of shapes from these brilliant plants. They’re perfect for patio containers and flower borders and, best of all, each look great naturalising through grass, returning with bigger and better displays for years to come. The bulbs are guaranteed to bloom, introducing your garden to a minimum of 300 stems of vivid colour through spring and into summer. Please be advised, we may need to make substitutions according to stock levels. YOUR COLLECTION INCLUDES: • 15 x ‘Triumph’…

Patio project SHADY CHARACTER A sheltered corner of the patio is the perfect place for showing off a variety of leaf forms that will keep the place vibrant and uplifting through autumn and winter. Group pots together to make as fulsome a display of containers as possible, for maximum impact, and try placing multiple pots inside large crates to create a rustic flourish. A few lonely pots placed away from each other won’t look as impressive or show off the diversity of your plants. Placing plants showing autumn colour among evergreens creates a beautiful tapestry and before winter bites, resist the urge to tidy up and let fallen autumn leaves decorate the scene like confetti.…

COMPETITION SHED OF THE YEAR IS A SPACE-SAVING MASTERPIECE How tidy is your shed? Is it a masterpiece of law and order or a chaotic free-for-all? A space-saving super structure called ‘The Tony Workshop’ falls into the former category and is the 2025 overall winner of Cuprinol Shed of the Year. Created by Mike Robinson, an engineer from Plumstead in south-east London, it wowed the judges with its clever use of space. This ingenious invention has two door flaps that open at the bottom to provide flooring and rain protection. “We needed a good bit of storage for the garden necessities,” said Mike. “It’s a creative space where I can tinker and mend as well as have the storage space for garden stuff, kids’ games and tools.” The shed also…

FAGUS SYLVATICA Looking to create a hedgerow with character? Then the deciduous native beech is a great choice. It has lush green leaves in the summer that turn a dense bronze and yellow in the autumn or you could grow the copper beech, for deep purple leaves in summer. Not only good for wildlife, beech grows well in most conditions, full sun to part shade. ROSE ‘A WHITER SHADE OF PALE’ Nothing speaks of summer more than a rose. So, for a stunning bush variety, why not opt for ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’. Reaching just under a metre in height, this hybrid tea rose is excellent for pots, patios and front of borders. A compact, blush-pink, fragrant rose that blooms all summer and into autumn, it’s no wonder this…

PLANT A HEDGE FOR WILDLIFE Late autumn is the best time to plant a hedge, because the ground is still warm and moist enough for roots to establish before winter sets in. Loosen the soil in the bottom of the hole with a fork – only add compost if the soil is particularly poor or very freedraining. Pop a plant in each hole, making sure the stem section is level with the surrounding soil, then backfill around the roots to cover them. Once you’ve firmed your new plant in place, water and add a compost mulch, keeping it away from the stem or trunk to avoid rot. Good hedging plants for wildlife include hawthorn, beech, yew and Rosa rugosa (dog rose, inset). Keep cannas alive over winter It’s risky to…

Don’t fret if you look out of the window to see soil instead of blooms and boring fences bereft of climbers. The best way to ensure a garden looks gorgeous in winter is to add a skeleton of evergreens, hard landscaping and interesting textures. These clever designer secrets will set your garden up as the perfect backdrop for summer flowers and foliage. Try just one of these smart ideas or embrace them all and your garden will instantly have more backbone. GIVE THE GARDEN A GOOD ‘SKELETON One of the ways to ensure the garden looks good all year round is to plant it cleverly with those that can be left intact to act as ‘forzen statues’ through winter. Grasses with fountain-like shapes can look dramatic on frosty mornings, as…

There’s a bittersweet tale behind the abundance of Mary Caldwell’s exuberant borders. Just a few months after moving into her home in Skidby in the East Riding of Yorkshire following her husband’s death, Mary herself was diagnosed with breast cancer. “My garden was a blank canvas so I was determined to create an instant garden I would live to see, and put in every plant I could get my hands on, with no thought for proper spacings or maturity,” she says.“Now, 18 years on, I’m faced with an absolute jungle of plants and forced to say goodbye to some of them!” Having previously lived in older houses with mature gardens, I’d always wanted a garden that hadn’t been gardened The previous owners had apologised to Mary that they ‘were no…

November is the month during which my allotment and I agree to slow down. Or at least try to. The beds are tucked in under mulch, the last of the French beans have withered into papery husks, and there’s nothing urgent to pull, sow, or water. I could, if I were so inclined, dig every square inch until the soil resembles a well-fluffed duvet… but the truth is, it doesn’t need me to. The earth is perfectly capable of getting on with its winter business without my interference. Plants have this nailed. Trees shed their leaves to preserve energy, perennials vanish under the surface, and the weeds… well, some of them have the decency to disappear for a while. They don’t fret about ‘keeping busy’ or ‘maximising productivity’. They know…

WRITE TO US AT Garden Answers, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA EMAIL gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk WEBSITE gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk Super sunflowers Gorgeous multi-headed sunflowers grown from free GA seeds. John Webster, Riddings, Derbyshire I planted sunflower seeds with Jack and Ella, my grandchildren, in spring and they were so chuffed with this one that they nurtured. Karen Madeley, Cornwall ‘Velvet Queen’ sunflowers from GA seeds have looked amazing. Linda Marshall, Wirral and Marilyn Hay, by email Fond memories I've had my shrimp plant for a few years but this year it’s been wonderful. It’s not often found in garden centres but I love it and it reminds me of my grandmother, who always kept one. Ann Locke, by email Star letter MEETING MANY NEEDS I’m blind in one eye, partially…

CLUES ACROSS 6 - - - - - - creeper or Tropaeolum peregrinum with bright yellow flowers (6) 7 Bergamot cultivar sharing its name with the first man in Genesis (4) 8 Perennial Sisyrinchium angustifolium or blue - - - - grass (4) 9 Botanical name of the ivy genus (6) 10 Morning - - - - -, common name of the annual vine Ipomoea (5) 12 Rudbeckia - - - - -, tender perennial also known as black-eyed Susan (5) 15 All-round maincrop potato variety, ‘King - - - - - -’ (6) 17 Annual herb of the parsley family, Anethum graveolens (4) 19 Month in which immature apples and other fruits drop from trees (4) 20 The spreading, suckering Ailanthus altissima or tree of - - - -…

I am, by my nature, a curious person. I go out of my way to try to understand the world, wildlife, plants, people, how things work. Facts are my friends. I see nothing trivial about trivia. Locked doors, velvet ropes, signs reading “authorised personnel only” – these are not so much deterrents in my eyes as they are enticements, and invitations for exploration. The problem for the curious of mind, however, is that so much of the world exists behind closed doors. Which is why if there’s any opportunity to peek behind the curtain, I leap at it. From sports stadia and chocolate factories to vineyards, breweries and disused London Underground stations, if there’s a behind-the-scenes tour to join, I’m the first one in line. I know I’m not alone…