Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2019 i Woman's Weekly Living Series

Lawn and order Q I want to have my lawn in tip-top condition in time for summer. Can I start feeding it now? A Grass is usually growing by March and responds well to feeding. Spring lawn feeds contain a balance of nutrients, with an emphasis on nitrogen to promote good leaves. March weather is usually moist enough to wash the fertiliser into the soil without risk of ‘scorching’ foliage. However, if the weather is dry, slow-release fertilisers that won’t burn leaves are available. Unfortunately moss grows at lower temperatures and light levels than grass and unless treated in February can become dominant – a ‘feed and moss killer’ product is ideal. But weeds won’t be in full growth until next month, and a ‘weed and feed’ product containing weedkiller…

Events and walks John Massey’s Garden West Midlands, 16 March and 21 April This delightful plantsman’s garden is opening for charity. ✿ Entry £5 (cash only). Open 10am-4pm; next to Ashwood Nurseries, Kingswinford, West Midlands. Tel 01384 401 996; ashwoodnurseries.com Spring Community Free Day RHS Gardens, 19 March Look out for spring gardening inspiration and enjoy a visit to any of the four RHS Gardens as they open to all free of charge. ✿ Opening times vary. RHS Hyde Hall, Essex; RHS Rosemoor, Devon; RHS Wisley, Surrey and RHS Harlow Carr, North Yorkshire. rhs.org.uk/gardens/whatson-at-rhs-gardens Mums Go Free Staffordshire, 31 March Take Mum to Trentham Gardens on Mothering Sunday; free entry with any paying guest. ✿ Adult £9.45, child (5-15 years) £8.40. Open 10am-5pm; Stone Road, Stokeon-Trent ST4 8JB. Tel 01782…

Tredegar House Roam with Rover all over the gardens and parklands of this South Wales landmark The grounds of this grand 17th-century mansion are home to not one, not two, but three formal gardens, each with its own distinctive character. The Cedar Garden is a testament to the park’s devotedness to animals, with a stone obelisk to commemorate the battle horse of Godfrey Morgan, the first Lord Tredegar, as well as three headstones for the family’s beloved dogs. The spectacular cedar of Lebanon is a focal point but you’ll also find herbaceous borders and lawns that are perfect for dogs who like to bask in the sun. The largest garden is the Orchard Garden, where, as its name suggests, apple trees predominate – the fruit of which are supplied to…

Slightly earlier ✿ Buy bedding fillers such as pansies and primroses and pop into borders and pots for instant cheer. ✿ Fix hessian or horticultural fleece in position to provide a drop-down screen to protect early flowers or wall fruit. ✿ Tidy up large-flowered clematis hybrids and remove any dead stems. Now is the perfect time to hard prune late summer-flowering cultivars such as x Jackmanii or Clematis viticella. Prune to 30cm (1ft) from the base for more even flowering. ✿ Order plug plants and pot them up as soon as you receive them. ✿ Buy seed potatoes and arrange in trays of newspaper set on a well-lit windowsill. ✿ Start off peppers, chillies and aubergines by sowing into pots of fresh compost. Position in a heated propagator or well-lit,…

✿ Remake old paths and mark out and construct new ones. An old gravel path that has become weedy should be forked over, large weeds pulled out and a weedkiller used all over. If possible, add a couple of inches of fresh gravel and roll well. ✿ Wind a small piece of hosepipe between plants. It will help keep cats and birds off your border, as they don’t like snakes! ✿ Propagate cuttings and share new plants with friends and family. Layer young branches of hardy shrubs – bend shoots about 15cm from the tips, make a slight wound beneath a bud on the bend and peg it down into the soil.…

See to the soil To become a successful organic gardener and grow your garden just as nature intended, first have a look at your soil. Muck in It’s the foundation of a great garden and it’s a well-known fact that if you feed the soil, it will feed the plants. So if you’ve always relied on chemical weedkillers and synthetic fertilisers, now you must harness the power of nature – muck, not magic! Worm food To keep soil in good health, condition it with regular applications of homemade compost. An impoverished soil not only grows poor plants, but it also fails to feed the insects, worms and beneficial microbes that bring it to life. What’s your type? It will pay to learn as much as you can about your own…

There are a range of spring events across the RHS Gardens offering the chance to buy, admire and enjoy displays of a wide range of spring flowers including daffodils. ✿ 16-17 March: Spring Flower Festival, RHS Garden Rosemoor, Devon EX38 8PH See some of the season’s most beautiful blooms on display, and in competition for prizes. Daffodils, camellias, early magnolias, rhododendrons and hyacinths will be among those on show as well as a lovely daffodil display by local schoolchildren. There will also be plants to buy and expert gardening advice on hand. ✿ 22-24 March: Spring Plant Fair, RHS Garden Wisley, Surrey GU23 6QB Meet the growers and choose quality plants from over 30 specialist nurseries. Plants on sale include many with an RHS Award of Garden Merit. ✿ 2-3…

Wallington, Northumberland Dogs love visiting Wallington, and can explore anywhere outside on a lead. Take a tranquil walk along the banks of the River Wansbeck, crossing over bridges and stepping stones on the way. The Clocktower Cafe has plenty of outdoor seating and water bowls. You can even buy homemade dog treats for your furry companion. ✿ nationaltrust.org.uk/ wallington Mount Stewart, County Down The Londonderry family were fond of dogs, and well-behaved four-legged friends are still welcome at Mount Stewart. The Red Trail is the main walk around the estate and offers plenty of woods and fields to explore, although all dogs need to be kept on a lead. You can find filled water bowls outside the reception area, courtyard, and opposite the house to help keep your dog hydrated…

The annual autumn flower show in Harrogate is an excellent place to see vegetables grown to mammoth proportions. Although growing giant veg spikes wonder and interest, it is an extremely time-consuming pursuit and best left to the dedicated hobbyist. Growing leeks for consumption, however, is relatively simple and worthwhile. Leeks are a hardy biennial plant grown as an annual for its blanched stems. Like onions, garlic and chives, they belong in the Alliaceae family, and are an excellent source of iron and potassium. Heritage varieties are divided into two groups – short and stout or long and thin – with early, mid-season or late varieties. Modern cultivars tend to be more uniform in size but still offer seasonality and improved disease resistance. Preparing your plot The ideal area to grow…

There is something delightfully disorientating about strolling along the winding paths in Julie Alviti’s garden, and discovering that hedges and walls cleverly conceal unexpected gardens-within-a-garden. ‘The whole feel of the garden is not to see it all at once, but to go round a corner and discover unexpected, interesting features, or an inviting seating area,’ she explains. ‘Each “garden room” can have a different planting scheme, Julie continues. ‘That means I can grow a wide range of plants.’ To begin with the garden was more children’s playground than plantswoman’s paradise, but as Julie’s children grew up, she gradually whittled away at the lawn closest to the house, widening the borders to make space for hydrangeas, coneflowers, fleabane, agastache, astrantias, cosmos, verbascums, clematis and climbing roses, creating a lovely view from…

1 PYRUS CALLERYANA‘CHANTICLEER’  Perfect for growing in urban gardens where space is scarce, as they’ve a compact, narrow shape. Blooms between April and May, producing white blossom, its autumn leaves are a vibrant red and purple. Soil type and conditions ✿ well drained ✿ clay ✿ sand ✿ loam ✿ full sun 2 BUDDLEJA  This deciduous shrub, is rich in nectar, earning it its nickname of ‘the butterfly bush’. Bees and other insects are also attracted to the fast-growing plant as it produces fragrant clusters of flowers from July to September. Soil type and conditions ✿ well drained ✿ chalk ✿ loam ✿ sand ✿ plenty of sun ✿ bee and butterfly haven 3 CAMELLIA Good for growing in pots, camellias are popular because of their colourful flowers. The bushes…

At this time of year, the idea of ‘less is more’ has great resonance and the smallest of flowers, buds or attractive foliage are all the more prized for their scarcity. The loveliest seasonal planting schemes contain layers of flowers and foliage on different levels. Hugging the ground are tiny flowering bulbs – reticulata irises, snowdrops and miniature tulips – making greatest impact in flowering clumps. Hellebores, deciduous azaleas or dwarf acers are also good planting companions because, come summer, their leafy foliage shades dormant bulbs. Shrubs At around mid-height, it is shrubs that take centre stage. Evergreen spindles, osmanthus or pittosporums can either be left shaggy or clipped into shape, creating a permanent backdrop, while hollies and heavenly bamboos (see page 30) add bright red berries to the mix.…

Daffodil bulbs spend several months developing roots before the flowers burst forth in spring Many gardeners don’t realise just how vast an assortment of daffodils there are. Around 7,500 different varieties are available today, all with distinguishing characteristics. They can have small or large trumpets, double blooms, petals that sweep backwards and cups split into segments. They can vary in colour between white, yellow, orange and, occasionally, pink and even red – in narrow bands on the cups of Narcissus poeticus and its cultivars – while colours can contrast greatly between cup and petal. All Royal Horticultural Society Gardens have beautiful daffodil displays each spring, often blooming alongside a huge variety of crocuses and snowdrops. At RHS Garden Wisley, in Surrey, daffodils can be seen in many places across the…

Shrewsbury train station is not perhaps a place where many people sit and write letters, but it was here on 11 August 1879 that Marianne North wrote to Joseph Hooker, the Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to enquire whether he would accept her paintings as a gift to Kew. Marianne had missed her train, and characteristically not wishing to be idle, decided to put forward the idea suggested after her exhibition in Conduit Street, London, earlier in the year that the paintings should find their ultimate home at Kew. Marianne North was a remarkable Victorian artist who travelled the world in order to satisfy her passion for recording the world’s flora with her paintbrush. The result of these epic journeys can be seen in the Marianne North Gallery…