Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2020 i Woman's Weekly Living Series

It’s surprising just how many plants bear blue flowers during the colder months, in shades that range from midnight, indigo, navy or cobalt, through to sapphire, sky, powder or ice. Many are baby bulbs, fondly known as ‘little blue jobs’, which include reticulata irises, crocuses, grape hyacinths, windflowers, hyacinths, and various members of the scilla family, all widely available at garden centres, ready planted in plastic pots that can quickly and easily be incorporated into arrangements for containers and hanging baskets, or settled in sunny flower borders or alpine beds. For greatest impact, plant a single variety per container, or add instant colour by teaming up with low-growing blue-flowered violas, periwinkles, lungwort, primulas, Lithodora diffusa ‘Heavenly Blue’, variegated ivies or white winter heathers. This is gardening at its easiest, provided…

✣ Checking for and removing pests little and often is the key to growing strong, healthy and tasty plants ✣ Compost living waste matter ✣ Feed your soil with compost and well-rotted manure ✣ Grow plants which suit your soil and position — they will be healthier and therefore less vulnerable to attack ✣ Protect your plants from extreme heat and cold ✣ Water correctly — too much is as harmful as too little ✣ Scotch weeds swiftly ✣ Grow plants to encourage bees and butterflies such as buddlejas, chives, oregano and mint ✣ Create suitable habitats for wildlife such as frogs, hoverflies and birds ✣ Avoid chemical fertilisers, fungicides and insecticides. By doing so, your garden will gradually build up natural eco-systems of predators to hoover up the pests.…

ADDRESS: Baddesley Clinton, Rising Lane, Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire B93 0DQ OPENING TIMES: The house and grounds are open every day from 11am-4pm until 15 February; then from 11am-5pm until 13 November; then from 11am-4pm until 31 December. Admission to house is by timed ticket, tickets available from reception (not bookable). Closed 24 and 25 December. CONTACT DETAILS: Telephone: 01564 783294. Email: baddesleyclinton @nationaltrust.org.uk WEBSITE: nationaltrust.org.uk/ baddesley-clinton CURRENT PRICES: General admission: adult, £12.60; child £6.30; family, £31.50; group adult (minimum group size 15), £11.60. ADDRESS: Erddig, Wrexham, LL13 0YT OPENING TIMES: The house is open every day from 11.30am-2.30pm from 15 Feb to 27 March*; then from 12.30am-3.30pm until 1 November; then from 11.30am-2.30pm until 31 December*. The garden is open from 11am-4pm until 27 March; then from 11am-5pm until 1…

RHUBARB AND ALMOND CRUMBLE PER SERVING 681 cals, 37g fat, 18g sat fat, 75g carbs SERVES 6 ✣ 10 stems rhubarb ✣ Juice of ½ an orange ✣ 2tbsp orange blossom honey ✣ 275g plain flour ✣ 200g chilled butter, cubed ✣ 100g whole almonds ✣ 200g caster sugar 1 Heat the oven to 180°C/ Gas 4. Cut the stems of rhubarb into 5cm chunks and put into a large ovenproof dish. Mix the orange juice and honey together and pour over the fruit. 2 Put the flour, the butter and a pinch of salt into a food processor and whizz briefly. Add the almonds and whizz until the mixture looks like rough breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, then spoon the topping over the rhubarb. 3 Bake for 25-30 mins…

Calendula ‘Porcupine’ Cheerful vivid quilled petals give a porcupine effect! Sow these taller pot marigolds where  they are to flower in spring. H 60cm (2ft). Packet £2.99, suttons. co.uk, tel 0344 326 2200. Papaver ‘Amazing Grey’ A most unusual ruffled semi-double poppy in delightful shades of grey, some with a white edge. H 60cm (2ft). Packet £2.50, from plantsofdistinction.co.uk, tel 01449 721 720. Sweet pea ‘Mayflower 400’ Launched to mark the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower to the New World in 1620. A Spencer type with highly scented frilly flowers. H 1.8m (6ft). Packet £2.40, mrfothergills. co.uk, tel 0333 777 3936. Helianthus maximiliani ‘Early Bird’ A perennial sunflower with flowers that smell of chocolate. Its bonus quality is that it blooms earlier…

1 NIGELLA Easy and fast-growing, with feathery foliage, love-in-a-mist is a cottage-garden annual that flowers from June to September. Sow direct, March to May. Try sky-blue ‘Miss Jekyll’ (H: 45cm; pictured) or ‘Oxford Blue’ (H: 75cm). 2 LIMNANTHES DOUGLASII The poached-egg plant is a low grower that attracts pollinating insects. Those vibrant yellow flowers will fill borders with cheery colour throughout summer and into autumn. Sow direct, March to May. H: 15-20cm 3 COSMOS This has ample bright summer blooms that fill borders at little cost and make excellent long-lasting cut flowers. Sow in early spring under cover or direct in late spring. Flowers from June to November. H: 60cm-1m 4 PAPAVER ‘LADYBIRD’ This eye-catching annual poppy couldn’t be easier – simply scatter the seeds where you want it to…

MATERIALS & EQUIPMENT ✣ Stanley knife ✣ Four 2ltr plastic bottles with labels removed ✣ Hammer and nails ✣ Garden twine ✣ Scissors ✣ Potting compost 1 Using a Stanley knife, very carefully cut the bottom off each of the four clean, empty plastic bottles, at about a third of the way down. 2 To create the drainage holes, remove the screw tops from the bottles and, using a hammer and nail, make a single hole in the centre of each bottle top. 3 Carefully hammer a nail through either side of each of the bottles, at about 1cm down from the edge on either side, to make holes through which to thread the twine. Cut two equal, long lengths of twine with the scissors. 4 Thread twine through one…

All three forms are surprisingly versatile because, regardless of whether a garden can be measured in square metres or acres, a set layout can be scaled up or down to fit the space, adapting perfectly provided the original proportions are maintained. While these three traditional styles share common ground, there are differences. Parterres are formal, but larger and flatter than knot gardens, with the infilling of flowers and foliage stealing the limelight, relegating the hedges to a supporting role. Among early examples are the Palace of Versailles or Chateau de Chenonceau in France, and the Palace of Het Loo in the Netherlands. In England, there is an historic parterre at the 18th-century Westbury Court Garden in Gloucestershire, a rare survivor of the craze for replacing parterres with naturalistic garden landscapes,…

What does ‘well-being’ actually mean? The NHS defines it as being about ‘feeling good and functioning well, and comprises an individual’s experience of their life; and a comparison of life circumstances with social norms and values’. In other words, while mental and physical health are important aspects of a person’s wellbeing, many other factors can have an impact on how ‘well’ we feel. This could be affected by our work or personal finances, but also by our surroundings, local environment and the activities we do regularly. According to scientific studies, gardens and gardening make us feel good and keep us healthy in numerous ways. When it comes to physical health, exercise is just one benefit: prolonged periods of a low-intensity activity, such as weeding, can actually burn more calories than…

Include a range of plants with contrasting colours and features, blending intricate leaf patterns with attractive blooms to maximise the opportunities to bring fascination into your garden. Here are some suggestions, but remember to look for plants that will thrive in your climate and soil type. INDOORS ✣ BOSTON FERN (NEPHROLEPIS EXALTATA ‘BOSTONIENSIS’) This forms a fountain of arching green fronds. ✣ FERN ARUM (ZAMIOCULCAS ZAMIIFOLIA) It bears fronds of mid-green glossy leaflets arranged in pairs. ✣ MADAGASCAR DRAGON TREE (DRACAENA MARGINATA) This has sprays of sword-shaped, gently curved striped leaves. ✣ SNAKE PLANT (SANSEVIERIA TRIFASCIATA) This has long, leathery, architectural green leaves that are often attractively marbled. ✣ ECHEVERIA (ECHEVERIA SPP.) It forms elegant, textural rosettes in a range of colours. An interesting mix of green plants with intriguingly…

FEBRUARY ✣ BUY POTTED SNOWDROPS SOLD ‘IN THE GREEN’ and plant in a partly shaded spot in your garden, in moist, well-drained soil with added organic matter. ✣ START OFF EARLY SEED of half-hardy annuals and plant begonia tubers into pots of seed and cuttings compost. ✣ TOPDRESS SHRUBS IN POTS WITH FRESH COMPOST. Remove the top 2.5-4cm of compost and replace with John Innes compost mixed with plant food such as Miracle-Gro Continuous Release Plant Food or one for ericaceous plants. ✣ NOW’S THE TIME TO START TENDER GREENHOUSE CROPS, such as peppers, tomatoes and aubergines. Pop them in a heated propagator or heated greenhouse to give them a chance to produce well. ✣ PREPARE THE VEG PATCH by warming the soil with a covering of fleece and cloches.…

Fill in the gaps Q There are some bare areas in my borders – is it worth planting now or should I wait for summer flowers to go on sale? A It seems a pity not to treat yourself to the many, reasonably priced, colourful potted bulbs and spring-flowering bedding plants widely sold now. Ideally, replant at least some empty containers or beds to give good colour until the summer flowers go in from mid-April until early June. Bulbs, narcissi and grape hyacinths, for example, blend well with pansies and violas. Richly coloured tulips are good companions with double daises, or Bellis perennis, and forget-me-nots match yellow, white and black tulips. Sumptuous primulas with richly velvety petals, often as double flowers in blues, reds, pinks, purples, yellows and orange, whether…

✣ Originating from the cool climate of the Siberian-Chinese border, rhubarb has been documented as far back as 2700BC. The Chinese would use dried rhubarb roots medicinally to treat a whole host of ailments, primarily as a laxative. The roots are thought to have travelled to Europe via silk trade routes in the 13th century with Marco Polo, a famous merchant who travelled much of Asia. ✣ The word ‘rhubarb’ originates from Latin. Rhubarb roots were imported across the Volga River, also known as the Rha River, the largest river in Europe which runs through Russia. These were considered to be barbarian lands, and as a result the plant became known as rhabarbarum, then rheubarbarum – Latin for rhubarb. ✣ Documented use of rhubarb as a culinary plant goes back…