Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i Woman's Weekly Living Series

1 YELLOW FLAG IRIS (IRIS PSEUDACORUS) Yellow flag irises are marginal plants, best for larger ponds. They are easy to grow and will provide lots of buttery yellow flowers from late spring. Divide the rhizomes every two years, after the plant finishes flowering in June. 2 WATER FORGET-ME-NOT Another easy-to-grow plant for pond margins. It has clusters of tiny blue flowers with a yellow eye on low-growing foliage, which will spread to create an informal edging effect, hiding ugly pond liners or softening hard lines. Best grown in water no deeper than 5cm. Flowering is from May to September. 3 FROGBIT (HYDROCHARIS MORSUS-RANAE) Another great option for the best pond plant, this is helpful for providing shade for pond-dwelling creatures. It’s an attractive floating plant with rounded leaves, and small…

Garden shows HARROGATE SPRING FLOWER SHOW NORTH YORKS, 25-28 APRIL Take inspiration from show garden features, talks and workshops – and the biggest exhibition by florists and flower arrangers in the country. ✱ Adult £25, children under 16 free, bookings online. Open 9.30-5pm; Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate HG2 8NZ. Book your tickets at: flowershow.org.uk TOBY’S GARDEN FESTIVAL DEVON, 3-4 MAY Toby Buckland’s Festival brings together the best nurseries, arts, craft, gifts and artisan foods from the West Country. Don’t miss talks by Rachel de Thame and Sue Kent. ✱ Adult advance ticket £13.50, children under 16 free. Or upgrade to exclusive VIP or Tea & Cake in the Castle tickets from £30pp. Open 10am-5pm; Powderham Castle, Exeter EX6 8JQ; tobygardenfest.co.uk BBC GARDENERS’ WORLD SPRING FAIR HAMPSHIRE, 3-5 MAY Set in…

At this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show (21-25 May), several gardens are set around the importance of gardening for health and wellbeing – as well as raising awareness of the health struggles that some people face. Here, designers of three such gardens talk through their designs and provide advice on how you can bring these healing elements into your own garden, through design ideas and plant choices. Stroke Association’s Garden for Recovery BY LANDSCAPE DESIGNER MIRIA HARRIS The garden has been designed as a peaceful, sensory space to support stroke recovery, both physical and mental. I drew upon my own experience of surviving stroke and the stories of other survivors, their families and loved ones to create a garden that I hope provides a space for rest and reconnection. DESIGN…

TREES 1 VARIEGATED HOLLY (ILEX AQUIFOLIUM) Evergreen holly with marbled leaves can bring year-round light and interest to a sombre site. Plants are male or female, and, generally, the females produce the attractive scarlet berries when they are fertilised by pollen from a male plant. To ensure winter berries, it’s advisable to plant one male tree and one female (although some plant companies do now sell pairs in one pot). Holly ‘Golden King’ has spineless green leaves with a gold rim, and Ilex aquifolium ‘Argentea Marginata’ has spiny foliage with silvery cream edges, but there are lots of different ones to choose from. Hollies will grow well in partial shade, preferably with moist, well-drained soil. Deeper shade may cause the leaf colouration to be less defined. 2 IRISH YEW (TAXUS…

Asparagus and brie tarts Simple but effective, these elegant yet light pastry bites are perfect served as a canape or alongside a salad for a light lunch. MAKES 4 PREP 20 mins COOK 20 mins ✱ 325g pack of ready-rolled puff pastry✱ 1 medium free-range egg✱ Splash of milk✱ 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked✱ 120g brie, cut into 4✱ 12 spears of asparagus, bottoms snapped off 1 Heat the oven to 160C Fan/Gas 4. Unroll the pastry, keeping it on the baking paper, and cut it into 4 rectangles. Transfer the pastry on the paper to a baking tray. 2 Whisk the egg in a small bowl with the splash of milk to make an egg wash, then brush over the pastry. Sprinkle with thyme leaves. 3 Lay a…

Garden paths can be simply functional, offering a practical, hard surface linking key features such as patios, sheds and gates. Yet they also offer a great opportunity to add decorative value, draw attention to key features, and inject colour and pattern into your outdoor space. So if you want your garden to stand out from the neighbours’, try these key path design tips from our experts. ‘Do consider how a path will link key garden features at the planning stage’ James Scott MSGD, MBALI of The Garden Co (thegardenco.co.uk) ‘When planning a path, there are many things to consider,’ says James. ‘For example, is it a main or subsidiary route, which can determine its width and the material you choose? Will the colour and shape complement the garden and your…

When it comes to vegetables to plant in April, one thing’s for sure: you’ll have plenty to choose from. After months of anticipation, the gardening calendar steps up a gear, and everything is bursting into life. With so much starting to happen at once, it can be a little overwhelming – but don’t panic! Some selections take time to bulk up, while others are ready as soon as 10 weeks after sowing. A few make gorgeous ornamentals, and one or two may even challenge how you define a vegetable. Just keep one eye on those perilous late frosts – and make the most of every space, inside and out, to cultivate that precious new growth. What to sow RED CABBAGE Robust, generously packaged and stuffed with nutrients: not for nothing…

Allotment clearing Q I’ve recently landed an allotment space, but half of it is covered in grass. How should I clear this without using weedkiller? A Digging over is very effective but can be hard work and if the long, white rhizomes of couch grass are present these have to be teased out, which is laborious. A better way is to cover the grass with a double layer of cardboard and then cover this with 15cm of well-rotted compost. Unfortunately few people have the large quantities of compost needed and compost is expensive to buy. To save work consider digging strips 1 metre wide and leave the intervening path grass. Plant the cultivated strips with spreading, sprawling plants such as courgettes, potatoes, pumpkins and squash. The crops and your walking…

We ask a lot from our outdoor spaces and often aspire to good design, year-round interest, wildlife areas and produce all from one plot. This is rather like taking the essence of a country estate with its contours and lakes, shrub borders, parterres and walled kitchen garden and then cramming it into a postage stamp. But why not combine beauty and produce by growing some of these ornamental edible plants? They will give seasonal interest as well as gracing your kitchen table with delicious, fresh fruits and veggies. 1 RUNNER BEAN ‘ST GEORGE’ This climbing runner bean produces bicoloured red and white flowers before setting a delicious crop. The beans are up to 30cm long and mature in clusters for easy picking. Other runners with pretty blooms include white-flowered ‘Moonlight’…

Chartwell, Kent CHRISTOPHER LANE Garden and outdoors manager The garden at Chartwell is a place of pure delight in late-April and into May. An area that is a particular favourite of mine at this time of year is around the Gavin Jones Cascade (on your right as you walk down the path from the Visitor Centre). Lady Churchill saw this on display at the Chelsea Flower Show in 1948 and came to an arrangement with designer Gavin Jones for it to be installed organically and seamlessly into the Chartwell landscape. The area around it was planted with trees and shrubs that showcase the floral offerings of late spring and early summer. It is littered with specimens such as Magnolia x soulangeana ‘Rustica Rubra’, Rhododendron ‘Lavender Girl’ and Rhododendron ‘Sappho’. We…

1 If you don’t have much space for veg in your garden, why not try courgettes in a pot? You can grow compact breeds in large, thick containers, wooden barrels and concrete tubs that keep roots cool and moist. Top varieties include mildew-resistant ‘Defender’, ribbed ‘Romanesco’, long-fruited ‘Alfresco’, striped ‘Coucourzelle’, yellow ‘Shooting Star’, round ‘Eight Ball’ and UFO-shaped ‘Sunburst’. Keep harvesting while finger-sized for a steady supply all summer long. 2 We’re all familiar with spring bulbs, but it’s time to start thinking about the summer varieties. Order your alliums (pictured), camas, gladioli, eucomis, anemones and freesias. 3 Soak new perennials and shrubs before planting. Submerge the pots in a bucket of water for about 20 minutes. 4 It’s the time to clear weeds in paths and between paving slabs,…