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9 perfect plants for a summer container

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B PRACEST TICAL ADVIC SINCEE 1884

5 JUNE 2021

How to direct sow hardy annuals Our top tips for growing the perfect calabrese How to make more houseplants for free Taking your first cuttings

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Perennials!

Gorgeous plants that offer lots for very little cost

Astrantia: best varieties to grow

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Taking softwood cuttings Make more houseplants Dealing with a houseplant horror Sow seeds now for late colour How to sow free seeds/Butterfly watch: the red admiral

Great garden ideas

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“Here are the best options for container plants from garden centres,” says Tamsin

26 Summer containers: the best options for instant colour 30 Bargain perennials: save money by growing perennials from seed 34 Magical masterworts: astrantias were once used for curing aliments 57 Get the look: how a bramble-covered challenge became a dazzling garden

Gardening wisdom 13 15 17 18 21 39 47 50 52 63 67

Peter Seabrook Bob Flowerdew Val Bourne Wildlife Anne Swithinbank’s Masterclass Lucy Chamberlain’s Fruit and Veg Ask John Negus A Gardener’s Miscellany All Our Yesterdays Advanced Gardening Letters to Wendy: from AG readers Toby Buckland

Garden news 6

All photographs Alamy unless otherwise credited

Future

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“Plan for next year by taking softwood cuttings,” says Ruth

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“Astrantias have a long and rich history,” says Anne

“Get lots of perennial plants for just pennies,” says Graham

Garden trade respond to peat issue

“Now that No Mow May is over, I’m looking forward to giving the lawn its first cut. I didn’t begrudge leaving it to nature – far from it.

I am quite convinced that knowing you are making a positive contribution to the wellbeing of wildlife has a health-giving effect on us gardeners as well. All through May, as I fed the roses, topped up soil on the spuds and pulled the nastier weeds in the borders, my thoughts turned to the wildlife and how they were enjoying the benefits of my uncut lawn. It was nice to see the daisies and other wildflowers. Going forward, I’m only going to cut the lawn once a month. To borrow a well-known supermarket slogan, every little helps.”

Garry Coward-Williams, Editor

Contact us: Subscriptions: 0330 333 1113 Editorial: 0330 3903732 Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com Advertising: 0330 3906566

Cover: Delphinium ‘Magic Fountains Sky Blue With White Bee’ (pic: Alamy) 5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Gardening Week with AG’s gardening expert Ruth Hayes Step by step

Next step Pot on rooted cuttings

Healthy cuttings roots emerging from a pot

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Cuttings taken last autumn will have rooted and grown. Water them before potting on.

Most cuttings need rooting compound

I am potting on pelargonium cuttings before planting out hardened off fuchsia and more pelargonium cuttings

The year’s first cuttings Ruth uses new growth to propagate her favourite plants

Future unless credited

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VERYTHING should be growing healthily in your garden, but there may still be gaps in borders that you’d like to fill.

Plan ahead for next year by taking softwood cuttings from some of the many perennials and deciduous shrubs, including pelargoniums, penstemons, verbena, buddleja, fuchsia and lavatera, that may be growing in your garden.

They are called ‘softwood’ because you use healthy, non-flowering plant material that has grown this season that it is still soft and sappy as it hasn’t had time to ripen and harden.

Unlike growing from seed, plants propagated in this fashion remain ‘true’ to their parents when it comes to foliage and flower colour.

Taken now, they will grow through summer and can either be planted out in autumn or kept undercover until next year once the frosts have passed.

This week I planted out some pelargonium and fuchsia cuttings I took last autumn, then grew on through winter in the greenhouse and hardened off over the spring.

Taking softwood cuttings is relatively straightforward. You will need: A sharp, clean garden knife or sharp, clean secateurs or snips.

Some 4in (10cm) clay pots. You can use plastic pots but clay is slightly porous, which helps water and oxygen circulate 4 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2021

around the roots to keep them healthy.

Seed and cuttings compost (or seed compost). This is perfect when potting up new cuttings because it is formulated with just the right amount of nutrients to encourage strong root development.

Perlite, vermiculite or sharp sand. Mix any of these with the seed compost to improve drainage and air circulation around young roots. Perlite and vermiculite are granular minerals sold at most garden centres.

Hormone rooting powder or gel. Dip the cut ends of cuttings in this before inserting them into the compost and it will further help the development of strong roots. Do not use it on pelargonium cuttings.

Fresh tap water. Use instead of harvested rainwater to dampen compost and water in your cuttings as it is less likely to be contaminated with debris or fungal spores, which could kill vulnerable, soft young growth.

Sticks and a plastic bag. If using a pot, seal it in a plastic bag to retain warmth and moisture around the cuttings to aid rooting and growth. Insert the sticks in the compost around the rim of the pot, under the bag, so the plastic does not touch the plant leaves. This is not necessary for pelargonium cuttings.

Cuttings can be taken throughout the summer and autumn as new growth matures and ripens. I will be talking

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Carefully separate the cuttings’ roots – you can see here they are developing strongly.

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Pot up the cuttings in 3-4in (710cm) pots of John Innes No 2, firming the compost as you go.

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Water and set in a light, warm greenhouse. The plants will soon grow and can be planted out after being hardened off.

about semi-ripe and hardwood cuttings when the time is right, so leave some space for them in your borders, greenhouse and cold frame!

Healthy and strong: In next week’s AG I look at the best ways of keeping your garden healthy and productive through summer

Rooting an African violet leaf

Alamy

My bergenia cuttings are growing well, and the sticks helped keep them healthy while they rooted

Watch out for: Increase your stock of streptocarpus and African violets by taking leaf cuttings

New leaves around a rooted one

Make more houseplants Propagate streptocarpus and African violets so easily

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OU can propagate houseplants now they are growing strongly after winter, and African Violets and streptocarpus are two of the easiest varieties.

Both can be reproduced by taking leaf cuttings. With African violets, remove a healthy leaf and insert it in a pot of seed compost mixed with perlite, vermiculite or grit.

Seal the pot in a plastic bag and place it somewhere warm and light. Keep the compost damp and in a few weeks little leaflets will emerge from the stem.

You can multiply your streptocarpus collection using healthy leaves, too.

Either cut one lengthways on either side

Step by step

of the central spine and remove it, then insert the cut edges of the two halfleaves into damp, gritty compost.

Alternatively, cut the leaves widthways and, again, insert the cut edges of the pieces into damp compost.

Add a lid to retain moisture, and place somewhere light and warm out of direct sunlight. Roots will develop and new leaves will form in 6-8 weeks. At this point remove the tray lid or plastic bag around the pot.

With both varieties, leave the new plants to grow for a couple of months, keeping the compost watered, then pot them up in peat-free multi-purpose or John Innes No 2 compost.

Cuttings are delicate and vulnerable to a range of problems, especially in their early stages.

Of the last batch of pelargonium cuttings I took in autumn, only one survived, but that is a healthy plantlet and will be potted on later this month.

Rots and moulds are the main dangers, especially if any part of the cutting is touching the bag or lid they are sealed in.

Once they have Aphids on new growth rooted and the coverings have removed, don’t let them dry out. Grow them on somewhere warm and light.

Watch out for aphids attacking the tender young growing tips, and carefully wipe them off between fingers and thumb.

Taking softwood penstemon cuttings

In the morning when the plants are full of moisture, select a few 4in (10cm) lengths of healthy new growth.

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Insert the cuttings by around 1/2in (1cm) into damp seed compost with added grit, perlite or vermiculite.

Dip the cut ends of the stem into hormone rooting gel or powder to encourage strong root formation.

If necessary, store them in the fridge for up to 24 hours in a sealed and dampened plastic bag.

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Remove the lowest pairs of leaves and, if necessary, shorten the stem by 1in (2.5cm).

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Seal the cuttings in a clean plastic bag and place on a light, warm windowsill. Rooting takes 6-8 weeks.

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Got a story? email ruth.hayes@futurenet.com

The latest stories from around the UK

Garden trade and peat issue AG talks to industry chiefs about ending the use of peat

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THE use of peat in horticulture continues to be the industry’s hottest topic, with charities such as Garden Organic, the National Trust and the RHS trying to wean gardeners off using the material, backed by Government initiatives.

Keith Nicholson: AG has been talking to industry leaders ‘The business about how they are moving towards a has changed’ peat-free regime – and why it has taken so long.

Keith Nicholson, marketing director Westland, said the brand has spent the past two decades working to reduce the peat content in its growing media. It’s New Horizon peat-free range has Peat extraction on the Somerset Levels proved very successful and the company is working hard to find a reliable alternative to peat for the to be consistently good.” remainder of its growing media.

He added: “We have to listen to the Keith said: “We have been on this peat-free lobby, but all sides have to journey for the past 18-20 years and listen to each other. We all need to work spent £38-40 million on research and together and create products that are development. We have fundamentally right for the next 20 years or more.” changed the business in the past 15 Peter McDermott, the managing years and are progressive in this area.” director of YouGarden, has been in He said that ‘as it stands by the gardening industry since the volume, 75% of Westland age of 14 and says he has yet to compost is peat-free, adding see anyone come up with a that swapping the final 25% will manmade growing medium be the most challenging part of that is better than peat. the journey.

He is also keen to point out Keith added that the onus is Peter McDermott: that the horticultural industry is on the horticulture industry to ‘We’re not the bad guys’ not ‘the bad guy’ when it comes create a roadmap for the future to peat use. and work with the Government, NGOs, the peat-free lobby and Coir has a carbon footprint consumers to come up with a usable He said: “A very small percentage of peat alternative. However, it isn’t a quick or dug is used in horticulture so we need to easy process. get this in perspective. There are other “It can’t just happen overnight. Each much more voluminous customers who material undergoes 5-7 years of tests and development and at the moment we burn it as fuel. The horticultural industry are not the bad guys.” still don’t have enough alternative YouGarden has an extensive range of materials to peat available,” Keith said. composts, including peat-reduced and “Every material we trial has to be peat-free products that contain coir.

Peter said: “People say ‘use coir’, but it has to be transported halfway around the world, which means it has a huge carbon footprint.

“This happens in industry. My brother worked for a soap maker and they used animal tallow to make soap. When that became unacceptable they used palm assessed for profile and performance oil and that’s now Public Enemy No.1. and the manufacturing production.

Finding the right alternative products in When you have materials working together it is important to make sure they any industry is like whack-a-mole!”

He added: “There are three things to all work together consistently so they remember: the horticultural industry is give the consumer exactly what they not the prime suspect, if you are going to have invested in and expect. They have

Future unless credited

“We spent £40m on research”

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Collecting coconut husks to make coir

Where we are now with peat Q Peat is the result of the slow process of plant decomposition that takes place over centuries.

Q Peatlands are the world’s largest carbon store and create rare and valuable ecosystems.

Q In March 2020, the Chancellor of the Exchequer said the Government intends to restore 35,000 hectares of peatland by 2025.

Q The gardening industry set and failed to meet ‘voluntary targets’ of removing peat from retail gardening by 2020.

Q It has similar targets for removing peat from wholesale by 2030.

Q In the UK, less than 0.4% of peat is sourced in England, with most coming from Ireland, Scotland and eastern Europe.

Q A common replacement is coir, material sourced from coconut husks, that is used in compost and to make biodegradable pots and seed germination pellets.

Q Although its harvest is beneficial to communities where coir is grown, its use raises carbon footprint concerns as it needs to be shipped to India and Sri Lanka.

Q Wood fibre is another possible alternative, but here the gardening industry continues to lose out to the fuel industry.

use something else, make sure it doesn’t do further damage to the planet, and thirdly, whatever you do use has to work well, and that is what’s taking the time to get right.”

Q In next week’s AG we talk to the charity Garden Organic about peat alternatives and to a garden centre chain that is being pro-active in encouraging peat-free gardening.

Your

Gardening Week Top Tip Although houseplant compost is available, your plants will grow well in peat-free multipurpose compost with added granular fertiliser.

with AG’s gardening expert Ruth Hayes I have repotted my plants in fresh compost after checking for vine weevils

Step by step

Summer care tips Four jobs to do now

Adult vine weevil on a windowsill

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Our houseplant horror!

Stand plants on a bed of gravel that is kept damp to create healthy levels of humidity around the leaves.

Ruth deals with an indoor outbreak of vine weevils

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OMETHING is afoot in the lounge, and I don’t like it. In recent weeks we have found three adult vine weevils stalking the room, which has been unnerving to say the least.

They were swiftly evicted, but the question is ‘where did they come from?’

I suspect they overwintered as creamy, brown-headed grubs in the compost of one of the room’s many houseplants and my money was on either a weeping fig that has been slightly droopy and sad for some time, or a new white jasmine salvaged from a garden centre ‘TLC bin’.

While the grubs eat the roots of plants, the large brown adults with their slightly drooping snouts bite notches on the edge of leaves, though I haven’t seen any evidence of their feasting indoors.

Pests are common on houseplants after winter when they seek sanctuary indoors, so it is always worth checking and treating before they multiply.

I found no evidence of vine weevil grubs when I checked the fig and jasmine’s compost, but I repotted them in fresh compost and watered all the plants with Bug Clear Ultra Vine Weevil Killer.

Hopefully that’s the last we will see of those unwanted houseguests!

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Do a pest check on all your plants, but take care when using chemicals around pets.

Re-potting your houseplants

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Mist leaves with water as this also helps raise humidity levels and stops foliage crinkling and browning at the edges.

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Slide plants from their pots and check Sit the rootballl on a little peat-free the compost for pests. Free any roots compost before adding more, firming that are tangled or circling the bottom. it down to support the plant.

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I added some granular fertiliser to Water well. I used a solution of Vine the compost to give the plants extra Weevil Killer to protect my plants nourishment during the growing season. from pests for a couple of months.

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Wipe leaves clean of dust and pests. Plants that can go outside later on in summer will be washed clean by showers.

5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Gardening Week with AG’s gardening expert Ruth Hayes Step by step

A mixture of quick-growing hardy annuals will brighten the late summer days

Sowing in situ

Prepare soil and sow seeds thinly You can sow several varieties together

Top Tip

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Clear and break up the soil in a sunny border, and create a slight depression where you plan to sow your seeds.

Alamy

Seeds mixed ready for sowing

When growing flowers for arrangements, try sowing them well spaced in straight lines or ‘drills’ so they are easier to cut.

On your marks, get set, sow Scatter some quick seeds for late colour, says Ruth

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F you have done most of your summer planting and your beds are full of perennials and bedding, it’s time to fill any remaining gaps with some quick-growing seeds.

Many summer annuals take just a matter of weeks to go from seed to flower, and if you scatter them now, they will soon flourish in the warm soil.

I like to mix a variety of quick seeds in a pot and scatter them throughout any empty areas in our beds.

This year I’m sowing a mix of poppies, scabious, nigella, marigolds, California poppies and schizanthus.

Hopefully several of them will selfseed too, and grow again next summer.

The key to success here is to choose your site (a sunny, sheltered spot will get the best results) and prepare your soil well, clearing it of weeds, old roots and stones and breaking it up into a fine, crumbly tilth.

Water the seedbed before sowing and scatter your seeds as thinly as possible so the seedlings have plenty of room to grow strongly.

If they start growing looking a bit crowded, don’t panic, you can always thin them out later on.

Future unless credited

Never give up the weeding!

Q The weather may have been all over the place so far this year, but that hasn’t stopped the weeds from flourishing.

Q Whether they are tough perennials or slightly less robust annuals, they steal light, air, water, soil nutrients and space from your plants, especially newlysown seeds in a patch of beautifully cultivated soil.

Q Weeds are also prime hosts for pests and can cause fungal diseases when they crowd out cultivated plants, reducing airflow and drying the soil.

Q Make sure you get them out in their entirety as even the smallest fragment of a perennial weed root can rejuvenate into a new plant.

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Sow the seeds thinly, scattering a mixture from your hand so they will grow in natural swathes.

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Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil and gently firm it down before watering, using a can with a fine sprinkler rose attached.

Remove weeds but leave some, such as garlic mustard (inset) for insects

Q My one caveat is to leave a few flowering weeds somewhere quiet for insects as they all contain vital nectar.

Q Just make sure you get them out once they have flowered and before they set seed!

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Label the seedbed so you don’t disturb it, then protect it from incontinent cats and hungry birds with some twiggy branches.

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Gardening Week with AG’s gardening expert Ruth Hayes

Future unless credited

Pepper spray should keep off the pests

Both Press restricted

Prepare the soil by crumbling and raking

This butterfly-attracting mix of seeds will help beneficial insects and bring native colour to your garden

Sow seeds as thinly as possible

Bring on the butterflies A colourful mix to bring pollinators flocking, says Ruth

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F the unseasonably cold and dry start to spring was hard for us, spare a thought for our pollinating insects who turned up on time, only to find that many of the garden plants they rely on for food were several

weeks behind their usual timetable.

Things have caught up now, but our vital garden insects – the bees, butterflies and other winged creatures that help fertilise our plants – still need our help, especially as many of their

natural habitats are being lost to intensive agriculture and development.

Give them a reason to flock to your garden with this week’s free seeds, a special mix designed by Mr Fothergill’s to feed and nurture our butterflies. The mix may vary from packet to packet but its contents may include corn cockles, poppies, cornflowers and other natives.

As hardy annuals they can be sown now onto soil that has been broken up, raked and dampened.

Scatter the seeds thinly in swathes and arcs for a natural look, then cover them with a thin layer of soil, gently firm it down and label the site.

You may also want to spray pet and pest deterrents over the top to keep cats and hungry birds and rodents off your seeds. If you don’t want the seeds germinating in a main bed, sow them in a quiet area of the garden where wildlife is more likely to congregate.

Don’t worry if the seedlings emerge too close together, you can always thin them out once they are large enough, then watch them flower and enjoy the beautiful butterflies that they attract.

Butterfly Watch: The red admiral (Vanessa atalanta)

Both Alamy

This scarlet-and-black beauty may travel thousands of miles The incomers lay their eggs in May, LAST summer I spotted a strangeso freshly emerged butterflies are seen looking caterpillar making a meal out of a nettle plant. It was black and spiny on the wing from June onwards, often right through to October. and looked like some sort of They are a common sight on unpleasant alien. In fact, it was buddleja bushes and will also the larvae of one of our most feed on flowering ivy and impressive butterflies, the rotting windfalls in autumn. red admiral.

Eggs are mainly laid on These black-andnettles, though hops and scarlet beauties are found pellitory-of-the-wall is also all across the British Isles, Red Admirals used. After hatching, the from coastal shores to high are found all larvae create little protective mountains. Although over the UK tents out of leaves that they fold common, their numbers fluctuate each year, depending on the together, and only emerge from these protective cases to feed. number of strong-flying migrants that However, their shelters are not make their way here from North Africa enough to prevent them from attack by and Europe.

parasitic wasps and flies, which lay eggs inside the caterpillars.

Red admiral larvae that survive Caterpillars usually feed on nettles will go on to pupate, again in a protective tent of leaves, before emerging as adults and setting off on their mammoth journey south for winter.

Increasing numbers of butterflies are able to overwinter in southern parts of the UK, and these pale, quite battered specimens are often the first ones to be seen on the warm days of early spring.

Ruth Hayes 5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Listen to Peter’s free podcast every Thursday. Search for ‘This Week In The Garden with Peter Seabrook’ on iTunes

Gardening Week with Peter Seabrook, AG’s classic gardening expert Originally intended for the Chelsea Flower Show, our pyramid is now on display at RHS Hyde Hall in Essex

Peter’s top tips

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Allplant

Hollyhock seeds sown over the next few weeks will give towering spikes of flower in the summer of 2022 and following years.

I’m planning, planting and deadheading, says Peter

Arthur Edwards, The Sun, unless otherwise credited

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ATE May and early June are few poppies that can be cut and always a busy time in the garden, arranged in water after scorching the cut and now the chance of frost has ends – and I can’t wait to see the colours. passed (I sincerely hope, after There are also more than 70 different frosts every night through April) all the cultivars of Calendula to sow for the half-hardy flowers, fruits and vegetables Fleuroselect Year of the Calendula 2021. can be planted out. Hardy plants are It’s already a bit late to be sowing hardy growing like steam, not to mention annuals, but this is being done in weeds, so there are jobs to be the hope of still having them done wherever you look. flower into September. Time And it’s not just the was taken last month coming months, as over building the Chelsea the next few weeks we Flower Show Pyramid at need to be planning and Hyde Hall in Essex, to then sowing for spring make up for the London 2022. On my list are show postponement, Rudbeckia ‘Enchanted’ wallflowers, with an aim to which went pretty well had it is a good performer grow some 22 different not been for gale-force winds. cultivars for trial, forget-me-nots, This high-rise feast of colour has foxgloves, sweet williams and Iceland proved an irresistible focus for everyone poppies (Papaver nudicaule). There are carrying either a camera or an iPhone to flower buds just opening on a new take a selfie or party group. sample of these poppies – one of the Last year the Fleuroselect trial of rudbeckia yielded 11 new RHS Award of Garden Merits, and the seed-raised cultivars are being grown again this year to show visitors what excellent garden plants they are. Alongside them are some 10 vegetatively propagated Rudbeckia Enchanted Series, including AGM R. ‘Enchanted Sun’ and eight new introductions not seen before.

“I aim to grow 22 different cultivars for trial”

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Look out for vegetatively propagated rudbeckias, including the Enchanted, SmileyZ and Sunbeckia Series, for very long flowering and excellent garden performance.

TI Archive

Keeping up with tasks

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Pansies and smaller flowered violas respond to regular deadheading and will keep flowering into summer, even if flowers reduce in size with rising temperatures.

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Our wooden pyramid structure has proved useful to give height and added dimensions to floral displays.

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Gardening Week with Bob Flowerdew, AG’s organic gardening expert Make sure you keep cropping plants like cabbage ‘Golden Acre Primo’ well nourished with regular soaks

Bob’s top tips for the week

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You can’t overwater crops at this time of year, so make sure the ground around moisture-loving plants like celeriac doesn’t dry out

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Prevent hot bright weather parching cucumbers and other greenhouse plants by temporarily shading with net curtains held with clothes pegs.

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Outdoor tomato plants that are looking peaky and a bit yellow are probably cold and would really benefit from a temporary windbreak.

Be careful not to drown the roots of container plants while still maintaining plenty of regular soaks and liquid feeds, as with this potted group of canna, phormium and Setaria palmifolia

Liquid refreshments Regular watering and feeding are critical now, so follow these steps to maintain peak plant health, says Bob

All photographs Alamy, unless otherwise credited

“Supply the nutrients they cannot find”

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ITH luck, our crops should average, most vegetables and fruits be in their fullest flush of need at least 1in/2.5cm of rain each growth. Light levels are and every week throughout this main high even when the sun growing period. Few receive this, and is obscured by clouds and, just as we need to water. importantly, our daylight hours are To know how much you need approaching maximum. Think to water, you need to know Keep your water about it: with light from just reserves stocked up with how much you’re already before dawn until just after getting, so position half a well-positioned butts sunset, plants are working dozen tin cans as rough 17-plus hours a day. rain gauges. However, Thus, right now they without any doubt, need massive supplies of please do water. It’s food and water to make downright difficult to use of all that light to grow overwater most crops in vigorously and swell good the ground at this time of crops. If we’ve done our job year, even when it’s raining! well and our soil is in good heart On the other hand, with with plenty of humus, then this will hold plants in containers, especially those moisture between rains and provide standing in saucers, you need to be fertility as it warms up. careful not to drown their roots. Still, Of course, we cannot depend on the likewise with these, it’s water, water, rainfall to top up our soil moisture. On water, plus feed, feed, feed.

Plants in containers only have limited compost for their roots to search so we must supply nutrients they cannot find.

This means it’s incredibly important to feed crops in containers. Simply adding liquid feeds to their water is the easiest way. But never try adding too much at a time, as fertilisers are only safe and far more effective when really well diluted.

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Move any of your remaining transplant vegetables (such as leeks, brassicas, tomatoes, squashes and pumpkins) into the ground as soon as possible.

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Don’t dig up all your first new potatoes. Carefully search and take just big spuds, leaving smaller ones for plants to swell more.

Your

Gardening Week with Bob Flowerdew, AG’s organic gardening expert

The showy willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium) has a tendency to become quite invasive, and can settle in far and wide thanks to its windborne seeds

Weeding frenzy!

Milder winters mean that weeds like hairy bittercress require plucking out over a long period

Val enjoys the birdsong while she tackles the weeds

All photographs Alamy, unless otherwise credited

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Y the time you read this, we’ll almost be out of lockdown (hopefully)! Missing my family was the worst thing, but there has been one unexpected benefit – I have rediscovered the joy of weeding on my knees! Armed with my trusty kneeler, fork and CobraHead tool, I plug away at my borders, instinctively plucking out the weeds before they get the upper hand.

I’m alone with my thoughts, and hidden from view, and there’s often soothing birdsong. After an hour or two, I find that my troubles disappear.

The late Christopher Lloyd, of Great Dixter in East Sussex, a former Amateur Gardening columnist, used to say he put the world to rights when weeding on his knees. He thought of suitable replies to criticism, or tricky family conversations, after the event – things he wished he’d said at the time. I’m not brilliant, as Christo was, but my brain churrs away with the wren, because there is plenty of weeding at Spring Cottage. The weeds

“I’ve discovered the joy of weeding on my knees” 16 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2021

fly in from the fields, creep under the walls and come in on newly planted pots.

The two worst ‘nursery’ offenders are willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium) and bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta).

The truth is, weeds are harder to deal with these days, because of climate change. You used to weed everything by November and then you’d be done until spring. These days, you’re plucking interlopers out in midwinter – and it isn’t only gardeners who are affected.

I was listening to the radio programme Farming Today, at some unearthly hour, when the subject of weeds came up.

Farmers are also struggling, because the warming climate is allowing weeds to grow during winter.

Those weeds are being dosed with fertiliser and those applications are boosting growth, so the weeds are more aggressive. Crops are shorter than they used to be, due to modern plant breeding, and this has exacerbated the problem. Once the weeds overshadow the crop, yields go down. The third reason given was resistance to herbicides, which are having less effect than they used to. Nature adapts, as Charles Darwin pointed out in 1859.

Being an organic gardener doesn’t allow me to apply herbicides such as glyphosate. There are ongoing court cases at the moment, as glyphosate

Inset: Future

Ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria) grows throughout winter these days – something it never used to do

been accused of causing cancer. The wetting agent has affected populations of amphibians in their aquatic stage, according to recent German research.

Personally, I don’t like the thought of breathing in a fine mist of a possibly toxic substance, so I’ll stick to daydreaming on my knees.

Climate change is a worry and it’s suiting ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria), a member of the carrot family. This resides under the southern wall, between my garden and the field, and it grows throughout winter these days – something it never used to do.

The time to attack ground elder is early spring, just as the network of roots begins to reshoot. It’s mainly in the top 4in (10cm) of soil, but it’s impossible to get every bit out so it needs ambushing regularly. Self-seeding nettles also nestle in the roots.

It isn’t my worst weed, though. Hedge bindweed (Calystegia sepium), the tall one with the large white flowers, is also lurking under the wall and this has far deeper roots. There is also a smallerflowered pink bindweed called the field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), which pops up in the borders.

These three are perennial problems, in more ways than one. I’m also blessed with lesser celandines in damper parts of my spring-fed garden. It’s imperative to winkle them out before they flower.

The soil needs to be damp, because celandines have lots of small nodules in their roots and these drop into the ground if the soil’s too dry. My mind inevitably turns to the poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850), who devoted three poems to this troublesome plant.

He obviously wasn’t a gardener!

Cut out the risk of weed seeds by removing the top 1in (2.5cm) of soil

TIP

An old head gardener always recommended removing the top 1in (2.5cm) of soil from a pot before planting to get rid of weed seeds. If I’d listened to him, I wouldn’t have as many invaders!

Future

Luckily, the resident wrens keep me going and their singing is therapeutic as I get to grips with the weeds!

Ask Anne!

Anne Swithinbank’s masterclass on: veg in containers What to start now

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Sow carrots (a ‘Nantes’ type is ideal) thinly and evenly on the surface of a large, wide container. There should be little need for thinning and you’ll be pulling sweet carrots in autumn.

Give potted crops a helping hand with well-placed water butts

Alamy

Assignment

Raise veg in modules.

Good crops to start now include mangetout, sugar snap peas and French beans

Step by step

Larger pots are generally easier to manage, as they retain water for longer in summer and crops are better insulated from cold in winter. I tried shallots in three pot sizes, and the 14in (35cm) pot with six sets won hands down

I have given up my allotment, but would still like to grow veg. Do you think doing so in containers is worth the effort and what should I try?

Susanna Miller, West Houghton, Greater Manchester

GROWING different crops together is fun and looks great. The best ploy is to choose a main crop for the pot, plant it in, and while young and growing, fill spaces with small, quick crops like radish, ‘Tom A galvanised tub of Thumb’ lettuce or some heartsease pansies for their cut-and-come-again edible flowers. A few parsley plants will benefit from the light shade cast by other crops. Chives deter carrot fly. lettuce and herbs 18 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2021

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Plant calabrese (‘Ironman’ or ‘Marathon’ are good varieties) into a large pot. Cut the central head while still quite tight and the plants should send out secondary ones.

Cover to keep caterpillars away.

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Plant one good-sized courgette to a 14-18cm (35-45cm) pot.

Water in well, and as it fills the pot with roots make sure it doesn’t dry out. Also, feed regularly and mulch the surface.

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Mixed containers

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Alamy

All photographs John Swithinbank/Future,unless otherwise credited

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Growing veg in containers will require a different mindset, but is definitely worthwhile. You are losing the prospect of self-sufficiency, including the mounds of beans and sacks of potatoes, but are gaining tasty pickings of fresh, flavoursome veg to enliven your meals.

Advantages include very little weeding, crops within easy reach of the kitchen and no gluts!

To make the best use of space in containers, raise veg in modules first to plant when the last crop comes out, or keep things simple and sow direct.

Crops to start now include mangetout and sugar snap peas, and French beans. Climbing types that scale wigwams of canes in pots are fun.

Perpetual spinach and chard live long and deliver well, while a little crunchy, aniseed-flavoured Florence fennel goes

a long way. Experiment with spacings, but most veg need 4-5in (10-13cm).

Make a collection of pots in the 10-18in (25-45cm) diameter range and look out for specially designed bag-style containers. Deep trays or crates are an asset, lined with punctured polythene from empty compost sacks. With a minimum 4in (10cm) depth, they are ideal for cut-and-come-again leaves and spring onions.

A mix of 50:50 John Innes No2 and a peat-free multi-purpose compost serves me well, and I’ll often add grit, well-rotted garden compost, leafmould or garden soil. Collect water in rain butts and fit an outdoor tap and hosepipe.

The fertiliser in potting composts lasts about one month, after which extra feed is needed. Liquid seaweed is excellent as an all-round plant tonic and a highpotash tomato-type fertiliser suits fruiting crops. Consider a wormery (for liquid and top dressing), while comfrey ‘Bocking 14’ and nettles in the garden will enable the making of high-potash and high-nitrogen feeds respectively.

Top dress pots with extra compost.

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Q

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Growing veg in containers

Sow a salad leaf mixture direct into new proprietary potting compost for a weed-free result.

This makes harvesting with scissors much easier. Feed and they should produce at least one more cut.

Your

Gardening Week with Lucy Chamberlain, AG’s fruit and veg expert Protect plants – like these growing in an exposed cold frame – with netting

Late-season calabrese like ‘Marathon’ continue producing heads until winter

Plant late-maturing calabrese alongside early maturing varieties such as compact ‘Kabuki’ (pictured) so that you can get even more from the harvest season

Focus on... on... Calabrese

Sown or planted now, this fast-growing summer crop deserves a spot on every plot.

Lucy Chamberlain shows you how to get the best from these chunky champions

C

winter in an unheated greenhouse, most of us grow it as a summer crop.

The age-old issue of gluts is easily avoided if you sow small batches once a month from March until June; you can even store transplants in a fridge to plant out once a fortnight. Opting for earlymaturing varieties like ‘Green Magic’ and

Stretching the harvest window This sturdy form of Brassica oleracea belongs to the same species that gives us our stalwart winter brassicas, yet it was developed in the Calabria region of Italy. While calabrese will grow through

“Help plants to develop ample leaf surface area”

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All photographs Alamy unless otherwise credited

ALABRESE, also known as Italian broccoli or green sprouting broccoli, is an anomaly in the large brassica family, preferring to develop its harvest in summer rather than winter. Early sowings should be ready now, or you can sow now for later harvests. But how do you get the best from it?

Calabrese will grow fast in heat, so keep them well watered

late-maturing kinds like ‘Spiridon’ helps to stretch the harvest window further.

Generous spacing will also encourage side-shoots to form; I’ve found ‘Ironman’ especially keen to side-shoot.

Care and cultivation The secret to high yields is to help the plants develop an ample leaf surface area while young (this phase occurs before the plants are stimulated to head up), and a strong root system. Avoid root congestion, and remember to water and feed regularly. Digging well-rotted organic matter into light soils will help to prevent drying out, and will deter waterlogging on heavy soils.

If clubroot disease is a local problem, alleviate waterlogging as mentioned above, lime acid soils to pH7, and grow varieties that show resistance (such as ‘Komodo’ and ‘Monclano’).

Make sure you check plants regularly so you can harvest at the peak of perfection – and then enjoy!

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Your

Gardening Week with Lucy Chamberlain, AG’s fruit and veg expert

Lucy’s corner Six steps to calabrese success ■ Sow under cover in modules during March and April. Sow outdoors from May, as direct sowings give best yields.

■ If you’re sowing in modules, plant out after five or six weeks in order to avoid well-watered root congestion, which can cause premature small heads.

■ Spacing the plants at 10x10in (25x25cm) will give main heads plus

If you sow in modules, plant out after five weeks

Harvesting ‘Fiesta’ when heads are large

Three calabrese relatives to try this year

dtbrownseeds.co.uk

Lucy’s choice

side-shoots later. This helps to spread the harvest and prevent gluts.

■ Be sure to keep the plants constantly well watered, and feed regularly with a high-nitrogen liquid fertiliser or add chicken pellets on planting.

■ Cover over rows with butterfly netting (which also stops pigeons). If flea beetle, rootfly or aphids are local, then use some insect-proof mesh.

■ Harvest once the heads are sufficiently large, but well before the individual buds show any signs of opening, then bag them and place in the fridge.

s b o j k c 5 qui

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If you’re not ready to move squash plants out (see opposite), pot them up. Otherwise, they become rootbound and take ages to recover.

Tall herbs like angelica, Scotch thistle and lemon verbena might benefit from some staking if grown on an open, wind-prone plot.

Witloof chicory can be sown now in drills to bulk up for autumn. Roots are then lifted and forced to make a tasty winter salad leaf.

Sweetcorn can be planted out now.

Transplant into blocks (not rows) to aid pollination and sow some more direct for a later harvest.

Be poised with some netting if you own a cherry tree, covering it up as soon as the fruits begin to show colour. Birds should then be kept safely at bay.

2

Rapini: Referred to as broccoli raab, this plant is more closely related to the turnip. But rather than develop a swollen root it yields lush, quick-growing foliate and miniature broccoli-like heads.

Flavour is intense and pleasantly bitter.

Top tip

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Check that the ‘bull’ fruit doesn’t halt the progress of other peppers

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Sprouting broccoli: These sizeable plants will grow multiple miniature heads, traditionally in early spring, although there are summer varieties.

Purple- and white-headed kinds are available. Plants need plenty of room.

SWEET or chilli, mild or scorching hot – most of us grow a pot or two of sunloving peppers each summer.

One thing I’ve noticed over the years, though, is that often the first fruit that sets on each plant dominates, suppressing the formation of others.

Called the ‘bull’ fruit, this can grow very big (especially in sweet peppers) at the expense of later-formed fruits.

It often sits right at the top of the central stem, which is a good place to be as the plant is pumping all its nutrients there, but here lies the problem. Like the proverbial big brother, it greedily gorges on this nutrition while its smaller siblings go without.

It’s tough love, but you’ll find that removing it while it’s still small will allow the others to develop unhindered.

1

Gai lan: Also known as kai-lan or Chinese broccoli, this quick-growing brassica is related to calabrese, yet produces lusher leaves and multiple stems harvested at pencil thickness.

Each ends in a small broccoli-like head.

Next week: Focus on tomatoes outdoors, thinning out fruit trees, harvesting globe artichokes, preparing a trench, getting more from coriander, try green-in-snow.

Summer-prune now for more figs!

Moving squashes outside

Why not try..?

You have to wait until June to get pumpkins, butternuts and squashes outdoors. Here’s what to do once you have hardened off your plants:

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Step by step

secateurs. This pruning will stimulate the fig tree to produce multiple sideshoots. By pruning now, the side-shoots will lengthen and develop an excess number of fruitlets come late October.

At that point the tree will begin to lose its leaves, but the fruitlets will remain on the side-shoots. The vast majority of these fruitlets will pass through the winter unharmed. Come spring, they then have a head start, and they will successfully swell and ripen in our temperate summer.

Some fruitlets are initiated in spring, but these don’t have sufficient time to ripen in UK summers.

Both TI Archive

QUARTERED, accompanied by Parma ham and mozzarella, then seasoned and drizzled with honey – figs are the food of gods. Or how about split open and baked in a frangipane tart? While the crop is a little while off ripening, there is a job you can do now to ensure maximum numbers of fruits next summer. Let me explain how to summer-prune figs.

The way figs crop in the UK is slightly confusing; only fruitlets initiated in autumn ripen in our temperate climate.

Now is the time to boost autumn fruitlet numbers. Cut back by half any new growth on your tree, using sharp

Boost autumn fruitlet numbers by cutting back new growth now

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First, get the position right. Squashes need a sunny, warm spot with moisture-retentive soil – get that right, and they will thrive! If your soil is light, then you should add plenty of nutrientrich organic matter to it before planting; wellrotted farmyard manure is ideal.

2

The next step is to plant out your squashes. The plants are either bush-forming or trailing, and this will determine their spacings.

Bushes should be at least 1.2m (4ft) apart each way, whereas sprawling plants should be even further apart – a minimum of 1.8m (6ft) each way.

3

Being thirsty plants, either make a ‘moat’ in the earth around each squash to retain water, or sink an upturned plastic bottle alongside, angled towards the base of the plant. Pushing a stick into the bottle’s neck will help you to find it later among the tangle of leaves!

Make an easy nest for mining bees WE all know hives of honeybees must be conserved, and that it’s beneficial to plant pollinator-attracting flowers in our gardens, but did you know you can easily provide a nesting site for mining bees?

There are around 100 species in the UK (mostly species of Andrena) and due to their need to forage for pollen and nectar, they’re just as valuable to us as the honeybee. While most gardeners don’t have room for a beehive, all mining bees desire is a pile of sand.

Positioned in a quiet, sunny and sheltered spot, a 24in (60cm)-high pile of builder’s sand provides the ideal nesting site for the tawny mining bee and early mining bee. Keep it clear of vegetation

Look out for the tell-tale ‘volcano’ holes that signal a mining bee (inset) has nested

and look out for the little holes in spring and early summer. Each one will be the nest of a mining bee, complete with eggs laid on underground stores of pollen.

Acerola can be eaten fresh or cooked

Barbados cherry ALSO known as the acerola or wild crepe myrtle, the fruits of this little South American evergreen shrub are more common in the UK in health-food stores than in our back yard – but they can be grown in your own garden!

Best cultivated in a pot, this tender plant enjoys sun and freedraining compost, so add plenty of sand to a John Innes No3 mix.

The flowers are a bit of a talking point. Vivid mauve and star-shaped, they have the most delicate quilled edges. These give rise to small, cherry-like fruits. Once fully ripe, they can be eaten fresh or cooked.

Not only are acerola fruits filled with ‘superfood’ levels of vitamin C, but you’ll also gain a healthy dose of B vitamins, vitamin A, manganese and magnesium.

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Have fun planting up containers using pretty combinations of bedding, foliage plants and trailers to flow over the rims, then stand back and watch them burst into bloom this summer

Summer

Containers

Now is the time to buy plants from garden centres to create instant colour in containers, but which ones are best? Tamsin Hope Thomson has some suggestions

A

T this time of year, it’s easy to add instant colour to a patio or garden. Even one container display can make a dramatic focal point. In fact, one large pot can make more of an impact than lots of small pots scattered around the place.

For around half an hour’s planting time, you’ll be rewarded with months of colour. Garden centres and nurseries will have a good choice of bright inexpensive bedding plants, flowering perennials and attractive foliage plants and grasses this month.

What kinds of plants do you need?

Look for plants that flower for several months to avoid having to change the display every few weeks. Bedding plants such as nemesia, pansies and lobelia are an inexpensive way to pack colour into pots, and provide masses of flowers all summer. Flowering perennials may cost a little more, but when they outgrow the pot they can be planted out in the 26 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2021

garden. And don’t forget to look at foliage plants – these can also add colour, a trailing habit to soften the edge of a pot or simply a calming contrast in shape and form to all the flowers.

Ornamental grasses are a great way to add height or you could add some low-maintenance ivy to trail over the sides of your pot or window box.

Mix and match bedding with perennials and foliage plants

Similar needs Use plants that have similar needs in the same pot. Check whether they will all be happy in full sun or whether they need some shade, and look at whether they need plenty of water or can take a bit of drought.

To make an impact, try a mix of shapes and habits – choose a main focal plant that will add height and provide a good display over a long period, one or several plants that will spill over the edge of the pot and fillers that can be fitted around the main plant to add extra interest.

Alternatively, you could choose one plant for your container, such as a flowering shrub like a compact hydrangea or a lavender in a terracotta pot.

Try placing the plants in your container before planting to check your arrangement, with the tallest plant at the back. To get you started, here’s a list of some of the best plants for a spectacular summer display.

Heuchera This is versatile groundcover plant provides colourful foliage from limegreen through to deep-purple, and the evergreen varieties add interest through the year, which is useful when adding winter plants next season. Flowers June to July. HxS: 18x16in (45x40cm).

Carex testacea Ornamental grasses add height and contrast to container displays. This sedge is evergreen, with beautifully thin leaves that turn a copper shade in the summer. It makes a good partner for flowering perennials or bedding plants. Flowers June to July. HxS: 2ft 4inx2ft (70x60cm).

Pansies There can’t be an easier plant for a pot than pansies. They’ll flower for months and make ideal fillers around larger plants in containers, coming in a range of colours, making it easy to pick the ones to suit your colour theme. Flowers June to August. H&S: 8in (20cm).

Cosmos Dwarf varieties of cosmos such as ‘Sonata’ will give months of flowers and make good cut flowers. These annuals are inexpensive and easy to grow. Keep deadheading and they’ll keep flowering.

Flowers July to September. HxS: 18x12in (45x30cm).

Scabious ‘Butterfly Blue’ Attract pollinators with this compact scabious that has pretty, blue pincushion flowers. It’s long flowering and looks good combined with plants that have contrasting flower shapes, such as salvia or lavender. Flowers June to September.

H&S: 16in (40cm).

Osteospermum These African daisies, which are usually grown as annuals, make wonderful container plants as they provide vibrant colour. They’re also low maintenance and can cope with a bit of drought. Flowers June to August. HxS: 12x20in (30x50cm).

Pelargoniums These cheery plants will fill your pots with summer colour and come in a range of varieties and forms, from upright and bold bedding types to the more subtle flowers of the scented or regal types like the scarlet ‘Lord Bute’ (pictured). They can cope with a bit of drought. Flowers May to October.

HxS: 14x16in (35x40cm).

Nicotiana Add fragrance to your pots with the tobacco plant. Placed near a doorway or outdoor seating area, this night-scented bedding plant will transform your patio.

They come in many shades, from white through to purple or deep-red like the popular ‘Baby Bella’ (pictured). Flowers June to September. HxS: 24x12in (60x30cm).

Argyranthemum This is will add instant impact if planted on its own, but can be easily combined with foliage plants such as artemisia or other long-flowering container plants like calibrachoa. There’s some vibrant choices out there – the names say it all, such as ‘Madeira Pink’ and ‘Meteor Red’ (pictured). Flowers May to October.

H&S: 20in (50cm).

Mr-fothergills.co.uk

All photographs Alamy unless otherwise credited

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Thompson-morgan.com

9 easy plants for a container

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Petunia Surfinia series If you want a cascade of bright flowers, this is the plant – you’ll find this trailing petunia available from garden centres and nurseries in colours ranging from hot pink and postbox red to purple and white.

It’s also tolerant of bad weather.

Flowers May to November. HxS: 6x36in (15x90cm trailing length).

Helichrysum petiolare Also known as the liquorice plant, this is a useful low-growing foliage plant with small silvery evergreen leaves. It will trail over the edge of containers or hanging baskets providing the perfect contrast for flowering plants. There is also a gold-leaved variety. HxS: 8x24in (20x60cm).

MNP/Suntory

MNP/Suntory

3 top trailing plants

28 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2021

Calibrachoa Million Bells series A popular choice for summer containers because it blooms for months, and a great pick for softening containers as it trails over the side, filling the container with vibrant trumpet-shaped flowers. Flowers June to October. HxS: 10x14in (25x35cm).

3 fantastic focal plants Lavender ‘Hidcote’ Lavenders are a great choice for containers, with attractive evergreen foliage and scented flowers.

They’re easy to combine with other plants such as pansies and ornamental grasses or simply plant on its own. ‘Hidcote’ is a compact variety, perfect for a patio pot. Flowers July to September. HxS: 2x2½ft (60x75cm).

Care tips for summer pots

Fuchsia There are many fuchsias to choose from, including trailing varieties that are good for hanging baskets.

The small hardy shrub varieties, such as the compact ‘Tom Thumb’ (pictured), are ideal for containers and will flower into autumn.

Fuchsias add impact on their own, but are also easy to combine with other plants such as nemesia or purple hardy geraniums.

Flowers June to October. HxS: 2x1ft (60x30cm).

Q Try positioning plants in the pot before planting to see how it looks.

Q Use a peat-free, multi-purpose compost.

Q Add a mulch to deter weeds and help retain moisture.

Q Water regularly, especially in hot weather, and aim for the base of the plant rather than the leaves.

Q Deadhead plants to encourage more flowers.

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Phormium This is an architectural plant that makes a distinctive choice for a large container and works well as a central plant. Varieties such as ‘Maori Queen’ and ‘Black Adder’ (pictured) have dark, dramatic coloured leaves.

Flowers July. HxS: 3ft 3inx5ft (1x1.5m).

Q Check the growing needs of your plants to see whether they will need plant food (some annuals may not).

Sometimes compost has added nutrients, but these will run out after six to eight weeks.

Q Tease out the roots of any pot-bound plants before planting.

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Sow your own echinacea seed and you could end up with a dramatic display like this!

Did you know?

Some perennial seeds may germinate promptly, while some seeds of the same variety in the same pot may take years to germinate. So hang on to old seed pots just in case.

Collect hellebore seeds as the pods split and sow them in modules

Bargain

perennials

Why pay pounds for one plant when you can spend pennies to get lots?

If you like that idea, why not try growing perennials from seed, says Graham Rice

I

POPPED into my local garden centre one morning recently and checked the price of delphinium plants. One plant, in a one-litre pot, grown by a nursery from seed, and looking fresh and just right for planting, was priced at £3.99. I then strolled inside and took a look at the seed racks. The same variety, 60 seeds in a packet, cost 99p. So, what do you think?

Of course, if you buy a plant, you can take it straight home and get it on the same day. But raise plants from seed yourself and by next spring you could have 50 plants for a quarter of the price of one. Sounds like a bargain? Yes, I thought so, too.

Not as difficult as you might think Of course, in between seed sowing and planting comes the tricky bit, but growing perennials from seed is not as difficult as you might think. If you can raise marigolds from seed, you can raise perennials from seed.

There are two different groups and 30 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2021

two different ways of going about it.

Either way, it’s not difficult.

You can buy seed of many perennials by mail order or from the garden centre, or you can save it yourself from your own plants. The seed of most perennials keeps for ages, and whether you sow it this year or next year often makes little difference – especially if it’s been tucked away at the back of the fridge.

Columbines, geums and lupins fit here.

Some perennials are fussy However, some perennials are more fussy and germinate best when sown soon after they’ve ripened on the plant.

Hellebores, primulas and pulsatillas are among the most familiar of these.

There are also two ways of sowing the seed. It can be sown in modules or pots in a cold greenhouse or coldframe or, in some cases, in a propagator with extra warmth. Use this approach if there are few seeds in the packet, as it’s easier to look after them and keep the pests off.

Seed can also be sown outside, in the open ground, as if you were raising wallflowers or cabbages in a seedbed.

Whatever the seed and whatever your approach, you’ll end up with enough bargain perennials to liven up your garden and those of your friends.

Where to buy* Chiltern Seeds chilternseeds.co.uk 01491 824675 Jelitto Perennial Seeds jelitto.com 01480 463570 Plant World plant-world-seeds.com 01803 872939 Thompson & Morgan thompson-morgan.com 0333 400 0033 *Many nurseries are currently unable to send out plants – or despatch may be delayed.

Geum Old favourite scarlet ‘Mrs Bradshaw’ has been superseded by the larger flowered ‘Blazing Sunset’ (pictured), but its sister ‘Lady Stratheden’ is still the pick of the yellows. Easy to raise outside in a seed bed. H: 2ft (60cm).

Gaillardia Modern varieties, especially ‘Arizona Apricot’ and ‘Arizona Sun’ (pictured), are impressively prolific and long flowering. Sow in pots or modules or outside in a seed bed. Be careful not to overwater seedlings in pots or modules. H: 1-2ft (30-60cm).

Echinacea Look for ‘Dreamcoat’ or ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ mixes, or the purple and green ‘Green Twister’ (pictured). Sow in modules so you can look after the relatively few seeds per packet. Germinates quickly. Seed can also be sown in spring. H: 2-4ft (60cm-1.2m).

Physalis Orange lanterns are probably the easiest and most dependable grow-your-own Christmas decoration. Very vigorous, though. Packets are generously filled so can be sown outside, although you’ll only need a few plants. H: 2ft (60cm).

Delphinium Elegant spikes in single colours or blends of shades, look for modern varieties including ‘Centurion’ or ‘Aurora’ (pictured is ‘Aurora Blue’). Sow in modules, in a well-ventilated greenhouse or frame, and never allow the compost to dry out. Or sow in spring. H: 3-5ft (0.9-1.5m).

Lupin ‘Festival’ will provide long spikes in a wide range of shades, on plants that are neat but not dumpy.

Traditionally raised in seed beds, I prefer modules and pots to limit root disturbance.

H: 18in-3ft (45-90cm).

Mr-fothergills.co.uk

All photographs Alamy unless otherwise credited

6 perennials to sow now

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4 perennials to sow fresh now

Gentiana The older the seed, the less well it germinates so collect it from your plants or those of your friends and sow at once. Cover with grit and stand outside in a cool place and make sure the pots never dry out. H: 6in-21⁄2ft (15-75cm).

Hellebores Seeds germinate well right under the plants but slugs tend to get them, so collect them as the pods split and sow them in modules. Germination will take place next spring. Protection from mice is vital. H: 18in (45cm).

Primula All kinds of primula, from primroses to colourful candelabra types, are best sown fresh but bought seed will often germinate, if not so well. Keep cool. And don’t allow the pots to dry out. H: 6-18in (15-75cm).

Pulsatilla Our native pasque flower is a delightful dwarf perennial for sunny borders and raised beds. Sow in well-drained compost, cover the seed with grit and leave it outside in a quiet corner.

H: 8in (20cm).

Sowing in open ground

Sowing in pots and modules

Use this approach when you have plenty of seed and the seedlings grow away strongly.

Choose a bright, but not hot, site and rake the soil to remove lumps and stones.

Make a drill with the point of a cane and then water along it holding your thumb over the point of a can.

Sow the seed thinly and then pull a little soil over it.

Mark the row with a label at one end Rake the soil to and a stick or another label at the other. remove lumps

Modules avoid root disturbance, and pots dry out less quickly.

Use pots for slow germinators such as hellebores and some primulas, and if you think you might be distracted from watering or looking after them.

Echinacea and After sowing, cover the pots with gaillardia seedlings in pots grit to prevent moss and deter slugs.

Leave the pots in a cool place until the seeds germinate, then move them into better light making sure to keep them moist.

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Candelabra primulas are eye-catching perennials whose seed is best sown fresh

To thrive, masterworts need a moist, fertile soil

Magical

Masterworts attract many insects, including hoverflies

masterworts

With common names such as masterwort and Hattie’s pincushion, astrantias were once famed for curing ailments. Anne Swithinbank examines these popular perennials

P

LANTS blessed with a good raft of common names usually have a long history to match, full of folklore and medicinal uses. The masterworts (species of astrantia in the carrot or cow parsley family) are known as mountain sanicle, a nod to their origins in alpine woods and meadows. An old name, magistrantia reflects the mastery and skill needed by apothecaries who, from Tudor times, used them to treat a long list of ailments.

Folk also wore masterworts around their necks to ward off evil spirits and gain power themselves. Umbels of tiny flowers held within a ruff of bracts have inspired the pretty name of Hattie’s pincushion, but the dark, almost brooding colours of some cultivars are responsible for ‘gentleman’s melancholy’, often turned around to ‘melancholy gentlemen’.

These long-lived herbaceous perennials are justly popular, especially as their flowers begin to open in May and by June are in full swing, filling what can be an early summer gap. Upright sprays of umbels opening above lobed 34 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2021

leaves sit comfortably in herbaceous borders, cottage-style gardens and lightly shaded semi-wild areas, where they are usually left alone by slugs, deer and rabbits.

Great for insects Masterworts are not exactly fuss,y but to thrive they need a moist, fertile soil and in my experience are not great at holding their own against invasions of weeds or coping with drier soils gasping for a mulch of organic matter. Careful positioning and timely interventions of care pay dividends in terms of quantity and length of flowering.

Like most plants in the family

Apiaceae, masterworts attract many insects, including hoverflies. Canny gardeners often plant them near roses and other plants affected by aphids, where hoverfly larvae hatch and consume many greenfly.

Each flower umbel is like a jewel of changeable colours, and as there are many cultivars offering white, all shades of pink, purple, plum and darkest red often tinged with green, it can pay to choose them when flowering. From palest A. major ‘Snow Star’ to dark A. ‘Hadspen Blood’ they grow well in containers for a while, so perhaps enjoy them in a pot initially and plant them into permanent quarters in autumn or spring.

Where to buy* Claire Austin 01686 670342 claireaustin-hardyplants.co.uk Beth Chatto 01206 822007 bethchatto.co.uk Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants 01256 896533 hardysplants.co.uk Hayloft 01386 562999 hayloft.co.uk Letham Plants 01620 822350/0784 2211712 letham-plants.co.uk *Many nurseries are currently unable to send out plants – or despatch may be delayed.

Astrantia ‘Buckland’ AGM With umbels of white, pink and green, this sterile masterwort is one of the best, with a long display from May to August and an ability to tolerate drier soils than most. HxS: 3ftx18in (1mx45cm).

Astrantia major ‘Claret’ Luminous reddish-pink umbels on dark stems are rich in tone without being too sombre. Often seed-raised, plants can vary so choose when in bloom from June to August. HxS: 2ftx18in (60x45cm).

Astrantia major ‘Large White’ An ethereal masterwort whose umbels of crisp greenish-white sit within white bracts tipped and veined with green.

Team with lilies and Geranium phaeum.

HxS: 3ftx18in (1mx45cm).

Astrantia major ‘Shaggy’ This masterwort has extra-long, often twisted green-tipped white bracts around pale flowers opening from June to August. As propagated is often by seed, plants can vary. HxS: 2ftx18in (60x45cm).

Astrantia major ‘Sunningdale Variegated’ Pale-pink umbels shimmer above leaves of green edged with cream and yellow.

If you want fresh foliage, cut back and soak the roots. HxS: 2ftx18in (60x45cm).

Astrantia major var. rosea When flowering hits its stride, pincushion blooms present a mirage of white, pink and green from June to August. Cut back and feed after the first flush, to encourage a second. H&S: 18in (45cm).

Astrantia maxima AGM An undisturbed spot of good, moist soil in semi-shade enables this species to roam about making three-lobed leaves and stems of large, dusky-pink umbels on triangular ruffs. HxS: 2ftx12in (60x30cm).

Astrantia ‘Moulin Rouge’ Compact pincushions in deep purple-red fade into shades of blueberry and are great for cutting. Plant around pink roses or in shade, alongside white aquilegia and euphorbia. HxS: 18x12in (45x30cm).

Astrantia ‘Roma’ AGM My favourite masterwort and considered one of the best. From June to September wiry stems bear sterile pincushions of shimmering pink on pink ruffs fading to emerald. H: 2ftx18in (60x45cm).

TI Media Archive

All photographs Alamy unless otherwise credited

9 for borders and wild areas

5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Astrantia major ‘Sparkling Stars Pink’ This recent introduction makes a froth of smaller-than-usual pincushions from June to September, helping other blooms appear to rise from a misty bouquet of pale-pink with darker touches. H: 2ftx18in (60x45cm).

hardysplants.co.uk

letham-plants.co.uk

3 masterworts for pots

Astrantia ‘Burgundy Manor’ AGM Dark stems bearing large domes of jade and pink flowers sitting on maroon-tipped ruffs present a drama that singles them out for pots. Place with Geranium ‘Rozanne’ and Achillea ‘Taygetea’.

HxS: 2ftx18in (60x45cm).

4 planting partners

Alchemilla mollis AGM Ladies mantle enjoys the same conditions as astrantia, and its citrussy froth of tiny flowers above soft foliage complements their structural pincushions. Cut back after flowering to encourage more. H: 2ftx30in (60x75cm).

36 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2021

Lythrum salicaria ‘Feuerkerze’ AGM Purple loosestrife shares with astrantia a love of good, moist soil. This ‘firecracker’ cultivar bears generous spikes of rosered flowers from June to September, offsetting both pale and darker-flowered umbels. H: 4ftx18in (1.2mx45cm).

Rosa Chandos Beauty (‘Harmisty’) AGM The fragrant, creamy-pink blooms of this hybrid tea contrast with darker-coloured masterworts and blend seamlessly with those whose flowers are white and green.

With deadheading, flowering continues into autumn. HxS: 4x3ft (120cmx1m).

Astrantia major ‘Venice’ A sturdy, vigorous masterwort whose large, plummy pincushions open from June to September. Team with a young cut-leaved elder (Sambucus racemosa ‘Sutherland Gold’) or silvery-blue Salvia farinacea. H: 2x1ft (60x30cm).

Masterwort care PLANT masterworts into good, well-cultivated soil where plenty of well-rotted organic matter has been worked into the area. They are happy in sun as long as their soil remains moist, or plant in semi-shade to help them through dry summers.

Mulch at least annually while soil is damp, and on poor soils give plants a slow-release fertiliser in spring or a couple of general-purpose liquid feeds while in growth. In general, paler flowered masterworts are more tolerant of drought than those with darker flowers. Some cultivars are

Plant masterworts in semi-shade to help them survive dry summers

sterile and won’t set seed. Fertile ones self-seed, so deadhead if you want to avoid lots of seedlings and to encourage fresh growth and flowers.

Propagation Salvia nemorosa ‘Ostfriesland’ AGM Balkan clary sends up spikes of rich, deep violet-blue flowers from summer until autumn, ready to act as a vibrant foil to the paler masterworts.

It thrives in humus-rich, moist soil.

H&S: 18in (45cm).

RAISING astrantias from seed is a great way of growing many plants cheaply, but sow it fresh because, like other plants in the carrot family, seed is short lived. Older clumps (usually after four or five years) benefit from division that is best carried out in spring just as they return to growth.

Collect astrantia seed and sow it fresh

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Ask John Negus

John has been answering reader queries for 50 years

John will reply personally to all your gardening questions every week Tulbaghia violacea and Lilium martagon (inset) are beautiful replacements when spring bulbs die back

Future

Solomon’s seal likes a lightly shaded border

Shady Solomon

Q

I was given this plant several years ago and have always wondered what it is. Can you help identify it?

Sarah Hankins, Elton, Cambs

Bulbs to continue a show into summer

Q

I have a patch of grass in which daffodils, snowdrops and muscari are naturalised. What could I plant to follow on from them in the summer?

Helen Cant (via email)

A

What a lovely spectacle that area of lawn must be! For the best results year after year, deadhead the plants after they have flowered and let their leaves die back naturally.

Keep the foliage watered regularly and fed fortnightly as it withers away, and this will help feed the bulbs for the following year’s spring display.

As for bulbs to continue the show into summer, I suggest that you consider the following, which will

bloom among ever taller grasses: Q Triteleia laxa: Clusters of pale-blue trumpets from June to July.

Q Quamash (camassia) in variety: Spires of starry blue or white flowers in May and June.

Q Autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale and C. speciosum): Mauve, pink, violet and white wine-glass-shaped blooms from August to October.

Q Cyclamen hederifolium: White, pink or red flowers that bloom from September to November.

Q Lilium martagon: Puce or white Turk’s cap blooms, flowers June to July.

Q Tulbaghia violacea: A form of garlic, heads of tubular pink flowers appear from July to August.

A

The plant is a false Solomon’s seal (Smilacina racemosa). A native of North America and Mexico, it adds charm and character to a sunny or lightly shaded border. Its flowers are remarkably beautiful. I am delighted that it’s enhancing your garden.

If you wish to propagate it, divide it in October and plant chunky, well-rooted divisions in humus-rich soil.

Hornets won’t attack if you leave them in peace

Future

How can I save my ailing plant?

Q

Can you tell me what is wrong with my plant? I have fed it with liquid seaweed and tomato food, but it is not getting better.

Janet Davies, Falmouth, Cornwall

What a buzz!

Q

I recently found this enormous insect in my greenhouse. Could you tell me what it is?

Steve Gregory (via email)

Alamy unless credited

A

The sickly foliage on this crinodendron suggests it has been attacked by honey fungus

culprit. Sadly, there is no control for it.

All you can do is to continue feeding it to boost growth and extend its life.

A

Future

I am sorry that your Chinese lantern bush (Crinodendron hookerianum) is unwell. If it is growing in acid soil and is sheltered from the elements, it should be happy. The fact that its foliage is blotched and blackened may indicate that its roots have succumbed to honey fungus.

Check by exposing a largish root and removing a thin sliver of bark. If white mushroom-smelling mould is revealed, then this disease is the

The insect in question is a hornet (Vespa crabro). It is often seen in ancient woodlands – the New Forest in Hampshire and Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire, among them – it preys on insects, which it feeds to its larvae.

Not aggressive unless provoked, it differs from the recently introduced Asian hornet by not having a banded yellow abdomen.

5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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While John sometimes advocates using chemicals against pests and diseases as the most effective means of control, organic options are sometimes available and we advise readers to go with their preferences

Contact John Negus by email address below Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com

Comfrey is attractive, but it can be invasive

Quick questions & answers

Q

What is this plant, please?

Nellie Anderson (via email)

A

The plant is Nectaroscordum siculum (onion garlic), also known as Allium siculum.

Its pendant pink blooms are ideal for lighting up shady borders.

To propagate, in autumn lift a clump, separate the bulbs and plant them to three times their depth in fertile, free-draining soil.

What is this damp-loving plant?

Q

I often see this plant near water, and the bees absolutely love it. Can you tell me its name and could I grow it in a pot as I have no room in the garden?

Maria Mason (via email)

A

This is common comfrey (Symphytum officinale). Happiest when growing near a pond or stream, its pinkish blooms, which complement handsome lanceolate leaves, light up spring. There are several fetching garden varieties. Choice among them is S. ‘Hidcote Blue’ and S. ‘Hidcote Pink’.

There is no reason why you should not grow comfrey in a pot. If you buy a large plant in a pot you can divide it to get lots of comfrey plants.

Lift a chunky section and shorten it to 6in (15cm) to reduce water loss from the leaves. Set it in a 9in (23cm) pot and new

shoots will soon form. Though spring is the best time to transplant, it could be done now and strong new growth will appear by late summer.

Cover the drainage hole with crocks and fill with loam-based potting compost No2. Leave a 3in (7cm) gap at the top for watering and soak the compost after planting. Set the pot on ‘feet’ to ensure that surplus water drains away.

The leaves are also useful for making liquid fertiliser. Steep them in water for a few weeks weighed down by a brick, and dilute the residue in 10 parts water.

You can then use it as a liquid feed.

Q

What is this insect that we saw in our garden?

Alan Burt, Harlow, Essex

A

This is a cockchafer, or May bug. The largest of a family of six species, its C-shaped grubs, up to 11⁄2in (40mm) long, feed on roots, corms and tubers. Cockchafers love strawberries, lettuces, young tree roots and various ornamentals, but unless damage is severe I urge you to leave it in peace.

Can you name this exotic beauty?

Q

This pretty plant has appeared in my garden, but I have no idea what it is. Can you identify it?

Kath Morley, South Yorkshire

Q

This shrub is a magnet for bees, but what is it?

Sean Walker (via email)

A

A

Gladiolus italicus is found from France southwards to North Africa

produce a fan of upright sword-shaped leaves. Indisputably, it has innate charm.

Take care of it and enjoy it by lifting the corms when the foliage dies back, storing them over winter and then replanting in fertile, well-drained soil after the frosts have finished.

Future

I can’t imagine where it came from, but you are hosting Gladiolus italicus, a weed of cultivated ground from France southwards to North Africa and eastwards to Romania, Central Asia and Iran.

All I can think is that someone near you brought seeds from one of the above countries and germinated them.

The resultant plant or plants would then have produced seeds, which a bird may have devoured. It then flew into your garden where one of them was deposited and produced the very unusual plant in question.

Characteristically, all flowers face in the same direction and the corms

The easy-growing shrub is a form of bushy honeysuckle called Lonicera nitida ‘Maigrun’ or ‘Maygreen’.

Prized for its dense groundcovering habit and abundance of small creamyyellow, nectar-rich flowers, it’s invaluable for attracting foraging bees.

5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Ask John Negus

John has been answering reader queries for 50 years

John will reply personally to all your gardening questions every week Hardy seedlings, like lupins can be planted out and will survive winter

Marguerites are easy to care for and like a sheltered sunny spot

Seedling care

Q

I have grown delphiniums and lupins from seed. What do I do with them over winter? At the moment they are all still in quite small pots.

Susan Saunders (via email)

How do I care for our marguerite?

Q

Our family gave us an outdoor marguerite tree for our wedding anniversary. I have instructions with it, but now wonder if I should keep it outside even when raining. The lower leaves on the branches are looking a bit wilted in spite of my watering it. Should I cut them off and should I be feeding it at this stage?

Mrs Judy Case, Swanage, Dorset well by liquid feeding it weekly with a high-potash tomato fertiliser. Ensure that the compost is damp before doing so.

There is no need to move it outdoors during the day and bring it in at night. It is hardy and copes well with summer night-time temperatures. However, it needs to be moved somewhere undercover and frost-free for winter.

Pleasingly, the flowers are rain-proof and don’t need protecting.

When should I prune my shrub?

Q

Additionally, starting now, feed your bush monthly until September with Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food.

Future

A

Cistus should be pruned when the flowers fade

Q

Last year, my wife was given a bunch of red roses and I managed to propagate one from a stem. Could you name it for me?

Martin Wells, Sittingbourne, Kent

A

Please can you identify this shrub and advise when and how I can reduce the size of it ? As you can see it has lovely flowers, but is now taking up too much space.

Rod Debenham (via email) The mystery shrub is Cistus x cyprius, a hybrid between C. ladanifer and C. laurifolius. Its parents hail from south-west Europe.

The best time to prune your shrub is when the blooms fade. Shorten a third of flowered stems by half their length and smear petroleum jelly over cuts to conserve moisture.

New shoots will appear from stumps and quickly mature.

Next and in the following year, shorten another third of shoots and seal stumps with petroleum jelly.

Mystery rose

First, may I congratulate you on propagating what appears to be a hybrid tea rose, from cuttings. The conventional method is to graft buds onto stock plants.

Intriguingly, your cutting has resulted in a ‘throwback’ to what I assume is a parent of the beautiful red rose. There are several varieties with similarly coloured blooms and the nearest to yours is ‘Alpine Sunset’, ‘Apricot Silk’, Empress This rose was grown Michiko and from a cutting Fulton Mackay.

5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Future

A

A marguerite tree is easy to manage provided you site it outdoors in a sunny spot and keep the compost damp.

I am wondering if it is wilting because, perhaps, you’ve overwatered it and surplus moisture cannot escape and, detrimentally, air is being driven out.

Ideally, sit the pot on ‘feet’ to ensure that surplus water freely drains away.

Additionally, encourage it to flower

A

I suggest that you transplant them in prepared soil in a warm, sunny spot where you wish them to flower. If, then, you water and feed them regularly, they will make robust growth.

Though they may not flower this year, they will develop a good root system and bloom next season.

As for coming through winter, they are hardy herbaceous perennials and will die back to a stocky clump in autumn, resisting low temperatures.

While John sometimes advocates using chemicals against pests and diseases as the most effective means of control, organic options are sometimes available and we advise readers to go with their preferences

Contact John Negus by email address below Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com

Hippeastrum seedlings can take up to six years to flower once the bulb has matured

Future

Veronica ‘Crater Lake Blue’ is a brilliant blue variety

Unknown perennial

Q How do I grow on my hippeastrum babes?

Can you tell me what this plant is, please? It was in the garden when we moved into our new house. It comes up every year and is always welcome.

Denise Jackson, Tyne & Wear

Q

A

I planted some amaryllis seeds and now have 50 seedlings that are 1in (2.5cm) tall. What should I do with them and will they be true to the parent?

Peter Wallhead (via email)

A

Seed-raised amaryllis (hippeastrum) can take up to six years to reach maturity and flower, though sometimes they do it in three.

Seedlings do usually differ from the parent plant. To grow your seedlings on they need a temperature of 21°C (70°F).

For the first year do not induce dormancy. If the bulb is still small after the first year keep it growing for a second season to ensure it establishes.

Seedlings are best grown in individual pots, potting on into slightly larger pots each time the pot becomes filled with roots. Do this until September. After this you shouldn’t need to repot until spring.

The seedlings may need feeding with a general-purpose fertiliser during the growing season until September, but this is only necessary after about six weeks in their new compost. There is no need to feed during the autumn and winter.

I feel sure that your herbaceous plant is Veronica austriaca subsp. teucrium ‘Crater Lake Blue’. Robust and flowering freely to colour late spring and early summer, it’s happiest when watered regularly in dry spells and fed monthly, from spring to summer, with Vitax Q4 or fish, blood and bone meal.

Easily propagated by dividing the rootstock in autumn, when leaves and shoots die back, it is one of our more appealing border perennials.

What are these two plants?

Q

Future

This plant was in the garden when we moved into our house.

Can you identify it for me, please?

Also, what is the plant we have growing on our windowsill?

Denise Jackson, Tyne & Wear

Incarvillea delavayi, also known as the hardy gloxinia, is a robust perennial

A

The plant (inset picture) is an African violet (saintpaulia). A native of tropical East Africa, it is a house plant and should be kept in a warm, light room. In winter, display it on a south-facing windowsill so that it receives maximum light.

In spring and summer, move it to an east-facing aspect to lightly shade the plant. Then, when you water it and its hairy leaves are covered with water droplets, they won’t act as prisms and scorch the foliage.

The tall plant that appeared in your garden is a columbine (aquilegia).Yours is almost certainly a British native that

Mystery gift Aquilegias and African violets (inset) bring colour to the garden and home

often appears in gardens, and can multiply to such an extent that it becomes a weed.

If you like it and it’s in the wrong place, cut it back to basal leaves after flowering and move it to where you would like it to grow, in autumn.

Q

I was given this plant by a neighbour who didn’t know what it is. Can you help identify it?

Robert Woods, Glasgow

A

The plant is Incarvillea delavayi, also known as hardy gloxinia.

A tap-rooted perennial from Yunnan, China, it thrives in a well-drained, sunny, sheltered position. Flowering from early to midsummer, there are two fine varieties – pale pink ‘Bees’ Pink’ and yellow-throated white ‘Snowtop’.

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A Gardener’s Miscellany Gardening’s king of trivia and brain-teasers, Graham Clarke This week it’s: Colourful facts about these hardy early bloomers

Asiatic and other lilies

LILIES are admired the world over for both their spectacular beauty and enduring mystique. They have a place in any garden, whether it’s formal or informal, massive or tiny. And their popularity has increased dramatically in the past couple of decades, as new gardeners have found them to be easy to grow. There are around 90 species in the lilium genus, but the most popular

lilies are the Asiatic hybrids, quickly followed by the Oriental and Aurelian hybrids. Lilies are growing apace now, with flowers about to burst open (if they haven’t already), so the time is right to take a look at these captivating plants.

Lilies are second only to roses as the most popular cut flower, according to direct2florist.co.uk. Millions are sold to customers every day!

Lilium ‘Stargazer’ is a popular hybrid in the Oriental group

Introducing the lily categories BECAUSE there are so many lily species and hybrids, there are nine divisions: Division 1: Asiatic hybrids Early blooming, these are the easiest lilies to grow and have the widest range of colours available. Stems reach 3-4ft (0.9-1.2m), and are topped with flowers, 4-7in (10-17.5cm) wide.

Division 2: Martagon hybrids Turk’s cap lilies produce small, early, downward-facing flowers.

Division 3: Candidum hybrids Mostly European species, including L. candidum (the Madonna lily) which, from late spring, produces fragrant white flowers.

All photographs Alamy

Meet the Asiatics ASIATIC lilies tend to be sent out by online suppliers, and sold in garden centres, between late February and mid-July. In the garden, they are some of the earliest lilies to flower, often starting in late May. Flowers may be upwards‘Black Out’ is a facing, outwards- deep-red Asiatic lily facing or pendant.

They perform best in either a welldrained alkaline soil, or a multi-purpose compost when grown in a container.

Best in full sun, they also tolerate light shade. They are simplicity itself to grow.

So what is the downside? Well, the flowers are not scented, and maybe they are not quite as spectacular as some other types of lilies. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t be without them.

Asiatic lilies are some of the most popular types for cut flowers and potted plants.

Division 4: American hybrids North American hybrids which, in the UK, bloom in late spring in warmer counties, and mid-summer in cooler counties.

Division 5: Longiflorum hybrids L. longiflorum and L. formosanum hybrids. In the UK, these hybrids need conservatory protection in winter.

Division 6: Trumpet/Aurelian hybrids These prefer full sun and bloom from mid to late summer. In some places, they will not survive a harsh winter outdoors.

Division 7: Oriental hybrids Derived from crossing L. auratum, L. speciosum and others. They reach 5ft (1.5m) or so, and have large, upright

5

Cheerful orange blooms of Trumpet Lily ‘African Queen’

facing blooms with recurved petals, in late summer.

Division 8: Interdivisional hybrids Not readily classified in other divisions.

Division 9: Species Natural ‘parents’ of lilies in all the above hybrid groups.

lovely Asiatic lilies to grow in your garden

Bright, mid-yellow: Lilium ‘Classic Joy’

Scarlet red: Lilium ‘Red Carpet’

Soft pink: Lilium ‘Elodie’

Orange and chocolate brown: Lilium ‘Lily Allen’

White, flushed pink: Lilium ‘Lollypop’ 5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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A Gardener’s Miscellany Gardening’s king of trivia and brain-teasers, Graham Clarke JUST FOR FUN

Beetles about…

AG’s Garden Wall Plantain

Leek

Box

VIOLA

Stressed

Peruvian

Turk’s cap

ARUM

Broom

Union

Regal

It’s time for our just-for-fun puzzle: AG’s Garden Wall. This wall comprises a total of 12 bricks in three courses. Each brick has a different word, or phrase on it. The first brick in each course (with words in BLOCK capitals) has been cemented in place and cannot be moved. Just rearrange all the other bricks, so that all four words in each course of bricks are linked. There are three different connections

No: 014

POTS

to look for, one for each course. You may find that some words have more than one connection to other courses, but there is just the one correct answer. You’ll either find this puzzle fiendishly difficult, or incredibly easy!

Answers below.

Hint: In one of the courses, the words can all be followed by ‘Lily’!

POTS VIOLA ARUM Answers: POTS (stop) = Leek (keel), Stressed (dessert), Regal (lager) = words that make different words when they are read backwards. VIOLA = Box, Broom, Union = gardening words that all have a secondary meaning. ARUM lily (zantedeschia) = Plantain lily (hosta), Peruvian lily (alstroemeria), Turk’s cap lily (Lilium martagon).

WIN £30

Word search

This word search comprises words associated with lilies.

They are listed below; in the grid they may be read across, backwards, up, down or diagonally. Letters may be shared between words.

Erroneous or duplicate words may appear in the grid, but there is only one correct solution. After the listed words are found, there are eight letters remaining; arrange these to make this week’s KEY WORD. LILIES LILIUM LILY BEETLE CUT FLOWERS BULB CANDIDUM EDIBLE MADONNA MARTAGON ORIENTAL POISON RANGE SCALE TRENDY TRUMPET

N O G A T R A M N L

L E L B I D E E O A

I E L A C S L C S T

L S B I N T A R I N

I L L Y E N E I O E

E I U E D W O C P I

No: 572

S L B I O N L D S R

C I D L A T E I A O

A U F E G N A R L M

M M T E P M U R T Y

HOW TO ENTER: Enter this week’s keyword on the entry form, and send it to AG Word Search No 572, Amateur Gardening, Unit 2, Eelmore Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 7QN, to arrive by Wednesday 16 June 2021. The first correct entry chosen at random will win our £30 cash prize.

This week’s keyword is ..........................................................................................

Name ........................................................................................................................

Address .................................................................................................................... ...................................................................................................................................

Postcode ..................................................................................................................

Email .........................................................................................................................

Tel no ........................................................................................................................

Future plc, publisher of Amateur Gardening, will collect your personal information solely to process your competition entry.

48 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2021

IF you have lilies growing in your garden right now, pop outside and check them over for the red lily beetle.

Both the adult beetle The lily beetle eats and its ugly-looking leaves, stems, buds larvae eat holes in and flowers leaves, buds, stems and flowers of lilies, and also fritillaries. Right now, they are most likely to be seen.

Attacks now can result in undersized bulbs developing, which can prevent flowering next year. Knock the beetle off the plant (into your open hand, or a bowl) and then destroy it. The lily beetle has been a common pest in Britain for only 30 years or so.

Historical gardening event of the week: 7 June 1935 ON this day, the world lost 79-year-old Ivan Michurin, a Russian pomologist (the science of fruit growing). He had received very little schooling in his early Pomologist Ivan years, but his passion for Michurin fruiting plants made him famous throughout Russia. During the 1880s, he planted an orchard in the city of Kozlov, in north-eastern Russia, where he cross-bred more than 300 new types of fruit trees and berries. His aim was largely to breed in cold-hardiness, to enable them to survive winters in Central Russia.

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, high-ranking Soviet officials heaped praise on Michurin and his work; Lenin (the Soviet leader) ordered a full scientific assessment of his work and, in 1923, Michurin’s orchard and breeding farm was declared an “institution of state importance”. In a few years, it became the Michurin Central Genetic Laboratory, a state-ofthe-art genetic research station.

In 1932, the city of Kozlov, which had existed for 400 years, was even renamed Michurinsk!

Michurin’s most famous apple cultivar was ‘Antonovka’. Released in 1888, it became so popular in Russia that it was called The People’s Apple.

Non-lily lilies!

FEW plants have as many pretenders as the lily. True lilies are members of the lilium genus, Scarborough lily but dozens of other plants have ‘lily’ (cyrtanthus) in their name. Here are (just) 12 of them: African lily (agapanthus) Peruvian lily (alstroemeria) Arum lily (zantedeschia) Pineapple lily (eucomis) Belladonna lily (amaryllis) Plantain lily (hosta) Daylily (hemerocallis) Scarborough lily Guernsey lily (nerine) (cyrtanthus) Lily-of-the-valley Toad lily (tricyrtis) Waterlily (nymphaea) (convallaria)

Crossword ...just for fun!

1

2

4

3

6

5

7 8 9

10

11

13

12

14

15

16

17

18

19

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Cut flower tips

Warning: Lilies are poisonous to cats and dogs. If your pet eats any part of a lily plant, or ingests lily pollen, they are at risk of kidney failure, and you should get them to a vet immediately.

Despite the above warning, some lily species are used as food for humans. The bulbs of L. henryi and L. davidii contain a lot of starch, and they are used as root vegetables in parts of China, Taiwan and Japan.

Lilium is the name of a German electrically powered, vertical-take-off-and-landing personal jet aeroplane.

A five-seater prototype first flew in May 2019.

for alkali meals! (4) 3 The subjects of this week’s Miscellany! (6) 6 Old common name for Calluna vulgaris (heather) (4) 7 _____ Sackville-West, the famous early 20th century plantswoman (4) 8 For cuts and grazes, use the product with the original chemical name of trichlorophenylmethy liodosalicyl! (1,1,1) 11 Some gannets eat these tropical fruits (Garcinia mangostana), native to island nations of south-east Asia! (11) (anag) 15 Not many, as in the Tanacetum parthenium fever! (3) 17 Parrotia persica is the Persian ____wood tree (4) 18 Loam found in citrus oil! (4) 19 Genus of summerflowering daisy plants that come in bright, vivid colours (6) 20 ____ ilicifolia is the holly-leaved sweet spire (4)

week’s Miscellany! (6) 2 The Royal one contains pennies, including pennyroyal! (4) 3 The Himalayan honeysuckle genus (11) 4 South African bulbous plant with funnel-shaped flowers and sword-shaped leaves (4) 5 Droop, as if from loss of tautness, often said of floral decorations (4) 9 In the Cold War, a 1kg begonia is found in the Soviet Committee for State Security! (1,1,1) 10 Without ‘you’, the mountain avens genus is a jewel! (3) 12 The Siberian squill is ______ siberica (6) 13 This standard dwarf bearded iris variety is also a top hotel! (4) 14 Earth’s natural satellite, as in Narcissus ‘Baby ____’ and ‘____ Shadow’ (4) 16 Grow too quickly and run to seed (4)

ANSWERS TO ABOVE CROSSWORD

Wow! I didn’t know that...

DOWN 1 The genus subject of this

ACROSS 1 Lime 3 Lilies 6 Ling 7 Vita 8 TCP 11 Mangosteens 15 Few 17 Iron 18 Soil 19 Zinnia 20 Itea

Keep lilies and cats apart as the plants can induce kidney failure if ingested

ACROSS 1 Citrus fruit – just right

DOWN 1 Lilium 2 Mint 3 Leycesteria 4 Ixia 5 Swag 9 KGB 10 Gem 12 Scilla 13 Ritz 14 Moon 16 Bolt

From the garden: Harvest lilies when the flower buds show a little colour, but are not yet open. Hold the cut stem and remove the bottom leaves. Cut the base of the Choose stems with stem at a 45° angle. Change the water lots of buds in the vase every few days, or use a proprietary floral preservative. When you can, cut out the stamens; ideally, remove them before they mature and burst, when they can stain nearby fabrics and furniture.

Buying cut blooms: Choose stems that have plenty of buds, which should not be too small. Otherwise, treat as above.

KEYWORD TO WORD SEARCH 567 (1 May): SLICE AND THE WINNER IS: AMANDA MORGAN, HEMYOCK, DEVON

5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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All our esyesterdays

from the AG archiv

Part 5 :

Percy Thrower chooses the best bulbs for the garden

1. Anemone Some anemones are herbaceous perennials with fibrous roots and these will be dealt with later in this series. Here I am concerned only with those kinds that have tuberous roots, of which two are of particular interest to amateur gardeners. One of these is the poppy anemone, A. coronaria, which is grown principally as a cut flower and can be available at almost any time of the year, according to the time at which the little knobbly tubers are planted and the conditions under which they are grown.

The earliest winter anemones for the market come mostly from warm Mediterranean countries, though they can be produced in Britain in slightly heated frames. Later supplies for early spring come from Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and the Channel Islands, from unheated frames. Still later (including summer) flowers come from outdoors in almost any part of the country.

For all these purposes two strains are outstanding – the giant French (or de Caen) with single flowers in all the anemone colours including blues, reds, purples and pinks, and the St Brigid, an Irish selection of semi double-flowered anemones equally varied in colour.

50 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2021

Percy Thrower

1. Anemone blanda var. rosea ‘Radar’

All photographs Alamy unless otherwise credited

PLANTS with bulbs, corms, tubers or other means of storing large reserves of food and moisture have developed this capacity to enable them to survive considerable periods without active growth. This can be a useful quality in the garden, for it means that while the bulbous-rooted plants are resting, other plants can take their place without undue competition between them.

For example, spring-flowering bulbs, such as daffodils, tulips and snowdrops, die down in early summer just as many herbaceous perennials, annuals and bedding plants are making their maximum growth and coming into flower, and so it is possible to mix these two types of plant without harm to either.

Another advantage of bulbs, especially for beginners at gardening, is that many of them have already formed their flowers before they are planted and so it is almost impossible to fail with them the very first year. However, as with other plants, there are good and less good varieties. Here are a few of the best for private gardens.

TI Media Archive

Five-star plant selection

Bulbs

2. Colchicum speciosum ‘Album’

In contrast to these flamboyant blooms are the dainty little flowers of A. blanda, a plant for a rock garden or the edge of a bed or border. Typically blue, pink or white, there are superior varieties such as A.b. var. rosea ‘Radar’ with carmine and white flowers.

2. Colchicum This is sometimes called ‘autumn crocus’, and it certainly flowers in autumn and looks superficially like a crocus, but in fact there is no relationship between the two plants. Colchicum tubers are very large, quite unlike crocus corms, and the leaves, which do not appear until spring, are broad and big, so colchicums must be planted where they

will not unduly shade smaller plants.

They will grow in half-shade or sun, are excellent for the edge of a shrub border and should be planted in July or August for best results. The best to plant is C. speciosum and its varieties, of which I especially recommend C.s. ‘Atrorubens’ with deep reddish-lilac flowers and C.s. ‘Album’, which is pure white.

3. Crocus It is possible to have crocuses in flower from October until April, but the autumn and winter-flowering kinds soon get battered by rain and so are best grown in a frame or cool greenhouse. Most gardeners will be content to start outdoors in late February or early March

This is the fifth of a 10-part series by Percy Thrower, who reveals his ‘best buys’ originally published in Amateur Gardening in 1973. In this, and part six, Percy looks at bulbs. The following articles in the series will focus on herbaceous plants and alpines.

with some of the lovely varieties of C. chrysanthus, to follow this with C. susianus [angustifolius] that is such a rich yellow that its popular name is ‘cloth of gold’, and to finish the crocus season with the larger variously coloured flowers of the Dutch hybrids.

All C. chrysanthus varieties are beautiful, but I particularly like ‘E.A. Bowles’ with butter-yellow flowers; ‘Ladykiller’, a deep-purple flecked with white; ‘Snow Bunting’, white feathered with purple; ‘Zwanenburg’, orange inside but heavily flushed with deep bronze outside; and C.c. var. fuscotinctus, which is smaller but exquisite, and deep golden-yellow feathered with bronze.

137 years of practical advice 1884 The World’s Oldest Gardening Magazine 2021

5 Fritillaria meleagris var. unicolor subvar. alba

4. Eranthis This is the winter aconite. It is easily grown in places in which many other plants would fail and is one of the earliest to flower. The gold-yellow blooms look like celandines except that each is surrounded by a little green ruff, and they look delightful carpeting the ground in January and February beneath deciduous shrubs where they are completely happy. The best kind to plant is E. hyemalis (Tubergenii group) ‘Guinea Gold’, with flowers of extra size.

5. Fritillaria There are a lot of fritillaries, some so unlike others that it is at first glance difficult to realise that they belong to the same family. The crown imperial, Fritillaria imperialis, with its stout 2ft (90cm) stems, each bearing a cluster of dangling orange or yellow flowers surmounted by a top-knot of green leaves, bears little resemblance to the snake’s-head fritillary F. meleagris with its stems each bearing one or at most two bell-shaped flowers that may be white or maroon, chequered in a lighter or darker shade, whence it gets its other popular name, ‘guinea flower’.

With the crown imperial perhaps the most important thing is to buy healthy bulbs, for there has been a lot of disease in this species in recent years. All the same, there are improved varieties such as F.i. ‘Maxima Lutea’ with extra-large yellow flowers and ‘Rubra Maxima’ with extra-large red flowers.

Health is no problem with F. meleagris and a good mixed strain will give satisfactory results, but F. meleagris var. unicolor subvar. alba and ‘Aphrodite’,

4. Eranthis hyemalis (Tubergenii group) ‘Guinea Gold’

6. Galanthus ‘Atkinsii’

both white, ‘Artemis’, grey-purple, ‘Pomona’, violet and white, and ‘Saturnus’, reddish purple, are all available and good.

6. Galanthus This is the botanical name of the snowdrops, some of the loveliest of bulbs for naturalising in short grass or growing under the shade of deciduous shrubs. But though the common British snowdrop, G. nivalis, and its improved varieties such as ‘Atkinsii’, enjoy shade, this is not true of all snowdrops. If you buy some of the broad-leaved, largeflowered species, such as G. elwesii and G. ikariae (and very handsome they are) you will be more likely to succeed with them if you find them a sunny place.

However, my five-star choice is G. ‘Atkinsii’ for its beauty and adaptability.

3 Crocus chrysanthus var. fuscotinctus

Q In AG 12 June Percy Thrower concludes his five-star plant selection of bulbs

The views, information and opinions expressed during this series of extracts from past issues of AG are solely those of the individuals involved, at the time they were written, and are not necessarily relevant or even legal today. Please treat these pages as a look back at how things were done in the past and not necessarily how they are done today. AG accepts no responsibility if readers follow advice given in these articles from past issues.

5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Advanced gardening New series on advanced gardening techniques with Steve and Val Bradley

You can listen to Steve on alternate Sundays 10am-2pm on BBC Radio Kent’s Sunday Gardening (BBC Local)

Water the container to settle the compost and keep adding water until it starts to run out of the container through the drainage holes in the sides of the container

All photographs by Chris Bradley, copyright Future

When water runs out of the drainage holes you know that there is a reservoir of water several centimetres deep in the base of the container

Smart watering for containers Steve and Val Bradley explain how to create a more efficient system to ensure that the roots of young plants in containers get all the water they need

G

ROWING plants in containers allows you to extend your garden onto hard-surface areas or lets you grow plants if you have no garden at all. However, keeping up with the watering can be difficult, especially with larger plants that need a regular supply in hot weather or if you are away for a few days.

Unlike plants in the ground, which can send new roots in search of water underground, those growing in containers are entirely dependent on you for their supply. Insufficient water shows as wilting in the early stages, but there is a ‘permanent wilting point’ beyond which they will not recover and you will at least need to prune off dead stems, if not lose the whole plant.

You can buy small self-watering containers, with a clear pipe leading to a reservoir in the base, or you can create something to meet your own requirements. Most containers are 52 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2021

designed to provide good drainage, usually working on a formula that a 30cm-diameter pot needs a minimum 3cm-diameter drainage hole, or holes, in the base, but there is no set rule to say the drainage hole must be in the base of the container. Drilling drainage holes in the sides of a container, several centimetres up from the base, allows for a reservoir of water that can be drawn up by the plants as they need it. Stone ballast is added to the base of the pot to support the compost and the plant.

Using strips of capillary matting Water moves through the compost by capillary action, but this is really only effective with containers up to 60cm in depth – which is a challenge for newly potted plants whose roots are higher up.

This can be overcome by placing strips of capillary matting vertically down the inside of the container to form a link between the reservoir and the compost

higher up, so the water is drawn up to moisten the compost at the level where the roots are. Then, as the plants establish and the roots penetrate downwards, they reach the reservoir.

Often, when plants are repotted after being grown in this type of pot, the roots have spread into the ballast at the base.

Start by buying growing containers without any drainage holes in them, if possible. For containers that have drainage holes already, use a piece of an old compost bag can to line the bottom of the container and then drill drainage holes in the sides of the container to replace those in the base.

This type of container modification is ideal for long-term plantings, such as fruit trees, shrubs and roses. The availability of water allows for healthy, consistent growth and the stone ballast provides extra stability. This added weight can be especially important as the plants grow larger and taller.

Steve Bradley MA MHort (RHS) has written (or co-written) over 40 gardening books, including Propagation Basics, The Pruner’s Bible, The Ground Force Workbook and What’s Wrong With My Plant? He is resident expert on BBC Radio Kent, Sussex and Surrey, and he has built medal-winning gardens at both Chelsea and Hampton Court Palace.

Step-by-step guide to smart container watering

1

Drill one or more holes into the side of the container a few centimetres up from the base, remembering that the total amount of drainage should be equal to 10% of the diameter of the container’s rim, so a 50cm-wide pot needs a total of 5cm of drainage holes.

Fill the base of the container with ballast, such as pea gravel, up to the level where the holes have been drilled. This ballast is not used to provide drainage, but to support the compost and plant when they are placed in the pot.

3

4

For larger or very deep containers, use strips of capillary matting running from the ballast up into the compost and root zone of the plant in the container.

2

Place a cardboard disc on top of the layer of ballast to act as a barrier, which should be a slightly smaller diameter than the inside diameter of the container at this level. This will stop the fresh compost washing down to mix with the ballast.

6

Position the plant in the container and plant it in the usual way before watering the compost thoroughly.

5

Add several layers of compost and firm it gently to prevent it washing down into the ballast. The barrier works even when the cardboard rots away because the lower levels of compost have settled into place.

5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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54 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2021

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Bring beauty out in your wood Paint your garden sheds, fences and decking to update your outside space

A

S we are extending our lives out into the garden once more, it is the perfect opportunity to refresh the supporting stars of our outdoor spaces – the fences, the garden shed and timber decking.

While growing flowers and veg brings its own reward in a riot of blooms or a larder full of home produce, it is a game for the patient.

Painting or staining the fences and shed can bring immediate satisfaction – brightening up a dull, weather-worn building or providing a dark backdrop for lush greens and colourful planting to pop against. And all while providing protection for the wood.

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Prepare to succeed broken slats and panels and repair or When it comes to preparing for the task, replace them. having the right tools for painting can make the job easier and quicker. In the Refreshing your fences case of the Harris Ultimate Shed & If the wood fencing or shed is bare or Fence Swan Neck Paint Brush, it can it untreated, it is best to pre-treat it with make it nearly twice as fast. wood preserver to stop rot and decay in The angled ergonomic the future. handle design promises to Stir up your paint or stain so it’s make painting faster than smooth and lump free and pour some using a Harris Essentials into the Ultimate Large Handyhold to Block Brush. avoid having to carry a paint tray Before you start, tie around. For efficient painting, back your climbing use the Ultimate Swan plants and bushes Neck Shed and so they’re away Fence Brush, from the fences which can get into and lay tarpaulin all the nooks and or dust sheets ridges. It comes over your beds to complete with a Harris Ultimate Shed & protect anything you storage case that will Fence Swan Neck Brush. don’t want to get covered It comes in two sizes – keep the brush head wet 100 mm from £12.71 and between coats (for up to two in paint or stain. Make sure 120 mm from £15.08 that the surface is clean, dry weeks!). For more precision and free of dirt. Grime can usually be when touching up details on the shed, taken off with a Harris Seriously Good try the Seriously Good Shed & Fence 2in Wire Brush and Scraper, but for algae, Paint Brush. lichen and moss, use a fungicidal wash If you are painting a flat surface, like or sugar soap. Check for any loose or decking, use the 2in paint brush to cut in.

The easy to use Harris Ultimate Shed & Fence Swan Neck brush and Ultimate Large Handyhold being used in various ways.

5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Your

the look Get Ideas for gorgeous gardens Pick a colour: this area of planting has a rosy theme promoted by flamingo willow Salix integra ‘Hakuro-nishiki’, Agastache mexicana ‘Red Fortune’, Lobelia x speciosa ‘Tania’ and rose campion Lynchis coronaria

The small-holding garden A bramble-covered smallholding has been turned into a dazzling garden by plant-loving Lancashire couple Terry and Sue Riding, says Sue Bradley

Photographs by Howard Walker

A

PEACEFUL location with great views and plenty of space for a garden proved an irresistible combination for Terry and Sue Riding 25 years ago, although even they have been amazed at the transformation they’ve managed to achieve.

Back then, thick mats of brambles covered their three-quarters-of-an-acre Lancashire site so effectively that the couple had to spend several months tidying it up. Then they had to improve its thick clay soil with mushroom compost and topsoil before they could even think about a layout.

“The land had previously been a smallholding, but when we first came here it was hard to appreciate the

nature of the plot because it was so overgrown,” laughs Terry.

“There were some fabulous views of the West Pennine Moors, but we couldn’t really see anything else. It was only when we started clearing that we realised how much potential there was.”

In time an oblong-shaped plot emerged, and Terry and Sue

“There were fabulous views of the moors”

endeavoured to come up with a design that would enable the edges of their garden to blend with the landscape beyond, planting trees on two sides to merge with adjoining woodland. At the same time they got the builder working on their house to dig a pond, a project that proved to be trickier than initially anticipated.

Leaking pond “The pond we have today is actually the second we have had. The first leaked away in one corner and we went on to follow the recommendation of a garden designer to make this feature quite a bit bigger,” explains Terry.

Thirteen years on, this stretch of 5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Your

the look Get Ideas for gorgeous gardens water is the lynchpin of the garden, acting as a magnet for wildlife and an attractive foil for the acres of farmland and the Pennine Hills beyond.

The passage of time has enabled marginal plants to multiply and soften the pond’s edges with their foliage and colourful flowers, while waterlilies and other aquatic species add an extra layer of beauty.

Embrace the visual impact and benefits to wildlife of a pond. Terry and Sue extended theirs after six years and love the result

Woodland walk A small drystone wall allows cascading water to improve oxygen levels and a decked platform overhanging the pond’s edge provides a peaceful spot to sit.

Elsewhere, Terry and Sue turned their attention to coming up with eye-catching planting schemes, opting for combinations of interesting foliage as

“We consulted books to come up with our schemes”

Introduce a cascade to encourage the oxygenation of pond water. This one is housed within an attractive drystone wall feature

On the deck: build decking at the edge of a pond for a ringside view of the wildlife attracted to the water

well as colourful flowers. Meanwhile, a woodland walk links together the different areas of the garden.

“Initially we consulted gardening books to come up with our schemes: they gave us some great ideas, but we made huge mistakes too,” explains Terry, who worked in the financial world before his retirement.

Over time Terry and Sue’s appreciation of plants has grown to the Choose hard-wearing reclaimed railway sleepers to create a pathway on ground that’s prone to moisture. Plants such as bergenia, astrantia and variegated hosta help to soften the edges

58 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2021

Mix together plants of various colours and foliage, such as Acer palmatum ‘Dissectum’ and Berberis thunbergii ‘Aurea’ to enable each to stand out. A metal gazebo clad in Rosa Warm Welcome (‘Chewizz’) is an effective cover for a biomass tank, while a metal stork draws the eye

Inject a touch of drama with a dark-leaved dahlia.

This medium-sized Dahlia ‘Mystic Enchantment’ combines red flowers with purple foliage

Add an extra layer of interest by inserting rust-effect metal cutout sculptures within a bed of Ligularia przewalskii. This robust perennial produces spikes of yellow flowers on black stems

Increase your options: this pergola extends around the area behind the house providing shelter and opportunities to plant climbers such as clematis and honeysuckle

Revel in the colourful flowers of Helenium ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’, which thrives in a sunny spot on the edge of the woodland

Line a pond with marginal plants. Here Astilbe ‘Look at Me’ (x ardensii) is flanked by the rhubarb-like leaves of Darmera peltata and the variegated leaves of Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’ grass

Draw the eye: a pair of herons created from recycled oil containers in Zimbabwe raise the sightline above layers of lavender and astilbe 5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Your

the look Get Ideas for gorgeous gardens extent that they now travel around the UK looking for more unusual specimens, some of which are grown in and around the pergola that extends around the back of their home. They also enjoy going on courses to learn more.

In 20 years the Ridings have put their stamp on the old smallholding and, while there are some things they would now do a little differently, such as not levelling out the entire site, they’re proud of what they’ve achieved.

“Gardening has become a passion: our aim is to have something flowering every month of the year,” says Terry. “It’s mentally stimulating and it keeps us physically active.

“The garden never stands still and we’re always looking at it and thinking about what will happen next.”

Let there be light: this cast-iron lamppost came from a salvage yard and is one of five that light the garden during the evenings. Electrical cabling was installed early on in the garden’s creation

Plant a sweep of lavender for an eyecatching sea of blue. The insertion of Caryopteris x clandonensis ‘Summer Sorbet’ accentuates the rich colour of Lavandula angustifolia ‘Hidcote’

Select the right plants for shady spots. The ‘fern bed’ along the garden’s southern boundary contains a number of different species, along with complementing plants such as Corydalis ochroleuca and C. flexuosa ‘Blue Dragon’

Bring an additional dimension to ponds by introducing waterlilies. These plants can be placed in shallow baskets filled with aquatic compost

Enjoy changes of mood around the garden: this gazebo extends across the courtyard at the back of the house and incorporates a small pebble pond and waterpump feature, along with unusual plants such as Amicia zygomeris

60 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2021

Meet the gardeners Owners: Terry and Sue Riding Address: Glynwood House, South Road, Bretherton, Leyland, Lancashire, PR26 9AD Garden size: ¾ acre Month visited: July Aspect: South facing Soil: Clay Special features: Mixed borders, pond with drystone wall water feature, woodland walk, patio garden with pergola and raised beds, open aspects Open for NGS: Part of the Bretherton Gardens group opening

Letters to Wendy Write to us: Letters, Amateur Gardening magazine, Future Publishing Limited, Unit 2, Eelmore Road, Farnborough, Hants GU14 7QN (please include your address). Email us: amateurgardening@futurenet.com

Star letter Each week we publish a reader’s poem about a favourite plant, experience or horticultural theme. This week, Sandra from Bristol is wild about her garden...

Joan’s cheery plants all ready for the whole village to enjoy

Gardening passion

M

OST of these plants will be going to the Mart in the village into their eleven raised beds around the car park and some of the pelargoniums will go into two tubs outside the local fire station.

I am a volunteer in a small village gardening group and happen to have a wonderful Gabriel Ash leanto greenhouse against a southfacing wall, which retains the heat, hence I’m able to protect frost

sensitive plants over winter.

We had a plant sale on Saturday at the craft fair at the Mart – it was bitterly cold, wet and windy day, but four of us stuck it out and together with bird boxes, feeders and benches from a combined local SHED group we made over £200.

One has to love gardening to do any of this! Lockdown or not.

Joan Bell, East Lothian Wendy says Fantastic, well done.

Reader material unless credited

Much loved greenhouse AFTER reading the letter about the secondhand greenhouse (AG, 8 May), I thought I would tell you about my greenhouse.

I retired in 2015 and took up gardening, and I wanted a greenhouse but not just a standard size, so I bought two.

I made this one fit between a magnolia tree and potting shed, it’s 10ft x 5ft with two side doors parallel to my shed doors and it’s nearly 10ft high.

The greenhouse helped me in 2020 when we were in lockdown and this year with free AG seeds I have my own bedding plants for my garden.

I love reading the magazine, it’s full of information, ideas, letters and Q&As, thank you AG. Charlie Mistry, Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire

Charlie maximises the generous height with shelving racks

WIN £20

“Having read and enjoyed the poetry on your pages, I’ve been inspired to have a go at writing one myself. I hope you like it.

Although I describe my garden as wild, I hope I still manage to make it a pleasant place for humans as well. I even grow a few edibles such as fruit bushes, herbs and tomatoes.”

Wild Garden My garden is a wild place; A vibrant, rich, dynamic space.

Where blackbirds sing from apple trees, Amid pink blossoms and humming bees.

And feeders full of mealworm mix, Provide for birds and hungry chicks.

Whilst tiny bugs that creep and crawl, Seek leafy piles beneath a wall.

Our pond, an ancient baby bath, Located near a gravel path, Lies buried within our daisies lawn; A sheltered spot for frogs to spawn.

A place where birds descend to drink, And splash around upon the brink.

Beneath thick hedges, piles of logs, Give shelter to our night time hogs.

My plants feed bugs and butterflies, Which feed the birds that grace the skies.

Creating solace for humankind.

Ensuring health and piece of mind.

The greenhouse is squeezed in a tight spot and has access to the shed via internal sliding doors

With fruits or flowers throughout the year, All living things are welcome here.

Sandra L Hopwood, Nr Bristol

5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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SHARE YOUR STORIES TIPS AND PHOTOS and you will receive a fantastic pair of Town & Country’s Master Gardener gloves — the UK’s best-selling gardening glove and a perfect companion to help you in the garden. State small, medium or large with your letter.

Photo of the week

Future Publishing Ltd Unit 2, Eelmore Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 7QN

Editorial:

Anne’s border auriculas look terrific in these troughs. She noted that flowering is in Cornwall this year – perhaps due to the warm April

Editor: Garry Coward-Williams

Email: garry.coward-williams@futurenet.com 0330 390 3732 (Mon-Fri 9.00am-6.00pm)

Gardening Editor: Ruth Hayes Assistant Editor: Janey Goulding Art Editor: Al Rigger Picture Editor and Letters: Wendy Humphries Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com Photography All copyrights and trademarks are recognised and respected Advertising Media packs are available on request Ad Manager: Rebecca Vincze, tel: 0330 3906566 email: rebecca.vincze@futurenet.com Amateur Gardening is available for licensing and syndication. To find out more contact us at licensing@ futurenet.com or view our available content at www. futurecontenthub.com Head of Print Licensing: Rachel Shaw Subscriptions Email enquiries: amateurgardeningsubs.co.uk/subsave UK orderline & enquiries: 0330 333 1113 Overseas order line & enquiries: +44 (0)330 333 1113 Online orders & enquiries: myfavouritemagazines.co.uk CRM Director: Louise Dudfield Circulation Head of Newstrade: Tim Mathers Production Head of Production: Mark Constance Production Project Manager: Clare Scott

Amazing auriculas

Advertising Production Manager: Joanne Crosby Digital Editions Controller: Jason Hudson

I HAVE been growing auriculas for many years and the results have been average. This year, though, they have looked amazing. And it’s not just mine, as my neighbour’s plants are blooming lovely, too. They started flowering in

April and continued into May. All I did was water my plants occasionally and fed them once a fortnight in March.

It seemed to work!

Anne Crosby St Austell, Cornwall

Tongue-twisters

Wendy says Hi Betty, even experts struggle, especially with those difficult Latin orchid names.

I don’t think there is a wrong or right way to pronounce a plant name, as long as you know what you’re talking about.

Another option is to use common names instead, and much easier to remember!

Future

I HAVE been an AG reader for a long time, it’s such a wonderful mag. But! Do other readers struggle with the fancy names? How do you pronounce all the names. A recent magazine article about orchids demonstrated this, what a tongue-twister, is there any secret on how to say them? Perhaps you could put a ‘pronouncement column’ in each article to help.

Betty Nowell, Sheffield

Reader’s Tip

Alamy

IF you have plenty of seedlings to water in the greenhouse, keep several old milk cartons filled with water to top up your watering can so that it is at the right temperature.

Ann West, Suffolk 64 AMATEUR GARDENING 5 JUNE 2020

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Toby Buckland Plantsman and BBC gardening presenter

Toby’s trivia Low cordons are beneficial in places with poor soil, bearing bunches closer to the ground where warmth from soil boosts ripening

Vines grown for wine become less productive with age, but because their roots feed from deep in the soil they produce finer wines.

Given the right discipline, pruning and training, I’ve got high hopes that my beguiling ‘Suffolk Red’ will provide a reliable harvest

These ‘Sauvignon Blanc’ grapes are being trained using the ‘Geneva Double Curtain’ technique

Grape expectations

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Vines are worth growing for their autumn colour alone, especially varieties such as ‘Brandt’, ‘Regent’ (pictured) and ‘Fragola’, which has a flavour redolent of strawberries.

Vine taming requires patience, a sure hand and vision, but that won’t stop Toby from raising his grape-growing game

All photographs Alamy, unless otherwise credited

T

HE ‘Smart Dyson’ might be well designed, but it clogs up on weedy ground, so the training method for my grapevine (what did you think I was talking about?) has to be one that keeps the fruits well clear of the soil.

I’ve been looking into various vinetaming techniques for the seedless ‘Suffolk Red’ grape planted alongside my garden office, which, if left to its own devices, would turn into a knot of leafy but fruitless stems. But with a little discipline, pruning and training, I’ve high hopes it will provide a reliable harvest.

At first glance vine care can seem complicated, but in gardens most are grown like climbing roses, with their main branches tied in to permanent supports from which flowering sideshoots emerge each summer.

Still, while climbing roses are trained as pillars, fans or just tangles, there are myriad methods for training grapes, each with its own pros, cons and a name

“The number of training methods is vast”

that often provides a clue to its origin.

The ‘Geneva Double Curtain’, for example, was clearly conceived in a Swiss haberdashery, while my guess is that the ‘Kniffin’ and ‘Pendlebogen’ were inspired by characters from The Hobbit.

The number of training methods is vast because of the number of countries where grapes are grown. In places with poor soil and short growing seasons, ‘Low Cordons’ (with stems spread out like step-over apples) bear their bunches near the ground, where reflected heat from the soil boosts sugar content and speeds ripening. In rich soils where grapes grow vigorously, taller methods

with a framework at waist or shoulder height (like the parasol-shaped ‘Umbrella Kniffin’ and the T-shaped ‘High Trellis Bilateral Cordon’) are useful.

Vines produce their best harvests when the plants are stressed, and the extra height makes the vines work hard to lift water up to the leaves and the swelling bunches.

Around my office, a single trunk with a ‘T’ of branches will work fine, bringing the grapes above the borders and into the sunshine. And the leaves will be a lot prettier to look at than the gutters.

TI Archive

Main image: Thompson-morgan.com

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Plant your own vine THE old advice that before planting a grape vine you should bury a horse has (thankfully) been proven unnecessary.

A handful of bone meal in the planting hole and over the roots in February will suffice. Although good soil is important, sunshine is crucial for good grapes, so south or west-facing walls are ideal. In the first two years, train the main stem, pinching off any flowers and nipping back the side shoots. For more training and pruning tips, visit Chris Bowers’ website ( chrisbowers.co.uk).

Scatter a handful of bone meal in the planting hole

An espalier grape vine that has been trained against a sunny wall

5 JUNE 2021 AMATEUR GARDENING

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