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2020 plants!

y r t o t s ie t ie r a v g in z a m a 30

Amateur

B PRACEST TICAL ADVIC SINCEE 1884

Our guide to growing best ever garlic Euphorbias: lovely leaves and unusual owers!

Expert tips: Preparing your garden for spring

How to repair your patios

Love ’em! plant for Valentines

Early nectar plants to aid wildlife

rare | unusual | exciting

Loropetalum Fire Dance

Fragrant Fringe Flowers Dwarf varieties which flower non-stop throughout winter and spring Loropetalum Ever Red

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£24

Loropetalum Ever Red

Loropetalum Fire Dance

Fragrant, fringe-shaped flowers upon waxy, heart-shaped, evergreen foliage – the perfect addition to your winter border or container. The fluffy flowers look as if they have been handcrafted out of velvet making them soft to touch whilst enjoying the heavenly fragrance. The blooms smother the glossy evergreen foliage which can be trained against a wall, topiary or obelisk.

Excellent for cutting too. Loropetalum chinense originate from China hence the name, they prefer fertile, humus-rich, moist, but well-drained soil in full sun or part shade and are hardy to –10°C. Fire Dance grows to a compact height and spread of 90cm and spreads to 45-75cm; Ever Red grows to a manageable height and spread of 1.5m. No pruning required. Your order is covered by our No Quibble Guarantee and will be confirmed together with a copy of our latest catalogue. Your 9cm pots will be delivered within 14 days.

ORDER • ONLINE hayloft.co.uk • PHONE 0844 335 1088 QUOTE AG0620 SEND THE COUPON TO: Hayloft Plants, FREEPOST RTGR-JAGJ-JETG, Pensham, Pershore WR10 3HB PLEASE SEND

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HAYLOFT PLANTS, MANOR FARM NURSERY, PENSHAM, PERSHORE, WORCESTERSHIRE WR10 3HB

Amateur

135 years of practical advice

1884 The World’s Oldest Gardening Magazine 2020 Subsc for onribe ly

£1.14* an iss u pa e

ge 4 0

4 Getting prepared for spring 8 Secrets for best bleeding hearts 12 How to grow your free seeds

Great garden ideas 22 New plants for 2020: AG reader Lesley Upton offers new flowers, fruit and veg to try this year 26 How to grow lily of the valley: Anne Swithinbank’s top tips 28 Early nectar plants: best varieties for helping your garden wildlife 32 Euphorbias: lovely leaves, unusual flowers, so why not give them a try?

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Gardening wisdom

“I’ve found 30 amazing new plants to grow in 2020,” says AG reader Lesley

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“Here’s how you can grow these lovely bleeding hearts,” says Ruth

10 Peter Seabrook: planting tulips in January? It’s mild enough, says Peter 14 Bob Flowerdew: here’s a smart way to get a lawn meadow, says Bob 17 Val Bourne: the harlequin ladybird is killing our native seven-spot, says Val 19 Lucy Chamberlain’s Fruit and Veg 36 Ask John Negus your questions 42 All Our Yesterdays: amazing plant stories from the AG archives of 1969 45 A Gardener’s Miscellany: puzzles and trivia all about sweet peas 51 Anne Swithinbank’s Masterclass 52 Tool Tech: the easy way to replace those broken patio paving slabs 54 Letters to Wendy 59 Toby Buckland: are slug-throwing gardeners to blame for the recent transport chaos? Toby has a theory “The best early nectar plants for wildlife,” says Hazel

28 Alamy

TI Media

Thompson & Morgan

– se e

Jobs for this week

Garden news 6 7

Foreign disease fears increase Apples arrive from outer space

Subscription offer 40 Subscribe for under £15 “Mid-January’s mild weather was mixed with a stormy cocktail of rain and wind, which allowed some late planting of spring bulbs – see Peter Seabrook’s tulip planting on page 10. However, this very t/mild cocktail was also kinder pests and it encouraged isease. I’m interested to now how you (the AG reader) oped with this. Did you do some late planting?”

Alamy

Garry Coward-Williams, Editor

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“Euphorbias have lovely leaves and unusual flowers,” says Louise

Cover: Dicentra spectabilis (pic: Alamy)

Contact us: Editorial: 01252 555138 Email: amateurgardening@ti-media.com Subscriptions: 0330 3331120 Advertising: 07817 629935 8 FEBRUARY 2020 AMATEUR GARDENING

3

Stock up on compost

The shed basically becomes my ‘office’ over the summer, so I need to make sure it’s in order. This week I’m sorting the chemicals, washing and tidying the pots, and making sure everything is in its place.

It’s going to be a big job!

Sterilise your watering cans and tools

With spring just around the corner, Ruth prepares for its arriva

All photographs TI Media

S

O, we’re six weeks into the year and signs of spring are all around. With the days drawing out and the gentle promise of warmer weather just around the corner, the call of the garden is hard to resist.

Although harsh weather is a probability between now and Easter, there’s nothing to stop us getting out and preparing the garde big spring push.

Our changing climate means that many early flowering plants are starting to show signs Houseplants need of life weeks before care too their usual time. We have even had a pink campion that bravely flowered all through winter in one of the more sheltered areas of the ga – can anyone beat that?

Keep these precocious growers weed-free (many weeds are hardier than cultivated plants and thrive in considerably lower temperatures) and don’t worry if they are hit by snow or a hard freeze. They may be bowed by the weight of snow or have their foliage blackened by frost, but once this passes they will quickly recover, resume their upright stance and put forth new shoots.

4 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

If you have let the garden fend for itself over the winter, it may feel like there is an overwhelming amount to get done before the ‘proper’ start of the gardening year, so take it in stages.

Sort your greenhouse and coldframe one day, and your lawn the next, with perennials another day, and so on.

On wet and wild days, when out really isn’t an , stay indoors and get ing or browse seed d plant catalogues. dy the shed, clean nd sharpen your tools nd, if necessary, get our mower serviced nd the blades honed fore your lawns start row in earnest. place used essentials r underestimate the amount of compost you will get through in the coming weeks. Stock up now, making the most of offers and bargains. Many garden centres and DIY stores will also deliver bulky loads.

Also, take time to get out there and spot the first signs of spring. Catkins, snowdrops, shy violets, bird song – it’s all starting to happen and there’s no better way to lift the spirits after the dark days of the early year.

Hold your horses!

Some jobs can wait a few weeks

If you have to work on your borders, stand on a plank to avoid soil compaction

Although it’s tempting to get outside on fair days and get cracking, there are certain jobs that should be left until later in spring.

Wet or frosted soil is easy to compact, which damages its structure. Avoid working on it until it has dried out and warmed up.

If you absolutely have to work on a border, stand on a plank to distribute your weight evenly.

Don’t cut back last year’s foliage on penstemons until April, as it protects the crown from frost.

Don’t prune early flowering shrubs such as forsythia and philadelphus now otherwise you will remove this year’s blossom.

Feeding time: Plants slowly return to life at the tail-end of winter, ready for spring. Next week, I show you how to feed them and what to give them so they get a good head start.

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Give overwintering plants and new seedlings as much light as possible by keeping greenhouse glass clean.

Check plants regularly to keep them pest and disease-free, removing dead leaves and any early flower buds.

2

Soil is still too cold for planting young new additions and sowing, but you can speed things along by warming it with plastic, cardboard or cloches. This also helps suppress weeds when the temperature rises.

Harsh winter weather is still guaranteed almost anywhere in the UK. Brush settled snow off plants before its weight can damage them and don’t walk on frozen grass as you can damage and kill the blades.

Go through your drawers and stock up on essentials. You can never have too many labels, twine and marker pens. Invest in a simple soil test kit and one that gauges nutrient levels around the garden.

4

Make this the year you ditch one-use plastics. Wash and reuse your pots, scrub old plant names off plastic labels for another use, and keep hold of supermarket fruit punnets for sowing edibles.

5

It’s been a pretty wild and stormy winter, so check fences, sheds and other structures. On milder days when a dry spell is forecast, you can start mending and preserving them for the year to come.

Mulch borders with a good layer of well-rotted compost. Don’t do this on freezing soil as it will trap the frost.

Buy nutrient-rich manure from farms or stables, but let it rot well before use.

Keep checking your early sown seedlings. Remove the seed-tray lid after germination to provide good airflow and make sure the compost is damp, but not swamped.

In all the excitement of growth outside, don’t neglect houseplants.

Deadhead and remove dead leaves, control pests and get plants ready for their own springtime resurgence.

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8 FEBRUARY 2020 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Got a story?

Call 01252 555138 or email ruth.hayes@ti-media.com

Deadly threat to native plants Imported disease could wipe out many species, experts warn

Asparagus is becoming increasingly popular

Asparagus is a top crop AS plant-based diets become increasingly popular, asparagus is a key player in Pomona Fruits’ spring catalogue.

This season the company is showcasing three new varieties of the vegetable: ■ ‘Guelph Eclipse’: Bred at the University of Guelph in Canada, this is an early-cropping, disease-resistant variety.

■ ‘Vittorio’: Heavyyielding producing thick, disease-resistant spears that can be harvested when they are green or white, when it has a nuttier, delicate flavour.

■ ‘Burgundine’: A purple plant that is tender and sweet when eaten raw, making it an ideal addition to salads. It often produces more spears than green varieties.

A spokesman for Pomona said: “British asparagus is traditionally harvested from the April 23 (St George’s Day) until the summer solstice on June 21, and is generally recognised as the best in the world because our climate supports perfect growing conditions.

“It’s a great vegetable to grow because plants can remain productive for up to 25 years.”

T

OURISTS are being warned against bringing diseased plants into the UK after travelling abroad.

There are widespread fears that the devastating fungal disease Xylella, caused by the bacteria Xylella fastidiosa, could enter the country and affect more than 500 species of plant.

Susceptible varieties include lavender, rosemary and flowering cherry.

Symptoms include leaf scorch, wilt, dieback and the death of the plant.

The disease, which has no known cure, is not currently in the UK but has been cutting a swathe through Europe and killing millions of trees.

Now travellers are being advised on how to avoid bringing the disease home in a four-minute animation voiced by Dame Helen Mirren. The film explains the risks and tells gardeners what they can do to stop the spread of the disease.

Dame Helen says she has seen the devastation done to olive trees in Italy. She said: “Xylella is a dreadful plant disease that has devastated businesses, communities and entire landscapes.

“Understanding what you

■ For further details, contact Pomona Fruits on 01255 440410 or visit pomonafruits.co.uk.

6 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

Xylella has devastated olive groves throughout Europe

Olive dieback caused by Zylella

Protect our plants, says Helen Mirren

can do to help keep it out of the UK is an important first step in protecting our precious plants.”

Gardeners must be vigilant The animated film portrays the disease as an unfriendly alien and illustrates the symptoms and the risks of bringing plants back from abroad. Travellers and gardeners are also being asked to look for symptoms that can’t be blamed on more usual causes such as bad weather conditions and native pests and diseases.

The animation is the result of a collaboration by Brigit, a consortium of 12 universities and research institutes led by

the John Innes Centre in Norfolk and including the RHS and the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

Brigit spokesman Gerard Clover said: “The disease continues to spread within Europe causing more than a billion Euros-worth of damage and gardeners must be vigilant and report changes in the health of their plants.”

Advice to help prevent the introduction of Xylella includes sourcing new plants carefully, buying plants grown in the UK, propagating plants at home, checking plants for disease before purchase, monitoring the health of new plants and never bringing plants back from abroad.

The garden centre chain that likes a chat IF you are feeling a little lonesome, head to Squire’s Garden Centres where they have launched a series of Chatter & Natter tables in their cafes.

Part of the Chatty Café Scheme, these tables are for anyone to use and the give lonely visitors the chance to chat.

Sarah Squire, Chairman of Squire’s Garden Centres said, “In this age of social

media it’s so important to make an effort to talk to others face-to-face.

“I believe a short conversation with another human can really brighten your day. Everyone’s welcome, and it’s a great way to meet local people.”

Squires have 16 garden centres in Surrey, Sussex, Middlesex, West London and Berkshire, all with Chatter & Natter tables – just look out

for the signs. For details, call 01252 356860 or visit squiresgardencentres. co.uk.

Make new friends at Squires garden centres

Meet Val: AG wildlife expert and galanthophile (snowdrop enthusiast) Val Bourne is giving a talk on the springtime flower at Hever Castle in Kent on Saturday, February 8 at 1pm. Visitors can also take themselves on a walk around the grounds that contain more than 80,000 snowdrop plants.

Call 01732 865224 or visit hevercastle.co.uk for details, times and tickets.

‘Space apples’ make landfall in UK gardens EIGHT young trees grown from the pips of Isaac Newton’s ‘Flower of Kent’ apple tree and then taken to the International Space Station have fallen to earth and are now growing in several of Europe’s most prestigious gardens.

The saplings were taken into space by astronaut Tim Peake as part of the Principia mission in 2015. They have now been planted at the Eden Project in Cornwall, Cheshire’s Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre and the Catalyst Science Discovery Centre, Brogdale National Fruit Collection in Kent, the Royal Parks and National Physical Laboratory in Middlesex, South Derbyshire Environmental Education Project at Rosliston Forestry Centre and Woolsthorpe Manor in Lincolnshire.

The eighth sapling has been donated to the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs in Vienna.

The seeds spent six months floating in microgravity as part of the

Tim Peake plants an apple tree grown from a pip he took into space

Steve Harper of Bord na Móna

He said: “These trees are truly unique. They come from the iconic apple tree that inspired Sir Isaac Newton to ponder the forces of gravitation and continues These trees are unique to inspire to this day.”

They returned to Earth in Dr Anne Visscher from the 2016 and were germinated Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, at Wakehurst, Kew’s botanic said: “We are delighted to garden in Sussex and home to the Millennium Seed Bank. have been part of such an exciting project and are Tim Peake presented the young trees to the gardens at hopeful that the trees will a special ceremony attended mature in their new homes while engaging visitors with by representatives from the project and gardens receiving their history of Newton, space travel and plant science.” the trees.

Pips in Space collaboration between the US Space Agency, National Trust and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Plant science film fails to bloom Title: Little Joe (12A) Starring: Emily Beecham, Ben Whishaw, Kerry Fox Release date: 21 March Synopsis: Alice, a single mother, is a senior plant breeder at a corporation engaged in developing new plant species with the aim of selling them commercially to the public. She has created a very special crimson flower that has been genetically engineered to make its owner feel happy and relaxed. The plant was also engineered to be sterile so that amateur gardeners would not be able to reproduce them.

While still in development and against company rules, Alice takes one of the plants from the lab and gives it to her

Name change across the Bord

son Joe and they name it ‘Little Joe’.

While the plant can’t reproduce, unknown to its creator Alice, it does emit a bewitching perfume that entraps the recipient and makes it a slave to the needs of the plant.

Soon almost everyone is in the thrall of ‘Little Joe’.

Art-house style The concept of the film is very engaging, particularly as we are all concerned about the possible effects of genetically modifying plants. The acting is very good with Kerry Fox’s performance as Bella a stand out. The atmosphere is ‘modern art-house’ — clinical, cold and, just like ‘Little Joe’, a

little sterile. I can best describe it as a modern, arty nod towards The Little Shop of Horrors, but without the humour or clever screenplay.

The direction, photography, lighting, room sets, wardrobe and styling are sublime, but none of this could save the film from being a quite dull and unengaging experience.

Probably not for AG readers.

Garry Coward-Williams

IRELAND’S leading horticultural brand Bord na Móna has this month changed its company name to The Greener Gardening Company.

This year is set to be a big year for the business, which recently launched a growing media called Happy Compost.

Happy has been warmly welcomed by the trade and received a ‘best in test’ performance accolade against all major competitors in trials conducted at University College of Dublin.

Steve Harper, head of commercial & marketing for The Greener Gardening Company, said: “Our name change to The Greener Gardening Company allows us to offer a clear, easy-to-spot brand to UK consumers.

“While they will be seeing a different logo on the shelves, they can still expect the same quality and same service they have come to expect from us as an industryleading brand.”

The name change to The Greener Gardening Company does not affect the current Bord Na Móna Horticulture business in Ireland or UK-based trade customers that trade with Bord Na Móna Horticulture in Ireland.

8 FEBRUARY 2020 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Bleeding hearts are versatile and easy to grow

Dunk plants in water to soak their rootballs

Check delivered stock is healthy before planting

It’s easy to have a heart

Ruth’s guide to adding this popular perennial to your garden

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NE of my favourite jobs in late winter is looking around the garden at gaps in the borders and considering what new plants would go well and where.

An ideal and extremely attractive perennial for compact spaces is bleeding heart, which produces stems of sweet cardiac-shaped flowers in shades of pink and white among attractive leaves in shades of green and gold.

Because scientists think it’s a good idea to keep gardeners on their toes, bleeding hearts used to be called Dicentra spectabilis, but the name has now been changed to Lamprocapnos spectabilis (although they are still commonly referred to as Dicentra).

All photographs TI Media unless otherwise credited

Step by step

I ordered mine online and as soon as it arrived I removed its packaging and checked that it looked healthy. Only the crown is visible, but it should soon grow into a healthy plant.

Bleeding heart plants are easy-going and happy growing almost anywhere.

They do well in light shade and in between larger shrubs, but are also happy in full sun as long as their soil remains sufficiently damp.

They are perfect for small gardens as they remain compact, so you don’t need to worry about dividing them. This is also good for the plant as they have quite delicate root systems that don’t take kindly to dividing, so if you want to propagate, take root cuttings in spring.

Some variations There’s more than just pink hearts Although pink and white bleeding hearts are the most popular, there are several stunning variations.

‘Gold Heart’ offsets its blushing blooms with striking gold-green foliage and contrasting peachcoloured stems (Gardenia,  gardenia.net).

‘Cupid’ is a compact version, ideal for small gardens, that produces cushiony hearts of the most delicate pink (Farmer Gracey, ✆ 0330 808 7304,  farmergracy.co.uk).

Dicentra (Dactylicapnos) scandens is a hardy perennial climber with teardrop-shaped yellow flowers in summer. It thrives in shade (Sarah Raven,  sarahraven.com).

‘Alba’ is a popular variety, with pristine white hearts ( jparkers.co.uk; ✆ 0161 848 1100).

The striking white flowers of ‘Alba’

Planting a bleeding heart crown

In an area of light shade, dig a hole that’s as deep as the rootball and slightly wider.

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Place in the hole and back-fill with soil and compost, firming it all down as you go.

Water thoroughly to settle the soil and saturate the roots. Do this even when rain is forecast.

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8 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

Alamy

Alamy

Alamy

‘Gold Heart’ has a mass of attractive green-gold leaves

Add some well-rotted compost or leafmould to give the roots a good start.

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Slide the plant from its pot and carefully untangle any congested or circling roots so they will spread.

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Mulch with well-rotted organic matter to feed and insulate the roots, and suppress weeds.

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

with Peter Seabrook, AG’s classic gardening expert Tulip triumph ‘Brown Sugar’ is the variety Peter planted at RHS Hyde Hall

Inset: Alamy

Peter’s tips

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Breeders are extending flowering seasons on some plants; Primula ‘Everlast ’may look like an ordinary primrose, but it flowers nonstop from October to May, and beyond, without needing to deadhead them.

Derek Jarman, director of Hayloft, helps Peter to plant some of the tulip bulbs he gifted to Hyde Hall

Mild weather opportunity

2

The new Xerochrysum ‘Granvia Gold’ flowered nonstop through the summer, autumn and into winter, and was still flowering mid-January.

A pink one will soon be available.

Believe it or not, I have just planted some tulips, says Peter

“Late, I have to admit – but the soil is warm enough” 10 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

Starting from “What are you planting?” we answered everything from how to improve heavy soil (it is very heavy clay at Hyde Hall, and a generous layer of organic matter dug in works wonders) to preventing cats scratching things out and squirrels digging up bulbs (fine mesh wire netting is a sure way, removed as bulbs show through).

It is difficult engaging in conversation, helping visitors and getting the job done, especially when every day gone is a day lost to bulb rooting. Several visitors asked, “Could we not keep the bulbs until next autumn?” This was something of a worry, as most bulbs, corms and tubers are, unlike seeds, not storable dry for a year. There is usually an exception in gardening, and anemone tubers such as those of the De Caen Group can be stored dry for a year and more, although they need soaking in water after extended storage to soften the skin and swell the tuber.

Our planting at Hyde Hall was originally directed at a one-off seasonal summer bedding display, but such has been the enthusiasm for this colour that it has been extended to year-round.

3

Winter-flowering pansies and viola need feeding, especially those raised in smaller pots and coir-based compost. Starved plants are likely to suffer from leaf spot.

Molesseds.co.uk

All photography Peter Seabrook / TI Media, unless otherwise credited

T

HE early part of January was unseasonably mild – a good thing from my point of view, having been given a large quantity of spring-flowering bulbs by Hayloft and others, to plant in the Floral Fantasia area at the Royal Horticultural Society Hyde Hall Garden. Between Christmas and New Year, the weather was mild and at last drying, so thousands of large tulip bulbs could be planted each day.

Late, I have to admit – but with warm soil temperatures, rooting was rapid, and I am hopeful that by April and May we will have a very colourful display, if on slightly shorter stems. Hundreds of garden visitors passed through the area while we were planting, and questions came thick and fast.

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Polyanthus are already showing colour – ‘Crescendo’ is well tried, and now facing competition from larger flowered ‘Piano’.

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30 Garden Ready Plants for £15.95 OR BUY 2 or more trays for ONLY £11.95 each SAVE £8!

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Lobelia seeds are fine as dust AG’s Val Bourne will give a talk on snowdrops at Hever Castle on 8 February

Crumble lumps of compost

Lobelia is a trailing star of pots and rockeries, says Ruth

L

OOKING out at winter’s slategrey skies, it’s hard to recall the blue skies of summer. They may still seem a long way off, but you can lift the seasonal blues by preparing for warmer days, including sowing seeds for summer colour.

This week’s free seeds from Mr Fothergill’s are for Lobelia ‘Sapphire Trailing’, a joyful half-hardy annual that produces rivers of cobalt-blue blooms.

The plants are perfect for containers, hanging baskets and rockeries, and

will thrive in sun and light shade. Get them going in pots or seed trays in a heated propagator or warm windowsill, or wait until later in spring (though they will still need to be sown undercover as they are only half-hardy).

Tiny lobelia seeds are as fine as dust. Large clumps of compost hinder germination, so sieve or crumble it first.

Sowing is easier if you mix the seeds with a little horticultural sand before sprinkling.

Alternatively, lift and tap the seeds with a damp fingertip or matchstick.

Fill a pot or tray with fresh seed compost, sieving it first if you find lumps or breaking the lumps up between your fingers.

1

Dampen the compost with tap water. Always use fresh water to avoid contaminating the seeds and compost with pests or fungal spores.

2

Sprinkle the seeds as thinly as possible over the compost.

Because they are so small, don’t cover them with compost or vermiculite.

Add a lid to the seed tray or seal the pot in a plastic bag and place it somewhere light and warm. Uncover when seeds germinate.

3

12 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

4

8: Snowdrop Trail Walk and Talk with Val Bourne: Hever Castle, Hever Road, Hever, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 7NG. ✆ 01732 865224; hevercastle.co.uk 8: British Iris Society Early Spring Show: RHS Garden Wisley, Wisley Lane, Woking, Surrey GU23 6QB. ✆ 0845 6121 253,  rhs.org.uk/ gardens/wisley 8: Designing with Plants: RHS Garden Hyde Hall, Creephedge Lane, Rettendon, Chelmsford, Essex CM3 8ET. ✆ 0845 265 8071,  rhs.org.uk/gardens/hyde-hall 8-9: Early Spring Show: RHS Garden Hyde Hall 9: Lawn Care: RHS Garden Wisley 10: RHS Member’s Gardening Advice: RHS Harlow Carr, Crag Lane, Harrogate, North Yorks HG3 1QB. 0203 176 5830,  rhs.org.uk/gardens/harlow-carr 11-28: Sumptuous Snowdrops: Barnsdale Gardens, Barnsdale Ave, Exton, Oakham LE15 8AH. ✆ 01572 813200,  barnsdalegardens.co.uk 13: Success with Houseplants: RHS Garden Wisley 14: Compost Clinic: Chelsea Physic Garden, 66 Royal Hospital Road, London SW3 4HS. ✆ 020 7352 5646,  chelseaphysicgarden.co.uk 14: RHS Member’s Gardening Advice: RHS Garden Harlow Carr 15-23: February Half Term – Whatever the Weather: RHS Garden Rosemoor, Great Torrington, Rosemoor, Torrington, Devon EX38 8PH. ✆ 0203 176 5830,  rhs.org.uk/gardens/rosemoor 15-23: Half-term Family Fun: RHS Garden Harlow Carr ■ Send details and images of events to ruth.hayes@ti-media.com ■ All details are subject to change without our knowledge, so please check that the event is still going ahead before leaving home.

DOUBLE HELLEBORUS

RARE AND USUALLY EXPENSIVE

rare | unusual | exciting

HELLEBORUS BRING A MAGICAL TOUCH TO YOUR GARDEN WHILE OTHER PLANTS SLUMBER

Double Ellen Red

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Double Ellen White

A PLANT

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Anemone Yellow Bi-colour

LUSTERS OF FULL BLOOMS UP TO THREE INCHES ACROSS will glisten in the winter sunshine, dancing in the breeze above a collar of evergreen glossy foliage.

In medieval times Helleborus were said to be good for breaking bad spells and curses so were often planted next to the front door, today they are known for their unsurpassed winter beauty and a plant lover’s dream to add cheer throughout the winter.

This rare collection of beautiful varieties defy nature by surviving the coldest winters and also grow extremely well in difficult areas of the garden including planting alongside trees and shrubs. Deer and rabbit resistant. Easy to grow and maintain in dappled shade with moist but well-drained soil. Growing to a height of 35cm (14") making them perfect for flower beds or containers. Fully hardy perennials. Your order is covered by our No Quibble Guarantee and will be confirmed together with a copy of our latest catalogue. Your young plants will be delivered within 14 days.

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HAYLOFT PLANTS, MANOR FARM NURSERY, PENSHAM, PERSHORE, WORCESTERSHIRE WR10 3HB

To give meadow-style flowers like Papaver rhoeas, Coreopsis tinctoria, nigella and lavatera, follow my steps to success…

Widespread low-growing turf grass Poa annua can soon take over

Inset: Alamy

with Bob Flowerdew, AG’s organic gardening expert

Bob’s top tips for the week

1

Call of the wild

Do your meadow-style flowers have to fight greedy grasses?

Bob looks at how to give your ‘wild side’ a helping hand

All photography TI Media, unless otherwise credited

I

quite tough going, especially if the T’S downright hard work to get a meadow full of flowers, especially grasses are matted and deeply rooted.

Whichever way, two or three years later, if making this from your lawn. The problem is that grasses, particularly the grasses will have choked out the established grasses, are too good at flowers again, and you need to repeat. competing so – other than the odd Well, there’s an easier method. Make a meandering path with concrete slab tree sapling, dock or bramble – they choke out everything g stones. Laid flat, these In real meadows, sheep e and can be mowed cattle remove lush grass er occasionally, so rough reducing the fertility, rasses are trimmed and allowing other plants to aplings removed. Then, have a chance. You can after six months or so, slice off the top layer to move the pathway a bit, expose the less fertile making another. Where subsoil and establish ach slab was sitting has Make sure flower plugs and your ‘wild’ flowers before come a patch of bare seedlings have the best the grasses return. This ca with grass roots coming chance before planting be successful, but is also the edges. A quick trim very hard work. of these, and you have a clean zone Another way is to remove small areas in which to get your ‘wild’ flower seed and to sow or plant your ‘wild’ flowers or seedlings established. there. This is less work, but can still be Then, after six months, move the path again, creating yet another series of cleared patches. Admittedly, each becomes choked out, but this takes a year or two, during which time the flowers have a chance and put on their display. By regularly moving the slabs, you will create a series of clearings to support your ‘wild’ flowers at different stages, and easily!

“Create a clean zone for seedlings to flourish”

14 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

Alamy

Routinely moved, stepping stones help you create optimum conditions for flowers to be sown or planted

Inset: Alamy

Main image: MeadowInMyGarden.co.uk

If looking congested, mark clumps of snowdrops and other early bulbs, for lifting and dividing soon after the flowers finish.

2

Bring tub-grown grapevines, peaches, apricots, blueberries, gooseberries and strawberries under cover, cool and bright, for forcing really early fruits.

3

Put silica gel ‘drying agent’ pouches (from photographic / electrical stores) in with your seed packets to keep them drier.

4

Hang fat balls and seed feeders amongst your rose bushes so any tits awaiting their turn will clean the aphid eggs off.

Begonia Illumination Apricot Shades F1

30 Garden Ready

plants from ONLY £13.95 The best trailing begonia of all timeÉ Your hanging baskets will be cascading with a mass of citrus coloured blooms all summer long!

Begonia Illumination Apricot Shades F1 is a stunning variety with fully double flowers that are exceptionally weather tolerant and will even thrive in a partially shaded spot to give months of interest and colour. Perfect for hanging baskets, window boxes and containers. Grown in moist, well-drained soil/compost in sun or partial shade. Half-hardy and perennial. ✿ Supplied as Garden Ready Plants, measuring approx.

10-12cm/4-5in ✿ Each tray of garden ready plants will fill 3 medium sized hanging baskets ✿ Flowering from June to October – feed and dead-head weekly to keep the flowers coming ✿ Delivered from mid-June for immediate planting out

30 Garden Ready Plants

for £17.95 OR BUY 2 or more trays for ONLY £13.95 each SAVE £8!

Less than 50p per plant!

UK GROWN

100% SATISFACTION GUARANTEE | Order online at woolmans.com/W2BGAG1 Or phone: 0845 658 9137 8am to 9pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 7pm weekends.

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Compost for every gardening need!

• • • •

Peat-free No need to feed – just water!

50% less watering For organic growing

September only offer

10% off Quote code AG0919 *Call to redeem this order

Premium Peat-free Composts sustainably made from potash-rich bracken & moisture-retentive sheep’s wool, approved for organic gardening.

Order today: www.dalefootcomposts.co.uk T: 01931 713281 E: sales@dalefootcomposts.co.uk

Week Gardening with Val Bourne, AG’s organic wildlife expert If you have a problem with aphids, don’t spray indiscriminately as you may also kill the ladybirds that eat them

It has been reported that seven out of eight native species of ladybird are declining

Our native ladybirds (pictured) are less resistant to being parasitised than harlequins

The ladyvanishes Our native seven-spot ladybird is under threat due to the invasive harlequin that arrived in the UK in 2004, says Val

All photographs Alamy unless otherwise credited

W

E moved to Spring Cottage in November 2004, shortly after the first harlequin ladybird was recorded in Britain on 19 September 2004. Ian Wright, a member of staff in the Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, spotted an unusual ladybird in a pub garden in Essex and this was the first sighting of the harlequin ladybird in Britain.

This ladybird had been introduced into North America in the 1980s, to control aphids feeding on crops. It quickly spread across the USA and became the most common ladybird there. It was also used under glass in the Netherlands and it probably arrived in Britain after being blown over the English Channel on a strong wind.

This Asian ladybird is now the most successful invasive alien in the world.

The harlequin arrived at Spring Cottage in 2008. We were enjoying a perfect October afternoon in the garden.

It was one of those precious days when most of the gardening work has been done. The sky was slightly hazy, and

“Think of aphids as part of your food chain”

then we spotted a dark smudge that seemed to be heading for us. A few moments later hundreds of harlequin ladybirds descended on the cottage walls and began to climb into the old sheds at each end of the cottage.

Since then, around 100 harlequins find their way into the end bedroom each year and a few roost in my study.

I’m not very charitable towards these cannibals, because they devour our native ladybirds. I tend to brush them out the window on a very cold day.

However, something strange has happened this year, because there isn’t one harlequin ladybird in my cottage for the first time in years.

I’m speculating about the absence of the harlequins. Perhaps it was the very cold spring that held them back. Perhaps there was a shortage of food in the extremely patchy summer we had here, when very hot spells were punctuated by cool, windy, wet weather. Whatever the reason, it’s an indication of how dynamic wildlife is. It doesn’t follow an even line, as there are peaks and troughs, although I suspect my harlequins will be back.

On the plus side, I have found more hibernating seven-spot ladybirds than in previous years. Our seven-spot ladybird produces one generation per year and the new adults have to overwinter before they can breed. Each female, once she mates, will lay 500 eggs in clusters of 30, always close to aphid colonies.

And we can’t blame just the harlequin

for the decline in our native ladybird numbers, as the gardener’s habit of zapping aphids on sight will also have reduced ladybird numbers! Think of aphids as part of your food chain, not as rampaging locusts.

Whenever I cut down any plant stems I always try to stack them against the stone walls and I’m constantly trying to leave leaf litter where I can, because that’s where most seven-spot ladybirds hibernate. You find them close to the ground and in rosettes of plants such as foxgloves.

In 2015, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology published a paper that stated seven out of eight native species of ladybird were declining and this was strongly linked to the arrival of the harlequin ladybird. It also pointed out that the harlequin ladybird has been shown to be more resistant to parasites than other ladybirds. These parasites develop under the wing case and raise the ladybird’s body. So far I haven’t seen a parasitised harlequin here, but I will keep looking.

Val Bourne

Val Bourne

Pixabay

Harlequins (pictured) outcompete our native ladybirds for food, and eat their larvae and eggs

TIP

Identifying a harlequin The harlequin ladybird comes in a range of colours, hence the name. It’s rounder than the seven-spot ladybird and generally has two white football-shaped spots on the side of its head.

8 FEBRUARY 2020 AMATEUR GARDENING

17

GREENHOUSES WALL GARDENS COLD FRAMES ACCESSORIES

For more information contact your nearest retailer or visit vitavia.co.uk @VitaviaLtd

01473 218100

info@vitavia.co.uk

with Lucy Chamberlain, AG’s fruit and veg expert Early garlic variety ‘Purple Wight’, with its distinctive purple-streaked bulbs, is best used fresh

Garlic thrives in an open, sunny site – the plump cloves can be planted out now

Main: Alamy

You can plant smaller garlic cloves in pots, ideally 1in deep and 4-5in (10-13cm) apart

Focus on... Planting garlic Before you crack out the cloves, let Lucy help you with planting, soil conditions and seasonal considerations to ensure you grow and harvest the finest garlic possible…

T

these give the biggest yields (pot smaller ones up as garlic chives), positioning them 3in (8cm) deep and roughly 6in (16cm) apart in grids (wider on lighter soils). Site in full sun, and add plenty of organic matter to the plot, plus a little bonemeal. Garlic doesn’t have an extensive root system yet it needs

HE organised gardener may have started off their garlic in November, but the rest of us can plant now. There are two main types: softnecks (Allium sativum) and hardnecks (A. sativum var. ophioscorodon), so what kind of care do they need?

Plaiting mature bulbs into ropes allows for easy storage

“You should only plant the largest, plump cloves” Alamy

All photography TI Media, unless otherwise credited

Get the best yields Whole bulbs (heads) should be split into individual cloves just before planting (they dry out excessively, otherwise).

Don’t bruise them as this can cause rots.

Only plant the largest, plump cloves as

steady moisture and appreciates phosphorus (but not excess nitrogen).

Acid soils give poor yields, so lime to raise the pH to neutral. Water every week in dry spells (except two weeks prior to harvest) and keep beds well weeded. Harvest once the foliage is halfdead – any later, and the mature cloves keep growing, hindering storage life.

What’s the difference?

Most hardnecks are autumn-planted – they’re hardier with fewer, bigger cloves.

These types will produce flower spikes terminating in bulbils, which impacts upon storage, so remove and eat these for the biggest heads. Softneck garlic is less cold-tolerant so suits spring plantings (it doesn’t flower so stores very well).

A recent introduction is A. tuncelianum, Turkish garlic. Unlike A. sativum, this produces viable seed, so we may see seed packets of garlic as this develops.

8 FEBRUARY 2020 AMATEUR GARDENING

19

with Lucy Chamberlain, AG’s fruit and veg expert

Lucy’s corner

produce curved flower ‘scapes’ in mid-May to early June. Make sure you remove these before the flowers open, chopping them up for stir-frying or grilling.

Mature: The familiar way to enjoy your garlic! Freshly harvested bulbs are much juicier than those that have been cured for winter. Plaiting into ropes will allow for easy storage.

Alternatively jar into lazy garlic, using white wine vinegar.

Wet: February-planted garlic will provide you with ‘wet’ cloves in late April and early May. The whole bulb and green stem is eaten, adding a much sweeter, milder flavour to dishes such as risotto.

Also makes great pesto and guacamole.

Scapes: Hardneck garlics, rocamboles (serpent garlic) and elephant garlic

T&M

ÔGermidour’: Was given the RHS AGM during trials in 2004. This softneck variety originates from France, and it matures later in the season (lift in late June). The skins of the bulbs are streaked with purple.

1

s b o j k c i u 5q 1

thegarlicfarm.co.uk

A trio of garlics for you to tryÉ

T&M

Lucy’s choice

Inset: Alamy

Three ways to enjoy garlic

Lifting green bulbs in May for wet cloves, and (inset) curved flower scapes

Organise your seeds into their month of sowing, now that propagation season is upon us. A shoe or wine box is ideal for this.

When did you last sterilise your propagator? If you can’t recall, then n wipe down all surfaces with a solutio of disinfectant.

If you’ve not pruned your autumn l raspberries, step to it! New shoots wil , appear at the base later this month which can easily break off.

Give asparagus beds a weed-over, well before the crowns stir into life. e Extensive hoeing once spears emerg is a nightmare!

Dig and use up surplus Jerusalem . artichoke tubers before they sprout t lan Keep a few healthy ones and rep in an open, sunny spot.

2

ÔWight Cristo’: This RHS AGM winner is a mild-tasting softneck variety. The individual cloves are large in size, with pure white skins. Will store well into late spring if cured sufficiently.

Harvest mid-to-late June.

2

ÔLautrec Wight’: One of the few hardneck varieties that is happy to be planted in spring, providing you with scapes and bulbils. The purpleskinned, large cloves will keep until beyond Christmas if properly cured.

3

Protect pea seedlings like ‘Kelvedon Wonder’ while growing

If you’ve started sowing quick-tomature varieties such as pea ‘Kelvedon Wonder’ and broad bean ‘De Monica’ in large modules, don’t forget the seedlings are irresistible to mice and voles, so go for multiple lines of protection. Humane traps that you check daily, and hanging sown modules from sturdy greenhouse ridge bars, bring the most success.

3

20 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

Alamy

5

✃

4

Next week: Focus on herbs, heated propagator essentials, renovating fruit trees, grow asparagus from seed, try reed mace.

Avoid damping off in early sowings WITH most of us desperate to open veg seed packets this month, early sowings are being made on windowsills and in propagators up and down the country.

This enthusiasm will hopefully be rewarded by earlier, bigger crops on stronger plants, but sowing early carries a risk: damping off disease.

Encouraged by a combination of low light levels, high humidity, waterlogging, slow growth and cold temperatures, the fungi associated with damping off can quickly wipe through trays of sowings.

Occasionally, seedlings are hit before they emerge, but more often you’ll watch in dismay as once-healthy baby leaves

Step by step

“Seedlings can be hit before they have emerged”

Plant a fig tree in three steps These vigorous trees, if planted in a suitably sunny and sheltered spot, will provide sumptuous harvests, especially if the roots are restricted:

Figs crop most reliably in a warm spot, and a south-facing wall is ideal.

‘Brown Turkey’ is the most dependable variety, but there are many others available. Dig a 15x15x15in (40cm3) hole, lining the sides with paving slabs.

1

wilt, collapse and rot within days. With no fungicides available, prevention is key.

Sow thinly, don’t overwater, provide sufficient heat and ventilate on warmer days. Using tap water and bought (rather than homemade) compost also helps to keep this problem at bay.

This lining limits the root spread of your plant, keeping it smaller and more manageable, and encouraging ample fruits. Choose a fig with well-spaced branches, planting it in a mixture of compost and soil.

2

Firm in your fig and water it in. Secure pairs of 6ft (1.8m) long bamboo canes to the wall (these have been tied to strong horizontal wires). Tie the branches of your fig to the canes, one stem per cane, to initiate a fan shape.

Lettuce seedlings that have fallen foul of damping off disease

Why not try..?

Cape gooseberries

3

Best way to thwart replant disease SOME of you may be familiar with this scourge of roses – but did you know that replant disease can also strike various fruit trees, canes and bushes? Specifically, it’s those that belong to the same family as roses (Rosaceae) – which includes apple, pear, cherry, plum, gage, apricot, peach, nectarine, almond, medlar, quince, blackberry, raspberry and strawberry. Phew, that’s quite a list!

So, if you want to replace any old plants of the list above with new ones this month, how do you go about it to ensure that replant disease doesn’t occur? The solution is to change the soil for some that hasn’t supported host plants (earth from vegetable beds is ideal) and to inoculate the roots and planting hole with mycorrhizal fungi (like

To avoid damping off, sow thinly, as with these Chili ‘Anaheim’

Beneficial mycorrhizal fungi will help to counteract the effects of replant disease

Rootgrow), which coat, protect and boost the root system. Full dosage instructions are given on the packet, and products are readily available in good garden centres.

Harvest these papery lantern treats in late autumn

COMMON name ‘Cape gooseberry’ is misleading – this fruit (botanically Physalis peruviana) can be traced back to cultivation in South America centuries before it was grown in South Africa, which is why some refer to it as the Peruvian groundcherry.

Treat the seeds as if they were those of its distant relative, the tomato. Sow eight-12 per 3½in (9cm) diameter pot, starting them off now in a heated propagator set at 18-20°C (64-68°F). Prick out when large enough into individual pots, then plant out in a sunny, sheltered spot in late May (no staking or sideshooting required).

The self-fertile flowers will develop into small orange fruits by late autumn. Harvest, encased in their papery lanterns, to adorn desserts throughout the winter.

8 FEBRUARY 2020 AMATEUR GARDENING

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New for 2020

READER CHOICE

AG reader Lesley Upton chooses a selection of the new plants and seeds available this year, from onions that don’t make you cry to a compact perennial verbena

I

C = Chiltern Seeds ✆ 01491 824675  chilternseeds.co.uk DTB = DT Brown ✆ 0333 003 0869  dtbrownseeds.co.uk H = Hayloft Plants ✆ 01386 562999  hayloft.co.uk MF = Mr Fothergill’s ✆ 0333 777 3936  mr-fothergills.co.uk P = Pomona Fruits ✆ 01255 440410  pomonafruits.co.uk PD = Plants of Distinction ✆ 01449 721720  plantsofdistinction.co.uk PW = Plant World ✆ 01803 872939  plant-word-seeds.com S = Suttons ✆ 0844 326 2200  suttons.co.uk SR = Sarah Raven ✆ 0345 092 0283  sarahraven.com T&M =Thompson & Morgan ✆ 0844 573 1818  thompson-morgan.com

Special offer!

PLANT World will send a colour seed catalogue, and a free packet of each of its seeds mentioned on page 24, if you send your name, address and three first-class stamps to Plant World Seeds AG Offer, St Marychurch Road, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 4SE. Or you canmake a purchase from plantworld-seeds.com, use the code AG20 and the two seed packets will be added to your order with a catalogue.

22 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

This lilac, Syringa vulgaris Carpe Diem, from Hayloft Plants has a fantastic scent and lilac buds with light-blue blooms that fade to mauve as they mature

Fruit trees Prunus persica ‘Emperor’s Delight’ This heavy-croppin nectarine produce doughnut-shaped fruits with a red flush that are claimed to taste ‘almost too good to be true’. The melting creamy-w flesh is extremely juicy and has a rich sugar-sweet flavour.

Fruits: Mid-August. HxS: 3.6m (12ft) as a bush, 1.9m (6ft) high and 3.6m (12ft) wide as a fan. Supplied on Montclair semi-dwarfing rootstock. Pollination: Self-fertile (P).

Prunus ‘Flavor Candy’ uots are a cross etween a plum and n apricot. This ariety produces eavy crops of ed-flushed fruits ith yellow flesh nd combines the ciness of a plum w the fragrant taste of an apricot. Pluots require a warm, sheltered site in full sun. Fruits: Early September. HxS: 3.6m (12ft) as a bush, 2m (6ft 6in) high and 3.6m (12ft) wide as a fan. Supplied on Montclair rootstock. Pollination: Self-fertile (P).

How plants are supplied HAYLOFT young plants measure 3-6in (8-15cm) from root base to stem tip, although they are often much larger. Sarah Raven 9cm plants describe the upper diameter of the plant. Thompson & Morgan’s

jumbo plugs can be planted straight into baskets or other containers.

The top growth is usually 2-8cm.

Postiplugs are 5-9cm from top to base and can be planted straight into baskets or containers.

Both Pom

Where to buy

Hayloft Plants

T’S that time of year when we start thinking about what seeds to sow and plants to buy for the coming season. It always amazes me how suppliers of plants and seeds come up with new varieties, and this year is no exception.

In this article are a host of options new to the companies that supply them. Included are flower seeds and plants you can buy ready to pot up for the coming season, plus vegetable seeds. There are also two fruit trees.

Whether you favour growing from seed or buying plants, there’s something here for everyone.

The names of the companies supplying each plant/seed feature in brackets at the end of the description, with the key to stockists below.

Xerochrysum ‘Granvia Gold’ Even before they’re cut, the papery blooms of Xerochrysum ‘Granvia Gold’ feel like dried flowers. The big golden blooms of this bushy annual develop a deep-orange centre as they mature.

Prefers sun. Flowers: May-September.

HxS: 20in (50cm). Supplied as jumbo plugs (T&M).

Thompson & Morgan

Thompson & Morgan

Hayloft Plants

Gaura lindheimeri ‘Whiskers Deep Rose’ This perennial has rich deep-pink starshaped blooms and stems washed with crimson, and will suit any well-drained soil in a border or container. Prefers full sun or part shade. Flowers: MayOctober. HxS: 40x30cm (16x12in).

Supplied as 9cm plants (SR).

Thompson & Morgan

Hayloft Plants

Thompson & Morgan

Verbena bonariensis ‘Royal Dreams’ This compact hardy perennial has mauve-pink blooms in tight clusters on short stems. The uniform plants create an open airy habit, while the swaying flower stems make it a magnet for pollinating insects. Prefers full sun.

Flowers: June-October. HxS: 24in (60cm). Supplied as jumbo plugs (T&M).

Angelonia ‘Adessa Pink’ The tall spikes of this semi-hardy perennial have delicate and fascinating salvia-like flowers in beautiful pinks.

This robust plant will provide elegant structure, is drought tolerant and attractive to butterflies. Prefers full sun.

Flowers: June-September. HxS: 45-60cm (18-24in). Supplied as young plants (H).

Osteospermum ‘Banana Shake’ The yellow daisy-like blooms of this halfhardy perennial will flower from spring to late autumn. It is drought tolerant and great for weed-suppressing ground cover. Prefers full sun. Flowers: MayOctober. HxS: 30-45cm (12-18in).

Supplied as young plants (H).

Petunia ‘Surfinia Star Burgundy’ Surfinia petunias have an amazing cascading habit, and this half-hardy annual has burgundy flowers with yellow stars that boast fabulous vigour and superb weather resistance. Prefers sun or part shade. Flowers: July-October.

Trails to 36in (90cm), spread 24in (60cm).

Supplied as postiplugs (T&M).

Agapanthus inapertus subsp. pendulus ‘Graskop’ This hardy perennial has dark, almost black buds, rising about 1ft (30cm) above the foliage. As the flowers open, they become more pendulous and turn a dark violet-purple. Prefers full sun. Flowers: July-August. HxS: 1mx30cm (3ft 3inx12in).

Supplied as 9cm plants (SR).

Sarah Raven/Jonathan Buckley

Thompson & Morgan

Sarah Raven/Jonathan Buckley

New flowers to try

Salvia ‘Strawberry Lake’ Ruby-red blooms appear above heartshaped foliage. The dark stems of this half-hardy perennial make a striking contrast with its green leaves. Prefers full sun. Flowers: June-September.

Height: 45cm (18in). Spread: 30cm (12in). Supplied as jumbo plugs (T&M).

Rudbeckia ‘Enchanted Embers’ The burnt-orange shades of each semidouble flower deepen as the blooms mature. This half-hardy annual has nectar-rich blooms that attract pollinating insects. Prefers sun or semi-shade.

Flowers: July-October. HxS: 50x40cm (20x18in). Supplied as jumbo plugs (T&M).

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Chiltern Seeds

Plants of Distinction

plant-world-seeds-com

Flowers to grow from seed

Callistephus chinensis ‘Duchesse Coral Rose’ The large flowers of this annual aster, with their incurved petals growing on upright stems, could be mistaken for incurved chrysanthemums. This plant brings colour in late summer when others are past their best. Flowers: June-October. H: 70cm (27in) (C).

Mr Fothergill’s

Chiltern Seeds

Plants of Distinction

Schizostylis ‘Lipstick’ Large flowers of a deep lipstick-red open on strong stems from early summer onwards. This vigorous new hardy perennial will thrive in all conditions from a hot dry spot to shallow water, and in a sheltered area it can continue to flower through the winter. Flowers: AugustOctober. H: 50-70cm (19-25in) (PW).

Iberis umbellata ‘Purple Rain’ The vibrant deep-purple flowers of this hardy annual candytuft measure 2in (5cm) across and are complemented by bright-green foliage. These bushy, dwarf plants have a mounded habit that is ideal as ground cover. It can be sown where it is to flower. Flowers: JuneSeptember. H: 25cm (10in) (MF).

Papaver rhoeas ‘Falling in Love’ These semi-double and double flowers are a mix of picotees and bicolours, rose, salmon to coral and red. Sow these hardy annuals, forget them, and nearly all will flower in the first year from sowing. Flowers: June-August.

H: 80cm (30in) (C).

24 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

Dierama ‘Ripe Cherries’ These dwarf ‘Angels’ fishing rods’ carry pretty pendent bells in a variety of colours from red to pale purple. To produce these new hardy perennials, Plant World crossed two different dwarf dieramas resulting in plants that are all small and very hardy. Flowers: July-early September. H: 45-60cm (18-23in) (PW).

Matthiola incana ‘Tosca Blue Sea’ Stocks are heavily scented and make a wonderful cut flower, and this new half-hardy annual has captivating seablue flowers. They make beautiful container plants and when grown in groups their scent fill the air. Flowers: April-September. H: 61-81cm (24-32in) (PD).

Thompson & Morgan

s Mr Fothergill’s

plant-world-seeds.com

Clarkia ‘Elegant Wild Salmon’ This easy-to-grow hardy annual makes a delightful cut flower, with pretty double and semi-double wild-salmon blooms flowering along purple-red stems. It looks lovely in bouquets and is loved by beneficial insects, too.

Flowers: June-October. H: 86-101cm (34-40in) (PD).

Viola cornuta ‘Network Improved’ The blooms of this bright and bold halfhardy perennial have intricate markings, with dark contrasting foliage. It will flower the same year from an early sowing and is ideal for pots, containers or the front of a border. Flowers: FebruaryNovember. H: 10cm (4in) (MF).

Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Apricot Lemonade’ This apricot cosmos has a pale lavender underside and a mauve-pink ring around the centre of each bloom. This half-hardy annual, which is Thompson & Morgan’s ‘Flower of the Year 2020’, prefers full sun.

Flowers: July-October. HxS: 70cm (28in) x 40cm (16in) (T&M).

Suttons

Tomato ‘Crimson Cocktail’ F1 It is claimed that ‘Crimson Cocktail’ F1 is the first small tomato that’s resistant to early and late blight. The cocktail-sized fruit have an excellent flavour with a good balance of sweetness and acidity.

This cordon variety is ideal to grow outside or in a tunnel/greenhouse. Sow: March-April. Harvest: July-October (S).

Chilli pepper ‘Devil’s Brew’ This is a fiercely hot mix of spicy chillies bursting with flavour. Plants are compact and bushy producing masses of colourful red, green and yellow slender fruits. It will grow outdoors, but crops best in a greenhouse. Sow: February-April.

Harvest: July-October (MF).

Suttons

Suttons

Thompson & Morgan

Tomato ‘Mountain Merit’ This fleshy beefsteak tomato has excellent blight and wilt resistance.

Fruits are uniform and, unlike some other blight-resistance varieties, have outstanding flavour. This determinate type can be grown both indoors and outdoors. Sow: January-April. Harvest: July-October (DTB).

Onion ‘Walla Walla’ ‘Walla Walla’ is a super-sweet onion that can be eaten eat raw. It is a ‘no-tears’ variety that can be peeled without causing your eyes to stream. This variety has been selected for its sweetness, size and shape. Sow: January-April. Harvest: August-October (S).

Chilli pepper ‘Hot Rod’ This medium-hot chilli pepper has striking stripes on variegated foliage. The stripes change colour as the fruit ripens, from green and white, to orange and brown, and finally to hot-rod red! The fruity flavour of this pepper gets hotter as the chilli reddens. Sow: February-April.

Harvest: July-October (S).

Kale ‘Jardin Mixed’ This kale, with its mauve and cream centres, is nutritious and has ornamental appeal. With a long cropping time, you can stagger your sowings to have fresh leaves throughout summer and autumn.

‘Jardin Mixed’ is Thompson & Morgan’s Vegetable of the Year 2020. Sow: MarchJuly. Harvest: July-December (T&M).

Suttons

DT Brown

Tomato ‘Honeycomb’ F1 The cherry-sized fruit of these tomatoes have a sweet flavour with undertones of honey. It is claimed there is less fruit splitting than with ‘Sungold’, and around 150-200 cherry tomatoes are produced on every plant. This cordon variety can be grown outside or under cover. Sow: March-April. Harvest: July-October (S).

Mr Fothergill’s

Suttons

Thompson & Morgan

Vegetables to grow from seed

Squash ‘Mashed Potatoes’ The creamy-white coloured flesh of this squash looks like mashed potato when it is baked and fluffed – but at just a fraction of the calories. It produces around four fruits per plant, each weighing up to 700g (25oz). Sow: AprilMay. Harvest: August-October (T&M).

Lettuce ‘Relay’ This organic Batavia lettuce has the crispness of the iceberg with the open growth habit of the butterhead. Fastgrowing, it has brilliant-red leaves forming medium-sized, tightly packed heads, and is resistant to downy mildew. Sow: MarchAugust. Harvest: May-October (S).

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Convallaria majalis are capricious plants which often have strange ideas about where to spring up

When planting, avoid beds where ground elder or other perennial weeds might infiltrate. It will be impossible to weed these out without disturbing your convallaria colony.

Although lifting and replanting lily of the valley is recommended for autumn, I’ve often moved plants now just before they come into growth

C. m. ‘Albostriata’ with its distinctive variegated leaves

How to grow...

Lily of the valley

If you need lush, spreading springtime groundcover, you can’t get much more fragrant or enchanting than the dreamy lily of the valley, as Anne Swithinbank explains…

All photography Swithinbank / TI Media, unless otherwise credited

C

ONVALLARIA majalis is a British native that was once widespread in the drier woodlands of eastern areas. Yet despite growing up in Kent, I have never seen it outside of parks and gardens.

Left undisturbed, the plants make spreading colonies, dying back in autumn to overwinter as underground rhizomes.

The ‘pips’ supplied by mail order are growth buds poised on these rhizomes, each ready to send up a pair of leaves enclosing a stem of flower buds.

Rising to 8in (20cm), they hold pretty white bells on one side. The flowering period is all the more special for being so short, and we look forward eagerly every May to the chance of picking some fragrant bunches for the house.

In France, posies of ‘Muguet des bois’ are traditional May Day gifts.

26 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

For all its sweetness, convallaria is a poisonous plant in all parts and the berries can be tempting, so be wary where small children or young pets are using a garden. On the plus side, those of us with rural gardens visited by deer

Pulmonaria, convallaria and bluebells

and rabbits will find their lily of the valley left well alone. Colonies of plants suit woodland gardens and cottage style borders, and with a long history of cultivation they sit well in the plots of Medieval and Tudor buildings.

Here, there and everywhere A gardener can read up on the ideal spot for lily of the valley and find it likes a moist, humus-rich soil in sun or partial shade. Yet these capricious plants often have their own idea about where to settle. In my experience, they are not keen on what looks like a promising bed of good soil. Instead, they gravitate to path edges and sidle along the roots of established plants. In my grandparents’ garden, they grew in a narrow bed alongside tall bearded iris. Ours thrive in a slightly raised, east-facing border.

Planting lily of the valley Choose a promising gap in a lightly shaded bed and weed thoroughly. Fork in some soil conditioner.

In early spring or autumn, Plant in a lightly plant the ‘pips’ or crowns of shaded bed growth 6in (15cm) apart, firm we and water in using a rose (sprinkler) on the can.

Should any ‘pips’ appear dry or straggly, soak the rhizomes and pot them up for a while before planting.

Where soil is heavy and drains poorly in winter, plant rhizomes into a slightly raised bed.

Mulch annually in autumn with a thin layer of well-rotted compost or leafmould.

Alamy

Phlox paniculata ‘Eva Cullum’ A profusion of pink summer blooms with dark pink eyes has graced many a cottage garden border.

As long as the soil is moist, this herbaceous phlox is easy to grow, reaching 3ft (90cm) tall.

Alamy

Alchemilla mollis Lady’s mantle makes a ground-covering mass of soft, prettily lobed leaves, joined by a foam of small greenish yellow flowers from summer to autumn.

On good soil, one plant will reach 24in (60cm) tall and 30in (75cm) wide.

Alamy

Wikimedia / Epibase

Main and left inset images: Alamy

Cottage garden favourites

Geranium x johnsonii ‘Johnson’s Blue’ This stalwart cranesbill forms healthy clumps of deeply lobed foliage joined during summer by a contrasting show of lavender blue flowers.

Prompt deadheading will encourage more blooms. At 12-18in (30-45cm) high, it is a great front-of-border plant.

Paeonia officinalis ‘Rubra Plena’ Known as common peony, the single form of this longlived European native has been in cultivation since medieval times, initially for medicinal properties. Even the doubles date back to the 1500s. Plant or move in early autumn. Grows to 28in (70cm).

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With the right plants you may be lucky enough to attract peacock butterflies in March

Early spring-flowering bulbs such as crocuses will be welcomed by bumblebees hungry for nectar

Help wildlife with

Early nectar plants Provide a feast of flowers and blossom, and your garden will soon be abuzz with hungry bees and butterflies. Hazel Sillver reveals the top picks for pollinators

I

F you think it’s been a long, gloomy winter, then spare a thought for pollinators. As the season finally starts to draw to a close, they will begin to emerge from their winter sleep and head out in search of sustenance, and your borders and containers could be the perfect feeding ground.

With wildflowers in scant supply (it’s estimated that 97 per cent of wildflower meadows have been lost), gardens now provide vital food for bees and butterflies as they prepare to build nests and lay eggs. Ensuring a supply of nectar-rich late winter/early spring plants such as crocus, winter heather and primrose could make all the difference Take a stroll around the garden on a sunny winter’s day, and you’ll probably see (or hear) bumblebees. In December 28 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

and January the buzz is likely to come courtesy of the buff-tailed bumblebee, which has started foraging in midwinter as a result of our warming climate. But in February and March, it could be the tree bumblebee, white-tailed bumblebee or the early bumblebee. Fresh out of hibernation, the queens will be feeding and searching for a nesting site, so give them a helping hand by growing their favourites – mahonia, hellebores, pussy willow, flowering currant, cherry blossom and pulmonaria will all be welcome.

Beautiful butterflies Butterflies will also be visible in the coming weeks – whether emerging from hibernation or arriving exhausted after a mind-boggling flight from Southern Europe or Africa. In March, look out for

the harbinger of spring: the beautiful yellow brimstone, as well as commas, peacocks, red admirals and small tortoiseshells. They feed on pussy willow and winter heather; then in mid-spring (when they’re joined by the beautiful green hairstreak, orange tip and painted lady butterflies) they enjoy fruit blossom, aubrietas and wallflowers.

Last but not least, don’t forget our wonderful hoverflies, which help us grateful gardeners by gobbling up aphids. In the UK, we have more than 250 species, including some that hibernate and others that migrate.

Last year, a study carried out by Exeter University found that four billion of these beneficial insects arrive from Europe every spring. The researchers concluded that as our bees (which

Spring sustenance for bees

Galanthus nivalis AGM Not only do the pretty flowers of the common snowdrop get us through the end of winter, they provide bees with nectar, too. Planted in the green, in welldrained soil in semi-shade, bulbs will naturalise, forming drifts. H: 6in (15cm).

Pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’ AGM A strong-growing lungwort that produces pools of lavender-blue spring flowers when planted beneath deciduous trees and shrubs. Requires humus-rich soil that is moist but welldrained. H: 1ft (30cm).

Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Miss Jessopp’s Upright’ AGM Featuring blue flowers from May, this rosemary is wonderful planted as a low hedge lining the edge of a path – the aromatic scent will be released every time you brush past it. Grow in welldrained, sun-baked soil. H: 4ft (1.2m).

Ribes sanguineum ‘Pulborough Scarlet’ This flowering currant is a cheering sight in April, when the hot pink flowers are visited by bumblebees eager for a satisfying snack. Can be grown as an informal hedge, in well-drained soil in sun. H: 61/2ft (2m).

Trachystemon orientalis Bees love the blooms of earlyflowering borage, which forms excellent ground cover in shade and produces its small flowers – blue with mauve-pink spikes – in early spring.

It’s a vigorous grower, even in dry shade. H: 1ft (30cm).

All photos Alamy

Erica carnea ‘Myretoun Ruby’ AGM This winter heather will continue to be covered in magenta flowers into late spring. It forms an evergreen mat in sun or semi-shade, and prefers neutralto-acid soil – although it can tolerate some alkalinity. H: 6in (15cm).

pollinate much of our crops) continue to struggle, the hoverfly’s role as a pollinator is more important than ever.

The best way to repay the favour is by supplying them with easily accessible nectar – they’ll appreciate many of the same plants that bees and butterflies love, such as crocus, apple blossom and forget-me-not. Provide spring blooms such as these, and you can enjoy garden wildlife on the wing early in the year.

Where to buy PERENNIALS: Penlan Perennials penlanperennials.co.uk 01570 480097 Caves Folly peatfreeplants.org.uk 01684 540631 Bee Happy Plants beehappyplants.co.uk 01460 221815 BULBS: Organic Gardening Catalogue organiccatalogue.com 0344 967 0330 Natural Bulbs naturalbulbs.co.uk 00 31 23 547 7900 FRUIT TREES: Walcot walcotnursery.co.uk 01905 841587 8 FEBRUARY 2020 AMATEUR GARDENING

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3 butterfly pleasers for spring Myosotis sylvatica ‘Ultramarine’ AGM The small but bold flowers of forget-menots brighten up borders in spring before the perennials get going. Plants will self-seed freely around the garden in well-drained soil in sun or semi-shade.

H: 6in (15cm).

Aubrieta ‘Red Cascade’ AGM Mat-forming evergreen perennials, aubretia look wonderful tumbling over rocks or walls. They are easy to grow from seed, but need neutral-to-alkaline soil in sun.

Cut back hard after flowering. H: 4in (10cm).

4 early nectar container candidates

30 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

Muscari armeniacum ‘Valerie Finnis’ A powder blue grape hyacinth that will thrive in well-drained pots in sun. The flowers look good on their own, or combine them with narcissi and other bulbs that bloom in March and April.

H: 6in (15cm).

Helleborus niger From January to March the elegant, bowlshaped white flowers of the beautiful Christmas rose provide vital early nectar for bees. Grow in welldrained pots and place in a sheltered spot in semi-shade.

H: 16in (40cm).

Primula vulgaris subsp. vulgaris AGM One of the joys of spring is the sight of primroses blooming in the dappled shade of wild hedgerows and north-facing banks.

In gardens, they will perform excellently in well-drained pots positioned in semishade. H: 6in (15cm).

Crocus tommasinianus AGM Great for wildlife – pollinators will make a beeline for the attractive silver-lilac and deep purple flowers. Crocus bulbs can be grown in welldrained containers, or naturalised in grass, in sun or semi-shade.

H: 4in (10cm).

Ajuga reptans ‘Catlin’s Giant’ AGM Featuring erect spikes of indigo flowers in late spring, over time this bugle will spread to form an evergreen mat of glossy maroon-green leaves. Plant in well-drained, moist soil in semi-shade. H: 1ft (30cm).

A rosemary hedge will feed an army of insects

How toÉ

Plant for wildlife Buy single or semi-double flowers: These allow nectar to be accessed easily by pollinators.

Switch to organic: Where possible, choose plants and bulbs that are chemical-free to ensure they do not contain substances harmful to bees.

Provide nectar in bulk: Try planting a rosemary hedge or a nectar-rich large shrub, such as mahonia.

Create shelter: If your garden is blustery, provide windbreaks.

Try these plants for caterpillars…

Nettles If you have a large garden, a generous clump of stinging nettles in a sunny, informal area will allow peacock, red admiral and comma butterflies to lay their eggs. Grow in containers to prevent spreading.

Lunaria annua Honesty plays an important role in attracting orange tips – a useful source of nectar, it’s also where the females lay their eggs. The purple flowers bloom in late spring, and the moonlike seed pods look beautiful in winter.

10 spring-flowering trees (and hedges) for bees

The sweet almond has nectar-rich blossom

Pussy willow (Salix caprea) Apple (eg Malus domestica ‘Egremont Russet’ AGM) Cherry (eg Prunus avium ‘Stella’ AGM) Plum (eg Prunus domestica ‘Opal’ AGM) Pear (eg Pyrus communis ‘Beth’ AGM) Crab apple (eg Malus x floribunda AGM) Almond (Prunus dulcis) Apricot (eg Prunus mume ‘Beni-chidori’ AGM) Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) 8 FEBRUARY 2020 AMATEUR GARDENING

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They come from all over the world, but many euphorbias will happily make themselves at home in UK plots, including ‘Excalibur’ with its striking zingy bracts

Fall for the foliage of

Euphorbias

The perfect addition to any garden, spurges couple lovely leaves with unusual flowers and look great with many spring and summer favourites, says Louise Curley

E

VEN the most die-hard flower fan cannot deny the appeal of euphorbias, which provide fabulous foliage and structural presence – all in a vibrant-coloured, lowmaintenance package. Also known as spurges – a reference to the fact that they were once used in medicine as a purgative – euphorbias make up one of the largest plant genera in the world, with more than 2,000 species.

Examples can be found on every continent except Antarctica, a diversity of habitat that means the genus includes desert-dwelling succulents, cactus-like trees in Africa, species from the Med, and even a couple that are native to British woodlands. Although the majority of them are too tender to survive in the UK, there are plenty that will happily thrive in our plots, where they make great garden plants. And because they offer such incredible variety, it’s no exaggeration to say that there is a euphorbia to suit virtually every situation and type of garden.

32 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

What distinguishes them from other plants is the presence of tiny flowers that are gathered together in small clusters known as cyathia. In certain species, the cyathia are then surrounded by what look like petals, but that are, in fact, colourful bracts – modified leaves whose purpose is to attract pollinators.

The right soil They are generally easy to grow as long as you get the soil conditions right. As a rule of thumb, euphorbias with silveryblue foliage hail from the Med, and will need free-draining conditions, shelter and plenty of sunshine – gravel gardens and sunny borders are ideal. The greenleaved ones tend to be happier with a bit of shade and a more moist soil.

The one downside to euphorbias is that when they’re damaged they exude a milky sap that is poisonous if ingested and a serious irritant to the skin and eyes. For that reason, it’s important that you wear gloves, long sleeves and even goggles when handling them. It’s also

worth planting them away from areas of high footfall, where people might brush past them, and to restrict them to places where children never play.

This toxic sap has the advantage of ensuring that euphorbias rarely suffer from pest problems, however.

If you’ve never tried euphorbias before – or if you want to add to your collection – as the ground gradually warms up in the coming weeks it’s a good time to start planting them. Get them in borders (or even in pots) soon and they will provide the perfect foil for spring-flowering bulbs and perennials.

Where to buy Beth Chatto bethchatto.co.uk 01206 822007 Burncoose burncoose.co.uk 01209 860316 Crocus crocus.co.uk 01344 578111

I need a euphorbia for...

All photography Alamy, unless otherwise credited

Xyxyxyxyxyxy

Burncoose.co.uk

land Woodd sha e

‘Whistleberry Garnet’ AGM Evergreen; forms low mounds of velvety, jade-green leaves with jewel red edges and undersides. In late spring yellow flowers with red ‘eyes’ emerge. Plant in dappled shade, under a deciduous tree or large shrub. HxS: 32x28in (80x70cm).

E. amygdaloides var. robbiae AGM Invaluable for tricky areas of dry shade, creating evergreen groundcover with glossy green leaves and spires of lime green spring flowers. The seedheads turn pretty shades of copper. Can be invasive. HxS: 32x28in (80x70cm).

Blackbird A striking evergreen featuring rosettes of purple-tinged glaucous foliage from which spikes of lime green flowers appear from March to May. Happy in full sun or partial shade. Good for groundcover. HxS: 16x20in (40x50cm).

E. schillingii AGM This herbaceous euphorbia has narrow green leaves and flat, open flowerheads made up of long-lasting, bright yellow blooms from July to September. Great for the middle-to-back of a summer border. HxS: 3x2ft (90x60cm).

E. x martini Sturdy stems are covered in rosettes of chartreuse-green leaves, and topped in spring and summer with lime green bracts surrounding striking red centres. This is a short-lived perennial (just four-five years) but it will self-seed. H&S: 21∕2ft (75cm).

Sun-batksed spo

E. characias subsp. wulfenii Robust stems, whorls of silver-blue leaves and lots of acid-yellow flowers make for a real statement plant. A Med native, it needs plenty of sun. Produces biennial stems – in late summer cut back those that have flowered. HxS: 5ftx39in (1½x1m).

Moist soil

E. sikkimensis AGM Native to the Himalayas, this species likes a bit of shade, plus moist but welldrained soil. The fabulous pink new spring growth gradually matures to green, and there are yellow blooms in early summer. HxS: 4x2ft (1.2mx60cm).

Did yo

E. palustris AGM In Latin, palustris means marsh-dwelling, hinting at the plant’s soil preferences.

With bright green leaves and sulphur yellow flowers, it creates a vibrant early summer display; there’s lovely autumn colour, too. H&S: 36in (90cm).

There are euphorbia tree species in Africa that can grow to more than 50ft/15m tall.

Succulent Poinsettia is actually a euphorbias type of euphorbia, found in deser habitats store water native to Mexico in their stems.

Euphorbia pulcherrima from Mexico is better known as poinsettia. Its scarlet red bracts make it a Christmas favourite, sold in the millions as an indoor plant.

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Best euphorbias for...

Variegaetsed leav

E. characias ‘Tasmanian Tiger’ AGM The grey-green foliage has creamy-white margins, and silvergrey buds unfurl to produce clusters of pale yellow flowers.

Compact; can be grown in containers. Needs shelter to protect leaves and flowers from scorching. HxS: 32x20in (80x50cm).

Pots

E. myrsinites AGM A mat-forming euphorbia, the trailing stems of which are covered with scale-like, overlapping silver-grey leaves – the effect is a bit like a pine cone. In summer, expect bright yellow flowers in clusters. Well-drained soil. HxS: 4x20in (10x50cm).

Pruning pointers Herbaceous perennial types Deadhead after flowering, then prune in autumn, cutting back to the base of the plant.

Biennial flowering types Some euphorbias carry two types of stem: those from the previous year on which the flowers will appear, and the new season’s growth. Cut the flowered stems to the ground in late summer or autumn, but leave the new growth.

Evergreen types These require a light prune after flowering; cut back to the first ring of foliage beneath the spent flowerhead.

34 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

Scent

E. mellifera AGM Tall stems are covered in dark green leaves, each bearing a central white stripe; the copper-coloured flowers give off a honeyed scent. Native to the Canary Islands, so plant in a sheltered, mild spot. HxS: 61/2x8ft (2x2½m).

Wintert interes

E. x martini ‘Ascot Rainbow’ AGM Highly colourful, this cultivar looks good all year round, but it really comes into its own in winter. Edged in yellow, the greyish-green foliage takes on pink tones when the weather turns cold. HxS: 39inx21/2ft (1mx75cm).

Some euphorbias need cutting right back in autumn

Euphorbias look lovely with spring bulbs, and the combination of orange-flowered E. griffithii ‘Fireglow’ and lavender blue camassias is unbeatable. Both favour moist, well-drained soil and are happiest when positioned in light shade

Mr Fothergill’s

Ask John Negus

John has been answering reader queries for 50 years

Dormant clematis look ‘dead’ (inset) but will rejuvenate in warmer weather

Feed strawberries in spring when things are warming up

Feeding strawbs

Q

Alamy

Do alpine strawberries need special care now?

George Roberts, Meols, Wirral

Why are my clematis still looking dead?

Q

I have several clematis in the garden and overwintered in my greenhouse, including a ‘John Huxtable’, but they just look like dead stems. What should I do?

Mrs A Crookes, via email

A

I wonder if it is simply a matter of time. A simple way of checking whether the stems are still alive is to scrape away a sliver of the bark using a thumbnail. Live stems have green flesh under the bark, dead stems are brown.

Varieties like ‘John Huxtable’ flower later in the year on the current season’s growth, so are unlikely to be showing signs of bud burst yet.

Second, all the advice given with new

clematis plants is not to expect too much in the first year or two as they will be establishing strong roots and may not do too much growing on top. In year three they will start to perform.

I shouldn’t think incorrect planting is the problem here, but just in case, you can try the guide at:  https:// taylorsclematis.co.uk/plant-care.html.

Most clematis are fully hardy so they should not need any winter protection, though plants in pots are more vulnerable to cold than those in the ground. However, a frost-free greenhouse should be all that is necessary. I’m sorry I don’t have an exact answer to your question, but I hope that this information is reassuring.

A

Ideally, feed your strawberries in April when the soil is warming up, with Vitax Q4. Apply it monthly until August, sprinkling it over the root area, and watering it in if the soil is dry.

Alternatively, use fish, blood and bone meal at 4oz (112g) per square metre, working it into the soil’s surface. Again, feed monthly until late summer.

Plant out foxglove seedlings in late spring

What are the marks on our healthy bay?

Alamy

A

The marks on the bay tree leaves on the leaf. The best way to deal with may be caused by scale it is through good hygiene insect, a sap-sucking pest and improved growing that can weaken a tree. conditions. Remove If this is the problem, affected leaves and spray the tree with a mild rake up fallen leaves. solution of washing-up Feed the plant a liquid or a proprietary balanced fertiliser early organic insecticide. in spring to encourage Bay scale is a sapSeveral applications will new growth. sucking pest that can be necessary to catch the Bay trees respond weaken plants juvenile stages of the insect. well to pruning. In late spring, Alternatively, the problem may be cut the main stems back, some to soil the fungal disease leaf spot, which level, and others by up to half to shows as necrotic grey or brown spots encourage new growth from the base.

36 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

Seedlings care

Q

How should I care for my foxglove seedlings?

Janet Savage, via email

A

When your seedlings are 3in (7cm) high, pot them separately into 3-4in (7-10cm) pots of multi-purpose compost.

Keep them in your cold frame, protecting them if hard frosts are forecast, and transplant them outdoors in April or May 8in (20cm) apart each way.

They will develop a rosette of leaves this year. Because they are biennials, they will flower, set seed and die the following season. Feed them monthly, from April to September, with fish, blood and bone meal.

All photographs TI Media unless otherwise credited

Q

The leaves of our bay tree are covered in strange marks. Would it help if I pruned it back?

Nigel Clark, Letchworth Garden City, Herts

Write to us: Ask John, Amateur Gardening magazine, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hants GU14 7BF. Email us: amateurgardening@ti-media.com

Quick questions & answers

Q A

The climber in question appears to be a Chilean trumpet creeper. There are two principal species, Campsis chinensis and C. radicans, and a hybrid called C. x tagliabuana ‘Mme Galen’.

It is normally self-clinging, but the sucker-like adventitious roots on the stem shoots may require tying in when young.

Cyclamens are the little jewels of a pot or shady garden

Advice on planting hardy cyclamen

Q

How should I plant up hardy cyclamen? I’d like to grow them in an old sink on the patio.

Ruth Winterburn, Hampstead, London

A

What a lovely idea. Cyclamen will add much in the way of foliage interest as well as long flowering.

Producing small pink shuttlecock-like flowers, they are one of my favorite plants.

Ensure you use a soil-based compost such as John Innes No2, to which I add 25% sharp alpine grit, as the corms will rot if they sit in wet conditions over the winter. Put plenty

of drainage in the bottom of the sink.

Both Cyclamen coum and C. hederifolium can be grown very successfully in a sink, but don’t plant them together as C. hederifolium is the more vigorous of the two and will smoother the coum and kill it out.

Once established, these plants will seed themselves into the sink making a beautiful display with time.

Q

What is this growing at the back of our garden?

Ann Marie Tucker, Weston-super-Mare Somerset

A

Q

Will the stone from a supermarket mango grow successfully in this country? If so, what compost should I plant it in?

Jerry Bryan, via email

Mango trees will grow indoors, but are unlikely to fruit

Q

I’ve been trying to identify this plant, which is growing in a container left out after last year’s petunias. Any suggestions?

Susan Barnes, Thorney, Peterborough

A

Mango trees can be grown as houseplants here, but are unlikely to produce fruit as they need a minimum winter temperature of 16ºC (61ºF).

Use a pan scourer to scrape away the remains of any flesh and rub the seed with sandpaper to make water absorption easier.

Place the stone in a jam jar of water and put it in a warm place, such as an airing cupboard. Change the water every day for two weeks and if the stone sprouts, remove from the jam jar and place in a 4in (10cm) pot of compost with the shoot uppermost. Keep it somewhere light and water frequently.

If it doesn’t shoot in the jam jar after a few weeks, pot it up by laying it horizontally in the compost and put the pot in a plastic bag. Seal it and return it to

Morguefile

Will a mango tree grow from a stone?

The mystery plant is teasel (Dipsacus fullonum), formerly used for carding wool. A handsome British wild flower – a biennial that forms a rosette in its first year, then blooms and dies in its second – its pinkish-purple blooms are followed by seeds that goldfinches adore.

A

the airing cupboard for up to two months and, if kept warm and damp, it should eventually sprout. When it does, remove from the bag and place in the light.

Continue to pot on the seedling as it grows and after the first year pinch out the top bud to keep it bushy. Mango trees like to be watered with rainwater and fed once a week in the summer.

The plant in question is Montia perfoliata and is also called Claytonia perfoliata.

A native of North America, it was introduced to Britain in 1749 where it has become naturalised. Its tiny white flowers, in the centre of ‘perfoliate leaves, have great charm. A woodlander, it romps in light shade.

8 FEBRUARY 2020 A

Alamy

Please could you identify this plant?

Colin Turner, Tiverton, Devon

Ask John Negus

John has been answering reader queries for 50 years

Grow sweet peas in new soil or compost each year

Seedlynx

Choisya and daphne (left) are good choices for dry, shady areas

National Trust Ima

Beating pea viruses How can I stop my sweet peas falling foul of a virus? I have to grow them on the same site each year.

Terry Stewart, Gloucester

Q I have a 12-15in (30-45cm) strip of border that has a brick wall one side, a house wall on another side and block-paved drive on a third side. The soil is mostly very dry due to a slight roof overhang. Can you suggest a suitable evergreen shrub that will get to around 6x3ft (1.8x1m)?

Mark James, via email

Q

There are several contenders for the situation. Initially, because the site is in a ‘rain shadow’, work in lots of moisture-conserving composted manure mixed with fish, blood and bone meal.

Water well in dry spells.

The following would serve you well: Cotoneaster lacteus: Milky-white flowers followed by crimson berries.

Euonymus japonicus ‘Aureus’: Golden variegated leaves. Cut out green-leaved reversions.

A

Choisya ternata: Commonly called Mexican orange, a wealth of creamywhite flowers sleeves shoots in spring and early autumn.

Escallonia ‘Slieve Donard’: Appleblossom-pink flowers in late summer.

Daphne bholua ‘Jacqueline Postill’: Richly perfumed purple blooms in late winter.

Camellia x williamsii: ‘Donation’: Semidouble, peach-pink flowers in April.

If the one you choose outgrows its allotted space, trim it after flowering.

Please help our sickly rhododendron!

Our new container rhododendron is losing its leaves. Can it be saved?

Paul Michaels, Bury, Lancs

Q

The usual reasons for leaf fall are that the compost has dried out or leaves have succumbed to disease. In this case, I suspect the former, although it may have been stressed before it was purchased.

If your soil has an acid pH, transplant it into a well-prepared and humus-enriched border. Water copiously. Hopefully, if its falling leaves are healthy they will, in spring, be replaced by strong new growth.

If your soil is alkaline, grow it in a large pot of ericaceous compost with added grit. Feed monthly when

A

38 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

Your sweet peas are succumbing to virus disease because, for practical reasons, you are unable to grow them on a fresh site each year.

At RHS Garden Wisley, the sweet pea area is rotated annually. In the second year, paths between rows are dug and manured, and beds become paths – a procedure that is repeated each year.

As you cannot change the site, you could either replace soil with fresh, from another part of the garden, or grow your plants in half-barrels or large pots.

A

Unusual berry What is this plant growing up a fence in my neighbour’s garden? It has been there for years, but she does not know what it is.

Vanessa Marsh via email

Q

This appears to be a form of ornamental raspberry, botanically called Rubus rolfei. This is a creeping alpine evergreen which, when confronted with an obstacle such as a fence, has no problem ascending it.

Summer sees single or clustered white flowers that occasionally produce edible fruits.

It is very similar to ‘Betty Ashburner’, a variety that results from crossing R. rolfei with R. tricolor, the latter of which is a vigorous western Chinese species introduced to gardens by the plant hunter Ernest Wilson in 1908.

A

Rhododendrons will thrive in borders and large containers

flowering with an ericaceous food. Invigorate it by liquid-feeding monthly, from April to September, with a seaweed fertiliser. Packed with major and trace elements, this will help your plant prosper.

,

Ornamental raspberries make attractive climbers

Alamy

What will thrive in my tricky border?

Write to us: Ask John, Amateur Gardening magazine, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hants GU14 7BF. Email us: amateurgardening@ti-media.com

What can I add to my raised bed soil?

Bouncing back

Q

Q

I have filled a raised bed with reused compost and manure.

Can I add leafmould and ‘clean’ used compost as well?

Maria Mason, via email

Well-rotted leafmould, compost and manure are wonderful additions to a raised bed

A

Leafmould is fine to add to your raised bed. The micro-organisms that break down the tough leaves are different from those that work on softer, greener materials, but all are present in compost so it shouldn’t take long for decomposition to be completed.

The issues about reusing potting compost are three-fold.

The first is the likelihood of transferring soil-borne pests and/or diseases to other plants. Vine weevil is a particular concern, but fungal diseases like damping off and some vegetable diseases can be a source of infection.

However, you mention that you don’t add any used potting compost until you are sure it is clear of problems so hopefully this won’t become an issue.

The second aspect is one of nutrientavailability. Peat and peat-alternative composts only contain enough nutrients to feed plants for about four-six weeks.

Our Coronilla valentina ‘Citrina’ suffered in last year’s drought. Should I chop it right back now?

Jennifer Walker, via email

Plants soon recover from a drought year

A

After this we need to think about liquid feeding to keeping our plants strong.

However, adding organic matter such as well-rotted garden compost and manure will give the mix a boost.

The final consideration is the structure of the mix. Peat and peatalternative composts, being organic matter, tend to break down over time and lose their structure. Mixing old compost with other materials does help, but it might be worth adding some loambased material for longer-term benefits.

I am sorry that your coronilla suffered from drought last summer.

Pleasingly, it is amazingly resilient and will, I feel sure, recover.

In spring, when new shoots burst from live tissue, shorten dead stems to healthy new shoots or to near the ground if there aren’t any. Cut back strong healthy stems by half, too.

Thereafter, encourage robust growth and a wealth of blooms by feeding monthly, from April to September, with a general fertiliser, such as Vitax Q4.

Bear’s breeches is attractive, but can be thuggish

Will climbers grow in a beech hedge?

Q

We have just moved house and we have a beautiful beech hedge. I would like to add some climbing flowers to it, but what would work best?

Karen Crolla-Barker, Blackburn, Lancashire

Bear necessities

A

Q

What is this attractive but rather large plant is growing in our new garden?

Diane Cairns, Burnley, Lancashire

A

Alamy

It’s a good idea to make your beech hedge more colourful with climbers, but unwise to plant roses and other woody contenders. Shoots will protrude and make clipping difficult and your hedge, in competing with one or more climbers, will suffer.

I suggest you use annual climbers, such as Asarina antirrhiniflora, whose cascading stems are sleeved with snapdragon-like flowers; Cobaea scandens, commonly called cup-andsaucer vine, whose purple bell-shaped blooms are impressive; black-eyed Susan (Thunbergia alata) yielding pretty, flat, yellow or white black-eyed blooms; and bright-yellow canary flower (Tropaeolum peregrinum).

All should be raised from seed in March and transplanted after frosts in

Canary flower or cup-and-saucer vine (inset) will grow well through a beech hedge

late May or early June. Set them in fertile soil a few feet from the hedge and train them over pea and bean netting. Secure netting to canes 1ft (30cm) or so from the hedge so that the latter can be trimmed without climbers entangling it.

This is a species of bear’s breeches (Acanthus). Yielding spikes of hooded purple and white flowers in summer, above architectural foliage, it is a magnificent herbaceous perennial.

Ideally, move it to a bed or border in full sun or light shade. Do it when the soil is crumbly and ‘open’, neither frosted nor soggy. The only problem is that when you lift the plant, roots left behind will produce strong new and invasive growth, so take care.

Ideally, set it to create a 6ft (1.8m) feature well away from other plants, which it is liable to engulf.

8 FEBRUARY 2020 AMATEUR GARDENING

39

All our esyesterdays

from the AG archiv

Amazing stories about plants

We look at the giant water lily, the snapdragon, geums and the Glastonbury Thorn Some plants impress by their sheer size, others by the outstanding beauty of their flowers and some by the curious nature of their growth or the shape of their leaves. There are plants, too, that have achieved fame because of the difficulties of their culture and the challenge they offer to gardeners. But is there any plant that better combines all these characteristics than the giant water lily of the Amazon, Victoria amazonica, with its 6ft [1.8m]-diameter leaves capable of supporting a child?

This astonishing plant was discovered in the 1830s, but for some time resisted all attempts to grow it in England. Eventually, Sir William Hooker succeeded in raising it from seed at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Surrey, and to this day it is treated there as an annual, with seed being sown in pots in January and placed in the water tank in May – three months later the leaves may be 6ft [1.8m] across.

This is hardly a subject for the amateur’s greenhouse, for the water must be kept at a temperature of 85°F [30°C] and a single plant needs several cartloads of loam and cow manure.

But such considerations did not deter Joseph Paxton, the Duke of Devonshire’s celebrated gardener, at Chatsworth House in Derbyshire.

When Sir William offered Paxton a seedling in 1849, he jumped at the opportunity, personally journeying to Kew to fetch it and planting it with his own hands. He had a tank built specially for it, but the amazing lily soon outgrew that and another had to be provided.

In November, at Chatsworth, it flowered for the first time in England. No words could describe its grandeur and beauty, Paxton reported to the Duke.

The flowers, 1ft [30cm] or more across, opened in the evening, white at first, soon becoming purplish-pink.

A few years later Paxton was knighted – not for his triumph with the giant water lily, then called Victoria regia, in honour of the queen, but for his designs for the Great Exhibition of 1851.

The leaves of the lily lie flat on the water, but turn up at the rim, and it is this boat-like construction that enables a child to be supported. It was, however, the strong ribs of the leaves, radiating from the centre, that interested Paxton and which he imitated, first in a new 42 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

The giant water lily (Victoria amazonica) was said to be the inspiration for Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace in London (inset)

conservatory at Chatsworth and then in that remarkable prefabricated edifice we later knew as the Crystal Palace in London.

gardens, the flowers were beautiful and therefore he could not omit it. He said some had red flowers, some white and some were “red stript with white”.

They were easily increased from the The snapdragon roots in autumn.

Two centuries later [the English author] Any child who has ever pinched the Jane Loudon made the point that wild flower of a snapdragon or antirrhinum to make it open and close will agree that snapdragons are often found growing on it is appropriately named. Other old the top of old walls or among fragments names – calves’ snout, lion’s mouth and of limestone, and therefore the cultivated bulldog – were also expressive, while forms should be considered as “one of the name antirrhinum follows a similar the most ornamental plants for placing in train of thought, with anti meaning similar situations”. ‘resembling’ and rhinos a ‘snout’.

Today, most of us have been brought Antirrhinum majus, the great up to regard the snapdragon as a snapdragon, was the wild bedding subject, unreliable as a species, originally a native perennial and to be treated of southern Europe, as a half-hardy annual. which came to us so When 4ft [1.2m]-tall long ago and took varieties were such a liking to our introduced from hospitable land America and we that it has virtually were told that become naturalised over there the snapdragon was a and is the parent of popular cut flower, the many fine garden we wondered forms we grow today. whatever they But how our The antirrhinum or snapdragon attitudes to a plant can is available in a range of heights would get up to next. and flower types The days of the change with changing times snapdragon’s glory, after Jane and changing fashions! In the Loudon’s time, were forgotten until the mid-17th century, [the English politician florists took the plant in hand and made and keen horticulturists] Sir Thomas it a popular exhibition subject. One such Hanmer included the snapdragon in plant reached a height of 7ft [2.1m] and his Garden Book almost apologetically, was no less than 5ft [1½m] in diameter. saying that although it was common in

TI Media

All photographs Alamy unless otherwise credited

The giant water lily

Amateur

These extracts from issues of AG in 1969 look at the stories behind various plants and the derivations of some of their names

The geums To older generations, the name Bradshaw suggests railways [Bradshaw’s Guide is a series of travel guide books that years later inspired the Great British Railway Journeys TV series presented by Michael Portillo in 2010]. Yet ‘Mrs J. Bradshaw’ is the name of what was, and still is, one of our most popular border plants, a rich crimson-scarlet semi-double geum that flowers for most of the summer.

At one time, the name ‘Mrs J. Bradshaw’ was linked with that of ‘Lady Stratheden’, another geum, but with rich double golden-yellow flowers. They make a splendid contrast together.

The gardener Frances Perry tells how her father-in-law, the late Amos Perry, used to exchange interesting plants from his nursery in Winchmore Hill with a Southgate amateur named John Bradshaw in north London. One day in 1906, Mr Bradshaw gave Mr Perry a box of geum seedlings that his gardener had raised. One of these seedlings proved to be an outstanding semi-double scarlet and was named ‘Mrs J. Bradshaw’ and given the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit in 1909.

The late Arthur Simmonds, in his book A Horticultural Who Was Who, had a different version of this anecdote. He said that Mr Perry sold the two boxes of seedlings to Mr Bradshaw and it was Mr Bradshaw’s gardener who was able to recognise a winner when they flowered.

Incidentally, Mr Bradshaw’s gardener was the late George G. Whitelegg, who later acquired such a reputation for his gold-medal rock gardens at Chelsea.

The name geum was the old Roman one, used by Pliny, and probably derived from the Greek word geuo, to taste – a reference to the aromatic flavour of the roots. Our garden geums are descended from a South American species, G. chiloense, which came from the island of Chiloé and reached us in 1826.

The water avens, G. rivale, is a species found wild in North America, Europe, including Britain, and Asia. The name avens is supposed to come from the old French avence [from Medieval Latin avencia, a variety of clover], but how or why nobody seems to know.

Another native of Europe is G. urbanum, otherwise known as herb bennet, a contraction of herba benedicta, the blessed herb. It was supposed to have medicinal value and was often

136 years of practical advice

1884 The World’s Oldest Gardening Magazine 2020

Geum ‘Mrs J. Bradshaw’ is a clump-forming perennial that grows to about 2ft (60cm)

depicted in church decorations. It was probably for this reason that it was ‘blessed’, rather than for its other uses – as a flavouring for gin or a perfume that would repel moths from clothes.

The Glastonbury Thorn Before the North Somerset drains were dug to form a pattern of waterways, the whole area was marshland subject to the tides of the sea. Although the Tor of Glastonbury is now more than a dozen miles from the sea, we can understand how here it was that, according to legend, Joseph of Arimathea landed, bringing the Holy Grail with him from Palestine.

According to tradition, the landing place was commemorated by the planting of an oak tree at the foot of Stone Down. In fact, there was an ancient Druidic grove of oaks there and they were cut down in 1906. Two thousand annual growth rings were counted on one specimen, so the tree must have already been there when Joseph arrived somewhere about 70AD. Joseph and his party, the story

The Glastonbury Thorn, pictured in 2009

continues, marched round the Tor and, becoming tired on a hill, they rested and it was there that Joseph stuck his hawthorn staff into the ground. The hill became known as Wearyall Hill – a century ago it was spelt Werrall, now the map gives it as Wirrall. Joseph left his stick in the ground and it took root.

Then the miracle occurred. Instead of blooming in May, it flowered on Christmas Day and became the object of great veneration, a popular ‘draw’, which must have been the envy of every other great religious house in England.

Pilgrims begged to take away even a thorn and a business sprang up to provide rooted cuttings from the thorn of Glastonbury Abbey.

By Elizabeth I’s day the miraculous thorn had acquired two trunks and a zealous Puritan tried to cut down the tree. He severed the larger stem, but then was miraculously punished: he cut his leg and a chip of wood flew up and put out an eye. He gave up.

During the Civil War a Roundhead dealt with the remaining trunk, apparently without evil results, but by that time the tree had a number of offspring flourishing in the district.

In 1752, Britain changed from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, bringing us into line with most of Europe, and 11 days were omitted.

A crowd collected at Glastonbury on Christmas Day to see whether the thorn would blossom. However, it did not, but obliged, punctually, 11 days later.

Today we call the Glastonbury Thorn, or the Holy Thorn, Crataegus monogyna praecox. It was featured on British postage stamps in 1986.

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.

8 FEBRUARY 2020 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Gardening’s king of trivia and brain-teasers, Graham Clarke

Sweet peas – you know they make scents Prized for their fabulous fragrance and amazing colours, sweet peas are also easy to grow

WITH their vast range of colours, ease of growing, unquestioned elegance, the way they raise the competitive spirit on the showbench, and their intoxicating fragrance, it’s no wonder that sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) have been favourites with gardeners for generations. I have grown them every year since the age of six, and I rank them as my favourite

Sweet peas have been a favourite with gardeners for generations

All photographs TI Media unless otherwise credited

This week it’s:

annual summer flower. Now is the time for sowing, so here are some of the stories associated with these garden beauties.

Sweet pea blooms comprise a ‘standard’ (the upper almost vertical part of the flower); the ‘wings’ (two lower petals angled downwards); and the ‘keel’ (the part under the wings that contains the flower’s sexual organs).

Sowing times

The Spencer connection

THERE are three sowing periods for sweet peas. The first two are autumn (usually September/October) and late winter (January/February), when seed is sown in pots in a greenhouse.

However, these plants are hardy annu so they may also be sown direct in their flowering positions in mid-spring (March/April).

For real enthusiasts the main sowing period is autumn, with October being the main month, but the actual time will depend on localised weather conditions. Generally, growers in the North of England sow in late September, while those in the Midlands and south tend to favour early October. In Scotland, many gardeners rely on a January/February sowing.

PENCER sweet peas have long stems nd large, frilly, fragrant blooms. They an often reach 8ft (2½m) when grown ell, but why are they called Spencer?

Around the turn of the 20th century, las Cole was a gardener working for e Spencer family (of Diana, Princess of ‘Charlie’s Angel’ – a Spencer Wales fame). He was breeding sweet peas type with an RHS AGM and one of his plants had big flowers with wavy edged petals. It was bright pink, and Silas named it ‘Countess Spencer’. He exhibited it at the National Sweet Pea Society’s first show, in 1901, and the gardening world went mad. Breeding of the so-called Spencer types expanded, becoming available in almost every colour – bar yellow.

‘Anne Gregg’

‘Terry Wogan’

Mr Fothergill’s

Suttons

5

sweet pea varieties named after the dearly departed

Mr Fothergill’s

‘Geoff Hughes’

‘Norman Wisdom’

Kingsseeds.com

NOBODY is totally sure from where the sweet pea originates. China? Sri Lanka?

Malta? What we do know is that in 1695, Francisco Cupani recorded the sweet pea as newly seen – in Sicily! Cupani was a Franciscan friar and director of c garden at eri in Sicily. ad seen plant, ssibly owing ld, and scribed s hairy, mmon and Sweet pea ‘Cupani’ a strong e – the first written account of any sweet pea.

In the 1970s, noted plant breeder Dr Keith Hammett visited Sicily and collected seed of wild sweet peas, believed to be descendants of the plants Cupani recorded. Seed of these are available today from several seed companies: look for ‘Cupani’, ‘Cupani’s Original’ or just ‘Original’.

Englishsweetpeas.co.uk

The first description

‘Winston Churchill’ 8 FEBRUARY 2020 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Gardening’s king of trivia and brain-teasers, Graham Clarke

Prize draw

Miracle-Gro is giving AG readers the chance to win one of two gardening bundles, each worth £16.57. This is the perfect bundle for gardeners looking for quick and easy solutions for any gardening style, as it includes new Miracle-Gro products designed to make caring for plants simple – indoors or out.

The two winners will each receive a six-litre bag of Miracle-Gro Plant & Grow Compost, which is light in weight but not in quality, that will feed plants for up to six months. Also included is a 200ml Miracle-Gro Pump & Feed – simply pump directly onto the soil to feed your plant for a week.

Orchid-loving gardeners will also be excited to win both the three-pack Miracle-Gro Drip & Feed for orchids and the 300ml Miracle-Gro Spray & Spritz for orchids, helping you get glorious results with no effort!

The seeds of the grass pea (Lathyrus sativus) can be toxic if eaten in quantity

Not so sweet peas

How to enter Send your name and address on the back of a postcard to Miracle-Gro Bundle Draw (8 February), Amateur Gardening, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 7BF. Or you can email your details to ag_giveaway@ti-media.com, heading the email Miracle-Gro Bundle Draw (8 February). The closing date is 14 February 2020.

WIN £30

Word search

This word search comprises words associated with sweet peas. 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 10 letters remaining; arrange these to make this week’s KEYWORD. SWEET PEAS BLUE CLIMBER CUPANI CUT FLAKED FRAGRANCE HARDY KEEL LATHYRUS RED SCENT SELF SHOWBENCH SPENCER STANDARD WINGS

H F R E B M I L C F

C D R A D N A T S L

N E B A A F D S S E

E R L P G E U W P S

B M U L K R E E P G

W C E A Y E A E T N

No: 504

O U L H T S N N U I

H F T T I C L O C W

S A T N E C S R A E

L Y D R A H L E E K

HOW TO ENTER: Enter this week’s keyword on the entry form, and send it to AG Word Search No 504, Amateur Gardening, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF, to arrive by Wednesday 19 February 2020. The first correct entry chosen at random will win our £30 cash prize.

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

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

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

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

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

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

TI Media Ltd, publisher of Amateur Gardening, will collect your personal information solely to process your competition entry.

46 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

DESPITE the sweet pea being closely elated to the edible garden pea, much evidence shows that their seeds are toxic f eaten in quantity. Lathyrus sativus, also nown as grass pea, blue sweet pea and chickling vetch, is grown for human consumption and livestock feed in drought regions of Africa and Asia.

However, its seeds contain a neurotoxin, and when they are consumed as a primary protein source over a long time, a neurodegenerative disease can be the result. It is called lathyrism.

Historical gardening event of the week: 4 February 1680 ON this day the head gardener of the world’s first botanic garden died. Jacob Bobart the Elder was born in Brunswick, Germany, in 1599, and little is really known about his early life – or his lat life, for that matter! we do know is that he was appointed superintendent of the Oxford Physic Garden (now Oxford Botanic Garden) after its foundation in 1632. Noted gardener to the royals John Tradescant the Elder had previously turned down the position. It is written that Bobart had the right to sell fruit and vegetables from the garden, which proved useful, as his boss Henry Danvers, 1st Earl of Danby, died a few years later, and England was in the grip of a Civil War that caused the estates to be sequestrated. In 1648, Bobart published a catalogue of around 1,600 plants then under his care; it was revised a decade later by his son, Jacob Bobart the Younger.

Crossword 3

2

1

4

5

6 7

8 9

10

11 13

12 14

15

16

17

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ON the cover of AG issue dated 7 March 1998 there was a picture that raised eyebrows – a golden-yellow sweet pea that doesn’t exist! Inside the issue we looked at the latest actions plant breeders were taking to create a truly yellow sweet pea – something that had eluded them for decades, and still has!

We explained that Lathyrus belinensis, a recently discovered species from Turkey, was the brightest hope.

Its flowers have a yellow keel, yellow wings and an orange standard, but in the 21 years since that issue of AG, breeding from it has not yet resulted in the pureyellow pea that so many people desire.

The yellow flower on the cover was manipulated by onscreen technology which, 22 years ago, was in its infancy.

Wow! I didn’t know that… ctured) is a character in mic strip and cartoon series ee’Pea first appeared as a und on Popeye’s doorstep 933. Prior to this, ‘Sweet erm of affection used by s girlfriend Olive Oyl. a is a song written and d by US singer Tommy 966. It was featured on his of the same name, and it d number 1 in Canada.

Sweetpea was the name f a green and yellow arakeet, voiced by actress a Strong, in the 2016 3D computer-animated film The Secret Life of Pets.

1 A fan palm genus, which includes the palmettos (5) 3 Found in peaches these, with pains, are the results of too much digging or bending! (5) 7 In Feb, a yard is found to contain an auction website for Laurus nobilis, perhaps! (4) 8 Term used to define the depth of a spade’s blade, as used in reference to digging (4) 9 Piece or pieces of equipment to be used for a purpose, as in the catmint variety ‘___ Cat’! (3) 11 The subjects of this week’s Miscellany (5,4) 14 Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, often called the night flower, is also known as the Indian mourner tree, the ___ tree or tree of ___ness (3) 16 The seed-bearing structure of conifers, composed of hard bracts (4) 17 Small perching bird (of the genus troglodytes), and a variety of rhododendron (4) 18 Sounding like the Michaelmas daisy genus, Viscountess Nancy was the

first British female MP! (5) 19 Pertaining to moisture in the air (5)

DOWN

1 Sounding like a posted fragrance, it is for which the subjects of this week’s Miscellany are known (5) 2 Common name for Juglans nigra (5,6) 4 Genus of South American bulbous plants cultivated for their large funnel-shaped typically red flowers (11) 5 Clarkia amoena is known as the _____ flower (as in the cloth woven from silk) (5) 6 Dynasty that ruled in North China from 220AD, found in weigela (3) 9 In the flowers of the subjects of this week’s Miscellany, there are standards, wings and these! (5) 10 Moderately warm, and the temperature (of water) preferred by many types of houseplant (5) 12 The spruce tree genus (5) 13 A type of conifer forest had a desire for something or someone who is not present! (5) 15 Seen in a hayrack, a year in a town on the southwest coast of Scotland! (3)

ANSWERS TO ABOVE CROSSWORD

The problem with yellow!

ACROSS

ACROSS 1 Sabal 3 Aches 7 Ebay 8 Spit 9 Kit 11 Sweet peas 14 Sad 16 Cone 17 Wren 18 Astor 19 Humid DOWN 1 Scent 2 Black walnut 4 Hippeastrum 5 Satin 6 Wei 9 Keels 10 Tepid 12 Picea 13 Pined 15 Ayr

The manipulated photo of a yellow sweet pea on the cover of AG 7 March 1998

19

KEYWORD TO WORD SEARCH 499 (4 JANUARY): DELIA SMITH AND THE WINNER IS: FRANK HAMILL, BRISTOL

8 FEBRUARY 2020 AMATEUR GARDENING

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48 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

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50 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

Anne Swithinbank’s masterclass on: tree planting Established Betula utilis var. jacquemontii ‘Grayswood Ghost’ (Himalayan birch)

Take care if digging a hole in uncultivated clay soil, as this can cause problems

Q

I’m confused about tree planting.

We used to fork well-rotted compost into the planting hole and infill soil with variable results, but now read this is not always a good idea and the same with providing a stake. What is right?

Dan Nicklin, Portishead, Somerset

Body image: Alamy. All other photography John Swithinbank / TI Media, unless credited

A

There are few rights or wrongs in gardening but just variable methods depending on soil type, the plant in question, and common sense. Barerooted trees are lifted and sent out while dormant for planting between November and March. Potted trees can technically be planted anytime but they, too, are best set in the ground while dormant.

For successful planting, soil texture needs to be right and neither saturated nor frozen. We took delivery of three 2ft (60cm) tall, previously potted grafted birch trees (Betula albosinensis ‘Chinese Garden’). Their pots had been removed

and roots balled in clay soil. Conditions were wet, so we heeled them into the kitchen garden.

Digging a planting hole in otherwise uncultivated clay soil can cause problems.

The hole acts like a bucket, filling with water, and added organic matter holds it like a sponge to drown roots. For small trees like ours, I slit open the ground using a spade and excavate behind slightly, checking the quality of drainage.

Roots were slipped in, and good soil from the kitchen garden added to create a slight mound, keeping the graft at soil level. On lighter soils with good drainage or larger areas of well-cultivated and settled soil, adding organic matter will help hold moisture and nutrients. Beware of hard ‘pans’ or solid layers just under the topsoil. Sprinkling roots with a product containing mycorrhizal fungi will help young trees form beneficial partnerships with them and settle faster.

Anne’s picks

Main right image and inset: Alamy

Firmly planted from a large pot, this multi-stemmed Betula utilis var. jacquemontii is unlikely to need staking but will be protected from deer

Planting tricks for tree success

1

Heel bare-rooted plants into the ground when soil conditions are not right for planting. Dig a trench, lay the roots in and cover with soil to prevent freezing and drying.

2

A young bare-rooted birch has been set in an enlarged slit made in the ground. This helps prevent soil sinkage.

3

In rural gardens where rabbits and deer are a problem, use rabbit guards and for roe deer, a chicken wire fence 5ft (1½m) high.

Best way to stake trees ‘LESS is more’ is the golden rule here, but the trees should not rock in the wind. Knock a short stake in at a 45º angle to secure the trunk low down. Tall, leggy specimens might need supporting along the length of their trunks. Use proper tree ties to hold without rubbing and check regularly. Set stakes on the windward side of the tree, so the trunk is blown away rather than towards the stake.

4

Set stakes on the windward side of the tree

Tease roots out gently but thoroughly when potgrown. Here the white stems are protected by folded polythene and the roots over a wheelbarrow using a hand fork.

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How to use tools Best techniques to get the job right with Tim Rumball Replacing broken patio slabs

Cracked slabs spoil garden patios and paths. Tim Rumball shows how to replace them

I

T takes a bit of effort to replace broken slabs in paths or patios, but it’s a lot cheaper than having it all re-laid and it can transform a shabby outdoor space. This is best done when no frost is forecast for a few days.

If sub-zero temperatures threaten, leave doing it until the weather warms up.

Measure and count the number of broken slabs, and buy replacements of exactly the same size, finish and colour.

If this is not possible, and the broken slab is in a prominent position, consider lifting an unbroken old one from an unobtrusive position on the patio/path and use it to replace the broken one. Put the new slab in the unobtrusive position.

Tools needed As well as the slabs you’ll need sharp sand, cement powder, a mortar mixing tray, a plugging chisel or an old screwdriver to rake out the old grout, a large spirit level, a club hammer or mallet, a garden spade to lever up old slabs, a short piece of old plank and a block of wood. An old broom handle is also useful to roll the old slabs out of their holes (which saves your back).

Preparation Clear the space around the slabs you’re working on, and sweep up the debris.

Rake or chip out the grout in joints around the edge of the slab with a plugging chisel – I find an old slot-head screwdriver works fine if the joints are filled with sand rather than mortar.

Place a short plank of wood along the edge of a slab next to the one you’re lifting, and lever up the slab using the blade of the spade. Slide the broom handle under the slab, ends resting on slabs either side, lower the lifted slab onto the broom handle and roll the slab out of its hole.

Replacing broken slabs is quite straightforward but can be heavy work. Lift slabs and bags of cement or sand with care

Dealing with mortar/cement Break up the old mortar in the slab hole and rake it out if it was laid on a cement/ sand mortar mix. Some are just laid on sand but these are much more likely to sink or crack over time, so lay your new slab on mortar. Also, carefully chisel off any mortar sticking to the edges of surrounding patio slabs, and brush or scrape off soil.

Mix your mortar, four shovels of sand to one of cement, on a plastic tray – it can stain if you mix it directly on paving.

Use fresh cement powder as it goes off when exposed to moisture and air. Mix it thoroughly, and if it’s very dry add a little water. Add sand to the slab hole and firm down until it’s roughly level and 1/2in (1cm) below the base of surrounding slabs. Drop five generous fist-sized dollops of mortar in the hole, one in the centre and one each at the four corners.

Placing slab Carefully lower the replacement slab into position checking that it is in line

with surrounding slabs – the grouting space on all four sides should look even.

Tamp it down gently and evenly, tapping the slab of wood with the club hammer, until the new slab is level with all four surrounding slabs.

Work methodically over the whole surface, check alignment regularly with the spirit level, and don’t tap too hard otherwise you’ll break the slab.

If it won’t settle deep enough, lift the slab, remove a little mortar and try again.

If it settles too deep lift the slab, add a little mortar and try again. It’s a fiddle, but worth the effort to get it right.

When the new slab is level with all surrounding slabs, pack joints around the edges with sharp sand or a dry mix of 4:1 sand and cement powder. Sweep up thoroughly.

If you want an even finish, use a patiocleaning product then pressure-wash the old slabs to even up the colour. Even if you don’t do this the new slabs will begin to blend in with surrounding old slabs within a few weeks.

A screwdriver can be used to rake the old grout from between slabs unless it has been mortared, in which case you’ll need a plugging chisel and hammer Break up old mortar and rake it out. Also remove soil and other organic matter that can affect the stability of the slab 52 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

Once the slab is square and level, trickle dry sand into the joints and pack it in firmly

Kit needed for patio-slab replacement 1. Shar

2. l b hammer

3 Cement powder

Step by step

Replacing a broken path or patio slab

9. Garden

spade

. New slabs

8. Plugging

. Spirit level

chisel/ screwdriver

Rake out old grout around the edges, place a plank of wood along one edge and use the edge of a spade or a strong screwdriver to lever up the patio slab.

1

6. Bro m handle

7. Plank and block of wood

Explanation of terms Sharp sand: A coarse and strong general-purpose sand used for fine concrete work.

Mortar: A mix of sand and cement powder that dries to a stone-like consistency.

Plugging chisel: Steel chisel with a long, thin blade, the

head cut at an angle. It’s used for chipping out mortar.

Club hammer: Hammer with heavy, block-shaped head.

Spirit level: Tool with long, straight sides and inset bubble-tube for determining horizontal and vertical surfaces.

Do’s and don’ts of patio slab replacement Do ✓ Mix mortar using fresh cement powder and sharp

(coarse) sand in the ratio of four scoops of san d to one of cement – mix it well and add a little water if it’s very dry. ✓ Clean up the facing edges of slabs alongsid e the one you’re replacing, removing old gro ut, mortar and dirt before dropping the new slab in.

DonÕt ✗ Tamp down the new slab until you’ve checked tha

Clean facing edges of slabs alongside those being replaced

Remove the old slab, break up and remove old mortar then add sand and firm down level until surface is about 1∕2in (1cm) below the base of surrounding slabs.

2

Dot five fist-sized dollops of 4:1 sand/cement mix into the hole, one in the centre and one in each corner, then carefully lower the slab into the hole.

3

Mix mortar with fresh cement powder and sharp sand

t all joints are equal in width and the slab aligns with the ones either side. Tap the edge with a mallet and to move the slab. ✗ Compromise on level – keep addingbloorckrem oving sand until you get the slab as level with sur rounding slabs as you can. Uneven slabs show, and are a trip hazard.

Check that edges line up with surrounding slabs. Tamp the slab down gently using a block of wood and a club hammer until it is level with surrounding slabs.

4

Check all joints before tamping down

8 FEBRUARY 2020 AMATEUR GARDENING

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Write to us: Letters, Amateur Gardening magazine, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hants GU14 7BF (please include your address). Email us: amateurgardening@ti-media.com

My very own squirrel friends

I

ENJOYED reading Val Bourne’s article about ‘wildlife populations’ (AG, 21 December) and although the red squirrel is more popular than its grey cousin, I do find the greys enchanting little creatures.

They inhabit the grounds of the apartments where I live, and much pleasure is derived from watching their antics, such as burying shelled nuts in the lawns. They exercise by

chasing each other up and down the large trees that we back onto. They’re intelligent and enjoy conversation; they always look up when I chat to them out of my open window.

There is a squirrel feeder alongside those I have for the birds, and the two different species feed in harmony.

Proudly, I class them as my friends.

Mrs Gloria Wilding, Merseyside

Switched on too early!

JUST thought I would send in a picture of my ceanothus, which started to bloom just before Christmas. It now seems to be opening up fast and obviously doesn’t realise that it’s not meant to be blooming yet!

Susan Grant, Rochford, Essex

Star letter

The grey squirrel is intelligent – and fascinating to watch

Quest to banish invader

Susan’s ceanothus, in flower during December

I WOULD like to comment on Jo Negus’s reply to AJ Willetts (AG, 18 January), regarding eradicating Himalayan balsam.

There is no need to cut it down or use weedkiller.

With my Canal & River Trust Volunteer Group, we have just pulled it out, root and all, with great success, We have cleare several metres of it over the la five years to create an award-w garden. As long as you get it be seed pods form, it doesn’t come back.

Ruth Stephens, via email

Himalayan balsam can be controlled without chemicals

Swapsies, anyone?

LIKE many people, we were sat there on the 27th wondering, so now what?

Christmas and Boxing Day had come and gone quicker than a wage packet, and we were in that vacuum where the weather is too miserable to go out with the perpetual groundhog day of TV shows from generations past.

Then our dog sprang into life, as a shape appeared at the front door.

Too late to be a Wise Man from the East – it turned out to be a man from the Post Office, bringing gifts of seed catalogues, magazines, and no bills!

Just like kids before Christmas, we started our lists again, hoping that we could get what we wanted. Even taking into account that we aren’t based in Babylon and what we have 54 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

‘hanging’ is a few baskets rather than entire gardens, there was still an extensive wish list that took days to complete. One thing Santa didn’t bring is the ‘Mystic Meg’ crystal ball to guess the front cover seeds for 2020. Speaking like a child of bygone days, if you do get ‘doublers’ they make lovely swapsies with your pals.

What a great and unexpected start to the gardening year!

Steve Evans, Llanelli, Carms

Bumper free seeds: “What a great start to the gardening year!”

Wendy says: There’s nothing like a bit of planning at this time of year to lift the spirits. Glad you enjoy the seeds.

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

Pure perfection THIS is a photo of my Christmas rose (Helleborus niger). The plant does very well in a slightly woodier corner of the garden, and in the past few days the brilliant white flowers have appeared in pristine condition, despite the recent gales and rain.

I am tempted to cut a few of these flowers to float in bowls of water in the house.

Spring will soon be here!

Mrs R Brown, Horsham, West Sussex

Picture of this Christmas rose at close quarters

Wendy says: Here’s a tasty recipe tried and tested by AG staff

Swede soup with brie Combine this soup with dumplings to make a hearty meal Prep time: 25 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Serves: two

Enjoy this soup piping hot with plenty of seasoning

Ingredients: 1lb (450g) swede diced 4oz (100g) carrots 1 French onion stock cube ½ pint (280ml) boiling water 2 tbsp fresh parsley 2oz (50g) soft brie chopped into small pieces 2oz (50g) self-raising flour 1oz (25g) sage and onion stuffing mix 1oz (25g) shredded suet Seasoning to taste

Method 1 Prepare the swede and carrot and cook together in a pan of boiling water until tender (15 minutes). Meanwhile, make the dumplings. Put the flour, stuffing mix and suet into a mixing bowl and stir together. Add sufficient cold water to mix into a doughy consistency.

Divide into four portions and roll each one into a ball. Put to one side.

2 Drain and roughly mash the mixed

Add the dumplings to the soup and cook for 20 minutes

As a variation, use Stilton cheese instead of brie.

You can also add different root vegetables to your swede such as parsnip or sweet potato. swede and carrots. Dissolve the stock cube in ½ pint of boiling water and stir into the mashed vegetables along with the parsley and the chunks of brie.

Add seasoning.

3 Place the dumplings into the pan, on top of the soup. Simmer with the lid on for 15-20 minutes until the dumplings are fluffy and cooked through. Serve immediately.

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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.

Reader’s Quick Tip Non-stop flowering Use any spare plastic container for growing spuds, says Tim

IF you have a spare plastic dust bin or large pot, why not use it for growing potatoes? To prepare the container, drill holes in the base, add a layer of gravel or crocks to the bottom, and then a few inches of compost combined with garden soil and manure. I usually plant 10 seed potatoes to a standard-sized dust bin and get a really good crop this way.

Tim Arrowsmith, Greenford, Middlesex

I DO think the lovely fibrous begonia is so overlooked for its big and blousy cousins, so I enjoyed the article and pictures of them in Peter Seabrook’s article (AG, 21/28 December).

He says how long they last through autumn and enjoy the extra moisture – well, they certainly got that! I have loved them for the many years I have planted them amo lobelia in t big pyram planter, and shall again look forward to getting the plug plants, wh Begonia semperflorens in the pyramid planter display are such g value. So l y, thinking ahead within our plots.

Sylvia Monk, Hayling Island, Hants

Guess this plant!

only

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£1.14 an issue when you subscribe – see page 40 for details Editorial: Editor: Garry Coward-Williams Gardening editor: Ruth Hayes Assistant editor: Janey Goulding Art editor: Al Rigger Picture editor and Letters: Wendy Humphries Features: Kathryn Wilson, Lesley Upton

Advertising and management: Ad manager: Laurence Pierce ✆ 07971 605143 Managing director: Kirsty Setchell Group managing director: Adrian Hughes

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Wendy says: An elegant umbellifer, sometimes used as a filler plant in borders. The flowers are loved by bees and hoverflies Answer to Guess the Plant: Daucus carota ‘Purple kisses’ (wild carrot) 56 AMATEUR GARDENING 8 FEBRUARY 2020

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In Wrexham, slugs sabotaged a set of traffic lights by wrecking the control board

Toby’s top tips

All photography Alamy, unless otherwise credited

TI Media

The humble slug is taking to the streets to find more unusual places to create havoc… and ultimately meet its maker

Inset: TI Media

Toby Buckland

1

Start your slug patrols and put out organic pellets before the mollusc population explodes in spring, and you’ll keep on top of their numbers.

Shinkansen bullet trains were stopped on the tracks by a slug meeting a grizzly end inside a railway line switch box

Slug to the finish

2

Tired of being treated as outcasts in gardens, molluscs are finding more interesting ways to die, as Toby discovers

“Limacologists may fear attacks are coordinated”

bunch, especially when it comes to killing at close quarters. While most of us are happy to use biological controls or organic pellets that do their damage out of sight, many balk at the thought of dispatching a slug while it gazes beseechingly from its stalk-topped eyes.

That’s why so many are thrown over the garden fence or, when the neighbours are at home, on to the street outside.

And this, Your Honour, is where the trouble starts. Faced with a desert of Tarmacadam or a barren railway line, an electrical box becomes a slug sanctuary that’s so inviting, it’s a wonder we don’t suffer from more gastropod-instigated traffic chaos.

Having no bones, these canny creatures can squeeze their way through the tiniest of gaps, and while this Houdini-esque skill makes them formidable pests, it also contributes to their downfall.

Knowing that slugs are attracted to tight spaces means they all behave in a predictable way and can be dispatched without any need for practising your shot-put technique (see below). And as we share 70% of genes with the humble slugs, that makes us just as knowable – if you throw molluscs over the garden fence, your neighbours do, too.

What a way to go…

SLUGS love the undersides of pots, and if a plant is eaten you should lift/tip its container and look for the culprit beneath. Even if it isn’t there, scatter organic pellets under the pot, as it soon will be – as well as anywhere the soluble pellets are protected from rain.

Biological controls work best in summer, when the garden warms up, so in spring put ou jars with a splash of beer in the bottom. The slu are attracted to the malt and, being sticky, can c into the beer, where they drown. Beetles and o friendly wildlife can’t, so they stay safe from harm.

TI Media

H

AVE you seen the news?

Garden Enemy No. 1 – the slug – has attacked the global transport network, taking its campaign of mindless mollusc-station from our gardens to the streets.

In Wrexham, marauding slugs captured the control unit of a pedestrian crossing, shorting the power supply and causing the red, amber and green bulbs to flash like the lights of a demonic disco. And this wasn’t an isolated incident: in Japan, bullet trains were literally stopped on the tracks by a slug committing hari-kari inside a railway line switch box. Its charred remains were found next to the sleepers.

I have no doubt scientists who study slugs – aka ‘limacologists’ (as if you didn’t know!) – might fear that these attacks are coordinated. But I’ve a hunch that it’s gardeners like, well… you who are really to blame.

You don’t need a degree from the Miss Marple School of Criminology to know that gardeners are a sentimental

Clear leaf debris to the compost heap, as its slimy nature makes it a perfect hiding place for molluscs.

Beer is still an effective way to curb a slug’s adventures in the garden

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