Cotswolds Country Gardener March 2020 by Country Gardener

Your 2020 wildlife gardening year

March gardens open early for NGS

Gardening events to kick off a new season

Dowsing in your Cotswold garden

Cotswolds www.countrygardener.co.uk

Issue No 168 March 2020 FREE

We love spring!

Start your best gardening season with us PLUS: Growing coriander; Caring for orchids; Love in a Mist; Being kind to moles

Prepare for Spring

AT THE GARDEN LOVERS GARDEN CENTRE

On A423 Southam Road, Nr. Farnborough, Banbury OX17 1EL. Tel: 01295 690479 Open Six Days a Week - Tuesday-Saturday: 9am - 5pm Sunday: 10.30am - 4.30pm

Open Bank Holiday Mondays www.farnboroughgardencentre.co.uk

A AT Y JO UT

EN AY O D

It’s difficult to find interesting places to visit in these days of chain stores and national garden centre groups that all look the same. Here is the antidote! This is a Garden Store-situated in the heart of the Wye Valley. On the outskirts of the picturesque market town of Ross on Wye-on the banks of the River Wye, independently run by a local family, it is certainly a break from the “norm”. Housed in an historical Brunel designed “Engine Shed” formerly of the Great Western Railway-the main shop houses an array of unusual homewares, garden related gifts and a quaint cafe, offering light lunches and snacks and famed locally for it’s

homemade cakes, soup and scones. Outside under the covered planteria which protects visitors from all weathers, high emphasis is placed on the sale of plants, which are sourced from specialist nurseries across the globe all chosen for their seasonality at any one time, and of the highest quality. Reclamation pieces are dotted throughout the building, from cart wheels to bushel boxes and galvanised watering cans to unusual arches and plant supports. A landcape and design service is also available, plus plenty of horticultural advice from an expert team on site.

Mon -S Sun at 9am10am 5 -4.3 pm 0pm A449

Easy out of town parkin g

M50

A40 ROSSON-WYE

Ross Garden Store, The Engine Shed, Station Approach, Ashburton, Ross On Wye, Herefordshire HR9 7BW

www.rossgardenstore.com 01989 568999 OPEN DAILY

ROSS GARDEN STORE A40

THE COTSWOLDS

this month

SENSATIONAL LATE SNOWDROPS through Snowdrops have become synonymous with Cotswolds gardens and the displays of the early spring plant will go through well into March. PAINSWICK ROCOCO GARDENS are one such highlight. This year, to answer visitors’ many questions about the delicate blooms, an expert horticultural team will be giving a talk at 2.30pm every day throughout February. Painswick Rococo Garden, Painswick, Glos. GL6 6TH 10.30am to 5 daily COLESBOURNE PARK’S ten-acre garden with its woodland and lakeside paths, and the new Spring Garden has huge banks of snowdrops, hellebores and other winter plants to enjoy. The gardens are open through to Sunday, 1st March. Entrance is £8. For information about guided tours call 01242 870264. Colesbourne Park, Colesbourne, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL53 9NP SPECTACULAR NATURE IN ART EXHIBITION

at Wallsworth Hall

Gardens and gardening events throughout the area

the Cotswolds

NEWARK PARK’S 700-acre estate near the Gloucestershire village of Ozleworth has its snowdrops on display until Sunday 1st March. The spring ﬂowers have become increasingly well known in this romantic woodland garden settling. Boots for muddy walks in the estate are advised. Dogs on leads welcome. Open daily 10 am to 4pm. Free to National Trust members. Newark Park, Ozleworth, Wotton under Edge, Glos. GL12 7PZ BATSFORD ARBORETUM again has drifts of beautiful snowdrops and aconites which should be at their peak in late February, but call the arboretum for daily update. Adults £7.95; concessions £6.95, children four to 16 £3.5O. Batsford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9AD

Tree identiﬁcation walk at Dyrham Park

All the winners in the latest and world’s most prestigious wildlife photography competition from London’s Natural History Museum will be on display in a Nature in Art exhibition at Wallsworth Hall near Gloucester open throughout February and March. Over 100 images selected from 50,000 entries will be on display including intimate animal portraits to atmospheric landscapes and groundbreaking photojournalism. Open Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm. Nature in Art, Wallsworth Hall, Nr Twigworth, Gloucester, GL2 9PA. Sat Nav users please use GL2 9PG for entrance.

Dyrham Park, the 17th century mansion garden and deer park near Bath and Bristol, is oﬀering visitors the chance to walk the park and see the stark beauty of the trees in the winter landscape on Sunday, February 23rd and Sunday, March 1st. You will be able to join a tree expert in identifying trees in the garden and deer park. It is a free event and assistance dogs are welcome. 2pm to 3.15pm.

Daylesford House OPENS FOR NGS The magniﬁcent 18th century landscape grounds at Daylesford House near Moreton-in-Marsh will be opening for the NGS on Wednesday, 25th March from 1pm to 4pm. Admission is £6. The gardens created in 1790 for Warren Hastings, have been restored and enhanced by the present owners and include lakeside and woodland walks within natural wild ﬂower meadows, a large walled garden planted formally, centred around orchid, peach and working glasshouses. Homemade teas are available.

Daylesford House, near KIngham, Glos. GL56 0YG

Developing your skills WITH SPRING FLOWERS Westonbirt Arboretum is setting out to make the most of spring ﬂowers on Saturday, March 21st from 10.30am to 1pm with a workshop run by the Crafty Gardeners. The morning, which costs £65, will include how to make hand tied posies, bouquet wrapping and how to make the most of spring ﬂowers in arrangements. Lunch is included. www.forestryengland.uk/westonbirt-the-national-arboretum Westonbirt Arboretum GL8 8QS www.countrygardener.co.uk

Divine Gardens

THE NURSERY AT M I S E R D E N

DESIGNING IN HARMONY WITH NATURE

Journey beyond your five senses and learn to dowse in your garden. This unique garden design service allows you to discover the essence of your garden and how to work with garden energies to create a very special place for pleasure, productivity and wellbeing.

Exceptional plants grown in a unique setting

Discover garden dowsing with Kate Tel: 07719994287 www.smartgardendesign.co.uk

Seasonal opening March 1st Tues – Sun 10am to 5pm Our vinery café serves delicious coffee and cake! Miserden, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL6 7JA

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Worcester Road, Tewkesbury, Glos, GL20 6EB Opening times: Mon-Sat 9am - 5.30pm, Sunday 10am - 4pm

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Country Gardener

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CUTTINGS

Gardeners cuttings in

the Cotswolds

A LOOK AT NEWS, EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS IN YOUR AREA

Former director of Oxford Botanic Garden talks to Lechlade Gardening Club Timothy Walker, lecturer in plant sciences at Oxford University and former director of the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and the Harcourt Arboretum, will give a talk entitled ‘21st Century Gardening’ to members of Lechlade Gardening Club on Wednesday 11th March. The talk will be held at the Lechlade Memorial Hall, Oak Street, Lechlade, doors opening at 7pm, with the talk starting at 7.30pm. Entry is £2 for members, £3 for visitors, and free for children, and the cost of admission includes free tea or coffee. For more details contact Facebook @lechladegardeningclub or phone 01367 253309 www.lechladegardeningclub.org.uk

NEW COTSWOLDS HOMES GET HEDGEHOG HIGHWAYS A national house builder has joined forces with the British Hedgehog Preservation Society and launched a campaign to protect hedgehogs and other creatures under threat at locations across the Cotswolds. Bovis Homes which is building homes in Moretonin-Marsh, Tewksbury and other locations in the Cotswolds, will install hedgehog highways to its existing developments and all future sites as part of a campaign that will also help other small mammals, birds, frogs and insects. The highways - holes that are created at ground level in fencing and other barriers - are designed to allow access between selected gardens and wilder areas, and are marked with a plaque. Hedgehogs walk more than a mile every night so need to move around freely between gardens.

Daffodil weekends ready to tempt visitors to the ‘golden triangle’ Wordsworth was not writing about the Forest of Dean when in 1804 he wrote about the ‘host of golden daffodils’ but he could have been. The area around Dymock on the Gloucestershire and Herefordshire borders is famed for its wild daffodils seen from mid March onwards. Once a common sight throughout Gloucestershire and its county flower, these blooms are now mainly found in what is known as the ‘golden triangle’ of the villages of Dymock, Kempley and Oxenhall. Each year these villages organise a flower festival, which includes guided walks to see the daffodils and enjoy teas in the village halls or churches.

Dymock Daffodil Weekend takes place on Saturday, 28th March and Sunday, 29th March from 10am to 5pm. Guided walks at 11am and 2.30pm. There will be trading tables in Dymock Parish Hall each day with a variety of goods on offer. Dymock Parish Hall, Ledbury Rd, Dymock, Glos.GL18 2AG

Kempley Daffodil Weekend is on Saturday, 21st March and Sunday, 22nd March and celebrates its 45th anniversary this year. All the walks start from St Edwards Church where there will be early morning refreshments available for the 9.30am and 12 noon walks. Parking is available. Walking maps will be available. Oxenhall Daffodil Weekend is on Saturday 28th March and Sunday 29th from 10am to 5pm based from St Anne’s Church in the village with free coffee and biscuits available in the church from 10.30am, to 12 noon and then from 12 noon to 5pm in The Village Hall. During the daffodil season it is also worth driving through the Severnside village of Newnham which always had a good display and visiting the Lydney Spring Gardens open in spring and on selected days for the NGS.

Lydney Park Estate Office, Lydney, Glos. GL15 6BU The small wild daffodils grow wild in fields and surrounding woods of the ‘Golden Triangle’ Years ago the daffodils were picked by local children and sent by train from Gloucester to London for hospitals. Unlike cultivated daffodils, the wild daffodils propagate from seed, taking four years to reach the flowering stage and then flower for another two or three more years.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

CUTTINGS

Foraging at the foot of the Brendon Hills

Successful growth at expanding Malvern Garden Centre

An early season foraging walk takes place at Ashton under Hill, on Saturday, 14th March, a picturesque village at the foot of Brendon Hill. The course starts with a short introduction on what to look for and a brief of the general countryside codes. Then we’ll set off on a roughly two and a half hour walk around the village, teaching you how to identify the different edible and poisonous plants and mushrooms. Full details at www.wildfooduk.com

Wykeham Gardens Plant Centre owners Andy and Rachael are continuing to grow their popular business. Based in Leigh Sinton near Malvern, they opened a new shop area next to their polytunnels last year and Rachael said ‘’We have been delighted at the response from customers and are now stocking a much wider range for this coming season’’. This includes pots and containers, Darlac and Bulldog hand tools, Kings Seeds, quality wild bird food and wildlife items.

Meet at The Star Inn, Elmley Road, Ashton under Hill, Evesham, Gloucestershire WR11 7SN

Rock House has spring opening for NGS

Wykeham Gardens have also made important environmental changes in how they grow their plants. ‘’We have changed over to a peat free compost and are now using the new taupe-colour, recyclable pot alongside our scheme for re-using old, returned black pots’’ Andy explains. Good quality peat free compost is also available for customers to buy from the plant centre. You will find a range of shrubs, trees, perennials, bulbs and annuals. Alongside garden favourites there are more unusual varieties, plus plants for shade.

Rock House at Elberton in Gloucestershire is well known for its spring flowers, and after the snowdrop displays in February, it’s the turn of daffodils in March when the garden opens for the National Gardens Scheme on Sundays 22nd and 29th March. The two-acre garden, ten miles north of Bristol, has pretty woodland vistas with some unusual bulbs among its spring flowers, and cottage garden plants. There’s also an old yew tree and a pond. The garden will be open from 11am until 4pm on the open days, admission £4, children free. There is limited wheelchair access.

The plant centre opening times are Thursdays to Saturdays 10am to 5pm and Sundays and Bank Holidays 11am to 3pm. www.wykehamgardens.com Tel:01684 578381 Wykeham Gardens Plant Centre can be found at ‘The Yard at Crowcroft’, Leigh Sinton, Malvern WR13 5ED.

Rock House, Elberton, Gloucestershire BS35 4AQ. Tel: 01454 413225

Find

peaceful tranquillity in corners of large public gardens

When you visit a large, beautiful garden, sometimes you just want to sit quietly. But inevitably there may be other people having a chat, using cameras and mobile phones. Now some large public gardens have allocated an area, a ‘silent space’, at specific times of day, for anyone who wants a really quiet, peaceful experience. RHS Garden Rosemoor now offers this to visitors, as do a number of National Trust properties including Trengwaington and Glendurgan in Cornwall, some university gardens around the country, and the gardens at Dartington Hall in Devon. New additions to the project include the National Botanic Garden of Wales, the Dorothy Clive Garden in Staffordshire, and even the Dunedin Botanic Garden in New Zealand. The 6

concept was made a reality by garden writer Liz Ware, who has written articles for Country Gardener. She set up a not-for-profit project and called it Silent Space. As one visitor pointed out, “It’s wonderful to have permission to be silent.” There’s nothing complicated about a Silent Space. It’s an area of a garden or a park, already enjoyed by the public that is temporarily reserved for silent visiting. Once inside a Silent Space, visitors stop talking, turn off their phones and cameras, and switch off from social media. There are no other rules. At RHS Garden Rosemoor the Silent Space garden is situated in the woodland above Lady Anne’s Garden, an area not often discovered by visitor. To find out when the Silent Space is reserved for quiet, go to www.rhso.rg.uk and follow the links; for more information on Silent Space go to www.silentspace.org.uk

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Wykeham Gardens

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Hoo House Nursery Perennials and Alpines to suit all corners of the garden 01684 293389 10-5pm Mon-Sat. Sun 11-5pm Hoo House, Gloucester Road, Tewkesbury, GL20 7DA hoohouse.co.uk Featured 2016 in RHS The Garden magazine

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Ltd – utilising the Power of Nature 7

DONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T KILL YOUR

houseplant WITH KINDNESS

We are buying and caring for houseplants in homes and offices in record numbers but the case of fatalities when it comes to looking after them is also reaching record levels After a number of years in the shadows it is now beyond doubt- houseplants are back in the spotlight.

watering is essential throughout the year, especially in the growing season from early spring.

More of us than ever before are using them to bring life into homes and offices. Although some flowering plants, such as poinsettias, cyclamen and begonias usually only last for a few weeks or months, foliage houseplants, orchids, cacti and bonsai are for the long term. Given the right treatment they can bring years of pleasure.

Daylight is also essential. Site your cacti and succulents in full sun to keep growth strong and compact and encourage flowers.

But the big danger and one which keeps being repeated is we are killing them with kindness. They are all undemanding and there is every reason they should survive healthily but they do need water, light, moderate warmth and the right fertiliser to keep them in peak condition.

Foliage houseplants Foliage houseplants are mostly tropical evergreens. They like moderate warmth, constant temperatures and no cold draughts; so homes and offices are ideal growing environments, providing the plants are positioned where they get adequate light. Having said that the foliage can be damaged by strong direct sunlight. During this time it may be necessary to relocate houseplants to a shadier spot. The key to success is careful watering. More houseplants are killed by overwatering than any other cause. If the pot feels light, then watering is probably necessary, if heavy maybe not. If a houseplant is standing in a decorative pot cover make sure the plant is not standing in water; this can be fatal.

Cacti and succulents Cacti and succulents have great appeal, not only with children, but also with style conscious homeowners. As they store water in their leaves and stems and have the ability to survive on neglect there is a misconception that they do not need watering. However moderate Cacti

Orchids Although other houseplants have been less popular in recent years, orchids have remained firm favourites. Phalaenopsis, the moth orchids dominate; they can flower almost continuously and suit our homes: if we are comfortable, so are they. Given similar treatment to foliage houseplants they are easy to grow, requiring thorough watering about once a week, as long as they are allowed to drain completely afterwards. Orchids do not grow in the same houseplant compost as other indoor plants; they grow in a special orchid medium consisting of tiny chips of bark. This drains easily and never becomes waterlogged. These plants are naturally epiphytic, growing on the branches of trees or rocks, their aerial roots absorbing moisture from the air. They take their nutrients from spores in the air and decomposing leaves and vegetation around them.

Bonsai Bonsai grown as houseplants are mostly tropical or sub-tropical trees and shrubs. They are usually grown in shallow containers containing little compost, so attention to watering is important. Drought can cause leaf drop. Also the atmosphere in the home can be very dry, so an occasional light misting with water is beneficial. Some bonsai, including azaleas, conifers and Japanese maples are hardy or near hardy. They can be used as temporary decoration indoors but need to spend most of their lives in a sheltered situation outdoors or in a cold, shaded greenhouse. Regular watering is vital in the growing season, and good drainage is especially important in winter.

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GARDEN VISITS

THE BEST

early season GARDENS TO VISIT compiled by Heather Rose Early spring days with burgeoning buds on trees and shrubs, colourful bulbs coming into ﬂower - it’s time to explore the areas Country Gardener covers and ﬁnd gardens opening their gates for charity. We advise checking wherever possible before starting out on a journey as circumstances can force closure in private gardens. (www.ngs.org.uk)

LITTLE COURT Crawley, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 2PU

LOWER SHALFORD FARM Shalford Lane, Charlton Musgrove, Wincanton, Somerset, BA9 8HE Delightful garden with extensive lawns and wooded surroundings with drifts of daffodils in spring. Small winterbourne stream running through with several stone bridges; hedged herbaceous garden and ornamental ponds. Open for the National Gardens Scheme on Saturday 21st March, 10am-4pm. Admission £5, children free.

This three-acre walled garden has herbaceous borders in harmonious colours and unusual plants, a traditional kitchen garden, colourful bantams running free, a tree house and a south facing natural wildlife ﬁeld. Many seats with good views within the garden and to the surrounding farmland. Open for the NGS on Sunday 22nd March, 2pm-5pm. Admission £5, children free. For more details contact 01962 776365 or email elkslc@btinternet.com.

HERONS MEAD East Burton Road, East Burton, Wool, Dorset, BH20 6HF A half-acre, long, narrow, country garden planted to attract bees and butterﬂies, full of interest in spring with bulbs, many hellebores, pulmonaria and fritillaries, wildlife pond, tiny woodland and cacti. Open for the NGS on Sunday 22nd March, 2pm-5pm. Admission £3.50, children free. For more details contact 01929 463872 or email ronamillington@btinternet.com.

Our key to facilities on offer at the gardens:

Refreshments available

Wheelchair access to much of garden

Unsuitable for wheelchairs

Plants usually for sale

Partial wheelchair access

Dogs on short leads

Country Gardener

Visitors welcome by arrangement Coaches welcome consult owners

SOUTH LODGE Church Road, Clearwell, Coleford, Gloucestershire, GL16 8LG

HOUNDSPOOL Ashcombe Road, Dawlish, Devon, EX7 0QP A new opening for the NGS this year, formerly a market garden, now a private pleasure garden developed over the past 40 years. The two-acre garden is a work in progress,with trees, shrubs, herbaceous, water, vegetables, ﬂowers and fruit, to provide interest all year round. Situated on Dawlish Water. Open for the NGS on Monday 23rd & Tuesday 24th March, 2pm–5pm. Admission £4, children free. For more details contact 01626 866669 or email carolyn.bourne@houndspool.com.

Peaceful country garden in two acres with stunning views of surrounding countryside. Organic garden with large variety of perennials, annuals, shrubs and specimen trees with yearround colour. Vegetable garden, wildlife and formal ponds. Rustic pergola and willow arbour in the gravel garden. Open for the NGS on Saturday 28th March, 1pm-5pm. Admission £4, children free. Assistance dogs only. For more details contact 01594 837769 or email southlodgegarden@btinternet.com; www.southlodgegarden.co.uk

THE OLD VICARAGE East Orchard, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 0BA Just under two acres of wildlife garden with an abundance of narcissi and tulips, stream meandering down to a pond; tree viewing platform to look over the garden and to the wider area; bog garden, grotto and potager. Open for the NGS on Sunday 15th March, 2pm-5pm. Admission £4, children free. For more details contact 01747 811744 or email tina_lon@msn.com.

HOME FARM Newent Lane, Huntley, Gloucestershire, GL19 3HQ This garden is on an elevated position with exceptional views; there’s a a one mile walk through woods and ﬁelds with carpets of spring ﬂowers. The enclosed garden has a fern border, heather bed, white and mixed shrub borders. Stout footwear advisable. Open for the NGS on Sunday 8th March, 11am-4pm. Admission £3.50, children free. For more details contact 01452 830210 or email torillfreeman@gmail.com

www.countrygardener.co.uk

dowsing in your garden

Kate Smart is more than just a successful garden designer. She now offers her skills in dowsing within her portfolio and suggests here that it’s more than just the search for water It’s a startling fact that almost everybody can learn to dowse. It’s one of our innate abilities and something that has been an important part of country life for centuries. Most people think about a water diviner with a hazel twig in hand when they conjure an image. But over the years the art of dowsing has become a much more diverse method of locating hidden things; not just water. Today it is also used in many holistic therapies as a way to identify sources and symptoms of disease not to mention how to find lost keys. Dowsing is used in many occupations including by water company staff to find old water pipes and of course, it is a very rewarding hobby. Garden dowsing is a relatively new way to discover the essence of your plot and is not only useful for locating underground water supplies, old cesspits and dangerous live cables. Garden dowsing allows you to work with the energies of your garden in a very creative way to make a special and unique place for pleasure, productivity and wellbeing. I’ve been designing gardens for nearly 18 years and showing people how to enjoy dowsing using simple tools called ‘L’ rods made from wire coat hangers. It’s also possible to dowse in the garden using a pendulum but in an emergency a twig from a hedgerow will do! One of the most delightful things about dowsing in the garden is that you can dowse for and create labyrinths on any open area and create these quite simply with pebbles or stones or even mow them into longer grass. The labyrinths created are all unique and ‘of the place’ and some people enjoy following the shape for meditative

walking each day. The labyrinths become quite a talking point for visitors, large and small, who love to explore the shapes especially if there is a reward at the centre! Dowsing tree energies is another way to explore our natural environment if you’re new to dowsing especially in the spring and summer months when trees are at their most energetic and vibrant. In every garden there is naturally a special place to sit and relax and dowsing can help you locate this place and decide upon the orientation/direction of the seat, materials to use and how to benefit from this magical spot. In the vegetable and fruit garden dowsing for productivity is an ongoing dialogue with nature recognising that we are working with the natural rhythms of the seasons, soil fertility and within the rich and diverse ecological web. It’s useful in identifying nutrient deficiencies and pest problems as well as selecting the best varieties for your plot. In the ornamental garden dowsing plant companions is a successful way to plan a border and brings a collection of plants together as a harmonious whole. It can also help to identify plant ailments and remedies where the nutritional needs of flowering plants are different. Divine Gardens is Kate’s company that emphasises designing in harmony with nature and journeying beyond the five senses through learning how to dowse in your garden. If you would like to learn to dowse in your garden or find out more about what Kate does contact her on 07719994287 or visit www.smartgardendesign.co.uk

Country Gardener

Biochar and its role in enriching soil Coppicing and forestry business industry sets out to boost gardeners knowledge of using biochar to tackle climate change. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and so Herefordshire based forestry and timber company, Say it with Wood, have been exploring the different solutions British woodlands can offer. As trees grow they draw CO2 from the air, and with careful management they can replace environmentally damaging products such as plastic, steel and concrete. They can also replace carbon emitting fossil fuels to provide heat or energy. One of the best methods for carbon sequestration is using biochar to build soil carbon. In celebration of this material Say it with Wood will be holding a biochar information event on Saturday, 25th April at their Herefordshire headquarters. Put simply, biochar is biomass heated in the absence of oxygen to make charcoal. When charged with nutrients and used in the soil it becomes a perfect habitat for soil

mycorrhizal fungi, which provide plants with essential nutrients in exchange for carbohydrates. Aly May, partner at SIWW explains,” We are very excited about biochar, many of our customers care deeply about sustainability, and adding biochar as a product is a logical step. Using charcoal in soil firstly locks that carbon away for thousands of years. It regulates water and nutrients in the soil, but it’s mycorrhizas that do the magic. “They have a symbiotic relationship with plants - as the plants flourish from easy access to nutrients, so the mycorrhizas use the carbohydrate from the plants to grow underground. Unlike other soil additives, it doesn’t break down and the effects get better over time.” Biochar can be used as a soil amendment incorporated into garden soil or potting compost. It can be applied at any time of the year, dug into the soil surface, or planting holes.

Say it with Wood extends the invitation to anyone who wants to learn more to attend the information day. The day will include: • An introduction to biochar and the many benefits to society, the environment and the importance of soil carbon. • A demonstration of different methods of making biochar. • Demonstrations and talks on different uses of biochar for agricultural, horticultural and domestic situations. • Food and refreshments included. The day will cost £20. Booking is highly recommended. For more information about biochar, or to book a place on the day, please email, info@sayitwithwood.co.uk or call 07958345833 Say it with Wood, The Grainstore, Ledbury HR8 2TE

What claims are made about biochar? Virtually any organic material can be put through the man-made pyrolysis process to produce biochar. This is why it is important to know the starting material used to produce any given ‘char’. Examples include soft plant tissue, woody materials, and manures. The resulting biochar is carbon rich and doesn’t readily decompose Biochar incorporation into soil provides an important route for CO2 removal from the atmosphere and terrestrial carbon sequestration .Its properties has developed over recent years, and considerable scientific research is still underway including trials at

RHS Garden Wisley. The application of biochar to soil as an additive is known to have various effects; Including improving plant performance through neutralising acidity, providing improved water and nutrient retention (especially in sandy soils) and enhancing beneficial microbial populations. This idea was born out of observing the man-made ‘Terra Preta’ soils of the Amazon. The fertility of the poor, acid soils in this region is believed to have been transformed through addition of charred organic material by the area’s indigenous inhabitants. 13

READERS LETTERS

Have your say... Letters from Country Gardener readers. We welcome brief letters on any gardening topics. Write to Country Gardener, Mount House, Taunton, TA4 3AD or email editorial@countrygardener.co.uk GARDEN CLUBS IN DECLINE As a regular speaker at garden clubs I see a wide range of different set ups, locations and audiences. Sadly some garden clubs appear to be dying out and I struggle to see how they are attempting to attract new members. Some work hard and are making it work. One club was offering free tickets to members’ friends to entice them to attend a talk. These guest visitors were then signed up. Some try the celebrity talk approach where they stretch themselves financially and go for a named speaker and have to pay out upwards of £1000 and then try to market the talk as a big local event and charge a lot for tickets. In most cases it doesn’t work. I think social media is important. Twitter and Facebook accounts used correctly get the message out. One society I know launched a new website (not expensive) started a Facebook group and saw membership rise by 25 per-cent in 18 months. The other problem is that I know STAR while some garden clubs are still LETTER operating on good numbers they are worried about a distinct skew in age profile. Ann Williams wins a stylish These clubs are worth Haws metal watering can for fighting for. her star letter of the month. Ann Williams Barnstable

Phil Kerr Southampton 14

I am an avid reader of your magazine and would like to make a point in defence of us experienced gardeners. We are always being told to make changes to the way we garden and the plants we grow because of climate change. Until scientists can predict with more certainty the future climate down here in the southwest, it would be a bit premature to change the habits and skills we have developed. The last three gardening seasons have been in order: very wet, very dry then a mixture of both. Environmentally concerned gardeners have always conserved water, composted, minimised chemical change and encouraged wildlife and it is patronising to be told these practices are linked to climate change.

Malcolm Gooch Dorchester

RHS ROSEMOOR LIT TO PERFECTION

My sad allotment story Your article on allotments ‘Allotments-alive but maybe needing help’ Winter 2019 I think sums up a worrying situation about how easily this sector of our gardening life could disappear. My grandfather had an allotment here in Southampton which was taken on by my father and then passed on to me but I have had to give it up with great sadness. I commute 4O miles every day and often work weekends. I just don’t have the time to spend hours and hours maintaining it and I shamefully let a large part of it go wild. I am not the only one and up to half a dozen plots here are now in a state of decline. It is as you say an increasing social problem where the pressures of modern life have changed and fewer younger or middle-aged people are willing to commit so much time.

Don’t insult us with climate change predictions

My family saw the story in your excellent magazine about RHS Rosemoor’s winter garden illuminations and travelled the week before Christmas to see them. The whole trip was magical and a wonderful pre Christmas outing to get us in the festive mood. The lighting was imaginative, colourful and dramatic and turned the whole garden into a very special place.

Anne Bolt Honiton Ash tree treated homoeopathically

Homeopathy for my ash tree

Our ash tree, which is registered with the Woodland Trust, stands proud in the back corner of our garden and as a perching station for innumerable birds crossing the ﬁeld to the next hedge or wood. It is a landmark for miles around. Since the threat of ash dieback I have been using plant essences on it administered in water to the roots a treatment not far removed from homeopathy as a preventative measure. It seems irresponsible we have allowed a steady trafﬁc of sapling ash back and forth from the continent for years when this disease had been rife abroad. I can only hope my experimental treatment will help to strengthen our wonderful tree.

Cilla Platt Swindon Country Gardener

www.countrygardener.co.uk

TREE SPECIALIST

Taking care with the fate of our trees

Mark Hinsley gets concerned about the ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ approach when it comes to deciding if some trees should face the axe Many cases cross my desk involving people wishing to remove trees. Justifications vary, as does my sympathy for the stated reasons. Some I find wholly justified and others definitely not. Of course, in the case of trees in towns and villages, most are covered by some form of statutory protection, so I am only the first hurdle. Even if I take the case on, it will not be me making the final decision. Attitudes to trees and their importance of our environment range from Donald Trump to Christopher Packham and all points between. People’s attitude to ‘trees’ can be quite different from their attitude to ‘a tree’. If I had a quid for every time I have heard, ‘Don’t get me wrong, I love trees, but……….’, followed by reasons why a particular tree, which happens to impinge on somebody’s lifestyle, or is preventing them from fulfilling some desire, is somehow different from all the others. At the other end of the scale are the people or organisations who will herald the most nondescript, half dead, disease ridden specimen as the saviour of the planet because its retention will prevent something from happening which they oppose. Another problem is the innate anthropomorphic tendency in the human psychology; we give things human characteristics. This can work both ways with trees; the value of its life can become of human proportions or it can be given character traits such as nobility or evil intent. I remember one lady who wanted a tree felled because it ‘overlooked’ her, and a group of residents who complained about the felling of a very rotten beech tree in their street because it was noble and true and would not fall on them! However, in the mix up of motive and emotion, I do perceive a shift away from tree felling towards tree 16

retention in most sections of society and commerce ….. except one. The group that I have found most likely to be demanding and bullying over the felling of trees on the thinnest of grounds are insurance companies. Now, I have to accept that there may be some good ones out there. After all, I would never have any dealings with them. But I have seen some horrendous stuff from distressed individuals who are being pressured and bullied by insurance companies to remove their trees just because their neighbour has a hairline crack in their building. If trees are implicated in building movement it can be properly investigated and proven one way or the other. Felling important trees may still be disproportionate, but at least they have done the work. But I am seeing stuff from ‘shoot first and ask questions later’ merchants who have done no meaningful investigations, who have proved nothing, whose first line of attack is to try and have all the trees in the area felled first to see if it makes a difference. Only if the tree felling fails will they consider doing the job properly. A knock-on effect of this approach is that it causes neighbours to fall out. Most people cannot read and make sense of a site investigation report – or even tell if it is good or bad – so the neighbour who says ‘there is no proof it is my tree and I am not felling it’ is cast as the evil one preventing the victim’s house from being stabilized. I have spoken to the Financial Conduct Authority about these matters, and if you feel that you have been the subject of this kind of malpractice, they will be interested to hear from you on 0800 111 6768. Mark Hinsley is from Arboriculture Consultants Ltd. www.treeadvice.info

Country Gardener

GREAT PLACES TO VISIT

Budock Vean Hotel

OPENING UP TIME

for spring! FORGET WINTER AND START PLANNING FOR THOSE GARDENING TRIPS OUT

Whisper it quietly, but the days are starting to lengthen and the earliest signs of spring, snowdrops, daffodils, crocuses and more are with us. It is of course a special time of year for gardeners and garden lovers - the chance to finally throw off the restrictions of winter and to start getting out and about to find the early season gardens which are now ready to welcome visitors and to make plans to enjoy gardens deeper into the year. There will over the next few months be a huge choice of where to go and what to do. Here are just a few ideas to think about and to enjoy.

Budock Vean hotel within reach of great Cornwall gardens

If you stay at Budock Vean at Mawnan Smith near Falmouth in either the hotel or holiday cottages, then some of Cornwall’s ﬁnest gardens and walking routes are right on the doorstep for you to explore. Trebah and Glendurgan gardens are a 10-minute walk away and Potager Garden is about a 10-minute drive. The hotel has it’s own extensive valley garden leading down to the Helford River where you can take a boat trip or a kayak adventure to explore Frenchman’s Creek. The South West Coast Path is about a 15-minute walk from the door. Further aﬁeld in nearby Falmouth are many splendid public gardens open for free, along with museums and galleries to discover. Hotel bookings are available on 01326 252100 relax@budockvean.co.uk www.budockvean.co.uk Budock Vean Hotel , Mawnan Smith, Falmouth. TR11 5LG

HARTLAND ABBEY OFFERS EARLY SPRING DAFFODIL DELIGHTS Lengthening days and a warmer sun herald Daffodil Sunday on 15th March from 11am-4pm at Hartland Abbey, before the main season starts on 29th March. It is a perfect day out in the gardens and walks to see the beautiful display of historic daffodils collected and planted by the family over generations. Camellias and spring ﬂowers bloom in abundance in this stunning valley leading to Blackpool Mill. Children and dogs enjoy the freedom to run about and explore the walks leading to the summerhouse and the sea. The house and exhibitions will be open too with good coffee, homemade light lunches and cream teas served in the award winning Old Kitchen Tea Rooms 11-am 4pm. Adults £7 Children (5-16) £1. House £4, children free. www.hartlandabbey.com. Tel: 01237441496/234 www.countrygardener.co.uk

DISCOVER BEAUTIFUL

Batsford Arboretum THIS SPRING

The gardens of Ninfa provide serious temptations

Tucked away in the north Cotswolds just outside Moreton-in-Marsh, Batsford is home to one of the country’s largest private tree collections, spanning 56 acres of beautiful gardens. From early spring, enjoy impressive displays of spring ﬂowering bulbs followed by the beautiful blossom of the magnolias and the stunning Japanese ﬂowering cherries. Visitors can browse the garden centre and gift shop and treat yourself to lunch or afternoon tea at the Garden Terrace Café. Open daily, dogs welcome on a short lead.

Ninfa occupies an eerie site on the edge of the Pontine marshes and sheltered by a mountain ridge but is one of the most fascinating of Italian gardens in the province of Latina, central Italy. Crumbling mediaeval walls provide a sheltered microclimate for rare and tender plants with a collection from all over the world and a wonderful treat for garden lovers. A guided visit of Ninfa is included in the Expressions Holidays’ Tour of the Gardens of the Rome area. Departures are on Wednesday, 13 May, Wednesday, 3rd June, Wednesday, 24th June and Wednesday 9 September. Prices from £2,580 per person.

www.batsarb.co.uk Tel 01386 701441 Batsford Arboretum & Garden Centre, Batsford, Moreton-in-Marsh GL56 9AD

SPECIAL OFFER FOR COUNTRY GARDENER READERS Expressions Holidays oﬀers Country Gardener readers a reduction of £75 per person for booking before 30 April 2020.

Hotel, cottages and holiday homes by the beautiful Helford River in south Cornwall.

Contact Expressions Holidays on 01392 441250 for full details.

• Spa • Restaurant • Tennis • Kayaking • Boat trips

9 hole/18 tee parkland golf course

www.expressionsholidays.co.uk. Fully protected by ATOL 3076

Hartland Abbey & Gardens Daffodils and Spring Flowers Sunday 15th March 11am - 4pm

Come and enjoy our beautiful historic daffodils, spring shrubs, bulbs and wildflower walks to the beach. * Dogs really welcome * * Delicious light lunches & cream teas * * Special rate: Adults £7 Children over 5 £1 * House open 1pm £4 * 2020 SEASON - Sunday 29th March - 4th October Sunday to Thursday 11am - 5pm (House 2pm - last adm. 4pm)

For all information and events see www.hartlandabbey.com Hartland, Nr. Bideford EX39 6DT 01237441496/234 18

Country Gardener

Helford Passage, Mawnan Smith, Nr Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 5LG Hotel bookings: 01326 252100 Golf Club: 01326 252102 relax@budockvean.co.uk www.budockvean.co.uk @BudockVeanHotel www.facebook.com/BudockVeanHotel @BudockVeanHotel

Advertorial

The Eastbury Hotel & Spa Comfort and elegance wrapped in West Country charm

The Eastbury is a luxurious, boutique hotel located in the centre of the lively, historic and quaint town of Sherborne, Dorset now owned by Peter and Lana De Savary. It offers 26 private and individually styled rooms and suites including ‘Victorian Garden Potting Shed’ suites, designed to provide the style and comfort. The hotel has become a favourite with garden lovers. Somewhat of a hidden treasure, the beautiful walled garden is a sanctuary and offers tranquillity for relaxation, a quiet walk, or a snooze in the sun. Laced with pretty flowers, across the changing seasons you will see hazel, lavender, roses, acers, honeysuckle, magnolia, bluebells and many more. The comfortably furnished terrace offers al fresco dining and in warmer months guests enjoy a hearty breakfast outside whilst watching the haven of wildlife get busy for the day. Furry and feathered friends have become quite tame and are happy to share the garden with you. The lawns also offer croquet, badminton, table tennis and large chess for those who enjoy

an activity or two. Our new Garden Pod offers guests a chance to enjoy lunch, dinner or an evening cocktail in comfort. The hotel’s amazing gardener Tina is planning to build a Butterfly House this year. We now have The Garden Escape Exclusive Offer on our website and included in this Tina is happy to go around gardens with guests.

Comfort and elegance, Comfort and elegance, wrapped in West Country ch

wrapped in West Country charm

THE EASTBURY HOTEL THE EASTBURY HOTEL Long Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3BY Long Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3BY Tel: 01935 813131 Tel: 01935 813131 Email: relax@theeastburyhotel.co.uk Email: relax@theeastburyhotel.co.uk www.theeastburyhotel.co.uk www.theeastburyhotel.co.uk

ITALIAN GARDENS

SMALL GROUP TOURS WITH GUIDED VISITS OF ITALIAN GARDENS TUSCANY

• Maximum 14 people per group

Visits: Poggio Torselli, Villa Vignamaggio, Villa Geggiano, Villa Grabau, Villa Reale 2020: 17 May, 14 Jun, 6 Sep From £2,690 per person

• Local garden guides and guided garden visits included

LAKES COMO AND MAGGIORE

• British Airways flights included

Visits: Villa Babbianello, Villa Carlotta, Villa Monastero, Isola Bella, Isola Madre 2020: 12 May, 9 Jun, 23 Jun, 8 Sep From £2,630 per person

AMALFI COAST, CAPRI & ISCHIA

• Six nights in 4 or 5 star hotels, two per tour

Special offers may apply - full details on our website

PLEASE CALL US ON

01392 441275 www.expressionsholidays.co.uk

Visits: Villa Rufolo, Villa San Michele Axel Munthe, La Mortella 2020: 7 May, 28 May, 18 Jun, 10 Sep From £2,930 per person

THE

ART

INTELLIGENT

ENVIRONS OF ROME Visits: Villa d’Este, Lante, Ninfa, Landriana, Castel Gandolfo 2020: 13 May, 24 Jun, 9 Sep From £2,580 per person

T R A V E L

O R G A N I S I N G

Founded 1989

Cotswold Garden Flowers Easy and unusual perennials for the flower garden Delightful gardens to inspire you

HPS Somerset HPS Somerset Group Group

Plant and garden advice

Spring EEarly arly S pring

P LANT SFALE AIR PLANT Saturday

Mail order and online ordering available, or pop along and visit us at the nurser y

Saturday 28 March 2020

3110am March 2012 – 4pm

10:00 am – 5:00 pm at East Lambrook Manor Gardens

East Lambrook Manor Gardens South Petherton, Somerset

TA13 5HH East Lambrook, South Petherton, Somerset TA13 5HH 16 of the South West’s top nurseries will be Entry £4.00 – RHS &charge HPS members £3.50 attending. Admission to the plant sale and the gardens will be £4. 22 of the South West’s top nurseries. Visitdetails eastlambrook.com for details. For more visit: http://hps-somerset.btck.co.uk/

Groups welcome by appointment Open 7 days a week from 1st March to 30th September (weekends 10am - 5.30pm) Sands Lane, Badsey, Evesham, WR11 7EZ 01386 833849 info@cgf.net w w w.cgf.net 20

01460 240328 enquiries@eastlambrook.com www.eastlambrook.com

Country Gardener

Buscot Park

STYLE AND GRACE IN WONDERFUL GARDEN SETTING The Georgian mansion at Buscot Park contains an extraordinary collection of antique furniture and Objects d’Art including paintings by Rembrandt, Reynolds, Rubens, Murillo and its famous saloon decorated with The Legend of the Briar Rose by the PreRaphaelite Sir Edward Burne-Jones. All this is set in grounds that are a treat to explore. The ‘Four Seasons Garden’ within the old vegetable garden walls, and the Pleasure Gardens beyond the house has ﬁve tree-lined avenues leading to a citrus garden, a ‘Swing Garden’, the tallest sundial in England, a lake, and the water garden cascades designed by Harold Peto in 1903. Buscot Park, Lechlade Rd, Faringdon SN7 8BU

BUSCOT PARK & THE FARINGDON COLLECTION One of Oxfordshire’s best kept secrets

For spectacular spring walks, fabulous food and a wonderful selection of gifts and spring gardening essentials, Batsford is a perfect day out - dog friendly too!

Visit www.batsarb.co.uk for details on our forthcoming events BATSFORD ARBORETUM AND GARDEN CENTRE Batsford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9AD.

Open 1 April - 30 September Contact: Info line 01367 240932 or website www.buscotpark.com for opening times.

Tel: 01386 701441 E: arboretum@batsfordfoundation.co.uk www.batsarb.co.uk BatsfordArboretum

www.countrygardener.co.uk

@BatsfordA

WILDLIFE

YOUR WILDLIFE GARDEN GARDENS ARE VITAL IN HELPING TO SUPPORT OUR NATIVE WILDLIFE AND THERE’S LOTS WE CAN DO TO HELP BIRDS, MAMMALS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS FROM INTRODUCING NECTAR RICH PLANTS FOR POLLINATORS RIGHT THROUGH TO BUILDING A BUG BOX.

Increasing the biodiversity of your garden doesn’t have to be hard, or compromise the way your garden looks. If you are keen to do more in your garden there are small changes you could make to the way you manage your garden that can bring major beneﬁts for the creatures that call it home. Simple things such as letting the soil settle. To increase populations of earthworms and beetle larvae don’t dig your garden soil unless you’re planting. Lay compost on top to provide habitat for invertebrates and foraging for blackbirds and robins. Doing more for wildlife in your garden doesn’t mean it needs to look a mess, but piles of leaves and twiggy debris provide both food and habitat for many species. Piles of stones also make good habitat, particularly for hibernating reptiles and amphibians - tuck them away in hidden corners, at the back of borders or even behind the shed. Wildlife and practicality are not incompatible. A lawn for children can still be rich in plants which will attract bees and hoverﬂies and provide good foraging habitat for starlings and hedgehogs.

ADD WATER TO YOUR GARDEN Ideally dig a pond, but a container of water will sufﬁce. The single easiest way to add wildlife value to a garden is to install a pond, however tiny - a large pot or even an inverted dustbin lid in an out-of-the-way spot will do. Allow water plants to colonise naturally. Make sure 22

ponds have at least one sloping side to allow creatures an easy way out. Most wildlife, including amphibians such as newts and frogs, like shallower water than is generally thought.

PROVIDE FOOD AND WATER FOR BIRDS ALL YEAR Garden birds are some of the most conspicuous of garden wildlife, and easy to attract with supplemental feeding. Ideally, offer a mix of food including peanuts, sunﬂower hearts, seeds, kitchen scraps and fat balls, or proprietary seed mixtures, to supplement natural food such as berries and seedheads.

SCATTER WILDFLOWER SEEDS TO CREATE A MEADOWLAND Meadows are simply mixtures of grasses and wildﬂowers. We have lost 96per-cent of our diverse, species-rich meadows since the 1950s, so re-creating them in the garden can help redress the balance. They are great for insects, they are low maintenance, and they make a good, more natural alternative to a labour-intensive lawn. Annual meadows have a mix of annual wildﬂowers such as poppies, Nigella, corn marigolds and annual grasses; they will succeed on fairly rich soils, too, but a suitable seed mix usually needs to be re-sown each year.

Country Gardener

GARDEN CREATURES NEED TO MOVE ABOUT FREELY Did you know that hedgehogs need to walk a mile or more in a night looking for food and a mate? You can help by creating safe corridors from your garden to the one next door.

Below left: Feeding birds isn’t just for winter, Above: hedgehogs often grow desperate for water during summer

This is a great activity to do with your neighbours to connect your gardens. Add gaps at the base of your wooden fences. Check with your neighbour that’s it’s ok to do so, and think about pets – you don’t want them escaping! Also be careful not to create gaps which lead wildlife onto busy roads. Create as many gaps as you want, perhaps one every few metres. Let some of your lawn grow longer. Voles, shrews, frogs, toads, beetles and hedgehogs like to move through long grasses rather than out in the open.

Choosing the right flowers Flowers provide pollen and nectar for bees, butterflies and other insects that perform the vital task of fertilisation – seed and fruit production would drop dramatically without them. Avoid too many highly-bred cultivars with big and blowsy or double flowers, most of which contain little or no pollen or nectar. Choose plants that provide pollen and nectar for as long a season as possible, from spring (Crocus and Mahonia for example) through to autumn (Michaelmas daisy, Sedum spectabile and ivy, which is particularly late to bloom and may provide food into early winter). Studies are helping us understand how both native and non-native plants support garden wildlife. Never use pesticides on plants in flower. Finally don’t try to grow difficult plants. If something isn’t thriving, replace it. Don’t obsess about native species. Though they are good food plants for many animals, particularly caterpillars, many garden flowers, such as lavender, are great for nectar and may flower for longer.

TOP 10 BEE FRIENDLY PLANTS Lavender Viper’s Bugloss Mahonia Hawthorn Bluebells Bluebells

Crocuses Rosemary Borage Crab apple trees Ox-Eye daisy

A spring action plan for wildlife A solitary bee ﬁnds a new home

Ox-Eyed daisies

Plant varieties with single ﬂowers such as Verbaba rigida, calendula, alyssum, French marigold and nasturtium as these provide easy access for insects.

Help hedgehogs recently out of hibernation by leaving a shallow dish of water and some meat based cat or dog food. Sow cornfield annuals, like cornflower, corn cockle and field poppy in a sunny spot to attract pollinating insects. Hawthorn

Rake thatch for a lawn and hang it in a ball for nesting birds. Dog hair is another great nest building option. Make boxes for solitary bees and hang them securely in a sunny part of the garden. Keep feeders stocked up with such things as energy rich sunﬂower seeds - adult birds will need ‘fast food’ while foraging for their young. Mealworms are another alternative but avoid bread and peanuts as this may choke birds. www.countrygardener.co.uk

PRE SEASON

training!

GARDENING STARTS IN EARNEST OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AND AFTER THE WINTER REST. STARTING TO GARDEN WITHOUT PREPARATION CAN RESULT IN INJURIES TO THE BACK, JOINTS AND MUSCLES Gardening can be a lot like full time footballers returning to training after the summer holidays. Gardeners need to go through pre-season training. We would all benefit from our own warming up systems before attacking everything from digging to hoeing, weeding to mowing. Back injuries are second in the list of early season injuries – only just behind damage to fingers and hands. Most back injuries come from improper lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, and carrying—all activities we perform in the garden. There are basic principles which apply to any means of lifting, lowering, and carrying, whether at the gym, home, store, or in the garden. Start slowly, don’t rush, don’t jerk. Move weights or objects in an unhurried, controlled manner and use a good body position. This is more important than the amount you can lift. If you have problems keeping good form, decrease the weight or get help. Make sure to breathe; the tendency for some is to hold your breath when lifting.

Poor lifting techniques are so often responsible for causing injury or back pain. Emptying the grass box is a common cause of back injury! What looks like a light load can be deceiving.

If you find it difficult to get up and down from the ground, long handled shears may put less strain on the back and knees.

Lift with your legs and not your back. Not doing so is the main cause of back injury when lifting. Lift with your knees and waist bent, not your back. Keep your back straight. Knees should be directly above your toes, your shoulders above your knees. If this isn’t happening, try taking a wider stance with feet further apart, and toes pointed outward slightly. Keep objects close to your body when lifting. Holding them at arm’s length increases the weight on your lower spine by 15 times. Stand close to the object when squatting down to lift. Make sure you plan ahead when lifting where the object will go. This avoids twisting improperly, carrying around heavy items, or lifting too much too high. Make sure you have good footwear to provide solid support, and that surfaces you’ll stand or walk on when lifting and carrying aren’t slippery, or with hazards such as cords, ropes, or stones. Don’t twist or turn at the waist while lifting; turn your whole body instead, leading with your waist and not shoulders. Don’t ignore pain. The saying of ‘no pain, no gain’, doesn’t apply here.

Be careful of twisting and over reaching when cutting border edges:

• Use short handled shears • Use a mat to kneel on • Only cut the edge at a comfortable distance from where you are kneeling

Try and intersperse each task in the garden so you do not over-use the same sets of muscles in the same way. Country Gardener

If your muscles are feeling tired and tight – take a break. A therapeutic massage, or aromatherapy can help ease aches and pains and really relax you.

Using a push type mower – posture is key. Keep your back as straight as possible – and your wrists straight. Shorter pushes are better than longer ones which take you out of a neutral position.

SHOWS & EVENTS

The Picton Garden

GARDEN

Events Galore to ﬁll your diary with

A NEW GARDENING SEASON IS HERE AND ITS TIME TO GET YOUR DIARY OUT! Anyone who loves gardening, garden visits, plant fairs shows and festivals will need to start planning where to go and what to see over the spring and summer. Every year the variety of choices for days out and visits gets more and more tempting. In 2020 there’s a fanatics mixture of new events, traditional favourites, gardens open, shows, festivals, horticultural shows, charity events and more. To help you plan here’s just a few events we are happy to highlight over the next few months. WELLS EVENT THE FIRST IN NEW SEASON OF

Rare Plant Fairs

The hugely popular Rare Plant Fairs return with a new season of 13 fairs this year starting at The Bishop’s Palace, Wells, on March 22nd. Established for over a quarter of a century, the fairs are held in prestigious gardens, with a wide range of styles, which provide wonderful settings for the shows. Every event is attended by specialist nurseries, all experts in the plants that they grow. The Bishop’s Palace lies at the heart of the historic City of Wells and is a place full of secrets, stories and stunning scenery, and home to the Bishops of Bath and Wells for 800 years. Surrounded by a breathtaking moat you can cross a ﬂagstone drawbridge, under the portcullis and experience a true hidden gem in the heart of the City of Wells. There are 14 acres of gardens to explore. Visit www.rareplantfair.co.uk for details of all the events, including a list of the exhibitors.

OLD COURT NURSERIES HOST NEW SEASON OF FRIENDLY, FUN COURSES Old Court Nurseries, a family plant nursery on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills, might be best known for their Michaelmas daisies but there is a wealth of knowledge to be shared from the family team. The nursery is hosting a range of courses and workshops all designed to be friendly, fun events. Visitors can take part in one of the ‘Packing Shed’ courses this year or create your own succulent Pixie Garden to take home on one of the half day Succulent Success workshops. There’s the opportunity to discover more about growing and propagating ferns in July with guest speaker Angela Tandy, or in August get some great ideas for working with wildlife in your garden with bugs, grubs and more. For those more creatively minded there will also be an opportunity to meet the talented artist Victoria Westaway in late August and learn more about the art of willow weaving. Old Court Nurseries & The Picton Garden, specialist breeders and growers of Michaelmas Daisies since 1906. Walwyn Road, Colwall WR13 6QE. Tel: 01684 540416

www.countrygardener.co.uk

Melplash Show thrives by the sea

HONITON SHOW CELEBRATES 130TH ANNIVERSARY IN AUGUST

For 173 years the Melplash Show in West Bay, Bridport has been celebrating the best of agriculture by the sea. This year’s one day farming, food and fun extravaganza takes place on Thursday, 27th August and promises to be bigger and better than ever. Local farmers will be competing in livestock classes while other members of the local community will be vying for prizes in the handicraft, home produce and horticulture classes. There will be entertainment in the main ring and the countryside area as over 400 traders offer a wide range of products and services including the best food and drink.

The Honiton & District Agricultural Association celebrates its 130th year and has exceptional events planned for show day Thursday, 6th August. The Main Ring will be buzzing with Jason Smyth and his Adrenaline Tour and the Rockwood Dog Display team. The event welcomes Taunton Vale Polo Club playing an exhibition match.

For more information - email ofﬁce@melplashshow.co.uk Tel: 01308 423337 or visit www.melplashshow.co.uk

Axe Vale Show in June set for another great day out Axminster’s hugely popular Axe Vale Show on Saturday, 20st June and Sunday 21st June is again set to be a superb family friendly, charity focused, weekend-long event. The Floral and Craft Marquee will be brimming with exciting exhibits plus specialist nurseries with experts ready to share their knowledge. You can also enjoy flower arranging demonstrations and talks from a TV celebrity and a local wine grower from the award-winning Castlewood Winery. Majestic shire horses, gorgeous gundogs and a stunt team add to the entertainment and there will be Punch & Judy, bouncy castles, a dog show and sheep shearing. Tickets at the gate or online www.axevaleshow.com. Plenty of free parking. The Axe Vale Show is a charitable fundraising event for the charity ‘Axe Vale Festival Limited’. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter

Come and explore 16 unique restored Victorian gardens Open weekdays NovMarch: 11-4pm

Open every day April-Oct: 11am-5pm with tearoom Sat, Sun and Bank Hol Mon

A food hall will be promoting local produce and the event will have over 400 trade stands – shopping and interest for all. Admission charges are being held again with advance tickets £14.50. For further details on the show, schedules or details on becoming a member of the association contact the secretary on 01404 41794 or visit www.honitonshow.co.uk

Agricultural Show

Honiton

HILL CLOSE VICTORIAN GARDENS WARWICK

The lower field will incorporate all that is best about country life with hurdle making, thatching, ferret racing, a blacksmith’s guild, 100 vintage tractors and The West of England Hound Show. There is a popular dog show, comprising both pedigree and fun classes for the pet pooch. If chickens are your interest there is a poultry show and sale.

Thursday 6th August 2020 TICKET PRICES HELD - JUST £14.50 IN ADVANCE - CHILDREN FREE

Acts Booked So Far... Jason Smyth's Adrenaline Tour, Exhibition Polo Match, The Rockwood Dog Display, The Sheep Show, Twistopher Punch & Judy, Grand Parade, Livestock, Horses, Vintage Tractors, Poultry & Dog Shows, Over 400 Trade Stands.

Please apply for Trade, Horse and Livestock Schedules Secretary: Marcelle Connor, Bank House, 66a High Street, Honiton, Devon, EX14 1PS info@honitonshow.co.uk www.honitonshow.co.uk

PLANTS / PRODUCE / HIRE / NURSERY Music in the Gardens, Sat 27th June 6-9:30pm FB Pocket Orchestra - Tearoom. Tickets: Adult £15.00 Child £11.50. Book in advance. Art in the Gardens, Sat 22nd August 11am – 4:30pm Summer exhibition of Arts & Crafts with music & workshops. No need to book. Apple Day & Country Fair, Sun 11th October 11-4:30pm Harvest displays, stalls, music, arts & crafts. No need to book.

West Kington Nurseries

THURS 27th AUG WEST BAY, BRIDPORT DT6 4EG

the best of agriculture by the sea

Children 16 years & under go free!!

Tel. 01926 493339 www.hillclosegardens.com

MASSIVE PLANT SALE!

“Probably the largest plant sale in the West!”

• Huge range of plants • Bargain Prices • Professional advice • Refreshments

Garden entry £4.50 Child £1.00 HCGT & RHS Free Access by racecourse to Bread & Meat Close, Warwick CV34 6HF. 2 hrs free parking.

West Kington, Nr Chippenham, Wiltshire SN14 7JQ Tel 01249 782822 www.wknurseries.co.uk

Discounted advanced tickets online

www.melplashshow.co.uk

Country Gardener

APRIL 25th & 26th Saturday 9am-5pm Sunday 10am-4pm

Free Entry

Over £2,700 raised last year for local charities

Our 2020 dates

Rare Plant Fairs 2020 Specialist Plant Fairs in Unique Gardens

Our popular plant fairs are all held in unique and prestigious gardens, a number of which are not frequently open to the public, making a day out at one of our fairs an enjoyable and inspiring experience for everyone, whether a novice or experienced gardener. Our Gardens Each garden has its own unique character, from those with histories stretching back centuries to more modern gardens created in recent years. Our fairs help to support the upkeep of the gardens, some of which are charitable trusts, and in some cases also benefit important local charities. Our Nurseries We carefully select our nurseries to ensure that they are genuine growers, and we choose those that exhibit at each fair so that we can offer the widest possible range of plants to our visitors, including perennials, shrubs and trees, alpines, bulbs and exotic plants. All of our nursery owners are experts in the plants that they grow, and some are National Collection holders. They are all always happy to offer all the advice that you need to select and grow the right plants for your garden. Website: www.rareplantfair.co.uk E-mail: info@rareplantfair.co.uk Tel: 0845 468 1368 Calls to our information line cost 5p/min plus your network access charge.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

22nd March The Bishopâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Palace, Wells, Somerset BA5 2PD 5th April Evenley Wood Garden, Brackley, Northants NN13 5SH 19th April The Old Rectory, Quenington, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5BN 17th May Winterbourne House and Garden, Birmingham B15 2RT 24th May Kingston Bagpuize House, Oxfordshire OX13 5AX 31st May High Glanau Manor, Lydart, Monmouth NP25 4AD 14th June Waterperry Gardens, Wheatley, Oxfordshire OX33 1JZ 21st June Rodmarton Manor, Nr. Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL7 6PF 28th June Sculpture by the Lakes, Nr. Dorchester, Dorset, DT2 8QU 26th July Highnam Court, Nr. Gloucester GL2 8DP 6th September Adwell House, Nr Thame, Oxfordshire OX9 7DQ 13th September The Bishopâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Palace, Wells, Somerset BA5 2PD 20th September Llanover House, Llanover, Nr Abergavenny NP7 9EF The admission fee for each of our fairs is a combined package and includes access to both the fair and gardens. Full details of admission fees and times of opening can be found at our website, together with a complete list of the exhibitors attending the Fairs. Please check all event details before setting out, particularly if travelling some distance to the fair.

COTSWOLD GARDENS AT ELKSTONE

Early season show celebrates Cornwall at its best

Sunday 7th June 2020 2 - 6pm

GET MORE FROM YOUR GARDEN THIS

Visit beautiful private gardens, the Norman church and wild flower meadow, allotments, art exhibition. Enjoy cream teas, homemade cakes or ice creams and enjoy sensational views on a tractor ride.

Spring

Adults £5.00, Children free

Parking included. No dogs please Proceeds help support our church and village hall

‘Cream teas in a beautiful garden - this is England at its very best.’

www.elkstonevillage.com

For the latest garden news, events & advice - don't miss COUNTRY GARDENER

2020 dates 15th March Digby Hall, Sherborne DT9 3AA th

19 April Mapperton Gardens 16th May Yarlington House 20th September Mapperton Gardens

Plantfairs.com 20th - 21st June Saturday 10am 5.30pm Sunday 10am - 5pm

With its successful relocation to the prestigious county showground last year, the popular two day Cornwall Garden Society Spring Flower Show which takes place on Saturday Photo: Charles Francis 4th April and Sunday, 5th is sponsored by Atkins Ferrie Wealth Management and celebrates Cornwall’s early spring on an unprecedented scale. Offering dazzling displays of daffodils, magnolias, camellias and rhododendrons in the competitive classes; floral and botanical art exhibits; show gardens; more than 130 specialist nurseries and traders in the Plant Pavilion and Horticultural Heaven; an Artisan Area for eclectic arts and crafts; a Growing the Future space focusing on the ways in which we can all protect and enhance our natural environment with activities for children, and a Food from Cornwall marquee, the show provides a perfect day out for enthusiastic gardeners and horticultural experts. For further details and ticket information, visit www.cornwallgardensociety.org.uk/springﬂower-show The Royal Cornwall Showground, Wadebridge, Cornwall PL27 7JE

2020 Cornwall Garden Society

A great weekend for all SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL COMMUNITY

Saturday 4th April, 10am - 5pm Sunday 5th April, 10am - 4pm The Royal Cornwall Showground, Wadebridge Advance Bookings:

cornwallgardensociety.org.uk/spring-flower-show Sponsored by

The Showground, Trafalgar Way, Axminster EX13 5RJ Discounted online tickets available now or purchase tickets at the gate

www.axevaleshow.com Charity number: 1130829

The Axe Vale Show is a charitable fundraising event for the charity ‘Axe Vale Festival Limited’ 28

Country Gardener

June opening for Elkstone village gardens Elkstone is one of the highest villages in the Cotswolds, with extraordinarily beautiful limestone houses and cottages, with views across valleys that are often described as breath-taking. There’s the opportunity on Sunday, 7th June from 2pm to 6pm to visit private gardens in the village, the Coronation wild flower meadow, and enjoy the Norman church, There will be cream teas, homemade cakes and ice creams and sensational views on a tractor ride. Adults £5, children free and parking is included. Assistance dogs only in gardens. Elkstone is just off the A417 midway between Gloucester and Cirencester. www.elkstonevillage.com

Hill Close gardens offer a UNIQUE STEP BACK IN TIME Hill Close Gardens are a unique set of Victorian detached gardens set in the heart of Warwick and well worth a visit this spring or summer. They are unique as the only remaining set of Victorian detached gardens open to the public in England. Detached gardens were once plentiful around the towns, villages and cities in England. Visitors can discover their unique history and take a step back in time to 1896 to a point where the gardens have been recreated. Detached gardens have existed here since the 1830’s. There are 16 individual plots of the original 32 overlooking Warwick racecourse and some have brick built summerhouses where you can shelter and find out about the plots previous owners. Hill Close Gardens offer guided tours throughout the year, the sale of both plants from the nursery and produce from the gardens. Visit the website at www.hillclosegardens.com for more information or call on 01926 493339. Hill Close Gardens Trust, Bread and Meat Close Warwick CV34 6HF.

WEST KINGTON NURSERIES PLANT SALE SET FOR LATE APRIL West Kington Nurseries welcomes all to another giant plant sale weekend in support of local charities. The specialist herbaceous and alpine grower, based near Chippenham, will throw open its gates to this popular annual Spring Sale on Saturday, 25th April from 9am to 5pm and Sunday, 26th from 10am to 4pm. Bargain hunters can expect to find a huge selection of great

value perennials and shrubs, plus a selection of bedding plants, on sale at bargain prices. Last year, the sale raised over £2,700 for local charities including Wiltshire Air Ambulance. Refreshments are available and experts will be on hand to answer any plant-related enquiries. Entrance and parking at the event is free. Dogs on leads welcome. West Kington Nurseries, West Kington, Nr Chippenham, Wiltshire. Tel: 01249 782822 www.wknurseries.co.uk

Old Court Nurseries & The Picton Garden The Michaelmas Daisy Specialists since 1906

Order your plants now for delivery in May. ORDER ONLINE or catalogue available by request.

Book now for 2020 Packing Shed Events

SUCCULENT SUCCESS 1/2 DAY WORKSHOPS 14th or 15th June, FERNS FOR BEGINNERS STUDY DAY 27th July & ECOLOGY IN THE GARDEN DAY 'BUGS, GRUBS AND MORE' 24th August. Please get in touch for more details.

Garden Open 14th March 11am-5pm. Admission £4.00 in aid of the NGS

Tel: 01684 540416 www.autumnasters.co.uk Old Court Nurseries, Walwyn Road, Colwall WR13 6QE www.countrygardener.co.uk

HOW TO... A new Country Gardener series providing practical explanations of how to deal with a range of gardening tasks

How to grow apricots in

an English garden Apricots used to be very difﬁcult to grow in Britain unless they were planted right up against a south-facing wall to protect early blossom from frosts. However, Canadian plant breeders have produced coldtolerant varieties capable of fruiting in cooler conditions. Three are generally available in Britain and they all end in 'cot' - 'Tomcot', 'Flavorcot' and 'Goldcot'. The key is pollination. All apricots ﬂower early, often in late-February, when pollinating insects are in short supply so you may have to hand pollinate. Plant in a sunny south or west facing wall or fence or on a container on a sunny patio. You can of course cultivate apricots in a greenhouse. They favour well-drained soil but don’t like to be too dry especially in the summer. The soil should be well cultivated. Clear away all perennial weeds because the

last thing you want is added competition when your trees are in settled, and growing. Apricots are vigorous growers and you may ﬁnd the root system larger than that of other trees. The grafting point should sit above the soil level and the roots buried in not less than two inches of soil.

HOW DO I PRUNE DIFFERENT APPLE TREES? Apple trees trained as free-standing bushes are best pruned every winter up until early March to ensure a good cycle of fruiting wood. Trees that are not pruned become less productive and congested with old branches. The aim is to create an open goblet shape with a framework of four to ﬁve main branches.

It is wise to prune soon after planting; the main leader should be shortened by about a third of it’s current length and any side shoots reduced to three inches. Apricots hate being dry at the roots. Soak the soil with a hose, applied at the roots, in early morning. Be prepared to cover your tree when its in flower if frost is forecast. A fleece blanket is ideal. It’s a really good idea to pollinate the fruit by tickling the flowers to spread the pollen around. A rabbit’s tail was the traditional tool, but a soft paintbrush also works. Go from one flower to the next.

So cut out the three ‘D’s’ - dead, dying and diseased wood. Cut out any crossing branches to prevent them from rubbing which can provide access points for disease. Prune ﬂush with the branch collar, but not into it. On young trees remove a quarter to a third of new growth to allow the branches to thicken. Open the centre of the tree by removing larger branches at point of origin with a sharp pruning saw. If several large branches need to be removed, spread the work over two or three winters as very hard pruning encourages even more vigorous regrowth. Always use sharp secateurs, loppers and a pruning saw; blunt tools leads to strains and tatty pruning cuts.

Country Gardener

How to build a bug hotel Collect all the materials you are going to use to build your hotel. These can include pallets, bricks, old terracotta pots and plenty of soil and leaves. In preparation you could enjoy a scavenger hunt to ﬁnd the best materials. Depending on what insects you’re hoping to encourage into the garden, you should place the hotel in different locations. Some insects prefer cooler damper conditions, with other insects such as bees preferring the sun. Also make sure it’s not near a vegetable patch if you’re hoping to eat out of the garden this summer! Place the hotel in an area which can also be surrounded by wildﬂowers to give another reason to encourage bugs. Lay bricks on the ground to create a sturdy base, but make sure you leave gaps between them so the insects can crawl up. Then start creating some height by

adding palettes and more bricks, depending on the size of the hotel you want to build. Fill in the gaps with smaller materials, such as dead wood, tubes, stones and tiles to create beds and spaces for insects to hide. Having different areas ﬁlled with different materials means that you will enjoy a wide variety of visitors. This is integral to ensuring the hotel stays stable and doesn’t tip over, whilst also keeping it dry to help the sheltering bugs. You could use old rooﬁng tiles or pack it tightly with rubble and soil.. Insects won’t come to the hotel straight away. It’ll take a while for it to be discovered and for them to make it their home, but don’t be disheartened. Bug hotels will have more residents during warmer months, and at night-time, so you may not see all the visitors during the day.

How to give your soil a pre spring new lease of life The winter months will have damaged your soil. Seemingly endless rain will have washed away nutrients and the start of every new season the soil needs some remedial action. But first things first-make sure you know what type of soil you have. Soil tests are an indispensable and vital garden tool and you will need to adapt your plan depending on what soil you have. Spring brings a flurry of underground activity that we can’t see. Billions of soil organisms stretch and yawn, exploding into existence. It’s this living soil below ground that helps gardens thrive above ground by recycling nutrients, capturing water, improving soil tilth, and fighting pests and disease.

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Digging and forking through the soil allows you to loosen any compaction, remove weeds and debris as well as providing the perfect opportunity to add the organic matter.

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Add home-made garden compost, bagged compost or well-rotted manure. As a rule, add a minimum ﬁve centimetre layer of organic matter over the surface before digging or forking it in.

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As the garden wakes up in spring, so do the weeds. Before planting, get them under control.

Of all the essential plant nutrients, nitrogen deserves special mention. Though a living soil will continue to recycle and retain most other mineral nutrients, nitrogen is often in short supply, even after years of soil building.

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Before planting every year, ensure sufﬁcient nitrogen by counting all the sources you’ve added. Organic fertilisers, such as blood, seed, or feather meal, are sources of concentrated nitrogen. Manures or green grass clippings, incorporated as amendments, provide nitrogen as well. Compost, on the other hand, does not supply enough garden nitrogen. While compost is great for improving overall soil health, additional nitrogen sources are needed. www.countrygardener.co.uk

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Pygmy Pinetum NURSERY & GARDENS Come and enjoy our lovely garden full of early spring bulbs and perennials

Hellebores

Hardy Perennials and Alpines

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A lovely new range in bud and flower. Bare root and potted, including David Austin roses

Bare root hedging

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Summer flowering Bulb Collection and fresh Spring Bedding Cannop Crossroads, Nr Speech House, Royal Forest of Dean, Glos. Tel: 01594 833398

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DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD... MOTHERING SUNDAY 22ND MARCH

Great gift ideas including houseplants & planted containers • Seeds, bulbs & baby bedding plants • Seed potatoes & onion sets • Home grown bedding plants, cottage garden plants, shrubs & trees • Plant, lawn & garden care products • Specialist bird care • Specialist composts, decorative gravels & pots

Gretton Road, Gotherington, Cheltenham GL52 9QY  01242 676722 www.gotheringtonnurseries.co.uk  info.gotheringtonnurseries@talktalkbusiness.net

“Picked up a cop y of your September issue yesterday. I have to say that it was easily the best free magazine of its type I have ever read. Congrat ulat ions on such a great publicat ion.”

1 mile from Prescott Hill Climb. Open Mon-Sat: 9am-5pm Sun: 10am-4pm

taurus crafts

“I had the opportunity of reading it from cover to cover. It’s a real gem and I look forward to ever y issue. Thanks to all your team for their input and what must be one of the best magazines around.”

A showcase of creativity where you can eat, shop, and unwind. Taurus Crafts, Lydney, Forest of Dean, GL15 6BU www.tauruscrafts.co.uk 01594 844841 32

Country Gardener

Moles - LIVE AND LET LIVE?

WILDLIFE

Are moles causing havoc in your garden? Country Gardener reader and avid mole watcher James Lockett puts the argument for their defence. I am going to argue that while is no doubt moles can cause gardeners anguish, they deserve our respect and, as often as we can offer it, our tolerance. They are mighty, mysterious and resilient, so learn to live with the occasional visitation if you can. Take advantage of the spoil of perfectly sifted topsoil they leave on the surface because makes a good base for potting compost. There is so much to learn — and value — about the extraordinary little animal that lives beneath those annoying piles of soil. Moles share features with the earliest ancestors of mammals, the shrew-like animals that scurried from beneath the feet of dinosaurs, and they are tremendously successful. In mainland Britain there are an estimated 31 million moles — a ﬁgure to give gardeners recurring nightmares. Our species, the European mole, Talpa europaea, is one of 39 in the northern hemisphere. Despite their abundance they remain one of our leastknown wild animals. Small, at around 100g, and living underground, moles reluctantly give up their secrets.

among mammals, the females have ‘ovotestes’: a combination of ovary, which produces eggs and testicular tissue. The sexes stay together for only an hour or so, and soon afterwards females resume their solitary lives. Moles – mighty, In mid-April in southern mysterious and resilient England to late June in Scotland, three or four babies are born in warm, underground nests of dry grass, and spend their first four weeks sleeping, and drinking their mother’s milk. The young moles leave home and set off to find their own territories, risking starvation, traffic and prowling foxes. Sixty-four per cent of youngsters never live to see their first birthday. Only a lucky few reach the maximum age of seven. The mole is, as many of us know to our cost, an accomplished digger.

I suspect that’s one reason why, unlike hedgehogs, the mole - save for that affectionate portrait in The Wind In The Willows - does not enjoy a secure place in a gardeners’ affections.

Try to admire for a moment the small animals that produced it. Moles work for four and half hours a day in winter, when the soil is harder, and take about an hour to dig one metre.

I believe that moles are one of the most remarkable animals on earth. They have broad, spade-like hands armed with thick, earth-scraping nails and a fringe of stiff hairs to sweep soil.

Having dug the soil, moles have to get it out of their tunnels, and the only way is to push it onto the surface via sloping shafts.

The shoulders are so powerful that they can exert a sideways pressure 24 times their body weight. A natural engineer, the mole’s life is largely one of hardworking solitude. The 19th-century English rural poet, John Clare, called it ‘the little hermit’. Both male and female moles are solitary and strongly territorial - and are very difﬁcult to tell apart. Uniquely

Painful though the thought is of molehills for devoted gardeners, moles contribute to the health of the soil, turning it, draining it and mixing its nutrients, while their molehills are nurseries for wild ﬂowers. Consequently, moles remain a target in Britain even though on a national scale moles are really more of an annoyance than a pest. I rest my case.

‘A NATURAL ENGINEER, THE MOLE’S LIFE IS LARGELY ONE OF HARD-WORKING SOLITUDE’. www.countrygardener.co.uk

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

garden advice A new growing season is almost upon us and we’ve been able to dip into our postbag of readers' queries to offer help and guidance on a whole range of gardening problems

We have a lot of mature trees in our Dorset garden and I am always a bit frustrated that under these trees there is very little colour. What are therefore the best options to plant in these inhospitable situations?

Tim Sandall Lyme Regis Among the best is the evergreen Geranium macrorrhizum Ingwersen’s Variety’ which can colour up well in autumn and which has lilac pink flowers in summer. It makes effective ground cover even in the dry shaded areas. Vigorous Galium odoratum is ideal ground cover under trees. Epimedium pinnatum is another excellent performer where there is shade and little soil depth and which provides lovely summer and autumn flowers.

Magnolia stellata

Crab apple

Prunus ‘The Bride’

I have a newish garden which isn’t big but gives the opportunity to plant some new ornamental trees and I’d like something which really announces the arrival of spring with plenty off bold colour and blossom. I tried to get some advice our local garden centre but they weren’t a great deal of help.

David Coulton Cheltenham Species such as crab apple (Malus), ornamental cherries (Prunus), lilacs (Syringa) and magnolias will all light up the garden in spring and can be kept in check and not overpower a small garden. Specific choice could include: • Magnolia stellata ‘Jane Platt’ a gorgeous tree with rick pink blooms which flowers early and grows to no more than three metres. • Malus ‘Gorgeous’ is a vibrant crab apple with pink flowers which open white and come into full life in mid spring. This grows to between six and eight metres. • Prunus ‘The Bride’ is a pure white blossom which totally covers the tree and looks sensational, flowering in mid spring and growing to three to four metres. Clockwise from left: Gallium odoratum; Geranium macrorrhizum; Epimedium pinnatum Cut back rosemary by two thirds in spring

We have two substantial rosemary bushes at the bottom of the steps down to the garden which look very unruly. I’ve been told that if I cut them back there’s a danger of killing the shrubs off. Is this likely to be a real problem?

Sophie Morgan Barnstable Unpruned plants can very easily becoming leggy and out of control but it shouldn’t be a problem to prune and tidy them up. Rosemaries are not the longest-lived plants, often declining in vigour after ten years and it may be that old tired and neglected plants may be best replaced but overgrown shrubs that are still vigorous can often be renovated by cutting back all stems by at least two thirds in spring. 34

Country Gardener

Last spring I tried forcing my three rhubarb plants to get some early fruit but ended up with very thin pencil like sticks which was very disappointing. I have been told that there are specific cultivars which are ideal for forcing and that not all varieties can be forced.

Some rhubarb varieties are better than others for being ‘forced’

Matthew Clarke Painswick It may be that your efforts to force the rhubarb allowed water in and the plants became waterlogged. It is important when you cover rhubarb with an upturned pot to make sure the water doesn’t get in. For the most part all varieties should respond to being forced by covering the crown in January and February with a layer of straw and then anything which will exclude the light. Stems should be ready in about three weeks. And yes, there are some varieties which are known to respond better to being forced and these include ‘ Champagne’ which is a prolific grower and ‘Timperley Early’ which is a heavy cropper but can be susceptible to frost.

I’d like to grow onions from seeds this spring but for the last couple of years my efforts have failed and the seedlings have barely grown and then failed.

Malcolm Taylor Swindon Onions should be easy to grow from seed. It may be that your efforts failed because of the quality of the soil or the position they were sowed in. Onions really do need

a well-lit position to thrive in. Seedlings also need the benefit of soil that has been enriched with generous amounts of organic matter. They are unlikely to take off if there are any deficiencies in the soil. Sow seeds in March and April in seed compost but when you transfer then move to quality soil to get the best results.

My hellebores which are normally such a delight in early spring have for the past two years been badly affected by black distorted leaves and mildew which has been a real disappointment as these flowers are some of the first to appear in the garden in spring. Should I start again or is there a remedy?

Hungry deers will eat almost anything

Annie Hilton Taunton You have been very unlucky as hellebores are normally trouble free. The black leaves you mention have been affected by something called ‘ Black death’ which sounds very dramatic and sadly is -and is a virus which results in stems, leaves and even flowers becoming distorted with black streaking. The disease is thought to have come from an aphid called Macrosiphum hellebori which is specific to these plants. There is no cure and all you can do is destroy affected plants and neighbouring plants may be affected. The mildew sounds like a different problem and is caused by a fungus and again this is a fatal disease so it is perhaps best to dig up everything clear the area and plant new hellebores elsewhere in the garden something different.

'Black death' on hellebores - rare but fatal when it appears

Is there such a thing as deer resistant planting? Two sides of our garden back on to open fields where they are covers for local shoots and deer hide in them and then enter the garden. I could of course erect an eight-foot high fence but wonder if there were more horticultural options.

Pamela Houghton Petersfield Deer will eat almost anything. You could consider spraying new plants with a deterrent spray based on aluminium ammonium sulphate such as ‘Vitax Stay Off’. This could give up to five weeks protection. Delphiniums, hellebores and jasmine tend not be eaten by deer – also berberis, cotoneaster, eucalyptus all scored high in a survey carried out by the RHS two years ago into deer resistant species.

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JOBS FOR THE MONTH

10 essential jobs to get on with in early spring

Plant summer flowering bulbs While it may feel too early in the year to be thinking about summer, March is the perfect time to plant summer flowering bulbs that will provide beautiful colour and interest over the warmer months ahead.

Start to attack weeds Weeds will start to appear in greater numbers as we switch from winter to spring. It is particularly important to remove them when they are hindering the growth of your plants, which they do by forcing them to compete for nutrients and water.

Bulbs to plant this month include gladiolus such as the hot-pink ‘Charming Beauty’ variety, dahlias that explode into vibrant warm colours, and exquisite and delightful lilies. Get your lilies planted as soon as they are purchased or they will quickly dehydrate and perish.

Pick a day when the ground is dry and use a hoe, running it between rows of plants to kill any invasive seedlings and established weeds.

Begonias are another option that provide long-lasting colour in the summer garden. Ensure the likelihood of frosts has passed before planting out.

Hoeing brings the seedlings to the top of the soil, where they dry out and die.

Do not throw the weed seedlings into your compost heap, as they may come back to haunt you when applied to the garden.

Get onion sets in the ground Plant out onion sets, shallots and garlic before they start to produce shoots. If you are buying any from garden centres reject any that are shooting they will only bolt during the summer. Transplant any onions that were grown from seed sown last summer into rows. It is best to treat these as a sacrificial crop to be harvested and used from August onwards.

Time for some cautious sowing

As soon as the soil reaches 6°C you can start to sow directly outside. Sweet peas and broad beans can be sown first, and though the first of the salad can go in now you get better results if you warm the ground first with plastic or cloches. Early sowings of mustard, rocket and cut-and-come-again salad are some of the most delicious mouthfuls of the year, so seize the moment if it looks like the weather is with us and the month is kind. Begonias are another option that provide long-lasting colour in the summer garden. Ensure the likelihood of frosts has passed before planting out.

Country Gardener

5 6

Give your trees some TLC If you planted trees this winter, give them some care now. Check tree stakes and ties, put rabbit guards in place where necessary, and keep them weed free and well watered, particularly through drier periods.

Don’t put off pruning roses

Divide perennials

Dividing perennials regularly will ensure healthy, vigorous plants that will continue to perform year after year. It also offers the opportunity to multiply your plants.

Late winter February or March is a good time for pruning roses. Cuts should be no more than five mm above a bud and should slope downwards away from it, so that water does not collect on the bud. This applies to all cuts, whether removing dead wood, deadheading or annual pruning. Cut to an outward-facing bud to encourage an open-centred shape. With roses of spreading habit, prune some stems to inward-facing buds to encourage more upright growth. Cuts must be clean, so keep your secateurs sharp.

Most perennials benefit from division every two to three years to maintain health and vigour. If you want to increase the number of plants you have by dividing them, the task can be done more regularly.

On established roses, cut out poorly flowering old wood and saw away old dead stubs. With the exception of climbing roses and shrub roses, prune all newly planted roses hard to encourage vigorous shoots.

Clematis cutback time

February and early March is the time to tackle pruning Clematis Groups 2 and 3. If your plant is in Group 2, which is characterised by large flowers that appear in mid summer, it only needs a light prune. If it is group 3 and flowers from mid to late summer you can give it a harder prune. To help you remember make a note that if it ‘flowers before June, don’t prune!

9 Give alpines some love As alpines start to flower, it’s a good moment to give them some love. They are martyrs to rot, so remove dead leaves from around the bases and add a handful of gravelly chippings to keep them away from wet soil.

Make early use of the greenhouse or polytunnel If you have invested in a greenhouse, you can begin to fill it by sowing tender vegetables, such as aubergines, chillies, cucumbers and tomatoes, which will grow for the whole summer under glass.

You can also direct sow carrots, beetroots or turnips, radishes and a range of leafy salad crops, though in March these may need to be covered to allow the temperatures to climb high enough for germination in more northerly reaches of the UK. Again, consider what you want to have in the greenhouse or polytunnel in the summer months and whether you have time to sneak in a quick spring crop before heat-lovers take over the space.

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READERS STORY

‘Get rid of weeds the proper way’ Country Gardener reader Ian Markey pleads with fellow gardeners to stick with their organic principles this spring and as the weeds start to appear turn to hard work and not chemicals ‘I love your magazine and have been an avid reader for many years. For some time I’ve been wanting to share with you my experiences in becoming an organic gardener and with it a plea on dealing with weeds. ‘When the weeds start to appear over the next few weeks get rid of them the organic way’. I’m going to have a rant about all this. I spent some time looking at how to cope with weeds on my two acre Somerset plot and friends told me I had to use chemicals. It was the only way they said. Quick and effective. But the winter before this one I spent some long evenings doing research for myself and ﬁnding out what was best not just for me but for the wildlife and what threat chemicals really posed. It can’t have escaped your notice that wildlife is in trouble. The reasons are complex and they include loss of habitat and climate change. The use of pesticides in gardens target small invertebrates that sustain lots of creatures including birds and many small mammals. Spraying for aphids and ﬂea beetles, for instance, has a knock-on effect on other creatures such as ladybirds and spiders. Many plants on garden centre benches, bearing the logo ‘I’m bee friendly’, have been found to have been sprayed with neonicotinoids so they’re not bee-friendly at all, quite the opposite. At the moment there’s a lot of controversy about glyphosate, which is sold under the tradename Roundup. This weed killer contains a cocktail of different chemicals and the claim is that it’s 1,000 times more toxic than pure glyphosate. As an organic gardener I wouldn’t go within a mile of Roundup. What about pernicious weeds when it seems many gardeners are saying it is the only option. All I would say is that it is found in the soil and sediments in cooler climates, and that includes the UK, for up to three years. Amphibians are thought to be affected by Roundup and common frog numbers have dropped because they come into contact with the chemical when they’re on the ground. The common toad is said by the charity Froglife to be declining rapidly. Glyphosate 38

is water soluble and has had significant effects on species that underpin the entire aquatic food chain so amphibians are very vulnerable. Birdlife is impacted when this chemical is used on weeds and wildflower because many seed-eating birds find themselves short of food. It isn’t all gloom and doom! Wildlife can come back if we ordinary gardeners do things properly and thankfully many of us are.

Before you get rid of any weeds, ask yourself whether it’s necessary because over tidy gardens are not good for wildlife. A wild, sunny corner with some nettles will help butterﬂies. To start with don’t see weeding as a chore - little and often is the way. If paths and paving cause particular problems try to ensure that gaps between paving slabs are ﬁlled with mortar rather than sand. Gravelled areas can be problematic, but there are weed-burning torches, powered by butane canisters, that scorch away weeds. You can also use boiling water, although this will harm wildlife. Mulching also helps to suppress weeds because many of them need to be exposed to the light to germinate. Try not to disturb the soil in spring because you will get a rash of weed seedlings. Should this happen a small hoe will remove them. More pernicious weeds need to be dug out and worried on a regular basis. In my raised beds the weeds have started to appear. Brambles are already spreading, stinging nettles are appearing everywhere. There’s couchgrass, dock, dandelions, my number one enemy ground elder, bindweed and many more set to make an appearance. But know your enemy. Find out how they spread and how they thrive and start the campaign The battle in the garden is about to start up again. But please it’s not always easy but elbow grease is better than ruining wildlife’.

Country Gardener

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TIME TO GROW SOME

medicinal trees! Have you ever wondered about growing medicinal trees or shrubs? Holt Wood Herbs is a Devon project exploring ways to sustainably cultivate and harvest medicinal trees and shrubs. It was started some 15 years ago by a medical herbalist and her partner, and is now a flourishing medicinal forest garden. This year they are offering courses to pass on some of their experience in growing and making remedies using medicinal trees and shrubs. The Holt Wood project is near Great Torrington in Devon. The project has shown how a redundant area of conifer plantation can be transformed into a forest garden using permaculture design principles. It was established in 2005, with planting of over 1000

trees, both native and introduced species. In addition to foods and fuel, a wide range of plants are grown and harvested for herbal remedies and body care products. The use of coppicing and pollarding keeps some plants to manageable size and offers advantages from prolonging the life of trees to supporting a diversity of ground level vegetation and wildlife. Holt Wood Herbs are offering courses in design and harvest in the medicinal forest garden in May and June 2020. Each course is based on a small group so that detailed practical advice is possible, and the cost for all handouts and materials including refreshments is £85. A weekend course is also available.

‘DESIGNING THE MEDICINAL FOREST GARDEN’ DAY COURSE Thursday 14 May 2020 Discover the uses of medicinal trees and shrubs and how you can grow them in small or large gardens. ‘HARVESTING FROM A MEDICINAL FOREST GARDEN’ DAY COURSE Thursday 28 May 2020 Learn about harvesting and preparing herbal remedies from medicinal trees and shrubs. Full details and online booking are at www.holtwoodherbs.com or call on 01363 777531 www.countrygardener.co.uk

TIME OFF

Diary events from clubs and organisations

around the Cotswolds COMPILED BY KATE LEWIS Our hugely popular Time Oﬀ section is a regular free opportunity for gardening clubs, associations, societies and organisations to publicise their events to Country Gardener readers. Here’s a selection of gardening events to look out for during the next few weeks throughout the Cotswolds. If you are a garden club or association looking to promote an event then please send us details at least eight weeks before publication and we will publicise it free of charge. Make sure you let us know where the event is being held, the date and include a contact telephone number. We are always keen to support events and we will be glad to publicise talks, meetings and shows held during the year where clubs want to attract a wider audience, but we do not have space for club outings or parties. It is much easier for us if garden clubs could send us their diary for the year for events to be included in the relevant issue of the magazine. Please send to Country Gardener Magazines, Mount House, Halse, Taunton TA4 3AD or by email to timeoff@countrygardener.co.uk We take great care to ensure that details are correct at the time of going to press but we advise readers to check wherever possible before starting out on a journey as circumstances can force last minute changes. All NGS open gardens can be found on www.ngs.org.uk or in the local NGS booklet available at many outlets.

February

March

20TH

1ST

Bidford on Avon and District Gardening Society ‘PERSONAL TOUCHES’ – ROB COLE Details on 01789 268974

Black Pear Gardening Club ‘GLOUCESTERSHIRE NGS’ – COLIN OLLIE

Newent Gardening Club ‘BULBS FOR THE UNUSUAL’ – ROSS BARBOUR Details on 01531 820922

24TH Lower Broadheath Gardening Society ‘BLACKSMITHING’ – TONY INGARFIELD

25TH Hereford and District Fuchsia Association ‘CURIOUS VEGETABLES’ – BILL LAWS Details on 01432 2655744

26TH Beckford and District Garden Club ‘A PASSION FOR SEED’ – ROB COLE Details on 01386 881895 Clows Top & District Gardening Club MONTHLY MEETING Details on 01299 270475 Wickhamford Gardening Club ‘CLIMBERS AND SHRUBS’ Details on 01386 831002

27TH Downton Horticultural Society ‘HILLIER’S GARDENS’ – JOHN COOMBES Details on 01725 511475 Hucclecote Horticultural Society ‘GARDENING TIPS FOR SPRING’ – JON MASON Details on 01452 543573

28TH Severnside Cottage Garden Society ‘DIGGING FOR VICTORY’ – FIONA WARIN 42

2ND Wyche and Colwall Horticultural Society ‘STUMPERIES’ – ANDREW TOLMAN www.wychecolwallhorticulturalsoc.wordpress.com Wilmcote Garden Club ‘VEGETABLE GROWING IN CONTAINERS AND SMALL SPACES’ – JOHN GUEST Details on 01789 299721

4TH North Oxfordshire Organic Gardeners ‘ANCIENT WOODLANDS IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE’ – JOHN HEATHCOTT Details on 01295 780710

5TH Churchdown Horticultural Society ‘A FOREST WALK FROM YOUR ARMCHAIR’ - FOREST OF DEAN & WYE VALLEY TOUR GUIDE Details on 01452 856951 Ettington Gardening Club ‘LATE SUMMER COLOUR’ – JULIE RITCHIE Details on 07748 137395

7TH Cottage Garden Society ‘HOSTAS, THE VERSATILE HERBACEOUS PERENNIAL’ – ROBERT BARLOW Details on 01564 783475

9TH Dodford Gardening Club ‘HIDCOTE: A GARDEN CREATED BY LAWRENCE JOHNSTON’ – DUNCAN COOMBES Details on 07706 153618 Country Gardener

Malmesbury & District Garden Club ‘GARDEN PLANTS AND THEIR POLLINATORS’ – NICK WRAY Details on 01666 823093

Tredington and Stoke Orchard ‘EXTENDING THE SEASON OF YOUR GARDEN’ – VICTORIA LOGUE Details on 01242 680082

10TH

Warwickshire Group of the Alpine Garden Society ‘USA CALIFORNIA’ – JO AND BRIAN WALKER Details on 0121 7443129

Slimbridge Gardening Club ‘HISTORY OF DAFFODILS’ – BARRY STAGG www.slimbridgeegc.plus.com

17TH

Cricklade Garden Club ‘NORAH LYNDSAY’S LEGACY’ INCLUDING HIDCOTE MANOR AND CLIVEDEN’ – JESS JONES www.crickladegardenclub.org.uk

11TH

Wotton Gardening Club ‘FIFTEEN YEARS IN CHINA’ – JONATHAN KING Details on 01453 766104 Gloucestershire Organic Gardening Group ‘FRUIT IN THE SMALL GARDEN’ – GEORGE ALWAYS Details on 07800 541277

Lechlade Gardening Club ‘21ST CENTURY GARDENING’ - TIMOTHY WALKER, FORMER DIRECTOR UNIV.OXFORD BOTANIC GARDEN & HARCOURT ARBORETUM Lechlade Memorial Hall, 7.30pm.

18TH

Blakeney Garden Club ‘BEYOND THE GARDEN GATE’ - MANDY BRADSHAW Details on 01594 510706

Chipping Norton Horticultural Association ‘POTAGERS’ – CHRISSY CHING Details on 01608 643275

Chaddesley Corbet Gardeners Club ‘WILDLIFE IN THE GARDEN’ – JIM ALMOND

Cookhill Garden Club ‘CLIMBING, TWINING AND OTHER WALL SHRUBS’ – HOWARD DRURY

Ruspidge Gardening Club ‘WHAT’S IN COMPOST’ – ANDY PENDRICK Details on 01594 781449 Shipston and District Gardening Club ‘GUYS CLIFFE WALLED GARDEN’ – SARAH RIDGWAY Details on 01608 666933 North Worcestershire Fuchsia Society ‘FLOWER-DECKED DIAMOND JUBILEE ROYAL BARGE’ – BRENDA CRUMP Details on 01905 640777

12TH Cheltenham Horticultural Society ‘PENSTEMONS AND OTHER SUMMER SUN LOVERS’ – JLUIE RITCHIE Details on 01242 691135

13TH

Berkeley Gardening Club AGM & TALK Details on 01453 810607

Mickleton Gardening Club ‘FRUIT TREES’ – REG MOLE Details on 01386 438696

19TH Bidford on Avon & District Gardening Society ‘GARDENING FOR BEES’ – ALLAN WELLS Details on 01789 268974 Newent Gardening Club ‘GARDENING FOR BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS’ – SUE SMITH Details on 01531 820922 Village Garden Club of Sevenhampton & District ‘ENCOURAGING WILDLIFE IN THE GARDEN’ – NATALIE MIGNOTTE Details on 01242 821018

24TH

Blackmore Vale Bonsai Group MONTHLY MEETING Details on 01747 853475

Hale and Woodgreen Horticultural Society ‘THE WINTER GARDEN’ – ANDY MANINDOE

14TH

25TH

Hardy Plant Society, Herefordshire and Mid-Wales Group ‘GETTING THE BEST FROM YOUR ROSES’ – MICHAEL MARRIOTT Details on 01544 262795

Beckford Garden Club ‘THE POWER OF GARDENING’ - MALC MOLLAT Details on 01386 882661

Hardy Plant Society, West Midlands Group ‘IRISES FOR THE NATURAL GARDEN’ – JILL & ALUN WHITEHEAD Details on 07920 0003760

16TH Abbeydale Garden Club ‘POT PLANTS IN THE HOME’ – NICK MORGAN Details on 01452 611868 Newnham Garden Club HANDS ON PROPAGATION DEMONSTRATION BY ANDY PENDRICK Details on 01594 517146 www.countrygardener.co.uk

STOCKISTS OF COUNTRY GARDENER Cotswolds Country Gardener is available free of charge throughout the area at the outlets listed below where we have included postcodes to make it easier for you to find them. You’ll find those highlighted in green advertising in this issue. For amendments to details or deliveries please email distribution@countrygardener.co.uk Alcester The Hiller Garden, B49 5PD Berkeley Kitts Green Nurseries, GL13 9PW Birdwood The Fairview Gardener, GL2 8AR Bisley The Green Shop, GL6 7BX Bloxham Bloxham Nursery, OX15 5EE Bourton-on-the-Hill Bourton House Gardens, GL56 9AE Bristol Henleaze Garden Shop, BS9 4NB Broadway Snowshill Manor NT, WR12 7JU Buscot Buscot Park NT, SN7 8BU Charlecote Charlecote Garden Store, CV35 9ER Charlecote Park NT, CV35 9ER Cheltenham Cheltenham Garden Machinery, GL50 3HU Dundry Nursery & Garden Centre, GL51 6SL Shurdington Nurseries, GL51 4TX Valley Roundabout Nurseries, GL51 6SJ Webbs Garden Centre, GL50 4SJ Chipping Campden Hidcote Manor Garden NT, GL55 6LR Tourist Information Centre, GL55 6HB Chipping Norton Applegarth Nurseries, OX7 5SY Cirencester Cerney House Gardens, GL7 7BX Dobbies Garden World, GL7 6EU Coleford Pygmy Pinetum Garden Nursery, GL16 7EQ Cotheridge Laylocks Garden Centre, WR6 5LP Earl’s Croome Nuyard Country & Garden Centre WR8 9DA

Evesham Castle Nurseries Farm Shop, WR11 7RN Chadbury Farm Shop, WR11 4TD Cotswold Garden Flowers, WR11 7EZ Ellenden Farm Shop, WR11 8LU Evesham Garden Centre, WR11 4TP Goll’s Nursery & Aquatics, WR11 8SN Farnborough Farnborough Garden Centre, OX17 1EL Gloucester Brockworth Garden Centre, GL3 4PU Dobbies Garden Centre, GL10 3DP Highfield Garden World, GL2 7PB Norton Garden Centre, GL2 9PU Gotherington Gotherington Nurseries, GL52 9QY Great Rollright

NEW

Wyatt’s Garden Centre, OX7 5SH

Highworth Highworth Hardware, SN6 7AG Huntley Forest Products, GL19 3EY Leaf Creative GL14 3EX Iron Acton Iron Acton Garden Centre, BS37 9XA Ledbury Newent Plant Centre @ Little Verzons Farm, HR8 2PZ Lower Slaughter The Old Mill, GL54 2HX Lydney Coinros Gardeners’ Nursery, GL15 6BU Malmesbury Foxley Road Nurseries, SN16 0JQ Malmesbury Garden Centre, SN16 9JL Malvern Grange Farm Nursery, WR13 6NT Time Off: Kate Lewis timeoff@countrygardener.co.uk

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Magazines Editorial

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Country Gardener

All a matter of taste Coriander is an easy to grow annual herb with a distinctive ﬂavour and all parts of the plant including seeds, roots and stems can be used in cooking

Coriander in brief

• Coriander ‘Calypso’ and ‘Lesiure’ are the best to grow. The tiny pungent leaves of coriander make a pretty clump of fresh green in either a sunny or partially shaded position in the garden. A hardy annual relative of parsley, plants are grown for their leaves or their ribbed brown seeds.

• Sow from late March to early September. • Ideal for pots or troughs but tap roots can be 25cms deep so make sure they have room. • Germination takes up to three weeks. • Re-sow every three weeks for all year round supply.

The herb has a bit of a reputation as being one of those ‘love it or hate’ additions to the garden but it is easy to grow and has a very distinctive ﬂavour. Coriander (Coriander sativum) is grown throughout the world and has many common names; Chinese parsley, yuen sai, pak shee, fragrant green. The word ‘cilantro’ is the Spanish translation and in both North and South America this is what the herb goes by. It is a tender annual herb related to the carrot family. The main medicinal use for coriander is to treat loss of appetite and dyspeptic complaints. It is good for the digestive system and for reducing ﬂatulence.

Sow

Seeds can be started in well-prepared soil outdoors or sown in pots ﬁlled with multi-purpose compost in early summer. Sow seeds thinly and cover lightly. Germination takes between seven to 20 days.

Grow

Keep soil and compost damp, but avoid overwatering. Dry soil or compost can cause plants to bolt or ﬂower prematurely. Plants do not normally need feeding.

Seeds ripen in early autumn and when collected and dried can be used in curries

• Harvest when the leaves are big and robust.

Harvesting Pick leaves when young and very green. Plants grown for seeds should be allowed to send up long stalks carrying airy sprays of dainty white blooms, followed by peppercorn-size seeds. Pick when ripe, just before they start to fall to the ground. Cut entire stems and allow to dry on paper. When fully dry, store in airtight containers. Seeds can be used whole or ground to a coarse powder with a pestle and mortar.

Uses

The leaves of coriander can be picked as required from spring through to late summer while the leaves are still small and before ﬂowering starts. Add to dishes just before serving as it tends to go slimy when cooked for too long. The leaves go well with salads, spicy dishes and salsas. The roots- much neglected and often thrown away but coriander roots have a strong bittersweet taste, which makes them ideal for curries and stews.

Sow coriander where you intend to grow it as it hates being moved. www.countrygardener.co.uk

Coriander in full summer ﬂower – aromatic and slightly scented. 45

FLOWER OF THE MONTH - MARCH

NIGELLA

‘Love-in-a-Mist’ Nigella, also known as love-in-a-mist due to the light green, fine threadlike bracts that form the mist around the beautiful blue flowers, is a lovely old fashioned annual. Nigella has been almost ever present in English cottage gardens since Elizabethan times. It is a favourite for scattering wherever there is a gap in the flower border, but also good for short-term massed bedding and for drying. For many years ‘Miss Jekyll’ was the only widely available variety, and it is still popular for its dependable masses of sky-blue flowers. Nigella damascene ‘Blue Stars’ charming single blue star shaped flowers

These last for about eight weeks, and it is worth deadheading or sowing a later batch to extend the season. Sowing ideally in March, in a cold frame in paper pots in cold districts, produces early ﬂowers. As Love-in-a-Mist’s name implies, this old-fashioned annual has lovely ﬂowers that appear to be encased in a delicate misty web of bracts.

Nigella damascene ‘African Bride’

Ever present in English cottage gardens

It is easy to start by sowing seeds directly into the soil in the spring but also rewards the garden during the cool months with interesting ﬂowers to cut. And if you can resist the urge to harvest, you get quirky seed pods when summer starts heating up. Love-in-a-Mist grows upright to heights of from one to two feet and produces ﬂowers in cooling shades of white, blue, pink and purple.

Nigella is the perfect annual to sow over spring bulbs. Instead of unattractive bare spaces after bulbs ﬁnish blooming, you will see “love” in their place. 46

Country Gardener

KEEP IT ALIVE Love-in-a-Mist is a prolific re-seeder. One packet will start your obsession and then you can redeem your rewards for years to come. Harvest the seed pods while still firm and before they split open; hang upside down in a cool, dark place. In the spring, sow your seeds about a quarter of an inch deep in a spot that gets full to part sun and keep the soil moist until sprouts appear in from two to three weeks. After it gets going, this annual takes average to little water. It does not transplant well because of its long taproot; sow Delightful as seeds directly in a prepared cut flowers planting bed or container. This honeybee attraction is a trouble-free plant that appreciates a little neglect. And while deadheading will prolong flowering, it also will prevent the plant from developing decorative seed pods, so it is best to let this ornamental alone.

NIGELLA DAMASCENA - THE FACTS

OTHER COMMON NAMES: Bird’s Nest, Deli in a Bush and Ragged Lady FAMILY: Ranunculaceae • Native to southern Europe • The epithet damascene relates to Damascus in Syria. • The ﬂowers are most commonly shades of blue but can be white, pink or pale purple. • The pale blue ‘Miss Jekyll’ and the double white-ﬂowered ‘Miss Jekyll Alba’ have gained the RHS Award of Garden Merit

Roses Country Fayre Garden Centre

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