Somerset Country Gardener September 2021

Somerset www.countrygardener.co.uk

Issue No 184 SEPTEMBER 2021 FREE

HOW WE CAN SAVE

the bumblebee!

Plus: Propagating houseplants: Getting serious about spring bulbs; Now’s the time to start planting; Tropical trees; How to store apples properly; NGS gardens open in September; Sensational Edmondsham House in Dorset; Happy gardening; The best of Somerset gardens and gardening news

Planting Outdoor Living Cafe www.fonthill-lakeside.com

Fonthill Garden Centre

Lakeside Garden Centre

Call: 0117 932 3110

Call: 01985 217 413

Bath Road, Bitton, Bristol BS30 6HX

Crockerton, Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 8AP

GREENSHUTTERS NURSERIES & GARDEN CENTRE

MART ROAD, MINEHEAD, SOMERSET TA24 5BJ Facebook “f ” Logo

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A HAVEN FOR HORTICULTURISTS Everything you need for your perfect garden

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www.westsomersetgardencentre.co.uk Country Gardener

CUTTINGS

Gardeners cuttings

in Somerset

A LOOK AT NEWS, EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS IN YOUR AREA

Can you identify any of these Somerset gardeners?

Kilver Court Gardens open for National Garden Scheme in September The stunning gardens at Kilver Court at Shepton Mallet will open for the National Garden Scheme on Thursday, 9th September.

Visitors can wander by the millpond, explore the formal and informal gardens and enjoy a replica of the splendid Chelsea Flower Show Gold Medal winning rockery where a gushing recirculated stream flows from pool to pool and waterfalls into the lake.

Hestercombe Gardens, just outside Taunton are asking Country Gardener readers if they can help to solve a local mystery? They need help to identify the men in this 1914 photo.

They have just had a recent breakthrough, and now know the identity of eight of the 17 people in the image.

All this is set against the stunning backdrop of the Charlton Viaduct with the recently planted 100m border beyond, a stunning example of planting using the colourist theory - but with an interesting twist - the foliage is the predominant feature in the scheme rather than the bloom!

Thanks to his granddaughter, Julie Foster, who sent Hestercombe his garden notebook, they have been able to identify George Thomas Collier in the photo, Hestercombe House, gardens and grounds staff, April 1914. George Thomas is seated front row, extreme right.

The NGS open day runs from 10am until 5.30pm, and last entry into the garden is 4.30pm. Admission is £7.50, children free. Discount/ prepaid vouchers are not valid on this open day for the NGS. Light refreshments will be available in the Garden Kitchen Restaurant.

Late night opening at Hestercombe

We advise checking on current Government guidance and the NGS website for updates before setting out on a journey. www.ngs.org.uk For other opening times and information on Kilver Court email info@kilvercourt.com, phone on 01749 340410 or visit www.kilvercourt.com. Kilver Court, Kilver Street, Shepton Mallet, Somerset BA4 5NF

If anyone knows anyone in this wonderful photograph they can contact heatherchristian@hestercombe.com

Hestercombe’s gardens will be open until 8pm on Wednesday evenings until the end of September. It’s the chance to enjoy the 50 acres of historic gardens after hours, and see the landscape in a unique way as they are open towards dusk - perfect for an after-work or school visit to relax.

You no longer need to pre-book timed admission to the late opening, just turn up from 5pm to 7pm!

You must have summer late opening admission in order to take advantage of the food and entertainment on offer. Last entry to the gardens will be at 7pm, before they close at 8pm.

Hestercombe, Cheddon Fitzpaine, Taunton TA2 8LG

Image: Grow Feral

SOMERSET VENDING MACHINES TO GIVE AWAY FREE SEEDS Vending machines full of seeds are to be installed across Weston-superMare in a bid to get people growing their own.

The vending machines are part of the new community initiative ‘Grow Feral’ led by Weston based artists and creative producer Sam Francis.

The pop up machines will stock ‘feral seed kits’ to encourage people to connect with nature and develop a love of gardening.

The project, commissioned by Culture Weston and funded by Arts Council England, is calling on communities to engage with the natural world.

The kits will include a seed pack and hand-made instruction booklet and will be available via customised vending machines located around Weston from September 18 as part of the Weston Arts and Health Week.

The packs will include a mix of wild flower and herb seeds.

As well as the vending machines there will also be a series of workshops and hands on ‘making and doing’ sessions at Clark’s Field Allotments in the town.

Country Gardener works hard to ensure we have up to date and correct information when it comes to garden events and openings. However, events can be cancelled at short notice with the uncertainty surrounding Covid 19, so we urge readers to double check with venues before setting out on a visit.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

3

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Autumn ablaze

See how the gardens light up this autumn with fiery yellows, oranges, reds and browns Book online at rhs.org.uk/rosemoor Your visit supports our work as a charity RHS Reg Charity No. 222879 / SC038262

4

Country Gardener

CUTTINGS

An organic first for Yeo Valley at Chelsea Flower Show

Gardens at Hatch House open for Salisbury Hospice Charity

The Yeo Valley Organic Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in September will be the first organic show garden at the popular London venue.

Hatch House near Tisbury, in the heart of the Wiltshire countryside, will again hold its annual Open Garden for the Salisbury Hospice Charity which is celebrating 40 years of care this year, and for the first time it will open over two days, on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th September.

Designed by Tom Massey and supported by Sarah Mead from Yeo Valley Organic, the garden is inspired by the wildlife, habitats and plants found on the family’s farm in Somerset. The garden was due to exhibit at Chelsea last May, before it was cancelled, so this is take two for the team.

The annual opening, by kind permission of Sir Henry and Lady Rumbold, is a great event for all the family and a chance to see the 17th century walled Dutch garden with amazing views over the Vale of Wardour, enjoy cream teas with family and friends and browse a wide variety of stalls with cakes, books, gifts and collectables. The event runs from 2pm until 5pm on both days, and admission is £5, £1 for children.

Sarah and Tom hope the wildlife-rich, sustainable garden design will encourage people to try the same methods in their own spaces at home, like planting pollinatorfriendly plants, using organic compost, avoiding plastic, and chemical-based fertilisers and pesticides.

The design includes an open perennial meadow area full of colourful, scented flowers to provide a nature-rich habitat. It will be separated from the rest of the garden using wall dividers made from biochar logs and earth. These specific logs are full of carbon and promote the idea of maintaining healthy, carbon-rich soil. Another structural element will be Mendip stones, taken from the Yeo farm in Somerset to London. They will be transported back to the farm after the show to re-join the landscape.

Hatch House, West Hatch, and Tisbury, Wiltshire SP3 6PA. To see more about Hatch House go to www.hatch-house.co.uk. More details of the hospice charity’s can be found at www.salisburyhospicecharity.org.uk

There is also a woodland area which will be home to fruit trees including medlar and quince, and flowering favourites like hawthorn and hazel. Silver birches will be “a big feature of the Chelsea garden,” Sarah explains.

SAFE LADDERS SOLUTION FOR UNEVEN TERRAIN Falls from ladders in Britain result in an average of 130 visits to hospital A&E’s every week in a recent survey. People are overstretching, losing their balance, placing their ladder on an unstable surface or at too steep an angle.

With this in mind, specialists Henchman ladders made it their mission to create the most stable, practical ladders you can buy.

Founded in 1994 by Mike Kitching, the company is now the UK’s leading supplier of high-quality safety ladders and platforms.

Made from lightweight aluminium, they are exceptionally strong, quick to assemble and easy to move around.

Gardeners now have the chance to make 2021 the year to tackle any task at height safely with a HENCHMAN Tripod Ladder. The three-legged design, extra wide standing platform and claw like feet make it far more secure especially on uneven soft ground. In addition, it has a ‘crows nest’ platform at its highest point you can tuck in and brace your thighs against for added safety. Incredibly lightweight, a Henchman Tripod Ladder is easy to carry and manoeuvre.

A free set of rubber feet and gardening gloves worth £50 is available to Country Gardener readers.

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A go-to trolley essential for many garden tasks The British built Four Wheel Turn Table Trolley is the goto trolley that becomes an essential part of many garden tasks, whether it’s transporting plants, compost, tools, or being used as a handy flat surface. It is ideal when working on your knees, as the trolley’s contents are easily accessible, as opposed to a wheelbarrow that requires you to strain or stand up to get items in and out.

Each of the four wheels are the size of a wheelbarrow wheel, which allow the trolley to go off-road or on grass without getting stuck. The design of the handle allows the cart to be pulled by hand or towed by your ride-on mower.

Contact SCH for a free brochure or call 01473 328272, email sales@schsupplies.co.uk, or visit www.schsupplies.co.uk

To order or for more information visit Henchman.co.uk/Country or telephone 03333 444 229

NOW THERE’S A GOOD IDEA FOR A GARDEN SHED Lots of gardeners will believe John Williams has the right idea when it comes to his garden shed.

John, a chief engineer in the Royal Navy, has built a hidden pub in his garden which has been has been shortlisted for the Shed of the Year 2021 competition in the Unexpected/Unique category the only south west nominee.

“I wanted it to be completely unassuming and then open like a pop-up book” said John.

“The shed means a lot to me, I love nothing more than propping up the bar enjoying a beer or two with friends.

“When I show it off to people for the first time and seeing their eyes light up when I open the door to reveal the bar is a buzz, their usual reaction is ‘I want one!’”

Club event in Somerset

September 2ND

Congresbury Gardening Club ‘GRANDMA’S GARDEN’ - YVONNE BELL Details on 01934 852701

‘Time Off’ set to return If you have garden club events returning this autumn email to timeoff@countrygardener.co.uk and we will include them for free. Alternatively, please send your events to Country Gardener Magazines, Mount House, Halse, Taunton TA4 3AD.

The October issue of Somerset Country Gardener will be available from Saturday, 25th September www.countrygardener.co.uk

5

READERS STORY

‘I’ve learned to let the garden do what it wants’ JILL HARRIS READ THE READER’S STORY IN COUNTRY GARDENER FROM MALCOLM RYDER WHO WROTE TO US SAYING HE COULD NEVER CATCH UP WITH HIS GARDEN AND WANTED TO RESPOND WITH A DIFFERENT AND HAPPIER VIEW Have you ever wondered how other people’s gardens look so gorgeous - while yours is an unruly muddle of randomly assorted plants?

Around their front door, spires of blue delphiniums flower away without a care in the world, flanked by clouds of white gyopsophilia and clusters of orange marigolds.

They are like well brought up children, arranged for a photograph. These gardeners know the rules of timing, colour and texture, and work hard to get results.

I once dreamed of being a successful gardener. When I got my first garden I was delighted: apart from shrubs down one side, and an apple tree in the middle, it was a blank canvas waiting for me to fill.

I went on a gardening course and learned about plants. I salivated over pictures of people on vegetable plots, and couldn’t wait to get one of my own. I pored over gardening books and listened to experts on the radio.

A decade on I have given up trying to be a successful gardener and settled for a happy garden instead. A happy garden doesn’t sit waiting for attention, and reproaching you when you haven’t tended it for days. A happy garden does its own thing and is contented with the occasional conversation. A happy garden lets you sit there and enjoy it without having to spend every spare moment slaving over it.

One of the first things I did in my garden was to build a small pond where an ugly shed had been. The frogs from under the shed sat around watching - really! - then kicked their heels and leapt into the water as soon as the first rainwater appeared.

Slowly the garden has seemed to suggest to me where changes could be made.

The sparrows roosting in the roof were the source of another idea. Unnerved by the pattering of tiny claws overhead, we had the house re-roofed. At the same time, the roofer put up four swift boxes made of woodcrete - a hardy material which won’t rot or need replacing - under the eves. The sparrows moved in, it seems they are settled for life and the garden echoes with their noisy chirping as they flutter from shrub to shrub.

A bird box near the pond has been home to nesting great tits every year. One year I watched them fledge, as the parent birds perched nearby and encouraged the young to fly out. Such moments are more important, to me, than a traditionally tidy garden.

So much for the creatures inhabiting the garden, what about the plants?

The planting is an eclectic mix of things I have picked up and stuck in the ground somewhere. Walking past the neighbourhood bins one day I spotted a tangle of yellow leaves billowing from a dried up pot. This plant which had been given up for dead had a tiny green shoot at the base. I took it home and with some TLC it grew into a healthy Clematis montana which now covers the garage wall, its beautiful pink flowers attracting bees and nesting blackbirds every spring.

I’ve learned to let the garden do what it wants. It’s still making suggestions to me.

Oh, look, it said during lockdown. Those tree trunks someone gave you for the woodburner but which are impossible to chop up would make a lovely seating area.

I placed them in a semi-circle, divided some ferns to plant between and added some bugle from around the pond. Now what I pretentiously call the ‘woodland walk’ is a shady space under the lilac tree in which to sit and invite friends.

The happy garden doesn’t ask me to be perfect. It is contented with a minimum of fuss and nature does the rest. When a plant I’ve had in a pot for months starts to turn yellow and drop its leaves, I apologise and rush to water it. When a shrub grows too big for its space I will give it a prune (after checking on Google first). I can feel it breathe a sigh of relief as the heavy weight of branches is released. Apart from these minimum acts of kindness, I spend very few hours ‘gardening’.

I love gardens but I don’t want to spend hours and hours looking after mine. I do what’s important and give it some healthy neglect. I couldn’t be happier and from all I see around me - the garden is happy too.

“I have given up trying to be a successful gardener and settled for a happy garden instead”

Jill Harris believes a happy garden lets you sit there and enjoy it 6

Country Gardener

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HOW TO... …STORE APPLES PROPERLY THIS AUTUMN Choose from three ways to store apples after harvesting them, so you can enjoy home grown for longer.

Apples are so popular and productive that they deserve to be enjoyed for months on end.

You can make the most of your crop by carefully storing your apples. There are several ways to do this, depending on variety, from keeping them fresh in the fridge for a few weeks, to long-term storage in apple crates.

…COLLECT TOMATO SEEDS FROM THIS SEASON’S CROP Saving seed from your favourite tomatoes is a simple process and could save you money on buying seeds next year.

Saving tomato seeds is easy, but there are a few things to keep in mind. If you harvest hybrid tomato seeds, be aware that they are developed varieties, which won’t grow true from seed the following year. It’s also important to collect from healthy, disease free cultivars, which produce well.

You can also be certain the seed is organic if you grow and collect tomato seeds yourself.

Early apple varieties, harvested between September and October – such as ‘Beauty of Bath’ and ‘Worcester Pearmain’ – don’t tend to keep well and are best eaten within a fortnight of harvesting. But late apple varieties, harvested in November – such as ‘Newton Wonder’, ‘Bramley’s Seedling’ and ‘Ashmead’s Kernel’ need to ripen in storage over four or five weeks and will then last throughout the winter months if they’re stored correctly.

Place a few apples in a clear freezer bag; biodegradable options are available widely– or even better, paper bags – and store in the fridge for up to a week.

Use pre-used bags where possible.

To store apples over winter, wrap each one in a single sheet of newspaper and place them in single layers on a tray. For a cheap alternative to apple racks, use an old filing tray, adding more layers as you need them.

If you have the space and a large apple tree, you may want to invest in an apple rack. Apple racks can store a large quantity of fruit, and enable air to circulate between the layers, so you don’t need to wrap each fruit individually.

Most tomatoes are self-pollinating, so the offspring will be identical to the parent plant. Choose open-pollinated tomato varieties, not F1 varieties, as they may not come ‘true’ to seed. It’s also a good idea to save heritage, or rare varieties of tomato in this way, to preserve the seed for future generations.

If you grow more than one variety you could grow your own brand new variety of tomato by cross-pollinating the flowers.

Choose a couple of healthy tomatoes and mark them with a tag, so you don’t pick and eat them by accident. When the tomatoes are very ripe, pick them off the plant.

Halve the tomatoes and scoop the seeds out into a shallow jar of water. Put the jar aside for four or five days, after which a mould will have developed.

This helps to remove the gelatinous coating on the tomato seed, which can prevent germination.

After four or five days, pour the seeds into a sieve and wash them thoroughly with water to remove the mould.

Arrange the seeds on a piece of kitchen roll to dry out.

The most important part of the process of harvesting tomato seeds is the drying. If the seeds aren’t properly dried, they will mould and then all your work will be fruitless. Spread the seed out on paper towels to absorb any moisture in a warm dry location. Store the seeds until spring in a clean glass jar with a tight fitting lid. Seeds need to be stored where it is dark to prevent stimulating their photo-receptors, which tell them when it is time to germinate. They may lose vigour or fail to sprout if they are exposed to light.

Make the most of storing apples by doing it properly

WHEN TO STORE FRUIT Fruit can be stored from early autumn right through the winter. As a general rule: • Mid-season apples should keep for four to eight weeks

Once the seeds have dried out thoroughly, store them in a paper envelope in a dark, cool place until spring. Make sure they’re clearly labelled.

8

• Late season apples won’t be ready until they’ve been stored for four or five weeks and can last several months • Pears will store between two weeks and three months, depending on storage conditions • Quince should be used up within a month

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9

WILDLIFE

WETLAND ARCHITECTS Beavers are now being reintroduced to more areas of the southwest after 400 years of extinction. As a keystone species, they modify the environment around them, support other animals and reduce the risk of floods.

Beavers are a keystone species, which means their presence is good for nature in the areas they live. These architects change their environment to suit their needs - in doing so, they create complex wetland habitats for many other species.

With the constant threat of climate change, conservationists are keen to find new, natural and costefficient ways of mitigating environmental disasters.

Beavers could be one answer.

value hundreds of years ago, bringing them back will change the landscape as we know it. Beavers bring many ecosystems together and that will offer a wider range of ecological services.’

The first beavers to live wild in England for centuries were allowed to remain in their new home on the River Otter in east Devon after a high profile five-year reintroduction trial.

The Government gave for the re-established colony to remain in the area, the first wild breeding of beavers in 400 years and the first legally sanctioned reintroduction of an extinct native mammal to England.

Up to 15 family groups of beavers are now estimated to live on the Otter, after seven years in which their future success did not always look assured.

Beavers alter the landscape and ecosystems in and around waterways, with their dam-building helping to reduce pollution and boosting local wildlife populations, including fish and amphibians, according to a study from Exeter University.

The dams also filter out pollutants and stop topsoil being washed away.

Beavers can grow to 20kg, but contrary to popular misconceptions, live on an exclusively vegetarian diet and do not eat fish.

Beavers build dams across waterways, filtering out pollutants and stop topsoil being washed away

So it is significant that beavers were this year introduced to the South Downs and Hampshire and now it has been announced more releases are being planned in Dorset, the Isle of Wight and Cornwall.

Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents native to the northern hemisphere. They once thrived in Eurasia but were heavily hunted for their fur, scent sacs and meat.

By the sixteenth century, they became extinct in many countries, including the UK. Derek Crawley, lead author of the Mammal Society’s Atlas of the Mammals of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, says, ‘While the impact of beaver extinction wasn’t noted because we weren’t aware of their true 10

Richard Benwell, chief executive of the Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “It’s great to see that the reintroduction of beavers in this trial has resulted in a win-win for the local area, boosting wildlife and tackling man-made problems. The trial clearly proves the benefits of nature-based solutions to dealing with flooding, water quality and resilience to climate change.

“We hope to see more such welcome projects introduced by government as part of flooding, water and climate planning.”

However, Phil Jarvis, chair of the environment forum at the National Farmers’ Union, warned that farmers would want to see an ‘exit strategy’, as well as adequate funding and a long-term management plan, before Country Gardener

any expansion. “Beavers can have a significant local impact on the countryside and farming; from creating dams that can undermine riverbanks, to impeding farmland drainage with waterlogged fields becoming unsuitable for grazing and cropping; all lead to serious implications on our ability to produce food,” he said.

How can beavers help us fight climate change?

A beaver’s most distinct feature is the pair of elongated orange teeth, which never stop growing. The strong incisors are coated in ironrich protective enamel and used for gnawing at tree trunks.

Beavers will eat the bark, twigs and leaves of trees, while breaking larger branches into smaller pieces to build dams and lodges.

Dams are often built on rivers. Deep bodies of water are created on one side, establishing suitable environments for building a lodge - a safe haven for beaver families, which can only be accessed via secret underwater entrances.

Beaver dams double as an invaluable tool for filtering and cleaning water, as well as creating a healthy environment bursting with life.

When a beaver creates a dam, it floods the area behind it, creating a pond. This also slows the motion of water and prevents sediments from flowing downstream, leaving the lowland water clear.

Another huge benefit of beaver dams and pools is their ability to capture carbon. The dams hold back silt, which locks up carbon and new plant growth in the surrounding area and forms a carbon sink.

Native trees such as willow or alder evolved alongside beavers for millions of years. When gnawed on by beavers, they quickly regrow from felled stems or cuttings. This process thins trees and allows space for other plants to grow in the area, creating a rich and diverse ecosystem.

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11

How can you help save the bumblebees?

Gardeners are overwhelmingly leading the fight back to reverse the threat to bumblebees which has seen some species become extinct and more threatened. One obvious answer is just more flowers, plants and trees or narrow for the bees to feed from. Similarly, flowers with multiple tightly packed heads offer bees very little accessible food.

The story of bumblebees is sadly now one of decline.

Two species became extinct in the UK during the 20th century: Cullum’s bumblebee (Bombus cullumanus) last seen on the Berkshire Downs in 1941, and the shorthaired bumblebee (Bombus subterraneus), last seen at Dungeness in 1988 and declared extinct in 2000.

A further eight appear on conservation priority species lists.

These declines stem from large-scale changes to the way the countryside is managed. The mechanisation of agriculture, then later the demand for cheap food, the need for ever-greater quantities of food and crops and the use of pesticides have conspired to hugely reduce the nationwide density of the flowering plants that bumblebees feed on and sheltered corners they nest and overwinter in.

As bumblebees only feed on flowers, they need more plants than equivalent species which are able to also eat leaves or roots. They also, because of their colony-based lifestyle, need enough flowers available to sustain 40-400 sterile worker bees for the lifespan of the colony, normally from March to October, to produce the new reproductive individuals – males and queens – at the end of the colony lifecycle.

Gardeners are at the forefront of helping the fight back to re-establish bumblebees. It is entirely possible for any of us to help bumblebees without having a big garden; the simplest thing to do is to plant some bee-friendly plants in your garden, to flower between March and September. As gardens cover over one million acres in the UK, this presents a great opportunity to provide food for bumblebees.

By using these spaces more effectively, gardeners have the ability to easily and reasonably make landscape friendlier to bumblebees, and help reverse the declines of the past century.

However, certain plants have flower shapes that bumblebees cannot use. For example, some flowers have petals that form long tunnels which are too long 12

Other flowers may not be suitable because they produce little or no pollen and nectar, often as a result of selective breeding by horticulturalists for their pleasing appearance. Plants like pansies and double begonias offer little for bumblebees and other pollinators.

Even your humble lawn can provide food for bumblebees if you allow species often seen as ‘weeds’ to flower.

Bees love clover, dandelion, bird’s foot trefoil, vetch and cowslips. Traditional Victorian thyme lawns can provide an interesting low-maintenance bee-friendly alternative.

You could also try leaving all or a small section of the lawn to grow wild. This can provide ground-nesting bumblebee species, such as the Common carder bee, space to nest beneath the long grass.

There are practical things all gardeners can do:

Grow your own herbs Bumblebees love the fragrant, flowery tops of herbs.

Most herbs are adaptable to a wide range of soil and growing conditions and, for the most part, easy to grow.

They do not, however, do well in poorly drained soil and most of them prefer full sun, at least six to eight hours a day, as do most bees. When creating a bee friendly herb garden, select sun-loving flowering herbs for bees. Luckily, there are quite a few herbs that attract bees to choose from. Perennials will give you more value, but you can also include some annuals like sweet basil or cilantro. Bee balm, borage, catnip, chamomile, coriander/cilantro, fennel, lavender, mint, rosemary, sage and thyme.

Natural gardening The way forward is wild hedges and trees. In addition to flowers, these environments are very friendly for bumblebees and will help them thrive. So simply grow more flowers, shrubs and trees that provide nectar Country Gardener

and pollen as food for bees and other pollinators throughout the year.

The best habitats for bumblebees are those that offer plenty of flowers to feed on during the entire active phase of the bees’ lifecycle. This will ensure that there is a good supply of pollen at all of the crucial times: • When the queens are establishing nests • When nests are growing • When nests are producing new queens and males • When queens are fattening up ready for hibernation For example, pussy willow, primroses and crocuses in spring, lavenders, meadow cranesbill and ox-eye daisies in summer, ivy and hebes in autumn, and mahonia shrubs and cyclamen in winter. We just need more plants rich in pollen and nectar in all our gardens, balconies and allotments. The important principle is to make sure you select and grow a wide range of plants that produce pollen and nectar resources throughout the year. This will help as many pollinators as possible. Plants such as viper’s bugloss, comfrey and bird’s foot trefoil are loved by bees.

Avoid using chemicals A big killer of bumblebees is the destruction of habitat and the spraying of chemical pesticides and other substances which poison them. Accepting and avoiding pests, diseases and weeds by good practice in cultivation methods, cultivar selection, garden hygiene and encouraging or introducing natural enemies should be the first line of control for the gardener. The top tip for going chemical-free is to ensure your garden has as much variety as possible, so that no one species will be able to gain control. The more complex and varied your garden is, the more resilient it becomes.

Understand bumblebees more Awareness of bumblebees and the immense struggle they are facing and what you can do to help them is key to saving the species. These large, hairy bees are

‘AS BUMBLEBEES ONLY FEED ON FLOWERS, THEY NEED MORE PLANTS THAN EQUIVALENT SPECIES WHICH ARE ABLE TO ALSO EAT LEAVES OR ROOTS’.

What you should do if a bumblebee stings you

generally black with degrees of yellow banding. If you look closely at them in your garden you will probably see several species. Common bumblebees include garden, buff tailed, red tailed white tailed and field bumblebees. They are social insects living in colonies of up to 200 workers. Queens hibernate underground during the winter emerging in spring to find suitable nests. The tongue and mouthparts of bumblebees are covered in tiny hairs and these hairs have pores in them. Molecules pass through these pores and stick to receptor sites on sensory cells. This is how the bee tastes and smells.

Bombus hortorum has the longest tongue which can reach just two centimetres when fully stretched. When the bumblebee drinks nectar the sheath is moved so it is facing the entrance of the flower. The bumblebee then moves towards the nectar and the tongue itself shoots in and out soaking up the nectar.

Bumblebees are not aggressive and will only sting if they feel threatened.

Revive a ‘dying’ bumblebee: To revive the bee, mix two tablespoons of white sugar with one tablespoon of water, place the bee on this spoon and hopefully, it’ll gather enough energy to return to the hive and recover more strongly.

Crack pollinators A bumblebee’s value lies in its pollination powers. For zero reward from us, they pollinate 80per-cent of our wildflowers and 84per-cent of crops. These voluntary workers contribute an estimated £510m per year to Britain’s economy. Particularly special are their ‘buzz pollination’ skills. Crops such as tomatoes, aubergines and kiwis hold tight onto their pollen and bumblebees are the only UK creatures that can get them to part with it –a rapid vibrating motion which releases large amounts of pollen onto the bee. Bumblebees are much more efficient pollinators than honeybees. They mainly forage for pollen rather than nectar, and transfer more pollen to the pistils with each visit.

Bumblebees also have long seasons. They are among the first of the bee species to emerge in the year, and some species may forage until November. They are therefore very important pollinators of early and winter crops.

Bumblebees are not pests. They’re largely passive creatures who really have no interest in dive-bombing your picnic. Unlike honey bees, they can sting more than once, but unless you do something to upset them such as disturb their home, they rarely do so. A nest won’t damage property (they don’t guzzle wood like wasps) and don’t worry, if you see them crowding round a nest: there will be amorous males hoping to get lucky with the queen – and males can’t sting at all. www.countrygardener.co.uk

Bee stings can usually be treated quickly and easily at home. If you do happen to get stung, remain calm and walk away from the area.

Work on removing the sting from your skin, you should try and scrape it out to prevent the release of venom. Once the sting is removed, wash the area with soap and water and apply a cold compress, such as an ice pack for at least 10 minutes for mild relief.

Avoid scratching the area to reduce the risk of infection.

WHY BUMBLEBEES ARE PERFECT POLLINATORS • Their furry legs and bodies easily collect pollen that is transferred from the male to female parts, thus enabling pollination to occur • The variety and size and shape of bee bodies, meaning there’s a bee suitable for most flower pollination tasks • The fact that they have evolved methods to deal with flowers that do not easily release the pollen, for example by using techniques such as buzz pollination • Bees absolutely must visit flowers - because they need nectar and pollen • Different bee species emerge at different times of the year to suit varying flowering periods • They provide their pollination services for free!

13

GARDEN VISITS

GARDENS TO VISIT

in September compiled by Vivienne Lewis Mellow September days are perfect for garden visiting, with beautiful private gardens open for charity. Here’s a selection in the areas we cover. We advise checking with the current government guidance and the NGS website for updates and any cancellations. www.ngs.org.uk

SALTHROP HOUSE Basset Down, Wroughton, Swindon, Wiltshire SN4 9QP Another new opening for the NGS, which is a pop-up opening not in the NGS booklet, Salthrop House is a manor house garden on the edge of the Marlborough Downs with a variety of perennials, shrubs, borders, pots, and a sweeping lawn. Explore the woodland paths, the pond; see the new greenhouse and kitchen garden. Open for the NGS on Saturday 11th September, 11am until 4pm, admission £5, children free.

HIGHER BRIMLEY COOMBE FARM Stoke Abbott, Beaminster, Dorset DT8 3JZ This is a new garden of just over an acre, on an open site at 500’ on Lewesdon Hill with stunning views across Marshwood Vale to the sea, planted over the last five years. Rose and herbaceous borders surround the house and new prairie styled planting blends into the orchard where mown paths wind through the long grass. Open for the NGS on Thursday 9th September and Sunday 12th September, 2pm-5pm both days. Admission £4, children free.

CORTINGTON MANOR Corton, Warminster, Wiltshire BA12 0SY A new opening for the National Garden Scheme, four acres of wild and formal gardens surround a rose clad 18th century manor house, with herbaceous border, yew bays with Portuguese laurel lining the main lawn, cutting garden, veg garden and orchard divided by yew hedges; a lime avenue leads to river and pond from the walled herb garden. Open for the NGS on Sunday 12th September, 2pm-5pm. Admission £7, children free.

22 AVON AVENUE Ringwood, Dorset BH24 2BH A Japanese-themed water garden featuring granite sculptures, ponds, waterfalls, azaleas, rhododendrons cloud topiary and a collection of goldfish and water lilies. Adults need to supervise children carefully around the large, deep pond. Open for the NGS on Sunday 12th September, 12pm-5pm. Admission £5, children free.

OUR KEY TO FACILITIES ON OFFER AT THE GARDENS:

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Refreshments available

Plants usually for sale Dogs on short leads

Wheelchair access to much of garden

Partial wheelchair access

Unsuitable for wheelchairs

Visitors welcome by arrangement

Coaches welcome consult owners

Accommodation at this venue

Country Gardener

108 HEATH ROAD REDENHAM PARK HOUSE Petersfield, Hampshire GU31 4EL Redenham Park, Andover, Hampshire SP11 9AQ The garden sits behind the I8th century house (not open), with a formal rose garden, steps leading up to the main herbaceous borders, espaliered pears, apples, mass of scented roses, shrubs, perennial planting surrounding the swimming pool, and a kitchen garden.

Open for the NGS on Thursday 16th and Friday 17th September, 2.30pm-5pm.

Admission £6, children £3.

A large garden close to the town centre and Heath Pond, which has a greenhouse and succulent collection, tropical plants, acers, small woodland walk, a 30 metre border with shade loving plants including many hostas and ferns, patio garden, seasonal pots, late summer herbaceous border, and newly planted driveway borders. Open for the NGS on Sunday 12th September 2pm-5.30pm. Admission £3.50, children free.

CLOUDS REST, OPENING WITH THE PATCH Brockweir, Chepstow, Gloucestershire NP16 7NW & NP16 7PJ The garden at Clouds Rest was created from a stony paddock, with views across the Wye Valley: gravel pathways through herbaceous beds, a wide selection of Michaelmas daisies, and a new woodland area. The Patch has far reaching views across the Wye Valley, 60+ repeat flowering roses, shrubs and perennials. The gardens are linked by an easy drive or a 15 minute stony walk along the Offa’s Dyke path. Ample parking at both gardens. Open for the NGS on Sunday 12th September, 12.30pm-5pm. Admission to both gardens £7, children free.

SILVER STREET FARM Prescott, Uffculme, Cullompton, Devon EX15 3BA A plantsman’s garden in rural setting, alive with scent, colour and dynamic planting. Roses, herbs and perennials, enormous herbaceous borders with meandering paths, an eclectic collection of plants and shrubs. Open for the NGS on Saturday 11th September 1pm-5pm. Admission £5, children free.

32 ALLENSTYLE DRIVE Yelland, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 3DZ This garden is 30m x 15m with huge bananas, cannas, colocasias, delicate and scented tropical passion flowers, prairie planting, a wildlife pond and two large greenhouses. Relax and inhale the scents of the ginger lilies and rest awhile in the many seating areas. Open for the NGS on Sunday 5th and Sunday 12th September, 12pm-5pm both days. Admission £4, children free.

TEIGNMOUTH SEPTEMBER GARDENS Bitton Park Road, Teignmouth, Devon TQ14 9DF Three contrasting gardens including a small sheltered plantman’s garden at an Edwardian house, on two levels with hardy and exotic plants and small glasshouse; a cottage garden with greenhouse and potager garden, a Mediterranean-style courtyard, and steps down to Bitton Brook; and a Victorian orangery in the grounds of Bitton House, restored in 1985, containing a wide range of plants from different climate zones. Open for the NGS on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th September, 1pm-5pm. Admission £5, children free.

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15

GARDEN VISITS

BATCOMBE HOUSE

STONELEIGH DOWN

Gold Hill, Batcombe, Shepton Mallet, Somerset BA4 6HF A plantswoman’s and designer’s garden of two parts, one a riot of colour through kitchen terraces, and a potager leading to a wildflower orchard, the other a calm contemporary amphitheatre with large herbaceous borders, interesting trees and shrubs. Open for the NGS on Saturday 11th September, 2pm-6pm.

Admission £ 6.50, children free.

Upper Tockington Road, Tockington, Bristol, Gloucestershire BS32 4LQ Approaching two thirds of an acre, the south-facing garden has curved gravel pathways around a shaped lawn that connects themed areas, and an oriental pond; it’s densely planted with trees, shrubs, perennials, with plenty of places to sit, and steps into a courtyard. Open for the NGS on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th September, 1pm-5pm. Admission £5, children free.

THE HAY BARN

YEWS FARM East Street, Martock, Somerset TA12 6NF

Kingstone, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0NS A delightful garden created over the past nine years, wrapping around an attractive Moolham stone barn conversion creating a sense of tranquillity, with a collection of unusual plants, shrubs and trees, gravel areas for drought loving plants, and trees linking the garden into the countryside. Open for the NGS on Sunday 12th September, 1.30pm5.30pm. Admission £5, children free.

Theatrical planting in this large south facing walled garden has sculptural planting for height, shape, leaf and texture, box topiary, pots, a prolific cracked concrete garden in the farmyard with hens and pigs, organic kitchen garden, greenhouses, organic orchard and active cider barn. Open for the NGS on Sunday 12th September, 2pm-5pm. Admission £8, children free.

HOLME FOR GARDENS West Holme Farm, Wareham, Dorset BH20 6AQ There are extensive formal and informal gardens here, strongly influenced by Hidcote Manor and The Laskett; distinct rooms separated by hedges and taller planting, with an extensive collection of trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals sourced from across the UK, and spectacular wildflower meadows. Open for the NGS on Tuesday 7th September, 10am-4.30pm. Admission £5, children £1.

16

MEON ORCHARD Kingsmead, North of Wickham, Hampshire PO17 5AU This two-acre garden has an exceptional range of rare, unusual and architectural plants including a National Collection of Eucalyptus, dramatic foliage plants from around the world, bananas, tree ferns, cannas, gingers, palms and perennials; streams and ponds, plus an extensive range of planters.

Visitors can explore the 20-acre meadow and half mile of Meon River frontage attached to the garden. Plant sale of exotic and rare plants. Open for the NGS on Sunday 5th September, 2pm-6pm. Admission £5, children free.

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17

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

GARDEN

advice

Our Country Gardener postbag of queries from readers has been reaching record numbers over the past few weeks as clearly more problems and issues raise themselves in the garden. If you have a question please write to us at Country Gardener, Mount House, Halse, Taunton, Somerset TA4 3AD or email editorial@countrygardener.co.uk What can I do to protect my apple trees from wasps?

Can I grow potatoes in a site that has been affected by blight?

Anna Mawes Teignmouth Wasps don’t usually eat apples unless they are damaged by birds or fall on the ground. You can cover some branches of trees with fleece if birds are getting to your fruit. You can if it is still an issue make wasp traps with jam jars leaving some old jam inside. Half fill with water and cover with a foil lid secured with an elastic band.

Make wasp-sized holes in the lid and hang from trees. If nothing else it will divert the wasps away.

Ian Slight Petersfield

Will medication given to horses stay in the manure? And I live close to stables where horse manure is burned. Can I use it on the garden?

It is to say at the least, risky and why would you need to unless space is critical. If there is no other choice you will need to turn over the soil to a depth of about 60cm and even then it will be difficult to ensure the soil is perfectly cleaned. It is also not a good idea to grow hungry crops like potatoes or tomatoes in the same space as the previous year as even without any blight implications they will have removed a lot of nutrients from the soil. Unless you add plenty of well rotted manure and organic matter and feed them as they grow the crop may well be disappointing.

Jean Palmer Winchester There has been increasing concern recently about worming medication and its potential to persist in the manure and then get into the soil possible for example harming earthworms. The most important consideration is whether the manure is well rotted, ideally for more than six months. It is said that worming medications are inert at the moment they are excreted and in that case there isn’t any threat but let it rot down for six months and there shouldn’t’ be any issue. As to the burned horse manure yes you could use it to top dress your borders but compost it for six months first. It will be safe and ideal for adding humus to the soil. It also retains moisture.

My osteospermum has grown to a huge size in recent years. The foliage is wild and it now hardly ever flowers and when it does they die quickly. Have I overfed or overwatered it?

Simon Redfern Chard The problem is the plant is absorbing too much nitrogen which boosts leaf growth but not flowers. The answer is to liquid feed it with high-potash tomato fertiliser that helps soft growth mature and encourages blooms. Apply it to dampened soil three times a week and you should see a return to flowers. Certainly do not give up on it.

18

Why is my russet apple tree only producing leaves and not fruit?

Paul Acworth via email The frequent dry spells over the last couple of years haven’t helped at all and you may need to be more diligent with watering your tree at least twice a week with five to 10 gallons of water. It is strange that no fruit has set. For cross pollination to happen, the tree needs to be in a sheltered, frost free position so that insect flight can take place. One possible cause in cases like this is if the tree is positioned in a windy site; partial pollination may also be a problem.

Unless the tree is self pollinating you will need another tree that flowers at the same time to ensure cross-pollination.

I have an invasion of couch grass on my lawn. I am not very mobile and lots of raking isn’t really an option so I am at a loss about what to do as it is getting worse by the week.

Joyce Mullins Bristol There is no easy solution here and the appearance of a rampant variety of couch grass is something of a lawn lover’s nightmare. There is no effective organic weedkiller that would kill the couch grass and leave the rest of the lawn unharmed. Couch grass (Elymus repens) is a perennial grass with brittle, deep-growing underground runners. Leaving just a small piece of the root underground may result in more new couch grass growth. It depends on the size of your lawn but the more drastic course of action and one that avoids using a glyphosate based weedkiller which has no guarantee of working effectively and selectively is to dig over the lawn and make sure you have cleared all the roots and then re turf or re-sow.

Country Gardener

What can I grow underneath my roses?

Mildred Hughes Hughe Martock Domestic roses certainly get enhanced by under planting and there are a number of options. It is only perhaps in formal rose gardens that it might be more aesthetic to leave the soil bare. Brunnera is a lovely ground cover plant and ought to be a great foil for the roses If you are keen to use ground cover plants rather than flowers, then ajuga, lamium and alchemilla are all good choices which will flourish and take up the bare soil cover. You might also like to try herbs such as marjoram, camomile, thyme or lavender.

Whatever you decide to plant it is worth remembering that it may compete with the roses for nutrients and water. Roses are very greedy plants so will benefit with top dressing with granular fertiliser in spring and mid Brunnera summer.

When can I start to place hyacinths over water ready to flower for Christmas - something my mother used to love doing?

Maggie Halford Poole You need to buy prepared hyacinth bulbs which when planted quickly develop roots, then leaves and flowers. They are normally available from mid-September and will perform beautifully in the build up to Christmas. If you want them to grow in water which is a very popular trend and one which is visually very attractive, you will need to set them in a specially made glass container. Make sure that after filling a container with water, the bulb which sits on a ‘shelf’ at the top is about half an inch from the water. If you place the container in good light rather than in the dark roots soon form and enter the water.

Foliage and flowers soon follow and the scented blooms should be ready for Christmas. If you start a series of bulbs at ten-day intervals throughout the month you can enjoy a succession of flowers.

This strange looking fruit-like plant grows a lot around our Dorset village and I am never sure what it is. Can you help identify it?

Tim Hadden via email This is an intriguing plant called pokeweed or red ink plant (Phytolacca Americana) and is indigenous to an area ranging from North America to Mexico. Its leaves also develop pink autumn colour and parts of the plant have been traditionally used for dying fabrics. Pokeweed is hardy throughout most of the UK and is common in the south west apart from very high and exposed areas.

Be warned, its blackish maroon berries are highly toxic and contact with the sap may irritate skin, so you should wear gloves and other protecting equipment when handling.

It is amazing to be able to learn and receive feedback directly from the experts.

- Julia

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19

TREE SPECIALIST

A BIT OF THE IBERIAN PENINSULA IN ENGLAND MARK HINSLEY DISCOVERS THAT OFTEN, AS IN THE CASE OF THE WONDERFUL CORK OAK, IT ISN’T THAT STRAIGHTFORWARD WHEN IT COMES TO SAVING THE PLANET!

Great for that difficult Christmas present for the vegan in the family!

If you are missing your holiday to the Mediterranean this summer, here is a tree that might bring a little bit of it back for you.

The influence of the ‘save trees’ and ‘save the planet’ brigade is having a negative impact on the cork oak. The idea that felling trees for agriculture or that cutting down tropical hardwoods as a smash and grab operation to exploit an area’s resource is bad is correct, both from a climate management angle and from a wildlife conservation viewpoint.

Quercus suber, the cork oak.

This one pictured is growing in Painshill Park, near Cobham in Surrey.

Cork oaks are native virtually all around the Mediterranean basin, both on the European and North African sides. Within its natural range cork oak forests cover around 8,500 square miles, whilst other commercial plantings exist both around its native lands and as far away as California, USA. However, by far the greatest concentrations of cork oaks are found in Portugal.

The cork oak is an evergreen tree in its native environment, very tolerant of both poor soils and drought. In this country it is more of a semi-evergreen, losing some or most of its leaves in autumn depending on how cold it gets and growing fresh ones in the spring.

The cork oak does what it says on the tin – it produces cork. The cork from beneath the bark is carefully harvested for the first time when the tree is around 25 years old and henceforth every nine to 12 years for the life of the tree, which may be over 200 years. The first couple of harvests produce low quality cork which tends to be used for cork mats, coaster bases and insulation. By the time of the third harvest the cork should be high enough quality to be used to cork wine bottles. The European cork industry produces about 300,000 tons of cork every year without killing any trees.

A couple of years ago I saw a shop in the south of France selling items where cork had been compressed and worked. Such items as watchstraps, handbags and wallets, traditionally made from leather, were being sold made from cork.

20

Cork oak forests are massively important for the wide range of other wildlife which they support.

All therefore seems rosy.

However, there is a bit of a problem, and it is an odd one.

However, some of those beliefs are spilling over into areas or products which are not bad.

We may feel good when our bottle of wine has a plastic cork or a screw cap. Surely, we are saving trees? Unfortunately, the opposite may be true.

Sustainable forestry, the management of forests as a constantly giving and constantly renewing resource, is good for the environment and good for the living conditions on our planet.

Plastic corks and screw caps are reducing the demand for natural corks. Reduced demand means that trees are becoming ‘redundant’. When that happens, the landowners look for something else to do with their land; it is after all their livelihood. Unfortunately, the likely alternatives are nowhere near as good for the environment as the ancient managed cork oak forests. So, rather than preserving cork oaks by not using their products, we need to stick with natural cork and not move away from it if we don’t want to see the Mediterranean cork oak forests begin to decline and shrink!

This planet saving business is more complicated than I thought!

Mark Hinsley is from Arboricultural Consultants Ltd www.treeadvice.info Country Gardener

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JOBS FOR THE MONTH

Jobs in the

SEPTEMBER GARDEN September is generally a cooler, gustier month than August and the days are noticeably shorter.

If you have a fruit or vegetable patch, you’ll be busy reaping the rewards of harvest. It’s also time to get out and start planting spring-flowering bulbs for next year and you can collect seeds for next summer’s colour too. Make the most of the remaining warmth while you can!

1

2

The perfect time for planting spring bulbs

Tender perennials fuchsia, petunia, salvia, verbena penstemon and chrysanthemums can all be propagated with cuttings.

September is the perfect time to be planting hardy springflowering daffodil, hyacinths and crocus bulbs.

These will all do best in a warm, sunny spot and they all love good drainage.

This is a brilliant way to grow more plants for nothing. It is very satisfying nursing plants through from tender young shoots to fullyfledged plants for use in your own containers.

If you’re planting them in a bed or border, dig a hole about four times the depth of the bulb.

Put a layer of sand and grit in the bottom of the hole to aid drainage.

Cover this with a little compost and then plant the bulbs under about two bulb’s worth of depth of soil. Try bunching six to ten bulbs together in one spot, placed one bulb’s width apart, or line a path with them for an impressive display.

3

Autumn lawn care The approaching autumn season is perfect for establishing or growing a new lawn, should you be looking to roll out whole new turf, or top up your existing grass which may have become patchy or thin. With a wide range of seed and feed for your grass you can make sure that your lawn flourishes when next spring comes around, making it soft and vibrant. Lawns can look tired after the summer months and a good energetic raking will loosen and take out worn roots and leave space for younger roots to take over.

To protect your grass, increase the height of your mower blades through the winter months as grass growth speeds begin to slow.

4

Make the most of hydrangeas

Pick hydrangeas before they are damaged by wind and rain. To make them last as long as possible indoors, float the flowers overnight in a bath of cool water. Then arrange them in a vase with only an inch or two of water. As this evaporates, the flower heads will dry and keep their colour. If you want them to retain their texture but not their colour, add a drop of glycerine to the water too.

22

Cuttings and more cuttings

Country Gardener

You’ll need to find strong, young growth that hasn’t flowered this year. Snip it off using pruning snips at an angle just beneath a leaf joint, leaving a stem of about ten centimietres in length.

Next, strip off the leaves from the lower stem, leaving just one or two pairs towards the top.

This will help to prevent the plant from losing too much water via its leaves while it has no roots to take moisture up from the soil.

Dip the end of the cutting in hormone rooting powder and plant in compost mixed with a little horticultural grit for drainage. This will help to prevent the end from rotting and promote good root growth.

Put the plants in a propagator and cover them with a plastic bag to help retain moisture.

Place them somewhere bright and warm, but keep them out of direct sunlight until roots have formed which should take about six to ten weeks.

5

6

Deadhead your dahlias

Time to add green manure

When you think you’ve harvested your last potatoes, carefully dig over the vegetable bed, collect those that were still lurking under the surface, and then dig over, ready to plant some green manures. These green manures are useful in many ways; they protect the soil from erosion over winter, reducing the potential of any leaching of mineral and nutrients, and also protect soil structure, as well as boosting nutrients when dug into the soil.

They also provide a green carpet that helps provide shelter for beneficial insects through the winter, such as ground beetle, and if you leave a patch to flower they are loved by pollinators – Phacelia tanacetifolia for example, is one of the best nectar sources for the honeybee, bumble bee and hoverfly.

Cut all the spent dahlia flowers off to the buds below them. With a little tender love and care, they’ll keep flowering until the first hard frost.

Pick a few pristine heads as you go and arrange in small glasses or bottles on the dining table. While you’re at it, deadhead all your tender perennials – pelargoniums, arctotis, argyranthemums and trailing verbenas. This will give them a new spurt of life. Combine this with a feed of liquid seaweed or general fertiliser for an extra tonic.

7

Keep squashes growing for a few more weeks

Keep watering winter squash and pumpkins if the weather is hot. This will prevent their growth from being checked. Use stored rainwater wherever possible. Keep pinching out the tips of triffid-like pumpkins and squash. They prioritise vegetative growth over fruit formation, and you may get fruit drop if you don’t keep them contained. With the tips pinched, all the fruit down to the base of the stem will now be ripening well. Place a tile under the largest fruit to stop rot creeping in where they sit on the damp soil. Leave pumpkins, squash and marrows to ripen in the sun as long as possible so that the skin can harden.

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10

PLUS

Once harvested, it’s time to start thinking about pruning back your fruit trees and shrubs to maximise yields next year. As a general rule of thumb the sooner this is done after harvesting the better.

Prevent the foliage of apple and pear trees from being defoliated by winter moth caterpillars by wrapping sticky bands around the trunk to prevent female moths from crawling into the branches to lay its eggs.

8 In the kitchen garden •

Tidy gooseberries and blackberries.

Cut off shoot tips infected with mildew and cut canes that fruited this year to the ground. Tie in the strongest new shoots to canes or supporting wires.

•

Plant strawberries in weed-free soil that has been given a boost by digging in some well rotted farmyard manure.

•

Save the last of your tomatoes from frost - cut off entire bunches of fruit waiting to ripen and place out of direct sunlight indoors. In a week or so they should turn red.

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Plant out spring cabbages 15cm apart in rows 30cm apart. Cover with fine mesh or fleece to prevent birds from eating the leaves.

•

Sow early carrots such as ‘Amsterdam Forcing’ and ‘Early Nantes 2’ in the ground and cover with a cloche for an early crop next year. Alternatively grow in pots placed in the greenhouse.

If you are not sure when your apples are ripe, gently lift them in the palm of your hand or give them a gentle pull – they should come away easily from the branch without needing to be pulled hard.

Bulb ‘lasagne’ on the menu?

Plant a layered pot of bulbs, known as a bulb ‘lasagne’ for your doorstep, with the largest and latest flowering bulbs at the lowest level with at least six inches of soil or compost below the bottom of the bulb and early flowering, smaller bulbs on top. Excellent combinations are crocus above early tulips for example single varieties such as ‘Prinses Irene’ and ‘Couleur Cardinal’), or an early grape hyacinth (Muscari azurea) on top, with a late tulip (‘White Triumphator’) below.

Top-dress with grit to keep the pot looking good through winter.

Birds, who have been pretty sedentary during the summer, will now start to turn back to the bird tables and feeders in order to stock up for the approaching colder months, so start to top up any food for them Sticky tape will fend off winter moth caterpillars regularly. Before you do, give everything a good clean – many birds die each year from parasites and toxic bacteria that can build up in feeders and water containers if not regularly cleaned.

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23

Les and Margaret Hill with daughter Julie and grandson Blair at Duloe Manor

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Bondholders holidaying at HPB’s Duloe Manor in Cornwall

Head gardener Richard Doney and his team are the heart and soul of the garden here at Duloe Manor

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The passionate gardener Emma Harris-Curtis-Monahan meets Andrew Haynes, head gardener of Edmondsham House, Dorset, whose colourful and inspired garden has been hugely influenced by Christopher Lloyd They are united in their evolution, Edmondsham House, its resplendent gardens and its head gardener.

From glimpses of the Dawn Redwood’s burgundy bark, to the exuberant exotic border and the majestic walled garden, the impression of this garden is an uncontrived, patiently adored horticultural heaven overseen by Andrew’s meticulous eye for detail.

Standing beneath the vast Catalpa bignonioides he planted early in his time as custodian of this private garden, Andrew lingers, somewhat lovingly, in his gaze before explaining his own evolution.

“I worked in the gardens of Lord Wandsworth College prior to here. I learned a great deal.”

More than 25 years on and his modesty is humbling; this garden is exceptional and he is encyclopaedic in his knowledge.

When asked for inspiration, there are many hints as to who is the culprit. There is spirit, adventure, and the understanding of how to create alongside nature at Edmondsham.

Interpretations of Christopher Lloyd are everywhere -from the banana palms in the composting far walled garden, to the exotic border, there is organised and striking creativity.

“My biggest influence is Christopher Lloyd”, says Andrew and clearly his belief that no gaps of bare earth should show during the summer is beautifully displayed in the walled garden’s long borders.

“I let things self-seed; they keep everything tied together”.

The effect is one of a flowing, omnipresent and tranquil haven for wildlife and plants alike. I so love how the plants in the fronts of the borders 26

Country Gardener

spill out, enthusiastically, over the paths, the plants brushing your clothes as we wander, chatting. Andrew adds, “… letting things selfseed prolongs the flowering display and keeps the weeds down.”

Like Lloyd, if you love colour this is the garden to visit. The long border of the walled garden is 146’ long and 16’ deep, providing opportunity for a variety of height to please the eye. “The colours make the link, more than the shape,” says Andrew, “there are mostly perennials, like dahlias, alliums, delphiniums”. This garden remains beautifully unpretentious; it is Andrew’s, his team’s and the family’s pride and joy and rightly so.

Andrew is the epitome of a passionate gardener; he emphasises that most of what he has learned has been through his own practice and research. Completing the RHS General Horticultural Certificate early in his career, he has written in horticultural publications, is a member of the Professional Gardeners’ Guild and the President of the Dorset Perennial Gardeners’ Society. A great joy in his career was being awarded an RHS Bursary to Japan in 2008 to study horticultural and botany. He was intrigued by visiting plants in the wild. “There was a Magnolia kobus here, it took 20 years to flower and did so in my first year (I take all the credit!). I saw one in the wild growing in scree on a harsh mountain side. It was stumpy and covered in flowers! I learned that we had spoiled it.”

He planted several plants inspired by that trip, such as the taihaku prunus tree and the Japanese pepper tree.

The collaboration of the Smith family with Andrew is palpable; they transcend many gardeners in their joint approach, relationship with the soil and nature, as well as their perspective. They look forward unflinchingly, knowing they are but guardians of this splendour and endeavouring to evolve the design and organisation of the grounds for future generations.

Interestingly, Andrew explains how the Work and Retrain as a Gardener Scheme brings people who wish to alter their career to horticulture to be temporary Team members. Thoughtfully he says, “…constantly teaching people makes one re-examine...” he laughs “you never know what will come!”

Reflective of this unselfish focus on posterity, Andrew welcomed a request from the Species Recovery Trust to host the regeneration of a British grass teetering on the edge of extinction, Carex depauperate, whose last known site in the United Kingdom was Cranborne Chase.

We crouch down to examine it, surrounded by its seedlings, nestled next to some apple trees, it’s thriving!

Andrew shows me it’s unusual delta shaped leaf, “the charcoal burning and decline of coppicing in woodland management led to its disappearance.” It has one of the largest seeds of any native species and as there are only two sites in the whole of southern Britain, it is an extraordinary achievement to grow it so bountifully.

Yet there’s a reason for that; soil is the horticultural key.

Edmondsham is on chalk, but the six acres are perpetually enhanced

by Andrew and his team’s site-made compost. The result is an astonishing thick, dark, lively humus in which the roses, jasmine and, indeed, all natural life; insects, birds, and the rabbits that occasionally manage to sneak in, proliferate.

The Catalpa bignonioides planted

by Andrew early on in his role

Canes sourced from the garden

There is a wonderfully pungent comfrey press to produce that intoxicating nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium liquor next to the potting shed. The compost itself is made through the arch adorned by Rubus phoenicolasius (Japanese Wine Berry). As a tractor trundles past, heaped with leaf mould, I realise this is the neatest compost creation scheme I have seen since childhood.

“The great thing is not to be timid in your gardening, whether it’s colours, shapes, juxtapositions or the contents themselves. Splash around and enjoy yourself. If you buy a banana plant, it’ll not be for its fruit (go to the greengrocer for that), but for its huge leaves.”

Compost created next to a banana tree

Christopher Lloyd “This is turned over a period of time, it’s not sophisticated”, suggests Andrew. The plants may beg to differ; this is a plantsman’s compost creation. The leaf mould is mixed with grass cuttings, garden and house plant waste, “There are no animals here, so we use what is to hand. We have two these containers where it all starts,” he says, patting some plastic cones, “that’s mixed occasionally, then added to the two main piles to rot down”, and what a cornucopia of life it is when it’s layered on the beds.

An entrancing part of the garden is the exotic border that Andrew admits to transforming. The adventurous colour combinations and intentionally international feel is of pre-eminent importance to him.

He has supplied a board with all the plant names and their countries for visitors to admire: Chile, Mexico and Spain are but the beginning.

The canna, verbena and paulownia delight; orange with magenta, viridescence with butter yellow, topaz with scarlet, they blend and glow concomitantly.

Chatting amidst the shade of the apple trees, we hear the swallows swooping for the abundant insects and bees on the echium vulgaris.

The azure splashes of blue verbena, the shell pink bells of the crinum and the intoxicating scent of the sweet cicely combine to create an extraordinary horticultural sanctum that it is amazing to realise anyone can visit, given the inclination.

Edmondsham House, open for the NGS on Wednesdays in October

Edmondsham House and Gardens, near Cranborne in Dorset is open by permission of Mrs. Julia Smith. It is open on Wednesdays and Sundays from 2pm to 5pm until the end of October and for the National Gardens Scheme on Wednesdays 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th October 2pm to 5pm www.ngs.org.uk

Dorset branch of the Hardy Plant Society www.dorsethps.org.uk/the-group.html Work and Retrain as a Gardener Scheme in Tetbury www.wfga.org.uk/wrags/ The Species Recovery Trust in Salisbury www.speciesrecoverytrust.org.uk

www.countrygardener.co.uk

27

GREAT DAYS OUT

Late summer and early autumn days out Thankfully the last few weeks have seen things almost getting back to normal when it comes to gardens, fairs and events opening for visitors to enjoy.

Hartland Abbey shows off its mellow autumn colours

The move from August into September isn’t slowing down the opportunities to get out and about and enjoy gardening and gardening events – especially with so many people this year choosing to visit and enjoy the south west of England.

It may not have been a great summer weather-wise just yet but there remains a real hunger to get out with many venues already reporting lots of visitors. Garden fairs, gardening opens particularly with the NGS Gardens Open scheme have started to appear in everyone’s dairies as are National Trust properties opening their houses and tearooms, private gardens welcoming visitors without too many restrictions garden festivals and plant fairs.

Covid controls such as wearing mask indoors still remain in place voluntarily at some venues After the toughest of times for those who love their garden days out and trips there seems only good news now.

Biophilia: The Exeter Florilegium by Exeter artist Amy Shelton This autumn the Royal Albert memorial Museum& Art Gallery will display an exhibition of work by Exeter-based artist Amy Shelton –‘Biophilia: The Exeter Florilegium’. The exhibition will feature Shelton’s commission for the museum, made in response to the Covid-19 lockdown.

Shelton’s artwork includes a herbarium of pressed plant specimens compiled on her daily lockdown walks in Exeter during spring and summer last year.

September is a welcome, peaceful time in the Hartland Abbey gardens in North Devon especially this year after so many visitors in the school holidays! Glorious, mellow autumn colours light the borders and kitchen garden with rosy red crab apples, huge pumpkins and squashes, old apple varieties; dahlias and michaelmas daisies. On a beautiful day when the shadows lengthen the Walled Gardens are a delightful spot to relax in.

Hydrangeas in deepest blues, purples and whites light the woodland gardens; the walk to the beach before a delicious lunch or cream tea is a lovely way to see the stunning Hartland coastline with views to Lundy Island, much enjoyed by four legged friends too!

Hartland Abbey, Nr Bideford EX39 6DT Tel: 01237 441496 www.hartlandabbey.com

Two-for-one entry at glorious Castle Hill Situated on the Southern edge of Exmoor in the small village of Filleigh, Castle Hill offers visitors a great garden experience whatever the season.

Fifty acres of historic parkland set against the breath-taking 18th century Palladian Mansion house built as the Earl Fortescue’s family home, the gardens feature pathways, temples, follies and stunning vistas.

Shelton’s work will be displayed alongside Michelle Sank’s Breathe, another body of work responding to Covid-19. Her commission is funded by Arts Council England.

Visitors can wander through the woodland gardens, with bold agapanthus, hydrangea and eucryphia bursting through the abundance of shrubs and trees.

Stroll down to the river and admire the majesty of the Ugley Bridge and Satyr’s Temple before an energetic climb to the castle offering panoramic views to Exmoor, Dartmoor and Lundy Island.

Biophilia: The Exeter Florilegium is on display from Saturday, 18th September through to Sunday, 21st November.

Castle Hill are offering two-for-one entry into the gardens until the end of October this year with the mention of Country Gardener.

Amy Shelton working on a different but similar commission for Great Ormond Street Hospital

It also includes flower contributions from staff and patients from the Royal Devon & Exeter hospital, and specimens from the gardens of people self-isolating.

A moving snapshot of people’s personal experiences of the first lockdown in Exeter, Shelton’s piece documents an unprecedented time when many people looked to nature and green space for wellbeing and reflection. As the artist says, the work also ‘acts as a bouquet of gratitude and dedication to NHS staff, to family and loved ones, and to people lost during the pandemic’.

Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Queen St, Exeter EX4 3RX Tel: 01392 265 858 www.rammusem.org.uk

The gardens are open Monday to Friday, 11am to 4pm. The tearoom opens until 29th October. Dogs on leads are welcome.

Castle Hill, Filleigh, Barnstaple EX32 0RQ 28

Country Gardener

Hartland Abbey & Gardens

Enjoy beautiful hydrangeas, enormous pumpkins and glorious autumn colours in the gardens Visit the fascinating, historic house, in the same family for generations, with its stunning architecture, collections and exhibitions. Beautiful walled and woodland gardens leading to the beach. * Dogs welcome * Holiday Cottages * * Light lunches & cream teas * * Hartland Quay 1 mile * House, Gardens and Café: open until 3rd October, Sunday to Thursday 11am - 5pm (House 2pm - last adm. 4pm)

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

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

Specialist nursery and beautiful 1.5 acre garden just waiting to be explored CATALOGUE ONLINE OR AVAILABLE BY REQUEST

GARDENS

Open daily, 11am to 5pm by booked time slots and walk ups, from 1st September until 20th October.

Garden admission £4 for adults.

Explore 50 acres of stunning landscape on pathways leading to follies, statues and temples. River walk and panoramic views from the castle.

Open MONDAY 20TH SEPTEMBER for the National Garden Scheme please see www.ngs.org.uk for more details

FILLEIGH, NR SOUTH MOLTON, DEVON EX32 0RQ Tel: 01598 760336 www.castlehilldevon.co.uk

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

Biophilia: The Exeter Florilegium, 2020, Amy Shelton.

The garden is open Monday - Friday 11am - 4pm Tea room open until the end of October | Please keep dogs on leads

18 Sep to 21 Nov 2021 Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, Queen Street, Exeter EX4 3RX T 01392 265858 E ramm@exeter.gov.uk W rammuseum.org.uk

ASBio Country gardener HPH ad.indd 1

www.countrygardener.co.uk

Home to a million thoughts  Free entry 29 09/08/2021 12:14

GREAT DAYS OUT

OLD COURT NURSERIES FULL OF VIBRANT COLOURS Visitors can explore a feast of colour this autumn at Old Court Nurseries and The Picton Garden. An intriguing one and a half acre garden and nursery nestled at the foot of the Malvern Hills. Being specialist growers of michaelmas daisies the garden’s winding paths take you on an adventure through their vibrant colours in September and October and on into calmer woodland plantings. Unusual plants are sure to be order of the day here.

Old Court Nurseries, Walwyn Road, Colwell, Malvern Tel: 01684 540416 www.autumnasters.co.uk

CADHAY A DELIGHT IN SEPTEMBER

Bee theme at second Plant Heritage Fair

The collection of Dahlias has become something of a feature at Cadhay just outside of Ottery St Mary in Devon in late summer providing a riot of colour. The dahlias will continue to provide colour right through to the first frost or the garden is put to bed in November if the frosts come late. The spring fed medieval ponds will also give a vibrant backbone to the gardens at this lovely time of year.

After the great success of the Plant Fair at Abbotsbury in June, Plant Heritage Dorset are holding their next event on Sunday, 12th Sept. Again the venue is the large west lawn at Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, which gives lots of space for people to wander round the stalls at leisure.

Cadhay Gardens remain open on Friday afternoons until the end of September.

Cadhay, Ottery St Mary EX11 1QT

There will be a mix of exotics, alpines, late flowering perennials, shrubs, grasses and many plants which will attract beneficial insects such as bees, moths and butterflies.

Alongside the stalls there will be a small selection of craft stalls including honey and bee-related products and stalls from wildlife charities.

Admission is £7 and includes free access to the gardens on the Jurassic Coast between Weymouth and Bridport. The fair is open from 10am until 3pm and the gardens remain open until 5pm. Profits go towards supporting the National Collections, plant conservation and education in Dorset.

Tickets are available online at: https://abbotsburytickets.co.uk/product/plant-fair12th-september-2021/ and will also be on sale on the day (subject to relaxation of the Covid-19 regulations).

Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens, Buller’s Way, Abbotsbury, Weymouth DT3 4LA. For additional details email: martin.plantheritagedorset@btinternet.com

Buscot Park is a garden lovers delight The Georgian mansion at NT Buscot Park in Farringdon is surrounded by gardens or rare beauty. The old walled garden below is now the ‘Four Seasons Garden’ where mixed borders bustle beside pleached allées and walkways.

Above this pathways and tree-lined avenues lead to the 18th Century Pleasure Grounds where the water garden designed by Harold Peto in 1903 descends to a lake; and a citrus garden and swing garden feature on the way up to an obelisk sundial. The gardens are open until 30th September, Monday to Friday, 2pm to 6pm and some weekends including Bank Holidays.

The house and tea rooms are now open. Entry: Adults £9, over 65s £7, children (five to 15) £4.50. Information line: 01367 240932

Buscot Park, Lechlade Rd, Farringdon SN7 8BU info@buscot-park.com www.buscotpark.com

UNIQUE GARDEN SCULPTURE EXHIBITION AT BISHOP’S PALACE A new exhibition of garden sculpture is open at The Bishop’s Palace in Wells.

Curated by African Masters of Stone, it features a range of contemporary sculptures by Zimbabwean artists and will be open through to Friday, 1st October.

African Masters of Stone provides a platform for artists to present their work to a wider audience and the artists are then able to continue a sustainable living and receive the artistic credit they deserve. The organisation donates 10 per cent of its profits to charities fighting poverty, malaria and HIV in developing countries.

Laura Richards, visitor experience manager at the palace says: “We’re delighted to be hosting this exhibition of highly skilled, but underrecognised sculptors, which will have great appeal for visitors along with the intrinsic artistic merit to complement our gardens”.

The exhibition will be made up of 10 sculptures set amongst the stunning gardens of The Bishop’s Palace, with sculptures appearing in the formal gardens, in flower beds, by the well pools and in the outer gardens.

The exhibition is included in standard admission to the Palace & Gardens and all works will be available to purchase.

The Bishop’s Palace, Wells BA5 2PD

30

Country Gardener

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

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

GARDENS & TEAROOM Open every Friday 2pm - 5.30pm until 24th September

Also August Bank Holiday weekend - Saturday, Sunday & Monday GARDENS: adult £5, child £1

CADHAY, OTTERY ST. MARY, DEVON, EX11 1QT 01404 813511 www.cadhay.org.uk Member of Historic Houses

DORSET PLANT & GARDEN FAIRS Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens Sunday 12th Sept 2021 Set in beautiful surroundings with space for nurseries, growers and stalls from across the Southwest. Bee & Honey products.

Admission is £7.00 including access to the gardens for the day.

Advance tickets on sale at https://abbotsburytickets.co.uk/ product/plant-fair-12th-september-2021/ Free parking. Free admission for all UK Plant Heritage Members.

Plant Fair open 10am - 3pm, gardens remain open until 5pm.

Food and refreshments are available, including our solar powered coffee franchise serving premium hot & cold drinks.

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

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

www.countrygardener.co.uk

31

Be bolder with spring bulbs Bulbs are easy to grow and care for and are amongst the most rewarding plants we can nurture, so over the next few weeks it’s time to plant for spring and with it the chance to be more adventurous Planting spring bulbs in a much-underrated joy.

purple colour in February and into March.

In its simplest form it is the perfect way to guarantee colour for spring and thrill us after the gloom of winter.

Crocuses are a reliable sign that winter’s over and spring has arrived – the pretty C. chrysanthus cultivars are very early flowering, as is Crocus tommasinianus.

It takes place at a time of the year when many plants are dying down and there’s the need to feel plans are being made for a colourful spring. Too often bulb planting in early autumn takes too much of a back seat but it really is worth taking the time to plan because bulbs are the key to a spectacular spring garden. There is a huge range of bulbs to choose from.

It is well worth exploring beyond perhaps your normal comfort zone when it come to buying new bulbs to try a bolder, more dramatic and colourful approach to next spring.

The more unusual bulbs might appeal, corms, tubers and rhizomes from tiny chionodoxa to giant camassias in glimmering blue. Tulips, which remember don’t need planting until November, offer the most wonderful choice if you want new colours to enjoy. Alliums offer more pastel options and have that ‘look at me ‘ quality about them.

Yellow hellebores offer a subtle look.

Choose the right varieties and the right colour combinations and you will be rewarded with a spectacular display.

The earliest daffodils can start to flower from February.

Look to the aptly-named ‘February Gold’, ‘Julia Jane’ and ‘Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’. Well-known ‘Têteà-tête’ also flowers promptly from late February or March. Elegant Iris reticulata and other dwarf hybrids such as ‘Katharine Hodgkin’ as well as Iris unguicularis are all early to flower, providing splashes of lilac and 32

Once March arrives and April is on the way, the palette of bulbs in flower begins to expand. All the glorious mid-season daffodils to choose from appear– dainty, nodding ‘Hawera’, pure white, gracious ‘Thalia’, multiheaded ‘Minnow’ and ‘Silver Chimes’, golden ‘Sweetness’.

Try underplanting them with gorgeous Anemone blanda, their quite large daisy-like flowers in purpleblue and white opening wide in spring sunshine, or mix the daffodils’ yellows with the deep blues of muscari (grape hyacinths). Just be sure to avoid the invasive species, Muscari armeniacum, and stick to the better behaved cultivars such as ‘Blue Magic’, or paler baby blue ‘Valerie Finnis’.

Bluebells flower in April and May – create your own mini bluebell wood by underplanting trees and shrubs with the traditional English bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, or the rarer white version of it.

These are the months when the late-flowering tulips

come to the fore as well: lily flowered types, with their flared, pointed petals; fringed parrots; the simple, goblet-shaped single lates; green-banded viridifloras; and doubles with their luxurious many-layered petals.

Unless you are growing straight rows of bulbs fro cut flowers the general rule is to plant in as natural, informal way as you possible can.

With no spring bulbs our gardens would be much poorer places so planning the show for spring is arguably one of the most important tasks in the gardening year.

Spring flowering bulbs to plant in autumn Nerines, daffodil, snowdrops crocus, hyacinth, lillies, allium, tulip, crocosmia, iris, narcissus, ranunculus, tree lily, anemone, fritillaria and muscari.

What’s in a bulb?

Most true bulbs whether it be anything from onions or daffodils consist of a basal plate at the base where the roots grow from so although it sounds obvious you need to ensure the bulb points down when planting.

There are then layers of scales which are the leaves in their embryonic state and here energy is stored. These also protect the inner workings of the bulb- the stem and the flower. There is a thin outer skin called a tunic which helps the bulb from stopping drying out. The leaves then use sunlight to make energy which is stored in the bulb for next year’s display.

Country Gardener

Our choice of bold and dramatic bulbs for next spring Iris ‘George’ Exquisitely beautiful with a delicious fragrance, Iris ‘George’ will be one of the earliest and most welcome signs of spring in your garden. Iris was the Greek goddess of the rainbow and a messenger of the gods. These brightly coloured little blooms in vibrant shades of violet with yellow splashes will certainly relay the news that spring is here.

Buying your bulbs •

Always buy from a reputable suppler, a garden centre you have confidence in or a nursery and try and ensure they are home produced and not plundered from the wild.

•

Order early and plant early. Too often many of us are disappointed when it comes to looking for new colours and new bulbs to try only to find the best have been bought, so order and buy early.

•

Try and envisage what the bulbs will look like in your garden, the colour, the position, the way the colours will match and don’t be too swayed by how they look in the catalogue.

•

If you are not ready to plant then keep the bulbs in a dry cool spot but do try and get them in the ground as soon as possible.

•

Bulbs should be firm and solid with a smooth shiny skin, which fits tight to the bulk. Anything that is soft or flaky needs to be disguarded. Also avoid any that have mould inside the neck or have yellow shoots. They may still grow but they won’t perform as they should do.

•

The bigger the better. Late buyers may only have the smaller bulbs left to choose from so buy big.

•

It’s normally safe to say that large sways of fewer varieties make the biggest impact in a garden rather than lots of different varieties.

Allium sphaerocephalon Allium sphaerocephalon is a striking allium, bearing dense green drumstick-style flower heads which mature to maroon-red. It’s a great choice for growing in a mixed herbaceous border among ornamental grasses, or gravel gardens. It also works well in a pot.

Allium ‘Purple sensation’ The best all round garden and flower arranging allium. ‘Purple Sensation’ starts to flower after the tulips in mid-May and stays in flower longer than most.

Iris ‘JS Dijt’ Iris Reticulata ‘J.S Dijt’ is a lovely small bulbous, perennial that has fragrant purple flowers in spring. This iris is a dwarf variety that will reach 10-15cm in height and is very sturdy.

Fritillaria persica Native to southern Turkey, Fritillaria persica has elegant, tall stems of sumptuous, dark plum-coloured flowers.

It’s unusually tall for a spring-flowering bulb and therefore makes a grand statement among other tall-flowering blooms such as tulips and white narcissi.

Tulip ‘Black Parrot’ Growing bulbs in containers •

Most bulbs are ideal for growing in containers with showy flowers such as tulips and alliums in particular.

•

Use good quality multi-purpose compost in your containers combined with a handful of grit to improve drainage. Specialist bulb compost is also available.

•

Plant bulbs as you would in a garden border, but they can often be planted closer together to provide a stronger display.

•

Pots may need protection from frost during the winter, so wrap the pots with newspaper or horticultural fleece. Clustering several pots together will also help them to stay warm.

Dramatic, blackishpurple, cup-shaped flowers with irregularly cut wavy petals in May and strap-like, greygreen leaves. These spectacular black flowering tulips are becoming ever more popular and can be difficult to get hold of.

Tulip ‘Cairo’ Tulip ‘Cairo’ is a classic, cup-shaped tulip with an unusual flower colour.

Blooms are a distinctive, beautiful burnt orange, with bronze and copper tints thrown in for good

www.countrygardener.co.uk

measure. ... Standing on strong, pale green stalks, elegant Tulip ‘Cairo’ is perfect for garden beds, borders and patio containers.

Tulip ’Kingsblood’ Tulip ‘Kingsblood’ is a wonderful addition to hot-themed borders, but will also add spark when paired with near-black tulips.

Trillium sessile Trillium sessile has mottled leaves with three leaflets, and deep red flowers with quite long, narrow petals, growing right in the middle of the leaves.

Hyacith ‘Purple Sensation’ Large bell like flower heads tightly packed with purple star shaped flowers framed in forest green curved spears of foliage and is a truly spectacular plant.

Anenome Bordeaux Anemone Bordeaux is a superb anemone with stunning flowers of velvety crimson and a steely blue centre. They are very good for using as cut flowers.

Muscari azureum Muscari azureum is a Turkish grape hyacinth.

Its flowers are gathered in the characteristic rugby-ball shape in an attractive soft blue, sometimes with pink speckles inside.

Narcissus ‘Minnow’ Narcissus ‘Minnow’ is a charming daffodil which produces up to five small, creamy yellow flowers per stem. Clumps will quickly build in size and it makes an excellent flower. Grow in moist but well-drained soil in full sun.

Allium ‘Jackpot’ This is a clump-forming, bulbous perennial with strap-shaped, mid-green leaves, typically dying back before flowering.

Iris ‘Alida’ A new bulb on the market, Iris ‘Alida’ is a pretty dwarf iris with exceptionally large, mid blue flowers, beautifully adorned with intricate butter-yellow hearts.

33

TIME TO PLANT

IMPROVE YOUR GAME

when it comes to planting In autumn the soil is moist and warm – and simply it’s the main reason why so much attention is focussed on establishing plants before winter sets in.

Autumn is therefore a time for planting from bulbs, moving and planting shrubs and perennials, getting new roses established and more. Bare-root trees are typically planted from autumn to spring, and autumn is also a popular time for laying turf.

Planting is no straightforward task however and it requires knowledge of what and where you are putting things in the ground. Plants in some situations can be more forgiving – for example, the odd bulb planted upside down will still perform, but a badly planted tree may never succeed.

Buy quality not quantity You need to be sure that plants are well established in their containers but haven’t been sitting around for years in the same pot. Roots appearing out of the drainage hole that are fibrous, white and fresh-looking are a sign of a vigorous plant ready to go in the ground – thick woody roots indicate a plant that’s been in its pot too long and may not establish once planted. With bulbs, look for plump bulbs, free of mould or shrivelling.

Peeling outer layers are normal and of no concern.

Get the soil prepared Don’t just dig a hole and plant. The soil needs to be in as healthy a state as you can get it. Compacted soil needs digging over and breaking up with a fork to aerate it first. For trees and large woody plants, dig a square hole three times the width but the same depth as the pot, and if the soil is a sticky clay, puncture the sides of the hole with a fork. Loosen the base of the hole but do not add organic matter. It will

rot down and cause the plant to sink – instead keep the organic matter for a surface mulch once you’ve finished.

Mycorrhizal fungi helps establishing plants to build successful underground networks for better uptake of moisture and nutrients.

Focus on helping the roots Teasing out roots can help plants develop quickly and encourage roots to grow outwards faster, as opposed to remaining in a confined space. Ideally, don’t buy severely pot-bound plants, but don’t worry about ones that have masses of fibrous roots, such as heathers and hebes, and appear pot-bound.

With trees, especially bare-root ones, try and ensure any major roots are directed outwards, away from the stem, as opposed to curling around within the planting hole.

Finally, avoid the vigorous root disturbance of any plants that hate being moved, such as daphne and edgeworthia.

Mulch, mulch and more mulch After planting trees or shrubs or herbaceous plants in poor soil, apply mulch. It can be can be manure, bark chips or your own compost as it helps to seal in moisture, and adds slow-release nutrients as it breaks down. Never heap mulch around the base of a tree the all-important root flare must be visible and never apply mulch on frozen or dry soil, always water thoroughly first, then mulch.

Bulb planting made effortless…

Bulb planting in your lawn or grassy areas has never been easier. With the British designed and made bulb planter Little Plugger, there is hardly any bending, saving the backache!

It was designed and developed for the easy planting of bulbs into lawns and grassy areas. It can be used for other types of planting at the gardeners’ discretion.

DELIGHTFUL GARDENS TO INSPIRE YOU PLANT AND GARDEN ADVICE Mail order and click and collect available, or pop along and visit us at the nursery

Easy to use and quick to operate, this method will save you time and effort and since the same soil goes back into the same hole it came from, you will see little or no obvious disturbance, leaving you an almost seamless planting for bulbs up to two inches in diameter.

The weeding operation is also easy. Simply remove the offending weed in your lawn by the Little Plugger method, then eject the soil plug from the device, turn it upside down and re-insert it into the same hole.

Groups welcome by appointment Open 7 days a week from 1st March to 30th September Weekends 10am - 5.30pm, Weekdays 9am to 5.30pm

This way the weed is upside down deep and the weed will die. You are left with a two inch diameter soil area which will allow the surrounding grass to grow back over it. No hole left to fill! No weed to dispose of!

Sands Lane, Badsey, Evesham, WR11 7EZ 01386 833849 info@cgf.net www.cotswoldgardenflowers.co.uk

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34

Country Gardener

COTSWOLDS GARDEN FLOWERS REMAIN AN EARLY AUTUMN DELIGHT

Perrie Hale can be a great source of inspiration

As the nights begin to draw in and the temperature gets cooler, there is still plenty to see in the garden at the Cotswolds Garden Flowers nursery in Badsey near Evesham. There’s the chance to see late summer flowers of dahlia, phlox, rudbeckia and heleniums and look out for the new autumn plants. As the days shorten chrysanthemums and asters start to flower and enhance the display. Michaelmas daisies appear and impress in many shades.

Perrie Hale Nursery are a long standing family business known for its quality UK grown stocks of hedging plants, shrubs, ornamental, broadleaf and conifer trees, top fruit and soft fruit. Small trees are a wonderful way to add structure, flowers and attract wildlife to a garden and choosing carefully can result in year round interest.

Also look out for the changing colour of leaves, especially shrubs. Now is the time to make a note of your favourites so you can plant them at home. Foliage can be a real asset to the garden at this time of year.

One of the prettiest trees for blossom is Prunus ‘Shogetsu’ also known as ‘Blushing Bride’. Large blousy flowers open from dark pink buds and gradually fade to white; it also has fantastic autumn colour. Cercidiphyllum japonicum - Katsura Tree, has dainty foliage in the summer followed by golden autumn colour with the added bonus of a candy floss like fragrance. You can also add interest by choosing trees with attractive bark such Acer griseum, Prunus serrula, Betula utilis jacquemontii ‘Snow Queen’ or Betula albosinensis ‘Kansu’. When you choose your trees, check the conditions it will be planted into as well as the eventual height and spread of the tree.

There are also autumn flowering bulbs to look out for, including autumn crocus, cyclamen and other bulbs.

Cotswold Garden Flowers, Sands Lane, Badsey, Evesham WR11 7EZ

Plant a tree this autumn - it is important

So many people this year have turned to gardening and one of the most important things they could plant this autumn is a tree. Trees are the lungs of the planet, store carbon, stabilise soils and support a vast amount of wildlife both above and below the ground.

Talking with your local nursery can be a great source of inspiration.

Below ground one of the most important fungi that help the tree grow are mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi naturally colonise any new tree in a couple of years, but why not give them a helping hand by planting the tree with rootgrow mycorrhizal fungi? The friendly fungi will colonise the tree in a matter of weeks leading to better establishment, earlier growth and a happier healthier tree.

Contact Perrie Hale by telephone 01404 43344 or email: faye@perriehale. co.uk or visit their online shop www.perriehale.co.uk

Available online or from any good garden centre.

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Northcote Hill, Honiton, Devon, EX14 9TH Tel: 01404 43344

'Growing in Devon since 1957'

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See the ‘How It Works’ video by visiting our website

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35

Fancy a taste OF THE TROPICS? There are some lush exotic looking plants which can create a holiday feel in your own garden and a sense of being thousands of miles away With a little care and thought you can grow tropical plants in this country. Some are easier than others.

Those that can be grown in containers and are either small or easy to prune to size are the easiest. And this includes both flowering plants and fruit trees.

Others really do require a heated greenhouse to survive through winter as well as perform at their best in summer months.

It may seem that growing exotic, tropical-looking plants is nothing but a pipe-dream in our cool, damp climate, but you’re sure to be happily surprised at the long list of lush, exotic flowers, trees, shrubs, decorative grasses and palms that grow in nearly every corner of the UK. The word exotic simply means ‘foreign to our shores’ but in gardening terms the word has come to be applied to plants of luscious and spectacular appearance. Some exotics are best treated as annuals and replaced every year- after all many summer bedding plants such as impatiens (busy lizzies) are perennials in their native climes. Others can be potted up and overwintered in a frost-free greenhouse.

It’s certainly not necessary to provide tropical level temperatures that end up costing you a lot of money.

How to grow tropical plants in the UK The first thing to remember is to treat them like annuals. Plant them in a warm protected position as soon as the weather warms up a little. You will still need to create a warm humid microclimate, however it can work with a number of plants.

The second way is grow the plants in containers, inside during winter, shifted outdoors in warmer weather.

Finally you can opt for the greenhouse, certainly the best method of growing tropical plants in the UK’s climate. As we develop new materials and technology, greenhouses are becoming cheaper, but, for many they are out of reach cost wise.

Trachycarpus palm varieties are hardy plants you can grow in the UK and add a tropical feel to your garden.

Trachycarpus Fortunei is one of the varieties you can admire in your garden. It’s a slow grower and its fanshaped foliage will accentuate your garden or patio.

It won’t be a problem to grow your Trachycarpus Fortunei palm tree in pots.

Fatsia ‘Spiders Web’-tough as old boots

36

AGAVES and YUCCA - some of these are tougher than others. If left in the open over winter these will all suffer at least some leaf damage, and maybe more? However given protection they can be a stunning addition to the garden.

ALOCASIAS benefit from fantastic foliage and well worth a try in any new tropical approach in your garden and best in pots and overwintered indoors.

BAMBOO IRIS (IRIS CONFUSA) - irises are perennial evergreen plants you won’t actually recognise until they bloom. They are also among the most beautiful tropical plants you can grow in the UK. They have long, sword-like foliage. Their delicate flowers bloom during spring – between April and June. Irises come in yellow, white or paleblue colours.

A few of the following exotic evergreens require winter protection, while some may need to spend the winter months indoors where it’s warm. However, most are hardy enough to withstand relatively damp, chilly winters.

Flowering perennials are plants that enter dormancy in autumn or early winter, returning to life when temperatures begin to rise in spring.

BAMBOOS have always had an exotic look and with so many species available, in different coloured canes and different sizes it is fairly easy to find a bamboo that will suit any situation. Look for clumping varieties and of course not the running invasive types.

BANANAS are the perfect selection for a tropical garden look. You will not be not looking at the fruiting type; it’s the foliage type that is the best option. Musa basjoo is perhaps the one that will survive the best, cold hardy although it will die back in winter, and it may even fruit in a warm position, it can reach 12ft in one year.

GINGER LILY (HEDYCHIUM AURANTIACUM) is a perennial which has erect stems and fragrant trumpet-shaped flowers. This hardy ginger plant is just one of the many hedychium varieties, which is also known as Ginger Lily. A truly tropical-looking orange flower, it’s a bulb-like plant and will push up through the soil in early summer to produce red flowers late in the season.

FATSIA is very popular and is as tough as old boots.

The variegated variety ‘ Spiders web’ will bring colour to a dark, shady corner of the garden.

Alocasias- wonderful vibrant foliage

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How to propagate house plants If you love a lush indoor jungle, try propagating your favourite houseplants.

It’s easy and a great way to increase your stock, or have plants to give away.

Propagation is one of the best and cheapest ways to add to your collection of indoor plants, especially uncommon species that might be harder to find. It’s also a hugely rewarding process, watching that new plant emerge from a piece of leaf, stem or seed.

want are moisture-holding capability, good drainage and sterility to reduce the risk of disease.

However, while propagation may not be as complicated as it sounds, it’s not always easy, either. You’ll need to know which method to use, and it can take a little while to see results, so you’ll need to be patient.

Other essentials are a dibber or bamboo stem, chopstick, pencil, rooting hormone if you use it, and a water spray. You can also use a drainage tray filled with pebbles to ensure pots don’t sit in water which can cause rotting and a propagation unit.

Propagation is simply a method by which you can grow new plants from a cutting or part of one, which is already established. However, there are a number of different ways to do this - some very specific to certain plants.

The easiest and most common methods of propagating houseplants are taking stem and leaf cuttings or splitting them up into divisions.

If you are taking cuttings (stem or leaf) always get the prep done in advance so that there is minimal delay, and therefore stress, on the new cutting, particularly for tropical species.

Sterilise pots or trays in advance, add the specified amount of the soil medium, then moisten it just prior to planting cuttings.

Many plants will form roots without rooting hormone, but if you use this, always take some out of the container rather than dipping into the container to reduce bacterial contamination. There are also natural root-promoting alternatives including honey, willow water and cinnamon.

STEM CUTTINGS This is a standard, fast propagation method used by many nurseries. It can vary slightly depending on the age of the plant stem. We are focusing on the most straightforward form: softwood (green) cuttings. The best time for propagating these is spring or early summer when the parent plant is entering its active growing period.

This is the best way to multiply a wide variety of tropical plants including Swiss cheese plant (Monstera deliciosa), string of pearls (Senecio rowleyanus), philodendron, fiddle-leaf fig (Ficus lyrata), weeping fig (Ficus benjamina), rubber plant (Ficus elastica), hoya, umbrella tree (Schefflera) and dieffenbachia.

Branching succulents and cacti such as dracaena, crassula, aloe, and aeonium also suit this method.

Watering the parent plant well a day or two in advance also ensures a healthier cutting.

Do not use a standard potting mix for cuttings or germinating seed as the texture and high level of nutrients they contain are not suitable for root formation. For divisions, a standard potting mix is fine.

There are commercial cutting mixes on the market or you can make your own using equal parts of perlite, vermiculite, coarse sand and pulverised sphagnum moss. You can play with combinations (no moss for succulents, for example) but the essential factors you 38

Take cuttings first thing in the morning if possible.

Choose a 10-15cm piece of healthy, non-flowering stem (normally the tip) with at least three leaf nodes (points where leaves or side stems grow). Cut below the bottom node with a sharp knife or pair of scissors. Make the cut as clean as possible (use a razor blade to tidy it up), as crushed plant tissue is prone to rot.

The thicker the stem, the longer it will take to root so younger stems are best.

Remove all lower leaves so they don’t rot in the cutting mix, leaving only one or two sets at the top to reduce moisture loss through transpiration. For the same reason, any large leaves left on the cutting should be reduced in size. If possible take several cuttings at once Country Gardener

as not all will necessarily take root.

If using rooting hormone cover the cut edge with it and tap off any excess. For succulents and plants with sap such as frangipani, allow the end of stem cuttings to callous. This can take anything from three days to several weeks for frangipani. For many succulents, rooting hormone is not necessary.

Dampen the surface of the mix. To reduce tissue damage, make holes in the compost to about half their depth with a dibber or similar, deep enough to hold the cuttings firmly.

Place several in each pot. They can remain together once rooted to form a bushy plant if desired, or be transplanted later into separate pots. Firm up the mix around the cutting and use small sticks to support tall cuttings.

Place pots on a drainage tray if using, then cover with a plastic bag, pierced with holes for ventilation and tied loosely, or use a commercially made propagation unit.

Use sticks around the edge to make sure the bag doesn’t touch any plant material. This will create the humid air necessary for most cuttings, particularly tropical plants, to root up. It’s not required for stem (and leaf) cuttings from succulents or fleshy leaved plants such as pelargoniums, although misting such cuttings every three weeks is recommended.

AFTER CARE FOR CUTTINGS •

Stand pots (within their plastic cover or in propagator) in bright light but not direct sun in a room where temperatures don’t fall below 21°C.

•

Check the compost mix is damp but not sodden. Mist with water but avoid moisture on leaf cuttings. Lift the plastic cover occasionally to avoid moisture build-up.

•

Check for rooting by gently pulling a cutting.

If it resists, roots are forming. Once plenty of roots have formed, repot using a standard mix with a little perlite or coarse sand.

•

Gradually acclimatise tropical species by slitting open the bag or leaving the propagation case partly open. Move succulent cuttings into direct sun once roots have formed.

CUTTINGS - PLANT BY PLANT

ROOT DIVISION

Mother of Thousands

Snake plant

What makes mother of thousands a good, solid houseplant is its ability to reproduce vegetatively by growing plantlets along the margins of its leaves.

The snake plant is typically easy to care for. All it needs is a bit of water once the soil starts to look dry. To propagate, take the Snake Plant out of its pot and find a stem that is attached to the main part of the plant, then carefully pull at the stem to separate the roots. If the process is proving a bit tough, a knife can be used. Once the stem is separate, simply re-pot it.

Once they’ve grown roots, these little plant babies pop off and aim for soil - and mostly just end up on the carpet. Next time you find a reproductive specimen, scoop it up. Treat it like any other new plant, giving it the right-sized pot (not too big, not too small) and keeping the soil moist while it establishes itself in its new digs. It might not look like much, but with a little love and water it’ll grow into a big strong succulent.

Pothos Pothos plants require little maintenance and will even grow in low light conditions with minimal amounts of water. To propagate, simply identify any healthy stems with four or more leaves on them, use a pair of sharp shears to cut below the root node at an angle and place in some water.

Heartleaf philodendron

ZZ plant The quickest and easiest method to propagate a ZZ plant is through root division.

This plant will flourish in indirect sunlight with water needed every two to three weeks. Again, the roots will need to be separated carefully and then the plant can be re-potted.

Boston fern A Boston fern should be watered around twice a week to keep the soil nice and moist. If the roots are divided by hand, the propagated part of the plant can be placed directly into a houseplant soil. However, if a knife was used, it will need a few days for the cut to heal.

PUPS

This houseplant is super easy to care for. All it needs is a bit of indirect sunlight and it can be grown in soil or just water. Remove any stem that is three to six inches long and get rid of all the leaves attached to it. Once ready to get growing, place it in water or moist houseplant soil and watch the plant bloom from a stem.

Ponytail palm Plants that produce pups to propagate do most of the regrowing themselves. The Ponytail palm is an extremely forgiving plant. They are happy in low light, however, the brighter places they are kept, the better. Soil should be left to dry significantly in between watering. Let the pup grow a few inches in size on the plant and then simply cut them off and re-pot.

Jade plant Everyone loves jade - and there’s good reason why. This plant is one of the easiest to propagate, requiring just a single leaf to grow a new glossy plant. Like almost all succulents, jade cuttings need to be calloused before they can sprout roots - a process that can take anywhere from two days to a week . You can speed up the process, by dipping the cutting into a rooting hormone before placing it in the soil.

Bromeliad The same rules apply when dealing with bromeliad pups. Allow them to grow to a few inches before cutting off and re-potting. This plant requires slightly more maintenance and should be kept moist in direct sun and in a light, airy setting.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

39

Don’t feed your plants ‘junk food’ Feed the soil, and let the soil feed the plants.

It’s one of the beliefs former head gardener and now soil consultant David Burrows who now lives in Dorset lives by when it comes to gardening advice.

Soil doesn’t need the nutrients; the plants do - is a widely held view amongst some gardeners.

So how does feeding the soil help our plants? There is another world below the soil surface that gardeners don’t fully appreciate.

Yet soil scientists tell us that in ideal conditions, it is teeming with billions of beneficial microorganisms that provide plants with everything they need to grow and prosper naturally.

That takes as read that we haven’t been damaging our soil with synthetic fertilisers. Instead, we should improve the soil with a steady supply of organic matter - compost, shredded leaves, or aged manure - to promote plant growth by maintaining a healthy soil food web.

Think of it regarding our own bodies. If we’re trying be as healthy as we can, do we fill up on a bunch of junk food every time we’re hungry? Or do we opt for something that satisfies our hunger craving but also isn’t loading our bodies with a lot of fat building empty calories? It’s the junk food vs. whole foods argument, but it can be applied to plants, too.

Plants can get their primary nutrients in one of two ways. The first is through synthetic fertilisers. This is typically salt-based compounds which include nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, or phosphorus. Those chemicals become available to the plant as the particles dissolve, or when they pass by the roots, as with water-soluble fertilisers.

There is no denying this is a proven way to get nutrients into the plant quickly. And it works. But so does junk food to ease your hunger pangs—temporarily. While your plants will respond to the fertiliser, and your taste buds will love the junk food, is that really how you want to take care of your health… or the health of your plants long term?

Nutrients that aren’t immediately taken up as they pass by the roots are gone forever. And that says nothing about the salt remaining behind. To make matters worse, the excess and unused chemicals pass through to aquifers, or as runoff into watersheds. Either way, the damage downstream to plants, wildlife, climate and humans can have adverse consequences.

While it’s true that it would take a lot of salt residue to significantly harm all the

START WITH A SOIL TEST I do not understand how you can garden without taking a soil test.

It defies belief. The information in a basic soil test report is generally about the same. It’s an excellent guide to help take the guesswork out of what you need to do if anything to improve the chemical balance of your soil. All too often, we randomly dive into adding things in our soil while having no idea whether what we’re adding is even necessary. Fortunately, you’d be hard-pressed to cause damage by adding too much organic matter.

The same cannot be said for, synthetic fertilisers.

However, it should be noted that just because it’s organic, doesn’t excuse an overuse of certain inputs. For example, chicken manure contains high levels of organic nitrogen. But put too much of it within contact of your plant roots before it’s mellowed, and chances are you’ll burn up tender plants.

A soil test is an important step in assessing what you have to work with. Tests are available from several sources. You can purchase do-it-yourself kits from a garden centre, online, or through mail order sources. However, DIY kits usually don’t compare in quality or accuracy to the results you get from quality bought home test kits.

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Country Gardener

Temperature testing the soil

living organisms in the surrounding soil, it does have an adverse effect, especially cumulatively. That brings us to the second method of delivering nutrients to plants, the alternative to synthetic (junk food) fertiliser.

It’s organic matter such as compost and organic fertiliser that builds the lasting health of the soil. If synthetics are junk food, then this organic matter is health food… and my method of choice for building long-term soil quality.

In this method, rather than trying to satisfy the immediate craving by supplying a quick fix with no real lasting nutritional value, the focus instead is on giving soil what it needs to naturally provide nutrients that are available to plant roots when needed most.

Oh, and that other axiom I live by and encourage other gardeners to do the same is this: put the right plant in the right place. But we’ll save that discussion for another day.

These organic nutrients must first be broken down and digested by soil organisms, from bacteria and fungi to other soil-dwelling creatures including small insects up to the mighty earthworm. Collectively, they release nutrients in an organic form that plants can use, while also improving soil structure.

Unlike water-soluble synthetic chemicals, organically-derived nutrients bind to soil particles and are far less likely to leech. The net result is a cache of nutrients that remain in the soil until utilized by plants… with little risk to plants of burning or dehydration, even in periods of extreme drought or over-application.

As we continue to feed the soil with organic matter (through compost, leaf litter, worm castings, food scraps, natural fertiliser, etc.) existing soil organisms utilize these inputs and continue to supply food and nutrients for a soil environment that supports other living organisms and plant life. The result is a thriving, balanced ecosystem. Just the way nature intended.

Whether you buy or make it, compost is the absolutely best way to feed the soil and let the soil feed the plants. I believe it’s the single most important ingredient anyone can add to their garden.

Beyond adding life and fertility to the soil, it does so much more.

Compost improves soil drainage, yet allows soil to retain sufficient moisture. It helps create the type of soil structure that is critical for nutrients and water to be absorbed, and roots to spread. Compost also helps reduce soil erosion and runoff.

It protects plants from certain diseases, moderates pH levels, feeds earthworms and other soil-dwelling creatures, supports beneficial microorganisms, is known to be a growth stimulant, and even buffers toxins in the soil.

And the best part – You can easily make your own compost (nature’s superfood) for free. All the ingredients you need come from many things you would otherwise throw away from inside and outside your house.

If you’d rather buy it bulk As simple as it is to make, it may make sense for a variety of reasons to buy it instead. There are many reputable compost suppliers where you can buy it by the bag or in bulk. If you need a large amount, buying in bulk will save you significant money over bags. Anything you don’t use can be stored for later use.

HOW MUCH TO APPLY The goal is to strive for five per cent organic matter by weight in your total plantable area. That translates to roughly 30 per-cent by volume. As a rule, one-inch worked into the top four-inches of soil will get you close and provide excellent results.

Non-compost, organic nutrients When shopping for other organic alternatives to feed your soil, options are often listed primarily by what they are, such as blood or bone meal or rock phosphate. Here is a partial listing of the most commonly available organic nutrients sorted by their role for providing nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium.

Nitrogen: Dried blood, blood meal, cottonseed meal, fish emulsion, seaweed extract.

Phosphorus: Bone meal, rock phosphate.

Potassium: Greensand, sulphate of potash.

Somewhere on the labelling, you’ll find those three important numbers representing their total analysis of nitrogen, phosphorus, or potassium.

Understanding these numbers is the key to knowing what role that product will play in your garden.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

41

READERS LETTERS

Have your say...

Our readers have again provided us with a wealth of views, opinions and thoughts in an entertaining bunch of letters. You can write to us at Country Gardener, Mount House, Halse, Taunton, Somerset TA4 3AD or email editorial@countrygardner.co.uk

In praise of proper push mowers

I’ve learned how to test if seeds are too old

I was delighted to see you announce a competition for push mowers in your excellent August issue of Country Gardener. At the start of lockdown my modern petrol rotary mower failed me and not being able to get it fixed I rummaged through my shed to find my late grandad’s old push mower. After not being used for 25 years this mower still cuts as though it was sharpened yesterday. My grandad formed my love of gardening and I am sure he is with me and smiling at his old mower.

Annie Leversham Porlock

I am forever coming across old packets of seeds and left wondering whether or not they are still worth planting. There is an easy way to tell if the seeds inside an old seed pack are still good — before planting the seeds in the garden to find out.

Seed packets state the planting year that the seeds were packaged for as well as the germination rate. As years go by and the seeds age, the germination rate declines, faster or slower depending on the variety of seeds and how the seeds were stored.

Seeds that you received from a friend or from a seed swap may have no date at all. The good news is I have found you can test seeds yourself.

Take a paper towel and moisten it with a spray bottle. Place ten of the seeds on the paper towel, then carefully fold the wet paper towel over the seeds. Place the paper towel and seeds in a plastic bag and seal it.

Place the plastic bag in a warm environment and after a few days, check the seeds daily. Depending on the variety you are testing, the viable seeds could sprout in just a few days.

If nothing happens after waiting the appropriate length of time, you know the seeds are no good. A low number of sprouts will mean you need to plant more thickly, and a high number of sprouts means you can plant at the regular seed density.

A proper learning curve Country Gardener transformed my lockdown experience last year and I am beginning to see the benefits in this year’s early harvests. I learnt more about gardening through reading your excellent magazine in a few months than I did in my previous 49 years on the planet.

Nick Perkins Taunton

If nine out of ten seeds sprout, the germination rate is 90 per cent.

Mandy Bolt Sidmouth GARDEN BLUNDER I am perhaps a bit over enthusiastic about seedlings growing in my new greenhouse. The other Sunday I was carefully transplanting some seedings from trays and into the garden when my mother-inlaw arrived. She said to me, “Well that’s a first. I’ve never seen anyone planting weeds before!” Lesson learned.

Paul Hutchinson Yeovil

CATMINT IS THE THING TO ATTRACT BEES I really support all your articles on helping bees in our gardens. But from being in the garden a lot over the last two summers I find that good old catmint is the most popular thing in my garden when it comes to attracting them. They head for it in droves!

Nic Porter Plymouth

An apple a day I was reminded by a programme on the radio the other day that when new homes were built under the New Towns Act of the late 1950’s every garden had to have an apple tree planted by the developers. Now it seems spaces are left for cars not trees. But what a simple and lovely idea to plant a cheap and significant tree which could so easily be encouraged.

Mariana Davies Southampton

Why aren’t water butts enshrined in legislation?

I am a great advocate of water butts in the garden- they can save masses of mains water and they are so easy to install. I have four water butts in the garden using water collected from the main house roof, the greenhouse, garage and garden shed. A lot of new build houses are going up near us, mostly detached with a garden - and not a single water butt in sight. Some councils I have read have started to subsidise a water butt and what a great idea that is. Why is it not enshrined in legislation as with energy and safety standards? At the build stage the cost would be marginal.

Carol Fleetwood Totnes 42

Country Gardener

COMPETITION

CONTAMINATED COMPOST - TWO VIEWS Our local allotment association carried a piece in the newsletter last month about contaminated compost. This year we planted several new shrubs and perennials and they all died. The plants were healthy when they were bought but then started to look as if they were thirsty. We watered them regularly, fed them blood, bone and fishmeal and even lifted them to try and nurture them back to health but none survived. We now are sure we might have used contaminated compost.

Anna Graham Portishead I recently planted several tomato plants in pots using the same compost brand I have used successfully before. When they got to about 12 inches high they began to look as if they were dying. Several other plants in pots were failing too. I changed the tomato compost and within a week saw new growth and vigour. They are now laden with fruit but a few weeks behind schedule.

Pam Greystone Poole

WIN AN Aerobin 200 COMPOSTER

Composting can often take more time than you’d like but new style hot composters that heat up your organic waste help to quickly break it down. This gives you useable compost much faster than a regular compost bin.

Country Gardener has five of the special Aerobin 200-litre insulated compost bins (RRP £249) to win –one for each of our five editions of the magazine.

My success in solving plastic pot recycling I’ve just completed some research in my local area –in and around Cheltenham. I wanted to see if many garden centres were now stepping up their plastic pot recycling. The results of a hit and miss bit of research are disappointing. I found only one from six doing anything. Gardeners are being urged to put pressure on local authorities to accept recyclable plastic pots in roadside collections. I have seen very little of it. I understand that only about five percent of local authorities are collecting non-black pots despite markets opening up for reusing this material. Local authorities blame the government which they say won’t fund any initiatives.

Aerobin is a high tech compost bin which makes compost fast from kitchen and garden waste and even better without any need for turning or agitating the contents uses a patented lung® or aeration core inside a sealed bin to promote aerobic break down of organic matter.

I got in touch with a reprocessing company about 15 miles away and they want the recyclables as they sell them on. So things are moving here at least - I hope.

Adam Evert Painswick

What’s more, the Aerobin has been tested by the Eden Project who found it one of the best domestic compost bins they’ve tried.

How long does the compost take to break down? Aerobin will create the first compost in about 12 weeks from the time material is first added to the bin; however it is a continuous cycle feeding from the top and taking compost out of the bottom, all year round.

• Unique patented self-aeration lung means you don’t have to turn the compost manually

Be more flexible to allow dogs on leads in gardens

• Double wall insulation with polystyrene means it is protected against cold weather • It is very easy to assemble

I have just returned to retire in the UK after working and living in the Far East for a number of years. I have been sad to discover that too many public gardens still have rules banning dogs from their premises. Days out supporting gardens are family events which hopefully can last for hours at a time and a pet dog is an integral part of many families. Do garden charities not realise they are missing out on a lot of income because of this old fashioned rule? All that is needed is clear signs that dogs must be kept on a lead and all times and stress that owners must clear up their dog poop-. It is a simple solution. Dogs on leads can do little damage to a garden and I know from my experience that I won’t go to some gardens near me because of the no dog rule.

Michael Raines

Bristol

• It is sturdy and it doesn’t fall over or blow away due to the heavy-duty construction • It creates a lot of heat and keeps the compost warm

Just answer this simple question: How long does it take for the Aerobin 200 to create the first compost?

Send your answer to us at: Aerobin 200 Competition, Mount House, Halse, Taunton, Somerset TA4 3AD.

Entries close on Friday 24th September. A list of the winners will appear in the November edition of Country Gardener.

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ACROSS 1. Wild fruit rich in vitamin C (7) 5. Fenced or bordered by closely planted bushes (6) 9. May of prime importance! (7) 10. This type of species is the first to colonise a new habitat (7) 11. Note found in Tallahassee garden (3) 12. Fast-growing aquarium plant also called Indian fern (5,6) 13. An exaggerated walk by a peacock or turkey (5) 14. Yellow plant of woodlands and highly invasive (9) 16. Dutch city forever associated with showy-coloured flowers (9) 17. A small plant stem with leaves or flowers (5) 19. Genus of plants to which Good King Harry and goosefoot belong (11) 22. A Russian village of peasant farmers (3) 23. Could be applied to manner, table or flowers? (7) 24. Proboscidea sometimes called devil’s claw or ram’s horn (7) 26. Dyer’s rocket and mignonette belong to this genus (6) 27. Family of plants including cuckoopint and jack-in-the-pulpit (7)

DOWN Complete this form and include a cheque for £20 made out to Alro Publishing Ltd and send to: Magazine Subscriptions, Country Gardener, Mount House, Halse, Taunton, Somerset TA4 3AD. Remember to tell us which of the five editions you would like to receive.

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5. Genus of which St John’s wort is the most well-known member (9) 6. To hang down or sag like tired flowers in a vase (5) 7. Oenothera, a medicinal plant, is famous for its valuable oil (7,8) 8. British writer who kept the Aspidistra flying (6) 12. A strong twig of willow used for binding (5) 14. Greek name given to plant commonly called bog-rosemary (9) 15. Indian region famed for produce derived from a certain camellia (5) 16. Gold dust plant or Japanese laurel (6) 18. French flower? (7) 20. Tasty offering from Mediterranean tree (5) 21. Elecampane belongs to this genus (5) 25. Genus of South American orchids (3) Answers from previous issue, August 2021: R

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READERS STORY

‘Vegan gardening

ISN’T A FAD’

Darren Parkes turned to a vegan lifestyle two years ago and this year has become a vegan gardener in his Devon garden and nearby allotment plot - and it’s something he has become passionate about

I’m not exactly an outcast on the allotments I share with ten or so other gardeners. But I am now getting a lot of odd looks and the odd whispered glance now and then.

I haven’t dome anything wrong – at least I hope not.

It’s just that this year on the plot and at home I’ve been a vegan gardener.

I need now and again to do some explaining about what it all means but I am convinced vegan gardening is the next big thing and I don’t want it to be a fad- just here today and gone tomorrow.

Gardeners can grow to support a vegan diet and grow without harming animals.

There are now 600,000 vegans in this country, a fivefold increase in the last ten years. There are endless vegan cookbooks and recipe ideas but virtually nothing on vegan growing.

I hope my family and I are consistent when it comes to not using animal products or exploiting animals in all areas of Devon life – food, clothes, cosmetics, household goods and entertainment. It is, yes an effort sometimes to check labels, etc etc but if you are going to do something...

From the supermarket to the garden, we don’t use animal products.

So my vegan gardening avoids animal manure, fertilisers made with blood and bone meal, slaughterhouse waste and fish remains. I believe it is a safer, healthier and, given the devastating effect animal agriculture is having on the environment, a more sustainable way to garden.

I don’t want to turn this into a rant and appear these are extreme views because they are not. It’s a myth that you need animal manure to grow fruit, vegetables and crops and a number of organisations have been proving it for years.

Most gardeners on the allotment I am sure are convinced animal manure is a healthy option for the soil, I would argue it is not. Animal manure is known to a variety of micro-organisms that can be harmful to humans.

The Vegan Organic Network is one of them and encourage gardeners and commercial growers to go ‘stockfree’. They say: “Vegan-organics is any system of cultivation that avoids artificial chemicals and sprays, livestock manures and animal remains from slaughter houses. Fertility is maintained by vegetable compost, green manures, crop rotation, mulches and any other method that is sustainable, ecologically viable and not dependent upon animal exploitation. This will ensure long-term fertility, and wholesome food for this and future generations”.

I have found lots of ways I can make my soil super rich and healthy. I should explain I am a passionate gardener. I was even before last year’s lockdown but so

Gardeners can grow to support a vegan diet without harming animals

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much more so now. I have a double vegetable plot and a half-acre garden- a big chunk of which is given over the fruit and veg and cut flowers. So I have plenty of soil to tend.

There are several ways to improve the soil in your garden or allotment that avoid using animal products. You can make your own compost by collecting uncooked food waste in a compost bin in the garden. Over time, depending on the weather and temperature, you will have lovely, crumbly, nutrientrich soil. A bonus is that you may get some selfseeding surprises – I had five squashes this year!

You can improve the soil quality by growing green manure plants. They absorb nutrients that would otherwise be lost through leaching, then return them to the soil when they are dug in. It takes just a few weeks and plants such as clover can add nitrogen. This improves soil fertility, adds valuable nitrogen, improves soil structure, gives better drainage or water retention, suppresses weeds and attracts beneficial insects.

Comfrey leaves can be used as a mulch under tomatoes, cucumbers and fruit trees for the slow release of nutrients. Covering the earth around plants with a thick hay mulch also feeds the soil with organic matter as it breaks down, suppresses weeds and encourages worms. It’s best to do this is the winter.

At the heart of it is my family – a wife and two sons – and I think since we have become vegan two years ago we are healthier and fitter and we’ve had no hassle or stresses becoming vegan.

I care about what I eat and always have done, so surely it follows I should care about how I grow food for the family. It’s beyond being organic but it is so, so important.

I appreciate that some gardeners may not feel ready for this and those of us choosing to garden without animal products may have to put up with a certain amount of ire.

Cath Pettyfer - Devon cath.pettyfer@countrygardener.co.uk Tel: 01837 82660

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