Garden News February 6

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CROP ROTATION R N THE EASY WAY to prep soil +forhow bumper crops!

JOBS TO DO !

THIS WEEK ✔ Prune buddleia ✔ Grow bedding dahlias from seed ✔ Renovate deciduous hedges

g n i w o s t e G

! w o n

● Top 10 beautiful blooms ● Old favourites, new gems and unusual dazzlers

FRAGRANT DWARF IRIS Plant for late-winter scent and flowers

AboutNOW

MUST HAVE

PLANTS

Climbing to n new heights

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aylors Clematis, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire, has launched a number of new varieties, all to be displayed at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. You can also buy them mail order. Tel: 01302 700716; www.taylorsclematis.co.uk

C. koreana ‘Amber’ C. ‘Volunteer’ Large, two-toned flowers.

Distinct yellow, pink-flushed variety. May to June. No pruning.

Height: 1.8-2.4m (6-8ft). Price: £15.

Crocus

Ideal for pots. May to September. Hard prune in spring. Height: 0.9-1.2m (3-4ft). Price: £15.

Photos: Taylor Clematis, unless stated

A lovely new variety with unique flower coloration is also available from mail-order plant retailer Crocus Tel: 01344 578000; www.crocus.co.uk

C. ‘Princess Charlotte’ C. ‘Charmaine’ Dwarf variety, ideal for pots. May to September. Hard prune in spring.

Height: 0.9-1.2m (3-4ft). Price: £15.

Double-flowers. Royal namesake.

May, June and September. Light prune.

Height: 1.8-2.4m (6-8ft). Price: £13.

Photos: Shu erstock

ener d r a G The Win dow sill

6 Garden News / February 6 2016

Christmas cactus provides bold colour until late winter

C. ‘Lucky Charm’ (above) Distinctive blue-flushed petal edges. June to September. Hard prune in spring. Height: 3m (10ft).

Price: £17.99.

Schlumbergera

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chlumbergera are natives of Brazil, and their colourful, tiered flowers in shades of pink and red have more than a hint of carnival about them.

Known b Known by th their i common n name of Christmas as cactus, they are in n flower from November vember to January, but these showy succulents cculents are keen to keep their heir festive finery well into late te winter!

Unlike many cacti, these plants ts grow naturally in n shady, humid umid conditions nditions at thee base of trees, similar to orchids. They need a warm environment, out of direct

sunshine. Give them the humidity they need by standing the pots on moist gravel and water plants from below. Once the flowers have faded let the plants rest for a month or two, and keep plants cooler, around 15C (60F). Water sparingly to keep the compost from drying out. Give them a rest period after flowering from April, and again in September when the buds have formed. Start regular feeding and watering again between these dormant periods.

Re-pot in fresh compost every year in late March as plants come back into growth. Use a mix of soil-based compost and lighten it with some leaf mould and grit.

Don’t be tempted to use a much larger pot. For the best results choose a pot only slightly bigger than the one they are already in.

Top 5 tips for a great garden in 2016 “A garden is never so good as it will be next year.”

Scour catalogues to get the best from them

Thomas Cooper (1759 – 1839, politician and philosopher) Words Pam Richardson

Read between the lines Plant catalogues drop through the door daily around now, filled with full-colour photos of gorgeous new plants that beg to be tried. The descriptions may be short and sweet, but look closely and you could find clues to these plants’ true natures. ‘Good and vigorous, grows anywhere’ can mean it will take over the border in the drop of a hat. ‘Self seeds readily’ denotes you’ll never get rid of it. ‘Vibrant colour’ sounds promising but it can mean a multitude of shades from mardi gras brights to fluorescent magentas.

Colourful? Yes, but will the other plants in the garden stand the competition from these gaudy show-offs! Honest plant appraisals are worth their weight in gold.

Find out what plants need

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It certainly takes good nutrition to grow the best flowers and tastiest fruit and vegetables. But, just like humans, different plants are partial to different food.

Everything on the veg plot wants plenty of food, served up at the same time every day, and washed down with plenty of water.

Pa Ri Pam Richardso h d n

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Roses need something to get their roots into, and the more disgusting it smells, the better they’ll like it. But show a hardy annual a good pile of nutritious, well-rotted stable manure, and it will turn soft and wilt before your eyes.

Hardy annuals such as cornflowers and field poppies are the Spartans of the plant world, thriving on arid dusty sites.

Try giving them a taste of the good life and they’ll just drape listlessly listle across your beds!

Simply sowing seed will ignite your garden fire!

Sow to bed

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Nothing connects you to a plot more than han sowing seeds and nurturing urturing seedlings. You can an choose the colour, the height eight and how many you want. But, and it’s a big but, never ne r sow ow the whole packet of any seed s d unless nless you’re head gardener on a 30-acre estate. state. Over enthusiastic sowing means endless ndless pricking out, lots of damping off and nd an overcrowding crisis early in the season. eason. Sow small amounts in pots rather than han trays. Your beds will be amply filled with healthy plants.

Hoe, hoe, hoe!

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Give plants the right feed and they’ll shine for you

Weeds are opportunists. Annual weeds live life in the fast lane, setting seed quickly uickly and dispersing it regularly. Pull them hem up or hoe them before they set seed and nd you’ll save a lot of work. Perennial weeds dig ig deep into your soil and settle in for the long ong haul. But however thuggish your perennial erennial weed population is, one slice of a razor sharp hoe will tell them you mean business. usiness. Slicing off stems by pushing the hoe oe just under the soil will weaken the most determined etermined perennial weed if it’s repeated over ver time, preferably weekly.

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Plants such as aloes like to be kept in full sun and dry soil

Right plant, right place

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Matching your plants to the conditions in your garden is the surest way to have a great garden. Find out about your soil. Acid soils support the most colourful camellias and the best rhododendrons, plus your bright blue hydrangeas will be the envy of gardeners with chalk soils! They’ll have pink instead. Shady gardens can be just as beautiful as sunny ones, with hostas, foxgloves, species geraniums and brunnera.

All it takes is a bit of research, and we are here to help!

February 6 2016 / Garden News 7

The woodpecker’s drum roll is the sound of spring

Unse led sunset from the village green in Meopham, Kent, heralded the storms from the US

Ian Currie

Photos: Shu erstock

AboutNOW Noisy amorous squirrels make their intentions known!

Wil dlife Wat c h

With th Julian Rollins

Appreciate your local soundscape The call of the wild indicates spring is on its way!

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of spring to accompany the eading ading about birdsong emerging green shoots? this week, I came Obviously, Obviously the big change is upon the word that birds sing, but what else ‘soundscape’. Apparently, do you hear? Noisy squirrels soundscapes have stand out, out as they’re getting ‘soundmarks’ that frisky and the mate-selection catch the ear, just like process involves lots of a landmark catches the Can you hear the bickering in my next-door eye. So, I’ve spent the hungry hum of neighbour’s big apple trees. past few days listening busy queen bees?

Occasionally I’ll spot a squirrel for my local soundmarks. stand-off, but usually I only hear them.

Spending more time outdoors, Listen out for a distinctive ‘chuck-chuckgardeners are probably better tuned into our chuck’ that sounds like an angry bird. soundscapes and pick up on subtle changes.

Calling frogs gather in breeding ponds in Listening to the night while I’m waiting late January, and the mating madness gets for my dog to take her comfort break, the going this month. Try to get within hearing sounds of winter seem to be on their way distance of the pond without being spotted out. Although I can still hear the swoosh and you’ll catch the males’ ‘love’ calls. of the fast-flowing river and the bark of a Forget Paul McCartney, this real frog chorus fox, the hooting owls have gone quiet. sounds like a celebration of winter’s end.

So what might be the new soundmarks Later in February another element is added to the soundscape, when the first hungry bumblebee queens come out of hibernation to feed at any flowers they can find. Their busy buzz is a rich, deep sound compared There’s not much of a dawn chorus in to that of the workers later in the year.

February, but because it peaks during the And then, of course, there’s birdsong. Song half hour before and after sunrise, you thrushes, chaffinches and great tits are already don’t have to start listening until around singing away, and other species will soon join 6.50am. As time them. But the spring soundmark I listen for is goes on, the ‘song’ of the great spotted woodpecker. The the mix of ones that visit our peanut feeder over winter ‘performers’ disappear now and are rarely seen again until grows, enhancing winter returns. Where other birds proclaim the performance, territory ownership with a rousing song, a which reaches its woodpecker performs a drum roll, made by peak in mid-May, but tapping its beak against a hollow branch. The you’ll have to get up by sound carries across the valley and when I 4.45am to catch it! hear it, I know that spring really is on the way.

Join in the chorus

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W eat h e r W is e With Ian Currie

Storm Jonas turns to rain

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here’s a common belief that when Washington and New York have snow, the UK gets it within a week.

This is often far from the truth and a good example occurred this week when huge winter storm, Jonas, plastered over 60cm (2ft) of snow in many eastern states, with 68cm (2ft 4in) in New York and more than 1m (3ft 4in) in West Virginia.

No wonder it caused paralysis for roads, airports and railways, as severe gales then piled the snow into mountainous drifts, grounding thousands of aircraft flights, bringing down power lines and causing huge waves to flood coastal communities.

When it headed out into the Atlantic it quickly turned to rain, crossing the balmy waters of the central Atlantic, and then brought mild and wet conditions to us.

It’s all connected to the Jet Stream, that core of high-level upper winds caused by sharp temperature contrasts off eastern Canada and north-eastern USA. It will be blowing at more than 200mph over or close to the UK during the coming week, so the weather will remain changeable.

Here in the UK, it wasn’t snow that sent records tumbling, but warmth. A new record high temperature of 16.5C (62F) was set at Achnargart, Highland, on January 24. The previous maximum was 14.4C (58F) at Wisley, Surrey, in 1937 and Braham, West Yorkshire, in 1962. Both these examples were followed by cold, snowy weather in March. On January 25, Lossiemouth, Morayshire, reached 15.6C (60F) – another new record. l Visit Ian Currie’s website at www.frosted earth.com

February 6 2016 / Garden News 11

What to do this week

IN YOUR FLOWER GARDEN

Garden News RECOMMENDS

Other shrubs to do now

Shu erstock

Reno Renovate deciduous decid hedges

Hawthorn An ideal hedge for exposed gardens, and it will cope well with city pollution.

Now’s the best time to cut back and reshape them

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A fast-growing, but easyto-manage deciduous hedge, with dense, twiggy growth.

A string line produces a neat and level cut

branches. Start pruning in the first winter after planting to get the best shape. Trim the overall height and width to keep hedges

from encroaching on paths and within boundaries, and keep them at a height that is easy to manage. Use a string line

How to keep hedge tops level

Set the correct height or width with a string line stretched between two canes.

32 Garden News / February 6 2016

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Deal with thick stems first using strong loppers or power tools.

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Finish with secateurs or shears to give a neat and tidy finish.

Shu erstock

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Shu erstock

Ste p by ste p

Privet

Photos: Neil Hepworth, unless stated

edges are valuable plants in our gardens. They provide nesting sites and shelter for birds, keep our boundaries marked, and help to filter wind in exposed gardens.

Like all plants, they need looking after and it makes it easier to see where branches may have become damaged or decayed. So now is the best time to cut back and reshape hedges such as privet, mature beech and hawthorn, because they lose their leaves in winter.

It’s also easier to see if birds have started nesting early because of warm weather. Take care before you cut a hedge that there aren’t any already building their nests. It’s illegal to damage or destroy a bird’s nest and that includes any that are being built.

Hedges should be trimmed to shape so the base of the hedge is slightly wider than the top. This allows light to reach all the

Beech Young beech trees often hold on to their brown leaves in winter. Grows up to around 2m (6ft).

stretched taut at the height of cut to keep the top level. Aim to cut 15cm (6in) less than the desired final height. Use another string line to keep the width of the hedge constant. Use shears and secateurs on twiggy growth, but use power tools and specialist hedge cutters on large branches.

If your hedge is very overgrown, reduce its height and reduce the width by up to a third – do this on one side only this year, and reduce the other side next year. This gives the hedge a chance to recover in between.