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Britain’s best-selling weekly gardening magazine! November 1, 2014
Carol Klein "My favourite perennials for colourful berries"
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easy steps to a
SPOTLESS GREENHOUSE
Space-saving
FRUIT! Varieties that crop in patio pots
your Take cu ings from ts pelargonium plan eed Grow shrubs from s p them Prune trees to keee-free healthy & diseas
Grow bulbs
pros! like the
fowers PL ANT NOW for amazing spring lays TOP TULIPS for long-lasting disp
BRILLIANT GRASSES Miscanthus for autumn... and beyond!
Plant of the week
weather Whatever the
FACTFILE
MISCANTHUS
Perennial grass
Full sun or part shade Fully hardy Any well-drained soil
Flowers through winter and structure year-round, miscanthus is an all-singing, all-dancing plant
EVEN THE MOST colourful gardens can be improved by adding plants with a new dynamic of structure or shape. Nick Miscanthus is the Turrell perfect plant. ItÕs GARDEN easy enough for WRITER a beginner but so stylish it looks like something only connoisseurs might grow. DonÕt be put off by their lack of colour and fragrance Ð their secret weapon is that they appeal on different levels, reaching the parts that other plants canÕt. The first of
these is their architectural form. The flowers will already have got started by now but theyÕll last right through winter, however cold or frosty it gets, and even look good when all the leaves have turned brown. Most miscanthus varieties are tall and dead straight, which is very useful in borders full of plants creating mounds and hummocks. Crucially for a tall plant, it can stand up without help, which means you donÕt have to spend time staking it. Its height means it catches even the slightest breeze, making the stems bend and sway gracefully
Flowers: Sep-Nov Height: 1m-2.5m (3-8ft).
like a troupe of ballet dancers. This in turn produces a lovely swishing, rustling sound. There canÕt be many plants that can sing as well as dance. TheyÕre also really reliable. If you plant a drift of miscanthus you know that every year youÕre going to get around 1.8m (6ft) of elegance no matter what soil you plant them in. TheyÕre tough too, untouched by pests or diseases. But perhaps their most endearing feature is that they grow really fast, which makes them especially useful in gardens that are new and havenÕt got much
6 of the best miscanthus for flowers & form
Garden World Images
Alamy
Alamy
M. sinensis ‘Malepartus’
M. sinensis ‘Afrika’
A beautiful red-flowered variety that doesn’t spread too much. Height 2.2m (7ft)
A smaller variety at 1.5m (5ft) with good autumn colour. Wellbehaved in smaller gardens. Shu erstock
M. sinensis ‘Flamingo’ Pinkish flowers, lovely autumn colour and a graceful habit. Height: 2m (6ft6in)
Garden World Images
‘Hermann Müssel’
‘Yakushima Dwarf’
‘Kleine Silberspinne’
A tall variety at 2.1m (7ft) tall, with pinky brown flowers held high above the foliage.
Perfect for tiny gardens at 1m (3ft) tall. Flowers are pinkish and it forms a neat clump.
Elegant foliage and abundant flowering plumes. Reaches 1m (3ft) wide and 1.6m (5ft) tall.
4 Garden News / November 1 2014
Erupting from a bed of colourful sedum, miscanthus flowers glow in autumn sun growing in them. While shrubs can take years to look mature, miscanthus will put on 2m (6½ft) even in its first year. Fast-growing plants can get a bad press because they are hastily used to hide eyesores such as garages. What generally happens is that theyÕre fine for the first year but then keep growing and never stop. Not so miscanthus. This quick grower knows when to stop, making it handy for screening ground floor windows.
Garden World Images
Individual flowers can display rich colours
With rudbeckia in a prairie planting scheme
Even in the depths of winter, their ghostly stems and seedheads remain
Cut the dead stems away in late spring They’re sociable plants that like to be planted with friends. You’ll get more from them if you plant them in odd-numbered groups – one miscanthus sitting alone presents a sorry picture. Try planting them with lovely goldenyellow rudbeckia ‘Herbstsonne’, pugnacious Eupatorium purpureum, or large drifts of Verbena bonariensis, and they come to life. Unlike other grasses such as Stipa tenuissima, after the flowers
have faded and turned to seed they won’t cause any problems by spreading around the garden. The seeds are sterile so can be left on the plant to feed the birds all winter. Instead, they spread by underground rhizomes, eventually forming clumps. But they have impeccable manners and never outgrow their welcome. Miscanthus are also virtually maintenance free, only needing pruning once a year in late spring when you cut them hard down to
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the ground just before the new shoots show through. During this time you can also propagate it. Once the plant is two or three years old it will have produced enough of a clump to divide into smaller pieces. Cut away a side section without digging it up – they dislike too much root disturbance. It can be done using a sharp spade. These divisions can then be replanted directly into the soil or put into pots. Make sure you water them while they’re
getting re-established. There really is no downside with these plants – something that looks this good at this time of year is worth growing in any garden.
Suppliers ● www.crocus.co.uk Tel: 01344 578000 ● www.knollgardens.co.uk Tel: 01202 873931 ● www.highdownnursery.com Tel: 01273 492976
November 1 2014 / Garden News 5
EN IN THE FLOWER GARD Species tulips last longer
Species tulips
Photos: Neil Hepworth, unless stated
Plant tulips Prepare for a dazzling spring display, says Clare VERYONE DREAMS OF bulging pots of colourful, extravagant tulips adorning their patio in spring, and now’s the time to get the bulbs planted. Don’t be afraid to cram in more bulbs than the packet advises. You want a full display in a pot – there’s nothing worse than a few sparse stems. Just make sure that the bulbs
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aren’t touching, leaving a centimetre or two between each one. You can also layer them up by planting smaller bulbs such as crocus, Iris reticulata or muscari above them to create a multiflowered display that lasts for longer, but leave bigger gaps between them if you do. Use good quality multi-purpose
compost and make sure that it will drain freely by placing crocks or a layer of gravel at the bottom so the drainage hole doesn’t clog up. Raise the pot onto feet during winter to keep water moving through it. Bulbs in general, and tulips especially, don’t like to sit around in soggy soil. The general rule for planting
Smaller-flowered species tulips such as Tulipa linifolia, T. clusiana and T. sprengeri are dainty and elegant. They usually come back year after year, giving you be er value for money than hybrids tulips, which tend to give their best in the first year only. They need very well-drained soil, so if you’re planning on growing some, dig in lots of grit before you plant, or grow them in a free-draining, sunny rockery or hot gravel garden. Plant as many as you can in drifts for the best show of colour or follow the lines of paths with them to frame the shape of your borders with colour in spring. They won’t need to be planted as deeply because the bulbs are smaller, but the two times their depth rule applies.
depth is to ensure the bulb has two times its own depth of compost above it, but with tulips, you can plant more deeply. Deeper planting helps prevent tulips from falling over, and when you’re growing in the ground, it can encourage them to re-flower because the bulb is less likely to divide itself up into smaller ‘babies’.
Three easy steps to get the best from tulips in pots
1
Part-fill your pot with compost. When the bulbs go in, they’ll need at least twice their depth of compost above them so work out what level it needs to be with that in mind.
20 Garden News / November 1 2014
2
Nestle the bulbs into the compost pointed end up, spacing them out but making sure there are enough to put on an impactful, not skimpy, show.
3
Gently cover them over with more compost and fill the pot to the top. Add a top-dressing of gravel if squirrels are a problem in your garden.
Dilapidated structures (below) took a year to complete and six years of planning
ories this week The big gardeninEditgedst by IAN HODGSON Editor-at-large
Historic glass houses restored for £1m Victorian structures re-open to the public
Photos: RHS
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LOCAL COMMUNITY GROUP in Lancashire is cock-a-hoop as an extensive range of Victorian glasshouses is reopened to the public. The dilapidated structures in Grappenhall Heys Walled Garden near Warrington received just over £1 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund to enable the comprehensive restoration to take place. Refurbished houses and backroom
32 Garden News / November 1 2014
Space will be used for plant displays and staging events volunteer team. Features include elements of the Victorian pleasure garden with ponds, mature trees and herbaceous borders and the kitchen garden with old fruit varieties and vegetables. The newly refurbished glasshouses were opened by Sam Youd, former Head Gardener
All photos: Alan Spiers
Horticulturist Sam Youd (third from left) opened the glasshouses
sheds now enable a wide range of plants to be displayed and used for practical work and demonstrations. A multi-purpose community space will also be used as a café at the weekends and to deliver visitor workshops, events and exhibitions. The walled garden, dating from 1830, was built by local landowner Thomas Parr as part of the 60ha (150 acre) Grappenhall Heys estate and used to provide flowers, fruit and vegetables for the house, which was demolished in 1975 after falling into disrepair. A period of reclamation saw ownership transfer to Grappenhall and Thelwall Parish Council in 2005, who are developing it as a relaxing oasis and community resource, supported by a full time Head Gardener and
at Tatton Park, near Knutsford, Cheshire, who said: “It’s good to see the glasshouses reinstated for the community and I urge everyone to continue to support the project.” ● Tel: 01925 213638 or visit www.ghwalledgarden.org.uk Free entry, except for special events.