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The UK's top gardening weekly!

February 10, 2018

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Carol Klein 'Try my easy tips for root cuttings!'

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Best bare-root roses for pots – plant them now!

SLUG-PROOF YOUR GARDEN FOR THE YEAR deal plants for winter structure THIS WEEK'S JOBS Sow marigold seeds G our c Chit potatoes Get aheadb m ng! with aubergines

Fabulous February!

O Top 10 plants for scent now O Grow a feast of foliage O Violets for the vintage look

FIRST-YEAR FLOWERING PERENNIALS WE LOVE!

Discover... Peach ‘Crimson Bonfire’ Pick Delicious Fruit From Your Patio...

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Bumper crops of super-sweet apricots from a compact tree – perfect for patios or balconies!

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What an all-round fabulous tree! Gloriously ornamental with rich burgundy foliage and sweetly-scented rose coloured blossom, its attractive symmetrical shape means it even looks good in winter with bare branches! Delightfully compact, Crimson Bonfire’s late flowering habit also means the bumper crop of fruit it produces can make the most of our summer sunshine. The result is the most delicious crop of juicy, ripe and satisfyingly home-grown peaches you will ever taste. Order now while stocks last!

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Delicious, sweet and juicy fruit... ready to pick in late August Wonderfully striking and ornamental Fabulous sweetly-scented blossom Self-fertile, so can be grown on its own Very compact (max 1m/3ft tall in 5 yrs) Perfect for patio pots and containers Supplied as a 60cm tall 2 yr old bare-root tree

These compact 2 year old bareroot trees are ‘multi-grafted’ by expert nurserymen for better shape and form

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A feast of foliage

Look inside!

About Now 4 5 7 9 10 12

News from the gardening world Plant of the week: Viola odorata My Life in Plants Very Important Plant P.5 Wildlife Top 5... roses for pots

Features 14 Plan for a feast of foliage 18 Feel the love with our pick of the plants for Valentine’s Day! 20 Garden of the Week 26 Sumptuous scent for late winter 30 Carol Klein explains the joy of taking root cuttings 66 Homegrown: Curly kale

P.18 Perfect plants that say ‘I love you’!

Alamy

P.33 Take action against slugs and snails!

Take care on Valentine’s Day!

The Experts 46 Start chrysanth cuttings now 47 Keeping pelargoniums going 49 Tony Dickerson problem solves

You and Your Gardens 52 Readers’ gardens 55 Your letters and photos

Offers & Competitions P.34 Sow marigold seeds now

Neil Hepworth

There’s nothing more satisfying for a gardener than watching plants you’ve started off from root cu ings grow and flourish on your plot. Carol gives her top tips on taking root cu ings on page 30.

57 Prize-winning crossword 59 Buy a Magnolia denudata ‘Sunrise’ from T&M 61 Try an all-season blueberry collection from Hayloft 63 Gladioli and hedychium bulbs

Get in touch!

Our cover star: Carol Klein

Jonathan Buckley

Garden News Editor

Martin Fish

A few years ago I bought my wife a young pomegranate tree on Valentine’s Day; I had heard it called the tree of love, and thought it was a nice thing to do. However, she had been taught at school that it’s the tree of fertility, so she gave me what can only be described as a sideways look when she received it! It turns out it’s known as both, but if you want to avoid confusion this Valentine’s Day, opt for one of the plants we’ve picked out on page 18 instead!

Bulbs are now peeping through and I’ve just sown a bunch of seeds in modules. It really feels like spring is upon us now – have a great gardening week!

What To Do This Week 33 Start slug and snail control 34 Make it the year for marigolds!

36 Geoff Hodge puts bypass pruners to the test 39 Sow first-year flowering perennials, says Nick Bailey 41 Naomi Slade shows how a pond works wonders on a small plot 42 Chit your early potatoes 43 Medwyn Williams is getting ahead with aubergines 45 Terry Walton puts in the work now to save time later

Email gn.le ers@bauermedia.co.uk Facebook facebook.com/ GardenNewsOfficial Twitter twi er.com/GardenNewsMag Write to Simon Caney, Garden News, Media House, Peterborough Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA

February 10 2018 / Garden News 3

AboutNOW Head Turner!

Artist’s house and garden opens for the first time Words Ian Hodgson

T

Historic tulips, roses and other period plants are used in the artist’s garden

other perennials and shrubs of the period. The garden was tended by his father and with its then rural location, it gave the artist a quiet sanctuary from London life.

The evocation was devised by heritage expert Ellen Bramhill, of Historic Environment Associates, to provide historic authenticity of the Regency period while taking account of current horticultural conditions.

O Sandycombe Lodge is now open Wednesday-Sunday 10-4pm, but will officially reopen in April. Visit www. turnershouse.org.

How the house and garden looked in 1814

One exhibit in the home is a digital recreation of the original garden

Young gardeners to compete at new show Ascot Racing Ltd

T

he cream of Britain’s young gardening talent will be testing their mettle at the inaugural Ascot Spring Garden Show in April.

The 2018 Young Gardeners of the Year Competition, now in its eighth year, draws entries from six horticultural colleges from around the UK. Those taking part will go head-to-head to build innovative, organic College gardens and sustainable gardens will take centre to enthral visitors. stage at Ascot Vying for gold, silver gilt,

4 Garden News / February 10 2018

silver and bronze awards, the overall winner will also receive the Best in Show trophy, while visitors will vote for the People’s Choice Award.

The move, organised by TV gardener and event organiser David Domoney in association with The Prince’s Foundation for Building Community, will see the number of show gardens double, complementing the six already being constructed by professional gardeners.

“Each college will have five

days to build and plant their 5m x 4.5m plot in the Garden Terrace on Ascot’s Grandstand, ready for the show’s opening day on April 13th,” said David. “To date, the scheme has given more than 600 garden landscaping and design students the opportunity to build gardens at a national event before they even leave the college gates.”

O Ascot Spring Garden Show, Friday, April 13-Sunday, April 15.

Visit www.ascot.co.uk/ gardenshow.

Photos courtesy of Turner’s House Trust

he house and garden of seminal British landscape artist J.M.W. Turner have been carefully restored and opened to the public. A budding architect in his youth, Turner designed the house, Sandycombe Lodge in Twickenham, West London, in 1813.

Although now much smaller than when Turner would have known it, the garden’s design has been taken from a drawing from 1814 by William Havell that shows an informal scheme of cottage garden plants, and Turner’s own sketches of the site.

Turner was also influenced by the home and garden of his architect friend John Soane, who lived at Pitzhanger Manor in Ealing, and plants chosen for the scheme reflect those found there. Spring will see varieties of ‘broken’ or Rembrandt tulips followed by old roses, such as Provence or varieties of Rosa centifolia, Old Blush China or Rosa odorata ‘Pallida’ and autumn damask varieties, as well as wild species, set among

Plant OF THE WEEK

Top varieties to evoke a sense of the past Alamy

A

From: www.macplants.co.uk; tel: 01875 341179.

From: www.grovesnurseries.co.uk; tel: 01308 422654.

‘Coeur d’Alsace’

‘Diana Groves’

Sweetly scented, single, rose-salmon blossoms.

Clumping variety with period charm. H: 10cm (4in).

Award-winning variety producing claret-toned, scented flowers, with a white and orange eye. H: 15cm (6in).

From: www.macplants.co.uk; tel: 01875 341179.

From: www.grovesnurseries.co.uk; tel: 01308 422654.

Alamy

Subscribe for just £1 an issue. Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn

Lovely clear, mid-pink, scented blooms. Some resistance to red spider mite. H: 15m (6in).

Groves Nurseries

Candied violets are still made commercially in Toulouse, France, where they’re known as ‘viole es de Toulouse’.

‘Christie’s Wedding’

Elegant, clear white flowers with an orange eye. Nicely scented. Will brighten a shady spot. H: 15cm (6in).

Alamy

colours in single and double forms in blues, purple, pink and even apricot, as in variety ‘Sulphurea’.

Most are sweetly scented, some more so than others, and a posy of them for a tiny vase, or even an egg cup placed on a windowsill, always makes a charming feature.

It was a popular plant in Victorian times, grown as a cottage garden cut flower and used in the production of many cosmetic fragrances and perfumes until the early 20th century. Both the leaves and flowers are edible and can be included in salads to add an exciting visual twist.

Easy to grow, they’re useful for under planting or associating with spring bulbs, such as snowdrops and winter aconites, and other early shade-loving perennials such as wood anemones and pulmonaria.

Grown in shallow pots or pans they can be lifted more closely to appreciate their demure charms and captivating perfume.

‘Alba’

Macplants

s winter fades and wildflowers stir into life, one of the earliest blossoms to be found carpeting our woodlands, hedge banks and open grasslands with splashes of sea-blue blossom is the sweet violet, Viola odorata. It’s a low, carpeting perennial with rounded, semi-evergreen leaves no more than 15cm (6in) high, and although found throughout most of the UK, is possibly only native up to Cumbria.

It luxuriates in semi-shade in moist, rich soils, particularly those which are neutral or alkaline, but it’s adaptable, particularly in gardens, spreading by creeping stems or stolons and self-sown seed and can find itself an unwanted plant in lawns. Like all wild plants, it has attracted the attention of gardeners who have selected interesting variants from the wild, in gardens or deliberately bred them to create different flower shapes and

Groves Nurseries

Fall under the spell of the charming sweet violet this spring

Alamy

Viola odorata

‘Queen Charlotte’

‘Sulphurea’

Compact German variety from 1900, with fragrant, deep violet, upward-facing flowers. H: 15cm (6in).

Compact, clumping variety, with unusual creamy, apricot-centred blossoms. It’s lightly scented. H: 15cm (6in).

From: www.sweetviolets.co.uk; tel: 01404 813701.

From: www.suburban-garden. co.uk.

February 10 2018 / Garden News 5

INTRODUCING THE INCREDIBLE, AWARD-WINNING

Coronilla glauca Citrina

rare | unusual | exciting

LIMITED OFFER

BUY 3 POTS FOR JUST

• Evergreen • Incredible lemon fragrance • Flowers from early winter through to spring

£5 EACH

A BEAUTIFUL, RARE AND HIGHLY SOUGHT AFTER PLANT During spells of winter sunshine a sweet lemon fragrance will remind you of bright spring days. From November to March, the evergreen foliage is smothered with rounded heads of up to 15 lemon-yellow pea shaped flowers, which form a crown, hence the name Coronilla. A perfect addition to the winter border, yet can be grown in containers too. Prefers well-drained soil in full sun. Height & spread 80cm (32"). Fully hardy perennial which suits all areas – even coastal and windy gardens.

Your order will be confirmed and your 9cm pots be delivered with our no quibble guarantee within 14 days.

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MY LIFE

‘I’m most like in plants the Persian ironwood tree’ The first plant I ever grew I used to help my father with his potatoes. On taking an allotment, aged 17, I planted some to help clean the ground of weeds and they did a wonderful job.

The plant that shaped the gardener I am today As a student I learned to appreciate Itea ilicifolia, the holly-leafed sweet spire from China. It was an initial planting at Madingley and in my own garden. It’s such an excellent year-round plant with glossy, evergreen foliage and racemes of scented, lime-green flowers which insects love.

My favourite plant in the world I have an interest in the verbena family, particularly the beautyberry, Callicarpa bodinieri giraldii ‘Profusion’, with its small, shiny, purple berries in early winter. The berries are like tiny, exotic and highly-prized jewels.

The verbena group usefully flower and fruit between July and autumn. Aloysia or lemon verbena, caryopteris, clerodendrum and vitex are all members of this attractive clan.

The plant that made me work hardest I’m always trying to remove bindweed. It’s so persistent, as soon as one is successfully

removed, another appears.

It always seems to grow at the base of a prized plant, making it difficult to remove without the plant! Often the only solution is double digging to ensure every sliver of those pernicious, white, creeping, underground rhizomes are removed.

The plant I’d like to grow more of We have one or two Trillium sessile at Madingley surviving on alkaline soil, but would love to see a broader drift of those gorgeous deep purple-red flowers offset against silver mottled foliage.

Plant I am in human form Parrotia persica, the Persian ironwood, a strong, dependable, architectural tree with all-round interest, hidden, subtle flowers

Photos: Richard Gant

Richard has always been interested in the natural world

Sports turf was the catalyst for Richard’s gardening career

in late winter and a long period of autumn colour. A few leaves always refuse to drop, hanging on through sheer willpower and determination!

The plant that helped shape my life As a teenager I loved sport and sports turf offered an opportunity to pursue this interest through the preparation of cricket, tennis and hockey pitches. It introduced me to my career in gardening and, from there, my interest in plants.

Summer sorbets

Petunia ‘Shockwave Yellow’

Photos: Su ons

The next few weeks is an ideal time to start off bedding plants under glass and this duo will put a smile on anyone’s face come summer. Plant out in a sunny or semi-shaded spot in moist, well-drained soil. Both are available from www.suttons.co.uk, tel: 0844 326 2200. Petunia ‘Shockwave Yellow’ is a trailing F1 variety smothered in yellow and cream blossoms and is highly resistant to rain damage. Good for pots. H: 20cm (8in), S: 30cm (12in). Price: £4.99/10 seeds. Phlox ‘Blushing Bride’ has twotone pink and white, lightly-scented flowers. Ideal for borders, pots or cut flowers. H: 45cm (18in). Price: £2.49/200 seeds.

Subscribe for just £1 an issue. Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn

Richard Gant Occupation: Head Gardener, University of Cambridge, Continuing Education, Madingley Hall Gardening type I like formal structure, but informal planting within, which fits my personality – well turned out with a quiff of hair out of place!

The plant I’d always give as a gift I recently gave a Prunus incisa ‘Kojo-no-mai’, the dwarf flowering cherry, as a gift.

Ideal for a small garden, it was enthusiastically received.

Phlox ‘Blushing Bride’

February 10 2018 / Garden News 7

AboutNOW

Shrubby Echium nervosum from Madeira

Onwards and upwards!

Deep secret?

and self-sown seedlings. Smaller species, such as sugar-pink E. wildpretii from Tenerife and sky-blue E. nervosum from Madeira, will also be included.

“We’ll be opening the old wooden door and welcoming visitors into the secret walled garden in May,” said Linda. “This is a new beginning for us, echoing how it must have felt at the initial opening back in Victorian times!”

O For opening times, visit www.echiumworld.co.uk.

The current lake may mask an earlier garden

Linda Heywood

showcase the Plant Heritage National Collection of Echiums, started by Linda and Ray Heywood, who also run a local mail-order nursery devoted to the spectacular flowering plants that are a magnet for bees and butterflies.

Star of the display is the giant tree echium, E. pininana, which can attain more than 4.5m (15ft) and is studded with hundreds of blue blossoms in full flower.

Although it dies after flowering, it always produces plenty of seed

Alamy

M

ore than 30 different echium species and varieties will form the centrepiece of an unusual floral display in an historic Nottinghamshire garden.

Dubbed ‘towers of jewels’ or ‘giant viper’s bugloss’, the echiums are being planted among other perennials in a border along a wall in the 5½ acre walled kitchen garden, currently being reclaimed, at Grade 1 listed Thoresby Hall, near Ollerton.

The aim of the venture is to

The wall-backed border will contain 30 different echiums

Linda Heywood

‘Towers of jewels’ are the stars in an unusual floral display

Daffodil ‘Duke of Rothesay’ marks Prince Charles’ milestone birthday

De Jager

A

Alamy

forgotten 18th century garden could lie beneath the Great Lake at Stourhead, according to a new book. The expanse of water at the famous National Trust garden in Wiltshire could mask a garden 200m (656ft) across, including a Chinese bridge, water features and canal and the remains of a giant oak tree.

Author Tim Woodbridge stumbled on evidence after three years of painstaking research for his book, The Choice.

Created by wealthy banker Henry Hoare II, the original garden was created

Prince of daffodils!

for his son Henry III. Tim thinks the garden was destroyed and flooded in 1755 after the death of Hoare’s wife Susan and sudden death of his only son.

Remains of structures were detected during an underwater survey of the lake in 2005.

O Visit www.stourheadthechoice.com.

A

Plants ‘go to sleep’ too

P

8 Garden News / February 10 2018

Trigger hairs on Venus fly traps are immobilised Shu erstock

lants respond to anaesthetics in the same way as animals and humans, a new study has found. US scientists discovered that when exposed to various anaesthetic substances Venus fly traps lost their touch sensitivity, meaning their traps remained open when trigger hairs were touched. Pea tendrils were also found to stop twining round objects they came into contact with, remaining in a curled position.

The study suggests plants could be used to study future developments in anaesthetics, and an alternative test for those destined for use on humans.

new daffodil, named for the Prince of Wales in celebration of his 70th birthday, is to grace the garden at Highgrove this spring. More than 4,500 bulbs of narcissus ‘Duke of Rothesay’, a 20-30cm (8-12in) tall, white, cyclamineus variety with a yellow trumpet, was named by bulb retailer De Jager, which has a royal warrant for supplying bulbs to the Prince, who will be 70 on November 14. The company will stock the variety in its autumn 2018 catalogue. Price is £5.95 for three bulbs, or £17 for nine bulbs.

O Special offer for GN readers: De Jager will give a 15 per cent discount on orders of the ‘Duke of Rothesay’ daffodil if you order before Saturday, March 31, quoting ‘Garden News offer’. Tel: 01622 840229.

Echium wildpretii is a dramatic species from the Canary Islands

Beds ide Boo k s

VIP Camellia japonica W

Very Important Plant

up to 11m (36ft), luxuriating in the damp, acid soil and shady conditions it adores. Often completely covered by winter snow in our gardens, they can only start to flower in early spring when they are finally uncovered.

A notable collection of Camellia japonica was built up by the Duke of Devonshire. In 1828, he built a 91.5m (300ft) long greenhouse, now Grade I listed at Chiswick House in North London, to grow them in – then one of the largest such structures in the world. The recently restored glasshouse contains 33 original early varieties, the rarest being ‘Middlemist’s Red’, a deep pink introduced in 1804 by London nurseryman John Middlemist.

Each year Chiswick House stages an event showcasing its

Subscribe for just £1 an issue. Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn

Dreamscapes Claire Takacs

Wikicommons

hen this shrub was first introduced into the UK in the late 18th century it caused a national sensation, grown only by those with money and influence. For many years they were mistakenly considered tender in the UK, requiring to be grown in heated greenhouses or conservatories.

Variable in the wild and easily bred today, there are more than 2,000 varieties of this evergreen shrub or medium-sized tree which comes from China, Taiwan, southern Korea and southern Japan, where it has been in cultivation for hundreds of years.

Studding the branches from January to March, the waxy, rounded flowers can be single, semi-double or fully double in shades of red, pink or white, entirely self-coloured or splashed and spotted. Although usually seen as a 1.8-2.7m (6-9ft) shrub, in the wild it inhabits forest margins or clearings, achieving

historic Camellia japonica varieties. This year it runs from February 22 to March 25, 10am -4pm daily, except Fridays. Visit www.chiswickhouseandgardens. org.uk or tel: 020 3141 3350.

A global tour of 65 of the world’s best gardens. Thirteen are selected from the UK, including Great Dixter and Gravetye from England, Aberglasney and Gelli Uchaf from Wales, to Cambo Estate and Hopetoun House in Scotland. The picture-led selection is eclectic, embracing gardens medium to large, but all possessing atmosphere and distinctive character, each impressively captured by the photographer/author.

Romantic and naturalistic plantings are a key element.

Hardie Grant Books, £35

February 10 2018 / Garden News 9

AboutNOW

GO Natural

Weasels can be seen in all sorts of habitats, including gardens

Deadhead flowers and pull off old leaves to make way for new

With Julian Rollins

Shu erstock

Wil dlife Wat c h

Perk up your houseplants Help them to come out of dormancy

Watch out for weasels O As winter bites, there’s a chance of seeing one of these tough little characters in your garden

I

It means they’re small enough to get into the tiny tunnels and runs that in other circumstances would keep prey safe.

Life for weasels is hard work. They have to hunt day and night all year round and few are thought to live to more than two years of age. A weasel has to contend with hunger, but also with the risk of becoming a meal itself – they’re eaten by all sorts of predators, including owls, kestrels and domestic cats.

A weasel’s home range is very important to its owner, who will have a number of dens that can be used as it patrols around its little kingdom. Most of the time, the 24/7 hunt for food focuses on mice and voles, but they’re hard to find so weasels have to improvise.

They’ll go after birds, eggs and even young rabbits, if they can find them.

Or, they’ll take a chance at a bird table or hanging feeder – sometimes even climbing to get to a fat-based bird cake.

f you’ve seen a weasel, it’s an encounter that probably lasted no more than moments. Most are no longer than the time it takes something small, brown and very fast to fizz across the road in front of a car.

However, as winter drags on, there’s a chance of a garden sighting. When the weather’s particularly tough, weasels do often venture out into the open to pick up tasty titbits from under a bird table.

Though rarely seen, the weasel is actually widespread throughout Britain (though absent from Ireland). They’re tough little characters that make a living for themselves in all sorts of habitats, from upland moors to inner-city gardens.

What they need to thrive is plenty of small rodents. A weasel is about 20cm (8in) from nose to tail, so not that much larger than the mice and voles they hunt.

Stoat or weasel?

O It should be easy to tell stoats and Stoats are larger and have long tails with a black tip

Shu erstock

weasels apart. After all, the former is roughly 28cm (11in) long while the latter is about 20cm (8in). But neither is likely to help out with a comparison.

So, if you spot a UFO (Unidentified Furry Object) that’s sausage-shaped and red-brown, take note of its tail. If the tail is long and black-tipped your UFO is a stoat, whereas if it’s short (and lacks the black tip) you’re looking at a weasel.

ur poor houseplants have managed to survive another winter with its arsenal of gloomy light levels, fluctuating temperatures, chilly draughts and dehydrating central heating. Now that they’re emerging from winter dormancy, they’ll welcome some extra attention.

O Check each plant for signs of pest or disease. Remove mealybugs with a damp cotton bud and wipe away aphids with soapy water.

O Snip or pull off dead foliage and flower stems from the base.

O Brush away dust and dirt from leaves, then wipe with a damp cloth.

O Mist ferns and smaller-leaved plants with a hand-held sprayer of roomtemperature water.

O Repot congested plants into a pot one size bigger. The Ecopots range, available from Not on the High Street (0203 318 5115; www. notonthehighstreet.com) in grey, white and terracotta, is made from recycled bottles.

O Sprinkle fine gravel on the compost surface and stand pots on trays of pebbles, which are topped up with water to help improve humidity.

O Start watering more regularly and feed every fortnight.

O Read up on the natural environment of your houseplant and try to match conditions to its native location. Cyclamen and azaleas live in montane regions and forest edges so need a cool spot; aspidistras, philodendron and snake plants will survive some degree of shade, while ferns and peace lilies enjoy the humidity of a bathroom.

Wipe and dust leaves to clean them up

10 Garden News / February 10 2018

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AboutNOW 1

a d ust

TOP David Austin

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Alamy

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Roses for pots Plant them bare-root now and you’ll enjoy some exquisite flowers this summer English rose with yellow, cup-shaped blooms that don’t fade. Strong, fruity fragrance. Flowers throughout summer.

Low, rounded habit with glossy, purple-green foliage. H: 1.2m (4ft), S: 1m (3ft 2in).

Tip Makes a great feature rose for the front of borders.

From www.davidaustinroses.co.uk; tel: 01902 376300.

2

‘Desdemona’

English rose with a romantic presence and poise. Strongly fragrant, peachypink, rain-resistant blooms fade to white.

Flowers over a very long season. Disease resistant foliage. H: 1.2m (4ft), S: 90cm (3ft).

Tip Will still perform well in semi-shade.

From www.davidaustinroses.co.uk; tel: 01902 376300.

3

‘Lady of Shalott’

Da d

Durable, diseaser sistant shrub variety.

Apricot-yellow, lightlycented blooms produced hroughout summer.

H: 1.2m (4ft), S: 90cm (3ft).

Tip Ideal to try if new to growing roses in pots.

From www.david austinroses.co.uk; tel: 01902 376300.

2

y

5 Alamy

1

‘The Poet’s Wife’

4

‘Anna Ford’

Miniature patio variety with semidouble, slightly fragrant, orange-red blossoms, fading to orange. Neat, glossygreen, disease-resistant foliage. H: 35cm (14in), S: 45cm (18in).

Tip Can also be grown as ground cover or an edging plant.

From www.coolingsonline.co.uk; tel: 0800 612 2643.

5

‘Sweet Dream’

Compact patio rose with glossy-green, disease-resistant foliage. Repeat flowering with fully double, peachy-apricot, slightly fragrant blossoms. H/S: 35cm (14in).

Tip Can also be used to create a low and informal hedge.

From www.classicroses.co.uk; tel: 01953 454707.

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Plan for a foliage feast…

Give your garden bulk, beauty and boldness with some lovely leaves!

Words Karen Murphy

A

s we get to grips with a new growing season, which is just around the corner, it’s a great time for planning and planting in advance. We always have our heads turned by the beauty of blooms – which flowers shall we grow this

year? What floral fancies are new and exciting to sow?

That’s all very well, but there’s a whole other dimension of colour and life available to us to fill up our plots with, in the form of fabulous foliage. Daring or demure, large or small, there’s something to pop in every corner so you can create your dream garden! Here’s what to get started with now.

Easy-going fatsia just needs moist but welldraining soil and can be grown anywhere

Make a statement with large leaves

Ensete ventricosum ‘Maurelii’

Phormium ‘Sundowner’ This is a New Zealand flax to shout about. The usual dramatic, green-tongued foliage gets an extra burst of colour with sunset-coloured edges. Try it as a bold backdrop to match a coral-red colour scheme. They can be left alone through winter in mild areas of the country or in cities if you give them lots of shelter, but exposed, northern climes can be too much for it.

PLANT INFO Height and spread: 1.5m x 1.5m (5ft x 5ft), needs sun, shelter and well-drained soil.

14 Garden News / February 10 2018

Photos: Alamy, unless stated

Bring a sunset burst to your garden all year round

Dramatically called the Ethiopian black banana, this is the perfect plant to give you the foliage floorshow you’re looking for as it’s a much more attractive variety than the usual green ones.

Best grown in pots so you can bring it indoors from autumn until late spring.

PLANT INFO Height and spread: 3m x 3m (10ft x 10ft). Grow in sun and shelter in south or west-facing city gardens.

Create a kaleidoscope of colour without the need for flowers

Purple patch Canna ‘Wyoming’ Glorious orange flowers sing from tall stems through summer, but it’s the leaves that will provide for you most of the time, in sumptuous purple. A true summer exotic, but one that has come into its own in our British gardens.

PLANT INFO Height: 2m (6½ft), Spread: 1m (3ft 2in). Plant in full sun. Leave plants in the ground over winter in mild areas.

Plant cannas in spring in sun and rich soil

Pittosporum Tom Thumb GAP

Tightly clipped pi osporum teams well with grasses

Fatsia japonica Evergreen fatsia gives gardens a tropical look and it’s not difficult to grow either! Teams well with other competing big foliage plants to add to a jungle-like spot in the garden. If it flowers for you in autumn, all the better. Try a variegated version such as ‘Spider’s Web’ for something more unusual.

PLANT INFO Height and spread: 2m x 2m (6½ft x 6½ft). Doesn’t mind some sun but likes shade. Protect from winds.

An unusual, compact, evergreen shrub, with crinkly, deep purple foliage and fresh green, young leaves. It looks particularly shiny and attractive after a rain shower!

PLANT INFO Height and spread: 1m x 1m (3ft 3in x 3ft 3in). Prune lightly and site in full sun.

Cotinus ‘Royal Purple’ Luminous leaves stand out as a garden feature on its own

Shu erstock

A deciduous shrub that can be grown to a compact tree size, with its rounded leaves that shine out in deep purple from spring to autumn. Fluffy flowers in summer are insignificant compared to its gorgeous leaves.

PLANT INFO Height and spread: 5m x 5m (16½ft x 16½ft). Plant in full sun and lightly trim to shape in late winter.

uchera

If grown in the ground, you may have to cover your banana over winter

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Shu erstock

Shu erstock

Team purplepink heucheras with lime foliage

h e are always new a eties of heuchera ming out every year, in ying shades of the nbow – the best being v id pinks, purples d acid greens, to mplement zingy border wers in summer. They’ll ay bright and leafy all y ar but watch out for d eaded vine weevil, hich can decimate p ants in pots. Visit www. eucheraholics.co.uk for a wide range of varieties.

PLANT INFO Height: 0cm (12in), Spread: 50cm (20in). Plant bright colours in sun and muted colours in shade.

February 10 2018 / Garden News 15

Evergreens for year-round glamour A versatile, hummocking grass that stays in tight, low bunches wherever it’s planted. It’s generally Hakonechloa seen as semi-evergreen, remains stout as it stays put through and unflinching autumn and winter, with spiky leaves in reddish tinges before crisping up, ready for a shear back in late winter to give way for new growth.

PLANT INFO Height: 30cm (12in), Spread: 50cm (20in).

Full sun to part shade in moist, well-drained soil.

GAP

Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’

Invest in a large aucuba specimen for instant foliage impact

This zingy hebe is available in most good garden centres

Aucuba japonica ‘Variegata’

Hebe ‘Heartbreaker’

A tough, large-leaved shrub that’s popular because you can grow it anywhere, including in a pot in dark shade! This has lush green leaves speckled white-yellow, which may put some people off, but it really does brighten a long-forgotten corner.

PLANT INFO Height and spread: 2.5m x 2.5m (8ft 2in x 8ft 2in).

Sun to full shade, suits a large pot. All soils except waterlogged.

A punchy, pink evergreen with green-white leaves that go pleasingly fuchsia-pink, more intensely during the cold season. Pop in a pot to show it off, or jazz up too much green planting with this bold little number.

PLANT INFO Height and spread: 60cm x 60cm (24in x 24in). No pruning necessary, suits all garden areas.

Ground-hugging leaves The ultimate lowmaintenance conifer to cover ground

Hostas The classic foliage plant in all leaf sizes and shades of green, brightening light to heavy shade. Choose baby hostas or huge specimens to grow in statement pots.

PLANT INFO Height: 5-90cm (2-35in), Spread: 20cm-1.5m (8in-5ft). Grow in a light to moderate shady spot.

Juniper ‘Blue Carpet’ A low, ground covering, evergreen conifer in a zingy bright blue. Try cascading over a rock garden or as a low maintenance, front-ofborder gem.

PLANT INFO Height: 50cm (20in), Spread: 2.5m (8ft 2in), grow it anywhere.

16 Garden News / February 10 2018

Large-leaved hostas or baby versions brighten pots or shady borders

Add asplenium as part of your naturalistic planting scheme

Feathery ferns for the jungle look Coppery ferns look stylish

A stout, waxyleaved fern to show off in vase displays

Asplenium scolopendrium

Blechnum spicant

A favourite fern, for its thick, waxy leaves all year and versatile, compact habit. With crinkly leaves or wavy, it looks right at home alongside more feathery ferns, in a shady, informal spot or naturalistic planting among low-growing bulbs.

PLANT INFO Height and spread: 50cm x 50cm (20in x 20in). Site in shade and remove dead fronds as necessary.

A handsome, almost prehistoriclooking, waxy-leaved fern. If you have acidic soil it’ll grow nicely for you but neutral is just fine, too. Have you ever thought about using ferns in flower arrangements? Then look no further than this one to do the job perfectly.

PLANT INFO Height and spread: 50cm x 50cm (20in x 20in). Grow in a moist, cool, shady or part-shady site.

Dryopteris erythrosora This fern is described as deciduous and semi-evergreen, due to the fact its fronds do die down but stay put.

Also, some leaves simply remain all year. It has recognisable, pointed feather-fronds, but with vibrant unusual colouring in coppery range. Young copper leaves mature to large, green fronds.

PLANT INFO Height and spread: 1m x 1m (3ft 2in x 3ft 2in). Grow in cool, moist, dappled shade, or sun if you water it regularly.

Try this fern for charming, fluffy leaves

Polypodium cambricum ‘Richard Kayse’ This is a lovely fern to look at, for its spiky, serrated, almost fluffy leaves. The original species of this one is a bit like blechnum, but this cultivated variety is extra charming and, happily, evergreen. Visit www.fibrex. co.uk for a huge selection of polypodiums.

PLANT INFO Height: 45cm (18in), Spread: 1m (3ft 2in). At its best in a dry, shady rockery o ll i .

Bergenia See how the bronzegreen epimedium foliage spreads neatly

Fire up borders with this autumn heather

A dependable evergreen for the winter garden, with charming ‘elephant ears’ as foliage that flushes red in the cold. Low maintenance with superb spring flowers.

PLANT INFO Height: 15-30cm (6-12in), Spread: up to 1m (3ft 3in). Grow it anywhere.

Calluna vulgaris ‘Wickwar Flame’ GAP

Epimedium ‘Fröhnleiten’ A beautiful spreader for a shady front of border, with heart-shaped, coppery leaves.

Yellow flowers complement its evergreen leaves in spring.

PLANT INFO Height: 40cm (16in), Spread: 1m (3ft 5in), grow in moist soil.

Bergenia forms a ractive, spreading clumps

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A real chameleon of the heather family, which transforms from golden yellow in summer, orange in autumn and deep red in winter.

PLANT INFO Height: 30cm (12in), Spread: 1m (3ft 2in), acid soil in sun.

O SUPPLIERS: Crocus – www.crocus.co.uk; RHS Plants – www.rhsplants.co.uk.

February 10 2018 / Garden News 17

Love is in the air.

Shu erstock

Words: Iona Chisholm

Inspiring gift ideas for those with green fingers this Valentine’s Day… Rhubarb ‘Valentine’ keeps its red colour when cooked

Hoya kerrii has heart-shaped leaves

2

Shu erstock

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Rhubarb ‘Valentine’

An easy-to-grow and outstanding variety.

Not only does it have the sweetest and least acidic taste, but it also keeps its colour and shape when cooked. This makes ‘Valentine’ an excellent choice for discerning chefs! With high and reliable yields of such quality, it’s hard to find a better choice. Plant 90cm-1.2m (3-4ft)

apart in well-manured soil in a fertile and welldrained plot, just covering the top bud. Stems can’t be harvested until the second year. Until then, remove flowering and/or damaged stems to promote healthy plant growth.

Tip Buy crowns now, keeping in a cool place until planting in early spring.

O Available from www.dtbrownseeds.co.uk.

4

Poppy ‘Falling in Love’ grows to be a pre y, frilly double Alamy

Why not pick your Valentine a special packet of seeds to sow this spring?

You could try the cheerful Helianthus annuus ‘Valentine’, with its large, pale yellow flowers and rich chocolate brown centres. As with many sunflowers, with a maximum height of 1.5m (5ft), it needs staking. This hardy annual also makes an excellent cut flower because its pollen doesn’t drop. You could give Papaver rhoeas ‘Falling in Love’ a go, for an easy-to-grow and charming mass of longlasting blooms in red, coral, pink and white. These seeds can be sown directly onto cleared and raked borders from March in their final flowering position.

Tip Poppies are brilliant for attracting lots of bees and butterflies.

O Sunflower available from www.sarahraven.com; poppy available from www.plantsofdistinction.co.uk.

18 Garden News / February 10 2018

Also known as the Valentine flower or sweetheart plant, this attractive indoor hoya has become popular due to the novelty of its heart-shaped leaf. It’s usually bought as a single-rooted leaf, but will grow to resemble a bush of hearts! It prefers free-draining soil which isn’t too nutrient rich and grows well between 18-27C (64-80F). Feeding up to four times a year is sufficient. Water sparingly when the soil’s no longer moist.

Re-potting is only needed when the plant outgrows its pot.

Tip A mature plant that’s root-bound is more likely to flower.

O Available from www.ribbleplants. co.uk.

24 ‘carrot’ gold?

Shakespeare may have suggested music was the food of love but what about carrots, particularly an old French variety called ‘Guerande’, which is known as ‘Oxheart’?

Its sweet root actually Plant these short, resembles a heart heart-shaped shape. It grows up carrots in pots to 15cm (6in) long and 12½cm (5in) wi j y smaller and sweeter. It’s a fast grower, stores well and has less foliage than you’d expect. As for carrot fly, it has only moderate resistance, but didn’t Shakespeare warn us that the course of true love never did run smooth?

Tip Because of its stumpy shape, it suits containers and shallow soils.

O Available from www.dobies.co.uk.

b s

3

Seeds of love!

Alamy

Sunflower ‘Valentine’ is a handsome variety

Hoya kerrii

..and the garden!

Why not grow some sweet strawberries for your sweetheart?

Shu erstock

Shu erstock

5

Strawberry ‘Sweetheart’

Available now to buy as bare-root plants.

Soak them well before planting, as soon as possible after delivery, then await the sweet jewels from what claims to be one of the best recently-introduced garden varieties.

Generally, this early variety will flower in April/ May and begin cropping in June, delivering a high yield of pleasantly-flavoured, juicy fruit.

‘Sweetheart’ has very good disease resistance and a compact habit, so it’ll grow well in pots or can be incorporated easily into a border or tucked into your vegetable plot.

Tip Try it trailing in a hanging basket where it can sit in a sunny spot.

O From www.crocus.co.uk.

Pink-red droops of flowers make this pieris special

Pink perfection: Rose ‘You’re Beautiful’ and, inset, ‘Cariad’ Alamy

A lovely evergreen addition to your spring border. This fully hardy shrub will grow well in acid soil conditions, ranging from partial shade to full sun, and reaches a final height and spread of around 1.5m (5ft). Available to buy now in two-litre pots, it can make an instant impact in your garden, particularly as it’ll soon be smothered in cascades of deep pinky-red flowers that are striking against its green, glossy leaves.

Tip This pieris looks particularly stunning when planted beside any red-leafed shrub.

O From www.crocus.co.uk.

7

Roses

They’re simply the most enduring symbol of love. Rose ‘You’re Beautiful’, was named Rose of the Year 2013. The bushy, deep green foliage reaches 1m (40in) wide and high, dotted with sweetlyscented, sugar pink flowers.

It has good disease resistance and is suitable for borders or a container. Rose ‘Cariad’, is a soft pink rose with camellia-like blooms. Named after the Welsh word for love, this reliable

shrub rose grows to 1.5m (5ft) high and has excellent disease resistance. Plant roses carefully to allow the roots to spread and the grafted point to sit at soil level.

Deadhead to prolong flowering.

Tip Fertilise, water well and apply a manure mulch in spring.

O ‘You’re Beautiful’ from www. rhsplants.co.uk; ‘Cariad’ from www.jonestherose.co.uk.

Alamy

6

Pieris japonica ‘Valley Valentine’

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February 10 2018 / Garden News 19

Garden

OF THE WEEK

Gardeners Wendy and Don Matheson Location Boath House, Auldearn, Nairn, Morayshire IV12 5TE Size 22 acres Soil Sandy loam Been in garden 26 years Open To residents, diners and visitors to the walled garden café, opening later in 2018 Contact Boath House, tel: 01667 454896; www.boath-house.com.

Welcoming a new audience Meet a Scottish couple who are looking forward to sharing their spectacular gardens near Nairn with a lot more visitors this year Words Marina Jordan-Rugg Photos Ray Cox

C

hanges are afoot at Boath House, an elegant Scottish country house hotel near Nairn. Last year, owners Don and Wendy Matheson decided to drop their restaurant’s coveted Michelin star in a bid to provide “a more informal The lochan, or and relaxed” experience, small loch, framed and now they’re starting by fiery ‘flames’ of work on a new rustic cornus and willow café in the grounds.

“It’s set in our 400-yearold walled garden and will allow many more visitors to come

20 Garden News / February 10 2018

and see our beautiful gardens,” says Wendy. “We’re especially looking forward to opening our doors to more local people who perhaps wouldn’t choose to eat in the restaurant.”

Don and Wendy bought Boath House “as a ruin” and spent six years in the early 1990s renovating the Georgian mansion to its current Grade I listing before opening it as a hotel and restaurant.

It’s set in 22 acres with a two-acre walled garden, sweeping lawns, stretches of parkland, a lochan (small loch), streams and expanses of

Left, the grass prairie garden looking towards the hotel.

Here you can see stipa, calamagrostis, eupatorium, carex, pennisetum, hakonechloa and more.

Right, the entrance to the walled garden, looking out towards the woodland

Left, colour from snowdrops and aconites in the woodland garden.

Below, the greenhouse in the walled garden holds a superb collection of aeoniums

woodland, but before Wendy started transforming the grounds she took a diploma in landscape design. “By the end of the course I had it pretty much planned,” she says.

“The walled garden next to the house was key because our hotel operates a ‘garden to plate’ ethos as much as possible.” As well as the vegetable potager, Wendy installed three polytunnels to produce a larger range of edibles over a long season.

She established an informal herb garden within the formal framework of an existing parterre and planted an orchard with six apple and four plum varieties, pears, filberts and cherries.

“The walled garden is simply

stunning in a good summer and the ideal place to situate our new café,” Wendy says. At the centre is a seating area beneath the wisteria, rose and clematis pergola and there are freerange chickens and beehives, a garden shop and design studio, Victorian-style greenhouse and well-used potting shed. “We sow thousands of seeds for the kitchen garden, herb garden and cut-flower borders each year for use in the restaurant and hotel,” Wendy explains.

Outside the walled garden, the design is free-flowing and Wendy has created a grass and perennial ‘prairie’ garden, inspired by the plantings of Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf. “It’s incredibly low Continues over the page

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February 10 2018 / Garden News 21

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Garden

OF THE WEEK

The 400-year-old walled garden shows off a range of grasses and crispy perennials such as calamagrostis, eragrostis, cortaderia and sedums

maintenance, yet provides maximum impact,” she says.

The stands of majestic Stipa gigantea, feathery miscanthus, plumes of cortaderia and tufty bronze and green carex are supplanted by a blaze of spiky blue eryngiums, towering verbascums, plump cardoons, fiery rudbeckias and heleniums, vibrant echinaceas and sedums that bloom from

midsummer to the frosts.

They’re left in place at the end of the season to add structure and dramatic seed heads. “They look simply wonderful backlit by low winter light or rimed with frost,” Wendy says.

“The perennials are chopped back each March and the evergreen grasses just need a bit of a tidy up before it all starts again. This

Left, this vibrant seating area is towered over by gorgeous Stipa gigantea. Right, this old, gnarled orchard has six varieties of apple, four plums, some pears, filberts and cherries

Continues over the page

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February 10 2018 / Garden News 23

Plants for winter structure

Eryngium giganteum

Stipa gigantea

Phlomis russeliana

Large, silvery-flowered Miss Willmott’s ghost, with its spiky ruff and marbled foliage, makes a bold statement all year.

H: 90cm (3ft), S: 30cm (1ft).

Fountains of golden, oat-like, airy flowers spring from this majestic silvery, evergreen grass and look dazzling backlit by winter sun. H: 2.5m (8ft), S: 1.2m (4ft).

Tiered whorls of pale yellow flowers bloom May-September with heart-shaped leaves. The dried flowers add drama when frosted. H: 90cm (3ft), S: 75cm (2.5ft).

Eryngium planum

Calamagrostis acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’

Rudbeckia hirta

Tiny, blue sea holly flowers on blue stems with green leaves make excellent cut flowers. Dainty seed heads stand well in winter. H: 90cm (3ft), S: 45cm (1.5ft).

style of planting certainly offers maximum reward for minimum input,” she laughs.

The dazzling wildflower meadow was Wendy’s idea for dealing with the marshy ground surrounding the lochan. “Don found the mower was always getting stuck, so I ripped up the turf and topsoil and scattered a specific mix of wet meadow grasses and flowers, then waited to see what would happen.”

The result is a blaze of colour that changes each year with mown paths meandering through it, and it just requires chopping back each September.

24 Garden News / February 10 2018

Green stems and feathery seed heads mature to buff in winter. H: 1.8m (6ft), S: 60cm (2ft).

While Don undertakes the heavy work, Wendy has been caring for the cultivated gardens almost singlehandedly, but now local lad Robbie Paterson is helping her take the walled garden development forward.

“Being able to enjoy a garden is key,” Wendy maintains. And by dotting around a variety of seating areas, benches, daybeds and even a hammock, their visitors are encouraged to linger awhile and enjoy the abundant colours, scents and sounds of nature that Boath House gardens have to offer.

Fiery-hued coneflowers, up to 15cm (6in) across, bloom prolifically July-October.

As the petals fall, their delicate seed cones emerge. H: 45cm (1.5ft), S: 25cm (10in).

We ndy’s time-saving tips

1

Don’t be a slave to your garden.

Choose your plants carefully according to how much time you can afford to spend caring for them. Grasses and perennials are so rewarding and need very li le input.

If there’s a challenging spot, think about how you can improve it so that it’s easier to manage. Make your garden work for you!

Enjoy it – put in a seat or two so you’r encouraged to relax and view different parts of the garden when you get the chance.

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Sumptuous scent f Increase the fragrance in your garden now

M

ost gardeners would admit their garden doesn’t look as good in winter as it does in spring and summer. But it can still smell as good! Many plants in flower now also have a gorgeous perfume that’ll return year after year.

Yet it’s always perfume in a bottle given as a Valentine’s gift – perhaps Britain’s romantic gardeners can start a new trend and hand over gifts of scented plants instead!

For scent to be savoured in the garden at this time of year, we need to make it easy to enjoy.

That means placing plants where we can’t miss them and bringing

Shu erstock

their flowers indoors, too. It’s also the perfect time to move some of summer’s most highly-scented plants to better locations in the garden to ensure there’s a succession of delicious perfume for months this year.

Perhaps the best bit about growing plants that have scent at this time of year is that it evokes thoughts of spring days, when a walk in the garden is accompanied by a whole host of different fragrances that make the new season so exciting.

So while we wait for the delicious spring scent of lily of the valley and freshly mown grass, get a head start with some of the following fragrant winter beauties.

Words Greg Loades

Five fragrant bulbs Crocus chrysanthus

Photos: Alamy, unless stated

Galanthus ‘S.Arnott’

26 Garden News / February 10 2018

Narcissus ‘Treglisson’ This is the variety to grow to stretch the daffodil season in your garden!

Bursting into bloom now (or even earlier), this sweetly-perfumed daffodil flowers on tall stems up to 35cm (14in) in height. It’s a classic big, bright yellow daffodil that can start off a long spell of colour and scent if followed by later-scented varieties such ‘Dutch Master’ and ‘Curlew’.

From www.su ons.co.uk.

Ipheion uniflorum ‘Wisley Blue’ As well as the a ractive, star-shaped, violet blue flowers of ‘Wisley Blue’ having a sweet scent, the leaves, which appear with the flowers, have a garlic scent if crushed. A good choice for bringing early colour to a rockery, this bulb will grow best in free-draining soil in a sunny but sheltered position.

From www.jparkers.co.uk.

I i i ‘Harmony’

Shu erstock

The flowers of this snowdrop are noticeably bigger than those of the common snowdrop and stand on flower stems around 25cm (10in) tall.

They’re a good choice if you want to make more impact with snowdrops in a small area of the garden or in pots. Grow some in a pot and bring it onto a porch windowsill to enjoy the flowers’ rich honey scent. From www. avonbulbs.co.uk.

These cheerful bulbs are more subtle and refined than the big, brash Dutch crocus that appear in all sorts of colours later in spring. Small plants, with flowers on stalks around 20cm (8in) tall, which appear with the leaves, C. chrysanthus are perfect for pots. ‘Cream Beauty’ is a beautiful variety, with the palest creamy petals and golden yellow throats. From www.crocus.co.uk.

It’s not just the scent that makes you want to grow it where you can get close to it – the intricate pa ern on the flowers is also not to be missed. Flower stems are just 15cm (6in) tall. If they’re in bud in a pot, bring the pot indoors to appreciate the flowers and scent as they open. From www.crocus.co.uk.

Fill your garden with fragrance!

Wyevale

for late winter

Five perfume-filled shrubs Viburnum bodnantense ‘Charles Lamont’

This shrub blooms all the way through winter and makes a good-sized shrub, up to 3m (10ft) tall. Plant it somewhere easy to get to, so you can just walk up to it and enjoy the very sweet perfume. The flowers appear in clusters on bare stems and once established there’ll be plenty of stems for cu ing for the house.

From www.jparkers.co.uk.

Hamamelis ‘Pallida’

One of the brightest yellow with hazels, with flowers that look like peelings from a lemon s in. Just a couple of cut stems in flower can s rve as a natural air freshener for the house and this shrub can reach 4m (13ft) tall so t ere’ll be plenty to go around. Capable of flowering from December, it will carry on flowering through February. Hardy down to - 5C (5F). From www.bluebellnursery.com.

Clusters of daphne blooms sing with scent

Daphne ‘Jacqueline Postill’

A candidate for the strongest-scented plant of winter, this is a special shrub to grow. It may not survive cold winters so if you don’t have a garden in a mild area or don’t have a sheltered, semi-shaded spot for it, grow it in a pot of soil-based compost and move it to a cool, well-lit room indoors if temperatures below -5C (23F) are forecast. From www.sarahraven.com.

Lonicera fragrantissima This hardy shrub is a must-grow if you crave the refreshing scent of honeysuckle in winter.

The flowers are much simpler than those of summer honeysuckle, but what they lack in looks they make up for in fragrance. Place it near a house entrance to enjoy the scent.

A south-facing entrance is ideal as flowering will be be er in a warm spot. It can grow to 2.5m (8ft). From www.burncoose.co.uk.

Chimonanthus praecox ‘Luteus’ A plant for patient gardeners, it can take a few year to start to flower, but it’s worth the wait. The bright yellow flowers (without the usual dark red centres) have an intensely sweet fragrance and hang all the way along the bare stems. It needs protection from temperatures below -10C (14F) so plant in a sheltered corner or against a sunny house wall.

It’ll grow taller against a wall and can reach 4m (13ft) tall. From www.rhsplants.co.uk.

Subscribe and get 4 issues for just £1! Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn

DON’T FORGET SCENTED LEAVES! Remember that plants with scented leaves can have just as much impact in the garden as those with scented flowers.

Scented-leaved pelargoniums release the most evocative of fragrances and can be grown on a sunny windowsill indoors now to enhance your home. Also remember evergreen herbs such as myrtle, rosemary and cotton lavender are scented and easily grown in pots to keep near the house.

Visit www.fibrex.co.uk for pelargoniums.

Continues over the page

February 10 2018 / Garden News 27

Move a summer-scented plant

A

s well as planting plants that add scent to the garden now, it’s also the perfect time to move those that’ll provide scent in summer to better positions, to help maximise the impact their perfume has on the garden. Provided the soil isn’t wet underfoot, move established plants to a new place now.

Dig around the edge of the plant, making sure you don’t slice into the roots

O Start by digging the hole where you want the new plant to go. Make sure you break up the soil at the base of the hole and fork in a handful of fish, blood and bone fertiliser.

O Dig around the edge of the plant you want to move, starting to cut into the soil a spade’s width away from the main stem of the plant. Once you can see the roots of the plant, dig further down, taking care not to slice into the roots.

O Switch to a digging fork, insert it into the soil and lift it up to gently lever the plant from the soil. Do this all the way around the plant until it’s free. You may have to pull the main stem of the plant gently to finally release the roots but take care not to damage it.

O Place the plant in a wheelbarrow or on a sheet. Cut out any dead or damaged stems, then take it straight to the previously dug hole. Lower it into the hole and check that the plant is at the same level as it was before, then fill the hole with the previously dug soil.

O Firm the soil around the base of the plant with the ball of your foot, then water the plant in well, soaking the soil around the roots until puddles appear. Water again during very dry spells and water up to once a week in spring and summer.

Neil Hepworth

WHERE TO POSITION NEW PLANTS The most memorable scents are the ones we’re frequently exposed to, so place scented plants where they’ll be frequently seen and enjoyed. Scented shrubs are best planted along border and path edges, and with no plants in front of them. Scented bulbs are best grown in containers or raised planters such as alpine troughs, so that the scent can be enjoyed without you having to get down to ground level to smell them! If you buy scented bulbs in flower from the garden centre, pop them into a windowbox while still in their pots, or if you’ve an unheated porch or utility room that’s well-lit, keep them on the windowsill so you get a hit of the scent in the house.

28 Garden News / February 10 2018

Neil Hepworth

You’ll enjoy scented plants more if they’re accessible to you – perhaps by a doorway

Lower your plant into the new hole, keeping it at the same level, then backfill with soil tightly

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‘What a great way of making more plants for free!’

CAROL KLEIN

This week at

GLEBE COTTAGE

The wonder of

root cuttings

There’s really nothing to be worried about – this is a part of gardening that’s a lot of fun!

Y

ou may have noticed I get quite excited about plants, and a couple of weeks ago I had a particularly thrilling day when a small consignment was delivered to Glebe Cottage. They came from Norfolk from Howard Nurseries, some in pots but the majority open ground.

As you may also have noticed, we propagate most of our plants ourselves from seed, cuttings and division.

But every so often we lose something, want to try something new, or we want to

30 Garden News / February 10 2018

propagate from root cuttings a plant that just won’t last more than a couple of years in our heavy clay soil. Examples of such plants in this current order were anchusa, verbascums and pink chicory, Cichorium intybus ‘Roseum’. In silty Norfolk soil these all produce chunky roots, plenty to purloin for root cuttings, with a handsome plant left over to pot up and plant out later.

This is the perfect time to take root cuttings. Some gardeners are loathe to try it; they think there must be something

difficult about it. How can you just take a piece of root and produce new plants from it?

But as with all successful propagation, it’s just a question of emulating nature. Should you move an Oriental poppy or attempt to remove a clump of acanthus that has outgrown its space, you’ll know that despite attempting to remove all traces of roots, the plant will miraculously reappear. It has regenerated from its roots and we can exploit the same process ourselves to make more plants.

Not every plant can be

Fishing out roots from Crambe cordifolia, suitable for taking cu ings from

increased in this way, but any which make new shoots themselves from old tap roots are worth a try. We make more of the giant cabbage, Crambe cordifolia and its seaside sister Crambe maritima, in this way.

It’s also the very best method to increase Oriental poppies.

Before I pot up my anchusa (they’ll be planted out in the brick garden in April) chunks of their thick tap roots will be cut into sections about 4cm (1½in) long and pushed into compartments of a module tray in gritty open compost. They’ll stay there until they’ve rooted thoroughly.

It’s tempting sometimes to see how root cuttings are progressing, but beware, leaves are made before proper roots.

It’s as well to leave them until you see roots pushing through the drainage holes. At this stage young plants can be potted on and eventually put into bigger

My ga rde n i n g dia ry

Trimming off larger roots from Acanthus mollis ‘Hollard’s Gold’

Naturally they’ve all become root cuttings but this time they were laid horizontally on half seed trays with a layer of grit to keep them in intimate contact. This is the best method to make root cuttings from plants whose roots produce nodules along their length.

Gardeners who try root cuttings for the first time wonder why they haven’t tried them before. What a great way of making more plants for free!

What’s looking good now

Iris unguicularis Jonathan Buckley

Our first vehicle when we came to Glebe Co age 40 years ago was an old Land Rover. It went wrong from time to time and our nearest mechanic was a man called Charlie Philpo . He and his wife Daphne ran a small garage and were both keen gardeners.

On a visit to them with my poorly vehicle one January, I was thrilled to see between their bungalow wall and

Alamy

This glorious Algerian iris needs li le a ention

workshop, a long line of tuffets of linear leaves adorned with hundreds of the most exquisite irises ever. Mid purple-blue in colour with dainty striations, the ‘Algerian iris’, as Charlie called them, were growing in a mixture of gravel and rubble.

They were doing so well because they had the perfect conditions.

Charlie and Daphne told me they were never fed and that the only a ention they got was to have a few of the flowers cut and brought inside, where they scented the whole room. The wall against which it grew faced south west and overhanging eaves meant it got li le direct rainwater.

We have a few clumps here planted in the only thin, rubbly soil we have, at the back of two li le beds outside the co age.

Ours have been in for a few years now and are starting to flower well. Since they thrive on neglect I’ll just leave them alone.

Subscribe for just £1 an issue. Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn

Alamy

Jonathan Buckley

pots or planted into the garden.

The other group of plants you can take root cuttings from need a different procedure. Going through a series of plants that were, to my shame, overlooked at the end of last year, I came across a pot of Anemone hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’. Its roots were wrapped round and round and when some of the thicker ones were teased away, it was clear that embryonic new shoots were forming along their length.

MONDAY Most of our agapanthus are in pots. They live outside throughout the summer and autumn, but we usually carry them under cover for the winter. This time Erigeron karvinskianus, or it got left and Mexican daisy, will jazz up left and they a wall crevice beautifully were only carried into the tunnel a few weeks ago. They’re none the worse for wear but are very scruffy. Cleaning them up takes some doing because any old foliage seems reluctant to be pulled away, but it’s worth it!

TUESDAY The li le Mexican daisy, Erigeron karvinskianus, has become a very popular plant. It’s ideal to push into pockets in dry stone walls, but it’s impossible to transplant youngsters because of their tap roots, so we grow extras from seed. A module tray of young plants is ready to be po ed on. Eventually they may go into a strawberry pot.

WEDNESDAY You may have seen on the news a couple of weeks ago that North Devon had prolonged rain with flooding and even minor mudslides. Though our garden is halfway down a hill, there was standing water not just on the paths but on all the flat beds. It’ll take a long time for the ground to absorb it and plans for planting may be delayed.

THURSDAY Last year we sowed mainly plain green-leaved chard ‘Costina Bianca’ with broad, white ribs and big, green leaves from Franchi Seeds of Italy. It has kept going all winter. In addition this year we’re sowing rainbow chard, a collection with red, yellow and crimson stems. They’re just as good to eat and make brilliant additions to plantings in large containers.

FRIDAY Cu ing some more hazel for twiggy pea sticks but trying to avoid using anything with catkins. We’re so lucky to be able to help ourselves from our hedges.

We’ll tie them up in bundles and hang them from the ceiling supports in the shed.

SATURDAY We’ve a quantity of Calamintha nepeta ‘White Cloud’ in great big pots. Normally we’d grow them in half litres where they’d make decent-sized plants, but these were po ed on for last year’s wedding. They stood outside all winter but we’ve brought them into the greenhouse to shear off their old dead stems. Their new shoots are just visible now, so we can look forward to clouds of their tiny, white flowers. Bees love them!

SUNDAY Though we’ve managed to rescue a few of the sweet peas sown last autumn, most of them have succumbed to the wet. Having given the survivors a haircut to encourage new growth, we’ve sown fresh seed, one per module. I can’t resist ‘Matucana’ with its crimson and magenta flowers and the best scent of any of them!

Ca rol K le i n

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WHAT TO DO Meet the tea m

THIS WEEK!

Ian Hodgson

Karen Murphy

Martin Fish

Kew-trained horticulturist and garden designer. Previously with the RHS, Ian is interested in all aspects of gardening.

A keen all-round gardener, Karen has RHS qualifications and also loves wildlife.

Former head gardener, TV and radio broadcaster and RHS judge.

If y o u d o ju st o n e jo b...

Start slug and snail control Take action now to stop pesky invaders eating emerging crops

S

Try be e r or pe llets – or n atu ra l pe st cont rol su ch a s birds a n d h edg e h og s!

Photos: Martin Fish

lugs and snails are one of the most troublesome pests in the garden, where they can cause a great deal of damage to ornamental and edible plants. They feed on young shoots, leaves, petals and fruit and if they’re not controlled some plants and crops can be completely ruined or killed.

If they’re a problem in your garden, it’s important to start controlling them early in the season. Snails tend to be dormant in winter and only become active in early spring, but pesky slugs can be active all year round, although in winter they feed much less.

Very soon the garden will start to wake up after the cold winter and new shoots and spring flowers will start to pop up, making them ideal targets for hungry molluscs. There are many different ways you can control slugs and snails, such as with pellets, barriers, beer traps or by using nematodes watered into the soil. Nematodes can be effective against slugs once soil temperature reaches 5C (41F) or higher.

Encouraging natural predators such as birds, toads, ground beetles and hedgehogs will also help keep slug and snail numbers down.

Whatever method of control you prefer to practice, the important thing is to make sure you’re prepared, and start it before they start to cause too much damage.

Top T ips

1

Have a search around the garden to find hiding places of slugs and snails. Particularly check in old pots or underneath your containers.

2

Pellets are still very popular – metaldehyde or ferric phosphate – and these should be used carefully and sparingly and always as instructed.

Subscribe for just £1 an issue. Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn

3

If using beer traps, which can be very effective, make sure the rim is proud of soil level to prevent beneficial beetles from falling in.

4

Barriers of sharp grit or absorbent chippings can also be used around plants to prevent the slugs ge ing to the plants and munching them.

February 10 2018 / Garden News 33

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

in your flower garden

Make it a year for marigolds!

These glorious plants will bring colourful beauty to your garden

D

id you know 2018 is the Year of the Marigold? It’s part of an international campaign that takes place every year to help boost different plant and seed sales and this year it’s the turn of the lovely, humble marigold. Yet some of the glorious varieties available to grow these days look anything but humble! See below for some stunners to add to your plot.

Both types we’re familiar with – African and French marigolds – can be sown now indoors, with a bit of gentle heat to get them going. Sow the dainty, flaky seed batons finely on good, lightly moist seed compost, then cover up with

a thin layer of more compost.

Kept at around 15-20C (59-68F), germination should take a week or two, and once large enough to handle you can prick them out, transplant them and grow them on in separate pots. Plant them out in your best patio pots in a sunny spot at the end of May for all to see their colourful beauty.

You can even sow them directly outside from around April.

Many seed companies and garden centres also offer ready-grown plug plants, so for those with other, more pressing jobs to be getting on with, it’s a nice, simple and easy way to bring beautiful summer container bedding to your garden.

Garden News RECOMMENDS

Shu erstock

T&M

T&M

Shu erstock

‘Discovery Yellow’

‘Strawberry Blonde’

‘French Vanilla’

‘Striped Marvel’

An African marigold with large, bright yellow blooms on compact stems. Seeds available now.

A French marigold in coral with yellow tinges. A stylish update to an old favourite.

Available as plug plants.

A creamy-yellow African variety with less of a pungent smell, so all in all a more subtle variety. Seeds available.

A showy French, singleflowered variety. Produces lots of flowers that are great for cutting. Seeds available.

O All available from Thompson & Morgan; www.thompson-morgan.com

34 Garden News / February 10 2018

Neil Hepworth

Shape trees now Many evergreens that need a sizeable prune should be left until mid to late spring, but there are some that only ever need a light trim. Being shaped here’s an arbutus, or strawberry tree, which is an evergreen that doesn’t get gangly and vigorous so only ever needs a trim to ease congestion and manipulate into your desired shape.

Do this now to shape it up before it puts on further growth in spring. Strawberry trees take to shaping well – this one has had its crown lifted from below and its foliage trimmed into an attractive neat, rounded globe.

Pot pelargonium cuttings

Martin Fish

Neil Hepworth

Remove cu ings from the pot and carefully tease apart the roots.

Pot the plants individually into small pots around 9cm (3½in) in diameter using a good quality compost. If the cu ings are a single stem, pinch out the growing tip to encourage sideshoots to develop. Water in to se le the roots and grow on in a light, frost-free place. Keep the compost moist at all times and by mid-spring the pelargoniums will have grown into bushy new plants.

These are easy going and pretty bulbous plants, which are usually available from garden centres in mixed colour packs. Tubers can be planted up now, either into pots for planting out a bit later, or direct into moist, fertile soil. It’s good practice to soak the tubers overnight before you set them out which will rehydrate them. This is so they ring to life and grow more quickly. Plant them directly 5cm (2in) deep and 10cm (4in) part, in groups of 10 or more, nd they’ll bloom brightly in ate spring and summer.

You’ll likely, as with bedding tulips, have to supplement your supplies every year to continue getting the best out of the display.

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Fork though borders To keep perennial and shrub borders in good condition, and to help control weeds, it’s a good idea to lightly fork through the borders at this time of year or as soon as you can see where bulbs and perennials are starting to grow. Gently fork the soil about 10cm (4in) deep and turn it over to help relieve compacted soil and aid surface drainage. Any annual weeds can be buried, but perennial weeds should always be removed. If the soil’s lumpy, use the back of the fork to help break it down and create a crumbly surface.

Still time to move deciduous shrubs February is an ideal time to move deciduous shrubs while they’re still dormant. With a little care, it’s possible to move shrubs that have been planted for several years. This might be because they’re in the wrong position or getting too large.

When moving a shrub, always get as much of the root out as possible. Use a spade and cut a vertical circle around the rootball before levering it out carefully. After replanting, carry out a little pruning to reduce the top growth, to compensate for the root damage and to help it re-establish.

Martin Fish

p

h

Plant up anemone De Caen

Martin Fish

Pelargoniums cu ings taken in autumn that have been over-wintered on a cool, bright windowsill or frost-free greenhouse can be po ed on now.

February 10 2018 / Garden News 35

GEOFF HODGE

Tools for

THE JOB Writer, TV & radio broadcaster and product guru

Cut and hold bypass pruners Some of the most useful tools to the gardener are put to the test!

T

hese pruners not only cut a stem, but also hold onto it, allowing you to cut, hold and release without having to touch it. This makes them especially good for cutting back thorny plants and those that are an irritant or have a toxic sap.

Long-reach versions are great for getting deep into borders to prune and for collecting fruit high up in trees without dropping and bruising them. Secateurs will prune thicker stems.

Got thorny stems or tricky to reach branches? Bypass pruners make easy work of pruning, locking stems in place to the mechanism for easy removal

Secateurs

These pruners have been endorsed by the RHS

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Burgon & Ball Rose Pruner, £18.99

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The precision ground, high-carbon steel blade easily cut through stems up to 2.5cm (1in) in diameter. They held stems of all sizes in the plastic, serrated grip firmly. Robust, alloy handles were comfortable to hold, but there are no cushion bumpers.

The typical high quality Felco hardened steel blade sliced through stems up to 2.5cm (1in) diameter. They held all but the very thinnest stems firmly in place. Two blade opening positions for thicker or thinner cuts and/or large or small hands. Large, cushion-shock absorbers.

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36 Garden News / February 10 2018

Identical in looks to the Felco, the SK5 high-carbon steel blade easily cut all stems up to 2.5cm (1in) in diameter, but also didn’t firmly hold the finest stems. Good-sized shock absorbers/bumpers and dual position catch to adjust the span of the mouth and handles.

Burgon & Ball

Long-handled pruners

Allows for pruning to be carried out up to 5½m (18ft)

BEST LONG-HANDLED

Langdon European Extra Long Reach Pruners, £21

Spear & Jackson Razorsharp Easy Reach Pruner, £39.99

Very lightweight and the telescopic shaft provides three cu ing lengths between 1.1 m (43in) and 1.6m (63in). The SK5 high-carbon steel blade cut through stems up to 0.8cm (¾in) diameter and held them firmly. The cu ing head rotates through 180 degrees for ease of ge ing at stems.

The cu ing length of 68cm (27in) made this perfect for narrower borders and inaccessible areas.

The high-carbon steel blades made good clean cuts on stems 1cm (¼in) in diameter. The cu ing head moves through 70 degrees and rotates through 180 degrees for excellent flexibility.

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Supplier Spear & Jackson; tel: 0114 281 4242; www.spear-and-jackson.com.

Darlac Snapper 1000mm, £36.99 The 100cm (39½in) long cu ing length and lightweight aluminium shaft provided excellent long reach pruning. The high-carbon steel blade sliced through stems up to 1.2cm (½in) in diameter, and the metal grippers held them firmly. The cu ing blades rotate through 360 degrees for added flexibility.

Quality + + + ++ Performance + + + ++ Usability + + + + + Value + + + ++ Supplier Darlac; tel: 01753 547790;

www.darlac.com.

Darlac Telescopic Adjustable Snapper, £49.99 This is perfect for pruning high up in trees, thanks to its 1.8-3m (6-10ft) telescopic aluminium shaft with six cu ing positions.

It easily cut through stems up to 1.2cm (½in) in diameter and the plastic and metal grippers held them firmly. The head moves through 60 degrees and rotates through 180 degrees.

Quality + + + + + Performance + + + + + Usability + + + + + Value + + + + + Supplier Darlac; tel: 01753 547790; www.darlac.com.

Subscribe for just £1 an issue. Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn

February 10 2018 / Garden News 37

NICK BAILEY

The inspirational

GARDENER

Lesley Cook Headshots

Award-winning desig

TV b

d

t

db t

Fill your plot with perennials Sown now, first-year flow g varieties will bloom this summer

A

Berlandiera lyrata forms pre y hummocks of daisies with amazing chocolate scent

th

Iris domestica, also know as Belamcanda chinensis

Al y

columnar perennial of 40cm (16in) or so with grey-green leaves and delicious tubular, apricot flowers for most of the summer. In the same colour range is gaillardia ‘Arizona Red Shades’. Instead of the usual, slightly garish, rings of red and yellow displayed on many gaillardia flowers this one is a single tone of pale peachy-yellow and will be in bloom by mid-summer if sown now. Of the garden ‘classics’ I’d recommend gaura ‘Sparkle White’. It’s fast to bloom and will return for several years before flowering itself to death!

For something more unusual try Berlandiera lyrata. It forms a hummock of silver-grey foliage topped with a mass of wafty stems bearing mid-yellow daisies. Sounds like pretty standard fare, right? But those delicate yellow flowers are more strongly chocolate-scented than the chocolate cosmos – delicious!

Others to consider are exotic-looking Iris domestica, reliable Salvia nemorosa and verbascum ‘Southern Charm’.

These powerhouse plants are generally easy to grow and can be sown now on the windowsill or in a greenhouse. Use a

Verbascum ‘Southern Charm’ is a delight in pastel shades

Shu erstock

few years back I took on a large, but very sparse walled garden in Norfolk. The aim was to fill it with abundant perennials but the budget wouldn’t stretch to buying thousands of plants so I looked into alternative options.

One easy solution was to grow from seed but most perennials don’t flower until their second or third year. Note I say ‘most’, because there are a choice set of perennials which, if sown this month, will bulk out and flower before summer is up. So, it was first-year flowering perennials that I settled on sowing.

My favourite first-year flowering perennials are a mix of ‘garden classics’ and more unusual plants. One of the fastest and easiest is agastache ‘Apache Sunset’. It’s a dense,

lli

peat-free sowing mix, sieve out any large lumps and firm into 9cm (3½in) pots.

Sow seeds thinly over the surface and cover with a light sprinkling of compost or Vermiculite. Stand the pots in a tray of water until the surface is damp. Use an unheated propagator to keep the humidity up and the temperature not less than 10C (50F). In four to five weeks they’ll have germinated and be ready for pricking out.

Transfer individual seedlings into 9cm (3½in) pots with a general-purpose, peat-free compost and grow on in a coolish but protected environment. By late spring they can be potted into 1-litre pots and transferred into the garden in summer, ready for late-summer flowering (or earlier for some species).

So, for a cost of around £2 per packet of seed it’s possible to generate more than £200 worth of perennials. This combination of growing and saving money in the process is just about as gratifying as it gets.

Shu erstock

Exotics from seed Species from the tropics are often very fast growing, producing an abundance of dramatic foliage and flowers at breakneck speed. Sown this month the likes of ornamental banana (Ensete ventricosum) and castor oil plant (Ricinus communis) can reach 2m (6ft 6in) by late

summer. Sow individually in 7cm (3in) pots in a quality peat-free mix. Once sown, moisten the compost and stand the pots in a heated propagator on a windowsill or similar. A temperature of around 18C (65F) will see them germinate in three to four weeks. Pot them on

several times through spring until their roots fill a 3-litre pot. Harden them off from mid-May with days outside and nights under protection until the frosts have past.

Plant them with a good dose of manure and they’ll explode into a mass of lush tropical foliage in a ma er of weeks.

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Ricinus communis seeds can be started now

February 10 2018 / Garden News 39

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Notes from a

SMALL GARDEN Award-winning horticultural journalist, author, broadcaster and designer

Luring in the wildlife My sink pond will hopefully attract plenty of useful visitors

I

’ve been looking out of the window for a while now and have reached an uncomfortable conclusion: It seems my garden is more of an urban desert than an urban oasis. I’m certain there’s plenty of wildlife locally and I’m not just talking foxes. Houses with larger gardens exist just a few streets away and there’s lots of green space nearby.

But the fact remains, that while there were a few bees and gnats back in the summer, I’ve only seen birds a couple of times – a few blue tits and a wren. This suggests several things.

Firstly, that these larger, faster-moving types

Provide for frogs and birds and they’ll help you in the garden!

Even a small container pond can help pondlife during breeding season

Naomi Slade

Al

of wildlife are probably perfectly well catered for elsewhere and have no incentive to visit my garden.

Secondly, that while I can optimistically put out fat balls, seed and peanuts, many birds also hunt live food in the form of garden pests such as caterpillars and greenfly, which are notably absent.

Thirdly, while my few flowers and early-stage compost heap might well provide a small meal for a passing insect, for the birds at the top of the food chain it won’t cut it. A much more robust ecosystem is needed to justify the flying-time to pay me a visit.

Enthusiastic on the subject of plants and flowers, I’ll doubtless be providing caterpillar food and eventual nesting sites aplenty, just as soon as the weather warms up. But to attract wildlife, the single most effective thing you can add to a garden is a pond.

Ultimately, I plan to have at least two.

But I want to start now in advance of frog-breeding season so it has a chance to

y

settle and mature. As it does so, it’ll attract insects and supply drinking water to garden visitors. A couple of froglets seem to have moved in with us, too small yet to spawn, but I’m keen they should be provided for. And should adult frogs, toads or newts appear, they may need a spot to lay eggs.

For a quick fix, I’m installing an old butler’s sink into a raised bed. Filled with water and a large rock for amphibians to emerge, it’ll hopefully provide instant habitat for potential visitors and I’ll be one small step closer to a balanced ecosystem.

S

Sorting out the soil

k

Invertebrates are key players in an ecosystem but the soil-dwellers need food and organic ma er, which is in pre y short supply in my rather sorry clay soil. As I add plants I’ve also been adding plenty of spent po ing compost, but with the growing season in sight, newly exposed areas will need more.

In my garden this comes in the form of a thick mulch of Lakeland Gold Compost (www.dalefoot composts.co.uk), which is described as a ‘clay-buster’! It’s juicy stuff to feed the plants and promote good root systems, while encouraging the worms and helping the soil get into good heart for the busy months ahead.

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It’s time to feed the soil – mulching with good compost will do the trick

February 10 2018 / Garden News 41

WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK

on your fruit & veg plot

Chit your potatoes Prepare them now for a healthy head start before planting out

S

Photos: Martin Fish

eed potatoes for planting this growing season are now available in garden centres or from mail order companies. Depending on where you live in the UK, planting early varieties of potatoes is usually done between midMarch and mid-April, or when the soil naturally starts to warm up. However, once you’ve got your seed potatoes you can start to prepare them ready for planting.

This is known as chitting and is when the dormant buds or eyes at the top of the tuber are gradually started into growth to develop into short, green shoots.

Although seed potatoes can be planted and will grow perfectly well without being chitted, those that are started into growth will get off to a head start once they’re in the ground. Normally it’s only first and second early varieties that are chitted, as they’re the ones that are planted early in the growing season. To start them into growth stand the tubers, eyes upwards, in trays or old egg boxes and place them in a light, frost-free place. An ideal temperature is between 5C-10C (41-50F). If too cold they stay dormant and if too warm, the growth will be thin and spindly! The process takes around six weeks for the shoots to develop properly, so early to mid-February is a good time to get them started.

Ste p by ste p

1

If you’re able to select your seed potatoes, choose firm tubers that are about the size of a hen’s egg.

42 Garden News / February 10 2018

2

To chit the potatoes stand them eyes up in a trays or old egg boxes in a light and frost-free place.

3

If you’re growing several varieties, chit them in separate trays to prevent a mix up and label them.

4

After several weeks the eyes will grow into short, compact shoots, which is the perfect stage for planting out.

MEDWYN WILLIAMS

Plant onion sets The shops are full of the joys of spring at the moment, and one of the most prolific items to buy are onion sets – they’re everywhere, all varieties and types. You can plant them directly in soil that has warmed up a li le now, 2cm (¾in) deep and about 10-15cm (4-6in) apart. If you can, look for heat-treated sets, which are less likely to bolt in warm spells. Always weed onions well, and cover them up away from birds and other animals that may turf them out of the ground for a snack. If you don’t get as much rain as you’d like over the next few months, water your growing onion sets on the soil, not the leaves, and cease watering too much after about July. You’ll be able to pick some nice, large and tasty bulbs from late summer and into autumn.

Growing for

SHOWING Winner of 11 Chelsea golds and awarded an MBE!

For yield and fruit size it’s hard to beat ‘Scorpio’

Mulch all fruit plants

Prepare an asparagus bed Before your asparagus gets going again, take steps to prepare their growing area now. You can also prepare a designated bed in advance where you’ve decided to plant some new crowns next month. Make sure you weed the whole area well by hand, and then add a big helping of compost or leaf mould over the patch. Add a general fertiliser, too.

Test soil temperature A lot of seeds won’t germinate below around 7C (44F) in the soil, so you can check to see what temperature yours is now. You can buy soil thermometers from all well-stocked garden centres.

To speed up the warming process before you start sowing properly, you can use cloches and sheeting to help it along – this will mean the soil is at the perfect temperature for when you want to get going with direct sowing in a few weeks!

Subscribe for just £1 an issue. Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn

Medwyn Williams

Just as your fruit trees and bushes are thinking about coming into growth again, they could do with a bit of a boost.

This can come in the form of a good mulch of manure, leaf mould or compost in order to reduce competition and keep weeds down, and keep in the moisture. It also keeps soil structure good. As for feeding, fruit trees and currants benefit from an extra helping of a general fertiliser such as Growmore now.

Get ahead now with aubergines Grown from seed or young plants, they’re a striking addition to the show bench

T

he aubergine has developed immensely over the centuries, first being a simple, small, green, round fruit found mainly in China, with very prickly spikes to ward off herbivores. Today there are hardly any of those nasty spikes on the modern hybrids and they come in a range of colours and shapes.

However, as far as cropping and flavour goes, it’s very difficult to beat ‘Scorpio’, which will give loads of fruit right through the summer months. This is grown as grafted material and is so vigorous you can pot up into really large pots for a massive crop.

Aubergines are really under used on the show bench and a lovely set of these on any collection, when well grown, would receive as many points as any dish of medium-sized tomatoes, both of which are 18 points. If you buy the young plants from Suttons you can get them to fruit early.

But if you want to try other colours for different shapes you’ll have to grow them from seed. For a decent chance at the summer

shows from seed you need to sow them now. Sow at 18-21C (65-70F) in seed-sowing compost in pots or modules. If germinating seeds in the airing cupboard or in a conservatory, check seeds daily and remove them as soon as they’ve germinated. For greenhouse cultivation use a heated propagator or a heated blanket. The seed of aubergines are quite large and can easily be spaced out on top of some seed compost in a shallow pot or tray.

The compost I use is Levington F1S and I cover the seed with ½cm (¼in) of Superfine Vermiculite.

Once germinated you can pot them up into small 7.5cm (3in) pots and when they’re well rooted move into larger ones. When we grow ‘Scorpio’ they usually end up in 30-litre pots. Water regularly and feed with a high potash liquid fertiliser every two weeks once the first fruit has set.

Never forget that the key to success is sunshine and warm growing conditions such as a polytunnel or greenhouse.

February 10 2018 / Garden News 43

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“I’m delighted that The Kelsae is back, I’ll never forget the day I got a call from our Italian growers with news of the storm. Our breeders have done a first class job and we’ve now got enough seed to lay down a commercial crop in four secret locations in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Holland and Italy. The bonus is that there’s a bit of seed left over to offer as plants this season too”.

Tim Jeffries General Manager Around show circles, The Kelsae has a legendary reputation that’s second to none.

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TERRY WALTON

Tales from the

ALLOTMENT Star of BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show and author. His plot sits in the Rhondda Valley

It’s all in the preparation…

An hour or two spent on the patch now will save time later in the year

F

Inside my excellent new wormery!

dry situation to fork through the patches of soil where this year’s crop of carrots is to be grown. This ground needs little in the way of feeding but needs to be well dug and weed free. This first early forking through will give a deep, well-drained soil After the green ready for sowings manure gets dug in, the bean in the months patch gets a ahead. A light manure coating sprinkling of lime on the surface will adjust the pH and give a good balanced soil in which these long roots can develop.

The area that’s to house my early potatoes is another to receive my attention, and a few weeks back I dug in the green manure that has protected and enhanced this patch during autumn and winter. The area was left with medium-sized clods for the frosts to breakdown and can now be covered with about 5cm (2in) of well-rotted horse manure.

It’s left to the weather and the worms to work in some of this manure before completing the task with my fork just before planting towards late March. This area will be sufficiently enriched with plenty of nutrients

Jobs to do now

O Check on forced rhuba rb for slug damage.

O Spread manure-free compost on new carrot beds.

O Check old bean canes and replace any damaged on es.

Photos: Terry Walton

ebruary is a time to show patience.

Days can be cold and frosty and even a few snowflakes may fall, so allow the soil to warm up before attempting any outside sowing or planting. Even in the cosy confines of the heated greenhouse, hold your horses, and sow at a gentle pace. If these early sowings progress too quickly before their outside residence is ready for them, it’ll be difficult to stop them getting tall and spindly, making them vulnerable to early spring pests.

Peruse seed catalogues once more and visit garden centres to get further inspiration of what to grow for the season ahead.

Who knows, you may find something new to centrepiece your plot this year!

The last week, although cold, has largely been dry on my mountainside, with only a light frosting. This disappeared by late morning, allowing the latter part of the day to be used usefully. I took advantage of this

to sustain a good crop of early potatoes.

My climbing bean patch is also being worked on. This year I’ve deviated from my normal practice of opening a trench and filling it with old compost and a plentiful supply of old horse manure. Instead, I sowed the area with green manure and this is the last patch to be dug back in. The soil’s broken down with my spade into a lumpy consistency and then the surface is covered with a liberal coating of well-rotted manure.

This too will be left until it’s time to put the canes up before digging in. It’ll be interesting to see the results of the bean harvest using this less strenuous method of preparation!

You win some, you lose some…

Although I’m still harvesting parsnips from my large bins it’s noticeable that some are now showing the effects of canker. The whole purpose of the bins is for be er drainage and as they’re filled with fresh material

each year, the theory is no canker. However, with the cold and wet winter these persistent spores still find their way to my crop. Christmas hasn’t ended in my world, as this week I’ve had a very late present!

A new wormery has

Watch out for orangey patches of rot, which could be canker

come my way from Wiggly Wigglers. It’s aptly named for a worm farm and has joined the other two wormeries in my greenhouse. It came with a large bag of worms and has now increased my output of fabulous compost.

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M

ng i ow ips S : n ek pars e t wand x e s/ G d N 45 thN XX 2018 tom

Gardening with the

EXPERTS

Photos: Ivor Mace

O Chrysanthemums The world’s finest share their tips for success O Pelargoniums

The chrysanthemum display at New York Botanical Garden

Brush and thistle type chrysanths at New York Botanical Garden

Rooting chrysanth cuttings Start them off now for show-stopping blooms later this year

N

ovember and December are pretty quiet in terms of growing chrysanths. I kept my chrysanthemum stools as cool as possible and also fairly dry throughout late-November, right up until Christmas.

I had the greenhouse heater set at just 2C (35.6F) while I went off on a fortnight’s holiday visiting chrysanthemum growers on Long Island, New York. My next door neighbour opened the windows a little on days when it was mild.

Just before Christmas I turned the heater up to 8C (46F) and watered the stools with a half strength well-balanced feed. At this stage the shoots were 6mm (¼in), and by January 10 they’d grown to around 5cm (2in) – perfect for rooting.

The first thing I do now is clean the potting bench, then prepare my rooting compost. I use 60 per cent moss peat, 20 per cent sterilised loam and 20 per cent coarse Perlite.

I add to every 36 litres (8 gallons) 56g (2oz) of Medwyn’s base fertiliser with trace elements, 56g (2oz) MicroLife organic fertiliser with beneficial fungi and 56g (2oz) each of ground limestone and calcified seaweed.

46 Garden News / February 10 2018

Ivor Mace An RHS show judge and Associate of Honour, Ivor started growing chrysanthemums in 1972, was National Champion 22 times and has won 15 best exhibit awards.

Then I’m ready to start rooting cuttings.

I fill cell trays with the rooting compost the day before and place them on the propagation bench, watering them with

A typical cu ing, about 5cm (2in) long

a fine rose on my can. The compost is then warmed up for rooting the cuttings the next day. I snap the cuttings off the stools and remove the bottom leaf if it’s a big expanded leaf. I make a hole with a pencil in each cell, dip the cutting in rooting hormone powder and insert the cuttings. I then spray them with clean tap water to keep them fresh. On warm days I spray them several times and in hot weather I cover the cuttings with white polythene to prevent them dehydrating.

Rooting generally takes around 21 days.

Then they have a week or two on the greenhouse staging before potting on.

Traditionally, chrysanthemum cuttings are rooted in January, February or March, depending on the type and how you intend growing them. I root many of my large exhibition varieties around mid-January and I grow these on second crown, meaning they’re stopped twice.

If you’re going to grow on second crown, it takes more than a month after the first stop for them to have new stems long enough to stop again. Therefore it’s necessary to root cuttings in January if you want to grow them on second crown.

If you’re growing on first crown, you’ll want to root cuttings at the end

Angel ‘Carlton Jester’ provides a bit of bling over winter

Photos: Ken Abel

Dip cu ings into hormone rooting powder

Pelargoniums survive the winter months It’s been a challenge due to the erratic weather

K

Stools with cu ings ready to take

eeping my pelargoniums growing well has been a challenge this winter, with the weather going from very cold, then a few days of mild, then back to cold. But it’s amazing how well plants adapt to this change. They do put out a few yellow leaves when this happens but this is a small price to pay at this time of year.

In winter I water little and often from the bottom with full strength Chempak No 3.

This makes sure I regularly handle my plants to check them for pests and diseases, then I can deal with any problems immediately.

It’s also worthwhile cleaning plants, making sure that dead and dying leaves are removed and none are laying on top of the compost, as the last thing that you want to do at this stage is to give botrytis (grey mould) a helping hand. I make sure that the angel pelargoniums are kept away from the sides of the greenhouse and occupy parts that are warmer where they grow much better

of February or early March. The stopping dates for large exhibition types range from the end of April to early June.

The rooting date not only depends on whether the plants are to be grown on first or second crown, but also on the stopping dates. Over the last 30 years many early-flowering varieties have been introduced that need stopping in early April, so the trend has been to root these varieties in January, even though they’re grown on first crown, with just one stop. This is so the plants are big enough to stop by early April.

On the other hand, early flowering sprays are rooted mid-March because any sooner and they’d run to a break bud before their stopping date.

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Ken Abel Growing pelargoniums for over 17 years, Ken is regarded as the UK’s top pelargonium exhibitor, winning 16 national titles and 67 ‘Best in Show’ awards. He appeared in the second series of The Great British Garden Revival. Ken is always keen to share what he knows through this column or online at www.prize-pelargoniums.com

as they can be prone to botrytis.

A good growing regime is key at this time of the year to avoid botrytis. Space plants well apart to achieve good air flow around them, open windows on dry, warmer days and keep the temperature down so there’s not a big a hike between night and day.

Having a fan on the floor at the opposite end to the door also helps keep air circulating.

Growth doesn’t stop over winter, it just slows down

February 10 2018 / Garden News 47

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TONY DICKERSON

The problem

SOLVER Royal Horticultural Society gardening advisor and podcaster

Is it too early to sow veg seed?

Is it too soon to start sowing veg seed?

Garry O’Sullivan, Hillingdon, Middlesex

A

It’s very tempting to get a head start by sowing early, but unless you have specialised facilities, such as heated propagators and a greenhouse, it’s still a bit early. We can experience some of the coldest weather of the winter this month and light levels are still very low.

That’s not to say you need to sit on your hands! You can sow broad beans in module trays and

unles Photos: Shu erstock,

s stated

Sow broad beans under cover now in individual pots or module trays

put them in a cold frame or mini-greenhouse for transplanting next month.

If you’ve already prepared the ground, you can sow broad beans direct, along with spring varieties of garlic. It’s a good idea to cover the soil with polythene as it’ll pre-warm the soil and keep the worst of the rain off.

You can also create mini polytunnels using polythene and wire hoops, which will protect your first sowings.

Ideally, try to source UV treated polythene, which will last several years, as ordinary polythene becomes brittle and breaks down during the course of the season.

If you do want to start seed early, a really useful investment is an electric windowsill propagator. These are just 18cm (7in) wide and you can fit two on a reasonably sized windowsill. They come with seven

A windowsill propagator is a good investment if you want to start growing seed early Alamy

Q

small trays, ideal for most home gardeners.

You need to position the propagator on the brightest, sunniest windowsill as seedlings will become very drawn and leggy without adequate light.

If positioned on a sunny windowsill, run the propagator over night but turn it off during the day. The first pair of leaves a seedling makes are round seed leaves but once they make their

first true leaves you can then transfer them to a cold frame or mini-greenhouse.

Two really worthwhile things to sow in your windowsill propagator are micro leaves and peas for pea shoots. You can buy seeds for micro leaves in garden centres. You cut the germinated seedlings when they’re 2.5-5cm (1-2in) tall. They’re a great way to pep up a supermarket lettuce at this time of year.

Four more types of seeds to start early in a propagator

Lettuce

Spinach

Parsley

Onions

Sow seedlings of hearted varieties of lettuce now, ready to plant out when it warms up outdoors.

Sow small amounts of spinach seed every two weeks for a crop that’ll last through spring and summer.

Start parsley off in a propagator, then transplant outdoors next month or use for pots on the windowsill.

Growing onions from seed is so much cheaper than from sets, and the range of varieties available is better.

Continues over the page

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February 10 2018/ Garden News 49

Indoor cyclamen are susceptible to grey mould

The Problem SOLVER Q

Why are the stems of my indoor cyclamen going ro en?

Chit early potatoes to get them into growth sooner

Claire Nunn, by email

A Do I really need to chit my seed potatoes?

Q Is it essential to chit seed potatoes?

Jim Donovan, by email

A

Seed potatoes can be sprouted or ‘chitted’ prior to planting by placing the tubers on a tray with the ‘rose’ end uppermost. This end has the most eyes or buds and sprouts arise from them.

Chitting tubers extends the growing period, giving earlier crops and higher yields. For larger quantities, particularly

Q

Is it too late to protect my fruit trees from aphids with a winter wash?

Hugh Jacob, by email

A

On trees small enough to be sprayed thoroughly, you can spray with a plant oil winter wash when the buds are fully dormant from November to early February

A winter wash will kill off any aphid eggs overwintering in apple trees

– so you just have time! Plant oil winter washes are unlikely to harm natural enemy populations and may also mean spring sprays are unnecessary. Appropriate pesticides can be applied in the spring to control aphids that have hatched but never spray fruit trees when they’re in blossom.

Lemon trees don’t like excessive heat or cold

Q

Why is my lemon tree dropping its leaves?

Stella Herbert, Cambridge

A

This can be due to draughts, being kept too cold or too warm in winter and over watering. Citrus prefer a cool winter rest. Provide lemons with a minimum winter night temperature of not less than 10C (50F) but avoid anywhere that’s too hot such as a living room or near radiators. Aim for a bright, well-lit situation, such as a conservatory, and keep plants just gently moist.

Towards the end of the month repot if it wasn’t done last year using a proprietary citrus potting compost or an ericaceous John Innes with 20 per cent added grit. Choose a pot a little larger, tease out the roots and aim to plant with no more than 2.5cm (1in) of compost over the main roots.

50 Garden News / February 10 2018

Alamy

of maincrop potatoes, it may not be practical to chit them.

Trays should be placed in a cool, frost-free situation with moderate light. After about six weeks, shoots should be 5cm (2in) long and dark coloured. If kept too warm and dark, pale, leggy shoots form, which makes planting difficult. For early potatoes choose four strong shoots and rub off the weaker ones, but there’s no need to thin them for later crops.

This sounds like grey mould (Botrytis cinerea).

This is a fungal infection that causes decay and it’s common on indoor pot plants. There are no chemical sprays available but you can take precautions to reduce the problem.

First, remove fading flower stems and old leaves. Don’t cut them but pull them away from the tuber so you don’t leave any dead stubs. At this time of year indoor cyclamen can be placed in good light in airy situations without risk of sun scorch. It’s important not to overwater. Lift the pot occasionally and you’ll know by the weight if watering is necessary. Importantly, never water from below or leave plants standing in saucers of water.

Also, avoid water direct from the cold tap.

Q A

When do I prune my ceanothus?

Sarah Swinden, by email

Prune evergreen ceanothus in midsummer, immediately after flowering.

Ceanothus generally don’t sprout from old, bare wood so always prune back to a sideshoot with good growth. Old and neglected shrubs are best replaced as ceanothus usually flowers from a young age. For other spring-flowering evergreens prune immediately after flowering.

Rhubarb being forced under clay pots An old, overgrown ceanothus is best replaced

Q

How should I prune my ornamental grasses?

Alamy

ower stalks and ulling away any dead foliage. Every third year, Jane Cannon, you can prune Su on out all growth Coldfield by two thirds Pennisetum alopecuroides refresh plants.

Deciduous ‘Woodside’, Pampas grass grasses can be cut back hard b s from annual trimmed hard back to pruning in early spring, 5-7.5cm (2-3in) from the cutting back as far as possible ground in early spring. Some, without damaging new growth. such as Pennisetum orientale, Wear goggles and thick gloves as which don’t produce new growth leaf blades have sharp edges. until later in the season, can be Don’t set plants alight, as left until late April. sometimes suggested, as you may Evergreen grasses benefit from an annual tidy up, pruning out old well kill them.

A

Q A

Do you need particular types of rhubarb for forcing?

Andy Seaton, Northampton

Forcing provides an early harvest of tender, pink rhubarb.

This is done by covering the crowns (buds) in January or February with a layer of straw and placing an upturned bucket or a traditional clay rhubarb pot to exclude light.

Stalks will be ready to pull about three weeks earlier than uncovered crowns. Crowns that have been forced for earlier harvest are generally left without pulling for the rest of that season.

For an even earlier harvest, commercial growers in Yorkshire lift roots in early winter and plant them in special rhubarb houses so the new shoots can be brought on. The home gardener can replicate this by lifting crowns, potting them up and placing in a cool room or greenhouse at a temperature of between 7-16C (45-60F). Exclude light with buckets and keep the pots just damp. Stalks can be harvested in five weeks. Importantly, crowns must not be lifted too early until they’ve received sufficient winter chilling. In cold areas mid-December is soon enough, but it’s better to delay in mild areas. ‘Timperley Early’ is one of the best, but also try ‘Stockbridge Arrow’ and ‘Victoria’.

Crowns forced this way are usually discarded after harvest.

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February 10 2018/ Garden News 51

Rea denrss’ ga rde n o w!

Over the

FENCE

Daffs showing their noses...

Derrick Turbitt Grows a huge variety of spring bulbs in his Northern Ireland garden.

Camellia confusion Geoff Stonebanks

The daffodil stems are poking through

A seaside garden in East Sussex that opens for charity, featuring sculpture and reclaimed objects.

I

’ve been overwintering several of my aeonium collection from the garden.

It’s amazing how much they’ve grown since bringing them in last November. Let’s hope it’s not too much longer before they can go back outside again.

The camellias don’t seem to know what they’re doing this year – they’ve been flowering for a few weeks now. The pink one is very old and I don’t know its name, but the more delicate

Dainty, striped Victorian polyanthus and, inset, a rededged carnation which is clovescented

O

Photos: Derrick Turbi

utside work in the garden has been severely curtailed by cold, wet and windy weather, with snow and ice thrown in for good measure. Now the daffodil bulbs in the show beds are showing their noses and some leaves, it’s safe to hoe between the rows.

I need to get this work finished soon and apply sulphate of potash between them.

Another job held up by the weather is digging my sweet pea trench. This will be done as soon as weather permits and a liberal spread of compost put in it. It’ll then be given time to settle before the sweet peas are planted out in early April. I’ve just sown my sweet pea seeds in pots in the cold greenhouse.

Outside, the snowdrops are braving the weather and the earlier-flowering ones are showing large blooms, ready to open out their petals in the first warm, sunny spell.

Inside, I’ve

several Christmas cacti in flower or about to flower. I keep them in the cold greenhouse and bring them onto the kitchen windowsill to bloom. This lengthens the flowering season, as those kept longer in the greenhouse flower later. I’ve one with orange flowers and another with pinkish-red flowers in bloom.

Some of the early miniature daffs are

Iris reticulata in pre y purple

Christmas cacti keeping up the colour

52 Garden News / February 10 2018

A pre y yellow double primrose

in flower. White bulbocodium daffodils have been in flower since November and a seedling (Narcissus cyclamineus crossed with N. cordubensis) with yellow, reflexed flowers has also been in flower from December.

Primroses and polyanthus have started to flower and the earliest have been moved into the tunnel to give them protection. These include a yellow double primrose and a striped Victorian polyanthus.

A carnation growing in the cold greenhouse has also been producing a succession of clove scented, white flowers with a red edge to the petals.

I’m trying to nurse some self-sown petunia seedlings that germinated last autumn in a flower pot.

They’re kept on the conservatory windowsill in the day and moved indoors at night. So far so good!

Garden’s bouncing back!

Caroline & David Broome A plant-packed suburban London garden that is accessible all year.

D

espite being flattened by snow and damaged by frost, Melianthus major has bounced back with three new flower buds. Aconites and snowdrops are flowering, Iris reticulata and crocus are emerging in the borders and narcissi in patio containers. While hellebore hybrids are in full bloom out front, their buds are only just emerging in the shady fernery. Corsican hellebores and stinking hellebores are reaching their peak.

There’s still a lot to do, even at this barren time of year. I’ve

one with flecked petals is ‘William Bartlett’.

The first signs of spring came in late December with daffodils and a few narcissus appearing against the odds. It looks like we’ll have quite a few in the coming weeks. They all look so pretty at this time of year!

I’ve now decided I need to change the area next to the shed door. I’m planning to have the loose grey slate lifted and replaced with some paving, to make it easier for the door to open! The front boundary, on the right of the house, has sustained some wind damage with both the elaeagnus hedge

Photos: Geoff Stonebanks

This flecked camellia called ‘William Bartle ’ seems to like the Sussex weather

and the low picket fence no longer sitting upright.

I think the fence will survive if some additional posts are put in, and the hedge will need some supports, too.

We had some of the worst gales we’ve ever experienced late last year and early in January.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the front garden, I’d erected a small cane fence, which has been decimated by the wind and needs a more robust replacement. I’ve arranged for

The view from the porch and all my aeoniums

a local tradesman to come and do them this month.

I’ve spent so little time outside because of the weather but have created a set of air plants and succulents on the corner of my desk to compensate, including a lovely syngonanthus ‘Mikado’.

All quite magical to look at!

I mentioned last time that I was attending an awards

My li le desk garden and, right, spring has come early!

ceremony in Brighton. I was allowed to take seven of my garden volunteers with me.

I was a finalist in the Argus Community Stars Awards 2017.

In addition to my Palace visit in January, I’ve now been invited to one of the Royal Garden Parties on June 5, in recognition for my services to the community through my two garden trails and garden openings.

I’ve been busy recruiting gardens for these trails. In June, there’s the Mayor of Seaford’s Garden Trail and the Macmillan Coastal Garden Trail in July.

Read more about Geoff’s garden and his upcoming summer openings at www. driftwoodbysea.co.uk.

Left, mad melianthus leaves and, above, my lovely hellebore hybrids

managed to prune and tidy the ornamental grasses in the central bed, their papery ribbon leaves were strewn all over the garden.

I’ve made a start at revamping the raised bed out front. In its third year, the pheasant’s tail grass had become too dominant, smothering the contorted hazel and self seeding everywhere, so it had to come out. I’ve decided to transform the look from prairie to exotic, so I’ve replaced it with

Euphorbia mellifera. I’ll transplant the ginger lily from its cramped pot on the patio and then have a look around for some new ideas.

I love the bare stems of contorted hazel, alongside Cordyline australis ‘Torbay Sparkler’ and fatsia ‘Spider’s Web’ in the raised bed out front. It’s time to enjoy contrasting form, texture and colour now, provided by twisted willow, Cornus alba ‘Elegantissima’ and ‘Midwinter

Photos: Caroline and David Broome

This is the garden after a proper winter tidy – nice and neat!

Fire’. Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’ and ‘Irene Paterson’ Papery hydrangea flower heads are pre y are beacons in the half-light and marbled lords -and-ladies are carpeting shady corners.

Another exciting development Clematis balearica is is that after about 10 years of smothered in flowers. Even now, sharing these pages with Geoff you can see the new shoots of Stonebanks of Driftwood, we’ll hardy geraniums, brunnera, finally get to meet him when pulmonaria and sedum poking we visit his garden in July. up through the mulch.

I’ve been compiling a scrapbook of all the Over The Fence articles I’ve written. I’ve been contributing since its inception on January 26, 2005. To be able track the evolution of our garden through more than 144 monthly My front garden has texture and columns was a real trip colour even now down memory lane!

Continues over the page

Subscribe for just £1 an issue. Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn

February 10 2018 / Garden News 53

Over the FENCE My garden has always had good evergreen interest during winter

Pre y pansies are a winter joy!

Making room for all my cuttings!

Pam Gray A suburban garden in Surrey that uses every inch of space for year-round colour and interest.

T

he word of the moment is organisation! I’ve been sorting through my seed box and have thrown away any ancient packets. The more recent ones are now arranged in order of weekly sowing times.

Seed sowing in earnest will soon be here!

I’ve also got to get my greenhouses organised to make space for all the cuttings that are growing on strongly and need potting on. We’ll start another

greenhouse up very soon.

I also need to start taking some fuchsia cuttings. The coleus cuttings on the spare bedroom windowsill also need potting on sooner rather than later.

I want to grow as many summer veggie plants as I can in my greenhouses so I’m giving that a lot of thought, too. A friend has sent me more tomato seeds.

They have lovely names – ‘Dad’s Sunset’, ‘Glossy Rose Bleu’, ‘Zebra Rita’ and ‘Virginia Sweets’, to name but a few.

I’ve always loved growing tomatoes – all the different colours and sizes. A few years ago I was lucky enough to win a greenhouse in a competition in GN’s sister magazine Garden Answers, and I ended up growing around 30 different

A hebe and some primroses are giving me some gorgeous green colours in pots

Clematis ‘Winter Beauty’ has pleasing bell blooms

54 Garden News / February 10 2018

Photos: Pam Gray

Witch hazel flowers shown against mahonia leaves

The sarcococca has dainty, highly scented flowers

‘Firecracker’ is one of my favourite polyanthus varieties to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the tomato. The greenhouse I won now houses my pot plants.

Barry has been working in the veg garden – all the fruit trees have been winter-pruned and washed. I must buy new traps to catch the codling moths!

The garden is lacking colour at the moment but it’s full of scent from the Chimonanthus praecox with its beautiful waxy blooms and the sarcococcas, which are covered in dainty, highly scented flowers.

It’s the first year the clematis ‘Winter Beauty’ has flowered and I love the little bell shapes. The hamamelis is also flowering – it’s not the most showy of plants, but the flowers are still pretty.

Bulbs are popping up everywhere and there should be some lovely splashes of colour soon from the

polyanthus and pansies. One of my favourite polyanthus is ‘Firecracker’, and I’m waiting for them to explode with colour!

I need to buy a new astelia as the plant I foolishly left in the garden has succumbed to the weather – it does need protection over winter!

Looking through one of the plant catalogues, I noticed a pink-flowered variety of thunbergia, which I haven’t seen before, so I’ll definitely be ordering some of those!

Tw e et s & Posts

SIMON CANEY

Pick of the

POST With the editor of Garden News

Frosted sculpture

Happy hippeastrum

It has been so cold this winter ice has formed on my pond.

It has created a stunning frosted display!

Here’s my beautiful dark red hippeastrum. There are three flowering stems and the fourth is growing up fast!

Meryl Jamieson, Inverness

Diana Downe, Dorset

Bored? Just Crop keeps keep busy! on giving

Look at this striking fuchsia flowering in my garden.

Paula O’Neill, Facebook

Our friends asked if I could make them a fence for their front garden. Here’s the result (above).

They’ve since bought four large palms and have planted them in gorgeous blue pots. I’ve gone on to make two cold frames, a bridge over my pond, two pot holders and two more fences.

Winter certainly isn’t boring!

Despite not having a greenhouse, I planted some tomato plants in troughs and grew them against my garage wall outside. At the beginning of November I brought the plants into my east-facing conservatory. I’m very pleased with the results and am still enjoying a few tomatoes and the last of the cucumbers.

Chris Belcher, Essex

Margaret Kirby, Pickering

STAR PRIZE

Regular as clockwork!

My Christmas cactus flowers on time every year.

John Elswood, Sheffield

Victims of recent storms

I’m very happy with my hippeastrum and its six beautiful flower heads.

Michael Cash, Facebook

O

ur greenhouse was destroyed in the recent gales, though none of the pots or baskets in the garden have moved! It’s been quite a shock to us as we’re now aged 76 and 77.

Email

Patricia Migliore, Suffolk

gn.le ers@ bauermedia.co.uk

Simon says: Nature can be brutal, Patricia. It’s amazing your pots stayed in place – hopefully winning our voucher will ease the pain!

MR FOTHERGILL’S

Patricia wins a £25 voucher from Mr Fothergill’s for use in its mail-order catalogue. It’s packed with a huge choice of quality seeds and exciting flower, fruit and veg plants.

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February 10 2018 / Garden News 55

KEEPS HEAT IN AND FROST OUT

Cold weather? We’ve got you covered!

Protect your plants as we head towards spring with this super strong, wooden cold frame ED CH OURS T A P H DES IN 24 H WIT

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This cold frame is constructed using strong and durable fir wood with polycarbonate panels. It features a hinged lid to make accessing your plants hassle free, so you can tend to them easily.

This attractive cold frame measures L90 x W48 x H49.5cm and will make a great addition to any garden.

Self-assembly required. All orders include free seeds worth £10 which are chosen at random from our wide selection of flower and vegetable seed packets.

YOUR SATISFACTION GUARANTEED or your money back We want you to be 100% satisfied with any product you buy from us. If you’re not 100% happy then neither are we, so let us know and we’ll replace your product or give you your money back. †

Enjoy up to 400% more flowers with our new and exclusive incredibloom® plant fertiliser offering a simple, controlled release for the most incredible blooms.

Order Online:

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By Telephone:

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9am-8pm Mon - Fri, 9am-6pm Sat - Sun Maximum call charge for BT customers is 7p per minute. Calls from other networks may vary.

When ordering online please use order code TM_TS46 to access our special offers

By Post to: Thompson & Morgan, Dept TM_TS46, Poplar Lane, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP8 3BU.

I enclose a cheque/postal order made payable to ‘Thompson & Morgan’ for £ Name

ORDER CODE

Product Code Item Description

TM_TS46

G2892 TJ47551

Address

Price

Wooden Cold Frame with FREE seeds worth £10 incredibloom® fertiliser, 100g starter pack ®

TJ47552A incredibloom fertiliser, 750g pack Postcode

Telephone

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Occasionally we make our mailing list available to other reputable organisations. If you prefer not to be included in mailings from other carefully selected companies please tick . By providing your email address we will be able to contact you quickly in the event of a query with your order. You will also receive our regular email newsletter with all our latest special offers. If you do not want to receive our email offers please tick . We DO NOT pass email addresses or telephone numbers to any third parties. Offer subject to availability. We reserve the right to substitute varieties if necessary *Please note that savings are based on the equivalent of multiples of the cheapest pack size. © 2018 Thompson & Morgan. † For full T & C’s, please visit www.thompson-morgan.com. Regretfully we are unable to ship live plants to the following areas: GY, HS, IV41-IV56, KW15-KW17, PA34, PA41-48, PA60-PA78, PA80, PH40-PH44, TR21-TR24, ZE1-ZE3.

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6

Prize

CROSSWORD U

se the following answers to complete the following biblical quotation. The flowers being referred to are found at 1 across. ‘…6 down 32 across in 12 across 29 across 5 down 34 across 8 down 20 down 23 across of 7 down.’

1

2

3

4

5

DOWN 2 Scene of extreme peace (5) 3 Unwell (3) 4 Pigpen (3) 5 ‘Morning ___’, ipomoea (5) 6 Flat and smooth (4) 7 The things here (5) 8 Arranged for display (7)

WIN!

7

EDITORIAL

Editor Simon Caney Editor at large Ian Hodgson Features editor Karen Murphy Garden writer Tonia Friedrich Senior production editor Kathryn Lovelock Production editor Andrew Wright Art and cover editor John Temple Art editor Dean Evans Junior designer Megan Spear Editorial assistant Holly Duerden

8 9

10

12

13

11

14

15

ACROSS 1 Flowers described in the hidden quotation (6) 5 Welcomes upon arrival (6) 9 Paid to a copyright holder (7) 11 Did as one was told (6) 12 and 23 across ‘___ for ___, ___ for ___’, mo o of the three musketeers (3,3) 13 Woburn and Tintern, for example (6) 16 Hippophae rhamnoides, the ___ buckthorn (3) 17 Devon river (3) 18 Marked by exciting events (8) 22 The foam flower (8) 23 See 12 across 24 Big ___, striking variety of Hydrangea paniculata? (3) 26 Not present (6) 29 Belonging to him (3) 31 Hindu festival of lights (6) 32 Wise Biblical king (7) 34 ands 27 down ‘Rome ___ in a day’, proverb (3,3,5) 35 Express admiration of (6)

6

16

ADVERTISING

17 18

19

20

21

22

25

26

27

28

29

30 31

32

34

33

35

10 Wooden planter, perhaps (3) 13 Girl’s name from the Greek for flowery (6) 14 Of a sparkling wine, very dry (4) 15 The ___ Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burne (6) 16 ‘32 across’s ___’, common name of polygonatum (4) 19 English public school (4) 20 Similar to (4) 21 Small fruits, similar to plums (7) 25 ___ Dooli le in My Fair Lady (5) 27 See 34 across 28 Prefix, in a new form (3) 29 Organic component of soil (5) 30 Cultivated area of grass (4) 32 Fluid circulating in the vascular

SOLUTION TO No 3

Across: 8 Rin-Tin-Tin 9 Rind 10 Wri en 12 Can You 13 End 14 Hedera 17 Like 18 Etna 19 Arch 20 Posy 21 Spouse 22 Ivy 24 Profit 26 Engrave 30 To be 31 Castor Oil Down: 1 Crow 2 Anti 3 Mint 4 Stone 5 Anecdotes 6 Wren 7 Onlookers 11 The Day 15 Elbow room 16 Architect 17 Labour 23 Yeast 25 Feel 27 Good 28 Avon 29 Eels Hidden quotation “There is no ‘End’ to be wri en, neither can you, like an architect, engrave in stone the day the garden was finished.”

Winner of Crossword No 3 is Ms Liz Jewers, of Downham Market, Norfolk.

system of a plant (3) 33 Open area of grassy land (3)

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Saving you time and energy, Phostrogen® Slow Release Plant Food & Moisture Control is incredibly easy to use; just mix 3 or 4 scoops of product with every 10 litres of compost and your

Group Commercial Director Nicky Holt Commercial Director Iain Grundy Key Accounts Kim Walling Display and Classified Sales Exec Zaher Khan

MARKETING

23 24

Address Garden News, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, PE2 6EA Tel 01733 468000 Email gn.letters@bauermedia.co.uk

plants will flourish.

The well-balanced formulation is also ideal for baskets, tubs, seedlings and lawns and is incredibly easy to use.

For your chance to win a 250g pouch, send your crossword plus the hidden quotation to: Crossword No 6, Garden News, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA. The winner will be drawn on February 13.

O Phostrogen® is a registered trademark of SBM Développement (www.sbm-lifescience.co.uk).

Subscribe for just £1 an issue. Go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn

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February 10 2018 / Garden News 57

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Reader OFFERS Buy beautiful standard Magnolia denudata ‘Sunrise’

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BY PHONE 0844 573 1686 quoting TM_GN1 (quote TM_GN2 if a subscriber).

BY POST Cut out the form and send it with payment to Garden News, Magnolia Offer, Dept. TM_GN1/TM_GN2, PO Box 162, Ipswich IP8 3BX. Magnolias despatched from February 2018. All other items will be acknowledged by letter or email to advise of despatch date.

If in the event of unprecedented demand this offer is oversubscribed, we reserve the right to send suitable substitute varieties. Please note that your contract for supply of goods is with Thompson & Morgan, Poplar Lane, Ipswich, IP8 3BU. All offers are subject to availability.

Please note that we cannot deliver this product to the following postcode areas: GY, HS, IV41IV56, KW15-KW17, PA34, PA41-48, PA60-PA78, PA80, PH40-PH44, TR21-TR24, ZE1-ZE3.

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February 10 2018 / Garden News 59

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Reader OFFERS Try our All-Season Blueberry Collection!

Hayloft

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lueberries are the fruit of the moment. As the saying goes, good things come in small packages! We’ve put together a mix of the best blueberries around to offer a full growing season and a bountiful crop from June to November. As well as providing fruit for the longest period, this mixed collection of blue dynamos will also supply bigger and tastier fruit as they cross pollinate! What more could you ask for? Why not decide to grow your own nutrient-rich, vitamin -packed and age-busting, antioxidant-rich blueberries?

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This collection comprises: O Blueberry ‘Duke’ AGM, early season variety: A heavy, consistent fruit producer with an attractive, firm, baby-blue, high quality, flavoursome berry.

Flowers arrive late but ripen early, which reduces the chances of spring frost damage. Fruit seen in June.

O Blueberry ‘Bluecrop’, mid season variety: Considered the favourite variety in the USA, where it outsells other types 2-1, ‘Bluecrop’ is one of the best all-around performers,

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favoured for its dependable, impressive yields and its adaptability. Fruits through July and August and is very disease resistant.

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We’re also giving away a plant of blueberry ‘Earliblue’ to every reader, worth £12!

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February 10 2018 / Garden News 61

ADVERTISEMENT

‘Sound advice on tinnitus’ ix million Britons are living with tinnitus – but many feel they aren’t getting enough help.

More than half of those who visited their GP with the condition were unhappy with the advice they received, according to research by the British Tinnitus Association.

Eighty-eight per cent of those referred to an audiology unit reported having to wait up to four months for an appointment.

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Reader OFFERS Dwarf gladioli bulbs for every reader £9.45 WORTH

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*JUST PAY £5.95 ully hardy, easy to grow and POSTAGE attractive, dwarf gladioli are excellent plants for sunny borders or in pots on the patio. They also make marvellous cut flowers. They grow to only 60cm (2ft) tall and flower in May, June and July. Gladiolus ‘Nymph’ has attractive white flowers with deep red markings. To receive 10 bulbs, worth £9.45, just send £5.95 to cover postage and handling or get them free when you order our dwarf gladioli collection, comprising 10 bulbs each of O ‘Elvira’ O ‘The Bride’ O ‘Charm’.

Gladiolus ‘Nymph’ Our offer price is £11.95, saving £7 on the normal catalogue price.

Delivery from early March. Offer closes March 10.

JUST PAY

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To order, tel: 01733 840111

Primulina collection Primulina flower over several months, with the beautiful, elongated bell-shaped flowers held high above a rosette of attractive foliage.

They’re not common houseplants but can be very rewarding if grown in similar conditions to streptocarpus. Our collection consists of O ‘Stardust’ O ‘Candy’ O P. tamiana O ‘Erika’ O ‘Keiko’ O ‘Hisako’. Our offer price is £12.95, saving more than £7.

Delivery from early March. Offer closes March 10.

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These plants are members of the ginger family and can be treated like cannas for summer bedding. In some areas they’re fully hardy, although winter protection from frosts is advisable. Hedychiums like plenty of water and are sun lovers.

The foliage is most attractive and many of the species are sweetly scented.

Hedychium gardnerianum is a truly magnificent plant with scented lemonyellow flower spikes. To receive 1 bulb, worth £9.45, just send £5.99 to cover postage and handling or get it free when you order our hedychium collection consisting 1 bulb each of O H. greenii O H. coronarium O H. flavescens O H. ellipticum. Our offer price is £13.95, saving £7. Delivery from early March. Offer closes March 10.

Pruning saw

MONEY OFF for Garden News subscribers!

This Draper 23cm (9in) folding pruning saw has super-sharp teeth and a taper ground, rust-resistant blade which folds back into the handle when not in use. The soft grip handle has a plastic guard to protect the blade when not in use. A blade safety lock also holds the blade open securely while in-use and closed while out-of-use. If you’re a Garden News subscriber you can save £2 by entering your subscriber number on the order coupon. Our offer price is £10.99 for subscribers and £12.99 for non subscribers. Allow 14 days for delivery. Offer closes March 10.

HOW TO ORDER Fill in the form and send to GN Offers (10/02), PO Box 136, Coates, Peterborough PE7 2FE, or call 01733 840111.

All offers are subject to availability. Plant offers open to UK readers only. Overseas readers, please phone for details of availability. Garden News does not accept responsibility for coupons that are lost, delayed or filled in incorrectly.

Please allow 28 days for delivery unless stated otherwise.

Guaranteed to arrive in good condition or your money back.

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February 10 2018 / Garden News 63

For your garden...

BULBS

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February 10 2018 / Garden News 65

For your garden...

TOOLS

Ma kinigng so methia l s pe c

Home GROWN Bowls of goodness!

Curly kale is easy to grow in a patio pot

F

ull of goodness and easy to grow, curly kale is a must for the winter veg plot. Sow now indoors for planting out in spring, or grow directly in a large pot in the greenhouse. This may stop slugs and snails from eating your tasty greens! Try the variety ‘Dwarf Green Curled’ from Suttons (www.suttons.co.uk; tel: 0844 326 2200) as a cut-and-come-again crop. Freshly cut, sweet, home-grown kale is far superior to shop-bought in every way. Like all brassicas, it becomes progressively bitter after harvesting, so use as soon as possible.

Kale and bulgur bowl

INGREDIENTS 120g (4¼oz) bulgur wheat, washed and drained 600ml (21fl oz) cold water ½ teaspoon Marmite 1 medium onion, diced 1 tablespoon oil ½ sliced red chilli (or pinch of chilli flakes) 1 garlic clove, finely chopped Grated fresh ginger to taste ½ teaspoon ground cumin

Freshly ground black pepper 50g (1¾oz) kale, washed and tough stalks removed Plus: Poached or fried egg to serve

Sue Simkins

METHOD O Put bulgur wheat in a pan with specified amount of water and bring to boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or until soft but still retaining slight chewy bite. Stir in Marmite for the last five minutes or so of cooking.

O Meanwhile, fry onion slowly until soft and turning golden.

Add chilli, garlic and ginger for last five minutes of cooking with cumin and pepper. Stir in bulgur wheat with any remaining cooking water.

Cook, stirring frequently, until any remaining liquid is absorbed.

O Pour a full ke le of boiling water over kale in colander. Stir kale into bulgur mixture, cook for three more minutes, stirring frequently, and serve topped with a poached or fried egg.

Kale ‘stoup’ Serves 2 Use your favourite pork sausages for this hearty cross between a soup and a stew. If you choose highly spiced bangers, scale down the chilli and garlic.

INGREDIENTS 4 sausages (or 5-6 chipolatas) 1 large potato, peeled and cubed 1-2 tablespoons oil 1 onion, diced 1 carrot, diced 1-2 tablespoons oil 1 small red chilli, sliced (or pinch of chilli flakes) 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 gel vegetable stock pot (or favourite stock cube) Freshly ground black pepper 100g (3½oz) curly kale washed, tough stalks removed, drained and left in colander METHOD O Bake sausages in ovenproof dish, there’s no need for oil, at 180C (fan oven) or equivalent for 25-30 minutes until golden (a li le less for chipolatas) turning once.

O Once cool enough, cut into four or five pieces.

Sue Simkins

Serves 2 Perfect for breakfast, lunch or tea, these nutritious bowls are welcome any time of day.

Shu erstock

Curly kale is a must for the winter veg plot

O Put potato in a pan with cold water to cover and bring to the boil. Cook for 5-10 minutes until just tender.

O Meanwhile, fry onion and carrot slowly until soft and just turning golden. Add chilli and garlic for last five minutes of cooking. Stir in gel stock pot (or stock cube) until dissolved.

O Remove potatoes with slo ed spoon and add to onion mixture. Stir to combine. Season with pepper.

O Add kale to potato cooking water; simmer for 3 minutes.

O Transfer kale to ‘stoup’ mix with sliced sausages and sufficient potato/kale water to achieve the consistency you want.

O Simmer over moderate heat until sausages are piping hot.

For more tips and gardening: www.MrsSimkins.co.uk www.twi er.com/mrssimkinscooks

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Offer subject to availability and in the event that this offer is oversubscribed, we reserve the right to send suitable substitutes. Delivery to UK only and surcharges may apply to outlying areas. Full terms at www.yougarden.com. © YouGarden Ltd 2018

YOUR PAYMENT DETAILS

Item

Description Price Qty Subtotal 350058 Patio Potato ‘Grow-Pod’ Kit including 3 Varieties of £9.99 Seed Potato Was £14.99 SAVE £5.00!

These SPECIAL OFFERS go perfectly with your Patio Potato ‘Grow-Pod’ Kit 100005 Organic Potato Fertiliser - 1kg Pack £4.99 120003 10 Traditional Hessian Sacks for storing your potatoes £8.99 320003 Strawberry ‘Cambridge Favourite’ - Pack of 20 Runners £9.99 JOIN THE YOUGARDEN CLUB - Get £20.00 FREE vouchers & SAVE 10% on EVERY ITEM you order!

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Offer subject to availability and in the event that this offer is oversubscribed, we reserve the right to send suitable substitutes.

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‘CHARLOTTE’ (Salad)

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YOUR ORDER DETAILS

820001

‘SWIFT’ (Early)

Fast cropper – just 10 weeks from planting. Abundant, gorgeous, soft new potatoes.

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1 If you’re not totally happy with your order, return it within 30 days and we’ll replace or refund in full.

2 Should any hardy plants fail to thrive thereafter, we’ll replace free of charge.

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GN569

save over £11 on our Heritage Seed Potato Collection

plus fREe fertiliser worth £6.99

Shetland Black

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All varieties available to buy individually. For more details and to order visit marshalls-seeds.co.uk

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