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LETTERS TO WENDY A boost for fundraising
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IKE many gardeners I have “collected” the free seeds I receive with the magazine, not always having space to grow them. This year I grew many of the packets and sold the plants at a sale on my drive. I made £200 which I divided between the Alzheimer’s Society and the Frailty and Dementia Ward at our local hospital. Thank you for helping really deserving causes. Steph Hall TI Archive
A Day In My Garden Steph grew plants from packets of free seeds and raised £200
Winning compost is too pricey
TI Archive
PHEW, gardening will be getting more expensive if we have to follow the rules. Dobbies new Peat-free John Innes 1, 2 and 3 won the inaugural
“Compost will be getting more expensive if we follow the rules”
prize for the sustainability product at RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Good news and bad news. The good news, some people reckon it’s the bees’ knees. The bad news, it costs a whopping £3.99 for 10 litres and £5.99 for 25 litres. What proper gardener buys 25 litre bags for their plots. Am I right or am I wrong? Check it out. Tony Hoare, Bootle, Merseyside Editor Garry replies I am afraid you are spot-on Tony. Conventional peatbased compost has already risen by at least 20% and the better peat-free options are around £9 for a 30 litre bag. The days of special deals of three 70 litre bags of good compost for £15 are long gone.
Reader Material unless credited
Pick a posy of potato flowers! HAVING taken heed of Bob Flowedew’s advice given in a recent column to remove the flowers from my potatoes it seemed a shame to just compost them, so I popped them into a small vase. I didn’t realise they were so pretty and they have lasted several days. Chris Jones (Mrs) Wendy says Good idea, Chris, and why not? After all, we admire the flowers of the scrambling climber Solanum crispum, which is in the same family as the potato, and the flowers are similar.
WIN £20
Removing potato flowers as they form is believed to boost yield
The world around me is at war! I sit and stare into the sky, Concentrating, questioning why, That kite, I now wonder what it saw? Waves of colour sway, Bees buzzing around, Crickets make that methodical sound, All going about their busy day. .
Wendy says Well done Steph for growing on your spare packets.
Please continue to send us your themed poems. This week, Mrs Stevens shares her thoughts on the daily struggle and quest for survival amongst the visitors to her garden.
Mr Squirrel is visiting the table, Robins, duty soldiers, wait and sit, Magpies, jays, blackbirds and tits, Wait, anticipate, eat when they are able. Dusk brings night like a shroud. Air is cooler, eery and damp. Pools of yellow light from the solar lamp. And then it comes, dancing all around. Moths flutter, dive and hum. Silent wings dart by, The bat flying in the night sky. Creatures silently come! The day is over and done. Creatures repeat the day tomorrow. I will sit full of wonder and sorrow, The WAR around me who has won? Mrs D Stevens 23 JULY 2022 AMATEUR GARDENING
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Please note, prize monies will be sent approx 10 weeks after publication
Write to us: Letters, Amateur Gardening magazine, Future Publishing Limited, Unit 415, Winnersh Triangle, Eskdale Road, Winnersh, RG41 5TP (please include your address). Email us: amateurgardening@futurenet.com
