Home & Garden

A truly fine month in our gardens...

Your Garden in May

May sees the end of cherry blossom, the wonder of apple blossom to start the month, and some of the first fruits of the year at the end of the month. It truly is a fine month in the garden. The fresh spring greens of trees as they finally spring to life and provide food for insects and baby birds in return is pretty heartwarming, and the sun has strength and promise. It also happens to be my birthday! Weed! Those weeds keep coming in earnest in the warm weather, so pull out or hoe off any weeds whilst young to prevent seedheads from forming.

Check Lilies for lily Beetle and Box for box moth caterpillar

Both of these pests are difficult to control, and can cause quite serious damage to your plants if ignored. Box moth has been an increasing emerging pest in the UK over the recent years, and I had a brief battle with it at the end of last year so it has reached Dorset now. Many owners of substantial box hedging and those planning to plant have chosen to replace their box with a similar looking plant due to both the devastating impacts of box moth and box blight on the plants. There is some hope for box moth however, as blue tits are now starting to try them out as a food source (though not sufficiently to protect bushes from significant attack). Currently there is no official UK licensed product home consumers can use for box moth caterpillar. There has been some mention of a product called Xentari, but currently this product is not licensed and not on the UK pesticide register. Only one product, which is licensed only for professionals with a PA1/6 qualification, is available as a pesticide control for box. A product has been available in the EU for a couple of years, but has yet to pass UK regs. Other generic systemic pesticides will have some effect, but do not spray when in bud or bloom due to the threats to pollinators. If you can, pick off any caterpillars you see, and consider replanting with a different species if the problem is unmanageable. Good alternatives include Euonymus, Yew, Pittosporum and Berberis. The RHS is

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running a survey to produce an up to date map of sightings, so if you do get them, please log your findings at apps.rhs.org.uk/ surveys/submitrecord. asp?type=9 , to help with further research. Lily beetle damage is caused both by adults and larvae, bu t the larvae do the most damage. The adults are bright red on top, but have a tendancy to fall off the plant upside down when they sense vibration as a defence mechanism, rendering them invisible! Their larvae generally hide under the leaves and disguise themselves with a layer of their own dung! Keep watch, and pick off and kill any larvae and adults seen.

Prune spring flowering shrubs once they have finished flowering.

This is essential to do now, so that the plant can grow and produse the stems for flowers next spring. In general, spring flowering plants produce flowers on old wood, so foliage needs at least nine months to mature and develop buds. Forsythia, Rhododendron, and Camelia are all examples.

Support growing herbaceous plants

You can buy special hoops and rings to help prop up taller herbaceous plants, these look great, but can be pricey if you’ve got lots or are on a tight budget! Other homemade alternatives are small sections of bean canes and string or

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Horticulturist and garden designer/consultant Hannah

Hobbs-Chell is the gardener at High Mead Farm, looking after four acres of gardens and landscape.

If you have a question for her, email:hannah.hobbschell@ outlook.com including a picture if relevant wire. Propping up really helps to make the most of the display, and stops the wind from snapping taller plants.

Earth up potatoes

To get the most out of potato plants, earthing up is really important; it increases the length of the stem that will bear potatoes. Do this first when they are about 10cm tall – mound soil over them to completely cover. This mounding can be repeated once or twice more at twom to three-week intervals to ensure the best crop. Plant hanging baskets and harden off any tender plants ready to plant at the end of the month

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Revise outdoors, or go for a walk in nature before or after your exams

Year 11s and Year 12 and 13s will be starting your exams this month, a stressful time for most I know. Try to get some fresh air by revising outdoors if you can, and take a walk before or after an exam to help clear the mind and de-stress the body. Exams produce lots of adrenaline, and as a result lots of glucose, and walking in nature helps your body to rid itself of that excess so that it causes less unwanted anxiety and physical symptoms. Wish you the very best of luck, you’re a star no matter what as you’ve done your best and that’s all anyone can ask for and all you can ask of yourself.

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Home & Garden VOW to fight waste

by Lorraine Gibson

Awaken your eco-warrior and join VOW - Verwoodians on Waste - on their mission to clean up the planet. It is a group of local people who, like many of us, are concerned about the negative impact of plastic on our health, the environment and future generations. Their aim is to support others to reduce their global footprints and as well as a litter-picking session at the Recreation Ground on the last Saturday of the month, they have an eco-gift catalogue, TerraCycle recycling points in the town, a pop-up recycling ‘surgery’ and lend out items, including a sewing machine for mending clothes. VOW’s motto is ‘reduce, reuse, inspire’ and one of their initiatives is the Freecycle Event. This lets you declutter your home then donate the unwanted items by simply registering your location and putting them out on display alongside a VOW poster. And that’s it! Beneficial to you and anyone who can use your stuff. The next Freecycle Event is on June 12. For info, visit vowverwood. com.

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R E D U C E | R E U S E | I N S P I R E

Community Freecycle Event

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See "Events" on our website 12th June 2022 10am to 4pm

For more eco-friendly tips & events, join Verwoodians on Waste Facebook Group

New rules at recycling centres

by Faith Eckersall

Dorset Council is changing its rules for vehicle permits at household recycling centres. Permit-holders will now need to reapply for a new permit to reflect changes which mean that dual cab pick-ups will need a permit to use Household Recycling Centres and will face an allowance of six or 12 visits a year, depending on which permit you are eligible for. However, all permits, which are free to obtain, can be used at weekends and Bank Holidays although you’ll need to renew your permit when it expires. Vans up to 3.5t, single and dual-cab pick-ups and car-derived vans will need permits and there is a long list of vehicles now not

n Dual-cab pick-ups now need permits to visit Dorset recycling centres Picture: STEVE BELASCO

allowed on sites, including horse boxes and flatbed vans. The changes will also affect users of the Poole, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Somerley household recycling centres. Dorset Council says the changes reflect the results of its 2021 consultation, which found that its permitted vehicle policy was being exploited by traders to dispose of business waste. It also discovered that whilst 12 visits a year exceeded the needs of most residents, three visits a year were not enough. For more information, including details on whether your vehicle will need a permit and how to apply for one, can be found at the Dorset Council website at dorsetcouncil.gov. uk/-/vehicle-permits-forhousehold-recycling-centres.

Managing your money

The increase in the cost of living, combined with spiralling energy prices has resulted in many people struggling with finances. As a result, Citizens Advice has re-opened all its face to face library sessions, with funding supplied by Dorset Council. Sessions must be prebooked by calling the Dorset Adviceline on 0800 144 8848, or residents may be referred by a Citizens Advice adviser. Library staff are also able to refer people. Sessions include: Ferndown Library: Thursday, 10am-4pm Swanage Library: Monday, 10am-noon Upton Town Library: Tuesday, 10am-noon For free advice and support, call 0800 144 8848 or visit citizensadvicedorset.org.uk.

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The blue bells for the scent and sight and the wild garlic for the taste and smell. As we walk I can’t resist popping an unopened wild garlic bud in my mouth for that true taste explosion which to me signals spring like nothing else. I make a lot of wild garlic pesto at this time, freezing some for later in the year. It’s just oil, wild garlic, dash of lemon juice, nuts (I try to use local ones) and a lot of grinding in the mortar and pestle. Of course you can use a mixer but I rather like the more primitive, slower method. The gift of a tiny yellow rose a few years ago has made it presence known in the garden this year. I believe it is Banksia Rose and it’s rambling like the proverbial bat out of hell! Roaring across ivy-clad fences it is invading next door’s garden shamelessly. Our neighbours tell us they love its trespassing nature so I can’t bring myself to re-direct Fall in love with your conservatory again. Fall in love with your conservatory again. Fall in love with your conservatory again. it just yet! If you have already got the oil out for the pesto you might as well pick a few rose petals and make an infused rose oil too. Another highlight in the garden at this Is your conservatory too cold in winter and too hot in the summer? Choose a Vantage tiled conservatory roof manufactured by SupaLite Is your conservatory too cold in winter and too hot in the summer? Choose a Vantage tiled conservatory roof manufactured by SupaLite

A tonic of bluebells and wild garlic Jo Green is a former allotmenteer, forager, amateur herbalist, pickler and jam maker who squeezed her allotment greenery into her tiny garden

time of year is the opening of the Tree Peony, a very different type of yellow from the creamy rose with its acidic lemon hue. My appetite is certainly refreshed from the woodland walk and all this talk of cream and lemon has me hankering for a lemon posset - a very easy pud !

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