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24 MARCH 2018

Jobs for this week

4 “Plan now to get the most out of
the Easter break,” says Ruth
PLAN FOR YOUR FOUR-DAY EASTER BREAK
4 It’s time to get your gardening year started, says Ruth
SOW HARDY ANNUALS NOW
6 How to prepare your soil for this year’s burst of colour!
HOW TO MOVE A PERENNIAL
7 Ruth explains how to do this in six easy stages
HYGIENE IS THE KEY TO HEALTHY PLANTS
8 It’s time to get to grips with your post-winter clean-up
SET TO AND PLANT YOUR ONIONS
10 Now is the perfect time to start this year’s crop, says Ruth
HOW TO SOW YOUR FREE SEEDS/WHAT’S ON
20 Aster ‘Milady Mixed’ is a long-blooming favourite

Great garden ideas

PICK OF THE VERY BEST: CLEMATIS
22 Graham Rice chooses six large, late-flowered varieties
POTS OF COLOUR AT EASTER
26 Tamsin Westhorpe suggests six great plants for instant impact
HARDY ANNUALS FOR EVERY GARDEN
28 We reveal the best for cutting, borders, wildlife and scent
CREATE A COURTYARD GARDEN
32 Hazel Sillver on the plants and techniques you need for success
26 “Six great plants for instant
impact,” says Tamsin 55 GET THE LOOK
Alamy

How one reader created a garden of many styles

Gardening wisdom
PETER SEABROOK
12 Be prepared for changes in the weather, says Peter
BOB FLOWERDEW
15 What should you do about weeds? Bob has a plan…
LUCY CHAMBERLAIN’S FRUIT AND VEG
16 Sow lettuces, outdoor tomatoes and mulch fruit bushes
VAL BOURNE’S GARDEN WILDLIFE
19 Why the ashy mining bee digs and the bee fly takes advantage
Gardenphotos.com

ANNE’S MASTERCLASS
28 “I reveal the best hardy
annuals,” says Graham
36 How to start a new strawberry bed
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
39 Jazzing-up a gravelly patch, sick skimmia, mystery bulbs
YOUR LETTERS
43 Allotment wildlife, beware of garden-centre temptation
HOW TO GROW FOXGLOVES
46 Tips on growing this cottage-garden favourite
GARDENER’S MISCELLANY
48 Facts, puzzles and fancies with the lawn as a theme
TOBY BUCKLAND
59 Toby gets himself into a sticky situation with insects
Reader offers
READER OFFER
46 “Foxgloves are perfect for the
country garden,” says Anne 52 Your chance to save up to £200 on a new greenhouse

“Are you prepared for the upcoming Easter

break? Four whole days to lift your garden
GIVE A GIFT SUBSCRIPTION! out of its winter gloom and back on the
road to summer bloom! Remember to use
Call 0330 333 1113 that time wisely – and the key to success is
planning. Work out what you want to achieve,
or: amateurgardeningsubs.co.uk don’t over-promise and don’t forget to enjoy
yourself.” Garry Coward-Williams, Editor
Cover photograph: Sunflower (Helianthus). Pic: Alamy
24 MARCH 2018 AMATEUR GARDENING 3
with AG’s gardening expert Ruth Hayes
This weedy area needed
clearing for grass sowing
Please don’t remove all
your weeds as many
provide food for visiting
butterflies and their
caterpillars, such as garlic
mustard for orange-
tip butterflies.
Ready, get set, GO!
Ruth celebrates the start of the gardening year
E
ASTER is traditionally a time of
renewal and rebirth, and I also
think it marks the proper start of
the gardening year. It’s a four-
day weekend, which gives you ample
time to get things ship-shape for the
year ahead.
Four days gives you the time to get
on with larger tasks, plan ahead, and
visit open gardens and garden centres
for inspiration for the coming year.
If you haven’t already done so, plan
filling or improving your borders. Test the
soil, note how much sun they get and
which way they face (their aspect).
Decide on colour schemes and what
Prick out your
robust seedlings
If, like me, your house and
greenhouse are filling up with
trays of seedlings, it’s time to
prick out the more robust ones.
It’s an easy and satisfying job to
do. Fill 3in (7cm) pots with John
Innes No1 compost that is designed
to help the seedlings grow without
overpowering their roots.
4 AMATEUR GARDENING 24 MARCH 2018
The four-day
weekend gives you Step Adding
a chance to crack on
with longer tasks by step alpines to
a rockery
1 Dig a hole as deep as your
plant’s rootball. Add some grit
for drainage.
Nettles are a
nightmare to get out!
2 Slide the plant from its pot and
tease out any circling roots.
Plant it and firm in.
plants will complement existing ones.
On these two pages I suggest a few
key jobs that will get your garden ready
for a fruitful and flower-filled year ahead.
3 Water well to saturate the
roots and settle the soil. it will
need little watering afterwards.
Part of my work this weekend will be
finishing off clearing an area of weeds
and scrub towards the back of the
garden where I want to sow grass seed
It was a tough area to clear as it was
full of nettles with long, questing roots
and rhizomes that were sending up new
shoots everywhere. It took several hours
to clear and rake, but is now ready for
sowing – see next week’s Lawn Care
Special, where I will be showing you how
4 Surround the plant with grit to
help drainage and deter pests
such as slugs and snails.
to grow the perfect lawn from seed.
Dib a deep hole in each pot then
carefully lever the rootball of each
Hold seedlings by their leaves
and set them into pots of compost
seedling from their growing trays using
a plastic plant label or old teaspoon.
Hold the seedling by its leaves
and transfer it to its new pot,
setting it as deeply as possible
into the compost.
Firm it in and water
carefully. Grow on in a
warm, light spot until
they are ready to harden
off and plant out.

Four quick jobs for Easter
Protect, plant and polish to be ready for the summer
1 Tidy up your shed inside and out,
and make sure your tools are sharp
and clean for better gardening.
2 Repair damaged fences and give
the same with garden furniture.
3 It’s a busy time for nesting and
breeding birds, so make sure they
have clean water and fresh food.
4 Create a simple water feature out
a pond with fish, resume feeding now.
Step Laying a simple path
by step
over a worn area of grass
1 Lay out paving stones on top of
the grass until they create an
attractive path and are an easy
stride apart.
4 Lift the stone again and add a
layer of builder’s sand to the hole,
tamping it down to create a firm cushion
that will hold the stone in place.
Lovely lawns: Don’t forget top buy next week’s AG
(out 27 March for everything you need to know
about sprucing up your lawn in spring
them a coat of preservative. Do
of a half barrel. If you already have
2 In turn, slice around each one
with a sharp half-moon lawn
edger, cutting down slightly more
than the depth of the stone.
5 Replace the stone and firm it
down. Brush a mixture of sand,
soil and some grass seed down the
sides to hold it in place.
Last call for
bare-root roses
Make sure Don’t let your
the graft is at plant dry out
soil level
This is your last chance to plant
bare-root roses until the winter.
Before planting, check that
their roots are healthy and keep
them damp and cool.
Dig a hole that can take all the
roots and fork in some well-rotted
manure or compost.
Place the rose so the graft is
at, or just above, soil level. This
reduces the risk of developing
rose-replant disease.
Infill with a mix of soil and
compost, firm in and water well.
Add a layer of mulch and keep
the plant watered while it gets
established.
3 Cut away the turf and try the
stone for size. It should be lower
than the grass so it won’t damage
your mower blade or trip you up.
6 Finally, sweep any remaining
debris off the stones and enjoy
your new path and the protection it
offers your lawn!
24 MARCH 2018 AMATEUR GARDENING 5
 Gardening Week
with AG’s gardening expert Ruth Hayes
Rake your soil well to
prepare it for sowing
annuals directly into
borders in spring
If your soil is cold, heavy
clay and not that welcoming
to very young seedlings,
sow them in pots and plant
out once they are
strong enough to fend
for themselves.
Sow hardy annuals now
Ruth prepares her soil for this year’s colour burst
T
HERE are two schools of
thought when it comes to
sowing hardy annuals. The
first is to get your seeds in the
ground in autumn, with the soil still
warm from summer and dampened by
rain. This will give you earlier flowers
the following year as the plants have
a head start. However, the
seeds also run the risk of
rotting in cold, wet winter
soil, or being unearthed
and eaten by hungry
rodents and birds.
You are more likely
to be successful with
autumn sowing if you live Cosmos are half-
somewhere warm and hardy annuals
sheltered. In other areas try (see right)
sowing under cover in pots or
modules in late winter or early spring,
or wait until now and sow your annuals
in the soil where you want them to grow. beautifully prepared soil as a toilet. I
In spring the soil is warmer and
moistened by rain, which helps. But
unless you do some prep, your seeds
won’t germinate to their full potential.
For the best results, begin working
on your beds a few days before you
want to sow. Start by digging over the
soil, breaking up any clods with a fork
and weeding well. Then rake over the
6 AMATEUR GARDENING 24 MARCH 2018
by step
Chemical deterrents will
keep pests – and pets
– off freshly raked soil
soil – first one way, then at 90° the other
way. This will break down the particles
into what gardeners call a ‘fine tilth’,
ensuring that seeds do not get lost
among clumps of earth.
To help water pass through more
efficiently, tread the soil down with the
backs of your heels – in that way,
young seedlings can take up
the moisture they need more
easily. Then sprinkle on
some organic feed like
blood, fish and bone, and
lightly rake it over for a
nourishing boost as
your seeds get going.
In the panel (above
right) I show two methods
of sowing, but whichever you
opt for you’ll need to protect
seeds afterwards from anything that
might eat them, and from cats using your
either lay a lattice of twigs over the top,
or spray the ground with a chemical
deterrent such as Cat-a-Pult or Get Off.
Keep an eye on your growing
seedlings, ensure their soil is damp
(water using a fine rose that won’t
damage small plants) and thin them
out to the recommended degree once
they are large enough to handle.
Step
Two ways
to grow
For a natural or formal look
1 Create attractive drifts of flowers
by sowing in areas marked out
by sand. Plants that complement
one another when sown like this
include blue cornflowers, scarlet
poppies and annual grasses such
as quaking grass.
2 Sowing in straight lines, or
drills, creates a more formal
effect. It’s also a good way of
growing flowers for cutting as
they will be easier to access.
What are half-
hardy annuals?
■ Half-hardy annuals are plants
that will give up the ghost when
hit by a late frost. These include
flamboyant summer delights such
as cosmos, nicotiana, phlox, aster
and border dahlias.
■ They come into bloom quickly
and are a cheap and cheerful way
of brightening your borders.
■ Sow them under cover now and
grow them on before hardening
off and planting out around late
May – or whenever all threat of
frost has passed.
■ Keep an eye on the forecast and
have some fleece handy to throw
over young plants in the event that
a late frost catches you unawares.
 Snail trail: As well as munching on your
spring flowers, snails will go for tender
perennial shoots, so be alert!

How to plant
Check your plant roots for
fat, white vine weevil new perennials
grubs and either pick The right plant in the right spot
them off by hand or treat
with a chemical such as
Provado Vine Weevil Dig a hole that’s large enough
to accommodate the rootball
Killer.

Tease out
circling roots

You may need to move perennials

until you get the perfect border
No plant will thrive in the wrong
Alamy

soil or the wrong situation.

How to move a perennial

When you buy a perennial, read its
label first to see whether it likes sun
or shade, acid or chalky soil, and
how big it gets, as plants won’t thrive
Ruth relocates a favourite but misplaced border plant

V
ERY little in gardening is set
in stone, which is good news
if you are the sort of gardener
who plants things in a fit of
enthusiasm and then decides they
would look better elsewhere.
This is what I did with a large
ornamental thistle (Cirsium rivulare
‘Atropurpureum’). I wasn’t sure how it
would grow, so I settled it in a relatively
out-of-the-way area of garden.
This was my mistake as it is a tall plant
with gorgeous, dark, purple-red flowers.
It deserves to be a prominent feature in a
summer border, so now the weather has
improved and the soil is warming up I
decided to move it.
You can also move plants in autumn,
but in exposed areas or places with
heavy clay soils it is best to wait until
spring when things are drying out.
Once your plant is in its new spot,
keep it well watered while it gets
established. It may not flower brilliantly
this summer, but be patient and it should
bounce back to past glories next year.
if they are cramped together.
Before planting, stand the plant
in water to soak the root ball.
Dig a hole as deep as the plant
container and slightly wider, then
ease the plant from its pot.
Carefully tease out any circling
roots and place the rootball in the
hole. Infill with a mix of soil and
compost, firm it down and water well.
A layer of mulch around the plant
will help prevent it drying out while
it gets established.

Step How to move a plant in six easy stages

by step

1 Dig a hole large enough and fork in

lots of well-rotted organic matter –
this rich, wormy manure is just the job!
2 Dig around the plant and lift it
without damaging the roots, but
keeping as much soil as possible intact.
3 Place the plant in its new home
as soon as possible. Make sure all
the roots can fit into the hole.

4 In-fill around the plant with soil

and compost, firming it to remove
air pockets and support the plant.
5 Water the plant slowly, so moisture
reaches right down to the roots and
doesn’t run off.
6 Once the water has soaked in,
add a layer of mulch to retain
moisture and enrich the soil.

24 MARCH 2018 AMATEUR GARDENING 7

Gardening Week
with AG’s gardening expert Ruth Hayes
The washing-up follows
me everywhere I go!
Hygiene is key to health
Ruth gets to grips with her post-winter garden
A
LL the elements were ranged
against us this winter. Even
here in the south we were
faced with hard frosts and
storms topped off by the Beast from the
East, which descended on 1 March –
allegedly, the first day of spring!
If your garden has taken a battering,
start clearing things up now before you
get too busy. There is very little that can’t
be sorted by a stiff brush, hot soapy
water and a damp cloth, and a sharp
and clean pair of secateurs.
I start by sorting through my plant
pots, and washing those I want to keep
in warm soapy water. The most useful
ones are the 3in (7cm) variety used for
pricking out seedlings. Larger pots can
be used for temporarily housing mature
Keeping it healthy undercover
■ If not kept clean and ventilated,
greenhouses and cold frames become
a haven for pests and diseases.
■ Open doors, windows and lids
regularly so air can circulate.
■ This is especially important after
storms when they may have been
shut down for several days.
■ Remove dead or sickly plant
material to stop the spread of
contagion and pick off pests as
soon as you spot them.
8 AMATEUR GARDENING 24 MARCH 2018
Don’t be sentimental – get
rid of past-it plants Four quick tips
Health and safety all round
Hang fire before removing
woody or straggly
1 This hellebore suffered in
the winter weather, and
the damaged material needed
perennials. When the removing to stop it attracting
weather warms up, take pests and disease.
cuttings from them so you
have a guaranteed
replacement.
plants that need moving, and I like to
use clay ones for potting up cuttings as
they are porous and won’t suffocate
developing roots.
2 Using a sharp hoe blade and
a stiff broom, sweep debris,
weeds and moss off your patio to
See to patios and decking, removing remove pest havens and prevent
weeds, winter moss and other detritus drains becoming blocked.
that can be washed into drains, blocking
them and causing flooding. Make sure
your greenhouse is healthy, and if you
open doors and windows on warm days
remember to close them at dusk as
nights can still be sharply chilly.
Cut away dead and damaged plant
material that, if left, may provide an entry
point for pests and diseases, and check
for pests. Make sure any dark, shady
corners and drains are swept and
cleaned well too, leaving no room for
further problems to lurk and incubate.
3 Blast accumulated algae,
leaves and mud off your
decking before someone slips
over and hurts themselves.
Ventilation and
removing diseased plant
material will help keep
your greenhouse healthy
4 Keep up your ‘pest watch’ –
these snails were bundled
together for security under some
leaves, but not for long!
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Gardening Week
with AG’s gardening expert Ruth Hayes

Set to and plant your onions now

This is the perfect time to start this year’s crop, says Ruth

N
OW the worst of the winter
weather is (hopefully) over, I
have planted out this year’s
onion sets. These are baby
onions and provide an easier and
faster way of growing your crop.
They are also better for growing in
cold, exposed gardens and are less Place onions 4in
prone to certain pests and diseases (10cm) apart in rows
than seed-grown crops.
Onions like a sunny, sheltered site
with fertile, free-draining soil as they can
rot in heavy, waterlogged conditions.
They can also rot in soil that has been
recently manured, so I prepared the soil
for ours a few weeks in advance.
They will grow in a raised bed that
was sown with green manure last
autumn. This has been dug in and left
to rot down for several weeks under a
newly-applied layer of manure and
home-made compost.
Before planting the sets I forked over Remove papery
the bed one more time and removed the skin as an
weeds that were starting to come anti-bird device
through again.
Plant your sets roughly 4in (10cm)
apart in rows that are 12in (30cm) apart.
Gently press them into the soil so just
their tips are left on show. Onion sets are best planted between
Carefully remove the papery skin at mid-March and mid-April
the top of each set to make it harder for
hungry birds to pull them out of the soil.
They will happily grow away now and liquid fertiliser, adding some sulphate of are kept weed-free as their narrow,
need relatively little care. Water when potash in June to help with the ripening strap-like leaves put up little resistance
dry and feed occasionally with a general process. Make sure the growing plants against invasive, unwanted plants.

Planting out overwintered cuttings

HARDWOOD cuttings are traditionally Dig a trench in a sheltered area of the
taken and planted or potted up in garden and fork in some well-rotted
autumn, which gives them a year compost or farmyard manure. You
to grow before they are either can also add sand to improve
potted on or planted out. drainage in heavy soil.
However, if conditions Firm cuttings Place the cuttings in the
are unsuitable for down and trench with two-thirds of
planting out in autumn, make sure they each one below the
donÕt dry out
or the cuttings are from surface and enough
slow-rooting plants such plant above for healthy
as Cornus or Laburnum, growth. Leave the
you can overwinter the cuttings there until
cuttings in pots of sand autumn, keeping them
Place the cuttings
that is kept moist. well-watered, especially in a sandy trench
Keep them in a greenhouse during periods of drought. with buds showing,
or cold frame and then plant them out Once they have started to root they ready to burst into
in spring, before the buds break, when can be either transferred to containers new growth
the weather improves. or planted out in their final position.
10 AMATEUR GARDENING 24 MARCH 2018
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with Peter Seabrook, AG’s classic gardening expert
Unless you have the protection of a greenhouse or
polytunnel, you can be caught out in ‘treacherous’ March
Treacherous March weather
Don’t be fooled into believing spring is here, warns Peter
W
HILE Julius Caesar was
told to ‘Beware the Ides
of March’, gardeners need
to be cautious about the
weather throughout the month because
it can be treacherous. When we have
warm sunny days it can be tempting
to think that spring has arrived. However,
our precocious activities can be
thwarted by subsequent frost, hail and
snow, as the UK discovered recently
when the ‘Beast from the East’ arrived.
A little protection is invaluable at this
time – anything from polythene cloches
(firmly anchored), a wooden structure
covered in Enviromesh and cold frames
to greenhouses and polytunnels. They
warm the soil, give shelter from winds
and, in the case of greenhouses and
polytunnels, make it a lot more pleasant
to work in the garden.
It is two years since a sizeable
polytunnel was constructed in my back
garden and now I would not be without
it. Stepping inside and just getting out of
the wind makes such a difference to
both the plants and myself.
If you are gardening outside, think
about your hardy plants and where they
are sited. If you have grown early
maturing vegetable plants under glass,
12 AMATEUR GARDENING 24 MARCH 2018
be sure they are hardened to outdoor
conditions before planting out. When
the weather is rainy and no frost
forecast, indoor-raised plants can be
placed somewhere sheltered, against a
south-facing wall, for several days and
“A little protection
is invaluable at
this time of year”
nights. They will stiffen up quite quickly
and be ready to go out into the soil.
Broad beans, cabbages, lettuce,
garden peas and hardy annual flowers
will stand cold early spring weather if
hardened off well first. Tender summer-
fruiting plants can only go out into
greenhouses if they are heated – so
good advice here is to make haste slowly!
Tomatoes and cucumbers, indeed all
the cucurbits, are better sown indoors
over the next few weeks to go into
unheated structures in May. Moving
hardy plants out makes space for the
following, more tender things.
Listen to
Peter’s free
podcast every
Thursday. Search for
‘This Week In The
Garden with Peter
Seabrook’ on
iTunes
Peter’s top tips
Tomato ‘Red Alert’ is a good
bush cultivar to sow indoors now
and get ripe fruits in early July
before the onset of blight disease.
It is said we can start sowing
outside when seedling weeds are
seen germinating, but be careful
with this. We had seedling weeds
in February and then we were hit
at the end of the month with the
‘Beast from the East’.
Primed seeds give faster
germination and better end results,
especially in cold soils. The carrot
below is Mr Fothergills’ Optigrow.
Photographs: Peter Seabrook/Alamy
Strawberry plants taken under
cover now will be protected from
frost and flower early, producing
ripe fruits by late May/early June.
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 with Bob Flowerdew, AG’s organic gardening expert
Regular hoeing will control
weeds before they establish
Smarter weeding
Different weeds need different approaches, says Bob
F
OR effective control of weeds
it’s important how we go about
weeding. You see, there are
effectively three sorts of weeds
– those coming in masses from seed,
those with their roots already down, and
those with their roots everywhere.
We really need to deal with each in
their own way. Those annoying swathes
of seedlings emerging time after time
from any cleared area of soil are easy to
dispatch by hoeing, or whatever, but
then they return almost straight away.
Better we cover them with heavy mulch,
and better still when this is placed over
a layer of wet newspapers.
Once weeds get their roots down
they become much harder to kill,
although regular hoeing with a
well-sharpened hoe still puts paid
to them over time.
Hoeing is easy with row crops and
well-spaced borders, but more difficult
when weeds are mixed in with plants.
Then, hand weeding is the safer bet, but
don’t simply pull up weeds as their roots
are likely to be intermingled with your
Time Inc/Alamy
plant roots so these will be damaged
too. It’s better to cut the weed off just
below ground level with a sharp knife.
Bob’s top tips
for the week
1 Before they’re totally wasted,
either use or process (such
as freeze or bottle) tired-looking
stored apples, potatoes, onions
and other roots.
Dig out as much of a
deep-rooted weed as you can
2 If soil is friable put in your
potato sets, both earlies and
lates, ideally covering them with
cloches or clear plastic sheeting.
If it regrows, then get it on your next visit.
And this is important: almost all
weeds die completely if you destroy
every leaf and shoot you see every
weekend. It’s just that some take many
more weekends than others.
But the third group of weeds, those
with roots everywhere, are near
impossible to exterminate. Bindweed,
ground elder, Japanese knotweed,
equisetum… you probably know them. 3 Now growth is resuming, prune
roses, evergreens and those
shrubs with hollow stems prone to
winter damage, such as bamboos,
“All weeds die if buddlejas and leycesterias.
you destroy every
leaf and shoot”
Kill off these weeds in any given area
and their roots soon come back in from
further away. There really is no solution.
However, be positive. Continue to
remove what you can with a hoe or cut
them off and then regard this as an 4 Give soil about to be used for
growing brassicas a dressing
everlasting source of free fertility. Just of lime or calcified seaweed, at a
rot it all down underwater in a butt and handful per square yard.
add the liquid sludge to your compost.
24 MARCH 2018 AMATEUR GARDENING 15
with Lucy Chamberlain, AG’s fruit and veg expert
Once you reach September,
begin sowing your late-
season lettuces. Sow these
in modules, ready to plant
in a greenhouse border
or growing bag
under cover.
Sow lettuces in batches
Start sowing your lettuces now for a steady and
sumptuous supply during the summer, says Lucy
H
AVING a continual supply
of soft, buttery lettuces
throughout the summer is a
treat – and one that’s easily
attainable if you stick to a simple cycle.
Most of us will eat a salad a day once
the weather hots up, especially at
lunchtime when you just want something
light, crisp and refreshing to counteract
the heat of the day. Choosing
appropriate varieties is one secret –
Harvest your
sprouting
broccoli
WHETHER it’s smothered in cheese
sauce, tossed into a stir-fry or lightly
steamed and smothered in butter, I
adore sprouting broccoli. It’s not a
crop for the impatient, though. Sown
in April, most varieties take almost a
year to mature, but because they fill
the spring ‘hungry gap’ so well, I
always make room for them.
There are white and purple
varieties of sprouting broccoli – and
both are delicious. ‘Burbank’ is a
British-bred F1 hybrid white form,
and ‘Claret’, another F1 hybrid, is a
well-established purple variety.
Protection from pigeons is
16 AMATEUR GARDENING 24 MARCH 2018
by step
By sowing a range of different lettuces in
batches, you can ensure a steady supply
cold-tolerant strains for early sowings,
and slow-to-bolt types as summer
develops. ‘Lobjoits Green Cos’ is my
favourite for sowing now (my parents
used to grow acres of it commercially
and its buttery leaves are delicious). For
summer sowings, ‘Thimble’ has caught
my eye this year because of its disease
and bolt-resistance. Come autumn, I’ll
move on to the little-gem type ‘Vailan’.
Here’s how to sow them (see right).
This white sprouting has taken almost
a year to crop – I can’t wait to eat it!
essential, so my plants have been
nestling under a cage of netting since
the summer. Keep picking the tender
spears as they develop, to encourage
more to form. Then rush into the
kitchen and enjoy!
Step How
to sow
lettuces
1 It’s still too cold to get
guaranteed good germination
outside, so start your early
lettuces in a propagator set
at 15°C. Fill modular pots with
seed compost, water well and
then sow two seeds per cell.
Once germinated, thin to the
strongest seedling.
2 Grow this first batch on at
10°C, until the lettuces are
large enough to plant either in
greenhouse borders or growing
bags under cover, or outside
under cloches at roughly 10in
(25cm) apart each way. Protect
from slugs and keep well
watered and weeded as they
grow in size.
3 Once the lettuces are 5in
(13cm) in diameter, sow a
second batch outdoors. Sow
clusters every 10in (25cm) in moist
soil, and cover with cloches. Thin
to the strongest seedling per
clump once large enough. Repeat,
without cloches, until late summer.

By sowing these ‘Ferline’ tomatoes now, i’ll hopefully
have blight-free plants outside in summer
All pictures Time inc
Sow outdoor tomatoes
In mid-February, I urged you to sow
tomatoes destined for greenhouse
cropping. As I don’t own a greenhouse
myself, I’m delighted that now is the time
to sow tomatoes for outdoor harvest.
I always sow my favourite slicing
tomato, ‘Ferline’, which has some blight
resistance, and there are cherry tomato
varieties, such as ‘Losetto’, that show
resistance to this fungal disease, too.
That’s the only drawback of outdoor
toms – late blight fungus, which can be
time to mulch
your fruit bushes
MulCHing your fruit bushes can
boost yields considerably, but it must
be completed soon to be effective.
Spring soils are relatively moist and
warm, which is heavenly for plant
roots. Mulching locks in these
conditions, making your crops much
more resilient to summer drought and
heat. When you consider that, in May,
June and July, your fruit plants’ key
role is to pump copious amounts of
water into the developing crop, you
can see why mulching now is key
to success.
By mulch i mean an organic mulch,
and by organic i mean compost, bark
chips or well-rotted manure. The
material you use depends on your
budget, your soil type, the fruit crop in
question and its nutritional needs. if,
for example, you’re on a light sandy
soil, then a good layer of manure will
boost nutrients on these low-fertility
soils. Ericaceous compost is ideal for
acid-loving crops like blueberries, and
bark chips are handy where you need
Next Week: Pollinate forced strawberries under glass, sow
different types of beetroot, ensure plum and gage blooms are
protected from frost, tidy up globe artichokes, sow cucumbers
devastating. But by sowing early (in
other words, now) and choosing quick-
to-ripen or blight-resistant varieties, you
can bypass the problems.
To sow, fill a 9cm diameter pot with
seed compost, water it well and allow it
to drain. Space seeds 1cm apart each
way, pressing them down gently onto
the compost. Cover with 3mm of
compost or vermiculite, place in a
propagator at 20°C and expect
germination within a week.
Mulching helps to
lock in valuable
moisture and keep
roots cool in summer
to walk on a heavy clay soil.
The time to add mulch depends on
your conditions, as you must wait until
the soil is warm enough. if you lay your
mulch over cold or frozen soil you’ll
retain those conditions, so wait until
things warm up. ideally, lay a 1.5in
(4cm) layer of mulch (budgets can
often limit this). Avoid laying it onto
stems as this can cause rotting, and if
the soil is dry, water it well beforehand.
it might seem like hard work, but you’ll
thank me come summer!
Harvest the
first rhubarb
WITh most crops only just
waking from their winter slumber,
it’s exciting to think that some
are ready for harvesting now.
Forced rhubarb is a luxury that’s
entirely worth growing. More
sweet, tender and early than
unforced crops, the lurid-pink
stems break through the soil in
late February (sooner if you apply
heat) and by now are pushing the
lids off their forcing pots.
When grown commercially in
large sheds, you can hear the
stems crack as they expand
at a phenomenal rate. home
gardeners can use cellars or
Pull forced rhubarb
once it’s tall enough
to harvest
garden sheds, as both these
exclude light, which is essential
for forced rhubarb. Large upturned
pots work just as well outside,
but they take a little longer to
produce a crop – unless you
surround the pots with piles of
farmyard manure as this gives
off heat as it rots down.
It’s important to choose
quick-to-mature varieties, such
as ‘Timperley Early’, for forcing, and
to apply organic slug pellets
to protect the soft stems within the
dark, moist, forcing environment
that’s a heaven for slugs. Slide your
index finger down the stems once
they’re tall enough to harvest, then
gently twist and pull. Discard shed
or cellar-grown crowns in late
spring, and leave plot-grown
clumps to rest until spring 2020.
24 MARCH 2018 AmAteur GArDeNING 17
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The ashy mining bee
has a fascinating
mating ritual
All photographs Alamy
Battle of the bees
February saw the arrival of the first bee in Val’s garden
and now she’s waiting for the bee fly and ashy mining bee
I
T’S been such a cold spring here,
with week upon week of fairly bright
but chilly weather, that I began to
wonder whether I would see a bee
in February at all. However, they just
about made it, and now it’s March,
spring is well and truly underway.
When you’re a little long in the tooth,
as I am, you realise that there are far
fewer bees out and about than there
used to be. A trip to Ireland in snowdrop
season a few years ago really brought
this home. I visited several gardens close
to Dublin and was astonished at the
“There are far
fewer bees out
and about”
Gardening Week
with Val Bourne, AG’s organic wildlife expert
Bee flies are easy to identify due
to their distinctive lance-like proboscis
number of wild bees on the snowdrops.
They were tiny, about half the size of a
honeybee, and were all over the flowers.
We do get some of these smaller bees,
mainly visiting daisies, which I
controversially do approve of in lawns.
When it gets to this time of year we
Blackbirds collect ashy mining bees
and take them back to their nests
begin to see a battle commence. Bee
flies start making an appearance as the
weather warms up, identifiable by their
straight proboscis, which sticks out
rather like one of those reconnaissance
aeroplanes. They visit the primroses,
muscari and pulmonarias.
At roughly the same time, little piles
of earth appear on the lawn, made by
the ashy mining bee (Andrena cineraria).
In some years the whole area is
peppered by mini volcanoes. In others,
there are only a few piles of earth and it’s
a good illustration of how dynamic the
natural world is. If the weather is dry, it’s
extremely hard for the bees to dig a
hole in the grass. They really need
spring rain to soften the earth.
These silvery mining bees, which
are about the same size as a small
honeybee, roll across the lawn as they
mate. The bee eggs are laid in the hole
by the females and then the fun begins.
The bee flies do a fly-past above the
holes and attempt to drop their eggs in.
Some females coat their eggs with soil
or sand to make them heavier. If
successful, the bee-fly’s larva hatches,
crawls further into the bee’s burrow and
waits for the bee’s own larva to grow to
almost full size, at which point the bee-fly
larva attacks the bee larva, feeding on its
body fluids and eventually killing it. Year
on year, however, we still have ashy
mining bees, despite all the carnage. 
There is another hungry predator, too.
Blackbirds race back-and-forth over the
lawn collecting up the ashy mining bees
in their beaks and then fly off to their
nests. It’s a miniature illustration of how
the living jigsaw works in your garden.
TIP Some 70 per cent of
solitary bees are ashy
mining bees, so if you see a pile of
earth it’s likely to be them. If you
do see this earth mound, don’t
mow your grass for a week or two.
24 MARCH 2018 AMATEUR GARDENING 19
 Gardening Week
with AG’s gardening expert Ruth Hayes

Always label
your seeds What’s Things to
on do near you

Visit East Lambrook’s Early Spring

Plant Fair on 24 March

In April and May you can 24 March: Early Spring Plant Fair:
sow asters directly into East Lambrook Manor Gardens,
borders where you want Silver Street, East Lambrook, South
them to grow. Prepare Petherton, Somerset TA13 5HH.
the soil first and thin £4 plus concessions. 1460 240
growing seedlings to Asters are a long-blooming, 328, eastlambrook.com
8in (20cm) apart. traditional garden favourite
24: Essential Pruning full-day course:
Cottage Garden School, East

A Chinese cracker
Donyland Hall, Fingringhoe, Essex
CO5 7JE. £80. 07837 013900,
cottagegardenschool.co.uk
24: Plant Hunters’ Fair: Carsington
Asters delight with long-lasting colour, says Ruth

N
EW varieties of plants seem
to appear every season, so it
can make a refreshing change
to return to a traditional old
favourite. Step forward asters, whose
densely petalled flowers add colour
from summer to autumn, and have been
delighting gardeners for generations.
This week’s free seeds are aster
‘Milady Mixed’ (Callistephus chinensis),
a robust dwarf half-hardy annual that
produces masses of large blooms in
How to sow your annual asters
white and shades of pink and purple.
Relatively wilt-resistant and weather-
tolerant, it grows well in tubs and pots. In
beds and borders it likes well-prepared,
free-draining soil, in sun or light shade.
Originating in China, C. chinensis is
from the same family as coreopsis,
chrysanthemum and dahlias. Great for
attracting pollinators, the bold blooms
make excellent cut flowers to brighten
the house, and regular deadheading
will keep them coming for longer.
Water Visitor Centre, Ashbourne,
Derbyshire DE6 1ST. 10am-4pm.
Free entry to fair and country park.
25: Spring Plant Hunters’ Fair:
Ness Botanic Gardens, University of
Liverpool, Neston Road, Ness, Wirral
CH64 4AY. 0151 795 6300,
nessgardens.org.uk
25: Rare Plant Fair: Evenley Wood
Garden, Evenley, Northants NN13
5SH. evenleywoodgarden.co.uk
25: Camellia Heritage Tour: Borde
Hill Garden, Haywards Heath,
West Sussex RH6 1HP. 01444
450326, bordehill.co.uk
27: Magnolia Tour with head
gardener Andy Stevens, Borde Hill

1 Fill a
seed tray
with seed
2 Tamp flat
and sow
seeds thinly
Garden, Haywards Heath, West
Sussex RH6 1HP. 01444 450326,
bordehill.co.uk
and cuttings on the surface, 30: Gardeners’ Questions: Avebury
compost – to enable Manor, Marlborough, Wiltshire
deep enough seedlings to SN8 1RF 01672 538036
for strong germinate with nationaltrust.org.uk
root systems good airflow
to develop. around them.
■ Please send details and images

3 Cover
the seeds
with compost,
4 Label the
seeds and
add a cover.
of your events to ruth.hayes@
timeinc.com or What’s On, Amateur
Gardening, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst
vermiculite or a Place them on Road, Farnborough Industrial Park,
mix of the two, a light, warm Farnborough, Hants GU14 7BF.
and water well, windowsill and ■ Listings need to be with us at
using clean germination least six weeks in advance.
water from the should take ■ All details are subject to change without our knowledge,
so please always check that the event is still going ahead
tap (not butt). 2-3 weeks. before leaving home.

20 AMATEUR GARDENING 24 MARCH 2018

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 Pick of the very best
Graham Rice chooses his six top RHS Award of Garden Merit winners
¨

NEW
SERIES

With late-flowerers such as C. jackmanii you can

expect big, bold blooms from June or July onwards

This week it’s

Late, large-flowered clematis
Thirteen of these bold, easy-to-prune beauties hold an often starts in June, and will continue
AGM, but which of them make Graham’s final cut? through the summer and into autumn.

A
RE you looking for colour from
a climber? If you are, then look
no further than late-flowering,
large-flowered clematis. I know
that’s a bit of a mouthful, but it tells you
two of the three things you need to know
about these invaluable plants.
curl around trellis, wires or the stems of
large shrubs. With buds bursting as early
as February, the vigour of early growth
can be astonishing, but it’s important to
remember that a simple spring prune
keeps the plant manageable.
Flowers are single, and each has
Plant them against walls, fences or
trellis, on pergolas and towers. They are
especially attractive when positioned to
grow through established shrub roses,
climbing roses and other mature shrubs.
Because they’re so easy to keep in
check, these clematis are also the best
choice for containers. But wherever they
All photographs Alamy, unless otherwise credited

Namely: they’re large-flowered, being
4in (10cm) or more across; and they’re
late flowering, June or July onwards and
often well into autumn. The third thing
they have going for them is that they
are very easy to prune.
Reaching up to 10ft (3m), and
sometimes more, in a single season,
these gorgeous climbers cling in the
same way as all clematis: their leaf stalks
22 AMATEUR GARDENING 24 MARCH 2018
four to six rounded or pointed petals in are planted, that regular hard spring
every colour you can think of – with the pruning will ensure that they never get
exception of yellow and black. Flowering out of hand. Even if you miss a year they
Stockists
Roseland House roselandhouse.co.uk 01872 560451
Thorncroft Clematis thorncroftclematis.co.uk 01953 850407
Taylors Clematis taylorsclematis.co.uk 01302 700716

Blue Angel (‘Blekitny Aniol’)
Beautifully textured, pale rosy-blue
4in (11cm) flowers with hints of lilac
open continuously from June to
September – or later. “Very floriferous.
Flowers from top to bottom,” said the
RHS judges. H: 98in (2.5m).
‘Polish Spirit’
A mass of deep-purple 6in (15cm)
flowers, with a slightly reddish stripe
along the centre of each petal, which
becomes paler with age. Matches
prolific flowering with a lovely rich
colour. H: 10ft (3m).
can still be cut back almost to ground
level and will grow away happily.
Sadly, they are not totally trouble-free,
and two diseases may pose problems.
The first is wilt, which causes the
collapse of top growth owing to a fungus
blocking the sap flow in the stems –
usually just above the ground. There is
no cure; simply cut off all the affected
growth and either burn it or take it to
the green-waste dump for composting.
Deep planting of new clematis ensures
that there are below-ground buds from
which new growth can spring.
the Award of Garden merit is a mark of quality
awarded since 1922 to garden plants (including trees, vegetables and
decorative plants) by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).
Happy Birthday (‘Zohapbi’)
Deep-purple velvety flowers measuring
4in (10-11cm), with a reddish stripe
along each petal’s centre. They
develop dark-bluish overtones as
they mature. “Whole thing covered in
flower,” the RHS noted. H: 79in (2m).
‘Prince Charles’
A little like ‘Perle d’Azur’ – only without
the mildew; 4in (10cm) flowers open
azure-blue with pink tints that fade
as they mature. “Stunning. Always
performs. Healthy and vigorous,” was
the RHS judges’ verdict. H: 79in (2m).
A few AGM varieties can be prone to
this, including ‘Jackmanii’, but I’ve barred
them from my top six.
Mildew can also be an issue,
especially on plants growing on hot and
sunny walls. Unfortunately, AGM holder
‘Perle d’Azur’ is susceptible, so sadly
I’ve excluded that one, too.
Late March is your last chance to plant
these invaluable clematis before the
fragile new shoots become so long that
they break off en route from the nursery,
or as you transport them home from
the garden centre. So seize the day!
‘Huldine’
Elegant, pure-white, 3½in (9cm) flowers
develop pearly tones as the pink
colouring on the backs of petals tints
their faces. “Long flowering season.
Very vigorous. Lovely flowers and held
well,” said the RHS. H: 10ft (3m).
‘remembrance’
Large 5in (12cm) beautifully textured,
raspberry-red flowers are pink on the
backs, maturing to a deep-rose hue.
“Outstanding. One of the best in the
trial,” said the RHS, adding: “Lovely rich
colour. Good vigour.” H: 98in (2.5m).
What makes
a good late,
large-flowered
clematis
n Attractive flower colouring
n Even, well-shaped flowers
n Prolific flowering
n A long flowering season
n Resistance to mildew
n Resistance to wilt
24 MARCH 2018 AmAteur GArDeNING 23
 Planting clematis
■ Clematis can be very long-
lived, so prepare your site well.
■ Dig a large hole, 18in (45cm)
across and deep. Fork over the
base and loosen the sides.
■ Put 4in (10cm) of compost,
bagged soil improver or well-
rotted manure into the hole,
fork into the base and firm well.
■ Mix two handfuls of
bonemeal or any general
fertiliser into a 50:50 mix of
good garden soil and old
potting compost, then use
to fill the hole.
■ Soak your clematis plant
for half an hour, in water with
Maxicrop or Seasol added.
■ Plant with the clematis’s
crown 2½in (6cm) below the Soak before planting Dig a large hole
general soil level.

Looking after clematis Clematis in

containers
Growing a late
large-flowered
clematis in a
container will
bring versatility
to your patio
or terrace. Both early and late-
You can leave flowering clematis
it in the same need a large pot
place or move
it to a new site annually.
It’s important to choose a large
container of a minimum 18in (45cm)
deep and across, as clematis
Water well in dry weather Help shoots curl around supports develop an extensive root system.
GAP

Thin plastic pots heat up too much

■ After planting, cut each stem back
to a pair of shoots or bursting buds,
just above ground level.
■ Push in a cane to guide your
clematis towards its support.
■ Water with a can filled (about five
litres) with a mix of tap water and
Maxicrop or Seasol.
■ Repeat the watering a week later –
every day or two if the weather is
hot and dry.
■ Clematis appreciate cool roots, so
plant a low shrub on the sunny side
of the planting site – such as potentilla
or sarcococca – or lay some slabs over
the planting area.
■ As they grow, guide the new shoots
towards and on to their support.
in summer, so a wooden half-barrel
or thick concrete container is more
suitable. Make sure it’s well drained,
and stand it on pot feet.
Fill your chosen container with
John Innes No2 compost, firm well,
plant your clematis deeply and
water thoroughly. Never let the
plant dry out.

In my garden ‘Perle d’Azur’

About 20 years ago I planted a pale
blue ‘Perle d’Azur’ clematis and a
vigorous soft-pink ‘Heritage’ David
Austin rose together at the side of
the shed. The rose developed as a
climber and supported the clematis.
Lovely – although I’d now plant mildew-
resistant ‘Prince Charles’ instead.
A few weeks ago I cut the clematis
back to 1ft (30cm), and cut the side
shoots on the rose back, too. Another
year of colour and fragrance ahead.

24 AMATEUR GARDENING 24 MARCH 2018

 326 22
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with Tamsin Westhorpe
Plant up some pots for Easter:
add spring-flowering plants to your
containers to brighten up the garden
Pots of colour at Easter
Add colour and drama to your container displays this Easter using bulbs, shrubs,
alpines and annuals. Tamsin Westhorpe has some quick and easy ideas
E
ASTER day may fall on 1 April,
but this isn’t an April Fool. You
really can add colour to your
pots now to celebrate the
Easter holiday in style. If you’re
anything like me you have a range
of pots – some with tulips and other
spring bulbs just poking out of the
compost, others with now shabby
winter bedding and plenty of empty
pots crying out for attention.
I prefer to leave my pots of bulbs
alone to avoid damaging the new
shoots. For those who didn’t plant
spring-flowering bulbs in autumn, there
are plenty of potted bulbs on sale for
planting in containers now.
Fading winter bedding pots are
easily given a new look by removing
plants that are past their best.
Cyclamen can be planted in shady
borders and ivy left in the pot but
trimmed to encourage new growth. A
fresh few inches of compost with slow-
release fertiliser mixed in, plus some
26 AMATEUR GARDENING 24 MARCH 2018
new spring-flowering plants, and your
winter look can quick turn into spring.
For those surrounded by empty pots
of all shapes and sizes, there’s plenty of
fun to be had. If a vessel has a drainage
hole it can be used as a planting pot.
Hanging baskets, tins, buckets and
even old boots are all possible
containers. Old wicker baskets make
the perfect Easter-themed displays.
I often hear people asking at garden
centres and nurseries if a certain plant
will grow in a pot. The answer is that all
plants will grow in pots if treated well, but
some perform better than others. This
means that you have the choice of trees,
shrubs, perennials, alpines and annuals.
Year-to-year colour
When growing herbaceous perennials
in pots, don’t expect them to grow as
well as they might in a border. For best
results I grow them in a container for
a couple of years planted closely
together, and then transfer them to a
more permanent home. Reliable
perennials for spring interest include
bergenias, dicentra, pulmonarias,
pulsatillas and erysimums (wallflowers).
Plant shade lovers together in one pot
and sun lovers in another. If you mix
them up you’ll struggle to find the right
home for your completed container.
To accommodate trees or shrubs
you need generously sized pots. For
blossom, why not plant a dwarf apple
tree? ‘Sunset’ and ‘James Grieve’ are to
be commended for blossom, but bear in
mind that they won’t flower until much
later in April. When buying an apple tree
for a pot, choose one grafted onto a
semi-dwarfing rootstock (M26) and
underplant with Anemone nemorosa.
For earlier blossom an alternative
is an amelanchier. This is a very
accommodating and reliable tree for
large pots. However, one of the most
impressive trees for blossom is Prunus
cerasifera ‘Nigra’. This tree will need a
more permanent home after a few
 Six great Easter plants for pots
Muscari armeniacum ‘Valerie Finnis’
The grape hyacinth is a bulbous
perennial that can be bought as flowering
plants now or as bulbs in autumn. About
10in (25cm) in height, it has pale-blue
flowers and is perfect for window boxes
All photographs Alamy
Pulsatilla vulgaris
This perennial adds colour to an alpine
trough. The seed heads are as attractive
as the spring flowers. It looks great with
a gravel mulch. Height 8in (20cm)
years, so make sure you have a suitable
spot reserved in the garden.
Shrubs that offer Easter flowers
include Ribes sanguineum, camellias
(with ericaceous compost) and
chaenomeles for a container that
will be placed against a wall.
Instant impact
My favourite spring pots are those
planted with the classics of spring –
often referred to as spring bedding in
garden centres. Dwarf narcissi planted
with muscari, bellis planted with crocus
and violas planted with primroses – all
these combinations are perfect for small
pots or window boxes where the plants
are happy planted tightly together.
If your container is detailed in design
or has a coloured glaze, planting just
one plant can often produce the best
Narcissus ‘tête-à-tête’ No spring
garden is complete without daffodils.
This dwarf variety is ideal for small pots
and has the classic yellow trumpet.
Height 8in (20cm). Available as plants
in flower now or bulbs in autumn
Primulas and polyanthus
Choose the common primrose (Primula
vulgaris) for a pale yellow or polyanthus
for razzmatazz. Cowslips (Primula
veris) are ideal for small containers
results. Muscari in a galvanised window
box offer a fresh, clean look and the
upright dark-blue Iris reticulata in a
white container looks stunning –
5 top tips for creating easter containers
1 Choose a colour theme that
matches your front door or the
coloured glaze on your pots.
2 Spring-flowering bedding plants
such as polyanthus can cope
in very small containers thanks to
April showers! Have fun planting
in old tin cans and small terracotta
pots. Make sure all pots have a
drainage hole or two.
3 Have a sheet of frost-protection
fleece ready to protect early
Chaenomeles speciosa ‘Apple Blossom’
This is perfect for a pot against a wall. It
suits full sun or part shade, with a height
and spread of 8ft (2.5m) when mature.
The spring flowers look like apple
blossom. Deciduous with autumn fruits
Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Ballerina’
This can be bought as a small tree or
shrub. It has white star-shaped flowers
in April, and reaches 13ft (4m) when fully
mature. Hardy, it is happy in most soils
especially if the compost is covered
with a layer of moss. Don’t forget to add
an Easter twist, such as a small basket
of china eggs or an Easter bunny!
blossom on trees and shrubs in
containers. Frost is possible in April.
4 Group containers together to
create more impact. Place the
groups close to the house so they
can be enjoyed from inside if it’s
too chilly to be outside.
5 If replanting winter pots with
spring plants, refresh at least
50 per cent of the compost. Add
slow-release feed to encourage
healthy growth of spring plants.
24 MARCH 2018 AmAteur GArDeNING 27
Hardy annuals
for every garden
Tough, floriferous and
Hardy annuals are great for growing with
inexpensive, these garden perennials, shrubs and even vegetables.
heroes are the best way to Try the neon brights of calendula,
sunflowers and nasturtiums
bulk up borders and ring
the changes each year,
says Graham Rice

H
ardy annual – the name
says it all, really. These are
frost-hardy plants that last for
a single season. and they’re
annuals, so they won’t be making a
return visit next year. Sow seeds now
and they’ll take any spring frosts in their
stride, flower gloriously in summer and
then simply fade away.
Hardy is obviously good. No need for
a greenhouse; no need to fuss with the
seeds and seedlings on the windowsill.
But annuals can be dismissed by some
gardeners. True, they will be gone for
good by the end of the season, but I see
this is as an opportunity rather than a
downside. Borders filled with shrubs and
perennials stay more or less the same
year after year. But with annuals, you can
change what you grow on, well, an
annual basis. Sow the ones you really
enjoy again next year, if that’s what you
like, or try something different.
What the description ‘hardy annual’
doesn’t tell you is how economical they
are. Five hundred seeds of the lovely
double-flowered poppy ‘dawn Chorus’
will cost you £2.29. almost every one of
them will come up and those you don’t
sow one year will keep until the next.
Sound good? Of course it does.
and then there’s the mind-boggling
choice. Mr Fothergill’s lists 198 different
hardy annuals; Thompson & Morgan lists
241! There’s no shortage of options, from
low and fragrant alyssum to tall and
stately sunflowers. Whether grown
between perennials, in front of shrubs or
trailing out of containers, they are, by
some distance, the most economical cut
flowers you can get. Better still, the more
you cut, the more they flower. grow through the mild, wet winters and bi-coloured calendulas (‘Orange Flash’),
The hardy annuals we grow today make seed in the hot, dry summers. red-and-white bi-coloured linums (‘Bright
have come about in a number of These annual wildings have a distinct Eyes’), grape-purple poppies (‘Lauren’)
different ways. Some, such as and delightful charm. But plant breeders and an increasing range of nasturtiums.
cornflowers, are derived from old- have improved them, made them more all are just as easy to grow as the old
fashioned cornfield weeds. Others, prolific, more colourful, and available in favourites. and if they turn out not to be
including sweet peas, have evolved to fit new shades and flower forms. Tempting to your taste, not to worry – you can
into Mediterranean climates, where they recent newcomers include pastel easily try something else next year.
28 AmAteur GArDeNING 24 MARCH 2018
 Favourite hardy annuals for...
Cutting
GAP
GAP
Calendula
Naturally well-branched, with mainly
double flowers in oranges and yellows,
plus white ‘Snow Princess’ (above). Two-
tone varieties with darker backs to their
petals (‘Indian Prince’) are lovely, but
avoid dwarf types. H: 16-22in (40-75cm).
Borders
Lavatera
Shimmering ruby, pink or white cups,
often with contrasting veins, are set
against dark foliage. It quickly makes an
impressive, upright plant that flowers
all summer if deadheaded and kept
moist. H: 18-24in (45-60cm).
Wildlife
Main photo: Gardenphotos.com. All others Alamy, unless credited
Echium
Happy in poor soil, echium is among
the finest of all bee-attracting plants.
E. vulgare ‘Blue Bedder’ (above) is not
only especially rich in nectar, but also
one of the most vivid blue flowers you
can grow. H: 18in (45cm).
Scabious
Large pin-cushion flowers on tall, long-
stemmed plants. ‘Summer Fruits’ comes
in shades of grape, wine, strawberry and
raspberry, plus pastel colours. Or try
‘Beaujolais Bonnets’, with its merlot-and-
rosé-hued blooms. H: 24in (60cm).
Nasturtium
Neat, bushy, variegated types are the
ones to look for, and are ideal at the front
of sunny borders. Avoid trailers and
climbers that will swamp everything. ‘Tip
Top Alaska’ (above) holds its flowers
above the leaves. H: 10-12in (25-30cm).
Ammi
This is like a super-classy cow parsley,
only more elegant and productive, and a
magnet for aphid-munching hoverflies.
Look for ‘Graceland’ (above), which is
prolific, great for cutting and mixes well
with other flowers. H: 36in (90cm).
Chiltern Seeds
Nigella
Unusual, crown-centred flowers develop
fat seed pods (ideal for drying) and are
set off by fine, feathery foliage. Pale-blue
‘Miss Jekyll’ is the old favourite, while
recent white ‘Albion Green Pod’ (above)
is worth trying. H: 16-20in (40-50cm).
Sunflowers
In an ever-growing range of colours and
shapes. ‘Valentine’ is an appealing soft
cream, while new fully double ‘Sun King’
(above) adds back-of-the-border drama.
And don’t forget smaller types such as
‘Waooh’. H: 20-78in (50cm-2m).
Cornflower
A hit with bees, hoverflies and other
insects, the wild blue cornflower now
comes in many colours, including ‘Black
Ball’ (ruby red) and some fine bi-colours
(like ‘Classic Fantastic’ above). Usually
needs support. H: 16-36in (40-90cm).
24 MARCH 2018 AmAteur GArDeNING 29
 More unusual options

Cerinthe
A fashionable Mediterranean
annual, ‘Purpurascens’ (above)
has blue-green leaves and purple
tubular flowers that are popular
GAP

with bees and keep opening for

months. Self-sows without being
Corn cockle ‘Snow Queen’ annoying, and is intriguing in
The white form of this almost-extinct cornfield weed has pure snow-coloured posies. H: 18in (45cm).
flowers with a pretty linear pattern of dots on the petals. Lovely in mixed borders,
but those narrow stems will need support. H: 36in (90cm).

4 for scent
GAP

Night-scented stock Amberboa moschata Lupin Sweet pea

This moth attractor is pretty ‘the Bride’ Annual lupins have a lovely Classically fragrant – look for
unremarkable during the day, The large, fluffy white flowers floral fragrance, and the the scent rating on packets
but as dusk falls the flowers of this sweet sultan have a recently introduced ‘Avalune’, and in catalogues as a guide
open and the intoxicating touch of cream and a sweet – in purple-and-white and to the most powerful perfume.
scent wafts around the fragrance. Amberboa also red-and-white – is neat, ‘Hi Scent’ (above) is probably
garden. ‘Starlight Scentsation’ comes in pretty combinations prolific and (if deadheaded) the best scented of them all;
(above) has the best flower of white and pink. Needs long flowering. Good in pots dwarf types tend to be less
colour. H: 12in (30cm). support. H: 2ft (60cm). and posies. H: 12in (30cm). fragrant. H: 6ft (1.8m).
30 AmAteur GArDeNING 24 MARCH 2018
 GAP
Rudbeckia ‘Chim Chiminee’
Some double-flowered annual rudbeckias in unusual colours have arrived recently.
Along with ‘Chim Chiminee’, with its rolled petals in coppery-orange and yellow
tones, look for the rustic old rose and amber shades of ‘Caramel’. H: 24in (60cm).

Making them last Sowing hardy

Hardy annuals are at their
most prolific in fertile,
annual seeds
moist but well-drained
conditions.
Regular dead-
heading (right)
is the most
important
factor in
prolonging
the flowering
period.
Watering in
dry spells is
also key if you Sow in sun, and in fertile and well-drained soil.
want more blooms. Follow the packet guidance on spacing and don’t
In general, double be tempted to grow plants too close together.
flowers bloom for longer Dribble water into the drills immediately before
than single flowers. sowing to give the seeds a moist start.
Make sure that tall varieties are supported before Seedlings should not need frost protection.
they flop or are battered by a sudden storm. Protect from slugs as a routine precaution.

Where to buy Plants of Distinction

plantsofdistinction.co.uk 01449 721720
Chiltern Seeds Sarah Raven
chilternseeds.co.uk 01491 824675 sarahraven.com 0345 092 0283
Mr Fothergill’s Thompson & Morgan
mr-fothergills.co.uk 0333 777 3936 thompson-morgan.com 0844 573 1818

24 MARCH 2018 AMATEUR GARDENING 31

Climber-clad walls, collections of pots planted
with fragrant flowers and light paintwork can
work wonders in even the smallest space
Create the perfect
Courtyard garden
You don’t have to fork out for a garden designer to transform that tired,
soulless yard into a calming, leafy hideaway. Hazel Sillver reveals the plants
and techniques you need that are perfect for the long weekend ahead
L
ush planting that soars towards
the sky, walls coated in scented
plants, the sound of birdsong
and a place to put your feet up
– a courtyard garden can be a secret
haven of greenery and a space to
unwind, especially in a town or city.
The tradition of gardens within the
buildings or boundary walls of houses
comes from overseas: from the Zen
gardens of Japan, the riads of Morocco,
the courtyards of Moorish spain, and
the medieval cloisters of France.
These outdoor sanctuaries are
frequently surrounded by rooms
into which the sound of trickling water
and the perfume of plants drift.
Today, many inner-city gardens are
courtyards, and if you’ve got one you’ll
know how important it is to have a place
32 AmAteur GArDeNING 24 MARCH 2018
in which to take refuge from people,
traffic and the pace of urban life. Trees
and tall, leafy shrubs are ideal for
courtyards – use them to create a
canopy for privacy and to attract wildlife.
Once mature, they will add to the lush,
‘secret garden’ feel.
space is usually tight, but much can
be done to give the illusion of breadth
and depth, including the addition of
mirrors and water, which reflect light.
The presence of water has also been
proven to reduce stress and boost
wellbeing. Try a ‘rill’ (a narrow, shallow
channel), a fountain or a barrel pond.  of neighbours and traffic.
Colour is also key, both in enhancing
the sense of space and setting the
mood. using lots of tall foliage plants
and coating the walls with evergreen
climbers will make the boundaries
disappear. Likewise, pale flowers (such
as light blue or white) will give the illusion
of space. Greens, blues and whites are
soothing, whereas fiery tones are
enlivening. This is useful if you’re going
to be entertaining in your courtyard, but
the fact that reds and yellows draw the
eye will make a space appear smaller. 
Fill the air with scent by using fragrant
plants like honeysuckle and jasmine,
and containing their perfume via a
canopy. And why not add some grasses
and bamboos? They will whisper gently
on the breeze, blocking out the sound
Layers of foliage are your best
defence against noise pollution. They’ll
also lure birds that will (hopefully)
serenade you as you sip your G&T from
the comfort of your new courtyard oasis.
 6 courtyard essentials
All photos Alamy, unless otherwise credited

GAP
Trachelospermum jasminoides (AGM) Soleirolia soleirolii Campanula persicifolia var. alba
Star jasmine is a great climber for a Grow shade-tolerant carpet foliage This easy-to-grow bellflower will
sunny wall. It has glossy evergreen plants, such as mind-your-own- spread itself around the garden, and
leaves that blush red-bronze during business or Corsican mint (Mentha shines in dappled shade when it
the winter, and it has deliciously requienii) under an ironwork grille blooms during June and July. Regular
scented white flowers throughout or grate. Scour architectural salvage deadheading will keep the flowers
summer. H: 30ft (9m).  yards for metalwork. H: 4in (10cm). coming. H: 3ft (90cm).
GAP

Fargesia murielae (AGm) Agapanthus ‘midnight Star’ Hydrangea arborescens

On breezy days the rustling of this
fast-growing evergreen bamboo will
add an enchanting soundtrack to
your courtyard. Masses of soft foliage
grow from the arching golden canes,
creating lush denseness. H: 13ft (4m).
Great in containers, ‘Midnight Star’
produces flowering explosions of
rich blue, on top of tall, sturdy stems,
in August and September. Use John
Innes No3 compost if growing in
pots. H: 32in (80cm).
‘Annabelle’ (AGm)
A wonderful hydrangea; grow in
moisture-retentive soil, in sun or
semi-shade, for handful-sized white
flowerheads (fading to lime-green)
from July to September. H: 8ft (2.5m).
24 MARCH 2018 AmAteur GArDeNING 33
5 features for a courtyard
mosaic
Get creative! Use pebbles (or pieces
of broken tile or pot) for your design;
a swirl, star or concentric circles all
look impressive. Lay over gravel and
set with pre-mixed dry mortar.
Water
An ornate bird bath will give a feeling of
tranquillity and reflect light, creating a
sense of space. Make sure the bath has
edges for the birds to perch on, and is
not too deep for them to bathe.
Dark characters: the best plants
for shade or semi-shade
Dryopteris affinis ‘Cristata’ (AGm)
An easy-to-grow evergreen fern
reaching 39-60in (1-1.5m).  Lonicera periclymenum ‘Graham
Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’ (AGm)
With gold-green leaves and lilac
summer flowers. H: 32in (80cm).  perfume. H: 23ft (7m).
Rosa ‘madame Alfred Carrière’
(AGm) This white-flowered,
almost thornless rose has a truly
34 AmAteur GArDeNING 24 MARCH 2018
Colour
Alter the mood by painting one (or all)
of the walls. Soft greens will enhance
the sense of space, while the warm
tones of terracotta or pink inject
cheer. Or try a bold splash of blue.
GAP
mirrors
Just like water, mirrors reflect light,
fooling the eye into thinking a small
space is larger. Hang a mirror on a
wall, and dangle mirror mobiles (or ‘sun
catchers’) from the branches of trees.
gorgeous scent and will shine in
a less-sunny spot. H: 13-20ft (4-6m). 
thomas’ (AGm) A deciduous
honeysuckle with a delicious
Fatsia japonica (AGm) Jungle-effect
glossy foliage is this evergreen
shrub’s big attraction. H: 13ft (4m).
Pots
For best use of space, attach wall pots.
Grow trees in large containers with good
drainage, and group pots together – the
resulting microclimate will enable you
to cultivate more tender plants.
Easy
make your ideas
courtyard
seem bigger
n Use leafy, tall plants (including
trees) to give the illusion of a far
more spacious area.
n If walls are high, erect trellis or
paint them a different colour to
6ft (1.8m); this will lower your eye
level and prevent claustrophobia.
n Utilise different light-reflective
elements. Mirrors are cheap and
easy; or install a water feature.
n Plant pale flowers on (or at the
base of) walls, to exaggerate the
dimensions of your yard.
Rose ‘Madame Alfred Carrière’
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 Anne Swithinbank’s masterclass on: starting a strawberry bed
On heavier soils likely to hold
water in winter, plant
strawberries in slightly raised
or mounded beds. On lighter,
drier soils, drought is more of
a problem. Fit a fibre mat
around the plants to hold
in moisture.
How do I start a new
strawberry bed?
Q We inherited a strawberry bed, but
the plants have multiplied, shrunk
and don’t give much fruit. How do I go
about starting a new bed and when
should I do it?
Clive Gilbert, Ashford, Kent
A Unlike most soft fruits, strawberry
plants have a short cropping life
and are usually replaced after three or
four years. New plants are started off in a
different bed and the old plants
disposed of away from the garden, to
avoid diseases persisting in compost.
Even when strawberry plants have
been well tended, they often behave
badly with age. Multiple crowns form,
sending rhizomes over the ground and
flinging out runners. After a while, it is
difficult to see where they were originally
planted and the quality dwindles.
Canny gardeners root runners in
summer while their plants are still
healthy, enabling them to start new
beds for free. Sickly looking plants with
Disbudding
SMALL plants set out in late autumn or
early spring might be deemed too
scrawny to carry a crop in their first
summer. This is a difficult decision to
make (we want those berries!), but
removing all blossom pushes energy
into growth and strong plants will give
bumper crops the following summer.
36 AMATEUR GARDENING 24 MARCH 2018
Planting a new
berry bed
■ Choose a sunny, sheltered,
well-cultivated bed where early
flowers are unlikely to be frosted
and the soil is well conditioned,
These potted plants
are healthy, but too preferably slightly acidic and well
small to fruit well this drained. Add a general-purpose
summer. Their fertiliser before planting.
flowers will be
removed, enabling
them to make large
plants ready to fruit
next year
poor foliage and small, misshapen fruits
are a bad bet and it would be unwise to
propagate from these.
You might be able to squeeze ■ Make sure roots are well
another year out of your strawberries by moistened, set them out 14in (35cm)
lavishing care on them, but it sounds as apart in rows 24in (60cm) apart.
though the time has come to grub them Remove each from its pot and
out and start again with new disease-
free plants from certified mother stock.
Strawberry plants are available pretty
loosen roots gently.
much all year round in various forms.
From spring to early July, cold-stored
runners that are dug while dormant and
held at low temperatures are posted out
with good root systems. These grow fast
to give a small crop after 60 days in their
first year and a better one the next.
Bare-rooted plants are lifted and
delivered from their nursery beds in ■ When planting, trim rather than
autumn, so order early to receive them fold any overlong roots of bare-
before cold weather sets in. Garden rooted stock. Plant so the crown
centres have potted plants for sale is at or just above the surface and
pretty much all year round, but avoid the roots are neatly buried.
winter planting when the soil is liable
to be frosted or waterlogged.
All pictures Time Inc unless otherwise credited
■ Water in well and, once
established, give fortnightly liquid
feeds with a high-potash tomato-
Remove flowers for stronger plants type fertiliser.
 Next Week: Anne explains how to care for your lawn,
including treating, re-seeding, feeding and
weeding, in our Lawn Care Special

Aftercare of strawberries mesh works well, make sure fruits have

set before putting it on, otherwise
pollinating insects are excluded. Slugs
Use straw to raise berries off the can be troublesome, so take steps to
ground and cover the plants with trap or control these if damage is
netting to stop birds eating your crop
noticed. During wet weather, softer-
fruiting varieties in particular might rot.
Remove spoiled fruits quickly to prevent
the spread of botrytis (grey mould).
Immediately after cropping, shear
away and clear old foliage along with
straw and other debris to be disposed of
away from the garden. This removes
diseased foliage and lets more light in to
the crowns, encouraging new growth.
Select the runners to pin down into
Richard everitt

pots of compost buried in the ground (for

When the strawberries are about to
fruit, tuck straw or fibre mats under and
around them to raise berries off soil.
Birds (especially blackbirds) and
squirrels will want to share the crop and
start on them as soon as they turn colour,
so provide a cover. netting supported by
plastic hoops is ideal, and while woven
stability and moisture), or tuck them into
gaps to root in and remove the rest. The
big advantage of rooting runners is
being able to plant them out in their new
bed during the favourable months of
August and September.

Choosing strawberry varieties

If you have the space and love strawberries, choose an early, mid and late-season variety for the longest
season of fruits in June and July. Everbearers will crop intermittently from June to October and are ideal
if you just want a few fruits to slice on your cereal in the morning.
Alamy
Alamy

Alamy
Alamy

‘Christine’ ‘Pegasus’ ‘Malwina’ ‘Mara des Bois’

Quality fruits, excellent
flavour and large,
bright-red berries are the
hallmarks of this early
season variety.
A mid-late variety ideal for
heavier soils. Open habit and
good disease resistance.
Abundant medium-sized
fruits are sweet and juicy.
A late variety with large,
flavoursome red fruits
produced to the end of July
and into August. Good
disease resistance.
This everbearing variety
has the aromatic flavour
of wild strawberries. It
produces regular-sized
berries through summer.

resurrecting neglected plants

Find and mark the largest crowns in Firm soil around any exposed roots and Mulch generously between and
the bed so they are 12-18in (30-36cm) sprinkle a general-purpose fertiliser up to the plants with well-rotted
apart and remove smaller unwanted around the plants, adding it gently compost to hold in moisture and
ones, along with weeds and debris. between them. nourish the soil.

24 MARCH 2018 AmAteur GArDeNING 37

 Compost
Grows healthy
Plants with
strong roots

For
Every
Enriched From raising
seedlings to
With Loam planting
AND feed containers

Stage
Of Plant
Growth
From germinating seeds, to potting on and planting up
containers our Multi-Purpose Compost with John Innes is
the perfect life partner for plants. This gardeners favourite
retains and releases nutrients and water to give plants all
they need to thrive – through every stage of their life.

gardenhealth.com
 Anna Toeman, Dr Jane Bingham, John Negus
Getty Images
Seed Lynx Supplies
How can I jazz up a gravelly patch?
Q We have a small area with gravel
over sand that is about 30 years
old. Should we remove the gravel and
replace it with soil? Which would be the
best plants to now put in?
Margaret and Martin Pagett, via email
A I suggest that you work good
topsoil and crumbly manure into
the gravel and sand area to make an
appealing bed.
To create a series of islands, divide
them with grass paths. If you use pea
shingle for paths, edge it with ceramic
tiles, bricks or plastic edging strips. The
following shrubs and border perennials
What’s wrong with my skimmia?
Q Our old skimmia has grown into a
very large bush, but the leaves
have started to yellow and fall off. What
is the cause of this and what can I do?
David C Cook, via email
A From the photos, it looks like the
yellowing and drooping of the
leaves is confined to one section of
your skimmia. This part of the shrub
could well be more exposed to frost
and cold, drying winds.
The affected branches may have
been damaged. Check for splits and
breakages and remove damaged
sections. Also, check the soil – it might
be too wet and poorly drained, or it
might be too dry.
Skimmias are favoured by vine
weevils. The white larvae are active in
the soil over the winter, feeding on
Cistus and agapanthus will
brighten any garden
thrive in full sun or light shade:
Perennials: Agapanthus, allium,
alchemilla, Anemone hupehensis,
aquilegia, aster, astrantia, brunnera,
campanula, Chrysanthemum ‘Clara
Curtis’, crocosmia, dianthus, dicentra,
echinacea, euphorbia, hardy geranium,
hemerocallis, hosta, and bearded iris.
Small shrubs: Abelia, aucuba, berberis,
Buddleja ‘Buzz’, camellia, ceratostigma,
choisya, cistus, Cornus ‘Midwinter Fire’,
cytisus, Daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata’,
hardy fuchsia, Hebe ‘Dazzler’,
hydrangea, hypericum, lavender,
mahonia, myrtle, Philadelphus
‘Manteau d’Hermine’.
Skimmias react badly to
cold and vine weevils
roots, tubers and corms, causing the
plants affected to wilt, grow slowly and
die if the roots are damaged.
In spring and summer the beetle-
like adults feed on leaves at night. You
can tackle them with a root drench of
Provado Vine Weevil Killer.
Improve the vigour of your shrubs
by correct feeding and pruning. Feed
skimmia with a fertiliser for ericaceous
(acid-loving) plants.
Daffodil bulbs are best
planted in a sunny spot
Bulb mystery
Q These bulbs were overlooked
when we were planting up a
border – can you tell me what they are?
Philip Pearce, via email
A The attached image shows daffodil
bulbs. They should have been
planted in August or September, but it is
not too late to plant them now.
Prepare a patch of ground in full sun
– daffodils will bloom in light shade, but
prefer good light – and set bulbs 6in
(15cm) deep and 6-9in (15-23cm) apart.
Alternatively, consign them to pots.
Ideally, liquid-feed them with a high-
potash tomato fertiliser when flowers
appear and leaves are bright-green and
perky, and well before they fade. It will
boost the bulb size for next year.
Blueberry pruning
Q Should I cut
back hard
my standard
blueberry
bushes so
they will
grow into
multi-
stemmed
shrubs?
Ian Mitchell,
Blueberries are
relatively easy
Alamy
via email to prune
A With the ‘half-standard’ blueberries
with lollipop heads, it would be
unwise to cut them back to near the
ground. If you did, it would mean waiting
at least three years for new shoots to
mature and fruit.
Far better to leave the bushes as they
are and, each year, shorten a quarter of
the oldest of the ‘lollipop’ stems to near
the base and some to half their length,
ideally cutting to a side shoot.
24 MARCH 2018 AMATEUR GARDENING 39

Eucalyptus leaves can be used for
leaf mould, but take longer to
rot down than other varieties
Do eucalyptus leaves make leaf mould?
Q I have some containers full of
shredded eucalyptus leaves. Can
they be bagged up as with autumn
leaves and left, presumably for longer,
or how should I treat them?
Phillip Mills, Derby
A Unlike softer oak, beech or
hornbeam leaves, those of
eucalyptus are leathery and take
longer to decompose.
The best way to accelerate the
process is to soak them in water for a
Best spot for a hotel
Q I have been given a lovely ‘insect
hotel’ for my garden, with different
compartments to attract all sorts of
insects. Is there a best place and height
to position it?  snowdrop-shaped
Peter Gray, via email
A I am delighted that you have an
insect hotel. A wide range of
creatures, including mason bees,
lacewings and ladybirds, will, in winter,
hibernate within it, and the more insects
we have the better plants perform.
I suggest, therefore, that you site it
where it will receive sunshine for around
seven hours a day; solitary bees like it
warm and sunny.
So I would attach your hotel to a wall,
Alamy
fence, hedge or tree.
40 AmAteur GArDeNING 24 MARCH 2018
Write to us: Ask The AG Experts, Amateur Gardening magazine,
Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park,
Email us: amateurgardening@timeinc.com
week or so, then remove them and
mix with a compost accelerator or
high-nitrogen fertiliser, such as
Growmore or sulphate of ammonia.
Put them in a compost bin or plastic
bag in which you’ve punched holes
with a garden fork to ensure that air
penetrates. They will break down
into nutrient-rich humus.
When crumbly, use them as a border
mulch or dig them in to improve the
texture of heavy soils or the moisture-
conserving quality of light, sandy soils.
Insect hotels help small creatures
as well as your plants
Farnborough, Hants, GU14 7BF.
Quick questions
& answers
Q Should I prune my
grapefruit and
stand it on the warm,
sunny patio?
Simon Lander,
via email
Wikimedia/Trauttmansdorff Gardens
It is a little early to put your
grapefruit outdoors. If you
do, be vigilant and bring it back
into your greenhouse if the
temperature falls below 10˚C.
 As for pruning, your plant would
benefit from a light prune – remove
a few of the overcrowded
branches and pinch back the tips
of overly long shoots.
Q What is this strange
insect I saw
on one of my
raspberry canes?
Jeff Healey,
via email
Wikimedia
It is the mottled bee-fly
(Thyridanthrax fenestratus).
Colonising sandy heathland,
mainly in Dorset, the New Forest
and West Sussex, it is rarely seen
– so you made a good spot!.
Normally on the wing from late
May to early September, it tends to
associate with the heath sand
wasp (Ammophila pubescens).
Q Could someone
identify this
plant? It appeared in
my snowdrop patch
and has three
blooms per stem.
Susan Vincent, via email
A It is summer snowflake
(Leucojum aestivum). A British
native colonising damp places, it is
happy in light shade or in full sun.
It multiplies well in ordinary soil.
If it is not in the right place,
transplant it and it will recover
quickly. To increase it, wait until
leaves die back in autumn and then
lift it and divide the bulb cluster.
DOUBLE HELLEBORUS
RARE AND USUALLY EXPENSIVE rare | unusual | exciting

HELLEBORUS
BRING A MAGICAL
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will glisten in the winter sunshine, dancing in the breeze
above a collar of evergreen glossy foliage. In medieval times Helleborus
were said to be good for breaking bad spells and curses so were often planted
next to the front door, today they are known for their unsurpassed winter beauty
and a plant lover’s dream to add cheer throughout the winter.
This rare collection of fully double varieties defy nature by surviving the coldest
winters and also grow extremely well in difficult areas of the garden including
planting alongside trees and shrubs. Deer and rabbit resistant. Easy to grow and
maintain in dappled shade with moist but well-drained soil. Growing to a height
of 35cm (14") making them perfect for flower beds or containers. Fully hardy.
Your order will be confirmed and your young plants will be delivered in May
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 Write to us: Letters, Amateur Gardening magazine,
Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park,
Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 7BF.
Email us: amateurgardening@timeinc.com
with Wendy Humphries

Talking Lee has a trick to overcome slug

points damage: “I ensure plants are healthy
and strong before planting out,” he says

Lee created an area for wildlife,

including plants for pollinators and a
pond to attract amphibians

Wildlife on the allotment

E
ACH year on my allotment in mix of insects this encouraged.
Forest Hall, Newcastle, I try Being an organic gardener I don’t
to do something a little
different. My plot is just
use any chemicals at all, so the idea of
encouraging more frogs and toads was
“The idea of
under 300sq m, and with a south-
facing aspect it is in a great location.
a win-win for me. I do have a hedgehog
on my plot too, which has been great as
encouraging
In 2016, I decided that I would
create a wildlife area in one corner
we don’t have any others on the site.
Slugs were more abundant than ever
more frogs and
with a pond incorporated to
try to encourage a little
last year – which was great for
my resident hedgehog – but
toads was a
more wildlife into the
garden, particularly
quite challenging for me
given they too like to eat
win-win for me”
frogs, toads and veggies!
hedgehogs, to I overcame this by
help keep the slug ensuring that my fruit and veg that you buy is treated
population at bay. plants were healthy with different chemicals and has
I installed the pond and strong before undoubtedly travelled hundreds, if not
one Saturday, and planting out, and it thousands, of miles before it reaches
to my amazement seemed to prove the supermarket shelf.
“Slugs were abundant last
by the following year – great for our successful. The plot has been my saviour in
Saturday I had lots of resident hedgehog” Last year was an many ways. I find my allotment a form
frog spawn. I wanted to exceptional growing year and of therapy, having suffered from
build on the success of this we had a glut of many crops. I was depression in the past. I was delighted
area by planting the likes of foxglove, able to supply most of my neighbours, to win a ‘best allotment’ title last year;
geraniums, teasel and buddleja to friends, work colleagues and our local the judges seemed really impressed
encourage a greater selection of food bank with a good supply of with the diverse mix of veg that I had
beneficial insects to the plot. produce. So many people ask why I grown, not to mention the wildlife area
I built a log pile and made a few bother growing my own as you can buy and my lavender hedges.
bug hotels and used these in the area it very cheaply in supermarkets. What Lee Kirkbride, Forest Hall,
too. I was pleased with the diverse people fail to grasp is that the majority of |Newcastle upon Tyne

24 MARCH 2018 AMATEUR GARDENING 43


“I didn’t want to be
distracted by the
flowers,” says Celia
Buying plants
in flower may
be tempting…
i’ve just taken delivery of two new
clematis. One of them (C. ‘Jackmanii)
is going to trail along the fence and
another (‘Perrin’s Pride’), is specifically
for a large pot on the patio. i didn’t want
to go to a garden centre and then be
distracted to buy a clematis based on
how its flowers look, only for it to be
unsuitable for its intended purpose. 
There are leaf buds coming already
and i’m looking forward to the time
when i can plant them out.
Celia Holt, via email
Wendy says: Good idea, Celia, to do
your research before buying. Plant your
‘Jackmanii’ clematis 2-3in (5-8cm)
deeper than the surrounding soil level.
Editorial contacts:
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44 AMAtEur GArDENING 24 MARCH 2018
Share your stories, tips and photos with us and if your
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When you write, please indicate your area of interest!
Photo
of the
week
A sunny February day
and out came the bees
Let’s hear it for hellebores
This photo was taken on 24 February,
a very cold but sunny day. it may be
early in the year, but my hellebores
were doing a sterling job of attracting
different types of bee. it was wonderful
Reader’s Quick Tip
DRAW a plan of the spring bulbs in your
garden while they are still visible. Then,
in autumn, it will be much easier to plant
new ones to fill in the gaps.
Fred Whittaker, Co Durham
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 While foxgloves will grow
in dry shade, they tend to be
poor and stunted in such
conditions. To reach their full
potential they need light
shade and moist soil
enriched with well-
rotted compost.

I found these Giant Spotted Group

foxgloves at a local garden centre
and plan to sow more this June

How to grow
foxgloves
Spires of pest-resistant foxgloves are just perfect for
the country garden, says Anne Swithinbank

L
AST June our garden was full
of white foxgloves, towering in
borders and making glorious
combinations with shrubs, roses
and in particular, blue Anchusa azurea.
This momentous display cost next to
nothing, as it all came from a packet of
AG’s free seeds sown the preceding
June. Best of all for a country garden like
mine, digitalis are immune to deer and
rabbits. Even slugs and snails seem to
leave them well alone.
Foxgloves are bitter-tasting and
poisonous, containing glycosides
including digitalis. This has a long history
of use in heart-regulating medicine
stretching back to ancient Roman times.
Due to bitterness, poisoning by
foxgloves is rare but it pays to remember
the old country name: ‘dead man’s bells’.
Seeds of the common foxglove,
Time Inc/Alamy
been felled, leaving sunny clearings.
Return the following June and these
glades are likely to be bursting with
purple spires. Foxgloves are biennial,
so during the first growing season a
rosette of leaves develops. This waits
out winter and then rises to flower the
following June. Plants sometimes live
longer but rarely bloom twice with the
Foxgloves spires make a magnificent
same vigour. cottage garden border display
For wild areas, straight D. purpurea or
the white form D. p. ‘Alba’ look stunning,
and the tubular flowers arranged on one short and multi-stemmed with attractive
side of the stem are a magnet for bees. deeply cut blooms.
‘Pam’s Choice’ boasts white flowers Over-wintered rosettes are available
with rich-red throats and taller, showier to plant now and flower this summer. As
Excelsior hybrids bring a range of long as the soil around them is not overly
colours, with flowers all around the stem. disturbed, they’ll seed themselves.
For containers or cottage gardens in The Dalmatian and Camelot series
tighter spaces, opt for shorter varieties, have been bred to bloom in their first
such as ‘Knee High Mixed’ or strawberry- year from an early spring sowing, but

Digitalis purpurea, persist in the ground rose ‘Summer King’. If you like novelties, for sheer numbers to replicate wild
for many years. On country walks, you then ‘Candy Mountain’ has upward- communities, make a note to sow
might notice areas where trees have looking flowers and ‘Pam’s Split’ is traditional varieties in late May or June.
46 AmAteur GArDeNING 24 MARCH 2018
Follow Anne’s advice to
grow foxgloves from seed
Prepare a half seed tray with
good soilless multi-purpose
compost, firm the surface
gently so it is flat and
water using a fine rose
(sprinkler) on the can.
Allow to drain.
Sprinkle the fine seed
thinly and evenly over
the surface. Press lightly
into the moist surface but
don’t cover.
Place in a shaded spot and keep
moist until the seeds have germinated and grown.
Carefully transplant one seed per 31∕2in (9cm) pot.
When roots have filled the pot, plant out 12-18in
(30-45cm) apart, usually in August or September.
Water in really well.

Four favourite
foxgloves to enjoy

D. purpurea ‘Alba’ D. p. ‘Sutton’s

The elegant pure-white
form of the native foxglove
is an absolute favourite and
looks good with every plant
in the garden. Will reach up
to 5ft (1.5m).
Apricot’
A traditional foxglove
whose soft, peachy-pink
flowers are a subtle
delight on plants
reaching 4ft (1.2m).
Mr Fothergill’s

D. p. ‘Camelot Cream’ D. p. Foxy Mixed

These F1 hybrid foxgloves
have been bred to flower in
their first and second year
from seed at 3-4ft (90-
120cm). Spotted creamy
white flowers open all
around the stems.
A good choice for the
smaller garden, white
and pink-shaded flowers
open on compact plants
to 3ft (90cm) tall. Flowers
in the first year from an
early sowing.

24 MARCH 2018 AMATEUR GARDENING 47

 A Gardener’s Miscellany
Gardening’s king of trivia and brain-teasers, Graham Clarke

THIS Gardening All for lawn

WEEK history FROM now on, gardeners will be
feeding, raking, spiking, weeding and
IN 20-26 March moss-killing their lawns up and down the
land, so this week we thought we’d look
at some of the amazing facts
surrounding lawns and grasses.
■ 20 March There are around 15 million garden
1727 Sir Isaac lawns in Britain. In 2012 (the last time
Newton, figures were analysed), we spent £127
scientist and million on mowers to cut them, and £54
apple grower, million on lawn fertilisers to feed them.
Wikimedia

died.

■ 21 March 1933
Budding inventions
Michael Ray Dibdin EDWIN Beard Budding (1775-1846) is
Heseltine, Baron famous for inventing the lawnmower. At
Heseltine, was the time (1830), people thought he was a
born. Former madman to use such a contraption. He
Deputy Prime therefore tested the machine at night so
Minister and no one would see him.
Conservative MP, he It’s less well known that he also
Wikimedia / Financial Times

is a keen gardener and invented the adjustable spanner. Using

tree expert; his arboretum at the Phoenix Ironworks at Thrupp in
Thenford in Northamptonshire is Gloucestershire, he developed the
open to the public screw system for adjusting the spanner’s
four times a year. grip. Before this, spanners had to be
adjusted with wedges. Adjustable
■ 22 March 1915 wrenches using Budding’s principle are
Tomorite tomato used all over the world to this day.
fertiliser was ■ Incidentally, using a petrol-driven
launched lawnmower for one hour apparently
(originally in solid produces as much air pollution as a
form, it is now only 100-mile car trip. This is according to a
available in liquid). Swedish study reported in the June 2013
issue of Environmental Science and
Technology – the journal of the
American Chemical Society.

5 decorative plants referred

to as grass – but aren’t
■ 23 March 1969 Renowned
planstwoman Margery Fish dies. She Hundred-leaved grass or common
yarrow – Achillea millefolium
wrote in AG regularly, exercised a
strong influence on the informal
cottage garden style, and created
East Lambrook Manor Gardens in Carpenter grass or selfheal
Somerset (pictured above). – Prunella vulgaris

■ 24 March 1818 Humphry

Repton, the last great
English landscape
Time Inc/Alamy unless credited

designer of the Sea grass or thrift

– Armeria maritima
18th century, and
the successor to
Capability Sweet grass or sweet woodruff Onion grass or chives –
Brown, died. – Galium odoratum Allium schoenoprasum

48 AMATEUR GARDENING 24 MARCH 2018

 NEW
SERIES

Lawn-related
quotes
“My neighbour
asked if he
could use my
lawnmower and
I told him of course
he could, so long as
he didn’t take it out of
my garden!” Comedian
Eric Morecambe (1926-1984)
“Tradition dictates that we have a lawn
– but do we really need one? Why not
increase the size of your borders, or
replace lawned areas with paving stones
and gravel?” Severn Trent Water (The
Gardener’s Water Code, 1996)
“Nothing is more pleasant to the eye
than green grass kept finely shorn.”
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) Essays:
Of Gardens (1625)
Prize draw
Helping keep your indoor plants well watered, the Westland
Watering Indicator Stick changes colour to alert you when
the soil in your pot is drying out. A red window display means
your plant needs watering. Once the soil is rehydrated, the
colour changes to blue to show all is well. We have five
indicator sticks to give away, each worth £2.99. See below
for details of how to enter the prize draw.
How to enter
Send your name and address on the back of a postcard
to Westland Watering Indicator Stick Draw, Amateur
Gardening, 2 Pinehurst, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough,
Hampshire, GU14 7BF. Or you can email your details
to ag_giveaway@timeinc.com, heading the email
Westland Watering Indicator Stick Draw.
The closing date is 29 March 2018.

WIN
£30 Word search No:
408

This word search contains R E S I L I T R E F

words associated with lawns
and lawn care. They are R S S A R G R C T S
listed below, and in the grid
they may be read across, I E H E S E Y S U G
Vital grass backwards, up, down or
diagonally. Letters may be
Y R W S V L A E R G
THE grass family (Poaceae) is the most shared between words. R A O O I C D E F N
important plant group for mankind. It Erroneous or duplicate
contains more than 11,000 species, words may appear in the A M L N M G E Y I I
and forms the staple of people’s grid, but there is only one
diets across the world, including correct solution. After the T C D R I N R S N D
wheat, corn, rice and sorghum. listed words are found there
are six letters remaining; O E O N W S W I G E
Millions of acres of man-made fields
and pastures around the world arrange these to make this
week’s KEYWORD.
R W G A A E R A T E
sustain cattle and other livestock.
Natural grasslands cover about R O L L I N G D L S
a quarter of the planet’s land area
and are home to a rich diversity AERATE HOW TO ENTER: Enter this week’s Keyword on the entry form,
of dependent flora and fauna. CLOVER and send it to AG Word Search No 408, Amateur Gardening,
CYLINDER 2 Pinehurst, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14
DAISY 7BF, to arrive by Wednesday 4 April, 2018. The first correct entry
EDGING chosen at random will win our £30 cash prize.
How grass grows FERTILISER This week’s Keyword is ....................................................................................
Grass leaves grow from their bases
GRASS
GREEN Name ..................................................................................................................
rather than from their tips, unlike a tree
IRON Address ..............................................................................................................
or shrub branch which elongates from its
LAWN
branch tips. Grass growth has evolved LAWNMOWER .............................................................................................................................
over millions of years in MOSS
response to animal Postcode ............................................................................................................
ROLLING
grazing; it can be ROTARY Email ...................................................................................................................
grazed (and mown) SEEDING
regularly without Tel no ..................................................................................................................
TURFING Time Inc (UK) Ltd, publisher of Amateur Gardening will collect your personal information solely to
irreparable WORMCAST process your competition entry.

damage to the plant.

24 MARCH 2018 AMATEUR GARDENING 49
A Gardener’s
Miscellany Crossword
...just for fun!
Wow! I didn’t know that! 1 2 3 4

The shortest Latin plant 5 6

name used to be a
species of American blue 7 8
grass, Poa fax, but this
9 10
plant now seems to be
defunct. Poa as a genus 11 12
does still exist, and so
does Ada (an orchid), so 13
these are currently the
shortest genus names 14 15
among plants. 16 17

18 19
Bamboos technically
are in the grass kingdom.
The giant bamboos of
south-east Asia are 20
incredibly fast growing
– they can grow up to one
metre in 24 hours! ACROSS
1 Perennial plant having the shrub rose ‘____ Narcisse’
leaf-like stems, scale-like and the flowering onion Allium
leaves, and small flowers, ‘____ Regard’ (4)
Oddly, ‘Bamboo and the young shoots of which 20 The Eastern Roman Empire,
Blackie’ is a curiously are eaten as a vegetable (9) as in the ________ crocus
named variety of daylily 7 Lemna is the watery ____ (C. banaticus) (9)
(hemerocallis), while weed (4)
‘White Lawn’ is a variety
8 The essential oil or perfume DOWN
obtained from flowers (4) 2 Potato group, usually planted
of heather (Calluna 9 A kind of sweet potato (3) in March and harvested from
vulgaris, right). Both are 11 Found in clones of melon, July (6,5)
available from breeders this is an abbreviation for 3 Genus of the herb rue (4)
and garden centres. longitude (3) 4 Errant mould is an extreme
12 Since it is found in the sago form of the current style
palm – and an octagonal (11) (anag)
dragon (3) 5 Leontopodium alpinum is
If you know 13 Appropriate social better known as this (9)
someone called behaviour, as in the ‘great white 6 Botanical garden devoted
‘Timothy Bent’, then his rhododendron’ (R. _______) (7) to trees (9)
14 This sheep sounds like the 9 Genus of evergreen plants,
horticultural name is common name for Taxus having long, pointed, and
‘Grass Grass’: both baccata (3) rigid leaves at the top of a
Timothy (Phleum 15 A number found in woody stem, and bearing a
pratense, left) and bonemeal! (3) large head of showy white
Bent (Agrostis spp.) are 16 The fraxinus tree (3) blossoms (5)
18 Channel Island, as in the 10 Fragrant gum resin obtained
types of lawn grass. old floribunda rose variety from certain trees and used in
‘Dame of ____’ (4) perfumery and incense (5)
19 Man much concerned with 17 A tomato’s will if the
his dress and appearance, as in watering is erratic (4)
Alternative lawn-based 10 Myrrh 17 Skin
DOWN 2 Second early 3 Ruta 4 Ultramodern 5 Edelweiss 6 Arboretum 9 Yucca
definitions 15 One 16 Ash 18 Sark 19 Beau 20 Byzantine
ACROSS 1 Asparagus 7 Duck 8 Atar 9 Yam 11 Lon 12 Ago 13 Decorum 14 Ewe
CROSSWORD ANSWERS
Aerate – The cost of buying oxygen
Bamboo – A surprise hit
Dandelion – Fashionably dressed big cat
Spiking – Monarch working for MI6
KEYWORD TO WORDSEARCH 403 (AG 17 FEBRUARY):
topdress – Area of material just below a lady’s neckline
PERCH
turfing – Instant grassification AND THE WINNER IS:
Weeding – The sound of a small bell in Scotland MRS B MACDONALD, PARBOLD, LANCASHiRE

50 AmAteur GArDeNING 24 MARCH 2018 13 JANUARY 2018 AmAteur GArDeNING 50

 C U S TO M E R FAV O U R I T E

The best begonias you’ll ever grow

Non stop, vibrant, cascading
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Outstanding performance
whatever the weather
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At Thompson & Morgan we select only the best plants that will
perform well in your garden year after year and for 20 years
cascading Begonia Apricot Shades has been a customer favourite.
Each year there will be hundreds of extra large, three to four inch
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you. Begonias thrive in the British weather growing in sun, rain
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appreciate why this is our best selling begonia. Plant in beds, create
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NOW £7.49
To place your priority order visit:
www.thompson-morgan.com/TM_TS124
When ordering online please use order code TM_TS124 to access our special offers
YOUR SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
Tel: 0844 573 7414 9am-6pm Sat-Sun
9am-8pm Mon-Fri or your money back We want you to be
100% satisfied with any product you buy
Maximum call charge for BT customers is 7p per minute. Calls from other networks may vary. 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.
Please send to: Thompson & Morgan, Dept TM_TS124, Poplar Lane, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP8 3BU.

Product Code Item Description Price Qty Total

I enclose a cheque/postal order made payable to ‘Thompson & Morgan’ for £ ORDER CODE
TJ16811 Begonia Apricot Shades Improved, 24 plugs £11.99 SAVE £2 £9.99
Name
TM_TS124
TJ16812 Begonia Apricot Shades Improved, 48 plugs £23.98 SAVE £11.99 £11.99
Address TJ47467 Begonia Apricot Shades Improved, 30 Garden Ready £14.99
TJ57556 Lavatera ‘Barnsley Baby’, 3x7cm potted plants WORTH £35.97 £7.49
TKA2524 Maxicrop Plant Treatment £1.00
Postcode Telephone
TJ55082P Hanging Baskets Pack of 2 £14.99
Email TJ47552 incredibloom® Fertiliser - 750g Pack £12.99
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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. Regretfully we are unable to ship live plants to the following areas: GY, HS, IV41-IV56, KW15-KW17, PA34,
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We promise we’ll never Please promise to help us
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Get the look
Ideas for gorgeous gardens
Use an archway to create a ‘gateway’ from one
section of the garden to another. A jazzy red
feeder adds to the colour provided by petunia,
fuchsia and Lychnis coronaria

A garden of many styles

Kathy Fairweather has created her very own piece of heaven on earth in Derbyshire

I
nspiration was not in short
supply when Kathy Fairweather
set about making her mark on
the L-shaped plot behind her
Derbyshire home.
the retired university lecturer had
spent years collecting ideas for a
horticultural haven that would provide
her with places in which she could relax,
contemplate, watch wildlife, and grow
fruit and vegetables, going on to add a
woodland area to her list after being
captivated by one she saw while
looking at different houses to buy.
“The house was
immaterial –
I wanted a project”
and when she viewed a 1950s
property with a garden put down to lawn
and block paving, she knew she had
found the ideal spot.
“the house was immaterial,” Kathy
laughs. “i wanted a project and this
blank canvas was perfect.”
With so many requirements for her
garden to meet, Kathy decided the best
way forward was to divide her plot into
‘rooms’, each with their own characters
and underlying vibes.
in doing so she’s been able to
incorporate a mix of horticultural styles
into the overall layout, including a
hollyhock-rich cottage garden, wildlife-
friendly pond, calming Japanese-style
zone, organic fruit and vegetable patch,
quiet ‘spiritual area’ and woodland
24 MARCH 2018 AmAteur GArDeNING 55
A garden of many styles

Bring together red and green foliage, using plants such acer, Physocarpus ‘Lady in Red’,
a fastigate (column-like) Sambucus nigra and Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’, for a hint
of drama. Kathy’s wildlife-friendly pond has a ‘beach’ of pebbles so creatures can get in and out

corridor, and the comings and goings

can be viewed from her conservatory.
Linking these diverse sections are
pathways, water contained within two
ponds and a stream, and a number of
quirky touches ranging from colourful
murals to cute knitted bumble bees that
infuse the entire plot with the personality
of its creator.
At the same time, Kathy has filled
every space with a wide range of plants,
many of which rare and chosen for their
foliage colour and texture as well as
flowering potential. All have been Cheer up a dull wall with a mural.
Kathy got her friend to paint this
carefully positioned to create within her fruit and veg area
complementing contrasts.
“I like so many different types of
gardens, and I thought, ‘I can have them “He’s my labourer,” she quips. lives for 14 years now and I’m delighted
all’,” says Kathy. “I created lots of They’re both able to enjoy the fruits of with how it’s matured,” says Kathy.
different rooms.” their hard work, as are the large number “Some areas have developed over
Kathy is helped by her partner Jim of birds, reptiles and insects for which time: I identified the site of the Japanese
Woodburn, although she jokes that only the garden is now home. garden quite early on, but it took around
she lays claim to the title of gardener. “This garden has been part of our three years to evolve. I’m particularly
56 AmAteur GArDeNING 24 MARCH 2018
 A negative into a positive: grass on
a sloping area never looked great,
so Kathy added a paved feature

A bamboo fence encloses an

area with a Buddha statue
and bench for contemplation

The Japanese area brings together a fishpond, A sleeping

false acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia), a lot Buddha and a
of green-leaved plants and a torii gate heron combine
with canna leaves
and dahlias

Have fun by hanging ornaments from tree branches,

such as this knitted bee dangling from a plum

Meet the owner

OWNER:
Kathy
Fairweather
ADDRESS:
26 Windmill
Rise, Belper,
Derbyshire,
DE56 1GQ
GARDEN SIZE: L-shaped garden
60m x 9m wide
Delight the nose with fragrant ASPECT: East-facing longer
lilies. Try the oriental trumpet section, the rest is south facing
Words: Sue Bradley. Photography: Howard walker

lily ‘Big Brother’ for height

pleased with the twisted branches of the
false acacia, which was just a sapling
when we put it in, and the torii gate
made for me by a friend who’s a master
woodworker.
“Some plants have been moved
around the garden 10 times to get them
exactly how I want them.
“I think this garden allows me to use
the artistic part of my brain, and I love to
watch things grow.
“It’s my bit of heaven in a busy world.”
SOIL: Light loam neutral pH
OPEN FOR NGS: 7 and 8 July,
11.30am-4.30pm
SPECIAL FEATURES: Organically
maintained garden featuring
paths leading to sections:
Japanese, woodland, secret
garden, cottage, edible, pond
and small stream areas
24 MARCH 2018 AMAteur GArDeNING 57
 Amateur
Classifieds
Call 0203 148 2517 / Fax 0203 148 8314 / or email Lee.Morris@timeinc.com

GardeninG equipment Greenhouses BulBs Plants & seeds

SNOWDROPS IN THE GREEN
snowdrops in the green
Single Snowdrops....................... £9 per 100
Single Snowdrops....................£70 per 1000
Double snowdrops ....................£14 per 100
Double snowdrops ................£120 per 1000
English bluebells........................£14 per 100
Crocus ......................................... £9 per 100
Miniture Daffodils........................ £8 per 50
Aconites ........................................ £8 per 50
Dwarf Iris .................................... £10 per 10
Snowflakes...................................£10 per 10

Credit and debit cards accepted

p&p free make cheques & postal
orders payable to Anglia Bulbs
Lords Lane, wisbech, Cambs. pe13 4tU
phone 01945 410966
BulBs Plants & seeds

Holmes Chapel Road,

Chrysanthemums Over Peover, Knutsford,
Direct Cheshire. WA16 9RA
Tel: 0800 046 7443
email: sales@chrysanthemumsdirect.co.uk
2018 Catalogue available online now or,
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copy.
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Greenhouses

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ests & Ellio
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Quality Equipment M a de
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for Greenhouse and Garden Brit a in

Our massive range of products means you can buy everything you need from
one place, including Raised Beds • Planters • Pots • Seed Trays • Rootrainers
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Greenhouse Benches • Soil Cables • Seed Tray Racks • Greenhouse Shelves against UV degradation
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call 01246 451077 for a catalogue

shop online www.twowests.co.uk
Two Wests & Elliott (AG) Unit 4 Carrwood Road,
Sheepbridge Industrial Estate, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S41 9RH
 Toby Buckland
Nurseryman and former Gardeners’ World host
Cordylines are
believed to be the
Facts about
plants stick insects
used to hitch a lift
from New Zealand to
stick insects
the UK in the 1900s

Stick insects feed

on privet (above)
brambles and
leylandii hedges

■ Stick insects are among the

longest and rarest insects in
the world.
Time Inc

A sticky The first UK stick insect

situation
(a prickly stick insect) was
found in Devon in 1909

If you live in the south-west of England, look out for one

of the five naturalised stick-insect species, says Toby ■ They are masters of disguise,

W
HEN my friend Sarah
sent me a picture of a
‘hitchhiker’ wanting a lift to
work, I expected to see a
youth with his thumb in the air. But no!
The creature wasn’t a hoodie-clad
millennial, but a stick insect clinging to
the front tyre of her Citroën!
I was amazed. Why was this unusual
beast stalking (make that sticking) the
streets of south Cornwall, and how had it
arrived there? My first thought was that it
must be on the run from some young
entomologist’s jam-jar terrarium. Sarah,
however, thought differently, as she’d
encountered stick insects alive, well, and
‘al fresco’ near her home before and said
that a naturalised population lived in the
gardens nearby.
Well, every day is a school day when
you’re a gardener, but this occurrence
was so abstract from my reality that I
turned to the wisdom of the great
philosophers for guidance. “Seeing is
All pictures Alamy unless otherwise credited
Could it be true that stick insects were
now naturalised in the West Country?
Casting around for info, I ascertained
that they’d lived here since hitching a lift
on imports of Torbay palms (Cordyline
australis) from New Zealand in 1905.
Further populations had then
escaped from Paignton Zoo in the 1920s
while others had arrived on tree ferns.
According to Nick Wadham, a wildlife
expert from educational enrichment
company BugFest, there are five
different species of stick insect in the
UK – three from New Zealand and
another two from southern Europe.
As the insects can’t survive frost they,
er, stick to the milder south-west of
Did you know?
Stick insects lay their several
hundreds of seed-like eggs below
where they feed in summer and
not only resembling sticks but
also changing colour to merge
into their background – even
wobbling about to mimic the
movement of the wind.
England, overwintering in a trance-like
state among the dense foliage of
shrubs. Come the spring, they emerge to
feed on the surrounding privet, brambles
and leylandii hedges.
I can only imagine that with the
warming climate we’ll all be seeing
more of these interesting insects in
our gardens. So remember, the next
time you look at a stick, it might be
looking back at you!
live in balance with their environemnt,
feeding on plants and being fed on by
birds. They never move far except to
find a warm place to spend the winter.
The most common species is

not believing – it’s only seeing,” said autumn. These hatch out in the ‘unarmed’, followed by
George MacDonald, author and poet; spring and grow over a few the ‘Indian’, which, while it
whilst the philosopher, Confucius, weeks until they reach doesn’t over-winter, is
believed that: “Real knowledge is to their mature size of apparently a common
know the extent of one’s ignorance!”. roughly 4in (10cm) long. pet escapee that can be
And of course, who could forget: “It is the Unlike non-native spotted across the
stickiest situation since Sticky the stick species, stick insects The unarmed stick insect country during summer
insect got stuck on a sticky bun,” Lord have found a niche and is most common the UK and autumn.
Blackadder, BBC, 1983.
24 MARCH 2018 AMATEUR GARDENING 59
The ONLY summer bedding plants you’ll need this year!
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Email Code Item Description Price Qty Total

SUMMER BEDDING COLLECTIONS – SAVE* UP TO £30
I enclose a cheque/postal order made payable to‘Van Meuwen’ for £
Summer Bedding Value Pack
VJ59855 £9.99
Name 72 plug tray plants – SAVE* £13.98
Summer Bedding Value Pack
Address VJ59856 £17.94
144 plug tray plants SAVE* £30
VJ60330P Patio Pot (39cm) and saucer - 4 pack SAVE* £20 £19.96
VJ48786 incredibloom® Fertiliser 750g £12.99
Postcode
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