Innholdsfortegnelse for 8-Oct-2022 i Amateur Gardening

“One of the joys of gardening is planting something you haven’t tried before, or trying a new variety of a favourite plant. It’s good to bring a little change into your garden. Luckily, seed producers work hard to create ever-new or better varieties to entice us to change. It can be new colour combinations, or making varieties hardier or longer-flowering. AG was recently invited to attend a trial of new plants at Mr Fothergill’s, and we saw some absolute beauties to look out for in 2023. We have selected what we think are the best on pages 7 and 8. My favourites? I am hoping that Antirrhinum ‘Cherry Twist’ and Gomphrena ‘Atomic Purple’ will adorn my garden next year. Which take your fancy?” Contact us: Subscriptions: 0330 333 1113 Editorial:…

GROWING flowers and vegetables from seed is the best form of escapism in tough economic times – and it’s even more rewarding when you can dabble at sowing something new. There was no shortage of novelties on the Suffolk trials field of Mr Fothergill’s and Johnsons Seeds this summer, all of which are winging their way into seed catalogues or heading to garden centres ahead of next season. Mr Fothergill’s says it has frozen its prices for the third year running, so the cost of buying seed will remain the same in 2023. AG has scoured the trial grounds to track down new flowers that’ll set gardens ablaze with colour, and edibles bred for bumper harvests. Here’s our guide to the cream of the crop. Antirrhinum ‘Cherry Twist’ Bringing snapdragons…

Caring for an orchid and its ‘baby’ Q How should I care for my orchid, which has a yellowing leaf, and what should I do with the ‘baby’ that is sprouting from the stem? Janet Patchett (via email) A I think your orchid is a dendrobium and the little rooted plant (keiki) which has appeared at the top of a shoot is best detached, complete with roots, and set in a 4in (10cm) pot of epiphytic orchid compost, which consists principally of bark flakes, perlite and grit. If possible, simulate nature by positioning your plant in very light shade, ideally on a south or west facing windowsill, behind net curtains so that it’s in filtered sunlight. As for the leaf which has turned yellow, it may simply have matured to…

JUST FOR FUN It’s time for our just-for-fun puzzle – AG’s Garden Wall. This wall comprises 12 bricks in three courses. Each brick has a different word, or phrase on it. The first brick in each course, with BLOCK capitals, is cemented in place and cannot be moved. Just rearrange all the other bricks, so that the four words in each course of bricks are linked. There are three different connections to look for, one for each course. You may find that some words have more than one connection to other courses, but there is just one correct answer. You’ll either find this puzzle fiendishly difficult, or incredibly easy! Answers below. Hint: In one of the courses, the bricks are all connected to cabbages Answers: RED = White, Chinese, Winter(all…

COMPOST scoops help you move larger amounts of compost from A to B than your hands and they can help loosen compacted compost. Now, they are taking on another role in acting to save physical contact with the compost. This is becoming increasingly important with the move towards peat-free compost constituents. Unsterile peat-replacement contents (particularly green waste) mean many manufacturers now place a warning on their compost bags with words to the effect of ‘Wear gloves and do not breathe in the dust while handling this compost’. Outside the UK, this warning was issued in 2020 due to health concerns over Legionella bacteria. The safest way to handle this compost is to use gloves and a scoop, just to be on the safe side. Natural materials A scoop is a…

A FEW weeks of rain and, apart from the sunburnt hydrangeas, you’d never know Buckland Castle had been gripped by summer drought. How quickly we forget! But with weird weather proving to be our new normal, there are gardening lessons that I mustn’t let slip my mind. The first is the super-power of mulch. Plants that had their feet below a quilt of compost spread over the soil survived far more reliably than those that went without – the shade holding in moisture and stopping the roots from cooking. The only limiting factor is having enough to go around, and that’s why I’m doubling the size of my compost bins to make the most of the coming deluge of autumn leaves. Normally, beech, oak, hornbeam and lime (they’re the best)…

ONE of the many things about gardening that ever ceases to amaze me is the way our treasured plots bounce back when it rains after a time of drought. Most of us had that extended period of hot dry weather this summer that resulted in hosepipe bans and lost plants, but then after a few days of rain, our gardens started to look refreshed. Even lawns that for so many weeks had been brown and crunchy are starting to green up again, though as we stated in our news report in the September 17 issue of Amateur Gardening, there will be lawns that are so badly scorched they will die and need replacing. Luckily, autumn is one of the prime times of year for looking after your lawn and getting…

BIENNIALS are easy-going plants. Sown one year, they germinate then go dormant for winter before flowering, setting seed and dying in a few busy weeks the following year. Biennials include honesty, aquilegias, wallflowers, sweet rocket, sweet williams and viper’s bugloss and they are all worth growing in your garden. If you sowed some undercover this summer, they should be ready to go into the garden. By planting them now, you are giving their roots time to grow and develop before plants go dormant during the winter. Then next spring, when the weather warms up, they will be ready to surge back to life, bringing colour to the garden through late spring and summer, right through into autumn. We have quite a selection of biennials in the garden, some deliberately cultivated…

YOU can’t say that climate change is a welcome thing for gardeners, as this summer’s soaring temperatures have proved. My south-facing garden got up to 35°C (95°F) and our stone cottage walls throw out even more heat. Once the weather cooled down, I filled a wheelbarrow with brown and frazzled flowers from my summer borders. Roses, hardy geraniums and astrantias were the main casualties. These are normally good in July, but not this year, and even my pale roses crisped and browned. Consequently, my summer borders looked bare and devoid of colour in prime visiting season. Once September arrived, the garden revived – thankfully! Bumblebees went AWOL from my garden when temperatures soared. They dislike hot weather, because their furry bodies aren’t designed for such heat and they find it…

This word search comprises words associated with cabbages. They are listed below; in the grid they may be read across, backwards, up, down or diagonally. Letters may be shared between words. Erroneous or duplicate words may appear in the grid, but there is only one correct solution. After the listed words are found there are seven letters remaining; arrange these to make this week’s KEYWORD. AUTUMN WINTER CABBAGES STAPLE DIET BOIL BRASSICA CLOCHE COLESLAW CRUCIFER GREENS LEAVES PICKLED RAW RED SAVOY STINK WHITE HOW TO ENTER: Enter this week’s keyword on the entry form, and send it to AG Word Search No 641, Amateur Gardening, Future Publishing Limited, Unit 415, Winnersh Triangle, Eskdale Road, Winnersh, RG41 5TP, to arrive by Wednesday 19 October 2022. The first correct entry chosen at…

THE milder, damp conditions of autumn make this the perfect time to patch existing lawns and create new ones. New grass and turf should root well without disturbance, as lawns are generally used less than in summer. Whether you sow or turf, you will still need to water if the weather stays dry and there are pros and cons to both methods of creating a new lawn If you decide to use turf, buy from a reputable supplier and where possible inspect their stock first to make sure it is stored appropriately and looks healthy, with no dried and yellowing edges. When the turves arrive, lay them within 24 hours; if this isn’t possible, lie them flat in a shaded spot and water them to prevent them drying out. Turfing…

THE popularity of companion planting is on the rise as more gardeners turn away from using chemicals to control pests. Companion plants are grown to lure unwanted visitors away from our plants. They also attract beneficial pollinators as well as insects that prey on pests. This week’s free seeds are for a top companion plant that is beautiful in its own right. Calendula ‘Sunset Buff’ has dusky-apricot petals with raspberry-red undersides and chocolate centres. Also known as ‘pot marigold’, this is a low maintenance plant, a hardy annual that grows to 18in (45cm) and can be sown now and again next spring. Free seeds Lucky Dip Although this year’s AG free seeds come to an end in your October 29 issue, we are giving away a pack of ‘lucky dip’…

HRYSANTHEMUMS, or mums, as they are often known, are perennial members of the daisy family. At their simplest, the flowers are like huge daisies with a ring of long, flat, narrow petals in every colour but blue surrounding a button of tiny yellow petals. From this simple start, many different flower forms have developed, most of which are based on those tiny yellow petals in the centre taking on the shape of the petals in the ring around the edge. The result is a range of double flowers of many different shapes. Spectacular colour Some make neat domes of colour that are ideal in pots, while others are grown as hardy perennials in flower gardens and mixed borders. Then there are those that are grown for cutting in the open…

This week it’s: IN years past, autumn was the one season of the year when cabbages could not be harvested! Gardeners could grow summer, winter and spring cabbages, but autumn cabbage varieties didn’t really exist. However, over the past 50 years or so, plant breeding has given us autumn varieties. Now, autumn and winter cabbages are part of the staple foods for many living in the colder countries of northern Europe, Russia, Asia and Canada. Let’s take a closer look. Cabbages are from the Cruciferae plant family. This word comes from the Latin word for ‘cross’ and was applied to members of this family because their flowers have four petals arranged in the shape of a cross. Winter and Savoy cabbages THERE are two round-headed cabbage varieties that are at…