Innholdsfortegnelse for Aug-15 i BBC Gardeners' World

You will receive: • A. ‘Purple Sensation’ x 3 Globes of starry purple flowers that measure up to 8cm across. Height x Spread 60cm x 8cm • A. neopolitanum x 25 Dainty white clusters of flowers attract bees with their sweet scent. H x S 40cm x 25cm • A. roseum x 20 Open clusters of pale pink flowers above strap-shaped foliage. H x S 65cm x 30cm • A. sphaerocephalon x 39 Unusual oval-shaped green flowerhead tipped with reddish, purple at the tip. Looks amazing teamed with grasses. H x S 60cm x 8cm • A. caeruleum x 10 Bright blue globes of starry flowers carried on stiff upright stems. H x S 60cm x 8cm • A. ‘Mount Everest’ x 3 Tightly packed spheres of 50 or more,…

Write to Have your say, Gardeners’ World, Vineyard House, 44 Brook Green, London W6 7BT or email letters@gardenersworld.com and you could win National Garden Gift Vouchers Size matters? Reading The secrets to giant veg, (June issue), I realised that I’d never be a champion, because my motivation for growing veg is not about size, but to produce intense flavours that supermarket veg can’t provide. What’s the point of size if it’s tasteless? Surely flavour should be our primary goal. By only celebrating size and shape, we encourage the madness of supermarkets binning perfectly good food just because it’s slightly wonky. Please RHS, revise your excellence criteria, and embrace the small and wonky, but delicious! Jill Flatt, N. Yorkshire We say... Do you agree with Jill or do you…

Tree leaves really are the stuff of nature. They are the dominant colour of the landscape but, because they are so familiar (or so high up), they are apt to be overlooked. They are, of course, a great way to help identify the trees that surround us. Unlike herbaceous plants, with their huge variety of shapes and sizes, native tree leaves tend to all be more or less the same size. But there is variety in shape, form and texture to help you spot them. Old and new growth on a tree may show slightly different leaf sizes, but their basic form remains true to the species. There may also be a slight colour change from brighter emerald to duller khaki green as the tissues mature. Upper- and undersides will…

Great Dixter was the family home of Christopher Lloyd OBE (1921-2006). Now under the stewardship of head gardener Fergus Garrett, the Great Dixter Estate comprises a Grade 1 listed house, a garden, a nursery and a centre of education. HISTORY Most of the original garden structure was laid out by the leading architect of the Arts and Crafts movement, Edwin Lutyens, who was also responsible for major additions to the fabulous house, which dates back to the Middle Ages. Born at Great Dixter, Christopher loved gardening from a very young age. After university and a five-year spell in the army, he studied decorative horticulture at Wye College in Kent before spending a lifetime developing his family home. He improved many different garden areas, including the Sunk Garden complete with formal…

Aquilegia When June-August, as the seed pods turn brown and start to open. Sow Some now, and save some for a spring sowing. Use Within a year. Orlaya When July-September, as the seeds start to turn brown. Sow Straight away, if you can give the resulting young plants winter protection. Use Immediately, as it loses viability fast. Astrantia When August-September, as soon as you see the seeds starting to fall onto the papery bracts below. Sow Fresh, but needs exposure to cold. Use In spring, but viability decreases rapidly. Pimpinella When August-September, as the seeds begin to turn brown, but before they begin to shrivel. Sow Best germination is from fresh seeds. Use Seeds can be stored for a season. Cosmos When September-October, as the seeds turn black and free…

1 Sedum spectabile This perennial provides late nectar for bees and butterflies. 2 Scrophularia variegata (water figwort) Hoverflies love this bog plant’s brown flowers. 3 Pontederia cordata (pickerel weed, pictured) Dragonflies and darters use the stems of this to climb out of the pond. Bees adore the flowers. 4 Lamium orvala (red deadnettle) This is brilliant for early bees, and butterflies lay their eggs on it later. 5 Digitalis purpurea (foxglove) Our beautiful native foxglove attracts lots of bees, wasps and hoverflies.…

LEAVE seedheads on plants such as teasels, lavender and Verbena bonariensis, as they will provide food for birds and small mammals. Swifts and swallows will be making their way back to Africa this month, but house martins will stay to rear a second, or even a third brood. During dry weather, place a dish of mud in the garden that they can use to repair their nests. Stop deadheading roses to ensure they develop hips that hungry birds can eat during the winter months. Blackbirds and thrushes often continue nesting surprisingly late, well into August, so check your hedges for nests before cutting, and wait until this season’s broods have definitely flown before you trim. Continue to leave out dishes of water and meat-based dog or cat food (ideally chicken…

AUGUST HAS an unfounded reputation for being a tired month in the garden, with things looking a little overblown. The snap and sparkle of early summer is exhausted (or so convention would have it). But that is never how it is here at Longmeadow. Our heavy, water-retentive soil and high rainfall ensure that plants are still growing with a vigour that keeps the whole garden surging through the dog days. However, all the young birds have fledged and any tender regrowth will have time to harden off before winter – so it is hedge-cutting time. A trim adds a crispness to hedges that offsets the rest of the garden and provides a new framework in which to best see its display until autumn – when they need another light trim…

Plan ahead for gardening leave GOING ON HOLIDAY can cause you to worry about how the garden will cope in your absence. But a few simple tasks before you go will keep it all ticking over so you can enjoy your time away. A couple of days before you leave, weed borders, deadhead flowering plants, mow and edge the lawn and top up the pond. Just before you go, water pots, fruiting crops and anything newly planted. Pots are most likely to suffer in hot weather and an irrigation system is ideal, but if you don’t have one, follow our tip below. Smaller pots can be sunk into the ground in a border or raised bed – as the compost dries out, it will take up moisture from the soil.…

Get more conifers from cuttings CONIFERS PROVIDE useful structure and evergreen interest in the garden, and now is the perfect time to increase your stock. Conifers are propagated by taking semi-ripe cuttings from the current season’s growth, when the wood is woody at the base but soft at the tip. Always take cuttings in the morning, when they are turgid (full of water) – this will prevent them wilting. Select healthy plants and shoots that are growing strongly and use clean, sharp tools. If you have trimmed a conifer hedge, you could select some of the trimmings to use as cuttings material. You can use hormone rooting powder to help rooting, but it’s not essential. We’ve used Leyland cypress, but you can try this method on many conifers, including Western…

The Instant Pot Lux six-in-one 6 litre pressure cooker allows you to cook a whole range of different meals, with great results every time. The number one brand of electric pressure cookers in the United States, Instant Pot is now available in the UK. The Instant Pot six-in-one can be used as an automatic pressure cooker; slowcooker; rice cooker, steamer and food warmer. Plus, you can sauté directly in the cooking pot. You don’t have to adjust the heat to regulate pressure, and there’s no rattle or hiss like conventional pressure cookers. The dishwasher-safe, stainless-steel cooking pot can also be used on the hob (except induction) or in the oven. SPECIAL OFFER Order now for just £99 including postage and receive two Instant Pot mitts and a spare sealing gasket…

Pests Leaf miners Insect larvae make tunnels in leaves. Mostly ignore but protect onions and leeks with fleece. Pigeons They tear leaves with their beaks, leaving ragged edges. Scare them off and protect plants with nets. Scale Protected under waxy scales, they suck sap. Try winter wash on trees and use biocontrols indoors. Tortrix moths The caterpillars feed on the leaves they’ve bound together with webs. Crush by pinching leaves. Mealy bugs Protected with white fluffy wax, these sap-feeders thrive indoors. Tidy up well and use biocontrols. Galls Distortions caused by various organisms, often harmless. Bin the damaged parts of small plants. Lily beetles Red beetles and their larvae can ravage lilies and fritillaries. Inspect often and spray or squash larvae. Cuckoo spit A froghopper nymph is hidden in the…

Spreading their wings On a recent fishing trip my husband saw what he called ‘a strange insect’. It turned out to be an emerging dragonfly, breaking out of its cocoon. R Loveday, Somerset We say: Dragonfly nymphs can look quite prehistoric before the adults emerge. What a special and lucky sighting. Bee’s knees After hours of planning, we now have a bug hotel made entirely from reclaimed materials. Thyme and hebes were planted nearby and within a week the first solitary bee had taken up residence. John Lewis, Blaenavon Lasting offer Ten years ago, I took advantage of a GW Magazine offer for a free Wisteria sinensis. I planted it in a pot when it was 28cm tall and the stem was encouraged to twist around a cane. It has…

The gentle art of pottering should be celebrated more, because it’s amazing how productive it can be once you get in among your plants, deadheading, staking and watering. Good garden care is often as much about observation as about action, and if you’re not watching out (or heading off for a well-earned break), then August can be when unwanted arrivals take root. But what to look for? And should you act or let it be? We know how hard it can be to identify what’s going wrong with your plants and, like googling your symptoms before a trip to the doctor, sometimes the wider web is more harm than help! So we’ve dedicated 11 pages to useful identification guides and essential tips that target our gardens’ universal problems. But often,…

There are many many variegated grasses. Some tiny, some enormous; some quietly discreet, some much more dramatic. This old favourite is definitely in the big, bold and brilliant camp. Colourful from its first emergence in spring, the long slender leaves are brightly marked along their length with clean white stripes of varying width. In fact, more of the leaf is white than green and the result is a bright and boldly coloured specimen. As the weeks pass the plant develops an arching waterfall of growth, which shows up especially well against a mature hedge or dark-leaved shrub such as the purple smoke bush, Cotinus coggygria ‘Notcutt’s Variety’, or purple hazel, Corylus maxima ‘Purpurea’. In October and November, rusty reddish, rather spiky flower heads open just above the foliage but their…

For me the issue is, ‘Can we afford NOT to make our spaces greener?’ We have to invest in them if we want citizens fit and well, and playing an active part in their society. But who will pay and who are the beneficiaries? The solution lies in future partnerships of public, private and civic, co-investment, co-design and co-production. The Active Parks model designed in Birmingham is one example. We now have more than 70 Active Parks where we work collaboratively with citizens to put on a range of physical activities aimed at promoting physical and mental health. For a relatively small investment, we have thousands of people using parks on a regular basis for formal and informal activities. Our parks and open spaces have a demonstrable physical and mental…

A healthy career choice Gardening is such a powerful mood enhancer, it should be prescribed on the NHS, believes Monty. “I don’t care what I plant – whether it’s bedding or something rare – it nourishes me,” he told the RHS Career Changers’ Conference in July. “In that moment, I have a feeling of complete calm – and for me, that’s real happiness.” Fellow speaker Cleve West – who designed Horatio’s Garden at a Salisbury spinal injuries centre – called for David Cameron to rethink his view that compared gardening to litter-picking. “It’s so valuable for our wellbeing,” Cleve argued, “It can save money for the NHS.” Both were backing gardening as a career, at the conference to highlight the shortage of applicants for horticultural jobs. “We have a green…

Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ A spectacular, ornamental grass for any mixed garden border. Displays arching leaves and bronze feathery panicles during summer. Height x Spread 1.5m x 1m 1 plant (1l pot) £9.99 Cortaderia selloana ‘Pumila’ This tufted evergreen is perfect for filling gaps in the border, without overpowering small gardens. At their best in August when the long silvery plumes appear. H x S 1.5m x 1m 1 plant (3l pot)£11.99 Miscanthus sinensis ‘Gracillimus’ Stately flower spikes create feathery plumes of rich copper, above clumps of arching, grassy foliage. Seedheads have winter interest, or use in flower arrangements. H X S 1.5m x 1m 1 plant (1l pot) £9.99 Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’ Highly decorative ornamental grass,…

1 Plant a large pot with late summer flowering perennials. This will create a useful splash of colour on the patio or stood in a gap in the border. Grown in a container, you will be able to water and care for them for the remainder of the summer and enjoy their colourful display. The plants can them be taken out of the pot in the dormant season and replanted in the garden where they will provide much needed colour this time next year. 2 Deadhead roses, dahlias and any summer perennials that still have more buds to follow. Do the same with annual bedding plants regularly so they can’t start setting seed. This keeps them flowering more vigorously and they’ll continue doing so into the autumn. 3 Pay particular…

PRUNE CLIMBERS • Pull out stems of climbers, such as this clematis, to ensure you cut the ends of stems, not the middle Throughout spring and early summer, most woody plants grow at a phenomenal rate. But come August, this mad rush of leafy growth is pretty much done and it’s the ideal time to take many plants in hand. Thinning and reducing the amount of foliage controls size, and allows more air and sunlight through the plant, speeding the ripening of flowering and fruiting wood, and diverting the plants’ energy into producing flower buds for next year. Summer is also a good time to prune plants such as vines, which have a tendency to ‘bleed’ (produce sap) when cut, as they will bleed less now that growth has slowed.…

Harvest aubergines KEEP AUBERGINE plants regularly watered and fed, monitoring the fruit development to assess when it has reached the mature size for your variety. Pick fruits while their skins are bright and glossy, and before they start getting soft. Take care when handling the plants as some varieties produce sharp thorns on stems, leaves and around the base of the fruit stalk. Unwashed and uncut fruits can be stored for several days in a plastic bag in the salad draw of your fridge. It’s important to take care not to squeeze or bruise the fruits, or damage their skin as they can start to decay quickly when treated roughly. Sign up to Seed Club Join our Seed Club, in association with Thompson & Morgan, to give your seed sowing…

Sow seeds of winter onions NOW IS a good time to sow the seed of overwintering onion varieties, such as ‘Toughball’ and ‘Bridger’. Make 2cm-deep drills in the soil with the tip of a trowel, water well, then sow seed sparingly along the row before covering. Seedlings can also be raised in modules or small pots for planting out in autumn. Overwintering onion varieties will mature next May-June, Alternatively, order onion sets for autumn planting, including Japanese varieties like ‘Senshyu’. 30 mins to spare? Plan a new strawberry bed. Strawberries should not be grown in the same bed year after year as this risks the build-up of disease. Prepare new areas for growing them as you take out other harvested crops and plant well-rooted runners from now on. Start…

Prepare for a new lawn IF YOU want to replace your old lawn with a new one, start preparations now so the soil has settled for work in autumn. Strip off the old turf and dig over the soil, removing large stones and weeds. Fork in lots of compost, then firm down by walking back and forth over the area. Rake to level out any bumps and dips, leaving a fine tilth ready for sowing later. Beechgrove CHECKLIST chilliesandfreezeordry them. towaterfruittrees particularly those growing in dry soil at the base of walls, to help the developing fruits to swell. atopdressingoffertiliser to long-season crops like Brussels sprouts, kale and leeks. autumnlawnfertiliserwhilethe weather is still warm. Keep your pond topped up POND WATER evaporates during hot weather, so…

Perennial weeds Bramble Woody stems and rootstock. Cut down, then dig out the roots or apply weedkiller to new growth. Nettle Forms spreading mats. Cut down top growth and fork out the long, spreading, yellow roots. Dock Plants have deep taproots that need digging out to stop regrowth. Best removed when small. Japanese knotweed Apply systemic weedkiller into the hollow, cut stems. Laws exist to stop its spread (see bottom right). Bindweed Able to grow from tiny pieces of its white roots. Apply weedkiller direct to leaves or carefully dig out. Dandelion Deep taproot and prodigious seeds from the ‘clocks’. Take off flowers and use a trowel to dig out root. Ground elder Grows from spreading, white roots. Be fastidious and remove every small piece, or use weedkiller. Lords and…

Which kind of soil do you have? Acid (ericaceous) soil Have I got it? 1 Rhododendrons grow well in local gardens; 2 Club root disease attacks brassicas; 3 Hydrangeas are blue; 4 Discoloured foliage Can I change it? Acid soil can be made more alkaline by adding lime or lime-rich mushroom compost. Growing tips • Explore the wealth of beautiful acid-loving plants you can grow. • Mulch regularly, as acid soils can be thin and lack nutrients. • To grow vegetables that prefer a more alkaline soil, such as brassicas, add lime or make raised beds with imported soil. Alkaline soil (chalk/limestone) Have I got it? 1 Common wildflowers include wild carrots; 2 Hart’s tongue ferns grow locally; 3 Hydrangeas are never blue; 4 Potato scab is common. Can I…

How to enter Identify the plants and any wildlife, including variety if possible. Put your full name into the image file name. Set your camera to the highest resolution. Send your image as a jpg at the highest resolution – maximum 20MB per email. In the subject line of your email, tell us what’s in the photo and give your name. In the main message, give your name, address, phone number, and a sentence or two about why and how you took it. State the category you’re entering: Beautiful bordersPlant pin-upsWildlifeSeasonsUnder-17s If you’re entering the Under-17s category, you must state your age. Email: readerphotos@ gardenersworld.com We cannot accept prints. Photos published here receive a £10 National Garden Gift Voucher. Plant pin-ups Oriental poppy by Carol Blyth, Bucks Carol says: “This was…

very now and again I come across a garden that takes my breath away and sends me home with a spring in my step, inspired by what I’ve seen. It may be a collection of plants I’m not familiar with, but it’s more likely to be the way in which the plants are used that sets my pulse racing and makes me want to achieve similar. On a recent Cornish holiday, we visited a couple of entrancing gardens, one being Trewidden, which has a fine collection of ancient magnolias – great-trunked brutes like upturned octopuses that were more than 100 years old. There was an ancient Butia capitata, or jelly palm, and in an old tin-mining pit a Jurassic Park- like grove of tree ferns, thought to be the oldest…

Plants 1 Gerbera garvinea ‘Sweet Surprise’ x 2 2 Carex comans bronze-leaved x 1 3 Purple Angelonia augustifolia x 1 4 Begonia sutherlandii x 2 Create late-season impact, full of vibrant colour, with this striking container display. The orange gerbera (winter-hardy) and purple angelonia make the perfect colour contrast, while the grass creates a backdrop for the scheme and lends movement to the display. The combination is best suited to a sunny spot, so position it in the brightest area you have. Deadhead the blooms regularly to keep the display neat, and to encourage more flowers. 1 Add multi-purpose compost to your container until it’s two-thirds full. Work in slow-release fertiliser. 2 Position the grass at the back of the display, gently teasing its roots as you remove it from…

Just before the Chelsea Flower Show I was interviewed about it by the Radio Times. We talked at length about Chelsea itself and then very briefly about the RHS’s drive to recruit young people into the gardening profession. I thought little more of it until, some weeks later, there was a splash of publicity around my unexceptional (I thought) comments about the need for more gardening opportunities for young people. The media picked up on it and I was asked to appear on numerous TV and radio shows. Two things seem to be self-evident about the young and gardening. The first is that nobody will become truly engaged with gardening and gardens until they have access to one. The second is that gardening can and does contribute a great deal…

• I’ve had a few on my foxgloves, but they were easily blasted off with the hose. I seem to have more problems with capsid bugs. WillDB • I noticed a few colonies of blackfly on my broad bean plants being farmed by ants. I used plain water in an old spray bottle and gave them a rub over with the fingers, and the problem was gone. barry island • I’ve just ordered mail-order ladybirds. I came in from the garden and felt I was infested with greenfly. We normally have ladybirds, but I haven’t seen any this year. cathy43 • Ladybird larvae are better as they don’t fly away. Ladybirds are only effective if there are no ants present as they will protect the flies. sanjy67 • Lacewing larvae…

Plant Odysseys Carol investigates the history and evolution of four of our favourite plants: the rose, tulip, iris and waterlily. She discovers how roses make their scent and how they use it to lure passing insects. She visits the harsh environment where tulips first flourished. She reveals the cultural significance of the iris, and meets one of the world’s top experts in waterlily breeding. Each episode of this four-part series is devoted to one plant and its unique characteristics. Mondays, from 27 Jul, BBC2 Gardeners’ World Joe scours the nation for remarkable allotments. Carol tours some of our most beautiful gardens to find out why their borders work so well. And Monty has more tips from Longmeadow. Fridays, 8.30pm, BBC2 Gardeners’ Question Time On 7 Aug GQT visits Dalston Eastern…

Joe's garden notebook Does your garden lack drama and feel burned out by August? Perhaps some of your borders could benefit from adding in a few dramatic and exotic plants for a tropical look. I’ve visited Great Dixter, in Sussex, many times and find it one of the most inspirational gardens ever made. The late gardener and writer Christopher Lloyd gardened with his mother and subsequently spent a lifetime experimenting and developing Great Dixter, which is now under the stewardship of Lloyd’s former head gardener, the hugely respected Fergus Garrett. Nothing ever stands still at Great Dixter; it’s a garden alive with plants and ideas. I remember the year Christopher dug up the 80-year-old rose garden to create the Exotic Garden. It was a bold and brave thing to do,…

Vigorous climbing plants such as wisteria and vines are great for covering walls, fences and vertical structures including pergolas. But pruning is essential to avoid plants becoming a tangled mass of twisted stems; the exception is where there’s unlimited room for plants to scramble, into mature trees for example. Controlling leafy growth and training stems creates an attractively shaped plant that complements its support, and boosts the number and quality of flowers. Pruning allows you to enjoy future flowers without being swamped by foliage, and they can be brought down to where you can see and smell them. Summer pruning is done lightly to thin and reduce growth, while the dormant winter months are best for major renovation and training overgrown plants. During summer, regularly tie in stems that are…

STEP BY STEP Hydrangea cuttings WHILE HYDRANGEAS are flowering the young leafy shoots below the flowers make good cutting material. Collect these strong non-flowering shoots and keep them in a damp bag to prevent wilting. 1 Make cuttings 10-15cm long with a node at the base and all leaves removed except the top pair and the smaller ones around the bud. 2 Cut large leaves in half to reduce water loss as the cutting roots. Use rooting hormone gel on the base then strike cuttings in deep pots. 3 Water and place in a covered propagator where they will be ready for potting up in the spring. Ensure compost doesn’t dry out. Prune lavender for fresh new growth PROMPT PRUNING as soon as flowers fade encourages hardy lavender varieties…

Clear dead blooms IN SUMMER we deadhead plants for various reasons. With annuals and bedding plants we want them to look good without faded flowers, but with regular deadheading we’re also prolonging their season as we are stopping them doing what nature intends and producing seed. In effect, we’re tricking the plant into producing more blooms. Some repeat flowering roses and some perennials, such as hardy geraniums, are likely to put on a second flush of flowers by deadheading. Although some perennials, including bulbs, won’t produce more flowers after, by deadheading we are diverting the plants energy away from forming seeds and into creating a stronger plant (root growth, leaf growth or both) so it performs strongly the next year. By deadheading freely self-seeding plants such as fennelor Alchemilla mollis…

Chutneys “Chutneys are wonderfully versatile. They spice up the dullest sandwich, and are delicious piled into buttery jacket potatoes. Chutneys can be made from a hugely varied mix of ingredients, but there are one or two guidelines to follow… Good, fresh, ripe fruit and vegetables will always give you the best flavours. Try to make the vegetable cubes even in size. This is important, firstly, to ensure they cook at the same rate; and, secondly, so the chutney looks good. Freshly ground spices really make a difference. I use my coffee grinder, cleaning it carefully afterwards, but you can use a spice mill. And it is of the utmost importance that all vinegar-containing chutneys, relishes and pickles are cooked in a pan that does not react to vinegar, and are…

Warm summer weather means a pond can soon get overgrown if not regularly looked after. Keeping aquatic plants and weeds in check will ensure the water stays clean and your pond looks good. Ideally pond plants should take up only half of the surface area, so thin out floating aquatic plants if they’re spreading. However, more of a problem are weeds – such as duckweed and blanket weed – which need to come out. High summer temperatures promote growth and the tiny floating leaves of duckweed may double in size every few days, while the long green strands of blanket weed can choke aquatic plants. Use a bamboo cane or a tool handle to twirl out the blanket weed and scoop duckweed out with a net. Leave scoopings by the…

What’s wrong? Apple bitter pit Spots caused by lack of calcium, usually a result of dry conditions. Mulch and water when dry. Rose balling Rain then hot sun dries outer petals, preventing buds opening. Remove affected buds promptly. Bird pecking Berries partly or completely eaten; holes pecked in large fruits. Use cages or netting to keep birds off. Fasciation Distorted stems or flowers, caused by frost, infection or mutation. Cut off stem if you’re bothered by it. Slug grazing Slugs eat holes inside or outside fruit, causing distortion. Watch for slugs at night and set beer traps. Bud blast in rhodos Unopened buds go brown. Fungal disease spread by leafhoppers. Pick off buds to reduce the spread. Earwig holes Ragged holes in petals made by earwigs. Dahlias are susceptible. Trap…

Eggs The eggs of the large cabbage white are laid in batches of around 40, but sometimes as many as 100. The female lays about four eggs per minute and in her lifetime may produce up to a total of 600 eggs! The small cabbage white lays eggs singly. Wings Cabbage white butterflies have efficient wings and the small cabbage white can easily travel several miles. They have even been recorded flying in to the UK from the continent and will also fly considerable distances in search of food plants, mates and a suitable plant on which to lay eggs. Antennae The head bears two long antennae, which the butterfly uses to balance itself in flight. They also help it to smell and detect suitable food flowers. Proboscis A long…

Have you ever thought about adding a conservatory to your home so you can enjoy your garden all year round? Or perhaps you’ve dreamed of having your garden professionally landscaped? If the only thing holding you back is the cost, then the answer could be locked inside your home. If you’re aged 55 or over and own your home, you could have significant equity built up in it. According to Nationwide, the UK average house price has tripled in the past 20 years* . With the help of equity release, you could unlock this value in the form of a tax-free cash lump sum to spend however you like. Key Retirement, one of the UK’s leading independent equity release specialists, reported that the average amount people released in the first…