Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2016 i BBC Gardeners' World

• Discover our app Explore our award-winning digital edition for iPad in the App Store – with video clips and links to further content. Get two issues free with a 30-day free trial if you subscribe for a year. • Wildlife tips We’ve crammed our new-look website with video guides, including a whole mini-series with Monty on how to make a wildlife garden. • Bulbs for pots Discover clever tips for container success with Kevin Smith’s No Fuss Guide to bulbs in pots. Find it in the ‘How to’ area of our website. • Time to discover the Secret Garden! This month’s subscription offer, with Monty’s new book on life with his dogs (see p32), also unlocks an exclusive area on gardenersworld.com. Explore extra videos, problem-solving tips and galleries in…

1 Symphyotrichum novi-belgii ‘Lady in Blue’ and Calluna vulgaris ‘Lilli’ An ancient and modern medley: the calluna (heather) is a plant that would have been well represented in our grandparents’ gardens while this dwarf symphyotrichum (aster) is new and full of youthful exuberance. Putting them together is like taking Granny for a spin around the dance floor, only to discover that she has some amazing moves. Symphyotrichum novi-belgii ‘Lady in Blue’ • Care Good at the front of the border. Propagate by division or cuttings in springtime. Mulch well in autumn. • H x S25cm x 30cm Calluna vulgaris ‘Lilli’ • Care Happiest in ericaceous soil. Take cuttings in the summer. Shear off faded flowers to keep tidy. • H x S30cm x 30cm 2 Chrysanthemum…

“Gardens are as much about the people that make them as the plants that fill them” Since the beginning of May I have been visiting 12 households for the latest series of Big Dreams, Small Spaces for BBC2. Each has, over the course of the spring and summer, reshaped, transformed or rethought their garden so that it becomes not just an attractive outdoor space but a key part of their lives. Gardens are as much about the people that make them as the plants that fill them – after all, you cannot have a garden without a gardener. So external changes invariably reflect or cause internal changes that are just as transformative. The households featured are very different, albeit with similar dreams for their gardens. Each wants to express their…

• There are estimated to be just over one million hedgehogs left in the UK. To help conserve their numbers, make 13cm-round holes at the base of your fences to allow them to travel between gardens for food. Leave sticks, dead foliage and leaves in piles behind hedges or trees for shelter, and place piles of logs to rot and attract beetles – a great hedgehog food source. Mark56 • We put mealworms under a bench, which seems to be on part of their route in our garden. GWRS • You could also put out a shallow dish of water during dry periods – birds will appreciate it, too. Mark 56 • We’ve decided to put up chicken wire along our 100m boundary, but we get lots of hedgehogs and…

Adam Frost “Some of my earliest memories are of my grandparents' allotment. I went on to do an apprenticeship in the parks department, and trained in horticulture and landscape design. Gardeners' World has a special place in my heart for the time spent working with Geoff Hamilton at Barnsdale Gardens. It's a great privilege to now be sharing my own garden with the nation. I have to pinch myself.” Jane Moore “I'm head gardener at The Bath Priory. I like to think of myself as a horticultural adventurer, embracing diverse challenges, such as planting a National Collection or creating a small garden at RHS Chelsea. I've watched Gardeners' world since I was a child and I'm thrilled to be in such illustrious company.” Florence Headlam “It's been a headspin to…

1 Harvested seed is best sown within a year. Bought seeds last longer, apart from things such as parsnips and onions. 2 Remember that the seed bed or cold frame that you sow into will need to be available for several months, as germination can be slow. 3 Ensure that the soil in seed beds is that ‘holy grail’ of moisture retentive and free-draining! Too sandy and the seeds will dry out, too heavy and they may rot. 4 Protect sown seeds from cats, squirrels and mice with wire netting, and protect seedlings from slugs and snails. 5 Once the seeds have been dampened, don’t let them dry out again. They shouldn’t be waterlogged, but drying out completely will mean they die. 6 Prick out and transplant individual seedlings as…

• Preparation is key whenever you’re planting, but especially when planting in the autumn. You need to maximise the chances of plants getting established so add plenty of organic matter to the planting mix and surrounding soil. • Break the roots of pot-bound plants using a hand fork vertically all around the root ball. This will encourage the formation of fine, feeding roots and help your plant move out into the surrounding soil. • Watering is vital to get plants off to a good start, even when soil is moist. Fill planting holes with water and allow it to drain away before planting. Soak plants thoroughly before planting and water in well afterwards. • Keep plants weed free – weeds compete for resources (both water and nutrients). • Add grit…

10 varieties mix – 400 bulbs To celebrate the changing of the gardening season, Bakker.com has launched a number of great offers, including this deluxe pack of 400 bulbs that will produce first-class spring flowers, and bring you colour and fragrance for months. Plant in borders or containers to transorm your plot or patio into a floral paradise. 400 bulbs £22.75 (RRP £47.89 ) Mix includes • 75 Dutch iris (mixed) • 35 Allium oreophilum • 30 Hyacinths (mixed) • 25 Tulips (mixed) • 35 Allium moly • 50 Anemone blanda • 50 Ranunculus (mixed) • 25 Narcissi (mixed) • 25 Anemone ‘De Caen’ • 50 Botanical crocus (mixed) Lily ‘ Black Eye’ A really unusual Asiatic lily. The large, single flower of the ‘Black Eye’ appears…

CHECKLIST • Remove autumn leaves covering plant crowns to prevent rot • Compost border tidyings, adding green and brown material in alternate layers • Cut back lavatera, buddleia and tall roses by half, to prevent wind damage • Pot on cuttings taken in the summer to grow on for next year’s beds • Continue planting winter bedding • Plant spring bulbs in beds, pots and lawns, checking their preferred growing conditions first • Sow next year’s sweet peas in a cold greenhouse or frame Divide hardy perennials THIS IS THE ideal time to lift and divide many hardy herbaceous perennials such as achilleas, delphiniums, astrantias, centaureas and geraniums, so that their roots can re-establish in the warm, moist soil of October, ready to grow away strongly next year. Cut back…

Planting mini iris DWARF WINTER-FLOWERING irises are great grown in pots. The bulbs are easy to cultivate and growing them in containers means their intricately marked flowers and delicate fragrance can be enjoyed more readily than when they are grown in the garden. Plant in pots now and you will have blooms in the depths of winter. They flower outdoors in February and March. But if autumn-planted pots are brought indoors into a cool, bright room or conservatory, as soon as the buds pierce the surface of the compost, they can flower several weeks before those left outside. Bulbs planted in the border can fizzle out after a year or two, but it is worth planting out the potted bulbs after flowering in the hope of future success. They like…

Learn the vintage craft of macramé with this stylish plant hanger kit. These pot holders are perfect for spider plants, cacti and succulents. Each kit includes enough cord to create three mini plant hangers to hold 9cm pots (pots not included). YOU WILL RECEIVE • 3 x spools of waxed cord (mixed colours) • 27 x Robles wood faceted round beads (15mm wide) • Macramé weaving board • Digital instructions • Getting Started DVD and booklet Plus, more great offers Take advantage of these other great products and pay no extra postage The Beginner’s Tool Kit is perfect for those starting out in jewellery craft. Kit includes: 3 jewellery pliers, tweezers, ribbon cutters, a scoop, a carry case and gemstone storage. Code KLGC58 £9.95 The Pearl & Amethyst Beginner’s Jewellery…

“When I think of apples, I always think of Maman Blanc’s apple tart. In the afternoon, it would be slowly baking in the oven, and the wafts of those amazing apples would come through and I knew we would have apple tart later. Apple tart sums up my youth.” Raymond Blanc, the two Michelin-starred chef, continually tries out new apple varieties, putting them through their paces in his kitchens, and has so far chosen 115 of his favourites to plant in the orchard at his Oxfordshire restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons “I am always looking for the best baking apple, the best roasting apple, the best chewing apple, right through the season,” he says. “For a great apple experience, the secret lies in choosing the right variety for that dish.…

The sweet smell of success The newly introduced ‘Gardeners’ Jubilee’ sweet pea, created to celebrate your 25th anniversary, has proved to be an exceptionally strong-growing plant, providing many blooms, and now it’s an award-winner too. Using the cordon method, we’ve won many prizes: at the National Sweet Pea Championship of Wales at the Royal Welsh Show, and the Gloucestershire Federation of Gardening Societies Open Sweet Pea Show, where Jen achieved five firsts, one second, and three thirds. All the judges were impressed by the quality of ‘Gardener’s Jubilee’ and noted it had great promise for the future as a new show bench variety. Jen and Lewis Morgan, Monmouthshire Purple haze I tried to get what I thought was ‘Solomon’s Seal’ to bloom for years; moved it into full sun but…

With the new-look series of Gardeners’ World drawing to a close this month, we couldn’t resist celebrating the star of the show on the cover – and we were delighted that Monty came along, too (just joking Monty!). But the mischievous antics of Nell this year have been a delight, while Nigel has sailed imperiously through hours of lming in his typically relaxed way. It’s always such a joy to join Monty and our photographer, Marsha, every month to capture the latest scene from Longmeadow – and each time, we try to freeze-frame the latest canine capers. It’s fun – but you know what they say about working with animals... On page 34, Monty shares how much his dogs mean to him, his family and his garden in a wonderfully…

A. palmatum ‘Bloodgood’ Round shrub (eventually a small tree) with reddish-purple foliage that turns bright red in autumn. H x S 3m x 3m A. shirasawanum ‘Aureum’ Slow-growing maple with red spring flowers and yellow summer foliage turning red later. H x S 5m x 5m A. palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’ Also known as ‘Senkaki’, leaves start pinkish-yellow and go green, then yellow in autumn. H x S 5m x 3m A. pseudoplatanus f. variegatum ‘Simon-Louis Frères’ This sycamore’s shrimp-pink foliage matures to green. H x S up to 12m x 5m A. japonicum ‘Green Cascade’ This elegant small tree’s deeply dissected leaves turn fiery shades in autumn. H x S 3m x 3m From monster to miniature in size, the thousands of acers from around the world cover the entire spectrum.…

Mystery man I’ve noticed a chap with glasses and striped T-shirt in your features, such as 60-minute veg plot (May issue). Is he a gardener or a model? He was tending a plot of mixed veg, but how can you do this when we’re told to follow yearly rotation? Ann Langford, East Sussex We say Kevin, our Deputy Editor and keen gardener, will be pleased to know you thought he was a model. In answer to your question, if you plant a broad mix of veg, it is less attractive to pests that seek out monocultures, while the impact of diseases is reduced by mixed cultivation. Find out more in our October 2015 issue, available on iTunes, £2.99. Praise for Packham I loved Chris Packham’s view on wildlife…

Apple a day… Taste and buy rare varieties of apple at the Brogdale Apple Festival on 15-16 October. There are 2,200 apple varieties in the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale Farm, Faversham and almost half will be on display over the weekend If you have an apple tree but don’t know its variety, bring three ripe specimens along and RHS expert Jim Arbury will identify it. Visit www.applefestivalkent.co.uk for further details. Discover more about nationwide apple days by visiting commonground.org.uk – you’ll find events in your area, with many organised by the National Trust and the Women’s Institute. See p124 for Raymond Blanc’s best apples for flavour. A Chelsea garden lives on at hospice The first Greenfingers hospice garden to start life as a Chelsea show garden has been opened by…

Living in the city, with all its concrete and hard edges, it can seem a daunting prospect if you’re considering how to create a green oasis in your front or back garden. Yet the rewards for achieving that dream are enormous – an outdoor continuation of your indoor space, a ‘green lung’, a therapeutic retreat, even. So don’t be put o . Follow our 10 simple solutions and you can green your grey outdoors, or pimp up your patio and pots. I believe that everyone has a creative muscle they can exercise in the garden. It’s easy to plant something, buy a piece of furniture or splash some colour on walls or woodwork to make an instant and lasting impact. 1 Practical seating If you’re tight on space but still…

With a bit of luck , a much under-estimated commodity when it comes to gardening success, your new plants will survive through the winter quite happily. Once they have survived, you want them to thrive too, so the year ahead is an important time for them as they become established. Always make sure plants have adequate water. Letting them dry out for even a couple of days can hinder their progress. Water thoroughly, drenching the soil around the plant. When soil is moist apply a thick mulch of spent mushroom compost, leafmould or best of all – garden compost. The thicker the better. This will help conserve moisture and keep weeds to a minimum. Once you’re certain that plants are getting established, evidenced by new shoots and fresh growth, feed…

Anne Swithinbank A keen fruit, vegetable and houseplant grower, Anne was formerly the glasshouse supervisor at RHS Wisley. Bob Flowerdew Bob is an organic gardener and a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time. Christine Walkden Garden writer Christine appears on BBC1’s The One Show. She is also a lecturer and tour leader. Matt Biggs Matt trained at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and has been gardening professionally for over 30 years. Pippa Greenwood Pippa is one of the foremost experts on pests and diseases. She gardens using organic methods. FRUIT & VEG 1 How should I improve my veg plot soil over winter? Kerry Evert, Somerset CHRISTINE SAYS You could use the many different green manures that are available depending on your soil type, but you may prefer…

Planting roses NOW’S THE perfect time to introduce new plants to borders, and there are bargains to be had on potted roses. It’s because the bare-root rose season is just around the corner, and nurseries and garden centres are keen to clear their potted stock. By choice I’d go for bare-root plants, which are usually sold mail order and dispatched over the winter months, but it’s impossible to ignore a good deal. Choose a site that isn’t too windy with fertile soil. A sheltered position will stop your new rose rocking in autumn winds, giving it a better chance of establishing. Avoid soil that’s been used to grow roses – this will help to eliminate disease. If you have to use the same growing space, try to replace all the…

STEP BY STEP Plant up amaryllis bulbs now FEW PLANTS can match amaryllis, or hippeastrums, for their dramatic flowers in winter. Now is the time to pot up the huge bulbs. Loose bulbs are generally larger and better value than the boxed kits. These usually include a plastic pot and bulb fibre – instead, use ordinary multi-purpose compost. If you have it, a terracotta pot looks good with these, too. 1 Part fill the pot with sieved compost. Tap the pot to settle the compost in place, rather than overfirming it with your fingers. 2 Place the bulb on top, making sure there is a little space between it and the pot’s sides. Fill around the bulb with more compost. 3 Lightly firm the compost and water it by…

DAVID SAYS Sow and plant up the valuable space in your unheated greenhouse to provide you with useful pickings right through until next spring. Q What greenhouse crops can I grow now? A There is a surprising number of salad and veg crops that you can grow over winter, and with the protection of an unheated greenhouse, polytunnel or even a cold frame you’ll get more reliable results and bigger pickings. Salads include an ever expanding range of oriental leaves and mustards, as well as traditional winter staples such as lettuce, lamb’s lettuce, cress and rocket. You could also try winter-hardy peas to harvest their young shoots. When it comes to traditional veg, the choice is more limited, but you can grow spring onions, chard, beetroot and winter spinach. And…

“I would scuttle past the window with carrier bags full of old books that I would try to hold low enough for them to be invisible to my wife” All my life I have collected books. At the beginning they were the only real source of information and entertainment, and, in spite of the attractions of television and the internet, they still hold a special place in my heart. Yes, I love the fact that by pressing a few buttons on my laptop I can gain access to – quite literally – a world of knowledge, but the books on my shelves tell the story of my life, particularly my gardening life. I still go back to them for snippets of knowledge, for the name of a particular plant (if…

Container display (prices may vary) 1 30cm faux-lead square planter (around £25) 2 Festuca glauca ‘Elijah Blue’ (£4.99) 3 Erica arborea ‘Albert’s Gold’ (£3.99) 4 Euphorbia x martini ‘Ascot Rainbow’ (£6.99) 5 Nandina domestica ‘Fire Power’ (£10) As the warm tones of the season come into play, this evergreen pot is just the thing for your patio or doorstep. The fiery colours of nandina break through the vibrant greens, creating a display that’s full of contrast and texture. All the plants are evergreen, which gives the pot a long-lasting, voluminous feel. They’re also fully hardy and undemanding, meaning this display will survive year round with minimal fuss. All the plants can be moved to the garden once they outgrow the container. 1 Add peat-free, multi-purpose compost to the container until…

“Fallen leaves harbour pests such as slugs and snails” I’ll be totally honest here – I’m an UNTIDY person. I’m untidy in the house, in the office and in my car. But while I don’t like straight lines in gardens (except in the vegetable plot), I hate clutter in gardens. And fallen leaves (worse still, semi-rotting and festering foliage) count as clutter, big time! I get satisfaction from clearing fallen leaves from my borders. For me, it marks the final end of summer and the beginning of winter. But it’s not really for myself that I do it; it’s because – whatever the latest thinking is – it makes sense. Here’s why: Fallen leaves can harbour pests such as slugs and snails, which are often found enjoying the protective soggy…

Local attractions Hill Top Cottage Ambleside, LA22 0LF Tel:015394 36269, nationaltrust.org.uk/hill-top Visit Beatrix Potter’s home and gardens. This year is the 150th anniversary of her birth. Beatrix Potter Gallery Hawkshead, LA22 0NS Tel: 015394 36355, bit.ly/2bht7g1 Home to Potter’s original artwork. Rydal Mount & Gardens Nr Ambleside, LA22 9LU Tel: 015394 330022, rydalmount.co.uk A beautiful informal garden originally landscaped by William Wordsworth. Wordsworth House and Garden, Cockermouth, CA13 9RX Tel: 01900 824805, nationaltrust.org.uk/ wordsworth-house Experience Wordsworth’s 18th-century childhood home. Dove Cottage Grasmere, LA22 9SH, Tel: 015394 35544, wordsworth.org.uk Take a tour of Wordsworth’s family home and garden, and discover his thoughts about environmental preservation. Lowther Castle and Gardens Trust Penrith, CA10 2HH Tel: 01931 712192, lowthercastle.org Romantic ruined castle amid 130 acres of hidden gardens and enchanting woodland. Grizedale Sculpture…

• Join the hunt On your next autumn walk, why not take part in the Ancient Tree Hunt and add to the Woodland Trust’s database of significant trees? Called The Ancient Tree Inventory, it’s a record of more than 110,000 trees in the UK. Visit ancienttreehunt.org. uk/register for more. • The big read Don’t miss Alan Titchmarsh and Monty Don at the Cheltenham Literature Festival on 7 October. Alan will talk about his new novel Mr Gandy’s Grand Tour (from 1-3pm), while Monty is in conversation with Anne Robinson (3-4pm) about his life and dogs. Visit cheltenhamfestivals.com for full details. • Slug killer sales soar Sales of slug killers soared by almost 20% in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2015. This increase is thought…

Training is a matter of giving your dog the right signals at the right time. The hard part is to teach them to override distractions, be it another dog, extreme noise or a ball suddenly bouncing across their path. In essence, those are the moments when they are waiting for the next signal from you to the exclusion of all other signals. When you train any dog to have a little bit of obedience, it is a matter of curbing its natural tendencies and trying to control it, mostly to make the owner’s life a little easier. It’s about restraint and even domination. Though to try and bully the dog into craven submission is doomed to failure, however much it makes you feel leader of your pack. But training a…

The reduced sap ow in woody plants means any cuts you make now have a chance to dry and seal before the onset of winter, so October is your last chance to thin out and reshape plants while they are still weighted down with leaves. Once the foliage disappears completely it’s harder to gauge how dense the branches are. The main aim should be to remove the thinnest, weakest growth, but you can also prune out crossing, dead, diseased and badly placed stems. It is a particularly good time to prune back side branches on the trunks of young trees – more of that overleaf – and to cut back bush roses by about half their height to stop them rocking around in autumn gales. You can prune them back…

LONGMEADOW lies in the heart of cider country and the terrain becomes pervaded by the cidery tang of ripening fruit. Our orchard is now reaching a kind of maturity and the 40-odd varieties of apple have to be picked almost daily. This ensures that they don’t get damaged in any way before storing so that we have an abundant supply of apples well into next spring. Windfalls cannot be stored but are made into juice and eaten in every form by us, as well as by birds, foxes and hedgehogs as autumn becomes winter. The colours of the various apples, from the deep plum of ‘Spartan’ to the pale yellow of ‘Arthur Turner’, reflect and mirror the colours of the October garden as the green ebbs away, the last russet…

Pick apples and pears THE SEASON for apples and pears is upon us, and many varieties can be stored now. Selected for their slow-ripening ability, apples such as ‘Cox’, ‘Jonagold’ and ‘Bramley’s Seedling’, and pears such as ‘Conference’ and ‘Doyenné du Comice’ are ready for picking when they can be detached by carefully lifting the fruit in a cupped hand. Wrapped in newspaper, packed in trays and stored in a cool, frost-free shed, the fruit will keep for up to three months. Finish harvesting large beetroots BEETROOTS GROWN for storage (such as the slower-maturing, longer-rooted types) should be lifted now before they become tough. Use a border fork to carefully lever the roots from the soil to avoid breaking the main root (which will bleed) and to conserve the leaves,…

Raise pots to aid drainage THE COMPOST in containers can become waterlogged during the heavy rains of autumn and winter. This happens when particles of soil wash into the drainage holes and block them, especially when the pots are set directly on paved surfaces. Raising them up on three or four bricks, pieces of broken tile or ‘pot feet’ will allow water to drain freely from the base. Tilt up one side of the pot at a time, allowing you to slide each foot into place. Always take care, though, when lifting heavy pots. Beechgrove CHECKLIST • Lift dahlia tubers after the first frosts have blackened the foliage • Start larger pond clearance work while disturbance to wildlife is minimised • Protect wooden garden furniture with covers or bring it…

Gooseberry ‘Xenia’ This super-sweet, dessert gooseberry is robust, with good disease resistance and an open habit for easy picking. Fruits will ripen from June, with good yields of large, deep-red berries. H x S1.5m x 1.5m One bush £8.95 Three bushes £22.35 SAVE £4.50 Asparagus ‘Guelph Millennium’ A Canadian-bred asparagus that’s perfectly suited to the British climate. This modern hybrid variety will produce lots of spears grown in a sunny position, in well-drained soil. 10 crowns £13.95 20 crowns £24.90 SAVE £3 Blackcurrant ‘Ebony’ One of the sweetest blackcurrants, this dessert variety produces excellent super-sized fruits. The thin-skinned and juicy fruits are ready for picking from July. H x S1.2m x 1.2m One bush £9.95 Three bushes £23.85 SAVE £6 Strawberry collection Grow three favourites together for heavy crops of…