Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2022 i Garden Answers

Autumn is an increasingly unpredictable beast these days. Unlike flowers, tree and shrub leaf colour changes are dependent on a whole host of weather conditions, such as sunshine and air temperatures. Drought plays its part too. After such a scorcher of a summer, many leaves started turning golden as far back as August. So what will this October hold? With any luck, cooler weather will mean we keep some spectacular leaves clinging on until at least the end of the month and into November, and on page 36 we recommend the best small trees to achieve a fiery display in your own garden. Whatever the weather, you can always rely on classic chrysanthemums to add pops of rich colour in your garden at this time of year. Our Art Editor…

A huge new ‘water butt’, equivalent to more than 42,000 domestic ones, has been created at RHS Garden Wisley. The new Clear Lake opens to the public this autumn and will collect rainwater runoff from RHS Hilltop, home of Gardening Science, during wet weather. The lake will provide enough water for the ten-acre woodland garden, known as Battleston Hill, during dry summer periods, providing a home for wildlife and a cool space for the wellbeing of visitors. It joins the glasshouse lake, the borehole in the pinetum and underground tanks at various locations in the garden, which are similarly used as water reserves. It will help the charity achieve its commitment to being water neutral by 2030.…

LIFT AND DIVIDE PERENNIALS Divide spring and early-summer-flowering plants now and they’ll soon establish in the warm, damp soil. Dig around the rootball, lift the plant carefully from the ground and place it on a surface that will be easy to clean afterwards, such as a smooth patio or a sheet of plastic. For large clumps, push two garden forks into the centre, back to back, and push the handles away from each other to lever the plant apart. Do this until you have lots of smaller sections. Divide smaller clumps by hand, or with hand forks, pulling the plants into pieces. Use a saw for really tough plants. Plant the smaller sections in holes, backfill with soil, firm and water well. Top the surrounding soil with a thick mulch…

GARDEN TO VISIT The Picton Garden AT OLD COURT NURSERIES This month, The Picton Garden at Old Court Nurseries on the lower slopes of the Malvern Hills, Worcestershire, is illuminated with thousands of stars as its living encyclopaedia of asters comes into bloom. Producing breath-taking clouds of pink, purple, blue, lavender and white, the display in the garden’s Herbaceous Border is an autumn spectacle, offering a refreshing alternative to the season’s more traditional fiery oranges, yellows and reds. As a working garden and nursery, it’s been a centre for growing and breeding asters since the early 1900s, and today you can see more than 430 species and cultivars thriving in different situations to illustrate their versatility. Although it’s a relatively small garden of around two acres, it is packed…

SUMMER VERSUS AUTUMN FRUIT Summer-fruiting raspberry cultivars (often called floricanes) produce fruit from June on canes grown during the previous year. As well as preventing the canes from being damaged by wind, wire supports make pruning easier. By tying them in you can identify the oldest canes and prune them down to the ground when they’ve finished fruiting. Then, tie the younger canes that will fruit next summer on to the wires in thier place. Autumn-fruiting raspberry cultivars (primocanes) produce fruit in August and September on canes grown in the same year – so they give you a quicker crop after planting. Tying them into supports isn’t crucial, but does keep them neater. All the canes are pruned down to ground level in winter. STEP BY STEP 1 Don’t delay…

Q How can I create some privacy in my overlooked garden? SARA EDWARDS launched her garden design practice in 2019 at RHS Malvern Spring Festival with her RHS Gold medal and Best in Category Green Living Space Garden ‘Defiance’. She made her RHS Chelsea Flower Show debut in 2021 with the IBC Pocket Forest. Find out more at no30design.co.uk; Instagram@no30designstudio IT’S NIGH ON impossible to buy a house in an urban setting where the garden isn’t overlooked in some way. Developers always want to maximise the number of houses they can build on sites, and with back-to-back housing, creating privacy is one of the biggest requests posed to a garden designer when asked to design an urban garden. With overlooking windows, if you could see a person stood in a…

HISTORIC GLASSHOUSES AT Holkham Walled Garden in Norfolk have been officially opened after a 15-year renovation project. It’s part of a wider revamp of the walled garden, which was first built in the 18th century to produce fruit and vegetables – including melons and pineapples – for the nearby Holkham Hall, home of the Earl of Leicester. The seven-acre walled garden now has newly redesigned borders, a vineyard and an extensive cut flower garden. The historic glasshouses were built over a period from the 1700s to the early 20th century, and illustrate developments of the technology through time. In one greenhouse a deep concrete floor was excavated to reveal brick hot beds. Mark Morrell, Holkham Head Gardener, said: “A cocktail of manure, tanners bark and leaf mould would have slowly…

Our experts GEOFF STEBBINGS gives expert answers to all your gardening problems. Geoff is an author and gardening writer, and was head gardener at Myddelton House, north London. GEOFF HODGE will be answering subscriber questions in our new Live Zoom Q&A events. Geoff is a horticultural author, radio broadcaster and speaker, and former online editor for the RHS IAN HODGSON casts an expert eye over unruly borders, providing advice on how to revamp them. Ian is author of Great Gardens, in association with the Society of Garden Designers. Send us your queries! CONTACT US By post: Garden Answers, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA Email: gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk Web: gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk ] Social media: Find us on Facebook as Garden Answers Twitter @GardenAnswers Instagram as gardenanswers EARLY LEAF DROP Solution…

One of the most satisfying sights in gardening is a piece of beautifully tilled soil, perfectly level with all large clumps broken down into a loose, fine and crumbly tilth. It’s not essential for all parts of the garden, such as where you’re planting trees or shrubs, but it will improve germination and subsequent plant growth in areas where you’re planning to sow seeds or plant out seedlings, plugs and young plants. Exactly how much cultivating you do will depend on your soil. Good loams, and especially fine, sandy soils, are unlikely to need much, if any, work, but those with a fair percentage of clay and those that are predominantly clay are likely to need a lot of work. Cultivating soils in this way also gives you the perfect…

Patio project SERENITY IN A POT While fiery shades abound in the garden this month, this container celebrates shades of pink that take on a glistening quality on misty, dew-filled mornings and in the low autumn light. The centrepiece is deciduous shrub Callicarpa bodinieri giraldii ‘Profusion’ (H3m/10ft S2.5m/8ft), whose bare branches are covered in pinky-purple, bead-like berries. Around its base the large, silvery-pink double flowers of Chrysanthemum grandiflorum (H&S60cm/2ft) add a dramatic contrast as does the frilly-edged, red-purple leaves of a heuchera (H&S45cm/18in). The trailing stems of an evergreen ivy soften the edge of the pot and, at the back, tufts of Stipa tenuissima (H60cm/2ft S45cm/18in) provide wispy texture.…

CAMASSIA LEICHTLINII ‘SILK RIVER’ Bulb with elegant creamy-white flowers in spring; it thrives in heavy, reliably moist soil. ✿ H50cm (20in) S20cm (8in) £4.35/3 bulbs, Farmer Gracy 0330 808 7304; farmergracy.co.uk ALLIUM ‘PING PONG’ Later-flowering allium whose spheres of tiny white flowers appear June–Aug. ✿ H1m (3ft 3in) S10cm (4in) £3.75/25 bulbs, Farmer Gracy 0330 808 7304; farmergracy.co.uk IRIS RETICULATA ‘FROZEN PLANET’ The ice-white petals with hints of blue of this new iris will dazzle in the late winter garden. ✿ H15cm (6in) S10cm (4in) £8/25 bulbs, Peter Nyssen 0161 747 4000; peternyssen.com NARCISSUS ‘PRINSES AMALIA’ Supremely elegant new daffodil that’s Ideal for naturalising in grass, growing in borders or planting in pots. ✿ H45cm (18in) S10cm (4in) £13.95/15 bulbs, Sarah Raven 0345 092 0283; sarahraven.com…

"Fiery red leaves make a glorious contrast to its azure flowers Beautiful pure blue-flowered ceratostigma makes a vibrant display from late summer until the frosts, but this delightful and versatile little plant has a trick up its sleeve. As the temperature falls, the leaves turn glowing fiery red, making a glorious contrast to its azure flowers, rounding off the season on a flamboyant flourish of colour. The blooms are rich in nectar too, attracting butterflies and moths as they prepare for hibernation or migration. Also known as hardy plumbago or leadwort, ceratostigma are sub-shrubs or perennials, depending on the species. All bear saucer-shaped flowers, individually 2.5cm (1in) across and borne in clusters profusely throughout autumn. Three widely available hardy species from western China and the Himalayas are: C. griffithii and…

Just one glance at this scene of fiery acer, laden dahlias and lavender-blue asters and you can smell the leaf mould, heavy dew and dawn mists that go hand in hand with its opulence. This border design provides the garden with its final hurrah before wind shakes down the leaves and frost blackens the foliage. It’s a planting that deserves good soil and plenty of space, built like a landscape painting with receding layers of plants and the focalpoint, Acer palmatum ‘Sango-kaku’, sitting like a living bonfire at its centre. Colour palette Vibrant orange, golden yellow and touches of cool blue STEP 2 CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS ACER PALMATUM ‘SANGO-KAKU’ Coral bark maple with pink-yellow spring leaves, glorious autumn colour and attractive bare branches H 5.8m (19ft) S5m (16ft)…

Fact file Name: Alice Whitehead Location: Northampton Patch type: Urban allotment and garden Size: Two standard-sized allotments and terraced street garden (about 600sq m/ 717sq yd) Soil: Clay allotment; garden loam Aspect: East/west-facing allotment; north-facing garden Top 5 crops: Courgette, rainbow chard, orach, tomatoes, potatoes Failures: Edamame, melon, cauliflower, asparagus Organic tip: Try no-dig – hoe off annual weeds and let worms and nature do the rest Find out more: Instagram/ Facebook/Twitter @allotmentalice OCTOBER sees boughs heavy and baskets overflowing, and as the nights draw in, my focus is on picking and preserving a fruitful gardening year. The apples and pears at my allotment are buxom and beautiful right now. But even after many years of growing, I still struggle to know when to pick. Pears are dreamy when their…

Buy 3 for £21 just £7 per pot! Meconopsis are unusual woodland members of the poppy family, perfect for partly shaded areas of your garden. Tissue-like, silky, saucer-shaped flowers bloom during summer, creating an enchanting display. Choose from three charming cultivars: M. betonicifolia ‘Hensol Violet’ produces dark, rich violet blooms; ‘Lingholm’ is a highly sought-after true blue; and M. baileyi ‘Alba’ has unique, pure white blooms that are rarely seen in meconopsis. H1m (3ft 3in) S50cm (20in). They come supplied in 9cm (3½in)pots with delivery in October. ● Buy any single plant for £10* or a collection of all three (one of each) for £21* – saving £9. *Please add £6.95 postage…

CLUES ACROSS 2 Galanthus nivalis, early spring bulb with white blooms (8) 5 Jupiter’s wife and sister and the name given to iris subgenus Scorpiris (4) 7 Horticultural peat alternative derived from the outer husks of coconuts (4) 8 and 13 across Fiery plant Capsicum annuum, whose cultivars include ‘Hot Mexican’ (6, 6) 9 Latin term describing a creeping habit as in Ranunculus - - - - - - (6) 12 Large sub-family of tropical grasses with hollow stems used as canes (6) 13 See 8 across 15 Upper angle formed by a leaf stalk and the stem from which it grows (4) 16 Alban Berg opera heroine who shares her name with a dwarf lupin (4) 17 Type of soft moss used for retaining plants in hanging baskets (8)…