Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2022 i Garden Answers

Gardening seems to have a reputation for being a thrifty hobby. Perhaps it’s because so much beauty can come from our gardens without the need for deep pockets. Here are 30 money-saving ideas to help keep the garden a busy, abundant and vibrant place, even when times are tough. Recycling and reusing what is already there to make it a more sustainable place is often at the heart of many ideas to keep down the cost of gardening. Plus, plants by their nature want to propagate themselves, and with a little care you can harness their growing potential to make many more for free. Before you know it, you’ll be able to stock your garden for pennies! How to get LOW-COST PLANTS 1 Grow from seed Choose to grow from…

CLEAR UP AUTUMN LEAVES Fallen leaves are full of nutrients, so don’t let them go to waste this autumn. A thin layer of leaves on your lawn can be mown into tiny pieces that will then break down and feed your grass. However, a thick layer might lead to diseases and thatch (dead grass) building up, so it’s best to rake them off. They should also be removed from patios and paths because they become a slip hazard as they rot down. Collected leaves can then be stored in a black bin bag or simple wire cage to rot down into lovely crumbly leaf mould. To find out more about making this black gold, see Life on the Veg Patch on p68. PLANT TULIPS Tulips make a gorgeous show in…

YEAR ROUND colour NOVEMBER Plenty of plants can put on a summer show, but you need to choose carefully to have a border that excels in the autumn and winter months too. At Trentham Gardens in Staffordshire, Tom Stuart-Smith’s perennial planting of the Italian Gardens achieved just this. In autumn the flowers of phlomis and sedum mature into a strong and striking seed head display, holding the eye long after the petals have fallen. Meanwhile the bleached flower stems of stipa, burnished foliage of carex and golden amsonia leaves lend a whole new colour palette to the changing season. 3 easy steps Colour palette Burnished gold, bronze, copper and maroon STEP 1 DESIGN YOUR BORDER STEP 2 CHOOSE THE RIGHT PLANTS AMSONIA TABERNAEMONTANA SALICIFOLIA Perennial with pale blue starry flowers…

Easy FRUIT/VEG PROJECT 1 Get excavating 4 Dig out the soil around the mother plant, being careful not to damage the buds on the top of the plant or the thick rhizomatous roots. 2 Lift out the clump Use a fork to lever out the plant. Some lower roots might still be lodged in the soil – try to dig them out, but don’t worry too much if they break. 3 Split the clump in two Insert two garden forks into the centre, ensuring they are facing opposite directions, and lever them apart to split. 4 Break off smaller crowns Depending on the size of your rhubarb, carefully break off some crowns by hand, for potting up. The larger leftover clumps can then be replanted. 5 Clean up the crowns…

SHRUBS Killed by kindness QWhy did branches brown on well-watered daphne? BRIAN WORTH, BY EMAIL A I suspect the roots might be damaged on your ‘Eternal Fragrance’ daphne. Clay soils are prone to waterlogging in winter, excluding air so the daphne roots suffocate and die. Often the problem isn’t apparent until growth should start in spring but the plant fails. Digging in organic matter helps lighten the soil but needs doing each year. You don’t want to mulch the soil around daphnes in winter because it can keep the soil wetter, and an established daphne shouldn’t have needed weekly watering in summer. You may have killed it with kindness. Weed it or feed it? Q Should we turf out this thug with disappointing flowers? CYNTHIA PRICE, BY EMAIL A Canadian…

10 FREE* bulbs worth £11.99 with any order JUST PAY £6.99 POSTAGE Lily ‘Pretty Woman’ brings a pure white bloom and a soft sweet fragrance to the collection of towering giant lilies available from Thompson & Morgan. The stems get taller each year as these hardy lily bulbs return in spring to put on an elegant display of summer flowers. Their thick sturdy stems require little staking – and will take some cutting. They are best left to enjoy in the garden rather than cutting for indoor use – and we doubt you’ll have a vase big enough to display them! Plant them in sunny borders or place in large containers on the patio to enjoy the scent. No matter where you place them, their fragrant perfume will fill the…

Potager is a French term for a kitchen garden but it’s much more than just a few rows of vegetables. Whereas a typical kitchen garden is seen as a purely practical plot that tends to be hidden from the main part of a garden, a potager is a stylish, productive space that’s just as beautiful as any ornamental part of a garden. The origins of potagers can be traced back to Renaissance France where fruit, vegetables and flowers that were edible or had medicinal qualities were grown together. In Britain a similar planting approach known as the cottage garden developed, but a potager was distinctly more formal with geometric-shaped beds often edged with clipped low hedging, straight paths criss-crossing in between and a colourful array of edibles planted to create…

When you think about it, there’s something miraculous about a hedge. It starts as a few little saplings, each of which on its own might grow to be a large or even huge tree. However, by planting them close together and clipping them repeatedly, they happily develop into thick ‘walls’ of leaves and branches, perfect for marking the boundaries between gardens or even subdividing them. In the British landscape, hedges began thousands of years ago as strips of woodland left between plots of farmed land. As it became clear that they could create excellent barriers, they were increasingly planted and managed, including around villages and ultimately gardens. Here, they helped deter deer and boar from eating your veg, as well as being an effective windbreak and a visual marker of…

Q How can I make a tranquil garden that will give me a place to unwind and contemplate? 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 @no30 designstudio WHAT IS A CONTEMPLATION garden? The definition of contemplation is ‘the act of looking thoughtfully at something for a long time’. The Japanese are famous for their Zen gardens – dry garden arrangements of raked gravel, rocks, water features, mosses and pruned trees and shrubs creating miniature stylised landscapes. Usually found at temples, they were designed to be viewed from outside the…

Leucanthemum ‘Broadway Lights’. Ann Avery, by email Startling blue echinops. Brian Burns, W Sussex Echinacea’s rich colours glow in the morning light. Tessa Penney, by email Amaranthus from GA seed is great as a cut flower. Brian Ackerley, by email Rudbeckia is my new fave. Jo Harpley, by email Free with GA, superb ‘Cupcakes’ cosmos. Molly Scarborough, Northants 7-year-old agapanthus inherited from my mum. Sue Smith, Warwickshire Beautiful plum poppy. David Snell, by email Fox and cubs flowers give a great pop of colour. Nikki Campana, Surrey Prize photo BEAUTIFUL POSEUR I was amazed to spot this beautiful elephant hawk moth posing for me on my cistus rock rose plant. It was there for well over an hour taking in the sun. Lynne Coppin, Worcestershire WIN SECATEURS WORTH £44! Send…

Patio Project HARDY HEROES The days may be getting shorter but you can still brighten up a corner with this colourful plant collection. The grass Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’ (H80cm/32in S50cm/20in) anchors the display with its clump of upright foliage, which turns shades of red and purple as the days grow colder. Around its base sit two compact heucheras (H15cm/6in S20cm/8in) – dark purple-red-leaved ‘Coco’ and ‘Blondie’ with creamy flowers and unusual caramel-coloured foliage. The leaves of low-growing perennial Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (H45cm/18in S30cm/12in) take on spectacular shades of red in autumn that contrast strikingly with its vivid blue flowers. For a final flourish the trailing stems and evergreen leaves of Mitchella repens (H5cm/2in S30cm/12in) tumble over the edge of the pot. GET THE LOOK Burnished tones Choose gardening gifts and accessories…

Winter borders don’t have to be bare and featureless. Leaving structural stems standing, adding evergreens and winter flowers and feeding the soil with a mulch will keep them looking attractive and provide havens for wildlife. 1. Leave grasses standing: Sturdy upright grasses and perennials can be left intact to enjoy their winter structure or attractive seedheads. They also provide winter food and shelter for birds and insects. 2. Cut back tatty perennials: Mushy-leaved hostas or plants with blackened or flopping stems are best cut back to keep borders tidy. 3. Take advantage of the last chance to plant: Pop in some spring bulbs, hardy annuals and perennials and bare-root shrubs or trees before soil becomes frozen or waterlogged. 4. Remove weeds and debris: Clear away old leaves, rotten fruit and…

Fact file Name: Jenny Thompson Location: South Devon Patch type: Small village allotment surrounded by rolling Devon hills Size: 10x10m (33x33ft) Soil: Red Devon clay mulched with spent mushroom compost Aspect: Open and sunny, but with a north-facing hedge on one border casting some shade Top 5 crops: Salad leaves, kale, sweetcorn, blueberries, parsnips Failures: Strangely, radish – flea beetles ravish them! Organic tip: When clearing beds of annuals, don’t rip out the whole plant. Cut it close to the base and leave the roots to rot down over winter, feeding the soil microbes Find out more: Instagram @organic_allotment_girl Facebook @organic.allotment.girl NOVEMBER has arrived and with it comes a soothing sense of calm. There is no escaping the fact that the colder, darker days of winter are coming and I…

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. Sen d us CONTACT US By post: Garden Answers, your Bauer Media, Media House, Lynch queries! Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA Email: gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk Web: www.gardenanswersmagazine. co.uk Social media: Find us on Facebook as Garden Answers Twitter @GardenAnswers Instagram as gardenanswers…

One of the great benefits of the UK climate is that it allows us to grow a wide range of plants. Most are not native to our shores, and many come from exotic climes. While most garden plants are bone hardy and come through a typical British winter totally unscathed, some aren’t and need some form of protection. Other plants we grow need some protection early in their life when, as young plants and seedlings, they haven’t developed adequate toughness to survive spring frosts, cold temperatures and strong, cold winds. Cloches, low enclosures used to cover plants, can provide plenty of protection for overwintering plants and those needing shelter in spring. Not only that, but they also shield plants from pest attack and create a warm microclimate that nurtures germinating…

2X STANDARD HOLLIES + FREE POTS FOR £59.98* saving £30 Holly is such an iconic Christmas decoration and this pair of standard holly trees provides an elegant welcome to your home, positioned on either side of your doorway, porch or gate. They come supplied with a bonus pair of stylish decorative plastic planters 25–33cm (10–13in) in diameter (designs may vary from those illustrated). These standard evergreens are very hardy, easy to care for and will reliably produce berries each autumn in time for Christmas. ● Item 510186 pair of standard holly trees 80–100cm (32–39in) tall plus bonus festive pots – £59.98 – save £30 *Plus £6.99 postage OTHER MONEY-SAVING OFFERS AMARYLLIS INDOOR GROW KITS Presented in an attractive gift box, these amaryllis grow kits include bulb, pot and compost. Simply…