Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2022 i Garden Answers

FESTIVE CHEER Create a container that takes you from winter to spring on p14; topiary at wintery Hever Castle and Gardens, p64 What a record-breaking year 2022 has been, and not always for the right reasons. The extremely hot weather in summerwas a challenge for many gardens, reducing lawns to brown mats and shrivelling and scorching plants. The weather made me think again about the kind of gardening I’ll be doing in future; growing more heat-tolerant Mediterranean plants and perhaps replacing the grass with a gravel garden. I might even start growing wonderful sasanqua camellias – which Sue Fisher writes about on page 30 – they’re widely grown in Australia and California, so must be pretty heat-tolerant! The good news is that gardeners can adapt to the coming changes like…

DELVE INTO DESIGN Garden expertise IF YOU FANCY learning the tricks of the trade from some of the best garden designers out there, one of the short courses at the newly established Yorkshire School of Garden Design could be just the ticket. Based at Harewood House between Harrogate and Leeds, the school was set up by award-winning landscape designer Alistair Baldwin who is lead teacher on several of the courses. Courses include: ● A3-day Introduction to Garden Design (21 and 28 Feb and 7 March, £450+ VAT) with designers Pollyanna Wilkinson and Ula Maria as guest teachers. ● Designing with Plants – the know-how behind the beauty (2, 9 and 16 May, £450 +VAT) ● Seasonality and Layering – planting for a year-round display (5 and 6 June, £300 +VAT).…

The National Trust has unveiled an atmospheric new garden at Nymans in West Sussex. Set amid the ruins of the Great Hall, which was destroyed by fire in 1947, the new garden has been inspired by the Messel family who came to Nymans in the 1890s. They sponsored many plant hunting expeditions, building up an impressive collection of plants from around the world. Grown in giant planters and pots, the new garden includes plants the Messels introduced to the UK, such as camellia ‘Leonard Messel’, Magnolia loebneri ‘Leonard Messel’ and Eucryphia nymansensis ‘Nymansay’. Laser-cut, weathered steel screens in rusty tones divide the space and feature patterns such as the Messel family crest and a cedar of Lebanon. ● See nationaltrust.org.uk/nymans…

Red and white for a classic Christmas look The classic and simple red, white and green Christmas colour scheme can be conjured up with colour-co-ordinated containers. Gaultheria and a cute toadstool grace a white colander (above left), while contrasting crates set off a display of red-berried, burgundy and green-flowered skimmias (above) Long-lasting berries Gaultheria procumbens is a dwarf evergreen shrub with a gently creeping habit that makes it ideal for baskets and containers in winter. It also has large, deep red berries that offer long-lasting seasonal cheer. It’s an acid-loving plant, so needs to be planted in ericaceous compost. Here it’s teamed with Vinca major ‘Reticulata’ and Erica darleyensis for a statement hanging display. Decorative fairy lights provide a little additional festive wow. Warm glow If a red and green…

QHow can we stop apples from getting brown rot? CLIVE BALAAM, BY EMAIL; MR A GROOM, CANNOCK A Brown rot is a common problem on all fruit trees. It is caused by a fungus and usually enters a wound, perhaps a peck by a bird. The fungus causes a soft, brown spot that rapidly affects the whole fruit, as concentric rings of spores expand across the skin. If fruits are touching it will spread from fruit to fruit, both on the tree and when picked. It can spread back into stems and branches and kill parts of the tree, so it is important that no affected fruits are left on the tree over winter. There are no chemicals that can be used to control the disease, so the best course…

Buy all 3 and save £18 Add some winter romance to your festive displays with these beautiful and fragrant hyacinth baskets. Perfect for decorating your festive home or as a gift for friends and family, the delicate blooms of the hyacinths will fill a room with their heart-warming perfume. The fully lined, hand-woven, rustic, grey baskets are each supplied with three hyacinth bulbs plus fairy lights and decorative moss to complete the look. The hyacinths arrive in bud, ready to unfurl over several weeks. Delivery in December, in time for Christmas. ● The hyacinth baskets are available in three colour options – pink, white or aqua – for £20* each or you can buy a collection of all three (one basket of each colour) for £42* – saving £18. *Please…

1Bundles of dogwood stems add flashes of fire among the baskets; they’ll last for several months like this, but tie them together to keep them neat. 2 No festive scene is complete without rosy berries. Crab apples are bigger than most and make a notable statement, but skimmia and gaultheria are easy-to-find options. 3 Winter-flowering heathers add a warm pastel glow. Pretty pink Erica darleyensis (H30cm/ 12in S60cm/2ft) produces flowers in time for Christmas.…

ANEMONE ‘MOUNT EVEREST’ Snow white double-flowering St Brigid Group anemone can be grown in beds, pots and as a cut flower. ✿ H25cm/12in S15cm/6in £3.40/10 bulbs Farmer Gracy 0330 808 7304; farmergracy.co.uk ADENOPHORA PERESKIIFOLIA ‘WHITE BLAZE’ A close campanula relative, this perennial has upright spikes of purple-flushed white bellflowers. ✿ H1.2m (4ft) S30cm/12in £8.99/9cm (31/2in) pot, Crocus 01344 578000; crocus.co.uk AGROSTEMMA GITHAGO ‘BIANCA’ This hardy annual corncockle has large, pure white, silky petals; it’s happy growing on poor soil. ✿ H90cm (3ft) S45cm (18in) £2.35/101 seeds, Chiltern Seeds 01491 824675; chilternseeds.co.uk MUSCARI ‘IVOR’S PINK’ An unusually coloured grape hyacinth with purple flowers fading to pink and then white. ✿ H&S15cm (6in) £17/10 bulbs, Hayloft 01386 562999; hayloft.co.uk HYDRANGEA ‘SUMMER BRIDE’ T&M’s own bred lacecap hydrangea with fringed…

Arthur Jack & Co’s heavy-d uty boot scraper is a stylish solution to muddy boots ! It’s hand forged in the UK from galvanised steel and ideal for installing next to a front or back door to help you remove mud and leaves from shoe s and wellies. The scraper boast s atraditional Tudor rose and is finished with a special treatment to give a delightful aged pat ina. Completely rust-proof, it will last for decades in all weathers. Find more in the range at arthurjack.co.uk ● To enter, visit gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk/ freeforyou before 6 December 2022.…

Gardens illuminated for the festive season are now a firm fixture in the calendar. Wakehurst’s Glow Wild celebrates the natural world’s phenomenal colour spectrum and 1,000 handcrafted lanterns illuminate a route through the garden. An art installation inspired by bioluminescent plants has transformed the mysterious Black Pond and the UK’s tallest living Christmas tree, at 37m (121ft), is adorned with 1,800 energy-saving bulbs. From 24 Nov–1 Jan with adult-only sessions available. kew.org/glowwild ● Lit up from 16 Nov–8 Jan, RHS gardens Bridgewater, Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall, Rosemoor and Wisley each have their own display including a dramatic musical fountain display at Bridgewater and pixel lawns of synchronised dancing lights at Harlow Carr. rhs.org.uk Other light spectaculars include Kew Gardens kew.org and Eden Project edenproject.com…

BEFORE I take photos from similar positions so I can compare like for like over time. In some cases, they reveal how much more there is to do, but in others they’re a wonderful record of how much I’ve achieved. This view from my bedroom has certainly changed beyond recognition! Let’s start with a quick recap: in 2014, I was fortunate enough to buy a dilapidated suburban house set in an acre of abandoned garden. What an opportunity to create the wildlife-friendly haven of my dreams! I spent the first year making the house liveable, leaving no time to do anything more with the garden than just observe it. However, that was a wonderful opportunity, a chance to gauge what was already there and start to make plans. Since then,…

IN THE GARDEN WITH… Alison Curtis AT Easter Weens, Roxburghshire, Scottish Borders GARDEN SIZE 2 acres SITE Countryside, overlooking valley SOIL Free-draining, acidic FEATURES Formal garden set within former stable courtyard; lawns; terraced rhododendron bank; woodland walks; structural planting and topiary; large pond; ornamental gates and arches VISIT Private garden not open to public Crisp, sunny winter days are a special joy to be savoured in any garden. But finding a well-designed courtyard garden overlooking a glorious landscape of mature trees surrounding a small, ice-covered loch that shines like a diamond is a rare treat. At Easter Weens in Roxburghshire, such a wintery spectacle is the result of a whole-family effort over generations. It is the home of Alison and Roger Curtis, their children and…

Star letter Festive tips The logs are all stacked ready for our Christmas fire… in our greenhouse. Like storage radiators, the wood absorbs the sun’s heat and raises the overnight temperature, helping to preserve our tender pelargoniums. Alex Bouchard, Leicestershire An upturned brandy glass, covering a sprig of holly or mistletoe from the garden and topped with a candle makes a cheap and cheerful mantlepiece display Katie Goding, Tidworth, Hants If you enjoy shelled nuts, try scattering the shells around your potted plants. They look attractive, break down naturally and help keep slugs at bay. Tina Vowels, by email Well worth the wait I bought this lagerstroemia tree three years ago but it looked so lifeless I nearly pulled it up. Then in April it started to shoot and is…

A Native to Mexico these festive plants are popular indoor plants because of their colourful, typically red, bracts which surround tiny central flowers. B An evergreen perennial with dark green, leathery leaves and pure white, bowl-shaped flowers, it shares part of its name with a classic summer bloom. C An attractive houseplant with heart-shaped, marbled foliage and upswept petals in white or shades of pink or red. D This tender daffodil with incredibly strong perfume is typically planted indoors in autumn so that its flowers appear in time for Christmas. E This evergreen shrub is normally associated with spring blooms but this festivally-named cultivar flowers earlier, in December. F Belonging to a climbing family that’s generally known for spring and summer flowers, this winter-blooming version has delightful speckled, bell-shaped flowers.…

There was a time when gardens were ‘put to bed’ for winter with a few evergreens and a smattering of snowdrops providing the only seasonal interest as gardeners impatiently waited for the first signs of spring. However, the winter gardens at places such as the Cambridge Botanic Garden and Dunham Massey, Greater Manchester, exemplify the wow factor winter planting can offer. Rather than wishing away time, a winter garden embraces the season, making the most of the golden glow of the low winter sun and celebrating the rich array of plants that provide structure, colour, texture and scent during the bleakest months. While large-scale winter gardens feature massed plantings in sweeping borders, it’s possible to create a scaled-down version in a smaller back garden – and you could even create…

IN THE GARDEN WITH… Lucy Nelson GARDEN Forest Lodge, Pen Selwood, Somerset BA9 8LL SIZE 3 acres SOIL Free-draining acid sand FEATURES Mature garden with many rhododendrons and camellias, unusual trees, clipped evergreens for winter structure and arts and crafts-inspired landscape design OPEN See forestlodgegardens.co.uk or call 07974 701427 for 2023 dates On acold and frosty winter morning, the garden at Forest Lodge in the southeast corner of Somerset positively sparkles. Containing a mix of formal and naturalistic areas, with expansive views over the surrounding countryside, it benefits from acid greensand soil that makes it ideal for the flowering shrubs and trees loved by owner Lucy Nelson who bought the house with her husband James in 1996. In winter the areas immediately around the house are dominated by structural evergreens…

When spring, summer and autumn are in full swing, it’s perennials, bulbs and flowering shrubs that hog the limelight with their glitz and glamour. But as the days lengthen and winter begins to bite, stalwart evergreens serve up a different kind of garden magic. Like statesmen brushing off the frivolity and nonsense of previous months, the artful yew topiary at Hever Castle and Gardens in Kent, most around 120 years old, come into their own. They stand guard against the cold until spring returns again – an impressive sight with the ancient castle backdrop, a dusting of winter snow on a crisp December morning and when they cast long shadows in the low winter sun as daylight fades. Fact file Hever Castle and Gardens Hever Road, Edenbridge, Kent TN8 7NG…

PRUNING Making cut backs Q How do I prune bush from cutting my late Dad gave me? SHARON COLGAN, BY EMAIL A Euphorbia mellifera is a large shrub that can reach 2m (6½ft) high but is slightly tender so usually only thrives in mild, urban areas and by the coast. In spring small green, yellow or pale brown flowers in clusters with a lovely honey fragrance appear at the ends of the shoots. Each year, after flowering, cut out some of the flowered stems and new stems will replace them from the base. You’ll reduce flowering if you cut it all over. Be careful when pruning because the white sap is toxic. Q Will hacked willow recover? MEGAN, BY EMAIL A Willows are generally vigorous and easy to grow and…

● Rupert Paul is a former editor of Garden Answers and Natural World. He has been an environmental journalist for 20 years As gardening years go, 2022 was quite something. Record-breaking heat, haywire seasons, allotment wildfires, a terrible drought… The defining day was 19 July, when the UK temperature exceeded 40C for the first time since records began. By this time the brook that runs past my garden gate had already shrivelled to four pools crammed with refugee water creatures. There was no escape for the sticklebacks. They simply cooked, their tiny silver bodies floating lifelessly under the blazing sun. I later learned that sticklebacks can’t cope with water hotter than 20C. The water snails, caddisfly larvae and flatworms alongside them seemed to cope a little better. But within a…