Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2024 i Garden Answers

By January, winter storms and frost have picked the garden’s bones clean. It could be flat and brown – or a tapestry of trees, shrubs and groundcover to brighten the dreariest of days. At Cambridge University Botanic Garden, this winter border is lit by dogwood and willow stems. Both shine brightest on the young growth, so annual coppicing and pollarding ensure the best colour and bring a cyclical character to the garden’s structure. Evergreens offer a powerful defiance to the season’s dwindling growth and variegated ivy makes a light, reflective carpet, echoing the gold of euonymus. Conifers are increasingly back in the gardener’s toolbox too. Whether it’s the spreading blue-grey branches of juniper or the dark shadow-green of clipped yew, these conifers are a form of art, working like sculptures…

Opened just last year, The Orchid House – part of The Glasshouse at RHS Garden Wisley in Woking, Surrey – is filled with lush ferns, fascinating carnivorous plants and hundreds of colourful cymbidiums, vandas and dendrobiums (to name but a few), happily thriving in a specially created world of rock formations, trees and ornamental beds. Further immersed in this jungle scene, large-leaved foliage specimens and palms add height while the sound of a gently trickling water feature brings the whole place alive. In January, outside temperatures make the warmth of The Orchid House an even more inviting pleasure. And if you happen to be there not long after plants have been misted, you can smell faint, sweet floral notes hanging in the humid air. Although visitors are encouraged to enjoy…

BEGONIA ‘APRICOT SHADES’ –TUBERS Large, double blooms cascade from trailing stems in an impressive display from July to October. Planted in baskets, windowboxes or pots, this versatile variety thrives in sun or shade and resists our changeable summer weather with ease. H: 30cm, S: 45cm. ● Buy x5 for £9.99 ● Buy x10 for £14.99 – save £4.99 LILY ‘PRETTY WOMAN’ –BULBS This towering lily brings pure white blooms with a soft sweet fragrance on thick sturdy stems that grow taller each year. It is best left to enjoy in the garden rather than cutting for indoor use. Site in sunny borders or in large containers on a patio. H: 1.8m, S: 45cm. ● Buy x5 for £10.99 – save £2 ● Buy x10 for £16.99 – save £8.99 DAHLIA…

Better known as amaryllis, hippeastrum are superb and spectacularly flamboyant flowering bulbs for warm, well-lit spots under cover. Easy to grow and super-fast, hippeastrum can bloom in as little as six to eight weeks from planting, producing a cluster of enormous, showy, trumpet-shaped blooms on a sturdy stem around 45-60cm high. Perfect for chasing away the winter blues and ideal as gifts for almost anyone, their speedy growth and bright colours are particularly fascinating for children and beneficial for anyone housebound. The blooms last for many weeks and, with the right care, bulbs reflower in future years too. Hippeastrum are frost-tender bulbs that originate from South America, but are not to be confused with the hardy, bubble gum-pink Amaryllis belladonna (which also comes from an entirely different continent). There are…

1 Fill a deep container with a mix 1 of equal parts multipurpose and soil-based (John Innes) compost, filling it to around 3cm below the rim. Make sure that the container has at least one drainage hole. 2 Sow the seeds at 8-10cm 2 intervals – sowing at least 5cm inside the edge of the container – dropping them into shallow holes so they are buried 5-8cm deep. Cover the seeds with compost. 3 Insert a label at the rim of 3 the container and water the seeds gently using a watering can fitted with a rose. You should stop watering before puddles form on the compost surface. 4 Germination can take a few 4 weeks depending on weather, and growth will be slow and steady for the rest of…

Q How can I inject a bit more winter interest in this border? Fact file ● BORDER SIZE 9mx50cm ● SITE Part-shady, east-facing ● SOIL Clay ● EXISTING PLANTS (left to right) Anemone hybrida ‘Honorine Jobert’; amelanchier; salvias; Nandina domestica; cotoneaster; euonymus ● THE LOOK White and green winter chic Stylish hazel fencing is a smart way to mark out your boundaries: if only the neighbours here hadn’t planted a hornbeam hedge so close behind it! It’s quite attractive to see the golden autumn leaves poking through; in time they’ll create a pretty backdrop for the plants in this border. However, it’s not a good idea to have a plant growing through a fence because the branches will rub against it and could bring it down…

First visitor to my newly painted sunroom. Daisy Mollison, Musselburgh Beautiful leopard slug is not a threat to gardeners. Nikki Campana, by email Small coppers making the most of my asters. Ronnie Cresswell, Dorset Windfall wasps. Kathie Fitzgerald, by email Late dahlia pollinator. Steve Watkin, by email Calendula and green shield bug. Julie Barns, by email Tiny white plume moth. Po Ling Kwok, by email Reviving a bee with sugar. Mave Turner, by email Handsome snail. Maggie Haran, by email WIN SECATEURS WORTH £61.99! Prize photo Send us a high-res photo of your favourite plants or wildlife with a short description and you could win this pair of Felco No 6 secateurs, which are a compact model, perfect for gardeners with small or medium-sized hands. ● Forged aluminium alloy handles…

CLUES ACROSS 1 Asian country where bamboo is thought to have originated (5) 3 Arum maculatum, woodland perennial commonly called - - - - - and ladies (5) 6 Showy, spiked perennial – the - - - - - - - lily or Eremurus robustus (7) 7 ‘- - - - - de Lune’, collared yellow dahlia cultivar and a Debussy piano piece (5) 9 Legendary radio gardening expert - - - Sowerbutts (4) 12 - - - - garden, stone-structured plot designed for displaying alpines (4) 13 Seedling cells in which plants are grown individually in trays (5) 16 Perennial genus of the sea pinks and thrift (7) 17 Term descriptive of those chrysanthemums with multiple flowerheads (5) 18 Cuckoo flower or lady’s - - - - -, country…

Elegant display for a cold winter’s day The ornamental value of the flaming red and yellow branches of dogwood in winter can never be overestimated. Here, Cornus sericea ‘Cardinal’ lights up against the racing green leaves of Buxus sempervirens. Underplanting it with evergreen Erica carnea ‘Winter Snow’, creates a striking contrast that really pops. The height variations give this container display maximum impact, and the eye falls from the long, spiny dogwood stems, to the ruffled, deep purple leaves of heuchera ‘Can-can’, and up again to Carex dipsacea. Pinus heldreichii ‘Smidtii’ adds texture and depth to the display while the saucershaped flowers of pretty plumcoloured Helleborus hybridus bring a touch of elegance. GET THE LOOK Get sowing It’s the perfect time of year to make sure you have everything you…

Living rooms – where we entertain and relax – are well worth adorning with beautiful plants. This room tends to have bigger windows than other parts of the house and, therefore, more natural light. Not only do they usually contain larger areas of indirect bright light, but they are also often kept warm, and have a generally stable relative humidity, which all makes for great growing conditions for most houseplants. The area a couple of metres around, but not right up to, the biggest window will get the most useful light. The further from the window and the higher up you are, the less light you will get. Watch out for dark spaces above tall furniture, behind chimney breasts, bookcases or behind sofa arms, as these may be quite shady.…

GET AHEAD WITH YOUR SUMMER DISPLAY Summer might seem a long way off, but now’s the time to start planning for late-season colour. For the best choice of cultivars and the healthiest, biggest bulbs and tubers of cannas, gladioli and dahlias, order them now from a specialist supplier. When they arrive, store the tubers and corms in a cool, dark place so they don’t start to sprout. For an early crop of flowers, pot them up in late March and keep them frost-free. By the time it’s warm enough for them to be planted outside, you’ll already have quite substantial plants that will flower in a few weeks. Boost winter pots To keep winter bedding such as violas looking good for as long as possible, give them a quick spruce…

Inside 74 Trees 75 Seeds 77 Flowering shrubs 77 Bulbs 79 Fruit &veg 81 Pests & diseases 82 Border rescue 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. CONTACT US By post: Garden Answers, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA Email: gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk Web: www.gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk Social media: Find…

Buy all 4for £24 and save £32 Loved for their unsurpassed winter beauty, hellebores will survive the coldest of weather, poking their heads up above the snow. Blousy, cup-shaped double blooms appear above glossy, evergreen foliage throughout winter and into spring, providing your garden with colour when not much else is flowering. Perfect for planting in shady borders and containers or underneath trees and shrubs. H&S: 35cm. Supplied as 9cm potted plants, delivery in seven days.…

21 FREE* corms worth £36.96! Flamboyant, tall gladioli stems are superb for adding height and drama to your garden borders and cut-flower arrangements. They’re perfect for planting in a sunny spot where they can tower over perennials, or grow some in the cut flower garden for an exquisite summer bouquet. Try planting in groups at 14-day intervals to extend their flowering season, and enjoy their fabulous blooms all summer long. This collection features: ●Gladiolus ‘Midnight Mix’ x 12 –an enthralling blend of violet, lavender and icy white large blooms on sturdy, upright stems that make a sensational display. H: 90cm, S: 15cm. ●Gladiolus ‘Limoncello’ x 3 – large sunshine-yellow blooms with strong upright stems that look spectacular in a border and add structure to arrangements. H: 60cm, S: 15cm. ●Gladiolus…

Garden VIEW Few things force you to confront the pace of your progress through life quite like finding your first grey hair. It may happen to each of us at different ages and stages during our lives, but whatever the timing, it is a simple enough sign to interpret: the days of your youth are numbered. Your body is steadily plodding towards its Best Before date. You are not, in all likelihood, immortal. It is an uncomfortable notion to face up to – which is probably why so many of us refuse to do so. The anti-ageing industry was last year estimated to be worth $67.2 billion, and is predicted to reach almost $99 billion by 2028. From eye creams to hair treatments, pills and potions to lotions and fillers…