Innholdsfortegnelse for 3 May 2025 i Garden News

A few years ago I made the decision that when it came to any new plants in the garden, they should, as much as possible, be pollinator-friendly. After all, why not? True, it means there’s no room for what we might term traditional bedding plants, such as begonias or pansies, and I swerve the fancier double-flowered dahlias and zinnias, but there are so many other plants out there to help insects that it’s impossible to go short. This spring I’ve added more salvias, moved foxgloves around the garden so they can self-seed a bit more equally and put down plenty of wildflower seed mix. And in this issue (starting on page 12) we go through some of the plants that bees love, especially in spring and early summer. Every garden…

Teddy is our gentle giant and constant garden companion. How can gardening not be enjoyable when he’s out keeping his watchful eye on us? Andy Taylor, Bourne, Lincolnshire Just our cat Harry, ‘helping’ to check the hellebores are in good shape. They were until he lay in them, anyway! Felix Tapley, by email We feel so blessed to regularly have goldfinches visit our garden, not only because they look so beautiful but also because soon they’ll be helping to get rid of pests as they search for protein-rich food to feed their chicks. Carly Brinson, by email Our pet rabbit Roger (yes, original I know!) likes to be outside with me whenever I’m out pottering in the garden on a dry and sunny day. Tina Carter, by email I took…

Kneesy does it in the garden! David and Gill Shepherd A small but productive garden close to the West Wales Coast. Do a few sunny days mean it’s spring? Last month we hoped so, because the sun produced a flush of early flowers – there have been clumps of narcissi and primroses in the orchard and we have flowers on the pink Chionodoxa luciliae. Hellebore ‘Merlot’ is looking good and continues to amaze us with yet more blooms – 15 to date. The Iris reticulata we planted in the pot with Weigela florida ‘Magical Rainbow’ have given us some flowers before the shrub has shown any leaves. The sweet-smelling blossom on the Clematis armandii attracted our first bee of the year – a few more and I can stop pollinating…

Follow Naomi's progress as she gets to grips with her tiny urban garden on heavy Bristol clay For all the planning and best of intentions, gardening has a will of its own, and despite preparing well for a glorious show of daffodils, Mother Nature was determined I should wait. Spring was long and cool in my garden, and while serious frosts have been few, persistently chilly nights kept the plants back. And while the snowdrops lasted longer than usual, the daffodils were slow to appear. By the time April dawned, I was slightly nervously watering both potted daffodils and tulips to make sure the flowers were delivered and not curtailed by a rogue drought. And I was particularly keen that they arrived, as this year I had acquired a whole…

Parsnips need a long season to grow well and are famously difficult to germinate. I start seeds off in a jam jar indoors. I add seeds and a few tablespoons of water to the jar, then drain through a piece of muslin cloth. The wet seeds stick to the sides of the jar. When seeds germinate, usually within a fortnight, I plant them out in the garden. I’ll use a crowbar to make holes 15cm apart and 15cm deep filled with sieved compost. Hopefully, I’ll have lots of sweet and tasty parsnips to make this family-favourite dish. Ingredients Serves 6 • 600g potatoes, peeled and diced• 15g butter• 100g Cheddar cheese, grated• 1 onion, chopped• 1 tsp olive oil• 185g leek, sliced• 230g parsnips, peeled and sliced• 160g carrots, peeled…

Professor Buczacki is a horticultural expert, writer and former chair of Gardeners' Question Time Got a problem? Our Problem Solver can help! See our contact details on page 3 #GNASKTHEEXPERTS What are the grubs we find in our apples? Angela Townsend, Accrington, Lancashire Stefan says: The ‘grubs’ are actually the caterpillars of a pest called the codling moth, which is extremely common and widespread on apples and may sometimes attack pears, too. The adults are small and inconspicuous and the females lay eggs in early summer on the fruits and leaves. They’re most active on warm nights during June and July and lay the eggs singly on the leaves and young fruits. When they hatch, after about two weeks the larvae immediately burrow into the fruit, often entering through the…

Left in the lurch I noticed my gardening gloves always wear out more on one hand than the other, so I penned a little poem highlighting this problem. I wear my gloves when gardening, to stop my hands from hardening. But has it yet occurred to you, a pack of two is one too few. For whilst the right is thin and torn, the left looks new and scarcely worn. So can’t they sell spare left or right, to overcome this gardeners’ plight. If not then I will have to find, a left hand gardener with same of mind. Carol Fletcher, Tiverton, Devon Top of the pots I read with interest your recent feature on winter containers as I love to add colour to my garden by refreshing the pots.…

Spring is always the busiest time in the garden, but late April seems especially frantic. With luck we’ll see the back of frosts in a few weeks and the greenhouse is packed with plants ready to be planted. We need to be cautious because the weather at this time of year is capricious. But in the greenhouse and polytunnel, with protection from frost, cold wind and squally showers, we can start to plant tender crops such as tomatoes. Tomatoes are very tolerant and will grow in garden soil or multi-purpose compost in pots. It’s best not to grow them in the same soil for more than two years because diseases can build up in it. This year I changed the soil in my raised beds in the polytunnel to a…

Blooming for up to six months of the year, hydrangea ‘Polestar’ is a delightful variety that changes colour through the year. Unique in that they will grow to just 50cm tall, this hydrangea is perfect for container growing, so you don’t even need a garden to appreciate it! The delicate blooms emerge green-white and take on a pink hue as they age, becoming pinker as the seasons progress. Coming into flower from late May and lasting well into October, the faded flowers can remain on the plant right through winter, bringing extended interest across the seasons. It’s a hardy hydrangea that is easy to grow and can spend springtime inside the home as houseplant. • Item: 511661: 3 x 9cm pots £19.97 – save £10 You might also like... Hydrangea…

Argyranthemum ‘Rose Red’ The daisy blooms of this perennial feature rose-pink speckles over soft, off-white petals, gradually fading to creamy yellow. Lush, compact mounds of finely textured foliage are completely covered in blooms from June to October. H&S: 30cm. Price: £12.99/5 plugs. From: suttons.co.uk Bidens ‘Blazing Star’ For dazzling impact at the side of a sunny container, this will not disappoint. From early summer, and well into it, starry yellow flowers with distinctive red markings are produced over a bushy, spreading plant. H&S: 25cm. Price: £12.98/6 plugs. From: marshallsgarden.com Calibrachoa Calitastic Cappuccino A self-cleaning high performer with bicoloured blooms over a spreading, mound-forming plant in shades of white, with rusty orange-red centres, from June throughout summer. H: 25cm, S: 30cm. Price: £9.99/5 plugs. From: jparkers.co.uk TRIED AN TESTED TRY THIS…

A garden without bees isn’t just a disaster if you’re anticipating having lots of fruit and vegetables to harvest from the garden later in the year. A garden without that wonderful industrious humming of bees at work on warm, sunny days is missing one of the most wonderful aspects of the arrival of spring. Add some of these bee-friendly blooms to the garden now to help these crucial pollinators survive – and to create that special atmosphere of a garden that’s both beautiful and letting nature do its thing. BEE TIPS Grow plants with a wide variety of flower shapes so different bees can find ones that are easy for them to work on. Tubular flowers of honeysuckle, penstemon and foxgloves are ideal for long-tongued bees such as the garden…

The latest from Carol's beautiful cottage garden... plus her diary for the week! Every time of the year holds its own eagerly anticipated special treats. Even though they may arrive a couple of weeks earlier or later, they mark just where the garden is up to. The plants are the year’s calendar. This is especially true with bulbs, perhaps because, when their time comes, they appear so fast. There are daffodils and tulips but for me the most significant bulb to take the stage during late April and early May has to be the camassia. It thrives in our heavy soil and is particularly handsome after a wet winter and early spring. This year, after an exceptionally dry March, they’re looking a little bit shorter than usual, as are so…

Why not save money this season and make your own homegrown nettle and comfrey plant feed? Although both these vigorous growers have an invasive reputation, you can utilise their zealous nature to make a highly nutritious free fertiliser. Stinging nettles, Urtica dioica, provide multiple benefits to plants and wildlife. Young leaves are particularly high in nitrogen, which is great for leaf formation, calcium, iron and magnesium, and nettle leaves can be transformed into a nourishing, albeit very whiffy, plant food tea that’s ready to use after three weeks of brewing. Comfrey, Symphytum officinale, is a magnet for pollinating insects, with beautiful bell-shaped purple flowers, but this large perennial herb can spread, so if tight for space grow comfrey ‘Bocking 14’, which forms clumps and doesn’t self-seed. High in potassium, comfrey…

Helping you get your best-ever fruit and veg Over the past few weeks I’ve been picking my forced rhubarb in stages, enjoying those beautifully tender, pink stems that only come from growing it in the dark. This last harvest will be the final one of the season though. I always stop after three pickings to give the plant time to rest and recover. It’s a bit like giving it a breather so it can build its strength back up for next winter. Forced rhubarb uses a lot of energy and once the stems start coming through thinner, that’s a clear sign it’s running low on reserves. Once I’ve picked the last stems I remove the forcing pot, give the plant a really good soak with the watering can, and mulch…

The perfect plant to add colour and structure to a cottage garden or herbaceous border, delphiniums are must-haves for every garden. Stunning spires rise majestically throughout summer, each one holding masses of beautiful blooms that bees and butterflies adore. The flowers are also excellent for cutting, lasting well displayed in vases. Supplied as young plants, delivery in 7 days.…