Innholdsfortegnelse for 8 November 2025 i Garden News

It’s a fascinating question: what’s your favourite plant? Carol Klein ponders it in her column this week (on page 22), and it’s certainly food for thought. As Carol points out, it’s hard to land on just one – after all, we fill our gardens with plants we love and to lose any would be a real wrench! Still, in for a penny, in for a pound. I admit, like Carol, my answer comes with conditions, caveats, provisos, and the distinct possibility I might have an entirely different reply tomorrow! Time of year must be taken into account – right now, for instance, with the clocks gone back and gloomier days settling in, my dahlias are putting on a dazzling display of colour. I’d not be without my salvia ‘Hot Lips’…

Putting the garden to bed Geoff Stonebanks A seaside garden in East Sussex that opens for charity, featuring sculpture and reclaimed objects. Where has the year gone? It’s already that time when the garden needs putting to bed for winter. Recent strong winds on the south coast have certainly given the plot a good battering. Last month we escaped for 10 days after a busy summer, renting a lovely cottage on the Chatsworth Estate. Our terrier Chester relished the holiday just as much as we did. We visited the magnificent gardens there, and the rock garden was a highlight. The weather mostly cooperated, which made things all the sweeter. Returning home, there was plenty to do. This has been the best fruit crop in our 21 years in Seaford! While…

Follow Naomi’s progress as she gets to grips with her tiny urban garden on heavy Bristol clay Not content with gardening outdoors, my home is also lightly festooned with greenery, and while my houseplants generally do pretty well with a regimen of light neglect and sporadic watering, I do have a heart, so every year I give them a little holiday in the garden. Although they are tolerant of dry conditions and low light levels, the modest warmth and gentle humidity of a British summer does them a power of good, and they come back in before the temperatures drop too low, usually in early to mid-October. While the plants return refreshed, their time spent in the wild makes them prone to interlopers setting up home in their pots, so…

Aubergines need maximum sunshine and maximum feed to grow well. This summer has been perfect. I’ve grown ‘Bonica F1’ in raised beds in my polytunnel. Each plant produced four good-sized fruits weighing 265g each. Organic produce can be expensive to buy, but to harvest fresh aubergines from the garden and have them in the oven within minutes is a money-saving joy! Start sowing seeds in February for a crop you’ll be harvesting right through to autumn. This recipe makes a simple and tasty supper for two or double the ingredients to feed a family. It’s delicious served with wholewheat fusilli pasta and broccoli or just a simple green salad. Ingredients Serves 2 1 aubergine, 265g weight 2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, crushed 250g beef tomatoes…

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 Can cutting worms in half double their numbers? Maisie McKendrick, Hay-on-Wye, Powys Stefan says: Your question is direct and to the point. And the answer is basically no, but it’s not entirely straightforward and the subject fascinated me in my early school biology days. It is something earthworms are said to share with a great many others among the range of living things that old nature books used to call ‘lowly creatures’, including starfish, which can grow new arms. We used to call it multiplication by division. I remember our teacher actually chopping an earthworm in half. It seems extremely gruesome…

Ponds are a magnet for wildlife, but after an active year it’s necessary to give them some autumn maintenance, such as checking filters and clearing invasive plants. Algae, blanket weed, duck weed and even some overzealous oxygenating plants can smother the pond’s surface and may need to be thinned. Place weeds on the side of the pond to drain. Pond skaters, small fish and snails can get caught in the haul, so carefully turn the waste and work through the pile to release any trapped creatures; some may need a helping hand to get back into the water. Net your pond; tree leaves can accumulate on the surface. Prevent leaves from sinking to the bottom by covering it with a net. Decomposing leaves increase the water’s nutrient levels, which will…

There are plenty of reasons to grow blueberries, and in autumn their vibrant foliage is a standout feature. Attractive enough to grow as ornamentals, they’re a favourite among home gardeners looking for something both beautiful and edible. Once established, blueberry bushes produce generous crops and are compact enough for patio containers. They’re also low-maintenance, requiring no complicated pruning. Blueberries thrive in acidic soil with a pH below 5. While you can acidify garden soil using leaf mould, pine needles, sulphur chips or coffee grounds, it’s often easier to grow them in pots filled with ericaceous compost. Feed regularly with an ericaceous fertiliser to keep plants healthy and productive. Choose a pot around 30cm wider than the container you bought it in, and plan to repot into a larger one as…

Nibbled but nice At first glance I thought I’d grown a unique lacy strain of lavatera from the free seeds of ‘Silver Cup’ I got with my copy of Garden News. Then I realised a bug must have nibbled at it while it was still in bud! Lavatera flowers are truly spectacular and so easy to grow. Even the seedpods are beautiful. Marilyn Pitcher, Caerphilly Pole position I recycled some large empty bean cans from the local cafe into my version of a totem pole to add some colour to the garden. Not bad for a first attempt. Carol Monte, Southend, Essex Spuds for Santa! Reading Carol Klein's recent column about ‘Charlotte’ potatoes prompted us to show off the two pots we’ve planted in time for Christmas. Hopefully they will…

KÄRCHER MOBILE CLEANER OC 6-18 £299.99 • This battery-powered, compact, portable cleaning unit provides a medium-pressure jet of water independent of a power connection or water supply. The 12L water trolley with large wheels and extendable telescopic handle also serves as a mobile base for easy movement. The device is also operable without the tank. The battery and a range of jets and brushes, including a foam jet and wash brush, are available separately. From: karcher.com/uk FOREST GARDEN PENT MEDIUM OVERLAP LOGSTORE FROM £439.99 • This provides stylish storage for tools and wood with high-quality, heavy-duty, FSC-certified pressure-treated timber, plus overlapped side panels and a felted, boarded roof. Has a 15-year anti-rot guarantee. Self-assembly with instructions included. From: shedstore.co.uk HUG RUGS OUTDOOR DOORMATS FROM £39.99 • Give doorways a welcoming…

There’s a strongly held belief shared by horticultural experts that every garden should boast at least one tree, and autumn is the perfect time to plant a fresh bareroot or pot-grown specimen because roots will establish readily in cool, moist soil, allowing dormant specimens to burst into life in spring. Many popular trees are one-season wonders, but there’s no need to limit their impact to a few short weeks. There are plenty of cracking varieties that are multi-season sensations, with some even delivering the goods all-year round. Bareroot or pot-grown? Container-grown trees are available all year round, while bareroot trees are available when plants are dormant, typically November until April. Both types have their pros and cons. Container-grown trees are easier to prepare and plant but tend to be more…

The latest from Carol's beautiful cottage garden... plus her diary for the week! I’ve often been asked: “What’s your favourite plant?” and my stock reply is I don’t have favourites, but I have to confess that if I had to choose one genus or family of plants I might have to say umbels. Of course, any such statement should be supported by my reasons – so here goes! Umbels are richly varied and there are species for every kind of situation and soil. They are not only beautiful but useful too; some of the more statuesque varieties, Angelica archangelica or one of the giant fennels, could make a very structural statement. In complete contrast a border full of perennials with Ammi majus weaving its frothy way between more clumpy plants is…

Where we’ve been able to keep dahlias watered it’s been a great year for these long-flowering summer plants. They had a wonderful burst of colour late in the season when the rains came, and the drier-than-usual summer helped to keep slugs and snails at bay. If you want a repeat performance next year we need to protect the tubers. In all but the coldest areas of the country it’s possible that, if left in the soil and covered in a mulch when the tops are killed by frost, tubers will survive winter. But in clay soil, the tubers and spring shoots are prone to rot or damage by slugs, so it’s an advantage to lift tubers and store them in a dry, frost-free place. This not only improves their chance…

Helping you get your best-ever fruit and veg With the windier, cooler weather settling in here in Sheffield, it’s the time of year when I like to make sure everything around the plot is tidy and secure. Behind the shed, where I tend to store bits and pieces, I’ve been checking that all the loose netting and pots are safely tucked away. We all have that one area that’s a little untidy but taking a few minutes to organise it now saves a lot of bother later. Smaller pots and trays are best stacked neatly in boxes so they don’t blow away, and any unused netting can be rolled up and stored inside old compost bags. If you keep them behind the shed, store the bags upside down so they…

Flamboyant Oriental poppies light up borders in late spring and early summer. They thrive in full sun and are happy in poor, dry soil. These clump-forming perennials create neat rosettes of deeply-cut leaves covered with coarse hairs, bringing fabulous texture to the garden, even before the blooms appear. Supplied as bareroot plants from December onwards. The collection comprises: • ‘Beauty of Livermere’: Bright red blooms with black centre markings create a boisterous display. • ‘Royal Wedding’: Glistening white petals and a dark centre to each bloom followed by attractive seedheads. • ‘Victoria Louise’: Apricot-pink, crepe paper petals form sumptuous large flowers, with distinctive black markings that surround the dark central eye. • ‘Queen Alexandra’: Large vibrant flowers of an intense and vivid coral pink make an eye-catching display. You might…