Innholdsfortegnelse for 6 December 2025 i Garden News

This is Pip, one of my helpers in the garden. Along with Nora, Rita and Min, they are champion slug slayers, fertiliser providers, earth movers and a joy to have around. Gert, Southport Lovely to see evidence of the leaf cutter bee. I’ve also spotted my first frog in the garden (I moved here nearly two years ago and put in two ponds). Both great garden helpers. Linda, by email Our beautiful 12-year-old labrador enjoying the sunshine. Ann Keeble, by email This was our lovely cat Milly. She loved ‘helping’ in the greenhouse. Nigel Jackson, Wimborne, Dorset This is my six-year-old son Finn, who is a brilliant little gardener and has had so much success this year growing a range of vegetables. He is so careful setting his seeds and…

Mention that you’re going to be taking some cuttings and most gardeners will automatically think you’re planning on propagating plants from their shoots and stems. However, winter is the perfect time to propagate a wide range of plants by using an often overlooked, but foolproof, technique that involves removing lengths of root from underground. What are root cuttings? Known appropriately as root cuttings, it’s a simple procedure best put into practice between late November and late February while plants are dormant. Although the technique won’t yield results on every plant, it’s a great way to multiply several well-known trees, shrubs and climbers, along with a whole host of herbaceous perennials. Essentially, roots are harvested from appropriate plants, turned into cuttings and then set in pots of compost, where they’ll readily…

NUMBER 48 Once you have completed the crossword, take the letters in the shaded squares and rearrange them to spell out the name of a succulent plant. This is your prize answer. ACROSS 4 Large genus of wildflowers that includes autumn catchfly (6)7 Small open summerhouse in a garden (6)8 & 9 Common name of Dodecatheon meadia (8,4)9 See 8A10 Bread-raising agent (5)12 Largest isle of the Inner Hebrides (4)18 Common name for capsicum fruit (6)19 French city that is the prefecture of Brittany (6)20 Sprinkler head for a watering can (4)23 Hindu hereditary social class (5)27 Biblical king anointed by the prophet Samuel (4)28 Ornamental work of metal wire (8)29 Plant genus also known as wood sorrel (6)30 Servant’s uniform (6) DOWN Win! Win an alstroemeria jumbo plug WORTH…

Healing community gardening helped Southport win this year’s RHS Britain in Bloom competition. “In a year when community was so important, Southport admirably demonstrated the power of gardening together,” said Darren Share, chair of the RHS Britain in Bloom judges. “Securing Gold across all three judging categories – horticulture, environment and community – they made an outstanding contribution to improving their local area, benefitting residents and visitors alike.” Out of 44 finalists representing several categories (see panel), each competing for Bronze, Silver, Silver-Gilt and Gold awards, Southport impressed judges on many levels. A new garden is being created at its Town Hall. It was originally filled with plants left by local people commemorating the three girls who were tragically murdered there in 2024 and has since evolved a pink and…

Garden designer: Rosemary Coldstream Location: Hampstead, North London Size: Approx. 296 sq m Soil: Loam overlying clayAspect: North-facingBeen in garden: Seven years Contact: rosemarycoldstream.com When a Hampstead couple needed some magic for their small, typical Victorian garden, they knew who to call. Rosemary Coldstream, of the Society of Garden and Landscape Designers and the British Association of Landscape Industries, has been designing gardens for 19 years. Her Feels Like Home garden won a Gold Medal, Best Balcony and Container Garden and the People’s Choice Award at the 2023 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. “The owners, Alan and Ulrika, wanted the garden to connect the house with its new extension to the new garden room at the end of the plot and, in doing so, create spaces for relaxation and dining,” says Rosemary. “The garden was…

There’s much to do in the garden, even at this time of year, but sometimes it can be difficult to brace yourself for outdoor jobs in the cold and wet. That’s where patio pots and containers are so rewarding: instant gardening results without getting too muddy! Pots planted earlier in autumn will need some attention now, picking out weeds, deadheading violas and removing leaves from cyclamen. And there’s still time to plant a new pot for welcoming displays of colour over the festive season. Garden centres are now stocked with a wide array of vibrant evergreens and flowering plants. Planting winter pots tends to be more expensive than summer containers, as you need to fill them with more plants since growth is minimal during the colder months. While small evergreen…

The world’s finest share their tips for success Like many other plants, orchids sometimes need a little bit of different care over the winter months, depending on the varieties you have in your collection and where you grow them. Temperature requirements vary from type to type and we tend to categorise our orchids depending how cool or warm they like it. For the cooler types, the winter is often a bit easier to deal with as the temperature drops. Orchids such as cymbidiums, coelogynes and dendrobiums need to have a drop in temperature to 10C or even 8C on winter nights to help facilitate a winter rest period and encourage flowering for the following season. Keep them in an unheated room or a porch or conservatory where a little of…

STIHL GTA 30 GARDEN PRUNER £289 • This compact, lightweight cutting machine has a 15cm-long guide bar and rubberised handles for grip for high performance and comfort in use. Chain tensioning readjustment is quick and intuitive thanks to an innovative spring-loaded mechanism. The complete pruner set comes with a practical carry case, two AS batteries, quick-charger unit and chain oil. From: stihl.co.uk/en FELCO SWISS HORI HORI TOOL £32.99 • This robust and adaptable tool excels at removing tap-rooted weeds and creating narrow holes for plants, herbs and bulbs. Crafted from forged boron steel, its sharp, slender blade effortlessly slices through soil and roots. From: worldoffelco.co.uk HAXNICKS WALL POT HOLDERS FROM £19.99 • Create displays on walls, fences or balconies with these powder-coated steel, Italian-style pot holders. Take your choice of…

Some people might find it tempting to hunker down when it’s cold outside, but gardeners are a different breed. This is the time of year for wrapping up warm and visiting a glorious garden brimming with seasonal interest, whether you’re looking for inspiration for your own garden or just fancy a bracing walk. From lauded landscapes to lesser-known gems, here’s a guide to some of the best places around the UK to banish those winter blues. BEST FOR EXOTICS: Trebah Garden, Cornwall Set within a deep valley, Trebah is a 25-acre sub-tropical paradise, started in 1838. There are over two miles of paths to explore, taking you past architectural treasures and flowering plants from the southern hemisphere, which mingle with more familiar winter-interest species such as witch hazels, shrubby honeysuckle…

The latest from Carol's beautiful cottage garden... plus her diary for the week! So much gardening in the winter is to do with cutting back, tidying up and planning that I sometimes yearn to be out there doing something constructive, making a difference and indulging myself. The soil isn’t stone cold yet and though daylight hours are shorter, there’s still the time and opportunity to move the garden on by engaging in that most exciting gardening activity – planting. There are many plants that answer well to being planted in late autumn/early winter. Some may be new plants, perhaps plants you’ve bought mail order, late-season bargains from your favourite nursery or garden centre or, as is often the case here, plants that have been ‘waiting in the wings’ for me…

Wake up your winter garden with these warmhearted beauties. As your garden slumbers, these gorgeous hellebores will come to life, displaying their saucer-shaped flowers against a backdrop of glossy, dark evergreen foliage from January through to May. Easy to grow, fully hardy and able to cope with all manner of weather conditions, they will provide you with a wonderful display year after year. Supplied as 9cm pots, delivery in 7 days. THREE EASY WAYS TO ORDER ROGN ONLINE VISIT www.hayloft.co.uk/ROGN. BY PHONE Call 01386 554 440 and quote code ROGN BY POST Cut out Cut out order form and post orders to Garden News Offer, Hayloft Plants Limited, RUHB-AKRA-ZXBK, Pershore Road, Little Comberton, Pershore, WR10 3HF. Offer closes December 31, 2025 Please note your contract for supply of goods is…