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23 Articles

I can’t resist the Victorian look!

I have to admit I’m a bit of a sucker for a picture-postcard classic English cottage garden. They’re not to everyone’s taste but those plant-packed, colourful plots – that look to have been lifted from a different age altogether – win me over totally. There’s one in our village, the garden of a cottage that must be 200 years old if it’s a day, and it looks as if both house and garden might have looked the same forever. Every time I walk past I peer over the fence to spot something I’ve never seen before! If you’re like me then you’ll love our feature on creating a classic Victorian garden (page 22). There are so many plants you can use to get the look, with the odd feature thrown in, and before…

I can’t resist the Victorian look!

BETTER TOGETHER

Government must recognise the national importance of the horticultural industry, say trade and charity leaders. They believe the move is essential if the industry is to help meet national economic, environmental and social ambitions in the future. The round table exchange at the House of Lords Horticultural Sector Committee in March also highlighted issues of confusion over the term horticulture and what it stood for, which meant it regularly went unrecognised and was even omitted from aspects of national policy making, effectively closing doors for much-needed funding and development. Meanwhile, a poor perception of horticulture as a career was also highlighted, with people seeing it as a ‘poorly paid job for the unskilled’, creating a shortfall of young people willing to train in an industry that was embracing technology and scientific…

BETTER TOGETHER

Enjoy a dahlia dalliance in your garden

‘Belle of Barmera’ Gorgeous, large-flowered, decorative type with blooms that open terracotta, gently fading to include soft pink and buff tones overlaid with a brick-red hue. Excellent for borders, pots or cutting. H: 1.2m, S: 50cm. Price: £5.50. From: sarahraven.co.uk. ‘Summit Festival’ Stunning waterlily variety from the USA with orange, yellow and rose tints feathering out to white-tipped petals, giving a pale pink glow from a distance. Free-flowering if pinched to create a bushier habit. H: 1.2m, S: 50cm. Price: £3.85 as garden-ready plant. From: hallsofheddon.com. ‘Painted Madam’ Dramatic, bi-coloured, decorative form that’s flamboyantly flecked in scarlet over peachy-orange. Lovely as a feature plant in a sub-tropical style planting with cannas and gingers. H/S: 50cm. Price: £4. From: jparkers.co.uk. TRIED AND TESTED Elegant stunner ‘Crème de Cassis’ Shades of crushed summer berries and cream make this an established summer head-turner. It looks…

Enjoy a dahlia dalliance in your garden

NEWBY GOES REGAL AT 75

Replicas of the crown jewels, a throne to sit on and a special garden party are some of the delights awaiting visitors to north Yorkshire’s Newby Hall this spring. The rare replica jewels will be on show at the popular venue from April to mark both the 75th anniversary of the gardens opening to visitors and the coronation year of King Charles III. Family ancestor Sir Robert Vyner commissioned the official Coronation Regalia for Charles II in 1661 after the originals were destroyed during the Civil War and they’re still used today to crown the monarch. The Newby replica set was made last century, including two crowns, the Imperial State Crown and St Edward’s Crown; sceptres; swords; orb and even an anointing spoon and ampulla. The regal theme will extend to the…

NEWBY GOES REGAL AT 75

Don’t clear out all your dead wood

Clearing away dead wood is usually a good thing; pruning out underperformance and making way for fresh growth and productivity is key in all areas of life, really. But in the garden there are times when this isn’t the case. Of course, it’s built into us to be clean and tidy at home, as everyone strives for the perfect, spick and span house. So often this translates to our gardens, too. Particularly these days, I think, too many people see their garden as another ‘outdoor room’; pristine, grime-free and weedless, with little thought for our fellow garden creatures. Many animals and insects rely on past-it plants and trees for shelter and feeding, so it’s really a case of changing our mindsets when we step out on to our plots, forgetting about indoor…

Don’t clear out all your dead wood

Your garden GEMS!

FRUITY DETERRENT I’ve planted four rows of tasty fresh potatoes. I put fish, blood and bone along the rows and also a stick of rhubarb chopped up to keep the slugs away! Beryl Pooley, Norwich A GOOD FORK HANDLE! I was given this small fork with a long handle for Christmas; I have to use a garden stool to weed and this fork is brilliant as I don’t have to bend so much. Pam Jones, New Romney, Kent BASKET CASE If you want to grow nepeta (catmint) but you’re worried about cats rolling on it and squashing the plant, turn a metal hanging basket upside down over it. The nepeta grows through the holes in the basket and saves the plant from being squashed! Wendy Hilling, by email ART ATTACK! We’ve recycled our plastic pots and old Garden News mags,…

Your garden GEMS!

Working with nature

Gardener Fay Wilkinson Location 42 Astle, Dornoch, IV25 3NH, Inverness-shire Size ⅔ of an acre Soil Acid, damp and thin Been in garden 30 years Open to the public? Yes, via Scotland’s Garden Scheme on July 22/23; 11am-4pm. scotlandsgardens.org Building a pergola from scratch, dredging a pond, felling trees or creating geometrically perfect topiary – there are few garden tasks that Fay Wilkinson won’t tackle. It’s fair to say her large garden in the Scottish Highlands has tested all of these skills – and more. In a remote location five miles from the coast and situated on the edge of boggy moorland, Fay has created a lush oasis where mature trees and shrubs mix harmoniously with carefully chosen herbaceous perennials, a bountiful vegetable garden and beds of colourful flowers for cutting. A natural pond is home…

Working with nature

FILL YOUR GARDEN WITH WILDLIFE

Do you consider yourself a bit of a Dr Doolittle when it comes to garden wildlife? Quite right too, as it’s officially a sign of a healthy, biodiverse garden if your plot teems with animals and insects, continuing the cycle of life. There are pests, of course, that should be handled well and effectively so our plants don’t suffer, but believe it or not, the great majority of wildlife help us invaluably to keep our plots thriving. Plant well, with the right kinds of plants, and you’ll attract a whole host of mini garden helpers, who will regulate any pest problems, pollinate plants and even clear up debris – no need to hire a gardener! We’ve highlighted the best and most beautiful, easy‑grow plants to entice animals and insects in; a selection…

FILL YOUR GARDEN WITH WILDLIFE

Grow a crisp white border

Using white-flowering plants is a classic calming tactic used by many top garden designers who appreciate an elegant muted colour scheme. At world-renowned Sissinghurst Castle Garden in Kent, Vita Sackville-West and husband Harold Nicolson created a series of garden rooms, one of its most famous being the revered White Garden. Pure white flower gardens are a serene art form in themselves and draw your attention away from the distraction of bright, vivid colour to let you simply appreciate the shape, form and texture of beautiful plants. So if you’ve always been drawn to the idea of a white border in your own garden, read on for all you need to know to get going, including our pick of plants that can be sown or planted now! Practical tips to start your…

Grow a crisp white border

VICTORIAN STYLE

Victorian-style gardens can throw gardeners into two camps. For some, the period is synonymous with absolute mastery over nature and perfectly primped bedding displays, but for others, a Victorian style plot conjures up romantic rose-covered archways and overflowing cottage borders. This period saw huge changes in how people gardened, the plants they could buy and how they designed their plots. Huge feats were achieved, such as using hot beds to grow pineapples, but it was also when small domestic gardens started to take on an identity of their own and the idea of the home gardener was born. The start of Queen Victoria’s 63-year reign in 1837 saw classic formal designs that took ornamentation and bedding to new heights, but by the turn of the century, styles had reacted against this formality…

VICTORIAN STYLE

Pretty as a PRIMROSE

The latest from Carol's beautiful cottage garden... plus her dirty for the week! All primroses are primulas, but not all primulas are primroses. There are more than 500 species within the genus. Family members grow in every sort of habitat, though we’re unlikely to come across many of those from extreme situations. Probably the most familiar is our native primrose, Primula vulgaris. In the British Isles it turns up in hedgerows and woodland edges from John O’Groats to Land’s End, and though its numbers have fallen mainly due to habitat loss, including intensive farming, it’s made a comeback by exploiting new opportunities such as motorway verges. Should it have arrived from some exotic place, no doubt we would fall over ourselves to include it in our gardens. It’s a very accommodating plant, needing…

Pretty as a PRIMROSE

In comes the spring colour Derrick TurbittGrows a huge variety of spring bulbs in the garden at his Northern Ireland home. The days are getting longer and signs of spring are all around. Bulbs are flowering and the snowdrops are over. I have the common Galanthus nivalis along with a few named varieties, but these are giving way to crocus, which appear as clumps in different parts of the garden. Those that have been left alone for a few years to form clumps seem to be larger and stronger than those cossetted in pots. Miniature daffodils, which flower earlier than their larger relatives, are also out. These are becoming very popular as modern gardens are smaller. I’ve had some success in breeding miniature daffs and it’s interesting to see the many variations when…

GIVE SHRUBS A TRIM

There are few times of the year when the secateurs can be put away; they’re certainly in use right now! As well as reducing the size of summer-flowering shrubs, we need to trim those that flowered in winter and early spring. This isn’t so much to reduce size but to keep them vigorous and flowering freely, removing old, unproductive stems. Without pruning, growth can become congested and few flowers are produced in the centre of the plant or low down. This is more a selective pruning to encourage flowers and maintain a healthy plant. Typical plants to prune now are spring spiraeas, forsythia, winter honeysuckle, winter heathers, flowering currants, cornus stems, hellebores and euphorbias. All these shrubs flower on sideshoots produced the previous summer, so by pruning now, the new shoots…

GIVE SHRUBS A TRIM

PRUNE HYDRANGEAS

With the chance of hard frosts almost behind us, attention can turn to pruning hydrangeas. There are many different kinds and they have different needs. In recent years the H. paniculata and H. arborescens kinds have become popular. Although their flowers only range from lime green to cream and white, usually ageing to pink or rose, they have some advantages over the mopheads. They’re very hardy, will cope with drought and pruning is simply done in spring. If grown in sun they bloom profusely and are spectacular. Prune shoots hard now to a low pair of buds for the largest flowerheads. Traditional mopheads and their more demure relatives, the lacecaps, with summer flowers in shades of white, pink or blue according to the acidity of your soil, usually bloom on sideshoots of…

PRUNE HYDRANGEAS

GROW A FAST ANNUAL MEADOW

Since the 1970s, a whopping 97% of flowering meadows in the UK have been lost. Furthermore, insect numbers are also in serious decline, having dropped by over 60% since 2004. These truly shocking statistics are a wake up call for us as gardeners, but luckily we’re in the unique position of being able to make a big difference on our plots – and really quickly, too. Creating meadows is often perceived as unachievably difficult but there’s a simple approach that guarantees success – I’m talking about annual meadows. True, many annual meadow mixes lack native species, but they make up for it by providing a succession of flowering plants, which our native pollinators love, from May to November. And, best of all, establishing them and getting them into bloom is a…

GROW A FAST ANNUAL MEADOW

Parsnips are actually pretty easy veg to grow; they need little in the way of maintenance and can be left in the ground until you need to use them in the kitchen. But there are a few problems you may need to remedy before they reach maturity. Before sowing think about the potential problems from carrot fly and parsnip canker that may put paid to your crop – sow resistant varieties such as ‘Avonresister’ and ‘Archer’, and try growing them in containers or drums if you’re being cautious, as this will prevent carrot fly from reaching your plants and destroying them. You’ll also have to cover them over if you don’t want nibblers such as mice eating the tender foliage as it grows! If you’ve got stony ground, try and remove as…

It’s full steam ahead with sowing and growing

Helping you get your best-ever fruit and vej KITCHEN GARDENER Rob Smith TV gardener and social media star. Also a seed guardian for the Heritage Seed Library The growing season really does feel like it’s now ramping up a gear, with sowing, pricking out and planting becoming a regular occurrence in the Kitchen Garden. That said, it’s still good to remember we have weeks, if not over a month in most parts of the country, where we can still get chilly temperatures and even frost, so don’t be too keen to get tender plants outside. I’m adding a mulch of well-rotted manure to my remaining fruit trees and bushes this week, paying attention to my large ‘Appletini’ fan-trained trees. These are growing up a large arch in the raised beds, so will appreciate…

It’s full steam ahead with sowing and growing

Forcing rhubarb produces the sweetest taste. I’ve taken advice from Chatsworth House gardener, Glenn Facer, who’s been working there for 33 years. Lift small clumps of rhubarb between November and spring and leave them to be frosted for a few days. Plant them in dustbins with a layer of compost in the base. Water and replace the lid to exclude light. Crops will be ready to harvest in three to four weeks. ‘Victoria’, ‘Timperley Early’ and ‘Champagne’ are recommended varieties. Ingredients SERVES 6 ● 400g rhubarb ● 1 tablespoon demerara brown sugar ● 1 extra teaspoon demerara sugar CUSTARD: ● 300ml single cream ● 150ml whole milk ● 3 egg yolks ● 1½ tablespoons demerara sugar ● 1 tablespoon (15g) arrowroot ● ½ teaspoon vanilla extract ● 1 tablespoon pistachio nuts (optional) Method ● Slice and wash the…

It’s time to sow long carrots

Medwyn Williams Medwyn is a 13-times Gold Medal winner at the Chelsea Flower Show, president of the National Vegetable Society, regular GN contributer and expert and passionate grower of a vast range of vegetables. Showing dates will dictate when you start to sow long carrots, as you always want your produce to be mature and in prime condition. You don’t want them to be too young and small, nor do you want them over top, coarse and rough. If your show is from mid to late August then you need to get started as soon as possible. Good quality long carrots need to be grown above ground, whether that be in a raised bed, drums or pipes; all three methods will produce good crops. When I was growing for Chelsea in the early…

It’s time to sow long carrots

THE PROBLEM SOLVER

How do I chit potatoes? William David Woodward, by email Stefan says: Chitting isn’t essential for maincrop potatoes but is vital for the early crop. It simply means laying the tubers in trays with the ‘rose’ end (that where the sprouts are most concentrated) uppermost. For early potatoes, you should buy the seed tubers as soon as you can and store them in trays in a light, warm place until the sprouts first emerge from the eyes. Then place them in cool but frost-free conditions until February when they should be returned to warmth. This early growth of the rose-end sprouts will suppress the others on the tuber to give what’s needed for the early crop: a few, strong sprouts with a good food reserve. Maincrop seed tubers are treated differently because there we…

THE PROBLEM SOLVER

Weekly crossword NUMBER 14 When all the answers are in place, the letters in squares 1 to 7 will spell out the botanical name of an unusual succulent, whose common name will be found at 19 and 20 across. ACROSS 8 Sleepy rodent? (8)9 Seaside area (5)10 Striking and worthy of attention, as a plant described as ‘insignis’, perhaps (10)11 Cambridgeshire cathedral city (3)13 Movements of the sea (5)15 Easily annoyed (9)19 and 20 Common name of the plant in squares 1 to 7 (6,6)21 Children (9)23 Yorkshire valleys (5)26 Beer (3)27 Popular variety of pear (10)30 Cutlery item (5)31 Thrilling (8) DOWN 1 Strong affection (4)2 Quality of busy Lizzie? (10)3 Long pointed tooth (4)4 Book describing plants’ culinary and medicinal uses (6)5 Group of eight musicians (5)6 Laid with slabs (5)7 Remains (5)12 Beatle…

Pick of the POST

Spreading the cheer In your issue dated January 14, you specifically mentioned the rhododendron ‘Christmas Cheer’. I’ve had ‘Christmas Cheer’ in a pot for many years. I feed it regularly and it always flowers reliably, extremely early and very prolifically. I’m attaching a photo of it in full bloom on March 4. I thought your readers might like to see an example. Jacqueline Devereux, by email Picture perfect... A little celebration of the recent snow as spring arrives. Although they felt very chilly, my children thoroughly enjoyed their first proper taste of snow. We all agreed the considerable amount that fell made the garden look picture perfect and not something to forget in a hurry. Charlotte Rosewarne, by email A cut above Last year’s geranium cutting is flowering already. Drew Kerr, by email Snow stopping us now! Snow won’t stop…

Pick of the POST

Free* fragrant lavender for summer

Lavender is highly attractive to bees, excellent for cutting and drying, and perfect for fragrant patio containers. This lavender duo comprises: ● Lavender angustifolia ‘Hidcote’ – an RHS AGM variety with a compact habit. ● Lavender angustifolia ‘Munstead’ – a neat, compact variety of English lavender bearing masses of dark purple-blue flower spikes. With this special duo you’ll also receive a mix of flower seed varieties. Thompson & Morgan can’t take orders for specific varieties, but whatever they decide to send, you won’t be disappointed. And it’s all for free* – you just pay postage of £5.95! Geranium Rosebud Collection Captivating rosebud blooms open to reveal large clusters of fully double flowers on vigorous, trailing plants. This Geranium Rosebud Collection includes five varieties – ‘Polly’, ‘Sybil Pink’, ‘Rosebud Tommy’, ‘Blue Sybil’ and ‘White Pearl’. These…

Free* fragrant lavender for summer

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