L etters to Wendy

Write to us: Letters, Amateur Gardening magazine, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hants GU14 7BF (please include your address). Email us: amateurgardening@ti-media.com

IENJOYED reading Val Bourne’s article about ‘wildlife populations’ (AG , 21 December) and although the red squirrel is more popular than its grey cousin, I do find the greys enchanting little creatures. They inhabit the grounds of the apartments where I live, and much pleasure is derived from watching their antics, such as burying shelled nuts in the lawns. They exercise by chasing each other up and down the large trees that we back onto. They’re intelligent and enjoy conversation; they always look up when I chat to them out of my open window. There is a squirrel feeder alongside those I have for the birds, and the two different species feed in harmony. Proudly, I class them as my friends. Mrs Gloria Wilding, Merseyside

The grey squirrel is intelligent – and fascinating to watch

JUST thought I would send in a picture of my ceanothus, which started to bloom just before Christmas. It now seems to be opening up fast and obviously doesn’t realise that it’s not meant to be blooming yet! Susan Grant, Rochford, Essex

Susan’s ceanothus, in fl ower during December

I WOULD like to comment on Jo Negus’s reply to AJ Willetts (AG, 18 January), regarding eradicating Himalayan balsam. There is no need to cut it down or use weedkiller. With my Canal & River Trust Volunteer Group, we have just pulled it out, root and all, with great success, We have cleare several metres of it over the la five years to create an award-w garden. As long as you get it be seed pods form, it doesn’t come back. Ruth Stephens, via email

Himalayan balsam can be controlled without chemicals

LIKE many people, we were sat there on the 27th wondering, so now what? Christmas and Boxing Day had come and gone quicker than a wage packet, and we were in that vacuum where the weather is too miserable to go out with the perpetual groundhog day of TV shows from generations past. Then our dog sprang into life, as a shape appeared at the front door. Too late to be a Wise Man from the East –it turned out to be a man from the Post Office, bringing gifts of seed catalogues, magazines, and no bills! Just like kids before Christmas, we started our lists again, hoping that we could get what we wanted. Even taking into account that we aren’t based in Babylon and what we have ‘hanging’ is a few baskets rather than entire gardens, there was still an extensive wish list that took days to complete. One thing Santa didn’t bring is the ‘Mystic Meg’ crystal ball to guess the front cover seeds for 2020. Speaking like a child of bygone days, if you do get ‘doublers’ they make lovely swapsies with your pals. What a great and unexpected start to the gardening year! Steve Evans, Llanelli, Carms

Picture of this Christmas rose at close quarters

Prep time: 25 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Serves: two

Enjoy this soup piping hot with plenty of seasoning

Ingredients: 1lb (450g) swede diced 4oz (100g) carrots 1 French onion stock cube ½ pint (280ml) boiling water 2 tbsp fresh parsley 2oz (50g) soft brie chopped into small pieces 2oz (50g) self-raising flour 1oz (25g) sage and onion stuffing mix 1oz (25g) shredded suet Seasoning to taste

Method 1 Prepare the swede and carrot and cook together in a pan of boiling water until tender (15 minutes). Meanwhile, make the dumplings. Put the flour, stuffing mix and suet into a mixing bowl and stir together. Add sufficient cold water to mix into a doughy consistency. Divide into four portions and roll each one into a ball. Put to one side. 2 Drain and roughly mash the mixed swede and carrots. Dissolve the stock cube in ½ pint of boiling water and stir into the mashed vegetables along with the parsley and the chunks of brie. Add seasoning.

THIS is a photo of my Christmas rose (Helleborus niger). The plant does very well in a slightly woodier corner of the garden, and in the past few days the brilliant white flowers have appeared in pristine condition, despite the recent gales and rain. I am tempted to cut a few of these flowers to float in bowls of water in the house. Spring will soon be here! Mrs R Brown, Horsham, West Sussex

Add the dumplings to the soup and cook for 20 minutes

As a variation, use Stilton cheese instead of brie. You can also add different root vegetables to your swede such as parsnip or sweet potato.

Use any spare plastic container for growing spuds, says Tim

IF you have a spare plastic dust bin or large pot, why not use it for growing potatoes? To prepare the container, drill holes in the base, add a layer of gravel or crocks to the bottom, and then a few inches of compost combined with garden soil and manure. I usually plant 10 seed potatoes to a standard-sized dust bin and get a really good crop this way. Tim Arrowsmith, Greenford, Middlesex

I DO think the lovely fibrous begonia is so overlooked for its big and blousy cousins, so I enjoyed the article and pictures of them in Peter Seabrook’s article (AG , 21/28 December). He says how long they last through autumn and enjoy the extra moisture –well, they certainly got that! I have loved them for the many years I have planted them amo lobelia in t big pyram planter, and shall again look forward to getting the plug plants, wh are such g value. So l y, thinking ahead within our plots. Sylvia Monk, Hayling Island, Hants Begonia semperfl orens in the pyramid planter display

Editorial: Editor: Garry Coward-Williams Gardening editor: Ruth Hayes Assistant editor: Janey Goulding Art editor: Al Rigger Picture editor and Letters: Wendy Humphries Features: Kathryn Wilson, Lesley Upton

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