Cotswolds Country Gardener August 2018

Cotswolds ISSUE NO 144 AUGUST 2018 FREE

www.countrygardener.co.uk

DIG THAT

Dahlia!

IT’S TIME TO PLANT EXCITING VARIETIES

Gardening in the TWILIGHT ZONE Coping with that Courgette glut

August gardening events galore

throughout the Cotswolds

P lus

alpine stra vertical gawberries, rde agapanthuning, s, tropical hedychium s

INSIDE: OUR POPULAR ANNUAL GUIDE TO garden speakers

Summer gardening

AT THE GARDEN LOVERS GARDEN CENTRE

On A423 Southam Road, Nr. Farnborough, Banbury OX17 1EL. Tel: 01295 690479 Open Six Days a Week - Tue-Sat: 9am - 5:30pm Sun: 10.30am - 4.30pm Open Bank Holiday Mondays www.farnboroughgardencentre.co.uk

A AT Y JO UT

EN AY O D

It’s difficult to find interesting places to visit in these days of chain stores and national garden centre groups that all look the same.

Here is the antidote!

This is a Garden Store-situated in the heart of the Wye Valley. On the outskirts of the picturesque market town of Ross on Wye-on the banks of the River Wye, independently run by a local family, it is certainly a break from the “norm”.

Housed in an historical Brunel designed “Engine Shed” formerly of the Great Western Railway-the main shop houses an array of unusual homewares, garden related gifts and a quaint cafe, offering light lunches and snacks and famed locally for it’s

homemade cakes, soup and scones.

Outside under the covered planteria which protects visitors from all weathers, high emphasis is placed on the sale of plants, which are sourced from specialist nurseries across the globe all chosen for their seasonality at any one time, and of the highest quality.

Reclamation pieces are dotted throughout the building, from cart wheels to bushel boxes and galvanised watering cans to unusual arches and plant supports.

A landcape and design service is also available, plus plenty of horticultural advice from an expert team on site.

Mon -S Sun at 9am10am 5 -4.3 pm 0pm A449

Easy out of town parkin g

M50

A40 ROSSON-WYE

Ross Garden Store, The Engine Shed, Station Approach, Ashburton, Ross On Wye, Herefordshire HR9 7BW

www.rossgardenstore.com 01989 568999 OPEN DAILY

ROSS GARDEN STORE A40

Up Front!

“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” - Warren Buffett “Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.”

OUR HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GARDENING CALENDAR - Jenny Han

OVER THE COMING WEEKS IN THE COTSWOLDS

Cotswolds ISSUE NO 144 AUGUST 2018 FREE

www.countrygardener.co.uk

DIG THAT

Dahlia!

IT’S TIME TO PLANT EXCITING VARIETIES

Gardening in the TWILIGHT ZONE Coping with that

P lus

Courgette glut

alpine strawberrie s, vertical garde ning, agapanthus, tropical hedychiums

August gardening events galores throughout the Cotswold

INSIDE: OUR POPULAR ANNUAL GUIDE TO garden

Summer gardening

speakers

AT THE GARDEN LOVERS GARDEN CENTRE

On A423 Southam Road, Nr. Farnborough,

Banbury OX17 1EL. Tel: 01295 690479

Open Six Days a Week - Tue-Sat: 9am

- 5:30pm Sun: 10.30am - 4.30pm Open Bank Holiday Mondays

Our cover This month’s cover of Country Gardener highlights the wonderful variety of dahlias gardeners can choose from and at the same time celebrates the re-emergence in popularity of a flower which not only is a border stalwart but is a wonderful cut flower. The variety shown is Dahlia ‘Harzlee’ raised in Germany 30 years ago and now one of the most prolific bloomers you can plant.

www.farnboroughgardencentre.co.uk

Cotswold show proud to be a record breaker Hawkesbury Horticultural Show is rightly proud to claim its position as the longest continually running horticultural show in England, running for 133 years without ever being cancelled for war or adverse weather.

It attracts huge crowds of visitors each year and is held at the Village Hall and recreation ground, High Street, Hawkesbury Upton, South Gloucestershire GL9 1AU. The main attraction is the large produce marquee, full of the biggest and best fruit, vegetables and flowers as well as home baking, varied crafts, home made wine & beer, original photographs and pictures – all produced by the local community. The prizes are distributed at 5.30pm.

The show concludes at 7pm with a product auction. www.hawkesburyshow.org

COUNTRYFILE LIVE -A STANDOUT EVENT AT BLENHEIM PALACE The huge four day BBC Countryfile Live event returns to Blenheim Palace grounds from Thursday, 2nd August to Sunday, 5th August and the event is held in the tradition of the UK’s best country fairs.

There’s again a strong gardening theme but it’s all aspects of the countryside which get the highest profile with dozens of activities for the whole family.

You can watch working animals showing off their skills in the Central Ring, picnic on the village green or enjoy a pint at the Craven Arms.

Guests will also have the opportunity to join debates at the National Trust Theatre and learn from the experts in The Big Barn. Tickets in advance cost £30 for adults and £15 for children between five and 15. www.countryfilelive.com

TRADITIONAL SUMMER FETE AT COMPTON ABDALE For those looking for a traditional summer fete set in beautiful Cotswold gardens then the answer might be Compton Abdale Village Fete on Saturday, 28th July. The event takes place at Lower Farm, Compton Abdale just off the A40 near Northleach.

There’s plant stalls and a whole variety of other food and craft stalls set in a wonderful garden location. Admission is £2.50 for adults and children are admitted free.

Flower show at the heart of Bank Holiday event Bank Holiday Monday on 27th August sees the 69th Winchcombe Country Show in the Cotswolds town just outside of Cheltenham. The flower show is at the heart of the traditional show, which starts at 12 noon. The many classes in the show include floral displays, arts and crafts, photography as well as dog demonstrations and local foods. Tickets cost £5 for adults and £2 for children. Profits raised from the day go to local charities. www.winchcombeshow.org.uk

Two day chilli festival at Farmcote Farmcote Herbs and Chilli peppers stages a two day Chilli Festival on Saturday and Sunday 18th and 19th August at Farmcote near Winchcombe.

It promises to be a chilli lovers’ delight with chilli products for sale including ice cream and chocolate. There’s a variety of stalls and of course quality chilli plants and herbs for sale.

Farmcote Herbs and Chilli Peppers, Farmcote, near Winchcombe GL 54 5AU. www.farmcoteherbs.co.uk

www.countrygardener.co.uk

3

Specialist Plant Centre

Grange Farm NURSERY Beautiful plants to create your own unique garden

Enjoy magical summer walks... beneath the beautiful tree canopy. Browse our fantastic range of plants, gardening supplies and gifts and soak up the sun from the deck of the Garden Terrace Café. A perfect day out for all the family – dog friendly too!

Open 7 days a week: Summer 9am - 5.30pm, Winter 9am to Dusk, Sundays 10am - 5pm Guarlford - Malvern - WR13 6NT

01684 562544 grangefmnursery@btconnect.com

Hoo House Nursery Visit www.batsarb.co.uk for details on our forthcoming events BATSFORD ARBORETUM AND GARDEN CENTRE Batsford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9AD. Tel: 01386 701441 E: arboretum@batsfordfoundation.co.uk www.batsarb.co.uk BatsfordArboretum

Perennials and Alpines to suit all corners of the garden 01684 293389 10-5pm Mon-Sat. Sun 11-5pm Hoo House, Gloucester Road, Tewkesbury, GL20 7DA hoohouse.co.uk Featured 2016 in RHS The Garden magazine

@BatsfordA

West Kington Nurseries West Kington, Nr Chippenham, Wiltshire SN14 7JQ Tel 01249 782822 www.wknurseries.co.uk

MASSIVE PLANT SALE! “Probably the largest plant sale in the West!”

• Huge range of plants • Bargain Prices • Professional advice • Refreshments

SEPTEMBER 8th & 9th Saturday 9am-5pm Sunday 10am-4pm

Free Entry

Over £2,500 raised last year for local charities

Cotswold Garden Flowers Easy and unusual perennials for the flower garden Delightful stock beds to inspire you Plant and garden advice Mail order and online ordering available, or pop along and visit us at the nurser y

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK

GREAT RANGE of nursery grown ALPINES TO TREES 10% OFF all AQUATIC PLANTS in August

TAKING ORDERS FOR Soft Fruit, Ornamental and Fruit Trees, Autumn Baskets and Bare Root Hedging

ENJOY COLOUR IN YOUR GARDEN

all Summer long

Open 7 days a week March – end of September 9am -5.30pm. Weekends and bank holidays 10am-5.30 Open weekdays only during October- End of Feb

Delivery service available National Garden Gift Vouchers

Coventry Road, Guy's Cliffe, Warwick

T: 01926 492273 www.hintonsnursery.co.uk

4

For the latest garden news, events & advice - don't miss COUNTRY GARDENER

Sands Lane, Badsey, Evesham, WR11 7EZ 01386 833849 info@cgf.net w w w.cgf.net

Country Gardener

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...In the Cotswolds A LOOK AT NEWS, EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS IN THE COTSWOLDS

Lost college garden at Worcester brought back to life and opens for the NGS

A once distinguished garden that belonged to a horticultural college in Worcester has been brought back to life and is open for the National Gardens Scheme on Saturday, 11th August.

Known as Worcester’s ‘Heligan’, referring to the restored gardens in Cornwall, the lost horticultural teaching college garden has been restored in the past three years.

The recovery of the walled garden and greenhouse has been a priority

For 35 years after World War II the site was known as Oakfield Teacher Training College for Horticulture. Such was its reputation that visitors came from 58 different

countries and at least eight other horticultural colleges were founded by people inspired by its teaching.

Since 1985 the estate, eight and a half acres of mixed areas, has been owned and run as an independent Christian school. Education being the main priority, it wasn’t possible to allocate means to maintaining the grounds as desired.

In recent years the estate had become neglected, until September 2015 a small group with the school’s blessing started a programme of reclamation.

The recovery of the Walled Garden was a priority, along with its large greenhouse area. Other projects included reestablishing a long border in the upper orchard, reworking the drive and car park areas, the Dell (a large hollow that was a former clay pit) and the art room area and sports field.

The estate features less common shrubs and trees as well as a forest school pond area. The garden will be open for the NGS from 9.30am until 5pm on Saturday 11th August. Admission is ÂŁ5, children free. Light refreshments will be available in the school gym adjacent to the Walled Garden, in aid of The Christian Education Trust for the rebuilding of their Victorian glass houses. Plants will be on sale. Dogs are not allowed.

The garden is also open by arrangement until the end of October.

For more details contact Christian Education Trust-Worcester on 01905 454496, email: bill222saunders@btinternet.com or visit the website at www.riverschool.co.uk The River School-Worcester, Rose Bank, Claines, Worcester WR3 7ST.

RARE PLANT FAIR RETURNS TO THE BISHOP’S PALACE, WELLS The historic gardens of the Bishop’s Palace at Wells hosts another summer Rare Plant Fair on Sunday, 19th August.

The Bishop’s Palace in the historic city of Wells has 14 acres of gardens to explore. Since development of the gardens started in 2005, the borders have been planted with season-long interest in mind. Many of the roses are repeat flowering and the cross section of planting means that most of the borders are full of interest from May until the first frosts. In August the large Bishops Dahlia collection will be at its best.

Bishops Palace hosts August Rare Plant Fair Now in their 24th season, Rare Plant Fairs are held in beautiful and prestigious gardens, each with its own unique character, from those with histories stretching back centuries to more modern gardens created in recent years.

The nurseries are selected to ensure they are genuine growers who produce most or all of the plants that they sell themselves.

The fair will be open from 10am to 4pm, and adult entry, which includes entry to both the fair and garden, costs £6. Lunches and refreshments are available at The Bishop’s Table cafÊ/restaurant. www.rareplantfair.co.uk The Bishop’s Palace, Wells, Somerset BA5 2PD www.countrygardener.co.uk

5

GARDENERS’ CUTTINGS IN THE CO TSWOLDS

Last opening for NGS of Barn House in Sandywell Park The garden at Barn House, Sandywell Park, created over the last 25 years by former National Gardens Scheme assistant county organisers Shirley and Gordon Sills, will open on Sunday, 26th and Monday, 27th August for the final time for the NGS. Within the walls of a former kitchen garden, these two plantspeople have made a succession of enclosures, both formal and informal, and all them packed with interesting and beautiful planting. There are herbaceous beds, pergolas groaning under ebullient climbers, shrubs, trees, wilder area and ponds to attract wildlife, and an orchard.

Final chance to see Barn House garden It will be open each day for the NGS from 11am-5pm, admission £5, children free. Home-made teas will be available, and plants for sale. There is wheelchair access. Barn House, Sandywell Park, Whittington, GL54 4HF. For more details call 01242 820606 or email: shirleyasills@gmail.com One of the finest gardens opening for the NGS in Gloucestershire in August is Bourton House Garden at Bourton-on-theHill, GL56 9AE, its borders packed with late-flowering salvias, asters, cannas, dahlias and penstemons. The three-acre garden looks down to the south over fields and up towards tree-covered hills, at their best as the beech leaves turn a glorious shade of burnt umber.

The garden’s fine trees, of beech, yews, pillars of Populus tremula ‘Erecta’ and an exedra of Malus floribunda, are around the periphery, giving the garden a sunny, open aspect. The elegant 18th century house is clad in clipped lines of orange-berried Pyracantha ‘Mohave’, and sits in a garden structured by yew hedging and Cotswold stone walls. By the house are two Parrotia persica.

The garden is open for the NGS on Sunday 12th August, 10am-5pm, admission £7, children free, with home-made teas and light refreshments in the Grade 1 listed 6th century tithe barn. Visitors can also explore the seven-acre pasture with a free printed guide to specimen trees available to garden visitors. For more details call 01386 700754 or email: info@bourtonhouse.com www.bourtonhouse.com

Open garden for Children’s Hospice South West Enjoy an afternoon in a beautiful North Somerset garden and support Children’s Hospice South West when Hill View at Sandford opens for the charity on Sunday 12th August.

This family friendly, mature, organically run garden and smallholding is set up with wildlife and tranquillity in mind. In the summer, the traditional meadow should be at its best. Children are welcome with activities provided or you can just relax with a cream tea listening to music.

The garden is open on Sunday 12th August from 2pm until 5pm.

Admission is free, all proceeds will be donated to CHSW, with home-made teas and plants available. There is wheelchair access, and parking is available including accessibility spaces.

Hill View, Greenhill Lane, Sandford, North Somerset BS25 5PE. www.chsw.org.uk 6

Friars Court gardens offer high summer delights

The three acres of gardens at Friars Court continue to open every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon throughout July and August. Specimen trees, including ornamental cherry, Silver Pear, Liquidambar and a fine Tulip Tree, complement existing features such as the arched moat bridge and the monumental yew arch which stands beside it.

Visitors can enjoy these peaceful gardens at leisure and follow the development of this historic house over the years in the Coach House museum. Beyond the expanse of lawn to the front of the house are the former restored water-lily-filled medieval carp ponds, edged with native wild marginal plants. The 50 foot living willow tunnel and two short woodland walks, reached by crossing the arched Moat Bridge by the twin yew trees offer some welcome shade from the summer sun. The four acre 200 year old Copse has paths through sunlit glades whilst a ‘Stream Walk’ goes past a 200 year old cobbled Sheepwash and down into ‘Horsefield Copse’. Cream teas and home-made cakes, all baked by Charles in the farmhouse kitchen, are served in the Garden Room. For more information please visit www.friarscourt.com or call (01367) 810206.

Friars Court, Clanfield, Oxfordshire OX18 2SU. Country Gardener

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www.countrygardener.co.uk

7

COPING WITH

courgettes

by Kate Lewis

WITH AN ABUNDANCE OF COURGETTES IN HIGH SUMMER IT’S WORTH KNOWING HOW TO DEAL WITH THE GLUT Renowned for being one of the easiest and most prolific vegetables to grow, gardeners usually find themselves with fridges overflowing with courgettes by August.

With a seemingly endless supply from just a few plants it pays to arm yourself with a variety of recipes to enjoy these versatile gems of the summer harvest.

Courgettes fall under the umbrella of the large Cucurbitaceae family which include pumpkins, squashes and gourds.

Believed to be one of the oldest crops on earth, they can be traced back 10,000 years ago to the Andes and were brought over to Europe soon after the discovery of the New World in the sixteenth century.

Courgettes in the garden

Plants are best started off indoors from seeds in pots, individually and on their side from late March. When roots begin to show transfer outside to fertile and well-manured soil. Given their South American heritage it’s no surprise that they need plenty of sunlight so avoid planting in shade.

Plant in rows 90cm apart, taking care to avoid overcrowding which can lead to powdery mildew. Courgettes are very thirsty plants and appreciate plenty of manure to lock in the moisture. Never let them dry out.

If you have missed the chance to plant from seed, courgettes also fare well grown from plug plants. They grow very well in containers and grow bags if well watered and kept in a sunny spot.

Courgette facts • Plants sown in April/May are usually at their best for harvesting July/ August • Wear long sleeves when harvesting to avoid spiky hairs on the stalks which can cause irritation.

• There is no need to peel courgettes, just wash and trim top and tail.

• The entire plant – fruit, leaves and flowers – is edible.

8

Each plant carries both male and female flowers. Early in the season lots of the bigger male flowers appear, followed by the female flowers which bear the fruit – a noticeable swelling behind the flower. It is the male flower which is the most suitable for stuffing and frying.

When the glut comes the fruit is best severed from the plant with a knife, maintaining strength in the stems. Harvest the fruit when they are still tender and around 10cm long. Fruit left to grow much bigger than this loses flavour and texture.

Grossly oversized courgettes – sometimes more than a foot longer - are often passed off as marrows. When looking for a true marrow – a separate and more flavourful variety, and which offers much more potential in the kitchen – keep an eye out for the striped tiger cross on the end of the fruit rather than the all green variety.

Courgettes in the kitchen

From grilling to baking, preserving to cake-making, courgettes are very versatile in the kitchen. This is welcome news given how many most growers have picked by midsummer. Cooking in water however is a no-no. For a quick alternative side-dish chop, lightly cook in olive oil and season with herbs – mint or basil are perfect pairings - lemon and salt. Grated courgettes work well cooked in the same way.

Courgettes take well to slow cooking in the oven – roughly chop, toss with oil and salt and roast at 200 deg C for around • Courgettes are mostly water and so don’t freeze well.

Make chutney, pickle or soup instead. Alternatively chargrill in long strips, pack into a sterilized jar, cover with oil and keep in the fridge for a few weeks.

• Being mostly water courgettes can benefit from salting before use – especially in a chutney or in a slow-cooked dish. Chop or grate, sprinkle with salt, leave in a colander for 1-2 hours (half an hour for grated).

• Courgettes make a great vegetable pasta – use a spiraliser or peeler to make long strips. Sauté in olive oil for a couple of minutes then pair with your favourite pasta sauce.

Country Gardener

30 minutes. Try deeper flavours such as thyme, chilli and garlic to enhance the finished roasted dish.

Courgettes are best eaten when young, small and tender.

Ensure the fruit is unblemished and firm. They should be kept in the salad drawer of the fridge and eaten within a week, preferably sooner as they lose their flavour and sweetness with age.

At this sweet, tender age they are succulent and have a dense flavour which lends itself to being eaten raw - thinly sliced with a knife or mandolin, or pared into long ribbons with a peeler. Keep it simple by mixing with olive oil, lemon, herbs and salt or build flavours by adding feta, olives, pine nuts, tomatoes and garlic for a Mediterranean-style salad.

Cooked courgettes work well in salads too, especially when griddled. Slice the courgettes lengthways, toss with oil and salt and place on a hot griddle pan on the hob, a barbecue, or on a baking sheet under a grill. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. Griddled courgettes stand alone when dressed with a good olive oil, lemon and fresh chopped herbs.

Courgette Fritters INGREDIENTS 4 courgettes (approx 750g) 5-6 spring onions, finely chopped 250g feta cheese, crumbled small bunch fresh parsley, chopped

For an Asian inspired salad mix with roasted sesame seeds, sliced spring onion and soy sauce or for a Middle Eastern inspired dish mix with fresh mint, preserved lemons, soaked sultanas and taste pistachios.

In Middle Eastern kitchens the courgette is often the centrepiece of the table, the inside scooped out and stuffed with a varying combinations of minced meat, grains, vegetables, herbs and spices.

For bakers the courgette is a fantastic alternative to the ubiquitous carrot in cakes, useful in a chocolate cake or a lighter lemon and almond sponge (pictured) and also handy to win over those children less than impressed with green vegetables!

For many chefs though, the star recipe in the courgette repetoire is fiori di zucchini fritti – the brilliant yellow flower dipped in batter, deep fried then served simply with salt and lemon, or stuffed with ricotta, tomatoes and garlic or rice.

(They also look pretty roughly torn and added to salads.)

Courgette, Lemon & Poppy Seed Cake

small bunch fresh mint, chopped 1 tbsp dried mint 1 tsp paprika 140g plain flour 3 eggs, beaten salt & pepper olive oil for frying 3-4 limes

METHOD 1) Coarsely grate the courgettes by hand or in a food processor.

Spread out on a tea towel and leave for around 20 minutes to removes any excess moisture.

2) Combine the spring onions, feta, fresh parsley and mint, dried mint and paprika. Add the flour and season well with salt and pepper.

3) Gradually add the beaten egg, mix thoroughly then stir in the courgettes. The mixture will be lumpy.

4) Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan and drop dessertspoons of the mixture into the hot oil, flattening down with the back of a spoon. Cook for 2 minutes each side until golden.

5) Serve with chopped mint and wedges of lime.

(Copyright: Nigella Lawson)

INGREDIENTS Cake 75ml whole milk 2 tbsp poppy seeds zest of 2 lemons 250g unsalted butter 250g light soft brown sugar 4 eggs, yolks and whites separated

½ tsp almond extract 200g self-raising flour 250g grated weight of courgette Icing 300g icing sugar 1 ½ tsp lemon zest 30g unsalted butter 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tbsp poppy seeds

METHOD 1) Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 23cm springform cake tin.

2) Warm the milk, poppy seeds and lemon zest in a small pan for a couple of minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

3) Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale, light and fluffy.

Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time.

4) Stir in the almond extract, flour and ground almonds. Fold in the courgettes and cooled milk.

5) Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl until they form stiff peaks. Add a large spoon of the egg white to the courgette mixture and very gently fold in. Gradually fold in the rest of the egg whites.

6) Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for around 60 mins or until firm to touch. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.

7) Icing: Sift the icing sugar into a bowl. Stir in the lemon zest and melted butter. Add lemon juice and quickly stir together, adding a splash of water if needed, until you have a thick but spreadable consistency. Use a pallet knife to spread the icing over the cake.

8) Sprinkle over poppy seeds and leave the cake for 30 minutes to allow the icing to set.

(Copyright: Riverford Organics)

www.countrygardener.co.uk

9

Be brave when it comes to dahlias

Kilver Court head gardener Matt Rees-Warren urges dahlia lovers to be bold and take risks to make the most of the variety on offer from these wonderful flowers Dahlias have moved into the very forefront of our thoughts as gardeners over recent years and it’s not without reason.

Their colours run through almost the whole rainbow except blue, and the shapes and forms the flowers take on vary in more ways than your average border perennial.

Add to this a superbly long bloom and you have an irresistible cocktail no garden should be without.

They have shaken off the ‘flower show’ image of old and have become, in my mind, a border stalwart. That’s not to say they aren’t still a wonderful cut flower, far from it.

Those old admirers, who’d grow a field for one perfect bloom, knew a good flower when they saw one; it’s just the presentation that’s changed. Modern tastemakers now carry the dahlias’ reputation through Instagram and fashionable boutique floristry shops - a far cry from the trestle table at the county or flower show, next to the carrot cake.

As with all gardening dahlias are 10

cyclical, and my year begins when I look through the catalogues in early spring.

It’s a heartening feeling to suppose so much colour will pour over the garden in the not too distant future, but choosing colour is an art for a gardener to master. I would never limit myself from using any shade as that would be to take the pot from the painter but I like to find some restraint from the giddy gluttony. Dahlias, like tulips, have been used in some truly awful combinations and if you’re willing to put some time into planning your orders, the benefit will far outweigh the time taken.

I tend to order in threes, in variety not numbers, then look to develop a theme or style from those three.

So, for example, a bold, exuberant collection may begin with zingy orange ‘Ludwig helfert’, blood red ‘Bishop of Llandaff’, and corn yellow ‘Boogie woogie’. The path is laid. You can then riff on that style and choose more sets depending on how much room you have.

It’s always better to be playful and Country Gardener

experiment than to stick doggedly to the ‘old favourites’, dahlias are about fun and exoticness after all. That doesn’t mean it’s all Caribbean beach colours, dahlias can be quite muted and sophisticated if need be.

The cream and ivory of ‘Cafe au Lait’ partners superbly with the washed out peach of ‘Nicholas’ and the helium light pink of ‘Stolze von berlin’.

Together they are restrained and elegant and would fall into a pastel colour palette with great effect.

Not only do they have a wide spectrum of colour but the shapes and forms the flowers exhibit have clearly defined differences.

The ‘Decorative’ group - with their many petalled balls reminiscent of peony flowers - are the most common and have the widest colour range and choice of cultivars.

My particular favourite however, are the ‘Cactus’ group - maybe it’s the spiky form seeming more exotic and transporting me to their Mexican country origins.

“It’s always better to be playful and experiment than to stick doggedly to the ‘old favourites” autumn (I use compost and straw) and look to protect the fresh growth from slugs and snails in early May. If, like me, you’re buying new tubers or have taken out over winter then I would look to pot up around April. Put them in a good loamy/compost mix and place the tubers barely below the surface; leave somewhere with light and shelter and look to water regularly once you see growth coming through.

I also like to place bark on the top of the pot to stop the soil leeching out when watering and keep the moisture locked in.

Left to right: ‘Ludwig helfert‘; ‘Boosie Wogie‘; ‘Stolze von berlin‘

I especially like the spectacular ‘Karma bon bini’ with its primal clash of sun yellow and fiery red. The ‘Ball’ or ‘Pompom’ group are also weirdly alien and look like optical illusions in a Frida Kahlo painting. Back on more common ground are the ‘Anemone’ or ‘Bishop’ group, ordained with superb plum and chocolate foliage, making them indispensable in offering contrast to other dahlias. I always use them and couldn’t be without the ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ or the ‘Bishop of Oxford’.

With all the fun of the colour and the shapes comes a small hitch: they are demanding of your time.

How much time though comes down to a Shakespearean choice – to leave in or not to leave in? For us living in the Gulf Stream corridor of the southwest it’s increasingly leave in, but beware as the idle hands of gardeners are fool’s gold.

The ‘beast from the east’ certainly taught us that England can still have real winters, so I follow a simple mantra. Leave in what you can afford to replace and take out what you cannot be without.

If I’m leaving them in I will cover them with a good thick mulch at the end of

‘Bishop of Oxford’

Plant them out in late May/early June or when they look leafy and strong and give them a good start with a seaweed or comfrey feed.

The last element that may be taxing of your time is the staking, and when it comes down to it, it’s all about timing and personal choice. I will always try to leave plants to their natural habit and then stake before it’s too late – but I am a professional gardener and in the garden eight hours a day so it’s a bit easier to do! I’ve also grown weary of bamboo canes spoiling the border but if you want to put one cane of about 1.5m next to each plant you wouldn’t go far wrong.

If you then tie in with twine, my tip would be: don’t tie too close to the bottom of the plant as it can act as a pivot to topple the plant and also tie much tighter than you think. Dahlias can get very heavy when in full bloom.

‘Karma bonbini‘

‘Nicolas‘

The re-emergence in popularity of dahlias with gardeners today always makes me think that fashions and fads are fleeting. It could easily have been the gladioli or the chrysanthemum that took the column inches and heralded as the new ‘old’ plant.

So remember, take risks, be brave, try something new and who knows you could be the one setting trends, not following them! www.countrygardener.co.uk

‘Cafe au lait‘ 11

Golden Rain Tree is an apt name for this special tree

SPECIALIST TREES

KOELREUTERIA PANICULATA - A GEM OF A MEDIUM SIZED TREE Mark Hinsley profile a special tree which combines beauty and history and is perfect for many gardens The names in common usage for Koelreuteria paniculata, Golden Rain Tree or Pride of India, can lead to some confusion. Golden Rain Tree is a name sometimes applied to the laburnum and Pride of India does not reflect the true origin of this species in north-east China and Korea.

Looking into how the Pride of India found its way to our shores has opened up a little-known area of our garden history.

Most of us with an interest in garden plants are aware of the great plant collectors sponsored by nurseries, such as Veitchs of Exeter, to strike out into the unknown in search of new, and lucrative, plant varieties. Their names are legendary in the plant world: Lobb, Fortune, Henry, Forrest, etc. However, Pride of India, and a good many other well-known plants, arrived by another means.

The Pride of India was first introduced into France by seed sent back to Paris by Pierre Nicolas Le Chéron d’Incarville (1706 – 1757) a French Jesuit Missionary, who worked in China from 1740 until his death in Beijing (Peking).

However, he turned out to be the tip of the iceberg.

After him came Father Armand David (1826 – 1900) (Davidia involucrata), and the first westerner to see a Giant Panda, Father Jean Marie Delavay of the Missions Etrangères de Paris (1834 – 1895), who survived Bubonic Plague in 1888 and still carried on finding primulas and rhododendrons, Father Paul Guillaume Farges (Rhododendrons) (1844 – 1912) and Father Jean Andre Soulie (1858 – 1905) who sent back the first seeds of Buddleja davidii. Soulie was caught, tortured for 15 days and executed by lamas in the 1905 Tibetan revolt.

The same revolt from which the British plant collector George Forrest only barely managed to escape from with his life.

Yet fear not Brexiteers, it would seem that it was not the French who started this godly pursuit of new plants from strange worlds. Bishop Henry Compton (1632 – 1713) is reputed to have selected his missionaries not so much for their religious zeal but more for their knowledge of botany, so as to populate his garden in Fulham with strange and exotic flora that they were charged with bringing back to him from their travels.

12

For the sake of completeness, apparently, we also started the 1905 Tibetan Revolt by invading Lhasa in 1904 out of fear of Russian influence in Tibet.

The next year, a massive anti-western, anti-Christian rebellion broke out among Tibetans in Kham (eastern Sichuan, northern Yunnan), with Tibetan Lamas at prominent Lamaseries like Batang leading the revolt.

More than a dozen French Catholic missionaries lost their lives in horrible circumstances.

Meanwhile, back to the Pride of India. The tree has certain similarities with another of Father d’Incarville’s introductions, Ailanthus altissima (Tree of Heaven). However, it is not so vigorous, or so large and aggressive to walls, patios and garden paths. Its foliage is more attractive than Tree of Heaven.

Young shoots come out copper- brown, the leaves are pinnate (like an ash tree), but each individual leaflet is doubly toothed near the tip. The mature foliage is matt dark green with a pink midrib beneath. The spectacular flowers are huge branched panicles 30 – 40cms long of bright yellow flower heads, which come on in August when a lot of other stuff has already finished.

The tree keeps on giving because the fruit is a papery bladder containing three black seeds which are conspicuous and pink in the autumn.

It will grow on just about any soil in the south of England and it does not get beyond medium size.

Quite a star really.

Mark Hinsley is from Arboriculture Consultants Ltd. www.treeadvice.info

Country Gardener

Discover

Marwood Hill Gardens

Discover the stunning views at Marwood Hill Gardens, 20 acres of private gardens with lakes in North Devon.

The gardens are a wonderful haven in which to relax and enjoy the impressive collections of plants, shrubs and trees and experience the views and peaceful atmosphere.

Specialist Plant Sales At Marwood, we aim to provide something a little bit different, something which you can take home.

Tel: 01271 342528 | www.marwoodhillgarden.co.uk Marwood Hill Gardens, North Devon EX31 4EA

Hartland Abbey & Gardens

A SPECIAL DAY OUT IN A SPECTACULAR CORNER OF NORTH DEVON Visit this historic family home with its fascinating architecture, collections and exhibitions. Beautiful 18thC Walled and Woodland gardens and wildflower walks to the beach at Blackpool Mill.

Film location for ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’. * Dogs welcome * Holiday Cottages * House, Gardens and Café: until 30th September, Sunday to Thursday 11am - 5pm (House 2pm - last adm. 4pm)

For all information and events see www.hartlandabbey.com Hartland, Nr. Bideford EX39 6DT 01237441496/234

          



Hidden beauty in rural Oxfordshire

Gardens Open every Tuesday & Thursday in June, July & August 2.00pm to 6.00pm An imposing 17th century farmhouse set within the remaining arms of a 500 year old moat, with over 3 acres of informal gardens and grounds

Cream teas ~ Museum ~ Gift shop

Private garden tours may be arranged on other days during the summer             Clanfield ~ Oxfordshire ~ OX18 2SU



August Fair

www.devonlogstores.co.uk

19 August The Bishop’s Palace, Wells, Somerset BA5 2PD

Made from sustainably harvested locally grown timber, these log stores are sturdily and attractively designed, yet light enough to be easily moved. Also wheelie bin/recycling storage and cycle stores.

th

www.rareplantfair.co.uk Please visit our website for full details of admission fees and times of opening.

Available in a range of sizes suited for the courtyard/patio or larger garden.

For further details call Nick on 01392 681690

www.countrygardener.co.uk

13

Champs Hill, Coldwaltham, Sussex

GARDEN Visits THE BEST GARDENS TO VISIT compiled by Vivienne Lewis

Visit any of these gardens that are open for charity in August and be inspired by the colour and variety that can be produced in high summer gardens. We advise checking before starting a journey as circumstances can force cancellations of openings in private gardens.

We’re introducing a key to facilities on offer at the gardens: Refreshments available Plants usually for sale Wheelchair access to much of garden

Partial wheelchair access Unsuitable for wheelchairs Dogs on short leads

Visitors welcome by arrangement Coaches welcome consult owners Accommodation at this venue

WHEATLEY HOUSE Wheatley Lane, Between Binsted & Kingsley, Bordon, Hampshire GU35 9PA Situated on a rural hilltop with panoramic views over Alice Holt Forest and the South Downs. The sweeping, mixed borders and shrubs are spectacular with colour throughout the season, particularly in late summer. Open for the National Garden Scheme on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th August, 1.30pm5.30pm. Admission £5, children free.

BONYTHON MANOR THE OLD MILL Ramsbury, Wiltshire SN8 2PN Water running through a multitude of channels no longer drives the mill but is a backdrop for a whimsical garden of pollarded limes and naturalistic planting. Paths meander by streams and over small bridges, with dramatic downland views. Potager style kitchen garden and separate cutting garden. Open for the NGS on Sunday 19th August 2pm-6pm. Admission £5, children free.

14

Cury Cross Lanes, Helston, Cornwall, TR12 7BA Magnificent 20-acre colour garden on the Lizard Peninsula, with a sweeping hydrangea drive to the Georgian manor (not open). Herbaceous walled garden, potager, three lakes in a valley planted with ornamental grasses, perennials and South African flowers. Open for the NGS on Wednesday 15th August, 2pm-4.30pm. Admission: £8, children £2.

Contact Mr & Mrs Richard Nathan on 01326 240550 or email: sbonython@gmail.com www.bonythonmanor.co.uk

Country Gardener

PARISH’S HOUSE Hook Hill, Timsbury, Bath, Somerset BA2 0ND Eight-acre garden surrounding a Regency house (not open) with beautiful views across open countryside, lawns sweeping down to a ha-ha, colour themed herbaceous and shrub borders, elegant water feature, arboretum and acer glade, and new woodland walk. Walled kitchen garden with fan trained and cordoned fruit trees and cut flower beds. Open for the NGS on Sunday 12th August, 2pm-5pm. Admission £5, children free. Contact head gardener Jackie Hamblen on 07956 022016 or email: jackieparishhouse@gmail.com

EAST WOODLANDS FARMHOUSE

OPEN GARDEN IN AID OF ST MARGARET’S HOSPICE Milford Dip Allotment, Yeovil BA21 4QE This open, working allotment will let you explore allotment life, with fine rows of cabbages and cauliflowers and exemplary towers of runner beans, but also its spectacular, colourful displays of prize winning chrysanthemums and dahlias. Refreshments will be available, along with a raffle and tombola. Open for St Margaret’s Hospice on Friday 10th August, 12pm-4pm Admission: £2.50.

Alverdiscott, Newton Tracey, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 3PP Newly reopening this year for the NGS, a beautifully designed garden full of rooms packed with plants, shrubs and trees, spectacular bamboos, flowing grasses, roses and giant phormiums all set in an acre looking out over the North Devon countryside. Unfenced pond and bog garden. Plants for sale. Open for the NGS on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th August, 2pm-5pm. Admission £4, children free.

THE OLD RECTORY Church Road, Quenington, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 5BN On the banks of the mill race and the River Coln, this is an organic garden of great variety, with mature trees, large vegetable garden, herbaceous borders, shade garden, pool and bog gardens.

Open for the NGS on Sunday 12th August, 2pm-5.30pm; admission £5, children free. www.countrygardener.co.uk

SIDMOUTH AUGUST GARDENS Sidmouth, Devon EX10 9DX These contrasting gardens a mile apart are a slightly different group to the one that opened in June in Sidmouth, one with potager beds, espalier fruit archway, colour-themed flower beds, pond, rill, rockery, greenhouses, and studio, backing onto a nature reserve with walks; another with trees, shrubs, perennials, bulbs, woodland and Mexican pine; the third lies behind a red brick wall, with terraces, rockery, impressionist colour palette, and small woodland; the fourth is a cottage garden meeting minimalist design, with grasses, blocks of colour, and willow creatures. Open for the NGS on Saturday 25th, Sunday 26th and Bank Holiday Monday 27th August, 1.30pm-5.30pm. Admission: £5, children free.

15

THE BEST GARDENS T O V ISI T IN AUGUST

THE OLD RECTORY

CHAMPS HILL

Pulham, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 7EA

Waltham Park Road, Coldwaltham, Pulborough, Sussex RH20 1L

Splendid views from these four acres of formal and informal gardens surrounding an 18th century rectory with yew pyramid allées and hedges, circular herbaceous borders with late summer colour, box parterres, mature trees, pond, fernery, ha-ha, pleached hornbeam circle and ten acres of woodland walks. Flourishing extended bog garden with islands. Open for the NGS on Sunday 5th and Thursday 9th August, 2pm-5pm, admission £6, children free.

Developed around three disused sand quarries since 1960, now with woodlands including azaleas and rhododendrons, a collection of heathers in August, interesting sculptures and stupendous views. Open for the NGS on Sunday 12th August, 2pm-5pm. Admission £5, children free. Mr & Mrs David Bowerman on 01798 831205 or email: mary@thebct.org.uk

10 BROOKDALE CLOSE Broadstone, Dorset BH18 9AA The 70 foot by 50 foot garden is centred around a wildlife pond and tumbling waterfall. A rich kaleidoscope of colour combining both tropical and cottage garden with tree ferns, bananas, lilies, grasses, and beautiful perennials with a different view at every turn. Open for the NGS on Sundays 5th and 12th August, 2pm-5pm, admission £3, children free.

MARLBROOK GARDENS Braces Lane, Marlbrook, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 1DY Two contrasting, stunning gardens overflowing with plants for sun and shade, ponds, water features, patios, artifacts and sculptures. Round Hill Garden a traditional garden but with the exotic and unusual; Oak Tree House a plantswoman’s cottage garden with views over open fields. Art displays by garden owners. Open for the NGS on Sunday 12th August, 1.30pm5.30pm. Admission £5, children free. Contact Alan Nokes on 0121 445 5520 or email alan.nokes@ngs.org.uk 16

Country Gardener

Farmcote Herbs and Chilli Peppers CHILLI WEEKEND

GILLINGHAM & SHAFTESBURY

AGRICULTURALSHOW ‘The Show where town & country meet’

Wednesday 15th August 8.30am - 6.30pm

18th and 19th August 10.30am - 5pm BBQ, stalls, beer tent, tea tent, chilli plants and chilli products for sale. Admission £2.

Under 16’s free.

Farmcote, Near Winchcombe, GL54 5AU Open: 28th April - 27th September.

Monday 12.00-5.00. Friday, Saturday & Sundays (also bank holidays) 10.30-5.30.

Telephone: 01242 603860 E-Mail: janeeayrs@gmail.com Website: www.farmcoteherbs.co.uk

www.hartwellfencing.co.uk 01386 840373 The Timber Yard, Weston Subedge, Nr Chipping Campden, GL55 6QH

Attractions include: The Imps Motorcycle Display Team Over 500 trade stand including 14 tractor dealers Competitive classes for Dairy & Beef Cattle, Sheep, Poultry, Grain & Fodder. K.C. Dog Show Huge Horticulture, Home-Handicraft Marquee including Fruit & Veg, Flowers & Floral Decoration, Photography, Honey, Cookery, Handicraft, Wine & Cordial - With many classes especially for children Held at the Turnpike Showground SP7 9PL 2 miles north of Shaftesbury - Free Car Parks Tickets (pre-show prices in brackets) Adult £16 (£13 Child (5-16yrs) £4 (£3) Family ticket (2 adults + 3 Children) £39 (£31)

TIMBER MERCHANTS AND FENCING SPECIALISTS

Visit our well-stocked yard for timber, gates, fencing, decking, trellis, decking, pergolas and arches.

Open Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 8.30-12noon

Disabled facilities - Dogs on leads

CALL: 01747 823955 EMAIL: enquiries@gillshaftshow.co.uk WEB: www.gillshaftshow.co.uk

Rustic Trellis

FACEBOOK: GillandShaftshow

Say it with Wood

DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD...

• Natural • Beautiful • Sustainable

“Picked up a cop y of your September issue yesterday. I have to say that it was easily the best free magazine of its type I have ever read. Congrat ulat ions on such a great publicat ion.”

“I had the opportunity of reading it from cover to cover. It’s a real gem and I look forward to ever y issue. Thanks to all your team for their input and what must be one of the best magazines around.” info@sayitwithwood.co.uk 07958 345833

www.sayitwithwood.co.uk www.countrygardener.co.uk

17

GOING FOR SOME HEIGHT

Borders at this time of year need some height to fill up the late summer gaps which is why you always need to plan with tall perennials Borders take care of themselves in spring with plenty of plants at ground level: hellebores, primulas and small bulbs.

Then, as the season warms up, the mainstream leafy perennials get under way, with peonies, sedums, phlox, day lilies, Solomon’s seal to name a few.

And it’s then that any gaps show up, looking all the more like holes if they are at the back of a border.

This is when you need the tall perennials to rescue your border if you are to maintain order and beauty Herbaceous perennials –plants that die back to the ground in cold winter weather but resume growing in spring – offer gardeners a mind-boggling selection of plant size, flower colour and form, and season of bloom.

Height remains however the most important factor from May onwards.

In recent years, as ideas about gardening have changed, many gardeners have opted to take their cue from nature, interpreting in the garden the layering tendencies of plants in the wild. (If you’ve ever looked at the area where woods border a field, you’ve seen these layers – tree canopy, understory trees, shrubs, herbaceous plants, and groundcovers.) It is all about gradients Mixed borders give a nod to this concept, allowing woody plants to add structure, height, texture and year-long interest to the garden.

Here’s some tall plants which can rescue your border:

New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax) Phormiums really have a place in any planting scheme – few plants match their broad, strap-like leaves that come in a range of colours and stripes.

There’s a staggering selection available, from compact ‘Bronze Baby’ to the lofty P. tenax itself, standing at well over three metres at maturity.

Yarrow Achillea millefoliu A butterfly favourite, yarrow is a robust summer bloomer with pretty, flat-topped flowers that bloom for six to eight 18

weeks. The ferny foliage emerges in early spring and is followed by four-foot tall flower stems in summer. Yarrow is one of the longest flowering perennials that grows best in full sun with well-drained soil of average fertility; overfertilizing can cause the stems to flop over. Flower colours can range from soft pastels to rich jewel shades.

Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) For a wonderfully tall plant, Russian sage has rather small blossoms. But what they lack in size, they make up for in numbers. This long-blooming perennial is showy–but in the most tasteful way possible and delivers airy spires of lavender-blue colour on highly-textured silver-grey foliage to the landscape

New England aster (Aster novae-angliae) The tiny flowers on large stems make a real back-of-theborder impact. Despite their height, the strong stems only need staking in exposed positions and good news – they’re much more resistant to powdery mildew than their Michaelmas daisy cousins. Their only weakness is that their stems become bare as they age, which you can hide with lower plantings of other perennials.

Clary sage (Salvia sclarea var turkestanica) Many gardeners have increasingly got a bit of a thing for silver-leaved plants, and had listed Verbascum bombyciferum, Cynara cardunculus, Melianthus major, Onopordum acanthium and Silybum marianum (green with amazing silver veining) as favourites. But they’re pretty well known, whereas this biennial salvia doesn’t get much of a mention. It is incredibly easy to grow from seed, which is great for those on a budget.

In general, the tallest plants should be towards the back (or the centre, if it’s an island bed), mid-size plants in the middle and the lowest perennials in front – but don’t be too rigid about this, or your border may look like stadium seating.

Some of those tall perennials also work well to attract butterflies and birds.

Country Gardener

Overall competition winner John Study

Melplash gardens winners

wow the judges

Prizes for the Melplash Agricultural Society’s Garden Competition will be presented at the show on Thursday 23rd August after judges were thrilled with the quality of the gardens

THURSDAY 23rd AUGUST WEST BAY, BRIDPORT DT6 4EG

the best of agriculture by the sea CHILDREN Go FREE!!

Discounted tickets available at

www.melplashshow.co.uk

The annual Melplash Agricultural Society’s Garden Competition, the most prestigious garden competition in the West Dorset area, saw 24 gardens and allotments entered this year, stretching from Lyme Regis to Hinton St George. The competition was judged over two days by last year’s overall winners large garden winners, Mr and Mrs Colin and Sue Dyer from Long Bredy and the small garden winner, Mrs Stephanie Harvey from Bridport, accompanied by the Melplash Agricultural Society President and his wife, Mr Richard and Ros King, the Chairman, Mrs Jo Sage and Vice Chairman, Mr James Vickery. The stewards were Mr Peter Yeates and Mr Clifford Pitcher.

“All the gardens and allotments were fantastic, a real credit to their owners. I am full of admiration for the work that has been done by them to get their gardens looking so good,” said Society President, Mr Richard King.

“It was a real privilege to see so many wonderful gardens this week. Walking through their homes, opening the back door to be wowed by what is there is a real treat. One thing that really struck me was everyone’s enthusiasm for their gardens and their plants, from the tiny courtyard gardens to the large open gardens.” said Society Chairman, Mrs Jo Sage Melplash Agricultural Society organiser, Peter Yeates added: “This year was another impressive garden competition – well done to everyone who entered and our grateful thanks to the judges who had the difficult task of selecting the winners, and also to our sponsors this year, Bridport’s garden netting and fruit cage manufacturer – W M James & Co. There were good entries in all the categories, and this year we are very pleased to be awarding the special prize to Bridport St Mary’s School Edible Garden Project.”

All the prizes will be presented at this year’s Melplash Show on Thursday 23rd August.

Large

Fruit & Vegetable Cages & Netting

JOINT 1ST Mrs M. Stones, Uploders JOINT 1ST Mrs J. Newton, Bothenhampton

Medium Small

3RD

Mr D. Lloyd, Ryall

1ST

Mr & Mrs Tarling, Bridport

2ND

Mrs C. Parham, Powerstock

3RD

Mr L. Loveridge, Lyme Regis

1ST

Mrs L. Ford, Bridport

2ND

Mrs J. Fry Nobbs, Mosterton

3RD

2ND

Mrs V. Bartlett, Bridport Mr John & Mrs Christine Studley, Hinton St George Mr D. Jolliff, Netherbury

3RD

Mr D. Wood, Abbotsbury

1ST

Allotments Buy Netting Online & Save 10%

Made in the UK

@wmjamesandco

Call: 0800 1032800 Buy online 24/7 at www.wmjames.co.uk

Overall Winner

Mr John & Mrs Christine Studley

Special Award

The George Payne Memorial Trophy - St Mary’s School Edible Garden, Bridport

The Melplash Agricultural Society’s annual garden and allotment competition is open to all residents within a 12 mile radius of Melplash Village Church. Gardens and allotments of any size can be entered. The only stipulation is that they must not employ a gardener for more than eight hours per week.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

19

ADVICE

Country Gardener

ADV ICE

Our popular garden advice column this issue deals with a number of questions from our postbag sent in by Country Gardener readers

We continually get deer jumping into our garden and doing a lot of damage. Are there any plants they won’t eat?

First, let’s talk about what deer like to eat best. Deer love narrow-leafed evergreens, especially arborvitae and fir, and show a particular preference for hostas, daylilies, and ivy and most damage occurs from October to February, when food is naturally scarce.

Deer seem to prefer plants that have been fertilised to Visiting deer in a garden can quickly cause chaos those that haven’t.

Not surprisingly, deer tend to stay away from poisonous plants. Daffodils, foxgloves, and poppies are common flowers that have a toxicity that deer avoid.

Deer also turn their noses up at fragrant plants with strong scents. Herbs such as sages, ornamental salvias, and lavender, as well as flowers like peonies and bearded irises, are just smelly to deer.

Again my standard roses are being hit by blackspot which seems to have started earlier than ever. Are there any roses that don’t get blackspot?

The not–so-good news is that it is doubtful whether there are any roses naturally blackspot free all the time. This is one of the vagaries we have to put up with when growing roses. As far as modern roses are concerned, they are generally bred to be show perfect, but not to be blackspot proof. Rose black spot is specific to roses and all types are susceptible.

Another bad year with blackspot The disease causes dark spots or irregular brown or black blotches on both leaf surfaces. Leaves then turn yellow and drop prematurely, resulting in weakened plants. The disease is worse in warm, wet weather.

It is true that some cultivars are partially resistant to black spot but in a bad year all varieties may succumb. Generally, many of the older cultivars and more yellow than red or pink cultivars are susceptible.

So choosing resistant varieties, such as ‘Bonita’, ‘Royal William’ or ‘New Dawn’, and growing a mixed planting should help. Rose varieties less than five years old should be relatively disease resistant.

Prevention of rose black spot is difficult and many strains of the fungi are resistant. However, regular raking around the plant with a hoe and pruning and burning of infected material will certainly help as will a regular, fortnightly spraying regime.

20

Country Gardener

I have an acer in the garden that has been quite happy until the last year or so. Does it need trimming or pruning? It seems to be sparse in places and spindly in others. It has not had many leaves this year.

Acers will respond very well to pruning. It is best to prune whilst the tree is dormant, so December to February would be an ideal time of year.

Make sure to prune back to a bud – this means cutting just above the bud. If you leave any excess wood above the bud, the dieback could become diseased.

Simply prune the acer tree to the shape that you want it to be. As always with pruning trees, take out any dead, damaged or diseased wood, and any branches that cross over or are growing in the wrong direction.

If you have a smaller Japanese acer, sometimes the branches can get congested towards the centre of the tree. If so, you may also want to open it up to allow light and air movement through the tree. To do this, cut back a few of the older branches right back to the main trunk.

Acers respond well to correct pruning

My father grew wonderful Red-hot pokers in his garden and but I have tried to grow them and I clearly didn’t have his knack with them. How can I grow them successfully?

Red-hot pokers are such excellent garden plants that it is hard to imagine they have ever been out of fashion. But they have only recently begun to emerge from the horticultural doldrums. Though extremely popular before World War II, kniphofias were one of the victims of the Dig for Victory campaign, which saw flower gardens removed to make way for useful vegetable plots. Many old varieties are thought to have been lost as a result.

Kniphofias need a sunny, south facing spot Kniphofia rooperi will thrive in a sunny spot, ideally south- or west-facing, and in well-draining, humus-rich garden soil. It won’t tolerate water-logging but will cope with drier soils, at the foot of a wall or near a hedge for example. An annual mulch around the base of the clump (but not over the crown) of well-rotted manure or garden compost will help to boost fertility and moisture retention.

Plants can be grown from seed germinated in a cold frame in spring and established plants can be divided in late spring. Or try cutting offsets away from the main clump with a sharp spade, then leaving them to grow on for a season or two before re-planting.

I HAVE ACCESS TO PLENTY OF SEAWEED AS WE LIVE JUST THREE MILES FROM THE DORSET COAST. HOW CAN I BEST USE IT IN MY GARDEN? Seaweed is magical stuff in the water, and it’s somehow even more so when out of it. It’s incredibly healthful to our soils and our plants. As seaweed breaks down into the soil, it encourages micro-organisms whose activities help convert unavailable nutrients into forms that plants can use. It increases chlorophyll production and contains many micronutrients important for soil and plant health, as well as acting as a growth stimulant: it is rich in plant growth hormones that work above and below ground, improving root growth. If you do have access to fresh seaweed, it is a useful substitute for farmyard manure, and does not need to be rotted down before use. It is best dug in fresh before it has had time to dry. Digging it in to one or two spades’ depth below the surface and use a barrow load per square metre if you have this much available.

If placed on your compost heap, fresh seaweed should be mixed in with woody or fibrous material (prunings or paper for example). It can become rather slimy and gelatinous on its own or when mixed only with kitchen waste or lawn clippings.

Will pruning my wisteria in mid-summer help its ability to flower?

Yes, almost certainly it will. Summer pruning wisteria in July or August encourages the development of shortflowering spurs that will carry the long racemes of bloom in spring. The long vigorous shoots are cut back to a couple of buds from the base of the current season’s growth. During initial training of young wisteria plants, select a few strong shoots to tie into wires or trellis. Once you have created these, you can prune any sideshoots back to this framework. Cut back the whippy green shoots of the current year’s growth to five or six leaves after flowering in July or August. This controls the size of the wisteria, preventing it getting into guttering and windows, and encourages it to form flower buds rather than green growth.

Pruning wisteria in August will boost its flowering

www.countrygardener.co.uk

21

SP EAKERS’ LIST 2018/19

Welcome to Country Gardener’s comprehensive annual guide to gardening speakers and lecturers

Our popular and much in-demand service of garden speakers has this year again been expanded, updated and revised. It also includes a number of new speakers.

It provides new options, new ideas and possibilities as you plan your meetings.

We have full details of each speaker including a synopsis of their areas of expertise and the subject matter of their talks and lectures.

Illustration: holly@hellopaperclip.co.uk 22

If you come across speakers who have not been listed in this guide please let them know about it so we can include them in a later edition or update our information online.

We hope this Country Gardener specialist service helps you to find the right speaker on the right subject for your garden club or society perhaps offering someone different for your meetings over the next 12 months.

In our guide you can find how far the speaker is prepared to travel; what he or she will charge; what subjects they specialise in and if they have plants for sale at the end of the meeting.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

Country Gardener

£A Price band £0-50

£D Price band variable

£B Price band £51-100

£E

£C Price band £100+ £B

Price band expenses only Slide presentations included

APPLEGATE, SUE

£B

Langport B

www

q 01458 250666 E susannah.applegate@btinternet.com

D

1. Peonies and Irises As a commercial grower of Peonies and Irises, my talks include practical advice about propagation and husbandry of Peonies and Irises to optimise the flowering potential of these lovely plants. Talks include a slide presentation of flower types and cultural operations lasting about 45 minutes, followed by a practical “Hands-On” demonstration of how best to plant and care for Peonies and Irises to achieve years of rewarding flowers from a single plant.

2. Plant to Plate From Plant to Plate is an illustrated talk of the work within the UK Fresh Produce Industry to supply Farm Assured food to Farmers Markets and Supermarkets. Challenges of the future such as Food Security to provide for a huge increase in World Population Growth, Climate Change and Efficient Management of Water are also identified. A selection of Seasonal, UK grown produce may be available for sale following the talk.

Sue of Hurst Brook Plants has been growing Peonies and Irises since the 20th century and delivers an informative and entertaining talk with testimonials available from gardening and horticultural societies

A

Website

B

Radius covered up to 50 miles

Plants or items for sale

C

Radius covered up to 100 miles

Radius covered 0-25 miles

D

Radius covered 100+ miles

CARL WOODMANS WORLD 1 BroomHill Cottage, Broom Hill, Huntley GL19 3HA

www

q 01452 830 258 E woodmansworld@live.co.uk

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1. Trugmaking by a miserable old trugger - I think that’s what the wife called me

2. Besoms and Gypsy Flowers 3. Bees and their products

£B

D

£C

CHEEK, ROY 35 Wembdon Rise, Bridgwater, Somerset TA6 7PN

1. New tricks for old gardeners 2. First time at Chelsea - and winning Gold!

3. Winning BBC Gardener of the Decade 4. Plants That Should be Better Known £A

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in with just five new plants.

3. Insectivorous plants - Discover new hardy year round attractive ones for the garden or the windowsill.

DODD, SUE & SMITH, SUE Treetops, 11 Stony Riding, Chalford Hill, Stroud, Glos, GL6 8ED q 01453 882127 E sue-smith@11treetops.co.uk

1. Chelsea Flower Show - Creating 20

2. Irresistible garden plants for butterflies - e.g. Bringing them winging

2 Pound Cottages, Donyatt, Ilminster, Somerset TA19 0RT q 07594 574150 / 01460 53284 E crouchee@aol.com Ħ www.katherinecrouch.com

q 01278 451814 / 07788593674 E rvcheek@btinternet.com very different exhibits from bronze to gold.

CROUCH, KATHERINE

1. Wildflowers of the Cotswolds Remedies, myths and legends 2. Gardening for butterflies and moths 3. The fascinating story of Britain’s wild orchids

4. Plan your garden holiday..? £C

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Lavender Fields, Hartley Park Farm, Selborne Road, Alton, Hampshire GU34 3HP q 01420 511146 E info@thelavenderfields.co.uk

1. Lavender Story Experiences of growing and selling lavender, our products, plants, visits and open days.

£B

www

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- Choose from 50 destinations from Cornwall to Costa Rica.

BUTLER, NICK

CANDLIN, BEN 15 Long Park, Woodbury, Exeter EX5 1JB q 07763 348148 E ben@adventurousplants.co.uk Ħ www.adventurousplants.co.uk

1. The fascinating world of Aroids 2. UK Subtropical Gardening 3. Plants of the Canary Isles Please visit website for more titles and info.

5. Holly & Ivy - Entertaining Winter Talk.

Many other talks, ask for details. Widely experienced and qualified, Roy progressed from Gardener to Director of parks and gardens around Britain. As senior lecturer and curator of gardens in Somerset he amassed ten thousand different plants, ten national collections and created new hybrids, diverse gardens and gold medal exhibits at Chelsea. Now Chairman of an RHS trials forum, international tour leader, judge, advisor, designer and writer.

£D

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COX, MYRA q 01278 784110 / 07896 351693 E coxmyra20032000@yahoo.co.uk

1. Transforming a bunch of flowers while explaining the work and my life as a Cinnamon Trust Volunteer 2. Reminiscing with Flowers and/or Vintage Memorabilia 3. Christmas Cracker fun with Flowers

www.countrygardener.co.uk

£C

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DOWN, FELICITY Former owner of Cleeve Nursery q 07739 977431 E downfelicity51@gmail.com

Talks include: 1. All year round colour in the garden 2. Winter Colour 3. Plants for the Flower Arranger 4. Gardening in Containers

The Speakers List is our comprehensive annual guide to gardening and gardening speakers and lecturers.

If you would like to be part of our hugely popular Speakers List next year contact Ava Bench on 01278 671037 or email ava@countrygardener.co.uk 23

SP EAKERS’ LIST 2018/19 £B

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EDMONDSON, ALAN 30 Belmore Lane, Lymington, Hants SO41 3NJ q 01590 610292 E alan@bowercotgardendesign.co.uk

1. Primulas & Auriculas 2. Gardening with native plants 3. The shady garden Other talks available.

£D

FISHER, SUE Yelverton, Devon, PL20 7BY

www

D

q 01822 841895 / 0781 775 7446 E suefisher@talktalk.net Ħ www.suefishergardens.co.uk

Sue offers a range of talks in Powerpoint form, fully illustrated with her own photographs. Topics include container gardening, wildlife, growing edibles, small gardens and climate change: please see website for more details or contact for further information. Practical demonstrations also available which are ideal for events such as garden shows.

£C

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FITZGERALD, ROSEMARY Beggars Roost, Lilstock, Bridgwater, Somerset TA5 1SU q 01278 741519 E ro@lilstock.eclipse.co.uk

Talks on how wild and garden plants interact. Lovely slides from UK, Ireland, and countries including Morocco, Iceland, Sweden and south-west China. Contact me to discuss ideas!

£B

www

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FLINTHAM, BECCA 39 Regents Park, Exeter, Devon, EX1 2NY q 07717 846814 / 01392 437792 E becca.redkite@gmail.com Ħ www.rowanleaf.co.uk

1. Wildlife Gardening - Attracting beneficial wildlife to your garden

2. Water, Water Everywhere - Ponds, bog gardens and water-wise gardening

3. Food For Free - A guide to foraging for wild foods

24

£C

www

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GARRATT, JONATHAN FRSA Jolliffe’s Cottage, Stour Row, Shaftesbury, SP7 0QW

q 01747 858697 E jonathangarratt82@gmail.com Ħ www.studiopottery.co.uk

1. “Back to Nature? Some of us never left.” (My own story, current work) 2. Breaking the Rules. Container gardening with a twist.

3. Sensory gardens.

4. A history of the flowerpot.

5. Landscapes.

6. Sculpture in gardens and green spaces.

£D

HINCHLIFFE, ANN

www

11 Quarry Cottages, Yeovil, Somerset BA22 9UR

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q 01935 472771 E thedancingmaster@outlook.com

1. Six centuries of English dance: from Geoffrey Chaucer to Jane Austen. Can cover whole period or

focus on one historical era; always illustrated with literary references, live music and some audience participation.

2. Why Music in Prison

£B www

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Jonathan has 35 years experience of making woodfired terracotta pots and has come to know a wide variety of “players” in the gardening scene.

HINSLEY, MARK ARBORICULTURAL CONSULTANT Office F11, 10 Whittle Road, Ferndown, Dorset, BH21 7RU q 01202 876177 E enquiries@treeadvice.info Ħ www.treeadvice.info

1. The Churchyard Yew 2. Trees in your Garden 3. Trees and the Law Please contact us to discuss requirements.

£B

HAIG, GAVIN FRCS The Castle Lodge, Castle Street, Bampton, Devon, EX16 9NS

£C

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HOFFNUNG, MARGIE Netherfields, Frog Lane, North Nibley, Glos GL11 6DJ

q 01398 332419 E gavinhaig@googlemail.com

q 07876 196074 E margiehoffnung@gmail.com

1. Creating a Wildlife Garden 2. The Healing Garden 3. Celebration of Devon/Somerset Wildlife 4. Trials and tribulations of being a Surgeon

1. Rosemary Verey 1918-2001 - Her

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Practised as Surgeon and Doctor with a passion for attracting wildlife to our gardens.

Developed award-winning Wildlife Garden at Tiverton Hospital. £A

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HAZELL, GILL 17 Valley View, Clutton Bristol BS39 5SN q 01761 452036 E clutton.glads@btinternet.com

1. Growing and Showing Sweet Peas 2. Classic, Rare and Unusual Bulbs 3. So you think you know Gladiolus!

Other talks in relation to the above can be tailored to suit your society.

Country Gardener

Contribution & Legacy to C20 gardening

2. Garden Visiting - a very British Tradition - A lighthearted look at the many different aspects of why we visit gardens

3. Blaise Castle - A Stranger at Blaise – the development of the park & landscape with particular reference to Humphry Repton

The Speakers List is our comprehensive annual guide to gardening and gardening speakers and lecturers.

If you would like to be part of our hugely popular Speakers List next year contact Ava Bench on 01278 671037 or email ava@countrygardener.co.uk

£A Price band £0-50

£D Price band variable

£B Price band £51-100

£E

£C Price band £100+ £B

Price band expenses only Slide presentations included

HUTCHISON, ADRIAN 2 Westwell Lane, Theale, Wedmore, Somerset, BS28 4SW

D

www

q 01934 712729 or 07779 072292 E adrian@nzzone.net

1. Weeds and their Control (including identification) 2. Wild Flowers in the Dolomites 3. Plants for Shade (in conjunction with Long Acre Plants) 4. Plant poisons and potions 5. Wild flowers in a land of fallen Giants

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Radius covered up to 50 miles

Plants or items for sale

C

Radius covered up to 100 miles

Radius covered 0-25 miles

D

Radius covered 100+ miles

£B

LOGUE, VICTORIA

£B

PHILIPPS, LOIS

www

Whitehall Farmhouse, Sevenhampton, Cheltenham, Glos, GL54 5TL

C

Meadow Cottage, 42 Rivar Road, Shalbourne, Marlborough, Wiltshire SN8 3RL

C

q 01242 820772 / 07711 021034 E victoria@wfplants.co.uk Ħ www.wfplants.co.uk

1. Practical Propagation

- Seeds, Cuttings and Beyond

2. Getting the Most from your Garden - Extending the Flowering Season

without replacing all your plants My talks are based on practical experience and observation. I am also a beekeeper. £B

6. Pests and diseases A qualified Horticulturalist formerly involved in weed research and has led walks in the Dolomites.

Please telephone or e-mail for details.

A

Website

B

www

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Langdale, Church Street, Offenham, Evesham, Worcs. WR11 8RW q 01386 424880 / 07535 537137 E ajames@waitrose.com Ħ www.adrianjames.org.uk

PICTON, HELEN

www

Old Court Nurseries & The Picton Garden, Walwyn Road, Colwall WR13 6QE

6. Seasonal Colours Please contact me for more information on travel charges and a full listing of my talks which are all based on personal experience and travel. A former lecturer, I have developed a strong interest in the relationship between gardens and people.

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q 01823 674386 E helen@elderfarm.co.uk Ħ www.elderfarm.co.uk

1. Hedgerow Medicine - Learn how to 2.

3.

recognise common plants and make useful medicines.

Kitchen remedies - Find out the amazing properties of some of the herbs and spices in your kitchen.

Medicinal Herb Farmer - Learn about my off grid 5 acre small holding and my work as a Medical Herbalist.

Covers Devon and Somerset.

1. Daisy Days - Michaelmas daisies the rise, fall and renaissance

2. A Plantaholic’s Wonderland 3. It’s not time for bed yet -

Rethinking autumn in the English Garden

£D

REED, MERVYN Thornbury, South Gloucestershire

B

q 07429629588 E mervyn.reed@talktalk.net

1. Photographic Presentations with Horticulture in mind 2. I can be your Plant Doctor Contact me by e mail for details of talks.

Don’t be selective, love all seasons for each has its own beauty.

Please see website or contact me for a complete list of garden talks. Travel radius over 50 miles is by special arrangement.

www

q 01684 540416 E oldcourtnurseries@btinternet.com

3. Question Time

2. Three West Country Gardens 3. Through The Garden Gate

Elder Farm, Greenham, Wellington, Somerset, TA21 0JY

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q 077 66 197 129 E nmignotte@aol.com

– Gardens of Paradise. The history, design & symbolism of Persian style gardens.

KEARNEY, HELEN

and what are the benefits?

3. The Art and Science of Compost making - The gardener’s friend!

1 Stanley Cottages, Blaisdon Longhope, Gloucestershire GL17 0AL

1. Heavenly Beauty, Earthly Delight

£B

and love your soil – from testing to feeding!

2. Green Manures, Catch Crops and Cover Crops - What’s the difference

£B

Gardens of Versailles Islamic Gardens Medieval Gardens Landscapes of Vietnam and Cambodia 5. How to attract wildlife in your garden

JAMES, ADRIAN

1. Down to Earth - Learning to look after

MIGNOTTE, NATHALIE

1.

2.

3.

4.

£D

q 07740 636455 / 01672 871265 E l.philipps@btinternet.com

£B

B

PAKENHAM, CAROLINE The Old Manor, Rudge, FROME, Somerset BA11 2QG q 01373 830312 E carriepakenham@gmail.com

1. The cultivation and uses of unusual herbs

£A

www

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RENDELL, PAUL The Coach House, Tramlines, Okehampton, Devon EX20 1EH q 01837 54727 E paul.dartmoor@virgin.net Ħ www.paulrendelldartmoor.co.uk

2. Getting ready for winter

1. Devon’s Water Wildlife 2. Wild Plants Of Devon

Money from the talks is donated to the Wessex Therapy Center for Multiple Sclerosis. I always bring a large variety of herbs for sale and demonstration plus my book Making Jellied Preserves and the jellies.

The speaker can offer over 40 talks about history, wildlife and landscapes of Devon and Cornwall. All talks are illustrated and last about one hour.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

3. The Secret Wildlife On Dartmoor

25

SP EAKERS’ LIST 2018/19 £B

RICKITT, RICHARD

£B

Corsham, Wiltshire www

C

q 01249 715122 E beesknees1972@gmail.com Ħ www.bathbees.co.uk

1. The Wonder of Bees 2. Gardening for Bees 3. An Introduction to Beekeeping Fascinating and entertaining talks about bees and beekeeping aimed at gardeners.

Find out how to help wild bees and other pollinators and even keep your own hives.

£B

www

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SHELDRICK, CAROLINE Middle Path, Keble Road, France Lynch, Stroud GL6 8LN

www

B

38 Wenhill Heights, Calne, Wilts, SN11 0JZ q 01249 821087 E christina.stapley@tiscali.co.uk Ħ www.heartsease-herb-books.com

1. Herbs in the Kitchen Garden 2. Herbs to Aid the Gardener 3. Wild Plants of the Scilly Isles

£C

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STEPHENS, HARVEY Windsor Great Park q 07824362135 E Prof_Gardener@outlook.com t @prof_gardener

q 01453 884092 E cjsheldrick@gmail.com Ħ www.carolinesheldrickmedicalherbalist.co.uk

1. The Physick Garden 2. Flowers in Healing 3. Medicinal Garden Plants

STAPLEY, CHRISTINA

£D

TOWNSEND, PENELOPE

D

White Fan Talks, ‘Starshine’, 15 Half Moon Court, Buckfastleigh, Devon TQ11 0GA q 01364 644028 / 07792517145

1. Strawberries & Other Garden Fruits - 18th Century to Present Day 2. Round The Year with Gilbert White - 18th Century Gardener &

Naturalist Both talks have powerpoint presentations.

Long journeys can only be undertaken in the summer months, from April till October.

£B

www

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UNDERHILL, TERRY MHORT Fairlight, Mill Cross, Rattery, South Brent, TQ10 9LA q 01364 72314 E terry@terry-underhill.co.uk Ħ www.terry-underhill.co.uk

1. The Gardens of Windsor Great Park: A personal presentation looking behind the scenes of the Savill Garden.

1. From the Mountains to the Garden 2. Mediterranean Plants in the Garden

2. The Great Gardens of Russia

Many other talks. Highly qualified, wide experience including TV, Radio and Magazines. See website for more titles.

3. Barking up the wrong tree

3. Autumn Colour

4. Plants worthy of Garden Merit £A

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SMITH, MICHAEL J H 2 The Weind, Worle, Weston-superMare, Somerset BS22 9BN q 01934 642960

1. Caring for your Houseplants 2. Seed raising and Propagation 3. All year round colour in the garden I have been giving talks to Garden Clubs and Societies for over 40 years on many aspects of Horticulture. Please contact me for a full list of talks and presentations.

£A

SQUIRES, MIKE & EDNA

5. The Wonders of Chile’s National Parks

£B

Harvey is an award winning garden manager with a wealth of International experiences. He trained at Kew and is a Chairman and panel member of various RHS plant trials. He is currently Deputy Keeper of the gardens within Windsor Great Park and played his part in selecting and cutting material for two Royal Weddings. Informative, enthusiastic presentations accompanied by quality slides.

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£C

1 Feebers Cottage, Westwood, Broadclyst, Devon, EX5 3DQ C

q 01404 822118 E feebers@btinternet.com

1. Feebers Garden 2. Plant Heritage Others by request.

Mike & Edna are long time members of Plant Heritage and are widely travelled with long involvement in RHS Shows. The garden is open for groups.

TOLMAN, ANDREW Minehead, Somerset

www

D

q 01643 818092 E andrew@atpgardening.co.uk Ħ www.atpgardening.co.uk

1. Off the beaten track, hidden gems 2. Glorious gardens, a gardeners choice 3. Art of Topiary & Ornamental Hedges 4. Stumperies, ferns & shady friends

Can’t wait until next year?

USHER, DAVID 10 Rowbarton Close, Taunton, Somerset, TA2 7DQ q 01823 278037 E dave.usher@hotmail.com

1. Gertrude Jekyll - Her Plants & Designs.

2. The Restoration of Hestercombe Gardens 3. Bedding Plants for your Gardens 4. Care and management of trees & shrubs 5. The history of our gardens 6. The answer lies in the soil 7. Herbaceous Plants David, a professional gardener for over 30 years was Head Gardener at Hestercombe for 18 years. He is interested in all aspects of ornamental gardening and has given talks to a wide variety of groups. Contact him for a free brochure on any of his talks.

Why not advertise your speaker services in our Classifieds section?

Call Ava Bench on 01278 671037 or email ava@countrygardener.co.uk 26

Country Gardener

£A Price band £0-50

£C Price band £100+

£B Price band £51-100

£D Price band variable

£A

www

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WESTONBIRT, THE NATIONAL ARBORETUM Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8QS q 0300 067 4873 E lyndsay.ball@forestryengland.uk Ħ www.forestry.gov.uk/westonbirt-groups

Bring Westonbirt to you with ‘The Wonders of Westonbirt’ talk, covering the seasons, events and future direction at the beautiful National Arboretum, presented by knowledgeable volunteer speakers.

£E

Price band expenses only Slide presentations included £A

www

Website

A

Radius covered 0-25 miles

C

Radius covered up to 100 miles

Plants or items for sale

B

Radius covered up to 50 miles

D

Radius covered 100+ miles

WILSON, JEREMY 17 Seymour Drive, Torquay, Devon, TQ2 8PY

C

q 07964 824673 E info@garden-together.co.uk

£B

C

WRAY, NICK Curator, University of Bristol Botanic Garden q 01179 629220 E n.wray@blueyonder.co.uk

Fully illustrated lectures by well known speaker including:

1. Camellias 2. The Scented Garden Ex Head Gardener of private estates and now specialist camellia grower of over 250 varieties

1. The development of the new University of Bristol Botanic Garden 2. Flora of the Western Cape of South Africa 3. Evolution of Flowers

£B www

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WILLIAMS, CATHERINE The Haven, Hart Lane, Ruardean, Gloucestershire, GL17 9UT q 01594 541118 / 07767 690009 E mail2@thegardenlady.me.uk Ħ www.thegardenlady.me.uk

1. Planting and Plant Care 2. How to love your garden 3. Design and Create a Garden to be Proud Of Many other talks available, please ask for more details.

£B

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WYNNE-JONES, DAVINA Herbs for Healing, Barnsley Herb Garden, Near Cirencester, Glos GL7 5EE q 07773 687493 E davina@herbsforhealing.net

1. Herbs for Healing - practical uses of plants for good health 2. Herb Gardens, historic and modern.

3. The influence of my mother, Rosemary Verey, on me and others.

4. Garden plants and their pollinators 5. The gardens and landscapes of Sicily 6. Darwin the botanist and his travels aboard the Beagle

Old Court Nurseries & The Picton Garden The Michaelmas Daisy Specialists since 1906 112 years of knowledge, passion and plants

Get inspired for late summer in the Picton Garden Come along and enjoy exploring this 1.5 acre Plantsmans garden known for it's autumn herbaceous displays.

Now is the perfect time to get that inspiration to extend the season in your own patch, and the ideal plants might be waiting for you in our specialist nursery.

OPENING TIMES: 1st - 31st August Wednesday to Sunday 11am - 5pm (including bank holiday Monday) 1st September - 20th October Daily 11am-5pm

Tel: 01684 540416 www.autumnasters.co.uk Old Court Nurseries, Walwyn Road, Colwall WR13 6QE www.countrygardener.co.uk

27

Twilight

The

Garden

By Elizabeth McCorquodale

Scented honeysuckles and lilacs, solar lighting tucked into borders can transform your garden into a mid summer place of tranquillity and peace

A dedicated white border - wonderful as the light fades

Hesperis matronalis

Whites and pale pinks - perfect twilight colours

28

Most of us still work through the week, so for much of our lives we miss the beauty of our gardens. The plants and features that grab our attention in daylight melt into the background as the light fades and we are left with the knowledge that it looks nice but we don’t have time to enjoy it.

Tucking just a few extra features into the daytime garden can transform it into a twilight garden – a place that fulfils our love of gardens and gardening and offers us the therapy that comes from green spaces.

Planting is at the very heart of the twilight garden and it is where so many plants and flowers really come into their own. It is in the twilight garden that the whites, the pale yellows and pinks and the silvery foliage all come into the spotlight and are transformed into the stars of the show.

Evening primroses, especially the paler varieties, are a perfect choice as they offer large scented blooms in a choice of heights that suit any planting scheme while the highly scented white and pale lilac flowers of Hesperis matronalis offer the potential of a swathe of trouble-free flowers to fill gaps in planting schemes. Annuals such as Nicotiana sylvestris, with its tall highly scented trumpet flowers, impatiens and New Guinea impatiens, the paler shades of night-scented stocks, and the big blousy blooms of vivid yellow or white tuberous begonias or white and pale pink cosmos all fulfil their promise just weeks after planting.

Scented, white climbers such as Halliana honeysuckles, Tracheospermum, wisterias and many climbing and rambling roses are perfect for clothing the frame of a pergola while white flowered shrubs such as lilacs, mock orange and a numerous rose cultivars offer not just brightness in the darkening garden but a heady fragrance as well. Apart from selecting for bright, light colours, the only caution for choosing flowers for a night garden is to ensure that the flowers stay open as the night draws in.

Lighting is another must in a night garden if you are going to enjoy all that is on offer to you. Individual lights arranged strategically at different heights throughout your garden allow you to make the most of all of your twilight garden.

Lights tucked into the borders and at the side of paths add atmosphere and allow you to wander around and appreciate your garden in the fading light. There are many inexpensive solar-powered lights available now which are powerful enough to cast gentle light around your garden and don’t require fiddling around with long leads and waterproof sockets.

Waterproof fairy or Christmas lights cast gentle light that allow you Country Gardener

to enjoy the feeling of being a part of your night garden, while very bright lights around your seating area will throw any unlit areas into deep darkness and can separate you from the rest of the garden. If fluttering moths aren’t your thing site your lamps and lighting above head height so you can enjoy your night time visitors without worrying about them bumbling into you as they search out the treats in your garden. Pay special attention to lighting any areas with steps or uneven paving to avoid trip hazards as the light fades.

While the night garden can be a very peaceful place it is busy behind the scenes. Birds, insects, mammals and amphibians make use of the cover of darkness to forage and hunt and our gardens can come alive with a surprisingly number of creatures. If it appeals, you could arrange your seating area and your lighting with the dedicated intention of attracting and watching all sorts of garden visitors from foxes and badgers to bats and hedgehogs. Occasional feeding of foxes and badgers and regular feeding of hedgehogs with suitable food (wet or dry dog or cat food and a bowl of water is a good choice for all these animals) will encourage them to return.

Garden ponds can be an unexpected pleasure in the twilight garden as they are a magnet for all sorts of wildlife. Foraging bats may come to swoop and dive over the surface of the pond, catching the insects who swarm over the water in the evening, and frogs and toads, most active at night, will be both vocal and visible as they hunt for insects and molluscs in the undergrowth. A discrete light set in, beside or over the pond will attract even more insect life and at the same time will allow you to see to spot your wild visitors.

In some summers it seems there is rarely a dry evening and we find ourselves once again contemplating the prospect of long winter months to come and thinking that we have barely spent any time in the garden all summer. Providing a comfortable, sheltered place to eat or enjoy a glass of wine while we wind down at the end of the day means that even

in less-than-perfect weather we can still leave our everyday responsibilities back in the house and enjoy the peace and tranquillity of the garden, with its comforting feeling of time-away-from-it-all.

When the weather is glorious and the evenings are warm and balmy, it is easy to forget just how chilly it gets when you are sitting still after the sun goes down.

A pergola can make a warm and cosy shelter, especially if the prevailing wind is blocked by dense planting or a barrier. One particularly effective way to convert a pergola for evening use is to fashion a sort of roller blind from batons and heavygauge polythene sheeting and attach it to the pergola on the side of the prevailing wind. During the day the blind can be rolled up and tied up out of the way, but on cooler evenings it can be let down to shield you from drafts.

Blankets kept for garden use are a simple answer to cooler evenings; without them you could be chased indoors too early by the chill that creeps in when the sun goes down.

A chimenea or a raised fire pit are good options for warming the area on cooler evenings, especially if you intend to be outside for long enjoying the scents and sounds of the wakening night.

Comfortable seating is a must for pleasurable loitering.

Ditch the fashionable bistro set or upright bench and invest in seating that begs you to stay awhile. If space is limited a comfortable, covered swing seat can fulfill the role of both seat and shelter, especially if it is positioned to take in your most beautiful night-time view.

Although you might not have much spare time for gardening, leave yourself some pleasing chores to help you relax into your space.

Picking a few flowers to take the night scents indoors or tying up stray tendrils from the climbers covering your evening shelter can enhance the pleasure you get from your garden.

Daisies at dusk

Lighting up the patio

A twilight guest in the garden

Some blues stand out in the dark

www.countrygardener.co.uk

29

READER’S STORY

Onwards and

UPWARDS

Anne and Malcolm Hurley refused to give up on growing vegetables when they moved into a home which only had an extended patio - so they discovered vertical gardening Five years ago I left a lovely Hampshire garden of about an acre on lovely fertile soil where we loved growing vegetables of all sorts. I’ve never been a flower or shrub gardener and I’ve never been able to really sort out a successful border but growing vegetables was something I loved.

A hobby became a passion and our family and neighbours all profited from our successes in growing broad beans, dwarf beans, courgettes, pumpkins and lots more.

But the house was getting too big for just the two of us and the garden started to become a real chore and we realised it was too much for us to handle.

Then just as if someone was trying to tell me something I slipped one one frosty November morning on a pavement, twisted my ankle and to be honest lost a lot of enthusiasm for heavy gardening as my ankle never seemed to be the same again. That’s what happens as you get older- you think it’s just a temporary setback but the injury never seemed to clear up.

However to move on with the story, we moved to Somerset to a much smaller house which we loved the moment we saw it, but when it came to outdoor space there was little more than an extended patio. So this is where my gardening story really starts because we discovered the delights of vertical gardening – of making use of smaller spaces and keeping our passion for growing fruit and vegetable alive.

My motivation was simple. I wanted to keep gardening. I wanted us to have fresh vegetables but we didn’t have any space and my days of digging beds are well and truly over.

Our patio was rather ugly but thankfully it is south facing and stays warm and it lent itself to growing plants onwards and upwards.

We read a lot before starting but for gardeners used to growing vegetables it hasn’t been difficult. We found a great place to begin was with the vegetables and fruits that naturally climb or can be made to do so with gentle encouragement. So we started with likes of climbing beans, 30

Vertical gardening - making the most of confined spaces

climbing peas, vine tomatoes and the cucurbits: cucumbers, melons, squashes, pumpkins, gourds and sprawling types of courgette.

Many climbers produce tendrils that grip the structure they are climbing to and literally pull the plant up as it grows.

Others, such as the beans, will wind their way around a support to head skywards. The natural sprawlers such as vine tomatoes and courgettes require tying in to their supports at regular intervals.

We built timber supports and a wire mesh for the wall for squashes and runner beans. On to this framework we attached wired and shiny silver containers that started life as large tomato tins. They proved to be perfect for growing herbs and compact bush tomatoes. We found that almost anything can be used as a container and we attached plastic pots and even a few terracotta pots to the structure – and we started planting.

We’ve found growing vegetables upright not only saves space, but also makes harvesting easier. You don’t have to stoop to cut fruit from the vines. Fruit is kept away from the ground, and allows better air circulation, and I am sure we see fewer diseases than we did on our old vegetable plots.

Our vegetables now successfully hide that old ugly brick wall.

So our patio is thriving. We grow cucumber and tomatoes in large pots and have them trailing up a trellis. Our wall is full of containers fixed on to the wooden support and our pumpkins and squashes are trained tightly on to the trellis and then individual fruits have to be individually supported and I find strips of panty hose work wonderfully well!

We grow lots in containers, all arranged and trained upwards.

It is a delight and all without having to walk too far or the use of a spade. So please try it.

Lack of space just needs a bit of creative thinking. If you are a gardener you can make it work as we did.

Country Gardener

JOBS IN THE GARDEN

JOBS IN THE August garden

August can seem like ‘the end of the show’ in terms of the garden, but in many ways it’s just the beginning. Now is the time to think about bulbs for next year, as well as perennials you might want to order and plant in the autumn. While some flowers might be fading, grasses and seedheads are really coming into their own and, as the light changes and the shadows lengthen, the August garden should be able to deliver a really atmospheric experience.

Thirsty but essential work Water is the single most important ingredient in the growing season, but use it wisely. Water butts are an essential in all our gardens and it is always best to use these supplies first.

New plantings should always take priority, and remember to water deeply and with less regularity so that the roots of plants are drawn down into the soil rather than teased to the surface. Irrigate in the evening when evaporation is diminished and only water when you need.

The key to watering is the effective application of the right amount to the right plant at the right time. If you water, apply a good amount to the soil at the base of plants.

Spraying water into the air and on to foliage does no good at all. A watering can with a rose, or a hosepipe with a lance, directs water where it is needed.

Planning your bulb displays Getting ready for next spring might seem like early planning gone mad, but August is the perfect month to start making preparations for a beautiful floral display. Plant spring bedding, such as pansies, wallflowers and Sweet Williams.

There should be a good selection of plants at the garden centre. Water them well before planting and give them a good soak whenever the weather is dry to help them establish quickly. Choose firm, plump bulbs when you buy spring flowering bulbs and avoid any with signs of mould.

Plant them as soon as possible so they can start putting down roots. The cool, moist conditions of late autumn suit tulips best so wait until then before planting them.

Start planning for next spring

Established trees and shrubs can look after themselves.

Herbaceous plants will simply die back, and lawns will go brown, greening up again with autumn rains.

Fruit trees and bushes Use water wisely in the garden will benefit from extra watering as the fruit develops; otherwise just accept smaller, but richer, harvests.

Raspberries will suffer without water in dry spells.

Vegetables need adequate moisture, but even this varies.

Leafy crops such as lettuce should never go short, nor should seedlings and new transplants.

Water early morning, in the evening or in the dead of night when evaporation losses are least.

THERE’S STILL TIME TO DIRECT SOW There are still quite a few things you should be sowing in August, such as Spring cabbage and Chinese cabbage, There’s still time to plant late crops which is a late crop, as well as hardy lettuce.

Although we think of lettuce as a summer crop, it is a surprisingly hardy plant and under cloche and in the greenhouse can easily be available for a Boxing Day salad rather than some tasteless import from sunnier climes.

Sow spring onions like ‘White Lisbon’ winter hardy which will grow, albeit slowly, to add zing to that salad along with some fast growing radishes.

Late spinach can be sown in August along with a last sowing of kohlrabi and turnips.

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31

Off wit h their heads

Deadhead regularly to prolong flowering throughout the month. This is best done on a daily basis so that it never becomes a chore, watering with one hand, deadheading with the other. Deadhead recurrent blooming roses to keep them going until autumn, but leave the rugosa roses now to develop hips.

Keep patios as colourful as long as

CUT BACK STRAWBERRIES

possible

If you don’t want to create new strawberry plants using runners, it’s a good idea to cut back plants after they finish fruiting or they’ll spread very quickly. Remove any straw mulch and take out any weeds. New strawberry leaves will soon appear, so don’t worry if your plants look a bit bare after you prune them. Make sure you put away any netting in the shed as it’s a potential hazard to cats and birds, which can easily get tangled up in it.

Keep the patio going with colour Enjoy the August summer display right to the end by keeping your containers in shape.

Deadhead the plants regularly to encourage more blooms. If the weather is dry, give them a good soak and finally, give them an extra boost by feeding weekly with liquid fertiliser.

Divide those perennials It’s nearing the time when you need to start dividing perennials certainly towards the end of the month is a good time to divide clumps of perennials such as hemerocallis. Lift the clump and then divide it into pieces, either by prising it apart with two forks or cutting it up with a spade or bread knife. Each piece needs some leaves and roots. Older pieces from the centre of the clump should be thrown away, but newer pieces can be replanted or shared with friends. Some perennials, such as sedums, will benefit from being divided every few years to keep the clump growing vigorously.

P lus..

Give fruit cordons, espaliers and fans a summer pruning in late August to restrict size and vigour and encourage fruiting rather than leaf growth.

• Plant autumn crocus corms now, at three or four times their own depth in drifts at the front of the border, between small perennials, or in rock gardens, troughs or pots.

32

Lengthening your strawberry season

• The hardy lavenders (varieties of L.angustifolia) should be pruned every year to keep them compact. Once established plants have finished flowering remove flower stalks and about 1in (2.5cm) of the current year’s growth.

• Powdery mildew can affect grape foliage throughout the season, but more serious is damage to fruit. Spray with organic treatment.

• If you have been feeding your raspberries but they still show leaf yellowing, consider magnesium deficiency. This causes yellowing between the leaf veins. Treat with Epsom Salts as a foliar feed.

Country Gardener

The global

warming

SURVIVOR Aubrietas are destined to grow in popularity, as the drought loving colourful plant which attracts bees can survive any threats from hotter, drier summers While global warming threatens many garden plants there is one which seems destined to flourish as temperatures rise.

Aubrieta has been a very popular garden plant for hundreds of years and with global warming in mind, it is likely to be popular for the foreseeable future as well.

Traditionally pigeon-holed into the rock garden department, aubrieta can also be grown in other garden sites providing the conditions are correct. These low growing, spreading evergreens thrive in poor to moderately nutritious, welldrained soils and very sunny sites. Once established, they are very drought tolerant, the small evergreen, grey-green, hairy leaves helping to contribute to this attribute, minimising water loss from the surface of the leaves.

There are 12 different species of aubrieta. Most of the many different cultivars available are derived from Aubrieta x cultorum. The different species are found in the wild growing in mountainous regions throughout Europe and into Asia.

Strangely, aubrieta is commonly known as aubretia, why the ‘i’ was moved from one position to another is a mystery.

Named after Claude Aubriet, a French botanical painter they are commonly known as Aubretia.

Aubrieta usually grow to a maximum height of about 15cm.

When grown in ideal conditions, the maximum spread is unpredictable but is usually between 40cm and 60cm.

If you have to garden on very shallow soils, for example chalk, aubrieta is invaluable for adding colour to the spring garden. Cultivars start flowering in March, continue throughout April and finish flowering in May. The different cultivars come in a variety of colours; pinks, reds, dark blues, purples and lavender blue. Although the four-petalled flowers are small, they are borne in profusion. When they have finished flowering, aubrieta should be cut back quite hard.

As with many other garden plants, if you cut back aubrieta promptly after flowering, you may be rewarded with a second flush of blooms; the plant’s primary aim is to flower, set seed and parent offspring, so if you are quick, you can manipulate this process to your advantage.

The technique to keep aubrietas going year after year is to shear them hard as they finish their display, so that they develop a new cushion of tight foliage. Cuttings can be

taken, and ideally these need to have three inches of brown stem below the rosette of foliage. The technique is to tug them away with a heel rather than cut them. This can be done in September and October (when the cushion of foliage is dense), or in late summer. A cold frame is ideal as it keeps the root cool. Sow seeds in spring.

Good companions

Because all aubrietas – naturally suited to cold, highaltitude climates – tend to look ragged in hot summer months, find a partner that follows on afterwards.

Possibilities include Dianthus alpinus, Geranium cinereum ‘Ballerina’, or ‘Lawrence Flatman’. Rock roses (Helianthemum nummularium) also fit in well and these sprawling plants also like lime.

Cutting back after flowering is also a tried and tested method if you want to produce new stock. Aubrieta respond by producing plenty of young vegetative shoots that can be used for cuttings. This is the best method for getting the same flower colour from the resulting young plants. If you are feeling a little more adventurous you can let the seed capsules develop after flowering, collect the seed and sow it in the following spring. The seed is easy to germinate but the seedlings will not carry the same flower colour from the parent; you will have to wait in anticipation to see which colour you get.

Aubrieta can be grown at the front of a mixed border, in their traditional home, the rock garden or why not grow them in a hanging basket; before you plant up your more traditional, less hardy traditional basket plants. They are often seen tumbling over walls and their contribution to softening walls across Europe is unsurpassed.

So in this age of water shortages and hosepipe bans, plant some aubrieta and add some waterfalls of colour to your garden.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

33

Try some JUNGLE VIBE! Gill Heavens delves into the exotic world of hedychiums or ginger lilies, plants whose colour and vibrancy has the ability to immediately transport us to the world of the tropics There is a growing desire among the fine gardeners of the UK. Many of us are veering away from the classic cottage or the informal prairie and beginning to lean towards the jungle vibe.

This might be more of a challenge, attempting to replicate Singapore in Swanage. However there are plants available that have the ability transport to us straight to the steamy tropics.

One that will help you on your journey, with its lush foliage and glamorous blooms, is the hedychium, commonly known as the ginger lily.

Once cultivated only by the enthusiast or expert, now they are becoming more readily available, with many laudable cultivars.

Hedychium, also sometimes known as butterfly lilies, are in the family Zingiberaceae.

Many of its relatives will be recognised by the cooks among you - cardamom, galangal, turmeric and of course the common ginger. All have fleshy rhizomes, creeping rootstocks, which allow the plant to travel sideways.

There are thought to be between seventy and eighty different species which can be found in Southeast Asia, China, Madagascar and the Himalayan regions.

The word Hedychium comes from the Greek hedys meaning “sweet” and chios meaning “snow. This refers specifically to the white ginger lily, Hedychium coronarium, with its highly fragrant white blooms. It can be reluctant to flower if the summer isn’t warm enough. A sunny spot and plenty of water throughout the growing season will increase the chances of a good display. Although not a native, this hedychium is the National flower of Cuba and its flowers are used both to celebrate 34

Country Gardener

weddings and as offerings for the dead. Used extensively in the creation of perfumed oils, in India it is known as gandasuli, meaning “the fragrance of the princess” in Sanskrit.

Hedychium gardnerianum, Kahili ginger, is a vigorous plant with scented pale yellow flowers and striking long, red stamen. It was first introduced into this country in the early 19th century from the Himalayas, and named in honour of Edward Gardner, who was the first British resident of Nepal. Unfortunately it has become invasive in some parts of the world, including New Zealand, spreading by both seed and rhizome. Don’t worry, in our climate it is unlikely to become a problem.

The Scarlet ginger lily, Hedychium coccineum, is one of the hardier varieties of hedychium. The stunning reddish-orange flowers are produced in summer, but lack any fragrance. They can be forgiven for this omission as they are not fussy plants, enjoying anything from full sun to light shade.

The compact Hedychium densiflorum, also called the dense ginger lily, has individual flowers packed tightly into a spike. Reaching up to 1.5 meter tall, it is variable in colour, with some plants red/orange, while others have a little pink or yellow flowers. To avoid leaf scorch plant it is best situated in dappled shade. Worthy forms include ‘Assam Orange’ which was introduced by the famous plant hunter Frank Kingdon-Ward in 1938. Tony Schilling collected the yellow and orange hued ‘Stephen’ which he named after his son. Mr Schilling showed no filial preference as he named Hedychium ‘Tara’ after his daughter.

This is a show-stopper of a ginger, with large and fragrant orange flowers.

Although debated long and hard, it is

Hedychium gardnerianum, Kahili ginger

Hedychium coronarium highly fragrant blooms

Hedychium densiflorum, also called the dense ginger lily

Hedychium ‘Tara’

The Scarlet ginger lily, Hedychium coccineum

Hedychium greenii, the red ginger

thought to be a natural hybrid between H. gardnerianum and H. coccineum.

A late flowerer, but definitely worth the anticipation, is Hedychium greenii, the red ginger. Whilst you are waiting for it to bloom you can enjoy the stunning foliage, with deep red stems and matching maroon undersides of the leaves. It is native to Bhutan and Northern India and has burnt orange-red flowers. This species often produce bulbils which you can pot up and propagate.

In the wild many species live in woodland margins in moist soil. Dappled shade is their preferred situation, but they might need a little more sun to flower well in our less than tropical climate. Although hedychiums dislike winter wet, conversely when in growth they love water! In fact they are not only thirsty during the season, but hungry too.

Feed and water well if you want large healthy plants and a fine display of blooms.

When planting your specimens improve the soil with organic matter, which will help with moisture conservation, and plant deeply if you are in a cold area.

As ginger lilies object to being moved, and may sulk for a year or so if you do, frost protection in situ is the best approach. After the first frosts have withered the stems, cut back the pseudostems to a few centimetres and mulch well. This will both raise the soil temperature and protect the rhizomes from excessive moisture.

Not only will this keep the plant alive it will protect any developing flower buds. You could also grow your gingers in pots, which you can move around the garden as you please (as long as the specimen is not too big!) and retire it to a greenhouse or shed for the winter months.

Hedychium can be slow to come into bud in the spring, but you must be patient and not give up too soon.

Most will be showing signs by May, but others, especially in a chilly season, might not appear until June.

Whether you are going to attempt a full-on tropical look, or just want a spot plant to add an extra bit of summer structure to your garden, ginger lilies are the plants for you.

These exotic darlings are architectural, often fragrant, always beautiful and will certainly be a talking point for the neighours. With a little care, and perhaps a touch of optimism, you can nurture your own small corner of the Himalayas in Honiton.

35

Time to invest in a new gardening skill?

It is boom time for gardening courses as more of us invest the time and money to learn more Is time you invested some time to improve your gardening skills?

The last three years have seen a boom in the number of gardeners adding to their skill levels with courses on anything from organic gardening, autumn planting, pruning, propagation, composting and a whole range of gardening skills.

It’s more a question of how much time you want to commit and what level you want to reach and what practically you want to add to your skill base.

Garden design , photography and countryside skills such as hedging and dry stone walling are now popular and very much in demand.

Gardeners are enrolling in numbers in everything from basic one-day gardening skills right up to the RHS General Certificate in Horticulture -the base for a career in gardening.

Garden design courses continue to top the list where many hobby gardeners are keen to learn new skills and apply them to plans for their own gardens.

The boom in learning is set against a recent claim that Britain has lost a lot of its gardening skills which need to be re learnt.

The claim is the loss of knowledge stems from people born after it became common for both parents to work so basic gardening skills were not handed down from parent to childbecause there was no time in a busy working schedule.

A survey by the RHS interviewed 500 people from three different generations about their gardening habits, and found that less than 1 per cent of parents were taught gardening in school.

This was in comparison to 55 per cent of grandparents.

So what are the skills being sought which go to making a more complete gardener?

SOIL TESTING For the gardening beginner, this will not present much concern at first. After all, as long as the soil is a nice rich loam, anything will grow. But eventually, as you progress in

gardening, you’ll find the acidity or the alkalinity of your soil will have effects on certain plants and you’ll need to make amendments, and know how and why.

PRUNING As you progress in gardening, you’ll find pruning is an essential garden practice both in landscaping and vegetable gardening. It’s an art which needs to be learnt for the sake of your garden.

PROPAGATING PLANTS FROM CUTTING Growing more plants from cuttings is probably one of the best measures for a gardening expert. It’s truly a feat not all gardeners have great success at, but growing more plants from cuttings can be convenient.

HORTICULTURE COURSES GALORE AT KINGSTON MAURWARD COLLEGE Horticulturists at Kingston Maurward College are planning next year’s courses for budding gardeners and responding to a demand for quality training for the home gardener, Kingston Maurward College is launching a new course: ‘College Certificate in Expert Horticulture Skills for year round Gardening’: Based near Dorchester, Kingston Maurward College offers challenging education and training opportunities to equip learners with the knowledge and skills to succeed in life and work.

Offering full- and part-time courses, higher education and Apprenticeships, the College is set in a 750 acre estate complete with a Georgian house, commercial farm, laboratories, training areas, animal science centre, indoor and outdoor equestrian arenas, state of the art plant production units and Agri-tech facilities.

Course areas include agriculture, countryside management, equine, animal welfare and science, foundation learning, construction, horticulture, military preparation, unformed public services, blacksmithing and welding, floristry, outdoor adventure and Business.

For more details please call Part time Courses on 01305 215215 or visit our website at www.kmc.ac.uk 36

Country Gardener

Phew, what a scorcher!

The arid heatwave days of June and July this year put all gardens and flowers under threat but there are some precautions you can take against excessive heat Although some plants like basil, peppers, and aubergines in particular love warm temperatures, there are many that shut down when the mercury hits the high 20s.

And that has what has been happening this summer.

This means that they stop growing, stop producing fruit, and start to look a bit sad. This happens to crops like lettuce, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and more. It’s no wonder, either - after all, they’re just trying to stay alive! Even warm-weatherloving plants can struggle when it gets too hot.

Luckily enough, there are actually a few things you can do to protect your plants and ensure they fare better during the heatwave, whether they naturally love sunlight or would rather avoid it.

Mulch Mulching not only keeps the soil moist, but it can also reduce the temperature of the soil. If you haven’t applied mulch in the garden yet this year, there’s still time to do it. While you should do your best to keep it away from the stems of your plants, you’ll want to ensure that every spot in your garden is covered, especially in areas that tend to harbour a lot of weeds.

Water slowly (but consistently) By delivering water slowly to the roots, your plants have more opportunities to absorb it all. Water deeply every week, preferably in the evening when it’s cooler and the water has less of a chance of evaporating. The important thing is to be consistent with your watering routine to ensure optimum plant health. If you have a timer, set it to water early in the morning or evening several days a week, or however often your plants need to get a good soaking.

Remove weeds Weeds compete with your plants for precious nutrients.

When your plants are trying to stay alive, they don’t want to compete against other plants. Pull weeds as soon as you spot them to prevent them from spreading too far. Plan to weed at least once a week, or more often if the weeds in your area tend to become a problem in the heat.

Don’t fertilise your plants Fertiliser encourages plants to grow, which is something they shouldn’t try to do when it’s so hot out. Any growth will take away from the plant being able to sustain itself. Instead, put the fertiliser away and focus on watering and shading for now.

Grow heat-tolerant varieties In especially hot summers try to cultivate plants that do well in the heat. After all, many heat-seeking plants need about a month or longer of warm temperatures in order

to thrive. Some varieties even resist going to seed when temperatures rise, but others have been bred to handle warmer temperatures.

Grow cool-weather crops before or after the heat of summer has passed If the trends for hot summers goes on, plan to grow cool season crops in the late spring and replant a second batch when the heat has died down in September. If you have to have home grown kale, peas, or broccoli in the middle of summer, think about preserving your last harvest before the hot weather arrives. Keep in mind that your plants may go to seed when temperatures soar.

Plant intensively By planting close together raised beds instead of in rows, the foliage of each plant serves to shade the roots and keep the soil cool. Additionally, it helps keep weeds and moisture loss to a minimum.

Install shade netting You’ll perhaps want to install shade netting, a dark-webbed netting that protects plants from overexposure to heat and sunlight, without preventing your plants from getting adequate water and sunlight. This netting tends to keep soil and air temperatures up to 10 degrees cooler than they would be without it. Shade cloth is a similar concept in that you would also pin it above the plants using hoops or another type of support system. Both items can be purchased online or at the local plant nursery.

What about flowers?

Flowers are also susceptible to gloom and droop in hot temperatures. In addition to drooping leaves, their petals may fall off, and new flowers may not appear for some time. Remove dead foliage and flowers, and trim the plants back when the temperatures start to soar. This will help the plants appear neat and tidy and allow them to reserve their resources while temperatures are high.

Watch for pests Heat causes stress in many plants, especially those that don’t thrive in it. A stressed plant is more likely to succumb to harmful insects and disease. For that reason, you’ll want to make sure to assess your plants periodically for those things.

Treat all issues as soon as you spot them.

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37

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Oak Fair aims to improve on last year’s

bumper event Stock Gaylard will be hosting the popular 14th annual Oak Fair on the 25th and 26th of August. With almost 10,000 visitors through the gate last year to look at 200 plus stalls and displays, the pressure has been on to improve the show without losing the unique atmosphere of the event.

The fair, which runs from 10am to 5pm, makes a great day out for all the family. The children will be entertained throughout the day with a variety of activities and workshops in a special kids area while adults can enjoy the stalls and exhibitors showing the depth of rural skills and conservation projects found locally. Local foods and drinks will be available in the Market Square to enjoy during the day.

The fair welcomes back Avalon Axes who will be letting anyone have a go at showcasing their axe throwing skills!

The Great Big Tree Climbing Company will be available again with tree climbing for kids and adults. In the arena there’s also the return of the Heavy Horse display team, Mere Down Falconry and Adams Axemen who will be putting on displays.

The Tree Pirates are also booked in to show off their skills with chainsaws creating their exceptional sculptures.

Dike & Son of Stalbridge are the main sponsors of the Oak Fair. Tickets are £10 with children free. Concessions are £8.50.

Stock Gaylard Estate, Sturminster Newton, Dorset, DT10 2BG. www.stockgaylard.com

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41

TIME Off

COMPILED BY KATE LEW IS DIARY EVENTS FROM CLUBS AND ORGANISATIONS AROUND THE COTSWOLDS

Here’s a selection of Cotswolds gardening events to look out for over the next few weeks.

Thank you to all those gardening clubs who have sent us their details of events for us to publicise. Please remember to send us details of your event at least ten weeks before publication and we will publicise it free of charge. Make sure you let us know where the event is being held, the date and include a contact telephone number so that anyone interested can find out further information.

We are keen to support garden club events and we will be glad to publicise talks and shows held during the year where clubs want to attract a wider audience, but we do not have space for club outings or parties. We suggest that garden clubs send us their diary for the year for events to be included in the relevant issue of the magazine. Please send to Country Gardener Magazines, Mount House, Halse, Taunton TA4 3AD or by email to timeoff@countrygardener.co.uk

JULY 25th CLOWS TOP & DISTRICT GARDENING CLUB ‘TEABAGS, BRAS & TIGHTS’ – DARREN RUDGE Details on 01299 270475 28th MALMESBURY & DISTRICT GARDEN CLUB, CHARLTON VILLAGE HALL ANNUAL OPEN SHOW Details on 01666 823093

AUGUST 2nd BRETFORTON GARDEN CLUB SPEAKER FROM HILL CLOSE GARDENS, WARWICK

4th/5th

9th

OFFENHAM NGS OPEN GARDENS Details on 01386 424880

CHELTENHAM HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY ‘BOTANICAL ART – A CONTINUING TRADITION’ – BETH PHILIP & DEBBIE DEVAUDEN Details on 01242 691135

6th WYCHE & COLWALL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY ‘PLANTS GROW IN DIRT’ – BOB BROWN www.wychecolwallhorticulturalsoc. wordpress.com 8th CHADDESLEY CORBETT GARDENERS CLUB ‘BOSTIN COMPOST - SECRETS OF COMPOST MAKING’ – MICK POULTNEY www.ccgardeners.club WINCHCOMBE GARDENING CLUB ‘PUB SIGNS WITH A GARDEN SCENE’ – ANGELA PANRUCKER Details on 01242 609590

11th BRAILES VILLAGE VILLAGE SHOW www.brailesvillageshow.com CHURCHDOWN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 68TH ANNUAL SHOW Details on 07711 311716 WYCHE & COLWALL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY ANNUAL FLOWER & PRODUCE SHOW www.wychecolwallhorticulturalsoc. wordpress.com

ENJOY COLOUR IN YOUR GARDEN

all

Summer long For the latest garden news, events & advice - don't miss COUNTRY GARDENER www.countrygardener.co.uk

42

Country Gardener

SLIMBRIDGE GARDENING CLUB GARDENING CLUB www.slimbridgegc.pnyhost.com 15

th

MICKLETON GARDENING CLUB ‘AUTUMN FARE’ – ROB COLE Details on 01386 438696 16th BIDFORD ON AVON & DISTRICT GARDENING SOCIETY ‘THREE WEST COUNTRY GARDENS’ – ADRIAN JAMES Details on 01789 268974 NEWENT GARDENING CLUB ‘AN UNDER GARDENER’S TALE’ – MATTHEW GACEK Details on 01531 820761 18th BISHAMPTON GARDENING CLUB SUMMER FLOWER & PRODUCE SHOW

ASHWOOD NURSERIES, KINGSWINFORD JOHN’S GARDEN CHARITY OPEN DAY https://goo.gl/bPeq5L

WICKHAMFORD GARDENING CLUB SUMMER SHOW

CLOWS TOP & DISTRICT GARDENING CLUB CLOWS TOP SHOW Details on 01299 270475

BLAKENEY GARDEN CLUB ANNUAL PLANT STALL AT THE VILLAGE DUCK RACE

25th

BLOCKLEY & DISTRICT HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY SUMMER SHOW Details on 01386 700303

RUSHWICK GARDEN CLUB ANNUAL SHOW Details on 07966 278415

MICKLETON GARDENING CLUB FLOWER, PRODUCE & HANDICRAFT SHOW Details on 01386 438696

20th ABBEYDALE GARDEN CLUB MINI SHOW Details on 01452 540790

WILMCOTE GARDEN CLUB FLOWER & PRODUCE SHOW Details on 01789 299721

22nd CLOWS TOP & DISTRICT GARDENING CLUB ‘TOP TIPS FOR YOUR GARDEN’ – TAMSIN WESTHORPE Details on 01299 270475

28th ULLENHALL & HENLEY GARDENING CLUB GARDENERS’ QUESTION TIME

Email: info@bishamptongardeningclub.org.uk

Devon

Cotswolds 2018 ISSUE NO 139 SPRING

.co.uk www.countrygardener

Old Gold

FREE .co.uk www.countrygardener

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AT THE Tel: 01295 690479 Banbury OX17 1EL. y: Road, Nr. Farnborough, - Tuesday-Saturda On A423 Southam Six Days a Week

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Are you part of a garden club or society?

Please send us your diary for the year - we’d love to include your talks and shows Send them into us by email, giving us 10 weeks notice of the event to: timeoff@countrygardener.co.uk or by post to: Mount House, Halse, Taunton, TA4 3AD. Your event can also be listed online at:

www.countrygardener.co.uk Sign up and start adding your events today

www.countrygardener.co.uk

43

Stockists of Country Gardener Cotswolds Country Gardener is available free of charge throughout the area at the outlets listed below. For amendments to details or deliveries call Pat Eade on 01594 543790 email pateade8@gmail.com Alcester The Hiller Garden Bentham Primrose Vale Farm Shop Berkeley Kitts Green Nurseries Birdwood The Fairview Gardener Bisley The Green Shop Bloxham Bloxham Nursery Bourton-on-the-Hill Bourton House Gardens Bristol Henleaze Garden Shop Broadway Snowshill Manor NT Buscot Buscot Park NT Charlecote Charlecote Garden Store Charlecote Park NT Cheltenham Blooms Garden Centre Cheltenham Garden Machinery Dundry Nursery & Garden Centre Shurdington Nurseries Valley Roundabout Nurseries Chipping Campden Hidcote Manor Garden NT Tourist Information Centre Chipping Norton Applegarth Nurseries Cirencester Cerney House Gardens Dobbies Garden World Coleford Pygmy Pinetum Garden Nursery Cotheridge Laylocks Garden Centre Dyrham Dyrham Park NT Evesham Castle Gardens Farm Shop & Nursery Chadbury Farm Shop Cotswold Garden Flowers Ellenden Farm Shop Evesham Garden Centre

Goll’s Nursery & Aquatics The Plant Centre @ Knowle Hill Faringdon Rogers Gardenstone Farnborough Farnborough Garden Centre Gloucester Brockworth Garden Centre Highfield Garden World Norton Garden Centre Gotherington Gotherington Nurseries Hanbury Arkle Plants & Shrubs, Hanbury Hanbury Hall NT Hartlebury Whitlenge Gardens & Nursery Highworth Highworth Hardware Holt Heath Bromfields Farm Shop & Garden Store Huntley Forest Products Iron Acton Iron Acton Garden Centre Kidderminster Bodenham Arboretum Hodgehill Garden Centre Lechlade Lechlade Garden Centre Ledbury Newent Plant Centre @ Little Verzons Farm Longhope TJ Hart @ Harts Barn Lower Slaughter The Old Mill Lydney Coinros Gardeners’ Nursery Malmesbury Foxley Road Nurseries Malmesbury Garden Centre Malvern Grange Farm Nursery Margaret Fox Floral Art Tourist Information Centre Mickleton Tops Plants Miserden The Nursery at Miserden

Moreton-in-Marsh Batsford Arboretum Fossweway Garden Centre Nailsworth Nailsworth Garden Machinery Tourist Information Centre Newent Roses Country Fayre 3 Shires Garden Centre Three Choirs Vineyard Trioscape Plant Centre Ombersley The Farm Shop @ Ombersley Pershore Alpine Garden Society Four Acres Nursery Pershore College Plant Centre Three Springs Nursery Pucklechurch St Aldam’s Nursery Ross-on-Wye Ross Garden Store Rushwick Roots of Rushwick Standish Barn Nursery Staunton Staunton Garden Centre Stourport-on-Severn Cooks Garden Centre Stratford-upon-Avon Fibrex Nurseries Garden Images Stratford Garden Centre Stroud Made in Stroud Tourist Information Centre Swindon Greatfield Garden Centre John Toomer Garden Centre Manor Garden Centre Walfins Garden & Leisure Tetbury Tourist Information Centre Tewkesbury Hoo House Nursery Tewkesbury Garden Centre Thornbury Thornbury Garden Shop Thornbury Library

Toddington Toddington Garden Centre Upton Upon Severn Clive’s Fruit Farm Warmington National Herb Centre Warwick Hintons Nursery Westbury on Severn Westbury Court Garden NT Weston Subedge Hartwell & Co. Worcester Spetchley Park Gardens Worcester Garden Centre Wotton-under-Edge Eastwood Garden Plant Centre Tortworth Court Farm Shop The Lavender Garden

Country Gardener Magazine Editorial Publisher & Editor: Alan Lewis alan@countrygardener.co.uk Tel: 01823 431767

Distribution Pat Eade pateade8@gmail.com Tel: 01594 543790

Time Off: Kate Lewis timeoff@countrygardener.co.uk

Advertising Sales Corina Reay - Cotswolds Cath Pettyfer - Devon & Dorset corina@countrygardener.co.uk cath.pettyfer@countrygardener.co.uk Tel: 01823 410098 Tel: 01837 82660

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Gemma Stringer gemma@countrygardener.co.uk

The Country Gardener magazines are distributed FREE at Nurseries, garden centres, National Trust Properties, open gardens, garden machinery specialists, country stores and farm shops in each county.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or made available in any form, without the written permission of the copyright holder and Publisher, application for which should be made to the Publisher. Unsolicited material: do not send or submit your only version of manuscripts and/or photographs/transparencies to us as these cannot be returned to you. While every care is taken to ensure that material submitted is priced accurately and completely, we cannot be responsible or liable for any loss or damage suffered. Views and/or opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of Country Gardener or the Publisher.

44

Country Gardener

Agapanthus in flower

Getting this hugely popular and showy plant to flower fully is often a problem - the right variety in the right place in your garden might be the answer

There’s nothing better for an infusion of midsummer blue than an agapanthus.

They are great showy garden flowers and while growing them isn’t a problem, getting them to flower can be tricky, especially in less than ideal growing conditions. It is really important to select the right variety and plant in the right place in your garden; some varieties for example will tolerate frost better than others, some will thrive on having more space and not being squashed into a busy border.

Like many garden favourites, when growing agapanthus, the trick is to get the right plant in the right place. There are about ten species of both deciduous and evergreen, but most importantly, the deciduous varieties are more hardy than the evergreen varieties, and all varieties benefit from a winter mulch and frost protection.

Agapanthus will flower without feeding. It is more about getting the right growing conditions. If flowering is an issue then a high potash feed to aid flowering – such as tomato feed will help.

These South African bulbous plants have been selected and hybridised from only six to 14 species, depending on which botanist you believe. The name, agapanthus, translates as ‘love flower’ but they’re more commonly known as the African lily.

The Eastern side of the Cape has a wet summer season lasting four months, between November and February, when rainfall averages five inches per month. The winters, between May and August, are dry and cool, however. As a result agapanthus species tend to do their growing in the summer and then die down in winter. This deciduous habit makes them hardier than the evergreen agapanthus.

Growing agapanthus in a border The fleshy roots of agapanthus can suffer frost damage in severe winters, so if you’re planning to grow agapanthus in a border the ground must be well-drained and sunny. A strip close to a sunny house wall is ideal as long as you remember to water your agapanthus well in the growing season.

Once established clumps of deciduous agapanthus can withstand -10ºC to -15ºC as long as the ground is well drained, although the number of flowers can be reduced after a hard winter.

Growing agapanthus in pots The choice is far wider when you opt for growing agapanthus in pots, because hardiness becomes less of an issue.

Agapanthus look more impressive in pots too, because they are raised up above the pot and therefore reach four to five feet. They are also moveable feasts, so you can use them as eye catchers in front of borders that may have passed their best.

It’s important to choose rugged pots, because your plants will be in those pots for three years on average, before you have to divide them. Terracotta is ideal.

Make sure your pots have almost straight sides, because tapered lily pots and tall slender pots will blow over.

You’ll need to feed and water your agapanthus once they begin to grow. An unheated greenhouse gets them going faster.

Move under cover in October. A shed or greenhouse is usually sufficient. Or you can lay your pot on its side and place it somewhere sheltered - against the wall of the house. You don’t want winter rain and snow to reach the roots.

Deadhead agapanthus after flowering to allow the plant to conserve energy and stop it self-seeding.

Large clumps in the border should be lifted in spring every four to six years, split into pieces, and then replanted.

Do you cut back agapanthus in winter?

Deciduous varieties – cut back agapanthus stems to about four inches above the ground at the end of the blooming season. However, if you like the texture and structure that spent plants provide to the winter landscape, cutting back agapanthus can wait until early spring.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

45

Alpine strawberries

- small but sensational

Charming and well behaved, alpine strawberries are fast becoming a favourite with gardeners- easy to grow, full of flavour and aroma and able to provide a useful harvest The jewel-like fruits of alpine strawberries (Fragaria vesca Sempervirens) are a special delicacy more of us should be enjoying.

Their flavour combines the essence of strawberries, roses and pineapples. Also known by their romantic French name, ‘Fraises des Bois’, these charming and well-behaved perennial plants yield continuous harvests of tiny, three quarter of an inch inch berries with an intensely concentrated flavour which should encourage more gardeners to add them to their ‘must grow’ list.

In France, Alpine strawberries are carefully hand harvested and sold as a sought after seasonal specialty to top perfect individual custard tarts at Paris patisseries. In fine restaurants, they are served in exquisite stemware topped with creme fraiche and candied violets.

Alpine strawberries are cultivated strains of wild or woodland strawberries and are reported to have been transplanted into domestic gardens as early as the 12th century – which is easy to understand as their aroma and flavour are unmatched as garden berries.

Alpines can grow in full sun, although in very hot weather areas, they will also thrive in half day sun or an area of dappled shade. Like other berries, they love a rich, fertile, and above all, well drained soil. Alpines need little special care beyond consistent moisture and occasional feeding.

These hardy, evergreen plants are carefree because, unlike regular strawberries, they do not self propagate by sending out runners. They’ll stay wherever you plant them gradually growing into soft leafy mounds about a foot in diameter and height. After several seasons, mature plant crowns will multiply and can be divided in early spring to double or triple your number of plants. Plants bear fruit the first season after sowing. Feed and water regularly and plants will continue to fruit for up to four years.

Properly located, plants will bear a continual summer long 46

crop of deep crimson pointed petite berries full of flavour and fragrance.

These plants with their green, serrated little leaves, white flowers and bright red delectable, berries are neat, attractive and very ornamental. The plants are perfect in windowboxes or hanging baskets, or as a handsome edging plants along a garden path or flower border and are equally at home as rock garden plants, in window boxes, patio containers, or in cascading from strawberry pots.

Seven or eight mature little Alpine plants will yield about a cup of berries several times a week on a continuous basis throughout the summer.

Alpine strawberries are easily grown from seed, so they’re cheap. Sowed March – they will soon become strong goodsized seedlings. They’ll crop a little later in the summer, but Alpine strawberries are easy to grow and can give excellent crops

will be at their best for two or three years after that. They are short-loved though and it’s a good idea to replace them every few years or you’ll be left with straggly plants, prone to virus. Tired strawberries also produce only half the fruit.

Space your plants a foot apart in good, generous, productive sweeps down the length of your paths. They are much better than the traditional edging of chives or box around a vegetable patch, and ‘Alexandria’, in particular, is doubly useful because it thrives out of full sun.

Wild strawberries are much tougher than conventional strawberries and have few pests and diseases. The fruit rarely gets eaten by birds, so you can grow without netting.

Mix in loads of leaf mould or rich organic material when planting - they like a rich soil which remains moist even in summer.

Like many fruiting plants they benefit from slow-release phosphates, so scatter seaweed solution or bone meal around them a couple of times a year.

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Old Gold

ALL HAIL

the perfect tomato!

Let heritage daffodils welcome in spring

….juicy, tasty, organic

snowdrops

EARLY OPENING GARDEN

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for you to enjoy WHITE of WITCHAMPTON

Love your garden?

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and now all summe

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LES VEGETAB How to feed your lawn, hyacinth delights, growing chard, April gardens to visit

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