Devon Country Gardener April 2022

Devon Issue No 201 APRIL 2022 FREE

www.countrygardener.co.uk

IT’S SOW TIME! ...why getting the seeds in the ground now will make the summer bloom INSIDE:

Toby’s Garden Festival, Powderham Castle April 29th and 30th – full preview

PLUS:

Why spring is getting earlier

Plan your weeding campaign

Wild garlic

How to quickly improve your soil

Fantastic fritillaries

Curing chamomile

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Great gardening venues to visit this spring Gardening news and events from throughout Devon

CUTTINGS

Gardeners cuttings

in Devon

A LOOK AT NEWS, EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS IN YOUR AREA

Magnificent tulips at South Wood Farm A magnificent display of thousands of tulips can be admired by visitors to South Wood Farm at Cotleigh near Honiton when it opens for the National Garden Scheme on the weekend of 23rd and 24th April.

This will be a rare opportunity to visit the spring garden at South Wood Farm in all its glory, with 5,000 bulbs on show, including 2,000 tulips and hundreds of camassias in the flower meadow.

Designed by the renowned garden designer Arne Maynard around the 17th century thatched farmhouse, this country garden shows how contemporary design can be integrated into a traditional setting. Herbaceous borders, roses, yew topiary, knot garden, wildflower meadows, orchards, lean-to greenhouses and an impressive kitchen garden create an unforgettable sense of place.

South Wood Farm Visitors will find 1,200 tulips in the Front Court, just over 400 in the Kitchen Parterres, 200 tulips in the Stone Orchard, 300 species Tulipa clusiana ‘Peppermint stick’ in the meadows, and 350 tulips in garden planters and terracotta pots.

Annually, 500 Narcissus pseudonarcissus, 120 Narcissus poeticus, around 100 Gladiolus byzantinus and 30-40 camassias, are all planted in the meadows.

The garden will open for the NGS from 2pm until 5pm each day on Saturday, 23rd and Sunday, 24th April. Admission is £6, children free. Homemade teas will be available; there is wheelchair access but there are gravel pathways, cobbles and steps. Dogs are allowed on leads.

Visits can also be made by arrangement from May to September, for groups of 15 or more. The NGS asks that garden owners are contacted directly. Please contact the owner of Southwood Farm, Professor Clive Potter by email: Southwoodfarmgarden@gmail.com Tulips in their thousands

Southwood Farm, Cotleigh, Honiton EX14 9HU

Devon plant collection of Scadoxus awarded scientific status

HUSBANDRY SCHOOL HAS BIG AMBITIONS TO IMPROVE TRADITIONAL SKILLS

A Devon-based National Plant Collection has been awarded scientific status for its outstanding contribution to research.

Jonathan Hutchinson has been on a mission to find out more about Scadoxus, a tender bulb native to tropical east and south Africa and showcase the diversity held within a small number of species since his collection was accredited in 2004.

From speaking at international conferences and publishing articles in botanical journals, to exploring the origins of these pretty plants, Jonathan’s ongoing research is helping horticulturalists to understand how and where they grow in Scadoxus - a tender the wild, as well as how best to grow them in the UK. tropical originating bulb Held in potted plants in his greenhouse, Jonathan has been investigating the variation within and between the seven species in his collection, and whether the known species are wide-ranging, disjunct, or endemic.

RHS SEARCHES FOR MORE ‘FEEL GOOD’ PARTNER GARDENS The Royal Horticultural Society is inviting garden visitors to vote for their favourite RHS Partner Garden in the UK. Following the success of the inaugural competition last year people will have a chance to name their top ‘Feel Good Garden’ out of more than 200 that are part of the scheme.

Thousands of votes were cast last year, with Larch Cottage Nurseries in Cumbria’s Eden Valley taking the top prize out of six regional finalists.

Votes can be cast via the RHS website at www.rhs.org.uk/pgoty from 19th April until 30th September. Visitors can choose their favourite gardens in each of six regions including the South West.

The Husbandry School is a Devon-based joint venture of Carole and Jonty Williams which offers traditional sustainable gardening, farming and land management courses and the chance to learn practical rural skills.

The school has a vision for the revitalisation of rural resources, employing good husbandry practices to provide real benefit for the environment and local community. Aside from growing award-winning produce and running an education provision for children with additional needs, it delivers public workshops, courses and volunteer events.

The programme this year is full of opportunities for people to learn from an expert team of growers, craftspeople and artists. Basket-maker Vivienne Turner will be running workshops for people to weave willow hanging baskets and garden sculptures, whilst green woodworker Sean Hellman will be teaching spoon carving and green-wood whittling. New tutors are running courses on traditional leatherwork and upholstery skills, as well as painting, print-making and herbal remedy workshops with ingredients and inspiration from the school’s therapeutic garden.

For anyone curious about sustainable farming techniques, Carole and Jonty share their knowledge during husbandry skills courses in the summer, as well as a traditional Devon hedge-laying and stone-walling course in the autumn.

If you’re looking for something to enjoy with younger family members, book yourself onto a Wellie Stomp Family Fun day in March, June or September.

You can spend the day with all the family planting seeds, meeting the animals, making snacks and crafting with natural materials.

Visit www.husbandry.co.uk or email info@husbandry.co.uk The Husbandry School, Liddy Ball, Bickington, Nr Ashburton TQ12 6NZ

www.countrygardener.co.uk

3

Step into Spring WITH

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Wide range of garden buildings

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Garden furniture to suit every home

CUTTINGS

It’s cottage garden month at Bow Garden & Aquatic Centre Bow Garden & Aquatic Centre have all the ingredients for a beautiful cottage garden in their celebration of cottage gardens this month. Cottage gardens are known and loved for their charm and character, with tumbling climbers, fragrant perennials and rambling roses. This style can adapt easily to any sized garden, so whether you have a courtyard or a large outdoor space Bow Garden centre’s team are happy to help create your dream cottage garden.

DARTINGTON GARDENS JOIN NATIONAL SCHEMES

Firstly, when designing your cottage garden, it’s important to invest in a quality rich soil to help your plants thrive. Use peat-free and organic compost for more environmentally friendly gardening. it is best to choose hardier low-maintenance perennials, annuals and foliage plants, such as delphiniums, lavender, peonies and honeysuckle. Bow has lots of stunning cottage plants to choose from, with their team on hand for advice on specific plants.

Finally adding a curved pathway will entice and welcome people through any cottage garden. Use steppingstones, gravel or paving slabs. It’s worth a visit to Bow and relax in the Waterside Cafe which serves full english breakfasts, home-made lunch specials, afternoon teas and Sunday roasts.

Bow Garden Centre is on the A3072 half way between Crediton and Okehampton.

Tel: 01363 82438 | www.bowgardencentre.co.uk Bow Garden Centre, Bow Bridge, Crediton EX17 6LA

STONE LANE SEEKS AWARD WINNING SCULPTURES AGAIN Stone Lane Gardens in Chagford is opening its doors to up-andcoming artists as part of their annual Ashburner prize. Sir Tim Smit, the founder of Eden Project, will open the exhibition to the public on Saturday 2nd July.

RHS partner garden Stone Lane shares The Eden Projects ethos of This Mortal Coir - last year’s prize winner preservation and cultivation. As well as being a beautiful sanctuary, the gardens are of scientific value and have over 69 different types of birch trees.

The exhibition will invite emerging artists with a connection to the South West to submit proposals for work and once selected will be displayed throughout the gardens, immersed in the natural surroundings.

Nicola Turner won last year with her with her piece This Mortal Coir.

For a chance to enter the 2022 Stone Lane Exhibition, sell your art there, and win the £,1000 prize, artists can submit photographs of their work and details of a proposed piece contact www.stonelanegardens. com/2022/01/sculpture/

The historic gardens at Dartington have joined the Royal Horticultural Society Partner Garden scheme this year. The 26-acre Grade II listed garden features stunning landscapes, sculptures by famous artists, and a unique collection of plants and ancient trees. RHS members now have free entry on Fridays.

The gardens have also become an English Heritage Association Attraction, offering English Heritage members two for one entry throughout the year.

The Dartington Trust reopened the estate’s formal gardens in April last year following improvements to the visitor experience. This includes an all-new interpretation, offering insight into the grounds and the extensive history, plus an updated map which is included in the ticket price.

A new children’s activity trail has been created and the gardens have been made more accessible by improving the step-free access route paths, which are now more suited for buggies and wheelchairs and can take visitors all the way around to the whispering circle. There is also a small plant stall run by the gardening team with plants propagated from the garden.

Some of the garden highlights include an ancient yew tree which is at least 1500 years old, a 150-year-old Lucombe Oak, a row of sweet chestnuts which are believed to be over 400 years old, a huge Swamp cypress tree which is affectionately named ‘Swampy’, an incredible magnolia collection and the Henry Moore ‘Reclining Figure’ sculpture.

There are 207 gardens in the RHS Partner Gardens scheme, which allows RHS Members to visit non-RHS gardens for free at selected times of the year. www.rhs.org.uk/partnergardens www.dartington.org/gardens

Stone Lane Gardens, Stone Farm, Chagford, Newton Abbot TQ13 8JU

RHODODENDRONS TAKE CENTRE STAGE AT RHS ROSEMOOR The weekend of April 23rd and 24th sees RHS Garden Rosemoor in Torrington stage the National Rhododendron Show. This show has more than 60 classes covering all types of rhododendrons, as well as trade and advice stands plus magnificent displays of magnolias and camellias too. Exhibitors come from all over the south and west and include the Royal Parks Department, Exbury Gardens and several National Trust properties in the South West as well as Caerhayes Castle gardens Cornwall, famous for its stunning magnolias.

Competitions are free to enter and show schedules and entry forms can be requested from the RHS Shows Competition Manager by e-mail from georginabarter@rhs.org.uk.

The event opens at 11.30am on Saturday after judging.

RHS Garden Rosemoor, Torrington EX38 8PH

www.countrygardener.co.uk

5

CUTTINGS

All in one solution for grass cutting You can care for your grass in numerous ways with an all-in-one machine. A flail mower is ideal for maintaining rough grassed areas, pasture land, and woodland walks where a conventional mower gets clogged up and struggles to cut.

The FM42 and FM48 have the same base design and construction, with the main difference being that the FM42 has a 42” cutting width and a 9HP Honda engine. The FM48 has a 48” cutting width and a 13HP Honda engine.

The Flail mower is a powerful, towed, long grass cutter with “Y”shaped cutting flails.

Mounted at the rear of the cutter is a one-piece roller.

The mower cuts closer to the edge and can squeeze through narrow pathways by mounting the transport wheels in the new position.

A screw jack effortlessly raises or lowers the transport wheels, allowing you to travel to and from storage on pneumatic wheels before dropping the mower onto its steel roller.

This steel roller flattens and neatens the ground behind it; it protects the user from the rear of the flail mower.

SCH manufacturers over 250 quality British built machines that can be towed behind a tractor, or ride on mower. For a free 80 page brochure featuring all the designs and variations, contact SCH on 01473 328272, email sales@schsupplies.co.uk, or visit www.schsupplies.co.uk

Wadebridge garden festival one of the first of the new season One of the first major garden festivals of the year takes place at The Royal Cornwall Showground near Wadebridge in Cornwall on Saturday, 2nd and Sunday, 3rd,April.

Cornwall Garden Society’s Spring Flower Show will feature dramatic displays of spring flowers and shrubs; exhibits by leading nurseries and landscape artists; a spectacular spread of horticultural traders and a Floral Art marquee and botanical illustrations from the Eden Project’s Florilegium.

Tickets available from www.cornwallgardenssociety.org.uk

Hedgehogs in Devon decline by up to a half

A new report published by wildlife charities People’s Trust for Endangered Species and The British Hedgehog Preservation Society has revealed that Britain’s hedgehog populations have continued to decline in rural areas by between 30 per-cent and 75 per-cent nationally since 2000. The South West and Devon has seen hedgehog populations decline by a half.

The charities’ State of Britain’s Hedgehogs 2022 report also shows that urban hedgehog populations appear to have stablised and might even be starting to recover, after previously falling.

Data collected for this report between 1981 and 2020 from five ongoing surveys showed that hedgehogs have undergone a long historic decline, but now the vast differences between urban and rural populations are becoming increasingly apparent.

To help hedgehogs where you live, become a ‘Hedgehog Champion’, make a hedgehog highway in your garden fence or wall, make your garden as hedgehog friendly as possible and record sightings via Hedgehog Street’s BIG Hedgehog Map. For more top tips, visit: www.hedgehogstreet.org To read the full State of Britain’s Hedgehogs 2022 report, visit: www.hedgehogstreet. org/state-of-britains-hedgehogs-2022

13TH

27TH

Torquay and District Gardening Club

Torquay and District Gardening Club

‘PLANTS THAT SHOULD BE BETTER KNOWN’ - KATHERINE CROUCH

‘WATER, WATER, EVERYWHERE’ - BECCA FLINTHAM

Details on 07990 785247

Details on 07990 785247

March

14TH

May

30TH

Orwell Garden Society

Newton St Cyres Gardening Club

‘CLIMAGE & ECOLOGICAL CRISIS? WHAT’S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?’ - SARAH WALKER

‘GARDEN DESIGN’ - JACQUIE FELIX

Details on 01626 364543

Details on 01392 832762

19TH

17TH

Gardening club events and meetings in Devon

ROB VINCENT FROM HUTCH HOUSEPLANTS

10TH Exminster Gardening Club

Details on 01392 851985 Torquay and District Gardening Club

Otterton Garden Club

Otterton Garden Club

‘PLANTS THAT SHOULD BE BETTER KNOWN’ - KATHERINE CROUCH

‘THE NATIONAL GARDEN SCHEME’ - JULIA TREMLETT

‘THE GARDEN AT ANDREWS CORNER’ - ROBIN HILL

Details on 07990 785247

Details at www.ottertongardenclub.com.uk

Details at www.ottertongardenclub.com.uk

April

‘Time Off’ set to return

12TH Exminster Gardening Club ‘CACTI’ - PHIL GOODSON

If your gardening club or association is getting back into full swing after the restrictions of the past couple of years be sure to let Country Gardener know. Send your club meetings and outings details to timeoff@countrygardener.co.uk

Details on 01392 832762

Look out for the May issue of Country Gardener from Friday, 29th April 6

Country Gardener

A day out for passionate recyclers More of us are getting passionate about recycling and ‘use not refuse’ is a popular mantra now.

A new Devon event showcasing a myriad of innovative recycling, salvage and eco ideas takes place at the Matford Centre, Exeter on Saturday, 2nd April from 10am to 4pm.

Last year the event was staged as a new concept. It was very popular so the April event promises to be bigger and better with more than 40 exhibitors who will show you how you can re-use, recycle, repurpose and re-finish everything.

Matford Centre, Matford Park Road, Marsh Barton, Exeter, Devon, EX2 8FD

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THE CHAMOMILE CURE Chamomile is a must grow herb in the garden for its medicinal qualities, but you can use it in lots of other ways also.

Chamomiles are wonderfully cheerful little plants.

They are easy to grow and are sweetly scented like fresh apples and are a great addition to pots or in a busy herb bed. It is the medicinal qualities which makes it so popular amongst gardeners, but chamomile plants are also used as ornamental flowerbed borders, planted in cottage and herb gardens, or grown as a pollinator friendly, low maintenance lawn substitute.

They are also used as a defence against pests and disease in the vegetable garden. Chamomile plants may range in height from six to eight inches with an equal spread, depending upon type. All chamomile types produce an abundance of seed that will quickly self-sow wherever it lands in warm, loose soil.

Chamomile usually produces flowers that can be harvested in just six to eight weeks. When harvesting chamomile flowers, most herb gardeners will leave some seed heads to naturally self-sow to produce a small colony of chamomile. You can also set aside some of the harvested blooms to dry for seed to plant in other areas.

Chamomile originates in Europe but grows well in British soils. It is most used to make a refreshing herbal tea and is widely believed to combat insomnia. It is also thought to ease stomach pains and toothache. Regular use of chamomile could improve your immune system and may help to ward off colds and other infections.

Chamomile self-seeds happily. This means it will sprout up from the ground in the same place each year without the trouble of you having to save seed and re-sow them.

The plants grow up to a metre tall, depending on the variety you choose. It is a great choice for a container garden, or to have growing in a window box. The flowers have a sweet, delicate scent and a pot of chamomile next to the bed is thought to help get you off to a sleep.

Chamomile prefers a sunny position in well-drained soil with a fair amount of organic matter (if the soil hasn’t been

cultivated for a while or is over cultivated, mix in plenty of rich, organic matter such as well-rotted animal manure or homemade compost when preparing the bed).

The best way to grow chamomile is to sow it from seed in late spring. Seeds are very sensitive to light, so can simply be scattered over the surface of a well-prepared bed that is free from weeds. Cover with a very thin layer of soil and water well. The seedlings should sprout within a couple of weeks. Thin young plants can grow 30cm apart to allow them the space to grow to their full size.

Chamomile requires very little attention if given good conditions to grow in. Water plants regularly in very hot weather, especially if growing it in pots, and feed with an organic liquid fertiliser if the plants appear to be struggling. Other than that, your growing Chamomile plants will be ‘happy as larry ‘in your herb patch.

Easy to grow and maintain, a chamomile lawn saves you the bother of cutting the lawn! Sprinkle seeds as you would grass seeds over the soil and water in well. Germination will start within about two weeks, depending on the time of year. As camomile is also a common native weed species, these plants are remarkably fuss free and grow strongly.

HOME-MADE CHAMOMILE TEA 2 tsp dried chamomile flowers 2 cups hot water 2 tsp sugar or honey (optional) Just mix the camomile flowers in hot water and let it infuse for two or three minutes until you get a strong odour. Strain and sieve and then pour, adding sugar or honey to taste.

There are two different species of plants commonly known as chamomile.

• Chamaemelum mobile, also commonly known as English, or Roman chamomile, is a low growing perennial. It is considered to be the true chamomile and is used in landscapes as a flowering groundcover or lawn substitute.

English chamomile is hardy and is cultivated all over the world for its herbal properties.

• German chamomile, or Matricaria recutita, is also cultivated as the herb chamomile, but it is considered the false chamomile. It is an annual that grows to 18 inches tall and its consistent miniature daisy-like flowers add charm to container, herb, and cottage gardens.

8

A CHAMOMILE LAWN

Country Gardener

A CHAMOMILE FACIAL STEAM Chamomile contains powerful anti-oxidants including polyphenols and phytochemicals. When applied to the skin, it may help reduce signs of aging by protecting the skin from free radical damage. One way is to use it as the base for a facial steam by soaking plants in hot boiling water and then using as a steam facial.

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Toby’s big spring bash is back!

Friday, 29th & Saturday, 30th April 10am-5pm The two-day popular Toby Buckland Garden Festival at Powderham Castle returns to its traditional spring dates for a show bursting with plants.

Toby’s Garden Festival, now in its eighth year, returns to Powderham Castle in the picturesque village of Kenton, near Exeter, on Friday, 29 and Saturday, 30 April for one of the highest profile garden shows in the south west.

The popular gardening bash, which annually brings over 6000 visitors to the 14th century castle and deer park, is hosted by TV gardener, Toby Buckland, with two days of gardening talks and demos, plus a fabulous opportunity to get your hands on the best plants from local

and award-winning growers.

New for 2022, is the return of the popular VIP experience in the music room and library of the castle, along a new Tea in the Castle ticket where guests can kick back after a busy morning at the festival.

Toby says: “After our summer festival last year, it’s great to be back at the start of the growing season, just when everything is coming to life. Gardening has never been more relevant, whether growing your own food, or fortifying your wellbeing - and that’s all reflected in our inspirational line-up for 2022.

Anti clockwise: Toby Buckland, Arit Come and join us!”

Take tea in the Castle!

HIGHLIGHTS Edward Hitchens, the largest supplier of new and reclaimed bricks and natural stone in the South West, are creating a display at the festival in 2022. Head here for advice from in-the-know local experts, plus a special show offer of 10 per cent on orders.

Susy Atkins joins us to talk Devon wines Susy is the Daily Telegraph wine columnist and wine editor of Delicious magazine. Based in Devon she is also well known from her 12 years as one of the wine experts on BBC1’s Saturday Kitchen.

Meet talented craftspeople keeping endangered woodcraft skills alive, including Steve Overthrow’s riddles and sieves, and John Williamson from Dartmoor Woodcraft demonstrating the ancient art of making charcoal and traditional stave baskets.

10

Cheese & wine pairings

Take a break in the VIP area of the Castle with tea, coffee and cake from 2.30pm.

Tickets £25pp, festival entry included, available from www.tobygardenfest.co.uk

Hard landscaping advice

Heritage Wood Crafts

Anderson, Becks Pearson, Tim Shepherd

Devon artisan cheese-makers, Sharpham Cheese, are here with their award-winning soft and semiripe cheeses and Sharpham Wine, all handmade on the Sharpham Estate, and inside advice about cheese and wine pairings.

Recycled furniture

Festival sponsor, Devon Contact Waste, the South West’s leading independent commercial waste handling firm will be showcasing their range of 100 per cent recycled plastic garden furniture, including weatherproof seats, tables and benches. Their Zero to Landfill solution ensures that no waste from the festival bins goes to landfill and festival visitors can also bring along their old plastic plant pots for recycling with DCW at the festival.

Crafts and food highlights The two-day festival is more than just the opportunity to buy plants. We have again one of the strongest line ups of West Country specialist crafts, jewellery, gifts, foods, clothes, gardening tools and more join up to complete the festival exhibitor profile. For a full list on who is exhibiting go to www.tobygardenfest.co.uk

Music and entertainment Enjoy live acoustic music from talented folk bands and Sunny Side Up Ukeleles; make a flower crown with the talented florists of the British Academy of Floral Art; get a selfie with the amazing stilt walkers, the Higher Beings and tuck into a delicious array of curated artisan street food from local producers.

Plant nurseries to look forward to - plus exciting new exhibitors The heart of the two-day festival remains the specialist plant nurseries whose high quality, great value plants are a huge attraction for visitors. There is no better time than spring to start planning your garden and deciding which plants to introduce.

The festival has one of the strongest line up of independent plant nurseries in the south west including some new plant exhibitors alongside some regulars at Powderham Castle.

They include: Alchemy Ferns Alchemy Fern is based in York, mail order specialists. Working hard to bring you the best quality well-established ferns Atlantic Botanic North Devon-based family run nursery growing plants suited to coastal conditions.

Avon Bulbs A large selection of flower bulbs including snowdrops, tulips, alliums, daffodils, agapanthus and much more for sale online.

Bean Place Nursery A wide range of hardy herbaceous, hardy ferns and grasses grown in Kent since 1997.

CASTLE DINING HALL

Talks FRIDAY 29TH APRIL

SATURDAY 30TH APRIL

Coach House Cacti – NEW FOR 2022 Dorset- based cacti and succulent nursery.

Good news for cactophiles (cactus lovers) who can look forward to seeing award-winning Coach House Cacti exhibit Dorset-based Coach House is run by David Ennals supported by wife Jane.

Easterhill Herbs & Willow Local family-run nursery based in Starcoss, growing willow, wildlife and culinary and medicinal herbs.

British Academy of Floral Art International floristry school based just outside Exeter who are making a giant Flower Crown at the festival.

Gardeners Delight Nursery Large range of perennials, clematis and shrubs, plus lots of new and unusual varieties, all grown in their North Devon nursery.

Kitchen Garden Plant Centre Herbs and edibles from seed using organic and sustainable methods grown in Gloucestershire. Over 100 varieties, peat-free compost and locally sourced.

Hen House Farm – NEW FOR 2022 First time exhibitors at this year’s festival are Paul and Sandy McEvoy who run The Hen House Farm, near Yelverton in Devon, who not only sell chickens but are on a mission to introduce families, schools and care homes into keeping hens and raising chickens

through their hire schemes.

Lilies and Chillies Based in Cornwall, Lilies and Chillies grows an outstanding selection of perennial plants & bulbs.

Providing Expert Services in Wildlife Ponds, Trees Conservation & Rewilding in Devon.

Wildlife Ponds, Tree Conservation & Ecological Landscaping in Devon by Lost Habitat.

Millwood Plants A hardy herbaceous perennial plant nursery based in the heart of the Taw Valley..

Petrichor Bulbs A diverse array of spring flowering bulbs.

Piccolo Plants – NEW FOR 2022 Succulent nursery based in Branscombe, all grown on site plus aeonium, echeveria, sedum, greenovia and more!

Tortworth Plants A popular ever present at the Powderham festival, Tortworth Plants produce a range of alpines and herbaceous perennials, including some rare and unusual varieties, plus those classic favourites.

Urban & Rural Plants A nursery specialising in the unusual. Based at Matford near Exeter, the nursery is just a few years old but has a fantastic reputation for quality and range of stock.

TWO DAYS OF HIGH-QUALITY GARDEN TALKS - ALL FREE OF CHARGE

Hosted by TV and radio gardening presenter, Toby Buckland, the eighth Toby’s Garden Festival will be joined by BBC Gardeners’ World presenter, Arit Anderson, and Tim Shepherd, time-lapse cameraman on BBC’s Green Planet and many more in two series of specialist talks, lectures and demonstrations.

Toby Buckland

Tim Shepherd

Becks Pearson

James Millman

Greg Pearson

‘Favourite Flowers from the Festival’ - new and exciting plants to get on your radar

The BBC time-lapse cameraman in conversation on the behind the scenes of the stunning filming for BBC’s Green Planet

Creating a roll of honour for WW2’s forgotten Women’s Land Army in Devon

Home-grown music

Tasters and talk with Sharpham Cheese’s owner and head cheesemaker

Arit Anderson

Toby Buckland

Susy Atkins

Ade Sellars

Sara Dance

The BBC TV presenter shares her 7 Principles of Garden Design with wildlife and climate change in mind

‘Favourite Flowers from the Festival’ - new and exciting plants to get on your radar

Wine writer Susy Atkins talks on quality of Devon vineyards

Agents of the Field

Breathways’ Mindful Gardening

COUNTRY GARDENER

Talks Tent

The Bideford guitar-maker on how native trees are used to make instruments in Devon, and the quality and sounds each timber brings

The award-winning blogger on how to create a Using breathwork and productive - and beautiful - mindfulness to relieve kitchen garden stress and anxiety

EXPERT TALKS AND ADVICE IN OUR COUNTRY GARDENER TALKS TENT - FREE

The Country Gardener Talks Tent will feature specialist talks from gardening specialists, plant nurseries on both days. All the talks are in relaxed surroundings and free of charge.

FRIDAY 29TH APRIL

David Ennals

Paul Jupp

Caroline Bawn

Jane Fletcher

Coach House Cacti

Meadow in my Garden

Dyeing with plants

Easterhill Herbs

SATURDAY 30TH APRIL

Paul McEvoy

Chris Ireland Jones

Amelia Cooper Smith

Jeremy Wilson

Hen House Farm

Avon Bulbs

Amelia’s Flower Farm

Stretegate Camellias

GET TICKETS CHEAPER ONLINE IN ADVANCE AT www.tobygardenfest.co.uk Tickets from £12pp online. On the gate £15pp. Kids under 16 free. Dogs on leads welcome.

Magazines

11

WEED

ATTACK Tackle weeds with energy and success in April and it will make a real difference to your new season in the garden

Why does weeding have such a bad reputation?

Is it really the worst job in the garden?

There’s more than one way of looking at the whole thing.

Perhaps one of the more inspiring is to remind yourself that weeding is not just about making your garden look good and neat. It is more importantly perhaps about improving the conditions for the plants you want to keep being able to thrive.

In April timing is everything.

Things really start to pick up pace in the garden and those nettles you noticed way back at the end of February are starting to make tentative appearances and are now in full growing mode.

If you can get on top of the weeds during April, you will spend the summer a lot happier in the garden.

Most weeds are easiest to move when they are young as the roots have not yet taken hold. It is also a good idea to catch the weeds before they move to seed and start to seed all over the garden.

Don’t be put off if weeds take over areas in the garden from time to time. Certain weeds will flourish depending on the weather and soil conditions and you can tackle these weeds in different ways, based on how they grow.

Some are annuals, such as hairy bittercress and chickweed, and have a one-year lifecycle that ends with them setting seeds for the next generation.

Others are perennials, like dandelions (having a lifecycle longer than one year).

Dislodge annual weeds by shallowly working the soil with a hoe but take care. If you hoe too deeply it may bring up ungerminated seeds to the surface.

Your hands alone are not the best tools for weeding.

Weeding is rarely a casual task to be done while walking by. You must stop and plan to weed – even if just for 15 minutes. Grab the right tool, a pair of gloves, and a bucket.

Pick a three-square-foot plot and weed that. Go after the roots and ALL the vegetation. Fully remove the plant so that it doesn’t have a chance to grow back, dig its roots deeper, or set a bunch of seeds in motion.

All annual weeds will go through several seeding cycles in the spring in the race to make as many offspring as possible to keep their kind on the planet. Your job is to weed before these prolific plants go to seed. Ideally, before they even flower.

All plants will set flowers and then those flowers will ripen to seed. The minute you see a weed in flower, you know you are in trouble because seeds are right around the corner. There is an old farmer’s adage that goes, , “One year of seed gives seven years of weed.” That means when you let even one plant go to seed and deposit those seeds in the soil, you are essentially making a deposit in the bank -- the seed bank.

Mother Nature’s soils are one of the most generous banks around. It will not allow those seeds to germinate all at once. Instead, only a measured amount will germinate at any one time. This ensures that more and more seeds can be deposited and more and more weeds can germinate over time. That soil can hold years and years and years of seed, so making further deposits only ensures that these weeds will come endlessly, year after year.

Just remember that no garden is weed free and they will keep coming – that’s all part of gardening.

Weeding is just something we have to do.

The key weeding skills The longer weeds grow, the more they spread, and small weeds are much easier to remove than big ones. Pull them as soon as you spot them growing and you’ll save yourself a lot of time and effort Adding insult to injury, some weeds such as thistle and brambles have prickles. Some weeds such as stinging nettle and poison ivy may cause skin irritation. Avoid painful punctures and rashes, especially when working with unfamiliar plants, by always wearing protective gloves while weeding.

For annual weeds, such as chickweed, purslane, and lamb’s quarters, cut off the weed at the soil line with a sharp hoe. Don’t dig too deep into the soil or you’ll bring up more weed seeds, resulting in more work for you.

Many weeds spread by producing tons of seeds, and those seeds often can survive in the soil for many years, just waiting for a little light and moisture to grow. When you’re weeding, keep this in mind so that you disturb the soil as little as possible. Applying a layer of mulch will also help prevent the weed seeds from seeing the light of day.

Know your enemy. Identifying the weeds in your garden can help you figure out the best strategy for controlling them.

12

Country Gardener

In April timing is everything when it comes to weeds

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CO-EXISTING WITH

pets in my garden Animal lover and Country Gardener reader John Clayton says his Dorset garden is more joyful and full of companionship because of his two dogs , two cats and a handful of chickens I freely admit that I share my garden with various pets. Sometimes I think it might be the other way around and they share it with me.

The line up now is two dogs, a young black retriever called Ben and a sprightly terrier now eight years old called Jed. There are two cats Eric and Ernie and I should also mention and some hens but they are something else altogether…….

I read something the other week about the importance of keeping animals away from gardening and protecting what you do outside in the garden. It was a rather pompous piece about the damage pets can do and how as gardeners we need to be careful and protective of plants.

My view is exactly the opposite.

I think animals bring companionship to a garden, even the cats who love wending their down to the bottom of the garden just to see what’s going on.

As with all pets in our house and garden anyway, it’s a kind of marriage. We tolerate each other’s failings because we love each other, and I think our Dorset garden as much belongs to the dogs as it is does to me.

They know every inch of it as well as I do, and they have shared it with me in all weathers, snow, rain and heatwaves and through every season.

Every single time I go in the garden they come with me. The cats are more discerning and are fair weather visitors to the farther reaches of the plot.

There is a strange reassurance to be digging away or tending the vegetable patch in the summer and to see the two dogs both side by side under the big old fir tree, staring at me hoping I imagine that I am going to take notice of them, offer them a biscuit or decide it’s time for walks.

I have always had animal companions in the garden.

I have never seen them as doing damage or destroying plants. I can’t deny there are a few holes round some of the old trees down at the end of the garden but they are way down and in the wild part.

We have always had chickens in the garden and while I should never refer to them as pets they certainly are companions. It is perhaps hard for a gardener to love chickens unless they

are securely penned in as once they are loose they can create havoc. A bed of lettuce will disappear in a few minutes and a seed bed carefully prepared and lovingly sown will soon become a dustbowl.

But there is good news- there are fresh eggs literally every morning. Our solution has been to hive off a small area for them to trash and do with what they want.

But perhaps I have been fortunate and it isn’t everyone who feels so relaxed about pets in the garden.

I love gardening and plants. But not all plants are good for dogs. Some plants can harm, injure and even cause death.

Plants like daffodils, wysteria, hydrangea, fox glove, azaleas, lillies, tulips, daphne and yew, can cause serious malfunction in your dog’s system. So, when in doubt, look it up to be safe.

I admit to having planted with two big dogs in mind. I have avoided delicate or young plants where the dogs can reach. I have also Invested in more robust plants such as large perennials, and sturdy shrubs that can withstand a zooming dog. Lavender makes a good border that is sturdy and dog safe by the way.

To keep Ben from getting out I planted climbing plants and vines next to the fence, which look beautiful as it clings and climbs. When they were younger I had several plants with thorns near the easiest access points of escape. The rose bush is a good example.

One of the things one doesn’t want, is poo showing up all over the place. Get your dog a specific soiling area and try to wash any residue away after picking it up. It’s not safe to compost dog faeces since it contains dangerous parasites that won’t die in a simple compost system.

Try to provide your dog with a safe and shaded resting area so your dog can take himself there to relax and escape from the hot sun. If you happen to have big trees that provide a good amount of shade, perfect. A neighbour of mine leaves a parasol for his quite hairy dog.

So, let’s not forget Eric and Ernie.

I have planted cat-happy plants such as catnip, or lavender. They seem to enjoy these scents and maybe it helps stop them from straying too far away.

And then there is the concern about cats and caring for birds. I’m not going to change the rules of nature in my garden and so I don’t try.

My wife loves looking after the birds and the conflict sort of works. We keep the cats in as much as we can at dawn and dusk.

Nothing in terms of bird feeders is very low and we don’t place them on tree trunks.

The other day I saw Eric looking longingly out of the window at a female blackbird feeding comfortably on mealworms on the patio and thought that at least there was some sort of balance.

One sad day these animals will be buried at the bottom of the garden in a coppice alongside two other dogs and a cat so they can be in the garden for ever. I can’t image a garden without them and luckily so far that hasn’t been a very great sacrifice of the pride and pleasure I take in my garden.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

15

Warm down and stay injury free

In the second part of a series pilates trainer Kate Lewis helps you through some injury saving stretches and exercises and warm down routines as you prepare for the hard work in the garden

As spring beckons, and the clocks go forwards, we love the opportunity to spend more time in the garden. Gardening is known to be deeply beneficial for body and mind but as well as tending our plants it is also very important to look after our bodies to make sure we can keep active and enjoy gardening for as long as possible.

Last month we looked at the importance of warming up before heading outside - a gentle warm up to raise the body’s temperature and some dynamic stretches to warm the muscles.

Now we turn our attention to the time we come in from the garden. No-one questions how important stretching is post-exercise, but it is easy to forget that gardening is, in itself, also quite a workout. It is all too easy to spend hours digging and pruning, sit down and then wonder why we have terrible back ache the next day!

Here are some stretches that will help to ease the muscles, increase flexibility and prevent aches and pains.

Keep your abdominal muscles gently pulled in to support your back while doing the stretches. They should feel gentle and not painful and remember to breathe deeply into each stretch.

1. Quad Stretch Stand with feet hip width apart. Hold a wall/chair if needed. Bend your right knee and grasp the ankle with your left hand. Pull your heel towards your glutes (muscles in the bottom) until you feel a gentle stretch in the front of the thigh. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

2. Hamstring Stretch Stand with feet hip width apart. Step your right foot in front of you, keeping the toes lifted, and bend your left leg.

Bend at the hips while keeping your back straight. Place your hands on your left thigh and gently draw your right toes up until you feel a stretch down the back of the right leg. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

3. Calf Stretch Stand with feet hip width apart, holding onto a wall or chair if necessary. Step your right foot back so your right heel is flat on the floor. Keeping your upper body upright press into the back heel until you feel a gentle stretch down the back of the leg. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

4. Hip Flexor Stretch Place your left knee on the ground and step your right foot forward - your left knee should be directly underneath your hip and your right hip and knee should be at right angles. Press your hips forwards, without leaning your upper body forwards, until you feel a stretch in the front of your left thigh. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side

5. Lying Figure 4 Stretch Lie on your back with knees bent and feet on the floor.

Place your right foot on about your left knee so your right knee opens outward. Bring your left knee in towards your chest, clasping your hands behind your left thigh.

Pull your thigh towards your chest until you feel a gentle

stretch in your left glutes. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side. If you can’t reach behind your leg place a band or scarf behind your left thigh and use that to pull your left thigh in towards your chest.

6. Pec Stretch Stand next to a wall (or doorway or tree). Place your hand on the wall at shoulder height. Rotate your torso away from the wall until you feel a stretch across your chest.

Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other

7. Side Stretch Stand with feet hip width apart. Raise both arms straight into the air and reach over to your left side until you feel a stretch down the right side of your body. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

8. Arm/Shoulder Stretch Stand with feet hip width apart. Draw your right arm across your body and support it below the elbow with your opposite hand. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat on the other side.

NEXT MONTH preventing injury and safe gardening techniques Note: Please check with your doctor/healthcare professional before starting any physical exercise, especially if you have a previous medical condition.

None of the above exercises should cause pain, please exercise within your capabilities.

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SPRING, YOU’RE EARLY AGAIN! The period of active plant growth each year is lengthening. A study estimated it to be, on average, a month longer during the past decade compared to the period between 1961 and 1990. It is affecting wildlife habits, when hibernation ends, and when mating begins as nature reacts to the weather not the calendar.

It has been calculated that in Britain, spring is now advancing by two and a half days every decade.

These changes may be affecting food chains for plants, insects and birds, with some species potentially falling out of sync with each other because each respond individually and at different rates to rising temperatures.

It also means: • spring events like budburst, leafing and flowering are getting earlier • fruiting of trees and shrubs is getting earlier • late autumn events such as leaf fall may be delayed

The arrival of swallows is a classic sign of spring 18

Scientific studies using data from Nature’s Calendar , the organisation which uses the public’s sightings of plants, animals and fungi to track the effects of weather and climate on nature have indicated how the arrival of spring is changing many aspects of nature.

The overall period of active plant growth each year is lengthening. A recent study by the Met Office estimated it to be, on average, a month longer during the past decade compared to the period between 1961 and 1990.

Changing phenology, the reaction of plants and animals to weather and climate is one of the first observed responses to climate change. Eventually, species may also change their abundance, range (i.e. where they are found geographically) and even become locally extinct in areas that are less favourable. So, the science of phenology provides a powerful ‘early warning’ of species that could be ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ as the climate changes.

This could be when animals go in and out of hibernation, or when the leaves on trees start changing colour and falling off. The seasons are roughly measured by when certain groups of events happen within a certain timeframe.

Lorienne Whittle, a citizen science officer at the Woodland Trust, explained that phenology allows for a more fluid definition of what the seasons are and what they mean to us: “Nature doesn’t really follow our calendar, it basically reacts to the weather, as we do as people… if we see it raining outside, we put a coat on.”

Records of the spring index go back to 1891 and include things like the first sighting of a swallow. All of the events included in the index happen at a similar time of year and are used as indications of the start of spring. Having these records mean that they can track how spring has changed over the decades.

Country Gardener

Changing climate means a change in gardening tasks

Lots of species’ events are happening a lot earlier than they used to, Lorienne says. In fact, according to the Woodland Trust, spring now starts six days earlier than it did in 1999.

For example, oak trees leaf earlier in a warmer spring.

Oak leaves are important for caterpillars - it’s their main source of nutrition. The caterpillars don’t mind if they come out a bit earlier, as it just means their numbers increase slightly earlier too.

Blue tits, great tits and pied flycatchers all feed on those caterpillars, so you might think more caterpillars is great for them. But the life cycle of the caterpillars is important for the survival of these birds, as they can only eat caterpillars up to the point at which they form a chrysalis. The chick’s chances of survival increase or decrease depending on the number of caterpillars there are to eat – if the caterpillars get to chrysalis stage earlier, and the birds don’t realise, the birds’ food supply decreases considerably.

Lorienne explains: “Those birds can’t react in the same way that the caterpillar has to the oak tree… in a warmer spring, the birds aren’t able to.”

LET IT GROW Earlier springs and other changes to our seasons are a result of climate change. This is because our average global temperature is going up, and it has done so already by about one degree Celsius in the last 100 years.

Climate change isn’t just influencing the four seasons you already know. Introducing the not-so-new kid on the block: the growing season. This is the period of the year in which crops are able to grow, and is another great indicator of the changes in our climate that can be looked at alongside phenology.

So what do we classify as being the growing season? The growing season starts when the temperature gets to five degrees Celsius or more for five consecutive days. It ends when the temperature drops below five degrees or more for five consecutive days.

This change has actually been positive. We can grow things in this country that we never used to be able to, partially because it’s warmer, but mainly because we’ve reduced the number of hard frosts that we get in the winter.

SO, WHEN IS SPRING? What is considered the first day of spring depends on whether you are using the meteorological or astronomical definition of the seasons.

The meteorological is the simpler of the two, because it splits the year into four seasons of three full months each based on the Gregorian calendar, making it easier to compare seasonal and monthly statistics.

This means that every year spring begins on 1st March and lasts until 31st May, with summer starting on 1st June.

The astronomical season is less straightforward as it depends on the date of the spring equinox, which means the date comes later and can vary slightly from year to year.

In 2022, the spring (also known as vernal) equinox fell on Sunday 20th March. This is the most common date for the phenomenon by some distance, although it can fall any time between the 19th and 21st of the month.

The astronomical spring will then last until the summer solstice, which in 2022 is on Tuesday 21st June.

IS IT GETTING WARMER? Average British Spring temperatures: 2015 to 2019 2006 to 2015 1991 to 2010 1961 to 1990

8.4 degrees C 8.1 degrees C 7.7 degrees C 7.1 degrees C

WHAT IS PHENOLOGY? Phenology is the study of seasonal changes in plants and animals from year to year, such as flowering of plants, emergence of insects and migration of birds, especially their timing and relationship with weather and climate.

There are clear examples of events that you can record throughout the year: Trees and shrubs Budburst, first leaf, first flower, fruit ripe, first tint, full tint, leaf fall, bare tree

Resident birds First heard singing, first nestbuilding, first feeding young, young first seen

Flowers First flower

Insects First recorded

Migratory birds First and last recorded

Robert Marsham: The father of springtime records One man’s work recorded the first signs of spring 300 years ago. Robert Marsham began noting down the changes in nature’s calendar - now known as phenology - in 1736.

Buds bursting into leaf, flowers blossoming and butterflies starting to flutter arose the curiosity of one man so much that he decided to write down the changes he noticed each spring.

Robert Marsham, who was born in 1708, is understood to be the first person to write down significant occurrences in nature’s cycle.

The naturalist who came from Norfolk, started recording the first signs of the season when he was in his late 20s and it made such an impact on his family that they carried on his work until the 1950s when they were told they no longer had to make any new records.

He meticulously catalogued detailed records of seasonal weather and temperature changes; tree foliation; crop growth and progress; migrating birds; flowering dates of individual species like snowdrops and wood anemones in spring; first sightings of butterflies and swallows; and listened for the first call of the cuckoo. His ground-breaking work developed

into the 27 ‘Indications of Spring’ and were eventually reported to the Royal Society in 1789.

Marsham continued to note down significant dates for the next 62 years recording some 27 natural events for more than 20 animals and plants. These included tree leafing times and the arrival of migrant birds.

Marsham’s records did not stop with his death in 1797. Successive generations kept up this information gathering until 1958 when they stopped, just at the point when the cumulative impact of burning fossil fuels and forest destruction began to have an accelerating effect on the world’s climate.

Websites you can use to help record spring:

www.naturescalendar.org.uk

www.birdtrack.net

WHAT IS THE SPRING INDEX? This is calculated from the date of certain biological events: • The first flowering of hawthorn and horse chestnut • The first recorded flight of an orange tipped butterfly • The first sighting of a swallow “Since 1966 these have been around six days in advance of the average dates in the first half of the last century,” explains Amanda Garfield from the Nature’s Calendar project.

“And the index does show a strong correlation with mean spring temperatures.”

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19

GARDEN ACCESSORIES

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Breathing into your garden

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The last couple of years have shown us that it’s also a place to relax and in many ways treat the way we treat our home with comfortable furnishings, pieces of art, sculpture and more.

So perhaps after the winter your garden is looking a little lacklustre and in need of a little TLC? There’s no time like the present to tackle your outdoor space. Is your garden furniture a little tired or your garden needing an early season lift with a sculpture or peace of art? Perhaps you need to treat yourself to a new arbour, fruit cage or raised beds.

Breathing new life into your back garden, or front garden, for that matter, doesn’t always require a landscape gardener and huge costs.

SECURE SOLUTION TO CONTROLLING SHRUBS If you are looking for an effective and strong way to control your shrubs and climbers using Rivelin Glen Products uniquely designed Wire Anchors could be the answer. They are quick and easy to attach to concrete posts (without drilling) to act as an ‘eye’ by threading wire through them to create a trellising system.

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HOW MANY TIMES IS THE ANSWER FOUND IN A RECLAMATION YARD? ‘One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.’ When you’re working on your garden you might not automatically think of visiting a reclamation yard but with an extensive range of salvaged items and materials you could find something quite special to add to your outdoor space. There are the obvious garden antiques, ornaments and furniture that have always been used that way in gardens looking for a new home. Architectural building materials can be used as visually interesting elements or within larger projects - common reclaimed materials used in gardening projects include timber, bricks, roofing, stone and tiles, and then there are the items that can be completely re purposed, antique kitchen sinks and bath tubs as planters, vintage windows and doors to make hot boxes, glass houses or even incorporated in the design of a archway, decorative chimney pots as planters, part of a water feature or an outdoor cooking area, so if you’re thinking of something new for your garden or starting a project a reclamation yard could provide the inspiration.

Jurassic Reclamation, Unit 2 Broomhills Farm, West Bay Fields, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 5LB Tel: 07398 939692 www.jurassicreclamation.co.uk please check opening times before visiting.

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A style guide to the outside

Industry expert and founder of Out and Out Original, Daniel Fairburn, brings you this season’s best deals on designer furniture. Visit www.outandout.com or call 02037 728 752 for more exciting deals and discounts.

California - Keter Lounge Set Combining both comfort and style, the California lounge set from Keter is the go-to choice for daily lounging. This stunning dark grey outdoor lounge set comes with two sturdy large armchairs, a spacious three-seater sofa, a rectangular coffee table and plump grey cushions to match. Guaranteed to give your garden or patio area an understated modern look, it’s made from high quality UV stabilised resin to offer you great all-year-round resilience. Available in taupe or dark grey. Normally £999, this stylish set is now available at an incredible £599*. To receive your £400 discount please quote discount code CGMAR22 at checkout.

SAVE £400 Santorini - Lounge Set with Side Cushions

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This sleek modular looking lounge set is truly versatile and can be arranged in several different ways. Consisting of one left hand and one right hand sofa, two ottomans and a compact coffee table, a simple rearrangement of the pieces enables you to turn it into 2 chaise longues, 2 day beds or keep all 4 pieces separate for a more sociable outdoor lounge space.

Also available in blue and includes a 12 month warranty. Normally £1199, it’s now available at an amazing £799*. To receive your £400 discount quote code CGMAR22 at checkout.

Delano - 5-Seater Garden Furniture Set The Delano patio furniture set is generous in size and seats 5 in comfort. It comprises of 2 armchairs, a 3-seater bench and a matching coffee table which offers convenient storage space. The comfy padded seat cushions feature removable covers for washing to keep up that flawless look.

Contemporary in design, it is bang on trend in this season’s taupe or dark grey. This Garden set is made from UV stabilised resin, meaning that it is virtually maintenance-free all year round, see website for details. Normally £499, it’s now available at an amazing £299*, but only when you quote your £200 discount code CGMAR22B at checkout.

SAVE £200

To receive your discount on any of these products quote discount code at checkout at www.outandout.com or call 02037 728 752 before 23.04.2022. *Excludes delivery. Prices correct at time of going to press.

Karen Ongley-Snook glass maker designs perfect for gardens Karen Ongley-Snook is a multi-media artist who is based in the picturesque village of Bosham on the West Sussex coast.

Specialising in pieces for the garden, Karen is known for her columns and fused glass fish. She is busy preparing for RHS Chelsea Flower Show, although she says, “I never thought I would get to exhibit there, but I applied and was accepted, I’m just so excited, though it’s going to be hard work”.

Each piece is individually made by hand to order.

The columns and panels have stainless steel frames which don’t rust or rot, they bring colour and structure to the borders and look great in a frost. The fish and lollipops are on rods which naturally rust and disappear into the foliage, they sway gently in the breeze and look fabulous swimming in grasses and herbaceous borders. Karen is also part of the little art gallery in West Wittering which is filled with the work of 60 talented artists . www.ongley-snookdesigns.com Tel: 01243 573411

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Visit our website to view our other gardening accessories and gift ideas www.rivelinglenproducts.co.uk info@rivelinglenproducts.co.uk 01246 462666

Eco-friendly garden furniture to inspire your garden Summer is just around the corner so now is the perfect time to consider updating your garden furniture. Made in Exeter entirely from plastic waste collected from South West businesses, DCW’s Recycled Plastic furniture is a stylish a sustainable alternative to timber. It will not rot, splinter, or corrode and is completely weatherproof so will not require painting or treating.

There’s plenty to choose from. The popular Exmoor range includes a bench, chair, and coffee table, perfect for relaxing in your garden. The timeless Exeter dining set is also perfect for summer get-togethers with family and friends! All items are available individually or as a set.

If you are looking for a larger piece? Brand new for 2022 is the Wellington, a sociable eight-seater picnic bench.

DCW also supplies a range of recycled fence posts, rails and decking.

To find out more or to place an order, visit www.dcw.co.uk or call 01392 361300.

Eco-Friendly Outdoor Living for a Sustainable Future To view the full range, or find out more about the benefits of recycled plastic products, you can download our brochure at:

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Positively Reducing Carbon Not only do we save energy in manufacturing by using recycled material, and solar to supplement the power at our plant, but for every piece of furniture we sell, we plant a tree in Devon!

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GARDEN ACCESSORIES

CROSSWORD

SAVE £200 ON THE STUNNING MARBELLA OUTDOOR LOUNGE SET The ideal addition to your outdoor space, the fabulous Marbella lounge set is perfect for maximising your time in the garden and relaxing. Bang on trend in gorgeous shades of grey and light blue cushions, this set is designed with a contemporary feel. This offer includes a cosy three-seater sofa, fitted ottoman with cushion, a matching armchair all with thick seat and back cushions for total comfort and a matching coffee table with high quality tempered-glass top that makes it ideal for relaxing outdoors and entertaining guests. The comfy cushion covers can be removed and hand washed with care. The set is hard-wearing, woven in strong polyrattan on a galvanised steel frame, making it virtually maintenance free.

The set was £999, and is now £799 when you quote CGMAR22A, a saving of £200!

Visit outandout.com or Tel: 02037 728 752 by April 26th 2022.

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country gardener

CROSSWORD WIN £100 IN RHS GIFT TOKENS

Welcome back to our popular gardening themed crossword compiled by Saranda which over the past year has become enormously popular with readers. The winning entry to be drawn by us will receive £100 of RHS gift tokens. Completed entries should be sent to Mount House, Halse, Taunton, Somerset TA4 3AD. Closing date is Friday, 22nd April. The winner of our March issue crossword was Pamela Marchant from Poole.

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Step out in style in Backdoor shoes!

If you’re tired of getting soggy socks – every time you need to nip into the garden, what you need is a pair of Backdoorshoes. They slip on and off easily, and are waterproof, lightweight, durable and comfortable. They are made from a vegan-friendly foam EVA formula that won’t crack or perish, with removable washable insoles.

The array of vibrant, fun designs continues to expand – the latest additions to the range are Slate and Bees in the men’s Chunky Tread range, and Green Camo in women’s sizes. Ladies’ designs are available in UK sizes 3 to 8, while the men’s range comes in sizes 8 to 14.

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View the full range at www.backdoorshoes.co.uk

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Everyone needs a pair of USE CODE SPRINGCG AT CHECKOUT TO RECEIVE A 10% DISCOUNT OFF YOUR ORDER T&C’S APPLY It’s time to venture outside and enjoy your garden, allotment or a walk in our comfortable, waterproof, Backdoorshoes. They are lightweight and ideal for slipping off/ on when you need to. Mens and Ladies range available online in sizes UK 3-14. We also have a range of Chelsea ‘Jumpy’ Boots and Wellingtons. Footwear for everyone - we’ve covered all eventualities!

To see our full range visit www.backdoorshoes.co.uk or talk to us on 01202 232357

Unit 2, Broomhills Farm, West Bay Fields, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 5LB Tel: 07398 939692

www.jurassicreclamation.co.uk Our reclamation yard and two storey showroom has an inspiring and large selection of reclaimed garden antiques, building and architectural materials and items for re purposing.

Whatever you are looking for, we are sure that we will have all you need to add creative flair and a unique style to your outdoor space.

Come and visit our yard & ever-changing stock.

We buy reclamation too! Contact us for a free, no obligation quotation.

We are regularly looking to source a wide range of antique and reclaimed items.

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ACROSS 8. A mouthpiece of representative of a group (12) 1. Someone who lives in a tulip city? (12) 9. Common name for three closely related 7. Tropical plants such as bananas (7) plants in the rhododendron genus (8,3) 12. Botanical term relating to plants of the 10. Salad plant of the dock family (6) olive family (9) 11. Dryopteris filix-mas, a UK native (4,4) 13. What florist Buster Edwards later became 15. Medicinal plant sometimes called penny infamous for becoming (5,6) cress (10,7) 14. Type of apple developed in Worcester (8) 17. Planting in the garden (9) 16. Garden in Jerusalem where Christ was 19. In difficulty, as within a farm vehicle (2,3,4) betrayed (10) 21. Spreading open like a flower’s bloom (9) 18. County of Wales whose largest town is 25. Contrariness or polarity (12) Abergavenny (13) 27. Common name of tree maclura pomifera 20. Cause of tree’s disintegration perhaps? (3,3) (5,6) 22. The pansy is also called heart’s ____ (4) 28. Any political policy favouring aggressive 23. The state of being predominant (10) tactics (11) 24. Plant pigment found in buckwheat (5) 31. Disease caused by eating seeds of the wild 26. Abandoned quickly with reference to a radish (8) popular vegetable (7,4,1,3,6) 33. Small white-flowered plant enjoyed by 29. Small New Zealand tree with edible fruit (5) poultry (9) 30. Herb - campanula trachelium - formerly 34. Daisy-like plant whose flowers make a used medicinally (10) herbal tea (8) 32. Azaleas love this kind of soil (4) 37. A small breakfast container (3,3) 35. Plant also known as oleander (6) 40. An Italian sparkler! (4) 36. Process by which organic matters are 41. A favourite children’s game (1-3) turned into rock (13) 44. Deciduous British tree (3) 38. Often a wooden bench for relaxing outdoors Answers from previous issue, March 2022: (6,4) 39. A wild mustard with yellow flowers (8) B R O W N F I E L D S I T E 42. Hundred year periods (11) A S E N Y T A 43. Ocular cosmetics (9) E R I C E L D E R B E R R Y 45. Crushed or squeezed like olives (7) I A D I A L W 46. This is celebrated on June 24 (9,3) DOWN 1. Plant for Vera! (4) 2. Where fish were stored in gardens of a monastery (9) 3. Type of onion related to garlic family (8) 4. A pair of singers or musicians (3) 5. State and river of the United States (11) 6. Dialect word for possible inhabitants of a garden pond (4) 7. Breed of dog first bred to control vermin (10,7)

F L O R L C A L E G G I L O A P R U N S T T I T I E N T R U E

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JOBS FOR THE MONTH

Gardening jobs for April April is one of the busiest times in the garden, but don’t panic, take things one step at a time and you’ll get it all done.

It’s important to take a few moments to sit in the sun, listen to the birds and plan your gardening.

The lengthening days however do make it the perfect time to set up the garden for summer.

April, as they say, is the cruellest month with sun one minute and frosty mornings and bitter winds the next. In the April garden, tender young leaves are prone to frost burn and judging what to do when is tricky. It’s all a question of timing.

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Flower seeds you can sow this month

If you haven’t already sown sweet peas now is your last chance. Sow into deep pots or root trainers as they dislike disturbance to their roots. Or, instead, look out for young plants in nurseries and garden centres. Check whether they are grown for scent or for cutting. Some longer stemmed varieties may smell less strongly.

Sow marigolds, petunias, nasturtiums, asters, zinnia and salvia indoors or in the greenhouse.

Outdoors you can sow native wildflowers and hardy annuals such as poppies and sunflowers.

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Time to plant dahlia tubers Bringing dahlias in for the winter doesn’t just protect them against frost. It also allows them to dry out properly, and helps you bring them on a bit earlier.

They’re now ready to be planted.

Give tubers a sprinkling of water in early spring, and they’ll start to produce young shoots in April.

Dig a planting hole, making sure it isn’t too deep. The shoots are still delicate, and you don’t want to damage them.

Gently pour coarse sand over the tubers; this prevents them from rotting and it’s also a great slug repellent.

Backfill with soil and add a ring of sand to mark the planting spot.

Supporting role for your fast growing plants

Climbing plants head skywards as temperatures rise. Some, such as passion flowers, are masters of clinging on, using tendrils to firmly attach to supports. Others such as climbing roses and honeysuckle may need a little bit of help, especially if conditions are windy. Use garden twine or string to anchor new growth to supports.

Installing trellis can help, too. Obelisks offer shelter and support for climbers while looking ornamental in borders.

In an ideal world one would only grow a handful of plants that need support, but in small gardens and where plants are drawn up to reach for light, this will be necessary. Hazel twigs are excellent, but steel hoops are most easily installed.

Make wigwams for sweet peas and climbing beans.

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Keep azaleas and rhododendrons looking good by pinching off fading flower heads above a new set of leaves.

Deadhead early flowering primulas as early as possible, as they tend to cross-breed very easily.

Early April is your last opportunity to hard-prune late-flowering shrubs.

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It’s now all action on the veggie front

The soil should now be warm enough for seeds to germinate so, once the nights begin to warm up find room for carrots, parsnips and beetroot.

Start sowing spinach and chard. These can go direct into the soil and will need to be watered well until they get going.

Avoid letting them dry out or they might bolt.

Sow broccoli, kale and Brussels sprouts for winter. Sow individual seeds into modules and leave to germinate either in the green house or on a windowsill. They should appear within a couple of weeks. Once they have reached about four inches they can be hardened off and then planted outside.

Sow runner and French beans two to a small pot indoors or under glass. Keep the soil moist and they should soon germinate.

Potatoes need to be planted this month. New potatoes go in early to mid April. Maincrops follow in the second half of the month but exactly when you plant your potatoes will depend on local conditions. The key is to avoid emerging foliage being burned by frost. New potatoes (also known as First and Second Earlies) should be spaced a foot apart.

Stake your perennials before it’s too late. Create attractive willow or hazel structures.

Remove pure green branches from variegated shrubs, such as elaegnus, privet and euonymus – cut them right back to the main stem with secateurs.

Start spraying roses using an organic-approved garlic formula; the key is to start early and spray often. www.countrygardener.co.uk

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... and don’t forget to attend your fruit • To avoid risk of infection, stone fruits such as plum, cherry, peach, nectarine and apricot should only be pruned during the growing season. Prune late April, when the plants are in leaf and after flowering. Immediately seal all cuts greater than one centimetre with wound seal.

• Repot your citrus in fresh citrus-specific compost. If you can’t find this, ericaceous is the next best thing.

• Top dress blueberries grown in pots with ericaceous compost. It’s important to have two different varieties of blueberries to get good production – they will fruit without, but you’ll get a paltry quantity.

• All soft fruits, for example strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, and gooseberries, will benefit from a mulch. Garden compost, leaf mould, organic manure, straw, hay and spent mushroom compost can all be used.

Sweet peppers are a must in any greenhouse

If you have a greenhouse, sweet peppers are a must.

They’re one of the easiest crops to grow and have a multitude of uses in the kitchen – adding flavour and crunch to stir fries, summer salads and fajitas. Red, green and yellow varieties are commonly available. Seeds should be sown as soon as possible this month, placing seed trays or pots in a propagator at around 20°C. Once the first pair of leaves have formed, seedlings should be pricked-out into pots. Sweet peppers thrive under glass, but can also be grown in containers outdoors after all danger of frost has passed.

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Re-energise your garden soil

It’s one of the oldest clichés in gardening: the answer lies in the soil. And as all good gardeners know, it’s true! Improving soil now will pay dividends come summer, resulting in bigger crops and more flowers. Buy sacks of well-rotted manure and dig or fork it into border soil and vegetable patches (don’t let manure come into contact with stems of shrubs and plants). If you don’t have access to manure, the contents of your compost bin can work wonders.

Open the access hatch at the bottom and if the material inside is brown and crumbly, it’s a nutrient-rich wonder that’s ready to be dug into soil.

IMPROVING YOUR SLEEP Struggling to get a good night’s shuteye? Gardening a little more could be the answer If you’re not tired, you’re not going to fall asleep.

It is perhaps obvious when you think about it, but many of us don’t. We all know we should have 30 minutes of exercise every day but with today’s hectic lifestyle many of us struggle to find the time. Thankfully, exercise needn’t be always about running, or going to the gym.

The answer could be out in the garden.

Gardening can be a great way to achieve an allbody workout. It can also be a low-impact path to being a little bit more active. Some gentle pottering in the garden can lead to other tasks, which leads to more physical exertion, which can only ever be a good thing.

Sleep is hugely influenced by your natural circadian rhythm. Every cell in the human body has a clock that’s controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus in the brain. This is linked directly to the eyes. Light then, is a key driver to circadian control.

The body needs appropriate exposure to daylight to regulate the body’s responses to help ‘reset’ this clock. Too many of us spend most of the day inside. Light levels in an office, even close to a window, will be far below those of bright natural daylight. This is one of the reasons why ‘screen time’ in the evening isn’t good when you are supposed to be preparing for sleep. The light entering the eyes is too blue for the time of day. Spending most of the day inside where light levels are low is biologically confusing. Getting outside, getting a bit out of breath, and even being a bit chilly, are the best ways to regulate your body clock.

So if you’re struggling to sleep at night, go outside during the day, plant some seeds, prune something, dig the borders, enjoy the fresh air and the sunshine, and reap the rewards of a good night’s sleep.

Key points INCREASE YOUR EXPOSURE TO DAYLIGHT Getting out into the garden and daylight is a major factor in all this. Vitamin D contained in sunshine helps not only the quantity but the quality of sleep. The body learns a natural rhythm and being outside boosts the exposure to natural daylight and that in turn helps the body’s internal clock.

DOING MORE EXERCISE Just a little pottering around helps your heart rate, so you needn’t think you have to go into full ‘let’s dig the vegetable’ patch mode. If you are not physically tired you won’t go to sleep.

GROWING YOUR OWN CROPS Grow and eat tomatoes, strawberries, walnuts and cherries - they all contain melatonin which enhances sleep GROWING HERBS AND SEEDS Kick the caffeine habit and use healthy homegrown herbs like mint and chamomile to make your own tea. And sowing seeds is also good for your mental health and if you are at all anxious you will have trouble sleeping.

Re-pot your houseplants As light levels increase and temperatures rise, houseplants put on new growth. Increase watering and start liquid feeding – general purpose feeds such as Baby Bio cater for a broad spectrum of houseplants, while specific feeds are available for orchids and citrus. If a houseplant looks unhappy and has been in its pot for two or more years, it may need to be re-potted (roots bursting from drainage holes at the bottom of the pot are a telltale sign). Choose a slightly larger pot and fill with houseplant or loam-based compost. Never use houseplant compost for orchids though, which need an open, bark-based orchid compost that allows air to reach the roots.

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Fritillaria meleagris

Fritillaria michailovskyi

THE FABULOUS FRITILLARIAS FRITILLARIA ARE UNCOMMON AND TRENDY ADDITIONS TO SPRING GARDENS, BLOOMING IN A DIZZYING ARRAY OF UNUSUAL SHAPES, SIZES, COLOURS, AND PATTERNS THAT ARE TRULY OUT OF THIS WORLD. Many gardeners fall head over heels for fritillaria, exotic-looking plants which stand apart from the rest.

It’s easy to understand their adoration.

In a spring garden full of daffodils, tulips, and other conventional spring bloomers, they bring their own distinct personality to spring flowerbeds and containers.

They are most of all loved much loved for their bell-shaped flowers in spring. The range from the diminutive and delicate Fritillaria meleagris to the tall, bold Fritillaria imperialis. There are around 170 species of these summer-dormant, bulbous plants to choose from with a wonderful choice of colour, style and form.

The bulbs of fritillaries should be planted in autumn.

Most have small bulbs, although those of the mighty crown imperial can be larger than a tennis ball and have a foxy smell.

Most spring-flowering bulbs prefer relatively dry growing conditions, especially in the summer months. Most fritillaria need slightly more moisture during the growing season and perform best in soil that is high in organic matter. Well drained soil is important to ensure the bulbs don’t rot during the winter.

While most autumn-planted bulbs have a protective covering (called a tunic) that helps prevent moisture loss, fritillaria bulbs are naked. This makes them more perishable, so the less time the bulbs are out of the ground the better. Ideally you need to buy fresh, properly stored bulbs as soon as they are available, and get them planted by mid-October.

If you are growing Fritillaria imperialis as an annual, there is no need to fertilise the bulbs at planting time. For other types, you can add compost and a small amount of allFritillaria persica purpose fertiliser at planting time.

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Crown imperial bulbs have a natural depression on top where moisture can gather. This makes them sensitive to excess moisture and more vulnerable to rot. Be sure to always plant them in • Make some additions to the soil with finely ground well-drained soils. At planting time, bark, decomposed manure, or compost to improve adding coarse sand, finely crushed drainage and encourage a healthy start. stone or perlite to the planting hole can • Wear gloves when planting fritillaria if you have help encourage good drainage. sensitive skin. Some experience an itchy or tingly Fritillaria imperialis bulbs have a sensation when handling the bulbs. skunky odour and are said to repel • Think twice about planting in containers, as fritillaria voles. Deer avoid both the plants and do best when left undisturbed for long periods of time. the flowers.

• Don’t worry if your bulb arrives with a hole in the top.

One other thing to know about growing This spot is indicative of where last year’s stem grew, fritillaria. In any given batch of bulbs, and while it looks rather odd, it’s totally normal. a percentage will be ‘blind.’ These • Fritillaria prefer dry sites when they are dormant. are bulbs that come up and produce foliage, but do not produce a flower.

• You can cut the shorter fritillaria flowers when in This behaviour is somewhat of a bloom for striking bouquets by cutting the stems horticultural mystery. It’s not about of Crown Imperials often a half of the stalk, which the size or quality of the bulbs, just an can negatively impact the following spring’s flower annoying characteristic of the species. production.

Since there’s no way to know ahead of time which bulbs will not bloom, it’s good to plant some extras so you’re not disappointed.

Crown imperial, Fritillaria imperialis, is a handsome giant. Everything about it is large – the bulbs are fist-size and the robust flower stems can reach one metre in good soil, with pendent bell-shaped flowers typically 5-8cm long and wide. A large clump of Fritillaria imperialis is an imposing sight, and it’s quite undemanding once the bulbs are established.

Fritillaria meleagris is the only fritillary to reliably do well in grass. It will do best in a damp, shallow hollow in a lawn, lightly shaded by deciduous trees or along a hedge. Plant the bulbs by lifting the turf, placing the bulbs on the soil and replacing the turf. They will flower in mid-spring but make sure the grass is not cut until the fritillary leaves have died down for the summer.

Fritillaria persica, known as the Persian lily, makes a great late-spring bulb for a south-facing herbaceous border, the bulbs protected from summer heat by the surrounding perennials.

Fritillaria michailovskyi (Michael’s Flower) is a bulbous perennial with a truly stunning look and has gorgeous deep purple nodding flowers that are bell-shaped with petals that are brushed with tips of bright yellow.

Fritillaria affinis also known as the chocolate lily and is almost extinct in the wild but becoming popular as a garden plant and now more widely available It produces dark, purple, black flowers from mid to late spring.

Fritillaria tips

Country Gardener

GREAT PLACES TO VISIT

IRRESISTIBLE DAYS OUT Suddenly there’s the promise of longer, warmer days and with it the chance to explore and enjoy beautiful gardens across the south west and take part in much anticipated plant fairs and fairs.

Over the next few weeks there should be an overwhelming sense that for the first time in three years things are getting back to normal.

It means that a whole range of venues throughout the south west -NGS Gardens Open, private gardens, nurseries, garden fairs and fetes and festivals are busy promoting and lining up their wares and hoping to attract visitors who for the most part have been starved of recent days out.

Finally with restrictions lifted and with the weather getting warmer, the appeal of days out in gardens and fetes is almost irresistible.

Perhaps more than anywhere else in Britain the south west has a wonderful choice of options for the eager gardener seeking a day out.

April abundance at East Lambrook Manor Gardens April is a fabulous time to visit the cottage garden at East Lambrook Manor, in South Petherton created in the 1950s and 60s by the plantswoman and undisputed Grande Dame of cottage gardening, Margery Fish and made famous through her many books. “The garden changes daily in April,” says owner Mike Werkmeister, “with one plant passing the baton of abundance to another throughout the month.”

At ground level you’ve got bulbs like tulip, Fritillaria meleagis and, in the Ditch the rare, Scilla bithynica, giving way to primula, astrantia and early geranium, such as G. malviflorum. Look up at the many trees flowering in quick succession throughout the month. Several fine magnolias, such as Magnolia x soulangeana in the White Garden, are at their best in early April and later the Judas Trees, Cercis siliquastrum, crab and domestic apples and cherries, including a fine Bird Cherry Prunus padus, all put on a magnificent show. No trip is complete without a visit to the gardens’ hardy plant nursery specialising in plants not easily found in garden centres.

Garden open until 29th October, Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm.

East Lambrook Manor Gardens, East Lambrook, South Petherton TA13 5HH

Wander through clouds of confetti-like blossom at beautiful Batsford this spring. Browse our Garden Centre for a wide selection of quality plants and gardening essentials. A perfect day out for all the family – including the dog!

A visit to the iconic garden of gardening legend Margery Fish is always a joy, never more so than in April when new growth abounds and the nursery is well stocked with tempting cottage garden plants and unusual perennials.

T J US TE S U IN HE 5 M OM T R F A303 H

Book your Arboretum tickets online at www.batsarb.co.uk BATSFORD ARBORETUM AND GARDEN CENTRE Batsford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9AT. Tel: 01386 701441 E: arboretum@batsfordfoundation.co.uk BatsfordArboretum

@BatsfordA

@BatsfordA

T OU AT S ERTON H PET

England’s foremost cottage garden

Iconic cottage garden and nursery Open Tuesday to Saturday | 10am to 5pm Garden entry from £6.50 | Children under 16 free East Lambrook | South Petherton | Somerset | TA13 5HH 01460 240328 | enquiries@eastlambrook.com

* Visit the nursery for free without visiting the garden www.countrygardener.co.uk

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GREAT PLACES TO VISIT

Beaulieu House welcomes back BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair Beaulieu House and gardens welcomes back BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair from Friday, 29th April to Sunday 1st May, celebrating spring plants and gardens. Returning to the Hampshire home of the National Motor Museum for the second year, it promises to be a thrilling three days. Visitors will be able to drop in at the BBC Gardeners’ World magazine stage to join special guests including Adam Frost on Friday, Joe Swift on Saturday, Frances Tophill on Sunday and Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time panellist Matt Biggs. New this year, expert talks will take place twice daily in the vegetable garden at Beaulieu.

Visitors can book into new Plant Expert Tours to explore highlights of Beaulieu’s Victorian floral and kitchen gardens with experts Lucy Chamberlain and Saul Walker, plus Beaulieu head gardener Kelvin Yapp.

Buy tickets at www.beaulieu.co.uk/events/bbc-gardeners-world-fair-spring

LITTLE MALVERN COURT PERFECT FOR EARLY SPRING VISIT The picturesque gardens at Little Malvern Court sit below the wooded slopes of the Malvern Hills, with far-reaching views across the Severn Valley to the Bredon Hills and the Cotswolds. Features to look out for in May include the beautiful pots of tulips, grouped according to colour, surrounding the house.

The varied flowering cherries and crab apple trees will be in blossom. Wildflowers begin to appear in the grass banks and lovely blue camassias pop up in the tall grass of the meadow.

In the rose garden, alliums literally burst into flower and the early roses start to open.

There are cedar trees, planted from seeds brought back from the Holy Land by Charles Michael Berington. The chain of lakes, formerly fishponds for the monks, follow the layout from a plan dated 1720 and, like much of the garden, were restored in the 1980s.

Little Malvern Court & Gardens Little Malvern WR14 4JN Tel: 07856 035599 www.littlemalverncourt.co.uk

Two great Rare Plant Fairs in April The season of Rare Plant Fairs continues in April with two events.

The first is in the 60-acre woodland gardens at Evenley Wood, near Brackley in Northamptonshire, on Sunday 3rd April, followed by a long-standing event at The Old Rectory at Quenington, near Cirencester, on Sunday 10th April, in support of Cobalt Health.

There is a great selection of specialist nurseries attending both events, including several National Collection holders with a wide range of interesting and unusual plants for sale, including choice perennials, plants for shade, rare climbers, alpines, herbs and edibles, and a great selection of unusual shrubs, all accompanied by the expert advice. There are 14 fairs this year.

Visit www.rareplantfair.co.uk for details of the events, including lists of the exhibitors. There’s no need to book your tickets in advance – you can pay on the gate.

DELIGHTFUL GARDENS TO INSPIRE YOU PLANT AND GARDEN ADVICE

Badminton House Garden Open Days

Mail order and click and collect available, or pop along and visit us at the nursery

SUNDAYS 24TH APRIL, 19TH JUNE AND 4TH SEPTEMBER 2022 10AM-4PM

Tickets PRE-BOOKED TICKETS £7.50 PER ADULT ON THE DAY ENTRY £10 PURCHASE ALL THREE DATES FOR £20 CHILDREN UNDER 12: FREE

Groups welcome by appointment Open 7 days a week from 1st April to 30th September.

Weekends 10am -5pm, Weekdays 9am-5.30pm

Tickets and full information available through the website: www.badmintonestate.com Any questions please contact the Estate Office on 01454 218203 or by email estateoffice@badmintonestate.com

Sands Lane, Badsey, Evesham, WR11 7EZ 01386 833849 info@cgf.net www.cotswoldgardenflowers.co.uk 30

Country Gardener

READY TO FULLY REFRESH THE GARDEN FOR SUMMER? Whether you’re in the mood for borders brimming with herbaceous perennials or have in mind more minimal schemes of grasses, ferns and shrubs, keep Saturday, 23rd (9am to 5pm) and Sunday 24th April (10am to 4pm) free to explore West Kington Nurseries’ Massive Plant Sale.

WELL BEHAVED DOGS ON LEADS WELCOME

Tea Room & Walled Garden Nursery

North west of Chippenham, and normally a trade nursery, the five acre site will throw its gates open to all, with refreshments to revive visitors. As well as presenting thousands of plants at keen prices, proceeds from catalogue sales will be donated to local charities, so just follow the signs to West Kington from the A420.

West Kington Nurseries, West Kington, Chippenham SN14 7JQ

Budock Vean estate welcomes garden lovers Budock Vean is a beautiful dog-friendly 49 room country house hotel set in a 65-acre private estate with its own golf course and holiday cottages. As well as the hotel having valley gardens and ponds that spill down to a secluded cove on the Helford River, two of Cornwall’s finest gardens are hotel neighbours: Trebah and Glendurgan are a short walk away, as is the coastal footpath with wonderful views and circular routes to explore.

There’s plenty to do on site with a spa, swimming pool, snooker room and croquet lawn, as well as scenic boat trips, kayaking and paddleboarding from the cove. Further afield in nearby Falmouth, six miles away, are many splendid public gardens open for free, along with museums and galleries to discover.

Budock Vean Hotel, near Helford Passage, Mawnan Smith, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 5LG Tel: 01326 250288 www.budockvean.co.uk

at Beaulieu, Hampshire 29 April - 1 May 2022 Sponsored by:

S pr i ng

Nestled in the heart of North Devon, Marwood Hill Garden is a hidden gem Home to four National Plant Heritage collections, this private valley garden spans over 20-acres and showcases three stunning lakes, rare trees & shrubs, and colourful surprises throughout each season. Not only a haven for wildlife, the garden is also the perfect environment to explore and be inspired.

Enjoy a day of inspirational and relaxation for the whole family.

Catch up over coffee and homemade cake or a cream tea in the picturesque Garden Tea Room or take a bit of Marwood magic home with you from our Walled Garden Nursery and Plant Sales.

Enquiries & Tea Room 01271 342528 Plant Sales & Nursery 01271 342577 e info@marwoodhillgarden.co.uk w marwoodhillgarden.co.uk Marwood Hill Gardens, Marwood, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 4EA

Adam Frost

Joe Swift

Frances Tophill

(Friday)

(Saturday)

(Sunday)

Plants to buy + The Hillier Experience + Great shopping BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine’s What To Do Now Stage + Bandstand + Plant expert tours + Access to Beaulieu’s visitor attractions

Tickets include entry to Beaulieu† Featu r

ing th e

Ma rk et Hosted by

Licensed by

To save 10%, quote GARDEN by 3 April*. bbcgardenersworldfair.com *10% off standard adult/senior 9:30am/11:30am entry tickets on Friday and Sunday only. Excl 1:30pm and Saturday tickets. End 03/04/22. £3.95 transaction fee per e-ticket order, £4.95 per postal order. †1.30pm tickets exclude access to Beaulieu’s motoring attractions and monorail. Details correct at time of print. The Gardeners’ World logo is a trademark of the BBC. © BBC. The Good Food trade mark is used under licence from Immediate Media Company London Limited. Organised by Immediate Live (trading name of River Street Events Ltd).

www.countrygardener.co.uk

31

GREAT PLACES TO VISIT

THREE SPECIAL SUNDAYS FOR GARDENS OPEN AT BADMINTON HOUSE Badminton House Open Gardens are reopening this year for three special events on Sunday 24th April, Sunday 19th June and Sunday 4th September to mark the beginning of spring through to summer.

You can explore the usually private gardens within the grounds of Badminton House, home to the Duke and Duchess of Beaufort and take in the exquisite tulips, roses, wisteria and more.

Plants and flowers will be available to purchase from local sellers, plus food, hot drinks, and ice cream. All children under 12 go free.

The Badminton Estate South Gloucestershire, Badminton GL9 1DD

SENSATIONAL SPRING COLOUR PALETTE AT OVERBECKS

BOSCREGE, A BREATH OF CORNISH FRESH AIR

Spring is well underway in Overbeck’s Garden and April brings with it many highlights as new plants emerge day by day. Tulips are the first flowers to arrive in the Statue Garden, deep, rich crimson flowers of ‘Jan Reus’ contrasted by clean and pure ‘White Triumphator’. Their arrival is a starting gun for a succession of flowers that will carry these borders through to November.

In contrast to the refined colour palette in the Statue Garden is the mass of bright, vibrant orange ‘Ballerina’ tulips in the Banana Garden.

Elsewhere, tightly packed tree fern fronds begin to unfurl, heads of snakes head fritillaries nod in the wind and the impressive Magnolia x veitchii is smothered in delicate blossoms. You can soak in the breath-taking views and watch spring unfold in this coastal, sub-tropical paradise.

Boscrege Caravan and Touring Park in Cornwall is a peaceful and picturesque park, set at the foot of Tregonning Hill, Godolphin National Trust and amongst a myriad of Cornish lanes in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

The park, open all year through, is situated close to the wonderful Cornwall coast and only a few minutes’ drive to Praa Sands, one of Britain’s best beaches. St Ives, Penzance, Hayle, Lands’ End, The Lizard Peninsular, Helston and Falmouth and many other Cornwall attractions and beaches are very easily visited from the central location in West Cornwall.

And new this year, an exciting development of single/twin lodges available to buy with a 20-year site licence and two years free site fees. Come for a two-night free stay, available for genuine buyers.

Overbecks, Shapitor, Salcombe TQ8 8LW For details on visiting go to www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ overbecks-garden

Boscrege Caravan Park, Boscrege, Ashton, Cornwall TR13 9TG Tel. 01736 762231 www.caravanparkcornwall.com

HILL CLOSE VICTORIAN

Hartland Abbey & Gardens in April

GARDENS WARWICK

Sun 17th & Mon 18th - Easter Egg Hunts & Bluebells Sun 24th - Bluebell Sunday

Come and explore 16 unique restored Victorian gardens

Visit this stunning house with its fascinating collections, exhibitions, beautiful walled and woodland gardens and walks to the beach. * Dogs welcome * Holiday Cottages * * Delicious light lunches & cream teas *

Open weekdays Nov-March: 11-4pm Open every day April-Oct: 11am-5pm with tearoom Sat, Sun and Bank Hol Mon

House, Gardens etc and Café - 3rd April - 3rd October, Sunday to Thursday 11am - 5pm (House 2pm - 5pm last adm. 4pm)

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

PLANTS / PRODUCE / HIRE / NURSERY Buttonholes Workshop: Tuesday 31st May, 10am – 12 noon Tickets £25 – HCGT & RHS members £20.00

Midsummer Music in the Gardens: Saturday 18th June, 6pm – 9:30

The FB Pocket Orchestra – Jazz – Blues – Ragtime.

Tearoom open. Adults £15 Child £11.50 Book early to avoid disappointment.

For all events & more please visit our website.

Garden entry £5.00 Child £1.00 HCGT & RHS Free Tel. 01926 493339 www.hillclosegardens.com Access by racecourse to Bread & Meat Close, Warwick CV34 6HF. 2 hrs free parking.

32

BOSCREGE CARAVAN & CAMPING PARK

THE MOST PICTURESQUE CARAVAN PARK IN CORNWALL With a welcoming atmosphere and set in 12 acres of Cornish countryside only two miles from the beautiful sandy beaches of Praa Sands, Boscrege Caravan & Camping Park is the best place to enjoy your Cornish holiday.

Each of our luxury holiday homes comes with a private garden and Wi-Fi. Perfect

for families and couples, we are open all year, and offer seasonal pitches.

We offer the following: • Designated dog walking fields • Pet friendly accommodation • Comprehensive storage • Luxury holiday homes for sale

01736 762231 • enquiries@caravanparkcornwall.com www.caravanparkcornwall.com Country Gardener

LUKESLAND GARDENS DRAW WIDESPREAD PRAISE ‘The perfumes, the peace, the beauty’, ‘The most magical gardens I have ever visited’, ‘Scrummy soup and cake!’ – these are some of the comments from appreciative visitors to the spectacular 24-acre Lukesland Gardens in Ivybridge.

Tucked away in a woodland valley on the edge of Dartmoor (ten minutes off the A38), Lukesland’s noted collection of rare trees and flowering shrubs provides a spectacular show of colour in the spring. The Addicombe Brook at the heart of the garden is criss-crossed by charming and unusual bridges over pools and waterfalls.

With home-made soup and cakes on offer in the tearoom, and free entry and fun activities for children, these family-owned gardens have something for everyone. Dogs welcome on a lead. Spring openings are on Sundays, Wednesdays and Bank Holidays, 11am to 5pm until 12th June.

Overbeck's Garden Explore the cliffside subtropical garden and admire the breathtaking views over the Salcombe estuary.

Open Sunday to Thursday, pre-book your visit at www.nationaltrust.org.uk/overbecks-garden

Call 01752 691749 or visit www.lukesland.co.uk or www.facebook.com/lukeslandgardens

© National Trust 2019. Registered charity no. 205846. © National Trust Images/Chris Groves

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

01249 782822

MASSIVE

MASSIVE PLANT SALE! PLANT SALE! Open to the Public

LUKESLAND GARDENS

Open to the public

April 23rd & 24th 2022

SATURDAY 9AM-5PM

SUNDAY 10AM-4PM

Follow the yellow signs from the A420

FREE ENTRY

Over 5 Acres of plants Over 5 Acres of plants Refreshments & Cream Teas Refreshments Catalogues sold in aid of local charities Catalogues sold in aid of local charities

PerPP

The magical gardens at Lukesland on the edge of Dartmoor

Perennials

Topiary

Climbers

Shrubs

Roses

Bedding

Please check our website for last minute date changes as a result of Government Covid Guidelines

Please check our Website for last minute date changes as a result of Government Covid Guidelines

24 acres of Rare Shrubs, Trees, Pools & Waterfalls Home-made soups & cakes Sundays, Wednesdays and Bank Holidays 11am – 5pm till 13th June

Harford Ivybridge PL21 0JF Tel 01752 691749

www.lukesland.co.uk

GARDEN SCULPTURE HISTORIC SURROUNDINGS GUIDED TOURS FAMILY ACTIVITIES

SPRING AT THE PALACE

THE BISHOP'S PALACE & GARDENS, WELLS, SOMERSET

www.countrygardener.co.uk

01749 988 111 WWW.BISHOPSPALACE.ORG.UK 33

GREAT PLACES TO VISIT

Bluebell days and Easter fun are back at Hartland Abbey Bluebell Days and Easter Egg Hunts are back at Hartland Abbey on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday,17th and 18th April after two years of fun lost to the pandemic. This Easter promises to be special for families returning to the gardens and grounds of the Abbey where clues lead through the bluebell walks to a treasure trove of Easter eggs.

With the late Easter the gardens will looking their spring best with tulips in full flower, azaleas coming into bloom and bluebells from the Walled Gardens to the sea at Blackpool Mill. And young ‘Malory Towers’ fans will have fun exploring the gardens remembering where they last saw Darrell Rivers and her friends on the television. Dogs very welcome!

Hartland Abbey, Hartland, Bideford EX39 6DT www.hartlandabbey.com

HILL CLOSE GARDENS RESTORED TO PERFECTION

Hill Close Gardens are a unique set of restored Victorian ‘detached’ gardens in Warwick, once common place on the edges of most towns, cities and villages. The detached gardens were either rented or bought by townspeople who had limited access to a garden at home.

The late 18th and 19th centuries saw an explosion of interest in gardening fuelled by increasing leisure time, and the first plots at Hill Close Gardens were laid out in 1845.

Hill Close Gardens have restored the gardens to their former glory, including a visitor centre where you can get refreshments. Events are held throughout the year, so keep an eye on the website. www.hillclosegardens.com

Caerhays Castle Spring Garden Nestled in a sheltered valley on the south coast of Cornwall near Mevagissey you’ll find the world class, magnificent 140-acre woodland garden at Caerhays Castle, often described as a spring-time wonderland for visitors.

Home to a National Magnolia Collection, the gardens are also famous for their camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas.

Caerhays is a member of the Great Gardens of Cornwall. The gardens are open daily until 12th June, while the Castle is open for guided tours until 10th June.

Caerhays Charity Summer Fete – Sunday 12th June.

Caehays Castle, Gorran, Saint Austell PL26 6LY Tel: 01872 501310 enquiries@caerhays.co.uk visit.caerhays.co.uk

DORSET PLANT & GARDEN FAIRS

Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens Sunday 15th May 2022 Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens Sunday 26th June 2022 Our popular Plant Fairs are set in beautiful surroundings with lots of space for a wide range of specialist stalls.

Many nurseries, growers & stall holders from across the South & West of England.

Admission is £7.00 including access to the gardens for the day.

Tickets can be bought on the day or via: www.abbotsbury-tourism.co.uk/gardens/events Free parking. Free admission for all UK Plant Heritage Members.

Plant Fairs are open 10am - 3pm and gardens remain open until 5pm.

GARDENS OPEN: 14th February - 12th June

Wide range of food and refreshments is available, including our solar powered coffee franchise serving premium hot & cold drinks.

CASTLE IS OPEN FOR GUIDED TOURS: GARDENS OPEN: 14thFebruary March - 10th June 14th - 12th June

Organised by Plant Heritage Dorset Group. Our regular monthly meetings are normally held at the Dorford Centre, Dorchester on Thursday evenings.

More details at www.plantheritage.org.uk Registered Charity No 10004009 Email: martin.plantheritagedorset@btinternet.com 34

CAERHAYS CHARITY CASTLE IS OPEN FOR FETE: Sunday 12th June GUIDED TOURS:

14th March - 10th June CAERHAYS CHARITY FETE: Sunday 12th June

Country Gardener

Cotswold Garden Flowers has tons of April appeal April is the time to visit the gardens at Cotswold Garden Flowers at Badsey near Evesham. Whenever you go, there will always be lots to see with early flowers on plants such as euphorbia and epimedium, together with new growth and buds on the later plants. Look out for leucojum (snowflake) plants and de caen anemones amongst the border plants and flowering shrubs. Meet the knowledgeable staff and get ideas for your own garden.

Cotswold Garden Flowers, Sands Lane, Badsey, Evesham WR11 7EZ Tel: 01386 833849 Email: info@cgf.net www.cotswoldgardenflowers.co.uk

Blossom spectacular at beautiful Batsford Arboretum Home to one of the largest private tree collections in the country, it’s in the spring that Batsford Arboretum really comes into its own as the beautiful National Collection of Japanese cherries burst into life with their fantastic flowering displays, with over 120 trees in clusters around the 56-acre arboretum.

Batsford Garden Centre is a haven for garden and plant lovers too, offering a fabulous range of quality, affordable plants and gifts.

Pre-booking is essential for Arboretum visits for non-members via www.batsarb.co.uk Batsford Arboretum & Garden Centre, Batsford, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9AT Tel: 01386 701441

MAGIC IS EMERGING AT MARWOOD HILL GARDEN Plants are emerging, and leaves are unfurling in the first green flush of growth.

It’s a month of new beginnings. Spring has come to Marwood Hill Garden – with extensive bluebells, daffodils and wild garlic displays out in full force in the woodlands.

Spring flowering shrubs are doing their thing - the camellias are still in flower, rhododendron and magnolias (including large flowering Jury hybrids and Marwood’s very own ‘Marwood Spring’) can be seen in magnificent flower, and their scents fill the air. Even the cherry blossom dazzles at the lake edges. Conifers put on a flush of growth and, if you have a keen eye, it is possible to spot their attractive male pollen producing cones. Visitors are advised to take a moment to look down and enjoy the camellia petals carpeting the ground.

Marwood Hill Garden, Marwood, Nr Guineaford, Barnstaple, EX31 4EB www.marwoodhillgarden.co.uk

Hotel & holiday cottages by the beautiful Helford River in south Cornwall, set in 65 acre private and peaceful estate with gardens that tumble down to a private cove.

Close to Trebah and Glendurgan Gardens and coastal footpath.

• Dog friendly • Golf course • Spa • Restaurant • Tennis • Kayaking • Paddle-boarding • Boat trips

Helford Passage, Mawnan Smith, Nr Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 5LG Tel: 01326 250288 relax@budockvean.co.uk www.budockvean.co.uk www.facebook.com/BudockVeanHotel @BudockVeanHotel

www.countrygardener.co.uk

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GREAT PLACES TO VISIT

Bigger and better plant fairs for 2022 at Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens The Plant Fairs organised by Plant Heritage Dorset Group are certain to be bigger and better this year, with several new specialist growers in addition to the regulars, promising a wider range of plants, crafts and gifts to buy. Admission is £7 which includes entrance to Abbotsbury Gardens for the day.

The two events are being held in Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens on Sunday, 15th May and Sunday 26th June. There will also be several wildlife and conservation charities with stalls. The fairs are open from 10am until 3pm but you can continue to explore the gardens until 5pm. Profits go towards supporting the National Collections, plant conservation and education in Dorset.

Tickets can be purchased on the day or can be purchased online at www.abbotsbury-tourism. co.uk/gardens/events For Plant Heritage details email martin.plantheritagedorset@btinternet.com or www.plantheritage.org.uk

Easter bonanza of events at Bishop’s Palace, Wells

LONGSTOCK HOSTS MAY GRAND PLANT FAIR After its Covid break, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Plant Heritage group is hosting its Grand Plant Fair at Longstock Park Nursery on Monday 2nd May. Considered to be one the best plant fairs in the south of England it is now in its 18th year at Longstock.

May is a perfect time to plant new specimens in the garden, or to establish in pots. This is the main fund-raising event for the charity which runs the National Collection Scheme to help conserve the diversity of garden plants with more than 20 specialist nurseries, beer tent, hog roast, and live music.

Entry is £5 and children are free, concessions for John Lewis partnership employees. Dogs on leads; free on-site parking; nursery farm shop and café. Open from 10am until 4pm.

Longstock Park, Stockbridge SO20 6EH

April, and especially Easter, is again one of the busiest times of the year at the popular Bishop’s Palace in Wells. Easter highlights include a Family Dragon trail running from Friday 8th April through to Sunday 24th April. Over the Easter holiday weekend there are Easter Weekend Trailstrails. On Easter Monday 18th April you can go along and enjoy seeing amazing birds with skills that have been used since medieval times. Display leader,Tony, will be taking a selection of his finest falcons and owls to show off their marvellous moves in front of visitors on the South Lawn. All the Easter activities are included in the general admission price.

The Bishop’s Palace, Wells BA5 2PD More events are listed at www.bishopspalace.org.uk/events

April Fairs 3rd April

Evenley Wood Gardens, Northants NN13 5SH

Hampshire & IoW Group

10th April

The Old Rectory, Quenington, Nr. Cirencester, GL7 5BN

GRAND PLANT FAIR at Longstock Park

www.rareplantfair.co.uk

Nr. Stockbridge SO20 6EH

• Over 20 specialist nurseries • Beer tent • Hog roast • Ice-creams • Live music from ‘Jazz Beans’ • Longstock Park Nursery & Café Entry: Plant Heritage members and children free, John Lewis and Partners’ employees £2, general public £5.

36

Little Malvern Court Nr Malvern, Worcestershire WR14 4JN

Garden open 20th April until 21st July Wednesday & Thursday afternoons 2.00pm – 5.00pm Other times by appointment.

Please see Website for further details.

07856 035599 www.littlemalverncourt.co.uk Country Gardener

PHOTO: MARCUS HARPUR

Monday 2nd May 10am-4pm

Please visit our website for full details of admission fees and times of opening.

READERS LETTERS

Have your say...

Opinions, views , ideas and thoughts from Country Gardener readers. If you would like to share anything with us then write to Country Gardener, Mount House, Halse, Taunton , Somerset TA4 3AD or email editorial@countrygardener.co.uk

December tomatoes were something of a miracle

I enjoyed your article about growing perfect tomatoes (March Country Gardener). I read somewhere; it might have been your magazine that new tomato plants can be grown from side-shoots so I thought I would experiment. I put the shoot in a pot added in the compost and for a while it was outside, As October came round I brought the plant indoors and moved it into my office. I am thrilled to say flowers began to appear and I was so thrilled. Just at the end of December fruits started to appear and very gradually in the often very warm room they started to redden. Isn’t it encouraging that something which was about to be discarded has thrived and something which had no right to grow at that time of the year have produced a harvest. Nature eh!

Paul Hosegood sent by email

I want more, not less snails!

I fully realise that snails are considered a pest by most gardeners. However I would like to highlight that we need snails in order to encourage the song thrush population to thrive. Over the past few years, I have noticed that there is such a lack of snails that I now collect them on my walks, bring them back home and put them in my garden. Song thrush numbers have declined and we are lucky if we see a song thrush in our garden at all. I don’t know the reason for the decline in snails. I thought it might be due to the drier summers however I do have a large population of slugs so that theory is unlikely. According to the RSPBs’ ‘Big Garden Birdwatch’ much higher numbers of song thrushes have been recorded here in the West Country which suggest their survival is better in wetter areas.

Tom Burrows

SHARING ADVICE ON DEALING WITH BINDWEED My local gardening club held a workshop with a difference last month. So many members were complaining about having to deal with bindweed we invited in someone to talk to us.

The rules were no chemicals. His advice was on an unplanted allotment, apply sheet mulch (cardboard and wood chips) and give it a few months for the underground stems to come up to the surface. Then using a fork loosen the soil and pull all the visible stems and roots out, starting at one end and working your way across systematically to be as thorough as possible. Then mulch thickly again.

If the bindweed is present in garden beds and is entwined with other plants you need to

Ilminster

unwind it. Unwind it as far to the base as you can and then loosen the soil around where you find the roots and remove as much as you can with a fork. Then BE PERSISTENT, keep pulling it out when you see it. Do not let it flower. Seeds can remain dormant in the soil for up to 20 years, but you can keep it under control if you keep removing it as you find it. If you can keep removing the foliage above ground, you’ll force the plant to use up its energy reservoirs in its roots. The roots will begin to starve, which will eventually kill it. After two to three years of ruthless weeding you should be able to almost eradicate this plant. Keep removing the smallest of bindweeds before the roots have developed and don’t put weeds in a compost heap, as they will regrow from even the smallest section of root. Good advice worth sharing I think.

Sybil West Croyde

Recycling yoghurt pots

I’VE BEATEN MY SWORN ENEMY THE DANDELION

There are many uses for empty yoghurt posts for the cost-conscious gardener.

The larger 450g pots are especially useful. Just make a few drainage holes in the base and then use them to start off your seedlings. Because they are deeper than most normal plastic pots it gives the roots much more chance to develop.

You can also use the clear pots with the labelling taken off as mini greenhouses to protect seedlings.

We moved into a new house last year and the lawn had been badly neglected.

So much so that it was covered, and I mean covered in dandelions. I have been gardening for 30 years now and these are my sworn enemy as I am very much a tidy gardener. Flowerheads appear from spring containing hundreds of flowers and each one of these maturing into a seed with a tiny parachute which helps it stay airborne to travel far away from its parent. So, you can see how it thrives. Traditionally I’ve used a chemical weedkiller but no more as my wife has rightly turned me into a chemical free gardener. So last year I spent ages with a special root weed fork gradually getting every piece of the taproot up. My point in writing to you is so far it has been a success and the lawn is dandelion free. Hard work but successful work.

Minnie Weston Poole

Eric Clawson

My rhubarb and custard cake to help with those rhubarb gluts Every year I seem to have a glut of rhubarb and I know a lot of my fellow allotment holders are the same so I thought I would share with you my mum’s recipe for a lovely rhubarb and custard cake which unusually roasts the rhubarb.

Ingredients • Three large sticks of rhubarb, roasted (see method below) • 250g pack butter, softened, plus extra for greasing • 150g ready-made custard • 250g self-raising flour • ½ tsp baking powder • 4 large eggs • 1 tsp vanilla extract • 250g golden caster sugar • icing sugar, for dusting Make the roasted rhubarb first . Rinse the rhubarb and shake off the excess water. Trim the ends and cut the rhubarb into little finger-sized pieces. Put the rhubarb in a shallow dish or baking sheet with sides, sprinkle some sugar over, toss together, then shuffle the rhubarb so it’s in a single layer. Cover with foil and roast for 15 minutes. www.countrygardener.co.uk

Gloucester

Drain off the juices before you let it cool. Butter and line a 23cm loose-bottomed or springform cake tin. Heat oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4.

Reserve three tbsp of the custard in a bowl. Beat the rest of the custard together with the butter, flour, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and sugar until creamy and smooth.

Spoon one-third of the mix into the tin, add some of the rhubarb, then dot with one-third more cake mix and spread it out as well as you can. Top with some more rhubarb, then spoon over the remaining cake mix, leaving it in rough mounds and dips rather than being too neat about it. Scatter the rest of the rhubarb over the batter, then dot the remaining custard over. Bake for 40 mins until risen and golden, then cover with foil and bake for 15-20 mins more. It’s ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin, then dredge with icing sugar when cool.

Emma Brackely

Portishead 37

Stop mowing your lawn to help nature This spring and summer why not sit back and let the grass grow to help wildlife.

MY CONVERSION TO HOUSEPLANTS

Congratulations on Vanessa Lee’s article about houseplants in your March issue. I am now 74 years old and am limited what I can achieve in my garden without regular help. However, my love of gardens and gardening has now switched to my houseplants and I have become an enthusiastic and passionate carer and tender of about 40 house plants. I find them rewarding and therapeutic and would urge others to make the same switch.

Bettie Lawson

Poole

A good piece of advice about growing leaves

I learnt an early lesson when I helped my dad on his allotment. He would tell me that most edible plants start their life as a seed. They establish roots and a stem, then leaves, then flowers, then fruit (if they make fruit), and then create seeds, starting the process over again.

So, if you wanted super-quick return on your garden, your best bet is to focus on plants whose main bounty is their leaves, like lettuce and herbs. He always compared it to a race—if fruits are a marathon, leaves are a two-mile race. Way more attainable, though still certainly a bit of work. You’ll also get a yield quicker, since fruiting happens later in a plant’s life.

He believed that if you got the basics right, you’ll be able to get a lot of harvest from a very small space. He challenged himself to eat a home-grown salad every day for six months, all from a 15-square-foot bed. And he did.

Ian Strong

sent by email

My own favourite quotes

Following on from the letter about fridge magnets celebrating the arrival of spring it inspired me to let you know my favourite quotes about the coming of spring.

Not fridge magnets but memorable even so.

“I enjoy the spring more than the autumn now. One does I think, as one gets older” Virgina Woolf “Spring will come and so will happiness. Life will get warmer” Anita Krizzan

GRANDMOTHER’S SAYING My grandmother used to say about spring: “Spring is God’s way of saying ‘One more time”

Christina Williams Exeter

Pam Greening

Dawlish

• The experiment also resulted in greater diversity of flowers in areas of grass that were left completed unmown with oxeyed daisies and knapweed the most important nectar sources.

Verbascum ready to flower

Your photo shows the rosette of a verbascum. It looks very much as if it is getting ready to flower after making most of its leafy growth last year. It should send up a tall and attractive spike of probably yellow blooms.

The plant probably has come from a bird seed mix or perhaps even blown in from a nearby garden.

Monica Clarke

Tips for encouraging wildlife • Cut every four weeks. The ‘no mow’ experiment two years ago revealed the highest number of flowers on lawns mown in this way -so leave around three to five centimetres of grass length.

“In the spring I have counted 136 different kinds of weather inside of 24 hours” Mark Twain

38

A new campaign will again be encouraging gardeners to leave their mowers in the shed for a while longer and transform their gardens into havens of biodiversity.

If you would like to do this for the first time just let your lawn grow naturally for a month in May or June, and mow as you normally would outside that time. This will allow daisies and clover to flower, and you see pollinators enjoying your lawn.

If you want to have a bigger impact for wildlife, don’t mow your lawn at all until early July. Then mow as normal until the grass stops growing in late autumn. This is the kind of meadow where you can plant spring-flowering bulbs like crocus and early daffodils. As they ‘die back’ you could have cow slips coming through along with bulbs such as snakes head fritillary.

The other option is the summer meadow. Mow your lawn once in late March or early April and then leave it until August or September before mowing once or twice until the end of the autumn growing season. This will mimic the old hay meadows and will suit flowers like corn marigold and birds-foot-trefoil.

Letting your grass grow until late summer provides shelter and delights for your garden creatures.

Mowing a border around your blocks of longer grass, or paths through the middle, can make your lawn look smart. These could be straight paths in a regular pattern, curving paths or a mini maze.

Let your imagination literally run wild.

• You don’t have to stop mowing completely.

Some species such as daisies and bird’s foot trefoil are adapting to growing in shorter swaths . Cutting flowers from these plants once a month stimulated them to produce more blooms.

Isle of White

Country Gardener

SPECIALIST NURSERIES

The specialist approach SPECIALIST PLANT NURSERIES PROVIDE PLANTS THAT WILL THRIVE, LAST LONGER AND SAVE YOU MONEY

Specialist nurseries and the nurserymen who work in them are almost a different race. When it comes to the skills needed to grow and care for plants, they call on a lifetime of experience and knowledge as they propagate and grow almost all their stock themselves.

The network of specialist nurseries throughout the country offers a wonderful opportunity for the enthusiastic and adventurous gardener to have a unique insight into plants. No-one will know how to care and make the most of a plant more than the grower and one who is keen to share a wealth of experience.

Typically, these specialist nurseries are often tucked away and will supply in bulk to larger gardens and outlets but whose real strength is to deal direct with the gardening public offering great value, high quality plants through online sales and visits to the nurseries themsleves.to some of the best horticulturists in the country.

They also have a great passion for gardening. Which comes across when you get the chance to discuss their plants and what your needs are.

EASTERHILL -PASSIONATE WILLOW GROWERS AND MAKERS

Easterhill Herbs and Willow in Starcross, Devon, are passionate willow growers and makers, cultivating over 30 varieties of willow for ornamental and wildlife value, living structures, basketry and craft.

Colourful, ornamental willows make great statement shrubs for yearround interest in gardens. Slender varieties are good for basketry and are used in workshops that take place at the nursery. More robust varieties are excellent for creating willow structures and living fences with commissions and advice offered.

The nursery also specialises in growing useful plants - native wildflowers, pollen rich perennials and different herbs for creating wildlife and herb gardens.

Perennial vegetable gardening is increasing in popularity due to its often ease of maintenance and good soil health practice. Edible tubers, onions, leeks, cabbages and kales are some of the perennial vegetable plants offered to experiment with in the vegetable patch.

For plants and willow sales, commissions and workshops. reallyusefulplants@outlook.com www.reallyusefulplants.co.uk

Cactus Shop, Winkleigh, Devon EX19 8DW Open to visitors 10-4 daily View our cactus garden Over 4000 varieties at very competitive prices

Beautiful Orchids!

The widest range of orchids in the UK with a fantastic choice in flower all year round.

Browse 1000s of plants in our nursery and shop, expert advice always on hand.

Many UK hardy varieties Create your own outdoor cactus or succulent garden

Freshly made salads, sandwiches, toasties etc. Barista coffee.

Spacious indoor and outdoor seating.

Open Monday - Friday 10am - 3pm plus one weekend each month, please contact us for the dates.

www.cactusshop.co.uk

Forches Cross, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 6PZ 01626 352233 @burnhamorchids www.orchids.uk.com Facebook “f ” Logo

Chrysanthemums Direct

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Holmes Chapel Road, Over Peover, Knutsford, Cheshire. WA16 9RA

Telephone: 0800 046 7443 sales@chrysanthemumsdirect.co.uk 2022 Catalogue available online now or, contact us to receive your FREE paper copy.

The widest range available in the U.K. with over 420 cultivars, including a choice selection of hardy garden (Korean) varieties, plus many others suitable for the garden or exhibition.

www.chrysanthemumsdirect.co.uk

Want to advertise in one of our features?

We offer special all counties prices when advertising with our features, plus 100 words of free editorial with an advert.

Speak to one of our sales people for more details.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

ERHILL HERB T S EA & WILLOW S

✔ Willow Growers ✔ Wildlife Friendly Plants ✔ Herbs & Edibles Starcross Devon www.reallyusefulplants.co.uk 39

SPECIALIST NURSERIES

Ornamental tree delights at Perrie Hale Perrie Hale Nursery is a family run specialist tree nursery based just outside of Honiton. They have a large collection of ornamental and fruit trees that are pot grown and can be planted most of the year round. Some of the more unusual trees they stock include birches such as betula utilis ‘Forest Blush’ or betula utilis ‘Budda’ along with the favourites such as flowering cherries, crab apples and rowan. Fruit trees include a range of varieties local to the southwest such as the Totnes apple.

They also have a large range of bare-root trees and shrubs suitable for woodland creation or native, evergreen and formal hedging. Bare-root plants are sent out between November and March while they are dormant.

Perrie Hale Nursery, Northcote Hill, Honiton EX14 9TH www.perriehale.co.uk or email faye@perriehale.co.uk

TREHANE NURSERY HELP IN THE SEARCH FOR UNUSUAL CAMELLIAS Camellias have been a feature of British parks and gardens for more than 200 years, and we tend to associate the name with large, blowsy, colourful, spring flowers. However, breeders are constantly seeking to produce new varieties from the hybridisation of different camellia species, and recently there has been a growing interest in those with smaller, simpler flowers, often scented.

One such is the Camellia ‘Sugar ‘n’ Spice’, bred in New Zealand, which has dainty, light pink, semi-double flowers that are produced prolifically from February to April. With a compact, upright habit, it would be equally at home in a pot on the patio, or in the garden border, and on a warm day you may detect the light fragrance from its flowers. ‘Sugar ‘n’ Spice’ is available, with other unusual camellias, from Trehane Nursery near Wimborne.

Tel: 01202 873490 www.trehanenursery.co.uk Trehane Nursery, Stapehill Rd, Wimborne BH21 7ND

GROW CACTI AND SUCCULENTS OUTDOORS ALL YEAR ROUND! Climate change has some benefits! Cactus Shop, a small family business, in Winkleigh, Devon stock an increasing range of exotic hardy succulent plants and can advise on suitable varieties and care.

With the changing climate, it is now possible to grow some exotic succulents in the south-west, which even 20 years ago, would have been unthinkable.

If you have a sheltered, south-facing, well-drained spot, you could plant an eye-catching bed of cactus and succulents outdoors and leave them there overwinter!

With summer water becoming a scarce resource, they will easily survive the hottest, driest weather, where some native plants would struggle.

There are now over 100 suitable plants to choose from, such as agave, aloe, bromeliads, delosperma, opuntia (prickly pear), trichocereus and yucca.

Contact Ralph 01837 680008 or email ralph@cactusshop.co.uk or visit the webshop cactusshop.co.uk Cactus Shop, Caldicott, Torrington Road, Winkleigh EX19 8DW

Use code:

OGCG04 For 15% discount

Eco-friendly grown perennials Organic bulbs and seeds

Sustainable, locally and handmade garden items

w w w.org a ni c g a rd e ne r.c o . u k On ly good things for your ga r den

40

Country Gardener

BURNHAM ORCHIDS FOR A TRULY EXOTIC EXPERIENCE For a truly exotic experience, Burnham Nurseries, just outside Newton Abbot, is the place to go as they are the leading specialist orchid growers. This awardwinning nursery has specialised in these tropical plants for over 70 years and has been run by three generations of the same family. Orchids have become even more popular in recent years as a great houseplant to decorate your home and they are easier to grow than you might think. The orchid family is huge with over 150,000 species and hybrids, so many can need more specific care, but there are also simple to grow varieties perfect for the home. The nursery with its shop, café and greenhouses to browse is a gem in the Devon countryside and open all year round. Expert advice on what to purchase is always on hand.

‘Orchid Paradise’ at Burnham Nurseries is open Monday to Friday 10am to 3pm plus one open weekend each month. Call 01626 352233 or check online at www.orchids.uk.com for the next dates, lots of orchid info plus online ordering.

Burnham Nurseries, Forches Cross, Newton Abbot TQ12 6PZ

ORGANIC GARDENER’S MISSION IS FOR A ‘GREEN LIFESTYLE’

Organic gardening is natural gardening, 100 per-cent pesticide-free and without artificial fertilisers. But it is not just about replacing chemicals with natural products: it is a holistic philosophy supporting the ecosystem, including the organic nurseries that supply the plants.

Organic gardeners aim to harmonise their gardening activities with the natural environment, minimising exploitation and replenishing the resources their garden consumes.

At Organic Gardener, the mission is to inspire as many people to adopt a consciously green lifestyle that is ecologically sustainable and visually stunning. Their collection of organic seeds, bulbs and eco-friendly perennials facilitates organic gardening. In addition, they offer a range of sustainable, long-lasting garden items manufactured in the UK using recycled or natural materials.

Visit www.organicgardener.co.uk for more information

Everything needed to create, maintain and enjoy a lush, high quality lawn the natural way 01795 411527 • info@plantworksuk.co.uk • rootgrow.co.uk Manufactured under the License granted by the Royal Horticultural Society Registered Charity No. 222879/SC038262

JAPANESE MAPLES Acer palmatum varieties We produce and grow the largest selection available in the UK. Plants are pot grown and suitable for garden, patio or bonsai.

Send SAE for descriptive catalogue.

Visitors welcome Mon-Sat 9am-1pm & 2pm-4.30pm Barthelemy & Co (DCG), 262 Wimborne Rd West, Stapehill, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 2DZ

Use code

Countrygardener10 for 10% off online or present this voucher in person

Tel: 01202 874283 enquiries@barthelemymaples.co.uk www.barthelemymaples.co.uk

Valid 01/04/2022 01/06/2022

Northcote Hill, Honiton, Devon, EX14 9TH Tel: 01404 43344

'Growing in Devon since 1957'

Growers & suppliers of native & ornamental trees, shrubs & hedging for: • Native, Formal & Evergreen Hedges • Screening • Woodland • Specimen Trees • Gardens Large range of ornamental and fruit trees

Huge selection of Herbs, Pelargoniums and Salvias.

Please take a look at our website and social media for updates, and a list of the local markets and gardening shows we are attending.

New display garden opening soon

Trade discount available • Delivery available

Order online at www.perriehale.co.uk Email: faye@perriehale.co.uk

Website www.glenholmeherbs.co.uk Social media @glenholmeherbs Telephone 07940225277 Facebook “f ” Logo

www.countrygardener.co.uk

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41

SPECIALIST NURSERIES

SHARE THE PASSION FOR CHRYSANTHEMUMS

Koirin – specialists in old varieties of rhododendrons and azaleas

Chrysanthemums Direct are the UK’s leading grower and supplier of chrysanthemum plants to the public. They stock over 420 varieties covering a wide range of different types, including exhibition and garden hardy cultivars and sell via mail order. They have developed a sustainable packaging solution, which ensures that you receive top quality plants, within 24 hours of dispatch, from the nursery in Cheshire.

At Koirin, Rhododendron and Azalea Centre they specialise in rare and unusual varieties including old varieties from family collectors such as waterer and The Rothschild family of Exbury. At the nursery they produce their own plants from their own cuttings. They have over 800 varieties of plants including many scented varieties of deciduous azaleas and rhododendrons. They have been established for over 20 years and the nursery is an abundance of colour from hot fiery reds, orange and yellows to all the pastel colours you can think of. They can also supply a planting service and watering systems and free advice.

The nursery is well worth a visit.

Email: enquiries@azaleacentre.co.uk or tel: 01202 824629 Koirin, the Rhododendron & Azalea Centre, Woodlands, Verwood Road, Nr. Verwood, Wimborne BH21 8LN

FAMILY BUSINESS BUILT ROUND

enthusiasm for herbs

Nestled in the rolling hills of Dorset near Sherborne, the family at Glenholme Nursery has been growing plants since 1955. Glenholme Herbs was created in 2005 when Alan and Alison decided to specialise in herbs and were soon joined by daughter Maxine and son in-law Rob. The four now grow large ranges of herbs, scented pelargoniums, salvias and wildflowers.

Each member of the family has their area of expertise they are passionate about and are always keen to help and advise on how to include their plants in your garden.

As a business Glenholme Herbs aims to reduce their impact on the environment by using recyclable pots, sending online orders out in 100 per cent plastic free packaging and are moving towards being peat free.

Located on the edge of Sandford Orcas, customers are welcome to visit and buy plants, please call or email in advance to check opening times and that the plants you want are available, or you can order online at www.glenholmeherbs.co.uk Tel: 07940 225277 glenholmeherbnursery@gmail.com

Chrysanthemums Direct grow over 1.2 million stems of incurved bloom chrysanthemums for the cut-flower market each year, with the majority going to Marks and Spencer and supply blooms by mail order from May until Christmas directly to the public. www.chrysanthemumsdirect.co.uk

Glenhome Herbs, Penmore Rd, Sandford Orcas, Sherborne DT9 4SE

Heucheraholics

Chelsea Gold Medal winning Heucheras

HALF-PRICE CAMELLIA SALE

NURSERY OPEN DAYS 2022

OUR ONLINE SHOP IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS AS USUAL Save on a wide range of varieties, including specimen plants Sale plants are available at the nursery only, but visit www.trehanenursery.co.uk for our mail-order special offers.

Sat 9th - Sun 10th Apr

Sat 6th - Sun 7th Aug

Sat 7th - Sun 8th May

Sat 3rd - Sun 4th Sep

Open Monday to Friday 8.30am - 4.30pm Saturday 10.30am - 4pm (until end of April) Trehane Nursery, Stapehill Road, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 7ND Tel: 01202 873490

Sat 4th- Sun 5th Jun

Sat 1st - Sun 2nd Oct

Sat 25th - Sun 26th Jun

Heucheraholics Sales Area

THE RHODODENDRON & AZALEA CENTRE Visitors Welcome Tue-Fri 9.00am-4.00pm all year round Sat 10.00am-4.00pm Apr-May

WE HAVE ONE OF THE LARGEST COLLECTIONS OF AZALEAS & RHODODENDRONS IN THE UK Koirin, Crossroads Nursery, Woodlands, Wimborne, Verwood Road, Dorset BH21 8LN (Near Verwood) Mail order available

Heuchera ‘Wedding Bells’

Now is a great time to get your gardens ready to add some Glorious Heuchera technicolour

•

We have a the best range of Heuchera’s in the UK including many of our own introductions

•

Heuchera’s for the garden and for containers and baskets

•

Heuchera’s for Fabulous foliage and some for Fantastic flowers

The Nursery Open Dates for 2022 For more information on the Open days please visit our website www.heucheraholics.co.uk Facebook “f ” Logo

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Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

Boldre Nurseries, Southampton Road, Lymington, Hants SO41 8ND TEL: 07973 291062 / 01590 670581

Tel: 01202 824629

enquiries@azaleacentre.co.uk www.azaleacentre.co.uk 42

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Country Gardener

www.heucheraholics.co.uk BUY ONLINE ANYTIME!

Barthelemy & Co – the Japanese maples specialists Barthelemy & Co near Wimborne in Dorset was established by a French nurseryman almost a century ago and the Skinner family now specialise in propagating and growing Acer palmatum – or Japanese maples as they’re known.

Throughout spring, summer and autumn the delicate foliage of the acer presents exquisite shadings of Mother Nature’s gold, pink, purple, green, yellow, orange and red. Acers are a delightful addition to anyone’s garden, giving an aura of peace and tranquillity. The ten acre nursery at Stapehill has a huge collection of Japanese maples to choose from and expert staff are on hand to help select the right variety and to offer advice about caring for the trees in future. Over 100,000 acers are produced at Barthelemy and Co every year approximately 15,000 - 20,000 of them are grafted named palmatum varieties, as one of the largest specialist growers of their kind.

This is how to get your plants established fast

Using rootgrow mycorrhizal fungi at planting time is the best way to get your plants established. Mycorrhizal fungi have been co-existing with plants for 500 million years and are essential for healthy plant growth.

Any plant will naturally pick up mycorrhizal fungi from the soil, but this could take two to four years, by using rootgrow at planting time you speed this process up to two to four weeks.

The mycorrhizal fungi literally add a second fungal root system, enabling the plant to find more nutrients and water which in turn leads to better establishment, earlier growth and a stronger, healthier plant.

Telephone 01202 874283. www.barthelemymaples.co.uk.

Available online or from any good garden centre.

Barthelemy & Co, 262 Wimborne Road West, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 2DZ.

www.rootgrow.co.uk

It’s that time of the year for heucheras to dazzle Heucheras start to put on new growth at an incredible rate and take on that whole new ‘look at me I’m a star’ appearance at this time of year; a plant that was looking dull last week suddenly bursts back into life with renewed and speedy vigour.

At Heucheraholics, Boldre Nurseries, in Lymington they remember why all love their heucheras and why they have one of the UK’s most stunning collections of specialist plants.

Heucheras mostly give 12 months of foliage colour. But what many don’t realise is that heucheras aren’t just about stunning foliage - many also have incredible flower power.

There are varieties that produce gorgeous wands of airy flowers that enhance the plant and attract many pollinators especially bees.

The flowers range from white, cream, bright and pastel pink, green, lemon, two tone and deep red.

Many are repeat flowering - providing you remove the old finished flowers. When you take the old flowers off break them off from the base - don’t cut them off - this helps to produce a chemical reaction encourages more flowers.

Heucheraholics look forward to visitors on their nursery Open Days.

Visit www.heucheraholics.co.uk Tel: 07973 291062 email jooles.heucheraholics@gmail.com Heucheraholics, Boldre Nurseries, Southampton Road, Lymington, Hants SO418ND

Old Court Nurseries & The Picton Garden The Michaelmas Daisy Specialists since 1906

Order your plants now for delivery in May. ORDER ONLINE or catalogue available by request.

Open Wednesday - Saturday, 11am-5pm Also open SUNDAY 10TH APRIL for the National Garden Scheme please book at www.ngs.org.uk

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

43

KNITSON OLD FARMHOUSE

- HEAVEN IN DORSET Lifelong organic gardener Rachel Helfer is still working in her garden and welcoming visitors for the National Garden Scheme as she has done for more than 30 years Indomitable, full of energy and with a life-long commitment to organic gardening, Rachel Helfer is still welcoming visitors to her beautiful cottage garden for the National Garden Scheme, as she has done for more than 30 years.

Knitson Old Farmhouse is a mile north west of Swanage and three miles east of Corfe Castle. It’s a mature one-acre cottage garden nestled at the base of chalk downland that has evolved and has been designed over 60 years for yearround colour and interest. It has herbaceous borders filled to bursting, rockeries, climbers and shrubs.

Ancient trees and shrubs have been retained as integral to the garden design as are historical stone artefacts: stones, old sinks, even remnants of the Roman occupation of the area have been discovered, and corner stones once used as boundary markers for the local estates.

There’s a large wildlife-friendly kitchen garden full of produce grown for self sufficiency. Over 20 varieties of fruits and many vegetables all year-round are the basis for a sustainable lifestyle, which Rachel Helfer has always followed.

Rachel and her late husband Mark started farming there and developing the garden in 1956. Together they transformed it. Developing a garden in the Isle of Purbeck is not an easy task. There are long periods of drought, sharp winds, often followed by damp weather. Added to that, Knitson Old Farmhouse had an abandoned kitchen garden, a wilderness instead of a garden where nettles, docks and brambles instead of flowers and produce flourished.

Rachel, now in her eighties, has followed in her father’s footsteps, as a passionate follower of permaculture

methods and believing in the importance of healthy soil.

She replaces nutrients using home made compost, all the plants are home raised, and she mixes plants together for their mutual benefit which results in joyful, exuberant, healthy plants and vegetables; she leaves many corners wild and is rewarded with large numbers of insects, reptiles, lichens and birds.

She is also continually developing the garden, always with the importance of wildlife in mind. A pond is now in front of the stone moon arch, and she can see the reflection from her kitchen window. She is now sowing white clover to replace grass, to help the bees.

“Insects flourish here”, she said.

A gardener comes in one day a week and once a month a half day is spent on the big tasks such as pruning. But Rachel continues to tend her plants and propagating from them. Mains water isn’t used on the garden – there are lots of water butts.

Rachel who has the support of her daughters who live nearby, and her son (who manages the farm), is delighted to welcome visitors, discuss all aspects of sustainable gardening, soil health and the benefits of gardening for mental and physical wellbeing.

Of the garden’s design, she says, “I disapprove of straight lines. I like to see curves in the paths and borders.

“I hope visitors will take some ideas and use them in their own garden,” she added, and she is alluding not only to the garden’s design, and the abundance and range of plants, but her life-long principles of organic gardening

with all the benefits it gives to everyone who eats organic home-grown vegetables and fruit, to wildlife and ultimately to the planet.

NGS OPENINGS AT KNITSON OLD FARMHOUSE THIS YEAR Knitson Old Farmhouse opens regularly for the National Garden Scheme from April until the end of the year.

Starting with two openings on Wednesdays 6th and 13th April, from 12pm until 4.30pm each day, the openings continue on Wednesday afternoons: 4th and 11th May, 8th and 15th June, 6th and 13th July, 3rd and 10th August, 7th and 14th September, 12pm-4.30pm each open day. The garden opens on Wednesdays 12th October, 16th November and 7th December, all from 1pm until 4pm. Admission is £4, free for children.

Homemade teas are available, there is wheelchair access (the garden is on a slope, the main lawn and tea area are level, but there are uneven sloping paths), plants will be on sale, and dogs are allowed on leads. Visitors can also bring their own picnics.

The garden also opens by arrangement from April until December for groups of between eight and 25. For enquiries and bookings contact Mrs Rachel Helfer directly on 01929 421681 or by email rjehelfer@gmail.com

Top pic: ‘Rachel Helfer in her garden’ Bottom pic: ‘The richly overflowing borders and curved path at Knitson Old Farmhouse’ Images: Credit Louise Jolley 44

Country Gardener

As used by 13-time RHS Chelsea Gold Medal Winner Medwyn Williams

WY MEofDAngleseyN’S

Squashes fed and watered by AutoPot AQUAboxes, at Plantasia, Oxfordshire

For In-Earth Growers Get incredible veg effortlessly with AQUAbox - automated, power-free watering for raised beds, planters & plots AQUAbox allows each rootzone within your raised

No more daily watering, systems can be left unattended for weeks

bed, planter, or allotment plot to be automatically, No need for electricity, pumps, timers, or mains water pressure

independently irrigated and fed exactly as-andwhen required. Supply is dictated entirely by

Gravity pressure from a water tank is all that’s required

consumption - your plants draw what they need,

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autopot_global 45

COMPOSTING SPECIAL

The dirty secrets of improving your soil Rebuilding healthy soil at the start of every growing season is a vital aspect of what gardeners can achieve in the months ahead.

Though some gardeners may be blessed with perfect soil, most of us garden in soil that is less than perfect.

It isn’t really an option to struggle on with the overused , tired soil season after season producing disappointing crops without coming to the rescue of your soil. If your soil has too much clay in it, is too sandy, too stony or too acidic, then it is clear something needs to be done.

Turning a poor soil into a plant-friendly soil is not difficult to do, once you understand the components of a healthy soil. The ‘dirty’ secrets of improving your soil are simple and include being aware of organic material and soil enhancers,’ growing your own soil ‘with green manure, testing your soil for success and supplying what’s missing.

Soil is composed of weathered rock and organic matter, water and air. But the hidden ‘magic’ in a healthy soil is the organisms—small animals, worms, insects and microbes—that flourish when the other soil elements are in balance.

Roughly half of the soil in your garden consists of small bits of weathered rock that has gradually been broken down by the forces of

wind, rain, freezing and thawing and other chemical and biological processes.

Soil type is generally classified by the size of these inorganic soil particles: sand (large particles), silt (medium-sized particles) or clay (very small particles). The proportion of sand, silt and clay particles determines the texture of your soil and affects drainage and nutrient availability, which in turn influence how well your plants will grow.

So even soil which is above average still needs help at the beginning of every growing season.

A healthy soil is about 25 pe rcent air. Insects ,microbes, earthworms and soil life require this much air to live. The air in soil is also an important source of the atmospheric nitrogen that is utilized by plants.

The options including the powerful move to peat free compost and organic soil improvers are now readily available to us all. Plant growth and soil enhancers now improve root performance and take away the dependence on chemical fertilizers and while it’s important to still make the right buying decisions on peat free compost our soils can expect some more welcome assistance.

Making the right decisions on peat free compost Melcourt Industries is the UK’s leading supplier of mulches, growing media, soil improvers, media and more, based on bark, wood and other natural materials.

They have a huge range of peat free products, topsoil, planting compost and soil improvers.

Melcourt is an established brand and relies on its experience, resources and expertise. So, as a gardener who wants to use 100percent peat-free compost, they are keen to help gardeners decide which one to use.

They suggest the following checklist when you purchase compost • Is the manufacture new to the

® The Royal Horticultural Society. The Royal Horticultural Society, and its logo, are trade marks of The Royal Horticultural Society (Registered Charity No 222879/SC038262) and used under licence from RHS Enterprises Ltd.

www.melcourt.co.uk 46

Country Gardener

market or do they have a track record in the horticultural industry’?

•

For how long has the product been trialled and where can I see the trial results?

•

Does the manufacturer belong to a recognised trade body i.e. HTA, RHS, GMA, Soil Association etc?

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What are the ingredients in the mix (beware of glass, plastic and residual chemical contamination)?

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Don’t buy on price alone.

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Have you seen the product in the bag?

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How does it feel and smell?

By following the above, you should have a good chance of purchasing a 100 per-cent peat-free compost. www.melcourt.co.uk

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Biochar - improving fertility and providing soil support for plants Phoenix Biochar is a community interest - non-profit making - company aimed at benefitting the environment.

It has been created to transform wood that would otherwise be wasted into a tremendous usable material. That material is Biochar.

The key to Biochar’s effectiveness is its stable structure-like a ‘nano sponge’ it can absorb and retain moisture. This gives it the capacity to limit the effects of drought on plants.

Nutrients are also held within the cavities of the biochar. It has a massive surface- a single gram of biochar has the internal surface area equivalent to one and a half tennis courts! This means it has a very high capacity for storing nutrients and stopping them washing out of the soil. A lot of bought compost is devoid of nutrition and any that is present may wash away with regular watering.

So, combining Biochar with compost is an effective way to give your plants extra support. The other benefit is water retention really comes into its own when applied to peat free compost.

Peat is like a sponge and can dry out and then rehydrate.

This is what makes it so valuable in soils, but as we are all aware the cost to the environment is huge.

Biochar provides the same benefit but is in fact carbon negative or sequestering carbon, so it is good for the climate rather than a contributor to global warming. There is talk online about ‘charging’ Biochar, and this simply means getting nutrients and microbial life into the Biochar before using it on your garden, to get maximum benefits. The two easiest ways to do this is to add it little by little to your compost heap. Or mix it in with manure and leave for a few weeks. These two processes are both rich in nutrients and microbiology, so this will be sustained in the Biochar improving the fertility of your soil.

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47

READERS STORY

WILD, WILD GARLIC Country Gardener reader Nick Woakes shares his passion for wild garlic which should now be making itself known in hedgerows and lanes throughout the countryside

Round about this time of the year I start to get cravings for garlic bread after bike rides!

It is the oddest thing.

I think, in fact I know it’s because the lanes and woods around our Somerset village are suddenly full of wild garlic, also known as ransoms which slowly but surely starts to increase in potency throughout April.

The smell especially after rain can be so powerful.

There are two special spots where the wild garlic has grown year after year, untouched by strimmers or mowers or even larger agricultural equipment. It sits in late April and early May like a covering of small white lilies.

I’ve come to be very fond of it as it seems an undamaged part of spring which I don’t think too many people appreciate.

Wild garlic is an ancient-woodland-indicator plant. If you spot it while you’re out exploring or even bike riding, it could be a sign you’re standing in a rare and special habitat.

Wild garlic is one of a number of plant species whose presence indicates that a wood is ancient. It has traditionally been used in medicine, the bulb being one of the key ingredients in tonics for rheumatic problems and high cholesterol.

It is also a popular foraged ingredient.

It is one of the highlights of the spring and early summer to hunt down the wild garlic. The leaves can be eaten raw in salads, or blanched and used in place of spinach, or made into a delicious soup and pesto. They have a mild garlic flavour and are at their best before the flowers appear. The flowers are also edible and can be added raw to salads.

The second half of the Latin name, ursinum, refers to the fact that brown bears loved to eat the bulb. This also gave rise to two of its common names – bear’s leek and bear garlic.

If you prefer to forage nearer to home, you can like me have a corner of it growing in your own garden. It is a simple plant to grow and it’s just a matter of planting it and letting it romp away and spread naturally I don’t think I ever knew the distinctive smell in my earlier adult life. It was only moving down to Somerset that it became a thing.

It does have an unmistakable scent preferring to grow in shady and damp conditions. The wild garlic season starts in late winter and lasts until the end of spring, although it may be past its best by then in some places but not round here.

Wild garlic has a lighter flavour to traditional bulb garlic,

and the green, pointed leaves and white flowers of this bulbous perennial flowering plant are easy to identify, making it a good first foray into foraging. As wild garlic grows in abundance it is generally acceptable to pick a small amount, however pick wild garlic without causing any detrimental impact to the natural environment.

Used traditionally throughout Europe as a spring tonic due to its blood-purifying properties, similarly to bulb garlic, wild garlic is also thought to lower cholesterol and bloodpressure, which in turn helps to reduce the risk of diseases such as heart attack or stroke.

The leaves were once boiled and the resulting liquid used as a disinfectant. Its smell is said to repel cats, so may be a good inclusion for a keen ornithologist’s garden. Despite its strong scent, wild garlic has a much mellower taste than conventional garlic.

Easily confused, prior to flowering, with the similarly leaved Lily of the Valley. Best not to eat this one though, it’s poisonous.

We at home use handfuls of it in recipes and I’m happy to share this recipe with your readers.

Enjoy the wild garlic!

Wild garlic risotto COOKING TIME: 20 TO 25 MINUTES SERVES: 2-3 AS A MAIN COURSE, 4 AS A SIDE 1 tbsp olive oil 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped 250g risotto rice 1 litre vegetable stock 30g butter

Wild garlic risotto

48

3 bulbs wet garlic, sliced thinly 1 small onion, peeled and chopped Salt and pepper to taste 1 large handful wild garlic leaves, washed and chopped 50g Parmesan, finely grated, plus extra for serving

Add the oil into a pan and sweat the wet garlic, normal garlic and the onion for about ten minutes without letting it colour. Add the rice, turn up the heat and cook, stirring, until the rice is coated with the garlicky onion mix. Season, and stir until it has been absorbed.

Then add stock to cover the rice, stir and turn down the heat. Maintain the rice at a simmer and stir until the stock has been absorbed. Repeat, adding stock and stirring, for ten minutes. Add the wild garlic leaves, stir into the rice and continue adding more stock as before.

After five minutes when the rice is just cooked but still has some bite, remove from the heat and stir in the butter and cheese. Season, and serve topped with a sprinkling of extra cheese.

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GARDEN VISITS

ASHLEY COURT

GARDENS TO VISIT

Ashley, Tiverton, Devon EX16 5PD A new opening for the National Garden Scheme this year, Ashley Court is a small Regency country house with an historically interesting walled kitchen garden being restored, replanting it with both new and heritage varieties of fruit and vegetables. The organically managed garden is situated in a deep valley; it has a frost window and the remains of several glasshouses and cold frames. View the apple loft, root stores, stable buildings, woodland walk and lawns, borders and beautiful mature trees. Open for the NGS on Good Friday, 15th April from 11am-4.30pm. Admission £6, children free.

in April

compiled by Vivienne Lewis Everything is burgeoning this month and the garden opening season is well under way, so take a trip out to see a beautiful garden in spring, enjoy homemade tea and cake or a picnic, and help raise funds for nursing and caring charities. Do check first wherever possible before setting out, as circumstances or adverse weather can cause cancellations for openings. www.ngs.org.uk

BRENDON GARDENS Brendon, Lynton, Devon EX35 6PU In a stunning part of Exmoor National Park, two gardens with lovely views and excellent walking along the river and through the village; Hall Farm has two acres of mature gardens, with lake and wild area. Higher Tippacott Farm overlooks its own valley with stream, pond, planting on various levels with lawns and paths, young fruit trees in a meadow, vegetable patch. Plants, produce, books and bric-a-brac for sale; vintage telephones and toys display. Open for the NGS on Saturday 9th/Sunday 10th April, 11am4.30pm both days. Admission £5, children free.

BEECHENWOOD FARM

APPLEYARDS

Hillside, Odiham, Hook, Hampshire RG29 1JA This two-acre garden has a lawn meandering through woodland with drifts of spring bulbs, a fritillary and cowslip meadow, walled herb garden with pool, rose pergola, orchard, white garden and hot border, greenhouse and vegetable garden, rock garden extending to grasses, ferns and bamboos, shady walk to a belvedere and an eight-acre copse of native species. Open for the NGS on Wednesdays 30th March, 6th and 13th April, 2pm-5pm each day.

Admission £5, children free.

OUR KEY TO FACILITIES ON OFFER AT THE GARDENS:

Bowerwood Road, Fordingbridge, Hampshire SP6 3BP A newly restored two-acre sloping south facing garden, overlooking pasture with 100+ trees, sloping lawns and paths though wooded sections with massed daffodils and bluebells, newly planted rhododendrons, herbaceous beds, rose beds, shrubberies, two wildlife ponds, orchard, sloping rockery beds, soft fruit cages and greenhouse. Open for the NGS on Thursday 21st, Friday 22nd, Saturday 23rd, and Sunday 24th April, 12pm-6pm each day. Admission £5, children free, pre-booking essential.

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

Picnics welcome

www.countrygardener.co.uk

51

GARDEN VISITS

KEMBLE HOUSE Kemble, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 6AD A new opening for the NGS, a landscaped garden with many tall lime trees, herbaceous borders lining the lawns, the main one a grass tennis court laid in the 1880s, a walled garden with many fruit trees and two rose gardens. Two paddocks surround the property with Hebridean sheep. Open for the NGS on Wednesday 20th April 2pm5pm. Admission £5, children free.

TERSTAN Longstock, Stockbridge, Hampshire SO20 6DW A garden for all seasons, developed over 50 years into a profusely planted, contemporary cottage garden in peaceful surroundings, with pots, many unusual plants, gravel garden, water features, cutting garden, showman’s caravan and live music. Open for the NGS on Easter Sunday, 17th April, 2pm-5pm. Admission £5, children free.

BLOCKLEY GARDENS Blockley, Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire GL56 9DB This popular historic hillside village has a variety of high quality, well-stocked gardens, some with wonderful rural views. Blockley Brook flows through the village, and graces some of the gardens which include those of former water mills, with millponds attached. Children welcome but close supervision essential. Open for the NGS on Sunday 24th April, 2pm-6pm, combined admission £7, children free.

WEIR COTTAGE Weir Lane, Marshfield, Gloucestershire SN14 8NB A south facing garden of a quarter of an acre with early spring flowers and high stone walls to the north to protect from weather. A guided walk led by Cotswold Wardens on Saturday 2nd April (boots advised); Sunday 3rd April, guided history walk in the village; both walks meet 10am in Market Place.

Open for the NGS Saturday 2nd April and Sunday 3rd April, 11am-3pm.

Admission £3.50, children free.

WESTBROOK HOUSE West Bradley, Somerset BA6 8LS Four miles from Glastonbury, Westbrook House has three distinct gardens with mixed herbaceous and shrub borders leading to a meadow and orchard with spring bulbs, species roses and lilacs.

The planting and layout began 2004 and continues to the present.

Open for the NGS Saturday 16th April, 11am-5pm. Admission £5, children free.

GREYSTONES Hollybush Lane, Bristol BS9 1JB A peaceful garden near Bristol Botanic Garden and the Downs with places to sit and enjoy a quiet corner of Bristol; courtyard, raised beds, conifers and shrubs, and secluded area of contrasts - sun drenched beds with olive tree to shady spots, with acers, hostas and ferns. Rambling roses, small orchard, espaliered pears. Open for the NGS on Sunday 10th April 11am- 4pm.

Admission £4, children free.

52

Country Gardener

GARDEN VISITS

IVY HOUSE GARDEN Piddletrenthide, Dorset DT2 7QF A steep, challenging garden with fine views, run organically and wildlife-friendly, on a south facing site in the beautiful Piddle valley. Spring flowers, mixed borders, ponds, propagating area, vegetable garden, fruit cage, greenhouses and polytunnel, and nearby allotment. Insect friendly plants usually for sale, honey and hive products available; beekeeper to answer queries.

Perhaps live music too. Open for the NGS Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th April, 2pm-5pm.

Admission £5, children free.

FAIRFIELD Stogursey, Bridgwater, Somerset TA5 1PU A peaceful woodland garden with views of the Quantock Hills, many interesting bulbs including naturalised anemones, fritillaria with roses, shrubs and fine trees, and a paved maze to discover. Open for the NGS Sunday 10th April, 2pm-5pm. Admission £5, children free.

BROOMHILL TORVIEW 44 Highweek Village, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 1QQ Owned by two semi-retired horticulturalists, Torview has many rare and unusual plants, a Mediterranean formal front garden with a wisteria-clad Georgian house, small alpine house, rear courtyard with tree ferns, pots and troughs, conservatory with tender plants and climbers, a productive walled kitchen garden, and a shade tunnel of woodlanders. Open for the NGS on Friday 8th April, Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th April, from 12pm-5pm each day.

Admission £5, children free.

Rampisham, Dorchester, Dorset DT2 0PU Once a farmyard now a delightful, tranquil two-acre garden, with clipped box, island beds and borders, shrubs, roses, grasses, unusual perennials and choice annuals; lawns and paths lead to a large wildlife pond, meadow, shaded areas, bog garden; orchard and vegetable garden. Open for the NGS Sunday 24th April, 2pm-5pm.

Admission £5, children free.

WINDMILLS South Hill, Callington, Cornwall PL17 7LP

FOXLEY MANOR Foxley, Malmesbury, Wiltshire SN16 0JJ Yew hedges divide lawns, borders, rose garden, lily pond and a newer wild area with a natural swimming pond shaded by a liriodendron; views through large Turkey oaks to farmland beyond; small courtyard gravel area, and sculptures around the garden. Open for the NGS Sunday 24th April, 12pm-4pm. Admission £7, children free. A; B; E; F; G; H; J www.countrygardener.co.uk

Opening with Anvil Cottage, Windmills is next to the medieval church and on the site of an old rectory where there are still signs in places.

Formal paths and flower beds, vegetable and soft fruit area; there’s a pond, pergola, and large lawns with trees, shrubs and chickens. Open for the NGS Sunday 24th April, 1pm-5pm. Admission £6, children free.

53

SOWING

seeds of hope

Somerset nurserywoman Sophie Harrington shares her love of getting going on the seed sowing front and answers some readers’ questions on the challenges at the start of a new season

One of the great pleasures in life is sowing seed, We all love the thing of just bringing that tiny bit of what looks like dirt into life and turning it into this wonderful, abundant food and flowers, I just really love it. It’s also something about the time of the year. The days are longer and while it may not yet be warmer, we still know there is light and warmth waiting somewhere ahead to allow us to be confident about sowing.

There are of course different systems of sowing seed, and what seed and varieties suit which system, is a personal choice. The first, and commonest, the one most people do is sowing into a seed tray, and obviously you just put in your compost, scatter your seeds as far apart as you possibly can.

I don’t use that much, and the reason is you then must prick these out, so if you’re growing 100 different varieties it becomes very time consuming.

April is without doubt seed sowing time. It is time in ornamental and vegetable gardens and lots of seeds should be sown this month. Some seeds can be risked outside, while others can be started under glass to be planted out after all risk of frost has passed.

In the vegetable garden, crops such as carrots and peas can be sown direct outside, while tender crops like sweetcorn and courgettes should be sown under cover and kept in either a greenhouse or sunny windowsill before planting out the following month. April is also the month for planting potatoes, as well as onions sets, shallots and garlic, and Jerusalem artichokes.

Many vegetables can be grown in pots, including carrots, salads and radish.

Even if you have a dedicated veg patch, it’s still worth growing some extras in pots too, near the house for easy picking.

Celeriac needs a long growing season for an autumn or winter harvest, so sow now, under cover.

VEGETABLES TO GET SOWING NOW COURGETTES, MARROWS, SQUASHES, CUCUMBERS and PUMPKINS are known as curcurbits, and can all be sown in the same way – in individual five cm pots, under cover. Plant outside once all risk of frost has passed (cucumbers do best in a greenhouse).

For an autumn harvest, LEEKS can be sown in shallow drills directly into the ground from April.

LETTUCE is best sown under cover, in seed trays or modules, and planted out when large enough to handle. This can give them a head start on slugs and snails.

PEAS are easy to grow and can be harvested early in summer, making them a welcome early crop. You can sow them direct outside, but they are a favourite snack for mice – if these are a problem, sow the seeds indoors and plant the plants outside when they are 15cm tall.

RADISHES make a fast-growing ‘catch crop’, growing on ground that’s empty for a few weeks or between slower growing crops, such as parsnips. They also grow well in pots. Sow direct, every three to four weeks, for a continuous supply throughout summer.

SPINACH can be sown directly outside in April, but if it’s chilly, hold off until May or cover with horticultural fleece. Bear in mind that spinach needs lots of moisture and protection from slugs and snails.

SWISS CHARD is a beautiful crop for a sunny or partially shaded spot and can be sown directly outside in April.

…and add a touch of flower power Angelica gigas is a short-lived, majestic perennial and is perfect for providing height at the back of beds and borders. Sow under cover from March to May and transplant when all risk of frost has passed. You’ll have beautiful crimson umbels from May to September, which will be covered with bees and butterflies.

Nicotianas have a seductive fragrance, which is especially pronounced at night. Sow seed in March and April, then, after all risk of frost has passed, plant out

54

Country Gardener

in their final position around seating areas, to enjoy the scent on summer evenings. Nicotiana sylvestris has elegant, drooping flowers, while those of Nicotiana alata ‘Tinkerbell’ are an attractive terracotta colour.

Cosmos come in a beautiful array of colours and shapes, including perfumed chocolate cosmos (Cosmos atrosanguineus) and many cultivars of Cosmos bipinnatus.

Several types of poppy can be grown from seed, including orange California poppies (Eschscholzia californica), field poppies (Papaver rhoeas) and larger opium poppies (Papaver somniferum). They can all be sown from March to May, for flowers in summer and autumn.

Q: Do I need to sow in lines?

A: No, you don’t have to but for maximum crop yield straight lines have always

SEED SOWING Q&A Q: Do I need a propagator?

A: Most vegetable seeds don’t need a propagator. A few will certainly benefit, such as

peppers and tomatoes, but if you have a warm windowsill it will do. You could place the pots in a plastic bag to give a bit more protection.

If you want to start off seeds in a cold greenhouse in early spring then a heated

been the traditional way. The advantage of sowing in a straight line is you can often distinguish weed seeds from the crop. Also maintaining crops is easier in straight lines.

Q: Do I water the soil before or after sowing?

A: Some gardeners will water after the seed is sown and covered with soil. Some

dribble water into a seed drill first before sowing. This means the soil will be nice and damp below the seed and it evens the sowing surface in the drill. Then, after sowing and covering with soil, a sprinkling of water using a fine rose finishes the job and seals moisture all around the seed.

Q: How long do seeds stay fresh?

A: It depends upon the type of seed and how the seeds were stored. Seeds stored

in a cool, dry, dark location will remain fresher for a longer period. On average, most types of vegetable seeds will be viable for two to three years. Lettuce seed is particularly long-lived and can last for up to five years. On the other hand, parsnips rarely germinate after one year.

Q: Why are some of my seedlings tall and flopping over?

A: Leggy seedlings are a symptom

Propagators need regular checking

propagator or heated bench would be needed, especially for the germination of subjects like peppers, aubergines and tomatoes. One vital thing to remember is to check daily, and often twice daily.

As soon as you see the soil start to crack open and a flash of green, remove the pots from the heat and place in a slightly cooler place than the propagator, such as a bright windowsill.

Just hours of delay at this stage could result in elongated, weak seedlings. If you do get elongated seedlings they can be planted deeper in their next pots or cell trays.

Q: Do I need to feed seedlings?

A: Usually they are potted into larger pots and fresh compost before you need to feed

of inadequate exposure to light.

This condition causes seedlings to grow tall and have narrow stems which can’t support the weight of the leaves. Most vegetable plants require six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day. When sowing outdoors, plant vegetable seeds in a sunny location. Artificial lighting is often necessary when starting seedlings indoors.

Seedlings over exposed to light

Q: What seeds should be soaked and why?

A: Soaking seeds is a gardening trick to speed up germination rates. Larger seeds,

them. The exception are seedlings that are kept ticking over in cell trays. They can often stay longer in these and so a weekly feed of a proprietary general liquid feed is ideal.

those with a tough seed coat or ones which are traditionally slow to germinate, will benefit the most from soaking. Soaking seed is also useful whenever faster germination is desirable. To soak seeds, place them in a bowl of warm water. Large seeds, such as peas and beans, require an overnight soak.

Q: Can I use ordinary soil in my pots when sowing tender crops like tomatoes?

A: In theory, yes, but there is a greater risk that with the warmer temperatures and

Q: How many seeds do you put in each hole or pot?

A: The generic answer is two to three seeds per hole. This ensures each pot will

moist conditions, fungal and bacterial diseases will affect the emerging seedlings.

Rather than use soil, use a proprietary seed or multi-purpose compost. These have been heat treated or made from inert materials and less likely to harbour harmful organisms.

John Innes seed compost is a loam (soil) based one. Peat-free multi-purpose composts are available. Read the bag, as some will say not suitable for sowing.

sprout a seedling. Once the seedlings have developed true leaves, choose the strongest plant in each pot and cull any extra seedlings by cutting them off at ground level. This eliminates competition and gives the stronger plants room to grow.

However, different species have different seed germination rates. When planting large numbers of the same seed, conduct a germination test and adjust the number of seeds per hole to better reflect the germination rate.

Q: What should I sow between my garlic bulbs in a growing frame or raised bed?

A: Something that grows quickly! Spinach or radish work great. The latter is the fastest

growing. You can start harvesting it only 18 days after sowing.

Q: How do I prepare the ground for seedlings?

A: Ideally the ground would have been dug over some time in the autumn or winter

to integrate organic material (e.g., well-rotted manure). If you garden on poorly drained clay soil, add a layer of grit, or washed, inland sharp sand. Get rid of all annual and perennial weeds as you dig.

Once dug, try not to tread on the soil directly. Stand on a plank to distribute your weight evenly over a large area. Choose a dry day following a dry spell of a day or two and prepare the ground for sowing. Thump any large lumps of soil with the back of a metal rake. They’ll shatter when dry but remain cloddy when wet. Work out where your lines are going to be and fine tune the soil in these places only. Rake in one direction, removing lumps bigger than a plum to the side. Repeat at right angles.

Straight rows - traditional but not essential

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55

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Garden advice Our April postbag is again bursting at the seams with gardening queries and problems.

If you have any queries you would like us to help with write to us at Country Gardener, Mount House, Halse, Taunton Somerset TA4 3AD or email editorial@countrygardener.co.uk

Mespilus (almanchier)

We have moved into a lovely but small Devon garden and would like some advice about which smaller variety of trees would work in it.

Malcolm Pasco Barnstaple All gardens need height to lift them out of the ordinary and trees can be the right solution for a small garden if you choose correctly.

Forget about weeping willows and other monsters which will cut out the light and caused damage to foundations and instead seek out those of more moderate growth and hopefully ones which will provide interest all year round. The snowy Mespilus (almanchier) has white spring blossom followed by green leaves that turn orange. Crab apples such as ‘John Downie’ have wonderful blossom and attractive fruits that can be made into crab apple jelly. Silver birches are another option.

And in the smallest gardens try Japanese maples varieties of Acer palmatum that are slow growing but wonderfully elegant.

How can I stop ‘mind your own business’ from taking over my garden?

Cath Porter Martock Mind-your-own-business or baby’s tears, Soleirolia soleirolii is a creeping perennial with tiny, rounded leaves. Despite looking pretty in cracks in paving, it re-grows from the smallest stem sections and can get out of control. It is especially difficult to control in the lawn.

In borders and other parts of the garden, mind-yourown-business should be eradicated as thoroughly as possible by burying it deeply with mulch, or hoeing it off repeatedly.

Patches of mind-your-own-business in lawns are best carefully removed with a trowel or hand fork, in April or September. After removal, re-establish the soil level and re-sow bare patches with grass seed, or lay a patch of turf taken from elsewhere in the garden.

Camelllia sinensis is grown commercially in the West Country

Soleirolia soleirolii is a creeping perennial which regrows from the smallest stem sections

I was surprised to discover that it might be possible to grow peanuts in our climate and I would like to try. It sounds fun thing to do. But how do I approach it?

Tom L yle Dawlish Peanuts can be grown in the UK. They are in fact simple to grow and like to be planted in full sun.

They prefer a light, sandy soil and can be planted in a large pot or a garden bed. Plant them in May and June at 30 to 50cms apart.

Peanut plant flowers, with their extended stems, will find their way into soil after pollination. This forces the nuts into the soil to develop.

Peanut plants can be harvested from midSeptember to October when the leaves and shoots turn yellow to black.

56

Country Gardener

I have just taken over an allotment after several years of waiting and have always wanted to see if I could grow a UK tea. Is this possible?

Micky Slater Liss If you mean by this standard tea (black or green tea) then this is possible with the dried fermented shoot tips of a camellia (Camelllia sinensis) which is grown commercially in the West Country, particularly in Devon and Cornwall.

The skill is in the picking and processing which must be done in a particular way. There is also the question of scale, as one bush even when fully grown will not provide enough leaves to sustain you for very long. You should also be aware that even if you are successful in the growing of the plant there is no guarantee your leaves will make a tasty brew!

But don’t be deterred. Oswego tea for example is made from the aromatic Monarda didyma, a pretty border plant and is another option.

My dahlias have been badly damaged by frost. Is that the end of them or is there anything I can do?

Brenda Lewis Petersfield No, it isn’t necessarily the end, so don’t do anything too drastic.

Leave them and see what happens as they should eventually almost self-heal and send up more shoots. The frost damage will delay flowering so you might have to lose a year with them. You could try potting them up and see if a better more confined area will help. Long term however, they should recover.

I have boxes of seed packets picked up along the way or given to me by friends.

When I went through these, I found some tomato seeds ‘Gardener’s Delight’ from 2014. Is it worth planting them? Also do some seeds keep better than others?

Caroline Westbrook Swindon Every packet by law has a use-by date, a date by which seeds should be sown to get the maximum germination while still sealed. After this point or once opened the germination will tail off slowly, just how fast will depend on the seeds. The classic example is carrot seeds which should be used within the first year of purchase. If your tomato seeds have been stored in a cool, dry place, ideally indoors, then a portion may well germinate. The only way to find out is to try sowing. You can find a handy guide to seed longevity at www.allotment-garden.org and search ‘seed storage’

GARDENING

words Mycorrhiza DEFINITION

The term refers to the role of the fungus in the plant’s root system

How can we rid our orchids of mealybug? My plants look as if they are covered in cotton balls.

Amelia Porter Crewkerne Mealybugs are a common pest of orchids, especially Phalaenopsis. At first glance as you say, it looks as though the plant has some sort of cottony white fluffy mass. Closer examination reveals a wingless insect feeding on the plant’s tissue. They can seemingly appear out of nowhere and quickly spread across an entire plant or set of plants. Looking under the leaves usually reveals powdery clumps of them as well as a few individuals. Mealybugs need to be dealt with as quickly as possible. The first action is to isolate the affected plant and keep a keen eye on others that were near it. On hard-leaved plants, gentle rubbing with the fingers, a cotton ball, cotton-tipped swab, or a soft toothbrush is effective. Remove all mealybugs, large and small.

Repot the orchid as soon as practical after an infestation has been eliminated as it is likely the pests have moved underground to feast on the roots as well. Treating the top of the orchid without repotting is generally insufficient.

Make sure to use a fresh, top quality orchid mix.

Can I take cuttings from heuchera runners?

Sally Forester Minehead Taking cuttings is easy so long as you are prepared for the timing of it.

This is a task for the autumn. When autumn rolls around check your plant periodically and as soon as you notice new plants are forming at the base of the crown, that’s when you want to take cuttings. This can differ for different plants and different growing conditions or environments which is why there’s no specific day or date.

Take a sharp set of secateurs and make sure they are properly sanitized. The sharper they are, the better because then you can make a clean cut without any messy incisions. Messy incisions leave your original plants susceptible to diseases. When you see the new plants forming, cut them off with your sharpest pruning shears and transplant them into individual pots.

How can I control viburnum beetle without using chemicals?

Kirsten Allens Portsmouth Viburnum beetle is now one of the top three garden pests in the UK according to the RHS. There are no sprays available which would not harm other plants. The best alternative is to pick them off by hand or try water spraying to at least get them of the leaves.

Can mycorrhizal fungi be given to an established plant?

William Preston Exeter The chances are that a plant that has been in the soil for over two years is already part of a mycorrhizal network; in other words helpful fungi that associated with a plants’ roots in the surrounding soil. You can only introduce these fungi into established plants by boring a hole into the rooting area and then adding the mycorrhiza, but this isn’t an entirely reliable system. www.countrygardener.co.uk

Mycorrhizas are beneficial fungi growing in association with plant roots, and exist by taking sugars from plants ‘in exchange’ for moisture and nutrients.

Mycorrhizal fungi exist in nearly all soils. These extraordinary fungi provide a secondary root system for the plant. So, imagine a wider and more efficient network attached to the plant’s roots beneath ground. A network composed of fungi with spreading spidery arms extending beyond the plant roots. These fungi are highly efficient at absorbing water and nutrients (particularly phosphorus) from the soil.

The fungi are living organisms that live in mutual benefit with the plant – the plant provides carbon and sugars for the fungi, as it provides the nutrient supply. There are many different sorts, each adapted to the host plant.

The fungi in most herbaceous, i.e., leafy, plants, are called arbuscular mycorrhiza. Unlike the tree mycorrhiza which are in the soil, the arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (are hosted within the plant root.

From broad beans to tomatoes, strawberries to dahlias, most of our garden plants use mycorrhizas.

The only type that doesn’t is the brassica family ie cabbages, brussel sprouts and beets.

Benefits of mycorrhizal fungi on basil growth

However, research has shown that these beneficial fungi will not flourish in certain conditions: • Soil which has too much phosphorus, from chemical fertilisers • In ground repeatedly used for brassica growing • Over cultivated soil, where the fungi have been disturbed and then weakened You can buy mycorrhizas, and their use is within organic growing guidelines.

Where mycorrhizal fungi are most needed is in soil which has been dug over too frequently. This could be in the garden of a new house, where diggers will have destroyed the fungi and where no nutrients or compost have been added.

57

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TREE SPECIALIST

Ernest Henry 'Chinese' Wilson - a plant hunter who endured pain and suffering in his search for specimens

ACER GRISEUM

– AN ALL-AROUND STAR PERFORMER Mark Hinsley profiles a popular ornamental maple and the journey it took to get into our gardens Acer griseum or paperbark maple is an ornamental maple which gives all-yearround interest.

It is a harbinger of spring with its little yellow flowers, attractive through the summer with lush green three lobed leaves, stunning in the autumn when the leaves turn red and scarlet and a constant source of interest through the winter with its rich red/brown peeling bark.

The paperbark maple is a well-mannered tree. It grows at a sedate pace, it does not bully other trees around it, it does not grow to great size and overpower your garden and it is not on a mission to dominate the world with millions of seeds which germinate all over the landscape, or vigorous suckers which cause you endless hours of work trying to control them.

The best way to cultivate it is to gradually lift the canopy high enough so you can walk under it because that is the way you enjoy the most benefit from the ornamental bark.

Editorial

Magazines

Publisher & Editor: Alan Lewis alan@countrygardener.co.uk Tel: 01823 431767

Paperbark maple is a native of China and was sent back to England in 1901 by the famous plant collector Ernest Henry ‘Chinese’ Wilson whilst he was on a new specimen collecting expedition sponsored

by Veitch’s nursery in Exeter.

Arboriculturists know Wilson for the paperbark maple and the Davidia involucrata or pocket handkerchief tree.

However, the most popular plant which Wilson brought to the world and the crowning glory of his plant collecting career was Lilium regale, the Regal lily.

Next time you pop down the garden centre to pick up some lily bulbs you might like to contemplate the journey Wilson undertook to bring them to you in the first place…

Wilson left Boston, Massachusetts in March 1910, taking ship to Europe. He made his way across Europe and joined the transSiberian railway for the long trip to Peking.

From Peking he travelled to Shanghai.

Wilson preferred to travel by rivers in China whenever he could. From Shanghai

he travelled 1800 miles up the Yangtze River to reach one of its lesser tributaries, the Min River, at Sungpang Ting.

He then had to follow the Min for a further 250 miles on foot and sedan-chair pushing deep into the harsh mountainous country of Tibet. Wilson used the sedan-chair sparingly, but it was an important emblem of importance that discouraged wild tribesmen from attacking.

By the seventh day Wilson’s expedition was 6,000ft above sea level surrounded by grim, inhospitable, almost desert country.

It was in these uncomfortable surroundings in an almost constant howling gale, seven months since he left Boston, that Wilson set his collectors to work. They dug 7,000 lily bulbs out of the stony soil, packed them onto mules and set off for Chengtu Fu, the capital of Szechuan.

Whilst negotiating a narrow path cut into a gorge above the river, Wilson’s party was hit by a rock fall. Wilson, at the front of the column in the sedan-chair yelled

out a warning. His bearers and the rest of the party scrambled to safety under an overhang, but Wilson was caught by the rocks, his left leg lacerated and broken in two places below the knee.

Wilson was hurriedly carried to Chengtu.

Three days later he was taken to a doctor at the Friends’ Presbyterian mission for rudimentary medical attention. Wilson refused amputation. Incredibly, he managed to accompany his bulbs back to Boston with the leg unhealed.

Medical treatment then saved him, leaving his right leg shorter than the other, causing him to walk for the rest of his days with what he called his ‘lily limp’. Lilies, anybody?

Mark Hinsley runs Arboricultural Consultants Ltd offering tree consultancy services.

www.treeadvice.info

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