Devon Country Gardener Autumn 2020

Devon www.countrygardener.co.uk

Issue No 188 Autumn 2020 FREE

WHY WE NEED TO plant

for trees now everyone’s future

Plus: Apple trees for small gardens; Autumn snowdrops; Coastal gardening at Burgh Island; Turf v seed; Apple problems; Shrubs for the connoisseur; Gardening news and events throughout Devon

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CUTTINGS

Gardeners cuttings

in Devon

A LOOK AT NEWS, EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS IN YOUR AREA

Devon research stresses health benefits of gardening

Devon research highlights health benefits of gardening

New research from Devon has further strengthened the link between gardening and better health and wellbeing.

Research from the University of Exeter and the RHS which analysed data from nearly 8,000 people, is thought to be one of the largest to specifically compare the behaviour of people with access to a garden and those without.

The research found that people who spend time in the garden, whether gardening or relaxing, are significantly more likely to report good health, higher psychological well being and greater physical activity levels than those who do not.

“Our new evidence highlights that gardens may have a role a public health resource and that we need to ensure their benefit is available more equally”, said Becca Lovell, project lead at the University of Exeter Medical School.

Alistair Griffiths, RHS director of science and collections was a co-author of the paper.

He said: “As the current Covid-19 crisis has demonstrated there is an urgent need to include the provision of private gardens in the planning proves to better support the UK’s preventative health agenda and the wellbeing of our nation”

NGS Devon gardens work hard to extend opening into autumn There are still some opportunities to visit gardens opening for the National Garden Scheme this autumn, with two splendid gardens opening in Devon during October.

Regency House at Hemyock – open on 18th October Upper Gorwell House, at Goodleigh Road, Barnstaple, which opens for the NGS on Sunday, 4th October, is a four-acre garden overlooking the Taw estuary. Its microclimate allows many rare and tender plants to thrive, both in the open and the walled garden, and there’s the added interest of strategically placed follies to discover.

Regency House at Hemyock, eight miles north of Honiton, which opens on Sunday, 18th October for the NGS, is a plantsman’s garden approached across a private ford, which has five acres to explore, to find many interesting and unusual trees and shrubs, a lake, ponds, bog planting, sweeping lawns, and a walled vegetable garden. Not only all of that, but there are also horses, Jacob sheep and Dexter cattle to be admired.

Visitors must pre-book tickets through the NGS website at www.ngs.org.uk and details of garden openings go on the website about ten days before the opening. Check the website regularly to see if there are any other gardens opening this autumn, as some garden owners are deciding to open at short notice.

Andrew’s ‘NHS striped lawn’ wins international award You remember during lockdown gardeners had a bit more time on their hands?

Well, throughout the West Country gardeners took to their mowers and started to be creative when it came to their lawns.

Record numbers took to the ‘hobby’ of lawn stripes art.

And after a unique international competition to test the art of lawn stripes, Andrew Wain, head gardener of Euridge Manor, a private estate in Chippenham won the annual Allett Mowers Creative Lawn Stripe competition.

The NHS tribute lawn

Andrew Wain and his mower

This year everyone has been forever grateful for the NHS and that was the theme of Andrew’s winning entry. He has been placed high in the stripes competition for the past three years and this time took the top prize.

Country Gardener works hard to ensure we have up to date and correct information when it comes to garden events and openings. However, events can be cancelled at short notice with the uncertainty surrounding Covid 19, so we urge readers to double check with venues before setting out on a visit. www.countrygardener.co.uk

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Autumn ablaze

See how the gardens light up this autumn with fiery yellows, oranges, reds and browns Pre-book online at rhs.org.uk/rosemoor Your visit supports our work as a charity RHS Reg Charity No. 222879 / SC038262

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Country Gardener

CUTTINGS

INTEREST IN WRAGS GARDEN TRAINEE SCHEME

RHS ROSEMOOR celebrates the fruiting OF RARE APPLE VARIETIES

The summer-enforced lockdown has seen a huge demand to pursue gardening as a career. The increase in horticultural trainee applications has also led for a demand for more training gardens.

The nurturing and consoling nature of working in the garden has led to a thirst for knowledge about plants, a desire to improve horticultural skills and, in some cases, an opportunity to reassess the future and working life.

Applications for the WRAGs (Work and Retrain as a Gardener) trainee scheme, where would-be gardeners learn practical horticultural skills in a carefully selected garden, have surged. Lockdown saw interest from potential trainees who were either considering changing direction, had been made redundant or had their RHS studies and voluntary opportunities suspended.

The WRAGs scheme offers them a positive step towards change and a source of hope.

A WRAGs trainee works for 14 hours a week for a year under the instruction of the garden owner or head gardener. The administration fee to join is £600 (paid on confirmation of the appointment) and when in place, trainees are paid the National Living Wage. Graduates of the scheme have gone on to run their own garden business, work in plant nurseries and become head gardeners.

The scheme is administered by the WFGA (Women’s Farm and Garden Association), a charity whose aim is ‘Advancing Horticulture’, which was formed in 1899. Its original intention was to provide education and employment for women WRAG trainees work for 14 hours a week for a working on the land, year under supervision from the garden owner and from it sprung the Women’s Land Army.

Now open equally to men and women, alongside the WRAGs training scheme, it also offers workshops, skill days and garden visits. Its national network of Regional Managers monitor and visit trainees, and use their local knowledge to source new gardens.

The one downside of the increase in potential trainees is that their number currently outstrips that of gardens available. The WFGA is always on the lookout for garden owners who have established a garden they are proud of and can pass on their skill and knowhow to a new generation of gardeners.

Training is built around the charity’s curriculum, and Regional Managers are on hand to advise. If you think that you can give a trainee a year’s parttime paid experience, get in touch. You could be the catalyst that propels one of this year’s lockdown life-changers into a rewarding new career.

Contact: admin@wfga.org.uk; wfga.org.uk. Instagram: @wfga_org

RHS Rosemoor has been celebrating the first time fruiting of rare apple varieties in its South West Heritage apple orchard, planted in 2017 to safeguard heritage apples.

The majority of the varieties which include the wonderfully named ‘Pigs Nose’ and ‘No Pip’ have responded to the work of experienced RHS horticulturists who have trained and pruned the young trees.

surges after lockdown

‘Spotted Dick’

‘No Pip’

‘Pig’s Nose’

‘White Close Pippin’

Rosemoor has been grafting this heritage collection of apples, as new trees grown from seed do not come true to parental type – and it is the unique, quirky tastes, colours and sizes they want to preserve.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) has collected 45 varieties of rare apples to establish a unique ‘mother orchard’ at Rosemoor.

This orchard is a type of insurance policy and will ensure that these diverse old types of apples won’t die out and be available for future generations.

This orchard of eaters, cookers and cider apples complements the current apple trees in the fruit field, and like the existing apple harvest, these rare and old varieties will be used in the restaurant, turned into Rosemoor cider and juice, or sold as bagged apples.

The RHS has been involved in fruit growing since it was founded in 1804. Since the 1950s the collection has been at RHS Garden Wisley, which now has 700 apple cultivars.

The oldest cultivars in the collection date from the Middle Ages while ‘Court Pendu Plat’ may be of Roman origin. The greatest numbers are from the 19th and early 20th centuries, when the development of new varieties reached a peak.

The collection is used to identify apple varieties, as well as providing graftwood for other orchards, and giving instruction on pruning. They use the fruit to educate members and visitors through tasting and displays.

ROSEMOOR GLOW AND WINTER SCULPTURE HIGHLIGHTS Looking further ahead into the autumn, RHS Rosemoor has two major attractions.

The popular ‘Rosemoor Glow’ illuminated trail on selected dates from November through to January. It will take visitors on a magical trail through the Winter Garden, the Cool Garden with its calming water features, on to the Cottage Garden via the Long Borders and then down to magnificent reflections at the lake before returning to the visitor centre.

Set against the backdrop of Rosemoor in winter, the annual Winter Sculpture Exhibition will be on display throughout the garden from Thursday, 12th November until Sunday, 31st January.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

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CUTTINGS

NT CELEBRATES RE-OPENING OF

properties throughout Devon National Trust properties through Devon including NT Killerton, NT Knightshayes, NT Greenway and NT Buckland Abbey have re-opened following successful pilot schemes on how the properties can safeguard visitors.

Barrington Court in Somerset and Kingston Lacy in Dorset took part in the successful pilot in July along with five other houses nationwide. Dunster Castle and Arlington have also re-opened.

The gardens at many NT properties opened earlier in the summer but the houses have remained closed.

At the end of July, the National Trust reopened seven properties in England and Northern Ireland as part of a phased reopening of its 200 houses, which were closed as part of the national lockdown in March.

Greenway House open its doors daily in the first week in September, for the first time in more than four months - with several new safety measures in place.

Buckland Abbey

NT Greenway open to celebrate 100 years since the publication of Agatha Christie’s first novel

Knightshayes Court The house is open Tuesday to Saturday from 12 noon to 4pm with last admission at 3.30pm (the garden and parkland is open 10 to 5pm daily).

Timed tickets for entry to the house will be available for collection each day from 12 noon.

Visits are limited to ensure social distancing and entry to the house is not guaranteed on the day you visit.

Regular visitors will notice some changes to the exhibitions, including the removal of interactive displays and comment cards. Kate Skinner, House and Collections Manager for

Knightshayes, said: “We’ve made good use of the time that the house has been closed, deep cleaning and resting the collection. However, although the visit is different, with a one-way system and only the ground floor open it’s just wonderful to see people enjoying it again”

NT Greenway - Agatha

Christie’s Devon holiday home

Greenway has opened just in time for the muchloved author’s birthday. 2020 marks 100 years since the publication of Agatha Christie’s first novel, ‘The Mysterious Affair at Styles’.

The reopening of the Abbey from Wednesday, 9th September follows a successful phased opening of Buckland’s garden, estate, restaurant and shop since June where one-way systems and limited visitor numbers are tested safety measures that continue inside the Abbey to ensure social distancing can always be followed.

Enhanced cleaning, hand sanitising stations and new signage to guide visitors are in place and regular visitors may also notice the removal of interactive displays, information sheets and comment cards as a safety measure to reduce touchpoints.

The Abbey is open on afternoons from 12.30pm to 4pm with last admission 3.30pm. The garden, estate walks, and restaurant are open daily from 10am and the shop opens Wednesday to Sunday.

Gardens prove a therapy for mental health says NGS report A new report from the National Garden Scheme (NGS) has stressed the vital role that gardens and outdoor spaces played – and continue to play - in the physical and mental health and wellbeing of the nation during lockdown.

THE REPORT FINDINGS INCLUDED:

Based on feedback from garden owners, viewers of their unique Virtual Garden Visits that aired throughout lockdown, and an online survey conducted in August, the NGS report confirms that the power of gardens to do good has never been more important.

George Plumptre, Chief Executive of the National Garden Scheme said, “Anecdotally, from the responses we received to our Virtual Garden Visits during lockdown, we knew that gardens (real and virtual) were playing a significant and important role in people’s lives. In August, to back this up, we ran an online survey entitled ‘The importance of our gardens and outdoor spaces during lockdown’. Over 2,400 people responded giving us a set of key statistics which confirmed much of the feedback we had already established; that access to gardens and green spaces can play a vital role in our ability to cope in times of crisis.

92%

100%

87%

81% 70%

said their gardens and outdoor spaces were ‘extremely important’ to them during lockdown for health and wellbeing said that a key benefit gained from access to their garden/outdoor space during lockdown was ‘It helped to relieve stress.’

of those with balconies or window boxes said a key benefit was the reduction in stress – all of these respondents were within an urban or suburban environment spent their time growing and propagating seeds grew their own produce

Enjoying time to watch and encourage wildlife, connecting with neighbours ‘over the garden gate’, completing overdue garden projects and enjoying the sanctuary of their outdoor spaces were common themes in the long form responses.

Look out for the WINTER EDITION of Country Gardener available from outlets by 6th November 6

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READERS STORY

‘Why we must

PLANT TREES’ Country Gardener reader William Bradshaw moved into his Somerset garden twenty years ago. His first action in the new garden was to plant trees- for the long term. It is a decision he has never regretted.

There is a lovely quote that never seems truer for me than now.

winter, male catkins and female cones dangle from the branches.

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now”

Crab apple, Malus sylvestris

Well, twenty years ago on a memorable sunny November 1st we moved from just north of Lincoln to a new home and garden in Somerset near Illminster.

We had fallen in love with the house and garden and it wasn’t too much of a problem that both needed some attention. The garden was almost one and a half acres and was open to the elements, mostly lawn with a few borders straggled around. It didn’t have any character.

It didn’t have any trees.

While we were waiting to move in we hatched a plan.

If this was the place where we intended to live for a long while then we wanted to plant trees and plant them straight away. I spent weeks sorting out the trees and we planted them all that first autumn and winter.

And this is really why I am putting pen to paper for your excellent magazine to advocate how important it is to plant trees and especially in a new garden.

My eldest son has just moved to a new garden and we have just bought him half a dozen trees in the belief that while he might agree with the principles involved -my guess is he would never actually get round to doing anything about it.

My garden now is a delight, mature, protected from the elements, plenty of shade, full of wildlife and more than anything I know it reflects the seasons which we should all be grateful for.

I have now taken to boring my grandson with this. I tell him that planting a tree can be an act of gratitude. Trees are an integral part of human life and human history. By planting a tree, we are in an act of giving back to what trees have given us.

Trees have provided food, shelter, wood for warmth, allowed us to build boats and homes and most importantly oxygen to breath.

So what is in my garden and what advice have I passed to the next generation (isn’t that a wonderful thing to be able to write that!)

It may be a conservative choice but I planted all these exactly twenty years ago.

Alder, Alnus glutinosa This is a quick-growing, nitrogen-fixing, insectharbouring, bird-loving ‘son of a gun’ tree and we have been so grateful for it in our garden. Planting an alder is a great way to invite birds and insects to live in your garden. Our tree grew really fast. In the

I like apple trees in my garden but I love my crab apple.

Crab apples are essentially the same as apples except that they bear smaller, tarter fruits. The tree offers shelter and food for visiting birds. Ours has been positioned at the bottom of the garden and underplanted with shade-loving perennials.

English oak, Quercus robur

The fruit are edible, although only palatable when cooked - try making crab apple jelly and we planted two ‘John Downie’ (larger oval yellow-red fruit), and then ‘Evereste’ (small, round, yellowy-orange fruit) English oak, Quercus robur Yes they are slow growing but not as slow as many people think and I feel there is something wonderful about growing an oak tree. It is a tree famous for having strong timber, being a home for insects, and for living to a ripe old age. And what could be easier and try what we did -gather some acorns from the ground. Choose fat, ripe acorns – nice and brown all over. Ignore any that are green (these are unripe) or dark (these have started to rot).

Crab apple, Malus sylvestris

Hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna Hawthorn is a welcoming sign of spring in our garden. The hawthorn is also known as the May tree, and you’ve probably seen loads of its beautiful white flowers blooming in the month of May. Holly, Ilex aquifolium We wanted something all year round in the garden and the holly was something my wife insisted on.

There’s nothing like seeing the red berries and the shiny, spiky leaves of holly to brighten a dark, cold winter’s day.

Rowan, Sorbus aucuparia

Silver birch, Betula pendula

A tough and gorgeous bright red-berried bonanza of a tree and boy does in brighten up our garden! It is a tree that dares to grow where others cannot. We planted ours perhaps a bit too near the house. I later discovered that it used to be planted outside houses to ward off witches, but it’s a lovely tree with bright red berries!

Silver birch, Betula pendula I have always has a passion for shiny bark trees and this quicksilver tree grows very fast and has amazing bark. Ours is mature now - over 30 metres tall, very upright and a focal point for the far end of the garden and has a wonderful canopy with triangular shaped leaves. www.countrygardener.co.uk

Rowan, Sorbus aucuparia 9

Fruit tree cordons for smaller spaces You don’t have to have an enormous garden to plant fruit trees. Tom Nancarrow from Devon fruit tree nursery Adam’s Apples explains the best way to grow apple and pear trees if space in your garden is tight We don’t all have large gardens with orchards and room for lots of apple trees.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a wonderful selection of fruit trees to enjoy. The trick is to choose a semi-dwarfing root stock, either MM106 for apples or Quince A for pears, and grow your trees as a cordon.

Training your apple and pear trees as cordons and regular summer pruning can provide you with a long season of use and lots of variety from a small space.

A cordon is a particular shape or ‘form’ which is created by some simple summer pruning. It refers to a tree that has a single main stem or trunk with short side branches kept to about 30cm maximum.

It might be the maiden tree doesn’t have any feathers (sidebranches), this is largely determined by variety, but if it does then any side branches longer than 10cm can be pruned back to four or five buds. Any feathers that are less than 10cm can be left.

The tree can then be left to grow through the spring and summer until late August/early September when you carry out the summer pruning.

Find the new branches growing from the main stem, these can now be pruned back to four or five buds/leaves. Any new growth coming from the side branches you cut back to 10cm in the winter (or that you left because they were less than 10cm in the winter) can be pruned back to three buds/leaves.

This type of summer pruning, if carried out in late August/early September, will prevent the tree from growing too large (as you are removing most of the current season’s growth every year) and encourage lots of fruit buds to form. Once established, cordons can be very fruitful, giving good yields.

You can either grow a cordon vertically or on a 45-60 degree angle – this promotes more Summer pruning can provide you with a longer season fruiting and looks good, but either are fine. The nature of the cordon form and regular summer pruning means branches are kept fairly short, which in turn means you can plant them much closer together than free-standing trees.

I recommend spacing cordons 80cm apart. This means that if you have an area around five metres long, you could quite happily grow six apple or pear trees as cordons.

To create a cordon, purchase a bare rooted maiden or feathered maiden. A maiden tree refers to a tree that has grown for one year in the nursery, and a feathered maiden simply means the tree has pushed out some initial side branches in that first year. Bare rooted trees can be purchased once the tree has dropped its leaves and is dormant, and can be planted anytime from late November to late March.

How to train a cordon tree After planting you can cut back the main stem by around a third.

10

Country Gardener

Properly trained and in full sunshine – an ideal recipe

Choosing varieties It is important to avoid choosing varieties that are entirely tipbearing, though most apple and pear trees are spur bearers or at least partial tip-bearers, so this is not usually a problem. Check

Some good varieties to choose for cordons: Apples: ‘Discovery’ ‘Fortune’ ‘Charles Ross’ ‘Ribston Pippin’ ‘Lanes Prince Albert’ ‘Pitmaston Pineapple’ ‘Kidd’s Orange Red’

Pears: ‘Beth’ ‘Beurre Hardy’ ‘Conference’ ‘Onward’ ‘Williams’

with your nursery before purchasing trees for cordons that they are not tip-bearing varieties.

Choosing varieties that ripen sequentially is a great way to extend your season of use. You can have apples or pear trees giving fruit from August right through to the spring from just a few cordons.

Make sure the varieties you choose are in the same or adjacent flowering groups to each other to ensure abundant cropping - lack of a suitable pollinator nearby is sometimes the cause of poor yields when growing a single tree in a small garden.

Cordons are also a great way to produce a good quantity of earlyseason apples and pears without being swamped with too much fruit that does not store. Remember, early season varieties (August) need to be picked and eaten straight from the tree. September varieties will generally store for a week or two and October varieties will often store right through the winter.

IMPROVING core values

The cause of the splits in apples is invariably irregular watering

Apples are the most widely grown tree fruit in our gardens and often crop impressively but gardeners who are looking forward to a bountiful harvest often get disappointed as autumn fails to bring anticipated rewards A range of pests, diseases and environmental conditions can cause disappointing crops and some damage may only be evident when otherwise perfectly formed fruit is cut through at harvest or emerge later during storage. Recognising the causes of a range of problems is the first step in helping to ensure better results next season.

Apply sawfly

APPLE SAWFLY

Supporting Structure Cordons not only look great when grown against a wall or fence, the additional shelter and warmth of a structure like this helps the tree be more fruitful and abundant. However, it is not strictly necessary - you could construct a post and wire structure to support the cordons without a wall or fence, or simply grow vertical cordons as free-standing trees. Either way, it is useful to use a sturdy bamboo cane that you can tie the tree to in order to maintain a strong main stem.

Usually seen as superficial damage to the skin of ripe fruit which limits storage but most affected fruit fails to develop. The cause is larvae of the sawfly Hoplocampa testudinea.

Treatment: Pick off and dispose of damaged fruit before larvae move to other fruits. Organic sopary can be affected. Cooking varieties are rarely affected.

APPLE SCAB

Apple scab

Disfigures fruit surface limiting storage and quality.

It is cause by airborne fungus which overwinters on young stems.

Treatment: Gather up and destroy fallen leaves and fruit. Prune to open up air into the tree.

BROWN ROT An infection which exploits previous damage from birds, codling moth or scab and caused by a fungus spread mainly by birds.

Treatment: Net against birds, remove infected and fallen fruit. Prune out affected spurs.

Brown rot

CODLING MOTH Adam’s Apples fruit tree nursery offers value packs of 6 or 10 apple trees, selected for growing as cordons.

Visit www.adamsapplestrees.co.uk website and type in ‘Collections’.

Caused by the larvae of the moth Cydia pomonella.

Females lay eggs in early summer and then tunnels in to the core of the fruit making the apple inedible.

Treatment: Spray with organic control in September and October which controls overwintering larvae.

Pheromone traps can be used against males to control mating.

Codling moth 11

The challenges of GARDENING ON

Burgh Island Head gardener Apple Taylor shares the challenges and rewards of looking after gardens on the iconic private island at Bigbury-on-Sea, cut off from the Devon coast.

Burgh Island Hotel sits on a 23-acre private island on the Devon coast, across the beach at Bigbury-on-Sea and a short ride on the famous vintage sea tractor when the tide is in. A unique location, its gardens exist in total seclusion, cut off from all surrounding land and the Devon coast.

Soon after the arrival in 2018 of the hotel’s new owner, Giles Fuchs, a new gardener, Apple Taylor, came to visit. She has been sensitively applying her investigative and naturalistic approach to the gardens gradually awakening them from their slumber and embracing all that the incredible wild landscape has to offer.

She has been sharing her experience of adapting to the island’s unique microclimate and the joys and challenges of extreme coastal gardening on this tidal island like no other.

Wild meadow flowers with seaview on the island

“Over the eight years preceding my arrival at Burgh, I had become used to gardening in rural kitchen and cottage gardens following my training on a mixed six-acre estate with a knowledgeable head gardener. So, when I first arrived at the island, it’s fair to say I was a little intimidated by what was in store behind those iconic iron gates. Before 2018, whilst regular maintenance of the extensive lawns and walkways was admirably achieved, in the beds and borders it was a different story: innumerable brambles and thistles thrived in what might reasonably have been expected to be the most decorative areas of landscaping usually found at a renowned luxury hotel.

The task ahead was daunting to say the least.

Phlox, a gapanthus, sea mayweed (Tripleurospermum maritimum) nepeta, Rosemary Prostratus 12

The first three months were spent unpicking this veritable sleeping beauty, focussing on one area at a time uncovering and discovering what lay within the confines of the long since breached and rusted rabbit proof fences and armoured pots.

Country Gardener

Then I looked at the framework of what remained - which plants were healthy and vibrant? Which varieties were struggling or inappropriate for the environment? What about that wind which, when it blew hard, was enough to upend the newly acquired pots until they were safely bolted down? There are endless things still to be learnt about gardening in such an extreme environment.

I began to appreciate that even if a book, or indeed the RHS website, advised that a species was suitable for coastal planting that wasn’t necessarily the case at Burgh Island. After all, on the island you are atop a rock and sediment promontory, out at sea and at the mercy of some of the most extreme elements the British weather can throw at you: rasping sand whipped up by high, wild winds, an open sky with beating hot sun and no shade, and the sandiest saltiest soil which doesn’t retain moisture and can scorch and damage all but the toughest of plants.

Wildlife challenges A further challenge that cannot be overlooked is the wildlife - in particular, the population of ravenous rabbits which, I later would discover, had been deliberately bred on the island over a hundred years previously. The island’s wild rabbits are positively Darwinian in their adaptation, with stocky muscular legs for running up hills and cliffs, short ears to counter the wind and a very healthy and curious appetite for anything more exciting than wild thyme.

When things I had planted began to disappear and stubs and stalks took their place, I began to understand the original purpose of that rusted wire and the frustration previous gardeners must have felt in erecting it!

Specimens of roses and lavender, knautia, fatsia and eucalyptus, to name but a few, failed due to the wild rabbit population. Even the escaped and invasive Yucca suffered; I cleared the old strappy leaves around them to tidy them up - with the trunks revealed, however, they gnawed away at the pulp inside until they were well and truly felled. I was adamant that I would not be refencing the beds and borders at such a pristine and sensitive location ... I had to try a different tactic.

I could see now why some of the existing shrubs were shaped like big lollipops - this wasn’t a stylistic choice of the previous incumbent, but a natural pruning technique adopted by the rabbits eating the low branches. This gave me my first eureka moment: to ‘buy big.’ I upsized to larger specimens with an

“There are endless things still to be learnt about gardening in such an extreme environment.

I began to appreciate that even if a book advised that a species was suitable for coastal planting – that wasn’t necessarily the case at Burgh Island” established branching system away from the ground and protected these with tree guards where necessary or at the first sign of damage. Although larger specimens are more costly, for them not to be eaten was the most prudent economy - it also meant that progress within the landscaping areas was propelled - more ground was covered (quite literally) - which was much needed at the time.

Understanding the environment After these initial struggles, I took stock of what was now growing strongly, what was thriving and surviving and replicated those plants, safe in the knowledge that they were very likely to prove successful. I began to look into species that were truly adapted to this unique environment and realised that I needed to adjust my idea of what was possible accordingly.

I soon began to enjoy having a smaller selection of plant varieties to consider. Included in my new planting scheme were santolina and helchrysum, the shock-proof Olearia traverssii, glaucous varieties of euphorbia, and succulent plants such as echevaria and hylotelephium (formerly sedum). I also fully embraced the huge collection of prostrate rosemary on the island. They are evergreen, lustrous, wonderfully aromatic, used by the hotel’s chefs and have glorious sky blue flowers, which the bees adore.

I appreciated the change in atmosphere this created - a less busy, more calming and serene effect. I saw that there was more beauty to be found in a less crowded palette. People come to the island to relax, to throw off the stress of everyday life. The planting now reflects this and guests often comment not only on the beauty of the natural environment but also now on the specialist planting.

On the wild side A naturalistic gardening style is all about setting aside a desire for control and instead allowing the landscape that surrounds you to guide your practice, working in harmony with nature.

Wild plants like the sea mayweed are managed as if they were any cultivated plant, regular deadheading en masse keeps these sunny flowers shining right through the season. They also have dense green and frond - like bushy foliage which acts as a brilliant ground cover in summer, helping limit evaporation and soil erosion and also suppressing weeds - only time is spent in culturing these wild companions!

Clockwise from top left: Leucophyllum frutescens, Euphorbia characias, Echinops ritro with Rosemarinus officianalis Prostratus: naturalistic combination planting of phlox, sea mayweed and agapanthus: Scarlet Pimpernel

The list of beautiful wild flowers on the island is endless. We have Echium vulgare - or perhaps it is the adapted Devon and Cornwall version Echium plantagineum - it’s striking deep blue hooded blooms on upright wands are a sight to behold; a profusion of Lady’s bedstraw (tiny yellow clusters of prettily dainty flowers); and the much bigger and bolder yellow of the Evening Primrose, coupled with strongly coloured purple Betony. Not to mention the delicate pink of the Musk Mallow, the bright red of the Scarlet Pimpernel, the violet opium poppies or the caerulean blue borage, which the hotel’s bar tenders pick for use in their cocktails.

There is already such a beautiful array of naturally occurring and very precious wild ‘planting’ for us and all the creatures to enjoy. www.countrygardener.co.uk

13

TIME TO PLANT

Now’s the time to get planting The weather over the last few weeks with a damp August and a warm September have created the perfect planting conditions for autumn trees and shrubs Autumn is a great time to buy and plant a new tree or shrub, as you can choose from container-grown and bareroot plants.

It is accepted wisdom now that planting in the autumn, the following summer will see earlier and stronger flowers on plants that established better and more reliably. There are a number of reasons for this advice to gardeners.

The autumn sees lower temperatures which means there is less loss of water from foliage and so less call from water from the roots. Falling temperatures mean that the enzymes that drive biochemical reactions like photosynthesis slow right down. The combination of this with shorter days mean that trees refocus their energy into their roots rather than their leaves. Since you want your trees to establish from their roots up, all this plays into your hands and makes autumn a great time to move or transplant.

Second, there is still some warmth in the soil. Tree roots continue to grow a little during dormancy and especially so when the soil retains a little warmth, as in autumn.

The consequent root growth means that in spring a tree’s progress is more advanced because it is better placed to take up water and nutrients.

Thirdly, autumn is often wet, and is certainly dewy and so there is less need for watering once you have planted.

All of the above especially applies to pot grown, rootballed and evergreen trees which should ideally be planted in October/November.

Mycorrhizal fungi is the secret to establishing new roots Winter is the ideal time to plant trees, woody shrubs and hedging, beyond following the basic principles of putting the right plant in the right place and not planting too deeply, the next biggest key to planting success is using rootgrow mycorrhizal fungi. Simply apply the granules directly to the roots and in a matter of weeks the fungi will germinate, attach themselves to the plant root and grow out to make a vast secondary fungal root system. This simple application will ensure your plants establish well and thrive in their first year. Rootgrow is the only mycorrhizal fungi grown by a UK company containing UK species of this remarkable beneficial fungi. www.rootgrow.co.uk

Quality plants ready and waiting at Perrie Hale Nursery Perrie Hale Nursery is a family business known for its quality hedging plants, shrubs, ornamental, broadleaf and conifer trees and fruit trees. Autumn is a great time to plant trees and choosing carefully can result in year round interest and structure to your garden.

Some of the nurseries favourites include Cercis ‘Forest Pansy’ which bears deep pink flowers on the stems before deep red/purple heart shaped leaves emerge. Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’ or Corkscrew Hazel is popular choice for its amazing twisting branches, it looks particularly good in winter and spring when you can see the bare stems and long yellow catkins.

You can also choose trees with attractive bark such Acer griseum, Betula albosinensis ‘Kansu’ or Prunus rufa’. When you chose your trees, check the conditions it will be planted into as well as the eventual height and spread of the tree, visiting your local nursery can be a great source of inspiration.

Perrie Hale Nursery, Northcote Hill, Honiton, Devon EX14 9TH Tel: 01404 43344 or Email: faye@perriehale.co.uk or their online shop www.perriehale.co.uk

The experts view on planting roses Pococks Roses with nurseries in Romsey, Hampshire, and The Cornish Rose Company near Truro, Cornwall, are experts in the passion of growing roses.

Established in 1984, every year they produce in excess of 60,000 rose plants in a range of over 450 varieties.

Their advice of growing roses is straightforward. Any soil will grow roses, choose a site that gets at least 50 per-cent of the day in the sun.

If you are replacing old roses with new roses remove as much of the old soil as possible and replace with soil that hasn’t grown roses before (the old soil

will grow anything else apart from roses). An alternative to this hard work is to use Rootgrow, a natural product that helps combat rose sickness.

When it comes to planting bare root roses then dig a hole big enough to accommodate the roots and place a handful of bone meal at the bottom of the hole, mixing in with the soil.

Place the rose in the ground and backfill with topsoil that has been enriched with organic matter. Make sure the graft union (stumpy bit) is at, or slightly below soil level. Water well.

Pococks Roses, Jermyns Lane, Romsey, Hampshire SO51 0QA Tel: 01794 367500 Email: pococksroses@btconnect.com

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14

Country Gardener

AVAILABLE ONLINE OR FROM ANY GOOD GARDEN CENTRE rootgrow.co.uk www.countrygardener.co.uk

15

Timing is perfect for bare root trees Now is the time to think about ordering your bare root fruit trees.

Adam’s Apples nursery in East Devon grow the largest range of fruit trees in the west country.

This includes over 200 apple varieties, plums, gage, pears, cherries, damson, quince and medlar. They also sell bare rooted soft fruit plants.

The company are passionate and award winning cider makers too, and grow and sell some of the best traditional cider apple trees from Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Herefordshire.

All the trees and bushes are sold bare rooted, available from late autumn through to spring.

Bare rooted trees are cheaper to purchase and easier to transport than potted trees and are the quickest way for trees to establish and thrive.

Adam’s Apples are happy to offer advice and recommendations for your garden, small holding, farm or community orchard. Delivery of trees is throughout the UK.

Adam’s Apples, Egremont Barn, Payhembury, Honiton EX14 3JA sales@adamsappletrees.co.uk www.adamsappletrees.co.uk

Trehane Nursery annual sale returns at last Cancelled back in March due to lockdown, the Trehane Nursery annual sale now takes place this autumn, starting on Saturday 3rd October and running to the end of November. Usually timed to coincide with the peak of spring Camellia flowering, this year the sale will also be able to highlight the scented blooms of the autumn-flowering Camellias, the popularity of which has grown markedly in recent years. As for many other shrubs, autumn is the ideal time for planting Camellias as the warm soil and mild weather allow the plants to establish before winter, making now the perfect time to buy.

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

BARTHELEMY & CO – THE JAPANESE MAPLES SPECIALISTS If you love the autumn colour of Japanese maples, then you’ll love Barthelemy & Co near Wimborne in Dorset. Established by a French nurseryman almost a century ago, the Skinner family now specialise in propagating and growing Acer palmatum – or Japanese maples as they’re known.

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 40,000 plants are grafted at Barthelemy & Co each year, 25,000 of them maples and, as one of the largest specialist growers of their kind, you can be sure of a great product and excellent service.

Barthelemy & Co, 262 Wimborne Road West, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 2DZ. Tel: 01202 874283 www.barthelemymaples.co.uk

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

Tel: 01202 874283 enquiries@barthelemymaples.co.uk www.barthelemymaples.co.uk 16

Country Gardener

WILDLIFE

There are five species of owls that breed in or visit the British Isles regularly but you are most likely to see - or hear - three in your garden or the surrounding countryside

Wise up on

OWLS!

Owls are a particularly useful bird to have in your garden. Not only is hearing their nightly noises a magical thing, they are also useful for keeping down the numbers of rodent pests.

So attracting owls can be of great benefit to organic gardeners, especially those who have problems with rats, mice or voles eating their seeds and seedlings before they get a chance to grow. Unfortunately, if you live in the middle of a town or city and have many close neighbours, an owl is far more unlikely to nest near your home. If you live in a place backing on to woodland or fields, or with a little more space between homes and plenty of green leafy spaces, or are lucky enough to live in the deep countryside, you may have a lot more luck.

There are many different species of owl, though the barn owl and the tawny owl are the most common types in the UK. To attract owls, you will have to provide nesting boxes for them where hollow tree branches or other natural nest sites are not available.

Nest boxes should be specifically designed with owls in mind and you should remember that barn owls and tawny owls will have different requirements.

All owls will appreciate space, so the more space you can give them, the more likely they are to take up residence.

Tawny owl boxes are sometimes square, sometimes tube-shaped, to mimic their natural nest sites in hollow tree branches. Barn owls boxes are much larger, and square or triangular, with a ledge on the exterior that young owls can stand on. If designing your own, think about the logistics of cleaning it out once the young have fledged.

Make sure that the entrance to the box is not facing into the wind. As the name suggests, if you provide a way in and out, barn owls may also take up residence

in the rafter space of a barn, outbuilding or garage.

The owls you are most likely to spot in gardens are:

Barn owl (Tyto alba) Also known by many country people as screech owl due to its loud shrill ‘squealing’ call. This most elegant of birds can’t be confused with other owls, thanks to its white under parts, golden back and heart-shaped face. The barn owl has long been the farmer’s and gardener’s friend for keeping rats and mice down.

If conditions are favourable, they’re capable of producing more than one brood a year. With a UK population of only 4,000 pairs, they’re not common - limiting factors are lack of vole-rich habitat with suitable nest sites and a love of hunting roadside verges. They are remarkably silent birds in flight, which adds to their haunting, magical presence in the garden, but it also is a quality, which makes them excellent stealthy hunters.

About the size of a pigeon they have a wing span of up to 41 inches.

Tawny or brown owl (Strix aluco) The tawny owl produces the iconic ‘to-whit-to-woo’ call but this is more than often two tawny owls, a female ‘to whit’ and a male ‘to whoo’, calling to keep in contact with each other across their territory as they hunt. They are remarkably silent birds in flight due to special feathers on the edges of their wings.

The short and stout tawny’s tan-coloured feathers are streaked with a darker brown, which doesn’t look dissimilar to tree bark and makes for an ideal camouflaging plumage for this nocturnal woodland specialist. Its attractive features are further enhanced by wholly brown eyes, which distinguish it from other species.

Image above: Barn owl, this image: Tawny owl

These monogamous and extremely territorial tree nesters boast about 50,000 breeding pairs in the UK. However, a recent decline in numbers means their conservation status has fall from green to amber.

Little owl (Athena noctua) This comical owl has established itself well since its introduction in Kent in 1879. Quickly filling a niche in arable areas, nesting in any small hole and taking advantage of a varied diet including small mammals, birds, insects and worms, its numbers reached 5,700 pairs in 2009, although it’s now thought to be in decline.

With bright-yellow eyes, a bobbing head when perched and an unmistakable undulating flight, little owls can be seen in daylight.

Their diet is small rodents, insects and even worms and are quite dumpy birds about half the size of tawny owls.

TIPS AND TASKS FOR WILDLIFE IN OCTOBER • Continue feeding birds (ideally with fat-rich material such as suet and sunflower seeds) and provide fresh water.

• Make a leaf or log pile for hibernating animals.

• Leave mature ivy uncut - its late flowers are nectar rich and a huge attraction.

• Leave seedheads standing - don’t be in a rush to tidy up. Relish the fading glory as flowers go over - they will give you and wildlife joy for months.

• Letting your lawn grow slightly longer and avoiding chemical sprays can turn your lawn into an all-year feeding station for them starlings, blackbirds and thrushes like to hunt for insects such as leatherjackets. www.countrygardener.co.uk

Little owl

17

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

garden advice More from our postbag covering queries, problems and questions from Country Gardener readers

I don’t have a large garden but I am passionate about trees and I am not finding it easy to find some small trees which would provide colour and interest in the garden without overwhelming it.

Malcolm Taylor Cheltenham We’ll define small trees as those shorter than 20ft tall at maturity and it is true it can be challenging to find smaller trees which provide colour in autumn. Your question Clerodendrum trichotomum is timely as now is the good time to plant trees.

Here’s three wonderful options: Clerodendrum trichotomum This could be described as a large shrub or a small tree but it is spectacularly colourful with fragrant white flowers with bright, crimson red sepals in August followed by bright and distinctive blue berries in autumn. It can get to about 15 feet but is a wonderful and underrated tree.

Cornus kousa ‘Snowboy’ A lovely small tree reaching only 8ft but as the name suggests providing large white bracts surrounding small green flowers in summer and strawberry like fleshy red fruits afterwards. A diminutive but striking tree.

Acer palmatum-‘sango-kaku’(coralbark maple) One of the best and most popular Japanese maples. In autumn its pale green, deeply lobed leaves turn gold yellow forming a rich contrast with the young branches which then turn bright coral-red giving interest through winter after leaf fall.

The soil in my Somerset garden is often very wet and I don’t seem to be able to get it to properly drain. It is at worst flooded and at best very soggy. I have tried mulching and adding organic matter but that hasn’t improved it.

Might it be possible to plant something in this area – trees perhaps?

Wendy Baker Martock It isn’t an easy problem if the soil isn’t draining. The best trees for wet soils however are alders (Almus) Common alder (A .glutinosa) is easy to grow with rounded foliage and catkins in spring. ‘Aurea’ is more attractive with pale yellow foliage and orange winter branches. If you have plenty of room, you could try swamp cypress( Taxodium distichum) a very unusual, deciduous conifer.

Swamp cypress, an unusual deciduous conifer

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Country Gardener

Cornus kousa ‘Snowboy’

Acer palmate

It is safe to put rhubarb leaves on your compost

In the past weeks I have read I shouldn’t put rhubarb leaves on my compost and then that it was safe to do so. What’s the right answer?

Allan Briggs, Dorchester It is perfectly OK to add them. Although the leaves of rhubarb plants contain a high level of oxalic acid and should not be eaten, they are safe to add to the compost pile. The oxalic acid degrades rapidly in the pile and has no impact on compost quality or on future soil.

Many poisonous things, such as ivy and mistletoe, are put on to composts, and they are all poisonous.

Make sure cold frames get plenty of ventilation

I have an old coldframe that we inherited from the previous owner of our house. It wasn’t in the best condition and I repaired it successfully but I am not having a great success in growing plants .It seems always damp and never really warm enough and that reflects on the vegetables I have been trying which are a real disappointment.

Rick Butcher Dawlish Coldframes can be a wonderful addition to any garden. They stretch the limits of the growing year, sheltering plants from driving rain, blustery winds and cooler temperatures. They offer valuable space for trays of seedlings and allow you to pick salads into the winter. It isn’t easy to explain your lack of success.

Most coldframes will be south facing so if for any odd reason yours has been built where it gets a lot of shade that would be an issue. The surface needs to be clean. Ventilation and insulation are both important. Raise the lid most days to ventilate plants inside. If you keep the lid down too much your plants could bake and shrivel. Wooden sides to coldframes are not ideal as in the colder months they will not retain the heat. Frames with brick sides hold the heat better. It may just be you have not got the right temperature and conditions for the plants you are growing so try something simple like salads and don’t fall into the trap of keeping the frames closed.

My young dahlias are a worry. For this year they have produced lots of healthy leaves but the number of blooms have dropped off and they lack any real colour.

Sammy Haws Bridport It may be that you just have a variety which is a large flowered cultivar. These have thicker stems and for the first years look quite normal but then as they mature produce thicker stems and fewer flowers than smaller flowered varieties. You can increase the flowers by pinching out the growing tips of the young plants to encourage branching which in term will bring more blooms.

Some dahlia varieties have thicker stems and fewer flowers

My seemingly healthy seven-yearold apple tree (not sure of the variety) has stopped producing fruit- suddenly and dramatically.

It was a great little fruiter but then for the past two years nothing – not even early apples which drop off. It comes out into blossom but nothing after that.

Mike Patterson Swindon Providing your tree is a named cultivar and not a seedling from one, it should certainly be fruiting by now. Apple trees can have off years but two years without fruit suggests a deeper problem. Pollination may be an issue as the tree comes into blossom but never fruits. Have you for instance taken down a nearby tree which might have crosspollinated?

You can try to prune it back cutting the new growth back to four leaves, You can prune through to November but don’t cut into the older wood or you risk encouraging non flowering growth rather than blossom. The earlier point about pollination may be the answer so plant another apple tree nearby to act as a pollinator.

Can I propagate from my raspberry plants? I can’t seem to find any advice, which suggests I can.

Nick Colborn Wellington Yes, if the plants are young, healthy and seem free from virus. It is a simple operation. Dig up one of the suckers growing from the raspberry’s spreading roots and plant it at the same depth as it was growing before. If you don’t need more plants, dig up runners periodically to prevent raspberry plants from eventually taking over your garden!

This summer my potted hydrangea, agapanthus and tree peony have all failed to flower. What could be going wrong? I haven’t done anything unusual and it has become a bit of a mystery.

Kate Bowers Liss You are right it is a mystery as these three plants need different conditions so it is strange they all failed to bloom. They are all perennials and need really good quality compost so it might be worth repotting them in the spring with a loamy based John Innes No 3 compost. If you are growing them in pots all three will need regular feeding with either a controlled release fertiliser in spring or a weekly liquid feed from April to September. As to outside conditions, the tree peony and agapanthus both need a position in the sun while the hydrangea will prefer part shade. Fingers crossed for some blooms next year.

Often non fruiting apple trees need a companion tree

www.countrygardener.co.uk

19

JOBS FOR THE MONTH

JOBS IN THE

autumn garden Autumn is with us-and about to show off in all its glory. The ground is wet with dew in the mornings and the garden covered in cobwebs, but some days we hope may still be glorious and warm. This may be the first month some areas experience their first frosts. The leaves are falling from the trees in abundance and a lot of summer crops are coming to an end.

Preparation for winter is in full swing – fruit and autumn veg are ready to be brought in and stored, and plants should be cut back, wrapped up or brought inside to help them survive the chilly winter temperatures.

1

Collecting seeds-cheap and satisfying

Collect seeds from your garden over the next few weeks as this is a cheap way of planting up your garden for next year, and you can always give them away to friends too.

In autumn there are many annual and perennial plants that have gone to seed, giving you the perfect opportunity to harvest and collect this seed for sowing next year.

You can store seed of annuals like sweet Your seeds will need dry airtight envelopes peas, biennials like honesty and verbascum and perennials such as astrantia, and then store the seed overwinter so it is still in perfect shape to be sown next spring.

You will need secateurs, newspaper to place the seeds on and/or a shoebox for smaller seeds, envelopes and a pen, and a tin or waterproof, airtight container to keep the seeds fresh.

4

There’s nothing like providing for the weeks ahead

There’s nothing wrong with us gardeners hoarding Pumpkin and gourds can be harvested now and moved into a dry position to prevent them from rotting. Pick windfall apples for cooking and twist those on the tree half a turn to see if they’re ripe. If so, they’ll come away with a satisfying snap. The unblemished can be stored in a cool shed to last into the winter months.

Hoarding is a good feeling that must be locked in to our DNA, for there is nothing like providing for the months ahead.

20

5

2

Time to get planting

October is another of those turning points in the year. There is a lot of harvesting to be done but remember it is also the perfect time for planting, and material planted now will benefit from the months ahead to get roots in. Be wary of planting evergreens in exposed sites, however, as they are prone to drying out in winter winds. If you are prepared to water in winter, so much the better and get them in too. Trees are the perfect example of October planting and if you are planning to buy fruit trees now is the ideal time to do it.

3

Frost at night – don’t panic

If you get an early frost in the garden there’s no need to panic, cannas and dahlias will be fine in the ground for a bit, even if their tops are browned.

Many people leave them in the ground and mulch heavily, and they are happy for four or five years even in cold gardens if the mulch is deep enough. Once they show signs of losing vigour, it is time to divide and re-propagate, and in these years the old tubers will be lifted, stored in just-damp compost under frostfree cover, and divided or used for cuttings come next spring.

Planting and transplanting work

Autumn is the perfect time for transplanting work because the soil has sufficient moisture thanks to regular rain showers. The ground is still warm from the summer, therefore the plants still have enough time to get used to their new position and form new roots.

This means new plants can also be planted in the autumn with no need to worry. This is the last chance before the winter to bring a bit of colour into the garden. Roses, for example, should be planted ideally in autumn, before the first ground frost. Bulbs can also be planted in autumn so their flowers germinate from the soil at the right time in spring to delight you with their blaze of colour.

Remember to plant bulbs in the ground at a depth of two to three times their height.

6

It’s time to tidy and prune

• Continue deadheading.

• Keep weeding. Perennial weeds may pull out easily now, but make sure that you don't leave any of the root to overwinter!

• Bring tender plants, eg. pelargoniums, in out of the frost and begin to cut them back.

• Divide and replant overcrowded spring and summer flowering perennials, such as geraniums.

• Lift, divide and replant congested clumps of perennials. Use two garden forks back to back to split larger clumps.

• Prune climbing roses and rambling roses once they've finished flowering and tie in the stems before autumn winds cause damage. Cut back any dead, diseased or damaged branches to the ground or a healthy bud. Cut side shoots back by Country Gardener

Collecting leaves should

be little and often job about two-thirds to a outward facing bud, and tie in horizontally to encourage flowering shoots.

Collect fallen leaves from under rose bushes so they don't carry diseases over to next year.

• Prune tall summer flowering shrubs such as Buddleia to about half their height in order to prevent damage by winter winds and to tidy their appearance. Remove suckers growing around the base of trees.

AUTUMN SPECIAL

A quality burst of autumn colour A wet August could mean this autumn will be spectacular when it comes to the chance to enjoy the wonder of autumn colours in our spectacular gardens, woodlands, arboretums and parks Once again we are about to enter into the grip of a riot of autumn colour.

Gardens and arboretums, parks and woodlands, footpaths and forests are about to fire up with exotic colours with native favourites including beech, alder, oak, ash, field maple and cherry.

It’s no surprise that autumn is such a popular time of year with gardeners and garden lovers.

Autumn is about colour and despite the drop in temperature and shorter days it is the next few weeks when nature puts on its spectacular display.

This year with all its unique restrictions on how we have been able to get out, the chance of visiting autumn gardens will be very special.

The damp and wet August has left trees able to build up reservoir of sugars to trigger a change in colour of their leaves. It is these sugars that allow the leaves of certain trees to morph into a stunning autumnal display of red or gold.

So with the promise of an exceptional colourful few weeks, now is the time to start making plans to seek out the very best.

Castle Hill Gardens ready for colour bonanza The 50-acre garden at Castle Hill is a haven of tranquillity surrounding the magnificent Palladian House.

As the summer turns to autumn, if you didn’t get to experience the gardens, visitors can expect to witness an abundance of reds, ambers and gold’s prolific in the woodland garden. The historic parkland is interspersed with temples, follies and statues, a walk by the river leads to the Ugley Bridge and the magical Satyr’s Temple.

Make the climb to the castle on a clear day for magnificent views to Exmoor and beyond.

Gardens open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 12-4pm. The tearoom is open until the end of October. Castle Hill has family and dog friendly gardens.

Castle Hill Gardens, Filleigh, Nr South Moulton EX32 0QR

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

Get inspired for autumn in the Picton Garden COME ALONG AND ENJOY EXPLORING THIS 1.5 ACRE PLANTSMANS GARDEN KNOWN FOR IT’S AUTUMN HERBACEOUS DISPLAYS.

GARDENS Explore 50 acres of stunning landscape on pathways leading to follies, statues and temples. River walk and panoramic views from the castle.

FILLEIGH, NR SOUTH MOLTON, DEVON EX32 0RQ Tel: 01598 760336 www.castlehilldevon.co.uk Gardens open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 12-4pm Tea room open until the end of October | Please keep dogs on leads

LUKESLAND GARDENS Open 11am - 5pm, every day until 20th October.

Closed 20th October - May 2021.

Garden admission £4.00

Fine Autumn Colour Pools & Waterfalls

Home-made soup & cakes

BOOKING ESSENTIAL FOR NURSERY AND GARDEN, BOOK ONLINE OR BY PHONE.

Mail order available check online for stock list

Sundays and Wednesdays 11am – 5pm 13th September - 15th November

Tel: 01684 540416 www.autumnasters.co.uk

Harford Ivybridge PL21 0JF Tel 01752 691749

Old Court Nurseries, Walwyn Road, Colwall WR13 6QE

www.lukesland.co.uk

www.countrygardener.co.uk

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21

READERS LETTERS

AUTUMN COLOUR AND WARMING SOUPS AT LUKESLAND GARDENS

Tucked away on the southern edge of Dartmoor, just north of Ivybridge, Lukesland is a wonderful spot to enjoy autumn colour. The shelterbelt of beeches, planted by the Victorians to protect this 24-acre garden from Dartmoor winds, turns a glorious gold, while more exotic species such as acers, cornus, enkianthus, ginkgo and swamp cypresses reflect their autumn tints in the pools of the Addicombe Brook.

Autumn openings are on Sundays and Wednesdays 11am to 5pm through to 15 November. The tearoom is open with a menu of home-made soup and cakes. Contactless payment is preferred. The toilets are also open. Visitors are obviously required to observe appropriate social distancing in the garden and tearoom. Payment at the gate is cash only. Please bring the correct change if possible - £6 for adults (£5.50 for pedestrians and cyclists), children under 16 free. There is also a fun children’s trail (£1) around the grounds. Dogs are welcome on a lead.

Lukesland Gardens , Ivybridge, Devon PL21 0JF Call 01752 691749 or go to www.lukesland.co.uk or www.facebook.com/lukeslandgardens

Have your say...

I KNOW WHERE MY GARDEN CAME FROM PLANT BY PLANT Perhaps if gardeners were to consider plant miles, as we are encouraged to consider food miles the number of imported plants would then be reduced. As a child I would help my parents in the garden. The decorative part of the garden was filled with cuttings and plants from friends and family and I have continued this trait of giving and receiving plants, cuttings and growing produce. My son is now following these principles in his garden. Predominantly we grow edible plants in the vegetable patch that have been grown in the UK for many decades although I have tried a few that are relatively new. The pleasure in my garden is knowing who gave me this plant, how I grew that plant and where that one came from. It does make the garden a bit of a hotchpotch but there is areal benefit to it all I feel.

Lillian Davies Bristol

STAR LETTER

Lillian Davies wins a stylish Haws metal watering can for her star letter of this issue

Picton Garden always plans for autumn colour

IT’S A MONSTER OF A TOMATO I thought you might like to see a picture of my ‘monster’ tomato. It was grown from seed- Thompson and Morgan -and was supposed to be Beefeater variety.

It soon became clear that a combination of problems deformed it from something which should be tasty and luscious into a monster. It certainly gave me nightmares!

Annie Beaton Paignton

NGS Devon well done!

Nestled in the foothills of the Malverns you will find The Picton Garden, home to more than 400 varieties of Michaelmas daisy.

Uniquely it is in early autumn that this one and a half acre plantsman’s garden begins to glow with the first of the asters and autumnal herbaceous, as autumn advances the colours intensify reaching a crescendo in late September and the first week of October.

Afterwards the interest is carried on by the unusual trees and shrubs, chosen for their autumn colour, as well as late flowering bulbs, alpines and herbaceous. The adjacent nursery is well stocked with many of the plants seen in the garden.

Old Court Nurseries & Picton Garden, Walwyn Rd, Malvern WR13 6QE 22

I enjoyed enormously your feature about how creative NGS garden owners have been during the lockdown and I wanted to say thank you to them for all their creativity and enthusiasm to keep on raising money during the lockdown. I think it was nothing short of wonderful. Over the past few weeks my husband and I have been out and about visiting two or three NGS gardens in Devon which have now been opened. To say we were impressed is a huge understatement. The three gardens were all wonderful helped of course by one of the few sunshine days in August.

We never felt there were any issue about distancing and everything was so well organised Devon NGS should be proud.

Doreen Bradshaw Topsham

Your letters continue to come into Country Gardener offices and thank you for them. We welcome brief letters on any gardening topics. Write to Country Gardener, Mount House, Halse, Taunton, Somerset TA4 3AD or email editorial@countrygardener.co.uk

Another hit from Cliff Richard!

My daughter Anna works hard to find me a Cliff Richard related present for my birthday every year.

It is getting to be quite a challenge. However she really struck it rich this year with this ‘Cliff Richard’ floribunda rose. Here it is blooming away in my Devon garden and yes it is a No 1 hit with me!

Fran Hudson Exeter

CATS IN THE GARDEN My local paper is having a field day in its gardening column about the damage done by cats in our gardens.

Constantly the cat is regarded as the prime garden pest. Do they really cause the harm and damage for which they are too readily blamed? Naturally cats stray into gardens. As predators, by instinct they hunt. We do encourage birds into our gardens providing shelter and food and it will always be a problem that we can expose them to the danger of cats. Cats do scrape a shallow hole for their ‘business’ but cover it up afterwards. Tomcats ‘spray ‘ but many now are neutered. Cats can claw trees but if that is a problem put on a cheap plastic covering. Like them or hate them, cats will always be with us. They are great survivors and do great service in keeping down the population of harmful rodents. So why is the dog never included as a garden pest?

Pauline Searle Minehead

Calcium can help break down clay soils effectively Our soil in a relatively new property outside of Cheltenham can best be described as sticky clay. However, I have had some success in dealing with this difficult soil with the use of the calcium to form crumbs and open up the soil texture. It has worked for us and we feel more confident about planting a new garden and making the most of the soil.

Sources of calcium include of course ground limestone (calcium carbonate, slaked line (calcium hydroxide) and gypsum (calcium sulphate). The latter is useful if the soil pH is above 7.5 as the sulphate ion balances out the alkaline effect of he calcium, Adding in large amounts of organic mater is an important part of this of course but calcium in its many forms had done the trick for us.

Ken Thorpe Yatton

The tale of two tree-planting strategies

PLANT TREES, YES BUT WITH CARE Your excellent magazine often advocates the planting of more trees and it is a philosophy I believe in.

I planted some young Leyland cypresses (x Cuprocyparis leylandii) in the southwest corner of my garden to give some protection from prevailing winds and now I have beautiful, fully grown trees and allowed to grow in their natural state they can be lovely.

This is a tale for your magazine of two neighbouring gardens and our approach to planting trees. I have a south-facing garden with a clear aspect on three sides. Some time ago (several years) I planted apples, pears, a plum, a greengage and a cherry on dwarf rootstocks. They were trained as fans against a wall or planted in the garden alongside my vegetable patch. Controlled and within my own garden. My next-door neighbour took a different approach and over the years his trees, planted without thought in my opinion as to location and how they would grow have grown to the extent that my garden is now in shade for most of the time. So I agree with planting trees but it all must come with the consideration long term to the impact they might have to the person next door.

People often want things instantly and plant these trees because they grow quickly and are recommended for hedging for that reason. They then get a terrible press because they are poorly managed and are allowed to spread and not controlled. We should plant more trees but we must get as gardeners good advice and make sure they are the right ones for the right place. Then we must tend to them and not them go wild which is when the problems kick in.

By the way it has affected our relationship with my neighbour and we tend to glare and scowl at each other these days! I wonder why?

Bernie Gudgeon Torquay

L yn Croucher Paignton

Jenny Marsham Midhurst

Buying British – carefully Thanks for a wonderful magazine. We missed it during lockdown!

As we dive into the season of plentiful fruit and vegetable I wanted to make a point I shared with my neighbour the other day funnily enough as we were buying fruit. Throughout the year there still remains a dearth of British grown fruit certainly where I shop. I refuse to buy any fruit capable of being grown in the UK but which is imported. Beware though as some fruits marked British may be imported from their own farms overseas.

Cunning what?

www.countrygardener.co.uk

23

TREE SPECIALIST

Trees with AFTER

DINNER STORY value Native trees are fine, but if you want to really impress visitors to your garden, have a tree with a story – Mark Hinsley offers three to choose from

GINKGO BILOBA – Maidenhair Tree This Chinese tree is a true living fossil.

Trees identical to it grew across the northern hemisphere 125 million years ago. It is the only survivor of a whole classification of plants which once dominated the earth. Ginkgos were eaten by dinosaurs. The first European to see a Ginkgo was Dr Engelbert Kaempfer of the Dutch East India Company in Japan in 1690 and his original description was written in 1712. The first ginkgo planted in Europe was in Utrecht around 1730 and

the first recorded in Britain was growing in the Mile End nursery of James Gordon in 1754.

Ginkgo is classified amongst the conifers, although it seriously predates them. It is deciduous and has lovely butter yellow autumn colour. The strange thing about the leaf is that all the veins radiate out from a central point rather than herringbone off a central spine like your average broadleaf tree.

ARAUCARIA ARAUCANA – Chile Pine or Monkey Puzzle

Araucaria araucana – ‘it would puzzle a monkey to climb that’

The story goes that Archibald Menzies, the surgeon aboard Captain George Vancouver’s Royal Navy ship Discovery in 1795, picked up some seeds from the dinner table of the Governor of Chile and rather than eating them he put them in his pocket. He sowed them in pots on board ship and brought them back to England. The Chile pine had arrived.

George Vancouver himself was an explorer not shy of naming places after himself. Vancouver Island and the city of Vancouver, both in British Columbia, are named after him, as is Vancouver, Washington, in the United States. Mount Vancouver, on the Canadian–American border between Yukon and Alaska, and New Zealand’s sixth-highest mountain, also Mount Vancouver, bear his name.

The Chile pine became very popular with the Victorians. In about 1850 a fellow in Cornwall was showing off his Chile Pine to some friends when one, observing the spiney branches and trunk remarked, “It would puzzle a monkey to climb that!” and a new name was born.

24

The ginkgo leaves have veins which radiate out from a central point rather than herringbone off a central spine

LIRIODENDRON TULIPIFERA – the Tulip Tree

John Tradescant the Elder, gardener to the Duke of Buckingham is known to have introduced the horse chestnut into Britain around 1633, but not many gardens will cope with the mature size and spread of a horse chestnut. Still potentially big but not quite so wide spreading is the tulip tree. Whilst his father under aristocratic patronage explored Europe for new plants, John Tradescant the Younger headed for the east coast of America where he found this beautiful close relative of the magnolias – the tulip tree. It is not certain when he brought it back to England, but one was recorded as growing in Bishop Compton’s Fulham garden in 1688. Tulip trees do not begin to produce flowers for 15 – 20 years. Bees are important to the tulip tree, the number of viable seeds produced appears to be directly proportional to the number of bees visiting the flowers each year.

As you look out of your window or drive around, most of the different trees that you see have a story about how they arrived on our shores.

From the walnuts and sweet chestnuts brought here by the Romans to the more recently discovered Wollomi Pine from Australia the variety is mind boggling!

If the stories have whetted your appetite it is still possible to obtain a copy of Scott Leathart’s wonderful book ‘Whence our Tree’ originally published in 1991.

Tulip trees do not begin to produce flowers for 15 to 20 years

Mark Hinsley is an arboricultural consultant offering tree consultancy service www.treeadvice.info Country Gardener

LOOKS LIKE AN EARLY WINTER! Not all snowdrops flower to welcome in spring; a few and increasing in number come into bloom with autumn’s falling leaves.

snowdrops include Cyclamen hederifolium and C.coum, as well as It isn’t long after the first leaves fall to the ground that a new season of snowdrops is being heralded. arums, ferns and autumn crocus.

It is a season, which will last until April, and eagerly awaiting by EARLY VARIETIES TO TRY many gardeners.

Galanthus reginae-olgae This early start to the snowdrop season isn’t new however and it is Galanthus reginae-olgae blooms in autumn. It looks similar to becoming an increasing trend.

Galanthus nivalis, except it tends to flower before developing There are a choice few snowdrops which will bloom in October. In leaves. Grow Galanthus reginae-olgae in well-drained soil in many gardens it is just assumed it’s a winter variety which has for sun to partial shade. Found growing wild in Italy, Greece and the some weather reason made a dramatic early appearance. former Yugoslavia, it can struggle in our colder, wetter climate but The reality is the autumn flowering snowdrop is a specialist. successfully grows throughout the South West If you have heavy soil, consider growing in containers. The other reason for seeking The appearance of the flowers depends on the temperature and the it out is that it can last for a long time and will still be looking soil moisture. relatively fresh in mid December. It is sometimes called Queen In Devon last year autumn snowdrops were reported earlier than Olga’s snowdrop. many have ever been seen. It can cause concern for gardeners who think the early appearance of flowering snowdrops will affect the Galanthus ‘Peter Gatehouse’ spring show and it is true most associate snowdrops with February.

Galanthus ‘Peter Gatehouse’ is October flowering, with a dark However, the season for most galanthophiles (those who avidly green mark on internal segments with good sized, triangular collect snowdrops) can actually start in September. flowers marked with mid-green, extending beyond mid-point, on the inners. Small dainty and exquisite ‘Peter Gatehouse’ is often Galanthus reginae-olgae, a native of the mountains of Greece, highlighted by its olive green markings on the inner petals. They is the first to flower in the garden, cold frame or greenhouse. In scarcely grown more than 10cms but are an increasing favourite their natural habitats, they are to be found near plane trees in with enthusiasts. limey, damp gullies where their roots can keep cool. Unlike most snowdrops that people grow, their leaves appear after they’ve Galanthus ‘Santa Claus’ flowered.

The name is slightly confusing as it normally makes a first This snowdrop has long been in cultivation since its discovery by appearance in early November but growers are finding it still Greek botanist TG Orphanides during the 1870’s in the Tavgetos remains around at Christmas. The variety was discovered in the mountains of the Peloponnese in south Greece.

1970’s.

To successfully grow this particular species in the UK, keen Galanthus ‘Faringdon Double’ growers try to replicate their natural habitat as closely as possible.

One of the first doubles to flower around Christmas and a lovely In the garden, a sunny spot and a deep mulch of grit have shown to vigorous bold variety with a bold , heart shaped inner mark on an produce excellent results for these autumn beauties. unusually large flower. This has become very popular in recent When planting, it is wise to clearly label the spot and to be pre-emptive years and was found by snowdrop enthusiast Ruby and David with regards to slugs and snails, who also love these early Baker in Faringdon churchyard in Oxfordshire. snowdrops! Cultivars that have been tried and tested throughout In double flowers some or all of the other parts of have been the UK include ‘Tilebarn Jamie’ and ‘Cambridge’. replaced by petal like structures. This gives double flowers their Top to bottom: The next snowdrops to start flowering during October and characteristic tight pom-pom like appearance. Because the normal Galanthus retinae-olgae; November are Galanthus elwesii var. monostictus, a native of Galanthus ‘Peter Gatehouse’; flower parts are missing, double flowers cannot usually set seed Turkey. These are much easier to grow in a variety of soils in Galanthus ‘Santa Claus’; and the plants are therefore sterile.

Galanthus ‘Faringdon Double’ partial shade than their Greek cousins. A clump of these were first noted in the garden of the great plantsman Sir Frederick Stern at Highdown in West PREPARING FOR AUTUMN SNOWDROPS Sussex. Place a good layer of grit and sand under the Early flowering snowdrops general perform best in a sheltered, south facing position, perhaps bulb when planting to improve drainage, as these under shrubs which do not sweep to the ground. In the right position they multiply easily to form bulbs do not like to sit in damp conditions, especially drifts. The area must be tidied by October of summer detritus or plant material which needs cutting during the wet summers we have been having. back so that the snowdrops can develop freely and avoid foliage being tattered by slugs and snails.

Easy to grow cultivars include ‘Barnes’ and ‘Peter With some careful planning and purchasing you can have snowdrops flowering for seven months of Gatehouse’. the year, thus extending the magic.

The perfect planting companions for your autumn www.countrygardener.co.uk

25

Autumn

planting for the

connoisseur!

Martin Howard learnt his horticultural expertise as a plantsman at RHS Wisley and RHS Harlow Carr. He is now creating his own Devon garden near Honiton and shares with Country Gardener his favourite and special autumn plants

Malus x zumi ‘Golden Hornet’

Aster cordifolius ‘Elegans’

I have always been passionate about colour and form in the autumn garden.

The ability to keep our gardens full of excitement and life through to the shorter days in November has always seemed to be something worth striving for.

So that is one of the secrets behind my favourite plants and shrubs. They may not suit everyone but the emphasis is on everything from flame coloured leaves, shapely fruits, berries and seed heads and long lasting flowers.

Salvia confertiflora Perennial salvias make a great addition to ornamental borders, with their summer-long displays of spiky, nectar-rich flowers.

Salvia confertiflora is a fast growing woody-based plant. Its stems are covered in a rash of scarlet hairs and each carries a succession of coral red flowers in descending whorls. It is a striking choice with big matt green leaves and it goes on giving tons of colour deep into the autumn. It makes a great potplant, planted in a huge pot which can then be carted in and out of the greenhouse as the weather changes. Cuttings taken at the end of summer can be over-wintered for next year.

For best results grow Salvia confertiflora in a sunny, sheltered spot in welldrained soil. Deadhead spent blooms regularly to encourage flowers into mid-autumn. Mulch annually with well-rotted manure or garden compost.

Salvia confertiflora is only half hardy, so provide winter protection from autumn onwards, or move indoors.

Aster cordifolius is an upright perennial with slender stems which suggest frailty but this idea is soon confounded as buds begin to open and the full extent of the voluminous display is revealed in a myriad of tiny powder blue daisies.

Heart shaped leaves occur at ground level and form a nice groundcover in spring. In early to mid-autumn small daisy-like asters cover the plant. Flowers are blue with yellow centres and are attractive to bees, skippers and butterflies. Plants are tough and adaptable, prospering in sun or shade and in difficult disturbed sites.

Malus x zumi ‘Golden Hornet’ Malus ‘Golden Hornet’ is a heavy-fruiting tree which produces clusters of distinctive golden yellow fruits, which hang on throughout autumn and into winter. The tree also produces a beautiful pink and white bloom during spring making it a fantastic ornamental tree. A gorgeous, upright edible crab apple with masses of cup-shaped, pink-flushed, white flowers in late spring. These are followed in autumn by a profusion of small, golden-yellow crab apples which remain for many weeks, while the dark green leaves turn butter-yellow and fall. This compact, pollution-tolerant crab apple is a beautiful ornamental tree for an urban site. It flowers and fruits best in full sun.

Coreopsis tripteris Coreopsis tripteris, commonly called tall coreopsis or tall tickseed, is a tall, slender wildflower with dense yet relatively small yellow flowers which typically grows eight inches tall. Flowers bloom on slender, erect stems from mid to late summer into autumn Stalked, anise-scented stem leaves are tripartite (divided into three narrow lance-shaped segments).

Ageratina altissima ‘Braunlaub’ Also known as white Snakeroot and less common than the popular cultivar ‘Chocolate’, but equally as useful in a mixed border, this wonderful tall, herbaceous perennial is a late-summer plant which will spread happily into the autumn. As it grows, it forms a shrub-like habit that works well as a filler among other plants, but it comes into its own as the summer begins to draw to an end, and masses of white flowers appear throughout the branched stems, illuminating the plant as the evening light starts to recede. It also works well as a cut flower. Groups of this plant will regularly attract clouds of butterflies.

26

In autumn there is extra drama as the flowers turn into gold and burgundy.

The genus name comes from the Greek words koris meaning ‘bug’ and opsis meaning “like” in reference to the shape of the seed which resembles a bug or tick. Plants in the genus Coreopsis are sometimes commonly called tickseed in reference to the resemblance of the seeds to ticks.

Country Gardener

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Cladrastis kentukea Cladrastis kentukea is something of a rarity in the UK but well worth the effort. Cladrastis comes from the Greek and means ‘brittle shoot’ and its fragrant flowers appear in late spring in extravagant clusters followed by slim elongated pods.

Sadly the flowers which need early warmth make it a rarity but there are other benefits as the fresh green leaves turn to a wonderful sustained autumn deep brown.

It is a spreading tree with bright, light green leaves to 30cm long composed of ovate leaflets, turning clear yellow and then brown in autumn. Pendent panicles of fragrant white flowers to three centimetres will appear in a sustained warm spring.

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Miscanthus sinensis ‘Krater’ Miscanthus ‘Krater’ is a lovely border grass, not too big and dominant but stylish and colourful.

It is known as a ‘dwarfer’, reaching a maximum of around 100cms tall.

It has narrow leaves and a compact, dense habit, forming a lovely clump that displays deep rose-red plumes that age to silver in the autumn.

The foliage turns a beautiful burgundy red colour as autumn temperatures cool, adding a further dimension of interest. Ideal in a bright sunny position, it is also resistant to summer droughts -if you have a troublesome drier spot in the garden, it could be the plant for you. The added benefit is that the colour remains intact through to November.

Crataegus persimilis ‘Prunifolia’ This bushy tree in the hawthorn family has beautiful white flowers and broad leaves, which provide strong autumn colours. The fruits are bright red, and whilst the birds find them delicious, they can cause mild stomach upset if ingested, so best to leave them to your feathered friends. However, they will bring more wildlife to your garden, so you get to watch them all through the seasons.

Crataegus are deciduous trees and shrubs, usually with spiny branches, lobed or toothed leaves, and clusters of creamy-white flowers followed by red or black fruits. This variety guarantees long autumn colour.

Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ Noted for its striking foliage, award-winning Cercis canadensis ‘Forest Pansy’ (Redbud) is a large deciduous shrub or small, often multi-stemmed, tree with profuse, pea-like, rosy-pink flowers that arise before the foliage in spring.

In autumn the gold and aubergine tints on its leaves become spectacular. A full sun to part shade lover, it is easily grown in welldrained soils.

Cercis are deciduous shrubs or small trees with heart-shaped leaves and clusters of bright pink pea-flowers opening before or with the leaves, followed by flattened, deep purple pods.

Dorset Issue No 182 Autumn

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Turf v seed; Apple problems; gardening at Burgh Island; Autumn snowdrops; Coastal events throughout Dorset Apple trees for small gardens; quirky power of herbs; Gardening news and r; The Shrubs for the connoisseu

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FRUIT/VEG CAGES

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Carmarthen Bay South Wales

Dry Stone Walling and Landscaping Patrick Houchen - DSWA member

CARDS & PRINTS

4* Delightful cosy cabin for 2, nestling between Wye and Usk Valleys. Shirenewton village & pubs close by. Wonderful walks, splendid castles, bustling market towns.

Perfect for all seasons!

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Yenstone Walling

jonne@jonne.co.uk 07770 720 373 Artist blacksmith based near Axminster designing and manufacturing garden plant supports, structures, artwork and outdoor/indoor furniture.

Commissions welcomed.

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Established 1984

Free Guide & Catalogue on request

Discover the Diversity of Hardy Geraniums!

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29

Turf v seed – THIS IS WHAT I WOULD DO?

Devon based Malcom Ford is an expert on grass seeds and turf who has been advising gardeners for 15 years on the skills of laying a new lawn. He shares his views on the turf v seed debate

IT’S just small selection of monocotalydens sown together en masse and it neither flowers nor bears fruit, yet for many gardeners – particularly men– the lawn is often the most important part of a garden.

picnic as it takes a while to grow into a lawn. For instance, it can take a spring-sown lawn around two months before it’s a match for its turf counterpart. In autumn it will take six to nine months.

There’s some justification to this: a lawn provides the ideal foil to colourful shrubbery or bold borders. The closely cropped grass’s green uniformity is the ideal contrast to a sudden explosion of foliage and flowers; it helps guide the eye, enhancing the impact of the plants at its edges.

With seed there’s the additional concern of keeping the freshly-sown area weed free and ensuring birds don’t help themselves to the seed – which is where old CDs (remember them?) or plastic bags come in handy.

Early autumn, like spring, is a good time to create a new lawn or repair an area of existing lawn. The cooler but not too cold months are preferable because it’s warm enough for grass to grow but the sun tends not to be strong enough to scorch the young blades.

The big question when it comes to laying a lawn is which is preferable – seed or turf?

The key advantage of turf is the instant gratification you get once you’ve laid the turves, trimmed the edges and given it all a good soak. The joints knit after a matter of days and it should be OK to sit on after a week or so.

However , it can be expensive and demands manpower.

Sowing seed, on the other hand, is relatively cheap and it’s a comparatively quick operation. But you’re going to have to wait a while before organising your first

TURF – good news and bad news

The initial ground preparation is the same for both methods and it’s important to spend time getting it right, as preparatory work on an existing lawn can prove difficult.

To begin with, rotovate – i.e. dig the area roughly to loosen the ground while removing tough perennial weeds such as dandelions and docks. Rake the area to create a fine surface, and remove any larger stones, roots or other debris as you go.

Tread the ground thoroughly, shuffling backwards and putting the weight on your heels to firm the soil and eliminate any soft spots.

For seeding, lay garden canes across the area at 1m intervals to help sow the correct rate of grass seed. Weigh out 35g of seed and tip it into a plastic cup. Draw a line on the cup and use this cup to judge the amount for each 1m square. Try to scatter it as evenly as possible – scatter half in one direction and half in the other.

GRASS SEED

When you buy turf, you’re buying about nine months worth of time depending on the time of the year. You’re also saving a lot of hassle for yourself.

- the good news and bad news

• No need to worry about seed varieties or quality – it’s been done for you

Grass seed is the opposite of turf. Where turfing is instant but more expensive, grass seed is cheaper but takes time.

• The seed has been sown evenly (which isn’t easy to do!) – no clumps or bald patches in your new lawn.

• There’s a confusing and an overwhelming number of grass seed mixes out there. Choosing the right one can be difficult.

• The birds won’t pinch your new turf.

• Germination is often uneven, and in colder weather it can be slow.

• It takes as little as three weeks until your turf can be walked on.

• You need to protect grass seed against marauders. Birds will eat the seed, cats will use the soft soil as a lavatory.

• Grass seed does not necessarily make a better quality lawn than turf. The quality can easily be the same; however, the range or choice of types of lawn is generally far greater with grass seed allowing you to have exactly the right type of grass for your needs.

• You’ll probably find that all sorts of weeds germinate alongside your grass – be prepared to remove them.

• It takes 6-12 months to create a mature lawn from seed.

THE DECISION

All things being equal I would turf slopes and modest areas that are affordable. For larger areas, areas difficult for growth such as shade or where I require a certain type of grass then I would always seed. Both take about a year to be fully mature and be tough enough for serious use.

Time Off

Cath Pettyfer - Devon cath.pettyfer@countrygardener.co.uk Tel: 01837 82660

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The Country Gardener magazines are distributed FREE at Nurseries, garden centres, National Trust Properties, open gardens, garden machinery specialists, country stores and farm shops in each county. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or made available in any form, without the written permission of the copyright holder and Publisher, application for which should be made to the Publisher. Unsolicited material: do not send or submit your only version of manuscripts and/ or photographs/transparencies to us as these cannot be returned to you. While every care is taken to ensure that material submitted is priced accurately and completely, we cannot be responsible or liable for any loss or damage suffered. Views and/or opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of Country Gardener or the Publisher.

30

Country Gardener

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