Devon country gardener september 2016

Devon

Issue No 153 September 2016

FREE

GROW YOUR OWN

CUT FLOWERS

…it’s fun, colourful and rewarding

September things to do and gardening events throughout Devon

Saving Devon’s distinctive apples

TASTE THE FRUIT BEFORE YOU PLANT YOUR TREE

The rewards of being a NT garden volunteer

• Open daily 10am-4pm • Free parking • Free advice • Refreshments in Café Vanilla • Orchid plants, sundries & gifts • Orchid Clinic 1st Wednesday each month

See beautiful displays, 100s of orchids from around the world 2 FOR 1 ENTRY WITH THIS ADVERT

ForchesCross, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ12 6PZ @burnhamorchids

CGSEP2016 2 for 1 Voucher valid until 30/9/16

www.countrygardener.co.uk

01626 352233 www.orchids.uk.com

Autumn

Queensland, Bulb of the Year 2016!

WITH BERNAVILLE For over 50 years our family owned nursery has been helping customers create beautiful gardens and homes. Our huge range of plants and products are matched only by our knowledge, expertise and service. So if you’re looking for inspiration for your home and garden visit the experts - Bernaville Nurseries.

P lanting ideas for seasonal colour

Now in!Autumn bedding plants

New season veg plants in stock

Tools for autumn gardening

Bernaville Nurseries Call 01392 851326 ● www.bernaville.co.uk

Find us on the A377 Exeter to Crediton road.

Fresh food, Café and Restaurant

Contents GROWING YOUR OWN CUT FLOWERS Is it time for you to join probably the fastest growing trend in gardening -growing your own cut flowers.

We look at what to grow and how you can dedicate part of the garden to your own flowers. Page 8

"September: it was the most beautiful of words, he’d always felt, evoking orange-f lowers, swallows, yet slight sadness and regret” - ALEXANDER THEROUX

Make sure you get the taste right Kevin Croucher from Thornhayes Nursery urges us all to make the most of tasting fruit varieties to plan for what we grow in our gardens. If you are thinking about planting new fruit trees, now is the time to start researching what varieties to plant. Page 18

Volunteering OUR EXP ERTS ARE in a National BACK IN AC T ION Trust Garden Tomato varieties that won’t produce

Country Gardener reader Hazel Fitz-Gibbon shares her experience of working as a garden volunteer for the National Trust and how she learnt new skills and rekindled her interest in gardening. Page 12 Issue No 126 September 2016

Cotswolds

Centre

entre

Ledbury

FREE

Our cover celebrates the pleasure of growing your own cut flowers, Step into Autumn something that is increasingly capturing the imagination of gardeners. Especially when you can produce sensational fresh colourful bouquets. It’s close to the pleasure eating your own fresh vegetables bring.

Our Annual Heuchera Festival Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th September Free talk and tour “Behind the Scenes” of our Nursery at 2pm each day Over 100 varieties of Heuchera, Heucherella and Tiarella A417 LEOMINSTER

Verzons Hotel

EREFORD

A438

Trumpet Inn

Find us @

ust 3 miles west of Ledbury on the A438

GROW YOUR OWN

CUT FLOWERS

…it’s fun, colourful and rewarding

September things to do throughout the Cotswolds

LEDBURY

Newent Plant Centre @ The Nest

A4172 DYMOCK & NEWENT

ON THE COVER

The magic of Berkeley Castle gardens

The rewards of being a NT garden volunteer

TASTE THE FRUIT BEFORE YOU PLANT YOUR TREE

www.countrygardener.co.uk

oad, Ledbury. HR8 2PZ k

AT THE GARDEN LOVERS GARDEN CENTRE

On A423 Southam Road, Nr. Farnborough, Banbury OX17 1EL. Tel: 01295 690479

Open Six Days a Week. Tue-Sat: 9.00am - 5.30pm Sun: 10.30am - 4.30pm

Open Bank Holiday Mondays www.farnboroughgardencentre.co.uk

Editorial Publisher & Editor: Alan Lewis alan@countrygardener.co.uk Tel: 01823 431767 Time Off: Kate Lewis timeoff@countrygardener.co.uk Design & Production Aidan Gill aidan@countrygardener.co.uk Gemma Stringer gemma@countrygardener.co.uk

fruit; making a pond safe for wildlife; growing shrubs for winter colour; taking cuttings of conifers and more, as our experts answer your questions.

Page 28

Antipodean delights Gil Heavens explores the delights of some wonderful antipodean plants, often lush evergreens but with magnificent grasses and fuschias which could transfer into your garden from half way round the world. Page 30

Departing swallows There’s something sad about that time in September when sure enough one morning the visitng swallows will be

Advertising Sales Cath Pettyfer Devon & Dorset cath.pettyfer@countrygardener.co.uk Tel: 01837 82660 Ava Bench Somerset & Classified ava@countrygardener.co.uk classified@countrygardener.co.uk Tel: 01823 619073

Corina Reay Cotswolds corina@countrygardener.co.uk Tel: 01823 410098 Rob Houghton Hampshire & Sussex rob@countrygardener.co.uk Tel: 01614 283230

gone. The swallows that arrived in late April or May and have entertained us so much over the summer with their aerial displays have departed for the warmth of – where? Page 32

Growing your own firewood If you can spare the space, it makes sense to grow trees for economic, practical, ecological and aesthetic reasons. You don’t need a lot of land and you’ll be amazed how quickly you’ll have your own supply of firewood. Page 34

Keeping the dogs happy

This month we’re offering a selection of gardens opening for charity that are dog-friendly, offering a different space to walk your dog while you can enjoy the mellow loveliness of a late summer garden. Page 40

SEPTEMBER AND ITS ALL GO AGAIN Things might have gone rather quiet with the holiday weeks in August but September sees the return of more activity on the gardening front and our popular Time Off captures all the gardening events, shows, meetings and things to do.

Page 44

Accounts Sam Bartholomew sam@countrygardener.co.uk Tel: 01823 430639 Distribution Pat Eade pateade@btinternet.com Tel: 01594 543790 Follow us on Twitter @countrygardenuk

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.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

3

...IN DEVON

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A look at news, events and happenings in Devon

Top S

sessions, they will soon see an improvement in the woodland garden. They will then re-visit the areas to gradually bring them into the garden and give the visitors more to see and enjoy.

Colin Clark, Greenway’s senior gardener, explains: "We recently trialed this and had nine people clearing an area at the far end of the garden. It was hard work but everyone had fun. It’s also a great chance to meet other likeminded people, burn up a few calories, and explore parts of Greenway you might not yet have visited. You even get homemade cake with your tea – what’s not to enjoy?"

Greenway’s garden is notoriously steep in places, but there is such a wide range of work to do in each area there will be something available to do for all abilities: no previous gardening skills are necessary. Tools will be provided, but the garden team encourages volunteers to bring their own gloves and good boots, ensuring that they are free from soil or debris to prevent possible cross-contamination.

To join a garden blitz just drop Colin an email colin.clark@nationaltrust.org.uk to say you are coming along (but you’re not committed if you need to change plans at the last minute).

t ory

Greenway - Agatha Christie's Devon holiday home

Join the Greenway garden blitz On the first Wednesday of each month the National Trust garden team at Agatha Christie’s Greenway holiday home in Devon on the River dart near Galmpton, blitzes an area of overgrown or neglected garden – and they would love your help.

They devote a day a month to cutting down or digging out weeds, bramble, overgrown shrubs, and moving debris to the shredder or bonfire. This is to try and get under control some of the less visited parts of the garden.

The team are hoping that with monthly volunteer

PLYMOUTH GETS A FLORAL MAKEOVER Public green spaces throughout Plymouth have been given a new look by planting flower-filled pollinator patches, wildflower meadows and providing new pollinator nesting sites. The centre has been given a floral makeover and has literally been buzzing with bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects.

To add to the fantastic flowers which are already in bloom on many of the city centre’s major roundabouts and road verges, gardeners have now moved right into the heart of the City centre and planted up some raised flower beds down New George Street and Cornwall Street.

These beds, once containing annual bedding plants, have been redesigned by Ashleigh Cook, Ben Pedler and Oliver Jackson who are horticultural apprentices at Plymouth City Council. With the help of local volunteers they have now been planted with pollinator-friendly flowers, which will provide a year-round supply of food for these important insects.

Plymouth Urban Buzz, supported by Biffa Award, Garfield Weston Foundation and in partnership with Plymouth City Council is working closely with local communities to create 4

over 100 new places for pollinators throughout Plymouth.

If you’d like to get involved or be kept up to date visit www.buglife.org.uk/urban-buzz/plymouth

The Garden House trials garlic on slugs Spare a thought for a nervous hosta at The Garden House at Buckland Monachorum. Head gardener Nick Haworth is to trial garlic drenches as an alternate to slug pellets.

As a plantsman’s garden on the edge of Dartmoor, receiving a higher than average rainfall The Garden House has its fair share of slugs to contend with.

Nick is trialling the drench to see if it’s practical and viable to change slug deterrent methods. The enzyme in garlic (allinase) should kill slug eggs in the soil, whilst the garlic washing the leaves is supposed to repel slugs.

Visitors to the garden will be able to spot the hosta in the trial and judge for themselves whether the slugs are being held at bay. The Garden House is a former home of the vicars of Buckland Monachorum dating back to the 14th century is home to over 6,000 plant varieties, including many unusual specimens. Buckland Monachorum, Yelverton PL20 7LQ www.thegardenhouse.org.uk

Country Gardener

The season of mists and mellow fruitfulness is also

Autumn Planting Time Specializing in the pruning & removal of garden trees & shrubs

Spring Flowering bulbs now in stock

• 30 years experience • Full insurance cover • Free estimate • Sites left neat and tidy

Good selection of Plants, Shrubs and Trees and Roses

Johnny Fuller NCH (Arb). Tech Cert (Arbor.A.) john@johnfullertrees.com www.johnfullertrees.com Mob: 07977 486135 Tel: 01647 432110

Help and advice from knowledgeable staff

Greenfingers

Hill House Nursery

Garden Centre

Landscove, Nr Ashburton, Devon TQ13 7LY 01803 762273 bluebird@hillhousenursery.com Open 7/7 inc. Bank Holidays 11am to 5pm

A family-run nursery with a vast range of plants from the well known to the rare & unusual, all well grown & priced.

We grow most of our stock ourselves & our staff are all trained and highly experienced in various gardening disciplines.

The historic garden is open free of charge and Hill House Nursery Tea Room is open from 1st March to 30th September.

Dogs on leads in garden only.

Mail order available, please see our web site.

www.hillhousenursery.com

and Streamside Cafe Pound Lane, Exmouth, Devon, EX8 3LE Tel Garden Centre: 01395 274632 Tel Café: 01395 224646 www.greenfingers-gardencentre.co.uk

If you would like a last resting place in beautiful countryside overlooking Dartmoor.

Phone 01647 24382 and speak to Julie or Martin Chatfield

www.crosswayswoodlandburials.co.uk

LY N W O O D STONE

Est. 2000 Beautiful natural stone walling for boundary and retaining walls, raised beds etc Division of Lynwood Landscapes Contact Nigel on 01363 774903 garsiden@aol.com

www.lynwoodlandscapes.com www.countrygardener.co.uk

PLANS PLANTING CONSTRUCTION

Mark Robertson

M.Hort (RHS) Member of the Institute of Horticulture

71, Wardrew Road, Exeter Devon EX4 1HA

Tel: 01392 439138 Mob: 07971 944959

www.exetergardendesign.com 5

Apple Day rounds off busy few weeks at RHS Rosemoor Throughout September and until Sunday 2nd October, RHS Garden Rosemoor in Great Torrington, Devon becomes the place to go if you’re into arts, crafts, food or drink.

Rosemoor celebrates the rich heritage of arts and crafts, food and drink that the local area has to offer.

Starting with the Artists’ Garden Exhibition on Friday 2nd September and culminating in the now-famous Rosemoor Apple Day on Sunday 2nd October, there will be treats for all the senses.

The popular Artists’ Garden art exhibition returns to Rosemoor from 2nd to 18th September, bringing together more than 80 of the South West’s most talented artists.

The colourful display of pictures, prints and cards are inspired by the natural world, especially gardens, plants

and flowers. They have been created using a variety of media and will also include landscapes, seascapes, animals and wildlife pictures from well-known and less familiar local artists. The exhibition opens daily from 11am to 5pm.

All the works exhibited are for sale, and visitors will be able to talk to at least two of the artists every day.

Rosemoor’s famous Apple Day on Sunday 2nd October is a day out for the family. Rosemoor’s Apple Day is organised in conjunction with Orchards Live, Thornhayes Nursery and the RHS South West Area Fruit Group – who will endeavour to identify your unknown apple cultivars.

The day has fantastic apple displays; tastings; planting and cultivation tips; children’s activities and trails; plus stalls selling fruit, cider and apple juice.

For more information on events at RHS Garden Rosemoor, or if you are interested in becoming a member visit www.rhs.org.uk/rosemoor. All events are included in normal garden admission and are free for RHS members.

Kingsbridge event is great family day

Devon’s popular Kingsbridge Show takes place at Borough Farm, near Kingsbridge on Saturday 3rd September from 9am. It’s a very traditional Devon event with cattle, sheep, horses, horticulture, trade stands, sumptuous food at the farmers market and magnificent crafts in the craft marquee.

Contact Jen Brogan, Show Secretary on Kingsbridge.show@ btinternet.com or call 01752 896120. You can book tickets at www.kingsbridgeshow.co.uk or buy at the gate.

Holcombe Court open for Devon Hospiscare in September Rarely open to the public, the magnificent gardens and lakes in the grounds of Holcombe

Woollen Woods return to Arlington Court A display of woollen crafted items will be once again exhibited in the woodland at Arlington Court until Sunday 30th October.

Visitors will be delighted to find a range of knitted, crocheted and felted creations popping up in the woods. First hosted in 2015, in partnership with Voluntary Arts, the Woollen Woods exhibition is returning to give colour and interest to the grounds.

For the launch of the Woollen Woods, Arlington will once again welcome The Knitting Tent, a yurt where all levels of knitters and crafters can drop in to create something for the woods, or learn how to knit.

If you’d like to contribute something to the display, there’s still time.

Any woollen items sent in up until Friday 30th September will be added to the woods. The team are also planning a spooky Hallowe’en trail through the woods, so if you fancy knitting a witch, crocheting a cobweb or felting a zombie, these can be sent in until Monday 10th October to be included in the trail. All woollen donations should be sent to: Woollen Woods, Arlington Court, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 4LP. Entry to the exhibition is free, but normal admission charges to Arlington Court apply. National Trust members and under 5’s get in free. Tel: Arlington Court on 01271 850296 or www.nationaltrust.org.uk/arlington-court 6

Country Gardener

Court are open for Devon Hospiscare on Saturday, 3rd and Sunday 4th September.

The impressive historic grade 1 listed Tudor manor house is on the eastern edge of Devon, close to the Somerset border and just a few miles from Wellington. The house and its grounds have been lovingly restored by owner Mr Nigel Wiggins and his staff.

The stunning seven acre site includes herbaceous borders, trout ponds and a Victorian rockery.

There’s a restored and recreated woodland garden, and a large vegetable parterre within the 18th century walled garden.

The gardens will be open from 10am until 5pm on both days, admission £5. Teas will be available. There is partial wheelchair access. Dogs are not allowed.

Holcombe Court, Holcombe Rogus, TA21 0PA. For more details call 01392 688020 or visit the Hospiscare website at www.hospiscare.co.uk

A U T U M N

Fast Rabbit Farm

Strawberry Valley, Dartmouth, TQ6 0NB Tel: 07813 504490

Autumn Gardening at Eggesford Garden Centre

Nestled on the edge of the beautiful Taw Valley, Eggesford Garden Centre is just the place for a spot of relaxed shopping.

Autumn is the perfect time to plant new trees, shrubs and spring flowering bulbs.

The well stocked shop has everything you need - lots of healthy plants, a wide range of garden care products and friendly help and advice.

Enjoy delicious home made food in The Gardens Restaurant and, if your feeling in the mood, why not go for a stroll in nearby Eggesford Forest.

Dogs and muddy boots are welcome.

EGGESFORD GARDEN CENTRE Eggesford, Chulmleigh, Devon EX18 7QU Tel: 01769 580250

Garden created in sheltered valley with natural stream. Several ponds and lake, partially wooded, rockery, extensively planted, extends 43 acres with new woodland planting and walks created through woodland at head of valley.

Car Park. Some level walks. Teas.

Nursery with wide range of plants.

Open daily 11am - 5pm + Bank Holiday Mondays Admission £5, Children 50p Parties welcome by appointment. Dogs welcome on leads.

Disabled: Please phone prior to visit.

www.fastrabbitfarm.co.uk

Features in Google Maps, location Strawberry Valleys

Kingsbridge Show Kingsbridge Show Saturday 3rd September 2016 Borough Farm, nr. Kingsbridge TQ9 7QP

Borough Farm, Kingsbridge nr. Kingsbridge TQ9Show 7QP Saturday 3rd September 2016 Borough Farm, nr. Kingsbridge TQ9 7QP Saturday 3rd Sept 2016 Trade stands, food stands, craft stands, cattle, sheep, show jumping, pet area, horticulture classes, main ring attractions all day, music, drinks and so much more.

Trade Stands, horticultural classes, all day Book your trade stand before 31st July, entertainment. buy tickets for entry to the show or enter any classes at

www.eggesfordgardens.com

Advance tickets available at www.kingsbridgeshow.co.uk www.kingsbridgeshow.co.uk Reg Charity No 1124452

Just off the A377 Exeter to Barnstaple road at Eggesford Station

Reg Charity No 1124452. Kingsbridge Agricultural & A company limited by guarantee incorporated in England No 6537828 Horticultural Society Limited. A company limited by guarantee incorporated in England No 6537828.

Kingsbridge Agricultural & Horticultural Society Limited.

DULFORD TuckerS NURSERIES counTry SToreS Est 1831

Many varieties, including rarities, in many sizes For directions & a visit with expert & friendly advice

Tel: 01884 266361 www.dulford-nurseries.co.uk Free catalogue or view it on online

ARDENS

URSERY

BUY FROM THE GROWERS A Traditional Nursery set in the beautiful Tamar Valley.

Fruit Trees: Apple, Pear, Plum, Quince etc 2yrs old from £20.95 Flowering Trees from £32.95, Grafted Wisteria £15.95 Plus our extensive range of shrubs and perennials.

Ring for details or visit www.endsleighgardens.co.uk Open every day... WELL WORTH A VISIT

Milton Abbot, Tavistock PL19 0PG Tel: 01822 870235 From Milton Abbot follow brown signs to Endsleigh House & Gardens on B3362

01404 871600 www.blackburyfarm.co.uk Agricultural Merchants, Seedsmen and Maltsters EVERYTHING FOR THE COUNTRY LOVING PERSON

Huge selection of Pet Food and accessories Wonderful Saddlery department and Country and Workwear clothing Feed for Cattle, Sheep, Horses, Alpacas and Chickens etc Grass Seeds from field to garden Poultry houses, field shelters and stables, Gates, stakes, stockfence and fittings And much more!

Opening hours: Monday to Fri 8.00am to 5.00pm, Sat 8.00am to 4.00pm FARMERS MARKET – MondAy To SATuRdAy AT ouR AShbuRTon bRAnch

Brewery Meadow, Stonepark, Ashburton TQ13 7DG Tel: 01364 652403 Also at Commercial Road, Crediton EX17 1ER Tel 01363 772202

www.edwintucker.co.uk

Dulford Nurseries, Dulford, Cullompton, Devon EX15 2BY

Endsleigh G N

Honey shop Garden tea room Wildflower meadow Orchard and gardens Come and be part of this special place Open Thurs - Sun 10 - 5 Near Blackbury Camp

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SPECIALIST TREE & SHRUB GROWERS

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Reach a passionate and affluent audience of gardening enthusiasts Over 120,000 copies distributed every month If you would like to advertise your business or service in our Devon magazine, please contact

Spring Flowering Bulbs For planting Now Summer / Autumn Flowering Heathers Selection of Trees, Shrubs, Fruit, Roses, Perennials, Alpines, Seeds & more...

National Garden Gift Vouchers

Help Advice & Friendly Service Check web for details or find us on Facebook!

www.covegardennursery.co.uk Tel: 01398 331946 Find us on the A396, Cove, Tiverton, EX16 7RU

cath.pettyfer@countrygardener.co.uk

Tel: 01837 82660

www.countrygardener.co.uk

7

Home grown flowers!

Many garden plants can be enjoyed as cut flowers in the home, offering cheaper and diverse alternatives to florist flowers especially if you can dedicate a part of the garden to growing cut flowers.

There’s a special joy in growing your own cut flowers - a joy which is increasingly capturing the imagination of gardeners.

There are lots of benefits. You get to choose what you can pick and arrange rather than having to rely on supermarkets, florists or local stores. So you grow what you love.

And the impact on your garden when you free up space dramatically adds to the colour and atmosphere of your whole garden.

Lots of factors, aside from fashion, are pushing the passion for cut flower growing along.

Shop-bought flowers are expensive. We are also increasingly anxious about air miles, with so many of our commercial cut flowers airfreighted from Africa and South America.

Home-grown is so much nicer, in so many ways.

What most of us want is a gentle drip-drip production over many months, rather than a huge glut of flowers all coming together. This is You won't need a large area to grow flowers for the home easy to do if you 8

Country Gardener

have the right succession of cut-and-comeagain plants, grown in the right seasons.

So where to start? While it's true that any flowers and greenery can be cut and put on display you need to look for certain qualities when it comes to having a proper display.

First how long will the flowers last inside?

There’s no point in cutting a flower, which will last in the garden for weeks only to see it wilt in a vase over 24 hours.

The mainstays therefore of any cutting garden are hardy and half hardy annuals.

Secondly, there’s the cost factor and inexpensive seeds make for a must grow for gardeners and still provide some wonderfully colourful options.

If you already grow bulbs in your borders then you’ve made a start. A straightforward way to get additional colour for cutting is just to weave annuals and biennials in amongst these.

Cut flower seeds seem certain to be the big growth area in the next three years. Sales have increased dramatically as the hobby flourishes.

Key sellers have been sweet peas, zinnias, rudbeckias and calendulas, as well as other cottage garden favourites.

Choosing a dedicated area If you have a special area for cut flowers then you can treat them like a crop.

Cut flowers need a fertile, weed-free soil. Annual applications of organic matter (one or two bucketfuls per square metre/yard) especially to sandy and clay soils help retain moisture and improve soil structure. In dry summers watering may be necessary to achieve good stem length.

Most cut flowers are sun-lovers, but a few tolerant tolerate shade (e.g. Solomon's seal, Acanthus spinosus and heuchera).

Windy sites are best avoided as robust staking will be essential for the taller flowers. Also, avoid frost pockets if possible.

Many flowers will also need some support so growing plants through bean netting will offer some stability and will help if the site is open to winds.

of organic gardeners that protecting roses against blackspot may well require spraying with fungicides.

Tulips Tulips are among the first to appear in the garden. You can help your tulips to last longer in the vase by cutting their stems underwater to prevent air entering the stems. Tulips are thirsty cut flowers so you’ll need to keep their water topped up on a daily basis.

Gladiolus Dramatic and scene grabbing, the tall stems of Gladioli add lots of height and drama to flower arrangements. In your cutting garden just plant in formal rows as it makes it much easier to cut them. Cut flowers just as the lowest two or three florets begin to open, but try to leave as many leaves as possible to feed the bulb for next year.

Propagation Propagate hardy annuals by direct sowing outdoors or raise half-hardy annuals indoors. Sow seed or plant plugs in rows.

Don’t sow outside too early. You know when this sowing moment has arrived without looking at the calendar: all over the garden, seedlings are appearing. If nature’s doing it, you do it too.

Propagate perennials from seed or divide mature clumps in spring or early autumn. Some can be also propagated from basal cuttings (aster, chrysanthemum, delphinium and lupins) or from root cuttings (acanthus, phlox, oriental poppy (Papaver orientale) and verbascum).

Increase shrubs and climbers by softwood, semi-ripe or hardwood cutting or by layering.

Some lateral thinking Colour and texture is also important in what you can grow for diplays. You shouldn’t forget the impact foliage and blooms from your herb displays will add. Fennel, dill and even mint will add a structure to your bouquets.

Try to extend the season as much as you can so your cuttings area isn’t just a three month wonder.

Poppy flowers are followed by attractive seedheads while alliums and later dahlias both extend the season.

Our choice of what to grow Sunflowers Sunflowers are a must. Easy to grow and all you need do is get the timing right. Try some of the smaller varieties which produce multi headed blooms You need to cut the stems just before they break out into full display.

Sweet pea The beauty of the sweet pea is the more you cut the more you get so a real stable ingredient of any cut flower area.

The choice of colour is huge and the best idea is just to opt for a good mix of shades.

Roses Choose varieties carefully to ensure the longest stems..

Roses grown as cut flowers will require heavy feeding to produce the best results. It is worth noting for the benefit

Eucalyptus The silvery-blue foliage of Eucalyptus gunnii makes fantastic filler for vases, bouquets and larger flower arrangements. Its attractive rounded leaves provide shape and texture that blends well with both formal and more relaxed displays. Eucalyptus has a sensational vase life, easily lasting more than three weeks, and is often the ‘last man standing’ in floral displays!

Dianthus Dianthus (including carnations, pinks and sweet williams) are the best known of all cut flowers. Regular cutting will help to ensure a long flowering season to give you an ongoing supply of blooms.

T OP T IP S

• The way you cut flower stems is important. Cut stems at an angle to prevent the stem resting on the bottom of the vase and sealing itself over.

• Strip any foliage from stems that would sit below water level in a vase as these will simply decay, becoming slimy and smelly.

• Always use tepid water in your vases. Cold water has a higher oxygen content, which can cause air bubbles to form in the stems of your flowers, blocking their water uptake. Spring bulbs such as tulips and daffodils are the exception to this rule.

• Keep cut flowers away from fruit bowls as fruit produces ethylene which causes cut flowers to die prematurely.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

9

distinctive

HOW LOCAL APPLES ARE MAKING A COMEBACK After decades of decline traditional West Country orchards and apples varieties are making a comeback, driven by enthusiastic campaigners and projects at RHS and National Trust gardens It‘s only a matter of weeks now before apples start falling from the tree and orchards and growers around the country are hosting apple days to encourage everyone to make the most of hopefully a bumper harvest.

This autumn is however especially significant as a record number of projects get under way to save traditional orchards and aggressively market wonderfully named local varieties of apples.

And after decades of decline apple orchards throughout Devon, Somerset, Dorset and beyond are making a comeback.

There was a time when almost every farm in the West Country had an area set aside for apple trees.

Those days are long since gone, and with them the on-tap supply of local cider, apple juice, and just-picked apples.

With supermarkets stocking little in the way of English apples, the future was looking pretty grim for our home grown produce.

But then, just in the nick of time, we realised we were in danger of losing an important part of our natural heritage.

Now, for the first time in decades, the number of local orchards is actually increasing.

And this autumn the activity to keep on saving 10

Country Gardener

distinctive apple varieties goes on.

Save our Orchards, which has become Orchards Live, was set up in 1991 by orchard enthusiasts in the northern half of Devon, and can claim success in helping to reverse this decline with real achievements and their formula is being copies in other counties. The action plan has included: • Running approximately 100 training events on orchard restoration, orchard establishment, orchard management, pruning, grafting, cider and juice making and more.

• Establishing annual Apple Day with RHS Rosemoor.

• Organising informal orchard walks, social events and networking opportunities.

• Production of first recent list of Devon apples, complemented by photographs.

• Location of old apple varieties for propagation.

• Working to establish a Demonstration Orchard.

• Acquiring cider and juice making kit for members to use.

The background to the activity has been highlighted in Devon which has lost the majority of its orchards since the Second World War. Traditional standard orchards are valuable because of their beauty, history, wildlife and rich variety of local apples.

Of the 2,000 culinary and dessert apples, and hundreds more cider varieties, which have

been grown in this country, only a few handfuls are widely known and used today. And yet thousands have been discovered or developed that are particular to different places and have assumed local names and uses. The hundreds of varieties of damsons, plums, cob nuts, cherries, pears are also rich in associations and potential.

The good news is that caring enthusiasts have in recent years started to turn the tide and have done a great deal to research and promote this astonishing diversity, linking it to the conservation of old orchards, the planting of new ones and the local distinctiveness of places.

The Government has placed traditional orchards on the list of priority habitats in the UK's bio-diversity action plan, but they still fall foul of building developments.

Now, Natural England and the National Trust are leading a campaign to find and restore the remaining orchards, and to plant new ones.

"It's not too late to save them," said Lucy Cordrey, National Trust project manager for the traditional orchards project.

"We'll be doing all we can to halt their decline - not just at our properties, but elsewhere too. There are 30-odd trust properties which are benefiting from the project, but it is also helping local orchard groups and wildlife trusts."

For hundreds of years, cider production took place at every farm in Devon and the apple orchards were at the heart of the community.

Killerton Estate in East Devon has 58 acres of traditional apple orchards, brimful with 600 trees featuring 98 different varieties of apple.

And that's just the varieties they have names for. And what names! 'Slack-ma-girdle', 'Star of Devon' and 'Devonshire Buckland' are among the wonderfully-named apples which can all be found there.

There are even more than 98 varieties, but some don't have names because their identities are unknown.

Many of the varieties are of West Country origin and two are unique to Killerton: 'Killerton Sweet' and 'Killerton Sharp'.

Common Ground first highlighted the plight of English orchards with their Save Our Orchards campaign which was launched in Devon in the 1980s.

Angela King helped launch the campaign back then, and says the story of the English apple orchard has been mixed in the past 20 years: "Some things have got better, some things have got worse.

"There are more orchard groups and local community orchards all over the country, but on the commercial side, we are still importing 80 per cent of our apples - even during our own apple season - which is ridiculous."

Yet things are changing with more varieties now being offered to a more discerning public together with a genuine interest in local varieites.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Are you looking for apple varieties to plant in your own orchard? Your selection will be influenced by function and taste.

If you are selecting varieties to eat or cook remember that one standard tree will produce a lot of fruit, so plan a sequence of production, don’t be bothered about ‘shy’

croppers, and have some to store. In addition to the juicing apples look at Adam’s Pearmain, Annie Elizabeth, Ashmead’s Kernel, Cornish Gilliflower, Exeter Cross, Lord Lambourne, Mother and Upton Pyne.

Most traditional Devon orchards were planted with cider in mind, and more discerning cider-makers have a balanced mixture of varieties (bittersharps, sharps, bittersweets and sweets) to suit their taste. Collogett Pippin, Crimson King, Fair Maid of Devon, Hangy Down, Harry Masters Jersey, Major, Morgan Sweet, Sops in Wine, Sweet Alford, Sweet Bay, Sweet Cleave, Sweet Coppin, Tom Putt, Tremlett’s Bitter, Yarlington Mill all have their followers.

RHS ROSEMOOR TO CREATE NEW ORCHARD RHS Rosemoor is setting out to create a new orchard and meadow as a part of the campaign to save Devon’s distinctive apples.

They have collected 45 varieties of rare Devon apples to grow at a unique ‘Mother Orchard’. Setting up the orchard will ensure these diverse old types of apples won’t die out and will be available for future generations. The apple collection has already been sent to a specialist to be grafted on to a robust root stock and the plan is to plant these whips- no more than 40cms high –out by next spring. Then experienced horticulturists will train and prune the young trees over the next ten years as they grow into canopied trees.

New orchards will mean old types of apples won't disappear

Said Jonathan Webster curator of RHS Rosemoor: ”These Devon apples were gathered from small collections, from local farms and even private gardens which the local fruit group knew. Their idea of planting them in one place was to safeguard them for the future. “We’re working on an exciting project to bring together a unique collection of Devon apple cultivars, numbering around 50."

“They’ll be planted in a different way to traditional orchards, magically incorporating wild flower meadows and working with the site’s undulating landscape.

Planting will be undertaken in spring 2017.”

RHS Rosemoor Apple Day is on Sunday 2nd October and is organised in conjunction with Orchards Live, Thornhayes Nursery and the RHS South West Area Fruit Group.

The October issue of Country Gardener will contain details of all the Apple Days available to go and visit.

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Volunteering in a National Trust garden Hazel Fitz-Gibbon shares her experiences as a volunteer and explains how she has gained new skills, increased her knowledge and most importantly, begun to enjoy her own gardening again Do you sometimes stand looking at your garden in despair?

Have slugs devoured your dahlias and rabbits ravaged the lettuce? Have the jobs you once enjoyed doing become chores? One option is to rekindle your enthusiasm by working as a volunteer in one of the great gardens of the National Trust!

I became a member of the garden team at Polesden Lacey in Surrey, after attending a coffee morning to find out about the Trust’s openings for volunteers. I opted for the roll of general gardener- there are others- and was interviewed so that the position could be explained in more detail and I could be sure what I was letting myself in for.

Eighteen months later, I am so pleased I decided to go for it. Now I work one day a week from 9am to 4pm but this can be flexible. If a morning is about enough, that’s fine. No previous expertise is required, just enthusiasm and willingness to work with a small team. The volunteers are provided with appropriate boots, polo shirt and fleece (complete with fetching pink NT logo) , so we look professional at least .

The day’s tasks are listed on a board in order of priority and we are under the direction of one of the NT gardeners who is always willing to show us how to do any particular job. It’s such a good way to learn new skills. At Polesden we have a beautiful rose garden and I have been taught how to prune a hybrid tea as opposed to a floribunda, for example.

Tip: Remember to dip your secateurs in disinfectant every now and again between plants to prevent the spread of disease.

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Tools are provided, clean and sharp and ready to use. No more searching in the shed for the trowel and why were the shears left outside again all night?

So what other jobs do we do? All the usual - weeding, mulching, clearing overgrown patches, preparing new beds, planting edging…… it’s like home gardening but on the grand scale and the standard is very high! Working as a NT volunteer can be rewarding – and there’s 20 per cent off visiting any NT property. Surely you are more likely to be discouraged than encouraged when you return to your own garden? I find quite the opposite is the case. I remind myself first that mine is a private, family garden for our own enjoyment. A few weeds here and there, maybe a failed crop, is par for the course. After all, the public are not paying to enter but I am learning how to do things properly and I go home practically every week eager to put into practice what I’ve learned.

“I am learning how to do things properly and I go home practically every week eager to put into practice what I’ve learned”.

There is also the pleasure of working with like-minded people. It’s amazing what can be done when the members of a team all encourage each other to tackle the task in hand. What’s that 1000 pushkinias to be put in this afternoon? Well, that’s 250 each so come on lets get on with it Even weeding fifty metres of gravel footpath in heavy rain becomes achievable And of course we share our own gardening tips and experiences.

Not every one enjoys or can do the heavier gardening tasks.

There is also a cut flower team who spend much of their time in the huge greenhouse sowing seed, pricking

Country Gardener

out and potting on the plants which will be grown in the cutting garden. In mid to late summer the tidy rows of gladioli, sunflowers verbena and dahlias are a gorgeous sight. Each Tuesday at Polesden any thing showing colour is cut and buckets of blooms are transported to the house for the lucky flower arrangers. By the way, do try the technique yourself! You will be surprised how many more flowers you will get. This is not only true of sweet peas.

At Polesden there is a vegetable garden team who grow produce for the restaurant. You may be interested to know that the vegetables and flowers are all grown organically as far as possible.

Realising how few plants I could identify in our lovely herbaceous border, I have now joined the small team writing plant labels on slate. This is done at home before putting in the labels using a planting plan provided by the head gardener. It is inspiring to see how plants are combined for effect, too.

There is a morning break with the professionals where, over a mug of tea or coffee and a slice of delicious cake we amateurs are briefed about what’s happening on the property.

The Trust has a policy of treating staff and volunteers equally in this respect.

I have mentioned an initial interview. Once you are accepted, you will be invited to a first stage inductionactually an introduction to the work of the Trust. You will receive a name badge which entitles you immediately to 20 per cent off anything you buy on site in the shop or restaurant. As a second step, you will be encouraged to inform yourself about the particular property, perhaps by

More informat ion on bec omin Nat ional Trust V olunteer. g a

1.Email enquiries @nationaltrust.o rg.uk with your full name, fu ll address and su pp orter/ member number 2. Write to The Na tional Trust, PO Bo x 574, Manvers, Rotherha m, S63 3FH 3. Call 0344 800 1895 (local call ra tes apply).

Open 9 am - 5.30 pm weekdays, 9a m to 4pm weekends & Bank Holidays

completing a walk round questionnaire on the garden. After a few weeks you will be invited to a third stage induction, where you will be formally welcomed. When you have completed 50 hours of work-easy to do if you volunteer each week, you will be given a card entitling you to 20 per-cent off at any NT property as well as free entry and car parking on Trust land anywhere. You can even use it to purchase life membership or to rent one of the NT holiday cottages.

Why not look up your local garden online and check out what opportunities there may be for you? I guarantee you will gain new skills, increase your knowledge and most importantly, begin to enjoy your own gardening again.

There’s a lot of pleasure to be had in working with like minded people

Not all the tasks are heavy- staking tidying and repairing beds and borders are key tasks

www.countrygardener.co.uk

13

Discover

J Parker Dutch Bulbs 196 PAGE BULB AND PLANT CATALOGUE

Marwood Hill Gardens

Our 140 page Wholesale Bulb & Plant catalogue offers the widest range of illustrated bulb varieties in the UK, with over 80 years experience, our quality, value and service are second to none.

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

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

Award-Winning Tea Room & Gift Shop Our award-winning Garden Tea Room & Gift Shop offers seasonal menus of homemade, locallysourced and gluten-free delights.

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

For your FREE catalogue contact: J Parker Dutch Bulbs 14/16 Hadfield Street, Old Trafford Manchester, M16 9FG Tel: 0161 848 1124 Fax: 0161 877 0602 Email: wholesale@jparkers.co.uk Online: www.dutchbulbs.co.uk

Events for 2016 Open Daily for the Season 1st March - 30th September August: Children’s Craft Workshops 17th August Folksy Theatre - Outdoor performance of ‘The Smartest Giant in Town’

by Julia Donaldson (creator of The Gruffolo)

Nigel Wright rhododeNdroNs Specialist grower Over 200 varieties

Free Advice & Planting Plans Private Nursery to visit call 01769 580632

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

Chulmleigh area ex18 7qu www.wrightrhodos.com

Makers of good quality Willow hurdles and garden items.

Traditional hand made products using English willow locally grown from a renewable source.

Exmoor Baskets and Hurdles are located on the DevonSomerset border in the heart of the West Country.

01398 323391 / 07980 759099

www.exmoorbasketsandhurdles.co.uk

Reach a passionate and affluent audience of gardening enthusiasts

Over 120,000 copies distributed every month If you would like to advertise your business or service in our Devon magazine, please contact cath.pettyfer@countrygardener.co.uk Tel: 01837 82660

Willowbrook Nursery and Garden Centre your local family-run garden centre

www.martingordonlandscapes.co.uk Telephone: 01297 639277 Mobile: 07900 123075

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A wide choice of award-winning shrubs, bedding, trees, herbs, climbers, perennials, alpines, roses, soft and top fruit & more.

We also have a well-stocked shop, Pet & Bird Centre, Aquatic Centre, Shed, Cafe & Tea Room serving home cooked food.

Bridford, Nr Exeter EX6 7LB 01647 252654

www.willowbrooknurseryandgardencentre.co.uk

Traditional Nursery Trees, Shrubs,Climbers and Perennials Hanging Baskets, Patio and Vegetable Plants Garden Shop, Local Produce Competitive Prices

TELEPHONE 01823 461324

www.teignvalleynursery.co.uk

On the main A38 Taunton/Wellington

Country Gardener

JOBS IN THE GARDEN

Planning for Spring in September

September is the beginning of one of the favourite times of year for many gardeners, not least for the fact that the garden is more relaxed than it has been for some time. The fight to keep your plants watered or producing or deadheaded has eased and a new wave of tasks is awaiting us. The weather is usually warm and calm, making it the perfect time to get planting. So it’s a time to get outside to catch the last of the summer sunshine and appreciate those long-lasting plants that keep flowering well into autumn.

Take perennial cuttings Tender perennials like fuchsia, petunia, salvia, verbena, penstemon and chrysanthemum are all propagated by cuttings. It’s a great way to grow more plants almost for free, and there’s something really satisfying about seeing plants you created yourself.

GET T ING AN EARLY START F OR BULBS Although you can wait until November to put tulip bulbs in, many gardeners now like to get as many bulbs in the ground early so they If you haven't ordered your bulbs yet make it snappy can start growing. If you have ordered your bulbs by post, when they arrive make sure you prioritise the woodlanders, such as the anemone, dog tooth's violet and trillium. Good bulb companies will have sent these in bags of moistened compost. Unpack ‘dry’ bulbs – the narcissus, tulips and camassia, etc – and leave in a cool, airy place out of reach of mice until you can get them planted. If you haven't ordered your bulbs yet, make it snappy.

Vegetables to sow outdoors in July include beetroot, carrots, dwarf French beans, lettuce, radishes and runner beans.

Find some strong, young growth that hasn’t flowered this year, and cut just beneath a leaf joint, making a cutting of 5 – 10cm. Strip off the leaves from the lower stem, leaving just one or two pairs.

Dip the end in hormone rooting powder and replant in pots of compost mixed with some horticultural grit. This aids drainage and promotes good root growth.

Put the pots in a propagator or push wooden coffee sticks in the soil around the cutting and cover with a plastic bag (except pelargoniums).

Leave somewhere bright and warm, but out of direct sunlight, for six to ten weeks. Ventilate the pots a couple of times of week.

When the cuttings have rooted, repot them into larger containers and overwinter them in a greenhouse or cool conservatory or porch.

Divide your perennials Summer-flowering herbaceous perennials can be lifted and divided this month. Most perennials need to be divided every three to five years, as the plants get too big for the space and become congested. Dividing them will also increase your plant stock at no extra cost.

Gently dig out the plant you want to divide, being careful not to damage the roots. Use a garden fork to separate the plant into two sections, working from the crown outwards. A good trick is to push two garden forks in back to back, and pull the handles together to split the plant.

Shake off any excess soil and replant in your chosen spot as soon as possible, remembering to water frequently as it gets established.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

15

Soaking up the heat

WHEN TO HARVEST FRUIT The correct time to harvest apples and pears can be a bit of a puzzle, even to experienced gardeners. It will depend partly on the cultivar and partly on the weather, but should always be completed before the first frosts and when the fruit is dry. It is unlikely that all fruit on a tree will ripen evenly, so you may need to pick in stages. Typically, this year, due to the cold spring and early summer, picking dates are probably a week or two later than usual.

If otherwise sound-looking cooking apples start falling off the tree, pick promptly. For dessert apples, pre-empt this by checking on a weekly basis.

When cupped in the hand, a ripe apple should come away from the tree with just a gentle twisting action and be sweet but firm to the bite. If you plan to store your apples, pick them slightly under ripe. Store them in a cool location, ideally around 2.5-4.5C (36-38F).

Pears are more difficult in that they need to be picked while hard but with some developing sweetness. Again, check regularly and keep a note of the picking date for future reference. Store in slightly cooler conditions than for apples.

The ground can be giant a radiator and even in this relatively poor summer the summer heat will remain in the ground for some time yet. With the addition of moisture, this makes the autumn one of our best planting seasons as the roots of plants put in now will have time to engage with their new home before the onset of winter. This places them in a strong position to survive the months ahead and come away fast next spring. Evergreen foliage is much more liable to die of drought than cold if their roots are not engaged and able to draw water. The same can be said of any marginally tender Mediterranean plants such as rosemary and lavender.

Trim hedges and topiary

F INGERS CROSSED F OR AN INDIAN SUMMER

If we have good weather, the asters, sedum and rudbeckia will keep the garden going for another two months yet, but make sure they are well staked as the taller varieties are prone to toppling in rain. By including asters and sedum you will help to extend the season for the nectarfeeding insects. As gardeners, we can play an important part in contributing to the feeding ground for insects that are finding it increasingly difficult to survive out in the wild.

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Country Gardener

Give hedges and evergreens a final trim in September to keep them looking tidy through the winter.

Make sure the cutting blades are sharp when you prune box hedge or topiary or the leaf edges will bruise.

This means that after a few days the plant will turn brown.

Prune laurel hedges with secateurs to avoid damaging the remaining leaves which would be cut through with shears or hedge cutters.

SEP TEMBER is bulb planting time Spring may seem a long time off but there’s nothing like planning ahead in the garden and planting spring bulbs in September. It is the ideal time if you want the best displays next year Start now to think about spring bulbs.

Bulbs bought and planted in September will give you healthier blossoms in the spring. Those bought late in the season may have endured damaging storage conditions in garden centres and supermarkets. These bulbs usually will not perform as well as those purchased and planted early in the season.

September is the prime time for planting spring bulbs; choose plump firm bulbs and plant within a week of buying in a location with good drainage. Add a little bonemeal for a slow-release fertiliser and grit if the soil is heavy. Ensure pots and containers have plenty of crocks at the bottom. Bury bulbs at twice the depth of their size, tip upwards and ensure there are no air pockets around them. Use them to fill gaps in beds and borders, in formal gardens, in pots and containers, under shrubs and trees or naturalised in grass or woodland.

Make your life easier by investing in a strong good quality dibber and if you have a bad back, a long handled bulb planter.

Start with narcissi, alliums, crocuses, scillas and chionodoxas - tulips should be left until November.

The last chance to plant indoor bulbs to be in flower (hopefully!) for Christmas is mid September. Use bulb fibre or multi-purpose compost with a little added grit, set the bulbs as close as they can possibly be in a bowl at least 4" deep, preferably with a drainage hole. Narcissi and hyacinths should have their noses just showing - all other bulbs (crocuses, scillas and tulips are good candidates) must be covered completely.

Don’t stint on bulbs For sheer flower-power, bulbs are the cheapest plants available, so don't stint on the quantities you plant. Even

in small gardens, massed plantings of a limited number of varieties is always most effective.

Get things ready Remove weeds and incorporate lots of compost or other organic matter when planting bulbs. On heavy soils, dig in horticultural grit. Bulbs grown in pots need good drainage so put plenty of crocks in the bottom and use a well-drained compost.

Get your timing right Garden centres sell bulbs for autumn planting from the end of July and want them out of the way by September to make room for Christmas-tree baubles. August is far too early to plant spring-flowering bulbs. October is the best time for daffodils; November for tulips.

Which way up?

If you are not sure, plant the bulb on its side: its stem will find its own way up.

Bulbs for shade Not all bulbs need full sun. As well as woodland bulbs such as the dog's tooth violet (Erythronium dens-canis), and the wood anemone (Anemone nemorosa), many Mediterranean bulbs grow well in shade. Scilla peruviana has blue flowers the size of tennis balls and soon forms large colonies in cool, shady situations. Its relatives, the squills - Scilla siberica and S. bifolia - are aggressive plants that seed themselves everywhere, but the pools of blue they form are irresistible on dull spring days. The star-shaped flowers of Ipheion uniflorum create a similar effect but are less invasive.

Deterring the squirrels The biggest destroyer of bulbs, particularly in urban gardens, is the squirrel. Although they dig up daffodils they don't eat them. But they have a voracious appetite for crocus and tulips. Planting the bulbs deeper than normal can help.

Bulbs are most vulnerable after planting, when the soil is easy for squirrels to dig. Chicken-wire placed over the pot, or the freshly dug soil, will deter them.

Bulbs planted early in September tend to produce disease free, healthier blossoms www.countrygardener.co.uk

17

Damson plum in all its glory

Make tasting fruit a priority

before you grow Kevin Croucher from Thornhayes Nursery urges us all to make the most of tasting fruit varieties to plan for what we grow in our gardens With the arrival of September, even if an Indian summer keeps us warm, we know that the onset of autumn is inevitable.

Be positive though, as it means that you can start to do things that will make next year in the garden even better.

It’s not too late to make notes to remind you about what needs moving in the winter and what new planting is required. If you are thinking about planting new fruit trees, now is the time to start researching what varieties to plant.

August and September are the main months for plums to crop, so you should be in the middle of trying as many different varieties as you can from farm shops or friends' gardens.

The same is true of many pears. Though an extensive range may be a bit more difficult to find, they start to crop in late July and carry on in to the autumn.

Thornhayes Nursery display at Apples are RHS Rosemoor’s Apple Day generally easier to 18

Country Gardener

find, with some becoming ripe in August and carrying on.

Since the charity Common Ground started Apple Day in 1990, there are various such events all around Britain, displaying varieties and offering fruit to taste. This gives visitors the opportunity to sample varieties that they may wish to grow. Remember though, that you will only truly test what is ripe on the day that you taste it.

A variety that is ripe in mid September will be gone over by mid October. Whilst a variety that ripens in December will be as hard a bullet still in October.

Even so, it can be a useful process in narrowing down some varieties that you like.

Remember that what you see on display at some Apple Day events may not be suitable to your conditions. If you live in an area with high rainfall, high humidity or high elevation, many varieties will not succeed with you. So there is no point in trying to grow them even if you like the taste. This is where you need advice from someone with the appropriate knowledge and experience to put you on the right road.

At Thornhayes Nursery, we mount a display of apples throughout October and many can be sampled by visitors throughout the month.

So some potential customers visit weekly for four weeks to assess flavours, giving them a good start in working out some of the trees they may wish to plant. Knowing what they like and dislike helps me if they need guidance in selecting other varieties.

Spouses are often at odds over what they like, as men prefer different flavours and levels of ripeness to women.

In my experience women tend to prefer a sharper, crisper apple to men. This is not difficult to overcome though. They can each eat the same variety, but the ladies can start when the fruit is a little under-ripe and keep on eating it until it is not to their taste, by which time the men will be relishing it.

So far we have only considered dessert apples eaten raw.

However, there is the wealth of culinary apples to think of and the many ways they can be cooked. This can be a bit more difficult to research. In the past both at Thornhayes and at RHS Rosemoor I have provided tastings of a range of freshly cooked apple varieties, but few other Apple Day events offer this.

Unfortunately there is this preconception that Bramley’s Seedling is the best and the only culinary apple worth growing. This is arrant nonsense and I am not on my own in this belief. I have some eminent cookery writers on my side.

It is merely the most extensive commercially grown variety.

or more it has never come out on top in a blind tasting. It is good, but not the best. Equally some varieties are better for certain recipes than others.

Not all dishes require the fruit to collapse in to a frothy mousse. Indeed in some it is best to use varieties, often dessert types, that cook through but remain intact.

Before embarking on fruit growing as a hobby, consider how you may wish to grow your fruit trees, particularly if short of space.

Use September and October to visit Apple Days and various gardens to see all the different forms that fruit trees can be grown in: bush, fan, espalier, cordon, pyramid and so on.

They are attractive garden elements as well as productive plants.

If you need help in working out what you can achieve, there are good fruit growing and pruning manuals published by the RHS or enrol on a course to learn how to do it.

At Thornhayes Nursery we find our Trained Fruit and Orchard Management courses always very popular, and similar courses are run by other organisations throughout the country. For more information on these courses go to http://www.thornhayes-nursery.co.uk/index. php?page=events-courses

In tastings I have carried out with customers over 20 years

Join us in celebrating with

Country Gardener Magazine As part of the celebrations of 25 years in business, Thornhayes Nursery will be celebrating the glory of the apple in combination with Country Gardener magazine on Saturday 15th October, between 10am and 4pm. It is a free event for all to enjoy to celebrate both the delights of autumn and apples. Customers are welcome to visit throughout the day.

The arboretum, orchards and fruit display areas will be open to tour and a large

Take the opportunity to get tasting at the many Apple Days available to visit

display of apple varieties will be on show.

Also there will be apple tastings hosted by Kevin at 10.30am to 12 noon, and again at 1.30pm to 3pm. Both raw dessert and cooked apples to taste, plus apple themed cakes and various other recipes to sample.

Country Gardener will be present on the day with prize raffles and other activities and to talk to readers.

In addition, there will be a ten per cent discount on retail prices for purchases on that day for any customer who comes to the nursery and brings with them a recent copy of Country Gardener magazine.

So make the most of this lovely time of year as summer sinks in to autumn.

It can be one of the finest times in the garden, both to admire the beauty and bounty of nature and also to plan for the future. www.countrygardener.co.uk

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GREAT PLACES TO VISIT IN

September There’s no better month to get out and about than in September. The holidays are mostly over and perhaps there’s more time and space to do things. Yet there’s always real hope of some good weather in early autumn and that should encourage gardening enthusiasts to plan days out.

Many gardens are specially rewarding in September with borders and grounds full of early autumn colour.

We’ve just a few suggestions which we know you’ll enjoy.

Buscot Park, one of Oxfordshire’s best kept secrets The gardens and pleasure grounds at Buscot Park near Faringdon are one of Oxfordshire’s best kept secrets and very rewarding for an early autumn visit.

Designed in the late 18th century to complement the Palladian style house, the grounds were considerably enhanced in the twentieth century by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Lords Faringdon.

They include the spectacular water garden designed by Harold Peto and the 'Four Seasons' Walled Garden.

Open until 30th September. Gardens are open Mon-Fri 2pm-6pm and some weekends including Bank Holidays Buscot Park Information Line: Tel: 01367 240932. Email: info@buscot-park.com; Website: www.buscotpark.com

Perfect time to visit Cadhay This is a great time of year to see the perennial grasses at the splendid manor built in 1550, which were planted several years ago for their drought resistance, and are now at their best, particularly the Stipa Gigantea which shimmer in the breeze.

The asters are providing colour in shades of blue, pink and white - and yellow if you include the solidago which is part of the aster family. Also look out for the physalis (Chinese Lanterns), salvia actaea and clematis tibetana.

The cyclamen hederiflorum should now be in flower which appear before the leaves at this time of year.

Cadhay remains open on Friday afternoons between 2pm and 5pm until Friday 30th September. Cadhay, Ottery Saint Mary EX11 1QT. Tel: 01404 813511 www.cadhay.org.uk

n ay t k pe id ep n O y Fr h S Ba nd t t e er 30 us ek ev til ug We un n A ay pe id O ol H

HOUSE, GARDENS & TEAROOM Open every Friday 2pm - 5.30pm until 30th September August Bank Holiday weekend Saturday, Sunday & Monday 2pm-5.30pm

HOUSE & GARDENS: adults £7, children £3 (last guided tour 4pm) GARDENS: adult £3, child £1,

season ticket £10pp Member of Historic Houses Association

CADHAY, OTTERY ST. MARY, DEVON, EX11 1QT 01404 813511 www.cadhay.org.uk

RETIREMENT SALE

Rare woody plants, Daphne, Acers, Oaks, Liquidambars, grafted stock

Chris Pattison nurseries

Pendock, Gloucestershire GL19 3PL 25% off all stock 29 August to 16 September Final auction sale 1st. October2016 www.chris-pattison.co.uk 01531 650480 20

Open September2016 2016 Open25th 25thMarch March to to 30th September Contact 240932oror ContactInfo Info Line Line 01367 01367 240932 Open1st 1stApril April - 30th 30th September September website:Open www.buscotpark.com for website: www.buscotpark.com foropening openingtimes times Contact: Info line 01367 240932 or Contact: Info line 01367 240932 or

websitewww.buscotpark.com www.buscotpark.com for foropening openingtimes. times.

Country website Gardener

Closing down sale offers bargains galore Cotswold nurseryman Chris Patterson, who runs a popular wholesale nursery on the Gloucestershire / Worcestershire borders is holding a ‘closing down ‘ sale which should attract lots of interest from gardeners looking for a bargain. There will be a 25 per-cent price reduction on all available stock from August 29th. to September 16th and the nursery will close on September 16th with a final auction sale on Saturday October 1st.

The nursery is on the Gloucestershire / Worcestershire border, south of the Malvern Hills, close to the M50 jct 2, just 10 minutes from M5 Junction 8 and open from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

Chris started growing his wide range of shrubs and trees in 1982 and concentrated particularly on unusual varieties. He is now closing the nursery to move to Cornwall.

The specialities include liquidambars, viburnums, dwarf trees and shrubs and many hard to find grafted woody plants such as aesculus, cercis, chionanthus, wisterias and more.

See www.chris-pattison.co.uk for details.

Autumn delights at Powderham Castle Home to the Earl of Devon and steeped in 600 years of Courtenay family history, a visit to Powderham Castle offers a fascinating look at the magnificent castle interior on one of their entertaining guided tours. The castle is surrounded by a stunning deer park overlooking the Exe estuary and with the start of the rutting season, Autumn is one of the best times of the year to visit. Deer Park Safaris run on Wednesdays and Thursdays (subject to the weather and grounds conditions) and for a small extra charge will take

visitors for a 35 minute tour around the park on a tractor and trailer, providing ample opportunity to observe the deer and see the castle from its original estuary entrance.

The farm shop, plant centre and gift shops in the grounds ensures a full day of activities.

Special Deer Rut Safari Cream Tea event days on Tuesday 4th, 11th and 18th October. Cost is £13.50 per person. Prebooking essential for this offer on 01626 890243.

For further information, please visit www.powderham.co.uk

The Garden House is special at this time of year September at The Garden House at Buckland Monachorum is very special.

The plant centre is buzzing with happy gardeners picking up unusual bargains in sale and the acclaimed long borders are ablaze with deep late-summer colours. Dahlias of many varieties and forms punctuate the planting in the lower terrace, where 16th century ruins create an extraordinary backdrop to what is an extraordinary garden. Throughout the ten acre garden and on nearby Dartmoor hills you'll see signs of change as summer melds towards autumn.

Be prepared to turn corners and say; ‘wow.’

The Garden House Buckland Monachorum, Yelverton, Devon PL20 7LQ Tel: (01822) 854769 www.thegardenhouse.org.uk

Rare Plant Fair at Adwell House, in support of the Amber Foundation The beautiful gardens of the Adwell Estate will host a Rare Plant Fair on Sunday, September 4th, in support of the Amber Foundation.

ITALIAN GARDEN HOLIDAYS Small group tours with guided visits of Italian gardens

Travel by luxury small • coach

TUSCANY Visits to: Poggio Torselli, Villa Vignamaggio, Villa Geggiano, Villa Grabau, Villa Reale 2017: 4 Jun, 25 Jun, 10 Sep From £2450 per person

Maximum 14 people • per tour Local guides and guided • garden visits included

LAKES COMO AND MAGGIORE Visits to: Villa Babbianello, Villa Carlotta, Villa Monastero, Isola Bella, Isola Madre 2017: 9 May, 23 May, 6 Jun, 27 Jun, 5 Sep From £2,430 per person

Stay at 4 and 5 star • hotels, two per tour, 3 nights in each British Airways flights • included

AMALFI COAST, CAPRI AND ISCHIA Visits to: Villa Rufolo, Caserta, Villa San Michele Axel Munthe, La Mortella 2017: 4 May, 18 May, 8 June, 14 Sep From £2,280 per person

Extensions to each tour • can be arranged SPEAK TO OUR EXPERTS

01392 441275

ENVIRONS OF ROME Visits to: Villa d’Este, Bomarzo, Villa Lante, Giardino di Ninfa, Landriana 2017: 10 May, 17 May, 7 Jun, 6 Sep From £2,460 per person VENETO Visits to: Villa Barbarigo, Villa Emo, Villa Pisani, Giardino Giusti, Villa Rizzardi 2017: 7 Jun, 6 Sep From £2,460 per person Country Gardener 3 July 2016 MH FIN.indd 1

THE ART OF INTELLIGENT TRAVEL ORGANISING FOUNDED 1989

www.expressionsholidays.co.uk www.countrygardener.co.uk

03/07/2016 16:49:23

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The Adwell Estate lies on ground sloping down from the Chiltern Hills. The Saxons called it Eadda's Well, and hence the name today. The garden was originally laid out by the present owner’s ancestors in the 19th Century, and over successive generations further developments have taken place. Visitors are greeted with a magnificent herbaceous border, which sweeps around the drive. The Parish Church nestles within the grounds and you are led around to the walled garden, with its herbaceous borders, roses and a superb collection of salvias.

A proportion of gate proceeds will be donated to the Amber Foundation, which helps homeless unemployed young people, whose lives are going nowhere to gain the motivation, confidence and skills they need to get a job and accommodation and to be able to keep them. Amber's residential centres offer these young people a fresh start; a chance to sort out problems, build self-confidence, gain practical skills and qualifications and generally acquire the know-how for independent living and work –and more than 80 per cent achieve this.

Rare Plant Fairs are an established and popular feature of the horticultural calendar.

The event at Adwell will be attended by specialist nurseries from across the south and west of the country. The fair will be open from 11am to 4pm, and adult entry, which includes entry to both the fair and garden costs £5. Teas and bacon baps will be available.

Full details, including a list of the nurseries attending, can be found at www.rareplantfair.co.uk Adwell House, Thame, Oxfordshire, OX9 7DQ

Plant and craft fair returns to Athelhampton House for third show Athelhampton House, near Puddletown, will be hosting a large Plant and Craft Fair on Sunday 11th Sept. This is the third year that this event has been run by the Plant Heritage Dorset Group at the 15th century Manor House and gardens 5 miles east of Dorchester and promises to be the largest yet.

Visitors will see a range of specialist nurseries and independent growers plus a good selection of craft and gift stalls. Admission £5 includes access to gardens. Fair open 10am -3pm, gardens open until 5pm. Excellent refreshment facilities and free parking. The proceeds support Plant Conservation activities in Dorset.

Athelhampton House, Dorchester DT2 7GL Tel: 01305 848363

Secluded gem of Evenley Wood The delightful Evenley Wood Garden is just a stone’s throw from the south Northamptonshire town of Brackley, and features a diverse collection of plants from all over the world. Set amongst 60 acres of picturesque countryside, this secluded gem comes to life again in the autumn when maples and oaks commence their golden transformation, holly bushes begin propagating fruit, and the last of the year’s flowering bulbs emerge handsomely from the earth.

There are a variety of exciting events to take part in this autumn, including a photography workshop on Sunday 2nd October and an interactive nature workshop on Saturday 15th October.

For more information, please visit www.evenleywoodgarden. co.uk or telephone 07776 307 849. Evenley Wood garden, Evenley, Northamptonshire NN13 5SH.

Hartland Abbey & Gardens Location for BBC 'The Night Manager’ and ‘Sense and Sensibility’

A fascinating historic family home with stunning interiors and collections, beautiful gardens and walks to the beach. ‘Filming on The Hartland Abbey Estate since 1934’ Exhibition now open. * Dogs welcome * Holiday Cottages * * Light lunches & cream teas *

House, Gardens and Tea Rooms open Sundays to Thursdays until 2nd October 11.30am - 5pm (House 2pm - 4.30pm)

For all information and outdoor theatre events see www.hartlandabbey.com (Only 1 mile to Hartland Quay) Hartland, Nr. Bideford EX39 6DT 01237441496/234

SPECIALIST PLANT & AUTUMN CRAFT FAIR Athelhampton House DT2 7LG Sunday 11th September 2016 10am – 3pm Admission £5.00 includes beautiful gardens & grounds 30 nursery & craft stalls

Supporting Plant Heritage in Dorset 22

Country Gardener

September delights at Hartland Abbey After a busy summer holidays, late summer at Hartland Abbey is a wonderful time to visit as peace returns to the valley again! There is still time to catch some wonderful open-air theatre – 'Ratburger', 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream' and 'The Importance of Being Earnest' in August - but it is the lure of the gardens in the warm light that attracts visitors in September. Dahlias, sunflowers, pumpkins, squashes and michaelmas daisies in the walled gardens and the fabulous deep blue hydrangeas in the Shrubbery Garden are a wonderful sight. There is still time to see where BBC's The Night Manager’ was filmed and the exhibition on ‘Filming at Hartland Abbey since 1934’ is a fascinating behind-the-scenes insight. All details are on www.hartlandabbey.com

Time for a tour of gardens and villas of Italy?

Expressions holidays 2017 garden tours for small groups of up to 14 people to the gardens and villas of Italy are booking now! Each tour with a local guide shows you the most outstanding gardens, their history and planting.

Prices start at £2280 per person (double or twin share) and a single supplement from £300.

West Kington, Chippenham, Wilts SN14 7JQ 01249 782822 www.wknurseries.co.uk

MASSIVE PLANT SALE

A beautiful 60-acre privately owned woodland garden, set in Northamptonshire’s finest countryside Visit us for Autumn Colour from 15th October 11am - 4pm

“Probably the largest plant sale in the West!”

JOIN US ON 3RD & 4TH SEPT SATURDAY 9AM - 5PM SUNDAY 10AM - 4PM Perennials, Topiary, Climbers, Shrubs, Roses and Trees

OVER £2,500 RAISED • Bargain Prices FOR LOCAL CHARITIES LAST YEAR • Refreshments • Professional advice on hand

www.evenleywoodgarden.co.uk Email: info@evenleywoodgarden.co.uk Tel: 07776 307849

September Fairs 4th September

Adwell House, Adwell Estate, Nr. Thame, Oxfordshire OX9 7DQ

18th September

Llanover House, Llanover, Nr. Abergavenny, Monmouthshire NP7 9EF

A horticultural masterpiece Plant Sale begins 1st September

Website: www.rareplantfair.co.uk Please visit our website for full details of admission

Buckland Monachorum, Yelverton, Devon PL20 7LQ 01822 854769 office@thegardenhouse.org.uk

fees and times of opening.

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www.thegardenhouse.org.uk

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Follow the buzz Bee and Pollination Festival at the University of Bristol Botanic Garden

Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th September 10am-5pm

www.bristol.ac.uk/botanic-garden Admission: Adults ÂŁ4.50. Children, Friends of the Garden, University staff and students FREE University of Bristol Botanic Garden Stoke Park Road, Bristol BS9 1JG Tel: 0117 331 4906 botanic-gardens@bristol.ac.uk

The Botanic Garden is open from 10am until 4.30pm every day until the end of October, and Monday to Friday from November until Easter.

Refreshments available until 9 October 24 Country Gardener_v1.indd

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Environs of Rome (Ninfa, Landriana and Villa Lante) on 10th May, 17th May, 7th June and 6th September.

Lake Como and Lake Maggiore (Isola Bella and Villa Taranto) on 23rd May, 6th June, 27th June and 5th September.

Tuscany (Villa Reale di Marlia and Villa Torrigiani) on 4th June, 25th June and 10th September.

Amalfi Coast, Capri and Ischia (Villa Rufolo, Villa Axel Munthe and La Mortella) on 4th May, 18th May, 8th June and 14th September.Contact Expressions Holidays on 01392 441275 for full details. The holidays are fully protected by ATOL 3076. www.expressionsholidays.co.uk

Friar’s Court moated gardens ready for autumn visitors Friars Court,the historic family home of the Wilmer family and a 17th century former manor of Clanfield, has three acres of wonderful gardens for September visitors where borders and specimen trees divide the grounds into smaller ‘room-like’ areas. To the front of the house are water lily filled ponds whilst a woodland walk lies beyond the imposing Yew Arch and ‘Monet’ style moat bridge.

The gardens are open every Tuesday and Thursday throughout September from 2pm to 6pm. Cream teas are available, there is a gift shop and plant sales. Admission £2.50. For further information call 01367 810206 or visit www.friarscourt.com.

Friars Court , Clanfield, Bampton OX18 2SU.

Bristol Botanic‘s bee and pollination festival One of the most popular autumn themed gardening events

is being held during the first week of Septmber. This year’s Bee and Pollination Festival in Bristol is on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th September from 10am-5pm. While there is a great deal of scientific research being conducted on bees, scientists at the University of Bristol are also studying other vital pollinators including bats, moths and beetles and the festival will reflect this.

Entrance £4.50, including tours of the garden and glasshouses.

Free to Friends, children, university staff and students.

University of Bristol Botanic Garden, The Holmes, Stoke Park Road, Bristol BS9 1JG. Tel: 0117 331 4906. www.bristol.ac.uk/botanic-garden

Bishop’s Palace hosts floral art show The stunning 14 acre gardens at Bishop’s Palace in Wells host the South West Floral Art Show for the first time in September.

The three-day event runs from Friday, September 9th to Sunday, September 11th and floral art from 40 south west based floral clubs on the theme of ‘Ancient and Modern’ will complement the unique setting of the Bishop’s palace.

Judging will take place on 8th September but members of the public can view the beautiful arrangements on display throughout the palace buildings from Friday 9th.

There will also be fun floral sessions for kids and food, stalls and shopping.

Tickets £8 in advance, £9 on the door (Adult), £7 in advance, £8 on the door (Palace Members £3. Open 10am - 6pm.

The Bishop’s Palace, Wells, Somerset BA5 2PD. Tel: 01749 988111.

Days out at The Bishop's Palace, Wells 14 acres of stunning RHS partner gardens, a medieval palace, daily guided tours, events and exhibitions all await you in England's smallest city.

T 01749 988111 ext.200

www.bishopspalace.org.uk www.countrygardener.co.uk

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SPECIALIST TREES

THE GARDEN DANGERS OF A NEW HOME Mark Hinsley has some advice when it comes to buying a new home - ‘don’t forget to check out the garden or it could come back to bite you! ‘ Some years ago I was asked by a landscape historian friend to take a look at the garden of a listed country house that had recently been bought by some people moving out of London seeking an idyllic rural environment.

The purpose of the visit was to assess the mature trees in the quite extensive grounds with a view to deciding if they were part of the original ‘Capability’ Brown landscape or not.

What I saw there horrified me.

The mature Common Beech trees that ringed the boundary of this park may, just may, have been ‘Brownian’ in origin, more likely they were planted sometime afterwards, though not much time afterwards. But such a group of trees I have never seen before or since; they were hollow, storm damaged, partially collapsed with evidence of ganoderma, meripilus, honey fungus and kretzschmaria deusta (formerly ustulina) all through them. If beech got it – they had it!

Added to this, they were growing along two boundaries of the park adjacent to public roads. I made a rough estimate at the time and I reckoned these people from London had unknowingly bought themselves around £60,000 worth of urgent tree work. The countryside was not proving to be quite as idyllic as they had hoped.

Now this is an extreme example – but the principle applies in all situations. Another fellow I dealt with recently bought a new property only to discover that two of the large clumps of shrubs in the garden were Japanese knotweed and that they were in the process of invading the garden next door. Imagine his dismay when he discovered how much dealing with that problem would cost and how little would be left of the garden! In case you are wondering – apparently his solicitor omitted to ask about potential 26

problem plants in the garden so the vendor was not obliged to declare them (but please don’t take that as gospel, and seek legal advice should you find yourself in a similar situation).

On the other side of the coin, I was once undertaking a BS5837:2012 Planning Tree Survey in a garden in Bournemouth when the neighbour came up to me seeking assistance.

His son was trying to re-mortgage the neighbouring property but it kept falling through because a building surveyor had commented that there was Japanese Knotweed in the garden and the insurance company in response were not prepared to give cover. Poor chap was in a terrible state! Fortunately for him, when I looked at this ‘Japanese Knotweed’, it turned out to be a dogwood that had been managed by periodically cutting it to ground level in the usual way, so a short report solved his son’s problem.

Estate agents, building surveyors and solicitors are all involved in houses changing hands and they all know a thing or two about bricks and mortar, but who in the process is checking out the garden for you? Do you know enough about tree structure and stability, risk and liability, tree roots and foundations, Tree Preservation Orders, Conservation Areas and Schedule 9 plants to fully understand what you are buying before you buy it?

Gardens can be an absolute joy, but neglected gardens, as one often finds associated with properties up for sale, can contain some nasty surprises, so arm yourself with information early in the process.

After all, if you know you are buying a few thousand pounds worth of necessary remedial work at the negotiation stage, you can always have it knocked off the asking price.

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

Country Gardener

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

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and light can still pass through, but the view through is obscured.

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The first new panel to introduce you to is a variation on the Venetian theme; I just mentioned how popular they are, but I’d say the one draw back is its see-throughness. It looks contemporary and sleek, complimenting the chic suburban garden beautifully. But when it comes to the balancing act of light versus privacy, the scales come down heavily in favour of light, and privacy is sacrificed!

So how do you get the stylish look of horizontal slats that still allows some air and light through, but doesn’t allow the neighbours a view of you baring your body to catch some rays?

Answer: new Venetian Hit and Miss panels. They look as stylish as standard Venetian, but have another set of horizontal slats on the other side. These are fixed to cover the space between the slats on the first side. The slats alternate, in much the same way as hit and miss panels are made. Which means some air

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The new Venetian Hit and Miss panel is on the right of the photo

To enter the free prize draw and be in with a chance to win £300 of Jacksons vouchers simply log on to your dedicated page, address below and follow the easy instructions on how to enter. The draw closes 30.8.16.

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For info on any of Jacksons products or brochures, please call 0800 408 4754 to talk to your local Jacksons Fencing Centre.

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ASK OUR EXPERTS

ANY QUESTIONS?

Our Country Gardener experts can solve your gardening problems

Our postbag from readers asking us to solve gardening problems is getting bigger and bigger so bear with us while we get our experts busy working on the answers. This month we add a new expert to our panel answering issues on wildlife and conservation

Q. "I have a problem with an f1 ‘Shirley’ tomato plant.

As in the photo there are quite a few flowers but no main stem. There has never been a main stem on the plant.”

A. Lack of a growing point in tomatoes is not particularly uncommon and a few plants in a large batch might suffer this. Normally these would be discarded by the grower and not offered for sale.

It is thought that, when blindness occurs soon after germination, this is due to the conditions in seed production.

But if it occurs higher up the stem it is thought to be triggered by the growing conditions being less than ideal.

It seems that 'priming' of the seed by seed companies may lead to more blind plants in a batch and this relatively new pre-sowing technique is still being perfected. The advantage of priming seed is to get faster and more even germination and to give a crop a head start on non-primed seed.

Since tomatoes readily grow side shoots, it is often possible to train up a side shoot as a replacement leader and still get an acceptable crop. I must admit, that looks unlikely with your plant! Alan Down

Q. "I would like your thoughts please, on ponds in the garden. A few years ago I read it was a good idea to cover ponds with netting especially at frogspawn time or if there were fish in the pond.

I did try this and one day I had to cut free a frog from the netting – how awful is that for the wildlife. I have 28

asked and written to many organisations about this procedure and no one has been able to give me a suitable explanation to why this netting is not a problem.

Surely there is an alternative - I don't have fish but I put over our pond the strong, open wire shelving from the greenhouse – frogs and others can then jump into pond through the large holes! This is only for a short time but I feel better doing this.”

A. Where a pond is stocked with fish, some additional protection may be necessary, especially from herons which can clear a pond of fish in a short time. A steel mesh grid obtainable from builder’s merchants can be cut to size and for aesthetic reasons submerged several inches below the surface supported by rocks. Alternatively, rigid plastic floating mesh can be used. This is easily obtainable from pond stockists or on-line suppliers. Again, this can be cut to size and will give very good protection whilst allowing plants to grow through it. George Barbour

Q. "I would like to see if I can extend the length of my existing hedge by taking conifer cuttings. What is the best time to do this and how do I take cuttings?"

A. I must warn you that taking cuttings of conifers will take a long time to grow and you need to nurture the cuttings throughout the process. On an early morning in late summer, take a side shoot and peel it off the branch thereby leaving a slivered piece of wood known as the heel.

You are looking for approximately three to four inches in length of the whole ‘plant’. Carefully take off the lower leaves to about one and a half inches so that there will be no leaves in contact with the soil thereby reducing rotting.

Insert into hormone rooting powder and insert into free draining compost (50/50 of compost and horticultural grit) around the edge of a five inch pot. You should be able to get six to eight cuttings per pot. Water it in and label what it is and the date and place in cold frame out of direct sunlight. Throughout the year aim to keep the compost moist and from time to time spray the cuttings with

Country Gardener

water to reduce water loss via transpiration. Remove any dying or dead cuttings. Pot on the cuttings individually once roots have taken place a year on and then pot on annually in bigger pots. This is a long term project but is satisfying when the siblings are planted alongside the mother plant later in about four to five years.

Andrew Midgley

Q. "The borders in my garden are again this year overrun with bindweed. This is despite digging the whole border out three years ago and starting again.

Depressingly it is strangling some lovely shrubs. I don¹t want to use any chemicals as I am trying as much as possible to keep my garden organic. A friend said I should give up and grass over the border but I¹m determined not to give in. Is there anything I can do to get rid of it long term?"

A. You have my absolute sympathy. The first thing you must do, is to identify which border you want to tackle first.

Then you must identify which plant you want to keep. A word to the wise here, keep a plant that’s of sentimental value or is difficult to source. For example, Geranium endressi 'Wargrave Pink' I would probably discard as these can be bought easily whilst Salvia discolor is a little bit more harder to source. You can always take cuttings of your favourite plants as well so that you can continue the original planting when you eventually replant the border.

During the autumn, dig up every plant where possible in the border and discard those you are not keeping.

Any plants you want to keep you must thoroughly wash the roots. I would split the herbaceous plants to aid rejuvenation as well as being able to really clean the root ball. Plant these in another part of the garden or pot them on in compost.

You then have a choice of either digging the border over several times throughout the winter picking out the bind weeds or you can remove two to three feet of soil and replace with good quality screened top soil from a reputable supplier. It will be cheaper to have all your borders done with the aid of a mini digger (assuming there is access to the property and garden) and this won’t be cheap but would be worthwhile.

Alternatively, remove all the plants as stated above and dig over several times to remove the weeds and leave fallow for a year. As the bind weeds emerge in the soil, carefully dig them out and discard properly. This is a long

term project.

Replant the border and monitor it carefully. Any signs of bindweed you should insert a bamboo cane to allow it to wrap around it. At this point, you could consider using glyphosate by literally brushing the leaves of the bindweed.

In essence, all you would be doing is killing off the actual bindweed itself and not liberally spraying the ground killing other vegetation. Andrew Midgley Q. "My small garden is very colourful at this time of the year but it looks rather bleak and depressing in the winter. I want to make a real effort and try and get some shrubs which will brighten up throughout the colder months. Can you help?"

A. This is a common ‘issue’ in most people's gardens but it is a simple remedy to fit. What you need is some structure during the winter months. One of my all time favourite plants is the evergreen Christmas Box, Sarcococca confusa, with its dainty white flowers that gives out a heady scent to raise anyone’s spirits in January. For vibrant colours, try the common dogwood, Cornus sanguinea 'Winter Flame'.

These plants are a tad boring during the main season but come into their own in the autumn when the leaves drops.

The trick here is to plant a trio of these that catches the sun so that the plants literally glow. In the spring, cut the stems to the ground to encourage new growth. Repeat annually.

The Chilean Myrtle, Luma apiculata, is another good evergreen shrub/ small tree with attractive cinnamon trunk and evergreen leaves with small dark berries in late summer.

Viburnum bodnantense 'Dawn' is another pretty plants with small scented pink flowers emerging in early spring before the leaves emerge. It’s a very upright habit so it adds a bit of height and structure to the garden. You should also try a Skimmia japonica variety as these are evergreen and have attractive red berries and Camellia japonica varieties for their early flowers in different colours and these are again evergreen. Andrew Midgley

Meet our Experts..

Alan Down is a nurseryman, garden writer and broadcaster who owns Cleeve Nursery near Bristol with his wife Felicity. For six years he, Felicity and Sue King presented from their garden the highly acclaimed HTV Garden Calendar programme every week.

George Barbour graduated from Exeter University and pursued a career teaching biology and environmental studies. He now devotes his time to following his interests in nature and conservation. He is currently head gardener at Cricklepit Mill, the headquarters of the Devon Wildlife Trust.

Andrew Midgley worked for the National Trust for 17 years and was recently Garden Manager for the National Trust gardens for Coleton Fishacre, Greenway and Compton Castle. He is now running a gardening business in the Newton Abbot area.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

29

New Zealand calling

Bulbinella hookeri, gold wand or Maori Onion

Gill Heavens explores the delights of some wonderful antipodean plants, often lush evergreens but with magnificent grasses and fuschias which could transfer into your garden from half way round the world Geographically, it would be difficult to get further from our fair isle than New Zealand.

Climatically, especially in the south and west of the UK, we are not so far away. Horticulturally, this means that there are many antipodean plants that will perform well in our garden. Some may need a little extra love and attention, but many will romp away, without caring where they are in the world.

For 85 million years New Zealand flora and fauna have evolved in isolation. As they have very few specialised pollinators, such as long tongued bees and butterflies, flowers are generally small, simple and white. Many are designed to attract native flies, beetles, short tongued bees and night flying moths. As we will see, there are of course exceptions to this rule! The weather is generally clement, no searing heat or numbing cold, giving rise to many lush evergreen perennials.

One of the most widely known of New Zealand’s indigenous plants is the hebe.

There are one hundred and twenty one native species, ranging in size from a small trees to alpine cushion plants.

Hebe was the Greek goddess of youth, and they are indeed often more attractive as young plants. Some of the larger species become woody and sprawling as they mature and don't take too kindly to hard pruning. There are many cultivars available including the variegated 'Silver Queen' 30

which has purple flowers, ‘Pink Elephant’, a compact plant with pink and cream new growth, and ‘Sapphire’ which has pale mauve flowers and purple tinged foliage.

The phormium has strap-like evergreen leaves which provide impact in the garden throughout the year. They can be found in a variety of colours from the deep aubergine of ‘Platt’s Black’ through to the pin striped ‘Yellow Wave’. This versatile plant ranges in size from Phormium ‘Bronze Baby’, a petite 60cm, to the majestic Phormium tenax ‘Purpureum’ which can reach 4m high. There really is no excuse not to have one, however small your garden or whatever the colour scheme! The dramatic flower spikes that shoot like fireworks from the foliage are nectar rich and attract both insects and birds to both feast and pollinate the plants.

Another charmer worth seeking out is Bulbinella hookeri, or gold wand. It is also known as the Maori Onion which is rather a tame name for such a pretty plant. Spires of buttercup yellow, star-shaped flowers standing up to 60cm tall are produced throughout the summer. If you give them some winter protection, such as a dry mulch, they will make it through all but the very worst of our weather.

At first glance you might think that Libertia grandiflora is a species of grass, but in fact it belongs to the iris family.

It is an easy mistake to make, but the tough, linear leaves are deceiving. In spring it produces dramatic and beautiful spikes of large, white cup-shaped flowers. Libertia

Country Gardener

Top row: Pseudopanax lessonii, Phormium tenax ‘Purpureum’ Bottom row: Fuchsia excorticata, New Zealand flax, Phormium tenax, Libertia peregrinans

peregrinans also has white flowers in the spring, but it is the striped green and orange foliage that is their best asset.

As it is evergreen, it will brighten up your winter garden when many other plants in your borders are resting.

There are many native grasses in New Zealand including the delightfully tactile Anemanthele lessoniana also known as Pheasant Tail Grass. Its fine leaves become tinged with red and orange as the season progresses and in autumn produces spikes of red/brown flowers. It is semi-evergreen, so give it a quick comb through in the spring to remove any dead material, allowing the new leaves to shine through.

Uncinia uncinata is not a true grass but a sedge, commonly known as Hook Sedge. The cultivar ‘Rubra’ is a striking cultivar, with rusty red leaves. Its habit of self-seeding is fortuitous as the juveniles are far ruddier than the older plants. You can easily keep a steady stream of youngsters in the pipeline to replace their dull elders!

The pseudopanax are unbeatable structural plants for the garden. Their flowers are tiny, but they are grown foremost for their exotic foliage. Pseudopanax lessonii is known by the Maori as Houpara. One of my favourite cultivars is ‘Gold Splash’ which has gold, lime and dark green evergreen leaves which in ideal conditions, moist and mild, will reach 4m tall. Pseudopanax lessonii ‘Purpurea’ has purple tinted leaves and can reach 3m in height. Other species include the bizarre and slightly scary P. ferox, with leaves like saw

blades, and Pseudopanex arboreus, syn Neopanax arboreus, which has the added benefit of scented flowers in winter.

New Zealand is also home to two very different fuchsias.

The tree fuchsia Fuchsia excorticata, (kotukutuku to the Maori), can reach 17m tall in its native woodland. Those of you with space and the inclination to grow this monster will be pleased to know that it will take hard pruning.

The flowers are a dull purple and more interesting than beautiful. At the other end of the scale is the curious Fuchsia procumbens, also known as the basket or trailing fuchsia. This little fuchsia is the antithesis of the stereotypical many-petticoated dancer we usually associate with this genus. It has miniature lily pad leaves which form a gentle ground cover and upturned flowers that could easily have been designed in the 1960s. The yellow/orange tube with folded back green sepals are dip-dyed purple.

If that isn’t enough colour for you, the red stamen are dramatically tipped with blue pollen!

Again I have reached the finale without mentioning many worthy contenders including corokia, coprosma, sophora, olearia and pittosporum. All plants worthy of a place in your garden. Next time you are in the plant nursery or garden centre, take a closer look around and see what you can find. You may go home with a New Zealander or two!

www.countrygardener.co.uk

31

WILDLIFE

Swallows leaving is one of the first signs of summer's end

by Vivienne Lewis

One of the first signs of the end of summer: swallows leaving us for warmer climes.

But where do they go? Their story is dramatic, with many hazards and dangers

We look out of the kitchen window across our courtyard and sure enough one morning in September they will be gone. The swallows that arrived in late April or May and have entertained us so much over the summer with their aerial displays have departed for the warmth of – where?

The simple answer is that British swallows spend their winter in South Africa: they travel through western France, across the Pyrenees, down eastern Spain into Morocco, and across the Sahara.

Some birds follow the west coast of Africa avoiding the Sahara, and other European swallows travel further east and down the Nile Valley. It is an amazing journey that these small birds undertake, putting on little weight before migrating.

They migrate by day at low altitudes and find food on the way. Although they build up some fat reserves before crossing large areas such as the Sahara Desert, they are vulnerable to starvation during these crossings. Migration is a hazardous time and many birds die from starvation, exhaustion and in storms.

They cover about 200 miles a day, and research has shown that they fly at speeds of 17-22 miles per hour, with a maximum flight speed of 35 mph.

In their wintering areas swallows feed in small flocks, which join together to form roosting flocks of thousands of birds.

The autumn migration is rather drawn out with birds moving short distances every few days to settle at lower latitude roosts. The average body mass of the birds using such roosts

The aerial displays of swallows are a delight of summer 32

gradually increases and as the weather becomes colder and windier this starts the push southwards.

Next spring they will return, which in itself is an incredible notion when you realise that they have flown across the globe to reach not only the same locality but the exact same nesting place.

The spring migration is quicker than the autumn one with the competition amongst males to secure a mate and nesting site. In spring, experienced birds may be able to return from South Africa in about five weeks at a speed of about 300km per day.

And so the cycle goes on, signs of summer and signs of autumn.

Swallows breed across Eurasia, from Morocco to Ireland and Norway in the west and on similar latitudes across to Japan and southern China. They also breed extensively across North America.

In winter, they are found widely in Africa south of the Sahara, from Pakistan, to New Guinea and northern and central South America.

Within Europe, a few straggler birds winter in southern and Western Europe and are recorded annually in Southern Spain. In recent years, a few swallows have with increasing frequency been recorded over wintering as far north as Britain and Ireland– a probable indicator of the effects of climate change. Small numbers winter regularly in North Africa and there are also small resident (or partly resident) populations in eastern Mediterranean countries.

From bird ‘ringing’ we know that juvenile dispersals begin in July. Newly fledged birds stay around the breeding site, being fed by their parents for several days. Earlier broods can stay put around the nest site for as long as six weeks. Juveniles then enter communal roosts (getting used to the area they will return to next year) while adult birds finish the late broods (as many as three per year).

Country Gardener

NEED HELP WITH THE

fruit and vegetable glut?

It’s that time of the year again when the vegetable plot or allotment starts to come into its own. Gardens look lush and abundant, with large dark leaves of foliage and flowers everywhere hiding mouth-watering crops of fruit and vegetables. Already we are being inundated with potatoes, courgettes and cucumbers and the tomatoes are colouring up, so very soon we will be picking them. Then there’s the apples!

This is all fine and dandy, but if you’re not careful the produce soon mounts up. And even if you were canny and did your level best to stagger the planting so that your crops are ready at different times, you can still end up with mountains of produce you can’t use.

Here’s a few options to solve the problem:

Preserve and harvest the Vigo Press way The productive kitchen gardener has to become an expert at dealing with gluts; but the delight of tasting fruits and vegetables, preserved in summer, during the fallow winter season is well worth the work involved.

There are a number of products that Vigo Presses sell that make the task easier. The picking of berries and soft fruit can be time consuming and a prickly process; with the currant and berry picker the process is made easier, as it quickly combs the fruit from the stalks into its integral container.

Once picked, preserving by pasteurisation is a successful way of storing fruits and vegetables so that they can be used in times when fresh fruit is scarce and freezer space is limited.

Vigo Presses has a wide range of fruit and vegetable harvesting and preserving equipment. See www.vigopresses.co.uk or phone 01404 890093 for further details.

Extend your growing season with Ferryman Polytunnels One way to handle any excess in the garden is to try and phase your fruit and vegetable growing over a longer season.

The versatile range that Ferryman Polytunnels offer, gives you a chance not only to grow in the summer but also to grow through the winter, extending your growing season and enabling you to have delicious fresh produce all year.

Fleece or mini cloches used in the tunnel will help to protect vulnerable plants in winter.

Ferryman can offer choice of covers, Polythene, Shade or Fruit Net and a choice of eight standard widths - made to your required length.

You can go along and view the polytunnels in their range but please make an appointment first. A free brochure is also available to help you make your choice.

Ferryman Polytunnels, Morchard Road EX17 5LS, 01363 84948, info@ferrymanpolytunnels.co.uk www.ferrymanpolytunnels.co.uk

Apple Pressing Service can provide the answer to too much fruit Too many apples again! One solution might come from a unique Apple Pressing Service - a mobile vehicle which allows customers, whether a residential household or commercial orchard, to book a convenient time for it to call on them. The vehicle has everything to efficiently and effectively wash, pulp and press your fruit along with a number of other service options to help you get the most from your fruit, including pruning.

The services include pasteurising your apple juice at £1.50 a bottle, or they can help you turn it into cider for special occasions!

For more information please contact Paul at the Apple Pressing Service on Mob: 07824 609 435 or Tel: 01626 362229, Paul@applepressingservice.co.uk or visit: www.applepressingservice.co.uk ®

®

Presses Pasteurisers Barrels & Bottles Orchard Care And much more Tel: 01404 890093 www.vigopresses.co.uk

FREE BROCHURE

“Don’t let your Apples go to waste” We bring all the pressing equipment to you!

We welcome customers to come and view our range of Polytunnels with expert friendly advice.

We wash pulp and press your apples to your requirements We can help turn your apples into Apple juice or Cider

Ferryman Polytunnels, Westleigh, Morchard Rd, Nr Crediton, EX17 5LS 01363 84948 info@ferrymanpolytunnels.co.uk

www.applepressingservice.co.uk

Contact us on 07824 609 435 or 01626 362229

www.ferrymanpolytunnels.co.uk www.countrygardener.co.uk

paul@applepressingservice.co.uk 33

Growing your own firewood Michael Littlewood, landscaper and author of Grow Your Own Firewood explains the many benefits of creating a productive woodland and growing your own fuel If you can spare the space, it makes sense to grow trees for economic, practical, ecological and aesthetic reasons.

You don’t need a lot of land.

You can produce a valuable harvest while creating a wonderful landscape amenity of immense value to both wildlife and people.

A well-managed woodland can start producing a sustainable harvest of firewood within as little as ten years. Just one hectare can yield sufficient firewood to heat a three-bedroom house, if it is managed on a coppice system.

This is where broadleaved trees are cut down to the ground on a rotational basis, so that they regrow from the base. A new area of the woodland is coppiced each year, allowing wood to be harvested on an annual basis.

The cost of fuel is increasing well ahead of the rate of inflation, and that trend will continue as fossil fuels become scarcer and more difficult to extract. Self-sufficiency in fuel is

Creating a woodland is a uniquely rewarding project 34

Country Gardener

an increasingly attractive option, and wood – unlike fossil fuels – is a sustainable, renewable source of energy. Demand for wood fuel already outstrips supply; by growing your own firewood you will help to supply the shortfall, and if you grow more than you need, you will always find a ready market.

There has been a huge increase in sales of wood-burning stoves. These make burning wood much more efficient and create little or no pollution, which also means better air quality inside your home. And the value of growing your own firewood is not merely economic. There is enormous pride and pleasure to be had from laying down stores of wood and knowing that you can guarantee your family a warm home for the winter – and little to beat the joy of having a wood fire!

Woods for all reasons Firewood is not the only harvest you can take from your woodland. Growing wood for fuel can be combined with producing timber, whether on a small scale for use in craft projects and for stakes and fencing, or over the longer term for furniture-making and building.

Woodland contributes more to the natural ecology than almost any other form of land use. The British Isles were once covered with woodland, and reforesting even a small area is a valuable thing to do for the landscape and its ecology. Woodland can be managed productively while still being of huge benefit to wildlife. It also enhances the appearance of the landscape, and can have practical benefits.

It can be designed to provide shelter for your home, buildings, crops or livestock, or planted to screen your home from nearby roads, buildings or unsightly views.

Woodlands are also valuable habitats for people. Whether you have children for whom it will become an inspirational place to learn and play, or you are a bird-watcher who yearns

be converted into linear woodlands. The only other space requirement is a shed in which to season your firewood – proper storage and seasoning is essential if you are to produce wood that burns well.

Planning for success

There is nothing quite like the pleasure of an open fire

A good log store is essential – and will become a huge source of pride

for a nature reserve on your doorstep, or you want a place to walk, paint, meditate, or simply be in peace, having your own woodland is a delight.

Best of all, with a woodland you do not have to choose between possible functions: productivity, conservation and visual amenity are entirely compatible. Indeed, multipurpose management can make a small wood more viable and valuable.

Making space for trees While it is not quite true to say that trees will grow anywhere, they are remarkably accommodating about where they will grow.

Woodland trees are much less demanding in terms of soil and climate than other crops, so if you are planting trees on a smallholding, they offer an excellent way of utilising the less productive land. This can include steep slopes, exposed locations, and poorly drained and infertile soils.

If, on the other hand, you feel you cannot make space for a woodland, think instead about accommodating groups of trees. Several small copses can be just as valuable as a single block of woodland. One option is to create woodland belts or strips across your site. This approach enables woodland to be incorporated into a smallholding without sacrificing any productive land. Existing copses and spinneys can often be used as the basis for new woodland, and hedgerows – especially those alongside highways and byways – can

Planning is key to achieving a productive woodland, especially if you have additional objectives. If you also want your woodland to become a landscape amenity, a resource for wildlife, or a place for recreation and relaxation – or all of those things – it is vital to give careful thought to its design and management.

Having a plan is just as important if you have inherited a piece of woodland. This puts you at a huge advantage, but there is still much work to be done in bringing it into productive management. It is vital to undertake a detailed survey of the existing woodland and formulate clear strategies for the improvements you envisage.

A woodland management plan starts with a comprehensive survey of the site and an assessment of your aims and aspirations, and then analyses all of this information in order to identify the best way forward. This leads on to scale drawings and plans showing the design of the new woodland, and a detailed implementation programme setting out how to achieve the design and the objectives within the available time and budget.

Once your plan is complete, you will have a clear vision of how best to proceed. You will be able to look forward to harvesting your first firewood within a decade, and to creating an inspirational landscape amenity to be enjoyed now and in the future. Growing trees is a project for the long term, but with the right plan in place, having the woodland of your dreams is only a matter of time.

GROW YOUR OWN F IREWOOD

Michael Littlewood’s new book, Grow Your Own Firewood: How to Create a Productive Woodland, takes you step by step through planning and designing your woodland, selecting the best species for your site, buying stock, preparing the ground, planting and protecting the trees, maintaining your new woodland, and harvesting and seasoning the wood. It also explains how to bring existing woodland into productive management.

To order, visit www.ecodesignscape.co.uk or call 01460 75515. www.countrygardener.co.uk

35

Making the right decision about a retirement Home Planning to secure a safe and comfortable future is a difficult decision for the older generation when it comes to thinking about retirement but in recent years there’s been a dramatic improvement in the options available for those who are beginning to think about the right care home or for those who want to access support services allowing them to stay longer in their homes Giving up the home and garden we may have spent years creating and nurturing is fraught with stress and worry.

Will we lose our independence and contact with the outside world? Will our health deteriorate quickly once we’ve given up a more active lifestyle, making it difficult to continue gardening?

This is why one of the hardest decisions many of us ever have to make is whether we’d be safer, happier and healthier living in one of the region’s many care homes.

It’s a decision which many find inevitable but which is all to do with when, not necessarily if. All these legitimate worries can colour the way we feel about giving up our homes and gardens.

There’s now more research which shows the benefits of spending time outside in the fresh air, enjoying the

sunshine (in moderation) and getting some exercise. So getting help in or making jobs in the garden easier and less manual all make it more practical to stay at home.

Recently University of Cardiff researchers showed how outdoor work and hobbies such as gardening improved mental health and wellbeing – so much so that some doctors are now actively encouraging their patients to get outside and get active! They concluded the benefits of green spaces should become an important part of future developments and planning decisions.

It’s a message that isn’t lost on those who run our many care homes keen to offer their residents a happy place to live and the opportunity to continue pursuing activities and hobbies that have been so much a part of their lives. Many are even creating new outdoor spaces, ensuring that giving up your home doesn’t have to mean giving up gardening.

The choices are still wide. Increasingly there is help available for those who are just not ready to move out of their family home and who are looking for practical help, support and financial assistance which means they can stay in their home and enjoy their garden for longer.

This help can range from personal, domestic and respite support and care, support to get out and about and round the clock care.

it’s tHe Care tHat Counts Care South is a leading provider of high quality residential and home care across the south of England, with residential care homes across Dorset, North Devon, Somerset and West Sussex alongside home care services in Somerset and Dorset.

Whether you’re looking for care in your own home, a short respite stay or a new home, they offer a warm welcome, security and peace of mind at a realistic cost.

Care South’s residential care homes offer compassionate care in a home-from-home environment and dedicated staff work with residents and their families to accommodate individual requirements.

To find out more, call 01202 712 400 or visit www.care-south.co.uk 36

Country Gardener

Alexandra

Danmor Lodge Care Home

care

Situated near to the beautiful Weymouth coastline, Danmor Lodge features 25 comfortable rooms with en-suite facilities, two lounges and a spacious conservatory. Two 8-person passenger lifts give level access to all rooms. There is a choice of care options including 24-hour care for long-term or respite requirements and day-care with free transport for the elderly at home.

14 Alexandra Road, Lodmoor Hill, Weymouth DT4 7QH | Tel: 01305 775462 | View our website at www.danmorlodge.com

Careford Lodge

A relaxing atmosphere with high standards of care...

Careford Lodge is a purpose built Residential home set in 5 acres including a paddock to enable residents to enjoy the horses and the country views. The gardens and general maintenance are kept to a high standard and a qualified chef runs the kitchen with innovative menus.

Church Street, Merriott, Somerset, TA16 5PR | Tel: 01460 75592 | View our website at www.carefordlodge.com

The Cyder Barn

A beautifully converted former Blacksmith’s workshop, cottage and barn, The Cyder Barn is pleased to be able to offer 38 en-suite rooms with direct access into the landscape gardens and views across the orchard.

West Pennard, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 8NH | Tel: 01458 834945 | View our website at www.thecyderbarn.com

itled-38 1

www.countrygardener.co.uk

37 27/07/2016 16:34

Freeland House gets even better Beautifully refurbished, with a spectacular new conservatory link way, Freeland House really is your home from home.

They provide first-rate palliative, nursing, residential, and respite care in the beautiful village of Freeland near Witney.

Despite the grand surroundings, the feel is welcoming and caring as the staff ensure everyone feels at home in a supportive and comfortable environment. Meal times are a luxurious experience, with a choice of beautifully presented nutritionally balanced meals, and you can indulge in a fantastic new tea room. More details at www.minstercaregroup.co.uk Tel: 01993 881258, email: manager.freeland@ minstercaregroup.co.uk, or write to Frances Payne, Freeland House, Wroslyn Road, Freeland, Nr Witney, Oxfordshire, OX29 8AH

alexandra Care oFFers superb FaCilities in dorset and somerset Danmor Lodge in Weymouth features 25 comfortable rooms with en-suite facilities, two lounges and a spacious conservatory. Residents have access to a range of facilities including hydrotherapy baths, massage, aromatherapy and reflexology by a qualified practitioner, keep fit to music and complimentary use of the home’s mobility scooter.

There is a choice of care options including 24-hour care for long-term or respite requirements and day-care with free transport for the elderly at home.

14 Alexandra Road, Lodmoor Hill, Weymouth DT4 7QH Tel: 01305 775462 View www. danmorlodge.com Careford Lodge in Merriot is set in five acres including a paddock to enable residents to enjoy seeing the horses and the country views. The gardens and general maintenance are kept to a high standard and a qualified chef runs the kitchen with innovative menus. Church Street, Merriott, Somerset, TA16 5PR. Tel: 01460 75592 or view www.carefordlodge.com The Cyder Barn in West Pennard offers 38 en-suite rooms with direct access into the landscape gardens and views across the orchard. The Cyder Barn offers a relaxed and homely environment and provides excellent standards of care, activities, entertainment and home cooked food for elderly clients looking for permanent care, long or shortterm respite care or day care. West Pennard, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 8NH. Tel: 01458 834945 or view their website at www.thecyderbarn.com

care group

Freeland House... your home from home Freeland House is situated in the friendly village of Freeland which is 11 miles from the centre of Oxford. We are set on the edge of the Cotswolds within beautiful grounds with views over the stunning Oxfordshire country side.

Recently refurbished and modernised, Freeland House aims to meet the individual needs of our residents and our caring support team work very hard to ensure that everyone feels at home.

• Individually designed person-centred care packages • Comfortable, homely and welcoming atmosphere • Freshly prepared home-made cuisine • Varied social activity calendar and entertainment to suit all tastes

• Tastefully decorated and furnished bedrooms • Newspapers and magazines on request • Hairdresser, chiropodist, physiotherapist, optician, dentist • Internet access for our residents and their families

Freeland House

Come and see for yourself what we have to offer at Freeland House. Simply call 01993 881258 or pop in for a chat with our Providing a variety of care services including nursing, residential, respite, dementia, convalescent and palliative care Home Manager who can help and advise you with your specific care needs. You will be very welcome.

“Freeland House, so much -toJust lookpop forward to...” out more R efurbished in to find Freeland House

The Old Stables, 1 Grove Hill Road, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3AA tel: 020 8422 7365 | fax: 020 8422 8698

tel: 01993 881258 | fax: 01993 883963 email: manager.freeland@minstercaregroup.co.uk Wroslyn Road, Freeland, Nr Witney, Oxon, Oxfordshire OX29 8AH

38

www.minstercaregroup.co.uk

Country Gardener

care group

Registered Charity No. 1014697

Hatch Beauchamp | Taunton | TA3 6SG

Beauchamp House Nursing Home is a Care South Country House home, offering the highest quality nursing care for all levels of need, from short term respite to high dependency and palliative care, at a realistic cost.

Beauchamp House has been tastefully refurbished

by Care South in recent years, to provide quality care in a home-from-home atmosphere.

To request a brochure, arrange a visit or find out more, contact www.care-south.co.uk or call Beauchamp House on

☎ 01823 481500

Thinking of moving into a care home – or just needing a little extra help at home?

We’re here to help As a leading provider of residential and home care across Dorset, we offer compassionate residential, nursing, dementia and home care at a realistic cost. Whether you’re looking for care in your own home, a short respite stay or a new home, we offer a warm welcome, comfort and peace of mind.

To request a brochure, arrange a visit or find out more, contact

www.care-south.co.uk ☎ 01202 712400 | info@care-south.co.uk

Quality care in charming surroundings

Storrington | West Sussex | RH20 4DA

A beautiful historic home providing all your care needs Sussexdown offers the highest quality nursing, residential, respite and dementia care. With its beautiful landscaped gardens and comfortable environment, Sussexdown delivers innovative care in a home-from-home atmosphere.

To request a brochure, arrange a visit or find out more, contact www.care-south.co.uk or call Sussexdown on

☎ 01903 744221

Fremington Manor

Kenwith Castle

Barnstaple EX31 2NX

Bideford EX39 5BE

☎ 01271 377990

☎ 01237 470060

Within our portfolio of residential care and nursing homes across the south of England, you will find two of our beautiful Care South

Country House care homes nestled in the north Devon countryside.

We offer compassionate care, fine dining and comfortable accommodation, set within beautifully landscaped gardens.

To request a brochure, arrange a visit or find out more, contact

www.care-south.co.uk www.countrygardener.co.uk

39

GARDEN Visits

THE BEST GARDENS TO VISIT compiled by Vivienne Lewis

This month we’re giving you a selection of gardens opening for charity that are dog-friendly, offering a different space to walk your dog while you can enjoy the mellow loveliness of a late summer garden. Dogs must be kept on leads and remember to clear up after your dog. We advise checking wherever possible before starting out on a journey as circumstances can force cancellation of openings in private gardens.

Dog friendly gardens Hole Farm, Woolsery, Bideford, Devon

Inner Ting Tong Gardens, Budleigh Salterton, Devon The garden on acid sandy soil at Inner Ting Tong House with its distant sea view extends to three and a half acres including mixed woodland carpeted in wild flowers in spring, with extensive lawns and a large variety of shrubs. There‘s a fountain, secret garden and small arboretum. Northwoods has a one and a half acre sloping plot with a small wood, while the front garden has lawn surrounded by shrubs, trees and herbaceous borders.

Inner Ting Tong Gardens, Inner Ting Tong Lane, Budleigh Salterton, Devon EX9 7AP. Gardens in this group: Inner Ting Tong House and Northwoods, open for the NGS on Saturday 3rd September, Sunday 4th September, 2pm-5pm. Combined admission: £4.50, children free. Home-made teas. If wet, wheelchair access might be difficult.

Three acres of exciting gardens owned by Heather Alford, with a waterfall, ponds, vegetable and bog garden. Terraces and features including a round house have all been created using natural stone from the original farm quarry. There are peaceful walks through Culm grassland and water meadows bordering the River Torridge with a range of wildlife. Hole Farm is home to a herd of pedigree native Devon cattle.

Hole Farm, Woolsery, Bideford, Devon EX39 5RF. Open for the NGS: Sunday 4th September, 2pm6pm. Admission £4, children free. Home-made teas in converted barn. Riverside walk is not wheel chair accessible.

Bere Mill, Whitchurch, Hampshire

On the Upper Test with water meadows and wooded valleys, this garden owned by Rupert and Elizabeth Nabarro has herbaceous borders, bog and Mediterranean plants, a replanted orchard and two small arboretums. Elements of oriental garden design and practice blend with the natural beauty of Bere Mill’s surroundings.

The working mill was where Portals first made paper for the Bank of England in 1716.

Bere Mill, London Road, Whitchurch, Hampshire RG28 7NH. Telephone: 01256 892210. Email: rnabarro@aol.com Open for the NGS: Sunday 18th September, 1.30pm-5pm. Admission: £5, children free. Home-made teas, plants for sale. Visitors be aware of unfenced, unguarded rivers and streams. Wheelchair access unless very wet. Visitors also welcome by arrangement February to October for groups of 15+. This garden also makes a donation to Smile Train.

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Country Gardener

Dog friendly gardens

Herons Mead, East Burton near Wool, Dorset Six miles from Wareham, Herons Mead is owned by Ron and Angela Millington, a half-acre plantlover’s garden full of interest with abundant summer perennials, old roses scrambling through trees and late seasonal exuberant plants amongst swathes of tall grasses. There’s a wildlife pond and plants to attract bees, butterflies, a tiny woodland, and cacti plants.

Herons Mead, East Burton near Wool, Dorset BH20 6HF. Telephone: 01929 463872. Email: ronamillington@btinternet. com Open for the NGS: Sunday 18th September, 2pm-5pm.

Admission £3.50, children free. Home-made teas, plants for sale. Partial access for wheelchairs. Visitors also welcome by arrangement March to September for groups of 10+.

Stanton Court Nursing Home, Stanton Drew, Somerset There are two acres of tranquil gardens to explore around the gracious Grade II listed Georgian house at Stanton Court.

It’s set in beautiful countryside five miles south of Bristol, with mature trees, extensive herbaceous borders, a large vegetable garden, fruit trees and soft fruit bushes. Gardener Judith Chubb Whittle keeps this lovely garden interesting in all seasons. Stanton Drew’s Ancient Stone Circle can be seen from the end of the garden – and it’s just a short walk away.

Stanton Court Nursing Home, Stanton Drew, Somerset BS39 4ER. Open for the NGS: Sunday 18th September, 1-4pm. Admission £3, children free. Light refreshments.

Delicious light lunches and cream teas. Paved, level footpaths allow access to all parts of the garden. www.stantoncourtnh.net

Cosawes Barton, Ponsanooth, near Truro, Cornwall

Louise Bishop’s garden is an idyllic spot, eight miles west of Truro, with lovely views over the Kennal Valley and to the north beyond. The gardens surround an 18th century farmhouse, cottage and courtyard. There’s the contrast of the inner courtyard garden, a formal, very well-established area and extensive wooded walks covering 14 acres.

Cosawes Barton, Ponsanooth, near Truro, Cornwall TR3 7EJ. Telephone: 01872 864026. Email: info@ cosawesbarton.co.uk Open for the NGS: Sunday 11th September, 2pm - 5pm. Admission £4, children free. Light refreshments. This venue also offers accommodation. For more details visit www.cosawesbarton.co.uk

Tregonning, Carleen, Breage, Helston, Cornwall Andrew and Kathryn Eaton’s garden of less than an acre is 300 feet up the north east side of Tregonning Hill, a developing garden that will hopefully inspire those thinking of making a garden from nothing more than a pond and copse of trees as it was in 2009. With the ever present challenge of storm force winds, the garden offers year round interest with a self-sufficient vegetable and soft fruit paddock, and a sculpted grass meadow with panoramic views from Carn Brea to Helston. There’s also the cottage garden, spring garden and water features to admire.

Tregonning, Carleen, Breage, Helston, Cornwall TR13 9QU. Telephone: 01736 761840. Email: alfeaton@aol. com Open for the NGS: Saturday 3rd September, Sunday 4th September, 1pm-4pm. Admission £3.50, children free.

Home-made teas, plants for sale. Visitors also welcome by arrangement April to September for groups.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

41

GARDEN Visits More dog friendly gardens South Wood Farm, Cotleigh, near Honiton, Devon

WINDSOR COTTAGE, DILWYN, HEREFORDSHIRE

The large country garden owned by Dr Clive Potter surrounds a listed 17th century Devon farmhouse set deep in the Blackdown Hills.

There’s a walled courtyard planted with late summer herbaceous and yew topiary, a kitchen garden of raised beds with step over pears, fruit cages and trained fruit trees, a sunken dry stream bed walk and reflecting pond, a formal plum orchard, a nuttery and a traditional Devon cobbled yard with a lean-to glasshouse.

South Wood Farm, Cotleigh, near Honiton, Devon EX14 9HU. Email: williamjamessmithson@gmail.com Open for the NGS: Saturday 17th September, Sunday 18th September, 2pm-5pm. Admission £4, children free. Homemade teas. Gravel pathways, cobbles and steps. Visitors also welcome by arrangement April to September.

Although this garden opens for the last time on Thursday 1st September, you may read this in August and have more opportunities to visit as it opens on Tuesdays and Thursday throughout the season until that date. The half-acre wildlife friendly garden has been redesigned by owners Jim and Brenda Collins over the last five years. There are herbaceous borders, a shrub bed, wildlife ponds, fruit and vegetables in raised beds and an extensive use of gravel beds. A wide selection of plants are grown for all year interest and there’s also an exhibition of watercolour and oil paintings.

Windsor Cottage, Dilwyn, Herefordshire HR4 8HJ. Telephone: 01544 319011. Email: jandb.windsor@gmail. com Open for the NGS every Tuesday and Thursday until Thursday 1st September, 2pm-5.30pm. Admission £3, children free. Home-made teas. Plants for sale.

Special Plants, Greenway Lane, Cold Ashton, Somerset Nurserywoman Derry Watkins’ architect-designed hillside garden with its stunning views is six miles north of Bath.

Known for its exotic plants, there are gravel gardens for borderline hardy plants and a black and white (purple and silver) garden, a vegetable garden and orchard, a hot border, a lemon and lime bank, spring fed ponds, bog garden, and woodland walk. A free list of plants in the garden is available and there’s also a new wavy bridge linking the field and woods.

Special Plants, Greenway Lane, Cold Ashton SN14 8LA. Telephone: 01225 891686. Email: derry@specialplants.net Open for NGS: Thursdays 15th Sept, 20th October, 11am to 5pm.

Admission: £5. Plant sales, home made teas. For other opening times and information see the website www.specialplants.net

42

King John’s Lodge, Etchingham, East Sussex A four-acre romantic garden for all seasons owned by Jill Cunningham, surrounding an historic listed house (not open).

There’s a formal garden with water features, a rose walk, wild garden and pond. A rustic bridge leads to a shaded ivy garden, large herbaceous borders, old shrub roses and a secret garden. And there’s a further four acres of meadows to walk your well behaved dog, with fine trees and grazing sheep before you visit the nursery and shop.

King John’s Lodge, Etchingham, East Sussex TN19 7AZ. Open for the NGS: Sunday 11th September, 1-5pm. Admission £5, children free. Home-made teas and lunches in the tearoom of King John’s Nursery. Garden is mainly flat. Stepped areas can usually be accessed from other areas. No disabled WC. For other opening times and information, phone 01580 819220, email harry@kingjohnsnursery.co.uk or visit www.kingjohnsnursery.co.uk.

Country Gardener

Orchard Park, Shaftesbury Rd, Gillingham SP8 5JG T: 01747 835544 E: info@orchardpark.uk.net MON - SAT 9 - 5.30 SUN 10 - 4.30 Discover more at www.orchardpark.biz

Follow us on

Discover a garden near you.

For details please visit our website www.ngs.org.uk or call 01483 211535

www.soluxuk.com

Centre Sales are proud to stock Showa Floreo 370 gloves, ideal for all gardening tasks, offering excellent dexterity and durability.

YOUR HANDS ARE THE MOST PRECIOUS TOOLS YOU OWN! SEE OUR FULL RANGE AT WWW.CENTRESALESGLOVES.CO.UK OR CALL US ON 01527 832092 FOR HELP OR ADVICE

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

Thornhayes

n

u r s e r y

Quality Trees and Shrubs Hedging, fruit (including heritage apples) and amenity trees from whip to standard. Conifers and broadleaves. New range of choice shrubs. Advisory/design service.

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

For further details call Nick on 01392 681690

Thornhayes Nursery, Dulford, Open 8am-4pm Mon to Fri also 9am-1pm Sat Cullompton, Devon EX15 2DF Tel: 01884 266746 www.thornhayes-nursery.co.uk

www.countrygardener.co.uk

43

TIME Off

GARDEN EVENTS AROUND DEVON compiled by Kate Lewis

Here’s a selection of gardening events to look out for during the next few weeks throughout Devon .

Send us details of your event at least ten weeks before publication and we will publicise it free of charge. Make sure you let us know where the event is being held, the date and include a contact telephone number.

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

We take great care to ensure that details are correct at the time of going to press but we advise readers to check wherever possible before starting out on a journey as circumstances can force last minute changes. All NGS open gardens can be found on www.ngs.org.uk or in the local NGS booklet available at many outlets.

SEP TEMBER DIARY

their work at this exciting and colourful exhibition of naturalistic pictures, prints and cards created using a variety of media. All exhibited work is for sale.

11am – 5pm. Normal garden admission

2nd /9th/15th/16th/23rd/30th Brixham NT Greenway, 01803 842382

4th 'Dead Man's Folly' Walk and Talk On this hour-long walk you will explore the parts of Greenway and the gardens that star in Agatha Christie’s classic novel. The walk finishes at the boathouse, the scene of the crime!

12.45pm – 1.45pm. Free event but normal admission charges apply 2nd – 18th Torrington RHS Rosemoor, 01805 626800

Kingswear NT Coleton Fishacre, 01803 752466

13th Buckland Monachorum The Garden House, 01822 854769

Jazz Age Lawn Party Step back in time to the decadence of the jazz age.

Enjoy cocktails and canapés as the jazz band performs while soaking up the beautiful surroundings of the D'Oyly Carte's 1920s summer home.

6.30pm – 9pm. £20 7th/14th/21st/28th Salcombe NT Overbeck's, 01548 842893

The Artists’ Garden – An Art Exhibition Around 75 of the South West’s most talented artists share

44

Autumn Garden Join one of Overbeck’s gardeners on this spectacular late season tour of the gardens.

This is the time when the subtropical garden is at its finest with a lush abundant growth of rare and exotic plants from around the world.

2pm – 3pm. Free event but normal admission charges apply.

Country Gardener

Pen & Watercolour Wash Class with Richard Mabey Paint along with Richard Mabey as he demonstrates a stepby-step approach to creating a series of loose and lively watercolour paintings.

Improvers, beginners and those who haven’t picked up a brush for a long time are all welcome.

10.30am – 4.00pm. £30

17th Cullompton Thornhayes Nursery, 01884 266746

Hedging and Shelter Planting Enjoy an afternoon with Thornhayes’ owner Kevin Croucher as you learn how to create shelter and screening with a variety of different trees and shrubs.

1.30pm – 4pm. £12 17th Tiverton NT Knightshayes Court, 01884 257381

NT Buckland Abbey, Garden and Estate, 01822 853607 The Elizabethan Festival Step back to the Elizabethan era as falconers, costumed characters, archers and musicians take over the Abbey.

11am – 5pm. Free event but normal admission charges apply.

10th

12th

September

15th

1st 1st

3rd

17th Yelverton

9th

CLUBS AND O THER ORGANISAT IONS

1st

Seed Swap Help the garden staff at Knightshayes support local and heritage fruit and vegetable varieties by sharing and replenishing their stock of seeds. Opportunity to add new varieties to your garden or even donate seeds of your own.

11am – 2pm. Free event but normal admission charges apply

9th

3rd 6th

7th

7th

8th

Plympton Gardeners Association AUTUMN COLOUR Teignmouth Gardening Club ‘NEW VARIETIES AND TECHNIQUES IN VEGETABLE GROWING’ – TOM SHARPLES Details on 01626 774287 Verwood & District Horticultural Society MONTHLY MEETING Details on 01202 829067 Highcliffe & District Horticultural Society OPEN AUTUMN SHOW Details on 01425 272962 Tiverton Garden Club AUTUMN FLOWER SHOW Details on 01884 258283 Ottery St Mary Gardening Club ‘GARDEN DESIGN’ – KATHERINE CROUCH Details on 01404 813643 Broadhembury & District Gardening Club ‘CLASSIC, RARE & UNUSUAL BULBS’ – GILL HAZEL Details on 01404 841515 Newton St Gyres Gardening Club ‘PRESERVES FROM OUR GARDEN’ Details on 01392 851400 West Hill Garden Club ‘SHADY LADIES AND SUN SEEKERS’ – MARY BENGER Details on 01404 811263

www.countrygardener.co.uk

18th

19th

19th

20th 21st 21st

27th

27th

30th

Bishopsteignton Garden Club ‘COMPOSTING’ – MAGGIE SUDDENS Details on 01626 258283 Blackmore Vale Bonsia Group MONTHLY MEETING Details on 01747 853475 Bickleigh, Roborough & District Gardening Society AUTUMN SHOW Details on 01752 209389 West Moors Horticultural Society ‘DAHLIAS FOR PLEASURE & EXHIBITION’ – BRIAN MADDERS Bridport & District Gardening Club ‘WINTER HANGING BASKETS & PRIMROSE BALLS’ Smedmore House & Gardens, Kimmeridge OPEN GARDEN 12PM-5PM FOR NEW VILLAGE PLAYGROUND kimmeridgevh@hotmail.co.uk Meavy Garden Society ‘CLEMATIS’ – CHARLIE PRIDHAM Details on 01822 852672 Whitestone Gardening Club ‘THE SCENTED GARDEN’ – JEREMY WILSON Details on 01392 811979 Parkstone Gardening Society HORTICULTURAL QUIZ Details on 01202 752014 Bourton Gardening Club ‘WEAVING WILLOW INTO OUR LIVES’ – MARY CROSS Knowstone & Rose Ash Gardening Club ‘EXMOOR’ – PAUL RENDELL Details on 01884 881325 Exmouth Garden Club ‘BULBS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR’ – GRAHAM WHITE Details on 01395 263513 Yealm Gardens Society ‘NO WORK GARDENING’ – BOB FLOWERDEW Details on 01752 872471 Hardy Plant Society Dorset Group ‘LATE SUMMER FLOWERS’ – MARINA CHRISTOPHER Details on 01202 882590

45

CLASSIF IED Accommodation

Gloucestershire, Cosy annexe for two

non-smokers, lovely garden, beautiful countryside. Pets welcome.

Tel: 01452 840531

Fully equipped self catering house. Undercover parking. 10

GLORIOUS NORTH DEVON. Only 9 cosy caravans on peaceful farm.

Wonderful walks in woods & meadows.

Easy reach sea, moors & lovely days out. £125-395pw. Discount couples.

Nice pets welcome. 01769 540366 www.snapdown.co.uk Bosworlas near Sennen/St Just, Cornwall. Cosy Cottage, rural views, Sleeps 2-4 01736 788709 www.bosworlas.co.uk Hampshire coast, New Forest, Milford on Sea – village centre holiday apartment sleeps 2-3, private parking. Wonderful walks, lovely all year round. 01590 644050 pamela_ hutchings@hotmail.com www.littleegretmilfordonsea.co.uk Cotswolds. Holiday Cottages Sleep from 2 – 8. In Chipping Campden and surrounding areas. Tel: 01386 438513 info@discoverthecotswolds.net

Accommodation Abroad

mins walk to the seafront.

Tel. 01934 862840 www.sidmouth-stayatnewlands.co.uk

Beautifully romantic cottage for two

Carmarthen Bay South Wales Seafront chalet situated on estuary. Sleeps up to 6. Seaview.

Well Behaved Dogs Welcome. For brochure Tel: 01269 862191 Cornwall, near St Just. Chalet, sleeps 4, heated indoor pool, open all year – near gardens/coast, golfing nearby.

Prices from £260 pw. 01736 788718 Three Scandinavian lodges. Set in beautiful Worcester countryside. All with own hot tubs and wood burners.

Go to cottages .com ref nos UKC 392 W43950 and W44036 46

In sunny SW France just 30 mins from Bergerac airport. www.maison-bb.com

Accommodation: Holiday Cottages

Pembrokeshire, Wales 4 star luxury cottages in idyllic surroundings. Fully equipped, open all year. Children & pets welcome.

Tel: 01239 841850 www.valleyviewcottages.co.uk Country Gardener

Winchester, Farm Cottage Golf, woodlands, many nurseries, Marwell Zoo Tel: 01489 861146

Creekside Cottages, Near Falmouth, Cornwall Waters-edge, Rural & Village Cottages Sleeping 2-8. Peaceful & Comfortable. Available year round.

Dogs Welcome. Open Fires.

Call us on 01326 375972 for our colour brochure www.creeksidecottages.co.uk Wye Valley/Forest of Dean. Fully equipped 4-star single storey cottage.

Two bedrooms both en-suite. Central heating/bedlinen provided. Rural retreat with shops/pubs one mile. Short breaks available. Warm welcome.

Tel: 01594833259 www.cowshedcottage.co.uk Self-catering cottages in countryside near Lyme Regis. Japanese food available. www.hellbarn.co.uk Padstow house, 4 + baby, gardens, parking, Wi-Fi, Camel trail (bike storage), beaches. 07887 813495 holidaysat55@gmail.com Cornwall. Village location between Truro and Falmouth. Fully equipped renovated cottage. Peaceful garden.

Off road parking. Ideal for 2 adults.

No children/animals. Good public transport. Good pub and shop. Easy reach of Heligan and Eden. 01279 876751 ayrepj@aol.com

CLASSIF IED Devon, Culm Valley. Well equipped rural cottage for 2. No Pets/Smokers 01884 841320 Lanlivery near Eden and other Cornish Gardens lovely woodland lodge 2/4 people www.poppylodgecornwall.co.uk 01726 430489 Devon. Tamar Valley. Pretty cottage sleeps 2-4. Wood burner, garden, small dog welcome. 02073 736944/07940 363233 www.northwardshippon.co.uk Ryde Isle Of Wight, two cottages.

Sleeps 2/4, close sandy beaches. Tel: 02380 849565 rydecottage@talktalk.net

Accommodation With Beautiful Gardens

Rosemoor 7 miles 4* self catering cottage sleeps 6.

Peaceful Farm. En-suite bedrooms.

Wheelchair friendly. Short breaks available. Discount for couples. Pets welcome. lorna@westhele.co.uk Tel: 01237 451044 www.westhele.co.uk Northumberland Luxury selfcatering cottage, sleeps 2. Rural location. Near to major tourist attractions inc Hadrian's Wall 01884 841320

Antiques Penrice Castle Gower 16 holiday cottages on an 18th century Estate on the Gower Peninsula with beautiful Grade I listed historic park and gardens.

Tel: 01792 391212 www.penricecastle.co.uk

INTERNATIONAL DEALER requires records (all types) old gramophones, phonographs, music boxes, radios, valves, telephones, early sewing machines, typewriters, calculators, tin toys, scientific instruments etc. Parts also wanted.

TOP CASH PRICE PAID 07774 103139 davepauled1@yahoo.com

Bed & Breakfast

Near Stratford-upon-Avon Lovely self-catering cottage in peaceful location: Large garden, Sleeps 2. Perfect for famous gardens, NT properties & Cotswolds.

Tel: 01789 740360 www.romanacres.com North Devon near Clovelly. 3 delightful cottages situated in 12 acres of idyllic countryside. Sleeps 2-4. 1 Wheelchair friendly. Prices from £190 p.w. Brochure: 01237 431324 www.foxwoodlodge.co.uk

Gloucestershire quality bungalow B&B En-suites, rural, large garden with chickens, Ideal Cotswolds, Malvern’s, walking, cycle storage, Ample parking, Wi-fi £36 p.p.p.n Tel: 01452 840224 4 Star Gold Award B&B in Stoulton, Worcestershire. Luxury accommodation in beautiful surroundings. Perfectly situated to visit Worcester, The Malvern's, Pershore, Cheltenham and Cotswolds. 01905 841129 www.sunbrae.co.uk www.countrygardener.co.uk

Poltarrow farm Holidays

Choose a self-catering cottage or Bed and Breakfast in the farmhouse.

Close to Eden Project & Heligan Gardens.

Tel: 01726 67111 Email: enquire@poltarrow.co.uk www.poltarrow.co.uk Paignton, Devon, 4* B&B. Ideal location for coast, countryside and NT gardens.

En-suite rooms, garden, parking. Green Tourism Gold Award. www.harbourlodge.co.uk 01803 556932 Country House B&B Ideal location for Malvern Autumn Garden Show and surrounding gardens.. Visit www.littlebridgehouse.biz or tele 01885 482471 for details.

Charming B&B in garden cottage annex. Double with en-suite. Village location near Jurassic Coast, Bridport.

Tel: 01308 488177 Explore Devon and be spoilt. 2 nights DBB £185 per couple. Farmhouse hospitality. Great trip advisor reports.

01566 783010 www.eastraddondartmoor.co.uk Quality B&B Truro Cornwall. Ideal for visiting beautiful Cornish gardens and coast. £40 pppn 01872 241081 Somerset 5* Restaurant with Rooms.

Close to many NT Gardens, Houses and Dorset Coast. Countryside Location with Lovely Garden. Pet Friendly www. littlebarwickhouse.co.uk 01935 423902

Cards & Prints A range of over 200 greetings cards and prints from the flower paintings of

ANNECOTTERILL

We sell to both individuals and trade. No order too small.

Contact us for your free 2016 catalogue.

Mill House Fine Art Publishing, Bellflower Gallery, Market Place, Colyton, Devon EX24 6JS

Tel. 01297 553100 info@millhousefineart.com

www.millhousefineart.com

47

CLASSIF IED Craft & Stationary Paper Unusual paper with an extra surprise, even Ellie Poo! 100% recycled made in UK. 01458 251662 www. elliepoopaper.co.uk

Daffodils for Spring Ron & Adrian Scamp

“Quality Daffodils”

For our full colour illustrated FREE catalogue of DAFFODILS, TULIPS and OTHER SPRING BULBS please send your name and address to: R.and A. Scamp, 14 Roscarrack Close, Falmouth, Cornwall TR11 4PJ Tel/Fax: Email: Web:

(01326) 317959 rascamp@daffodils.uk.com or amscamp@qualitydaffodils.com www.qualitydaffodils.com

Garden Accessories

www.shedtidy.co.uk Gardeners multi-purpose hanging panel. Ideal as a vertical garden (living wall) for all year floral colour to hang on any rail or bare wall or as a kitchen herb garden or as storage for garden accessories. See our web site for more uses.

Trade enquiries welcome.

ANDREW TOLMAN

Professional Garden Services Services include Consultations, Garden Design, Borders, Orchards & Meadows. Specialist Pruning; Climbers, Fruit & Topiary.

Supply of Trees, Plants & Bulbs.

Talks on Gardens & Plants.

Tel: 07546 874083 / 01643 818092 andrew@atpgardening.co.uk www.atpgardening.co.uk

ONLY £8.95 INC P&P

Garden Buildings Leigh Goodchild Ltd

Garden Buildings

Fly Screens Superior cedar greenhouses by Gabriel Ash. Free survey and quotes; all work undertaken.

Call Leigh 07971 251261 www.leighgoodchild.com

Garden Furniture UKs leading supplier of Teak Furniture for the Garden

flyscreens4u@sky.com

Apple trees from £7.50 Over 100 varieties Dessert, juicing, cider & cookers to suit your farm, garden or smallholding Many other fruit trees & bushes.

Discounts for wholesale, community projects & schools. Advice and free catalogues.

Mortared work also undertaken.

Patrick Houchen - DSWA member.

Tel: 01963 371123 www.yenstonewalling.co.uk

Gardens To Visit

Burrow Farm Gardens

Fruit Trees

Adam’s Apples

Drystone Walling and Paving

www.burrowfarmgardens.co.uk

Tel: 01256 809 640 sales @chicteak.co.uk www.chic-teak.co.uk

Garden Products

13 Acre Garden Open 10am-6pm Tea Room, Nursery & Gift Shop

Dalwood, Axminster, EX13 7ET

Tel: 01404 841166 sales@adamsappletrees.co.uk www.adamsappletrees.co.uk

Polytunnels FREE BROCHURE

Advertise here... ...from just £2 per word Boxed out full colour advertisements are available for an extra £20.

Call 01823 619073 for details, or email: ava@countrygardener.co.uk 48

Garden Services Wisteria Pruning, renovation, Oxfordshire, surrounding area.

Richard Barrett 01865 452334 wisteriapruning@tiscali.co.uk Country Gardener

Polytunnels from £345 available to view by appointment 01363 84948 info@ferrymanpolytunnels.co.uk

www.ferrymanpolytunnels.co.uk

CLASSIF IED Pond Services

Thornhayes nursery

Ponds, large and small, constructed, renovated and maintained. 01761 434349 www.southwestponds.co.uk

Devon’s specialist tree grower for a wide range of ornamental, fruit, hedging trees and a selection of choice shrubs.

Specialist Garden Products Ex display sheds. Stables, field shelters, garages, summerhouses, offices, workshops/agricultural 01935 891195 Dorset Hazel Hurdles. Made to order

by Alan Brown, Wool, Dorset. 01929 462761 www.brownshurdles.co.uk

MALVERN COPPICING Rustic timber garden rooms, summer houses, gazebos and garden structures from sustainably managed local woodlands

Tel. 01684 574865 Mob. 07946169123 www.malverncoppicing.co.uk NESTING BOXES FEEDERS INSECT HOMES CAMERA NESTBOXES WILDLIFE CAMERAS Quality products carefully made in Britain

Courses, expert advice, arboretum, display fruit garden.

55x45 DWL ad_Dorset Water Lily 16/01/2015 11:3

DORSET WATER LILY COMPANY

UK’s largest selection of established, pot grown water lilies; Speciality hardy exotics, tropical waterside, marginals and moisture loving bogside.

Landscaping & Design Service.

Tel: 01935 891668

Email: dorsetwaterlily@uwclub.net

www.dorsetwaterlily.co.uk

DULFORD NURSERIES SPECIALIST TREE & SHRUB GROWERS Growers & suppliers of the widest range of Native & Ornamental Trees, Shrubs & Hedging in the West Country

Tel: 01884 266361 www.dulford-nurseries.co.uk Dulford Nurseries, Dulford, Cullompton, Devon EX15 2BY

Tel: 01675 442299 www.nestbox.co.uk

25% OFF DURING SEPT’- QUOTE CG09

440+ VARIETIES OF TREES & SHRUBS

RARE AND CHOICE CONIFERS

including pinus montezumae broadleaves and rhododendrons

Largest selection of organic plants in the South West Visit us at Kitley Farm, Yealmpton, PL8 2LT Or order plants at

www.growersorganics.com Tel: 01752 881180

MAIL ORDER WELCOME | VISIT BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

TEL: 01884 881 633 / 07976 807 510 EMAIL: goakey101@gmail.com Hilltown Farm, Rackenford, Devon, EX16 8DX

Advertise here... ...from just £2 per word

Call 01823 619073 for details, or email: ava@countrygardener.co.uk

Terracotta Pots

The Terracotta Pot and Gift Shop Stockists of frostproof pots and garden ornaments from Greece and around the world as well as a host of other bits and pieces Open every day

Eastoke Corner, Hayling Island, Hants. PO11 9LU

Wanted/For Sale

Specialist Nurseries & Plants ACORN TREES & SHRUBS

Tel: 01884 266746 www.thornhayes-nursery.co.uk

Peonies, Iris, Perennials and Herbs from

HURST BROOK PLANTS

Lower Severalls Crewkerne, Somerset TA18 7NX Tel 07857 645123 or 07851 468430 www.hurstbrookplants.co.uk Specialist Nursery OPEN March - October Thursday - Sunday 10.00 - 4.00 GROUP VISITS WELCOME and HOMEMADE REFRESHMENTS available by prior arrangement. Please email or ring for details.

www.countrygardener.co.uk

Wanted Old Radio Valves And Audio Valves. Tel: 02392 251062

Wholesale Nursery Tel 01404 41150

Looking for young, hardy garden plants to grow or plant?

Try

Trimplant Nursery, Combe Raleigh, Honiton, Devon sales@trimplants.co.uk www.trimplants.co.uk

Advertise here... ...from just £2 per word

49

NEWS

$ *$ m , $( & $&

The latest from businesses across Devon and beyond

New waterside cafe at Bow Garden & Aquatic Centre Bow Garden & Aquatic Centre between Crediton and Okehampton have launched their new Waterside Cafe.

The cafe seats over 80 guests and is set beside their fantastic koi pond which has a lovely new pond and a planted stream running alongside it.

The food is as good as the setting too!

Two new chefs from some of the best establishments The new Waterside Café at in the area are Bow Garden & Aquatic Centre

in place. There's a brand new menu with daily specials, ‘fish n chip’ Fridays and Sunday roasts. There is a new decking area which is raised over the koi pond and is perfect when the sun is shining, plus there is seating next to the stream.

There’s even a soft play area for the ‘under fours’ so Mums can have a well-earned break.

There is wheelchair access and dogs are welcome outside as well.

Christmas isn’t too far away and the new cafe has a Christmas Menu available so if you feel like some forward planning you can book your spot early. Full details including menu options and booking information are at www.bowgardencentre.co.uk Bow have also expanded their store to include a much larger gifts department and an extended pets section.

Bow Garden & Aquatic Centre can be found on the A3072 half way between Crediton and Okehampton or access from the A30. www.bowgardencentre.co.uk. Tel: 01363 82438

Devon Log Stores solve the firewood storage headache If you have ever admired those immaculate stacks of firewood, some out in open ground, others under the extended eaves of ancient farmhouses, you have probably been travelling somewhere in mainland Europe.

The people of northwest Europe are descended from forest tribes and in rural areas at least are still in touch with the seasons and the cycles of nature.

The British in contrast consider their culture to have evolved from their sea-faring heritage though this may not fully explain the modern custom of storing firewood under a leaky tarpaulin on the lawn or fighting for space with a car in the garage!

A Devon Log Store provides an ideal solution.

Their standard stores are compact and robust and will store a typical pickup load of firewood logs, but much larger and custom or combined stores are regularly made to order. They also enable the householder to add value to ‘green’ firewood: a summer season should reduce the moisture content to about 14 – 15 per cent enabling the wood to burn hotter, causing less tarring of flues and chimneys.

Recently Devon Log Stores has extended its range of storage solutions to include bicycle stores, wheelie bin and recycling stores, general garden stores and any combination of the above under one roof. More importantly they can be designed and constructed to fit the particular space that a customer has available.

Devon Log Stores can be contacted via www.devonlogstores.co.uk; via email on info@devonlogstores.co.uk or by phone on 01392 681690.

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Country Gardener

GIVE YOUR SOIL SOME ‘DEVON TLC’ THIS AUTUMN The health of your soil is vital to its productivity. Healthy soil produces healthy plants! So, why not give your soil some real care this autumn by adding Pure bioChar along with your compost or manure?

Courage Copse Creatives Pure bioChar is a completely natural product with no artificial fertilisers added, locally sourced and carbon negative. By adding bioChar to your soil you are improving soil structure, increasing moisture and nutrient retention and, due to its vast surface area and porous structure, providing the perfect habitat for beneficial microbes and fungi to live and thrive.

Think of Pure bioChar particles as mini sponges soaking up the nutrients that are then slowly released, as your plants need them.

All the material used in Pure bioChar are grown, harvested and converted into high quality charcoal in the Taw Valley, North Devon and are part of an ongoing woodland restoration project.

Available in two grades – High (for potting and house plants) and Standard (for flower and veg plots) in 1ltr, 5 ltr and 20 ltr bags. Bulk order also available.

Full details on the website.

Order on-line www.couragecopse.co.uk

www.countrygardener.co.uk

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For gardens BIG

or small we have it all

Fairy Gardens available from Sidmouth Road only

Plant spring Flowering Bulbs now

St. Bridget Nurseries Garden Centres Est. 1925

www.stbridgetnurseries.co.uk

Garden Centre & Nursery: Old Rydon Lane (access off A379) Exeter, EX2 7JY Tel: 01392 873672 Garden & Aquatic Centre: Sidmouth Road (A3052) Clyst St Mary, EX5 1AE Tel: 01392 876281 Open: Monday-Saturday 9-5 Sunday 10.30-4.30