Indholdsfortegnelse for 6-Sep-2025 i Amateur Gardening

As we nudge into September there is much to be grateful for, with continued harvests of colour and edible delights. Every season in every year there will be plants and produce that fare better than others, and so let’s celebrate the abundance where it can be found. This year it’s been a case of ‘courgettes and caterpillars, anyone?’ Joking aside (although haven’t there been a lot of cabbage white caterpillars this past month - and so many courgettes too …), it has been delightful to see so many butterflies and moths this year fluttering on the wing. The warmth has been fantastic for them, but this does mean there have also been more caterpillars to nibble brassicas. But Toby Buckland on page 62 offers an excellent natural solution that helped…

Well here we are, most of the schools have reopened and the curtain is slowly descending on summer to make way for the burnished bounty of autumn. Yet it feels too early to completely let go of what has been, for many, a glorious summer of blue skies, warmth, prolific flowering and generous cropping. I don’t know about you, but I’m determined to hang on to sunny memories to see me through the winter months, so I’m squeezing every last drop out of the departing season. It’s been a tough year for some plants, especially in areas affected by hosepipe bans, so don’t feel bad about plants that have fallen by the wayside. Thanks to the trend of warmer autumns, adding fresh annuals now will give the garden a late…

Would you love to have an apple tree or two in your garden, or have you already taken the leap and are well on your way to curating a mini orchard? Whatever your position on apples, it’s essential that they perform well for you to earn their space and time on the plot. Here’s the top advice I’ve gleaned: ■ Choosing varieties: Above all, flavour is paramount, and subjective. So, be guided by consensus of opinion but also taste before buying (look for autumn tasting days at large gardens and fruit nurseries). Time of maturity and storage potential is also important and if you’ve room for multiple varieties, stagger both of these elements to ease any gluts. For all these reasons, I grow ‘Falstaff’, ‘Ellison’s Orange’, ‘Cox’s Self Fertile’ and…

In pride of place on our kitchen garden patio sits an old concrete bird bath in the shape of a fish, brought here from our old family garden in Belvedere, Kent. During this dry summer, I have never known it so busy and keeping it scrubbed clean and full of fresh water has been a daily task. We’ve stopped sitting out on the patio from late afternoon onwards, because a queue of angry birds forms in the trees, as blackbirds, robins, dunnocks, chiffchaffs, long-tailed tits and blue tits wait for us to go indoors so they can fly down to their watering hole. This productive garden is a natural larder for them too, providing a long season of insects, worms, fruits and seeds. The elderberries are ripening in the boundary…

Back in the day, when I was starting out as a cub reporter on a local newspaper, one of the first jobs entrusted to me was writing up wedding reports. Every day they landed on my desk and every day I had to write them up in all their detailed glory, including the flowers contained in the bridal bouquets. Gypsophila was my nemesis, because I invariably spelled it ‘gypsophilia’ and received a reprimand from the newsdesk. But I don’t bear a grudge, and this dainty plant - also known as baby’s breath - is now one of my favourites to grow if I’m looking for a light airiness to add to the mixed plantings in our borders. A robust hardy annual that produces a froth of tiny white, star-shaped flowers,…

I’ve had a brilliant time in Germany this summer, hunting down some plants. In particular, I’ve had a very new informative visit to Selecta One, a key breeder in Europe, where I found that bright colours and psychedelia are the name of the game. Here are some of my top picks. Origanum Deco Purple You might be used to seeing oregano as a herb, but this one is selected for the beautiful bouquet of flowers, which also have that typical pungent fragrance. Letting herbs flower is also brilliant for foraging bees and butterflies. Calibrachoa MiniFamous Neo Summer (MiniFamous series) Here’s a basket plant that is loved by the bees as well as people, with blooms so bright that you’d think someone had adjusted them with a highlighter pen. Basically a…

A lot of visitors to our nursery are looking for ‘all singing, all plants. Sadly, in most instances, dancing’ the long list of attributes they are looking for in a plant to fill a particular spot does not exist. There is enormous value in short-lived plants that have the ‘wow factor’ and can be used when your garden is having a bit of a lull. That said, there are some perennials which will that add months of colour to borders and containers too, so let’s take a look at those with staying power. The humble geum Geum has become an essential for a spring, summer and even into autumn flowering garden. Geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ is a fantastic variety that produces airy stems topped by single tangerine-orange flowers. It starts flowering…

Go with your style The theme of your garden will help determine what sits most comfortably within your space. A modern, contemporary garden might better suit a modern piece, crafted in highly polished metal or glass with geometric precision. Something a little more natural, like carved wood or stone, might look better in a woodland garden. But, of course, there are plenty who would argue that mixing ‘contemporary’ with ‘traditional’ also has a place. Size and scale I believe art, whatever it is, should be something that fits into a garden and is proportionate in scale. I’d like a visitor to my garden to stumble unexpectedly across my statue, or a beautifully crafted seat, rather than walking in and exclaiming: ‘Wow, great art; where’s the garden?’ Make it personal Art…

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C. selloana Tiny Pampa (‘Day1’) C. selloana’Sunningdale Silver’ C. selloana ‘Pink Feather’ C. selloana ‘Pumila’ C. richardii…

What’s the best way to grow hostas from seed? Wait until the pods are ripe and hold your patience! Q My hostas are starting to flower, when they set seed, how do I know they are ready to sow to grow my own hostas next year? William Steele (via email) A I applaud your enthusiasm for raising hostas from seed. Pleasingly, when seed pods mature and seeds are ready for harvesting, you can hear them rattle when pods are shaken. Start by filling small pots or a seed tray with seed-sowing compost and gently firm it, especially around the edges. Because seeds are very small, mix them with a little sharp sand to make them easier to sow. Then sprinkle them on to the compost surface, which should be damp.…

As if to prove the adage ‘Time flies like an arrow… and fruit flies like a banana’, here we are again in the season of mists, mellow fruitfulness and full compost heaps. There was a time when I found autumn depressing and melancholic, with the only bright spot being my birthday. But as the birthdays have risen to resemble a decent ‘cricket score’, I’ve come to relish the season because it’s so good for getting gardening stuff done. Working outdoors in autumn is brilliant. The weather is comfortable, but there’s enough oomph in the sun to warm your back and with the extra moisture from morning dew and September rain, even plants that suffered in summer get a new lease of life. This ‘second wind’ is especially welcome on my…

Szechuan pepper For more peppery savoury uses I raid my Szechuan pepper tree, which has grown into a 6m (20ft) monster. I use the leaves in meat casseroles as well as in vegetable roasts. The tree is deciduous so now is the time that I start to harvest the foliage and freeze it in small numbers. In August I harvested most of the fiery pepper capsules which I use whole or ground for a strong pepper kick in much of my autumn and winter cooking. Elaeagnus My other favourite berry in the garden comes from members of the Elaeagnus family, sometimes referred to as oleaster, sometimes called pointilla. I have two growing against a south-facing fence and every autumn they produce the prettiest jewel-like berries. One has yellow fruit (Elaeagnus…

If you have created an area next to a pond for marginal plants or have a spot in the garden where the soil is constantly damp, bog plants can make a delightful display. Far from being a problem area, moisture-retaining soil gives us a chance to choose a different range of interesting and attractive plants. Marginals and bog plants do not need to be sitting in water constantly, but they do prefer moisture-retentive soil that does not dry out on a regular basis. Cowslips In my garden there is an area that remains damp all year round - in fact, it could be described as positively soggy! Around the edges of the dampest area, I have planted young cowslip plants. These thrive in damp soils, but struggle in constantly waterlogged…

The daisy family We are now in the month of September, famed for dahlias, Michaelmas daisies and rudbeckias, so I thought we should look at the daisy plant family, which links them all. As a horticultural student, I had to learn about Compositae, the name applied, at that time, to the daisy family. These days botanists prefer to use the name the Asteraceae, but the plants are the same and, boy, there are thousands of them. Many are real stars of our gardens right now. ■ Botanically, the daisy bloom is made up of numerous tiny individual flowers. The relatively large external petals (or ‘rays’) surround a bright centre consisting of scores of tiny flowers all pressed together. This is referred to as a ‘composite flower’. Daisies in numbers! 32,900…

The courgettes keep coming, and I am finding as many ways as possible of using up the harvest including, this year, making courgette wine for the first time. If you’re looking for yet another way of using up all of those courgettes, this silky, creamy and refreshing soup is for you. It is perfect for September: delicious hot on a cooler day, or chilled if the weather is warm. It is fancy enough to serve to guests at dinner, and simple enough to make for it to become a much-loved weekly soup. I like to make it spiced up with chilli and ginger, but these are optional for those who prefer their soup less spicy. Adding a few handfuls of chopped chard or spinach, some peas, or other green vegetables…

Your lovely letters, emails and social media posts continue to flow in beautifully. Every message, poem, idea and comment matters. Please keep them coming. We will send out a thank you gift for every item published in the magazine as soon as we can, so do please send your address and contact details when you get in touch. Wonky fruit and vegetable harvest round up Kim’s ‘dolphin’ courgette plant I wanted to share this with readers as it illustrates perfectly how the weather (in this case the heat) can create pollination issues or anomalies with crops. In this case one of my courgette plants has started producing dolphin-shaped fruits. The courgettes are back to normal now, which is a shame actually as I was rather enjoying my sea creature-shaped harvests.…

It’s really worrying the way microplastics are shown to have permeated almost everywhere, all round the world and even inside us as well. Therefore working with plastic already in existence, rather than disposing of it, can help us do our bit and prove itself incredibly useful in the process. Fine mesh netting is the simple method for keeping off all sorts of critters such as whiteflies, carrot root flies and cabbage white butterflies, to name just a few; it even defeats wood pigeons. It’s long lasting, especially compared with cotton or muslin netting, which is a traditional barrier but lasts nowhere near as long. Though netting is sold especially for horticultural use, there is a recycling alternative - ask at charity shops for nylon net curtains as it’s the same…