Indholdsfortegnelse for 4-Oct-2025 i Amateur Gardening

I’m excited to welcome you to this bumper special issue with extra cover seed, extra features and extra AG love for you, our dear readers. Over the following pages our friendly family of experts rustle up lots of lovely ideas to help enable you to carry on benefiting from your garden over the weeks ahead. No exacting ‘to-do’ lists here, just inspiration and excuses, if you need them, to keep enjoying the rich wellbeing gain of our plants, produce and the natural world in all its glory. At this time of year it is an opportunity for slower, more nurturing gardening with room to mull and meander into new projects and take time to play in the process. To soak in the delights of the great outdoors and try out…

Deciding which shrubs to plant into containers and where to place them is similar to creating borders in the garden as both involve giving consideration to the same factors. These include their height, flowering period, other interest and how they set off and/or complement the other plants around them. However, they can be moveable, so having shrubs and other plants in containers gives interest that can change far more than just the seasonal aspects. If shrubs are your thing then you could just have those in containers but, in my opinion, if you are creating a display in pots and troughs then you will probably also need some perennials and even annuals to give added colour and interest throughout the year. Consider where plants will be placed when at their…

Make an earth candle Collect old pieces of wax and melt them together, dig a small hole in the ground and pour the wax into it. Use a stick or a piece of cotton string to provide a wick. Traditionally such ‘candles’ were lit to celebrate Candlemas or mark Imbolc, the day in the Pagan calendar that heralds the end of winter and arrival of spring, both of which fall at the beginning of February. Alternatively, melt old candle wax and pour into egg or walnut shells to make mini candles to dot around the garden. Never leave naked flames unattended, and clear away any dried leaves and stems that could quickly catch fire. Gather leaves to make leaf mould Don’t despair if you don’t have many leaves to collect…

Putting in daffodil, tulip, hyacinth and even snowdrop bulbs signifies hope for the months to come, so act now for a bright future as spring gets closer. Bulbs can be planted in the ground or put in pots. Snowdrop There’s still time to put in snowdrops ready for a dazzling January and February display of tiny white blooms. Some, such as Galanthus ‘Atkinsii’ AGM are scented too. Snowdrops do best in partial shade and a well-drained soil. Tulip collection Take the guesswork out of choosing tulip bulbs that work together by opting for a curated collection. Crocus is among the companies offering pre-selected bulbs that fit with individual gardening styles, whether these are neutral/pastel or a bit more colourful. They include ‘Peachy Sunrise’, ‘Nougat’ and ‘Ashley’s Rum Punch’ collections. Hyacinths…

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There are few things more joyful and uplifting than the sight of the first wild pansies raising their sweet little faces to the warming rays of spring sunshine. We have purple wild violets and their paler cousins the sweet violets growing in our front lawn and under the back hedge, but when I want to add more elsewhere in the garden or in pots, I generally opt for Viola tricolor or heartsease. Daintier than cultivated and more able to withstand bad weather, these cheery perennials never seem to go out of favour, and rightly so. Their purple and yellow flowers shine out from sunny beds or light dappled shade and they will spread, forming large clumps, if you let them. The seed can be sown now in trays of peat-free…

Two teenagers have been hailed as heroes by conservationists after breeding and releasing 250 endangered harvest mice into a nature reserve near their homes in Devon. Best friends Eva Wishart and Emily Smith were devastated to discover that numbers of the cute rodents were falling drastically. So they started a Crowdfunder campaign to raise £4,000 so they could safely raise colonies of harvest mice in 27 glass tanks at their homes. They received a major boost when conservationist Chris Packham heard about their work and shared it with millions of his social media followers. Chris said: “We are in the midst of a biodiversity crisis and I am very pleased when I see practical projects like these, particularly when they are done by young people.” Harvest mice are the UK’s…

This time of year affords the perfect opportunity to wrap up warm with a good brew in hand, pause and ponder some new gardening activities. The to-do lists of the busy seasons are now mainly past and as the outdoors slowly but surely relaxes into slumber, there is a gorgeous warmth in the light of gentle new projects to plot over the weeks ahead. As well as distracting ourselves from the sorry state of the world right now, gardening during the cooler months offers so much opportunity for enthusiastic and free-spirited creative play. It’s a bit of a potential blank canvas of productive projects and ideas that you probably wouldn’t have time for otherwise, all of which can nourish our minds peacefully as on we grow. 1 Pot up strawberry…

Firepit Maybe it’s a primeval instinct, but the sight of dancing flames cheers the soul and provides warmth too. Fire pits encourage us to stay outside for longer during the winter, and the resulting phosphorous-rich ash is handy for scattering around fruit bushes. It goes without saying, however, that for large amounts of garden refuse, composting is definitely the way forward over bonfires. Firepits UK is a Welsh manufacturer, using British steel and its own designs to produce a range of fire pits, some of which can be used for barbecues too. String lights Light is something that many of us crave in the depths of winter, which is where strings of bulbs come into their own. Solar-powered string lights are the eco-friendly way to bring the naked branches of…

November to March is the bare root planting season, during which nurseries dig up trees and shrubs when they’re dormant and dispatch them to customers for immediate planting. This allows plants to get their roots into the ground before growth starts in spring and helps to prevent transplant shock. Planting bare roots is great for body and soul, providing physical exercise and something to look forward to in the months and years ahead. It’s also possible to choose trees and shrubs that will provide plenty of winter interest. Crab apple Admiration Malus ‘Adirondack’ Crab apples are a great value tree, providing beautiful blossom in spring followed by jewel-like fruit. Admiration (‘Adirondack’) produces deep carmine buds that open into large, waxy, white flowers, followed by small red fruit that will be…

Some salvias are hardy, while others are half hardy or tender. To keep my salvias as happy as possible as they slip into winter dormancy, I apply a thick layer of mulch around the crown of the plant. Well-rotted garden compost laid at approximately 10cm to 12cm (4in to 6in) deep is perfect. Timely pruning is also important. Once the last salvia flowers have faded in autumn, I hide the shears in the shed until active growth re-starts in spring. At this time, shrubby salvias can be cut back by approximately half, but be sure not to cut below green growth as the old woody growth won’t regenerate. Similarly, I leave perennial salvias with woody bases, like S. ‘Amistad’, standing over the winter months before cutting them down to the…

Jays aren’t typically a garden bird, but if you have mature trees, especially oaks, you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse or two of this shy, resourceful bird – and it’s always a treat! I say glimpse as they are easily startled and it’s often just a flash of their dazzling turquoise wing feathers that you’ll see as they take off, high into the trees. If you stay still and have a chance to watch them, you’ll see they are about the size of jackdaw, have a pale crown with black streaks, and a delicate pinky-blush body with black and white wings ending with that distinctive tive blue. Their description may sound quite exotic and showy, but in reality, they are often secretive and shy. So why is…

Q We’ve got a new house and garden and are planting Anemone blanda and other spring bulbs this autumn. What could we add to produce colour after they have faded? Anita Holmes (via email) A Anemone blanda is such a joyous harbinger of spring. I am so pleased that you are planting it. As for succeeding it with plants for colour late spring and summer, I suggest that you consider the following: ■ Paeonia ‘Sarah Bernhardt’: Peony with double pink blooms. ■ Trollius ‘Golden Queen’: Large globular buttercup-like flowers. ■ Geum ‘Borisii’: Intense orange flowers. ■ Astrantia major ‘Ruby Wedding’: Ruby-red bracts and pincushion flowers. ■ Erigeron ‘Dunkelste Aller’ (‘Darkest of All)’: Deep violet blue daisy-like blooms. ■ Veronica gentianoides: Spikes of light blue blossom. ■ Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s Low’: Bluish-mauve…

Q Our new house has a lovely pond that we would like to tend for wildlife. It is full of invertebrates, dragonflies, newts etc, but has lots of invasive spearwort, parrot’s feather and other weeds. It is also under a chestnut tree so lots of leaves fall into it and the water is murky green, but doesn’t smell. How can we improve it? Janet Freestone, East Sussex A Thank you for telling us about the pond which you wish to make into a wildlife oasis. Its thriving population of aquatic invertebrates and other creatures tells us it’s healthy. A drop in activity makes autumn the best time to clean it. Start by using a submersible pump to remove the water, which is full of life and better than tap water,…

Garden designer Zoe Claymore, who won the coveted People’s Choice Award at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2025, is giving a talk to raise funds for an historic garden. She will be telling the inside story of her beautiful British Rainforest Garden, created for The Wildlife Trusts, to help boost the coffers of Stone Lane Gardens, the botanic garden cofounded by Zoe’s great uncle, Kenneth Ashburner. The gardens, previously known as the Mythic Garden, are home to the National Collection of Birch and Alder trees, some of which featured in Zoe’s Chelsea design. Zoe will explain how themes of heritage, landscape and sustainability came together in her rainforest garden, and offer practical advice for recreating elements of it at home. The event takes place on Saturday, October 11 at 7pm at…

One of the best parts of this job has to be the reader letters and questions for John Negus that we receive here at team AG. You send them in and John either applies his encyclopaedic knowledge, or detailed research when it’s an extremely tricky question, and his replies come flowing back through. The other week I needed to contact him myself because while preparing supper, my husband cut open a tomato bought from the local market and discovered that several of its seeds had started to germinate within the fruit! In reply, John told me this was a first for him, but would be due to the dry, hot summer confusing the plant and seed within. I also looked online and discovered that the phenomenon is known as vivipary…

As much as I enjoy harvesting conventional fruits like apples and raspberries in my garden, I also get a buzz from trying less commonly grown berries to see whether they’re deserving of more space on my plot. So, if like me, your taste for the exotic stretches beyond peaches and figs (which, incidentally, both crop their socks off in my garden), what sweet treats can we grow? With planting time being ideal over winter, let me share what I’ve found out. If you’re a regular reader of my pages (of course you are!) you may have heard me mention rosehips, elderberries, sloes, cherry plums and crab apples. These are all worthy – and incredibly hardy – fruit-producing plants, ideal for us with very exposed, windy or chilly gardens. Bird cherry…

Brighten a front door or another sheltered part of the garden near the house with a container or hanging basket filled with plants that give winter colour and interest. Raise pots on ‘feet’ so that water can drain freely as too much moisture can lead to rotting. Here’s a selection of plants to look out for at the garden centre or supermarkets. Buy them when they’re in flower for instant impact and consider moving them to a border when spring is on its way. Hardy cyclamen Cyclamen hederifolium flowers from winter into spring and its foliage looks a bit like ivy. C. coum blooms from January to March and has kidney-shaped leaves that often have silver markings. Heuchera: Colourful heucheras are evergreens, which means they retain their foliage throughout the year…

A waft of delicious fragrance is a gratifying reward for venturing out into the garden during winter, and there are several shrubs that are great additions to beds and borders, for the way they smell and, in some cases, for the dose of colour they bring. Plant close to a pathway or a doorway for maximum enjoyment. Algerian iris Iris unguicularis The Algerian iris has a rich perfume and purple flowers with a flash of yellow, which appear amid slender, evergreen foliage. They bloom between November and February. Height: up to 30cm (1ft) Growing position: the foot of a sunny wall or in pots Soil: free-draining, slightly alkaline or neutral Sweet box Sarcococca confusa This evergreen shrub produces dainty, creamy-white flowers with a powerful perfume, followed by attractive black berries.…

Yellow fruits with a warm, rosy blush sang to me from our crab apple, almost demanding to be picked at their peak. Soon I had a pan full of them and made my first batch of crab apple jelly. This was back in September, but my foraging barely left a dent in the fruitful profusion and as the remaining crabs soften, the birds will feast on them. Now mature, this tree was already planted when we arrived here 27 years ago and I suspect it is ‘Golden Hornet’. In spring the blossom is fabulous and we stand underneath to hear the buzz of countless bees. For a while it was badly infested by woolly aphids, but their fluffy white colonies have mysteriously disappeared. I’d like to think this is due…

Salvia ‘Amistad’ This variety is salvia royalty; one of a select few that many gardeners may be familiar with, and for good reason. This half-hardy/tender, floriferous perennial bears slender, rich purple flowers, held in dark chocolate-coloured calyces making this stunning specimen perfect for a mid or back of border focal point. It may benefit from lifting for winter protection or being mulched heavily. I take cuttings as a contingency plan (see my panel on propagation) H: 1.2m (5ft). Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’ The everpopular Salvia ‘Amistad’ makes a stunning focal point mid or back border; if you are a fan but fancy something a little different, then let me introduce you to Salvia ‘Black and Blue’. Similarly half-hardy/tender, this salvia has mesmerising indigo-blue flowers that contrast with jet-black calyces.…

Every year I find myself wishing I had planted more daisy-like flowers, especially as they fill our gardens with strong, rich colours at the end of summer and into autumn. The light from the sun is more mellow than during high summer and the whole garden takes on a glorious glow. Right now, autumn hasn’t fully kicked in yet, although the night temperatures are distinctly lower, and we’ve had a lot of rain. However, there is still plenty of time to be spent in the garden, enjoying the flowers, wildlife and harvests. Daisy-shaped flowers usually have a central section of disc florets surrounded by ray florets, which I think of as their petals. The showy ray florets may gain our visual attention, but insects are more interested in the central…

Pines and cones! If you think of fir trees (abies), spruces (picea), cedars (cedrus), larches (larix) or even coniferous hemlocks (tsuga), then you are actually talking about pines – they are all in the pine family. The true pine tree genus (pinus) has around 126 species; if you include all of the above, there are some 240 species. ■ Most true pines make tall trees, from 3 to 80m (10 to 260ft), so they have limited use in most gardens. There are, however, some smaller types, such as the Siberian dwarf pine (Pinus pumila) and the Potosi pinyon (P. culminicola). What cones do Both female and male cones appear on pine trees. The male cones are typically 1 to 5cm (0.4 to 2in) long, while the female cones are much…

This time of year has my heart. The seasonal shift through a quieter month in the garden is a glorious time of transition. As the leaves change colour, we are reminded to move into a gentler rhythm. Many plants will be showing off their beautiful seed heads, others will be hanging on to flowers, but for many it’s all about the foliage. Sage, Salvia officinalis, continues to provide an abundance of soft, silvery-green leaves, full of fragrant oils and healing properties. Sage has a long history of herbal, spiritual and culinary use but it’s so much more than a recipe seasoning. Sage is full of health benefits and autumn is the perfect time to use it. Its name comes from the Latin salvare meaning ‘to save’ or ‘to heal’. I…

Q Some years ago I obtained a few seeds of the Judas tree. I planted them in pots and the biggest plant is now growing well, but I think that it might be time to re-pot it. Could you give me some advice, please. We don’t want to plant it out as the previous one got honey fungus, and died. Anthea Bickley (via email) A Judas trees (Cercis siliquastrum) is a small deciduous tree that produces pretty clusters of rosy-pink, pea-shaped flowers. You must be thrilled that yours is thriving. If roots are filling the pot and pushing through its drainage hole, then it would benefit from being repotted. Start by soaking the compost to loosen any roots clinging to the pot wall. A day later, tap your plant gently…

The AG team love receiving your letters, emails and social media posts and finding out what your gardens mean to you. 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. Kindness in the community I find growing food nurturing and nourishing for my soul and I hope when I share my veg I also share some of that nourishment with others. Yesterday we had some really awful things happening in my borough, and a local organisation that I donate food to had all of their windows smashed in by vandals. It felt right to…

Warm, spicy fragrances echo the changing season, adding a depth of flavour to so many drinks, meals, puddings and baking. The earthy colours of the spices echo the browns, reds and golden hues of the garden and natural world. A feast for the senses. Apples find their way into as many meals and preserves as possible in October, as I work my way through the windfalls that won’t store for much longer. Often, I turn the peelings and cores into a country apple cider vinegar. If I’m too busy, they go into the compost heap to be transformed into the perfect food for next year’s crops. These tasty muffins, filled with autumn’s apples and seasonal spices, are wonderful to nibble outside on the plot with a mug of hot chocolate…

Tall, colourful, and growing so quickly - nope, not me as a teenage boy, but gladioli, the floral showstoppers that are stepping into the spotlight as gardening’s hottest new trend. You heard it here first. Some say the gladiolus is the supermodel of the flower world - tall, striking, and impossible to ignore. So, I say ‘move over dahlias’, gladioli are having a major moment. Once thought of as a little old-fashioned, ‘glads’ (as they are affectionately called) are suddenly everywhere, from chic flower markets to fashion runways, where their statuesque stems and dramatic blooms inspire bold prints and flowing silhouettes. Designers love their structure, florists adore their drama, and gardeners can’t do without them. These tall beauties with sword-shaped leaves have gorgeous spires of blooms in every shade imaginable;…

The moment autumn arrives, and with it the need to gently cuff cobwebs from the garden paths, I dig out a scarf ‘just in case’, and make sure the woodshed and biscuit tin are full. Apples, plums and blackberries are harvested and frozen, while seeds are collected and the soil planted with crops ‘to see me through’. Prepping for winter is comforting because it is a natural response to the changing weather. It puts us in lockstep with nature: the birds that are seeking sheltered spots to roost, the insects and animals that hibernate in the hedgerows and most notably, the plants in our gardens. The autumn change is most profound in native species as they have evolved to survive long winters and have the process off to a tee.…

We should all be planting more trees, and I don’t need to go into the many reasons why, because you know them already. If you do not have space in your garden (and sadly but reasonably, most allotments do not allow trees) consider offering to plant one, or more, fruit trees in neighbours’ or friends’ gardens. (This is a rather cunning plan, as later on you’re likely to enjoy some of the crop!) Indeed, the planting of more fruit trees makes loads of sense as even if we don’t use them, nature will, and many are as beautiful in flower as the solely ornamental alternatives. Likewise, we can consider more carefully those shrubs we plant for pretty flowers. Obviously those with scent are better value, and a bonus if good…