Indholdsfortegnelse for August 2016 i BBC Gardeners' World

• Discover our app Explore our award-winning digital edition for iPad in the App Store – with video clips and links to further content. Get two free issues and a 30-day free trial if you subscribe for a year. • Just press play We’ve crammed our new-look website with video guides and TV clips, including Monty on How to choose a hedgetrimmer. • Great days out Make the most of the summer garden visiting season with our 2 for 1 Entry Card & Guide. Launched in the May 2016 issue and valid to April 2017, it gives you entry to 405 gardens. Order a copy for £5.50 at gardeners world.com/2-for-1-gardens • Time to discover the Secret Garden! This month’s subscription offer of five issues for £5 (see p30) also unlocks access…

“Growing some fruit, veg and herbs is one of the most life-enhancing, practical and enriching things you can ever do” John Seymour has a lot to answer for. I don’t know how widely read he is nowadays, but back in the 1970s and 80s he was the guru of self-sufficiency. His various books on the subject were all variations on the theme of his monstrously successful The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency, published in 1975. Some books come from seemingly nowhere and hit a spot with an accuracy that takes everyone by surprise. No one, apart from a few bedraggled hippies on wet Welsh hillsides, had any idea they wanted to be self-sufficient, but when they did consider it, they found they wanted it very badly. It spawned – and if…

• The slugs don’t eat them, unlike lupins. I currently have a purple one flowering at the back of a border that is 3ft high. fidgetbones • I didn’t pay them much attention either. I raised them from seeds when I started gardening and I would only buy perennials. Then I realised that it was good to have something always flowering so that there would always be a dash of colour in the garden. aym280 • Great plants for pollinators – they’re always swarming with bees in our garden. scroggin • Bee friendly and slug/snail resistant is the reason I bought them, plus I like the bell-like flowers. If you cut them back in spring they won’t look as foliage heavy. mark56 I find these plants go well with a…

WILTSHIRE Bowood House & Gardens Calne, Wiltshire, SN11 0LZ Discover one of the finest examples of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s work. The grounds appear very much as the original plans intended, with sweeping lawns leading down to a mile-long winding lake amid a gentle undulating landscape. Visitors can immerse themselves in the historical past and discover the hidden cascade, temple and woodlands. Open 25 Mar-31 Oct, daily, 11am-6pm. Adults £12, OAPs £10, children (5-12) £9, children (2-4) £7. Card valid for whole property. Woodland walks at an additional cost. Tel: 01249 812102, bowood.org Nearby Avebury village and stone circles nr Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 1RF Visit the mysterious landscape of the world’s largest prehistoric stone circle, comprising a large outer circle and two inner ones. There’s also a museum on…

Polka Dot Collapsible Play Tent Easy to assemble, made from fabric, wood and rubber. Height 100cm, width 60cm, depth 100cm. £54.99, noton thehighstreet.com Blue and White Stripe Wigwam Made from wipe-clean canvas with metal poles. Suitable for children aged three or above. Height 1.35m, width and depth 1.83m. £85, gltc.co.uk Mallorca 3.5m Taupe Overhanging Parasol A generous size, with four position options, operated by a crank handle. Supplied in a carry bag. Height 2.51m, width 3.5m. £107, diy.com Sun Umbrella – large hot pink Protects from sun and light showers. Polyester, with wooden pole, bamboo spokes and shell hearts. Height 2.70m, width 2m. £310, indian garden company.com…

1 Collect seed on a dry day, during a dry spell, mid morning, once the dew has evaporated. 2 Place the dry seedhead or shake the seeds into a paper bag, not polythene, to prevent mould. 3 Label the bag, so you remember what they are when it comes to sowing. Store in a cool dry place.…

• Collect rainwater in butts and keep using this water on your plants, so there’s always room for them to refill. • Use smaller one-gallon watering cans, rather than two-gallon ones, as they make it easier to aim water accurately around the base of your plants. • Water the soil and not the leaves of your plants. Direct it where it’s needed most, into each plant’s root zone. • Choose new plants that can cope with drought, if your garden tends to be dry. • Give priority to watering new plantings to ensure their roots develop strongly and spread out into the soil. • Put plants in the ground as soon as possible, whether they’re recent purchases or ones you’ve grown from seeds or cuttings. They’ll need more watering if…

Wall attachments Specialist anchor bolts, which you can get from DIY stores, are essential when attaching weighty elements to walls. Pouches, baskets, mangers, shelves or trellis will remain secure, thanks to the anchor bolt’s capacity to expand and firmly grip into the wall. They are more secure than conventional screws and rawl plugs, and can carry a greater weight. Get permission House or garden walls are often shared with a neighbour or form part of their property. Check they are happy for you to drill into their walls before engaging in any vertical adventures. Simplify watering Watering a vertical garden can be a challenge. Keep it simple with an automated drip-irrigation system or use a crook-necked hanging-basket lance on a hose to reach lofty pots and pouches. Early plant preparation…

• Prepare the soil really well. This is (hopefully) not the wettest time of year, so add plenty of moisture-retaining compost or well-rotted manure to the planting site. • Buy good-sized plants in 2-litre pots. The later in the season you plant them, the larger the plants should be, as they’ll have less time to bulk up before winter arrives. • Soak the roots before you plant and tease them out if they’re pot-bound to encourage them to spread out in search of water and nutrition. • Scatter a general organic fertiliser such as blood, fish and bonemeal over the soil after planting. • Mulch the ground around the plants once they’re in place and have been well watered in. Chipped bark is good long-lasting option. • Water new plants…

Store your chillies ONCE CHILLI fruits stop growing, you can either harvest them green – when they’re not so sweet – or leave them to turn fully red. Use scissors to cut the stalk just above the top of the fruit to keep them fresher for longer. Chillies can also be stored for use through autumn and winter. Lay them out to dry for a week or so on a tray in the greenhouse, then thread them onto some fine string using a large-eyed needle. Hang them up in a cool, dark place indoors ready for use. Wash your hands after handling chillies WATCH Monty explain the best way to harvest cucumbers at gardenersworld.com/ harvest-cucumbers Stop tomatoes IF KEPT FED and watered, tomato plants will continue to grow and produce new…

Deadhead blooms KEEPING THE garden looking good through summer involves many tasks, from weeding to watering. Some are tedious chores, but one in particular gives me enormous pleasure – deadheading. This means removing faded flowers from plants whose seedheads, pods and berries are no longer of any value. But, if they add to the plant’s decorative qualities or will attract wildlife, then deadheading is a waste of a plant’s natural attributes and you must stay your hand. Aside from smartening up beds, deadheading also stops plants expending their energy on making unwanted seeds. Plus, it prevents those that seed themselves freely from becoming over invasive. Check this before you head out with the snips and you can have a garden that not only looks cared for, but also makes the…

Known as the butterfly bush, Buddleja davidii is the number-one plant recommended for attracting butterflies by the charity Butterfly Conservation. Its abundant flowers are one of the best sources of summer nectar for butterflies and many other pollinators. However, this shrub can be invasive and outcompete native plants, so the charity advises against planting it where it may be unmanaged and pose a risk to nearby wildlife habitats. Butterfly Conservation also recommends that gardeners deadhead the blooms after flowering to prevent seeds developing, which also stimulates further flowers. Pros A favoured nectar source for butterflies and many other pollinators, including moths, bees and hoverflies. Easy to grow, varieties available in a range of sizes, reliable blooms, and attractive to butterflies and insects. Cons Self-seeds readily and can grow very quickly,…

ALLOW YOUR LAWN to grow long. This will help the grass cope better with dry conditions, retaining its green colour, and enable birds to forage for worms and other invertebrates more quickly. Increase your stock of wildlife-friendly plants by collecting seed. Turn to page 32 for Monty’s tips on seed collecting. Top-up bird feeders with protein-rich food such as sunflower hearts and peanuts for migrating birds to build up strength before heading south. Leave out meat-based cat or dog food for hedgehogs and their young, which have only a few weeks to gain sufficient fat to survive hibernation. Put the food in a shallow bowl, as small hedgehogs find it difficult to eat from large dog bowls. Provide fresh water, too. In dry weather, top up bird baths and ponds…

Since time began we have been preserving food so we could survive the lean months of the year, thus the allure and alchemy of chutneys and pickling has become part of the yearly ritual in my home. To be able to go to the larder on a cold winter’s day, open a bright-yellow jar of homemade piccalilli, and taste the spicy, crunchy cauli ower and cucumber mix with a good pork pie is just heaven. As an ambitious home gardener, I grow many obvious fruit and vegetables, as well as some unusual types, and I always have a glut – but nothing goes to waste. Preserving is the perfect solution to this excess: it’s easy and can be done in a day, and then you are ready to turn a…

DAVID SAYS Cut your lawn with a grass box to collect the clippings and avoid spreading creeping lawn weeds and the seed of mat-forming species such as daisies and dandelions. Q How can I get rid of weeds in my lawn? A Keeping a lawn entirely free of weeds is a labour of love and while it is possible, you should first decide how much of your free time you want to devote to this activity and whether you are prepared to use chemicals. We are still a nation of lawn lovers, despite the trend towards small gardens and paved surfaces. Research for a Radio 4 documentary a couple of years ago estimated that there are at least 15 million lawns in the UK and, according to The Lawn Institute,…

Christine Walkden Garden writer Christine appears on BBC 1’s The One Show . She is also a lecturer and tour leader. Matt Biggs Matt trained at Kew and has been gardening professionally for more than 20 years. Pippa Greenwood Pippa is one of the foremost experts on pests and diseases. She gardens using organic methods. Q What can I grow for colour in a north-east facing walkway? Joel Clarke-Morgan, Suffolk A CHRISTINE SAYS Firstly, incorporate organic matter into the soil when planting. Regarding colour, go for all seasons of interest, so consider early bulbs such as Anemone nemorosa ‘Robinsoniana’ with its pink-flushed flowers, snowdrops, our native primrose Primula veris, and the shuttlecock fern Matteuccia struthiopteris for height. Summer colour can be provided by white, pink and dark purple astrantias, along…

What can y for thousands of miles at 30mph without the use of an engine – and at a height of up to 1km? Answer: the painted lady butterfly, one of our most amazing migrants, not only for its stamina but for the sheer ingenuity of its navigation, all the way from north Africa to UK gardens (and even on as far as Iceland). And it’s set to be a bumper year for them, the best since 2009, with peak numbers due in August. Why their populations wax and wane remains as unclear as the workings of their inbuilt sat nav that guides them north. But there’s no mystery about what they and all butterfly species need to survive right now, and that’s nectar. And zhere’s where we fit in:…

That’s easy for you to say! I can’t get used to Latin plant names – I always have to look online to find something more familiar to me. However, reading Joe’s designer pots (June issue), I was instantly transported back to Pop Larkin and his daughters Zinnia, Petunia and Primrose (in The Darling Buds of May). Somehow naming your daughters Calibrachoa or Tagetes doesn’t quite have the same ring. Deke Dudley, by email Walk the line We thought we’d cracked our squirrel problem by hanging our bird feeder on a string between two trees, but this acrobat still managed to clear it out. Richard and Julie Shiner, Somerset At what cost the perfect lawn? Some gardening trends really concern me, none more so than artificial grass and treatments used to…

“Throughout history the world has coveted our gardens” Wherever I go, UK gardens, and our talented gardeners who tend to them, are regarded as the finest in the world. Since the early 18th century, when a new style of landscape garden emerged in Britain, gardening as an art form has been, and remains, our greatest export. In the 19th century, the great William Robinson – regarded as the most influential garden commentator in Europe – explored natural habitats and observed how plants grew together in nature. A more romantic style of gardening emerged and was quickly adopted; great gardens such as the National Trust’s Sissinghurst Castle Garden, in Kent, combined an informal planting style within a formal framework of walls and hedges. The ‘English Romantic Garden’ was born, a style…

Vanishing vine weevil cure? If you’ve had trouble finding Provado Vine Weevil Killer, there’s a good reason. It’s no longer being produced, so stocks are running low. Bayer, its manufacturer, believes that the product’s active ingredients will be reviewed by the EU and could ultimately be withdrawn, although this hasn’t happened yet. All Provado insecticides containing the active ingredient thiacloprid, including Provado Vine Weevil Killer 2, can still be legally sold while stocks last, with no restriction on how quickly to use any bottles you may have. We recommend using nematodes to control vine weevils. These biological controls are sold under the Nemasys brand in garden centres and online. Healthy progress Mary Berry, octogenarian and President of the National Gardens Scheme (NGS), appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour in…

Garden lighting not only increases the general atmosphere of your plot, it also transforms it into a great place to enjoy in the evening. Lighting is fun and creative to play around with, and can completely change the way you look at your outdoor space and the plants you have in it. When looking at your garden from indoors at night, rather than seeing a dark, reflective plane of glass, one flick of a switch will bring your garden back into play as a lit composition. It will also make it more inviting and accessible, and help turn it into a social place to enjoy summer evenings with friends. Technology has moved on leaps and bounds in recent years, and prices have dropped dramatically. Reliable, mains-powered kits are now really…

“A mirror gives the illusion that there’s more garden beyond the gate-like frame” Ann Hewitt’s courtyard garden is crammed with plants, even though it’s north facing, and just 3.6m wide and 5.8m at its longest corner. When she moved in 18 years ago, a quarter of the garden space was taken up with a shed, and much of the rest of the space was paved, but Ann was determined to fill it with plants. First, she replaced the shed with a much narrower model, so she’d have more room for plants. Then she extended the two existing beds and created a new sleeper-edged raised bed across the front of the garden, near the house, for shrubs that thrive in deep shade. Ann has gradually squeezed in more plants using a…

Garden rack planter Lightweight, collapsible planter for 2, 3 or 4 boxes. £310 + delivery 0207 060 7422, clippings.com Metal telescopic garden lance spray Make watering hard-to-reach plants easier with this extendable sprayer. £9.99 0345 077 8888, homebase.co.uk Chinese virginia creeper A climber, perfect for covering walls. Grow in a sunny spot for dramatic autumn colour. Comes in a 2l pot. £12.99 + delivery 01344 578 111, crocus.co.uk Vertical gardening living wall planter A 9-pocket, breathable fabric planter. 72cm x 72cm. £17.95 + delivery 0344 482 0697, scottsofstow.co.uk Triple-pot wall planter Bronze-effect steel planter with removable pots. £17.99 + delivery 0845 894 8522, greatgardensonline.com Fan-trained fruit trees Apricot, peach and nectarine trees (10l pots). Final height 2m x 3m. £54…

AUGUST CAN traditionally be a quiet or even slightly dowdy month in many gardens, as the initial flush of summer colour begins to fade. But this is certainly never the case at Longmeadow. In the Jewel Garden, the wide array of vibrant tender plants, including dahlias, cannas, salvias, bananas, tithonias, cosmos, zinnias and leonotis, reach the peak of their performance. This is accompanied by a lushness and sheer volume of growth that adds heft and substance to the brilliance of their floral display. The combination of warmth and, all too often, quite a lot of rain, means that this fecundity is untrammelled and can become rampant. Plants grow at different rates and some can overwhelm others, while weeds romp away with astonishing speed and vitality. So I weed and thin…

How to prevent earwig damage IF THE PETALS of your prized blooms are being eaten, earwigs are likely to be the culprits. Dahlias and chrysanthemums are particular favourites of these pincer-wielding insects, which like to devour the soft tissue of petals, rather than tougher leaves or fruit. Earwigs feed from late spring right through the summer months. After hiding in crevices or among debris during the heat of the day, they climb up flower stems at night to feast on petals. Their mixed diet also includes small insects and their eggs. If you spot earwigs on a fruit tree, they’re feeding on aphids. It makes sense to trap problem earwigs and move them from your flowers into the fruit garden, where they can help to control aphids rather than nibble…

Keep lavender compact LAVENDER bushes and hedges can become lanky and untidy if you don’t prune them annually. A light clip during the summer, after flowering has finished, will keep the plants compact and neatly rounded. Simply cut off the faded flowers and prune off about 3cm of this year’s leaf growth to make a tidy shape. This will stimulate the plant to put on fresh growth over the following weeks, which will have time to harden off before the first frosts. Avoid cutting back hard into old wood, as the stems may not re-sprout. Trim pyracantha OVER TIME, pyracantha can grow into a large shrub that takes up a great deal of space. But pruning at this time of year will limit its size, while also encouraging more flowers…

“Any front garden has room for a few large pots or urns full of plants that cheer the soul, and provide nectar for bees and butterflies” Who’d have thought that gardening could be so controversial? Oh, Top Gear has nothing on us when it comes to making a stand. All they have at their elbow is a dwindling supply of petrol, a few fast cars and a bunch of folk who like to have fun on a Sunday night. Gardeners, however, are an evangelical bunch who know that what they do is important, and who get frustrated and quite vocal when the powers that be overlook them and underestimate the power of plants. That is, in a nutshell, what the Royal Horticultural Society’s initiative ‘Greening Grey Britain’ is all about.…

If you want a plant that is guaranteed to flower all summer, then look no further than Salvia ‘Amistad’. Last year, mine started blooming at the end of May and was still in flower on 1 December! Yes, it was a very mild autumn and, yes, I have photographic proof. This plant not only performs, but is a real stunner, with silky, rich-purple flowers made even more dramatic by the purple-black hooded calyces and dark stems. This salvia is only frost hardy, so will need winter protection in most areas. However, in my sheltered garden, where I grow it among ornamental grasses, it has sailed through a couple of mild winters and has now developed a tough, woody framework. Plant it in a humus-rich, well-drained soil in sun or light…

Help! My garden is overrun with Welsh poppies, hardy geraniums, bluebells, bamboo, foxgloves, rhododendrons and lupins. I’m joking of course! However, these are some of the ‘problems’ mentioned in past issues of BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine. I have no sympathy for these gardeners, as what they refer to are flowers they don’t want, rather than weeds. Pernicious weeds are the real problem, with Japanese knotweed topping the list. In my own garden we inherited a Russian vine that rears its ugly head every spring, despite our attempts to get rid of it for the past 20 years. We have ground elder too, and even though we hoe off the tops, we can still pull up roots a foot long. The only solution is close planting of shrubs, which starve it…

Caterpillars (from the old French chatepelose – hairy cat) are the eating and growing stage of the butterfly or moth. A few might be considered minor pests because they nibble prize leaves or vegetables, but most are discreet and secretive, feeding only on their allotted wild plants in quiet corners. Not all caterpillars are hairy (a defence against being eaten by birds, which choke on the bristles), with many being camouflaged like leaf curls or twigs, or warningly coloured to show that their bodies have stored distasteful chemicals from poisonous leaves. When fully grown, most descend to the ground and burrow into loose soil to spin a silk cocoon for the chrysalis, in which the earth-bound maggot magically transforms into an aerial adult. For more on butterflies see…

• Free listing of events Find local garden events – from plant sales to open gardens – or promote your own events using the new free service offered by GreenPlantSwap. The website also features 21,000 plant records to help you identify your plants, plus thousands of plants offered for swap or sale. Greenplantswap.co.uk • Celebrating Geoff Hamilton Gardeners’ World commemorates the 20th anniversary of Geoff Hamilton passing away as Adam Frost returns to Barnsdale where he worked for Geoff from 1988-1996. The show airs on 5 August. • Weedkiller wins approval In the ongoing debate over the safety of the systemic weedkiller glyphosate, the European Commission has extended its approval of this herbicide for a further 18 months. This will allow further scientific study into whether it presents a carcinogenic…

1. Teasels (Dipsacus fullonum) Harvest the spiny seedheads with great care in autumn. Hang upside down to dry fully, then sow seeds in late spring. 2. Campions (Silene) Collect papery seed capsules from August onwards. Sow in autumn or spring (see video below). 3. Poppies (Papaver somniferum) Remove the whole pepper-pot seedhead once the holes in the top open, shake out the seeds into a paper bag and sow in autumn or spring. 4. Beans (including broad, borlotti and runner). Leave a few pods to mature at the end of the season and pick once fully dry. Remove the beans and store for sowing indoors in spring. 5. Hawthorn (Crataegus) Remove seeds from the ripe fruit, sow straight away into a pot and place outdoors so it gets a period…

Uplighters and spotlights Spotlights are the most versatile of garden lights as they come with spikes or wall mounts and can usually be rotated to shine in any direction. They’re great for uplighting into shrubs and trees to highlight interesting bark or ‘graze’ across a wall to bring out its colour and texture. Place in front of a plant to throw a shadow onto a wall or fence, or contrastingly set it behind to form a silhouette. Best for highlighting plants and features Power source mains or solar Price range from £25 Lanterns and candles Tea lights placed in a jam jar and set on walls, path edges or tables are the easiest and cheapest way of lighting a garden. There’s a huge range of products available, from simple lanterns…

Sea hollies Beautiful and long lasting, sea hollies such as Eryngium x zabelii have tough, silvery leaves that never suffer in drought. Many species come from mountainous regions, where their long tap roots thrust deep into the thin soil in search of water. Height x Spread 50-100cm x 30-50cm Flowers Jul-Aug Sedums These drought-resistant succulents produce domes of starry pink, ruby or white flowers in late summer and autumn. Although some taller varieties tend to flop, ’Matrona’ stands up well and its glaucous foliage turns rich purple when water is scarce. H x S 20-80cm x 20-80cm F Aug-Oct Echiums Belonging to the borage family, echiums thrive in dry conditions. Most are monocarpic and die after setting seed, but not before they show off tall spires of tiny flowers. These…

GREEN CASCADE Soften walls while adding height and movement by allowing trailing ivy to tumble out of lofty planters. IN FULL BLOOM Classic climbers such as roses and clematis thrive on walls while providing up to six months of flower. UP IN THE AIR Epiphytic plants such as bromeliads and ferns can be mounted during summer onto walls, posts or rustic branches. HANGING OUT Lots of trailing edibles, such as squashes and tomatoes, can be grown down into the vertical space. SIDE BY SIDE Wall pouches allow a façade to be flanked with flowers and foliage with ease. PICTURE PERFECT Focus attention on wall-mounted plantings by highlighting them with old picture frames, painted to suit the scheme. OPEN AND SHUT CASE Trellis, which is hinged from the wall at its…

“With thoughtful plant selection, your garden can look good until the first frosts” Every garden can look good from May to July. Well, perhaps not every garden, but May, June and July are the months when the majority of border plants give their all. It’s also during the months of May and June that most people visit their local nursery or garden centre and buy plants that look good in flower. By August, most people’s thoughts have turned to holidays, and the garden often takes a back seat. Then they come back from their hols and find that the garden has peaked – there’s little now to delight the eye and excite the senses. What a shame. But with a bit of forward planning, and some thoughtful plant selection, your…

LATE-SUMMER PRUNING • Use sharp secateurs to prune summer shoots on hedges to just above a leaf or bud, angling the cut in the same direction the bud is pointing. By August, the growth of woody plants has slowed to a minimum. This is usually because there’s less moisture in the soil and plants have exhausted their supplies of nitrogen and growth hormone. Most trees and shrubs produce their main growth in spring and early summer, so that by now their leaves are robust enough not to succumb to heat scorch and are busy photosynthesising, making the most of the long summer days . This year’s shoots have already started to ripen from the base, stiffening and turning from green to brown, and now is the time to cut back…

STEP BY STEP Prune wisteria TO KEEP vigorous wisteria under control and encourage flowering in spring, you should prune it now, in mid- to late summer, and again in late winter. Cutting off the excess foliage now will expose the remaining stems to the ripening effects of the sun, which will promote the development of flower buds. 1 Take time to examine your wisteria plant, checking where you might want a strong vigorous new stem to train into a gap. Mark these stems with coloured string as a visual reminder. 2 Unravel any twining stems that have coiled around their supports or the main framework of branches. Leave short, stubby shoots unpruned, as these are likely to carry next year’s flowers. 3 Prune back the vigorous…

30 mins to spare? GET new strawberry plants for free by rooting runners. Pin down a healthy plantlet into a pot of compost and water it. Once rooted, sever the runner. Remove any runners you don’t want, as they take energy from the main plant. Prevent herbs going to seed IF THEY become dry at the roots, summer herbs such as coriander, basil and parsley – in common with lots of leafy summer veg – will quickly bolt, or run to flower and seed. Once they do this, they stop producing good quality foliage for cutting, and the plants may as well be pulled up. Avoid bolting by keeping them well watered in hot, dry weather. On sandy soil, retain moisture at the roots by adding a 2cm layer…

YOU WILL NEED • Secateurs/knife • Plant • Pots • Free-draining compost • Horticultural grit Increase your stock of nectar-rich plants such as aster (pictured) by taking cuttings now. These will grow over the next 12 months and be ready to ower next autumn, the time of year when the availability of nectar starts to diminish. Keep your cuttings moist but not overwatered as fungal infection can cause them to rot. Remove any that turn brown to protect the rest. 1 Take non-flowering shoots only, and make sure they are healthy and pest free. Take more than you need. Strip the lower leaves using a knife or fingernails. 2 With a sharp tool, make a clean cut across the stem below a leaf node. Stems will root at this junction.…

One of the joys of gardening is creating a plot that looks great, and summer is the time when you’re likely to be outside, checking the results of your hard work. So it’s disappointing to see damaged foliage and blooms, just when you want things looking their best. Unfortunately, many pests and diseases thrive in the warm months, and some are made worse by dry weather. But help is at hand: we’ve created a guide so you can identify the problems that could be spoiling your garden. This month we’re looking at ornamental plants, which means that some of our solutions involve chemicals you wouldn’t use in the veg plot. It may be too late to deal with some problems now but you’ll know how to make a good start…