Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2018 i BBC Gardeners' World

Day out with Adam Meet presenter Adam Frost in our exclusive autumn gardening day at Bowood, complete with bulb masterclass and private tour of house and garden – see p97. Start a flower patch Growing cut flowers is a rewarding way to bring the outside in and save you £££s! Make a start by joining our reader event – turn to p45. Potted know-how June is the ideal month to refresh your summer pots, so get it right with our videos, by container pro (and our deputy editor) Kevin Smith, at gardenersworld.com/choosing-pots NEW video guide Cordless power tools are fast becoming the choice for many, thanks to their efficiency and ease of use. Watch our video guide to this month’s On Test at gardenersworld.com/multi-tools Passport to great gardens If you…

When making my choice of top hostas for this piece, I was soon up to over a dozen, and it was easy to add a dozen more. There are so many fine varieties, many of which are easy to grow, and they keep coming – almost 80 new varieties have been listed by nurseries this spring. So what are we looking for in the best hostas? The plants must be elegant in shape as they develop and the colour and pattern of the foliage must be appealing. Attractive flowers are a welcome bonus, and autumn foliage colour brings another season of appeal, plus tolerance of summer sun is useful in many gardens, as is tolerance of dry spells. Oh, and a dense leaf cover to suppress weeds – well, who…

Cultivate exciting careers Having worked as a lecturer in a land-based college (now retired), I have to agree with Alan Titchmarsh’s views on education (Tales from Titchmarsh, May issue). It seemed to be a general school and education view that any land-based careers were for the ‘less intelligent’ students. What can be further from the truth? There is a world of variety out there for all levels – some jobs are highly skilled, others just require aptitude and enthusiasm. So let’s have more careers in all land-based subjects – it’s healthy, exciting and rewarding. Angie Wilkins, East Sussex A trip down primrose lane Primroses have always been one of my spring favourites, so I was delighted to see Carol Klein’s article about primulas (March issue) and the Devon paper mills’…

Quick picks for 2018 1 SHOW GARDENS Head to APL Avenue to pick up some inspirational gardening ideas on how to make the most of limited space 2 DIARMUID’S DEMO Watch designer and TV presenter Diarmuid Gavin share his story with Jim Buttress on the Demo Bench, Thursday 10.40am and 1.30pm PLANT SOLUTIONS Join expert David Hurrion for daily talks and advice on your gardening problems at the new outdoor stage, Problem Solved! 4 TECHNICOLOUR DAHLIAS Be dazzled by dahlias in the floral marquee, courtesy of the National Dahlia Collection near Penzance, Cornwall 5 FROM SEED TO PLATE Don’t miss the BBC Good Food Show in Halls 2 and 3 while you’re at Gardeners’ World Live. Tickets include access to live demos and food stalls Showstopping show gardens Look out…

The categories 1 Fantastic Flowers This is the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine category – we’re looking for gorgeous photos (landscape format) of individual plants, borders or combinations. The winning image will appear in our 2019 calendar. 2 Design Details Photos that capture beautiful garden features, which aren’t just about plants. 3 Beautiful Garden Views Photos that show a wide shot of a garden and how it relates to the landscape in which it sits. 4 Garden Wildlife Photos that show garden wildlife at work – bees, butterflies, birds, and more… 5 People in Gardens Photos that show a garden in action with visitors, young and old, enjoying the space. 6 Town Gardens Photos that show a beautiful garden in an urban setting – no plot is too small for this…

BUDGET BORDER Create a low-cost border with five well-chosen plants – just follow Joe Swift’s budget plan All gardeners want value for money, with some of us even being a bit frugal on occasions. I can’t be the only one that’s grimaced at the price of garden centre plants, even though I know the cost will reflect the age and size of the plant, and how much time and work it’s taken to get it to the selling stage. Whatever your reason – perhaps you’re renting your home and don’t want to invest in the garden long term – there are probably areas in your plot that could be easily improved without spending too much money. To grow a budget border, the best plan is to bypass the garden centre…

Containers are a great way to create high-impact in even the smallest of spaces. By putting together carefully chosen plants, it’s possible to make long-term compositions that can be moved around the garden to suit you. When making gardens, I use pots not only for portable prettiness, but also as a way to experiment with planting combinations that can then be replicated in beds. This recipe represents great value, as the bulk of the plants are perennials and will look good for years. The grass and gaura can be cut back and split in two next spring, to give you extra plants for free. Every plant in the pot, bar the verbena, is hardy but they will all appreciate being moved to a sheltered spot in winter. Take cuttings from…

Plastics are derived from oil – so the less we use, the more carbon can stay in the ground in the fight against climate change. Arit Anderson What can be done? Friends of the Earth (FOE) is calling on gardeners to avoid using plastics unless there is no safe, sustainable alternative – and supports taxes on plastic to “discourage their use and promote alternatives”. Plastics campaigner Julian Kirby of FOE said: “A tax on virgin plastics would promote reduction by making plastic more expensive relative to other materials.” But the Horticultural Trades Association stated that it will oppose a plastic tax. Raoul Curtis-Machin, tells us: “Growers have come under relentless cost pressures in recent years and an extra tax would simply drive-up prices for consumers.” It’s estimated that 500 million…

Looking after melon plants Now that the greenhouse is consistently warm, it’s a good time to plant melons. Pinch out the top of the plant to five leaves and when new side shoots grow, select four strong shoots and remove the rest. Guarantee fruit by taking off a male flower (the pollen-covered stamen sticking up in the centre of the flower) to pollinate the female (which has an immature fruit behind it). Press the male gently into the middle of the female. Limit developing fruit to four per side shoot. Provide shade inside Greenhouse plants will scorch and overheat when the hot sun shines straight on them. Keep plants in good condition with some shading. Some greenhouses come with integral blinds that are pulled down when needed. If not, shade…

STEP BY STEP Clean and top up your pond Keep your eye on the water quality of your pond. At this time of year, it may be in danger of deoxygenating as temperatures rise and the pond gets clogged up with weed growth, resulting in death for pond life. 1 Pull out blanket weed and the vigorous shoots of other weeds to control their growth. 2 Keep the water level topped up. If you spray water on it will aerate the pond water. 3 It’s not too late to plant new water lilies, which will produce floating leaves that will provide shade. Set slug traps Control slugs organically with cups of beer, milk or malt drinks. The slugs will be attracted to the smell and fall into your trap and…

Tomatoes A summer staple, these are easy to grow if you buy plants now. Four tall plants will give you lots of fruits in a fairly small space. 1 Make a wigwam 40cm wide, to support your tomatoes with four 2m tall bamboo canes, secured at the top with twine. Plant a tomato plant at the base of each cane and water well. 2 As the plants grow, tie the main stem to its cane. As shoots form in the join between the stem and leaves, pinch them out with your fingers. When the plants have grown to the height of the wigwam, chop the tops off. Find out more on p143. 3 Water well and feed the plants with a tomato feed every two weeks once you can see…

There’s no better month in the garden than June. All your efforts from spring are being rewarded, and if you’re starting afresh with a new plot or just a bit behind (and who isn’t after this year’s weather?), it’s a benign month that means ideas can quickly become reality.... A cut flower patch, new veg plot, a border revival? It’s all possible this month and we show you how to do these, and more, in this issue. It’s also the easiest moment to shop for colour and scent, with plants at their biggest and in peak condition after months of care from growers and garden centres. Well chosen and carefully planted, plants will romp away, giving you dramatic results fast. And it won’t cost an arm or leg if you…

Everybody loves a good lawn. However, much rests in that innocuous word ‘good’. I am not immune to the pleasures of a perfect sward – the grass all of a type, cut to a machined uniformity and glowing with verdant health and (here’s the bit that sends certain hearts racing) devoid of the slightest trace of weed. But I don’t need any of those things to enjoy my bit of grass. What I love, above all, is that it should be green and soft and level-ish. I don’t really care what its component plants are, or which creatures I share it with. If I can walk on it, play football or cricket on it, ride a bike, sunbathe, wiggle my toes or eat my sandwiches on it, then I am…

Blue Planet has certainly raised awareness of the impact of plastic waste, and not before time. Reusing pots at home is to be recommended, but I buy far more plants in pots than I can ever re-use. Why can’t there be a pot recycling/return scheme at garden centres? Even better would be the re-use of pots by the industry. Manufacturers need to make pots to a universal shape and size, then any grower can re-use them. The gardening industry needs to step up. Heather Whetter, Berks I was disgusted to find that my local garden centre does not recycle pots, and nor does my local recycling centre. There should be incentives for both the trade and public to recycle their pots. Garden centres could offer a reward system to customers…

“ The best way to get an abundance of cut flowers is to grow them yourself ” We always grow a lot of sweet peas – last summer we had rows in the cutting beds, in the Jewel Garden and still more in the New Fruit Garden alongside tayberry, loganberry and blackberries. As they started to flower we were picking sweet peas every 10 days; stripping every single bloom to encourage strong reflowering and to stop any of them from setting seed. This meant that for about six weeks we had half a dozen buckets – I am not exaggerating – of sweet pea flowers for the house. We could have set up a sweet pea stall to sell to all the six people who ever pass by. The reason…

Pallet planter Re-purpose a pallet and you have a bargain way of creating a mini, bespoke vertical garden. After washing it down and painting it, simply wedge suitably sized plants in their existing containers between the slats. A frothy mix of spare bedding plugs and young salad plants makes a pretty and productive mid-summer combo. How to make it We sprayed our pallet blue but if you come by a pallet that’s already blue it should generally be returned* . Check markings on the pallet for treatment information, for example MB means methyl bromide, which is toxic. Keep your plants healthy by cropping and deadheading often until first frosts. Water daily, or use drought-resistant plants. *Avoid using ready-painted blue pallets. These are owned by the firm CHEP and can’t be…

Intoxicating floral fragrances are one of the joys of summer. By growing scented plants in pots you can ensure they get the conditions they need and you can position them near a seat or doorway, where you can really enjoy them. Here are five container recipes to help you fill any space with perfume. Lasting aromas The long-flowering French lavender, clove-scented rose and the dwarf tobacco plants in soft pink shades, combine here to offer subtle colours, along with aromatic, heady fragrances from summer through to early autumn. The simple concrete pot offsets the varied forms and textures. Give it a sunny spot. More scented plants to try Hyssop Stocks Mexica salvias such as ‘Nachtvlinder’ Sweet, spicy scents The dark chocolate of the cosmos blends with the orange bidens’ honeyed…

Gardening is Britain’s greenest pastime, right? After all, more than three decades have passed since we stopped blasting pests with polluting DDT and it’s been 15 years since we called time on splashing carcinogenic creosote over garden fences. Safer greenhouse fumigants replaced toxic smoke cones and more of us are using rechargeable battery-powered lawn mowers. Few of us dig peat into borders as a soil improver any more and the EU has now banned the outdoor use of some neonicotinoid insecticides, as the extent of bee decline becomes clear. So, is everything now rosy in the garden? Well, not quite and two topics dominate the agenda: our addiction to plastic in gardening and the nation’s refusal to wean itself off peat composts. Let’s consider the plastic problem first. If you’re…

Firstly, simply give peat-free composts a try and compare results. Share your results on social media – the ‘peatfree’ hashtag on Twitter (#peatfree) has a growing following, and is also used by nurseries to promote plants grown in peat-free composts. When buying compost, look for peat content indicators on the bag – many products state the percentage of peat. This spring, retailers appear to be pricing peat-free composts competitively, with many 50-litre bags retailing at the same price as peat-based equivalents (see panel right). B&Q offered one of the most extensive line-ups of peat-free compost and told us it was “committed to moving away from peat in products and working on plans to reduce peat”. Sainsbury’s and Wyevale both offer smaller bags of compost for home-delivery, with no difference between…

Firstly, don’t throw plastic away for the sake of it – reuse it and make your existing plastic last as long as possible. Plastic degrades faster if exposed to sunlight, so don’t leave propagator lids and seed trays to bake in greenhouses if not in use. Once your plastic product’s life is over, switch to wooden seed trays and plant labels, and terracotta plant pots, which last longer and look more attractive. Shopping online can also help, with many suppliers already doing what they can to decrease their plastic use. Thompson & Morgan tells us: “Our green transparent trays are made from 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is completely recyclable. Plus, our factory has no waste – everything is recycled back into raw material.” Do quiz retailers about packaging.…

Start sowing biennials Biennial plants are those that take two years to complete their lifecycle, germinating in their first year and flowering in the second. Garden favourites are foxgloves, hollyhocks and wallflowers. They are great for flower displays early next season but need to be grown from seed now so that they are ready to be planted into the borders in the autumn. Sow in pots for plants to be grown on until planting time or, if you have space, sow directly into the border where they are to flower and thin them out in late summer. Deadheading spent blooms When you snip off fading flowers you are saving your plants from using energy producing seeds and encouraging them to produce more flowers. It makes a big difference to garden…

Grow fresh salad leaves We are all so used to popping into the supermarket to snatch a cellophane bag of ready-picked, ready-washed salad leaves, that it is all too easy to forget how simple – and satisfying – it is to grow them at home. They need little fuss, virtually no space and you know exactly what they have been through to get to your plate. Sowing now is ideal, as the weather is warm, the light intensity high and you will need nothing in the way of protected cultivation (no greenhouse or frame) to get them growing. It will only be a few weeks before you can harvest, and you can do that throughout the season on a cut-and-come-again basis. There are lots of varieties available, but a mixture…

Gooseberries Gooseberries are enjoying renewed popularity as new disease-resistant varieties become available. They’re great value as one plant will crop for 10 years. THREE WAYS TO TRY • For a classic gooseberry crumble with a spicy twist add some ground ginger and cinnamon to the crumble topping • Cook gooseberries with light muscovado sugar and elderflower cordial and bake in a sugar crust pie for a delicious pud • Heat with a little sugar and water till the fruit bursts, cool, then add double cream and vanilla custard for a tangy summer treat Gooseberries Nutrition Rich in Vitamin C. Good levels of Vitamin A and potassium as well as other minerals. How to grow Full sun gives the best crops but they can produce fruit in part shade. Good drainage…

• Fruits are the bodies that hold seeds once flowers have been pollinated. They are the ripened ovary of a plant and its contents. In loose terms the structures around the ovaries are often included in the definition too. • Water in the soil allows plants to assimilate nutrients. These minerals are transported in water through xylem tissues (a system of tubes). • Fruit plants need a high-potassium (sometimes called potash) feed, regularly and consistently. This is indicated by the letter ‘K’ in fertilisers. Look for sulphate of potash or tomato feed, liquid seaweed feed or comfrey tea. • Bending down branches of fruit helps redistribute hormones and nutrients, resulting in the formation of more fruit buds. • Sunlight encourages ripening, so prune trees and bushes to allow light to…

With Monty Don pledging to reduce his use of plastic at Longmeadow, we question how the industry and home gardeners can also play their part Our gardens are awash with plastic: plastic pots, seed trays, compost bags, polythene cloches and garden hoses. It’s all so ugly and, worse, it’s wrecking the planet – the cracked pot you throw away today will still be out there in 400 years, shattered into microplastics, poisoning wildlife and turning coastlines into rubbish tips. I’ve been steadily reducing plastic in my garden for two years and mostly, it’s been quite easy – you just channel your inner Victorian. I sow into wooden seed trays labelled with lollipop sticks, prick out seedlings into newspaper pots and pot on into clay. I use glass cloches, metal watering…

Never too late... If you’d like to buy 2 for 1 Entry Cards & Guides 2018 for friends and family to enjoy, order them from gardenersworld.com/2-for-1-gardens/order-now for £5.99 each (subscribers: see p32 for discount code). 1 PENSTHORPE NATURAL PARK Pensthorpe, Fakenham, Norfolk NR21 0LN If you want to immerse yourself in a wild day out, then look no further than Pensthorpe, home to BBC’s Springwatch in 2008-10. Four spectacular gardens and a wildflower meadow are set within this 770-acre estate. Explore wildlife-rich gardens, woodlands, wetlands and a chalk river. Rare and threatened species such as the bittern, otter, water vole, white-clawed crayfish and the impressive Eurasian crane are all present on site. See what you can spot from the newly opened bird hide. OPEN all year, daily, 10am-5pm. Adults £11.95,…

• Pick first thing in the morning or last thing at night. The flowers will last longer as a result. I often carry a bucket of water into the garden with me and put the cut flowers straight into this so they can stand over night in a cool shed and then be arranged in the morning. • Strip at least half the foliage off, leaving the lower section of each stem bare. Again epo , this m lo willem ensure epsom longer vase-life. • Restore plants that are flopping over by searing the ends for 30 seconds (no more) in boiling water • Cut stems as long as possible and just above a new shoot or leaf. This will ensure that there are side-shoots remaining from which the next…

One of the great joys of buying a new plant is being able to increase it straight away. Some lend themselves to division – look out for plants suchas Ajuga, which produces individual mini-plants that can be pulled gently off the main plant and replanted. Although the new offspring may look a bit under the weather for a few weeks, they’ll soon recover. Planting just one specimen of lots of different plants creates a scheme that looks dotty and lacks cohesion. So dividing your plants will help to unify your borders as well as saving money. A plant may be at the height of its flowering, like this Leucanthemum (pictured), but if it has many stems and a strong root system it will usually split well. Start by cutting back…

Buying and planting • Most of these plants will need sowing in spring. The calendula can also be sown in September, whereas the sweet peas can be sown indoors in October/November. • To create this border for this summer you should be able to buy good-value plugs or small plants in pots ready to plant straight out. • Prepare the soil well by digging it over, incorporate drainage medium (sharp sand or grit on heavy soils) and some garden compost. • Sweet peas are hungry plants, so dig a small pit beneath where the wigwam will go and incorporate plenty of home-made compost. Maintaining • Water during dry spells. • Feed regularly (using a liquid tomato or seaweed feed) to keep plants flowering. • Once the annuals start flowering, pick…

“Reducing, let alone eliminating, plastics from the garden was never going to be easy or quick,” admits Monty, who’s been trying to reduce it at Longmeadow since early this year. “However, we are recycling our existing plastic and not buying more. We’ve made real progress, using a lot of terracotta, plus wood and coir pots. Cardboard pots seem to absorb a lot of water and rot very quickly in a warm greenhouse, which is a problem. But buying compost in reuseable tonne bags is working well, while sowing in seed beds and soil blocks is good. What we need most is a source of non-plastic pots that are reuseable and compostable.”…

It used to cost more to buy peat-free compost, but prices have come down in recent years, making peat-free a more attractive option for gardeners on a tight budget. As a rule, all composts contain some peat unless named as ‘peat free’. DOBBIES GARDEN CENTRES • New Horizon Peat-Free & Organic Multi-Purpose Compost 50L £6.99 (2 for £12) • Miracle-Gro All Purpose Enriched Compost 50L £6.99 (2 for £12) • Gro-Sure Easy Containers Compost 50L £6.99 (3 for £15) • Westland Multi-Purpose Compost 50L £4.99 (3 for £13) B&Q • Miracle-Gro Peat-Free All Purpose Enriched Compost 50L £5.83 (3 for £14) • Verve Peat-Free Multipurpose Compost 50L £3.86 (3 for £10) • Miracle-Gro All Purpose Enriched Compost 50L £5.83 (3 for £14) • Levington Multipurpose Compost 50L £5.73 HOMEBASE •…

Hanging baskets It’s not too late to create a hanging basket. The flower display is instant and it lasts until the first frosts of the autumn. Bedding plants like geraniums, fuchsias, petunias and begonias are ideal and you may find them on offer in the garden centres by now. Choose a mix of plants that will trail over the edge of the basket and strong uprights that will give the display some height. You can colour theme your flowers each year, too. The shape of most baskets means that there is not much root room for the crowd of plants that share the space, so giving plenty of water and feed makes all the difference. Add extra fertiliser to the compost and use liquid feed too. Water daily through the…

Sow veg outdoors Runner beans, French beans and sweetcorn can be sown outside in the warm ground now. You can sow more seeds again in a month’s time for a later crop. Sow some crops on the vegetable patch little and often to keep your pickings young and tasty. Salad leaves, radishes, beetroot, turnip and carrots can be sown every couple of weeks in small amounts to keep a good supply going. Know your crops and water wisely Some vegetable plants need more water than others. In general, you should soak plants at their base when they are newly planted and soak again in dry weather until they are well established. Spraying water around on the foliage is wasteful and not all that productive, whereas a good soaking at ground…

With young kids and a busy work schedule, I appreciate any shortcuts I can find when it comes to veg gardening. Follow this time-saving guide to creating a packed summer veg bed, starting now, and you’ll have plenty to harvest this summer even if you can only spare 30 minutes a week. It’s not too late to start growing vegetables this year. In fact, it’s the perfect time because you can just buy ready-grown plants and pop them into the soil – no fiddly seed sowing or worrying about late frosts. Next month, I’ll show you how to keep the harvests coming all autumn and winter. Where to grow A raised bed is the perfect place to grow vegetables, because you can fill it with a good quality soil and…

FRUIT TREES • Thin leafy growth on trained apples, cutting back to two buds to encourage more fruit bearing. Easing congestion will also help to prevent pests and diseases. Pruning might be the last thing on your mind at this time of year, but it pays to give shrubs, trees, climbers and fruit a bit of a nip and tuck where needed. In fact, such training is vital if you are to channel the plant’s energy into worthwhile growth. Pinch out growing tips, remove competing or crossing shoots, and tie in vigorous leading stems to supports now to avoid major pruning or structural issues later. The soft, leafy growth you remove can be added directly to the compost heap. Such diligence is key for training ornamental forms of fruit trees…

Q What insect-friendly plants can boost my allotment crops? Neil MacGillivray, Lancashire A BOB SAYS To really help insects, it’s important to provide continuity of blooms throughout the growing season, so plant some early flowers in your bed such as crocus, winter aconite, celandines and maybe some flowering redcurrant bushes. For summer blooms, buddleias, dwarf gorse and the smaller shrubby potentillas are excellent (prune buddleia hard annually to keep these small). Also,sow Phacelia tanacetifolia, Limnanthes douglasii, red, white and crimson clovers, ox-eye daisies and Alpine strawberries. For early autumn, there is little better than a bramble but it needs hard pruning and training to confine it. For late autumn, ivy flowers are invaluable, also Michaelmas daises, autumn crocus and most of the hardier bedding plants. A PIPPA SAYS Your plan…

“It serves as a reminder of an age when the population was so much more dependent on the land and in touch with the seasons” To most who go about their daily toil, the weather is at best an inconvenience, and at worst a real pain – everything from ice on the roads to leaves on the line. To gardeners and those who work on the land it is something altogether more important. Sailors respect the sea; gardeners respect the weather. We also regard it as part and parcel of our lives. We work around it, unlike those whose jobs are not governed by the seasons and who do little more than cast an eye to the skies of a morning to see if they need a mac or a…