Innehållsförteckning för March 2017 från BBC Gardeners' World

• Sowing the seed New to sowing or unsure why it doesn’t always work? Join our masterclasses on 8 March in Hampshire and 29 March in Hereford. Go to gardenersworld.com/ masterclass for details. • Monty’s spuds It’s not just time to sow seeds but also spuds. Watch how Monty does it in our two-part video at gardenersworld.com/ monty-potato-trial • Greener grass Alan’s guide to organic lawns should inspire you to tackle yours this month, and to watch Alan show how it’s done, see his No Fuss Guides to lawncare at gardenersworld.com/ alan-titchmarsh • Plot to plate Open up a new world of flavours with our 132-page special edition, Grow Your Own. Get 60 crop grow guides plus 6 free seed packs, at £7.99 in shops or at buysubscriptions.com/ gyo17 for your copy by post.…

The bees’ needs Please be careful with your headings. In Clippings (February issue) you ran the article ‘Brexit means bee-exit?’ This could lead people to think that we should stay in the EU to protect our bees. I appreciate that the excessive use of pesticides can be harmful to pollinators, but I am concerned that your headline, together with some of the article’s content and final remarks, add weight to some people’s argument that we should remain in the EU. The article clearly casts doubt on our Government’s ability to make decisions that are in the best interests of UK farmers, gardeners and bees. Peter Spiers, Staffordshire It is essential to keep the current ban on neonicotinoid pesticides, for the sake of future generations and crop fertilisation. Let’s not dilute…

Funding winners A shared allotment scheme in Essex, and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s Pollinating The Peak project in Derbyshire, are two of nearly 400 projects nationwide to have won a grant from the Aviva Community Fund. Other winners included the Brogdale National Fruit Collection, along with Inch Park in Brechin where a wildlife trail will be created in one of Scotland’s most deprived areas. Grants of between £1,000 and £25,000 were made by the insurance giant for the environmental projects. Could your local project benefit from a cash injection? For more information on how to apply for the 2017 awards go to community-fund.aviva.co.uk Gardeners’ World back on our screens As GW TV returns to BBC2 on 10 March, Executive Producer, Paolo Proto, reveals what’s in store for the…

Make sure your container displays look great this year with some smart new pots for your doorstep and patio. Here are some of our favourites, along with a selection of fertilisers and container composts that will keep your potted plants in great shape. Wooden planters HARDWOOD SQUARE PLANTER A classic grey planter made from treated acacia hardwood (H49cm x W44cm). Also available in dark green. • £65, 0345 605 2505, worm.co.uk KINGHAM PLANTER This square planter is handcrafted from slatted panels of spruce wood (H50cm x W50cm). • £95, 03456 049049, johnlewis.com Container feeds WILKO ADVANCED TOMATO FEED This liquid feed is rich in potassium and phosphorus for plentiful flowers and fruits. • £1.50, 08000 329329, wilko.com PHOSTROGEN ALL PURPOSE Use in spring and summer for abundant flowers and fruit,…

• Choose a hot, sunny spot. The majority of summer-flowering bulbs need sun and warmth – after all, most are from sub-tropical climes where they can sunbathe without restraint. Few will thrive in shade, with the exception of woodland species such as the martagon lilies. • Grow in free-draining soil, as bulbs can easily rot in damp conditions. Most should not be grown in nitrogen-rich soil, as this will lead to leaf development rather than flower formation. Only a select few do well in rich soil, including dahlias and some of the lilies. Several of the South African bulbs, such as ixias, prefer poor, thin soil. • Use a loam-based compost when planting bulbs in containers, and add extra grit to improve the drainage. Loamy compost will sustain growth for…

Many trees, shrubs and fruit bushes start into growth in March, and the pace quickens as day length increases and temperatures rise. This means that you only have a narrow window of opportunity to get the last of your pruning and cutting back done. When pruned now, most deciduous woody shrubs and trees respond by producing strong growth. And the harder you prune, the more vigorous the re-growth will be. This is useful for shrubs with brightly coloured juvenile stems, such as dogwoods and willows, or attractive young leaves, such as ornamental elders. Hold back on pruning winter- and spring-flowering shrubs until they’ve finished blooming, unless they’re really overgrown, in which case, cut a third of the branches hard back. It’s also time to cut back herbaceous perennials and ornamental…

Deadhead your early bulbs ALL SPRING BULBS are best deadheaded as soon as the flowers fade. This prevents them setting seed, which would divert valuable energy away from feeding the bulb – the source of next year’s flowers. Simply pinch out or snip off the flower, along with the slight swelling behind it, from the top of the stalk. Don’t remove the green stalk or any foliage, as these allow the plant to make its own sugars, which feed and swell the bulb further. Leave the foliage in place for at least eight weeks after flowering, or until it turns yellow and dies down naturally. Finish cutting back hardy perennials REMOVE ANY remaining dead stems from clumps of herbaceous perennials before the spring growth really gets under way. Snip them…

STEP BY STEP Sow cosmos LONG flowering and reliable, cosmos make a great addition to the garden and cutting border. They grow well in low summer temperatures, so flowering will continue long into the autumn. Dwarf forms are good fillers while the strong, tall-stemmed varieties need little support and supply cut flowers throughout the season. Grow in free-draining soil in a sunny position. 1 Firm multi-purpose compost into the cells of a modular tray. The compost needs to be moist, so soak the filled tray in another tray of warm water for 30 mins. 2 Cosmos germinates easily, so just place one seed on the surface of each cell, then cover with a 2mm layer of sieved compost or vermiculite. 3 The seeds will germinate fast…

Garden for wildlife WILDLIFE ADDS a whole different dimension to a garden. One of the most wonderful things that happened to me last year was finding that we had resident swallows in our new home. I spent hours watching them. Best of all, encouraging wildlife into your garden really is simple. All that most creatures require is somewhere safe to shelter and breed, plus a place to forage and feed. Don’t think that now the winter is over, everything will be fine for our wildlife – creatures that have survived the cold weather could now be coming out of hibernation, mating and rearing their young, so it’s really important to continue helping them. Providing shelter for wildlife is easily done; why not add a box for birds or bats to…

DAVID SAYS Protect tender and half-hardy plants in cold frames, so that their tissues can toughen up and acclimatise to the cooler conditions outdoors, before planting out in their final positions. Q When can I start planting outdoors? A The simplest answer is as soon as it’s warm enough, but this varies according to the type of plant, the particular year and the part of the country you are in. In the UK, we can grow an enormous range of plants in our gardens, particularly during the summer, but we do have fickle weather, often with widely varying temperatures in spring, so it pays to know what you can plant now and what should be left until later in the season. Plants are grouped according to their levels of hardiness:…

“Gardeners are passionate about the land beneath their feet, and do their best to look after it and assure it of a healthy future” A friend of mind went on one of these ‘mindfulness’ courses. His wife made him do it. She said it would make him slow down. I have always known him to be a refreshingly energetic sort, although, in her eyes, he was manic rather than energetic, and I bow to her wisdom, borne of proximity. He lasted two evenings. He said that after having a raisin put in his hand, and being told to gaze at it and nothing else for the next 10 minutes, he knew that ‘mindfulness’ was not for him. I rather like my friend the way he is, but then I do…

The unfurling of new life from tiny, dried seeds is always a joy to see – whether it’s the first time you’ve sown them or it’s part of your well-honed routine. As we approach peak seed-sowing season, in March and April, we’re sharing this everyday miracle with you through free packs of salad and flowers to sow now. And what hot property your seeds are! As I’m writing this, the world appears to be in meltdown about a lack of those summer staples, courgettes and Iceberg lettuce, here in the depths of winter. It makes you realise how lucky we gardeners are to be so close to the seasons and able to enjoy timely eating of the freshest food, picked just moments before you eat it. What do you relish:…

Pulmonaria ‘Lewis Palmer’ Large, dark-blue flowers with violet tinges are followed by long, narrow, dark-green leaves spotted in white. Flowers Mar-Apr H x S 30-35cm P. officinalis ‘Blue Mist’ Unusually large, pale-blue flowers are followed by foliage spotted in greenish white. Flowers Mar-May H x S 30-35cm. P. rubra Bold, fresh-green clumps of unspotted leaves follow coral-red flowers. ‘Redstart’ is substantial. Flowers Feb-Apr H x S 35-45cm. P. saccharata ‘Dora Bielefeld’ Has lightly spotted foliage, and the large, clear-pink flowers opening from coral-pink buds are impressive. Flowers Mar-May H x S 25-30cm P. angustifolia Vivid-blue flowers are followed by elliptical, plain-green leaves that die away almost entirely for the winter. Flowers Mar-May H x S 25-30cm Some perennials are essential. Every garden I’ve ever had has included pulmonarias – and…

 Ivy might look attractive growing on the wall of your house, and a study of ivy growing on buildings conducted by English Heritage suggested it doesn’t cause harm to sound masonry. And that’s the point: masonry has to be sound or it can lead to problems. The vigorous roots that grow from ivy stems will exploit any weakness they find; once they start growing behind mortar it will soon be pushed out. It’s a constant battle to keep ivy out of gutters, drainpipes and roof tiles and it must be kept from painted surfaces as it will pull off paint very easily. “Once ivy has covered something it makes any work extra difficult” Also, think twice before growing it up trees. After the next winter storm, check to see which…

• Posh plants Victoria Beckham wooed David with an aloe vera, offering it as a salve for his sunburn on one of their first dates. David mentioned the moment as a special guest on Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. • In Alan we Trust Check out Alan Titchmarsh’s new TV series Secrets of the National Trust, where he explores the stories behind the Trust’s properties and gardens. Tuesdays, Channel 5 at 7pm – 1-hour episodes, until 14 March. • On your bike The National Cycle Network (NCN) is looking for volunteers to help manage its habitats and run wildlife events on its cycle paths. To find projects in your area visit sustrans.org. uk/volunteer • Queen of herbs Jekka McVicar will design the first ever permanent garden at RHS Malvern Spring Festival.…

I view a patio or terrace as the single most important hard landscaping element in a garden. It can dictate how a garden will be used and from where it will be viewed. The choice of materials, adjoining plants and furniture or ornaments placed on it have a huge bearing on the overall style of a space. Patios can be incredibly simple – just some gravel on the ground with a carefully placed chair or two – but with a little planning and thought they can become the main focus, the very heart of your space. While patios are often added onto the back of the house for easy access, this isn’t always the best approach. Don’t feel constrained by convention – consider all your options and you may find…

THE GARDEN is an easy and relaxing place to spend time outdoors with the whole family, whether it’s your own kids, your grandchildren or friends who have come for a visit. Last year we launched a competition to find our readers’ best gardens and this month we show you round those of our three finalists in the ‘family garden’ category. Garden owners Magda D’Ingeo, Cathy Harrison and Richard Prior share their top family-friendly tips. We pick out some of their best garden features and explain how to recreate them in your own plot to make the best garden you can for all the family. Football-proof flower borders Raised beds made from brick, hardwood or sleepers will go some way to keep footballs at bay and stop plants getting trampled. If…

Take a look at most shrubs at this time of year and you’ll see different types of growth. The oldest, thickest stems are usually brown, due to a coarse coating of woody bark. Then you’ll find thinner stems, often a couple of years old and usually somewhere between brown and tan, with some signs of bark on the surface. But the youngest, most vigorous ‘juvenile’ stems, arising from low down on the shrub, are often more brightly coloured. A selection of plants are grown specifically for this – including dogwoods with red, black or lime stems; willows with scarlet, orange or yellow stems; and white-stemmed brambles for their ghostly stems. They all look their best in winter, devoid of leaves, and the best colour is on the youngest stems. To…

Make a new lawn edge Many seasoned gardeners will tell you that a neat, sharp edge to the lawn will make the whole garden look good. Left to its own devices, grass from a lawn will always try to invade borders and regular trimming with edging shears during the growing season will help keep it in check – spring is a good time to sharpen up the edge. Cutting down through the grass and soil underneath, using an edging iron or spade, will redefine the edge of the lawn and border. It’s also a good way to reshape a border or to cut out a new one in an existing area of lawn. Once cut, a metal or plastic edging strip can be installed to stop it collapsing into the…

Fresh herbs can transform a meal. But you don’t need to buy expensive packets from the shops; home-grown herbs are a perfect crop. The seeds are cheap to buy, they are quick and easy to grow, the plants are happy in space-saving pots and their constant supply of young leaves are full of flavour. Most herb seed packs contain between 500 and 1,500 seeds giving you enough for several months. If you start sowing now, and keep sowing every three or four weeks throughout the spring and summer, you will quickly have your own supply of fresh, tasty leaves from May until the first frosts. Many can also be brought inside for the winter to keep the harvests coming. It’s simple, rewarding and costs a fraction of the price of…

Christine Walkden Garden writer Christine appears on BBC1’s The One Show. She is also a lecturer and tour leader. Matthew Wilson Garden designer Matthew was curator of RHS Hyde Hall and Harlow Carr, and often appears on television. Pippa Greenwood Pippa is one of the foremost experts on pests and diseases. She gardens using organic methods. Q Why did my bulbs in pots all come up blind? EN Ruffell, by email ACHRISTINE SAYS I’m surprised that none of your bulbs produced any flowers, as this is quite unusual. You don’t say what they were and if they were different types, making it difficult to comment specifically. Perhaps the bulbs hadn’t reached flowering size, otherwise I would have expected at least some to bloom. If they were small bulbs at planting,…

“Gardens need to evolve slowly to become themselves so that they are true to you” I can’t imagine that I would ever design a show garden. Apart from not needing the grief (I’ve yet to meet a Chelsea garden designer who isn’t completely exhausted by the experience), I’ve no desire to compete and don’t want to advertise for work designing gardens for other people. Gardening for me is personal. I can only really engage by thinking about what I want to do in my space and how I might go about doing it with my own hands. The only gardens I’ve ever truly loved are my own. The more personal a garden can be, the better it will become. When helping people on Big Dreams Small Spaces, the most important…

• Try to find a copy of Geoff Hamilton’s The Ornamental Kitchen Garden . I’ve seen ruby chard, ‘Cavolo Nero’ and red onions grown with the ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ dahlia at Arboretum Kalmthout. Also, fennel, purple sprouting broccoli and cut-and-come-again salads. Obelixx • Blueberry bushes! Just dug a trench for mine in the middle of a border with ericaceous compost. Mattwestyorks • A couple I’ve grown as ornamentals are chard and kale. punkdoc • I used to grow mangetout in borders. They don’t take up much room with a little tripod of canes to grow up and the flowers are similar to sweet peas. Fairygirl • I’ve grown broad beans among wallflowers in a cottage-style front garden. Passersby would stop and ask what the pretty black and white flowers were.…

• Remove large-leaved weeds, such as dandelions, plantains and daisies so they don’t get out of hand. Use an old-fashioned daisy grubber (and a padded kneeling mat!). It’s actually a satisfying job on a warm spring or summer’s day. • If you want stripes, use a rotary mower with a large rear roller. Cylinder mowers don’t much like cutting plants other than grass, and the effect they produce on organic lawns is not as good as their rotary counterparts. • Rake out moss annually without using chemicals. • Improve surface drainage by spiking with a fork or using a hollow tine aerator, and reduce shade to help cut down moss. • Sweep off worm casts on a dry day with a birch besom so that their fine soil acts, in…

Spring-tined lawn rake This rake has flexible metal tines with cranked ends for scarifying to remove moss and thatch (dead grass) and control spreading weeds such as speedwell and buttercups. You can also use it to gather grass clippings and leaves. • How to use: Rake carefully in spring, and more vigorously in autumn. Leaf rake An efficient tool for removing leaves from lawns, it has plastic or rubber tines that don’t skewer the leaves. This makes it easier to use, as the rake doesn’t clog up readily. • How to use: Rake up autumn leaves every few days, so they don’t build up into a thick layer that excludes the light and can kill the grass. Aerators and scarifiers Use to make drainage holes in the lawn or rake…

MARCH HAS ITS flowers, but in truth it is mostly a month of expectation, anticipation and preparation. It is time to sow many seeds and get the whole propagation process going, but at Longmeadow there are very few years when the ground is dry enough to sow direct in March, or even plant out seedlings. The winds can be biting, and snow and harsh frosts are not at all unusual. So a balance has to be struck between growing on plants as much as possible, yet not exposing them to unduly harsh conditions too early. This is where cold frames are invaluable. In fact, in spring I would rather forego my greenhouses than my cold frames. They offer enough protection to keep the youngest seedling from the harshest weather and…

STEP BY STEP Sow tomatoes ALWAYS sow tomatoes indoors, whether you’ll be growing them inside or out, as they need heat to germinate. Use clean pots and fresh compost, and place in the brightest possible spot. Keep the compost just moist and watch for the seedlings to appear. For more tips on growing this variety, read the back of your seed packet (attached to this magazine). 1 Overfill a small pot with multipurpose compost, then pass a cane across the top to make it level. Tap the pot on a surface to consolidate the compost. Repeat. 2 Sow one to three seeds in each pot, then cover with a thin layer of compost. Water using a can with a fine rose, so you don’t disturb the seeds…

Dahlia cuttings IT’S HARD to work up any enthusiasm for those dry tubers that are offered for sale in little plastic bags behind glossy cardboard flaps that show illustrations of dahlia flowers, but they really are a brilliant buy if you use them as source material for cuttings. Not only do such cuttings root easily, but they also mean that each tuber is capable of producing several plants that will grow lustily and flower in the first summer after rooting. Start the tubers off in trays or pots of damp potting compost. Bury them so that just the dry stem at the top is visible. If you don’t have a greenhouse, then a porch or a bright windowsill will do just as well at starting them into growth. Good light…

There’s never been a better time to grow tomatoes outdoors, with warmer summers and new blight-resistant varieties on offer. Stop worrying about fruits not ripening outside, and forget about the need for a greenhouse – outdoor growing can now guarantee a delicious crop. In a sunny, sheltered spot, tomatoes will ripen beautifully outdoors, while rich soil and rainfall mean there’s less need for feeding and watering. It’s all about which types you grow, though. Prima donnas, like beefsteaks, demand greenhouse pampering; trying to grow them outside is like taking a Maserati sports car off-roading. You’ll do much better with the tomato equivalent of a Land Rover – robust, vigorous and resilient. So overleaf we give you a selection of cherry and salad tomatoes that will all do well outside. The…

The bursting open of buds this month signals a new season of warmth, fresh leaves and abundant flowers. It’s also a great time to do a spring bud survey, to learn more about how your plants grow. All leaves, flowers and shoots begin as buds, so any damage to them can have drastic consequences. Pests eating into buds can cause a chinese lantern effect, with neat rows of holes appearing when the leaf within unfolds. It’s also worth checking buds for signs of disease, such as bud blast on rhododendrons – removing any darkened buds now will help to limit the spread of this disease. Knowing more about buds and how they work will help you when it comes to pruning, too. Buds at the ends of shoots are known…

Out of the rubble, into bloom We had a lovely garden when we moved into our new home but, unfortunately, when the other half wanted a workshop, it got wrecked by building work. Two years later it has been fully restored, and with the addition of a lovely wildlife pond that’s home to a couple of frogs, a toad and numerous newts. Claire Osborne, Peterborough Un-seasonable caterpillars Among the natural-world visitors to my garden, I was surprised to see cabbage white caterpillars in January. Is this normal for Norfolk? Kathryn Moore, by email Bugman Jones says No, this is unusual. Normally there are two broods of the large white that all pupate and overwinter in the chrysalis stage, but occasionally there’s a third generation in September. I think…