Innehållsförteckning för February 2021 från BBC Gardeners' World

Join us… Explore the gardens of Somerset on a bespoke GW reader holiday this September. Led by local resident and magazine regular Sally Nex, you’ll enjoy the county’s best gardens and food: see p50. Grow… Kickstart your veg year with our 132-page Grow Your Own special edition. With 60 crops featured, plus five packets of veg seed, pay just £9.99 incl. p&p – at gardenersworld. com/gw-special-editions Listen… Get your headphones and a cuppa – and relax with the free BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast, including Alan and Monty. Find all episodes at gardenersworld.com/podcast Save… Our award-winning mobile app lets you read GW on the go. Save 50% at bit.ly/GW-digital. And you’ll find us in the Readly app for Apple or Google, or with a monthly subscription to Apple News+ Save…

When this magazine launched thirty years ago, the best hellebores were rare and expensive. Propagated mainly by painstaking division, they were only available from one or two specialist nurseries and varieties seen in garden centres were unpredictable in colour and poor in quality. How things have changed. Inspired hybridisation, supported by new propagation techniques and refinements to traditional procedures, have led to the easy and widespread availability of beautifully coloured and prettily patterned varieties of the highest quality. True, they’re still not the cheapest of perennials, but a long-flowering season – many new varieties start to flower before Christmas – and attractive foliage add value that justifies the price. A striking development is the arrival of new hybrids between unrelated species. People said some hellebore species couldn’t be crossed with…

Planting up a container is a great way to experiment with different plant combinations, colours and textures February is a time when the garden can do with a boost of colour – and this easy-to-plant pot is perfect for a doorstep or prominent spot. This display should be full of flowers for six to eight weeks if placed in a sheltered location in winter sun or partial shade. The violas are long flowering, especially if deadheaded regularly, and the cyclamen will last well too. The hellebore and ivy are evergreen, so will provide reliable structure for months to come. I chose a pale grey container as the tone is excellent for complementing green foliage and also blends well with the silvery hellebore leaves, without overpowering the delicate pinks of all…

✔Use a proprietary seed compost, ideally with some loam content, rather than home-made garden compost. The latter is great to use as a mulch outside, but it contains fungi and other pathogens that may cause seeds or delicate seedlings to rot in the confines of a pot or tray. ✔Be creative with your containers – sow your seeds into recycled plastic punnets and tubs, or old pots and trays (thoroughly washed), rather than buying new. ✔Sow sparsely – it’s very tempting to sow lots of seeds ‘just to be on the safe side’, but try to resist. Seeds may germinate well and look fresh and green, but as the seedlings grow they’ll form a dense jungle, giving harmful fungi the opportunity to thrive. This can result in the rapid collapse…

The red squirrel is usually found in coniferous woodland, where it eats seeds and nuts February can be the most brutal of winter months, with prolonged freezing and snow coming just when you’d started to breathe a sigh of relief and look ahead to spring. Continue leaving food out for birds, which are trying to get into shape for breeding, and start leaving cat biscuits and water for hedgehogs, too. Don’t’ worry about frogspawn freezing in your pond – any below the water’s surface should survive an icy spell. Spring bulbs are hardy enough to cope with late cold snaps, but keep some horticultural fleece ready to protect spring blossom from hard frosts. Bees and other pollinators rely on nectar-rich blossom and will suffer without it. You may spot… Red…

Pot dahlia tubers Prepare dahlia tubers to produce early shoots for making cuttings. Pot them up in deep pots of peat-free potting compost with the tip of the tuber just at the surface once the compost has been firmed. Water and then place on a warm bench. Don’t forget Ventilate in the middle of warm days to reduce the risk of fungal disease affecting plants Clean the glass, inside and out, to ensure seedlings can get maximum light levels Care for tender fuchsias Clean up over-wintered tender fuchsias and get them ready for this year’s growing season. Remove any leaf debris that could harbour last year’s pests and diseases. Prune back remaining shoots to leave a strong new framework – cut out weak shoots completely and reduce the rest to…

Biting winds may announce the arrival of the coldest month of the year on my allotment, but that does not stop me from heading outdoors well layered up and ready to carry on my gardening tasks. I can tolerate the cold February weather as I prep my veg beds, just so long as the rain keeps away! Look outdoors and there are few signs of new life on the plot yet, but in the greenhouse it’s a different story. The recycled tub I sowed with peas just a few weeks ago is showing signs of new growth. I also evicted the onion seedlings from my own house and into the greenhouse to give the pea seedlings some company. However, the biggest sign of new life is at home on a…

■ Soil is undisturbed, its organisms can work and multiply. With no-dig you build on the existing network of life. ■ Organisms are fed with organic matter on the surface, as in nature but faster. This is because decomposition has already happened in compost heaps, together with a multiplication of microbes. Compost enables soil organisms to work their magic more quickly. ■ Plant feeding is about biology (fungi, etc) more than chemistry (nutrients/ minerals). No-dig increases the ability of plants to find food that is already there. This is an extract from Charles Dowding’s No dig gardening – from weeds to vegetables easily and quickly (No Dig Garden, £22.50)…

With an open mind and positive thinking, good things so often come from bad – it’s nature’s way to renew and restore balance. This year we need to rediscover positive thinking and balance as never before – and life in our gardens points the way. A ball of feathers and high-pitched chatter on the feeders in my garden tells me the long-tailed tits are back to forage – and, like so many other birds, to build nests, mate, defend territory. Our lives may be on hold but theirs press on, energetically. Garden wildlife has been a beacon for so many of us during the pandemic – a subject that Monty and I explored in a recent magazine podcast. We know from our annual reader review of UK garden wildlife that…

I have been asked to be an ambassador for the International Year of Plant Health, an initiative organised by the United Nations’ Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO). I was, of course, flattered and duly accepted but, although International Year of Plant Health sounds good, what does it actually mean? Does it refer to healthy plants or the health that plants can create? As this is under the auspices of the FAO, whose primary concern is sustainably feeding the world, does it refer to the maximum efficacy of food in providing nutrients and calories to people? And, if so, is this supportive of vast agribusinesses and how would this conflict with my own long-standing organic principles? Whether it is the pursuit of peace or an end to hunger, the United Nations…

Clematis are ranked into three groups, depending on when they flower, which makes it easy to work out when and how you should prune them GROUP 1 Gives the earliest flowers Flowers January-May Prune Only where required for tidying up or to cut back vigorous stems. Prune straight after flowering. ■ C. Montana Group, including ‘Elizabeth’ and ‘Marjorie’ ■ C. Armandii Gp, including ‘Apple Blossom’ and ‘Snowdrift’ ■ C. alpina, including ‘Frances Rivis’ and ‘Frankie’ ■ C. × cartmanii, including ‘Avalanche’ ■ C. macropetala, including ‘Markham’s Pink’ and ‘Lagoon’ ■ C. Atragene Gp, including ‘Amber’ ■ C. Cirrhosa Gp, including ‘Freckles’ and ‘Wisley Cream’ GROUP 2 The early large-flowerers that often give huge blooms from mid-summer Flowers Mid-May to September, often in two flushes, early and later Prune Not essential,…

For an unusual way to display your orchid, why not mount it on a piece of cork bark to hang on the wall. YOU WILL NEED Orchid Cork bark Mounting hook Fishing wire Moss from your garden or sustainably sourced sphagnum moss Step by step 1 Choose a piece of cork bark with a flat back and screw a mounting hook to the back, near the top. 2 Remove your orchid from its container and carefully ease away all the bark/soil mix from the roots. 3 Strap a layer of moss to the bark with fishing wire, strap the base of the orchid on top, adding more moss. 4 Water weekly by soaking the bark and orchid roots in water. Drain before re-hanging. Mist regularly. Where to buy ■ Burnham…

For many of us, garden wildlife was a welcome tonic to global events last year. Being at home more meant we had time to see (and hear) wild species in our gardens. Many of us used the time to learn bird song or finally dig a long-awaited pond – congratulations if you did, and thank you for being a champion for wildlife. Our 2020 wildlife review* – run annually since 2008 – was always going to be different. There has been an 11 per cent rise in wildlife sightings, due, I’m sure, to us spending more time at home, and a record 2,596 readers recording what they spotted. This might not be startling, but what did surprise me was how we all seem a little kinder than we were in…

Of all the jobs to do this month, composting is one of the most important. Recycling our garden waste is the powerhouse behind a successful garden or allotment, returning valuable nutrients and organic matter back to the soil and boosting biodiversity. Having the right bin (or bins) can make a huge difference to the quality and speed of your compost. While a simple pile of garden waste will eventually rot down, it takes a long time, occupies lots of space and looks unsightly. Composting in bins keeps your waste neatly contained and sited discreetly, and rots it down much faster by retaining warmth and moisture. There is an extensive range of compost bins, with price tags to suit every budget – some are designed to compost cooked food, meat and…

Prepare herb beds for spring Cut back the remaining winter stems of herbaceous herbs before this season’s foliage emerges. Clear them away to the compost heap and weed between plants with a trowel. Check under the foliage of evergreens like sage, lavender and thyme where weeds can lurk undetected. Once your weeding has disturbed the ground, leave it to the birds to do the job of picking out grubs and slug eggs. After a few days vigorous herbs like fennel, parsley and lovage can be mulched with garden compost, but keep it away from the Mediterranean shrubs – these are better left as they are. WATCH videos and get more useful hints and tips at gardenersworld.com/herbs Look after chilli seedlings Give chilli seedlings as much warmth as possible to keep…

A veg-growing life isn’t all cabbages, you know: it’s a bowl of cherries, too. Make room for fruit in your plot and you’ll discover just how indulgent growing your own food can be. I never underestimate the power of a pudding in persuading reluctant children to eat up their tea and nothing cheers me up after a hard day quite like a slab of cheesecake dripping with home-grown blackcurrants. Fruit is so versatile you can squeeze it into the tiniest of spaces, and growing your own can be a real money-saver. Buy a few small, plastic punnets of raspberries and blueberries from the supermarket and it will set you back several pounds. But spend a few quid on plants and you’ll get bowlful after bowlful, year after year, so you…

Clematis wilt disease is caused by a fungus that enters the plant through a wound, made either by an insect or an abrasion, such as rubbing from a plant tie. The top of the clematis suddenly wilts, collapses and dies back, and the problem quickly spreads downwards through the plant. When the problem spreads from a leaf, its stalk turns black. Cut back affected stems to healthy growth, even if this means to below ground level, and the clematis should send up new shoots. Dispose of infected foliage, as the fungus can survive on debris left on the ground. If the problem recurs, replant in rich, fertile, well-drained soil, with the top of the rootball 8cm below ground. Avoid stressing the plant by keeping it well watered and shading the…

Dahlias With so many tubers and potted plants readily available, it’s easy to overlook growing dahlias from seed. Even though most seed strains are named, nobody can predict exactly how the flowers will look. This unpredictability makes it a thrilling business and you’ll often get results quickly, as many will flower in their first year. Favourites can be increased from basal cuttings in future years. Height x Spread 30-100cm x 30–50cm Flowers July to first frost Subscribers Sow your free dahlia seeds now – see p22 for our step-by-step guide Knautia macedonica Equally alluring to gardeners and pollinators, this knautia produces crimson pompoms on branching stems over several months, and lives for many years. Unlike dahlias, cosmos and their ilk that should be deadheaded at the first opportunity, knautias can…

Jade plant Also known as the money tree, it’s believed to bring luck and prosperity, making it a popular housewarming gift. The fuss-free nature of Crassula ovata means you can be confident it’ll stay looking good, even if you’ve struggled to keep other house plants thriving. The round, fleshy leaves are thought to resemble coins and that’s where it gets its reputation for bringing wealth to a home. As a succulent, the jade plant needs only occasional watering. It grows slowly, with stems that thicken to give the appearance of a miniature tree and, as it matures you may even get small, white flowers. This easy-going plant only needs to be watered once the soil is completely dry to the touch, around every couple of weeks in summer. In winter,…

Cacti are exciting to grow from seed – their plump seedlings appear quickly and they’ll begin to develop their characteristic spines in under a year. Cactus seeds are available from seed merchants and specialist societies, but if you know someone with a fruiting plant, then you can get yours for free. Another option is to buy dragonfruit from a grocer – these exotics contain thousands of small seeds that will develop into vine-like cacti. Source seed now, ready to sow in late February or March. 1 CACTUS seed grows best when fresh, so harvest your own from fruiting plants like this melon cactus (Melocactus). Ripe fruits are fleshy and colourful. Split them open and remove the seeds, then clean off any flesh as this can cause mould to develop. Place…

In just a short period of time it has blown my mind how many different species of bird have arrived, and I’m always looking to add features to attract more Bird table My step-by-step guide There is something wonderfully comforting about the company of birds in the garden, especially through the colder winter months. Whether that’s my red-breasted friends (who seems to enjoy my company as much as I do theirs!) or a fleeting visit from a fieldfare flock. Birds provide constant joy but also work hard for us throughout the year. And we should never forget that winter can be a tough old time for our feathered friends. This is when their natural food sources can become low and shelter is harder to come by – but we can…

Best budget Blackwall Compost Converter £26 Although slowest to compost, it has an exceptionally keen price for size. No assembly required. Black bin made from 100% recycled plastic and green from 70% . Optional base plate to site on hard surfaces. Best larger bin Modular Wooden Compost Bin £99.99 (cover £22.99) This is a sturdy, well-designed variation on the ever-popular wooden compost bin. No tools required for assembly. Has access on all sides, is extendable with additional modules and the loose duvet cover provided excellent insulation. Best for speed and small spaces Hotbin £200 Comes ready assembled. This is an efficient, self-contained design, which results in no mess or smells, and the waste-liquid (leachate) tank can be easily emptied. However, being made from virgin materials means it has a high…

Cut back perennials Cut back the last flower stems on clumps of perennials that have been left for winter display. Use secateurs to cut them down to the base. This year’s shoots could be appearing at ground level on some of the earlier-flowering plants, so be careful not to damage those as you work. Weed between the clumps and let the birds graze on newly disturbed slug eggs and over-wintering pests for a few days before adding a layer of mulch. VISIT gardenersworld. com/pruning to fnd more seasonal pruning guides Plant flowering shtubs Fill any large gaps in borders by planting flowering shrubs now. Field-grown, bare-root or container-grown plants are all available and can be planted now. Soak the roots before planting. Dig a hole larger but not much…

STEP BY STEP Prune shrub roses Prune shrub roses before they burst into growth. Have loppers on hand, but secateurs will be suffcient for most of the work. Cake clean cuts and tidy up all the prunings to reduce the risk of fungal disease. This spring pruning is particularly important for shrub roses that were left uncut for late flowers or rose hips over winter. 1 IDENTIFY the shoots crowding into the centre and cut them back flush to a main stem. This opens up the plant, and improves growth by allowing air and light into the centre. 2 CUT out crossing branches by selecting and pruning out the weakest of the two or the one that compromises the shape the most. Keep an eye on the overall balance of…