Innehållsförteckning för September 2021 från BBC Gardeners' World

Discover… how to get the most from shady spots with our 132-page guide to Gardening for Shade. On sale now in selected stores for £7.99 or at gardenersworld.com/ gw-special-editions Tune in… Find our new podcast series, Tea-break Tutorials, on Apple Podcasts – bite-sized, practical guides from Alan Titchmarsh. See more at gardeners world.com/podcast Learn… New to gardening? Get to grips with the basics in our online 5-week course for beginners. Sign up for £36, with a free 7-day trial – go to gardenersworld. com/futurelearn Join Adam… Enjoy great gardens in good company by coming with us on an exclusive tour of the Cotswolds where Adam Frost will join the group at Michael and Anne Heseltine’s garden. Visit gardenersword.com/ adam-cotswolds-tour Save even more... Subscribe today and enjoy six issues for £24.50…

There’s a rumour going around that zinnias are difficult to grow. I’ve been hearing it since I first started growing them, which was not, shall we say, recently. But it’s a myth. Plants like what they like. Grow marigolds on the soggy margins of your pond and they’ll die. You see what I mean? Zinnias are no different. If you give them what they like, and protect them from what they hate, then they’ll thrive. Simple as that. And what do zinnias hate? They hate root damage when they’re small, making them susceptible to rots. There are two ways to prevent it. Firstly, you can sow the seed in the garden where you need the plants to flower and thin them out without disturbing the ones you want to keep.…

Have your say, Gardeners’ World Magazine, Vineyard House, 44 Brook Green, London W6 7BT or email letters@gardenersworld.com and you could win a prize. Letters or emails submitted may be edited for publication. * Prizes sent to UK addresses only. ACROSS 1 Pumpkin 7 Yuccas 8 Tagetes 9 Spring 11 Pinnata 13 Aster 15 Graham 18 Aconite 19 Violet 20 Aloes 22 Silene 23 Spotted DOWN 1 Pot up2 Magenta3 Katja4 Nyssa5 Acorns6 Caen10 Gorse12 Tomatoes13 Avocado14 Thin out16 Raisin17 Holden21 Sod…

If this were a scratch ‘n’ sniff page you’d be smelling the sharp tang of vinegar. Why? Well, I’ve been busy harvesting the last of the tomatoes, with ripe piles heaped around the kitchen to be turned into what I call ketchup (but what others call a sauce). When I’m done with stirring, sieving and bottling the spiced pulp, I’ll turn on the radio, sit down at the table, and pick up my needle and thread – no, not to sew the torn knee patches on my trouser legs, but to create chilli ristras. These string arrangements are made with the harvests of ripe chilli fruits and hung in the kitchen to dry out. The leek flower heads I have been keeping a close eye on are also ready to…

“The key to a year-round supply is careful planning – we organise a sowing diary and harvesting plan, and this helps to minimise gluts” Here at Gravetye Manor, our 1.5-acre walled vegetable garden is a vital source of high-quality ingredients for our Michelin-starred restaurant. Head chef George Blogg builds his menu around the unique flavours of whatever is in season. Every month, he changes the menu and it’s our job to produce a selection of delicious crops that are central to each dish on that menu. Good planning, diligent soil management and careful crop selection are all important factors to ensure a consistent supply for a high-quality menu. Every part of the garden needs to be at the peak of production to meet the demands of the busy restaurant. But…

By September our gardens, having performed all summer long, may be getting a little tired, both physically and visually. Mornings are heavy with dew and the evenings contain their first chill. Early-summer flowers have gone over, but later-flowering plants and grasses, particularly in prairie schemes, are at their absolute best. Still, a little tidy up will help to keep everything in check, and this is a perfect time for pruning certain species, such as birch, that will bleed if pruned earlier. In most cases, there’s not too much to do – September is at the end of the summer-pruning season and, as plants aren’t yet dormant, it’s still a little early for autumn and winter pruning. After a season’s growth, many plants will have already formed next year’s flower buds,…

Honeysuckle that flowers early is best cut back as soon as it finishes its display, usually about now. The aim of pruning Lonicera in September is to create a pleasing framework on which flowers will form next year. Flower buds set in one growing season and open the next, so never remove all the summer’s new stems or you’ll have no flowers next year. Instead, aim to create a framework of main stems, tied in to the support, with short shoots of a few buds coming off them. If your honeysuckle needs regenerative pruning, wait until late winter. Step by step 1 ASSESS your honeysuckle’s structure first, in order the make the correct cuts once you start. Visually select three or four main stems that you wish to keep, which…

LOOK OUT FOR Red spider mite Look for the tell-tale mottled leaves and thin webs that indicate a red spider mite infestation on crops such as aubergines and tomatoes. The mites like bright, dry conditions, so can still be a pest outside in September, as well as the greenhouse. Pick off the worst affected leaves and don’t store any parts of those plants inside. Red spider mite won’t survive a cold winter outside. Tidy up strawberries Cut off all the old leaves from your strawberry plants, leaving just the youngest in the middle. Next, remove the runners to prevent the main plants weakening. Weed through and pick out fruit debris as it can harbour fungal disease spores that will ruin next year’s crop. Pot up a few strong runners as…

STEP BY STEP Plant a small tree Plant a container-grown tree now while the soil is still warm and the roots can establish well before the winter. Soak the tree thoroughly in its pot before planting out. Water it again after planting and spread a thick layer of mulch around the base, keeping it away from the woody stem. 1 DIG a large hole, making it a little deeper than the tree’s rootball and wider near the surface where the shallow fibrous feeder roots will develop. Drive a short stake into the hole to support the tree. 2 WATER the base of the hole, loosen the roots slightly, and put the rootball inside. Place the stake 2-3cm away from the trunk, you may need to cut into the rootball to…

As we bask in the last few days of high summer before plunging into autumn, it’s a feeding frenzy for bees and butterflies, their cycle of life turning with the season. Though the latest news is showing moths and butterflies have had a tough year, I’ve seen more variety than ever this year, possibly because I’ve actively grown with pollinators in mind. And we know you have, too. Throughout 2021, we’ve been sharing with you – through the magazine’s Put Pollinators First campaign – ways to make your garden part of the vital life support that our wildlife needs. From rating your garden’s features through to identifying monthly pledges everyone can make, our campaign has galvanised thousands of you to take action – as we know from your feedback. (Your…

This summer, in my new greenhouse, I have grown 80 tomato plants and about 40 chillies, as well as 100 or so basil plants. When I have posted pictures of this on social media it inevitably provokes the response querying, with an undertone of disapproval, “What on earth am I going to do with all that harvest – do I sell it? Do I give it all away? What am I trying to prove?” In fact, every single leaf of the basil, every tomato and chilli is carefully harvested and over 90 per cent either processed into pesto or tomato sauce and frozen or, in the case of the chillies, frozen as they are. I’ve been doing this for the past 25 years and, as we’ve always eaten pasta at…

Take your time and enjoy the process of creating your garden – there’s no need to rush or stress, and any mistakes made along the way can usually be fixed How do you save time? Design your garden so it suits your lifestyle. If your time is limited, restrict the number of borders, or fill them with plants that need little maintenance (don’t worry, I’ll cover that in a future issue). The main features that will need regular attention are a fruit and veg plot and a greenhouse. Containers will require regular watering in spring and summer, although you could set up a drip irrigation system on an automatic timer. How do you save money? If money’s no object, you could employ a professional designer, but make sure that: a)…

The gardens at Great Dixter are known for their fantastic wildlife habitats and meadows, as well as their ornamental borders. Head gardener Fergus Garrett shares his pollinator discoveries with our Wildlife Editor Kate Bradbury The garden of renowned garden writer Christopher ‘Christo’ Lloyd is famous for bold planting that mixes familiar with tropical. Fergus Garrett, head gardener since 1999, has been working hard to ensure Dixter is as well known for its fantastic wildlife habitats and meadows. He has also just secured funding to turn nearby Hastings into the first ‘Green Garden Town’. How did you become interested in supporting pollinators at Dixter? Christo was interested in pollinators and insects, and way back on my initial tour of the garden he pointed out the bees and other pollinators to me,…

As the sunshine mellows, I peel away at the corn husks to reveal their summery yellow kernels – these will be used in a delicious salsa salad. Chillies from the greenhouse have been picked and are hanging to dry indoors. I’ve been amazed at how well my aubergines have done this year, both in the greenhouse and outdoors, and on a dry day I’ll dig my maincrop potatoes (their tops were cut away last month). I will get a final crop of courgettes – one veg I’ll be glad to see the back of… until I start craving them in three months!…

REPEAT-FLOWERING ROSES If you have varieties that don’t form attractive hips, then deadhead to prolong their flowering into autumn. BAMBOO Remove the foliage on the lower part of the stems, to show off their colours and let the winter sun filter through over the coming months. YEW HEDGES Most conifers are best clipped in August, but yew will handle a last neatening up now. HEBE This shrub has now finished flowering and can be deadheaded and gently neatened up.…

Hedges are an attractive, wildlife-friendly way to define a boundary, but they do need trimming. Powered trimmers make this job much easier than hand shears and there’s an increasing choice of well-priced, cordless models to choose from. Lighter and quieter than petrol trimmers, with no need for annual maintenance, cordless trimmers are simple to use, without the worry of cutting a trailing electric cable that comes with corded models. Traditionally expensive, cordless hedge trimmers have come down hugely in price in the past few years, with many now costing under £200 and some even less than £100, for the trimmer, battery and charger. Most are also now part of comprehensive battery tool systems, where the same interchangeable battery and charger fit a range of different gardening tools, saving you money…

■ Remove dead foliage from ponds but leave nearby to allow insects to return to the water ■ Plant snake’s head fritillary bulbs in damp, grassy areas ■ Sow field beans on soil to be left bare over winter as a green manure ■ Take lavender cuttings to plant in gritty compost ■ Keep deadheading and watering dahlias to encourage flowering until the frosts come ■ Support tall flowers like echinaceas, heleniums, and sunflowers as they become top heavy ■ Stop feeding your perennial plants growing in containers. This will discourage weak growth ■ Divide and replant herbaceous perennials once flowering is over ■ Continue deadheading roses that repeat flower for more new blooms…

Protect tender plants Protect tender plants by bringing them into the greenhouse for the winter, now that nights are getting cooler and autumn weather is on the way. Clear plants of dead leaves, snipping off any old flower stems, and weed the pots before they go back in. Many plants, such as succulents, will cope with some cold conditions but will rot when it’s wet, so storing in the brightest spot in a cold greenhouse is perfect for the winter. House plants that have been in the garden can go back on the windowsill but don’t warm them up too quickly – allow them to acclimatise over a few days. Check rosemary cuttings for roots Pick up the pots of cuttings taken earlier in the summer and check for roots…

We gardeners are most likely to come across wireworms (or their effects) when we’ve made a new potato bed in ground that was previously grassy. We dig up potatoes that are disappointingly damaged by round tunnels, 2-3mm across, where these click-beetle larvae have feasted. We might also see the larvae responsible – yellow-brown with three pairs of little legs at the head end and up to 25mm long. Once the wireworms have started making holes, slugs and millipedes may then turn the neat tunnels into cavities. There are several ways to combat the larvae, including through weed control, as these insects enjoy a groundcover of grass or weeds. They may also be found in garden compost, so if you’re worried, then spread out the compost for birds to pick through…

Not-so-welcome wildlife In regard to the letter sent in relating to ticks in long grass (Have Your Say, August issue), myself and my husband have also encountered a problem with ticks in the garden. I planted large areas of the garden this year to encourage more wildlife but have now decided to reduce any areas of long grass near to walkways. We were horrified to find ticks attached to our shoulders and waists after spending time in the garden and hope they don’t prove to be infected with Lyme disease. Lyn Dugdale, by email We say: Ticks only live in long grass where there are animals to feed off, such as deer, which is why they are more common in certain areas of the countryside than others. To find out…

Griff Rhys Jones OBE is a Welsh comedian and actor who first rose to fame in the 1980s with his BBC comedy sketch show Not the Nine O’Clock News. He has recently been part of the line-up for ITV’s Cooking with the Stars and frequently shares photographic updates of his garden on Instagram @griffrhysjones Can you describe your garden to us? It’s not an overly primped garden, but we’re in a very pretty location, by the estuary in East Anglia. It’s about eight acres, but not all garden and it was a farm before we moved in. We started doing the garden in about 1995 in a rather too grandiose way! I began putting avenues in, then went through a Prince Charles sort of moment and thought we’ve got to…

Borde Hill Garden, West Sussex Historic Grade II* listed garden. 01444 450326 bordehill.co.uk High Beeches Garden, West Sussex Woodland and water gardens. 01444 400589 highbeeches.com Nymans, West Sussex Many rare and unusual plants. 01444 405250 nationaltrust.org.uk/ nymans Sheffield Park & Garden, East Sussex Landscaped woodland garden. 01825 790231 nationaltrust.org.uk/ sheffieldpark Sussex Prairie Garden, West Sussex Eight-acre prairie garden. 01273 495902 sussexprairies.co.uk Wakehurst, West Sussex Wild botanic garden. 01444 894066 kew.org/wakehurst…

“Dahlias have deservedly become the most popular cut flowers” Dahlias create a razzmatazz and cut-flower harvest like no other plant. The more they are cut for the vase, the more buds they produce, and no other flower gives as much glamorous clout en masse. They have deservedly become the most popular summer and autumn cut flower, enjoying a revival over the past few years that has not been seen since they first crazed Georgian England as new garden introductions from Mexico. Last year, I stood in the middle of a dahlia bed planted just with decorative types, the huge-headed mass-petalled ones that most people think of when they imagine a dahlia. While some were indeed beautiful, I was horrified at the lack of bees and butterflies; the place was totally…

Although spring may seem far off, there are jobs you can do now to ensure it arrives in a flood of colour. Planting bulbs tops the list and time spent potting a few will be handsomely rewarded. By selecting early flowering kinds, as we have here, that longed-for cheer will arrive all the sooner. Most winter and early spring-flowering bulbs are dinky in stature and are perfect for smaller, more portable pots. They can then be comfortably and intimately admired on tables or stands outdoors, in a porch or conservatory, or for a short time, even in the house. Our affordable and easily achievable creations are sure to light up darker days and sparkle in the sunshine. Glow in the dark Glowing in the gloom of even the most overcast…

Marble Queen Green up your home with the fast growing and undemanding ‘Marble Queen’ pothos, one of the most popular house plants around. This vine is very hard to kill, being able to withstand erratic watering. Perhaps that’s why it’s known as devil’s ivy? It can be cut back to sit compact in a pot, trained to grow around a doorway, or just allowed to dangle down from a hanging basket. Of the pothos plants, Epipremnun pinnatum ‘Marble Queen’ is the most glamorous, boasting leaves that are a tapestry of creamy white variegation. Pothos generally requires low levels of light, but this variety needs a little more than others due to having less chlorophyll in its leaves – but it will brighten up corners with its delicate and intricately patterned…

For mini meadows Where: Plant these meadow perennials in long grass that is infrequently mown Suitable wildflowers: ■ Common knapweed (Centaurea nigra) ■ Devil’s bit scabious (Succisa pratensis) ■ Dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris) ■ Meadow cranesbill (Geranium pratense) ■ Musk mallow (Malva moschata) ■ Ox-eye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) Hay meadows are traditionally left standing until late summer, so plants can self-seed, then are scythed and cleared. They’re prime breeding grounds for meadow butterflies, where the adults feed on nectar from knapweed and scabious flowers, bobbing above the grasses. And these plants are just as valuable on a smaller scale too. To add more meadow plants to an existing lawn or mini meadow, either sow seeds in plugs and plant out in spring, or mow it as tightly as possible right now,…

Garlic ‘Early Purple Wight’ Large, robust, purple-tinged softneck garlic, ready for harvest as early as June. How to Grow in soil which has had garden compost added. Rake the soil to a crumbly tilth. Using a string line, plant individual cloves 2cm deep, at cm intervals and in rows 30cm apart. Protect from birds until plants have established. Onion ‘Senshyu’ This is a heavy-yielding, semiglobe-shaped winter-hardy variety, producing golden skins and white flesh. A good onion for storing overwinter. How to Sow seeds outdoors in prepared 1cm-deep drills. Once germinated, allow the plants to continue growing through the winter. In spring, thin them out, 25cm apart (the thinnings can be used as salad onions). Water the plants regularly, keeping the area weed free, and harvest the bulbs by the end…

Lithium-ion battery Voltage and ampere capacity vary and will dictate power and run time. Some have level indicators so you can check how much charge is left as you work Handle In some models this can rotate through 180° to make working in different positions easier Front hand grip A hand hold and start button in one, this is squeezed together with the finger switch to start the trimmer Charger Charging can take anything from 40 minutes to five hours. Most have indicator lights to show when the battery is charging and charged, and some brands offer fast chargers at an extra cost Cutting blade Length varies between brands but is generally between 45cm and 55cm Hanging hook A handy hole at the end of the blade for safe, easy…

Cut back morning glory Tidy up annual climbers like morning glory that have finished flowering as they die back, because they are vulnerable to catching and spreading fungal diseases that set in over the autumn. These are annuals or tender perennials and are best grown freshly from seed every spring. Cut the stems off at the base, take off any ties and untangle them from the canes before chopping them up to go on the compost heap. Clean up the pots and canes ready to store and reuse. Plant bulbs in a scattered pattern Plant spring flowering bulbs, such as narcissus, crocus or species tulips, into areas of lawn or under trees and shrubs where they can naturalise and make a lovely permanent seasonal spring feature. Create the natural look…

Sow lettuce for overwintering Sow lettuce seeds in a greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill now and they’ll be ready for planting outside as your veg plot starts to empty. Slot the young lettuce plants into spaces left behind when harvesting any other veg, maximising your plot’s productivity over the winter and providing you with an early harvest for next spring. Sowing lettuce in trays now means you can get ahead with your next crops, while keeping veg like carrots and beetroot in the ground for longer, providing you with fresher produce for longer. Plant the lettuces out 10-20cm apart once they are at least 4cm tall before the end of October while the soil is still warm, and water in well. The larger the size, the better their chances…

Christine Walkden Garden writer Christine appears on BBC1’s The One Show . She is also a lecturer and tour leader. James Wong Botanist, broadcaster and writer, James loves to grow unusual, edible and medicinal plants from around the world. Bob Flowerdew Bob is an organic gardener and has designed his garden to produce lots of veg, fruit and cut flowers. Q Can I plant a small but mature tree to instantly block a view? Jackie, by email A BOB SAYS For that ‘instant fix’ of planting a tree tall enough to be immediately effective, contact mail-order nurseries that offer large specimens. However, mature trees are expensive. As you want one that won’t get too much bigger after planting, it means it would be slow growing, so will have spent a…