Innehållsförteckning för Aug-22 från BBC Gardeners' World

HOT TOPIC Unhealthy shelves With the sustainability of bedding being questioned, I wonder why supermarkets and DIY stores still offer trolleys of plants, most of which seem destined for the bin! This year there seems to be many more dead plants on show. Maybe the watering requirements of peat-free compost are catching them out? Yesterday a whole plant trolley of dead veg was outside my local supermarket and even the ‘high end’ one had very sad-looking plants. Surely the effort and expense of growing, transporting then not selling is contrary to our green ethos? Susan Browne, by email It would be interesting to know what percentage of plants are wasted in supermarkets. How depressing it is to see trolleys of plants in dire need of water and trays of plants…

“Above all, August is a celebration of the very best vegetables – fresh and seasonal, and grown with love” Although a skilful gardener can keep a supply of herbs, fruit and veg going for most of the year, August is undoubtedly the best month for the vegetable garden. It is an earthy business, growing veg, and all the better for that. There is nothing in the garden that gives me so much pleasure as going round the August vegetable plot, and gathering the amazingly rich harvest that can be found in even the smallest area. No other month has such largesse to offer, combining the last of earlier crops, like garlic, peas and broad beans, with the first of the later ones, such as French beans, sweetcorn, Florence fennel and…

“The bright reds of the cannas are real beacons in this arrangement, erupting through the joyful yellow bidens” It’s August and we’re at the zenith of high summer. To match the temperature, it’s a great time to add hot colours. The borders may be brimming, but containers can take the overspill. A neutral pot like this is perfect for bold arrangements. I’ve chosen reds and yellows, so the plants will glow right into autumn. Dahlias are fantastic for prolonged flowering, as long as you remember to continually deadhead them. The deep-red Dahlia ‘Dark Spirit’ accentuates the leaves of the fountain grass. The bright reds of the cannas are real beacons in this arrangement, erupting through the joyful yellow bidens. The bidens is great for pollinators, while the colours lift our spirits.…

Barbecues in the garden are a highlight of summer and a gas barbecue can make alfresco entertaining quick, stress-free and easy. Unlike charcoal barbecues that need time to heat up and can take a bit of skill to light and keep going, a gas barbecue is ready to cook at the switch of a button. Easy to control and keep at an even heat across the grill, they make little mess, cook without smoke and are available with a host of extra features for those who want to take their open-air cooking to the next level. There’s a huge range of gas barbecues on the market and prices can vary from well under £200 to over £2,000 for aficionados who take their grilling seriously. To see how well they fare,…

Utensil sets Boss Grill 18-Piece BBQ Utensil Set £34.97 A nifty aluminium case holds all the cooking tools you need, including tongs, a spatula, basting brush and even sweetcorn forks. Good quality, they all have long, practical handles to keep hands away from the heat. Gloves Weber Premium Gloves £54.99 With barbecue temperatures reaching beyond 300°C, safety is key and these heat-resistant gloves will help keep your hands protected. With long cuffs to cover the wrist and forearm, each glove has non-slip silicone across the palm for grip and is made from heat-resistant aramid, with a cotton and polyester lining. Meat thermometer Thermapen One £66 Just the thing to ensure chicken and meat joints are up to temperature and safe to eat. This lightweight thermometer is easy to read and…

For beginner gardeners, getting to grips with the fundamentals can seem daunting. But in this exclusive series, Alan Titchmarsh is sharing his wisdom to help you master the skills that really matter. This month, Alan reveals where to start when choosing a water feature that will suit your garden and your budget. FollowAlan’s tips, and discover the many benefits that a water feature will bring to your plot You’ll learn about: Choosing a water feature to suit your garden How to construct a simple water feature Picking plants to go with your water feature “Consider what you want your water feature to achieve and what style would best suit your plot and your budget” I do wonder sometimes if Charlie Dimmock actually invented the term ‘water feature’, but I suspect…

‘Bishop of Auckland’ Velvet-red with a hot yellow middle. Dark stems and foliage give impact. Height x Spread 1m x 45cm Flowering Jul-Oct ‘Café au Lait’ Giant, soft blooms. Just three or four stems can create a stand-out bouquet. H x S 1.2m x 60cm F Jul-Oct ‘Waltzing Mathilda’ Hot shades spanning amber and pink, with dark stems providing the perfect sultry backdrop. H x S 70cm x 45cm F Jul-Oct ‘Preference’ Coral peach, yellow and sugary pink. A true eye-catcher to add an architectural element. H x S 90cm x 60cm F Jul-Oct ‘Cornel’ A precisely sculpted ball dahlia that makes a fantastic addition to tropical arrangements. H x S 90cm x 75cm F Jul-Oct…

“Each of the beds has filled out nicely as plants reach their full size, and it’s a job to find bare soil for your monthly sowings of salads and baby roots” The veg garden slips into cruise mode this month: each of the beds has filled out nicely as plants reach their full size, and it’s a job to find bare soil for your monthly sowings of salads and baby roots. Best of all, you’re picking something fresh to eat from the garden every day. While you’re there, you can also gather perhaps the most important harvest of all. Nearly everything in the veg garden starts with a seed: yet commercially-grown seed can be expensive, and often comes with a high carbon footprint, plus extra single-use plastic packaging. Buy from…

VISIT GardenersWorld.com/what-to-do-now for more advice on the best crops to sow and plant this month, and how to do it. Gardeners' World offer SAVE 20% ON VEG SEEDS Grow a variety of delicious vegetables featured above with this offer of 20% off seed packs. Choose from kale, radishes, spring onions and many more. Go to thompson-morgan.com/TM_GW90 Items despatched from August 2022 onward. Offer closes 15 September 2022. All offers subject to availability. Images for illustrations purposes only. Regretfully we are unable to ship live plants to EU countries and Northern Ireland. P&P charges of £2.99 per order apply.…

This month 132 Gardeners’ Question Time The BBC Radio 4 experts answer this month’s pick of readers’ queries, including: ◼ Starting a new fruit and veg garden ◼ Using peat-free compost ◼ Pruning blueberries Tomatoes not fruiting The rewards of growing your own tomatoes can be immense – copious delicious fruits to eat warm from the vine, share with friends and preserve for a taste of summer in the winter. But growing the plants seems like a long process once you’ve sown the seeds, transplanted the seedlings, watered, fed and trained them. So it’s particularly upsetting if you see them reaching the flowering stage but not making any fruits. Fortunately, this problem can be resolved with a little intervention from the gardener. Tomato flowers are self-fertile, each one both male and…

ACROSS 1 Plant these colourful flowers for autumn now (7) 7 ‘Silver Edge’ is a popular variety of this showy genus (4) 8 Old __ is a name for rosemary (3) 9 Pheromone __ are a good way to deter plum moth and codling moth (5) 10 Autumn is a good time to lay __ (4) 11 Decorative support that’s ideal for climbers (7) 13 A flat leaf of grass (5) 14 Beautiful camellia with large, double, pink-edged blooms (6) 16 Gunnera manicata is also known as – rhubarb (7) 19 Red __ mite is a nuisance in the summer greenhouse (6) 21 Log piles provide shelter for these warty amphibians (5) 22 Erigeron karvinskianus is commonly called Mexican __ (8) 23 Prune rambling varieties of these fragrant favourites (5) DOWN 1…

Can gardeners ever relax? I ask the question by way of reassurance for my own failings. I love my garden and I love being in it, but I do find it hard to sit down and just look at it. If I have a cup of coffee or tea in my hand it helps, and when we take our meals outdoors in summer then I can certainly sit down all the way through the meal. But then I will notice something that needs doing and… here we go, I’m up and pottering. And yet that is precisely the best thing about gardening – pottering. Doing useful things, but things that are not necessarily hugely demanding in terms of muscle power or endurance. Look up the word ‘potter’ and you will…

*Just pay £6.99 postage Verbena bonariensis x 3 Tightly packed clusters of small purple flowers are ideal as a filler in the garden. Height x Spread 2m x 75cm Flowers Jun-Oct Primula vialii x 3 Unusual violet-pink flower heads rise on slender, upright stems. H x S 30cm x 10cm F May-Jul Salvia ‘Lips’ Collection x 3 H x S 90-100cm x 60-100cm F Jun-Oct Masses of vibrant, two-tone flowers that bloom all summer. Receive one each pf the following: All supplied as established plants in 9cm pots, ready to plant out. For more offers with no added postage and order details, see opposite page…

Subtropical splendour With its rugged coastline and subtropical climate, Cornwall is one of the UK’s most popular destinations. The warming Gulf Stream means its gardens are also home to plant varieties not seen in the rest of the UK. Trewidden Garden is a beautiful example of how rare and exotic plants can thrive in the temperate Cornish climate. Wander the maze-like paths between towering tree ferns while looking out for the famous ‘Trewidden Belle’ magnolia (worth a visit in late February, when it’s at its best). Open: 12 Feb-25 Sep, daily. Card not valid on charity days – check before visiting. Full details at trewidden.co.uk SAVE £8 SAVE £7.50 Hidden gems In a secluded valley near Fowey is the aptly named Hidden Valley Gardens – a horticultural haven for plant-lovers.…

■ MIBUNA Sow Mar-Sep Harvest Year-round Also try Mustard ‘Red Frills’ (also pictured) ■ ROCKET Sow Apr-Sep Harvest Jun-Dec Varieties ‘Dragon’s Tongue’, ‘Wild Grazia’ ■ LETTUCE ‘MERVEILLE DES QUATRE SAISONS’ Sow Feb-Sep Harvest Jun-Nov Also try ‘Winter Density’, ‘Valdor’ ■ MIZUNA Sow Mar-Sep Harvest Year-round Varieties ‘Kyoto’, ‘Mizuna Purple’, ‘Red Knight’ ■ ENDIVE/RADICCHIO Sow Feb-Oct Harvest Mar-Nov Varieties ‘Palla Rossa’, ‘Rossa di Treviso’ ■ LETTUCE ‘ALL THE YEAR ROUND’ Sow Feb-Sep Harvest Apr-Nov Also try ‘Rouge d’Hiver’…

Creating planting schemes for colour can bring joy to your patio or border throughout the season. You can choose harmonious colours that sit together, like oranges, reds and the warmer yellows. Another trick is to mix colours that sit opposite each other on the colour-wheel: a cool blue or purple set against a hot orange or yellow creates a high contrast that will really pop. And to maximise colour, always look at the whole plant: the flower, the stems and the leaves. Dahlia ‘Ambition’ Full, punchy, cactus-form, purple flowers, with spiky petals creating real drama in any container or border. It’s also a terrific, long-lasting option for the vase. Height x Spread 90cm x 60cm Flowering Jul-Sep Geranium pratense ‘Azure Skies’ A violet-blue hardy perennial that packs a punch. Reliable…

◾ What size do I need? For a couple or small family, a simple one-burner grill is enough for a meal, but for groups of about six, a two-burner gas grill will allow you to cook more. If you entertain a lot, opt for models with three or four burners and a large grill so you can cook enough food for everyone, all at the same time. Portability is useful if you plan to take your barbecue on picnics or camping. Check that the height of the grill is comfortable for you when using it – roughly waist-height is ideal to make cooking as easy and relaxed as possible. ◾ Will it be ready to use? Most gas barbecues will need to be built before you can use them. Specialist…

“Filling your home with fresh flowers brings as much pleasure as harvesting peas or digging up potatoes” Louise Curley is the author of the award-winning book The Cut Flower Patch. She writes about gardens, nature and wellbeing, and is currently creating a new garden at her home in West Yorkshire. Filling your home with freshly picked flowers that you’ve grown brings just as much pleasure as digging up potatoes or harvesting some peas. At the same time, you’re reducing your carbon footprint, as many shop-bought blooms have been grown abroad. In this two-part guide, I’ll share tips and tricks on conditioning your flowers so that they last for as long as possible, how to arrange them in a variety of different vessels, the best plants to grow for picking, and…

Everyone’s going wild for rewilding. You can see it on unmown road verges newly billowing with cow parsley and in the gardens of stately homes where previously manicured lawns are now shaggy and alive with wildflowers. It’s even got its own storyline in The Archers. Rewilding is all about letting nature take back control. It’s about standing back, putting away the mower and the hand fork for a while, and letting grasses and wildflowers self-seed as they will. In rewilded gardens you allow dead material to return to the ground, locking in carbon (and helping to combat climate change), letting your garden’s natural biodiversity find its own balance and thrive. It turns much of what we thought we knew about gardening on its head. So with the help of leading…

1 Don’t cut all your sweet pea flowers – let some develop into seed pods. Watch the pods turn from green to brown. In late summer or autumn, on a dry day, cut off the pods and leave to dry. A few days later, take the seeds out of the pods for storage. 2 Discard the empty seed pods on your compost heap and collect the seeds in envelopes, one for each variety. Write the date and variety on each envelope, but bear in mind that the resulting plants may not be identical to the ones you grew this years, having been open pollinated. 3 Store the seed envelopes somewhere dry and cold. A fridge is ideal! Then sow the seeds either this autumn in sturdy pots you can reuse…

August feels very autumnal, to me (sorry). There are fewer bees – many have completed their life cycles and some are in hibernation. You may spot huge bumblebee queens drinking the last of the summer wine from late flowers. Swifts will go home soon, while swallows gather on phone lines and think about leaving. “Thick-legged flower beetles are spreading north – even near to the Scottish border” Baby birds have mostly fledged the nest and look almost indistinguishable from their parents. At night hedgehogs and their babies search for caterpillars and beetles, while bats snatch midges from the tree tops. There’s a feeling of dying down that hasn’t yet been realised, of feeding-up for the winter ahead. What will next year bring for garden wildlife? Why, a lot of that…

It’s in the month of August when we generally get our most summery days, but also when the first chills of autumnal air begin to creep in. The mornings have a smattering of dew and the first leaves begin to turn crispy. As such, our gardens are often decidedly on the messy side and yet can be full of colour, as the late summer blooms start to come into their own. August is all about abundance for us veg growers, with beans, tomatoes, courgettes, chillies and even sweetcorn being regularly harvested, and with constant deadheading, a continual display of flowers is also to be expected. As far as pruning goes, August can be a busy month, especially if your garden is full of evergreen hedges, as this is the peak…

Buy a gift subscription and you’ll receive our 2 for 1 Entry Card & Guide, for discounted admission to 392 gardens nationwide until 7 April 2023 Offer ends 18 August 2022 3 issues for just £5 Your friend can enjoy more as a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Subscriber Club member: 1 FREE delivery direct to their door 2 GardenersWorld.com Premium Access to special subscriber-only content at GardenersWorld.com 3 Rewards pages and Extras section with additional content in every issue 4 Exclusive money-saving offers, competitions and discounts 5 Subscriber events and opportunities to meet the magazine’s experts 2 EASY WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE Call 03330 162123* and quote code GWSP822 Visit buysubscriptions.com/GWSP822 †This offer is only open to new UK Direct Debit customers subscribing to BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine. You will pay £5 for…

“August is that last flicker of fun and heat”Rasmenia Massoud STAR OF THE MONTH Lythrum salicaria ‘Feuerkerze’ Although we have to choose one plant to be our Star Plant from this stunning assemblage of colour and texture that does not mean that we eschew the other plants. While it is good to admire individual plants, the power of gardening is always in combinations. The subtle (or not so subtle) layering of plants together is the effect that will make the heart flutter and bring a smile to your face. The lythrum is a zinger but without monarda, astrantia, helenium, salvia, miscanthus, parrotia (and many others), it would not be quite as sexy. Hi Ho, summer! Best in full sun in moist soil, so great on pond edges. Divide plants in…

Pay just £9.99 for your first 6 issues, then only £27.60 thereafter, still saving 25%. And we’ll send you a copy of Your Pruning Year Guide, worth £7.99. WORTH £7.99 Your Pruning Year Learn how to keep your plants in good shape with this popular BBC Gardeners’ World Guide. Packed with easy step-by-step techniques, expert advice and time-saving tips, it shows you how and when to prune for shapely shrubs, abundant flowers, fruitful harvests and much more. Offer ends 18 August 2022 Subscription order form GWNP822 Complete this form and send it to: FREEPOST IMMEDIATE MEDIA (PLEASE WRITE IN CAPITAL LETTERS) †This offer is only open to new UK Direct Debit customers subscribing to BBC Gardeners’ World magazine. You will pay £9.99 for 6 issues; your subscription will then continue…

Planting a tree is an act of faith. We may be planting something that will outlive us. Certainly at my age, any tree that I plant had better outlive me! Trees are the most important plants in the world. Without them, none of us would be here; they are the lungs of our planet, helping to turn carbon dioxide into oxygen that we can breathe. It is easy to take them for granted and the further away our daily lives move from the natural world, the easier it is to forget their vital importance. In ancient civilisations and still in cultures all around the world, trees are highly regarded, not only for their usefulness, be it environmental or economic, but just as much for the aesthetic and spiritual qualities associated…

“I’m not sure life gets better than sitting in the garden with family, chatting over a meal you’ve grown and cooked yourself” There is something magical about bringing people, food and fire together. As much as I have a passion for growing my own veg, herbs and fruit, it’s driven by a love of cooking and spending time in the garden with my family. So much of life for me is about creating memories; I’m not sure life gets much better than sitting in the garden with friends or family, chatting over a meal you’ve grown and cooked yourself. I think being a chef is probably the only other thing that I could have been happy doing for a living. We do most of our cooking outside in the summer,…

Spend seven nights in an Italian Riviera paradise 22-29 March 2023: 7 nights, 8 days from £1,495pp* NEW TOUR Explore a paradise of exotic plants among pastel-coloured towns as you embark on a journey exploring Italy’s breathtakingly colourful coast. Visit highlights such as San Remo, known as ‘the city of flowers’, and enjoy a guided tour with lunch at Hanbury Botanical Gardens. ◼ DAY 1 London-Diano Marina We journey aboard Eurostar from London to Lille and continue by TGV to Nice, where we are taken by coach to Diano Marina, on the beautiful Italian Riviera. ◼ DAY 2 Diano Marina Today is free for you to spend at leisure in the resort, surrounded by hills and coast. Relax in our hotel, head to the sandy beach or venture into the…

1 Sunflower ‘Valentine’ Bold yellow flowerheads that are easy to incorporate into arrangements. 2 Scabiosa atropurpurea Masses of pincushion blooms in pretty pastels or jewel-like tones. 3 Bowles’s mint Fragrant foliage and pretty lavender-coloured flowers which last more than a week in the vase. 4 Nasturtium Use the trailing stems to gently cascade the leaves and flowers out of a vase. 5 Cosmos bipinnatus Easy to grow, long-flowering annual with pretty flowers and feathery foliage. 6 Rudbeckia hirta ‘Aries’ Perfect for extending the cut-flower picking season well into autumn. 7 Dahlia ‘David Howard’ Just one of the many dahlias making a great cut-flower option, the sheer choice of flower forms and colours is incredible. See more dahlia top picks overleaf. 8 Antirrhinum majus Tall-stemmed varieties of snapdragons are great for…

Use a mix of nitrogen-rich green waste, such as veg peelings and leafy clippings from the garden, along with carbon-rich material like twigs and cardboard. Cut everything up as small as possible – especially the brown waste so it breaks down more quickly (shred cardboard if you can). Avoid cooked food, dairy products or meat. Mix it all together in a heap or in a bespoke bin. Worms and beetles, along with bacteria and fungi, will help it to break down. You can turn it if you want to, but you don’t have to. Empty the bin in six months and take the crumbly compost from the bottom. Put the rest back for another six months to finish decomposing.…

Warm summer breezes. Just one of the reasons why I don’t want to wish this month away. In fact, you might just be able to hear me trying to shift the season’s gear-stick into reverse. If only that were possible. August days are to be celebrated, not just for bringing sunshine, but for the bountiful harvest of produce… literally on a daily basis. What the garden delivers into the kitchen keeps me just as busy as on the allotment. Bottling, drying, pickling and freezing every last summer moment. It doesn’t feel like it now, but in the depths of winter I know I will appreciate and enjoy all that sunshine packed into bottles. Before you ask, I haven’t forgotten about the flowers, either. With the abundance of cut flowers grown…

NEW WEBSITE ◼ Tulipa ‘Rasta Parrot’ Exotic-looking flowers Height x Spread 40cm x 15cm Flowers Apr-May 5 bulbs £3.75 ◼ Crocus ‘Spring Beauty’ Early spring colour H x S 15cm x 10cm F Feb-Mar 10 bulbs £3.90 ◼ Narcissus ‘Dinnerplate’ Huge bright-yellow centre H x S 45cm x 15cm F Mar-Apr 5 bulbs £7.50 ◼ Ranunculus ‘Elegance® Clementine’ Warm mandarin tones H x S 30cm x 15cm F Apr-May 10 bulbs £6.90 ◼ Tulipa ‘Blue Wow’ Double, peony-like blooms H x S 55cm x 15cm F Apr-May 5 bulbs £5.75 ◼ Hyacinthus ‘Peter Stuyvesant’ Highly fragrant H x S 25cm x 15cm F Mar-Apr 10 bulbs £9.90 ◼ Ipheion ‘Wisley Blue’ Great naturaliser, light perfume H x S 20cm x 20cm F Mar-Apr 25 bulbs £4.50 ◼ Fritillaria imperialis ‘Lutea’ Striking yellow…

August is not actually the most productive month – you must wait till September for that – but no other month has so many aspects growing to fruition. The days are warm although getting shorter and plants react to both heat and a sense of urgency to flower and bear seed before the sands of summer run out. However this desire to produce flowers and therefore seed can be held in check, particularly with those plants that originate from nearer the equator, many of which are tender. This is because they respond primarily to heat rather than light. So if the temperatures stay reasonably warm even as we go into autumn, they will continue to produce flowers. For example cosmos, which comes from Mexico and the southern states of America,…

Explore gardens, local sights and food in the heart of the rural West Country, on our late-summer guided tour YOUR SOMERSET TOUR Our tailor-made tour of Somerset and Dorset has been designed to give you a full experience of gardens, historic and contemporary, including excellent food and inspiring talks from leading gardeners. We’ll be based in the family-run Castle Hotel in Taunton, a four-star retreat famed for its food. GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS ■ DAY ONE Arrival at the Castle Hotel with welcome drinks, dinner and talk with David Hurrion. ■ DAY TWO Visit to South Wood Farm (opening exclusively for this tour) over the county boundary in Devon, which draws on elements of garden-making from the mid-seventeenth century, reinterpreting those ideas for today. You’ll then head to Lyme Regis for free…

Enjoy fresh fruit from these citrus plants for your conservatory ◼ Lemon ‘Garey’s Eureka’ Sweetly scented blossom in late spring. Full-size fruit from August onwards. Harvest Aug-Nov Height x Spread 3m x 2.5m ◼ Orange ‘Navelina’ Seedless and very juicy fruits. Glossy leaves. H Nov-Mar H x S 3m x 1m 2 trees (1 of each) in 6L pots £76.97 £60 SAVE £16.97 PLUS free 150g soluble citrus feed, worth £6.99, PLUS free Mexican lime tree worth £9.99 (680021) FREE MEXICAN LIME TREE Tangy full-sized fruit once mature with fragrant summer blossom. Supplied as an established plant in a 9cm pot. (340080) H Sep-Nov H x S 3m x 2m ◼ Fig ‘Brown Turkey’ Hardy down to -5 to -10°C. H Aug-Sep H x S 3m x 3m Supplied as an established…