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AUGUST 2024 £5.99

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Glorious

GRASSES

HOT
HOT
HOT!

AUGUST 2024 ISSUE 17 JULY-14 AUG

Perfect plants for
year-round grace
and elegance

Border beauties to add
some razzle dazzle

AMAZING GARDENS
✿The walled plot that is a wildlife haven
✿A truly epic garden started from scratch

PLUS...
FLORAL FEASTS
The best seedheads
for birds

BEAUTIFUL
BORDER
DESIGN
How to
combine
shades of
the sun
and sky

YOUR BONUS
MAGAZINE
We answer all
the questions
that have had
you stumped
in the garden
this year

TEXTURE & PIZZAZZ Explore the myriad options of grasses available, p14; and right, dazzlers to make your garden really zing, p22

Meet the

Contributors
“This month in the
garden I’ll be...”
“Planting crocus and
colchicum bulbs and
thinking about
ordering spring bulbs,
too.” Sue Fisher on
glorious grasses, p14
“Taking semi-ripe
cuttings of salvias,
penstemons and
silver-leafed plants.”
Val Bourne’s South
African dazzlers, p22
“I'll be sowing lettuce,
rocket, spinach, radish
and endive for an
autumn harvest.”
Helen Billiald’s
Showstopper, p42

PHOTOS: GAP PHOTOS, ALAMY

“Mowing my new
meadows to deal with
any unwanted plants
such as docks.” Adrian
Thomas reflects on
super seedheads, p46
“Making jams,
chutneys, sauces and
eating my bodyweight
in crops!” What’s
been happening on
Olga’s allotment, p70
“Repurposing
discarded bricks from
a neighbour’s building
project to create a
new border.” Read
Dan Masoliver, p106

Welcome

We try to live up to our name here at Garden
Answers, offering you solutions to all manner of
problems. But this month we have gone overboard
and produced a whole new magazine! We hope
you find our Question Time bonus mag valuable
– we’ve taken the most common questions we get
asked and packed them into 36 pages that we’d
urge you to keep safe. These problems crop up
year after year, so hopefully we can head them off before they start
– and remember, if you do have a gardening question in future, let us
know and we’ll do our best to help!
For many gardeners, August can be a tricky month. We have high
expectations of flower-packed borders for those hot, sultry days, but
often the reality is that many plants start going ‘over the top’ with
their brightest days behind them. The August gap can be a hard one
to fill but fear not, there are plants that will flower later and inject
some hot colour into your borders. In this issue (starting on page 22),
Val Bourne looks at a group of plants that
hail from South Africa and will give you
plenty of late summer pizzazz. The likes of
crocosmia, agapanthus and dierama are
happy to make themselves at home on
these shores and you’ll never be short of
colour at this time of year again.
It’s another packed issue with all your
favourite features – here’s to a month of
sunshine in which to enjoy it!
The GA Team

CONTACT US By post: Garden Answers, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA Email: gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk
Web: gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk Social media: Find us on Facebook as Garden Answers Twitter @GardenAnswers Instagram as gardenanswers

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 3

BONUS
QUESTION TIME
SUPPLEMENT
GET THE ANSWERS TO
YOUR MOST PRESSING
GARDENING QUESTIONS

22
SOUTH
AFRICAN
DAZZLERS

IN OUR

August issue...
CELEBRATE
6
Crocosmia
‘Emily McKenzie’

8

On the cover

COVER: GAP PHOTOS

14
22
42
46
52
60

Glorious grasses for
your garden
Dazzling border beauties
Beautiful border design
Floral feasts for birds
Walled plot wildlife haven
An epic garden packed with
inspiration and interest

4 Garden Answers

14
COVER
STORY

22
COVER
STORY

30

Celebrate
The stage is set for an explosion of
colour from delightful dahlias
Be inspired by…
Patio projects, preserve-themed
shopping, Chelsea’s winners, diary
dates, news and more
Glorious grasses
Add texture, movement, grace and
elegance to your garden all year
round with the right grasses
South African dazzlers
These beautiful blooms will really
add pizzazz to your plot as summer
draws to a close

Heavenly hydrangeas
Fabulously full heads of late
summer flowers for your borders
and containers

EASY GARDENING
34

42
COVER
STORY

What to do this month
Train wisteria, give pollinators a great
treat, watch out for plants suffering
stress, and more
Showstoppers
Create a
mesmerising display
using shades of the
sun and the sky...
that’s droughttolerant too!

Subscribe
TODAY

Get 3 issues of
Garden Answers
for just £5!
See p68

READER
OFFERS

14

46

SAVE £30 ON
CITRUS TREES
PAGE 96

GLORIOUS
GRASSES

SEEDHEAD
FEASTS FOR
BIRDS

SAVE £27 ON FABULOUS
FRENCH AGAPANTHUS
PAGE 98

WIN

A COBRA
HEDGE TRIMMER
WORTH £134.99

11
101
30

60

HEAVENLY
HYDRANGEAS

GARDEN
TOUR

WILDLIFE
46
COVER
STORY

Going to seed
Adrian Thomas describes
how seedheads can be used
to enhance our gardens
while supporting wildlife
at the same time

GROW & EAT
70

74

BEAUTIFUL GARDENS
52
COVER
STORY

60
COVER
STORY

66
COVER
STORY

Perfectly protected
One couple have transformed a
walled garden into a veritable
haven for wildlife
Coming of age
A classic country garden that’s
been started from scratch but
looks centuries in the making
The energy of change
Meet the head gardener at
Wallington, Northumberland, and
enjoy his gardening wisdom pearls

WIN A 2-IN-1
KNEELER &
STOOL FROM
TOWN &
COUNTRY

GARDEN BUYS

Olga’s lovely plot
Diversity is the secret to
successful allotment life
Grow purple kohlrabi
This brassica is great
in summer salads,
follow our step
by step guide
to growing
your own

88

Buyers’ guide to hedge trimmers
Geoff Hodge has the lowdown
on exactly what you need to know

96

Save £££s on citrus trees
Get this Orange & Lemon Collection
and save yourself £30!

98

Fabulous French agapanthus
Save £27 on these beauties

YOUR GARDEN LIFE
93

ASK THE EXPERTS
78

84

Ask Garden Answers
Our experts are on hand to help
you with your gardening dilemmas
Garden rescue
How to create a chic summer
border with a classic English
country garden feel

101

106

Over to you
Letters and photos from you,
our lovely readers
Puzzles & prizes
Enter our crossword and
wordsearch competitions to win
great gardening goodies
Garden view
Dan Masoliver’s advice on tackling
a towering gardening to-do list

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 5

Dahlia ‘Jocondo’
is the kind of bloom
that stops you in
your tracks. What a
colour, what a size!
This dinner plate
variety can reach
25cm across. H: 1.1m

1

Another cracker,
dahlia ‘Hayley Jane’
is a cactus variety
that bursts with colour
right through the
summer. It makes an
excellent cut flower,
too. H: 1.2m.
PHOTOS: GAP PHOTOS, SHUTTERSTOCK

2

‘White Onesta’ is
a stunning, pure
white waterlily
dahlia, with a touch of
yellow in the centre.
The petals layer
perfectly on top of
each other. H: 80cm.

3

6 Garden Answers

❤ CELEBRATE
❤

Celebrate

THE STAGE IS SET
The long wait for an explosion of colour
from dahlias is finally over…

The differing heights and
colours of these dahlias make
for the most dramatic display.
It manages to incorporate
waterlily, cactus, dinner plate
and singles, showing the
spectacular varieties of this
wonderful flower

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 7

Be inspired by...
Plants, books, events & buys for the month

Agapanthus
‘Windsor Grey’
Aeonium
‘Zwartkop’

Begonia
boliviensis
Dahlia ‘David
Howard’

Patio
PHOTOS: GAP PHOTOS/NICOLA STOCKEN

project

HOT LATE SUMMER CONTAINERS

S

et against a border filled with the purple and burnt orange of verbena and helenium, this
exotic container display really wows. It can sometimes be difficult to place the almost black
aeoniums in summer gardens, but it works well here with the bronze foliage of dahlia ‘David
Howard’. The robust orange flowers offer a burst of colour against them both. The tuberous red
blooms of begonia dangle almost like chillies, adding to the tropical look. As summer hits its peak,
the cool of the white agapanthus is a welcome respite from the heat.

8 Garden Answers

❤ CELEBRATE
❤

GET THE LOOK

NEWS

Simply perfect produce
Start pickling, preserving, freezing and juicing
your allotment bounty!

Fruit press
£285 to £480 Make your own
delicious juice with a traditional
cast iron fruit press, worm.co.uk.

URGENT CALL FOR
PLANT CUSTODIANS

Rambler mini digital radio
£79.99 A super digital radio to
accompany you when you’re busy in
the kitchen, robertsradio.com.

Kilner 8-piece preserving
starter set
£29.95 Everything you need to
start making jam, pickles and
chutneys, parrishfarms.co.uk.

Plant Heritage has published a brand
new Missing Collections list,
highlighting 15 environmentally
friendly plant groups not currently in
any National Plant Collection.
The horticultural conservation charity
is calling for passionate gardeners
across the country to consider starting
a National Plant Collection to protect
one of the plant groups on the list, and
also to join the Plant Heritage
community in growing, sharing and
saving plants. The plants include
agastache, argyranthemum,
caryopteris and phlomis. Without
someone to care for them, they’re at
risk of being lost if they fall out of
fashion or are no longer available from
nurseries. For the full list, visit
plantheritage.org.uk.

Natural wicker basket
£33 Handcrafted out of chemical-free,
natural wicker, this is a great way to
carry veg in from the garden,
prestigewicker.co.uk.

A PIECE OF CHELSEA
IN MANCHESTER

Eco Green Living
Food and Freezer Bags (2L)
£3.99 for 35 Compostable and
biodegradable freezer bags for all
your extra veg. shopnoplastic.co.uk

Odysea Botanical Apron
£12.99 A thick, organic cotton apron
decorated with hand-drawn pictures of
fruit and veg. odysea.com

The striking gold medal-winning WaterAid
Garden from this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower
Show is to be relocated to Castlefield Viaduct
in Manchester, where it will inspire even
more people to think about sustainable
water management. The WaterAid Garden
will stand at the entrance of the Victorianera Grade II-listed steel viaduct in the heart
of the city, which was opened as a sky park
by the National Trust in 2022, providing
vital green space and helping preserve part
of the city’s industrial heritage. Both the
garden and its relocation were made possible
thanks to support from the grant-making
charity Project Giving Back.
Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 9

B

b y ..

nspired
i
e

.

Wish list

RHS Chelsea’s Plant of the Year Award winners are now in
the garden centres, ready for you to snap up!
Agave ‘Praying Hands’
The captivating structure
and colouring makes
this new Mangave (a
cross of Manfreda and
Agave) instantly
appealing. It scooped
third prize in RHS
Chelsea’s Plant of the
Year competition.
H: 20cm, S: 35cm £24.99
thompson-morgan.com

Cosmos ‘Cherry Chocolate’
This series of Cosmos atrosanguineus
are much-loved for their dark
chocolate-coloured and chocolatescented flowers. This new cherry-red
version is hardier with shorter stems
closer to the foliage. It scooped
second place in the RHS Plant of the
Year contest. H: 45cm, S: 30cm,
£18 for a 9cm pot, hayloft.co.uk.

Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Yulika’
Another runner up, this stunning, easy-toprune hydrangea is free flowering and very
winter hardy (-15°C). It has big petals and
double flowers of white and red, a beautiful
contrast. H: 1m, S: 80cm, £15 for a 1.5L pot,
burncoose.co.uk.
10 Garden Answers

Prunus ‘Starlight’
A new cherry tree with prolific, star-shaped
white flowers that bloom in early March. It
was the overall winner of the RHS Chelsea
Plant of the Year award. H: 4m, S: 3m, £77
for a 12L pot, frankpmatthews.com.

Scabiosa ‘Kudo Blue’
A fully hardy, compact scabious and
Chelsea runner-up, with many large,
blue pincushion flowers from spring
to autumn that are good for
pollinators and cutting. H: 30cm,
£6.95 for a 9cm pot, sarahraven.com.

Trachelospermum
jasminoides ‘Star of Milano’
Not the usual plain green. This new
jasmine, another runner-up, has
variegated foliage with pale pink,
star-shaped blooms. H: 3m, S: 3m,
£14.99 for a 9cm pot, suttons.co.uk.

❤ CELEBRATE
❤

COMPETITION

What’s on...
SHREWSBURY
FLOWER SHOW
August 9–10, The Quarry,
Shrewsbury, Shropshire,
W Midlands SY1 1RN
Specialist nurseries,
TV stars, celebrity chefs,
music and arena acts.
Tickets from £15.
● shrewsburyflower
show.org.uk

WORTH
OVER

£134!

PLUM WEEKEND
August 10–11, 10am–3pm,
Brogdale Collections,
Faversham, Kent ME13 8XZ
Orchard tours, plum PYO &
tasting. Book a free pass.
● brogdalecollections.org

GEAR UP FOR AUTUMN
WITH COBRA’S CORDLESS
24-VOLT HEDGE TRIMMER
The versatile 2-in-1 cordless tool can function as either
a standard or long reach hedge trimmer. The Cobra
HT50LRH24V hedge trimmer (RRP £134.99) makes light
work of even the most demanding jobs in the garden and
allows users to easily prune and maintain those hard-to-reach
plants and keep gardens healthy all year round. The 50cm,
double-sided blade is sharp and effective and the 24V li-ion
battery is interchangeable across the Cobra’s 24V range.
Cobra is the UK’s largest powered garden machinery brand
and has the biggest variety of lawnmowers in the country. The
range is constantly expanding and now consists of more than
130 products across petrol, battery and electric models and
includes other tools such as hedge trimmers, leaf blowers, grass
strimmers and shredders.
● To enter visit gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk/freeforyou by
midnight on August 13.

SOUTHPORT
FLOWER SHOW
August 15–18, Victoria
Park, Southport,
Merseyside PR8 1RX
Specialist growers, talks,
show gardens and
refreshments. From £25.
● southportflower
show.co.uk
CUPAR FLOWER SHOW
August 17, The Corn
Exchange, Cupar, Fife,
Scotland KY15 4BT
Star chefs, musicians, stalls
and lots of garlic.
● cuparflowershow.co.uk
GARLIC FESTIVAL
August 17–18, Fighting
Cocks Crossroads,
Sandown, Isle of Wight

Quick Vive la France!
quiz

To celebrate the Paris Olympics, can you ID the following plants,
which all have French names? Answers on page 12

A Extremely popular,
dwarf, early spring
stalwart named for
its clusters of dainty,
small-headed,
golden flowers

B Compact
clematis with dark
pink flowers and
prominent anthers
introduced in
France in 1900

C Late-flowering
shrub with exoticlooking, purple-blue
flowers that might
be found over the
cliffs of Dover

D Early-summerflowering shrub
with white fringed
flowers whose
name means
‘beautiful star’

Star chefs, musicians, stalls
and lots of garlic.
● garlicfestival.co.uk
CHILLI FESTIVAL
August 24–26, 10am–5pm,
Benington Lordship
Gardens, near Stevenage,
Herts SG2 7BS
Chilli plants, products,
food, refreshments, £10.
● beningtonlordship.co.uk
BEE & POLLINATION
FESTIVAL
August 24–25, 10am– 4pm,
Bristol Botanic Garden,
Stoke Bishop, Bristol
BS9 1JG
Learn about bees and
other pollinators with talks,
beekeepers and stalls, £9.
● botanic-garden.
bristol.ac.uk
NORFOLK PLANT
HERITAGE PLANT FAIR
Aug 25, 10am–1pm,
Hethersett Village Hall,
Back Lane, Norwich NR9 3JJ
Specialist nurseries, plant
doctor, refreshments, £2.
● norfolkplant
heritage.org.uk
DAHLIA FESTIVAL
Aug 26, 9.30am–5pm,
Chenies Manor,
Rickmansworth,
Bucks WD3 6ER
Enjoy the gardens and
buy dahlias.
● cheniesmanorhouse.co.uk

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK,
TWITTER & INSTAGRAM
@gardenanswers

E Striking pink
dahlia with a dark
reverse to its
petals, named
after a blackcurrant
liqueur

F Fragrant, doubleflowered Bourbon
rose introduced in
1867 with snowballlike white blooms
from pink buds

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 11

❤ CELEBRATE
❤

b y ..

B

nspired
ei

.
ALLOTMENT NEWS

BORN TO BE WILD
Rare hazel dormice have been reintroduced
into a Bedfordshire woodland to bolster the
county’s only existing population. It is part of
ongoing conservation efforts to save the
charismatic species from extinction in the
UK. The reintroduction, led by wildlife
charity People’s Trust for Endangered
Species, builds on a previous release, which
took place in 2001 in the same woodland
cared for by Forestry England.
Over the past 23 years the population of
dormice has thrived. Now, a further 10 of the
tiny golden-coated animals will be added to
the existing population. Once the dormice
are released, they will be left to acclimatise
to their new surroundings from the safety of
their nest boxes, which are gently placed
within larger mesh cages filled with foliage,
buds, berries, nuts and water. Local
volunteers carry out daily checks on the tiny
new residents. Visit ptes.org/dormice.

An abundance of
produce ready to
be picked

BIODIVERSITY CELEBRATED AT
NATIONAL ALLOTMENTS WEEK
The National Allotment Society (NAS) has
announced biodiversity as this year’s
theme for National Allotments Week,
which will run from August 12-18. The
week marks the 22nd year of celebrating
allotments with the NAS’s annual
awareness campaign to highlight the
social, health and environmental benefits
of UK allotments.

30-minute

makes

Dahlias make beautiful vase displays but this is something a little
different. It is the perfect decoration to create when having an
outdoor evening dinner party.
For this display you’ll need a
basin, about 10 dahlias
(depending on size of basin), tea
lights and a lighter.
Place the basin close to the
dinner table where it will be
seen by guests. Fill it up to about
3cm below the rim with water.
Cut the heads off the dahlias,
leaving about 5cm of stem.
Pop them in the water and
they will float.
Light the tea lights and carefully
place them in the water.
The dahlia heads will last for
several days but be sure to take
the tea lights out of the water once
they have finished burning.

1

2

PHOTOS: ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK

3

4
5

12 Garden Answers

To support everyone taking part in the
National Allotments Week, the NAS has
put together a downloadable promotional
pack for gardeners planning open days at
their allotments. It includes tips, poster
templates, social media graphics, digital
banners, a template news release and
printable bunting. Visit thenas.org.uk for
more information.

Book of the month
How Herbs Healed the
World by Connor Smith,
Greenfinch, £22
An expertly written and
beautifully illustrated
guide to the 75 herbs
that have been vital to
human existence – from
oral traditions and
culinary history to modern
medicine. Connor Smith tells the
story of how each changed our
world, looking back at their origins,
while comparing them with the
modern day uses and the scientific
value of these plants.

QUIZ ANSWERS
A Narcissus ‘Tête-à-tête’ B Clematis ‘Madame
Julia Correvon’ C Hibiscus syriacus ‘Oiseau
Bleu’ D Philadelphus ‘Belle Étoile’ E Dahlia
‘Crème de Cassis’ F Rosa ‘Boule de Neige’

Miscanthus sinensis
‘Morning Light’

Miscanthus
nepalensis

Stipa
tenuissima

Grasses bring
wonderful texture
and movement to the
summer borders at
Bressingham Gardens

14 Garden Answers

❤ CELEBRATE
❤

Miscanthus
sinensis
‘Superstripe’

The blood red of
Imperata cylindrica
rubra ‘Rubra’ contrasts
beautifully with the
bottlebrush-like
Pennisetum villosum

Glorious

GRASSES

Hakonechloa
macra ‘Aureola’

Sue Fisher recommends grasses to add grace and
elegance to your garden all year round

T
PHOTO: ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK

Carex
comans

he grace and airy movement-filled
charm of ornamental grasses
combined with stylish form and
colour, is unmatched by any other
type of plant. Their wonderful combination
of architecture and durability goes hand in
hand with seasonality to create a vibrant
ever-changing look as the year turns. The
extensive choice of evergreen and deciduous
types gives incredible diversity of size, shape,
and form, with foliage in greens, yellows,
orange, bronze, and variegations. Though it
is the clouds of long-lasting flowers produced
by deciduous grasses like stipa, miscanthus,
and panicum, that truly steal the show in
summer and autumn, creating glorious
interplays with light, especially early and late
on summer days and throughout autumn as
the sun’s rays drop lower in the sky.
There are grasses to matchmake to every
garden site from dry to wet, shade to sun,
sheltered, or exposed. Compact-growing and
fountain-shaped grasses are ideal for ground

cover, pots and raised beds. Use tall slender
ones to create strong vertical elements in
borders or to plant as screens. There are
moisture-lovers for damp soil and water’s
edges; and ground-covering grasses for
banks or as lawn alternatives.
Grasses strike the perfect balance of being
structural, yet without appearing too solid or
overwhelming. They have sufficient
presence to make a planting work hard and
well just by themselves: an approach beloved
by contemporary landscape designers who
often use a narrow palette of varieties such
as miscanthus, calamagrostis, molinia and ➤

Architecture and
durability go hand in
hand with seasonality

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 15

Allium sphaerocephalon,
Eryngium giganteum and
Pennisetum orientale

FEATHERY BEAUTIES

Molinia caerulea

Miscanthus sinensis
‘Graziella

Panicum virgatum
‘Rehbraun’

Calamagrostis
brachytricha

16 Garden Answers

Deschampsia
cespitosa

❤ CELEBRATE
❤

Blooms mingling with grasses
Top, tulipa ‘Ballerina’ with Carex
oshimensis; above, Anthriscus sylvestris
‘Ravenswing’ and Nassella tenuissima
(Mexican feathergrass); right, Stipa
tenuissima, Echinacea purpurea and
Verbena bonariensis

deschampsia, in huge drifts to stunning
effect, especially in urban settings where the
soft fluidity of foliage contrasts with the hard
lines of buildings and paving.
In gardens, grasses combine marvellously
alongside many plants and are especially
effective when planted in repeated groups, or
in drifts, to give structure and emphasis to a
border. The slender movement-filled foliage
and dancing plumes of flowers bring an airy
lightness of being to plants of more solid
appearance, an attribute that is especially
transformative to evergreen shrubs and
conifers which, while useful to create the
permanent framework of a garden, can easily
look rather too blocky and static.
In spring, combining grasses with early
perennials like pulmonaria and hellebore,
and spring bulbs such as snowdrops, crocus,

Drifts of grasses
woven amongst bold
blooms of perennials
narcissi, and species tulips, is a match made
in heaven, as the only real ‘down’ time for
deciduous grasses is after cutting back at the
end of winter until new leaves develop
substance in summer. Then, once bulbs have
finished, fast-expanding grass growth
conceals the dying bulb foliage that must
remain untouched to ensure good blooms
next year. For summer, taller bulbs like

architectural Allium cristophii,
A. purpureum, A. siculum, all partner
beautifully amongst and above hazy grass
growth: I love the little drumstick Allium
sphaerocephalon blooms hovering above
drifts of ponytail grass, Stipa tenuissima,
which glows in the sun like fibre-optic
lights. Through late summer and into
autumn the spectacle reaches its peak with
drifts of grasses woven amongst bold
blooms of perennials like echinacea,
rudbeckia, helenium, heliopsis, eupatorium,
and many more. Some grasses even finish
the growing year with a glorious burst of
autumn colour: many Panicum virgatum
cultivars are especially good for this.
Under the umbrella name of ornamental
grasses, it can be useful to know that into
this group are swept some that are not true

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 17

❤ CELEBRATE
❤

The Piet Oudolf designed
Pensthorpe Millennium Garden,
Norfolk, looks like a Monet painting,
full of lythrum, persicaria, astilbe
and swaying grasses

grasses, despite their appearance. These
include sedges and near relatives, such as
carex; rushes such as juncus and luzula; and
a handful of perennials including acorus and
ophiopogon. There’s a catchy rhyme to help
distinguish each type which goes: ‘Sedges
have edges. Rushes are round. Grasses have
nodes all the way to the ground’.
From the gardener’s point of view, to
look at site and soil preferences in order to
matchmake plants to the right place, note
that most sedges and rushes prefer moistureretentive soil, with some thriving in shallow
water at pond and stream-side edges. These
include Carex elata ‘Aurea’ and Acorus
gramineus ‘Ogon’, with cheerful yellow
foliage that shines brightly in springtime
and makes a sparkling contrast to colourful
‘candelabra’ primulas.
This abundance of grasses has swept into
UK gardens just in the last three decades.
Back in the 1980s, working as a plant buyer
for a garden centre group, I fell upon these
new arrivals to the plant scene and
despatched with enthusiasm to each centre,

only to be met with the dismal response: “No
more. They don’t sell!”. Though that didn’t
last for long, I’m pleased to say. The impetus
for the change came in part from the ‘New
Perennial’ movement, which began in Europe
with designer Piet Oudolf as one of its
leaders, and by plants-people including
Professors Nigel Dunnett and James
Hitchmough in the UK.
This approach emphasised structure and
form, not just flowers, and embraced ecology
to create whole dynamic plant communities:
an approach thoroughly adopted in the
naturalistic style that is now so popular.
Admire and be inspired by many splendid
open gardens that strongly feature
ornamental grasses, for example, Knoll
Gardens in Dorset, created by grass supremo
Neil Lucas, which is an absolute must-see and
has the big bonus of an accompanying
nursery full of temptations.
Piet Oudolf-designed gardens open to
visit in the UK include Pensthorpe Nature
Reserve, Norfolk; Hauser & Wirth, Somerset;
Trentham Estate, Staffordshire; Scampston

Grasses bursy with
autumn colour at Knoll
Gardens in Dorset

Hall, North Yorkshire; and newest of all, the
just-opened Glasshouse Landscape Borders
at RHS Garden Wisley. All of these use
grasses in quantity and variety, but because
individual plant sizes are not large, it’s simple
to downsize lots of different ideas into
wonderful take-home inspiration.

STRIKING RUSHES & SEDGES

Carex elata ‘Aurea’ and
bronze Carex comans
18 Garden Answers

Juncus effusus
‘Spiralis’

Luzula nivea
(snowy wood rush)

Acorus gramineus
‘Ogon’

Ophiopogon planiscapus
‘Nigrescens’

Sedges have edges.
Rushes are round.
Grasses have nodes all
the way to the ground

Planting in perennial meadow style
designed by Piet Oudolf in the
Garden Art garden in the
Maximilianpark, Hamm, Germany

Regal grasses standing tall in the Italian Gardens, Trentham Estate, Stoke-on-Trent

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 19

GRASSES FOR
CONTAINERS
Most grasses thrive in pots and look
lovely in many ways: as stand-alone
plants; with different-shaped grasses
grouped together; or to contrast with
containers of flowers. Sturdy pot
materials such as wood or terracotta are
ideal, especially for taller grasses that
become top-heavy. Use a soil-based
potting compost that will support these
long-lived plants for years. Evergreen
grasses and deciduous ones with
variegated foliage make top choices for
pots. My favourites include the Japanese
golden grass Hakonechloa macra
‘Aureola’ that forms arching mounds of
green-and-gold striped leaves and grows
in sun or shade; the brown, rusty foliage
of Carex comans; the evergreen clumps
of orangey uncinia, and the vase-shaped,
green-and-white Miscanthus sinensis
‘Morning Light’. Water as required and
feed in spring with a dose of controlledrelease fertiliser. Once pot bound, either
divide or pot on. If neither is practical,
slice off the lower portion of the rootball,
put in an equivalent quantity of fresh
compost; and replace in the pot.

A drought-tolerant box
planted with Verbena
bonariensis ‘Lollipop’
and ornamental grasses
carex ‘Frosted Curls’,
Carex comans ‘Bronze’,
Stipa tenuissima and
Festuca glauca

CARE TIPS FOR GRASSES

Pennisetum
alopecuroides
‘Hameln’ and
Festuca glauca

Hakonechloa macra
‘Aureola’ and Imperata
cylindrica ‘Rubra’
and Ophiopogon
planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’

20 Garden Answers

While low maintenance,
getting the timing right
for the little care that
grasses do need is
important. Cut back
deciduous types anytime
from the start of the new
year to early spring: I vary
my timings depending on
when the plant starts to
look tatty. With
hakonechloa, for
example, this is around
January, while others like
miscanthus and panicum
keep their form right
through to the start of
spring. Cut back growth
as close to the ground as
possible and don’t worry
if you trim any emerging
new leaves, too. While
evergreens don’t need
regular cutting back,

older plants accumulate
dead foliage, so give
plants an annual
grooming using a rake, or
your fingers, to pull out
dead growth at winter’s
end. If further tidying is
needed, lightly trim once
growing strongly, in

spring or early
summer. Most grasses
divide readily to make
more and yet more. Early
spring, as growth begins,
is the perfect time. Use a
sharp spade to slice off
generous portions, and
replant or pot up. ✿

❤ CELEBRATE
❤

SOUTH AFRICAN

PHOTOS: GAP PHOTOS, ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK

Val Bourne encourages you to grow a slice of
the Southern Hemisphere in your plot with
these plants with pizazz

C

olourful South African plants add
a jewel box richness to the
summer garden, because their
resilient, rain-resistant petals are
pigment-packed. Among the most admired
are crocosmias, agapanthus, kniphofias,
dieramas and nerines. Many come from
The Cape, a florally rich area of South Africa
that gets its own rainy season, depending on
location. After the rains have stopped these
plants put on an impressive growth spurt
and bloom, having been supercharged by
plenty of moisture.

22 Garden Answers

These South African beauties won’t
perform unless they get plenty of rain. My
crocosmias and kniphofias both failed to
perform during the drought of 2012, the
fifth driest summer since the 1890s. My
crocosmia foliage turned brown that year,
although the corms survived and they came
back the next year. My kniphofias sulked,
too, because they were short of water, so it’s
a myth that these South African plants are
drought-resistant. It’s noticeable that they
do far better in wetter British summers,
when moisture’s abundant.
➤

CREDIT

A hot summer prairie style
border planted with
kniphofia ‘Flamenco’,
monarda ‘Blaustrumpf’,
helenium ‘Sahin’s Early
Flowerer’, Hemerocalis
fulva, coreopsis ‘Early
Sunrise’, Echinacea
purpurea, crocosmia
‘Lucifer’ and Stipa gigantea

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 23

Dieramas (angel’s fishing rods)
These delicate beauties flower in early July and they
are often called angel’s fishing rods because they
produce arching flowers that shimmy over the
garden. They prefer warm locations, but they also
like to tuck their toes under cool, moisture-trapping
gravel or paving slabs so planting them near a path
or patio works well for them. The wands of flower
fade after two to three weeks, but attractive silvery
seed pods follow and these split open by mid-August,
revealing mid-brown seeds. These are large enough
to handle and it’s a good way to start them off.
The easiest is Dierama pulcherrimum and this
will reach 4ft or more and, once established, one
plant will send up several stems of flowers in various
shades of pink or white. The more colourful ones
stand out best and Steve Hickman’s Hoyland Plant
Centre sell a ‘Dark Cerise’ dierama – among others.
Although they look fragile, dieramas have a tensile
strength. However, you must leave the foliage intact
over winter, before tidying them up in late spring,
because the South African climate is far warmer.
Deadhead them after flowering, once you have
enough, otherwise you’ll be overrun with seedlings.

Nerines
Nerines make a great partner for dieramas, because they
are much shorter in height, up to 60cm, and they flower
from September onwards. Start with Nerine bowdenii,
because this is hardy enough to overwinter in the garden.
You can buy bulbs in spring and you always plant nerines
so the upper part of the bulb is above the ground. Just
place them round or between your dieramas.

24 Garden Answers

❤ CELEBRATE
❤

Crocosmias
These come in sunny shades of orange, yellow, red and
salmon-pink, and they all have sword-shaped leaves and
stems containing sprays of branching flowers. They
remind me of birds in flight. Some, like ‘Lucifer’, take up
a lot of space. However, if you want a June to Julyflowering crocosmia, this one has bright-green pleated
foliage and tomato-red flowers. It’s quite possibly the
most widely grown
crocosmia in the world. It
was raised by Alan Bloom,
after he noticed that his
crocosmias had survived
the extreme winter of
1962-3. Crocosmias with
large corms often survive
winter because they
produce new corms above
the others, like a necklace. The lowest corms are deep in
the soil. I prefer gentler growers that perform in August
or September, when orange, red and yellow form part of
the autumn palette. ‘Walberton Bright Eyes’ sends out
small orange flowers middled in mahogany-red. The
mellow-apricot-yellow ‘Columbus’ has a herringbone of
flowers that open from purple buds. ‘Firejumper’ is
shorter, yellow-orange with a red blush centre and some
striping on petal centres. The latest for me are ‘Star of
the East’, a large-flowered warm orange, and ‘Golden
Ballerina’, narrow petalled and barley-sugar orange.

Agapanthus ‘Loch Hope’
contrasts beautifully with
crocosmia ‘Walberton
Bright Eyes’

Crocosmia
remind me of birds
in flight

Crocosmia
‘Columbus’

Crocosmia
‘Star of the East’
Crocosmia
‘Golden
Ballerina’
Crocosmia
‘Lucifer’

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 25

❤ CELEBRATE
❤

LEFT Kniphofia
‘Yellow Hammer’ in
a pink and orange
summer border of
penstemon and
crocosmia; and
below, dazzling
bursts of colour
from Kniphofia
Flamenco

Kniphofias
The best kniphofias also come in the
second half of summer and their torch-like
flowers create exclamation marks in the
border. ‘Safranvogel’ appears in July and
the colour hovers between warm-orange,
salmon-orange and cream. It’s small and
neat, but ‘Nobilis’ is at the other end of the
height scale. The vivid-orange torches rise
to over 2m in height every August in my
garden. A new kniphofia, ‘Happy
Halloween’, has soft-orange flowers in late
October and they’re the same colour as a
ripe pumpkin. It was superb last year.

Agapanthus
Agapanthus flowers come in shades of blue,
white or a mixture of both. There are six to
10 species, all native to South Africa, and
they are found naturally on both sides of
The Cape. The evergreens keep their
foliage over winter, although it tends to
look shabby. Deciduous agapanthus
varieties are hardier than the evergreens

Agapanthus
‘Northern star’

26 Garden Answers

Kniphofia Flamenco

and they are easier to manage because the
foliage dies down in winter. Most garden
forms are deciduous.
‘Northern Star’, raised in Devon by Dick
Fulcher, is one of the very best deep-blue
agapanthus. It is similar to an older wildcollected variety, ‘Midnight Star’, because
both have lots of deep-blue flowers and neat
foliage that’s darkly shaded at the base. Dick
Fulcher also named the later-flowering
mauve ‘Tarka’ and the violet-blue ‘Flower of

Love’ among many others. They’ll all do well
for you. Darkly coloured agapanthuses are
few and far between and they look almost
black in summer sun, so they need careful
placing. Otherwise, the flowers might
disappear visually. ‘Black Jack’, a new
evergreen agapanthus voted RHS Plant of
the Year at the Chelsea Flower Show in
2023, produces plenty of flowers. Another,
named ‘Alan Street’, is also excellent and this
one was awarded an AGM on the RHS Trial
held between 2015 and 2018. I also rate the
taller grey-blue ‘Windsor Grey’ for pot use.
There are violet-blue and white bicolour
forms and ‘Twister’ is one of those Marmite
plants. You’ll either love it, or hate it.

Agapanthus
‘Snow Crystal’

Agapanthus
‘Twister’

Kniphofia ‘Happy
Halloween’

❤ CELEBRATE
❤

AGAPANTHUS IN POTS
Growing your agapanthus in rugged wide-based pots
adds height and makes them more dramatic.
Whichford Pottery have a good selection. They’ll need
lots of water during their growing season and you’ll
need to apply a high-potash tomato feed every two
weeks. Once autumn arrives, ease off the watering and
stop feeding them. Move your pots under cover in
winter and a garage or unheated greenhouse should
be fine as long as the roots are dry. If this isn’t possible,
lay your potted agapanthus on their sides to prevent
winter wet from getting into the pots. You can also do
this with lilies. Begin watering again in spring, usually
mid-March, and place them outside again in May.

Elegant agapanthus dress up alfresco dining beautifully

Growing dieramas
from seed

Place your wellspaced seeds in a
sunny sheltered spot,
water them well and
cover them with pea
gravel, and then they
should germinate easily
in the following
year. Dieramas are difficult
to transplant, because
they have a brittle point
close to the roots, so the
seedlings are best left in situ.
They will take three or four
years to settle, before flowering.
Hoyland Plants can supply
seeds. Deadhead them once
you have enough and pass the
seeds on to a gardening friend.

28 Garden Answers

Dieramas’ feathery display

Suppliers

● Whichford Pottery
whichfordpottery.com
● Hoyland Plant Centre
somethingforthegarden.co.uk
● Trecanna Nursery
trecanna.com
● Claire Austin
claireaustin-hardyplants.co.uk

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EW D
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MUST
HAVE

plants

Hurrah for heavenly
Fill your borders and containers with these fabulously
full heads of late summer flowers, says Sue Fisher

PHOTOS: GAP; ALAMY; SHUTTERSTOCK; WIKICOMMONS

H

ydrangeas are having something of
a moment. These easy deciduous
shrubs are garden stalwarts, long
valued by gardeners for masses of
showy blooms through summer and into
autumn, though many older hydrangeas are
on the large side. Now, a massive amount of
new breeding over the past decade or so –
partly for the pot plant market but with
bonus benefits for gardeners – has resulted in
a wealth of long flowering, mostly compact
new cultivars such as the Living Creations
and Magical series. Many only grow to
around 1m, delightfully small enough for
container growing, and include ‘Miss Saori’
and ‘Runaway Bride’, which helped catapult
hydrangeas into the spotlight by winning
the coveted RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year
award in 2014 and 2018 respectively.
Most of the 80 or so hydrangea species
originate from East Asia with some from
North America, and this is important when
choosing hydrangeas for your garden. Most
of Asian origin (including H. macrophylla,
H. paniculata and H. serrata) need moist
soil and milder conditions, so they grow best

Compact H. paniculata
‘Limelight’ is a delight

30 Garden Answers

Blowsy mopheads
look truly lovely in
mixed borders

Did you
know?
Hydrangeas make fabulous
cut flowers and dry well,
too. Pick in September and
hang in loose bunches in a
cool airy place, upside
down, out of direct
sunlight

in the milder, wetter climate of the western
side of the UK. North American species
(such as H. arborescens and H. quercifolia)
are more tolerant of drought and alkaline
soil, suiting most areas of the UK that aren’t
too cold or exposed. However, now that we
can grow hydrangeas in containers, we have
greater flexibility and it is possible to site
plants in favourable, cool little
microclimates. Other hydrangeas
to consider are climbers with
self-clinging stems and heads
of white summer flowers, of
which hardy, deciduous H.
anomala petiolaris is best
known. Hydrangeas are
widely sold as indoor
plants, too, ideal for cool,

well-lit rooms. However, while these may
transition to the garden if hardened off
thoroughly first, many ‘indoor’ types aren’t
sufficiently hardy to survive life outside.
The largest shrubby group is Hydrangea
macrophylla, which runs to many hundreds
of cultivars. Known as ‘mopheads’ due to the
large, rounded heads made up of many small
flowers, or ‘lacecaps’, these have flatter
heads composed of tiny flowers in the centre
with an outer border of larger florets. Some
varieties of H. serrata also have lacecaptype flowers. This group offers the greatest
and brightest diversity of flower colours
with many shades of pink, mauve, blue,
cream, lime and white, the colour often
changing as blooms mature.
While blues are adorable, be aware that
acid soil or pots of ericaceous compost are
essential to avoid the colour morphing to
pink, or worse, a sludgy mauve.
Applying aluminium sulphate (sold
as hydrangea blueing compound)
helps blue flowers stay blue and
water with rainwater.
If showy mopheads aren’t your
bag, there are other hydrangea
species that offer plenty of
➤

❤ CELEBRATE
❤

Hydrangea
macrophylla
‘Endless Summer
Balmer’ flowers

New breeding
has resulted in
a wealth of
long-flowering,
mostly compact
varieties

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 31

MUST HAVE

plants

understated elegance of colour, form and
foliage, such as H. paniculata cultivars
with cone-shaped heads of white, cream
or pale green flowers; H. aspera subsp.
sargentiana and H. aspera Villosa Group

Expert notes

Anne Greenall holds one of the
three Plant Heritage National
Plant Collections of Hydrangea in
her three-acre garden in coastal
Ayrshire. It achieved National
Plant Collection status nearly 30
years ago and numbers around
170, mainly older varieties.
“I love the old larger-growing
favourites and it’s part of Plant
Heritage’s work to conserve the
older ones,” says Anne. “In this
climate, hydrangeas grow taller,
straggly and merge with each
other. H. paniculata and H. aspera
are particularly beautiful and a
bit taller than H. macrophylla, so I
grow the different types together
in tiers, which looks gorgeous –
the taller ones have flowers at
eye level and above.”
Of her favourites Anne says:
“‘Preziosa’ is the best with dark
flowers that dry well. ‘Générale
Vicomtesse de Vibraye’ (pictured)
has billowy growth, ‘Setsuka-yae’
has slightly different flowers and
‘Mariesii Perfecta’ is beautiful.”
Anne emphasises that siting
and soil are key to success with
hydrangeas. “They thrive in the
wonderful weather here and I’ve

❤ CELEBRATE
❤

with beautiful velvety leaves and soft
pastel flowers and the white-flowered
oak-leafed hydrangea (H. quercifolia)
that develops outstanding autumn leaf
colour. There really is one for everyone.

only got the hose out in a couple
of severe droughts. Even the job
of deadheading in spring has
been partly done by the wind this
year! I use Toni Lawson-Hall’s tip
in Hydrangeas: A Gardeners’
Guide of putting the deadheads
under the plant to feed it. I tread
them into the soil, so the birds
don’t scatter them. Hydrangeas
don’t need much feeding. To
propagate them I look for layered
stems, dig them up and just
shove them in a pot, while some
self-seed, too. They are simply
wonderful plants.”

How to grow
Plant in partial shade and shelter out of
midday sun and not in frost pockets.
Grow in fertile, moisture-retentive soil;
acid conditions are required to prevent
blue varieties turning pink. North
American types tolerate drier and
alkaline conditions. Water regularly in
dry periods for the first growing season
and then give an occasional thorough
soaking during dry spells. Mulch with
compost, bark or leaf mould, annually.
Grow compact varieties in large pots
(minimum 30cm). Use potting compost
mixed with a third by volume of coir.
Stand on gravel or raise off the ground
to prevent waterlogging. In winter,
move against a wall or under cover.
Water regularly and feed annually, in
spring, with controlled-release fertiliser.
Leave dead flower heads on over
winter to protect growth, then cut off
back to the first pair of strong buds in
mid to late spring. Thin mature,
congested plants by taking out several
of the oldest stems close to the ground.

OUR PICK OF THE BEST

‘MISS SAORI’
Showy double flowers
in a striking rose pink
and white blend with
dark purplish
contrasting foliage.
H&S: 1m.

32 Garden Answers

‘RUNAWAY BRIDE’
A profusion of lacecap
flowers, white tinged
with pink, borne along
gently arching stems
on a compact bush.
H&S: 1.2m.

H. PANICULATA
‘WIM’S RED’
Large cone-shaped
flowers open white,
then pink in summer
and turn dark red in
early autumn. H&S: 2m.

H. QUERCIFOLIA
‘SNOWFLAKE’
Large white, later
pink-tinged, flowers;
leaves develop brilliant
bronze-purple autumn
colour. H&S: 2m.

H. SERRATA
‘PREZIOSA’
Rounded pink heads
age to red, purple or
blue tints, depending
on soil pH, with dark
stems. H&S: 1.5m. ✿

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PRUNE RAMBLERS

ENJOY DAHLIAS
FOR LONGER

Rambling roses produce one
huge flush of blooms in
June-July rather than flowering
sporadically over a longer
period. If left untamed they can
become a tangled mess and
send out fewer flowers. August
is the time to take them in
(gloved) hand with the
secateurs and loppers.

To keep dahlias looking their blousy best, give plants
a little extra care now to enjoy their display right into
autumn. Regular picking and deadheading is key,
more buds will soon take their place.
● Check support stakes are still sufficient to hold the
weight of heavy blooms. You can insert a taller, more
substantial stake next to the existing support
and carefully tie in stems with soft twine.
● Watch out for earwigs! Upturn a pot filled
with straw and suspend on a cane next to
The weather in August ought
to be warm and sunny, but
your dahlias. Empty the traps each day
this is the UK so nothing’s
on to your bird table.
written in stone! Sunny
● Spread a cooling mulch of
weather can lead to
leafmould or compost around
plants becoming stressed
your plants.
or scorched, so keep
them well watered and
shaded. Above all,
remember to
sit back and enjoy
your garden, while
Vine weevils are the bane of many
the weather
a gardener’s life – especially if you
allows.
grow favourite plants in
containers. Unseen
compost right through winter and
underground, the
will do untold damage, so
grubs can
it’s worth acting now.
decimate a
● Pick off adults as soon as you
plant’s roots
see them and dispose of them in
and it’s only
an appropriate fashion
when plants wilt
● Encourage predators, such as
prematurely, and
birds, frogs and hedgehogs by
on lifting them
providing food, garden access,
you discover
water and shelter
they have little
● Use a biological control, nematode
or no roots, that you
Steinernema kraussei. These can be
realise something’s wrong. This is
applied by watering them onto the
always a bit alarming!
compost. They’re chemical free as well
Heuchera, strawberries, sedums and
as environmentally-friendly.
some evergreens are most commonly
● Chemical insecticides include
affected.
BugClear Ultra Vine Weevil Killer
From spring to late summer,
Concentrate (£14 for 480ml) but
the adults are busy munching on
don’t use it on crops or plants
leaves, creating telltale notches
growing in the ground.
around leaf edges. It’s a sign that
their grubs are possibly also busy,
chomping away on the plant
roots. The grubs can live in the

Weatherwatch

CUT BACK OLDER STEMS
Trim off ties securing
stems to their supports
then remove one-third of the
oldest stems right to the ground.
If space is restricted, prune out all
stems that have flowered.

1

Take action on
vine weevils

TIE IN NEW STEMS Secure
the new, greener growth,
tying in the young stems to
the supports. Keep them as
horizontal as possible to
encourage more flowers to form
all along their length.

2

REDUCE SIDESHOOTS
Shorten the sideshoots
by about two-thirds,
cutting just above a bud. Try to
make a slanting cut, so rainwater
drains away from the bud and
doesn’t collect in the open stem. ➤

3

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 35

What to do this month...

EASY GARDENING

A sheltered sunny
wall is the ideal
spot to grow
autumn-flowering
nerines for a bold
flash of colour

PLANT LATEBLOOMING BULBS
Boost autumn planting schemes with vivid
pink, purple and gold bulbs

A

utumn-flowering bulbs
will put on growth in the
mild summer weather,
so there’s time to pop some in
now for a blaze of colour in a
couple of months. Some autumn
bulbs revel in the warmth of a
sunny, sheltered wall, while
others like the shade of deciduous
trees until their leaves drop.
The most stunning plant is the
nerine, flowering in October and
November with a starburst of
glittering hot pink. Plant with the
neck of the bulb just exposed
and pair with Gladiolus murielae
in a sheltered, sunny site.
Sternbergia lutea and Crocus
sativus (saffron crocus) are
lower growers for a sunny spot,
while purple colchicum
‘Waterlily’ and Cyclamen
hederifolium will naturally
spread beneath the part-shade of
a deciduous tree.
Add grit to heavy soil to make
the area more free draining
before planting at two or three
times the depth of the bulb.
Wear gloves to handle
colchicums as they’re poisonous.

36 Garden Answers

NERINE BOWDENII
Neon-pink firework flowers.
Full sun; mulch after flowering.
H: 45cm, S: 8cm.

CROCUS SATIVUS
Purple saffron crocus with
long, bright red-orange
stamens. H: 15cm, S: 5cm.

STERNBERGIA LUTEA
Golden ‘winter daffodils’
flower Sep-Nov in a sunny
spot. H: 15cm, S: 8cm.

COLCHICUM ‘WATERLILY’
Also called ‘naked ladies’
for their bare stems of frilly
flowers. H: 15cm, S: 10cm.

GLADIOLUS MURIELAE
White and burgundy scented
flowers on tall stems.
H: 90cm, S: 10cm.

CYCLAMEN HEDERIFOLIUM
Pink flowers and silvery
leaves. Best in part shade.
H: 10cm, S: 15cm.
➤

EASY GARDENING

Take cuttings of
perennials
It’s worth taking cuttings now of
short-lived perennials such as
erysimum and tender perennials,
including penstemons and salvias.
Erysimum plants tend to weaken and
become leggy after a few years, so
once the base of the original plant
starts to get bare and woody, take
short cuttings of fresh new sideshoots
and root them in pots or trays.
● Take insurance cuttings of borderline
hardy penstemons and salvias, just in
case woutdoor plants succumb to a
harsh winter.
● Pot up and grow on the rooted
cuttings to produce strong new plants
that are ready to go out in the garden
next spring.

MAKE A NOTE OF PLANT SUCCESSES
As most hardy herbaceous
perennials and summer-flowering
bulbs lose their leaves and die down
in autumn and winter, it pays to label
any that you want to remember. For
instance, make a note of any that
have become overcrowded and need
lifting and dividing in autumn, or
moving to a better site. Also list those

Cut wildflower areas
Cutting back your wildflower patch now encourages
more flowers for next year. It also helps reduce weeds
and vigorous grasses and distributes
wanted flower seeds.
● After checking for creatures in
the long grass (such as toads
and hedgehogs), start with a
strimmer or scythe to a few
centimetres above ground.
Leave an edge of longer
grass to shelter wildlife
over winter.
●Remove cuttings. If left
to rot, they’ll feed the soil,
encouraging weeds and
tough grasses to grow that
will smother your wildflower
seeds as they germinate.
● Mow until winter. Remove
clippings, then leave the area
alone for spring and summer
wildflowers to appear.

38 Garden Answers

whose colours you really love, as a
reminder for when you’re planning a
new colour scheme.
Add details of the name, colour
and height, and firmly attach the
label to the crown or keep a note in
a notebook, with a diagram of the
plant’s position in the garden to act
as a reminder.

Timely tip:
“As well as harvesting ripened
seedpods, pick allium and
nigella flowerheads while
they’re still in good condition to
preserve as decorations...”

Tidy up Alchemilla mollis
Lady’s mantle is a useful plant in the garden. It grows in
any soil, looks good with its frothy, green flowers and
scalloped foliage, and it complements many other plants.
But its self-seeding habit can become a problem. Hoeing
around plants regularly helps control its spread.
By mid-August the sprays of flowers have started to lose
their colour and look tatty, so it’s a good
idea to trim them down and give
the plants a good tidy up.
This also helps
prevent excessive
seeding and
encourages
a flush of new
foliage to grow.

What to do this month...
Clip back regrowth
on hedges

EASY GARDENING

HEALTHY PLANTS

It’s time to
PRIMP YOUR POND!

It always seems that hedges have gone
mad with new growth again just five
minutes after you last trimmed them!
It pays to keep on top of your hedges
a few times each summer, to prevent the
job becoming a massive chore. Little and
often is best, then in winter and spring
do a more considered chop. Shears will
take an age on large hedges, so invest in
an electric trimmer to make life easier.
Bear in mind these will give a somewhat
‘hacked’ look to the foliage for a while.

Keep water features looking fresh,
clean and healthy

A

crystal clear pond makes an
attractive focal point in the
garden, but all too often the
water can turn into a smelly green pool of
blanket weed and algae.
Here are some key ways to keep it
oxygen-rich and attractive to visiting
wildlife (and humans)!

1. Top it
up: Drought and
dry windy weather can
reduce water levels. Use
rainwater to top up the
pond, or leave tap water
to stand for 48 hours so
chlorine can
evaporate.

2. Tidy marginal
plants: Weed
between marginals
and cut back any
spent flowers or
dying leaves.

40 Garden Answers

6. Provide
extra cover: Ponds
are ideally situated in
part shade. Those in full
sun can suffer from
increased algal growth,
turning ponds green. Adding
tall marginals can counter
this by helping to
shade the water.
5. Control
oxygenators:
Getting the right balance
of oxygenating plants to
water is key – aim for 50
percent surface coverage. If
oxygenators are taking
over, thin them out. Add
more if there’s not
enough.

3. Address
problem growth:
Invasive blanket weed
and duckweed choke the
pond surface, preventing
sunlight from reaching the
plants below. Net duckweed
and twirl out blanket weed
with a stick to clean up
the surface.

4.
Deadhead pond
plants: Snip off spent
flowers and dying
leaves before they
start decomposing
in the water.

PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK; ALAMY; BAUER

DEADHEAD REGULARLY
Make time to deadhead flowers
as often as possible. As well as
keeping plants tidy, this stops
seedheads forming and
encourages further flowers.
WATER CONTAINER PLANTS
Pay attention to potted plants
by house walls – the roof can
restrict the amount of rain they
receive. Give a weekly liquid feed.
DAMP DOWN GREENHOUSE
PATHS A simple way to reduce
the greenhouse temperature on
hot, sunny days is to ‘damp
down’ the paths with water. As
the water evaporates, it creates
humidity and cools the air.
CUT BACK FOXGLOVES
Cutting the stalk down
to the rosette of
leaves at the
base tidies the
plant, and
stops it
self-sowing.
Foxgloves can
make new
growth and
give a second
flush of flowering.

PHOTOS: ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK, NEIL HEPWORTH

Don’t forget...

Flaming foxtail lily
torches light up the sky,
surrounded by a froth of
blue triteleia and silvery
foliage plants in this
drought-tolerant
gravel garden planting

42 Garden Answers

EASY GARDENING
THIS MONTH’S

SHOWSTOPPERS

Celebrate planting

IN SUN & SKY SHADES
Drought-tolerant golden eremurus are the stars of this border,
surrounded by a sea of blue triteleia and silvery foliage plants

B

eth Chatto’s maxim of ‘right plant, right
place’ continues to resonate through the
horticultural world decades after she first
championed it. This Drought Resistant Garden
created at Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival
by her garden and nursery director David Ward
celebrated her influence when she was named
by the festival as Horticultural Hero in the year
after she passed away.

● GET STARTED WITH
A PLANTING PLAN

WORDS: HELEN BILLIALD. PHOTOS: GAP PHOTOS/NICOLA STOCKEN, ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK. ILLUSTRATION: GILL LOCKHART

PITTOSPORUM
TENUIFOLIUM
‘SILVER QUEEN’
Quick-growing
evergreen shrub
with silvery green
cream-edged leaves
and small summer
flowers. H&S: 4m.

Taking inspiration from her famous Essex gravel
garden, it showed just how attractive and diverse a
collection of drought-tolerant plants can be. This
snippet, with glowing foxtail lily at its centre, is
proof of how a carefully chosen support act of
contrasting foliage, texture and shape will elevate
Colour Palette
a border into something that would be beautiful
Orange & pale yellow, sparkling
even after the sunset tones of Eremurus
blues, silvery greens
isabellinus ‘Pinokkio’ have faded.

EREMURUS
ISABELLINUS
‘PINOKKIO’
Foxtail lily with
fluffy candles of
peach-flushed
orange flowers
mid–late summer.
H: 1.2m, S: 30cm.

STIPA
TENUISSIMA
PHLOMIS
RUSSELIANA
Pale yellow whorls
of flowers May–Sept
on strong vertical
stems and excellent
winter seedheads
especially in frost.
H&S: 90cm.

Fine leaves and soft
feathery plumes
make this tactile
grass a silvery
blonde garden
must-have.
H: 60cm, S: 45cm.

EUPHORBIA
‘COPTON ASH’
TRITELEIA LAXA
The foliage of
Californian native
triplet lily dies
back early,
leaving sparkling
blue flowers
June–August.
H: 45cm, S: 20cm.

Mounds of elegant
needle-like grey-green
foliage and lime green
summer flowers; wear
gloves as sap is an
irritant. H&S: 45cm.

➤
Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 43

EASY GARDENING

...or try

this

● HOME AND DRY
Pick up further planting inspiration at established droughttolerant gardens such as Beth Chatto’s Gravel Garden, the
Dry Garden at RHS Hyde Hall or Delos at Sissinghurst.

HOW TO PLANT

● AFRICAN LILIES FOR SULTRY SUMMER COLOUR

AGAPANTHUS ‘BACK IN BLACK’
This beautiful plant has strongly
saturated blue flowers atop
striking black stems, August–
September. H: 70cm, S: 45cm.

AGAPANTHUS ‘MIDNIGHT STAR’
(‘NAVY BLUE’)
Robust agapanthus with plentiful
midnight blue flowers August–
September. H: 90cm, S: 45cm.

● STRETCHING THE FLORAL PIZZAZZ

These plants might come from warmer
Mediterranean climates, but they’ll
thrive on our shores as long as you can
provide them with a position in full sun
and good drainage.

1

Establish the foxtail lily

2

Add some evergreens
for structure

Plant the spider-like bareroots of
foxtail lilies in September or October, adding
well-rotted organic matter to their planting
hole and mounding the soil at its centre so
that the crown is level with the soil surface.
In spring keep an eye out for late frosts,
giving plants a little extra protection with a
dry mulch or fleece if required.

OENOTHERA LINDHEIMERI
‘THE BRIDE’
Clouds of dancing butterfly-like
white flowers June–October, with
tall airy growth. H: 1.2m, S: 60cm.

VERBENA OFFICINALIS
GRANDIFLORA ‘BAMPTON’
Wiry verbena with metallic purple
sheen to its foliage and months of
violet flowers. H: 90cm, S: 60cm.

● PLANTS FOR STRONG VERTICALS

Pittosporums are superb evergreen shrubs,
providing an anchor to more ephemeral
displays. Enrich the planting hole to give it
the best possible start and establish new
container-grown specimens in autumn or
spring, teasing out any congested roots and
watering thoroughly. Prune lightly if needed
in mid to late spring.
Always wear gloves when planting or
moving euphorbias. These perennials are
best established in autumn or spring. Cut
back flowered shoots to the base in autumn.

3

VERBASCUM CHAIXII
Strong spires of white, occasionally
yellow, flowers with purple centres,
June–August. Easy from seed.
H: 90cm, S: 45cm.

44 Garden Answers

ALLIUM SPHAEROCEPHALON
Drumstick allium with small purple
and green egg-shaped flowers
on top of fine willowy stems
July–August. H: 90cm, S: 15cm.

Thread through the
remaining plants

Plant the perennial triteleia and phlomis in
autumn or spring. Wait to cut back the
striking seedheads of phlomis to add to the
winter interest in the garden.
Wait until the soil has begun to warm in
spring before planting the stipa because it
can struggle from an autumn planting if a
cold, wet winter follows. Comb through
clumps in spring to remove old stems and
foliage. Look out for seedlings cropping up
nearby and use them around the garden. ✿

  
   
    

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Summer
WILDLIFE

A goldfinch and
blue tit feed on a
teasel seedhead

46 Garden Answers

WILDLIFE

Seedhead of Lunaria
annua, or honesty

Lacewing perched
on a grass stem

GOING TO SEED
Adrian Thomas explores the glorious world of seedheads and how
they can enhance the garden for us and for wildlife

F

or many of us, the crowning glory of
gardening is flowers – all that colour
and pizzazz and perfume are
irresistible. Then when the fireworks
fade, a tinge of sadness can seem to fall over
the garden. But this need not be the end of the
show. Many plants have seedheads that, left
in place, can bring a more enduring quality to
the garden right through the winter. Yes, they
may be more low-key than the blooms that
preceded them, but they have their own
architectural aesthetic.
And as far as the plant is concerned, the
seedhead and the valuable cargo of seeds it
contains are the ultimate evidence of success.
A flower is just a means to an end – it is the
seeds that were the goal, the guarantee of the
next generation, the flowers of the future. A

seedhead is a sign of hope. For some of our
garden birds, a seedhead is also a signal of a
valuable meal! Just as so much of our diet is
dominated by seeds – wheat, oats, rice, etc – so
it is for finches, sparrows, tits, pigeons and
doves. Each seed is a mini power pack of
nutrients and energy, and is especially
valuable in the winter months when other
food is in short supply.
Seedheads can also offer safe winter
hideaways for insects. Adult ladybirds, for
example, need somewhere to hibernate. A
seedhead perched on a durable stem is like a
penthouse suite, distant from the damp and
dangers of the ground below. Lacewings,
small caterpillars, young spiders – they can all
be found hiding away inside dried pods and
spiky seed casings. For us gardeners, the

seedheads are likely to come into their own
visually in snow or, even better, when etched
with hoar frost. Some will get battered by the
winter storms and may not make it through
the winter. However, if they tumble early, I
collect them up and pile them at the back of
the flowerbed so that any creature within has
the chance to either stay put or crawl out.
Those seedheads that remain standing I
leave as long as I can into spring, even until
April if possible, before clearing them away
for the season to come. Even then, however, I
leave them stacked nearby for a few days
before taking them to the compost heap.
There, their brittle papery or woody texture
can be a beneficial mixer with fresh grass
clippings to give the ideal brown/green mix
needed to create good compost. If you are

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 47

WILDLIFE
keen to tidy borders in autumn, however,
why not tie bunches of seedheads together
and hang them upside down off a fence or
the eaves of a shed? They can still provide a
sanctuary for all sorts of overwintering
insects, and they can look delightfully rustic.
If you don’t yet have many plants that give
you seedhead interest in the garden, make
sure to visit some of the nation’s finest
gardens this winter and see how glorious it

can look. You can then use that inspiration to
plant flowers next spring to leave. Planting
them in groups will give a better effect than
isolated plants, and wildlife will appreciate
the feast. Planting with seedheads in mind is
a brilliant way to keep the visual interest in
your garden going for months instead of
having to stare at bare beds all winter. To
then have your garden birds and insects reap
the benefits will be a wonderful bonus.

Collecting seeds

Phlomis The whorls of pink or
yellow flowers of Jerusalem sage
turn into rather fun and beautiful
seedheads that look like dried
pom-poms threaded onto the
upright stems, each one spaced
out from the next.

I always carry small brown
paper envelopes in my
pocket to collect seeds,
whether from wildflowers
or from friends’ gardens.
Many germinate; most
plants in my garden are
from seed, each with a
happy memory. My
garden is probably one of
the cheapest ever
created! Different plants
set seed at different times
in the season, but I find
late summer is often the
most productive and with
the greatest range. Here
are tips for collecting seed
both successfully
and responsibly.
● Collect on dry days,
when most plants
release seed. Shake into
your envelope. Bags of
damp seeds may rot or
go mouldy.

48 Garden Answers

● Immediately write
down what the seeds
are and when and where
you collected them.
● It is perfectly legal to
collect seeds from the
countryside, apart from
most nature reserves
and sites that are
designated for wildlife
such as Sites of Special
Scientific Interest.
● Collect in moderation
for personal use – you
probably don’t need
more than a dozen
seeds. Never collect if
there are only a few of
the parent plants.
● When you get home,
decide whether to sow
now or wait until spring.
● To store seeds, spread
them on kitchen paper
and dry in a cool place –
not the airing cupboard.
Then put them back in

the paper envelope –
never in a plastic bag – in
a cool, dark place. I use
the chiller tray of the
fridge, where many
seeds can remain viable
for years. But clear
labelling is of course
vital if stored near food.
● Remember that in the
wild, seeds are dropped
into the open and have
to survive the cold and
wet of winter. Many
need a period of winter
cold to prepare them for
germination in spring, a
process called
stratification. I therefore
recommend not putting
all your eggs in one
basket – why not sow
some in pots as soon as
you collect them and
leave them outside,
while storing others as
backup for next year?

Papaver somniferum
The inflated round
seedpods of the
opium poppy, with
their pepperpot
crowns at the top,
are accessible only
to tiny insects, but
those that can get
inside have the safety of
a dark, enclosed capsule.

ATTRACTIVE SEEDHEADS

A reed bunting
perches on
some grass

Not all plants make long-lasting seedheads, so choose carefully for maximum
effect. Here are some of the best plants for enduring and appealing seedheads.

Echinacea The common name of
coneflower is indeed apt because
the dark brown seedheads are
rather like pinecones. The flowers
that come before are some of the
best for pollinators.

Grasses: Many ornamental grasses
look fabulous when left standing
through winter. Some will provide
great nesting materials for birds
come next spring.
Lunaria The translucent papery
discs of honesty can last through
much of the winter. They aren’t ideal
for wintering insects, but they do
look truly wonderful with a low
winter sun behind them.

Echinops Just as in
flower, the
seedhead of globe
thistle is like a whole
ball of spines. Little
insects can choose
whichever aspect
they prefer to crawl
into – from the top,
side or underneath!

Dipsacus The
seedheads of
teasel are one
of the most
enduring of all
plants, lasting
well into the
second year.

Ice plant These gently domed pink
flowerheads turn into wide seedheads, often
with a warm chestnut tone, well into winter.

Eryngium Each of the many species and
cultivars of sea holly has a fine-looking
seedhead, the best perhaps being those of
eryngium ‘Giganteum’. These have an
intriguing silver ruff of spiny sepals
surrounding the tight knot in the middle
where the seeds are clustered.

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 49

WILDLIFE GARDEN
JOBS FOR AUGUST

A great tit on
a sunflower

Seedheads for birds

Cardoon is a
favourite of
greenfinches

Goldfinches love
lavender seedheads

● CUT EXISTING MINI-MEADOWS
Hopefully you went beyond
No-Mow May and allowed
your mini-meadow to stay
long for summer, but now
it’s time to cut the hay,
removing it all to the
compost heap.
● STOP DEADHEADING
Let those late summer
flowers turn into seedheads that
will look so good all winter.

Look out for...
Cardoon Greenfinches in particular like
delving into the large seedheads which,
when ripe, seem like an exploded pillow
of golden fluff. The tall stems give the
birds extra security when feeding.
Fresh unripe seed Finches such as
goldfinches and linnets like to eat
unripe seeds that still contain moisture,
and can often be seen plucking the
‘clocks’ of plants such as dandelion and
cat’s-ear from lawns. This is another
good reason to turn areas of your lawn
into a mini-meadow.
Weed seed The British birds to have
declined the most are farmland birds, in
part because modern herbicides mean
there are no weeds in fields any more,
so they have fewer seeds and insects to
eat. Letting an area of garden do its
thing, or leaving part of the veg patch
fallow for a year, can provide seeds.
Bird cover mixes Conservation-minded
gardeners often grow patches of
‘wildbird cover crops’: that is, a range of
plants that bear copious amounts of
seeds. A typical mix includes some or all
of the following: wheat, barley, millet,
linseed, quinoa, fodder radish, kale and
sunflower. They are often sold in bulk,
but the RSPB sells small packets that
you can try in a patch in your garden.

● BABY GOLDFINCHES
They lack the red face of
their parents, but they still
have the tell-tale gold flash
in the wing.
● THE LAST SWIFT These
scimitar-winged visitors only arrived
in May but almost all leave for Africa
in the first week of August.
● HUMMINGBIRD HAWKMOTHS
These hover with precision at
flowers such as
buddleja and
Verbena
bonariensis,
unfurling their
immense coiled
tongues to sup
the nectar.

ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK

Sunflowers The annual varieties tend to
produce the greatest amount of seed,
sometimes in huge heads. Some can be
very heavy indeed and may not stand
up in winter storms, so it is often worth
cutting them in autumn and hanging
them upside down to dry before you
put them out for the birds.
Lavender Goldfinches in particular will
come to lavender seedheads. Be aware
that the hybrids, Lavandula x
intermedia, tend to be sterile and so
they do not produce seed.
Teasel This is the speciality of the
goldfinch. No other bird has a bill
suitable for probing between the
hedgehoggy spines of the seedhead to
get to the seeds and interestingly, male
goldfinches have a slightly longer bill
than the female so they are able to
reach more seeds.

● PREPARE SOME NEW
MINI-MEADOWS Thoroughly
weed, dig and rake a patch of the
ground to get it ready for sowing
with wildflower seeds in
September or October.

BEAUTIFUL GARDENS

Perfectly protected
One couple’s dedicated labour of love transformed
this walled garden into a sanctuary for wildlife

LAVENDER, crocosmia,
lilies, delphiniums and
hollyhocks soak up the
sun against the wall

52 Garden Answers

Garden
TOUR

IN THE GARDEN WITH…
Karen and Tim Rayner
AT: Walled
Garden, School
House on The Egg,
Bishopstone,
Seaford, East
Sussex

WORDS: MARINA JORDAN-RUGG

SIZE: 1 acre
SOIL: Improved chalk
SPECIAL FEATURES: Walled
garden filled with long, wide borders
and protective trees

C

reating this beautiful walled
garden in Bishopstone has been a
long process for Karen and Tim
Rayner. Their home, a former
schoolhouse, is attached to the village hall
and had no garden, so they rented the walled
garden for a few years. “It was in a poor state
with damaged walls and consisted mainly of
grass and weeds,” says Karen. “There were
hundreds of rabbits that ate whatever we
planted, so we really just mowed the lawn.”
They were able to buy the land in 2007
and began work on repairing and replanting
it. “It was such hard work,” she says. “The

I dug a hole and stuck in
whatever plants we’d
bought or been given,
wherever I had space
54 Garden Answers

ABOVE An unregimented explosion of
August colour from verbena, achillea,
hypericum, lavender and dahlias
TOP RIGHT Bunting gives some cheer
to a seating area for taking in the views
RIGHT A shady spot to relax
FAR RIGHT The garden has structure,
with the walls giving a secluded feel

ground was full of bindweed, couch grass
and creeping buttercup and the south wall
had blown over, but as we rebuilt the walls
we were able to start chasing the rabbits out.”
They dug out four 9x14.5m borders and
started planting fruit trees and vegetables.
All the plants were protected with chicken
wire until the rabbits were eliminated. “I
didn’t know much about gardening, so I
operated an ad hoc approach,” she recalls. “I
dug a hole and stuck in whatever plants we’d
bought or been given, wherever I had space.”
Situated just one mile from the sea and
near a hill, the garden can be a windy place,
so Karen and Tim decided to create a

GardenTOUR

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GardenTOUR

TOP Another
colourful view
within the garden
RIGHT The
greenhouse is a
safe spot for
plants and the
resident
ducklings, which
were given their
own baby bath
full of water to
keep them out of
the way of
magpies and
crows!

woodland area to give them some protection,
shelter and shade. “We planted 15 alders with
sea buckthorn, philadelphus, climbing roses
and honeysuckle,” she says.
“Then we received an unexpected offer of
six silver birch trees from next door’s garden,
which had been recently planted by the
previous neighbour, but the new residents
didn’t want them. It was a hot March so we
dug them up as carefully as we could,
replanted them and watered them daily for
two years. We really didn’t expect them to
survive, but they did!”
As the garden started to take shape, a
wildlife rescue centre near Eastbourne

56 Garden Answers

asked if the Rayners would take in
previously injured hedgehogs. These
creatures had recovered from their injuries
but were too vulnerable to release into the
wild. However, the walled garden offered a
safe environment with enough food and
space for them to wander. “I was very happy
for them to come and dine out on our slugs
and snails,” says Karen, and 20 male
hedgehogs duly arrived in 2011.
“Next a pair of ducks flew in and built a
nest in our huge compost pile,” she says. “We
dug a pond for the ducklings, but as we
started losing some to magpies and crows,
we moved them into the greenhouse for

protection, complete with a baby bath!” As
they grew bigger and stronger, they followed
Karen around while she worked in the
garden and enjoyed switching between the
greenhouse bath and garden pond.
It is now 20 years on from when the
couple first started their garden project and
the results are inspiring. Their borders ripple
with seas of colourful perennials set around
mature shrubs and trees. They also have
200 dahlias and more than 60 roses,
burgeoning plantings of colourful irises and
foxgloves, lavender and fiery crocosmia, a
shady woodland area and a meadow of
daisies on the former tennis court.

A pair of ducks flew in and
built a nest in our huge
compost pile!

TOP The area
close to the
greenhouse is far
more relaxed
with wildflowers
left to grow
untamed
LEFT These
interesting tree
stumps have not
been wasted.
They now form
beautiful, natural
art in the garden
FAR LEFT Ducks
enjoy the pond

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 57

GardenTOUR

TOP Plants galore gather in one of the
corner borders of the garden
FAR RIGHT Pinks, reds, whites and
purples mingle with the strong
backdrop of lush green foliage
RIGHT Despite being a walled garden,
the tall trees and beautiful views beyond
are still visible from within

Karen and Tim have also installed a shed,
two greenhouses, a little reading room and
their fringe café and tea garden where they
serve refreshments on open days. But there
are some changes on the horizon. “We are
cutting down the total number of beds from
12 to 8 as I enjoy painting, enamelling,
mosaicing and don't have the time due to
weeding and deadheading. Also we are
digging up many of our mauve irises to make
way for other colours.”
Karen has some excellent advice. “Don’t
try too hard. Over the years we’ve simply

Grow plants from seed.
You get so much more
for your money

58 Garden Answers

dug planting holes and popped things in as
we’ve bought or acquired the plants and it
seems to work for us.
"Grow plants from seed. You get so much
more for your money. If you don’t have a
greenhouse to pot them up in, wait until it’s
warm enough and sow them direct. Take
whatever you’re given – we never say no to
any offers of seeds, cuttings or unwanted

plants – even trees. When you have a big
space, it’s too expensive to buy enough big
plants to fill it completely.”
Following a bout of ill health, Karen
decided not to open for the NGS this year but
you can see the garden in all its summer
glory, by searching for The Enchanted Violin
#FamilyFridays on YouTube, which was
✿
filmed in the Walled Garden.

BEAUTIFUL GARDENS

COMING OF AGE
Fiona Cumberpatch discovers a classic
country garden in Leicestershire that may
look centuries old – but one skilled couple
has created it from scratch

60 Garden Answers

Garden
TOUR

A row of yew trees provides
brilliant formal structure to
this relaxed border

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 61

IN THE GARDEN WITH…
Pam and Richard Smith
AT: The White
House Farm,
Ingarsby,
Leicestershire
SOIL: Clay/loam
SPECIAL
FEATURES: Box,
yew and beech hedges divide a cottage
garden that is filled with gaily coloured
perennials and roses
OPEN: By arrangement from June
to September for groups of between
20 and 40. Visit ngs.org.uk

T

here’s an air of quiet elegance about
the gardens of The White House
Farm, set in the rolling countryside
in an area known as High
Leicestershire. Mellow old brick walls and
steps, gravel paths lined with holly trees,
neatly clipped box, yew and beech hedges
and an impressive collection of native trees
all create the feeling that it must have been
here since the Georgian farmhouse was
built. In fact, when Pam and Richard Smith
bought the property at auction in 1999, there
was no garden at all.
“The yard was cracked concrete, which
had been laid by Italian prisoners of war,

IMAGES: NEIL HEPWORTH

My aim was to make a
garden that complements
the beautiful views and
also supports wildlife
62 Garden Answers

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE ABOVE
The Lutyens-style bench is framed by
borders of soft pink roses and arching
buddleja; the tall spires of Canterbury
bells add a splash of blue; a red rose
envelops the side of the house;
Alchemilla Mollis provides zingy
lime-green ground cover

there were some collapsing corrugated iron
sheds and otherwise it was just fields and
elder-filled hedges,” recalls Pam.
Richard, a historic buildings enthusiast,
was attracted by the untouched condition of
the farm with its original cowsheds, stables
and open-fronted barn, while Pam, the
gardener of the family, had always wanted a
big project. “My aim was to make a garden
that complements the beautiful views and
also supports wildlife,” she explains.
Some serious forward planning was
essential with such a large blank canvas.
“The farm actually came with over 40 acres
of land,” Pam says. “We rented out the fields
to a farmer and planted three acres of
woodland in 2000, as well as a shelter belt

GardenTOUR

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ABOVE A
relaxing, open
spot with both
shade and sun
provides
somewhere to sit
LEFT The gentle
trickle of water
from the pond
adds a calming
ambience
FAR LEFT An
elegant rambling
rose falls lazily
over the archway

to tame the south westerly winds. Of the two
acres near the house, we have a wild area
with two ponds as well as three small pools
and an orchard. Around a third of an acre is
formal gardens.”
An RHS Diploma course and evening
classes helped Pam to develop her plans for
the garden. She was inspired by horticultural
pioneers Gertrude Jekyll, Dame Sylvia
Crowe and Vita Sackville-West, and visited
the famous gardens at Sissinghurst Castle in
Kent and Hidcote Manor Gardens in
Gloucestershire to glean ideas.

64 Garden Answers

“I thought a lot about proportions and
about lining things up with the buildings we
have here,” Pam explains. “I knew I needed
to get the basic structure right.”
The result is what she calls “a garden of
rooms”. The front garden was planted first in
a cottage style with a palette of creams,
yellows and oranges. A series of Irish yew
trees provide visual punctuation. “They
were skinny and elegant when we planted
them, but recently we had to strip them right
down. It was a bit drastic, but I didn’t want
them to become too dominant.”

Adjacent to this, Pam and Richard built a
ha-ha, a type of sunken fence. “It involved a
huge amount of bricks and concrete,” recalls
Pam. They incorporated the classic feature
for highlighting views over Charnwood and
the Trent Valley and unbroken pastoral
scenes of grazing sheep. “We like the idea of
framing views, so we planted a row of ilex
trees to give shape at one side and
hawthorns at the other,” Pam says. “I did try
some eucalyptus but they looked wrong in
an English country garden. I’m not afraid to
change something if it doesn’t work.”

GardenTOUR
The Pergola Garden provides a secluded
spot. “We wanted to sit there and feel
enclosed but not trapped,” Pam explains.
In fact, this area is the perfect showcase
for her favourite climbing plants. “I love
clematis and I have about 50 around the
garden, but in here I planted ‘Blekitny Aniol’
(also known as ‘Blue Angel’), ‘Perle d’Azur’,
which was inspired by seeing a wall of it at
Sissinghurst and, to cover the pergola legs,
‘The Vagabond’. Roses include ‘Kew
Rambler’ and ‘Generous Gardener’.”
There’s a small greenhouse and a
polytunnel tucked away by the Pergola
Garden. “I grow lots from seed,” says Pam.
“I’m busy outside most days, although we do
have help four days a week.”
The garden may now appear to be
effortlessly elegant, but there have been
hurdles along the way. “Water always
presents a challenge,” Pam says. “We’ve had
holes in the liners of the small ponds, and the
large pond, which we dug out in 2001, has
some large reed beds that silt up and are
difficult to clear.” That said, it does now
provide a valuable nesting site for mallards,
moorhens and Canada geese.
With the bulk of the hard work now
behind them, Pam and Richard are happy to
watch their garden develop and mature.
“As we get older, we’re trying to simplify
things, and that’s easier to do as the shrubs
and trees grow and shapes develop. Planning
out the structure so carefully when we first
moved in is paying off,” Pam says. ✿

LEFT Sky blue
delphiniums and
burnt orange
crocosmia make
for a truly
startling contrast
against the dark
yew

I’m not afraid to
change something if
it doesn’t work

GardenTOUR
MEET THE HEAD GARDENER
Wallington

The energy
of change
Simon Thompson has spent a quarter of a century at
bewitching Wallington with its sweeping lawns and
walled garden – and it’s easy to see why…

● Simon
Thompson has

PHOTOS: NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES/JAMES DOBSON

worked for the
National Trust
garden, Wallington,
for 25 years and is
now head gardener

How long have you been at
Wallington and how did you
get here?
After studying for National Diploma
in Horticulture at Pershore College in
the 1990s, I wanted to try my hand
working in a big garden with a larger
team and the National Trust was
recommended to me. Soon after, the
general gardener role at Wallington
was advertised and I was lucky
enough to get the job. I’d never even
set foot in Northumberland before
and I intended to stay only for a
couple of years before moving on to

Top, an owl carving from a storm-damaged tree; and
above, the crocus lawn in full, magnificent bloom

66 Garden Answers

Storm fallen trees
have been
transformed into
sculptures

gain more experience, but the
garden started to work its magic on
me, and 25 years later I’m still here
as head gardener.
Tell us about the garden?
Wallington is a large country home
surrounded by sweeping lawns and
space – it’s hard to see where the
naturalistic borders. The house is
walled garden ends, the paths twist
flanked to the east and west by
and turn as nothing is straight here,
woodland gardens with ponds laced
and you can even see lambs in the
through them. Deep within the East
field beyond!
Wood sits the Walled Garden.
Established in 1760 as the estate’s
Where do you take
kitchen garden, it is now a
inspiration from?
completely ornamental space filled
Inspiration often comes when you
with perennials, shrubs, a purple
crocus lawn in spring and all manner least expect it. Looking at other
gardens is great, but pure inspiration
of blossoming trees hidden away
might come from an overheard
from the Northumbrian weather in
conversation, a view from the
this protected valley. Some
fells or a rock on a beach.
of our visitors call it a
Top Tip
secret garden and
Experiment and
What are the
it’s certainly not a
don’t be afraid to try
biggest
typical square
something new. All the best
challenges
flat space with
gardeners have made plenty
you have
neat rows of
of mistakes and learned from
overcome at
plants. Behind
them. Experimenting is critical
Wallington?
the quaint
and it is through pushing
The changing
oak doors,
those boundaries that
weather patterns
Wallington’s
moments of magic
and the toll they
Garden is a
occur.
take on the garden.
bewitching

This became very apparent in
Storm Arwen in 2021 when we
experienced 100mph winds,
which knocked down hundreds
of trees on the estate. It's taken a
long time to clear up the
devastation the storm created,
but it has resulted in lots of areas
of light which are making great
planting opportunities. As well
as high winds, flash floods are
becoming increasingly regular
for the garden, so trying to
design better ways to manage
this excess water is always on

the agenda as the Walled Garden
sits at the bottom of a valley.
What is your favourite
time of year in the garden?
What I most love about gardens
is the constant change, which I
thrive on. Seeing huge drifts of
snowdrops in February, followed
by countless fresh green buds
bursting into bloom in spring,
which moves beautifully to the
kaleidoscope of colour that is
summer. We then drift into the
autumn with its more subtle

shades as the garden slows down
and takes a breath, seeing spent
leaves blowing in the wind
delights me every year. Lastly,
on comes winter and the frame
of the garden is revealed. There
is a simplicity that appeals to me
at this time of year and a winter
wander through the woodland
gardens never fails to lift my
mood. A garden that is static and
perfect looking all the time
would be dull to me, so it is the
energy of change that gets my
vote every time.
✿

Top The footpath in the
Walled Garden, which
boasts naturalistic planting
and an impressive cascade
of wisteria
Far left Wallington’s historic
Owl House
Left The graceful sweep
of the curving stone steps
encircles the terrace created
by a previous owner, Lady
Mary Trevelyan

Fact file
Wallington,
Cambo, near
Morpeth,
Northumberland,
NE61 4AR
Open: 10am until
5pm daily
Website: nationaltrust.org.
uk/visit/north-east/
wallington

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 67

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GROW YOUR OWN

Welcome to my
Diversity is key to an allotment that’s
truly brimming with wildlife

H
● Olga Grieves has
gone from complete
novice to social
media gardening
personality on her
600m sq allotment in
Devon. Each month
Olga will be sharing
her successes, and
her failures, to inspire
your own gardening
efforts! Follow Olga
on Instagram
@lovely_plot

ow do you get all these
creatures in your plot?
It’s one of the questions I
get asked the most and it’s
probably my favourite one too.
When I started gardening, my plot
was a blank and lifeless canvas.
My idea of what a growing space
should look like is deeply rooted in
my childhood, and I needed to
find guidance on how to achieve
that. I never knew I’d find my
inspiration in the book section of a
local charity shop!
Infatuated with the
Companion to Wildlife
Gardening by the brilliant Chris
Baines, I knew what I wanted my
allotment to be after reading just a
few pages – a wildlife haven. It's
how I remember my parents' and
grandparents' gardens—full of
caterpillars, birds, worms,
butterflies dancing in the air and
bats circling the sky at dusk.
Everything was so interesting,
and there was always a new
creature to discover on the leaf,

I knew I wanted
biodiversity

underneath it, and yes, sometimes
burrowing inside the fruit you
were about to eat. Nevertheless, it
was always exciting.
This year, the National
Allotment Society has announced

Things to see in August
Why not enter your flowers and vegetables into a local horticultural competition?
Visit pick-your-own sunflower and maize farms.
Blackberries are filling the hedges – pick and make jars of blackberry and Prosecco jam.

that biodiversity is the theme for
National Allotment Week (August
12-18). It’s a great time to take
stock and do a bio audit of your
growing spaces. As an organic
gardener, I heavily rely on insects
and wildlife in general to help me
grow successful crops. It all starts
with insects, who are the
foundation of the animal kingdom.
Without them, the whole
ecosystem would collapse.
How do we create an allotment
that abides by the rules and offers
a haven to a variety of wildlife as
well as bountiful harvests? The
key is always diversity.

Flowers

Basket of entries for a
horticultural contest

70 Garden Answers

Pick your own
sunflowers

Blackberries make
wonderful jam

You often see information about
flowers for butterflies and moths.
Have you ever wondered,
however, what butterfly and moth
caterpillars feed on, given that
they are unable to fly?
➤

GROW & EAT

A personalised
pumpkin – autumn’s
on its way!
Sun sets over the plot

All the hard work starts to
pay off in August
Jersey tiger
moths are
welcome

August harvest

The greenhouse is the
garden’s true workhorse!

A late summer posy

GROW & EAT

Jobs for August
● Collect seeds from
spent flowers like red
campion and poppies.
Sow them at the end of
the month for earlier and
stronger plants next year.
● Start preserving crops.
Make jams and chutneys
and freeze and dry your
produce. Share your tried
and tested recipes with us!
● Carry on with
deadheading flowers like
dahlias and zinnias.

Garden bounty!

Nectar plants are very
different to caterpillar food
plants. Both butterfly and moth
caterpillars are often specialist
feeders and will feed on grasses,
flower foliage and tree leaves.
Luckily for us, there are many
gorgeous flowers that can be
both a nectar fountain and a
caterpillar food plant.
My favourites include:
● Honesty: A true nectar
fountain when in flower, but its
leaves are also used by orange tip
butterfly caterpillars.

will divert small white and
large white butterflies away
from your brassicas.
● Comfrey: Scarlet tiger
moths use this as a food plant;
it’s also great for bumblebees
and can be used as a fertiliser.

Pond
● Bird’s Foot Trefoil: A food

plant for common blue
butterflies and a nectar source
for many insects.
● Nasturtiums: These are a
staple on my allotment, as they

Ponds can be as small as a
washing up bowl or as big as
your space allows. Autumn is
the perfect time to build one
and let it establish in time for
spring visitors. A source of

water is one of the best things
you can have to attract wildlife.

Habitat
Loss of habitat is one of the
biggest driving factors in
biodiversity loss. Luckily, though,
this can be easily remedied by
simply providing wood and leaf
piles, mini meadows, adding
native wildflowers to your
planting schemes, allowing grass
to grow a little bit longer and
creating spaces in your plot
where wildlife can thrive. ✿

Recipe

Polish kanapki with edible petals

YOU WILL NEED
● Sourdough baguette or
bread, sliced
● Cottage or soft cheese
● Tomatoes
● Rocket/lettuce
● Cucumbers
● Eggs
● Chopped
dill, chives
and basil
● Petals of
dahlia and
nasturtium
● Sea salt
● Pepper

72 Garden Answers

METHOD
1 Spread cottage cheese
on the bread. Add a
couple of leaves of lettuce
or rocket, tomato or
cucumber.
2 Add an egg if
you like. Sprinkle
with sea salt,
finely chopped
dill, basil and
chives and
finally the
mixed petals. A
healthy, easy and
very funky supper!

My allotment
shopping
trolley

PHOTOS: OLGA GRIEVES, SHUTTERSTOCK

Dahlias are in full flower now. Pick petals when they are
going over and sprinkle on salads and sandwiches or add
them to ice cubes. I like making colourful Polish kanapki
(open sandwiches) for an easy, late summer supper.

Easy

VEG
PROJECT

Sow and grow

‘Purple Kohlrabi’
This fleshy, unusual brassica is a great addition to
summer salads but can also be steamed and roasted

74 Garden Answers

GROW & EAT

PESTS AND
DISEASES
You’ll need a modular cell tray,
peat-free compost, watering
can, labels and purple kohlrabi seeds.
Purple varieties are hardier and
slower to mature than green, but
can be sown in late summer.

Sow two seeds per cell
of peat-free compost
– making sure it has already been
moistened. Cover lightly with more
compost and water in well. Keep
them inside in a warm spot.

Kohlrabi grows quickly so
you will soon have seedlings.
If both seeds have germinated, thin
out the smallest one. Once they
reach 5cm, start hardening them
off outside over a couple of weeks.

Once you have tall, healthy
seedlings of about 20cm,
they’re ready to plant out. Choose
a sunny spot and add lots of
garden compost. Kohlrabi dislikes
acidic soil so add lime if necessary.

1

3

2

4

As a brassica, kohlrabi
can be vulnerable to
the same pests and
diseases that ravage
cabbage and
cauliflower, but,
fortunately, not to the
same extent.
Cabbage white is
the main problem for
kohlrabi. The most
important thing to
limit the damage is to
stop the butterflies
laying their eggs in
the first place. It’s
advisable to cover
the crop with a fine
mesh to stop them
getting in.
Another potential
pest is whitefly, which
is only attracted to
the leaves and
ignores the stem.
Meanwhile, adding
lime will prevent
fungal disease.

Within 12
weeks the
kohlrabi will be
ready to harvest.
For the best taste,
eat kohlrabi fresh
because it doesn’t
store well.
Consider
successional
sowing to keep
harvesting until
December.

6

For the seedlings, make
holes about 15cm apart and
plant them out. If you have more
than one row, make the rows 30cm
apart. Water them in well and keep
them watered.

5

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 75

Next month in

SEPTEMBER ISSUE
on sale 14 August 2014

Fill your
garden with a
golden glow
PHOTO: ALAMY

Plan now to embrace plants in every
shade of yellow next summer and
discover the best late-flowering plants
to support bees through the autumn

Inside

● A look at how climate
change is impacting
garden wildlife
● How to create a
smoking hot border
● Meet the head
gardener of Mount
Stewart, North Ireland
● The best compost bins
to suit every gardener

✿ Inspirational reader gardens ✿ Olga’s lovely plot
✿ Expert Q&A ✿ Puzzles & prizes ✿ Jobs for the month

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LAVENDER

Inside
79 Trees & shrubs
80 Border plants & roses
81 Plant IDs
82 Fruit trees
82 War on weeds
83 Pests & disorders
84 Garden Rescue

Solution of the month

Our experts
GEOFF STEBBINGS
gives expert answers
to all your gardening
problems. Geoff is an
author and gardening writer and
was head gardener at Myddelton
House, north London.
GEOFF HODGE is a
horticultural author, radio
broadcaster and speaker,
and former online editor
for the RHS.
IAN HODGSON casts an
expert eye over unruly
borders, providing advice
on how to revamp them.
Ian is the author of Great Gardens,
in association with the Society of
Garden Designers.

Q

Can I pick lavender flowers and
prune my floppy plants now?

EMILY BYRON, STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

A
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78 Garden Answers

Lavender should be picked when in full flower if you want to dry it, rather
than waiting until the flowers are over, so you might be too late to do that.
But you do need to cut off the old flowers to tidy the bushes. This summer prune
is very important to keep the plants neat and tidy. Without pruning, the bushes
will become lax and untidy and the centres will die out and splay open. .
When pruning, it’s important to cut back the leafy parts and top before you
get to the dead, grey, leafless parts. Lavender rarely sprouts from this bare area
and you could kill the plants. So you should prune lavenders from the moment
they are planted because you cannot ‘rescue’ old, woody plants easily. Cut back
the plants now and they will quickly sprout and will be neat and covered in new
foliage by autumn. If the plants regrow vigorously, you can give another light
prune in spring, but once a year is usually sufficient.
Most woody herbs are treated in the same way and sage, thyme and rosemary
can all be pruned back now.

Q&A
How do I overwinter delphiniums? What is white fluff on apple tree? Read on…
TREES & SHRUBS

Q What is feasting
on my magnolia?

Below the willow

SARAH TURNER, BY EMAIL

A I think several creatures are
feeding on your magnolia.
Where a small skeletonised area
is present, this is probably from a
caterpillar that has since moved
on and the damage is minimal.
For other areas, snails are likely
to be the culprit. Unlike slugs,
which feed largely at ground
level, snails will climb, especially
in wet weather, in search of food.
If the magnolia is otherwise
growing well, the damage won’t
do much harm, but it’s worth
looking around the lip of pots
to remove snails during the day.

Q

Will any plants grow under
my two willow trees?

TERRY HOYE, BY EMAIL

A

What will grow under your willow trees depends on which
species you have. Weeping ‘Kilmarnock’ willows have densely
weeping branches that reach the soil, and the dry shade and swish
of the vertical stems mean only very low, tough plants such as vinca,
lamium and other low ground cover plants will thrive. If they are
large weeping willows, provided the cascading stems don’t reach
the soil, most tough shade-loving plants would be suitable. These
include evergreen berberis, Viburnum tinus, skimmia and aucuba.

Weed it or feed it?

Q How can I boost
potted aucubas that
are turning brown?
STEVE WOOD, BY EMAIL

A Aucubas are generally easy
to grow but are best suited to
shady spots . They’ll scorch in
full sun, especially if they dry
out. Your inherited aucubas
could be potbound and you don’t
know what compost they’re in,
so I suggest repotting them into
slightly bigger pots of John Innes
(not multi-purpose) compost. If
you want to keep them in their
existing pots, make sure you
give a liquid plant food weekly
from spring to autumn and
keep them constantly moist.

Q Why hasn’t my pyracantha produced
its lovely white flowers this year?
EMMA JONES, BY EMAIL

A An east-facing spot should be
fine for a pyracantha but yours
is growing in a pot and growth is
sparse, so it’s probably lacking
nutrients. When growing shrubs
in containers, always use John
Innes rather than multi-purpose
compost. In spring apply a
controlled-release fertiliser
or give a liquid feed weekly
from April to September.

Q Is this yellow-flowered plant some
form of dandelion?
MARGARET KNAPMAN, DEVON

A Hieraceum maculatem or spotted hawkweed is a wild
plant often cultivated for its pretty, purple-spotted leaves.
The slender stems of pretty yellow flowers are followed
by dandelion-like seedheads. While you wouldn’t want it
invading a rock garden, it is good for wildlife and at least
the seedlings are easy to identify and remove if required.

Q Can I reduce
my chusan palm by
half and strip off
the fabric coating
on the trunk?
P SAMBELLS, PLYMOUTH

A If you cut off the top half
of your 6m-tall chusan palm,
you’ll kill this fine feature –
it won’t sprout from lower
down. The fibres protect the
trunk from damage and help
insulate it from extreme winter
weather so keep them intact.

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 79

PROBLEMS SOLVED
BORDER PLANTS

ROSES

Q Which low-growing
plants can I grow with
roses on clay soil?
MICHAEL MURRAY, BY EMAIL

Garden ready?

Q

How should I treat small seed-grown
delphiniums and lupins over winter?

MARILYN HAY, BY EMAIL

A

Your lupin and delphinium plants look very healthy and they could be planted out
whenever you wish. Autumn would be an ideal time to plant and they would then
bloom well the following summer, having become well established. To keep them healthy
and growing they could be potted on into individual 9cm diameter pots. They should not
be kept indoors and will not need to be pruned or cut back.

Q Why is there no sign of
flowers on my tall allium?

Q What is causing gaps to
appear in lupin flowers?

MICHAEL WATSON, BY EMAIL

SUE RUSSELL, BY EMAIL

A There are many different kinds of
allium. As well as the popular round and
purple ones that usually grow to about
90cm high when in bloom, there are taller
alliums such as ‘Summer Drummer’
(pictured) whose stems grow to full height
long before the flowers open in summer,
more than a month later than most. If your
alliums are 1.8m high, these must be
flower stems and the blooms will
eventually form and open.

A Gaps on lupin flower spikes can be
caused by lupin aphid, dry and hot weather
and genetics. Lupin aphid is a serious pest
that colonises flower spikes and can be so
large and abundant that flower buds drop
off. In some cases predators, such as blue
tits and hoverfly larvae, do clear the aphids
but not until the damage is done. Periods of
drought and hot weather can also cause the
developing buds to abort. Buying good
quality seed is equally important too. Poor
strains can produce weak, gappy flowers or
stems that have loosely
placed flowers. Either
buy named varieties
or good mixtures.
You should avoid
cheap mixed seeds
which won’t
produce strong
spikes in a good
range of colours.

80 Garden Answers

A On your clay soil it’s best to grow
roses where you can mulch them
in spring with well-rotted garden
compost or manure to help improve
the soil, feed them and suppress
annual weed growth. Catmint
(nepeta) can be planted around the
edge to help disguise the bare bases
of the roses and add extra colour
in summer. Alternatively, hardy
geraniums are a good option. They
tolerate some shade and spread to
smother weeds and can be cut back
in autumn so that your spring
mulch can be applied.

Q Should I remove red
shoot on rose bush?
LOUISE CUNNINGHAM, BY EMAIL

A Your rose plant is perfectly
healthy and it’s quite normal for
strong new shoots to be infused
with red. Leave it to grow naturally
and flower and then deadhead the
stem by pruning back by about
half and it will produce many,
less-strong shoots and the plant
will become more bushy.

PLANT IDS

Indoors or outside?
Q Could I grow this plant in the garden?
SUE GREEN, ISLE OF WIGHT

A Saxifraga stolonifera or
mother of thousands produces
threadlike stolons with miniature
plants that root as they grow. It’s
often grown as a houseplant but
will thrive in a shady bed in all
but the coldest areas, providing
evergreen foliage and delicate
white flowers in summer.

Q Is this a foxglove?
JANET BROAD, BY EMAIL

Q Can you ID this
plant please?

A Digitalis lutea, the yellow
foxglove, is a perennial that
thrives in part shade and is
attractive in a subtle way. It
may self seed if allowed and
most people would consider it
a ‘proper’ plant though it’s not
as showy as other foxgloves.

DIANE STEPHENS, BY EMAIL

A Helleborus foetidus, often,
unfortunately, known as
stinking hellebore, is a British
native with biennial stems that
produce pale green, red-rimmed
flowers in late winter. It reaches
about 75cm high in flower and
a similar width when mature.
It will naturalise in a shady spot.
Once the flowers fade, cut off
each of the flowered stems to
allow room for the new, basal
shoots to grow.

Fallen from favour
Q We saw this plant at Dinosaur World
in Sussex. What is it and can I buy one?
HEATHER MOORE, BURGESS HILL

A Once a common houseplant, the
shrimp plant (Justicia brandegeeana)
has fallen from favour, though recently
new varieties with different-coloured
bracts were introduced. It naturally
flowers in summer so you could ask
your local garden centre if they could
get it from their suppliers now. The
online RHS Plant Finder (rhs.org.uk/plants) lists Shrublands
Nurseries, Suffolk (shrublands.co.uk) and Treseders Nursery,
Cornwall (treseders.co.uk) as suppliers, both offering mail order.

Q

What is my friend’s pretty
flowering shrub called?

SUE LAMBERT, BY EMAIL

A

Deutzia ‘Strawberry Fields’ is one of the most spectacular
deutzias. These are tough, easy shrubs that bloom with
philadelphus, after the main flush of spring shrubs. Many are large
and take up a lot of room but there are naturally small kinds that are
useful planted at the front of borders. .

Q Can we divide this
shamrock-like plant?
PAUL & PAM DUDFIELD, EXETER

A Oxalis debilis (O. corymbosa)
is a Mexican plant that’s spread
across the world. It flowers for
many months in summer but
its thick, radish-like roots pull
the bulbs underground and it
produces hundreds of tiny
bulblets that can each grow
into a new plant. These aren’t a
problem if it’s left undisturbed
but if you try to dig up the plant,
you’ll scatter them around and it
could become a nuisance. So you
can dig up a piece of the plant at
almost any time, but beware!

Q Which small
shrub is planted
within our low
conifer hedge?
JEAN FORD, BY EMAIL

A Olearia nummularifolia is
a native of New Zealand and a
more unusual olearia. In summer
it should produce small, white,
fragrant flowers. It has small,
tough, yellow-green leaves that
are white or grey underneath.
It is not a common garden plant
but is one of the hardiest olearias,
which might be why it has
survived in this situation. Your
plant is mature now and near
its maximum height.
➤
Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 81

PROBLEMS SOLVED

WAR ON WEEDS

FRUIT TREES

Fruiting failures
Q Can we take any action to help
an ailing quince tree to fruit?
LORI WILLIAMSON, BY EMAIL

A Of the tree fruits, quinces require the warmest,
sunniest summer weather, and the UK is the furthest
north that they will viably crop. They dislike wet soils
and are rather prone to mildew and scab in wet, cold
weather. They need a sunny, warm spot to protect
the flowers in spring from frost and to ripen the fruits.
Your tree seems to be making new growth after the
early leaves were damaged, possibly by scab or quince
leaf blight. You could improve its vigour by removing
the grass around its base. This will help avoid damage
to the trunk when mowing and allow you to mulch
around the tree and apply a general fertiliser in spring.

Q What is the best
way to stop mare’s
tail invasion from
the street?
CATHY JONES, BY EMAIL

Q Is fluffy growth
on an apple tree
affecting fruit
production?
VAL ABBOTT, READING

Q What’s causing peach leaf deformity?
JAMES BAUGHAN, WITNEY, OXFORDSHIRE

A Peach-leaf curl (Taphrina deformans) is a common fungal
disease on peaches and almonds, which overwinters on the
stems and attacks leaves in spring when they are wet. Affected
leaves turn red, become distorted and drop prematurely. If
unchecked, the leaf loss can severely weaken plants. There is
no chemical control. The best way to prevent it is to keep the
tree dry from November to May. If the tree is in a pot, move it
into a greenhouse or porch in winter. If it’s growing against a
wall it may be possible to erect a plastic ‘tent’ over it.

A Woolly aphids cause swelling
and scarring on branches as they
feed on the sap and occupy scar
tissue caused by canker or
mechanical damage. They are
often a sign that the tree is not
healthy; as they feed they
weaken it further and may
migrate to the young shoots in
summer. You can simply brush
off the aphids to remove them.
Clear an area around the base
of the tree and apply a feed.
Remember,
apple trees
usually
need a
tree of a
different
variety
with which
to cross
pollinate.

Q Why are ‘Morello’ cherries and leaves shrivelling?
DEREK MONK, BY EMAIL

A Cherries are prone to several diseases that affect the foliage, such as shot
hole disease, which causes multiple small holes in the leaves, but this
is most likely blossom wilt, which is caused by the same fungus that
produces ‘brown rot’ on cherries and plums. Any affected, mummified
fruits left on the tree over winter provide a source of infection in spring.
Although growth seems normal at first, spurs with flowers and young
foliage suddenly wilt and turn brown. Cut these all off if possible and
dispose of them – don’t compost them. Chemical control is not possible.
82 Garden Answers

AIf mare’s tail is coming into the
garden from the street, there’s
very little chance you can
eradicate it. Even if you had the
patio lifted and relaid, it’s not
practical or likely that you’d be
able to eradicate the weed and it
would quickly spread into the
area again. Concrete is about the
only mulch that is effective.
Therefore, it’s probably best to
accept the problem but focus on
reducing it. Gas-powered (or
electric) weed wands that burn
off the weeds are probably the
best way to get rid of the growth
appearing between paving. You
can use them on the gravel area
but only to wilt the growth –
don’t try to burn the weeds
because it may ignite or melt the
weed fabric beneath. You only
need to wilt the weeds, not burn
them to a crisp.

Q How do I get rid
of ivy in a hege?
M POOLE, WELSHPOOL, POWYS

A Ivy in a hedge is almost
impossible to control and the
only way to remove it is to prune
it out. Even so, it will probably
grow back from stems at the
base. If the hedge is deciduous
you could carefully spray the
ivy in winter with a glyphosatebased weedkiller but this will
only weaken the ivy at best. Do
not spray if the hedge is in leaf
and only on the main trunks and
at the base. Ivy provides cover for
lots of wildlife so try to tolerate it
where it grows at the centre of
the hedge, but remove it by hand
where it grows into the front.

PESTS, DISEASES & DISORDERS

Wet, wet, wet
Q Will my chosen plants survive in these
saturated newly built garden flowerbeds?
TESS PENNEY, BY EMAIL

A The past spring has been
unusually wet so the flooding of
these beds may not be a regular
event. But the plants you want
to grow, shown in the photo,
include erysimum, geraniums,
pittosporum and dwarf pines,
none of which will tolerate
seasonal waterlogging.
The choice is either to plant to
suit the conditions and include
plants that are recommended for
rain gardens, such as ligularias,
monarda, sedges, hostas and
liatris, or you make raised beds
here with new sleepers.
Sleepers are usually 20cm
high when stood on their sides,
which would give you a sufficient

Q

How can I perk up my
sad-looking sempervivums?

KAY HEATHCOTE, SUFFOLK

A
depth of compost to plant into
to accommodate the plants you
want to grow. Dig over the base
well, and fill the raised beds with
topsoil before planting.

Sempervivums are hardy, can survive long periods of drought
and are generally easy to grow in pots. However, several issues
can affect them. Check there are no vine weevil grubs, which can eat
the roots, often to the extent that the rosettes fall away from the soil.
If planted in multi-purpose compost, this will shrink as it decomposes
and contains no nutrients and the plants will fail to grow. Try taking
the plants out of the pots, break off most of the old compost and repot
into a soil-based John Innes compost. Keep the plants moist as they
root into the new compost and add a topping of gravel if you like.

Q Can I stop verbascum caterpillar
damage without spraying?

anomaly

WENDY TAYLOR, NESSCLIFFE, SHREWSBURY

A If you don’t want to spray, the only option is to pick
off some of these native mullein moth caterpillars to
reduce the impact. Most verbascums are robust so will
survive some damage and these caterpillars look fairly
large, so may be close to the end of their feeding cycle before
they pupate – hopefully before the flower spikes are produced.

ASK THE EXPERTS

Send us your questions!
Need some gardening advice? Fill in this form and post it to
us, or email your query to gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk
Dear Garden Answers,
My gardening problem is

PHOTOS: ALAMY; SHUTTERSTOCK

Q What has happened to this plant on
council-owned land in Padstow?
PAM GIBBONS, CORNWALL

A This plant looks like wild beet, which would make sense
if it was growing by the coast in Cornwall, where it grows wild.
The plant is ‘fasciated’. This is where the growing tip becomes
distorted and ‘monstrous’, usually flattened and twisted. It can
be caused by a number of things, such as virus, frost, insect or
mechanical damage, and the same plant won’t always produce
fasciated shoots in following years.

My name & address

Send to: Garden Answers, Bauer Media, Media House,
Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 83

PROBLEMS SOLVED

GardenRESCUE
Inspired by the classic English country garden,
Ian Hodgson provides this gardener with
planting suggestions for his chic summer border

Q

How can I bulk up my border with
more early-summer flowers?

Fact file

● BORDER SIZE 8x3m
● SITE West-facing
● SOIL Stony, loamy clay
● EXISTING PLANTS
(L-R) Back: gold Taxus
baccata; Cornus alba
‘Elegantissima’; Acer
tataricum ginnala. Front:
Geranium oxonianum
‘Wargrave Pink’; Phlox
paniculata ‘Adessa Pink
Star’, P. arendsii ‘Utopia’,
P. paniculata ‘Bright
Eyes’; Chamaemelum
nobile and Acer
palmatum ‘Garnet’

T

his border has bags of
potential. Its owner would
like more plants to flower
alongside his pink and white
Phlox paniculata (June–
September) and wants the
herbaceous borders at Arley Hall
in Cheshire to act as inspiration.
Arley’s herbaceous borders
are indeed spectacular but
they’re at least 4-6m deep.
Extending the borders by 1–2m
would help enormously in this
border, provided lots of
well-rotted organic matter is
added and some stepping stones
for access and maintenance.
Little grows under the mature
Acer tataricum ginnala (H:
7–12m, S: 8m) on the right, but

Gather your ideas...

some colour and height is
desperately needed here. So, next
winter when the tree is dormant,
it’s worth thinning out some of its
many stems and branches with a
pruning saw.
At Arley Hall they use
Verbascum olympicum
(H: 2.5m), Eupatorium
cannabinum (H: 1.5m), Cynara
cardunculus (H: 1.5m) and
delphinums (H: 1.2–2m) to
create height. One option would
be to introduce some colourful
June-flowering shrubs, such as a
dazzling, pink-flowered weigela
(H: 2.5m), a fragrant climbing rose
or summer-flowering clematis on
an elegant obelisk. Next, divide
the pink and white Phlox

2

BEFORE

1

PHOTOS: ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK. ILLUSTRATION: GILL LOCKHART

Mood board

4
3
Cool colours

84 Garden Answers

Warm
colo
urs

1 Andre’s pink and
white border has
lots of potential
2 A fragrant
climbing rose adds
height and scent
3 Arley Hall’s 4-6m
deep borders
4 Roses trained
between obelisks
along rope swags
(below), lead the
eye along the bed

PROBLEMS SOLVED

paniculata and repeat them
in smaller clumps throughout
the border to help lead the
eye through the planting.
Completely restricting the
colour palette to just pink
and white could look a touch
heavy-handed, so I’d definitely
introduce a flash of softest blue
with delphinium ‘Blue Lace’ and
geranium ‘Rozanne’.
For more spires, go for pink
and white foxgloves, white
lupins and verbascum. Then,
add a pretty climbing rose,
perhaps such as white ‘Iceberg’
or pink ‘Zéphirine Drouhin’ on
a rope swag reaching right
across the bed.

To augment the new colour
scheme, pop in clumps of
June-flowering perennials in
pink, white and soft blue.
Try oriental poppies, Cirsium
rivulare ‘Atropurpureum’, pale
pink astrantia ‘Buckland’ and
pink salvia ‘Wendy’s Wish’.
The existing geraniums in this
border (G. oxonianum
‘Wargrave Pink’, G. renardii and
G. sanguineum ‘Max Frei’) will
soon join the show at the front,
alongside the white-flowered
Chamaemelum nobile, all
tumbling attractively onto the
path. A froth of Erigeron
karvinskianus daisies would
look good, too.

SPIRES & SWAGS Blue delphinium spires and festoons of
roses provide structure and height amid colourful perennials ➤
Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 85

PROBLEMS SOLVED

Rosa ‘Zéphirine
Drouhin’

Taxus baccata
‘Semperaurea’

Cornus alba
‘Elegantissima’

Verbascum
chaixii ‘Album’
Acer tataricum
ginnala
Ligustrum
ovalifolium
‘Aureum’

Phlox
Phlox
paniculata
Astrantia
arendsii
‘Adessa
‘Buckland’
‘Utopia’
Pink Star’
Geranium
Erigeron
Chamaemelum
‘Rozanne’
karvinskianus nobile

Phlox
paniculata
Delphinium
Salvia
‘Blue Lace’
‘Wendy’s
Wish’

Phlox
paniculata
‘Bright
Eyes’

Acer
palmatum
‘Garnet’

Plant a confection of pink, white and blue flowers
VERBASCUM
CHAIXII
‘ALBUM’
A semievergreen
perennial with
spires of
white flowers
May-August
and rosettes
of leaves.
Prefers full sun
and light soil.
Stake in spring.
H: 90cm,
S: 45cm.

DELPHINIUM ‘BLUE LACE’
Lofty perennial with sky-blue flowers
June-July. Cut back spent spires for
a second flush. Sun and moist, welldrained soil. H: 1.8m, S: 60cm.
86 Garden Answers

ROSE ‘ZÉPHIRINE DROUHIN’
Floriferous climber with opulent
flowers in vibrant lipstick pink, with
strong fruity fragrance. Few thorns
and grows well in part shade in any
soil. H: 4.5m.

GERANIUM ‘ROZANNE’
Reliable perennial with delightful
sky-blue, saucer-shaped flowers
June-September and mounds of
foliage. Suits sun or part shade in moist,
well-drained soil. H: 60cm, S: 80cm.

ERIGERON KARVINSKIANUS
Low mat-forming Mexican fleabane is
smothered with pink and white daisies
May-September. Needs sun and
well-drained soil. H: 10cm, S: 50cm.

ASTRANTIA ‘BUCKLAND’
Delicate, dusky-pink pincushion flowers
with silvery-white bracts June-August.
Grow in sun or part shade in moist but
well-drained soil. H: 90cm, S: 30cm. ✿

BUYERS’
GUIDE

T

o make your hedge trimming and
shrub shaping as quick and as easy
as possible – and save yourself wrist
and arm ache from using a pair of
shears – you’ll need to get your hands on a
powered hedge trimmer.
There are lots of factors to bear in mind
before deciding on which one to buy,
including power source, blade characteristics
and various other features, plus its weight,
balance and overall comfort when using it.
Wherever possible, try to test hedge
trimmers before buying by holding them in

88 Garden Answers

Wherever possible, try to
take hedge trimmers on a
test run before buying

For most gardens, a petrol-powered
machine is a bit over the top. They’re also
heavy, noisy, produce emissions and need a
lot of maintenance. Good electric and
battery-powered trimmers will be able to
handle any garden hedge – providing you
don’t have miles of them to deal with!

Power source
your hands to assess all these points. In some
specialist machinery stores, you may even
be able to start it up, which will also give you
an idea of its noise output and any vibrations.

Mains electric trimmers are generally
lightweight, economical and need minimal
maintenance. Just bear in mind the electric
cable, which may limit where you can use it

PHOTOS SHUTTERSTOCK

Geoff Hodge looks at choosing a hedge trimmer to prune
the time needed to tidy up your hedges and topiary

GARDEN BUYS

Black+Decker Twist
Handle BEHTS551
£95 650W, blade length
60cm, tooth
spacing 2.5cm

in the garden and poses a
possible threat of
electrocution if you
accidentally cut through it;
always fit an RCD device.
Battery-powered machines tend
to be heavier, due to the weight of the
battery – especially large, high-output
batteries – but this can be minimised by a
well-balanced machine. They also need very
little maintenance. There is no cable to
worry about, but the battery will need
recharging, frequently if you have lots to cut.
The output of the trimmer’s motor,
measured in watts (W) for electric trimmers
and volts (V) for battery ones, is an
indication of how powerful it is; the higher it
is, the more powerful it will be and so it will
cut through thicker growth more easily.
Most batteries will give 30-45 minutes of
continuous use before you need to recharge
them, long enough to cut around 40-80sqm
of hedge, and can be recharged in as little as
an hour. The amp hour (Ah) rating refers to
the amount of charge the battery holds, and
so how long it will run before it needs
recharging. You could buy a second battery,
which you can charge while using the other
if you have a lot of trimming to do.
While most battery-powered trimmers
can be bought complete with a battery and
charger, many can also be bought on their
own. This is a great way of saving money if

Ryobi ONE+ RPT184520 £149.99
18V, 2Ah, blade length 45cm,
tooth spacing 1.8cm, up to 2.9m,
adjustable tilting cutting head

HAND
GUARD

What to look for...
WRAPAROUND
FRONT HANDLE
BLADE TIP
PROTECTOR
Prevents damage to the
front teeth and provides
protection when cutting
along hard objects, such
as walls and paths

Allows you to maintain a
comfortable position, no
matter what the cutting
angle, making it easy to
change from cutting the
sides to the top of
the hedge

Prevents your fingers
coming anywhere near
the blade in use and
stops clippings getting
caught up around
your hands

SOFT GRIP
HANDLES
Soft grips are more
comfortable and very
useful, especially when
using the hedge trimmer
for a long time

ANTIBLOCKING
SYSTEMS
These ensure continuous
cutting performance
since the blades won’t
block with wide or
dense materials

BATTERY
CHARGE LIGHTS
These allow you to see
the state of charge while
in use, so the machine
doesn’t run out of
power unexpectedly

Ryobi ONE+ RY18HT40A-120 Kit
£99.99 18V, 2Ah, blade length
40cm, tooth spacing 1.6cm.

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 89

GARDEN BUYS

you want to use the battery and
charger along with other
battery-powered tools in the
company’s range.

Blade
Cheaper hedge trimmers may
have a fairly basic, standard
machine-pressed steel blade.
More expensive models usually
have laser-cut, high-carbon steel
blades that provide smooth,
precise operation and even
diamond-ground surfaces that
give clean, accurate cutting for a
very neat, tidy finish and healthy
plant regrowth.
A longer blade means you can
cut more with every sweep of the
trimmer, meaning that trimming
time is shorter. Longer blades
also make it easier to trim evenly,
making them a better choice for
long or tall hedges. But a long
blade will add to the overall
weight and may be more difficult
to handle accurately and safely. It
may also make the trimmer more
top heavy and it needs a more
powerful engine, which can also
add to the weight and make it
more expensive. For most
gardens, a blade length between
45-60cm should be perfect.
The distance between the
teeth, known as the blade gap,
determines the width of stems it
can cut, although it may not be
the actual stem width it can cut
through. It can also determine
how fine it cuts – narrower gaps
may give a cleaner, neater cut.
Wider teeth can cut wider stems,
but this has to be matched with a
larger, more powerful motor.

Long reach
Long reach or pole hedge
trimmers allow you to cut tall
hedges from the safety of the
ground, without having to resort
to a pair of steps or a ladder. Most
also feature an adjustable tilting
cutting head, meaning that you
can adjust the angle of cut,
allowing you to also cut the top
of the hedge horizontally.
Adjustable telescopic hedge
trimmers will take this useful
feature one step further, as they
give gardeners the option to
change the length of the shaft.
This means that typically, you
can reach up to 3m high.

90 Garden Answers

ON THE MARKET

BATTERY
STIHL HSA40
£179 2x11V, 2.6Ah, blade
length 50cm, tooth
spacing 2.4cm

Stiga HT 300E Kit
£199 2x20V, 2Ah, blade
length 54cm, tooth
spacing 3cm

EGO Power+ HT5100E
£239 56V, 2.5Ah, blade length
51cm, tooth spacing 3.3cm,
2.5Ah battery £117, other sizes
available, charger £59

Bosch EasyHedgeCut 18-45
£125 18V, 2Ah, blade length
45cm, tooth spacing 1.5cm

Black+Decker GTC18452PC
Powercommand Hedge Trimmer
£100 18V, 2Ah, blade length
45cm, tooth spacing
1.8cm

POLE HEDGE
TRIMMERS
Cobra LRH40E
£109.99 500W, blade length
40cm, tooth spacing 2cm,
adjustable tilting cutting
head, extends up to 1.85m

Ryobi ONE+
RPT184520
£149.99 18V, 2Ah,
blade length
45cm, tooth
spacing 1.8cm,
up to 2.9m,
adjustable tilting
cutting head

Gtech Long Reach
Hedge Trimmer HT50
£249.99 18V, blade
length 53cm, tooth
spacing 2.5cm, 144cm
long, adjustable tilting
cutting head

Flymo
SabreCut XT
£155.99 500W,
blade length
48cm, tooth
spacing 2.5cm,
telescopic
handle and
adjustable tilting
cutting head

ELECTRIC

Cobra HT550E
£65.99 600W, blade
length 55cm, tooth
spacing 2cm

Flymo EasiCut 500
£65 500W, blade
length 50cm, tooth
spacing 1.9cm

Bosch Advanced HedgeCut 65
£199 500W, blade length
65cm, tooth spacing 3.4cm

Black+Decker Twist
Handle BEHTS551
£95 650W, blade
length 60cm, tooth
spacing 2.5cm

Makita UH7580
£209 670W, blade
length 75cm, tooth
spacing 2.8cm
Spear & Jackson 550W
45cm Corded Hedge Trimmer
£60 550W, blade length 45cm,
tooth spacing 2cm

Suppliers

● Black+Deckerr 01753 260090 blackanddecker.co.uk ● Bosch 03447 360109 bosch-diy.com ● Cobra 0115 964 5915
o 03448 444558 flymo.com/uk ● Gtech 08004 840215 gtech.co.uk
cobragarden.co.uk ● EGO Power+ egopowerplus.co.uk ● Flymo
● Makita 01908 211678 makitauk.com ● Mountfield 08006 696325 mountfieldlawnmowers.co.uk ● Ryobi 01628 894400 ryobitools.
co.uk ● Spear & Jackson from Argos
s 03456 402020 argos.co.uk ● Stiga 08006 696326 stiga.com/uk ● STIHL
L 01276 20202 stihl.co.uk
Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 91

YOUR GARDEN LIFE

Over to you!

WRITE TO US AT Garden Answers, Bauer Media, Media House,
Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA EMAIL gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk
WEBSITE gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER

Feeling rosy
While many plants struggled in the cold,
wet spring, my roses are full of blooms.
Christine Hall, by email
This beautiful
floribunda rose
named after the
lovely actress
‘Hannah Gordon’ is
always one of my
first roses to flower.
Jenny Robson,
by email
When my wife’s
Aunty Jean sadly
passed away, we
brought this rose
from her Somerset
garden for a lovely
memory of her.
David Reid, Notts

When I retired three years ago from a
full-time professional role, I found myself
rather lonely, as family and friends had
busy lives. Signing up for your fabulous
gardening magazine set me on the road
to happiness and contentment.
I learned so much from Garden
Answers that it gave me the confidence
to volunteer in a local walled rose garden.
I now work with a team of volunteers
helping to make the roses look their best
for the public to enjoy. Thank you for the
gardening knowledge that I’ve gained and
the way it’s changed my life.
I’m constantly amazed and dazzled
by the beauty to behold not only in my
own garden but all around me in nature.
Whatever your age, there’s always
something new to see and learn in
gardening – you can definitely teach an

old dog new tricks! Here is a beautiful
silver-washed fritillary butterfly taking
a rest on Verbena bonariensis – one of
my favourite herbaceous perennials.
Maggie Haran, by email

CONGRATULATIONS As author of this month’s star
letter Maggie wins this complete set-up for feeding
garden birds from the RSPB: a classic seed feeder,
nut and nibble feeder and lots of lovely bird food.
● The kit is part of the RSPB’s Giving Nature a Home
initiative. For more information on this and other
RSPB products, go to rspbshop.co.uk. All proceeds
go towards helping birds and wildlife.

Not such a bright idea

Nothing says summer like roses,
in both sunshine and rain!
June Deaton, Moulton
I rescued this neardead standard rose,
and it has finally
rewarded me
with these
blooms.
Andrew Herd,
by email

Star
letter

Our slice of paradise
We wanted to share the wonderful garden
view from our conservatory. We have tried
to make the most of every part of our small
9x8m garden, which is our sanctuary.
Paul & Jeanette Neale, Chesterfield,
Derbyshire

In a recent episode of Springwatch the
topic of garden lighting was discussed
and how flying creatures are attracted
to the lights, fly around them for hours
then fall to the ground exhausted and
die. Since moths are essential
pollinators, we might be doing more
harm than good by lighting up the
natural darkness of our gardens.
Gardening magazines often exhort the
delights of outdoor lighting, but without
warning as to the effects on wildlife.
Alexandra Bailey, Darlington
GA says: Thanks for your wise
words, Alexandra. If your garden
lights don’t have timers, always turn
them off when you return inside.

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 93

YOUR GARDEN LIFE

Summertime splendour

Here’s this month’s round-up of your top garden performers... thanks for sharing!

CONTACT US
Address: Garden Answers, Bauer Media,
Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough
PE2 6EA
Email: gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk
Web: gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk
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EDITORIAL
Phone 01733 468000
Features Editor Elise Sargent
Art Director Gill Lockhart
Production Editor Rachel Burke

Conservatory gloriosa.
Janet Watson, by email

Evening glow up. Diane
Bee-magnet eryngiums.
Simpson, West Midlands Tracey Atkinson, by email

ADVERTISING
Phone 01733 468000
Group Commercial Director Gareth Ashman
Commercial Director Anna Skuse
Commercial Manager Joe Sheehan Skuse
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MARKETING
Head of Marketing Susan Litawski
Marketing Product Manager
Sophie Lee/Hope Elkins
Marketing Executive Tierney Augustine
Head of Newstrade Marketing Leon Benoiton
Newstrade Marketing Manager
Samantha Thompson

‘Winter’ pansies! Pamela Cottage-garden poppies. Heavenly hostas.
Dorrington, by email
Melanie Timms, by email Dorothy Irvin, Cheshire

PRODUCTION
Ad Production leisurereads@
bauermedia.co.uk
Print Production Controller Colin Robinson
Printed by William Gibbons
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Perfect peonies.
Stephanie Farmer, Wilts

Dazzling daisies. Carole
Sampson, by email

Prize

photo

Double the delight
The bees always love my geranium ‘Rozanne’ and
I was able to capture these two different beauties
visiting at the same time. Isn’t nature amazing?
Carol Houghton, by email

94 Garden Answers

Magical nigella.
Brenda Crook, by email

WIN SECATEURS
WORTH £24.99!
Send us a high-res photo of your
favourite plants or wildlife with a
short description and you could
win this Wilkinson Sword Razorcut
Pro Straight Pruner. It has a
traditional design with two
opening positions, medium or
large, to suit the user’s hand size.
● Made with extra high-quality
Japanese steel blades.
● Strong anodised aluminium
handles for added strength
and durability.
● Tackles cutting tasks with
precision & care.

BACK ISSUES
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Garden Answers magazine is published 13 times a
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registered address The Lantern, 75 Hampstead Road,
London NW1 2PL and authorised and regulated by
the FCA (Ref No. 845898) VAT no 918 5617 01. No part
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96 Garden Answers

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1

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YouGarden with my name and address on the back.
£6.99

Or charge my Visa/Mastercard

TOTAL

T&Cs ● Orders despatch 5-7 working days. ● Contract for supply of goods is with

YouGarden, Eventus House, Sunderland Road, Market Deeping PE6 8FD. ● Subject to
availability. If offer is oversubscribed, we reserve the right to send suitable substitutes.
● Offer ends 31/08/2024 or whilst stocks last. ● Delivery surcharges may apply to the
following postcode areas: AB, DD8-11, GY, HS, IM, IV, JE, KA27-28, KW, PA20-80, PH19-50,
TR21-25 and ZE. ● Images show mature plants. Full product details and T&Cs at yougarden.
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Supplied as 9cm pots, delivery in 7 days.
This collection includes agapanthus ‘Vallée de l’Authion’,
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98 Garden Answers

GARDEN BUYS

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YOUR GARDEN LIFE
COMPETITION

Win these gardening goodies
Enter this month’s crossword for a chance to win one of four 2-in-1
Kneeler & Stool products from Town & Country, worth £24.99

FOUR
CHANCES TO
WIN A 2-IN-1
KNEELER &
STOOL FROM
TOWN &
COUNTRY

CLUES ACROSS

CLUES DOWN

1 Amaranthus species commonly
known as Prince of - - - - - feather (5)
3 - - - - - of Holland, name given to
shorter plants of the campanula
genus (5)
6 Dense, spiny shrub species such as
cathartica or common buckthorn (7)
7 Botanical name of the fir genus (5)
9 Jacob’s - - - -, name often given to the
houseplant Acalypha wilkesiana (4)
12 The holly genus (4)
13 - - - - - garden – like Monty Don’s
Longmeadow – with floral hues
resembling gems (5)
16 Wild marjoram (7)
17 Melissa officinalis usually called - - - - balm with its citrus-scented leaves (5)
18 Genus comprising alder trees in the
birch family (5)

1 St John’s - - - -, yellow-flowered
hypericum with long stamens (4)
2 Day’s end and a popular ‘Cox’-like
variety of eating apple (6)
3 Buddleja or butterfly - - - -, shrub
with long panicles of flowers (4)
4 Lilyturf or - - - - - - - muscari, grasslike
perennial with purple spikes (7)
5 - - - - - - daisy, herbaceous perennial
of the leucanthemum genus (6)
8 Common name given to stinghealing bergamot or monarda (3,4)
10 Female reproductive part of a
flower comprising stigma, style and
ovary (6)
11 Genus to which the ivies belong (6)
14 - - - - lily, common name for
African bulbous plant ixia (4)
15 Pea or bean shells (4)

JUNE CROSSWORD SOLUTION
Across: 1 Chestnut, 6 Wood, 7 Love, 8 Nana, 9 Aconite, 12 Chinese,
15 Star, 17 Inca, 18 Grit, 19 Anemones. Down: 1 Calla, 2 Sienna, 3 Night,
4 Twin, 5 Cobnuts, 10 Custard, 11 Indigo, 13 Horse, 14 Evans, 16 Ruta.
August solutions in our October issue

Enter this month’s crossword and four
readers have a chance to win a 2-in-1
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worth £24.99.
Putting the comfort into your
gardening sessions, whether you’re
planting in flowerbeds or weeding in
pots, this handy and versatile tool has
you covered. Made from durable EVA
foam and tubular steel, it’s lightweight,
easy to carry and folds for convenient
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Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 101

YOUR GARDEN LIFE

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HYDRANGEA

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102 Garden Answers

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WIN 3 philadelphus + £20 Hayloft voucher
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could win 3 philadelphus
‘Petite Perfume Pink’
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Growing to just 1.5m tall
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containers and smaller
borders and can be planted
in sun or semi-shade. Bees
and other pollinators love
its beautiful, pink, scented
flowers with prominent
stamens in May–June.
Supplied in 9cm pots.
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YOUR GUIDE: JOSEPH
YOUR DESTINATION:THE AFTERLIFE
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In the internationally acclaimed title
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Garden
VIEW

Get out in the garden
and eat the frog
Dan discovers how to tackle a towering
garden to-do list, bit by bit

T

ILLUSTRATION: GILL LOCKHART

● Dan Masoliver is a
trained horticulturist and
freelance writer from
London. He is author
of The Earthworm, a
newsletter that takes
a sideways look at the
world of gardens,
gardening and
horticulture

106 Garden Answers

he midsummer garden can be an
unfortunate source of stress. Just
when the borders have reached their
abundant best, when the flowers have
crescendoed to their colourful climax, when
months’ worth of planning and toil have finally
paid off and the lawn is begging to be lazed on
and enjoyed, it’s not pride or satisfaction that
I feel when I view the garden through the dining
room window, but overwhelm.
I see the floppy stems
that need supporting; the
over-vigorous climbers that
need cutting back; the
crowded annuals that need
thinning out. There are pots
to be watered, spent blooms to
be deadheaded, a micro-forest
of weedy trip hazards to be
cleared before they fully
colonise the seams between
the patio brickwork. I peer out
through the window and see
not a playground of botanical delights, but
a mounting list of tasks to be completed.
This says more about me than it does about
the garden, of course. I have a tendency to
catastrophise; to allow work or other challenges
to stack up in my mind until they no longer

appear as the series of small jobs that they
actually are, but seem rather to be an
insurmountable tower of tasks. Basically, I can
struggle to see the wood for the trees. As a result,
instead of feeling motivated to get on top of my
duties, I find myself frozen with inaction. I mean,
when there’s so much to be done, where do you
possibly start?
The answer these days is simple: I eat the frog.
Before you get the wrong idea,
I should point out that I’m a
vegetarian. No amphibians
were harmed in the making of
my newfound can-do mindset.
If you’re not familiar with the
phrase, ‘eating the frog’ has
become a popular imperative in
productivity circles. The
thinking goes that, when facing
down a towering to do list, the
task that you want to tackle the
least is precisely the one that
you should take on first. Eat the
frog, and everything else will seem that much
more straightforward by comparison.
And you know what? It works. For me, at least.
Nowadays, when I gaze out of the window, I try
not to tally up the chores to be done, but instead
identify just one thing I can do to make a positive
impact on the garden. That alone is usually
enough to get me out of the back door. And that’s
all it really takes.
Once I’m outside, with a pair of secateurs or a
Hori Hori in hand, the garden, in my mind, goes
from being an office to a playground. The very
things that I’d been putting off, the sources of my
stress, suddenly bring me pleasure. And not just
because there is a satisfaction to be found in
ticking tasks off a mental to do list, but because
the very act of gardening, even when done
professionally, rarely feels like work. The feel of
the soil between your fingers, the smell of the
foliage and the flowers, the sound of the bees
bumbling about their business as you go about
yours – the garden is a sensory space where the
woes of the world are washed away, if only for an
hour or two.
All I need to do now is remember, even as the
borders swell and the to-do list bloats and my
cortisol levels rise, that the only time the garden
ever causes me stress is when I’m not in it. ✿

The very things that
I’d been putting off,
the sources of my
stress, suddenly bring
me pleasure

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Phlox have been a traditional inclusion in cottage gardens for centuries, although more recently fiery hues of red and
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Your order is covered by our No Quibble Guarantee and will be delivered to your door as 1.5 litre pots within 7 days. Our
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ransform a wall, fence, arch or
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Q&A

10

SPECIAL
Our experts
GEOFF STEBBINGS
gives expert answers
to all your gardening
problems. Geoff is an
author and gardening writer and
was head gardener at Myddelton
House, north London.
GEOFF HODGE is a
freelance gardening and
horticultural writer,
author, editor and radio
and TV broadcaster.
IAN HODGSON casts an
expert eye over unruly
borders, providing advice
on how to revamp them.
Ian is the author of Great Gardens,
in association with the Society of
Garden Designers.
GOT A QUESTION? GET IN TOUCH
By post: Garden Answers,
Bauer Media, Media House, Lynch Wood,
Peterborough PE2 6EA
Email: gardenanswers@bauermedia.co.uk
Web: gardenanswersmagazine.co.uk

14

18

24

32

Welcome to
Question Time!
N
othing gives us greater
pleasure than answering
questions from readers and
helping them to get a better garden
Our team of horticultural experts
(left) can answer the weirdest and
most wonderful questions but there
are always some that recur each year.
We’ve gone through the archive to
find the most common queries – and
here they are, in one fabulous,
advice-packed bonus magazine.

Inside
4 Perennials
8 Pots & containers
10 Growing conditions
14 Composting
16 Lawns
18 Fruit & veg
22 Roses

24 Houseplants
28 Pruning
30 Trees & shrubs
32 Pests, diseases &
disorders

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 3

Q&A
Perennials
Encourage peonies to flower, get longer
lasting lupins, moving hellebores…

Q Buds on my peony turned brown and
died. What can I do to stop that
happening next year?
A Often peonies fail to
flower if they’re increasingly
shaded as surrounding
plants get bigger, but drying
buds could simply be due to
lack of water. The past two
summers have brought hot
and dry periods that may
have stressed the plant.
It would help if you mulch
the plant in spring, then give
it a general fertiliser along
with some water in
extremely dry spells.

Q When can I move hellebores? I had no
idea their leaves got so big!
A You should move hellebores in winter, before they come into leaf
or bloom. If you try to move them before then they’ll wilt badly and
struggle to recover. Don’t cut off the leaves because this weakens
the plant, but make sure you photograph or mark where they are,
then dig them up in November.

PHOTOS: ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK

Q Blue flowers on
my hydrangea have
turned greenish!
A Mophead hydrangea flowers
remain on the plant long after
they lose colour and it is normal
for them to turn shades of green
or bronze as they age. These
plants also vary in colour
according to the acidity of the
compost as well as the cultivar
you’re growing, so if you want to
grow a blue hydrangea in a pot
you have to plant it in an acid
compost or lime-free John Innes
compost. You can also turn
hydrangeas a brighter blue by
watering with hydrangea
colourant in spring and summer
as soon as the flowers start to
form. However, that won’t work
this year because these are old
flowers and it’s too late in the
season to do much about the
plant now. But be assured that it’s
obviously happy because it’s
compact and covered in blooms.
It may benefit from being moved
into a bigger pot next spring, in a
lime-free compost. Remove the
flower heads, cutting back to a
pair of fat buds, in March.
4 Garden Answers

Q Why has my
eight-year-old peony
never flowered?
A Deep planting is the usual
reason why peonies fail to bloom.
This can happen if the plants are
heavily mulched every year. If
you suspect this might be the
reason, dig up the plant in
autumn and replant with the
crown (where the shoots grow
up from the roots) no deeper
than 2.5cm below the soil
surface. Also bear in mind that
peonies prefer a spot in full sun
and are unlikely to bloom well in
deep shade. They can also suffer
from a disease called bud blast,
where the buds become infected
by a fungus and die. Often a
number of buds can be killed like
this, but rarely all.
➤

PERENNIALS

You can take basal
cuttings of lupins in spring

Q

My lupins only last for a
single season. Why is this?

A

Perennial lupins prefer a light, sandy soil,
so one reason they might not return is if
they’ve spent winter in damp, heavy soil,
where their roots will rot. Slugs and snails can
wreak havoc too, munching their way
through young shoots in early spring.
Buying young plants in bloom can also be
problematic. Sometimes they struggle to get
established because they lack basal shoots.

They focus energy on producing flowers all
summer, then die, exhausted. It’s better to buy a
healthy, multi-stemmed plant without flowers.
Lupins are easy to grow from seed though, and if
you sow them now you’ll have strong plants to
put out next spring, ready to bloom next year.
After two or three years they decline in vigour,
so keep propagating new plants from seed or
take basal cuttings in spring.

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 5

Dahlias like plenty of
water, a regular feed
and lots of sun to
grow well and bloom

Q

Why haven’t my potted
dahlias flowered for
two years?

A

Dahlias need plenty of fertiliser and water when in
growth. If the pot is too small, with little compost,
they will starve. This could be the case here. Watering
them frequently in the hot, dry summers can wash away
nutrients from the multipurpose compost, so the plants
don’t have enough nutrients to grow well and flower.
Next year plant the tubers in larger pots of fresh compost
or in the soil and feed throughout the growing season.

6 Garden Answers

PERENNIALS

Q&A
Q My border is full
of perennials, which
I love, but how do I
divide them?
A One of the many benefits of
perennials is they give you new,
free plants every two or three
years. In order to rejuvenate
them, that’s how often they
should be divided. Otherwise
they’ll get a bit tired and won’t
perform as well.
Plants such as agapanthus,
salvias, asters, geraniums

rudbeckias, ornamental grasses
and bamboos can all be lifted
and divided.
For summer-flowering plants,
do it in spring or autumn, while
spring-flowering plants should
be divided in summer. Simply
lift them gently with a fork,
shake off the excess soil and
gently tease apart the roots.
Using either a spade or a sharp
knife, such as a Hori Hori, and
cut the clump into the number of
plants you’d like. Replant in your
chosen place and water in well.

Q There’s no sign of flower spikes on my
gladioli. What has gone wrong?
A It’s best to dig up gladioli in autumn to protect them from frost
and to remove the small cormlets that form around the main corm.
You can grow these on and they’ll flower in a few years but not if
they’re left crowded round the parent. Leave them to grow on as the
foliage will feed the bulbs, then lift in autumn and separate.

Q Can I deadhead snowdrops?
A Common snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) will spread into
attractive drifts by offsetting bulbs and by seed. Deadheading isn’t
necessary and would spoil the effect, as well as being very fiddly! The
only time you might want to remove the seedpods is if you have
special named snowdrops and you want to prevent inferior seedlings
popping up among your more expensive bulbs.

Q What has happened to make clumps
of my daffodils start to go blind?
A It is vital the foliage of all kinds of daffodils can develop after
flowering so it feeds the bulbs for the following year’s display. Never
tie the foliage into knots or cut off the leaves when they are still green.
Always allow the foliage to mature for at least six weeks after the
flowers have faded and ideally deadhead the flowers. You can boost
flower production by feeding your plants as soon as the leaves start
to grow in spring – don’t wait until they’re dying back.
Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 7

Q&A
Pots &
containers
All you need to know about caring for
hanging baskets and more

Q How often do I
water a potted
hydrangea in an
ericaceous mix?
A Hydrangeas need to have
moist soil/compost at all times.
Water daily in summer and stand
large plants in a saucer but don’t
let them sit in a puddle in winter.
They only need ericaceous
compost if you want blue flowers.

Q How do I get
potted agapanthus
plants to flower?
A Agapanthus can do well in
pots, but take a few years to get
established before flowering
freely. Newly-divided plants
rarely flower quickly but there
are other reasons why they may
not bloom. They need a
reasonably rich soil and should
be potted in John Innes No 3

Q

What statement plant can
I grow in a container?

A

When thinking about a feature plant in a container, consider
the aspect where the pot is going to stay. A shady area outside
a front door is a great opportunity to grow a cultivar of Hydrangea
macrophylla. Fed monthly through the growing season, it will show
off large, lush leaves and the mophead flowers look good from the
second half of summer right through until the end of winter, adding a
beautiful monochrome structure.
When choosing potted plants in full sun, a drought-tolerant
succulent such as aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ with trailing succulents won’t
need constant water and food, while shrub roses make fine
centrepieces and a variety such as ‘Lady Emma Hamilton’ adds
welcome scent to the patio.
A series of pots are an excellent way to create a screen and plants
that would work well for a driveway are the black bamboo
Phyllostachys nigra or evergreen cherry laurel. Both need to be
grown in soil-based compost and fed monthly with a general-purpose
plant food. For a concrete planter, a phormium would look good all
year in a sunny spot. Unfortunately, a concrete container won’t suit
lime-haters such as camellias, azaleas and pieris.

compost. If you’re using
multi-purpose compost, repot
them in spring, shaking off some
of the old compost and put them
back in the same pots with fresh
compost, provided they’re not
cramped. Agapanthus need
plenty of water and a highpotash tomato feed, weekly from
April to September. Named
cultivars are more likely to bloom
early than pieces labelled simply
as ‘agapanthus’ sold as dry roots.

Q When is the best time of day to water
and feed my hanging baskets?
A Evenings are best to water hanging baskets, so the plants can
absorb moisture from the compost during the cool of the night. But
feed weekly in the morning while the compost is still damp.

PHOTOS: ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK, GILL LOCKHART

Q Is there a
fertiliser that’s
best to use in a
hanging basket?
A Any high-potash liquid
fertiliser, including tomato
feed, suits flowering
baskets; or use a more
general feed for coleus
and other foliage plants.
Apply once a week in the
growing season.
8 Garden Answers

POTS & CONTAINERS

Large pots provide
homes for wonderful
pairings, such as acers
and heuchera

Underplant striking
aeonium ‘Zwartkop’
with succulent
echeveria

The containers
themselves can be
just as dramatic as
the plants they house

A doorway will never be
drab when flanked by a
gorgeous hydrangea

Q&A
Growing
conditions

From heavy clay to too much sand,
how will your garden grow?

Q Which plants will
cope in a planter on
a windy site?
A For exposed conditions it’s
best to choose small-leaved
plants, but because in your case
the planter enjoys some shelter
from the house, it shouldn’t be
too cold. Phormiums would work
well and their colourful
sword-shaped leaves make a
good, all-year-round feature
plant. You could plant Viburnum
davidii around it to offer
contrasting foliage and flower
shape. This compact evergreen
shrub has white flowers in May
and blue berries in autumn if you
have both male and female
plants. Hebes with their

evergreen, often variegated
foliage and tufts of flowers would
also do well. For trailing plants,
groundcover cotoneasters are
definitely worth a try.

Q

How do we help plants
affected by the summer
drought and heat?

A

The heat and drought of
recent summers have
stretched gardeners’ ingenuity
and the resilience of some plants
to their limits, but although
many established plants either
lost leaves prematurely or failed
to reach their potential, most
shrubs and trees should survive.
The main problem is with
bedding plants and others
planted in late spring and early
summer, which receive little
natural rain after they are
planted. However, shrubs such
lilac and perennials that look like
they have died, may actually
have become prematurely
dormant and might reappear.
The lesson, it seems, is to revert,
where possible, to traditional
autumn and winter planting

times rather than spring, to help
plants survive hotter, drier
summers. Similarly, although
herbaceous plants can be divided
in spring or autumn, it may be
that autumn is now preferred so
the moved plants have all winter
to make some root growth rather
than leave it till spring. Collect
winter rainfall and make more
soil-nourishing, water-retaining
compost. Mulching is also
beneficial: a thick mulch applied
around established plants such
as James’ roses before next
summer will help conserve soil
moisture. On dry sandy soils,
look to gardens such as the Beth
Chatto gravel garden or Hyde
Hall Dry Garden for plants that
are better equipped to survive
the rigours of heat and drought.

Rose ‘Pink Flower
Carpet’

Q Do hostas prefer a sunny or shady border?
A If in doubt, grow hostas in part shade, protected from hot midday
sun and in soil that’s neither waterlogged nor bone dry in summer.
Green-leaved hostas tolerate some sun, while those with golden
variegation or yellowish leaves develop best colour when they have
sun for at least half the day. Blue hostas are best in full shade as strong
sunlight can damage the wax coating that makes their leaves blue.

Q Which plants would tolerate a shady
heavy clay garden ground cover?
PHOTOS: GILL LOCKHART: ALAMY; SHUTTERSTOCK

A In clay soil and part shade
vinca would be effective and
epimediums would do well, but
spread more slowly. Although
not showy, creeping cotoneasters
are tough weed suppressants
and good for wildlife. If there’s
enough sun for roses, the
colourful Flower Carpet series
blooms are easy to grow.
Whatever you choose, make sure
you dig in some compost to
improve the soil before planting.
10 Garden Answers

Epimedium rubrum

GROWING CONDITIONS

The Hyde Hall Dry
Garden in Essex

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Thrift and biting
stonecrop planted
in a coastal garden

Q

What colourful
plants will grow
at my South West
summer holiday
home garden?

Agapanthus
suits coastal
gardens

A

Although coastal gardening is always a
challenge, there are lots of plants that
will thrive in these salty, sandy, windy
locations as there’s usually little frost, as long
as you’re there to water them. Instead of
growing in pots, make raised beds so the
roots make direct contact with the soil and
can get water for themselves year-round.
Then you can plant colourful phormiums,
hebes, fuchsias, agapanthus, phygelius and
Flower Carpet roses for summer.

12 Garden Answers

Phygelius capensis

GROWING CONDITIONS

Q&A
Q My garden is
prone to flooding.
Which hedge plants
will absorb water?

Q Will any trees
cope with growing
in shade?
A Most trees cast shade rather
than thrive in it. Your best
options are large shrubs such as
hollies (ilex) and common and
Portugal laurel. If you have room
for wider plants, Fatsia japonica
is dramatic or try slow-growing
Osmanthus heterophyllus
(above), Viburnum hillieri or V.
rhytidophyllum.

A Two ornamental shrubs that
tolerate flooding are cornus
dogwood and salix (willow).
Although they’re not traditional
hedging plants because they
need regular clipping, they make
good screens and can be
pollarded every few years to
keep them neat. With attractive
foliage and colourful stems,
they’d make a handsome screen.

Fatsia has
eye-catching
foliage

The Flood Resilient Garden
by Naomi Slade and Ed
Barsley won silver at Chelsea

A Put up trellis or horizontal
wires at 40cm intervals to
support climbers such as
Clematis alpina (above),
white-flowered summer
clematis, akebia, Hydrangea
petiolaris, ivies and Lonicera
japonica (honeysuckle).
Depending on the width of your
border, suitable shrubs could
include nandina, viburnums,
evergreen berberis, mahonia,
fatsia, euonymus, most bamboos
and sarcococca (below).

Sarcococca
confusa

Q Is there a hedge for a site that’s boggy in
winter and baked in summer?

Q Which tropicallooking plants will
grow in Aberdeen?
A Alas, the North Sea coast of
Scotland is not the best place for
a tropical garden, but there are
plenty of hardy plants with a
tropical look. These include
phormiums, cordylines, yuccas
and palms such as trachycarpus
and chamaerops. Even in
exposed areas, most gardens
have a warm, sheltered spot. If
your soil is well drained and the
site is sunny, it might be worth
trying Mediterranean and
silver-leaved plants such as
celmisias, astelias, sages,
rosemary and thyme. Have a

Q What can I plant
on a fence that’s
facing north?

A This is a difficult spot and few evergreens will survive soil that’s
waterlogged in winter. Both field maple and hornbeam (below) are
tough and will survive these conditions if the soil is prepared well.
Hornbeam retains its dead leaves in winter.

look to see what thrives locally
and experiment with how far
you can push the boundaries!
.

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Q&A
Composting

Q Can I sterilise my
homemade compost
to stop weeds
growing where
I spread it?

Discover how to make the most successful
and suitable compost for your needs

A There’s nothing you can add
to a compost heap to kill weed
seeds. Moist, well-made heaps
should build up more heat, which
might kill seeds, but it’s best to
leave seeding weeds out of
compost heap.

Q What is the best ratio of brown
and green waste in compost?

Q There are lots of slugs in my compost
bin. Is that a good thing?

PHOTOS; ALAMY; SHUTTERSTOCK

A Slugs in compost would generally suggest the contents of the
heap are too wet. Ideally, add more dry matter plus some compost
activator to help the heap to heat up. This warmth naturally
discourages slugs. You can put the little critters on the bird table.

A There are two main types of
composting. Green is soft, leafy
material, including grass clippings,
green plants, old fruit and
vegetables and kitchen peelings. All
are rich in nitrogen. Brown is dry,
woody waste such as prunings and
hedge trimmings (shredded,
chipped or chopped up), and other
dried materials such as dead stems
and straw, as well as torn-up or
shredded paper and cardboard
which is rich in carbon. According
to the RHS, the ratio for the best
chance of great compost is
25–50% green material and
75–50% brown material.

Q Would a compost
tumbler help
prevent rats coming
into my garden?
A Compost tumblers cost more
than standard bins but should be
rodent-proof, and regular turning
helps the contents to decompose
and make good compost very
quickly, but don’t over fill it.
14 Garden Answers

Get the right balance of ingredients to make great compost

Making your own
compost saves money
and supports eco-friendly
gardening practices

COMPOST

Q

Is it better to
keep compost
bins covered or
uncovered?

A

It’s best to have a lid on compost
bins to keep out excess rain and
to reduce the problem of attracting
vermin. A lid on your compost also
helps it to retain heat, which speeds up
decomposition.

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 15

Q&A
Lawns

Q Can we change our weedy astro turf
into a planting area?

Understand when to start feeding lawns,
eradicate bare patches and how to spot
when moles are up to mischief

Q Is there a lawn weedkiller I can use
with a tortoise?
A If your tortoise eats the
grass I wouldn’t use a
weedkiller at all. Tortoises
like a range of herbs in the
lawn such as dandelions and
buttercups. So I’d suggest
letting your tortoise roam in
a designated area where
weeds are allowed to grow,
then keep it off the lawn that
is treated with weedkiller.

A Much will depend on what the
artificial turf was laid on, so you
need to lift an area and see what
you have to deal with. If it was
well laid, it’ll have been put on a
sand layer over the soil so that it’d
drain well in winter. In this case
you can simply add topsoil and
plant. However, if it was laid on
concrete, this needs removing
before you can add soil and plant,
which involves quite a bit of effort.

Q What is causing
discoloured circular
patches in our lawn?

Q Will bees that nested in my lawn
return this year?
A Mining bees hibernate in
cold weather, then emerge in
late spring to make their nests,
often in lawns and especially
in sandy soils. These solitary
bees are unlikely to sting
unless trodden on and should
be seen as a slight nuisance
rather than a pest, so I
wouldn’t want to suggest
a control method.

A If you don’t have dogs that
have urinated on the lawn, it’s
most likely fairy rings – a fungal
infection that can cause dead
grass or toadstools to appear in
the lawn. You can try removing
the turf down to 30cm, and
reseeding. There is no chemical
control available for fairy rings
that the public can get their
hands on. You may have to call in
professionals to sort this one.

A When you scarify lawns to get
rid of moss and thatch, the grass
often looks awful afterwards but
should recover. You need to start
feeding the lawn and watering
in dry weather. It’s best if you
reseed the grass where the thin
patches have developed. You
can buy patch-packs of seed that
include compost and fertiliser
for small areas.

PHOTOS: GAP PHOTOS, ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK

Q How can I stop
moss from taking
over my lawn?
A Moss is a common problem in
lawns, especially where the
conditions are more suitable for
moss growth than for grass.
These include compacted soil
that is acid and either very dry or
very wet. Moss also thrives in
soil low in nutrients and in shade
where grass can’t grow. As you’ve
found, if you resow without
improving the soil, the grass still
won’t thrive. You can rake out
the moss, apply a mosskiller and
resow the areas but improving
the drainage of compacted soil is
essential. You need to aerate the
16 Garden Answers

Q How do we fix
patches in lawn?

Q How long should I wait after using
lawn feed, weed and mosskiller before
sowing new grass?

lawn by inserting a garden fork
about every 15cm to create a
series of holes that allow air
and water to reach the grass
roots. Then in spring make
sure to provide a lawn feed.

A Some weedkiller products say
you can sow within 24 hours of
using but others suggest waiting
four weeks. So it’s best to look at the
T&Cs on the product you used. You
can sow grass seed at any time from
spring to autumn. Rake the surface
before sowing into moist compost,
sprinkling seed both lengthways
and widthways across the area.

LAWNS

Q
A

What is invading
my lawn?

I suspect that your lawn has
leatherjackets – cranefly larvae.
These eat the roots of the grass, weakening
it and causing yellow and dead patches.
These grubs are very tasty for crows and
magpies, and even foxes and badgers,
who might then move in and dig them up,
adding to the damage. You’ll need to wait
until late August–October to apply a
biological control that will eliminate them
but in the meantime you can try to flush
them out by watering the area well,
covering it with a tarpaulin overnight then
removing it in the morning. This will leave
the larvae exposed for birds to feast on.

Q What’s
destroying
my lawn?
A It’s possible that
moles are to blame if
the tunnels in your lawn
are slightly raised.
The moles will only feed
where there are worms
and if the soil is
compacted deeper down,
the moles will move
towards the surface.

Q Is there a cure for these red patches in our
new turf lawn?
A Red thread disease is a fungal
problem that mostly affects
high-quality lawns, rather than
on tough, more utilitarian ones.
It’s common in late summer,
especially when the lawn
hasn’t been fed. Feeding with
a high-nitrogen fertiliser can
help, but it’s too late to apply
that now. Try scarifying the
lawn in spring and increase
the feeding next year.
Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 17

Q&A
Fruit & veg
Should you divide asparagus and how to
stop squirrels snaffling your figs...

Q Do I need to wait for my artichokes
to open before I pick them?
A No, don’t wait. Cut them well before they open. The best time is
when they’re fully formed but the scales at the top are closed or just
starting to open. If you leave them too long they’ll be very tough
and the fibrous ‘choke’ will be enlarged, making them inedible. On
the plus side, bees love them!

Q How can we stop our lovely apples
from getting brown rot?
A Brown rot is a common problem on all fruit trees. It is caused by a
fungus and usually enters via a wound, such as a peck by a bird. The
fungus causes a soft, brown spot that rapidly affects the whole fruit,
as concentric rings of spores expand across the skin. If fruits are
touching it will spread from fruit to fruit, both on the tree and when
picked. It can spread back into stems and branches and kill parts of
the tree, so it’s important no affected fruits are left on the tree over
winter. There are no chemicals that can be used to control the disease,
so the best course of action is to remove affected fruits spotted on the
tree during the growing season, or ones that have fallen to the ground
or mummified fruits that remain on the tree. Regularly thinning
unaffected fruits also helps to slow its spread.

Q Is broccoli with
spots on the head
safe to eat?
A Black or brown spots on
your calabrese head is likely to
be a sign that it’s starting to rot.
It should still be safe to eat,
provided you cut out the
affected areas. Remember that,
once you cut the main head,
plants will produce numerous
smaller heads, which probably
won’t be affected.

PHOTOS: ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK

Q Can I divide my
asparagus crown?
It has 12 stems...
Q Which culprit stole my figs last summer
and how can I stop them in future?
A It’s difficult to say what would take the fruits but grey squirrels
frequently steal unripe fruits, so if you have them in the garden
I would treat them as prime suspects. Fruit nets are probably your
best form of defence. Agralan sells reusable fruit tree sleeves that
you can slip over fruiting branches – £18.99 for five (agralan. co.uk/
products/fruit-sleeves-5-pack).
18 Garden Answers

A Although it’s theoretically
possible to divide asparagus, the
plant will suffer an enormous
setback. If you’d like to increase
your asparagus crop, it would be
better to buy new crowns, which
are available in most garden
centres in autumn. Or, grow
new plants from seed.

➤

FRUIT & VEG

Q
A

I want to help potted
blueberries flower...

If your blueberry plants were small, they
probably needed to settle in. Provided your
plants grew well this year, they should bloom and fruit
on short new growths on these older stems next year
– so don’t prune them. Keep the compost moist over
winter and feed from March with ericaceous
rhododendron or azalea feed.

Q Is there a way to stop birds
from eating my raspberries?
A The best way to stop them is to invest in a fruit
cage. You can build your own using canes and netting
but it must be sturdy enough to keep the netting well
above the fruiting plants. If it rests on the raspberries
(which can grow to 2m) birds will be able to reach the
fruits. Ready-made cages cost between £50-£500
from garden centres and online suppliers.

Fruit trees can be
grown in a selection
of tubs, including,
apples, blueberries
and strawberries

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 19

Q

My potted
strawberry plants
failed to fruit this
summer – any advice?

A

If strawberries are grown in sun and not
allowed to dry out severely they should
flower and fruit – it’s unusual for them to fail.
However, the first question to ask is did they
produce flowers in the first place? If there are
no flowers at all, next year put the planter in a
sunny place and provide more water and feed.
If your plants did have flowers but no fruits
followed, it’s likely rodents, especially mice
and squirrels, removed the developing fruits.

20 Garden Answers

FRUIT & VEG

Q&A
Q Our new apple tree is bearing fruit.
Should I remove them?
A Ideally your new tree wouldn’t
have produced fruit this year
because the main branches should
have been pruned last winter. This
encourages the development of
strong new branches rather than
fruit production, which would
restrict growth at this stage. You
could leave one fruit, just for fun, but
remove all others, then prune the
tree this winter to establish a good,
compact framework.

Q Why do I have
little success with
tomatoes in peat-free
growbags?
A It’s often hard to keep plants in
growing bags moist and nutrients
in the bag are quickly depleted as
the plants grow. It may be better
to grow your tomatoes in large
pots or only plant two per bag
rather than the usual three. You
could also try mixing in some
controlled-release fertiliser with
the compost before planting to
add more nutrients, then feed and
water plants well.

Q What crops can I grow in my new
polytunnel in summer?
A First, prepare the soil well and
make sure you have a water supply to
irrigate your crops. Don’t forget that a
polytunnel doesn’t just provide more
heat in summer – it extends the
season so you don’t have to rush to fill
it now. Why not make some raised
beds inside it, then sow autumn and
winter salads in August and
September? You could even plant
seed potatoes in late summer for a
Christmas crop, so you’ve got plenty
of options and time.

Q My fruit trees just won’t flower!
A The most likely reason for fruit trees not flowering is if they’re
pruned in winter, which removes the fruiting stems. If they’re not
growing properly, they may have been potbound when planted and
their roots haven’t escaped the original rootball. Or it could be the
soil is too wet or too dry, and so has stunted the trees.

Q Help! The autumn raspberries are
blooming on old unpruned stems...
A If you don’t cut them back in spring, old autumn-fruiting raspberry
canes will act like summer-fruiting types and produce flowers and
fruit again. But, because the plants are carrying a crop when they
should be making new canes, the price for this early extra crop is a
reduced crop in autumn. Leave them now and enjoy them, but prune
as usual in future or leave just a few canes to crop early.
Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 21

Q&A
Roses

Q How can I help an old
rose bush I moved?

For luscious, floriferous roses, read on...

Q How do I revive
my standard rose?
One half died after
transplanting.
A You’ve done well to have
successfully moved an old
standard rose! With careful
pruning you should be able to
encourage shoots to grow on the
other side. Cut out all the dead
stems and prune the existing live
growth so that new shoots fill in
the gap. This should be possible
over a few years.

A When moving old roses, treat them as
new bushes and prune hard to balance
the top with the inevitable root damage.
It’s also worth adding a product such as
Rootgrow to help the roots establish. I’d
prune your rose back down to 30cm,
water it well in dry weather and feed it
once it starts showing signs of growth.

Q I regularly feed and spray both my roses,
so why does one look so poorly?

Q Why did leaves turn brown and die
early on my rose bush?
A The most likely cause is
dryness at the roots because
of extreme drought and heat.
Don’t worry, as long as the
plants are well established,
they should recover and grow
normally next year.

A English roses vary in their
resistance to disease and,
although this has been
improved in newer cultivars,
it’s really not unusual that your
two plants behaved quite
differently to each other. Given
the exact same site, soil,
spraying and feeding regime,
your ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ is thriving
while poorly ‘Teasing Georgia’
obviously isn’t happy. You could
try spraying the ‘Teasing
Georgia’ more often, but
perhaps it would be better
to remove it altogether and
replace it with another, more
vigorous cultivar?

Q When should
I spray against
blackspot?

PHOTOS: GAP PHOTOS, ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK

A If blackspot affected your
roses last year, there’s a good
chance they’ll be infected again.
To prevent it, spray as soon as
shoots start to produce leaves;
blackspot spores could linger on
the stems and in the soil under
the roses. Vulnerable plants
might need spraying right
through the season.

Q Can I encourage flowers at the base of climbing roses?
A Most climbing roses won’t flower on their lower stems if they are trained upright. To get flowers lower
down, you need to train the stems as near to horizontal as possible. This will be difficult on your narrow
arch, although you could train the tall stems across the top, which will give you flowers high up, then you
could try pruning your roses in March to promote new shoot growth lower down on the plant.
22 Garden Answers

Roses, such a
quintessential British
garden joy... help
yours to thrive!

ROSES

Q When is the best
time to move a
potted climbing
rose?
A Roses in pots can be moved at
any time, but because you’ll need
to cut it back to remove it from its
present trellis or support, the best
time to prune and move it is in
March. It could be repotted into
fresh compost at the same time.

Q How do I support
a floppy rose?
A The rose is in a shady spot and
is stretching to reach the light.
Give it a light prune, to avoid it
making long growths, and then
tie it to a trellis behind it.

Q Should I worry
about the pink
flecks that appeared
on my white rose
blooms?
Q How should I prune a climbing rose?
A Climbing roses can become very thick and
woody at the base with all the flowers and
leaves at the top. You can prune them hard but
it’s best to wait until spring so the plant has the
whole summer to grow and be trained in to
cover the support. Use a saw to cut the trunk
back to 60cm or so. It will look very odd at first
but give it a good feed and a soak if the weather
is dry. The rose will send up thick, strong stems
and these should be allowed to grow straight
up, but by August they’ll be mature enough to
be trained horizontally along wires so that the
rose flowers lower down in future.

A You’ll find that most white
roses show a few pink spots as
the flowers age. This
discolouration is caused by
excessive hot weather or rain.
Don’t worry – there’s nothing
wrong with the plant. It’s not the
result of a disease.

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 23

Q&A
Houseplants
From how to tackle red spider mite to
looking after carnivorous plants and
everything in between

Q Which compost
should I use for
mother-in-law’s
tongue?
A Mother-in-law’s-tongue
(sanseveria) is a drought-resistant
plant that’s easy to keep as long as
it’s never overwatered. Cactus
compost is best. Choose a pot
that’s no more than 5cm (2in)
more in diameter than the original
pot and replant as soon as possible
so the plant’s roots fill the new
compost before winter.

Q Why is Christmas hippeastrum
re-blooming in summer?

PHOTOS: ALAMY; SHUTTERSTOCK

A Hippeastrum can bloom at any time of year so those sold for
Christmas flowering are lifted and dried ready for them to come into
growth again in winter. Once your planted hippeastrum bulb is
growing happily, it will adjust to a more normal cycle – and spring and
summer are, in fact, the most usual times for them to bloom.

Q Why hasn’t last year’s amaryllis
reflowered this year?
A After all the effort of flowering, bulbs have to recover and build up
size. Although hippeastrums can be dormant in winter, they’ll reach
flowering size sooner if they’re kept green for as long as possible. This
means giving them a high-potash feed such as tomato fertiliser from
spring to autumn while they’re growing and not drying them off
unless they show signs of yellowing. Don’t despair at the situation,
though: most hippeastrums keep flowering for many years, though
not always at the same time.
24 Garden Answers

Q What is
causing peace
lily flowers to
turn green?
A The true flowers of
peace lilies or
spathiphyllum are tiny
and on the club-like
structure in the centre.
The white ‘flowers’ are
actually modified leaves
and as they age they
often lose their white
colour and turn green, as
yours have done.

➤

HOUSEPLANTS

Q
A

How should I look after
this Dendrobium nobile?

The Dendrobium nobile orchid makes quite a good
houseplant. These orchids prefer cool, bright conditions
but not direct sunlight, which can scorch them. They also
like to have good air circulation. In winter they need a
temperature above 10C, and should be kept fairly dry, but
not completely dry. In these conditions, the plant can rest
before it goes on to produce its new flower buds. Once the
existing flowers fade, start feeding once a fortnight. As the
leaves turn yellow the main stem will slowly die, but by this
time there should be new stems growing from the base.
Regular feeding will help them grow strongly and they’ll go
on to produce next year’s blooms. During summer, make
sure the plant doesn’t dry out. You can cut off the old stem at
the end of summer. Mist plants once a week with tepid water
and repot them once the roots fill the pot – this will probably
be every 1–2 years.

Q

Why did all
the leaves
drop off my ‘ZZ’
plant over winter?

A

Zamioculcas zamiifolia (known
as the ZZ plant) is very sensitive to
watering. It will grow in sun or shade in
a wide range of temperatures and can
tolerate drought, but hates being
overwatered. In wet soil and low
temperatures it will drop its leaves. To
help it recover, tip out excess water and
wait for it to dry out until you resume
watering. Then, water sparingly only
when the compost is dry.

26 Garden Answers

HOUSEPLANTS

Q&A
Q How should I look after a Venus
fly trap plant?
A These carnivorous plants are sensitive to watering and soil pH,
preferring acidic conditions. During winter, place the pot in a cool,
bright, frost-free position and use rainwater or cool, boiled water to
keep the compost just moist. Increase watering as the plant breaks
dormancy and in summer, stand its pot in a saucer of water. When
repotting, use a mix of sand and sphagnum moss or buy a specialist
carnivorous plant compost.

Q Do I cut off old orchid flowers?
A Most phalaenopsis (moth orchids) drop their flowers as they fade
but it is possible that yours may have been too dry. These orchids
manage to live, and flower, in less than ideal conditions and it’s
better to underwater than leave them sitting in water, especially in
cold weather. Pull off the dead flowers and increase watering and
feed fortnightly as spring arrives. Leave the old flower stems,
though, because they can rebloom.

Q What is this dangling thread of insects?
A They look like red spider mites, a common houseplant pest that
often lives on leaves and shoot tips. If they reach large numbers they
move from plant to plant via their webs, sucking sap from foliage
and turning it a bronze colour. Wipe off the pests with a damp cloth
and control them with an organic, oil-based pest killer spray.

Q Is it unusual for calathea to flower?
A Goeppertia rufibarba is sometimes called the velvet calathea
because of the hairy foliage and stems and, once it’s mature and
growing happily, it can produce clusters of flowers on short stems
among the leaves. Cut them off once they fade and feed the plant
monthly with a half-strength liquid flower food throughout the
spring and summer.
Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 27

Q&A
Pruning
Should you give a philadelphus short
back and sides, and when is the best time
to cut back pittosporum? Find out here

Q How hard can I prune large buddleja?
A Buddleja davidii is a
common garden shrub
but older kinds can
rapidly outgrow their
space. For its annual
prune in March, you’ll
need to use loppers or
a saw rather than
secateurs. Do not be
frightened to prune it
severely – you can cut it
down to 20–45cm high and it will sprout from the stumps in
spring and still bloom next summer.

Q When is the best time to prune
variegated Pittosporum tobira?
A Variegated Pittosporum tobira
is not hardy in all parts of the
country, but where it is, it makes
a lovely evergreen shrub with
small, cream, delightfully
fragrant flowers. If it needs
pruning, the best time to do
this is in spring, around April,
but this will affect that year’s
flowering. If necessary you can
prune hard, back to stumps and
it will regrow.

Q Will pruning
my conifer result
in bare patches?
A You can prune back the leafy
branches to shape your conifer,
but beware cutting back into any
leafless stems; they won’t
produce new growth. It’s fine to
prune the plant at any time of
year. Thin out the crown or raise
the canopy by removing lower
branches to help create a neater
tree silhouette.

Q Will young Acer
circinatum branch
if pruned?

PHOTOS: GAP PHOTOS, ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK

A Although you don’t usually
need to prune small acers, you
can help them get a desirable
shape in the early stages. Try
pruning this summer when the
tree’s in leaf so you can see its
shape. Afterwards, place a
mulch around the trunk and
feed in spring to boost growth.

Q How can I control
a very rampant
eucalyptus?
Q Can I hard prune a leggy 20-year-old
potted hydrangeas?
A You could cut the hydrangeas down close to the ground but it will
encourage upright stems that won’t bloom for several years. Instead,
try removing about a third of the stems each spring for the next
three years to gradually rejuvenate the plants and make them more
compact. Then continue each spring to cut the oldest, spreading
stems back to the base to leave younger, more upright stems.

28 Garden Answers

A You can prune your eucalyptus
to reduce its height and
encourage juvenile foliage,
which is often more rounded
than the adult leaves. The best
time to do this is in spring.
Remove dead or crossing
branches then trim the main
stems back to two or three pairs
of leaves.

PRUNING

Q

How hard can I
prune wisteria?

A

You won’t harm wisteria by hard
pruning, but you’ll reduce
flowering for several years. In effect,
you’ll be removing all the short
sideshoots (spurs) from the main woody
framework; it’s these that produce the
flowerbuds. These spurs have to be
built up through a careful regime of
summer and winter pruning, when
the whippy stems are reduced to three
or four leaves. If you need to retrain
the plant or replace its support, hard
prune by all means, but you’ll have
to start encouraging the spurs again
from scratch.

Q How far can
I prune my
rhododendron?
A It’s good practice to snap off
spent rhododendron flowers
and pinch out the largest new
shoot to encourage sideshoots,
keeping plants bushy and
compact. Prune after
flowering (severely, if need be)
and they’ll respond with
vigorous new shoots but may
not bloom for several years.

Q Can I remove old fronds that make my
tree fern look scruffy?
A In mild climates, old
fronds can actually last
for several years, creating
a fuller head of foliage.
However, you’ll find that
in cold areas that old
fronts are killed in the
winter months. It will be
fine to cut out scruffy
fronds in spring without
worrying that you’ll be
harming your plant.
Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 29

Q&A
Trees & shrubs

Q Why have acer
leaves gone brown
and shrivelled?

All trees and shrubs need caring for
throughout their lifetime. From magnolias
to acers, here are some common questions

A It’s likely your Acer palmatum
‘Beni-maiko’ either dried out in
spring as the leaves were
developing or it’s in a spot that’s
too windy. Both conditions lead
to the leaf tips withering or
eventually dropping. You could
trim back the leafless shoots and,
with more water and some
feeding, it should resprout. These
acers need a sheltered spot.

Q What is eating
rhododendron
leaves?
A Vine weevils are the chief
suspects. These annoying pests
are best known for their white
grubs that live in the soil and eat
plant roots, but the adults,
which are long-nosed, dark grey
beetles, are plant-eaters too. They feed mostly on evergreens,
including euonymus, camellias and rhododendrons, nibbling away
irregular, rather angular notches around the edge of the leaves. You
can’t do much to prevent the adults from eating the leaves, though
you may see them crawling around in warm evenings.

Q Can I safely plant a cornus by my
neighbours’ house?
A Cornus kousa makes a large shrub or small tree that reaches
H: 7m, S: 5m, and if the foundations of the house are modern and
sound there should not be a problem.
However, it would be prudent to inform your neighbours first. It
would make a lovely addition to the garden, provided the site is
sheltered and not too dry in summer. Crab apples and amelanchier
are similar-sized alternatives.

PHOTOS: ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK

Q How do we
combat invasive
bamboo?
A Bamboos are usually grouped
according to whether their
rootstock is clumping or
running. Running bamboos,
including phyllostachys, can
seem ‘tamed’ for a while but
may spread at an alarming rate,
especially in warm summers
and sheltered locations.
Thick, hard rhizomes spread
under the soil and push up
quick-growing shoots.
Clumping bamboos, such as
fargesia, are tidier but even
these increase in width
30 Garden Answers

eventually. However, they are
less likely to push up stems
through tarmac and into lawns.
Use a sharp spade to sever
‘wandering’ rhizomes
connecting the new shoot with
the main clump, and then dig
them out. These rhizomes are
very tough and it may be
necessary to dig right down and
use loppers to sever them.
If you use a weedkiller,
choose one containing
glyphosate, which is absorbed
by the plant and doesn’t affect
the soil. Target any new shoots,
spraying the foliage while the
shoots are small, but once the
leaves have expanded.

Q Our ceanothus is
full of dead branches
and leaves. Is it
dying?
A Ceanothus are short-lived
shrubs that usually start to
deteriorate after 10 years or so. It’s
not unusual for branches to die
here and there, but it’s important
when pruning not to leave ‘spurs’
without leaves on because ceanothus are prone to coral spot fungus.
This infects dead stems and spreads into living ones. As lower, shaded
stems turn brown, remove them to clear out the old wood. Regular
pruning like this, in spring after flowering, will help to extend the
shrub’s life and keep it looking compact and neat. If allowed to grow
unchecked, it can soon become scruffy.

TRESS & SHRUBS

Q How do I address
yellowing needles on yew?
A Some dieback on yews is not an issue
because it will sprout again if cut back. I’d
trim off the yellowing branches but leave the
main branches intact.
Yews are tough but can suffer from dieback
if the soil is heavy and waterlogged in winter
– but they usually survive.

Q Why might some
lavender plants have failed
in my established border?

Q

Why has 7ft tall magnolia
stopped flowering?

A If the lavenders were all the same type,
you might expect them all to behave the
same way, but in some cases lavenders are
grown from seed and the resulting plants
won’t be identical. It could be that some are
more vulnerable to drought or wet soil. In a
narrow bed, if soil is shallower in some areas,
that could lead to drought, which could kill
small plants. However, there could also be
other factors at play, such as if they were
shaded by adjacent pots or overhanging
baskets that could have prevented water
getting to them. Lightly trim them back and
they may sprout again.

A

Magnolias, such as M. campbellii or evergreen
M. grandiflora, don’t bloom at a young age, but if your
magnolia has flowered before, it should bloom every year.
Flowers can be damaged by spring frost but the plants are
hardy. The only reasons for lack of flowers are poor growth
or pruning. Chopping off the top won’t encourage flowering
but rather is likely to reduce its chances of blooming by
removing the flower buds.

Q Which trees are best for
supporting wildlife?
A Autumn is an excellent time to plant a tree
or large shrub and buying bareroot specimens
can save lots of cash. One of the best is
Viburnum opulus, which has white flowers
rich in nectar, while its shiny red berries are
devoured by birds. In autumn, the leaves
have good colour, too. Don’t buy the sterile
form, ‘Rosea’, which is the snowball bush and
has no berries. Sorbus is another good
option, available with red, yellow, orange,
pink or white berries and rich autumn
foliage. Crab apples are excellent, with pink
or white spring blossom for pollinators and
yellow, orange or red fruits well into winter.
Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 31

Q&A
Pests,
diseases &
disorders
From gall mite to slugs and from scab to
verticillium wilt, we’ve got you covered

Q What is chomping
away at my leaves?
A Vine weevils are the chief
suspects. These annoying pests
are best known for their white
grubs that live in the soil and eat
plant roots, but the adults, which
are long-nosed, dark grey beetles,
are plant-eaters, too. They feed
mostly on evergreens, including
euonymus, camellias and
rhododendrons, nibbling away
irregular, rather angular notches
around the edge of the leaves.
You really can’t do much to
prevent the adults from eating
the leaves, though you may
see them crawling around on
warm evenings.

PHOTOS: RHS, ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK

Q Why are plants turning black and
mouldy beneath a large tree
overhanging our garden?
A I suspect that the tree
is a lime that’s infested
with aphids, which drip
honeydew. This lands
on lower plants and is
colonised by black,
sooty mould. This is
unsightly and will
reduce the plants’
vigour, though not as
much as the drought
and lack of light caused
by the trees. Hot, dry
weather makes the
problem worse. You
can cut any branches
overhanging your
property, but are
obliged to return them to the owner of the tree. If the tree is
causing a serious issue with lack of light, then you could
contact the council for advice.
32 Garden Answers

Q What is causing scrunched-up flowers
and leaf tips on fuchsias?
A Damage at the shoot tips and leaves, as well as distorted flowers,
was likely caused by fuchsia gall mite. This is a new and serious
fuchsia pest that was first found in the UK in 2007 and is spreading
around the country. If you discover it in your garden it is best to cut
the plants down and dispose of (not compost) the shoots. Otherwise,
try the new biological control, a predatory mite Amblyseius
andersoni, which is applied to the plant in a hanging sachet.

Q How do I replant screening shrubs by my
fence that were lost to verticillium wilt?
A Verticillium wilt is a soil-borne
fungus that attacks a wide range
of shrubs and causes the dark
streaks in the woody tissue you
observed. Mild infections often
cause the plant or branches to
wilt and these may recover in
cool weather before the infection
then becomes serious and these
areas die. There is not much you
can do to protect the other plants
in the border but avoid using
high-nitrogen fertilisers. Most

Holly hedge

plants can be affected but holly,
willow, hawthorn and birches
are less susceptible, together
with eucalyptus and bamboo.
Hollies (ilex) might be best
because they are moderately
quick to grow and they have
a range of foliage colours.
For quick screening you
could add miscanthus, which
will give cover as the hollies
grow. They should withstand
the summer shade produced by
the grasses and then will be
revealed in winter when the
grass is cut back.

PESTS & DISEASES

Q

Are aphids
attacking lupins?

A

I am afraid that these lupins are
infested with lupin aphid. This is like a
standard aphid (greenfly) but on steroids! It
is a serious pest and if left unchecked they
will kill the flowerbuds as they feed, though
they rarely kill the plants. These aphids do
not affect other plants. You need to remove
these aphids, either by crushing them by
hand or spraying to get rid of them. If they
are common in the area, they might return
because fertile females can fly. If this
happens again then it might be better to
grow something else.

Q Which very hungry caterpillars
are attacking Solomon’s seal and
berberis?
A These are the larvae of Solomon’s seal (right) and
berberis (far right) sawflies. Berberis sawfly was first
found in the South East of England in 2000 and is now
spreading. The adults emerge from their underground
pupae, lay eggs on the leaf undersides and the grubs
attack the foliage. Always present in large numbers, they
can strip plants in a few days. The best way to control
both types is to watch daily for signs of them feeding from
May to September. Pick off the pale-coloured, spotted
larvae by hand or spray with an organic insecticide.

Solomon’s seal with
sawfly larvae

Berberis with adult sawfly

Subscribe at www.greatmagazines.co.uk 33

➤

PESTS & DISEASES

Q&A
Q Please help, slugs and snails are
decimating my favourite plants. Is there
any way of stopping them?

Q How do I prevent
leaf drop on cornus
and gardenia shrubs?

A Advance on all fronts to tackle this
age-old problem. At night, place a
small dish of beer into the soil close to
the affected plants. In the morning
you’ll find it full of slugs and snails.
Dispose of them on the bird table.
Alternatively, mulch the vulnerable
plants with material these pests hate,
such as crushed eggshells, grit or
sharp sand. This is particularly useful with vegetable crops. You
could also buy copper tape to wrap around the plant, which gives
the slugs and snails a small electrical shock and they won’t come
back, but that could prove expensive. There are nematodes
available that can be watered in, which infect snails and slugs with
bacteria and kill them. There’s also slug pellets, but most gardeners
try to avoid those now.
These pests are most active at night, so change your routine and
water early in the morning instead. Encourage wildlife to your
garden with hedges and ponds. Make it bird, hedgehog and
frog-friendly and they’ll stay on top of your slug and snail problem
by gobbling them up. Finally, as night falls, put on a head torch and
simply pick them off by hand.

A Cornus and gardenia have very
different requirements but, if
they were newly planted last
year, it’s possible they dried out
in periods of hot, dry weather.
Your cornus needs plenty of
moisture so make sure you keep
it well watered this year,
especially in dry periods.
Providing a deep mulch around
the base will help the soil to
retain water. The gardenia is best
planted in a patio pot and placed
in a spot with some shade to help
prevent it drying out. However,
gardenias also drop their leaves
if they are waterlogged, so make
sure that’s not the case either.

A Box blight has been
sweeping across the
country, destroying hedges
and topiary. While some are
attempting to save theirs by
stripping out the affected
parts, removing any fallen
leaves and treating the rest
of the plant, others have
taken it out completely. It’s
too much of an uphill battle.
It may be better to try an
alternative such as yew
‘Repandens’, honeysuckle
‘Maigrün’, or Delavay privet.
34 Garden Answers

Gardienia

Q What is attacking my weeping cherry?
The leaves have brown spots and holes.
A The holes in the leaves of your
prunus ‘Kiku-shidare-zakura’
are caused by bacterial canker.
This disease is within the plant
and can’t be cured. It causes
brown spots on the leaves,
which then drop. In bad cases,
small shoots can die. There is no
cure for this and the best way to
treat the plant is to make sure it
is fed and watered well to ensure
healthy growth. Cut out any
shoots that die. Spraying with a
bug killer won’t have any effect.

Don’t rely on one method to tackle slugs and snails, try a few,
including beer traps, organic pellets and copper wire

Q My low box hedge has been hit by blight.
Should I persevere and try to save it?

Cornus

Q Why is
pyracantha dying
from the outside?
A Pyracanthas suffer from
several pests or diseases,
including scab and woolly aphid.
Both of these tend to affect all
of the plant and not just the
extremities. If there’s no sign of
the white fluff of woolly aphid,
you can eliminate that as a
possibility. It could be the plant
is starved or dry if it’s in a pot or
narrow bed. Prune out affected
shoots, clear weeds away from
the base and apply a general
fertiliser in spring. It might be

fireblight, a bacterial disease. It
often enters the plant through
the flowers. Affected branches
wilt and go brown as if scorched.
If so, as you prune out the
affected shoots you’ll see brown
staining of the wood just under
the bark. Prune back to healthy
growth and disinfect tools after. ✿

After all that
hard work, enjoy
your garden!

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