GardenNews23September2023-world

September 23, 2023 £2.30 WORTH £ Expert advice! Stefan Buczacki answers your tricky gardening questions Rob Smith: ‘Tackle those harvest time jobs’ Naomi Slade on the wonder of home composting ‘Glorious asters are the stars of autumn’ FABULOUS FRITILLARIES Get them in the ground now! EASY-GROW STUNNERS! Plants that will add some real pizzazz to any garden

Offers open to both new and renewing subscribers View terms and conditions on page number given above QUOTE CJAA when calling 01858 438884 or visit www.greatmagazines.co.uk/gn SEE PAGE 57 FOR MORE DETAILS Garden News Editor Britain’s most trusted voice in gardening Make the most of your warm soil! Look inside! Our cover star: Gazania ‘Tiger Stripes’ Garden seems predictable? Nothing shakes it up like spots and stripes. See page 16 for some easy-grow dazzlers. ABOUT NOW 4 News from the gardening world 5 Be The First To Grow... winter irises 6 A bean surprise from South Wales and the opening of the Malvern Autumn Show 8 The Natural Gardener FEATURES 12 Garden of the Week 16 Make a real garden spectacle with spots and stripes 20 Perfect plants for under trees 22 Prepare for spring with fab fritillaries 26 Carol Klein on tough Michaelmas daisies, plus her gardening week at Glebe Cottage WHAT TO DO THIS WEEK 31 Fight against fungus 32 Time to plant bulbs – in a ‘lasagne’ 35 Naomi Slade sings the praises of homemade compost 36 Save tomato seeds 38 Kitchen Gardener Rob Smith checks on his autumn crop and feeds the birds 39 Karen Gimson’s sweet treat of chocolate and hazelnut brownies THE EXPERTS 40 Medwyn Williams prepares vegetables as showtime approaches 42 Stefan Buczacki troubleshoots for you on crown imperials, whitefly, courgette rot and more YOU AND YOUR GARDENS 10 Your Garden Gems! You share your top gardening tips 28 Take a look at readers’ gardens 51 Your letters and photos OFFERS & COMPETITIONS 49 Win prizes with our crossword 52 Buy drop-in bulb planters for an easy splash of colour 54 Treat yourself to colour-changing peonies 20 31 Use the space under trees Fight fungus and keep plants healthy Find the right asters for you 26 There’s something special about this time of year in the garden, as the trees start to shed their leaves and the colours of autumn come to the fore. It’s a period where we can still enjoy this year’s plants while looking ahead to next year. It's not a case of dreamily planning what might go where – we’re now starting our bulb planting and sowing hardy annual seeds that can establish over winter and give us strong, vibrant plants next spring and summer. The soil is still warm from summer – in fact after the recent heatwave it will be warmer than ever – and as a result will feel very welcoming to whatever we put in it! Try fritillaries (see page 22) or why not plant up a potted bulb ‘lasagne’ (page 32)? There are plenty of things we can start to keep the garden working through the cold days of winter. Elsewhere in this issue, I can heartily recommend Karen Murphy’s Natural Gardener column (page 8) about ants. Like many other inhabitants of the garden, they can get a bit of a bad press just because they’re seen as a pest if they get in the house. But outdoors in the garden they do very little real harm and are another part of our own little ecosystem, so there’s really no need to try to do away with them, as Karen points out. Also, I’m once again in awe of our ‘agony uncle’ Stefan Buczacki, answering your questions on page 42. I love the variety of queries we get and Stefan’s practical and useful answers. Please do keep them coming. Our weather once again seems to be back to ‘normal’, whatever that is these days, so plenty of opportunity to get outside. Have a great gardening week! Write to Simon Caney, Garden News, Media House, Peterborough Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA September 23 2023 / Garden News 3

UK tradescantia recorded in ‘living library’ A 72-strong collection of tradescantia amassed by an amateur enthusiast has presented an unrivalled opportunity to record, clarify and name varieties circulating in the UK. Realising there was no reliable list of varieties or horticultural references to the fleshy, evergreenleaved perennial, independent researcher Avery Rowe began collecting. He now maintains a living library of 72 different varieties at his home in West Wales for conservation charity Plant Heritage. Avery also sells cuttings, complete with labels showing full names and accession numbers. In addition, he shares information with other growers, conducts research and regularly publishes articles in a bid to increase knowledge and interest. Last year, Avery was appointed International Cultivar Registration Authority for the genus and has since published the initial RENEWED HOPE FOR ‘PEOPLE’S PALACE’ VENUE FOR THE PEOPLE Opened in 1898, the People’s Palace was created to offer an uplifting space for Glasgow’s working class community. In the 1940s it became the museum of social history for the city, telling the story of its people from 1750. Last restored in the 1990s to mark the structure’s centenary, the Winter Gardens remained closed as the sealant used to attach the glass to the glasshouse frame was judged to be at its ‘end of life’, with the planting, including bananas and palm trees, removed or relocated.  cultivar checklist online, providing a hugely detailed and important understanding of botanical naming in the group. ■ Visit plantheritage. org.uk or tradescantia. uk for more details. Ahuge Victorian glasshouse and museum in Glasgow could be rejuvenated under a proposed £36m renovation project. The People’s Palace museum and Winter Gardens greenhouse both closed in 2018 due to urgently needed repairs, although the museum reopened in 2022 after a £350,000 refurbishment. The local council has now rubber stamped proposals for a multi-million renovation that would reopen the greenhouse and greatly enhance the museum. Approximately £5m of finance is currently confirmed. Glasgow’s city administration committee also approved a £7.5 million application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and £11m would come from a council contribution. Glasgow Life – an independent charity running culture and leisure venues – is now looking to secure £12m from public sector funders. An unsuccessful application to the Government’s Levelling Up fund was made earlier this year. If a funding package can be secured, work on the dilapidated structure could start next year, with completion expected in 2027. In January 2017, a structural report on the building found “a number of defects” and urged that repair work should begin “no later than January 2019”. It is hoped the greenhouse could be repaired with new technologies to reduce the amount of required maintenance work. Glasgow Life chair Bailie Annette Christie, who is also the city convenor for culture, sport and international relations, said the new plans showed the council’s “continued commitment and dedication to revitalising one of Glasgow’s most treasured spaces.” She added they would “deliver an outstanding new experience and provide a modern, inclusive and sustainable facility.” Fundraising is under way to restore Glasgow’s iconic glasshouse and social museum, reports Ian Hodgson PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK, AVERY ROWE 4 Garden News / September 23 2023 The People’s Palace and Winter Gardens New technology could be used to repair the greenhouse

Electric vehicle threat to gardens Tradescantia collection owner Avery Rowe Nearly half of the country would be prepared to pave over their front gardens if it meant they could recharge their electric vehicles (EV) at home, new research shows. EO Charging found that 49% of 2,000 respondents they surveyed would remove lawns and planting to enable more convenient EV charging. Electric cars were owned by 13% of respondents. The results showed that Londoners were most likely to be EV owners, with 29% living in the capital having already made the transition from liquid fuel. Among EV owners, 70% had already made changes to the front of their homes  to aid charging, while 22% had reduced green space to benefit their electric vehicle. However, just over half (53%) of those asked believed the trend for turning front gardens into parking spaces needed to be addressed. Some 55 % acknowledged that planting allowed rainwater to soak away, helping reduce flood risk.  “The desire for home charging facilities will grow, putting more pressure on front gardens and neighbourhood green spaces,” said EO Charging CEO, Charlie Jardine. ‘Angela’ This elegant, new variety looks good if planted in sun in clumps or drifts or in pots and windowboxes. Shades of blue, with darker blue tips and yellow beard are gorgeous. H 12cm, S 10cm. Price: £6.80/20 bulbs. From: farmergracy.co.uk. ‘Orange Glow’ Something to treasure in a pot; yellow-orange falls with spotted and streaked deep purple are an uplifting delight in February when little else is in flower. H 12cm, S 10cm. Price: £10.50/3 bulbs. From: jacquesamandintl.com. Editor at large Ian Hodgson's pick of the best winter irises, plus a tried and tested favourite Eyes down for the best new winter iris ‘Louise’ Snowy white, yellow-spotted flowers in February make this an eye-catching addition to the winter garden. Ideal for pots, rock gardens and border edges. Plant in full sun, 6-8cm deep in well-drained soil. H 12cm, S 10cm. Price: £7.80/20 bulbs. From: farmergracy.co.uk. ‘Frozen Planet’ Ice-white petals with pale blue falls will dazzle in the early spring garden. Bred in Canada and recently introduced, it has become a garden favourite. Contrast it among purple reticulata iris for a dramatic splash of colour along the edge of a garden border in full sun and well-drained soil. H 12cm, S 10cm. Price: £6.25/25 bulbs. From: peternyssen.com. SPRING BRIGHTNESS STRIKING DETAIL BRILLIANT IN POTS SHADES OF BEAUTIFUL BLUE September 23 2023 / Garden News 5 Londoners were most likely to own electric vehicles

Reminiscent of the fairy story of Jack and the Beanstalk, 14-year-old holidaymaker Evan Smith got the shock of his life after collecting what he thought was a pebble on a South Wales beach. On closer inspection budding horticulturist Evan realised it could be a seed and took it home to plant it. Remarkably, the seed germinated, and the resulting seedling rapidly outgrew its supporting cane and started to climb the curtains of his Swansea home. Evan nicknamed the plant ‘Cliff’ and he decided to reach out to the Eden project to see if they might like to rehome his rampant vine. Eden told him it was a seed of Entada gigas, a huge woody vine in the legume family, native to Central America, northern South America, the Caribbean and Africa. The vine anchors itself in the canopy of trees enabling animals and insects to pass from tree to tree, giving the plant the nickname ‘monkey-ladder’. Pods can be up to 2m in length and 12cm in width, housing between 10 to 15 seeds, each around 6cm in diameter and 2cm thick. Known as sea beans or sea hearts due to their ability to float for thousands of miles across oceans, the seeds can travel for as long as a year, often washing up on shores in northern Europe. It’s likely this seed was carried across the ocean by the Gulf stream, potentially originating 5,000 miles away. “Germinating the seed takes some knowledge and a bit of luck in terms of the conditions the seed has endured, as they need warmth to remain viable”, said Catherine Cutler, Eden’s interim Head of Horticulture. “Plant donations are rarely accepted due to bio-security risks, but Evan and his very special plant caught our imagination, and after putting protocols in place, we finally received the plant. We look forward to introducing Cliff to the Rainforest Biome where he should thrive.” Malvern show to bloom this weekend Gardeners will delight in the Malvern Autumn Show, which opens on Friday. Centrepiece of the event is the Canna UK Giant Vegetable Championship, where the country’s best growers will battle it out again for top prizes and the much coveted records. Eleven new Guinness World Records were set at last year’s show. The Harvest Pavilion is set to showcase 175 Grow to Show classes, where home gardeners will stage their best plants and produce. The venue also plays host to National Plant Societies, all keen to impart their knowhow to visitors. This year sees a 10ft pyramid of fuchsias on display to mark the 85th birthday of the British Fuchsia Society. The RHS flower show has garnered more than 40 of the country’s top nurseries to put on colourful artistic displays, while selling a wide range of plants, from trees, perennials, alpines and bulbs. Special guest talks include BBC Gardeners’ World presenters Adam Frost and Arit Anderson, while GN’s Martin Fish will host the Potting Shed Theatre, where a team of gardening gurus will provide advice. The Malvern Autumn Show runs from September 22-24. ■ Visit malvernautumn. co.uk for more details. Show-goers observing the pumpkin and squash entries Budding horticulturist Evan Smith and the Eden Project’s former head of living landscapes Robin Lock with Evan’s Entada gigas plant and a seed pod BEAN, BUT DEFINITELY NOT GONE! A mysterious horticultural find travelled thousands of miles to reach the UK, reports Ian Hodgson 6 Garden News / September 23 2023

SMALL WAYS TO MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE Remember water Don’t forget to leave water out for birds and hedgehogs to drink – thirst is a very real problem, even in autumn. Go natural Adopt a more natural approach to your late season tidy up: pile up gone-over vegetation in corners, leave seed heads and let your plot die down naturally. Plant bulbs Buy your spring-flowering bulbs to plant now – plant up some crocus, alliums, winter aconites, snowdrops and fritillaries for bees. Cut back meadows Wildflower areas and long grasses need regeneration, so mow them back now. This means there’s space to grow anew. Leave a small area uncut. Let’s celebrate awesome ants! I t seems there have been a lot of ants this year, and they’ve all made their home in my garden! They’re one of those garden critters on the ‘nuisance’ list – not a full-on pest, just bothersome nest builders and opportunistic feeders. Look away for five minutes and there’s another mound of soil on the lawn or excavated crevice on the patio! I find them endlessly appealing though, and they’re charming to watch as they go about their business, tottering busily, helping each other lift and dig and march, building those cavernous, tunnelsome nests underground. They are, of course, exceptionally industrious and their fascinating activities should be likened in interest to those of their cousins, the bees and wasps. Did you know that most of the ants we see are wingless workers, all infertile females? ‘Flying ant days’ in summer, however, see freshly hatched winged male youths going on mating flights in balmy weather with young queens. It’s all very glamorous. There are 70 species in Britain, only 12 of which frequent our dry, sandy or chalky gardens. A thriving colony can contain as many as 30,000! Those feisty female workers gather food – other insects or ants – and take it back to the nest, leaving a scent trail so others can source the food again. Incidentally, the ‘ant eggs’ you might have seen are actually silky cocoons spun by larvae to protect them. They’re also busy farmers on the side, too – this has to be my favourite activity of theirs. They occasionally like to visit bands of aphids as they munch on plants, traipsing up and down on top of them to drink at the sweet honeydew they excrete as they eat. They keep a look out for aphid predators such as ladybirds, pushing them away to protect the aphids! Not much help to our plants, but captivating to watch nonetheless.  By and large ants do little real damage to plants and should largely be tolerated. They do disturb plant roots, create unsightly lumps in lawns and take up in your compost heap, but these are part and parcel of garden life – in PHOTOS: ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK fact destroyed colonies will only be taken on again by new queen ants. A natural control, if really needed, is nematodes, available from nematodesdirect.co.uk.    Words Karen Murphy, GN’s eco-gardening expert Ants ‘farming’ aphids for the honeydew they excrete Peacock butterflies A fairly common butterfly, but this is your very last chance to see them on the wing this year. Wing spots are to scare predators. Keep an eye out for... 8 Garden News / September 23 2023

PERFECT PROTECTION I sowed cosmos seed in a large pot I had outside last spring. Then I used a see-through umbrella to make a tiny greenhouse to protect the seedlings! Sarah Johnson, by email PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK HARVEST HELPER A tip for harvesting cabbage. Cut it on the plant, put a cross in the stem and you’ll get four smaller cabbages sprout. Don Smith, Leicester FREE PLANTS To propagate spider plants, Christmas cactus, aloe vera and other succulents, take off the baby plants and plant them up. You can also take a succulent leaf and plant it in some compost. James Orton, by email BORDER BULBS It can be difficult to remember where you’ve planted spring bulbs, so I start them off in pots. Then before flowering in spring, I empty the pots and fill gaps in the borders with them. Sam Franks, Facebook WIN! A Gardman Beach Hut Nest Box £17.99 Chris wins a green Gardman Beach Hut Nest Box, which is a great way to help birds during the breeding season, courtesy of Westland. For more details about this product visit www.gardenhealth.com. TOP TIP! WHEELIE PRETTY Here is a picture of our summer garden project. My husband’s old bike was no longer fit to ride so we ‘recycled’ it and made this colourful display. Chris Scott, by email Simon says: I love this fun idea, what a great way to find a new use for an old bike! Got a great idea or timesaving tip? Share them with our readers. See page 3 for our contact details #GNREAL GARDENS MEMORY BOOSTER If you find it difficult to remember when to sow your seeds, or order them, write it on the wall calendar that you use every day – you’ll never forget again! Samantha James, by email

The Koi pond close to the house was built by Colin and Martin and is now one of their favourite areas. The permanent planting is improved by pots of exotics, which are great for filling gaps A fine blend There’s an even division of labour in the rural plot belonging to Colin Williams and Martin Bentley. The elegant ‘white garden’ at the front of their 1925 village home is Martin’s territory, while Colin tends to the back, consisting of five different areas including billowing herbaceous borders, a pond garden, a grasses area with a fernery, a fruit and vegetable plot and a sunken garden with a stream running through it. While the dayto-day tasks are divided between them, the vision for the garden and the skills needed to make it a reality are very much a joint effort. “When we made the move here from London, our priority was to find somewhere we could make a nice garden – the house definitely came second,” says Colin. “It was very neglected when we first saw it, but we came in with a kind of plan.” Their first task was to fell a group of 9-12m high conifers, which were dominating the space. “After that, we cleared everything, just leaving one big apple tree and a liquidambar tree.” As experienced gardeners and hands-on renovators, the couple were clear on the elements they wanted. “We’ve always had ponds because we enjoy the tranquillity that water features bring, so we Gardeners Colin Williams and Martin Bentley Location Mollington in Chester Size Three quarters of an acre Soil Clay Been in garden For 13 years Open to the public? Sometimes, via the NGS, ngs.org.uk WordsFiona Cumberpatch PhotosJoe Wainwright A plant-packed garden combining a number of different elements has been created by two talented gardeners in Cheshire 12 Garden News / September 23 2023

Left, a stately acer spreads out next to the koi pond. Right, the ‘light and white’ front garden looks beautiful by day and night, mixing formal elements such as box hedging with a 46m border containing plumes, dots and globes of airy, pale-coloured perennials Above, a phormium pot mingles with persicaria and dahlias. Below, a beautiful blend of herbaceous perennials in huge borders are supported by hidden rebars and raised above the naturally heavy clay soil by railway sleepers. The soil has been improved with tonnes of compost. When autumn comes, the perennials are allowed to ‘fade away’ rather than be cut back made two close to the house just outside our new summer room,” Colin explains. “We were also keen to make the most of the views: from our garden it’s possible to see over the surrounding fields to the Clwydian mountains in North Wales. To gain the longest view possible, we stood with a piece of string placed at a 45-degree angle to the house, and this helped us position the different areas we wanted to create around it, using beech, Portuguese laurel and hawthorn hedges for division and shelter.” This precision planning has had dramatic results. The immaculate koi pond, with a peaceful wooden decked seating area, is surrounded by lush planting. It includes a collection of acers, which Colin and Martin imported from their previous garden, and tall plants such as Verbena bonariensis and daylilies, which create vibrant splashes of colour. Continues over the page This beautiful sea blue summer house is the perfect garden feature, decorated with complementary blue ceramic pots and towering lilies A rill flows seamlessly into a wildlife pond. On either side of the ponds, two 30m long and 2.5m wide herbaceous borders in the back garden mirror each other, densely packed with lofty spires of persicaria and purple veronicastrum mingling with flat-topped achillea, bristly blue globes of echinops and golden rudbeckia. “The borders might look planned, but I’m basically a ‘plonk-it’ gardener,” Colin admits. “I never think about colours going together.” September 23 2023 / Garden News 13

Ensuring a consistently show-stopping display between spring and autumn does require forethought and there’s a secret behind the seemingly gravitydefying perennials. “The big borders are packed with tons of ironwork,” reveals Colin. “We’ve used reinforced concrete bars (rebars) to keep everything upright.” In addition, the herbaceous beds are raised 25cm above the natural soil using railway sleepers. “The soil here is very heavy clay – it’s 1 We’re starting to collect apples from our orchard for cider making. 2 Martin is ordering spring bulbs and clipping the box hedging. 3 We carry on deadheading to keep the herbaceous borders flowering for as long as possible. Jobs for September The big, beautiful borders need a good bit of planning, but the result is extraordinary – comparable to many a grand, public garden in colour, planting choice and form Astrantia major ‘Alba’ With neat, pincushionshaped heads on upright stems, this perennial grows well in sun or part shade and will bloom from May to early autumn. H 75cm, S 50cm. Scabiosa ‘Flutter Pure White’ A perennial with a long flowering period from mid spring to late autumn. The white flowers seem to glow in the dusk. May need staking if planted in an exposed spot. Veronicastrum virginicum ‘Album’ Slender, wispy flower spires above whorls of green foliage, adding elegance and height to borders. Prefers moist, well-drained soil. Divide plants in spring. Rose ‘William and Catherine’ A shrub rose with shallow cup-shaped flowers, a bushy upright shape and a sweet scent. Repeat flowering, it’s perfect for container growing or in the ground. H&S 1.25m. Martin’s choices for a white garden with wow! PHOTOS: ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK our biggest challenge in winter. We lost so much during the first year that we had to take measures, including digging lots of big gravel trenches to improve drainage.” Last year, the couple used the same technique for their vegetable garden. “We added 1.8m by 2.4m raised beds, where we grow beans, brassicas, salads and sprouts,” Colin says. “It’s made life easier.” Maintaining their garden with no extra help means that Martin and Colin are busy outside every day. “Occasionally we do sit down and have a coffee. I love the spot on the decking looking over the ponds.” Colin taught himself beekeeping during lockdown and he relaxes by tending his 12 hives. Martin’s favourite area is the white garden, where his clever mix of formal and loose planting, including a stunning 46m border, has paid off. “Standing there at 10 o’clock on a June evening, it actually seems to shimmer and glow,” he says. “I’m very proud of that.” 14 Garden News / September 23 2023

The best spotty Digitalis purpurea Our native foxglove produces towering spires of pink tubular flowers with spotted throats that guide bumblebees to the pollen and nectar. It’s a biennial, so sow in early summer for flowers the following year, or get plants in the ground now. All parts are PHOTOS: ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK toxic to humans and pets. I f you want to add a bit of drama and interest to your borders or containers then plants with spots or stripes are a good place to start. In among your more typical garden stalwarts these two-toned or multi-coloured plants, including bulbs, perennials and shrubs, are intriguing and curious specimens that can light up dull, shady corners or capture your attention in a sunny spot. WordsLouise Curley Liven up your plot with our pick of easy-grow stunners Create garden drama with The science behind variegated leaves Variegated foliage is generally caused by a mutation, which means that some plant cells either have a reduced amount or none of the green pigment chlorophyll. As a result, another colour – either white, cream or yellow – is visible and, while in some plants this can create a mottled, blotchy look, in others the colours form much more distinctive patterns like spots or stripes. For plants where other pigments, such as anthocyanins, create purple leaves, variegations can appear in vibrant reds and oranges.  When plant breeders discover these unusual plants they use vegetative propagation such as cuttings or division – the variegation is rarely passed on in the seed – to perpetuate their distinctiveness. Sometimes variegation can be the result of a genetic trait and this can be inherited in seedlings, and viruses can also cause changes in leaf colour. Foliage stripes can be bold verticals, like those of Iris japonica ‘Variegata’, or horizontal bands such as those found on Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’. They can be cool and elegant, such as the slender leaves of Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’, or eye-poppingly colourful like those of canna ‘Durban’. Spotted leaves take a variety of forms, from those that look like they’ve been splattered with paint to ones with distinct dots. While variegated foliage looks dramatic because the leaves contain less chlorophyll, they don’t make as much of the food that’s used to fuel the plant’s growth, and as a result they tend to grow more slowly than their greener cousins, and they can also be less hardy, so they may need a bit more care for them to thrive. What about flowers? Spots or stripes on petals are particularly eye-catching and often the result of evolution so a plant can draw the attention of pollinators to the pollen and nectar in the centre of the bloom – a bit like the runway lights guiding a pilot as they land – increasing the chances of pollination. Occasionally these markings can be caused by a virus, which leads to variations in the pigments. The best example is the feathered patterns on tulips caused by tulip breaking virus. 16 Garden News / September 23 2023 Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’ Iris japonica ‘Variegata’ Variegated colours produced by the tulip breaking virus Bees are welcome…

Viola sororia ‘Freckles’ Native to North America, this delightful violet has flowers with a background that varies from white to pale lilac that’s stippled with purple. It blooms from April to July and likes cool, moist soil in part shade. Pulmonaria ‘Sissinghurst White’ An early spring-flowering perennial with dainty, white, bell-shaped flowers above a mound of bright green leaves that are covered in silverygrey spots. It needs fertile, reliably moist soil. and stripy plants Continues over the page September 23 2023 / Garden News 17 Top tip Intersperse them with single-coloured foliage and flowers so that their quirky patterns stand out Top tip Use spots and stripes sparingly in a border or collection of pots as too many will compete with each other Lilium martagon This distinctive hardy lily with recurved petal tips comes in a wide range of varieties in rich shades of yellow, orange, red or pink, often with delicate speckling. They like rich soil that’s well-drained and some shade; if they’re happy they’ll self-seed. Enjoy rich shades of spotty pink

Begonia maculata Known as the polka dot begonia for its wonderful silver-spotted green leaves, it makes a particularly striking houseplant with its unusual elongated, heartshaped leaves that also have dark red undersides. Position in bright but indirect light, in a bathroom or kitchen where it’ll love the humidity. Tricyrtis formosana The toad lily, a hardy perennial, has intriguing, lily-like, pale purple flowers with deeper purple spots from late summer to mid-autumn. It’s great for providing colour and interest late in the season in a shady spot, in fertile soil. Canna ‘Durban’ One of the most colourful plants you can grow, it has deep orange flowers in summer, but it’s the foliage that make this such a spectacle. The large leaves are made up of stripes in sunset shades of peach, orange and pink with flashes of green, and these glow when backlit by the sun. It’s tender, so lift the rhizomes and store over winter as you would dahlia tubers. Gazania ‘Tiger Stripes’ This tender perennial from South Africa has bold, colourful flowers in a glowing golden yellow with deep orange stripes down the centre of each petal. It needs freedraining soil and a sun-baked spot. Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’ The zebra grass is so named because of its arching slender, green leaves that have horizontal bands of pale yellow or cream, which give it an unusual two-tone appearance. Lovely in lush, tropical-inspired planting schemes. Geranium pratense ‘Striatum’ Sometimes sold as ‘Splish Splash’, this hardy geranium is covered in a profusion of white blooms that are variously covered in spots, splashes and stripes in pale violet so that no two flowers are the same. REVERSION Sometimes a variegated plant sends out stems that are purely one colour. This is known as reversion as the plant is reverting back to its single-coloured parentage. Leaves that revert back to green contain more chlorophyll so they grow more quickly than the variegated shoots, and it’s not long before they dominate the plant. Hollies sometimes produce cream or yellow leaves, but rather than being stronger, these are weaker because they contain no chlorophyll. In both cases the reverted stems should be removed with secateurs or loppers as soon as you spot them. 18 Garden News / September 23 2023 Reverted stems should be snipped off

Perfect plants for unMake great use of this space with our pick of the best plants Autumn’s a great time for getting to grips with lots of new planting around the garden, but especially so under trees and shrubs. When deciduous trees lose their leaves soon, it’ll mean some of the plants under them can revel in the light and weak sunshine and lap up the nutrients and water, too, becoming strong before spring when the trees wake again. Plants’ root systems can get established before winter comes, so they can withstand the elements and harsh temperatures, but there’s another good reason. Here’s our pick of the best plants to establish under both evergreen and deciduous trees, making great use of the space and the conditions, plus some tips to get you started. WordsKaren Murphy PHOTOS: ALAMY; SHUTTERSTOCK 1 ALCHEMILLA MOLLIS This plant is a must-have anywhere as it’ll tolerate adversity like you wouldn’t believe! And dry shade is one of them. Frothy lime blooms and scalloped leaves make it always attractive, and it grows and spreads quickly. 3 best plants under deciduous trees 2 OMPHALODES CAPPADOCICA The varieties ‘Cherry Ingram’ (pictured) and ‘Starry Eyes’ are the most vivid and will quickly form a vast carpet of little star blooms in spring. It’s an excellent companion for other under-tree woodlanders. 3 BERGENIA CORDIFOLIA Evergreen, thick purple leaves will stay all year round, and then it’ll put on a good show in spring with stems of cerise flowers. Its winter foliage will dazzle in red, too, making it a useful year-round plant. 20 Garden News / September 23 2023 TIPS FOR PLANTING UNDER TREES ■ Look for workable, crumbly soil beneath the trees and shrubs and using a hand fork, work downwards to find space to accommodate bulbs and plant root systems. ■If the soil’s compacted, try sowing aquilegia seeds to grow and break up the soil. After a year or two, the soil could be a lot better for planting. ■ You may have to remove the lower branches of shrubs and trees to lift the canopy a little so that there’s more room and a little more light for plants. ■Start with small plants and little spring bulbs for starters, see how they get on and plan for more in future years. ■ Always water in new plants well and continue to do so while they’re finding their feet.

nder trees Things to consider… ■Are the trees you’re planting under deciduous or evergreen? This will determine what plants you choose. Plants under evergreens won’t ever get the autumn and winter (sometimes vital) light levels that plants under deciduous trees will get, so choose plants that will cope with this. ■You need to think about the conditions available – under-tree planting is always a delight, but consider the shade, the depleted nutrients in the soil and the lack of moisture, which have all been snatched by the trees. Luckily there are many plants that will happily thrive there! ■If you’re choosing flowering plants, try to get a span of the seasons so even in winter and early spring you have delicate little bulbs followed by spring, summer and autumn perennials with colour. 3 best plants under evergreens 1 DRYOPTERIS FILIX-MASA native feathery fern, which grows in cool, shady sites but benefits from a good dose of moisture as it’s establishing and a mulch to retain it. Simply remove browning or damaged fronds as necessary. 2 EUPHORBIA AMYGDALOIDES ‘PURPUREA’ Fantastic for a tricky, shady site, this zingy euphorbia with lime flowers and purple stems simply loves to grow anywhere, including very dry deep shade, and will spread as it goes. 3 VINCA MINORLesser periwinkle is superb for smaller gardens, and its ‘major’ cousin best for larger gardens. A spreading, weed suppressant carpet for shade or deep shade, and will flower reasonably well with pretty purple blooms. September 23 2023 / Garden News 21 5 BULBS OR RHIZOMES TO PLANT UNDER TREES 1 ERYTHRONIUM These little blooms seem to dance under trees, bobbing with reflexed petals reaching slightly taller than any bulbs planted underneath. Pictured is the variety ‘Pagoda’, a vivid yellow to contrast with blue plants or native primroses. 2 WOOD ANEMONES Give Anemone nemorosa cool shade under trees and shrubs where it can carpet in blue and white. Great under trees as its rhizomes need planting just under the soil, so no deep digging. It’ll flower from early until late spring, with a faint scent. 3 ENGLISH BLUEBELLS Cool semi-shade is the perfect spot for this woodlander, the common bluebell. Obviously, its home is happiest under trees, as in the wild that’s where they thrive in May. Be careful to not encourage its arch-nemesis, Spanish bluebells, as they can be bullies. 4 GRAPE HYACINTH A little ‘doer’ plant to usefully clump pretty much anywhere. Produces little blobs of blue in spring and is a nice counteractive colour to complement yellows, whites and pinks. They come in classic purple-blues, but pictured is demure ‘Peppermint’. 5IRIS FOETIDISSIMAThere’s so much going for this rhizomatous spreader. Stinking iris’ evergreen leaves sit below understated blooms all summer, and then its real floorshow starts. Clusters of orange berries burst out of seed pods and stay put all winter.

PLANT FABULOUS FRITILLARIES I f you fancy having something a bit more exotic mingling with your daffodils and tulips next spring then now’s the time to plant some fritillaries. A member of the lily family, fritillaries number over 100 different species from across Europe and the Mediterranean to East Asia and North America. They come from a range of different habitats, which is good news for gardeners because there’s bound to be at least one that will suit your own growing conditions. Some are native to alpine habitat and need a bit more care and attention for them to thrive in a garden setting, but there are plenty that are really straightforward. And while some are expensive per bulb, others are more budgetfriendly, so if you haven’t grown them before it’s worth trying these first to see how you get on. The flowers of fritillaries are bell-shaped and while some are dainty and delicate, others have show-stopping blooms in vibrant colours. If you select the right fritillary for the right location – some need sun and free-draining soil, others a bit of shade and moistureretentive soil – then these are easy and rewarding bulbs that will come back year after year. As with other spring-flowering bulbs, plant fritillaries in autumn at a depth three times the height of the bulb. Slugs and snails can be a problem, although they rarely seem to trouble snake’s head fritillaries. To prevent damage, use a coarse mulch such as grit or crushed shell (try Shell on Earth, a by-product of the shellfish industry in Wales) around emerging foliage in early spring. When they’ve finished flowering, allow the foliage to die back naturally. For fritillaries naturalised in grass, delay mowing until the foliage has withered. For damp soil Fritillaria meleagris There are few bulbs that do well on my heavy clay soil, but the snake’s head fritillary is positively loving it. You can see vast swathes of its delicate, nodding, chequerboard flowers in parts of Oxfordshire, Herefordshire and Suffolk, where it pops up in the grass of floodplains beside rivers. Plant in borders, under a hedge or naturalise in grass. 22 Garden News / September 23 2023 WordsLouise Curley It’s super easy to add these exotic members of the lily family to your garden

Continues over the page PHOTOS: ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK For subtle beauty Fritillaria raddeana This little-grown fritillary has similar but much daintier crown imperial-style flowers. It’s shorter in stature (up to 60cm tall) and has exquisite blooms in subtle shades of pale yellow or cream with hints of lime green. It needs well-drained soil and is ideal for a rockery, raised beds or container growing. For bold colour Fritillaria imperialis For flamboyance it’s hard to beat the crown imperial fritillary, with tall stems up to one metre topped by clusters of bell flowers that are crowned with a tuft of green leaves. There are a good number of varieties to choose from with flowers in various shades of orange or yellow. For drama Fritillaria camschatcensis Perhaps the most sumptuous of all the fritillaries, this species has purplebrown, almost black flowers on stems up to 30cm high. It will happily grow in sun or part shade but it does need soil that’s reliably moist but not waterlogged. For drifts Fritillaria uva-vulpis This eye-catching bulb has nodding, maroon flowers with cute, recurved petal tips that show off flashes of mustard yellow. It grows up to 20cm tall and is happy in soil that isn’t excessively wet. Plant en masse for full impact. For cut flowers Fritillaria persica A favourite with top florists, this fritillary has tall (around 90cm), stout stems that have grey-green leaves halfway up, then the flower spire is studded with deep purple, plum-coloured bells. Native to the Middle East, plant it in full sun, in light, free-draining soil. For a container Fritillaria stenanthera A really unusual fritillary, which has petals that open to create star-shaped flowers rather than bells. The colour is different too: a lovely soft pink with white edges to each petal and splashes of deep purple where the flowers join the stem. It needs a dry spell in summer, so grow it in a pot and move it into a greenhouse or shed once the leaves have died down, before giving it a thorough soaking in early autumn. September 23 2023 / Garden News 23

LILY BEETLE As a member of the lily family, fritillaries are a delicious treat for the lily beetle. Adult beetles are about 8mm long and easy to spot because they’re bright red. Their eggs are orange-red and sausage-shaped and you’ll find these on the underside of the leaves; this is also where you’ll find the larvae hiding underneath black gunk known as frass. It’s the larvae that mainly eat the leaves but the beetles will also have a nibble. Snake’s head fritillaries seem to suffer less damage, but if any fritillary is stripped of its leaves the bulbs won’t be able to store energy for next year’s growth. If the damage they’re doing is small, it’s best to tolerate these creatures. If they become more of a problem, check over leaves regularly, removing eggs, larvae and beetles when you spot them. Encouraging a wildlife-friendly garden will help, too – birds, parasitic wasps and other beetles will feed on lily beetles and their larvae. SUPPLIERS rosecottageplants.co.uk farmergracy.co.uk For a sunny border Fritillaria elwesii This understated beauty has pendulous bells with olive green and deep purple, vertical stripes, held on slender, arching stems in mid-spring where it looks lovely planted among the foliage of emerging perennials. For a woodland garden Fritillaria thunbergii Native to East Asia, this fritillary loves dappled shade and a rich but well-drained soil – incorporating plenty of leaf mould will provide the ideal conditions. The flowers are a creamy-green colour with a pale chequerboard pattern; on the inside this is more defined with squares of maroon. The stems grow to 30–50cm high and the grey-green leaves twine around each other for support. For an alpine bed Fritillaria michailovskyi A short-stemmed fritillary growing to about 20cm tall. It comes from mountainous areas in Turkey and benefits from good drainage. The flowers have a boxy look with petals that are three-quarters burgundy with the lower quarter a contrasting deep golden yellow. 24 Garden News / September 23 2023

Beside the railway line at Umberleigh, near where we live, great clouds of a dainty blue and white-flowered form of Michaelmas daisy treat us to an exuberant display at this time every year. These escapees have probably lived in their present home for a century, chucked out from a cottage garden and left to colonise the steep bank, with self-seeded buddleja, willows and brambles their only neighbours. Although they’re taken for granted and receive no care, they flower reliably and remind us of just where the season has reached. There’s a touch of sadness about their appearance as it marks the passage from late summer to the beginning of autumn. See them and you can all but hear the crunch of leaves underfoot. They’re born survivors, setting up home in the most unpropitious places on rough ground, rail embankments and road verges. Michaelmas daisies are so longsuffering they persist in gardens even when neglected, perfectly capable of battling it out with brambles and coarse grasses. When younger members of the family are lucky enough, an increasingly rare scenario, to make their first homes, relatives often pass on roots of such plants, knowing that they’re virtually indestructible. Most are forms of Symphyotrichum novi-belgii, the New York aster. Although it was first introduced to this country more than 300 years ago, it wasn’t until the 20th century that plant breeders like Ernest Ballard turned their attention to creating new hybrids. They soon made up for lost time, and there are now more than 1,000 named varieties. Their big, vivid daisies were just what the drab post-war era of the late 1940s and 1950s needed, bringing much-wanted colour to gardens. But towards the end of the last century their popularity dwindled and they acquired a fuddy-duddy image. Their over-hybridised, neatand-tidy persona didn’t suit the tastes of those dedicated to more naturalistic planting. Another problem was their susceptibility to mildew, which made them unpopular with organic gardeners who avoided using chemicals. There are enough trouble-free asters to suit every taste. The wide daisies of varieties of the European aster, Aster amellus, start the show in July and continue their spellbinding performance well into autumn, to be joined by Aster frikartii. Its daisies are substantial, with long, elegant ray florets encircling a lime-green centre. Clouds of Symphyotrichum ericoides burst into bloom in late September. Their nebulous form is exactly like a shower of tiny stars, their pale colours adding to the Milky Way effect. 'Hon. Vicary Gibbs' is an old variety, tall with an open habit and hundreds of widely spaced lavender-blue flowers. 'Pink Cloud', 'Blue Star' and 'White Heather' speak for themselves. There are many other smallflowered asters, some with very individual personalities. Symphyotrichum lateriflorum horizontale (the horizontal calico aster), used innovatively by Christopher Lloyd as a hedging plant, is one. Eurybia divaricata (Aster divaricatus) is another – it has arching stems like black wire and a froth of white flowers. However, from September onwards, the plants that exert the most magnetic pull, both through their colour and their stature, are the New England asters, Symphyotrichum novaeangliae. Huge clumps of tall woody stems branch to form enormous mushrooms of vivid purple, pink, crimson and white flowers with sumptuous golden centres – each petalled daisy with its own shaggy, green ruff. As with all these asters, butterflies find them irresistible. This is a tough, lusty plant, its foliage rough to the touch. The spores of powdery mildew that find it so easy to settle on the smooth foliage of S. novi-belgii can’t get a foothold on the bristly leaves of New England asters. We grow several asters that, at this time of year, give Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’ WHAT’S LOOKING GOOD NOW Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’ is at the height of its magnificent display at the moment – a show that goes on for weeks since each stem branches and often branches again, and every stem produces a flower. This perennial sunflower has relatively small daisies but makes its impact from the sheer number of its flowers and the immensity of its stems, rising head and shoulders above its neighbours. If this plant likes you, it’ll grow and grow, upwards and outwards. Consequently, it’s the sort of plant that, every few years, outgrows its position. But it’s easy enough to lift and split it – and very good exercise for the biceps and back. This can be done in late autumn, but as with all late-flowering perennials, division is probably best left until early spring just as the plant is showing signs of life. To see a huge waving clump of their soft yellow daisies, especially on a mellow early autumn day, is mesmerising. PHOTOS: JONATHAN BUCKLEY, ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK See Michaelmas daisies and you can all but hear autumn’s crunch of leaves underfoot… A lemon delight THE BORN SURVIVORS 26 Garden News / September 23 2023 Michaelmas daisies are far tougher than they look, like ‘Little Carlow’

“There are enough trouble-free asters to suit every taste” MONDAY We have an unusual entrance to our potting shed. Last year for our Channel 5 programme we built a knee-high bed to one side and planted it with perennials. They’ve all done well, especially the thalictrums, one of which has grown to at least two metres and relaxed into a magical arch. TUESDAY We thought we’d dug out all our Jerusalem artichokes last winter and eaten them. Apparently this is an impossibility! Several tubers must have survived since we once again have a forest of immense stems.   WEDNESDAY There’s been such exuberant growth, hedge trimming has to start now. Initially, when it was planted more than 30 years ago, our native hedge was to have been laid annually. There have been a number of years when this plan couldn’t be carried through and we now have a dense but tall hedge. THURSDAY How have your blackberries been this year? Ours have been patchy, but on some plants extremely prolific. Neil’s on his second batch of bramble jelly and there may well be a third. FRIDAY Because it’s been a disappointing year for our vegetables, with time and attention diverted elsewhere, we’re conducting a few experiments with late sowing. Dwarf French beans will be potted on individually into two litre pots using surplus compost from our veg troughs. They’re tender, so later on we may move them into the tunnel or greenhouse. SATURDAY Cyclamen hederifolium is one of the joys of early autumn. We haven’t seen anything of it since its multi-patterned ‘ivy’ leaves disappeared in late spring. SUNDAY Chard is one of the most useful of all vegetables. Both the leaves and their midribs are delicious. Neil’s favourite recipe includes dressing cooked leaves with mascarpone and yoghurt and a sprinkle of grated nutmeg.    huge swathes of lilting colour accompanied by healthy, rich-green foliage with never a trace of mildew. ‘Little Carlow’, with its clouds of simple blue daisies on tall, branching stems with substantial glossy leaves, gets top marks. It’s the best of mixers, at home among vivid yellow rudbeckia or the vertical stems of orange or yellow crocosmias. If you prefer pastels, marry it with pink or white Japanese anemones or maybe go for aster ‘Coombe Fishacre’, with dusty pink flowers and bronze centres. Eurybia herveyi (Aster macrophyllus) ‘Twilight’ is a splendid plant with rough, healthy bright green foliage, strong upright stems and a wealth of simple blue daisies – how could I have gardened without it?     September 23 2023 / Garden News 27

My highlight Hydrangeas ‘Limelight’ and ‘Vanilla Fraise’. Veg and garden colour are still going strong New plants are a colourful triumph I n the last two summers, I’ve focused colour on a selection of geraniums, gazania and osteospermum. This year I’ve also introduced some semponiums such as ‘Sienna’, ‘Destiny’ (plant of the year at Chelsea 2022) and ‘Diamond’. These are a groundbreaking first cross between aeonium and sempervivum, combining the former’s stunning, unique rosettes with the latter’s hardiness to create vigorous hybrids in a range of completely new, natural colours. These three succulents are so versatile and draw attention whether in patio pots, borders or rockeries and gravel gardens. For a few years I’ve had two large, multi-stemmed Aloe striatula in the back garden that do well. This year I added two smaller plants to the beach garden; they’ve both produced single flowers that look very pretty. I had to dig up and replant three buddleja in a pond area redesign last year. They flowered late but now look amazing in white, lilac and magenta. Butterflies love them – a recent visitor spotted a Jersey tiger moth. Those aren’t too common. Two of the hydrangeas are looking really wonderful and the large ‘Limelight’ shrubs growing against the west-facing fence never fail to dazzle. I’ve also got a beautiful ‘Vanille Fraise’ that my mother bought me years ago on the west-facing Hedge trimming was late this year. Normally we start when June begins, but the late spring delayed nesting time so we prioritised second-brood birds. It was worth it; the payback is in having lots of feathered residents and living barriers on all boundaries. Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) filters salt-laden winds from the Aln estuary to the east, beech (Fagus sylvatica) modifies the prevailing boundary. I really love the way the petals change colour, especially the slightly pink-tinged stage. My air plants include Tillandsia ionantha: a bromeliad and small epiphyte that originates from growing on trees in the African jungle. Its compact rosettes of bristle-covered, silvery grey leaves turn bright red for four to six weeks when it comes into flower; a violet purple tubular flower appears from the central leaf crown. No compost needed, just grow it on a shell or piece of driftwood and it’ll take moisture and nutrients from the air. Jan Clark has sent me a lovely framed sketch she drew of the garden from images in Garden News, plus a donation for Macmillan Cancer Support. There were no contact details so if you’re reading this, Jan, thank you so very much. ■ Read more of Geoff’s garden at driftwoodbysea.co.uk. Butterfly enjoying the buddleja Hydrangea ‘Limelight’ has been a star performer Hydrangea ‘Vanilla Fraise’ is another hardworking beauty Aloe striatula flowering in the beach garden A gift from Jan Clark My ‘Sienna’, ‘Destiny’ and ‘Diamond’ semponiums Gazania and osteospermum Still enough sweet peas to fill a vase Deep purple clematis ‘Black Prince’ Tom Pattinson A garden full of unusual plants and a big collection of fruit and veg in Alnwick, Northumberland. Geoff Stonebanks A seaside garden in East Sussex that opens for charity, featuring sculpture and reclaimed objects. 28 Garden News / September 23 2023

westerlies and hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) faces the north winds. In the vegetable beds we’re digging ‘Charlotte’, ‘Nicola’ and ‘Lady Christl’ potatoes. We’ve got some second-cropping ‘Charlotte’ to start in pots next month with Yuletide in mind! Our ‘Prizewinner’ and ‘Celebration’ runner beans continue offering long, stringless pods. The latter has rose-pink flowers and pods form in clusters – easy picking! Courgette-wise, the prolific F1 ‘Astia’ has shiny fruits, the tasty golden F1 ‘Jemmer’ illuminates the bed and the ‘Piccolo’ is round, striped and looks good for stuffing or baking. ‘Incredible’ sweetcorn cobs are forming later than our usual choice of ‘Sundance’, but the ‘Little Dorrit’ sunflower is The allotment’s yielded an abundance of apples this year, so the freezer is well stocked. Blackberries and raspberries are also in plentiful supply. Carrots and green beans have been harvested too and I’ve been making lots of potato salad, adding green beans and chives. Plant pots from earlier in the year have already been washed and are ready for use again. I’ve taken cuttings of pelargoniums, fuchsia, rosemary and lavender to keep the stocks up. On a recent visit to Northumberland, I went to the Alnwick Garden; the roses had taken a bit of a battering from heavy downpours but still looked delightful, and the hydrangeas in beautiful pastel shades were still looking very fresh. Water features, ranging from the colossal cascade to the gentle rill in the Ornamental Garden, add another dimension, with discrete seating in all areas. Everything in our garden has sprouted due to the amount of rain we’ve had, so I've been cutting back quite a lot. Clematis ‘Black Prince’, with its deep purple flowers, scrambles untidily up a trellis, but it always looks good. A very fragrant keeping them company while we wait! Meanwhile, the ‘Shirley’, ‘Moneymaker’, ‘Gardener’s Delight’ and ‘Aviditas’ tomatoes have been as reliable as ever in the greenhouse, but sadly we were disappointed by ‘Crimson Blush’, ‘Crimson Crush’ and ‘Crimson Plum’, which we tried this year. Roses, hydrangeas, lavender, salvia, cosmos and agapanthus are filling the mixed borders with colour. Penstemons are outstanding – we’re increasing the stock with softwood stem cuttings. Nepeta and The allotment has been bountiful honeysuckle tumbles over a neighbouring wall – the scent is intoxicating. Sweet peas are almost finished; some My highlight Alnwick in Bloom (I’m president), is representing Northumbria in the Britain in Bloom finals. My highlight Reaping an excellent harvest! are succumbing to mildew, but there are still enough to fill a small vase every couple of days. It's been a real joy to see so many butterflies of differing types this year and bees have been aplenty, too. Echinops is always a magnet for them. Begonias were late starters but are always worth the wait. geraniums previously pruned to ground level are up and flowering again and container plants are still going strong. Best of all, pots of the fragrant Asiatic lily ‘Star Gazer’ are flowering next to a favourite coffee-time seat! We’re getting plenty of produce Sunflower ‘Little Dorrit’ The apple harvest before picking It’s been a great harvest, especially the plentiful supply of apples The beautiful rill at Alnwick Hydrangeas at Alnwick I enjoy echinops in my secluded seating area Courgette ‘Piccolo’ Runner bean ‘Celebration’ Sandra Manning An urban oasis in Twickenham with trees, shrubs and general planting with a variety of wildlife. September 23 2023 / Garden News 29

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Ian Hodgson Kew-trained garden designer Ian enjoys all aspects of gardening and grows unusual plants. Geoff Stebbings Geoff trained at Kew and is a general horticulturist, author and former head gardener. Karen Murphy An all-round gardener, Karen grows fruit, veg and ornamentals and loves wildlife. Rob Smith Television and social media star Rob is also a seed guardian for the Heritage Seed Library. Karen Gimson Garden designer and home cook Karen talks on BBC Radio Leicester about fruit, veg and flowers. Every week our team of experts guide you through what can be done in the garden now. Debi Holland RHS-trained horticulturist and professional gardener Debi has a passion for plants, wildlife and nature. September 23 2023 / Garden News 31 DEAL WITH FUNGAL DISEASES PHOTOS: GEOFF STEBBINGS Act now to keep your plants healthy and help them shrug off mildew Fuchsia rust causes leaf loss. Clear away fallen leaves and keep the foliage of plants in the greenhouse nice and dry. Sooty mould grows on the sticky substance dripped from scale insects. It’s common on evergreens such as bays and camellias. Courgette plants are exhausted now from prolific cropping all summer and succumb to mildew. So pull them up and compost them. Grey mould is a common and destructive fungus. Tidy up fallen leaves and cut off affected stems on plants to remove the disease. As growth slows with the cooler nights and shorter days, fungal diseases become more prominent. Fungal spores, when they land on leaves and flowers, need a damp surface to germinate and invade the plant and then thrive. Morning dew and damp, cool weather allows mildew to turn green leaves grey with fungal spores. Mildew is also associated with dryness at the roots and can be a problem in dry years or when plants in pots aren’t watered enough. This is usually the problem with baskets of verbena or violas, which are commonly covered in grey spores and the plants fail to grow well and flower well. Another area where mildew is common is when plants are grown against a house wall where the soil is often dry. Clematis are frequently attacked by mildew, which starts as a grey coating on the leaves but results in black foliage and stunted growth. Roses too, especially against walls, are subject to mildew and it affects young foliage and sometimes flower buds. The use of fungicides can be helpful, but these only protect new growth from disease and they can’t remove any disease already present, which is why they must be used on susceptible plants as soon as the first signs of disease are spotted. Even better, keep plants well watered and fed so they’re healthy and more likely to shrug off disease. Naomi Slade Naomi is a journalist, and author, as well as an awardwinning garden designer and environmentalist.

I t’s planting season and it’s all about getting bulbs in the ground for spring – but also into pots too. Some of these pots may sit tight and be lacklustre and bare for a few months but, come spring, blooms in every colour will burst forth as a pleasant surprise. There’s always the joy, six months later, of discovering the different bulbs you’d planted that you’d clean forgot! Creating a bulb ‘lasagne’ allows you to maximise the space in your containers by planting bulbs in two or more layers, so they’re all planted at the right heights and can mix well together. For best results use a large, deep container that has a drainage hole at the bottom, and good quality, peat-free compost. PHOTOS: ALAMY, SHUTTERSTOCK Ipheion ‘Rolph Fiedler’ Flowers March to April with 15cm tall, creamy blue blooms that grow flat and open to the sky. Narcissus bulbocodium Flowers in March and April with pretty 20cm yellow petticoat blooms. Puschkinia Flowers in March to April with 15cm tall white blooms with a blue stripe. Fritillaria persica An impressive 1m tall plant with dramatic burgundy blooms in April and May. This springtime treat is simple and fun to create… and packs a powerful floral punch! BUILD YOUR OWN POTTED BULB ‘LASAGNE’ Add crocks to cover the drainage hole, then add your first layer of compost. Plant the largest bulbs on the bottom layer first, then cover with compost, then the middle-sized bulbs, more compost, and finally add the smallest bulbs and cover with compost. Place your container in a sunny spot where you can enjoy the flowers in spring. Bulb lasagne 'pick and mix' Choose one from each layer. Top layer: snowdrops, crocus, narcissus ‘Têteá-tête’, muscari, ipheion, chionodoxa, Iris reticulata, Iris danfordiae, Anemone blanda and Anemone nemorosa. Middle layer: Allium ‘Purple Sensation’, allium ‘Globemaster’, Allium caeruleum, Allium cristophii, hyacinths, puschkinia and narcissus. Bottom layer: Tulips, large narcissus and Fritillaria persica. GARDEN NEWS RECOMMENDS 32 Garden News / September 23 2023 Largest bulbs at the bottom, smallest at the top!

Naturalising bulbs like crocus and daffodils in a lawn is an easy way to add interest to the garden at a time when grass growth has slowed. Buy new or check stored bulbs – squeeze them and only select firm ones. Mow the lawn so it’s low before you dig bulb holes. For a natural look grab a handful of bulbs and lightly throw them up in the air and plant wherever they fall. Remember to wear gloves as bulbs can cause skin irritations. Remove soil clods with a bulb planter or trowel and pop a bulb in the hole. Replace the soil then sit back and wait until spring. Plant freesias Try prepared hyacinths  Naturalise bulbs in lawns Early spring colour is always welcomed, so whether you favour large pansies or small violas, sow seed now and look forward to a fabulous display. The seeds benefit from cold stratification so put the packets in a fridge for a couple of weeks before sowing, fill a pot with peat-free seed compost, water and sprinkle the seed, then lightly cover with soil. Label, then germinate indoors at around 15-18C. These tough plants can tolerate cold temperatures and some winter varieties can be planted out in winter but most need to overwinter in a cold frame or greenhouse until spring. Freesias are naturally winter-growing corms from South Africa, and although you can buy specially treated corms to plant outside in spring, they’re usually dormant in summer and need planting now so they can grow throughout winter and bloom in spring. They need protection from frost in winter but don’t need high temperatures. But they do need good light so a cool greenhouse, where fuchsias and pelargoniums are overwintered, is ideal. They should be planted in pots of loam-based compost and immediately watered to promote growth. Later the thin shoots should be supported by some twigs pushed into the compost. Add some late blooms to borders Sow pansy or viola seed I’ve been pulling up a lot of summer bedding plants rather early this year. Cosmos has died off earlier than usual. To add some extra colour, plant some late-flowering perennials. Sedums are easy and reliable plants for a sunny spot and always attract butterflies and bees when in bloom. They vary from plants for the front of the border to perfect plants for rockeries and many have attractive, purple foliage. Hesperantha is another great choice for late colour, and this prefers moist soil. Flowers are in shades of red or pink, rather like small gladioli. For masses of bright colour, pop in some dwarf chrysanthemums. Prepared hyacinths for Christmas flowering are available now. They need to be planted as soon as possible to be sure of flowers for the festive season. This is because the bulbs need a minimum of 10 weeks in cool conditions to develop good roots before they’re brought into warmth and light to bloom. Because different varieties develop at varying rates, always plant just one kind in each pot. Plant bulbs close but not touching, so the top of the bulb is exposed. Water well and place in a cool, dark place and check regularly to be sure to keep them moist. September 23 2023 / Garden News 33

September 23 2023 / Garden News 35 I have to admit it, I have a bit of a thing for compost. And while I have good results with peat-free products in general, there’s nothing quite like the magic of making your own. The first thing I did when I got to this garden was buy a compost bin. Not only was this a lifestyle essential, as cooking lots of veggies generates lots of compostable waste, but I’m also self-aware enough to know that despite an immediate lack of plants, any garden of mine wouldn’t be a desert for long!   Compost was duly made and into the top of a slatted wooden cube went everything I could lay my hands on. Soft prunings, vegetable peelings from the kitchen, old utility bills and scraps of cardboard. Spent plants, rabbit bedding and grass clippings were all consigned to the warm, moist world of detritivores living their best lives. In general, mixing sappy green waste such as grass clippings and weeds with drier woody waste, like twigs, dead leaves and cardboard, will balance the nitrogen and carbon, and under its own steam – or rather, thanks to an army of worms, woodlice, fungi and other microorganisms – this decomposes, generating heat as it goes. And while anything organic will decompose given enough time, the process can be speeded up by keeping the heap moist and aerated. In my fairly laid-back system I keep an eye on the compost bin like I do everything else – I just open the lid and ask myself, ‘would a worm be happy in here?’ In periods of drought it gets watered and if it’s getting too full, I stir it through with a garden fork. This aerates lower layers and puts the material that’s biologically active and rampant with decomposers next to new food sources. You can’t quite hear the shouts of glee from our microscopic wastemunching chums, but thanks to their enthusiastic activities the heap shrinks rapidly. Keep this up and the volume of waste that a metre-square compost bin can take is phenomenal. With an autumn tidy up now on the cards, it’s time to make some space in the compost mothership, so this week’s job is to scrape off the top layer of the compostin-progress and shovel out the thoroughly decomposed material beneath. An unconventional harvest it may be, but it’s the ultimate in locally-grown soil improver and an extraordinarily satisfying process, too! By the very end of summer my garden’s usually mightily overgrown, and while I don’t think that’s necessarily a problem, the space does have to be habitable for humans as well as for triffids. So, having snipped back the encroaching stems, I’m breaking out my nice new broom from www.burgonandball.com, which has a natural fibre brush for extra sustainability points. Walkways that are clean and clear make all the difference, so whisking fallen leaves and compost crumbs from the steps and patio and sweeping up the bunnies’ scruffy and scattered hay is a very quick and easy way to restore order! Sweeping clean My compost provides a ready supply of soil improver Tidying up fallen leaves also creates a nice supply for the compost bin Easy to start, a great way of disposing of garden waste and a wonderful treat for your soil, there’s no down side to making your own compost heap MINING THE COMPOST MOTHERSHIP PHOTOS: CHRIS WLAZNIK, SHUTTERSTOCK Nothing beats DIY compost

T he delicious taste of homegrown tomatoes is hard to beat, but buying lots of seed packets can get expensive. Why not save money and have some fun: try saving your own tomato seeds! All you need are tomatoes, a knife, a teaspoon, a glass jar, a sieve, kitchen paper and an envelope. A single tomato can host around 100 seeds, and if you’re an organic gardener your seed will be organic, too. Avoid saving F1 hybrid varieties as crops won’t come true to the parent plant, whereas traditional, heirloom varieties, known as ‘open-pollinated’ tomatoes, will be identical to the original. Wait until your tomatoes are fully ripe before picking to make sure the seeds are also ripe. Tomato seed is surrounded by a growth-inhibiting, glutinous sack, which prevents it from germinating inside the tomato. Naturally, tomatoes would fall to the soil and rot, releasing seeds to germinate, but when saving them we need to make this process happen. Placing seeds in water starts a fermentation process that strips the gel away. Discard mould and floating seeds; healthy seeds will sink to the bottom of the jar. Drying is integral to saving seed. They dislike sitting in moist environments and could rot, so lay prepped seeds on kitchen paper to absorb excess water. Once dry, store in a cool, dark place as light could trigger seeds into germination. SAVE TOMATO SEEDS You’ll be able to reap the benefits of this cost-efficient process next year 36 Garden News / September 23 2023

Pears differ from many apples because they’re rarely ready to eat straight from the tree and need to be ripened before use. Most should be ready to pick now and should be easily removed from the tree by lifting the fruits and twisting slightly. They can then be laid out in shallow boxes in a shed or garage. To avoid all the fruits being ready at the same time, store some in the chiller box in the fridge, too. Pears must be eaten before they get overripe, so check on them frequently and, as soon as the flesh at the flower end gets slightly soft and ‘gives’, use them immediately. Store pears  Lemon verbena is a wonderful, scented plant that can grow into a large shrub in mild areas. As well as zingy-scented leaves, the masses of tiny flowers attract butterflies. But in cold gardens it’s not reliably hardy and you should take cuttings now. You can take tip cuttings or heel cuttings of short side shoots, but avoid the soft tips of strong shoots, which tend to wilt and not root as easily as more woody shoots lower down on the plant. Remove the soft tip of the cuttings, place in cuttings compost, water and place in a propagator to root. Everyone loves butterflies in the garden, but there’s one that’s not as welcome: the dreaded cabbage white butterfly. The adults lay clusters of yellow eggs on the underside of leaves, and soon clusters of caterpillars start feeding on them. Check plants regularly for the eggs and squash them, or pick off the leaves that are affected. Not only do the caterpillars ruin the plants, but their droppings will foul the hearts of cabbage and Brussels sprouts. Growing plants under fleece or mesh will help protect them from damage. Garden nasturtiums are also affected by the same pest. Deal with cabbage white eggs and caterpillars 1 Choose the tomatoes you want to grow. Cut them in half and scoop out the seeds into a jar. 2 Cover the seeds with cold water and leave for about four days. A white scum will appear on the surface. 3 Once the jelly membrane around the seeds has dissolved, rinse them in a sieve to clean them. 4Place seeds on kitchen paper to dry thoroughly, then pop in a labelled envelope to store for next year. Take lemon verbena cuttings  STEP BY STEP September 23 2023 / Garden News 37

The calm of late summer seems to be coming to an end, with the lazy days of harvesting now also including getting the plot ready for autumn and sorting out what’s what in the kitchen garden. Most of my sunflowers have gone over and are setting seed, and while some of them have been added to the compost, others are getting staked in place and are ready to feed the birds during the next few months. As the nutritious seeds can cost a pretty penny in the shops, I like to leave some of the heads in the garden for the birds to help themselves to during colder times; this also encourages them to have a forage and eat any pests they find at the same time. The same goes for globe artichoke heads – they look quite statuesque when stood tall. I like to remove the brown leaves to leave just the heads, especially as they’re quite spiky at the tips of the leaves and I don’t want to get scraped when weeding the beds around them. In the greenhouse it seems I’m harvesting and tidying up in equal measure, with certain crops like aubergines and cucumbers finally starting to succumb to the weather and pests. I managed to keep red spider mite at bay for most of the season, however the cucumbers became affected and are looking very sorry for themselves. That’s why I’m removing the yellow so it’ll soon be time to compost the lot. However, the hanging basket ‘Hopeline’ cucumbers have been the star of the show – I’ll be growing them again next year! My ‘Appletini’ trees have grown well this year, and it’s time to tie in the final growth to the arch that they cover. These smaller sized trees are trained as fans over the archway that leads to the shed and I want to completely cover it with the plants. Therefore I’m constantly tying the branches to the arch in order for them to eventually become thicker and rigid to the shape they’re covering. Bending the growth and tying it down can cause new lateral growth to rocket skyward, but as it’s the end of the growing season for apples they shouldn’t produce any KITCHEN GARDENER Rob Smith TV gardener and social media star. Also a seed guardian for the Heritage Seed Library Right now it’s time to sort out what’s what in the kitchen garden and prep for autumn mottled leaves, which let you know they’re affected. The fruits are still good to eat, but the plants gradually begin to look worse, ‘Appletini’ trees fan the arches The comfrey ‘Bocking 14’ has grown incredibly this year, probably because of the constant ‘liquid sunshine’ that we’ve had! Therefore, I’m cutting mine down and adding it to the compost bins to help accelerate the composting process. If you find your compost bins are already becoming too full, you can add comfrey straight to any open bed and it will rot down incredibly quickly, just don’t add any flowers from regular comfrey as they could spread and become invasive. ‘Bocking 14’ is sterile and won’t do this. You can also dig pits in empty beds, then use them for adding compostable waste, which is a great way to enrich a bed over winter. Finally, don’t forget to order onion sets for planting in October or have a trip to the garden centre to see what they have. Cutting down comfrey Happy harvesting! Comfrey ‘Bocking 14’ cuttings are ideal for composting 38 Garden News / September 23 2023 A quick check of brassica covers Globe artichoke heads are tamed

NEXT WEEK Growing a gourmet spice Hazelnuts have been prolific this year. It’s the first time we’ve had more nuts than squirrels can eat! Planting hazel trees is a long-term project, but once planted you’ll have delicious cobnuts or filberts forever. We planted ours 20 years ago! Fruit tree nurseries offer reliable varieties such as ‘Cosford’ and ‘Webb’s Kentish Cob’. Chocolate and hazelnuts go well together in this tasty brownie recipe. Next week: Blackberry ripple ice cream PHOTOS: DARREN LAKIN wayward sprouts, and should still be supple enough to train without snapping. I’ve had a great crop of runner beans from my ‘Black Knight’ plants once they got going, and I want to grow them again next year, so I’m saving some seed. I’m tying a piece of string around the largest pods as they have developing seeds in them and it prevents me picking them by mistake. If you’ve missed a couple of pods and they become tough and gnarly, leave them on the plant to go brown and dry, then you can harvest the seed and grow them for free next year. Don’t forget to check brassica covers to make sure they haven’t come loose in the wind or ripped, as pigeons will soon be a problem again! Ingredients MAKES 16 PORTIONS ● 100g dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids (I used Menier chocolate) ● 75g golden caster sugar ● 75g light muscovado sugar ● 3 medium eggs ● ½ teaspoon coffee granules ● 1 tablespoon hot water ● 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ● 90g Greek yoghurt ● 90g plain flour ● ½ teaspoon baking powder ● 15g cocoa powder ● 20g blanched hazelnuts, lightly crushed ● 1 tablespoon strawberry jam ● Icing sugar to dust Method ● Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4 and line a 17cm square tin with baking parchment. ● Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt in a microwave. ● Heat for 30 seconds then stir. Heat for another 30 seconds then stir for 1 minute. The chocolate will continue to melt as you stir. ● Alternatively, melt in a bowl over boiling water. ● Set aside to cool. ● Add the sugars to the eggs and whisk for five minutes. The mixture will become thicker. ● Stir in the melted chocolate. ● Mix the coffee granules with the hot water and stir in. ● Add the vanilla and yoghurt. ● Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together. ● Add the lightly crushed hazelnuts and fold into the mixture. ● Spoon into the tin and bake for 20 minutes. A knife inserted in the middle will come out cleanly when cooked. ● Leave to cool in the tin. ● Brush the top with melted jam and dust with icing sugar. ● Cut into 16 squares. Top tip: wash and dry the knife between each cut to make the cleanest cut. ■ Read more at bramblegarden.com. Instagram @karengimson1. Chocolate and hazelnut brownies Birds, help yourselves… Runner bean seeds can be saved for future crops September 23 2023 / Garden News 39 Harvest and tidy time!

My exhibition vegetables are approaching their full potential this month, all in time for the shows coming up. This year I’m growing the ‘Boulsworth’ leek, having seen it staged at the National last year in Malvern. Initially I was very happy indeed with it and took some advice from Alistair Gray from Brechin, who has previously grown this new variety successfully. His advice was that it does need pulling (collaring) when the leek is quite young as otherwise you’ll be struggling to enter it into the blanch leek class. In other words, a blanch leek must be over 35cm to a tight button, intermediate must be between 20 to 30cm and the pot leeks to be 15cm to the tight button. Over the years I’ve always pulled a range of different blanch leeks quite early and, on this occasion, I decided to revert to an old method of Getting ready to show using pipe lagging. The pipe lagging was 1.25cm internal diameter and about 10cm in length and this was placed over the leek when it was about the diameter of a pencil. As the leek grew on, the collar was attached to a split cane using Velcro tape, making sure that the lagging was about a 2.5cm or so above the button. As the leek extended, the collar was moved up the cane until such time that the bore became too small; I then reverted to my usual collars made from builders’ damp course. This leek has a beautiful barrel shape and is very parallel right down to the root plate, but I’ve had problems with them still not pulling upwards even though they’re now on 45cm collars. They’re also splitting badly and I’m not sure whether the intense heat we had for days on end during June has anything to do with it. That’s the joys of showing for you. I’m hoping to enter my parsnips too and they look fresh with big strong tops on them. However, as all exhibitors know with all tap roots, until you lift them, you haven’t got a clue what you’re going to end up with. Strangely, one parsnip out of the 30 that are growing decided to go to seed – why this happens I have no idea when they’ve all been treated exactly the same way. Back at home I planted some raised beds in early July with some green and red cabbages as well as a couple of cauliflowers. I also have some late carrots, beetroot and different lettuces. As soon as I planted up the brassicas the dreaded cabbage white was hovering around them, and every day I have to go through them looking for their eggs and rubbing them off between finger and thumb otherwise the caterpillars would devour them. ■ Follow me on Twitter as I grow a range of different vegetables for exhibition – @medwynsofangles. Now’s the time to see if all the hard work over the season has paid off PHOTOS: MEDWYN WILLIAMS NEXT WEEK Ken Abel protects his pelargoniums Still plenty cropping in the raised beds planted in late July Medwyn Williams Medwyn is a 13-times Gold Medal winner at the Chelsea Flower Show, president of the National Vegetable Society, regular GN contributer and expert and passionate grower of a vast range of vegetables. Every day I look out for cabbage white eggs This is what I’m aiming for: blanch leeks such as these beauties that Sherie Plumb showed last year at the RHS Autumn Fruit and Vegetable Competition 40 Garden News / September 23 2023 Ah! Here they are… …just rub them off with your thumb and finger

This is, in fact, an issue with many types of bulbs: they’re simply planted the wrong way up. Crown imperial bulbs have a small hollow around the point where the base of the stem arises, and this hollow is notorious for collecting water. Therefore the best way to plant crown imperials for best results is on their sides. This keeps the shoot dry and yet doesn't inhibit either root or shoot emergence. And now I'll let you into another secret of success that I discovered last year, like most good gardening discoveries, quite by accident. Crown imperials, even when they’re planted on their sides, have a reputation for taking a long time to settle down. They don't flower for a year or two and certainly after they’ve been moved, take several years to come back to full flower production. I had to lift several large clumps at the end of last season and put the bulbs into slatted trays in my bulb store. For some reason, they were overlooked, and it was well into winter by the time I noticed them and saw that all had sprouted and were bearing yellowish shoots some 10 to 15cm FOUR MORE BULBS TO PLANT NOW Daffodils Think of spring, think of daffodils, with some flowering from as early as January. Alliums Alliums make such a statement in the garden and can be grown in a sheltered border or in containers. Lilies Now’s also the time to plant bulbs like lilies in the garden or containers, just make sure you plant deep enough. Crocus Another spring stalwart, crocus come in all colours, with the large Dutch crocus the most eye catching. PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK Stefan says: You say you’ve failed with crown imperials (Fritillaria imperialis) the last three years, but want to give them one last try. Over the three years yours failed to emerge, emerged feebly or have emerged with good leafy growth but no flowers. I love crown imperials, both the more familiar orange kind and the less common and considerably more costly yellow type. They’re not without their problems, however, and I rather suspect that the most important factor in your repeated failures was the result of planting the bulb incorrectly. long. We hastily and carefully planted them in their new positions and, glorious to behold, they all flowered fully and abundantly last spring. So, in future, if I have to move crown imperials again, I shall always neglect them and let them sprout before replanting. Eileen Gann, by email How can I be more successful with crown imperials? Bulbs are best planted on their side Crown imperials are majestic plants that are worth persevering with 42 Garden News / September 23 2023

Continues over the page Why are the leaves of my amaryllis turning brown? Joan Craddock, Cannington, Somerset Brown tips on amaryllis are nothing to worry about Yucca filamentosa doesn’t flower every year, but when it does, wow! Can I collect seed that’s formed on my canna? Ruth Stephens, by email Margaret Wheeler, Matlock, Derbyshire When canna seed pods turn brown you can harvest the seed from them Stefan says: You planted a Yucca filamentosa six years ago and in the first year it rewarded you with a fine floral display. It’s never flowered since and you wonder if there’s anything you can do to persuade it, and if not, you ask how difficult it would be to dig out. Sometimes Yucca filamentosa will flower every year, but generally they have a few years off then one on. However, to encourage repeat flowering, the old flower spike should be cut back, right to the base, as soon as the old flowers have faded. If you’re not willing to wait and wish to dig it out, I can tell you it’s exceedingly hard work because it has a massive root system and I know, because I once had to do it. Stefan says: Your amaryllis has been outside all summer and has started flowering. However, the leaf ends are turning brown and you ask if they can be removed and if so, how. This type of symptom is fairly common, and several factors can contribute to it. Presumably your plant was indoors, or at least somewhere under cover before you put it outside, and the simple change of conditions – light, moisture, temperature and so on – can cause the browning. But it also looks to me as if the plant would benefit from regular liquid feeding because nutrient shortage can also cause these symptoms. Producing a massive flower head will act as a drain on the nutrient reserves, too. Rather than remove whole leaves, I suggest you use scissors neatly to cut away the damaged part of each affected leaf. This will look less unsightly and will also not deprive the plant of valuable productive green tissue. Stefan says: Yes, you should be able to raise seedlings relatively easily, although your plant is likely to be a complex hybrid so the offspring may not be similar to the parent plant. Wait until the seed pods are fully brown and ripe, then harvest them and remove the black seeds. You’ll usually find between two and four seeds in each pod. They then need a little attention. Soak them in water for about 24 hours or, better in my experience, use the tip of a sharp knife and nick them to break through the hard seed coat. Then sow them in a multi-purpose compost in a propagator in warm conditions, ideally at least 20C. Once the seedlings are about 15cm high, transfer them to individual pots and keep them somewhere light but frost-free. How can I get my yucca to flower again? September 23 2023 / Garden News 43

What’s eating my dahlias? Why do my courgettes always rot at the end? How can I get rid of whitefly in my greenhouse? William Hilton, by email Roz Brockington, by email Duncan Chilvers, by Facebook Stefan says: You have a very common but often unappreciated problem. The dahlias you grow in your vegetable garden are being eaten off by something, often before the flowers open properly. You say you can’t see anything on them, but some of the leaves seem to have been attacked, too. I’m fairly sure you can’t see the creatures responsible – first, because they’re mainly nocturnal, and second, because they’ll be hiding among the florets of the flowers. The symptoms are typical of earwigs, which adore dahlias and also chrysanthemums. When either flowers are cut for the house, they often make an appearance by crawling out and on to your table. The best means of control is to fill plastic plant pots with straw and place them upturned on bamboo canes among your plants. They’ll hide in the straw at night and can be collected in the daytime. Stefan says: The pictures you’ve sent show the classic signs of infection by botrytis, the grey mould fungus. This is one of the most common of all plant diseases and its spores are ubiquitous in the air. It is, however, what’s termed a weak pathogen and it needs some soft means of entry to plant tissues. It doesn’t have the wherewithal to penetrate the thick, tough skin of a courgette so will enter the tissues at a weak point. This might be a small area of insect damage, but in the case of courgettes, yours included, it will almost invariably be through the flower. In damp conditions, the spores germinate in the flower and this gives the fungus a foothold to enter the fruit itself. There’s little you can do to prevent this as I wouldn’t recommend spraying. Stefan says: There are several approved organic and synthetic pesticides available, but all will almost certainly need repeat applications because the immature insects are unaffected, and it’s necessary to strike at each generation of adults as they mature. Sticky yellow cards hung over and among your plants will trap some insects but not, of course, all. Ultimately, I’ve found biological control using the parasitic, wasp-like insect Encarsia formosa to be the most reliable, although the encarsia colony will die out fairly quickly once it has dined on the whitefly. After this, of course, more whiteflies will invade to start up the process anew. It’s never easy. 44 Garden News / September 23 2023 There’s nothing you can do to prevent grey mould attacking courgettes Earwigs are night-time predators that will prey on dahlias A gravel floor is a good option for a greenhouse Whitefly are a persistent greenhouse pest

Is it alright to use rainwater from the garage roof for my rhododendrons? What do you recommend as a floor for my new tomato greenhouse? What camellias are suitable for growing in a border? Frank Perrin-Brown, by email Matthew Baker, by email Naomi Chadwick, by email Stefan says: Although rain is the ultimate natural source of water, when we collect it for garden use it’s run-off, usually from roofs, and it flows through pipes into some collection vessel. If the water runs from a tiled or slate roof, there’ll be no problems. If it flows over a garage roof of bitumen and limestone chippings, difficulties could arise. The limestone chippings could well result in a small lime content developing in the water and this could have a detrimental effect on lime-hating rhododendrons and azaleas. Bitumen could present a more general difficulty, however, because when fresh it certainly contains substances that are toxic to plants. My advice would be not to use water from a new bituminised roof until the bitumen has had chance to weather – I’d guess about a year would be long enough. Stefan says: The floor must allow water to drain away and be capable of being cleaned and disinfected. Older greenhouses commonly had brick floors, but soil and debris can be trapped in the gaps between the bricks or slabs. They can also be very slippery when they’re wet. So, we come to non-solid floors and the most obvious of all is bare earth. This would seem to make sense where tomatoes or other plants are being grown directly in soil beds, perhaps with a few slabs as a path down the centre. But I’m not enthusiastic about growing plants directly in greenhouse soil because of the likelihood of soil diseases building up after a few years. My ideal, therefore, is a gravel floor with a slab path down the centre and deeper, plastic-lined gravel beds at the sides, on which ring culture pots may be stood. Stefan says: You say you’ve grown camellias in containers for several years but have recently moved to a garden with acidic soil and want to be more enterprising now you have the chance. I’d strongly recommend that for general garden cultivation you stick to the Williamsii hybrids. These were bred from crosses made between the two species, Camellia japonica from Japan and Camellia saluenensis from China. The offspring are reliable and very free and long flowering. They take their name from J. C. Williams of Caerhays in Cornwall, who produced them in the years after the First World War. Forced to select a few from the large number in existence, I’d opt for ‘J. C. Williams’, which is a single-flowered rich pink; ‘Citation’ with rather larger, semi-double silvery pink blooms, and the most widely grown and famous of all, ‘Donation’, another semi-double pink and extremely free flowering. Do I have to throw away all my busy Lizzies and other bedding plants at the end of the season? Dave Fraser, by email Stefan says: You wonder if there’s some way your bedding plants could be saved or put to good use. They could, but let’s distinguish between those bedding plants that are true annuals and those that we grow as annuals, but in reality are tender perennials. Pelargoniums, many varieties of fuchsia and marguerites are tender perennials. They certainly can and should be saved if at all possible. But there’s still life to be saved among the much shorter-lived perennial types, and even among the annuals. Busy Lizzies are a good prospect to be saved because they tolerate the lower light levels as summer gives way to autumn and winter. They’re also fairly neat and compact and respond well to being potted up for use as houseplants. I suggest you use a slightly weak compost because not much real growing will be done during the winter months. September 23 2023 / Garden News 45 Continues over the page Water collected from a tiled roof or conservatory roof is fine to use on garden plants Camellia williamsii ‘Donation’ Busy Lizzies can be repotted to bring inside over winter

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Cut out and destroy any branches with coral spot Why did the pears on my tree turn black and drop when they were very small? Graham Armstrong, by email This is caused by an attack of the pear midge. Its larvae feed inside the small fruits and then pupate in the soil. You should collect up all of the fallen fruits, destroy them and cultivate the soil beneath the tree to bring the pests to the surface, where birds will feed on them. I don’t believe it’s worthwhile spraying. Should I put leaves in the compost bin? Carly Ellis, by email You say you’re new to gardening and have been told not to put leaves in the compost bin. Although leaves can be put in compost, they tend to block it because they rot down much more slowly than other waste. They’re better stacked in a cage of chicken wire. After a year or 18 months they’ll have produced wonderful leaf mould. When is the best time to repot my lilies? Michael Palmer, by email In autumn, after all the current foliage has died down. Move them into a pot just one size larger to ensure they don’t stop flowering and use a mixture of one part John Innes No 2 potting compost and one part of a highly organic mix, like multi-purpose. If you have some well-rotted leaf mould available, use this instead of multi-purpose. How feasible would it be to grow a grapevine in my greenhouse yet still have tomato crops? What are the small pink blobs on the twigs on my flowering cherry tree? Gael Chadwick, by email This is coral spot disease, which will spread from dead twigs down into live parts of the branch and cause dieback. You must cut out and destroy the affected parts, making sure you prune back well into healthy tissue. It’s common on many types of deciduous tree and shrub, although flowering cherries and beech trees are especially prone. Sandra Bidmead, by email Stefan says: Although the situation isn’t ideal, it can be achieved. The overall effect can be most attractive, but a little extra attention must be given. The grapevine should ideally be planted outside the greenhouse and trained in through a hole in the wall. The tomatoes must be grown in some form of container, such as ring culture pots, and not directly in the soil, where they’d be competing with the vine for moisture. Assuming the vine is trained and pruned, its foliage will take over the role of greenhouse shading, which will therefore be unnecessary. The only problems may come in the second half of the season when the grapevine begins to drip sap and honeydew onto the tomatoes and on this, in turn, black sooty mould. September 23 2023 / Garden News 47 Grapevine foliage naturally supplies shading to any other plants growing in a greenhouse Leaving seed heads on over winter provides beauty and a meal for the birds Do you advise leaving herbaceous stems on plants until spring or cutting them down in autumn? Jo Cullen, by email Stefan says: Apart from any that look simply ragged, I leave most of them in place. Many types of dead flowering stems can be lovely during winter. This is especially seen early in the morning when the first rays of the day’s sun strike dew, raindrops or the rime of a hoar frost and create patterns that convert mere dead plant remains into objects of pure fantasy. They provide food, too, for wild birds that will especially relish the harvest of seeds when insects and other foods are becoming sparse. But there’s one additional and extremely significant reason that certainly tips the balance as far as many herbaceous plants are concerned. Dead stems provide very valuable insulation by trapping layers of slightly warmer air. If they’re cut or pulled from the plant, they can expose tissues of the crown to penetrating cold.

ACROSS 1 Nook, recess (6) 4 Dried grass used as animal fodder or mulch (5) 9 Genus of woody plants native to Australia (7) 10 Sixth sign of the zodiac which sits between Leo and Libra (5) 11 Ornamental garden with many varieties of tree (9) 12 (Of steak) lightly cooked (4) 13 Eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet that is the equivalent of ‘S’ (5) 16 Short fruit-bearing sideshoot, or stimulus (4) 19 Tree of the malus genus producing small sour fruit (4,5) 21 Artist’s stand (5) 22 Salad plant often raised in pots for early pickings (7) 23 Granny - - -, popular fruit cultivar (5) 24 Batsman’s area of cricket pitch (6) DOWN 1 Garden shelter of climbing plants grown over a frame (6) 2 Fungal disease of woody plants (6) 3 Roman goddess of the hearth (5) 5 Small Greek restaurant or café (7) 6 Refresh (the lawn) by poking with holes (6) 7 Common name for the evergreen tree Cordyline australis which has long sword-shaped leaves (7,4) Once you have completed the crossword, take the letters in the shaded squares and rearrange them to spell out the name of a genus of shrubs. This is your prize answer.  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 8 Creamy Indian curry (5) 13 - - - Pimpernel, common annual and hero of Baroness Orczy novels (7) 14 Loose stones on a hillside (5) 15 Plant of the impatiens genus (6) 38 17 Downtown singer and actress, - - - Clark (6) 18 Cluster of flowers along a central stem such as in the foxglove (6) 20 Organic chemical compound (5) Winner of Crossword No 35 is Catherine Thomas from Forres, Scotland. SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD No 35 – September 2 Across: 1 Pergola, 5 Calyx, 8 Maple, 9 Volga, 10 Raita, 14 Syringa, 16 Trove, 17 Tarka, 18 Verbena, 22 Broth, 25 Alpha, 26 Erica, 27 Titan, 28 Topiary. Down: 1 Pampas, 2 Ripe, 3 Over, 4 African violet, 5 Cava, 6 Loll, 7 X-ray, 11 Links, 12 Tribe, 13 Oven, 15 Year, 19 Apiary, 20 Mast, 21 Spit, 22 Barn, 23 Hemp, 24 Lima. Prize answer: Borage From trials totalling 10,000 plants, this extra special hydrangea was selected for its stunning appearance with a garden performance to match! Its blooms emerge pure white then mature through the season to a delicious raspberry pink. Hydrangea paniculata ‘Vanille Fraise’ is easy to grow and perfect for those problematic north-facing areas, due to its extreme hardiness – it can cope with temperatures down to -20C! H&S 1.8m. Despatching from October onwards . For your chance to win, email the hidden clue to [email protected], writing Crossword No 38 in the subject box. The winner will be drawn on October 2. Your contract for supply of goods is with Thompson & Morgan, Poplar Lane, Ipswich IP8 3BU. You can also buy this hydrangea for £11.99! Visit thompsonmorgan.com/TM_GNC30 to order. Hydrangea ‘Vanille Fraise’ – worth £11.99