Amateur Gardening 28-May-2022

WE are in peak planting season – the best time of the year – but at the time of writing we haven’t had any significant rainfall for several weeks and the soil is hard and desiccated, This means that anything that goes in the ground now needs extra attention while it gets established. Even newly bought, mature perennials can’t be planted and left to their own devices. Their roots may look robust but until they have bedded in and spread they will still only have a limited access to water and nutrients. So if you are planting in the next few weeks, especially over this bank holiday weekend, make sure plants are watered generously and you cover their root area with lots of well-rotted compost or manure to help hold the water in…

Remember to use all your garden when you are thinking of summer planting schemes. Containers aren’t just for annual bedding – larger ones are deal for growing perennials and shrubs. Clematis look wonderful in a large pot with ornamental supports (we have a low-growing ‘Countess of Wessex’ that is thriving in a pot) and shrub and standard roses also look the part. Lilies and agapanthus will do well too, especially the latter as they like having their bulbs and roots slightly constricted, so should flourish. Divide bulbous perennials every few years and top dress with fresh compost and a granular fertiliser each spring. As with all container plants, watch out for attacks by vine weevils and treat the compost with a chemical drench or nematodes.…

1 For year-round colour in chalky soils opt for winter jasmine, snowdrops, pulmonaria, honesty, globe thistles (pictured), helenium, sedum, nerines and pyracantha (inset). Mulch regularly with well-rotted compost or manure to boost nutrient and water-retention. 2 Many plants that like acidic soils are shallow-rooted, so mulch regularly and water well. They include camellias and rhododendrons, magnolias, heather, Liriope muscari (pictured), echinacea, irises, Japanese anemones (inset) and ceanothus. 3 Before planting in heavy clay soils always incorporate lots of manure and grit to open it up and improve drainage. Good plants include hardy geraniums pictured), Astrantia (inset), bergenia, sedum, weigela and roses. 4 Don’t despair if you have poor, thin soil. Bulbs should flourish, as will lavender, rosemary (pictured), sea holly (inset), and many perennials. Feed, mulch and water plants well, enrich the soil…

If you are looking for colourful plants that have a practical use, consider companion planting. This is when we introduce attractive plants that have the added benefit of either luring pest insects away from treasured cultivars and crops, or encouraging insect predators that will reduce the numbers of destructive visitors. I have planted some calendulas around our veg-growing area. Their orange flowers look glorious and will also repel whitefly and bring in ladybirds and hoverflies, whose larvae eat aphids. Tagetes are another variety of marigold and they deter whitefly from tomato plants. Other companion plants include strongly scented herbs that confuse pests, borage, which attracts pollinators, thus benefiting the rest of the garden, and nasturtiums, which can be used as a ‘sacrificial’ plant to lure cabbage white butterflies away from…

I HAVE been pleased with the results of sowing my ‘Gardeners Delight’ tomato seeds, part of our free seed range for 2022. They all germinated healthily and most have been living on a windowsill indoors with a few extras relegated to our unheated greenhouse. The greenhouse tomatoes benefited from the ‘tough love’ of colder nights and grew slowly but robustly. They are now healthy-looking sturdy plants. Unfortunately I left the indoor toms on the windowsill for a few days too long and they have grown tall and pale, with weaker stems and leaves. At the moment, I wouldn’t bet on a good crop. However, all is not lost. The great thing about leggy tomato seedlings is they will sprout new roots up their stems when planted deeply, which will help improve their overall…

The Ageratum ‘Blue Mink’ free seeds I sowed a few weeks back got off to a good start but threw up a few surprises as they did so. Among the smaller ‘Blue Mink’ seedlings were some much later plants that quickly outstripped them. When I pricked out the Ageratum and moved them into individual modules, I took a photo of the interlopers and sent it to AG’s troubleshooter John Negus for identification. He said: “It looks like gallant soldier or Kew weed (Galinsoga parviflora) that was introduced to Kew Gardens in 1796. It has funny little yellow and white daisy flowers.” Apparently they provide nectar for bees and other insects so I am keeping a few of the plants and will add them to our wildlife area, making sure I…