Amateur Gardening 31-Aug-2019

“We’ve had more letters from AG readers shocked that the RHS awarded a gold medal at the Hampton Court Festival to a garden that was little more than a pile of rubble, littered with coffins and an abandoned trolly ( Letters , page 50). Have designers lost sight of what we love to see — creative and colourful use of plants to inspire our own gardens? Is this considered passé by designers and the elite who judge these shows? If they don’t come to their senses, there will be fewer AG readers paying the £40 entry fee. And I don’t blame them.”…

THE mornings feel cooler, the lights are being switched on noticeably earlier each week and the swifts have left our skies and headed south – not that there were anywhere near as many as usual this year, which was a concern. Autumn is just around and as the seasons switch, gardeners will have their hands full continuing with the summer work while also factoring in the things that need doing for autumn. Deadheading and harvesting, pest and disease control, feeding and watering crops and containers – it’s a busy time after the slight lull of midsummer when things could largely be left to tick over. One of the major jobs we have been doing this week is replacing old, rotten trellises with new ones to support our climbing roses and clematis. Done now,…

Garden wildlife will soon start feeding up and searching for places to hibernate. Give wildlife a hand by leaving some seedheads to ripen for the birds (goldfinches love teasel seeds). After deadheading hollow-stemmed plants such as irises, leave the stalks standing, as many insects like to hibernate, or pupate, inside them. A quiet area of long grass and discarded twigs is an ideal sanctuary and hunting ground for all types of creatures, including invertebrates. Hedgehogs will be feeding up for hibernation, so help them by leaving out meaty pet food, but not dried mealworms, which will make them ill.…

1 Cooler, damper weather means more pests. Beer traps catch slugs and snails, and don’t forget to add late caterpillars and grubs to the bird table. 2 Clear away allium heads. The larger ones make intriguing indoor arrangements, and if kept and dried you can harvest their seeds. 3 Turn your compost to get a good mix and leave it uncovered so rain can get in. If you haven’t done so already, create a bin to store fallen leaves for leafmould. 4 Cut back dead pea plants, leaving their roots in the soil to release the nitrogen stored in their nodules. Sow quick-growing autumn crops such as radishes and winter salads. 5 Don’t neglect houseplants. Keep on deadheading, feeding and watering. They will soon start to need less food and water as autumn draws…

A NEW photographic awards category focusing on the world-famous Sissingurst Castle Garden has been launched by and International Garden Photographer of the Year (IGPOTY) in conjunction with the National Trust. The new free-to-enter award joins nine regular categories including The Beauty of Plants and Beautiful Gardens, which together attract some 20,000 entries annually. It is the first time the renowned garden, created by Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson and now cared for by the National Trust, has had its own category in the world’s premier garden, plant and flower photography competition. Until Sunday, 6 October, visitors are invited to capture the beauty of Sissinghurst, pictured above, for the chance to have their work exhibited at the garden and published in the annual IGPOTY hardcover book. Head gardener Michelle Cain said: “This historic, poetic refuge…

A CHANGING of the guard at a much-loved national institution is always likely to ruffle a few feathers. But when the guard in question is in charge of overseeing the RHS’s flagship garden at Wisley, you may need to be prepared to see a few feathers fly. “You just have to hold your nerve,” said Matthew Pottage, who is the youngest-ever RHS curator not just at Wisley, but in the society’s history. “When I started to rip out the roses for the exotics border, people were writing to [RHS director general] Sue Biggs the and calling me the ‘monster of Wisley’. “She was incredibly supportive and let me get on with it, and that’s what you have to do. You have to stand up for yourself and what you believe, because if you…