Amateur Gardening 24-Jul-2021

“Robert Bruce and the tenacious spider that inspired him not to give up came to mind when I levered the first of my ‘last chance garlic’ from its earthy slumber. I had tried growing garlic in the past, but the harvest was so small as to be barely usable. After two disappointing seasons, I really didn’t want to waste the growing space in my border a third time. However, I decided to give it one last chance and do a container planting in October rather than in spring, as I had previously. Eight months later, and I harvested the bulbs in the picture above. If at first you don’t succeed: try, try again.” Contact us: Subscriptions: 0330 333 1113 Editorial: 0330 3903732 Email: amateurgardening@futurenet.com Advertising: 0330 3906566…

FEARS are growing about the spread of a pest that is threatening the future of the UK’s fuchsia plants. Fuchsia gall mite, a microscopic bug that sucks sap and distorts the leaf shoots and flowers of this popular plant, was first recorded in Britain in 2014. It has since spread north from the south coast and fears about its prevalence are so great that the RHS has banned specialist fuchsia nurseries from exhibiting at events in its gardens. Guy Barter, chief horticulturist at the RHS, said: “More people are encountering the gall mite. Clearly, it is spreading.” John Nicholas, secretary of the British Fuchsia Society, explained that the mites travel with the prevailing wind, and as the UK’s prevailing wind is from the south west, the mites are being carried north on the breeze. “Hopefully…

AFTER years of planning and building, the UK’s first scientific centre of excellence for horticulture has been opened to the public by the RHS at its flagship garden RHS Wisley in Surrey. RHS Hilltop, as the centre is known, is the horticultural charity’s largest single science investment in its history, and will let its researchers extend their studies into the most critical issues facing gardeners today. For the first time in over 100 years of research at RHS Wisley, visitors can discover and actually interact with scientists as they carry out their work. Additional hands-on features will let the public explore key themes of health, biodiversity and the environment, helping gardeners understand the impact they can make with their plots. Around 70 scientists and students will be based at RHS Hilltop, with research…

A British-based luxury perfume house has donated hundreds of plants to a London hospital in memory of the Covid patients who died there. Windsor-based AMAFFI gave 900 plants to the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. They were planted in the hospital’s staff wellbeing garden in loving memory of the hospital’s Coronavirus victims. They include NHS blue-hued Allium caeruleum and Anchusa ‘Dropmore’, sunshine orange Geum ‘Prinses Juliana’, white Astrantia major ‘Alba’ and deep vibrant purple Salvia ‘Caradonna’. The garden itself was presented to the hospital by the perfumier as a thank you to the staff for their dedication during the pandemic. The Prince of Wales visited the garden and planted a multi-stemmed medlar tree that was originally destined to appear at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2020 before the show was cancelled due to…

WE always expect the height of summer to be packed with flowers and colour, but sometimes the garden can look a little sparse. The bouncy alliums, foxgloves, ornamental thistles, knapweeds and pulmonarias of spring and early summer are starting to fade and the full glories of midsummer may not have got fully into their stride. By tending plants carefully, cutting back, deadheading and planting, you can create a seamless wall of colour. Keep plants flowering strongly for as long as possible by feeding, watering, deadheading and keeping them free of pests and disease. Control weeds every week by running a hoe over your soil to cut unwanted seedlings off at the roots. At this time of year you can still just about get away with the Chelsea chop – removing a third of stems…

If there are gaps in borders, now is the perfect time to take cuttings of pelargonium, penstemon and many other summer-flowering perennials. Cut away a 4in (10cm) length of healthy, non-flowering growth using sharp, clean secateurs, then strip away the lower leaves. Dip the cut end in rooting compound (there is no need to do this with pelargonium cuttings) and insert the cuttings around the edge of a 4in (10cm) pot that you have filled with dampened cuttings compost mixed with grit or perlite. Seal the pot in a clear plastic bag and place it on a warm, light windowsill that’s out of direct sun. The cuttings should root in a few weeks and the cuttings start to grow. Once they are large enough, pot them on and either plant…