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WELCOME

InsIde thIs Issue
37 Four seasons

All the latest developments
in the horticultural world

Gorgeous container recipes
for all times of the year

8 In the zone

44 The delights
of daffodils

Julie and Frank Alviti’s five
gardens in one

16 Top 10
pollution busters

W

elcome to the first issue of Gardening
in 2019. It is a new year and a new
start not only for me as the new editor of
this wonderful magazine, but also for our
gardens. You’ll find that we’ve packed
plenty of inspiration as well as expert advice
to help you get spring off to a flying start.

Expert picks of the hardiest
plants for urban areas

The best gardens to visit
with your four-legged friend

Chief horticulturalist
Guy Barter solves your
gardening dilemmas

56 The art of science
The lasting legacy of plant
painter Marianne North

24 The natural choice

59 Gardener’s
crossword

26 Bricks & pieces

50

50 A dog’s life

19 Ask the RHS experts

Easy ways to make your
garden organic
Teresa Conway, Editor

Everything you ever need
to know about these
golden wonders

Put your feet up and try our
horticultural brain-teaser

An illustrated step-by-step
guide to creating a brickwork
planting tough

60 Spring a leek

28 The stars of spring

65 Just the job

Super seasonal show-stoppers

32 Dates for your diary

Growing this versatile veg,
plus three great recipes
What to do in your
garden now

Get out and about for fun
and inspiration this spring

34 RHS grow your
own veg planner
A colour-coded wall
chart to help you plan
what to do, and when,
in the vegetable garden

37

56
8
44
WOMAN’S WEEKLY GARDENING, TI Media Limited, 161 Marsh Wall, London E14 9AP. Telephone 020 3148 5000. Back issues 01795 662976 or go online Unless otherwise stated, all competitions,
free samplings, discounts and offers are only available to readers in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man and the Republic of Ireland. Pre-press by Rhapsody Media. Printed by Walstead UK Limited. ISSN 2042 3950. WOMAN’S WEEKLY is
a registered trademark of TI Media Limited and is sold subject to the following conditions, namely that it shall not, without the written consent of the publishers first given, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise disposed of by way of trade at more than the
recommended selling price shown on the cover, and that it shall not be lent, resold or hired or otherwise disposed of in a mutilated condition or in any unauthorised cover by way of trade or affixed to or as part of any publication or advertising, literary or pictorial
matter whatsoever. © TI Media Limited, 2019. We work hard to achieve the highest standards of editorial content, and we are committed to complying with the Editors’ Code of Practice ( as
enforced by IPSO. If you have a complaint about our editorial content, you can email us at or write to Complaints Manager, TI Media Limited Legal Department, 161 Marsh Wall, London E14 9AP. Please provide details of the material
you are complaining about and explain your complaint by reference to the Editors’ Code. We will endeavour to acknowledge your complaint within 5 working days and we aim to correct substantial errors as soon as possible.

cover photos: Nicola stockeN , getty, alamy

28

4 Let’s get gardening


It’s a busy time of year
in your garden, so
here’s our guide to
what’s new and
must-do

t
e
g
s
'
t
Le

gardening!
Planting heroes

gardening for diabetes

Words: Teresa ConWay. PhoTos: alamy, floramedia

K

atherine Hathaway
and Karen Tatlow
both ditched
high-flying careers
in business management to
retrain as garden designers
and they will be creating the
first ever Diabetes UK show
garden for RHS Malvern
Spring Festival 2019.
Both of the designers
have been touched by the
condition and the emotional
journey of supporting loved
ones inspired this special
awareness-raising project.
Karen’s stepdaughter battled
severe complications resulting
from her type 1 diabetes,
while Katherine’s father
was diagnosed with type 2
diabetes in later life.
Karen, who lives in
Lichfield, said, ‘Diabetes
affects more people than
cancer and dementia
combined, which so many of

Fork out

gravel paths
Katherine

the public don’t
realise. We’ve
both watched
people we love
struggle with the
Karen
condition, so we
wanted to create a garden
that highlights the challenges
of living with diabetes.’
The space is imagined as
a small, private garden for a
diabetes centre for use by
patients, visitors and staff.
It will highlight the struggle
and journey from diagnosis
to managing the condition
well, a serious condition
that affects one in 15 people
in the UK. It does this with
clever design references
such as sculptural graphs
representing the constant
monitoring of blood-glucose
levels and a water feature
with intermittent jets that
symbolise the frequency

of new diagnoses.

3 handy tips
✿ Remake old paths and
mark out and construct
new ones. An old gravel
path that has become
weedy should be forked
over, large weeds pulled
out and a weedkiller used
all over. If possible, add a
couple of inches of fresh
gravel and roll well.
✿ Wind a small piece of
hosepipe between plants.
It will help keep cats and
birds off your border, as
they don’t like snakes!
✿ Propagate cuttings and
share new plants with

friends and family. Layer
young branches of hardy
shrubs – bend shoots about
15cm from the tips, make
a slight wound beneath a
bud on the bend and peg
it down into the soil.
Strawberry
runners are

perfect for
sharing

‘We wanted to create a garden
that highlights the challenges
of living with diabetes’
a sketch of
the garden
that will be
on show at
Malvern

RHS Malvern
Spring Festival
takes place
from 9am-6pm,
thursday 9 May
to Sunday 12 May
2019. tickets are
on sale now – visit
rhsmalvernspring.
seetickets.com.
admission for
under-16s is
free of charge. 


Plant of the month

Magnolia stellata

O

ne of the
obvious signs
that the sap
is rising and
spring is on its way is when
magnolia flowers appear
in March. Magnolia stellata

and varieties ‘Water Lily’
and ‘Royal Star’ flower
profusely, covering the
bare branches for weeks
before the leaves emerge.
The pure white, scented,
starry flowers are often

blushed and, in ‘Royal Star’,
the buds are pink. Many
magnolias get too big for a
small to average-sized garden,
but these slow-growing,
rounded shrubs are ideally
positioned as specimens in

a lawn or border, where
they can freely develop
to their full potential

without gardeners having
to worry about pruning.
They also make excellent
plants for containers.

at a glance
How to plant: add
plenty of well-rotted
compost or manure to
the planting hole and
ensure the graft union
is above soil level. water
well and apply a mulch
to retain moisture.
Size: Height 5-8ft
(1.5-2.5m), spread 8-15ft
(2.5-4.5m) after 10 years.
‘Royal Star’ is taller at
15ft (4.5m).
Soil: any soil, including
heavy clay.
poSition: in full sun or
part shade in a sheltered
spot out of strong winds,
and situated where
frosted blooms are out
of the morning sun.
peStS: Use slug deterrents
in april and May and
rabbit guards to protect

young specimens.

expert tip
louise Golden, resident
gardener and Senior plant Buyer
at Dobbies, says,‘Magnolia stellata or
the star magnolia first arrived in the UK
in the late 1870s and has become one of
the nation’s favourite spring-flowering
small trees, with its pure white flowers
in March and rich yellow leaves in the
autumn. it is best planted out of the
morning sunshine to avoid
flower buds being
damaged.’

WW Gardening 5


What’s new

Neaten edges of paths and
lawns and light the way
with a solar picket fence.
The 30cm-high x 0.5mlong sections contain
a solar-powered LED, are
easy to install and come
in a pack of four to use
in straight lines or curved
edges. Price £14.99 from

garden centres.

Perfect fit

These gardening gloves in
an Oak Leaf Moss design
are hard-wearing, and
each has a padded palm,
adjustable wrist strap and
breathable mesh between
the fingers. They come in
two sizes and in a choice
of colours. Price £14.99,
from good gardens centres
and burgonandball.com.

Right tools for the job

Burgon & Ball’s container gardening tools are great for
planting, weeding and maintaining displays. Priced from
£11.99, from good garden centres and burgonandball.com.

Safe house

WOrDs: WenDY HumPHrIes

Attract birds into your
garden by installing the
Multi Species Bird House
from the National Trust.

The nesting space has a
stainless steel entrance
hole protector to prevent
predator attack. The box
opens to become a robin
nester or wall feeder. Price
£25 from nationaltrust.org.
uk/shop.

The finished garden at Keech
Hospice Care opened in 2018

Garden
Re-Leaf Day

T

his annual event is
taking place on Friday
22 March, to raise
funds for Greenfingers. The
charity helps 5,000 children
who are involved in the
hospice system to benefit
from inspiring gardens and
outdoor spaces.
There will be quiz nights at
selected garden centres, cake
bakes, plantathons, sponsored
walks and cycling challenges

and much more. The TV
channel QVC is a major
supporter of the initiative.
The aim of the charity is to
provide children and families
in hospices with precious
shared moments together,
outside in magical gardens
and outdoor spaces. Several

Adam Frost
rostt used plants to
t
delight all the senses

new gardens are being
constructed and plenty more
are on the waiting list.
Keech Hospice Care, in
Luton, designed and built
by BBC Gardeners’ World’s
presenter Adam Frost is the
53rd completed garden.
He says, ‘I’ve tried to bring
wildlife and the garden
inside the hospice and give
patients a place that is calm
and reflective.’
For details of how to
take part or to donate, visit

greenfingerscharity.org.uk.

PHOTO: HOmebase DIY GreenfInGers CHarITY re-Leaf DaY

Sun light

What to grow in 2019
Rose ‘Starlight new
Symphony’
A really
good cuppa
No wonder the rCup
reusable cup scored top
marks in a recent Which?
Best Buy trial. It’s leakproof and the material is
well insulated. What’s
more, it’s made from used
paper cups. Available in
8oz and 12oz, £11 and
£12, from John Lewis,
Waitrose or rcup.co.uk.

Bee-friendly, this climbing
rose has won the accolade of
RHS Rose of the Year 2019
for its high level of disease
resistance. It’s scented and
repeat flowering. H 3m x W
2.7m, £12.99 (plus p&p) for a
3ltr pot, from yougarden.com.

Feed the birds
Seedball’s bird mix is a great
idea. Scatter 20 balls, each
containing 30 wildflower
seeds onto soil or a planter.
The resulting plants will
attract insects for birds to
eat, followed by a feast of
seeds they’ll enjoy once the
flowers fade. Price £6. Visit
seedball.co.uk for stockists.


PHOTO: IaIn H LeaCH/ buTTerfLY COnservaTIOn

T

he hot, dry weather of
last summer did little
to help the Small
Tortoiseshell butterfly. Just
23,000 were counted across
the UK during the Big
Butterfly Count of 2018.
Scientists are worried for
the butterfly’s long-term
future and the reasons for the
decline are being investigated.
In contrast, many other

common butterflies improved
in numbers, due to the
glorious weather. The three
white butterfly species
accounted for half of the
964,000 butterflies and
moths recorded. The Holly
Blue butterfly also did well,
with an increase of 122%
while the Common Blue was
up 51%, its best year since
2010. For more details, visit
butterflyconservation.org.
The Holly Blue (pictured)
and the Common Blue
enjoyed a good summer

The late
David Austin
and his
companion
Bertie

David Austin,
1926-2018

D

avid Austin Snr OBE,
VHM, the father of the

English Rose, sadly passed
away in December, he was 92.
As a young man with a passion for
Old Roses, he also recognised the
attributes of modern Hybrid Teas:
possessing a much wider colour
range and the ability to repeat
flower. This was his light-bulb
moment, that he had the chance to
create something new – a rose with
the beauty and fragrance of his
much-loved Old Roses but with the
benefits of modern roses. With time
and extraordinary dedication, David
created his first rose, ‘Constance
Spry’ (Ausfirst), in 1961.
David Austin Roses was launched
in 1969 and the company and
gardens at Albrighton became world
renowned. Having bred more than
240 roses during his life he was
still passionate about developing
new varieties until the very end.

Petunia ‘Crazytunia Charity seeds
Mr Fothergill’s Seeds
Tiki Torch’
has launched two packets
Give hanging baskets and
patio pots a starburst effect

with a profusion of showy
blooms that cope well with
rain and heat. Buy five
plugs for £9.99 or 10 for
£14.99 (plus p&p). Visit
thompson-morgan.com or
call 0844 573 1818.
Petunia ‘Crazytunia
Tiki Torch’

DavID ausTIn PHOTO: rOn Daker

Big Butterfly
Count results

of easy-to-grow seeds for
2019 to benefit Children in
Need. Sunflower ‘Pudsey’
and Pumpkin ‘Pudsey’ are
priced at £1.99 per packet,
and 30p from each sale will
be donated to the charity.
Visit mr-fothergills.co.uk
or call 0333 777 3936.

David Austin’s English Roses have won many awards
around the world, with ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ (Ausbord)
being twice voted the UK’s favourite rose

‘My greatest satisfaction is to

see the pleasure my roses give
to gardeners and rose lovers
around the world’
David Austin

T
Taupe
is
tthe new
black
b
U growers are
UK
rreplacing the
ttraditional black
plastic pot with a
p
ttaupe-coloured pot.
Currently black
C
plastic pots are not
recyclable and end
up in landfill. The
new pot is carbon
black free and
made from recycled
Easily recognisable
polypropylene that
p
taupe pots replace

ccan be identified by traditional black plastic
iinfrared scanners
aand consequently can be disposed through
ccouncil kerbside recycling schemes.
WW Gardening 7


In the

Julie and Frank opted to portion up their

the spacious terrace
comes into its own at
family gatherings
8 WW Gardening


READERÕS GARDEN

Zone

large garden into separate, more intimate areas

T

here is something delightfully
disorientating about strolling along
the winding paths in Julie Alviti’s
garden, and discovering that hedges
and walls cleverly conceal unexpected

gardens-within-a-garden. ‘The whole feel
of the garden is not to see it all at once,
but to go round a corner and discover
unexpected, interesting features, or an
inviting seating area,’ she explains.
‘Each “garden room” can have a different
planting scheme, Julie continues. ‘That
means I can grow a wide range of plants.’
To begin with the garden was more
children’s playground than plantswoman’s
paradise, but as Julie’s children grew up, she
gradually whittled away at the lawn closest
to the house, widening the borders to make
space for hydrangeas, coneflowers, fleabane,

agastache, astrantias, cosmos, verbascums,
clematis and climbing roses, creating a
lovely view from the conservatory.
It wasn’t long before Julie turned her
attention to the terrace, and laid the area
with random pieces of paving, bricks
and pebbles, interspersed with decorative
circles. ‘We are 12 at family gatherings,
so need plenty of space,’ she adds.
Each new area starts with Julie marking
the layout directly onto the ground – using
pegs and string for straight lines, or hosepipe
for curves. She then studies it from every
angle, envisaging how it will work with
the planting, and tweaking until the

proportions feel right. When choosing
plants for a particular position, she
double-checks that they suit the available
amount of sunlight and heavy clay soil.

Fact file
Gardeners:
Julie and Frank alviti,
who run an agricultural
machinery business.
Location:
ashford carbonell, near
Ludlow, shropshire.
Landscaped: it is now
37 years since the couple
moved to their detached,
five-bedroom farmhouse.
the three-quarter acre
garden was largely laid
to lawn, with two small
topiary yews, a silver birch
and apple trees to cast
welcome shade for their
three children, born
during the 1980s.
speciaL Features:
a quiet gravel courtyard
with gazebo, a productive
potager and greenhouse,
a tranquil stream and

pond, a colourful cutting
garden and parterre,
a potting shed and a
relaxed cottage garden.
aspect: the back of the
house faces south.
soiL type: Heavy clay,
improved with compost
and regular mulching.
probLems: Julie battled
with rabbits eating young
plants – ‘even if they dislike
the taste, they still dig up
the plant’ – until her sons
put rabbit-proof fencing up
around the entire garden.
inspiration: Visiting
gardens such as the ones
at Wollerton old Hall in
shropshire or stockton
bury near Leominster,
Herefordshire.

WW Gardening 9


Trained up a wall,
Clematis ‘Ville de Lyon’,

A view of the house

from the arbour

Clematis
GrowinG tips
Julie advises buying a
two-year-old plant in a large
pot because it is less likely
to be eaten by slugs.
✿ Plan adequate support for
the eventual size of clematis.
✿ Plant in spring, with the
lowest leaf joints slightly
below the soil’s surface.
✿ Plant in free-draining soil
with plenty of compost to
retain moisture.
✿ Before planting, soak
the rootball overnight in
a bucket of water.
✿ Plant with roots in shade,
foliage and flowers in sun.
✿ Cover the base of the
stem with broken clay pots
to keep sun off the roots.
✿ If placing by a wall, dig
the hole 50cm away, so
the plant catches rain.
✿ Position free-standing
supports such as obelisks
or wigwams.

✿ Feed in March with a good
slow-release fertiliser. 
✿ On walls, arches, fences
and pergolas, tie-in and
train growth along wires.
✿ Mark with a label, and
check each individual
variety’s pruning needs.

10 WW Gardening

Clematis ‘Tie Dye’

Clematis ‘Ville de Lyon’


READERÕS GARDEN

Julie and Frank have
lived in the 436-year-old
farmhouse since 1982

Clematis provide a vivid
backdrop to the terrace

A PASSION FOR CLEMATIS
Another climbing family –
clematis – also thrives, and
Julie now has a 50-strong
collection that scrambles its

way up pergolas, over walls
and arches, along fences
and through trellis.
‘When planted in the right
place, they add a ‘wow’
factor, flowering for weeks on
end,’ she says. Her absolute
favourite is ‘Tie Dye’ because
the petals are splashed with
lovely shades of blue, it’s easy
to care for, and makes a great
impact on the terrace pergola.
‘Clematis are so versatile,
forming stunning displays
when they climb all over
a structure,’ she points out.
Other favourites include ‘Ville
de Lyon’, for its vivid pink

flowers and ‘Etoile Violette’,
which bears hundreds of
deep purple blooms. ‘And I
shouldn’t forget ‘Abundance’,
which produces many pink
flowers over a large area.’
Julie favours viticellas or
vigorous herbaceous varieties
classified in Pruning Group 3,
which flower in mid to late
summer, on growth made in

that season. ‘In winter, you
cut them right back to 30cm
to keep them tidy, and they
don’t tend to get clematis wilt
– a fungal disease that can
wipe out a flowering plant
in a night,’ she adds. She has
come to understand their
foibles, learning through a
mix of trial and error and
visiting other gardens.


Contrasting shades and
textures create the look

JULIE’S
POTTING SHED

Many of her containers have
been found in Malvern flea
market and car boot sales,
where she has also collected
the tools and ‘gardenalia’
displayed in her potting
shed. ‘I have always enjoyed
interior design and some
20 years ago I ran a dried
flower shop and tearoom
here,’ she says. ‘I’m always

searching for ideas from
gardening books, online
on Pinterest and at garden
shows, to adapt for use
in my own garden.’

Flea-market buys in
the potting shed

GRAVEL COURTYARD
Julie enjoys visiting other
gardens, and it was in a local
one that she picked up the
idea of incorporating circles
into the hard landscaping in
her 12sq m gravel courtyard.
‘I took a photo and built it,
but then – having been taught
in flower arranging to work in
threes – I built two more
circles.’ Each circle consists
of contrasting outlines made
from granite sets, tiles, slate
shards, pink stone chippings
or grey gravel. The courtyard
also has a tiny round pond

inhabited by lots of frogs,
and overlooked by a metal
arbour. ‘When making a

new garden, I always like
to make a seating area to
sit and enjoy it.’ In spring
the border is carpeted with
hyacinths of all colours. ‘I
buy some for the house and
then plant them out after
flowering – they come back
every year,’ she says. By
midsummer it is all change,
with a gold and orange blend
of alstroemerias, achilleas,
dahlias and rudbeckias.

VINTAGE fINDS

Julie has
an eclectic
mix of
planters
12 WW Gardening

The gravel courtyard
overlooks an old farmyard,
where there are a number of
vintage containers, including
a huge old stone trough and
cider mill, planted with
annuals. ‘I purchased the mill
seven years ago in memory

of my mother – she was a
keen gardener,’ says Julie.
A painted milk churn
provides the perfect plinth
for a pot of the petunia
hybrid Supertunia ‘Picasso’,
while an old wheelbarrow
doubles as a herb garden,
planted with sage, clary sage
and more cheerful petunias.


READERÕS GARDEN
It’s eight years since Julie
took on her most ambitious
project to date, designing
a 25m-long stream and
lily pond in the garden’s
furthest, sloping corner.
‘The arbour by the stream
is one of my favourite places
to sit, watch the wildlife
and listen to the running
water.’ While Frank used
a digger to excavate the

THE STREAM AND LILY POND

stream and lily pond, it was
then built by Lee Keenan from

water feature and lansdscaping
specialists Water-Wizard
(water-wizard.co.uk), who
lined the ponds with butyl
rubber. A stream flows
down into a the pond, where
a pump – hidden behind a
giant Gunnera manicata –
returns the water to the top
via pipework laid under the

bark-chipped path. To help
deter algae, Julie has built up
a good balance of aquatic
and oxygenating plants.
On each bank, Julie has
planted deep borders that
start flowering in spring with
candelabra primulas, just as
the moisture-loving, largeleaved plants emerge –
hostas, rheums, fatsias, ferns
and gunneras. Then autumn

brings brilliant leaf colour
from acers. ‘This area is
the star attraction of my
garden,’ she marvels. ‘I
never cease to be amazed
at how well the planting
has grown up.’ Near the

top, there is a wooden
bridge built by her younger
son, David, a former tree
surgeon who also cares
for her hedges and trees.

The stream and
pond are both
man-made

Hostas, ferns, lilies and
acers all play their part in
the lush planting scheme
of Julie’s water garden
WW Gardening 13


THE CuTTING GARDEN

Zinnia elegans
‘Purple Prince’

Statice
sinuatum
‘Sunburst
Pale Blue’

Another recent area is Julie’s
cutting garden, in which a
paved path passes between

obelisks of sweet peas and
beds of zinnias, statice,
dahlias, cosmos and clary
sage. ‘I love picking cut
flowers and giving them away
to friends and relatives.’ She
also grows a number of flowers
that are suitable for picking
and drying for indoor flower
displays – hydrangeas, sea
holly, statice and nigella,
all easily preserved through
air- drying, provided a few
simple steps are followed...

Steps for drying flowers

✿ Pick early in the day, once
any dampness has evaporated.
✿ Cut flower heads on as long
a stalk as possible.
✿ Divide freshly cut flowers
into small bunches, and tie the
stems with string.
✿ Hang upside-down in a dark,
dry, well-ventilated place, with
enough space to allow air to
circulate, as this deters mould.
✿ Leave for 10-14 days and
check if stems are stiff, a sign

that drying is complete.
✿ Seal flowers with hairspray
to keep them intact.
The cutting garden
is kept bursting
with blooms

Julie likes to pick
flowers for drying

14 WW Gardening

Salad leaves are
grown in raised beds

THE KITCHEN
GARDEN

When it came to building
raised vegetable beds in a
potager tucked away behind a
blackberry-covered brick wall,
Julie turned to her son, Kevin, a
carpenter. ‘I designed the beds
to fit into what space I had,’ she
explains. ‘It means the soil isn’t
compacted by me standing on it,
and it warms up quicker so you
can plant earlier.’ The timber is
treated with preservative every

three years, and both the planting
and soil conditioning in each bed
is rotated on a four-year cycle.
The greenhouse is the engine
room of the garden, invaluable
for overwintering tender,
succulent plants, and for
sowing seeds for annuals such
as cosmos. In addition, she
sows a few plastic pots of
cosmos in readiness to fill
any gaps that develop in the
borders. ‘It’s especially busy
in spring when there are lots
of seedlings to transplant.
I love it in there, tucked
behind the wall where no
one can see me,’ she says.
As well as flowering plants,
she also sows vegetables such as
‘Gardener’s Delight’ tomatoes,
while salad leaf goes directly
into the ground; both red-leaved
lollo rosso and crunchy cos
lettuces, as well as cut-andcome-again mixed leaf salad.


READERÕS GARDEN

Words and photos: nicola stocken

Take a seat in the
kitchen garden

Wildlife abounds here –
not only bees and butterflies
which feed on nectar-rich
flowers such as coneflowers,
African basil and Verbena
bonariensis, but also a great
variety of birds. ‘The garden
is full of birds – all the usual
ones, but we also have a pair
of flycatchers nesting here
each year, and regularly see
tiny goldcrests.’ In winter,
goldfinches seek out the
many seedheads, while
come spring, a pair of
mallards hatch their
ducklings on the pond.
‘The water is a magnet for
wildlife such as dragonflies,
water boatmen and frogs.’
Julie is the first to admit
that her garden is no lowmaintenance affair, and

Annuals are started off
in the large greenhouse

although she takes care
of the beds entirely by
herself, she has help
with mowing the lawns
and heavy tasks. But
the effort is more
than justified by the
pleasure her garden
gives to her family
and many visitors on
charity fundraising
days. Venturing
outdoors every day,
Julie always finds
something to delight.
‘I simply cannot
imagine life without
a garden,’ she says.
‘I’ve developed and
planted mine over
many years now,
and I love everything
about it.’
WW Gardening 15


Top 10 pollution resi

1

2

3

6

7

8

pyrus calleryana
‘ChantiCleer’
Perfect for growing in urban
gardens where space is
scarce, as they’ve a compact,
narrow shape. Blooms
between April and May,
producing white blossom,
its autumn leaves are a
vibrant red and purple.
Soil type and conditions
✿ well drained ✿ clay
✿ sand ✿ loam ✿ full sun

PHOTOs: ALAMY

1

2

Buddleja
This deciduous shrub, is
rich in nectar, earning it its
nickname of ‘the butterfly

16 WW Gardening

bush’. Bees and other
insects are also attracted to
the fast-growing plant as it
produces fragrant clusters of
flowers from July to September.
Soil type and conditions
✿ well drained ✿ chalk
✿ loam ✿ sand ✿ plenty of
sun ✿ bee and butterfly haven

3

Camellia
Good for growing in pots,
camellias are popular because
of their colourful flowers. The
bushes flower in late winter
into early spring and its glossy
green leaves are easy to clean
if you’re in a polluted area.

Soil type and conditions:
✿ well drained ✿ lime free

✿ humus rich ✿ loam
✿ container friendly
✿ light shade ✿ sheltered
Buxus sempervirens
Use this evergreen shrub
for low hedging, boundaries
or divisions. Being native to
the UK, it’s used to our climate
and is therefore suitably hardy.
It likes being trimmed and is
easy to shape and sculpt.
Soil type and conditions
✿ chalk ✿ loam ✿ sand
✿ shade ✿ container
✿ toxic to cats and dogs

4

lonicera x
heckroTTii
‘Gold Flame’
If you’re looking for a lightly
scented plant to freshen up
the air in your garden, this
variety of honeysuckle is
ideal. Its tubular pink flowers
with orange and yellow
petals appear in summer
from June to August and will
attract butterflies and bees.

Soil type and conditions
✿ moist ✿ well drained
✿ chalk ✿ loam ✿ sand
✿ sun ✿ partial shade
✿ support branches
✿ bee haven

5


sters

Julian Palphramand, horticultural buyer at Wyevale
Garden Centres, reveals his pick of plants that will best
survive polluted areas and grow well in most soil types

4

5

9

10

6

GinkGo BiloBa
This large, deciduous
tree may not be suitable
for all gardens but it is one of

the kings of the urban jungle
being tolerant to pollution. Its
leaves are fan shaped and
turn yellow in autumn.
Soil type and conditions
✿ well drained ✿ chalk
✿ loam ✿ sand ✿ clay
✿ full sun
viBurnum x
BodnanTense
‘CharleS lamont’
This upright, rigorous shrub
blooms from November to

7

May. This, and its beautiful
pale to deep pink flowers,
makes it an amazing addition
to a winter garden. But it’s
a hardy, compact shrub that
looks good year round.
Soil type and conditions
✿ well drained ✿ fertile soil
✿ chalk ✿ loam ✿ sand
✿ clay ✿ sun ✿ partial
shade ✿ shelter

8

BerBeriS
Technically an evergreen
shrub whose autumn
leaves turn from a purple,
unfolding into mottled pink
and finishing with deep

garnet by autumn. Soft
yellow or orange flowers can
appear from April to May.
Soil type and conditions
✿ well drained ✿ humus rich
✿ chalk ✿ loam ✿ sand
✿ full sun ✿ partial shade

9

ChaenomeleS
Also known as ‘quince’,
it produces berries in the
autumn that can be made
into jelly. Blooms from
February to May, it has glossy
green foliage throughout
the year. It’s good for
training under windows and
against fences.

Soil type and conditions
✿ well drained ✿ fertile soil

✿ sun ✿ light shade

10

eSCallonia ‘iveyi’
A large evergreen
shrub that has clusters of
scented white flowers which
span from July to August.
Perfect for a south-facing
garden, and growing against
a wall as it likes plenty of
light and needs protection
against colder winds.
Soil type and conditions
✿ well drained ✿ fertile
soil ✿ chalk ✿ loam
✿ sand ✿ full sun ✿ shelter
WW Gardening 17


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20

Ask the

Questions

RHS ExpERtS
Royal Horticultural Society Chief Horticulturist
Guy Barter solves your gardening dilemmas

prime
primrose

It’s a good time to feed your
lawn – but let the weather
guide your choice of product

Q

Lawn and order

Q

I want to have my lawn
in tip-top condition
in time for summer. Can I
start feeding it now?
Grass is usually growing
by March and responds
well to feeding. Spring lawn
feeds contain a balance of
nutrients, with an emphasis

on nitrogen to promote good
leaves. March weather is
usually moist enough to wash
the fertiliser into the soil
without risk of ‘scorching’
foliage. However, if the

A

weather is dry, slow-release
fertilisers that won’t burn
leaves are available.
Unfortunately moss grows
at lower temperatures and
light levels than grass and
unless treated in February
can become dominant – a
‘feed and moss killer’ product
is ideal. But weeds won’t
be in full growth until next
month, and a ‘weed and feed’
product containing weedkiller
won’t work as effectively
until they are growing well.

A strong start

Q

It’s hard to know

how to create the
perfect conditions to sow
tender plants in, what
can I do to ensure I get my
plants off to a good start?
Tender plants –
tomatoes and
petunia, for example –
won’t germinate in chilly
outdoor soils until late
May, by which time they
won’t have enough time
to perform before autumn
arrives. Sowing indoors
at 18°-25°C, ideally in a

A

heated propagator, is
best. Use pots or trays of
firmed seed compost,
cover seeds with fine
vermiculite (waterretaining granules) and
stand them briefly in a
tray of tepid water.
Once seedlings have
emerged, move to good
light with the propagator
cover removed. When
seedlings are big enough

to handle by their leaves
(never stems), give them
their own individual pot.

I love
primroses
and would love
to start growing
some of my own.
Are there varieties
I should look out for
that are more reliable
than others?
The native common
primrose, which
thrives in sun or light
shade, is arguably the
most charming of spring
flowers, deserving a place
in every garden. Cultivated
forms are inexpensive,
earlier and more vigorous
but less dainty. Some
primroses have exciting
colours, vivid patterns

A

The common primrose,
Primula vulgaris

and double flower forms.
Polyanthus are very
similar but have flowers
in bunches on short
stalks. Although excellent
windowsill, porch or
conservatory plants,
they struggle in exposed
positions. Exceptions
include certain robust
strains, such as the ‘Husky’
and ‘Wanda’ series.

Helping the planet

Q

I use a lot of plastic
pots currently and
I’m concerned about their
impact on the environment.
Are there any good
alternatives I can use?
For raising young plants,
biodegradable pots and
cell trays are available. Many
are based on paper and
coconut fibre (coir) rather
than peat. Once roots

penetrate the sides, the
whole pot or cell can be
planted – the pots tend
to disintegrate at
this stage.
For longerterm plants, look

A

for pots and trays made of
bamboo or compostable
plastics. These should last
several seasons. However,
‘compostable’ is not always
what it seems. Many such
plastics require industrial
composting to break down
and it is not always clear
how you can discard such
pots so they will be recycled.

✔

reduce
plastic

✘
WW Gardening 19

Shrub it off

Q

I’ve heard conflicting
advice about the
best time of year to prune
my evergreen shrubs. When
would you say is the best
time to do this?
As long as the shrubs
are not harbouring any
bird’s nests, spring is the best
time to prune them. Unlike
deciduous plants, evergreens
don’t go dormant in winter
and winter pruning can leave
them with insufficient leaves
to sustain their roots, leading
to dieback. Late summer is a
good time to prune vigorous
species with good powers
of recovery, after the nesting
season is over. However,
spring pruning is by far the
best – particularly for species
that are slow to recover,
such as garrya and holly.

A

You don’t have to wait
to make new plants

Hosta la vista

Q

I’ve had my hosta for
a few months now and
I adore it. I need to start
thinking about dividing the
clump soon but I’m unsure
when is best to do this?
The best time is probably
in mid-summer, but that
is such a busy time that it’s
worth getting ahead by

A

dividing them now, before
they come into growth.
Dig up or tip your hostas
from their pot and, with a
sharp knife, section the fleshy
root stock to make new plants.
Place each section into a new
pot filled with good potting
media, perhaps topped with

wool pellets to deter slugs.

Ash bonus

Q

Is ash a good
fertiliser for my
garden? I have a woodburning stove and I’m
wondering if I can put the
ashes from that on my soil.
Wood ashes are
a useful fertiliser,
containing about 3%
potassium, and will
‘sweeten’ acidic soils
by raising the pH. As the
potassium is readily
washed away by rain,
keep them dry until now,
when they can be raked
into the soil at about 70g
per square metre. Wood
ashes don’t suit plants
that need acidic soil, fruit
or ericaceous shrubs such
as heather, for example,
but are especially useful

A

Making sure you reap – or keep – what you sow

Q

I struggle with
getting my outdoor
seeds to come up, am I
doing something wrong?
Seeds need moisture,
air and warmth, the
latter of which can be
lacking in garden soils
before mid-April, particularly
in clay soils that drain
slowly and warm up later
than lighter, sandy soils.
Therefore patience is
needed, especially in
wet, cold weather. When
the soil temperature

A

Sow in a drill, spacing
according to seed size

20 WW Gardening

reaches 7°C, seeds of

hardy plants will germinate
outdoors in spring.
✿ Once the soil dries
sufficiently near the surface,
rake it into fine particles
so that a groove (drill) can
be made in the soil to the
required depth. Very fine
soil is needed for tiny seeds
but quite lumpy soil is fine
for peas and beans, for
example. Water dry soils
the day before sowing so
excess water drains away,
leaving perfect conditions.

Rake lightly so that
seeds are just covered

✿ Using the corner of a rake
or hoe, make a shallow drill
in the prepared soil. Seeds
must be sown shallowly
– typically 12mm (½in)
for lettuces, carrots, hardy
annual flowers and other
very small seeds, 20mm
(¾in) for beetroot and
cabbages, which have quite
large vigorous seeds, and

50mm (2ins) for peas and
beans. Some seeds, such as
wildflower seeds, are raked
in the surface as they may
need light to germinate.

Water if soil becomes
compacted after heavy rain

Being uncovered, ‘raked-in’
seeds dry out more readily
than ones sown in drills.
Shallow drills can be tricky
to make – pressing a length
of broom handle into the
soil is a good way to make
a perfect shallow drill.
✿ Sprinkle or place seeds
in the drill so they are
about a finger-width apart
for small seeds, 50mm
apart for larger ones such
as peas, and allow 80mm
for big seeds – runner
beans, for example.
✿ Very gently pull the soil
back over the seed with a
rake and then firm the soil
so the seed and soil are
in contact by tapping the

head of the rake against
the soil, and finish off
with the lightest of rakings,
to leave the soil level.
✿ Try not to water again
until the seeds come up, but
if rain beats the soil down
hard, water again to keep
the soil moist so it doesn’t
form a hard layer through
which seeds cannot emerge.


EXPERT Q&A

On the pulse

Wood ash improves
the soil for this
Fatsia japonica

Q

I’d like to start
growing my own
broad beans and peas.
Can you recommend the
best varieties? Ideally,
ones that I can sow now.
Good broad beans

include ‘Witkiem Manita’
AGM*, which produces
heavy early crops, and
‘Masterpiece Green Longpod’
AGM, which is particularly
heavy-cropping of tasty green
beans in long, easy-to-pick
pods. For smaller gardens,
dwarf cultivars, such as
‘The Sutton’ AGM perform
well. For speedy early peas,

A

for herbaceous borders
and vegetable plots.
Treated timber and
synthetic materials such
as MDF and chipboard
should be consigned to
the municipal waste and
not burnt as it may contain
heavy metals or synthetic
glues and plastics that
can be polluting to the air,
soil and watercourses.

indoor
growing
advice

Go for
heavy-cropping
broad beans

‘Misty’ AGM or ‘Twinkle’
are ideal. For edible podded
peas, consider ‘Oregon Sugar
Pod’ AGM (mangetout) and
‘Lusaka’ (snap pea) for heavy
crops on disease-free plants.
Clivia miniata,
or bush lily

Q

I’m against all forms
of animal cruelty, so
how can I stop the moles that
have been tunnelling in my
vegetable garden without
poisoning, gassing or
trapping them?
Moles can be generally
be kept out by sinking
galvanised wire netting with
a 12.5mm (½in) mesh into
the soil to at least 45cm
(18ins), with about the same
amount of above ground as

well. Although the occasional
deep-delving mole may
bypass sunken defences, most
of the time this admittedly
laborious and fairly expensive
precaution is very effective.

A

I’ve recently moved
into a new home
and the lawn is covered in
dandelions. How can I get
rid of them so that they
don’t reappear?
While dandelions may
be good for wildlife,
providing nectar and pollen
in spring, they are also a
persistent weed with a long
deep root with multiple buds
that enable any root segment
to produce a new plant.
Happily, their grip on the
soil is weak in spring and
with some leverage from
spade or fork they can be
pulled up in their entirety
and disposed of. Inevitably
there will be some that are

embedded in paving, pots or
among the roots of desirable
plants. Here their resistance
may have to be ground down
by repeated hoeing, or in
extreme circumstances a
drop of systemic herbicide
will kill them to the base.

A

Household gains

Q

Waging war
on weeds

Q

Take the fight
down to their level

Underground
invaders

Once the young pea or bean
plants are 5cm tall it is time
to make the next sowing to
ensure a continual supply.

(*AGM = RHS Award of
Garden Merit.)

I’ve spent what
feels like a small
fortune on houseplants
lately and I’m wondering
if there are any I can
grow from seed instead?
The easiest are the
exotically-coloured
foliage plants of the genus
Solenostemon (coleus). A
seed packet often yields
quite a range and it is
easy to take cuttings of
the best ones to have
more and to save them
for subsequent years.
Cacti grow readily from
seed, which is widely
sold. The same is true of
succulents such as agave
and aeonium.
For flowers, consider
clivia, with its strap-like

A

leaves and clusters of

flowers on a tall stalk.
‘Fairy primrose’ (Primula
malacoides), which carries
masses of charming red,
pink and white flowers,
is a traditional flowering
houseplant and, happily,
modern cultivars are free
of a skin irritant that used
to put people off them.
Woody plants worth
trying – although you will
have to search out seeds
– include Abutilon, grown
for its bell-like flowers,
Grevillea, usually grown
as an annual for its ferny
leaves, and the cycad
Zamia furfuracea, with
handsome leathery leaves.
Thrifty gardeners can
also cultivate houseplants
from the seeds of
supermarket fruits such as
pomegranate and avocado.

Tease out dandelions
before they produce seed
WW Gardening 21

Cornus and Rubus
are winter wonders

True colours

Q

I have some lovely
dogwoods with
bright-coloured stems.
When should I cut these
back so I don’t lose them?
Many dogwoods, as
well as certain willows
and ornamental brambles

A

such as Rubus
thibetanus, have
vividly-coloured
young shoots
that glow where
the winter sun
can fall on them.
They lose their
colours after the
first year, so it is
traditional to cut

these back each spring
to induce new shoots
for the following winter.
Cut back too early and
the benefit of the coloured
stems is lost, but too late,
after leaf opening, and the
plants are weakened. March
is a good time and regrowth
will be strong, but you can
get a valuable few more
weeks of colour by holding
out until early April if you
have sturdy plants.

Windows of opportunity

Bedraggled blooms

Q

My pansies and
violas are looking
a bit scruffy. Is it all
downhill from here
or is there a way to
salvage them?
Pansies and violas are
exceptionally willing
and, as well as flowering

all winter, whenever
there is mild spell they
can give a final burst of
flowers before summer
arrives. They generally
exhaust themselves by
late spring, often falling
victim to powdery mildew
just in time to be replaced
by summer flowers. In
the meanwhile it’s worth
checking to see if their
roots remains firm and

A

Make
tiMe for a
greenhouse
spring
clean!

there are still viable buds.
If all is well, removing
dead and dying leaves
and shoots, pinching
out dead flowers and
watering with a general
garden fertiliser to induce
growth is justified.

You may well coax
a final flourish

Compost
conundrum

Q

There are so many
different types of
compost on sale in my garden
centre, how can I tell which
will be good for potting?
Potting compost is
variable as it ‘goes off’
over time, losing its structure
and nutrients, or in some
cases accumulating too
much nutrient so plant roots
can be scorched. Therefore
it is advisable to buy fresh
material whose label has
not faded with time, from an
outlet with a brisk trade, such
as DIY superstores or busy
garden centres. Own brands
frequently perform well in
comparison to leading
brands in independent tests,
and are often a particularly

economical choice.

A

Clear moss and cobwebs

Q

My greenhouse is
looking a little sorry
for itself after winter.
What can I do to ensure
it’s functioning at its
optimum level for spring?
Light is everything in
a greenhouse, and
scrubbing winter dirt off
glass and clearing panes of
moss will greatly enhance

A

22 WW Gardening

your plant growth. By
April, shading will be
needed, but until then the
more light the better.
It is now time to remove
bubblewrap insulation,

scrub metalwork and
perhaps whitewash any
nearby walls. Outside the
greenhouse, prune back
shrubs and trees that

might be casting shade.
A general cleansing to
remove debris, dead
foliage, weeds that might
harbour pests and any
cover for slugs will help
protect new seedlings.
Dig compost or manure
into border soils and water
well to wash out any
harmful salts.

Seek out packs that
don’t appear faded


EXPERT Q&A

Insert carefully
into small holes

Time for TLC

Q

A

Use seed trays only for
the beginning of their
growth journey

Reducing the seedling mortality rate

Q

My seedlings often
die when I plant
them outside. Do I need to
toughen them up before
they go out in the garden?
Seedlings and miniplants are too vulnerable
to adverse weather and the
depredations of slugs and
other pests to survive outdoors
without heavy losses. If
treated to its own small pot,
a much more robust plant

A

can be produced in as little as
six weeks. Over this time, or
from mid-May, conditions for
new plants become ideal.
Once seedlings can be

handled by the leaves (never
the delicate stems!) tip them
out of the seed tray or pan
and place each one in its
own 7-9cm (2½-3ins) pot
filled with potting compost.
Tap the newly-filled container
firmly to settle the compost

and use a small stick or a
dibber to make a hole big
enough to accommodate
the roots up to the leaves.
Firm the compost and water.
When roots can be seen
growing to of the bottom
of the pot, a weekly ration
of liquid fertiliser will help,
and when the potting media
in the pot is firmly bound
by the young plant’s roots it
can be set out in the garden.

The circle of life

Q

Groundcover roses
can be pruned before
growth resumes

Cut-off points for pruning

Q

I had a lot on over the
winter and didn’t get
a chance to prune my roses
as I usually do. It is OK if I
do this now instead?
March is a good time to
prune bush roses, just
before growth restarts after

A

winter. This retains the pretty
hips or fruits that can be such
an attractive feature. It’s usual
to prune other roses, such as
climbers and groundcover, in
winter but it’s not too late now.
Ramblers are best pruned in
late summer, after flowering.

There’s been an
Moving spawn, or
explosion of frog
tadpoles, to other ponds
spawn in my pond this

is frowned upon as it may
year. I love the wildlife
result in inadvertent
this water feature brings
spread of diseases.
to my garden, but does
Hatching takes about
this mean I’ll now be
30-40 days, depending
overrun with frogs?
on the weather – extreme
Although surprising
cold can cause severe
amounts of it can
spawn casualties.
sometimes be produced,
it seems excessive spawn
is never a problem, as
perhaps only one in
400 tadpoles will
survive to adulthood.
Every adult frog
The rest will
has defied its odds
provide food for
birds, and in rural
areas, snakes.

A

Send in your gardening questions to
and get them answered by Guy
WW Gardening 23

photos: John martin, alamy, rhs/tim sandall/BoB martin/neil hepworth, Getty imaGes/Cultura rF

I keep tender plants
and a friend has asked
if they can have cuttings
from them. How would
I go about doing this?
It’s perfectly possible
to take cuttings from
tender plants. Here’s how:
✿ With a very sharp knife,
cut 7-10cm non-flowering
shoots just above a bud.
✿ Remove all leaves from
the lower half, as well as
the soft, fleshy shoot tip.
✿ With a pencil or dibber,
make holes in pots filled
with free-draining potting
compost into which you can
insert the cuttings before
firming and watering them.
✿ Expect rooting after two
or three weeks, if covered
with loose-fitting plastic bag
or placed in a propagator.

Choose your pl

P

lants that are
happy are generally
healthy, so to
prevent problems,
always choose plants
suited to the conditions
you are putting them in.

The

Natural
ChOiCe

Growing your own chemical-free , healthy food
is easy – if you learn how to work with nature
and to be more flexible in your expectations...

Survival of
the fittest

See to the soil

T

o become a
successful organic
gardener and grow
your garden just as
nature intended, first have
a look at your soil.

Muck in
It’s the foundation of a great
garden and it’s a well-known
fact that if you feed the soil,
it will feed the plants. So if

you’ve always relied on
chemical weedkillers and
synthetic fertilisers, now you
must harness the power of
nature – muck, not magic!

Worm food
To keep soil in good health,
condition it with regular
applications of homemade
compost. An impoverished
soil not only grows poor
plants, but it also fails to
feed the insects, worms and
beneficial microbes that
bring it to life.

What’s your type?
It will pay to learn as much
as you can about your own
garden soil and its needs.
✿ Overworked
Digging, hoeing, and even
walking on the soil in poor
weather conditions causes
harm to the structure,
which affects drainage and,
subsequently, plant health as
the roots may drown or die
through a lack of oxygen.
24 WW Gardening

Clear
weeds
from
between
your
crops

Clay soil is worth
some heavy going

✿ Lightt and sandy
Easy to work and welldraining, but can be a
problem in summer unless
you’ve forked in plenty of
well-rotted garden compost

to hold on to moisture, and
top-dressed with blanket of
mulch to trap it at the roots.
These thirsty soils are also
hungry ones as essential
nutrients are easily leached
when there’s heavy rainfall.
✿ Clay
Clay soils are heavy to dig,
cold in spring and sticky
to work after rain or when
baked solid by the sun, but
they are usually fertile so
plants that survive these
conditions rarely starve.

Keep plants well watered
and hoe out weeds, and
they’ll be less stressed
and a weak target for
pest and disease attacks.
It will help if you buy
pest- and disease-resistant
varieties, too – look out for
those with the Award of
Garden Merit (AGM) by the
Royal Horticultural Society.
They have been selected
because they are easy to
grow, resistant to most pests

and disease problems and
strong-growing with reliable
flowering and fruiting.

Food for thought
Quick-growing plants
such as lawns, roses, fruit,
vegetables and summer


lants

Pest control

T

here are a number
of ways to get
around the worry
of pests and
diseases without having
to become trigger-happy
with the chemical spray.

Bait slugs with beer

Crop rotation
bedding that are grown
intensely in an area or patio
containers are always most

vulnerable to nutrient
deficiencies. They may
decline if they are not given
a booster feed throughout
the growing season.

Make your own
You can make your own
organic liquid feed packed
with nitrogen and phosphates
from comfrey leaves. Pack
the leaves in a container,
cover them with water
and – for speedy results –
a dash of urine! They soon
rot down to form a black,
foul-smelling soup that
needs to be diluted in
10-20 parts water and
given to plants at every
watering in the summer.

Barriers and traps
If you get to know their
habits and weaknesses, you
could also outmanoeuvre
pests. Beer works wonders
for baiting slugs and net
curtains draped over your veg
plot are good for deterring

carrot flies and pea moths
from doing their damage.

Natural
pest killers
It’s good to let nature
balance itself, so consider
using biological warfare
by introducing pests’ natural
enemies, eg, nematodes
that will eat slugs and vine
weevils. These, along with
other products that will
help take the mystery
out of organic gardening,
are available from
garden centres.

Natural remedies
Other herbs

Plant alliums
near roses

alliums
Including ornamental
varieties, are said to be
beneficial to roses,
protecting them against
black spot.

Borage
An excellent provider of
potassium, calcium and
other minerals, plus they’ll
bring in bees that feast
on the blossom.

lupins
To increase soil nitrogen
and encourage earthworms
that, in turn, help improve
drainage and aeration.
Create your
own organic
plant feed

the simple solution is to
choose another spot for
your new bed.

lovage
Planted here and there will
help improve the health and
flavour of other plants.

Can be brilliant for
repelling insects;
basil, chives, tansy,
nasturtium and

coriander will deter
aphids. Thyme, garlic
and southernwood or
artemisia will keep blackfly
at bay, while marjoram,
mints and rue will repel
ants. Mint will also
discourage caterpillars on
the veg plot and you can
rely on coriander and dill
to keep away cabbage
moths, while rosemary and
sage will deter carrot fly.

Nettles
They can be used to make
a great insect repellent,
are effective against
mildew and a nitrogen-rich
plant food. Simply fill a
bucket with fresh nettles
and water, leave to ferment
for a few weeks, then
strain, dilute with
equal quantities of
water and spray on
to plants.

Lure in those
ladybirds!

Poached
egg plant
Ladybirds and hoverflies
have an incredible appetite
for aphids and can be
encouraged by planting
attractants like the
poached egg plant
(Limnanthes douglasii)
and dwarf morning glory
(Convolvulus tricolor).
Repel insects
with nettle ‘juice’

WW Gardening 25

photos: ALAMY, GettY

Give roses
plenty of feed

For starters, crop rotation
on the vegetable plot will
prevent a build-up of soil
problems. Extend this
practice to the rest of the
garden and you’ll avoid
plant health problems
associated with ‘soil

sickness’. Roses are
particularly susceptible to
this debilitating disease
when they’re planted on
ground that has previously
grown roses, so in this case