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FREE SEEDS WORTH £4.55 June 2022 THE UK'S NO.1 GARDENING TITLE FOR OVER 30 YEARS JUNE 2022 EASY PRUNING Outdoor living K Roses K Summer pots K Money-saving veg K Beginner pruning K Homegrown drinks K Hungry gap Discover what to cut when with Alan's expert guide AND RELAX... IT'S SUMMER! Hassle-free ideas for life in the garden POND LOVERS Plants for wet spots Grow your Veg on a own drinks! BUDGET Outdoor living Your must-have essentials WATER WISE How to use less and help the planet £5.99 REIMAGINE ROSES POLLINATOR POT HEALTHY HARVEST June issue on sale 26 May-22 June Adam reveals his new Create a container for Enjoy the taste of GardenersWorld.com ways for you to grow wildlife – just follow summer with Monty's your best-ever blooms veg-patch advice Arit's planting guide

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More from Welcome Editor of the Year: Homes & Gardens Listen out… A few months ago, as we all for our podcast, with chef Marcus Wareing emerged blinking into spring, speaking about growing veg and more, at wondering where to find the GardenersWorld.com/podcast magic in our gardens after winter’s worst, Monty reminded Join us… us: “get the sitting part of your garden right… the rest tends in the gardens of to fall into place”. Somerset and Dorset, plus meet Alan at He showed us the way, with Highclere Castle. a duo of Lutyens benches at Spaces are limited: Longmeadow that create turn to page 82 a convivial space near his back door. While admitting he rarely Hweillpdlife… sits down in the garden, he encouraged us in his column last month that the best thing with our dedicated about a garden is “not necessarily doing much but just being”. 132-page guide to Well, if you’ve not yet followed his advice to just sit and be, wildlife gardening. even for just a while, now is your moment! Our gardens in June In shops, or online are a place of reward – as spring projects and plantings bear fruit, wildlife buzzes around us, and (with luck) the first real heat for just £7.99 + P&P of summer warms our skin. So we’ve dedicated this issue to the at magsdirect. joys of summer living – outdoors – and by slowing down, you’ll co.uk/GWGWildlife get closer to nature, watching life on the wing around us. June is also the month to start projects that’ll yield rewards this sLkeialrlsn…new summer – whether food or flowers, you’ll find all you need here. Why not begin by sowing foxgloves and cosmos, from your free Turn up the heat in seed packs with this issue? See page 22 for info, and share your our Exotic Gardening progress on social media with the #GWsuccesswithseeds hashtag. Masterclass at 12pm, Enjoy the month – and with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee break Thursday 9 June. upon us, it’s the perfect time to share gardening with friends, from Tickets are £20. planting a tree to swapping seedlings... or simply sitting, enjoying GardenersWorld. the moment! The rest, as Monty says, will fall into place. com/grow-how PHOTOS: BBC/PLIMSOLL PRODUCTIONS; JASON INGRAM Lucy Hall, Editor Enjoy a great day out, meet Monty, the magazine team Keep up to date with us at @lucyhall_GW FACEBOOK @GWmagazine and more, at this year’s BBC Gardeners’ World Live INSTAGRAM @gardenersworldmag TWITTER @GWmag PS Come and join us at this month’s BBC Gardeners’ World Live, 16-19 PINTEREST @GWmag June. Get 20% off tickets – see page 76 for details. And I’ll see you there! Looking to get in touch? Turn to page 168 GardenersWorld.com 3 June 2022

ContentsWe June On the cover… 22 68 We love... Offers for you 44 60 6 We love June offers 16 84 120 14 Expert’s choice: scented pelargoniums 110 38 19 Full Monty: looking on the bright side FREE buddleia 52 32 20 Have your say: readers’ letters when you buy 22 How to sow your free seeds pollinator-friendly Relaxing summer garden scene by Marianne 24 2 for 1 Gardens: the highlights of Kent Majerus. Garden design: Emma Griffin 26 Clippings: news for gardeners perennials Be inspired FREE 116 44 Carol’s superstar pond plants 16 Get a stunning dwarf buddleia Try Rekha’s 52 There’s a rose for everyone, says Adam worth £12 with every order of our strawberry 60 Unlock nature’s larder with Frances ginger bites 84 Step into summer living pollinator-friendly perennials 102 GOTY: welcoming city mini-retreat 108 Enter our GOTY 2022 competition Subscribe today! 110 Growing Greener: let’s get water-wise 30 Get your first 6 issues for £9.99 Do it now + a gardening guide worth £7.99 32 Monty’s summer veg patch 184 Treat a friend to a subscription 38 A pot for pollinators with Arit and get 2 years for the price of 1 68 Alan’s essential pruning guide 79 A-Z house plants: ZZ plant 154 Pruning: spring-flowering shrubs Grow & Eat 116 Rekha: savouring strawberries 120 How to keep crops coming all season 129 Your growing guide for the month Wildlife 82 158 Celebrate June’s festival of new life Meet Alan at Highclere – the real Q&A ‘Downton Abbey’ 60 161 Stop sooty moulds in their tracks Travel Natural balms 163 Gardeners’ Question Time and cordials 82 JoinAlan at ‘Downton’, and take a with Frances Last words 110 gardeners’ tour of Somerset and Dorset 84 168 Crossword Plants 185 Next month All you need 186 Tales from Titchmarsh 119 Save up to £10 on potted fruit trees for a glorious 127 15% off beautiful spring bulbs summer in How to cut back 129 Save £6 on strawberry collection the garden 143 Penstemons: triple up for £1 extra on water for a more For more great offers visit: resilient garden GardenersWorld.com/offers 4 GardenersWorld.com June 2022

68 YJuonuer p12la-pnangeer Grab your shears 52 and secateurs for Adam’s guide Alan’s pruning to choosing and masterclass growing roses 38 50ththisinmgosntothdo Plant up gorgeous Monty’s month 133 summer container Flowers 137 Greenhouse 141 combos with Arit Fruit & veg 145 Back to basics 149 32 Around the garden 151 GardenersWorld.com 5 Discover Monty’s June veg garden favourites PHOTOS: SARAH CUTTLE: PAUL DEBOIS; NEIL HEPWORTH; JASON INGRAM. ILLUSTRATION: ELIN BROKENSHAW

“Green was the silence, wet June 2022 was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly” Pablo Neruda 6 GardenersWorld.com

JWuenleoveWe June PHOTO: JASON INGRAM June 2022 There is so much to say about June: the gardening year is like a flash mob, starting with the lonely snowdrop in January then building up layer upon layer every week, with more things appearing until we get to June when everybody joins in – shrubs, trees, roses, vegetables, annuals and more. I leave it to Rodgers and Hammerstein (often the best option) with this ditty from Carousel: “June is bustin’ out all over! The feelin’ is gettin’ so intense, That the young Virginia creepers, Have been huggin’ the bejeepers, Outa all the mornin’-glories on the fence. Because it’s June!” WORDS James Alexander-Sinclair STAR OF THE MONTH Astrantia ‘Shaggy’ (the white one) One of the best things about this month is that there is just so much to choose from! I’ve not got the space to write about all of the plants in this picture, so I have to pick something... but how does one pick a favourite when there are so many? Here, there are three sorts of astrantia, two salvias and a grass all in one picture. I feel like a child being given free rein in the Pick ‘n’ Mix department of Woolworths (apologies to our younger readers who will have no recollection of this experience). So much sugar, so little time. One of the very best of a really useful genus. Good in light shade with lots of compost. Height x Spread 80cm x 35cm GardenersWorld.com 7

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We June GIVEN THE GREEN LIGHT This grass is one of those plants that will grow pretty much anywhere – which is a bit of a mixed blessing. Best confined to a wilder bit of garden or grown in a pot in the midst of the herbaceous border. The salvia is easy and no trouble to anybody. Phalaris arundinacea picta Divide clumps in spring or summer. Cut back in late autumn. Copes with a boggy soil. H x S 100cm x 1.5m Salvia nemorosa ‘Caradonna’ Take semi-ripe cuttings in summer. Excellent for bees and gravel gardens. Cut back after flowering and it will come again. H x S 50cm x 30cm MADE FOR SHADE Now this is a bit special – related to all the other various anenomes that bring love into our gardens, this one is a little more sophisticated and elegant. It comes from the edge of the Himalayas, so it’s well used to a bit of shade and a nippy winter. Colourful and a little bit shady – probably not ideal in a life partner, but what more could you possibly want from a plant? Anemone obtusiloba Flowers sporadically all through the summer, so there is much more to come. Best in a bit of shade under trees or shrubs. H x S 15cm x 25cm PHOTOS: PAUL DEBOIS; JASON INGRAM June 2022 GardenersWorld.com 9

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WeWe MoJunnthe PHOTO: TORIE CHUGG FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS Everybody loves a lupin and if they don’t GardenersWorld.com 11 then there must be a little ice in their hearts. So many joyful colours and an easy way to add a little festa into any sunny border. Yes, I cannot deny that they are quite messy after flowering and they are a little too tempting for aphids but, all in all, any life is better with than without a few lupins. Lupinus ‘Towering Inferno’ Best in sun but will tolerate some shade. Deadhead after flowering and you should get a second flush. H x S 90cm x 60cm June 2022

We June SHORT, SHARP SHOCK Sometimes people have to make hard choices. Do you like your pleasures spread out or everything all at once? Do you eat all the chocolate in one go or a little bit at a time? If you are one of the former, then this is the shrub for you, giving a glorious whoomph of flower for a short space of time rather than spreading the love in careful doses over months. Weigela ‘Bristol Ruby’ Cuttings can be taken in spring, summer or autumn. Prune after flowering if necessary. H x S 2m x 2m AND ALL THAT SASS PHOTOS: SARAH CUTTLE; PAUL DEBOIS 12 GardenersWorld.com Everybody likes Princess Anne – no nonsense, straightforward, interesting and with a comfortingly predictable hairstyle. However, if I was to think of a flower that summed up all those excellent attributes this rose might not have been my first choice. While it is undoubtedly delightful and exuberantly petalled, it is perhaps a little too pink for Her Royal Highness? I would have chosen something simpler but with similar attitude and sass. Rosa ‘Princess Anne’ A really good disease-resistant shrub rose. Has a strong colour and makes a good hedge. H x S 1.25m x 1.25m June 2022

woodlandtrust.org.uk The Woodland Trust, Kempton Way, Grantham NG31 6LL. 0330 333 3300. The Woodland Trust is a charity registered in England and Wales (No. 294344) and in Scotland (No. SC038885). A non-profit making company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No.1982873. The Woodland Trust logo is a registered trademark. Image: Jane Corey/WTML CP00409 03/22

‘Attar of Roses’ ‘Prince of Orange’ Pale green foliage with a rosy aroma and Powerfully orange-scented foliage, and pink flowers. Height x Spread 30cm blushed white flowers daintily feathered x 50cm Flowers Jan-Dec if protected in purple. H x S 60cm x 40cm F Apr-Sep PHOTOS: PAUL DEBOIS; CLARE GAINEY/ALAMY STOCK; JASON INGRAM; SARAH CUTTLE ‘Copthorne’ ‘Deerwood Lavender Lass’ Dark leaves with the scent of cedar, Semi-trailing, with olive-green foliage plus months of purple-streaked flowers. that sets off open clusters of rosy-mauve H x S 100cm x 80cm F Apr-Oct flowers. H x S 60cm x 25cm F Apr-Sep Scented-leaved pelargoniums Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Foliage, aroma and flowers Take cuttings 14 GardenersWorld.com June 2022

‘Lara Starshine’ cEhxpoiecrWtee ’sJune Pink flowers with a scarlet haze are Scented-leaved set against lacy, lemon/rose-scented pelargoniums leaves. H x S 50cm x 50cm F Apr-Sep These tender treasures are a treat June 2022 for the senses, says Graham Rice OK, let’s not get into the whole geranium/ pelargonium thing. Sometimes called scented- leaved geraniums, botanically speaking they’re pelargonium. But we all know what we mean. Let’s not get worked up about it. In this case, I’m focusing on one particular subgroup: scented-leaved pelargoniums that also have colourful flowers. So many have attractive leaves, with delightful aromas, but their flowers are tiny or they hardly flower at all. But don’t we want the best of everything? Foliage, fragrance and flowers? Of course. So we need to be aware that, in the quest for better flowers, the aroma from the leaves may be diminished. Variety choice is crucial. The range of fragrances is astonishing: there’s apple, citrus, a general fruity fragrance, pine and cedar, peppermint, rose, fresh cut grass, cinnamon, lavender – not to mention rich pungencies that cannot accurately be described. In a hot conservatory or greenhouse, those aromatic oils will vaporise naturally and sometimes fill the air. In cooler locations, a little rub of a leaf is all that’s needed. Although if your garden is open for charity, you may find your pelargoniums need a few weeks’ rest and recuperation to grow new leaves and recover from the aromatic sampling. M Position Best in a terracotta or glazed pot on a sunny patio in summer and in the protection of a frost-free greenhouse or conservatory in winter. M Planting If space is limited, take cuttings in late summer and overwinter young plants. M Care Will often withstand chills outside, especially if grown next to the house wall, but not frost. Thoughtful pinching can improve the shape of many varieties, while deadheading ensures that the plants look smart. M Where to buy fibrex.co.uk, 01789 720788; woottensplants.com, 01502 478258 VISIT GardenersWorld.com/geraniums for more tips and advice on how to have success with scented-leaved pelargoniums GardenersWorld.com 15

FREE dwarf buddleja WO£1R2TH with every order of pollinator-friendly perennials Buddleja High Five Purple rare | unusual | exciting Buy any of the pollinator-friendly June 2022 perennials opposite and receive a FREE Buddleja High Five Purple. This dwarf variety has honey-scented, double blooms that are irresistible to butterfies. Height x Spread 75cm x 75cm Flowers Jul-Sep 1 x free plant supplied in 9cm pot For more offers and details on how to order, see opposite page 16 GardenersWorld.com

offer Pollinator-friendly perennials This glorious collection of perennials is perfect for attracting bees, butterflies and other pollinators into your garden. They look excellent planted together, filling your containers, borders and beds with colourful, nectar-rich blooms. All supplied as 9cm pots, delivery in 14 days Agastache ‘Crazy Fortune’ Lavandula angustifolia ‘Rosea’ Salvia Rockin’ Fuchsia K Marbled cream and green foliage that’s K Elegant, pink variety of English lavender. Light, K Open-mouthed blooms appear above topped with smoky blue, fuzzy bottlebrush highly fragrant, pink flowers tightly pack each aromatic foliage that releases its fragrance blooms during summer and early autumn. stem in abundance above grey-green foliage. when touched or brushed past, so best planted The evergreen foliage will release a aniseed Excellent for cutting, the blooms can be enjoyed near a back door or on a path to ensure the fragrance when it is brushed against. as part of fresh or dried flower arrangements, too. scent is enjoyed. Protect from frosts. H x S 75cm x 45cm F Jul-Sep H x S 75cm x 75cm F Jul-Sep H x S 70cm x 70cm F Jun-Sep 1 plant in 9cm pot £15 1 plant in 9cm pot £10 1 plant in 9cm pot £14 K SAVER COLLECTION 3 plants (1 of each) in 9cm pots £18 SAVE £21 01386 426245 (quote code ROGW) hayloft.co.uk/ROGW rare | unusual | exciting offer Cut out this order form and post orders to: Gardeners’ World Reader Offer, PO BOX 2020, Pershore, WR10 9BP Title Initial Surname Code: ROGW rare | unusual | exciting Address CODE DESCRIPTION PRICE QTY TOTAL Postcode FREE Buddleja High Five Purple with every order FREE Tel Email‡ ROGW-20AC1 Agastache ‘Crazy Fortune’ x 1 £15 I enclose a cheque/PO for £ made payable to Hayloft with my ROGW-20LR1 Lavandula angustifolia ‘Rosea’ x 1 £10 name and address on the back (do not send stamps or cash) ✁ Or charge my Visa  Mastercard  ROGW-20SF1 Salvia Rockin’ Fuchsia x 1 £14 Card number      Pollinator-friendly Perennial Saver Collection x 3 £18 ROGW-20PC3 (1 of each) SAVE £21 Start date / Expiry date / Card security code  P&P £5.95 1 £5.95 (Last 3 digits printed on signature strip) Signature Date GRAND TOTAL £ BBC Gardeners‘ World Magazine (published by Immediate Media Co Ltd) would like to send you special offers and promotions. You can unsubscribe at any time – for details of how to do this, please see our privacy policy, which can be viewed at immediate.co.uk/privacy-policy. Please tick here if you would like to receive these  BBC Gardeners‘ World Magazine is published by Immediate Media Co Ltd on behalf of BBC Studios (the commercial arm of the BBC). We would like to send you BBC Gardeners’ World-related promotions, content and offers from BBC Studios. Your information will be used in accordance with the BBC Studios privacy policy, which can be viewed at bbcstudios.com/privacy. Please tick here if you would like to hear from us by email  Terms & Conditions: Supplied as 9cm pots, delivery in 14 days. Free Buddeleja High Five Purple will automatically be added to your order. Offer closes 30 June 2022. Please note your contract for supply of goods is with Hayloft, Manor Farm, Pensham, Worcs WR10 3HB. Full T&Cs available on request. All items are subject to availability. All orders will receive an order acknowledgement. We may send Hayloft gardening catalogues and emails in the future. If you prefer not to receive them, please call 01386 562999. Occasionally the advertised delivery date may change, however, this will be clearly stated on your order confirmation. Offer available to UK addresses only. Reader offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotions or discounts. June 2022 GardenersWorld.com 17



The Full Monty We June War, financial recession and increasing energy prices are never welcome but perhaps there is a bright side for gardeners, says Monty PHOTO: JASON INGRAM This world is changing so fast that for germination and heating to protect young magazine lead times make fools of us all. Last seedlings. We had temperatures down to -5° week’s events are history and this morning’s this April and climate change or not, -10° is news is old hat. Yet for all that fluster there are very possible, if increasingly rare in winter. slow trends that will not easily shift or alter. Some, like the rhythm and roll of the seasons, Sixty years ago most perennial plants were are increasingly essential to our wellbeing and raised outside and sold bare root, ordered and even sanity, but others are less profound and delivered by post. It would use a lot less energy less good for us. I fear that the slow pulse of but I wonder if we could happily go back to that. financial recession and hardship is one of these. Perhaps we have to regard most bananas, tender salvias, cannas, citrus, olives and other Energy costs have doubled and will not come tender plants as a luxury that we literally cannot down in a hurry. This affects every corner of our afford, not because we cannot buy them but lives and spills outside into the garden. I heat two because for half the year it will cost an increasing greenhouses with electricity, along with two fortune just to keep them alive. I suspect that heated propagating benches, light two with cheaper annuals that cheer us up will still sell but electricity and heat the big greenhouse with gas. more expensive plants that take more time and Other sheds where I overwinter bigger plants protection with corresponding use of energy will such as bananas are heated and lit too. price themselves out of gardeners’ pockets. Deliveries bring goods all the time and although we propagate as much as possible, nevertheless But no clouds are without silver linings. All we still buy lots of plants every year. In short, change, good and bad, leads to adaption and Longmeadow is run on oil in some form or other. perhaps the increase in oil prices will hasten the development of sustainability and to changes Every aspect of commercial plant production, such as the demise of plastic in our gardens, and from plastic pots, the costs of nurserymen and speed up the development of viable alternatives. Climate change has been the cloud building on Perhaps the increase the horizon for decades now and the more local in oil prices will hasten the horrors such as Ukraine merely add to the development of sustainability urgency of doing something about it. women going to work, and the delivery of plants I have often paid lip service to the virtues of now costs more. Inevitably this has to be passed outdoor seedbeds but, other than occasional onto customers if people are not to go out of half-hearted forays, have not really raised much business – and some, probably old, longstanding, this way for decades. Perhaps it is time to do wonderfully idiosyncratic and knowledgeable what was completely normal in my parents’ family firms, are bound to do just that. The long garden and raise all hardy annuals, all brassicas, and short of it to you and me is that plants in alliums and most biennials outside in a seedbed. every form, from a packet of seeds to a large It would save on much pricking out and potting architectural plant and all points between, are on, potting compost, plastic seed trays, becoming significantly more expensive. greenhouse and cold-frame space and energy, and have the underestimated virtue of the plants How will that change our gardens? At this time establishing a strong symbiotic connection with of year, as we approach midsummer, not a huge the ecosystem of the soil from the outset. amount. Many of us will have done most of our plant shopping for the season and those of us Life is going to get tougher. Forced change with greenhouses have either raised most of our can feel like loss, but the garden might just hold own plants or do not need extra heat to do so. a model for how we can use that to adapt and But these extra costs are not going to go away change the way we do things rather than what in a hurry and I, for one, would struggle to keep we do, to make ourselves more resilient. many key garden plants alive without heating over winter. I would also have to radically change the way that I raise plants in spring without heat June 2022 MONTY ON TV Catch Monty and the rest of the Gardeners’ World team on Friday evenings at 8pm throughout June. And hear him discuss growing your own food and other topics at GardenersWorld.com/podcast GardenersWorld.com 19

Have your say The view from your side of the fence HOT TOPIC Hoorah for the loofah! Potty about recycling I was really pleased to hear that Monty is having a go at growing loofah plants. I’ll be I’m writing from the sunny isle of Jersey following his progress with interest, though to share with you an initiative to recycle I don’t have the space to grow them myself. plant pots called Potty Eco Pots. At our local recycling refuse site, everyone is I use loofahs every day... not as back- encouraged to leave their unwanted garden scratchers, but cut into sections as sponges pots in allocated storage areas. Every for washing the dishes. They’re eco-friendly, week, a growing team of volunteers dry between uses so don’t get smelly and, collect them and redistribute them to when they are worn out, they can be various points around the island. So far, composted. We need a lot more people 120,000 pots have been saved from growing them, so good luck Monty! incineration and landfill. All sizes, from the very miniature pots to compost bins, Karen Carter, by email have found new homes. Look for a recycling The word is now spreading to the scheme near you that will mainland. Is this something that you could save pots going to landfill organise in your area? You will never have to buy a pot again! runners from my strawberry plants. The following year, when the plants are Susan Rossell, Jersey established, I put the trays out for sale in aid of charity. Following the letter headed Sow satisfying (Have Your Say, May issue) I thought I would In doing this, I not only recycle plastic share my own recycling efforts. For many trays and plant pots, but also provide new years, having bought new plants at the plants for those who want them, reduce the garden centre, I have used the plant cell amount of discarded plants and plastic trays to provide rooting trays for the plant pots that would normally go to landfill and, at the same time, raise funds for a charity. Each year I raise around £500. John Lacey, Nottinghamshire A nose for nostalgia Gran’s tulips happily defy the odds – most will not flower next year if left in the ground Tales from Titchmarsh always conjures up memories of gardening with my grandfather at The beauty and Lasting legacy a very young age. Like Alan says (April issue), fragrance of an it’s the scents that bring back those memories. auricula can stir I have read that tulip bulbs decline in vigour For me, it’s the smell of tomato plants and the the memory over the years, so I thought you may like to see earthiness of the good old red geraniums. But my grandmother’s tulips. She planted these now, as I enjoy the stunning wallflowers and bulbs in the 1970s and died in 1988. The tulips their individual perfume, I remember my have flowered every year and are as full of grandad just as Alan does his. Hopefully, when vigour as they were when she first planted our time comes, we will be remembered for our them. My mother and I look out for Gran’s tulips favourite flowers (in my case it will be auriculas, every spring, a lovely memorial to her! not only for their beauty but their special scent). Wendy Newton, by email Sylvia Monk, by email Write to us at Have your say, Gardeners’ World Magazine, Vineyard House, 44 Brook Green, London W6 7BT or email [email protected] and you could win a prize. Letters or emails submitted may be edited for publication. Prizes sent to UK addresses only. ACROSS 1 Hydrangea 7 Peas 8 Roses 9 Ash 10 Iris 11 Syringa 12 Aspen 14 Seedhead 18 Early 20 Silver 21 Organic 22 Gall 23 Scald 24 Pea June 2022 DOWN 1 Herbs 2 Desiree 3 Absinth 4 Guava 5 Aphids 6 Malice 12 Adelgid 13 Parsnip 15 Ericas 16 Devils 17 Europa 19 Yucca 20 GardenersWorld.com

We June SSttaayyssaaffeetthhiiss 1 1 sspprrininggwwiitthhaa HHeenncchhmmaann TTrirpipooddLLaaddddeerr A hut from a GW Live show garden finds a new home “S“tSutrudryd, yli,glhigthwtewigehigtht 2 anadn,dm, omsotsimt ipmoprotartnatnlyt,ly, 2 sasfaef.”e.G”JoGneJosnes Raising the bar 3 3 44 5GUAYR5EANAYTEREE AR GUARANTEE We all appreciate that a huge amount of effort, time and money goes into the creation of show gardens, but do we 5 know what happens to all the items created for the displays when they are finished with? My wife and I visited BBC Gardeners’ World Live at the NEC in Birmingham in 2021 on the last day. While looking at The Sea Garden, we saw the fisherman’s hut and commented how great it would look in our garden as a bar. Little did we know our conversation was overheard by Jonathan Mitchell from Teasels Landscapes, who helped build the garden. He told us it was for sale, and, on a whim, we bought it! The fisherman’s hut has now been officially opened as The Old Skool Bar (named by our nine-year-old daughter). David Sillitto, by email Nature and nurture If you’re planning to do anything at height, a Henchman Tripod Ladder will ensure you stay safe and secure this spring. With it’s Over the past two years as an NHS nurse, I had to give up no wobble stability and lightweight design, a Henchman is the most of my days off due to the pandemic and my garden complete home ladder and one you can use with confidence. was neglected. Now that I’ve finally been able to take some well-earned annual leave, I’ve been out in my garden from A Henchman Tripod ladder is designed for uneven terrain, with dawn to dusk. I have enjoyed it so much I feel I have had fully adjustable legs, claw feet, a wide platform rung for extra a real holiday. So not only has my garden had some true stability, a high rail guard so you can work hands free, and rubber healing, I feel I’ve been blessed with healing as well. overshoes for hard surfaces; the Henchman Tripod Ladder will keep you safe at height whatever the task. Gardening is surely the best, healthiest hobby. Jenny, by email 1 High rail guard enables you to work hands free 2 Three independently adjustable legs for soft, uneven ground This month’s prizes TOTAL 3 Platform rung for extra stability VALUE £16.98 4 Wide clawed feet for grip on soft ground Each winner will receive two 5 Rubber overshoes for security on hard surfaces Gardeners’ World Guide + 5 SEED 132-page special editions PACKS worth £16.98, delivered to their home. FREE SET OF RUBBER FEET AND GARDENING GLOVES (WORTH £50) Our Grow Your Own Guide • Improves grip on Durable. also includes 5 packets of veg hard surfaces seeds worth £11.65. For more Comfortable. details about the Guide Series • Protects delicate The perfect go to bit.ly/GWGBUN21 gardening glove. flooring from scratching Apply discount code GW422 in basket TO ORDER OR FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT VAISTITTHUES Henchman.co.uk/world RHS MALVERN OR CALL US ON 03333 444 229 SPRING FESTIVAL June 2022 OR RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW

Subscriber CLUB Grow your FREE* seeds It’s the perfect month to sow biennials such as foxgloves and there’s just time to start a batch of cosmos, too This month our Subscriber Club members 3 REASONS TO GROW received two packets of seeds, delivered  Majestic spires through their letterboxes with their June copy of flowers in early of BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine. It’s all part of our 14-packet, five-month giveaway, summer in a range worth more than £31, which started with our February issue. Both types of flowers can be of pastel shades sown indoors or outdoors this month, now that  Flowers tolerate a frosts have passed. Why not try both methods? partially shaded spot Check your seed packets to find out how.  Popular with wildlife, watch your bees climb The foxgloves are hardy and prefer lower temperatures than cosmos, so avoid strong inside the flowers heat while germinating and growing on. Plant the seedlings outside this autumn in pots or beds, to grow on over winter and flower next April, May or June. The cosmos need a warm spot to germinate and suit full sunshine. Growing your foxgloves indoors Sowing seeds and pricking out 1 Fill a pot with peat-free compost, level the 2 Place the pot in a tray of water – this avoids 3 Prick out the seedlings into pots or trays PHOTOS: PAUL DEBOIS; JASON INGRAM surface and scatter the fine seeds evenly displacing the seeds. When the water has to grow on, ready for planting outside this over the surface. Lightly cover with compost. moistened the compost, remove the tray. autumn and flowering around this time next year. Subscribe now Treat your friend to a BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine subscription and 22 GardenersWorld.com June 2022

Find out more Subscriber CLUB FREE SEEDS Use your phone to The team’s seedlings scan the QR code on the back of each seed Share your seed-sowing triumphs packet for easy access We hope you’ve enjoyed your free seeds. to our gardening Share your photos using the hashtag advice and offers. #GWsuccesswithseeds and we’ll publish some of our favourites later in the year. 3 REASONS TO GROW The team has been busy growing carrots,  Cosmos ‘Seashells rudbeckia, sunflowers and coriander. Mixed’ produces WATCH video guides and get more pretty and intriguing seed-sowing and trouble-shooting advice flute-shaped petals. at GardenersWorld.com/free-seeds  Pollinating insects love to take nectar In partnership with Mr Fothergill’s from the open centres mr-fothergills.co.uk  Perfect for cutting and lasts well in a vase Growing your cosmos Pricking out *DUE TO MOVING PLANTS AND SEEDS OVERSEAS, WE REGRET THAT WE ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PROVIDE FREE SEEDS ON SUBSCRIPTIONS OUTSIDE THE UK. VARIETIES ARE Sowing seeds indoors SUBJECT TO AVAILABILITY AND MAY BE SUBSTITUTED FOR SEEDS OF A SIMILAR VALUE. 1 Fill small pots with multi-purpose 2 Water using a watering can with 1 Fill larger pots with potting 2 Use a dibber to make holes. compost. Sow the seeds and a rose and place in a warm spot, compost to give each healthy Gently lever out the seedlings cover with a 0.5cm layer of compost. then watch for germination. seedling more growing space. and replant in the new compost. get two years for the price of one. Pay just £73.39 for 24 issues – see page 184 for more details June 2022 GardenersWorld.com 23

Step into the Garden of England This month we’re in Kent, showing you some of the great gardens to enjoy with your 2 for 1 Entry Card and Guide Seasonal PHOTOS: NICK DAWE/HISTORIC ENGLAND/ENGLISH HERITAGE TRUST; Family friendly spectacle ALAN GRAHAM; HEVER CASTLE & GARDENS; THOMAS ALEXANDER PHOTOGRAPHY For one of our more unconventional June is the time when most gardens, visit Riverhill Himalayan gardens are at their peak, so Gardens, best known for its azaleas it seems unfair to single out and rhododendrons. By June though, just one. Still, for decadent alliums, roses and peonies take June blooms, be sure to visit centre stage. Beyond the walled Penshurst Place Gardens. garden and sculpted terracing is a Remaining true to the original rose walk and rock garden. Climb 1560s design, it’s elegantly ‘Little Everest’ for the perfect picnic laid out as a series of secluded spot and views across the Weald of gardens. Each showcases Kent. For the kids, there’s a maze, a different style and colour and at weekends and in school scheme. Reflective pools holidays, you may even spot a yeti! mirror the colourful displays Open: 10 Mar-30 Oct, Wed-Sun of early summer. If you’re & bank hols. Online booking quick, you may just catch the essential using code GW22. Card 100m-long peony display. not valid on 15 June. Full details Open: 2 Apr-30 Oct, daily. Card at riverhillgardens.co.uk not valid for special events – check before visiting. Full June 2022 details at penshurstplace.com 24

2 for 1 garden entry Visit while you can! When we think of Charles Darwin, we often picture him on board the HMS Beagle or on some far-flung tropical island. But much of his inspiration came from closer to home. At Down House, you can see the greenhouse where Darwin studied plant growth and take a stroll along his ‘thinking path’. Visit soon though, as the 2 for 1 card is not valid during school holidays. Open: All year, days vary. Full details at english-heritage.org.uk/ downhouse Make a monumental saving The Leeds Castle website backdrop, and the Culpeper describes it as ‘the loveliest garden, with a fragrant cottage- castle in the world’. We’ll leave garden feel. There’s also a yew that for you to decide! What we maze, knights’ stronghold can say though is that, at £32 per adventure playground and adult, it represents one of the kids’ obstacle course. biggest savings in our guide. Open: All year, daily. Card not valid for special events: 9 July, Highlights include the Princess 5 & 6 Nov, 25 Dec. Full details Alexandra gardens, beautifully at leeds-castle.com framed by the romantic castle Stay all day The birthplace of Anne Boleyn, Hever Castle now offers a fun family day out, with both a yew maze and water maze. You can also explore the ornamental lake by rowing boat. There’s colour and beauty in these well maintained grounds, with an elegant Italian garden, fragrant rose garden and a colour-themed ‘blue corner’, plus also, fittingly, a Tudor garden. Open: 9 Feb-1 Jan, days vary – see website. Card not valid on event days – check before visiting. Full details at hevercastle.co.uk Horticultural haven Visiting tips World.com/ gardens for The World Garden at Lullingstone The garden is laid out as a world  Use your 2 for 1 Entry Card updates. Castle has an extraordinary story map, filled with a vast array of from the May issue to visit  Share your of creation. On a visit to Colombia plants set in their regions of origin. gardens listed in the guide best garden visits using in 2000, horticulturist Tom Hart You will also find a woodland walk and on our directory at the hashtag #GW2for1 Dyke was taken hostage by a and a hothouse full of cacti. GardenersWorld.com/ guerrilla group and held for nine Open: 1 Apr-30 Oct, Thu-Sun & bank gardens Before you set off months. Tom spent his terrifying hol Mon. Card not valid on event  Missed the May issue captivity planning a ‘world garden’, days – check before visiting. Full or need additional 2 for 1 cards? Always check the garden’s which he created on his return. details at lullingstonecastle.co.uk You can buy copies of the May website and the 2 for 1 Guide issue at GardenersWorld. before visiting, as the card may com/gardens not be valid on specific days and  Register for our 2 for 1 booking may be required. newsletter at Gardeners June 2022 NEXT MONTH Discover incredible gardens in the sublime landscape of Cumbria and the Lake District GardenersWorld.com 25

Our roundup of the month’s latest gardening Clippings newsandviews The scent of Rain gardens in front exam success line against flooding Forget crib sheets: students The rain garden at Shalbourne Primary School in Wiltshire also acts as a natural play area for kids sitting exams this month need only sniff a little rosemary to Gardeners across the country are being across the nation in private gardens, businesses help memory and concentration. The International Fragrance enlisted to help stop summer downpours turning and schools. In Cardiff, Wales, more than Association UK is sending rosemary- infused bookmarks to schools after into dangerous flash floods. 100 rain gardens, built by local and national experiments showed the herb improves performance by up to seven The government says it fully supports natural government organisations under the Greener per cent. Herb queen Jekka McVicar says she drinks rosemary tea before flood management systems like rain gardens and Grangetown project, divert more than 40 million big events: “It’s amazing – it really does fire up that front-end memory,” she is doubling the number of projects it’s funding. litres of rainwater from sewers each year. says. “It gives you confidence as well.” The Environment Agency is among those behind Rain gardens usually take the form of shallow Stores rush away from peat compost The Aquifer Partnership (TAP), a three-year depressions in free-draining soil, designed to fill Supermarkets and garden centres project recruiting local residents, schools and with water and then let it soak gradually into are ditching peat-based compost two years ahead of government businesses to create a green chain of thousands the ground. Garden designer and rain garden plans to ban retail sales. of rain gardens around Brighton, East Sussex. specialist, Wendy Allen, says despite the name, Morrisons has pledged to sell only peat-free from 2023, while Co-op and They’re already creating rain gardens in local rain gardens are dry for much of the year, filling Waitrose have already switched. Tesco says all its UK-raised bedding primary schools and building swales – shallow, with water only after heavy rainfall – so the will be peat-free from next year. richly planted hollows – to slow and absorb range of plants is wider than you might think. Two of the top garden centre chains – Dobbies and Notcutts – are water running down a hillside to the north of She advises damp-lovers like sedges or flag iris also evicting peat-based composts from their shelves early. the city. Now they’re also training local people for the bottom – otherwise, she says, anything Sally Morgan, of campaign group to build rain gardens goes. “Most plants Peat-Free April, says she’s worried supplies and quality of peat-free in their own back yards. The more people tolerate temporary compost will suffer if things move “It’s not a solution on who do it, the greater waterlogging so you too fast. But she welcomes the early its own, but it does help can style it to suit your switch. “It’s a great move, and one that will put pressure on the others take the pressure off,” impact it will have own taste,” she says. to follow suit,” she said. says Partnership “It’s a way homeowners Co-op was the first UK supermarket WORDS: SALLY NEX Development Manager, can make a small to ditch peat-based bagged compost Susie Howells. “And the more people who change that adds up to a big difference.” June 2022 do it, the greater impact it will have.” L Sign up for training at raingarden.uk and A similar project, 10,000 Raingardens for download a free guide to creating your own Scotland, now lists hundreds of rain gardens rain garden at raingardens.info 26 GardenersWorld.com

We June New community gardens ‘driven by people’ A former railway viaduct in Randalstown, Northern Ireland is GW’s Arit Anderson is among top In Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, Arit has being made into a thriving community garden for everyone designers joining forces with local been working closely with volunteers to gardeners across the country to create make a fruit and veg garden in Coneygear four brand new community gardens. Park. Community groups, from primary schools and a girl’s football club to the Community groups in England, Wales, local mosque will use and care for the Scotland and Northern Ireland won space. “It’s so much more than a garden,” awards of up to £50,000 from the Royal says local co-ordinator Natasha Pierson. Horticultural Society to create their own gardens. Arit took inspiration for the garden’s hexagonal design from beehives – the The winning garden in Paisley, Scotland, perfect metaphor for the busy, supportive includes wheelchair-accessible raised local community. beds; volunteers at Forgeside Rugby Club in Blaenavon, South Wales, are growing “Community gardens help you see produce for the local food bank; while in the importance of a garden beyond the Randalstown, Northern Ireland, a disused design,” she says. “It’s driven by people.” railway viaduct is becoming a haven for L All four gardens are open to the wildlife, while also celebrating the site’s public: for details visit rhs.org.uk/ historic heritage. get-involved/garden-day Go wild this June Carry out a random act of wildness every day this month for the 30 Days Wild challenge, run by the Wildlife Trusts. Take the kids (and kids-at-heart) puddle- jumping, watch a sunset, build a bug hotel or climb a tree, then share videos and photos under the #30dayswild hashtag. wildlifetrusts.org/30dayswild My gardening world Dr Amir Khan PHOTOS: EVIE + TOM PHOTOGRAPHY; RICHARD GRANGE/UNP; TV’s Dr Amir Khan shot to fame after year. I built this big wooden stand where Dr Amir Khan’s garden is both a relaxing ART LEWRY/CULTURE COMMUNICATIONS COLLECTIVE appearing as one of Channel 5’s GPs we hang about 12 bird feeders, and we have space for wellbeing and a wildlife haven Behind Closed Doors. He’s now a a hedgehog family – we feed them kitten regular on BBC Breakfast and ITV’s biscuits. Hedgehogs crunching biscuits – nature can help boost your wellbeing Lorraine, between seeing patients as that’s a gorgeous sound. alongside the medication you’re taking. an NHS GP in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Going outside in nature is only going to He’s been supporting charity Why are we so drawn to our gardens? do you good – you mustn’t stop your Samaritans for this year’s Mental When we’re in our gardens, all sorts of medication, though. Health Awareness Week. physiological changes are going on inside L Listen to our podcast with Dr Amir Khan of us. The immediate thing that happens is speaking to GW Wildlife Editor Kate Bradbury You’re a busy man: how does your the stress hormone cortisol starts to drop, about gardening to boost your wellbeing, garden help you unwind? so that lowers your blood pressure. That now at GardenersWorld.com/podcast The NHS is busier than ever before, for in turn lowers your heart rate, so already obvious reasons. So when I get back from you start to feel relaxed. You also start the surgery I don’t go into the house – I go producing happy, relaxing brain chemicals into the garden. The first thing I do is check like serotonin and dopamine. So all that the feeders, because the birds are ravenous stress just floats away. right now. And the hedgehogs are out of hibernation so they need feeding. This time How does prescribing time spent of year is great because things change every in green spaces work alongside single day. So it does provide me with that conventional medicine? release and relief I need after the surgery. The wellbeing side of being in nature can be used alone, but it’s not an either/or: time Tell us about your garden spent in green spaces and conventional I stumbled into gardening, really. I grew medicine go hand in hand. If you’re not on up in inner city Bradford – we didn’t have medication you can go outside and get a garden, we had a back yard. So I learned the health benefits, because we all have on the job. We dug out a pond, which was stresses and anxiety to a certain degree. incredible because frogs arrived the same But if you’re already on medication, time in June 2022 GardenersWorld.com 27

We June Clippings goes live Join us 16-19 June at the NEC The summer starts here as we return to Birmingham for BBC Gardeners’ World Live 2022. Book now to secure your tickets! Don’t miss out! 1234 MONTY ON STAGE SWAP YOUR POTS WHEELBARROW GARDENS BBC GW STAGE Hear Monty talk about Bring your plant purchases See up to 50 barrows turned GW’s Lucy and Kevin discuss new developments at into gardens for Birmingham’s Longmeadow this year. and swap the pots with 2022 Commonwealth Games. wildlife gardening and plastic-free alternatives. growing your own food. Happy birthday BBC! Magazine Stage highlights Join the BBC’s 100th birthday party Meet your favourite experts on the Gardeners’ in the Floral Marquee, with features World Magazine Stage*. Find full listings at inspired by popular BBC programmes, bbcgardenersworldlive.com. To book tickets from Peaky Blinders and The Archers to to the show, turn to page 76. Only Fools and Horses. Plus, the tearoom gets a makeover as the ‘Pasa Doble Café’, Thursday 16 June inspired by Strictly Come Dancing. Also, 10.30am, 1.30pm, 4.30pm GW editors enjoy some nostalgia with a Pebble Mill 12.30pm Frances Tophill on sustainable gardening display inspired by ex-presenter, the 2.30pm Alan Titchmarsh takes the stage late Peter Seabrook. 3.30pm Monty Don on growing your own food All the advice you need Grub’s up Friday 17 June PHOTOS: GETTY/VALENTINRUSSANOV; JASON INGRAM for bountiful veg crops 10:30am, 12.30pm GW editors *TIMETABLE AND TOPICS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. DETAILS CORRECT AT TIME OF PRINT. There’s a feast for veg growers 11.30am, 4.30pm Joe Swift on small-space solutions at the show: learn how to grow 1.30pm Monty Don on growing your own food greener with Garden Organic’s ‘Small 2.30pm Frances Tophill on sustainable gardening Space – Big Ideas’ garden, and steal some great ideas for boosting your Saturday 18 June harvest in ‘Marshalls Garden: Food 10.30am, 1.30pm, 4.30pm GW editors For Thought’. Drop by the Let’s Grow 11.30am Frances Tophill on sustainable gardening Your Own stage to have your 12.30pm Adam Frost: growing and cooking outdoors questions answered by expert 2.30pm Monty Don on growing your own food National Allotment Society growers. Sunday 19 June Borders go wild 10:30am, 4.15pm GW editors 11.30am, 2.30pm Arit Anderson on perfect This year’s Beautiful Borders are buzzing: summer pots the theme is Wild Life and the mini gardens 12.30pm Frances Tophill on sustainable gardening include a selection designed by GW 3.30pm Adam Frost: growing and cooking outdoors readers, all packed with brilliant ideas for making space for wildlife in Plus, stage sponsor Legal & General hosts daily your garden. There are wild play sessions with garden designer Prof. David Stevens areas, ‘dead hedges’ and rewilded lawns, medicinal Gardeners’ World on TV herbs and even a border bursting with botanicals Watch the special episode for summer cocktails. from BBC Gardeners’ World Live on Friday 17 June at 8pm. 28 GardenersWorld.com June 2022



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Special Subscription Offer Subscribe and receive one of two GW Guides: Gardening for Wildlife OR Your Garden from Seed Try a subscription to BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and receive your first 6 issues for only £9.99. PLUS, we’ll send you a copy of our Gardening for Wildlife guide or Your Garden from Seed guide, worth £7.99 each. W£e7ao.rc9th9h 3 EASY WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE Offer ends 23 June 2022 Call 03330 162123* and quote code GWNP622 Visit www.buysubscriptions.com/GWNP622 Post your completed order form to the Freepost address at the top of the form June 2022 GardenersWorld.com 31

After the ‘hungry gap’, when most plants are still too young to eat and winter’s bounty is used up, summer’s first pickings are a cause for celebration 32 GardenersWorld.com June 2022

monty’s garden Mvonetgy’spsaumtcmher PART 1 BEATING THE HUNGRY GAP Discover how to make the best of early crops as Monty reveals his star plants for June and the best veg to sow now to keep your harvests coming right through the summer Salads and radishes are PHOTOS: JASON INGRAM among the best harvests June 2022 in Monty’s garden this month, before midsummer veg crops take the stage in July GardenersWorld.com 33

S tep out of May into June and Three star veg to harvest summer has arrived. The days have become carelessly long, filled If you’ve sown early and the weather with a profligacy of light – if not always with has been kind, you could be harvesting warmth! It’s easy to eagerly expect a harvest as the days reach their longest and the a good selection of crops in June nights start to acquire that balmy warmth we expect from summer. But the period Peas from May to mid-June is not called the ‘hungry gap’ for nothing. All the winter Everyone desires the crops – purple sprouting broccoli, kale or incredible green freshness leeks – are done and cleared to the compost that home-grown peas heap, and other than plenty of salad leaves have, in the same way that do well in the cooler weather of late we all want new potatoes spring, there is little else to provide variety. or asparagus as early in the season as possible. However, June can be a busy month in I like ‘Alderman’ for its the veg garden and there are some harvests extravagance of height to be had. After the ‘hungry gap’, when – over 6ft in my rich soil – most plants are still too young to eat and and unsurpassable flavour. winter’s bounty is used up, summer’s I also grow ‘Hurst Green first pickings are a cause for celebration. Shaft’ and ‘Carouby If you’ve sown early and the weather de Maussane’. has been kind, you could be harvesting a good selection of crops in June. June 2022 Early harvests Some veg, such as turnips, cabbages and kale, can be left in the ground to mature a little longer, but if you have French beans, broad beans or peas it’s best to pick them as soon as they’re ready. It’s also the start of the season for allotment staples such as beetroot and carrots. Globe artichokes and Florence fennel may be ready by the end of the month. You need to keep an eye on artichoke flowers to catch them when the flesh is succulent, before the chokes have developed too far. As a rule, it’s best to pick veg just before you need to prepare it, to prevent your harvest drying out and the nutritional content reducing. However, some of the vegetables available in June can be stored for longer. If you’re digging potatoes, let them dry out on the soil surface before bringing them in to keep in the dark, but keep onions and garlic in a light place. The first broad beans can be picked by the middle of the month – they’re often no bigger than a pea, but are deliciously sweet and without the bitter flouriness that later and much bigger beans can acquire. Broad beans don’t like very hot weather, but a sowing at the beginning of the month is always worth doing if you have the space. A gorgeous midsummer recipe I enjoy is pasta primavera, which contains fresh peas, broad beans, baby carrots, perhaps asparagus and green garlic. But it’s all weather-dependent here and there have been years when I am not eating it for another month. It is all jam and no bread in June, and no crop is more redolent of epicurean luxury than asparagus. I have made new 34 GardenersWorld.com

monty’s garden Artichokes Rising temperatures and moist soil are good for weeds, too, so regular hoeing is vital Is any vegetable more asparagus beds this year, planting ‘Guelph August for the next sowing to provide PHOTOS: MARSHA ARNOLD; JASON INGRAM handsome than a mature Millennium’ and ‘Stewart’s Purple’, which winter salads. Constant but not artichoke? Its foliage alone are new varieties to me but come highly overwhelming succession is the secret and merits a place in any border recommended as being very productive I’ve learned to be ruthless with salad crops and the fat petal-lapped and sweet. These will not give harvests in – once they go over, it is the compost heap buds are as glorious to June for another couple of years but, once for them and on with the next. look at as they are to eat. established, they will provide asparagus We always pick them almost daily throughout the month and Organisation also means that by early when they are small – then, satiated, we will leave them to grow June it is a good idea to have sown and about the size of a golf and develop their ferny foliage to put power grown on most of the tender crops, such ball – when they have no back into the roots for next year’s crop. as cucumbers, sweetcorn, fennel, French discernible choke and can be eaten a dozen ways, Elephant garlic can be harvested from Quick jobs for a but always entire. the longest day, and if it has been a hot better harvest spring and early summer, the giant bulbs Spring greens can be lifted and dried right at the end of  Feed tomatoes once they flower June, a few weeks before the regular garlic  Mulch strawberries with barley straw Spring greens are very crops. Eaten fresh, they are deliciously hardy and yet their taste sweet and delicate. and protect from birds is tender and subtle. By  Thin carrot seedlings, pulling them out harvesting every other Salad days plant in a row or block quickly to reduce the scent released while they are still loose- Salads are the mainstay of the early  Water onions well during dry weather leafed, the remainder have summer veg plot, and although they grow  Remove flowering stems from parsley the chance to form small fast and easily with the increasing warmth hearts of exceptional and light, the key is good organisation as to keep it producing good foliage to pick flavour. I have found much as growing skills. I sow the first  Earth up around potato plants to ‘Greyhound’ and ‘Durham batches of endive, mizuna, rocket and Early’ to be good, and am hardier lettuces such as ‘Brune D’Hiver’ maximise your crop told that cabbage ‘Hispi’ and ‘Merveille de Quatre Saisons’ in can be eaten while loose. January to grow in the greenhouse and A mix of compost and topsoil is perfect under cloches. Another batch is sown in for earthing up container potatoes June 2022 March with ‘Little Gem’, ‘Valdor’ and cut-and-come-again oak-leaf varieties, and these are planted straight out as the soil warms up, for harvesting in May and early June. I sow more throughout May – some under cover and some direct – including the slightly more fussy cos lettuces, such as ‘Parris Island’ and ‘Lobjoit’s Green Cos’. But I don’t sow rocket, mizuna, mibuna, landcress and lamb’s lettuce, because these all bolt almost overnight when the weather warms up. Instead, I wait until GardenersWorld.com 35

monty’s garden Six veg to sow this month beans, runner beans, squashes, tomatoes and whatever takes your culinary fancy. Warming temperatures and moist soil, hopefully topped up with regular rainfall, make The key to their success is warm nights June a perfect sowing month. Get these seeds going now, either direct or in modules, rather than hot days. and many will be producing crops for you in a matter of weeks – or bulking themselves up now to cruise through the winter and fill next year’s ‘hungry gap’. It’s not too late  BEETROOT  KALE But what if you haven’t prepared months ago? What if you have just taken on a Sow March-July Harvest June-October Sow March-August Harvest February-May new home or plot and it’s June already? Is the boat completely missed? Not at all. Varieties ‘Chioggia’, ‘Kestrel’, ‘Red Ace’ Varieties ‘Dwarf Green Curled’, ‘Redbor’ After the cold, dark days of winter most gardeners are itching to get going as soon  COURGETTES  FRENCH BEANS as possible in spring, but less haste often means more speed and the ‘back end’ – Sow April-June Harvest July-October Sow April-July Harvest July-October autumn – is often longer and warmer than we give it credit for. While it’s best to wait Varieties ‘Defender’, ‘Venus’, ‘Zucchini’ Varieties ‘Blauhilde’, ‘Cobra’, ‘Purple Teepee’ for cooler weather before starting salad crops, onions and parsnips, and peas are probably past a reasonable sowing date by mid-June, that still leaves lots of scope for a very productive vegetable patch for the rest of the summer, through winter and into next year. The greatest advantage of starting late is that almost everything can be sown direct into the warm soil. One of the best Florence fennel crops I’ve ever grown was directly sown in late July and was ready for harvest in October. Courgettes and squashes can be sown direct, and carrots that are sown in June will often avoid carrot fly. Beetroot, French beans, kohlrabi, runner beans, swede, sweetcorn and turnips will grow quickly. I’ve even planted potatoes in the first week of June and had an excellent crop in late October. It’s a good idea to establish a small seed bed and sow winter brassicas, such as cabbages, sprouts, calabrese, sprouting broccoli and kale, as well as leeks and chicory for transplanting when the seedlings are large enough to handle.  Catch up with Monty Catch Monty and the rest of the team on Gardeners’ World from 8pm every Friday this June. See Monty on Thurs, Fri and Sat at BBC Gardeners’ World Live, 16-19 June. Book tickets at bbcgardeners worldlive.com  CARROTS  FLORENCE FENNEL HEAR Monty PHOTOS: MARSHA ARNOLD; JASON INGRAM Sow January-July Harvest May-December Sow March-July Harvest May-September discuss how to start a Varieties ‘Nantes’, ‘Parmex’, ‘Resistafly’ Varieties ‘Amigo’, ‘Dragon’, ‘Di Firenze’ beautiful, successful vegetable garden that produces crops all year long at GardenersWorld.com/podcast NEXT MONTH Join Monty as his July harvests kick in, with the late-summer performers all raring to go 36 GardenersWorld.com June 2022

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Pots for PHOTOS: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX summer impact PART 1 BEST FOR POLLINATORS In the first of a new series, Arit Anderson inspires us to be creative with simple containers oozing summer flair. This month, a combination of plants perfect for pollinators and wildlife 38 GardenersWorld.com June 2022

summer pots “I love displaying containers on my patio to celebrate seasonal planting and experiment with new ideas” For a show-stopping summer PHOTO: NEIL HEPWORTH display, plant up a large pot June 2022 with purple Verbena rigida, white-flowered Vitex agnus- castus and bronze-purple grass Pennisetum advena ‘Rubrum’, then water regularly GardenersWorld.com 39

summer pots I have a small town garden and from the outset I have loved 5 best plants for pollinators displaying containers on my patio to celebrate seasonal planting and experiment with new ideas. These ‘mini borders’ can be tailored to When choosing plants to attract pollinators, look for colourful flowers suit any position or soil type… you get to make the rules! that have simple structures, so the nectar can be accessed easily. Include a mix of plants that flower at different times to prolonging Choosing the right container for your garden style is important. the nectar, and add some that are night scented to attract moths. Terracotta pots like this one sit well in cottage gardens and those with a Mediterranean feel. Look out for old gems at reclamation yards or car boot Salvias fairs. With your container chosen, it’s time to get creative with planting. A summer staple, salvias come Both Vitex agnus-castus and Verbena rigida are bee and butterfly in a vast array of colours and magnets, and are long flowering, from summer into autumn. From a forms. Bees, butterflies and design perspective, I’ve added a red fountain grass (Pennisetum advena other insects forage on the ‘Rubrum’), whose delicate dark leaves contrast perfectly with the purple small, tubular, lipped flowers. and white flowers. All these plants are perennial, so at the end of the Height x Spread season I simply pop them in the border and start again. 30-120cm x 30-50cm Flowers Jun-Nov How to plant up your pot Echinacea YOU WILL NEED: L Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus) L Verbena rigida L Red fountain Large bright coneflowers, the grass (Pennisetum advena ‘Rubrum’) L Peat-free multi-purpose button centres are a magnet compost L Terracotta pot, approx 45cm diameter for pollinators. Birds also feed on the seedheads once the blooms are spent. H x S 50-100cm x 40-60cm F Jun-Oct 1 Check there are drainage holes 2 Experiment with positioning Lavender in your container – if not, drill your plants while they’re still several. Place it in the position in their pots. It’s generally best The fragrant flowers are rich where you want to display it. to put taller ones at the back or in nectar. Grow in full sun and Then half-fill it with peat-free centre to provide focal interest, free-draining soil. These small compost. Prepare your plants then arrange smaller plants around shrubs are drought tolerant. by watering really well. them to create a good balance. Deadhead and trim the tips off green growth to keep compact. H x S 40-75cm x 40-60cm F Jun-Aug Selinum wallichianum Pollinators flock to the clouds of giant lacy umbels, standing tall above ferny foliage. This hardy perennial comes from the Himalayas. Grow it in a sunny or partially shaded spot. H x S 1.2m x 60cm F Jul-Sep 3 Once you’re happy with your 4 Backfill with compost, ensuring Buddleia PHOTOS: TORIE CHUGG; SARAH CUTTLE; arrangement, remove each there are no gaps around the PAUL DEBOIS; NEIL HEPWORTH; JASON INGRAM plant from its pot and lightly roots, as you gently firm the plants Easy and fast growing, the loosen its roots if possible. in. Water thoroughly after planting, butterfly bush lives up to its Then put them back in their final then keep the compost just moist. name, with long flowerheads positions, turning each plant so After six weeks start adding a liquid filled with pollen and nectar. its best side faces outward. feed to your watering regime. Butterflies love them. Deadhead to encourage further flowers. H x S 1.5-3m x 1-1.5m F Jul-Sep Arit on TV Catch Arit and the rest of the team for summer planting inspiration and practical tips on Gardeners’ World at 8pm on Fridays throughout June. NEXT MONTH Arit creates a statement pot that will add interest to a shady spot 40 GardenersWorld.com June 2022

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Embrace Pick a wildlife-friendly your space shrub such as hydrangea from B&Qís range Make the most of every inch of your garden with B&Qís impressive range of more than 2,000 plants across the year* D o you have a big expanse of garden Take your pick that develop a warm pink flush in the winter. Or for with lots of gaps that need filling? long-lasting colour in containers, a hardy fuchsia Or perhaps you only have a small Here are just some of the wonderful products is perfect. Once they start flowering in early patio area or a garden thatís stuck in the shade you should keep your eye out for at your local summer, theyíll keep going until the first frost. for most of the day? Whatever challenges your B&Q garden centreÖ outdoor space presents you with, B&Q has the perfect selection of high-quality plants to suit Perennials ñ With B&Qís large range of Grow your own ñ Always wanted to grow your all your needs, from pretty perennials and perennials, your garden will be full of colour own fresh produce? Itís a great way to cut down on deliciously fragrant herbs to mature bamboo, throughout summer and beyond. The wallflower plastic packaging and save money. From the usuals striking wildife-friendly shrubs and much more. Erysium ëBowlesís Mauveí flowers in May and in like carrots and coriander, tomatoes and beetroot, a mild year wonít stop until Christmas, if you keep to elegant cherry trees and exotic chilli, B&Qís fruit, Quality comes first snipping off spent flower stalks. For something vegetable and herb range is impressively varied. with cheerful flowers all the way into autumn, If you have room to spare, why not create a veggie B&Q works with carefully selected plant geraniums wonít let you down. The variety plot with a mix of crops? If youíre tight on space, growers around the world to ensure all its ëRozanneí will cover the ground quickly and strawberries are great for hanging baskets, while plants are first-class and healthy, with sites produces purply-blue blooms. Vibrant ëWest blueberries can be grown in pots. And, of course, audited and nurseries reviewed regularly Countryí lupins, meanwhile, are great for borders herbs are ideal for growing on windowsills. by the in-house horticulture team. The plants ñ just deadhead after flowering and protect from themselves go through strict vetting, sampling frost by covering the crown of the plant. Large feature plants ñ B&Q has a huge range of and rigorous tests at every stage too, to ensure larger plants including a variety of different shaped they meet the highest standards before they Shrubs ñ Whether youíre after a hebe or topiary from spirals to pyramids, which will help even reach the stores. Then, only the very best hydrangea, or a lavatera or fuchsia, B&Q has bring structure and a focal point to your garden. varieties are chosen, so you can rest assured every wildlife-friendly shrub you could possibly Plus, there are larger established shrubs and the plants you take home with you will thrive wish for. Shrubs can last for years and are perennials, some of which are up to 10 years old. in your garden. investments for your garden, so it pays to choose ones that will flower for a long time. An evergreen So, go on, let B&Q inspire you to bring your Youíll also be pleased to discover B&Qís range like Hebe ëHeartbreakerí is a showstopper all year. garden to life, and enjoy taking a break from order changes with the seasons and new varieties are It has bee-friendly mauve flowers in the summer and routine to nurture it. Not only will you enjoy continually being introduced (more than 180 and attractive green and cream variegated leaves the benefits, but so will nature. new varieties will be introduced this year alone).

Moving to peat-free Always wanted to grow your own fresh produce? B&Qís B&Q is leading the way when it comes to fruit, vegetable and herb peat. It first introduced peat-free compost back in 1991 and is now committed to moving range is impressively varied away from using any peat in its products, as peatlands are vital in helping to protect natural Vibrant ëWest Countryí habitats and tackle climate change. In 2023, lupins, meanwhile, are its entire bagged range of composts will be completely peat-free. great for borders What plants will help attract pollinators to my garden? Visit your local B&Q and bring Bees are especially attracted to purple and nature home with you this summer blue flowers, so thyme and lavender (pictured above) will have your garden buzzing with bees in early summer. Also, single, open flowers such as foxglove or honeysuckle are much easier for them to access ñ the climbing honeysuckle ëGraham Thomasí, which has large white flowers that turn to yellow, is particularly lovely. You could try the vibrant Dianthus ëElectric Dreamsí too. New and exclusive to B&Q, it will add eye-catching colour to your garden with its two-tone pink flowers from March until September, so it wonít only be the bees who will enjoy this plant year after year. Ideal for pots, borders and hanging baskets, it will thrive in a sunny spot when grown in free-draining soil. For flowers later in the year, the long flower stems of butterfly-friendly Verbena bonariensis will mingle well with other plants and will self-seed in well-drained soil. * Range availability varies by store

PLANTS WITH PURPOSE Part 4: Pond plants Bring life and colour to your pond with carefully chosen plants. Carol Klein explains how to choose the right ones PHOTOS: SARAH CUTTLE; GETTY/IMAGEBROKER/LILLYThe quintessential water plant, waterlilies are available in various sizes to suit almost June 2022 any pond – there are even miniature varieties to grow in a tub or container pond. Height x Spread 10cm x 30-150cm Flowers May-Sep 44 GardenersWorld.com

plants with purpose June 2022 GardenersWorld.com 45

plants with purpose When we bring water into our gardens, there is a whole new vocabulary of plants to discover. In common with all our plants, wild and cultivated, they live by natural laws but the rules for their cultivation and care are slightly different. Plants that live under the water derive nutrients from that water, some also have wide, thin leaves that can utilise sunlight easily and air-filled cells in their leaves and stems. The waterlily is one of our most beautiful aquatic plants. Its ancient relatives were among the earliest flowering plants on Earth and their evolution and adaptations were so successful that they still look much the same to this day. And we are lucky enough to be in a position to offer waterlilies, and many other wetland plants, a home in our garden ponds. Wetlands support some of our most CLOCKWISE FROM TOP outstanding wildflowers, from the golden  Yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus) globes of king cups to the exotic blooms of waterlilies. Without them our natural Height x Spread 1.5m x 30cm Flowers Jun-Aug world is a poorer place. In our gardens too, water is not just an asset, it transforms  King cups or marsh marigold – its effect is magical. The moment you (Caltha palustris) add the element of water to your garden, its reality changes. H x S 40cm x 45cm F Apr Water is the extra ingredient that brings  Water hawthorn (Aponogeton enchantment in its wake. It can be tranquil distachyos) – “as still as a mill pond” – reflecting the scene around it and creating a double H x S 10cm x 90cm F Mar-Jul & Sep-Dec reality. It can move gently, almost imperceptibly, or it can rage and torrent. None of this happened overnight, but Within the bounds of what will flourish PHOTOS: XGEXTXTXYX/JXAXCXKXYXPXAXRXKXEXR PHOTOGRAPHY; JASON INGRAM Water adds sound, splashes and bubbles, gradually the iris developed adaptations that in these various watery settings, there is WATER HAWTHORN: STOCKTON BURY GARDENS, HEREFORDSHIRE swishes and gurgles, a new dimension, allowed it to survive. It still has rhizomes but a wealth of plants from which to choose. it brings a garden to life. now it is waxy and resilient, its roots are wiry Some are exotics – not native to our shores and can cope with living in wet conditions or but nonetheless coming from areas, usually We all acknowledge what an important even totally submerged. Move it into thin, dry in the Northern Hemisphere, with similar element of our gardens it forms – without soil and it will wilt and be unhappy. Equally, conditions to those that prevail here. its presence our soil would bake and our transfer its relatives that thrive in these arid Others are, literally, perfectly at home here, plants shrivel. But to glorify it for its own climes to the water’s edge and they will sulk dwelling in and around ponds and wetlands sake in the form of a pond, stream, sink, and eventually rot and die. Early ancestors of in the UK, so they can seamlessly make the trough or even a bowl, to separate it so waterlilies probably evolved 150 to 200 million transition to a garden setting. Unless you’ve we can appreciate it fully, is a hugely years ago. There was a lot more water on the got a huge pond, the most difficult question, rewarding exercise. Earth then and they adapted so well that rather than what to include is, sadly, what they’ve changed little since. to leave out. The plants that grow in, on and alongside water are special. They have evolved together with their damp environment, perfectly adapted to the specific challenges such locations present. Most plants forced by flood to face serious inundation for any length of time would simply rot, they would drown, but our bog dwellers and paddlers are perfectly at home. It’s believed that before the last Ice Age, the yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus) was a landlubber, but as the glaciers retreated and melted, the water table rose, ground became wetter and the iris was faced with the option to sink or swim. “Water is not just an asset, it transforms – its effect is magical. The moment ”you add the element of water to your garden, its reality changes 46 GardenersWorld.com June 2022



plants with purpose Dragonfly nymphs live Surefire success PHOTOS: PAUL DEBOIS; JASON INGRAM underwater then emerge, with pond plants climbing up plant stems, to complete their What to plant Both for us and for the creatures amazing metamorphosis into flying adults that will make it and its environs their home, a successful pond needs plants at every level: 48 GardenersWorld.com under the water, on the water’s surface, in the water around its edges and in the damp and boggy areas that hopefully will surround it. Each of these groups of plants has its own function – its idiosyncratic life and its own beauty – although pondweed doesn’t turn everyone on aesthetically! Through photosynthesis, oxygenators keep the water healthy and clear by releasing oxygen through the day – they keep the water alive, vital for those creatures that live in the pond. Floating plants create shelter and shade, and provide a different habitat between the water and its edges. Waterlilies are the go-to example, but other plants such as water hawthorn and water crowfoot are options too. Marginals – plants that live close to the water’s edge – are essential. Dragonflies emerge from their underwater nymph stage by climbing up the stems of reeds and irises, to assume their adult magnificence, while other pollinating insects will visit the flowering plants in search of nectar and pollen. Around the edge, on terra firma or terra semi-firma, there are opportunities to grow glorious bog plants that offer shelter to other aquatic or semi-aquatic creatures. How to care for pond plants The presence of water introduces a whole new cast to join in the garden drama. It is important to establish a balance between the various elements in and around the pond. Just beware of planting anything too invasive – we’ve had to deal with over-energetic water mint, which was swamping other plants. Providing for wildlife isn’t a one-way process – not only will you have the thrill of watching tadpoles emerge from frogspawn, but the frogs that will be the final stage of the process will then spend most of their lives in the garden. As well as having fascinating lives, dragonflies and damselflies are a delight to watch as they make aeronautical circuits of the garden. June 2022

Natureís way )URPKRPHJURZQIUXLWWRERUGHUVIRU\\RXUĞ RZHUVOHW ERWWOHJUHHQLQVSLUH\\RXWRPDNH\\RXUJDUGHQVLQJWKLVVXPPHU The best drinks start with the finest raspberry canes, place them about 45cm apart, Iced elderflower and ingredients, and nobody knows that and leave around 1.8m between rows. They chamomile tea better than bottlegreen. Take the like free-draining, fertile soil and will grow Hand-Picked Elderflower Cordial, for instance. best in an open, sunny site. In need of a little pick-me-up? This iced tea was It was created when husband and wife, Kit made for idle afternoons in the garden and Shireen, began experimenting with the Once harvested, why not use them to mix elderflowers they found growing on the up some extraordinary drinks with bottlegreen? Serves 2 Prep 5 mins, plus chilling doorstep of their Cotswolds home. For a fruity twist on your gin and tonic, add your home-grown berries and dash of the Ingredients Now enjoyed across the world, much of Luscious Summer Raspberry Cordial. If itís a 2 chamomile teabags bottlegreenís heritage and provenance remains refreshing soft drink youíre after, try adding 1 blood orange the same. The mill is still based in the heart your berries to bottlegreenís Elderflower 1 pink grapefruit of the Cotswolds, where spring water is Sparkling PressÈ and serve over ice. 80ml bottlegreen Hand-Picked Elderflower drawn from its very own spring and carefully Cordial blended with blossoms of the highest quality The bottle that for a beautifully crafted taste. If youíre keeps on giving Method passionate about the provenance of your 1 Soak the chamomile teabags in 300ml boiling ingredients, why not start growing your own? Your leftover bottlegreen bottles can be used water for 3 mins, then remove the bags and chill Summer fruits are simple to grow, and here to create all kinds of wonderful things in your the chamomile tea in the fridge for 10 mins. are two great varieties to get started withÖ garden. To create a quirky and sustainable border for your flower beds, dig your bottles 2 Cut the orange and grapefruit in half. Juice The berry best into the soil around the edges. Or use them one half of each and cut the other halves into to give your plants a steady stream of water. slices. Fill two highball glasses or tall tumblers Strawberries are one of the simplest fruits To do this, simply fill a bottle with water and with ice and add the sliced fruit. Top with to grow at home. You can plant them in a poke a hole in the lid. Screw it back on, then the cooled chamomile tea and Hand-Picked strawberry bed or a plant pot (ideal for gardens bury the neck of the bottle a few inches Elderflower Cordial. Stir before serving. where space is tight), but just make sure you below the ground near your plants. mulch with plenty of well-rotted organic matter and take care to position them in a sunny spot. Raspberries are another affordable and easy variety to grow. When positioning your For more recipe inspiration, or to discover the full bottlegreen range, visit bottlegreendrinks.com

plants with purpose 5 pond plant must-haves 3 Trollius 1 of clear yellow are perfectly europaeus Iris ensata ‘Rose Queen’ complemented by its tussocks of glossy ‘buttercup’ leaves. 2 Often known as butterfly irises H x S 70cm x 40cm F May-Jun Primula for their very decorative flowers, bulleyana many of the modern hybrids are 4 5 flouncy and overbred, but this Rodgersia aesculifolia Butomus one retains the elegance and umbellatus simplicity for which the species For big, bold foliage, nothing is so valued in Japan. Marginal. surpasses this handsome plant. Height x Spread 75cm x 75cm Its tough, palmate leaves are Flowers May-Jul bronzy-red in spring, almost polished, becoming green in 2 summer, then colouring up again Primula bulleyana in autumn. It enjoys damp soil. H x S 2m x 1m F Jul One of a multitude of candelabra primulas, so-called for the whorls 5 of flowers – sometimes eight or Butomus umbellatus nine per stem – that open in succession from the base up. The flowering rush All love boggy conditions and flourishes at the water’s will seed around when happy. edge with its roots H x S 60cm x 20cm submerged. Here, it lifts F Apr-Jun its upright grassy leaves, piercing the pond’s 3 surface, and opens its Trollius europaeus delightful pale-pink flowers in late summer. A British native, the globe flower It may self-seed if you thrives in damp, heavy soil in don’t deadhead it. the wild and in our gardens too. H x S 1.2m x 50cm F Jul-Aug Its simple, spherical flowers Plant with: pond plants Carol on TV PHPOHTOOTSO:ST:OXRIXEXXCXHXUXGXG;XXGEXTXTXYX/JXOHNATAPW, ORIETTA GASPARI; JASON INGRAM To keep a pond healthy, you need a good Catch Carol and the rest balance of oxygenators and clear water. As in of the team on Gardeners’ herbaceous borders, many pond plants can be World at 8pm on Fridays propagated by division. We have just split a throughout June. huge clump of Iris pseudacorus ‘Variegata’ into about 10 pieces. Some have gone into a bed in WATCH our guide to removing the main garden and the rest around the pond. pondweed and keeping the water Be mindful of autumn leaves – if you let old clear at GardenersWorld.com/ leaves accumulate at the bottom of the pond, improve-your-pond they will soon render the water stagnant. It may be worthwhile covering the pond with netting during leaf-fall. Use native purple loosestrife and flowering offer SAVE 20% ON A RANGE OF POND PLANTS rush to create a natural-looking pond edge Fill your pond with colourful plants creating your very own haven for wildlife and save 20% across the You Garden Pond Plant range. yougarden.com/RGW213 or call 0844 502 0050* and quote RGW213 Please add £6.99 postage T&Cs: P&P £6.99 per order. Offer closes 30 July 2022. Offer subject to availability or while stocks last. Delivery to UK only and surcharges may apply to outlying areas. Full T&Cs at yougarden.com. *Calls cost 5p per minute plus your network provider’s access charge. NEXT MONTH Discover how Carol likes to use perennials and follow her advice on choosing and growing them 50 GardenersWorld.com MoJunnthe 20220