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More from Welcome Editor of the Year: Homes & Gardens Meet Adam… Summertime – and the livin’ on our exclusive tour of is easy… Well, Gershwin may not glorious gardens in the East have been a gardener but he of England, where you’ll be (and his lyricist) wrote the song joined for a memorable day for us all to live by through the by Adam Frost. Departing months of July and August. 7 August, places are limited Now is the moment when – see page 77 for more. our gardens accelerate into overdrive, fuelled by long days Listen out… and warm nights. It’s our role to keep the engine heading to the latest in our award-winning podcast in the right direction – and with foody expertise from Monty on the enjoy the ride! summer harvest, Charles Dowding on No Dig, plus chefs Marcus Wareing and Prue Simply being outside for Leith. GardenersWorld.com/podcast longer gives us a deeper connection to the nature around us, while making our gardens a sensory pleasure is within easy reach Welcome... – through fresh and healthy edibles, scented flowers and textural plants. It’s all a vital part of the summer experience, so we share ways in nature with our to do this and more – including how to choose the best solar lighting 132-page guide to to help you enjoy even longer outside, as the sun goes down... wildlife gardening – includes 75 star plants If you’re viewing the summer months as a countdown to Back and spotter’s guides to School, fear not – we’ve brilliant ways to help keep kids busy to over 50 species. Buy and entertained outdoors. These holiday-at-home projects are easy on your pocket too, so hop over to page 52 for inspiration. (+P&P) at magsdirect. co.uk/GWGWildlife House plants can have a tough old time in summer though – so we’re showing them love in this issue, with the brilliant Joe Bagley Learn a skill... sharing essential care tips. We were all delighted by Joe’s videos for Gardeners’ World in lockdown, revealing hundreds of the healthiest Perfect your pruning this house plants you’ll ever see. Learn his secrets on page 83. summer – with expert host David Hurrion. Join online So enjoy these peak summer moments, from a freshly podded on Friday 1 July at 12 noon, pea to the scent of old roses, of meals outdoors under starry skies for 90 minutes of demo and and distant squeals of delight from a homemade den. Q&A. Just £15 at Gardeners World.com/grow-how Memories are made of this... EDITOR’S PORTRAIT: JASON INGRAM Keep up to date with us at Lucy Hall, Editor OTHER IMAGES: SARAH CUTTLE; JASON INGRAM FACEBOOK @GWmagazine @lucyhall_GW Fun in the garden is our promise to you this month. Because INSTAGRAM @gardenersworldmag TWITTER @GWmag summer living is better outdoors, whatever your age... PINTEREST @GWmag Looking to get in touch? Turn to page 146 PS Get early bird access to the BBC Gardeners’ World Autumn Fair at July 2022 Audley End, Essex, on 2-4 September. Quote GWR1 for 15% off until 8 July at bbcgardenersworldlive.com/autumn-fair – we’ll see you there! GardenersWorld.com 3

We July On the cover… 112 68 Contents 28 102 We love... O ers for you 52 90 6 We love July offers 14 83 46 12 Expert’s choice: ipomoea 61 17 Full Monty: coping with drought Fill your winter 18 Have your say: readers’ letters pots and baskets Rosa ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ by Gap/Fiona McLeod 20 Clippings: news for gardeners with pansies for a 24 2 for 1 Gardens: Lake District delights 52 colour boost Fun ideas to Be inspired FREE keep the family 34 Carol’s must-have perennials 14 24 winter-flowering pansies entertained 52 Family fun with our gardening special worth £27.94, plus other plant offers this summer 61 Buyer’s guide to solar lighting 90 Growing Greener: supporting wildlife Subscribe today! Do it now 26 Sign up for a subscription and get two years for the price of one 28 Monty’s summer veg harvests 40 Arit’s container for a shady spot 160 Treat a friend to a subscription 46 Pots for a summer filled with scent and pay £5 for the first three issues 68 Successful watering with Alan 79 Our pick of eco-watering products 83 Your house plant summer care guide 112 Pruning: cordon pears & trained fruit Grow & Eat 98 Rekha: making the most of courgettes 102 Help your crops cope with heat 111 Your growing guide for the month Wildlife 76 83 96 What to look out for in July Have lunch and Discover how to meet Adam at keep your indoor Q&A Boughton House plants in shape 139 How to avoid hollyhock rust Travel 61 141 Gardeners’ Question Time 76 JoinAdam on our East of England Take your pick Last words tour, plus explore the gardens of from our bright Somerset and Dorset ideas for solar 146 Crossword lighting 161 Next month Plants 162 Tales from Titchmarsh 81 FREE lavender plants & seed packets 90 109 3 for 2 banana plants, saving £14.99 133 Save 15% on spring bulbs How to reverse the decline in For more great offers visit: biodiversity GardenersWorld.com/o ers 4 July 2022

46 Savour the scents of summer with our fragrant container displays 68 28 Your 12-page July planner Alan shares his Monty shows watering expertise how to get the 40 pick of the crops for healthy plants Brighten up a shady corner PHOTOS: SARAH CUTTLE; PAUL DEBOIS; NEIL HEPWORTH; JASON INGRAM. ILLUSTRATION: ELIN BROKENSHAW with Arit’s statement pot 50 things to do this month Monty’s month 119 Fruit & veg 123 Greenhouse 126 Adam’s essentials 129 Flowers 131 Around the garden 135 GardenersWorld.com 5

“Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability” Sam Keen 6 GardenersWorld.com July 2022

We July PHOTO: JASON INGRAM July 2022 We love July July is sometimes a quiet month in Óòâ« â  ÌæЂí° °òæíÅ  Ì  òæíÅ  Óª  âÅĄæòËË â³æÓý âϚ Ì þ  â  æ ííų̫³ÌíÓ « ÌíÅ ¿Ó«í°âÓò«° í° Ì ăíª þþ  Âæ c° â  â ÅÓíæ ÓªßÅ Ìíæ ӳ̫í° ³âí°³Ì«Ϛ òíþ  Ì   íÓßÅ Ì Ì Ë Â æòâ í° â  â æß  æªÓâĔĉĉĄ ÌÌò ÅæϚÅ í  ß â Ì̳ Åæ Ì ϲÓª Óòâæ ϳí° Ĕâæí Óªí°  °Å³ æ  c° «ÓÓ í°³Ì«³æí° í³ªþ ° ý  « ßí° Ìí° í³æ æ°Óß̫߳ ÓßßÓâíò̳íĄϚ Ì í° í³ææÓË í°³Ì« í° íª þ« â  Ì âæ Ìâ æ³æíϜVÅ Ìí ª ³âæϚÌòâæ â³ æ Ì ĕÓþ âæ°Óþæ  þ í °ÓòíϚþ  â  Ó˳̫ªÓâĄÓòϜ WORDS James Alexander-Sinclair STAR OF THE MONTH Agastache ‘Blackadder’ When presented with a plant with this name it is very ³ªĔ òÅííÓ ýÓ³ í°³Ì³̫Óªí° YÓþ Ìí³ÌæÓÌϥY³ ° â  òâí³æϥ ÌÅíÓÌæ â³ æÓªí° æ Ë Ì Ë  +Óþ ý âϚ. Ë ĔÌ ³Ì«³í° â íÓ ÓË òßþ³í° æò³í Å  Ì ÅÓ«Ą æí°  í Å ý³æ³ÓÌ ° â í â³æßâ ííĄÅÓ í°æÓË Ϛþ° â  æí°³æ ³æÓÌ Óªí°   æíßÅ Ìíæ.° ý  ý â° í° ßÅ  æòâ íÓ Ë  í c ÅÅϚ Å « ÌíϚߠ⪠ íÅĄ ÓÅÓòâ   Ì ßâ ííĄËò °  ææ Ìí³ Å³Ì ÌĄ« â  Ì + â Ϛ³í³æß âíÌ â     òí³ªòÅÅĄ þ³í°í°  ò ³ÓòæÅĄæ  Ìí  Salvia sclarea turkestanica ϲþ°³ °æË ÅÅæ  ³íų  Å â³ ÂϚæÓ.æòßßÓæ í° í«³ý æ òæ æÓâíÓª ÓÌÌ  í³ÓÌϳ ÅæÓÂÌÓþÌ æ°ĄææÓß %ÅÓþ âæªâÓËÌÓþòÌí³Å J íÓ  â VâÓí  íªâÓ˪âÓæí³Ì ÓÅ  â â  æ =  ý  ĕÓþ âæ߳ ææí Ì ³Ì«ªÓâþ³Ìí â³Ìí â æí Height x Spread 90cm x 45cm GardenersWorld.com 7

ALRIGHT, PETAL There is something uplifting about echinacea (which is basically a North American prairie ßÅ Ìíϳ .í°³Ì³í³æí° ß âíß³ÌÂÌ ææÓªËÓæí varieties (although this one is a bit more subtle in its attitude) and the fact that they â  ÅËÓæí Åþ Ąæ  ³Ì« ò Å   Ą      They go brilliantly with light grasses (especially panicum) and our friend on the previous ß « Ϛí°  « æí °   þ â Ϛí° Ąų  a bit of space, so no cramming! Echinacea ‘Summer Cocktail’ Make sure they have lots of sunshine and good drainage. Take root cuttings in autumn. H x S 60cm x 45cm SO HOT RIGHT NOW This is the time of year when the °ÓíЄ ÓÅÓòâ  ĕÓþ âæ ÓË ³ÌíÓí° ³â ÓþÌ c° ªâ æ°Ì ææÓªæßâ³Ì«³æß æí Ì  æòËË â Ąæ â òßÓÌòæ Jòâ« â  Ìæ â  þ âË Ì  ųííÅ  ³í òæíĄ 9òæíⳫ°íªÓâ ĉ³Ì«æÓªÓâ Ì«  Ì  ³ªªæÓªâ  t  Ì æáò  ĉ ³Ì ÌÓí° âí Å ý³æ³ÓÌ ÓË  Ą reference – ‘scorchio’ was always the weather in a Fast Show æÂ í °þ³í°í°  Å í  âÓų̠° âÌ Ϛ³ª.â Ë Ë  âⳫ°íÅĄ  Crocosmia ’Scorchio’ Grows from corms, so very easy to propagate: just dig up the clump and divide in spring. Do this every couple of years to avoid congestion. H x S 75cm x 50cm PHOTO: TORIE CHUGG PHOTOS: TORIE CHUGG; JASON INGRAM 8 GardenersWorld.com July 2022

We July July 2022 LET’S GET MARRIED A classic summer combination: verbena is one of those plants that gives a bit of zing to a newly planted border as ³íĕÓþ âææÓáò³ ÂÅĄ .íß âíÌ âæþ ÅÅ þ³í°í° ĕòªª Ì  ĉĉÅ Óª«â ææ æ (deschampsia, miscanthus and stipas in particular) – in fact, it partners well with pretty much everything! Verbena bonariensis Seeds itself when happy. Remove larger plants as they get too woody. Younger ones are more elegant. H x S 1.5m x 50cm Deschampsia cespitosa Evergreen grass. Quite wild and rough- looking. Needs a thorough combing in spring to remove old growth. H x S 1.2m x 30cm GardenersWorld.com 9

We July AGE BEFORE BEAUTY Old and new acting in perfect harmony. As the glory of the allium goes over then the bounce of a dahlia moves into centre- stage. This is a great example of planned succession in a border: we should always be thinking ahead and have something up our sleeves for summer. Dahlia ‘Blue Bayou’ As with all dahlias, plant out in May once frosts have passed. In autumn lift and store (in colder areas) or cover with a thick mulch. H x S 1.2m x 75cm Allium stipitatum ‘Mount Everest’ Good white allium. Plant bulbs in autumn for summer flowering. Seed heads good in dried flower arrangements. H x S 90cm x 20cm 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE PHOTOS: SARAH CUTTLE; JASON INGRAM 10 GardenersWorld.com The daylily is a great plant: not just in yellow but also in shades of orange and deep mahogany. æí° Ì Ë æò«« æíæϚ  °ĕÓþ âÓÌÅĄÅ æíæªÓâ a day, but they have such depth of colour that daylily days are always good days. Also, if you have lots of them – and they are so easy to propagate – í° ÌĄÓòæ°ÓòÅ ° ý ßÅ ÌíĄÓªæß â ĕÓþ âæþ³í° which to liven up a salad. Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus Divide in spring or autumn. Tolerates clay soil but needs as much sun as possible for optimum flowering. H x S 100cm x 40cm July 2022

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I. ‘Carnevale di Venezia’ I. ‘Cardinal’ Flowers in soft reds and blues, with Finely divided foliage develops purple no two quite the same. Vigorous, half tones in autumn. Vigorous, half hardy hardy annual. H x S 2m x 50cm F Jul-Sep annual. H x S 2m x 50cm F Jun-Sep PHOTOS: SARAH CUTTLE; JASON INGRAM I. ‘Heavenly Blue’ I. Treasure Island Series Vigorous, half hardy annual with sky-blue Attractive semi-trailing foliage – plus trumpets (here with yellow Thunbergia delicious tubers. Half hardy perennial. alata). H x S 3m x 75cm F Jun-Aug H x S 1.5m x 1.5m Harvest Sep-Oct Ipomoea Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Planting Flowers 12 GardenersWorld.com July 2022

I. lobata We July One-sided rows of pointed flowers Expe ’s on crimson stems. Vigorous, half hardy choice annual. H x S 3m x 75cm F Jul-Oct Ipomoea July 2022 Variety is the spice of life with these chameleons, says Graham Rice It’s quite possible that Ipomoea ‘Heavenly Blue’ is my favourite flower. Well, for this month anyway! It’s perhaps not my favourite flower in February, that would be – no, let’s not detour down that alleyway… The thing about ‘Heavenly Blue’, of course, is that the flowers are simply beautiful. Those silky trumpets, unrolling so early and closing by the afternoon. Every day as the clock ticks past noon we’re anticipating the next day’s display. And ‘Heavenly Blue’ is easy to grow. Not so easy that it rampages through the border, strangling the roses, but not so much of a challenge that we’re more likely to fail than to succeed. Raising the seeds, however, needs a little care. I sent some to a friend, once, and before I could explain how to deal with them he’d dumped the whole lot in a pot of garden soil and put it on top of the boiler! And forgotten about them – until spindly creamy-green shoots started trailing down and shrivelling up. Treat them right, and they’re easy. The other thing about ‘Heavenly Blue’ is that it reminds us of its unpredictably diverse relations. Apart from climbers there’s sweet potatoes, there’s ornamental sweet potatoes, there’s the little scarlet I. ‘Cardinal’ and there’s I. lobata – which really doesn’t look related to ‘Heavenly Blue’ at all. And every one is worth growing. But perhaps start with ‘Heavenly Blue’. Did I mention that it might be my favourite flower? ˾ Position Flowering climbers are best in full sun but with rich soil that never dries out. Foliage trailers make attractive front-of-the-border ground cover and can spill out of containers. ˾ Planting Flowering types are raised indoors from spring-sown seeds. They hate chills and poor light, but grow away strongly. ˾ Care Water and feed well. Deadheading flowering types is usually impractical. ˾ Where to buy mr-fothergills.co.uk, 0333 777 3936; thompson-morgan.com, 0844 573 1818. VISIT GardenersWorld.com/ ipomoea-inspiration for more tips and advice on growing ipomoea GardenersWorld.com 13

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We July The Full Monty With thoughts of drought in mind, Monty set out to rebuild his Dry Garden – but will it thrive in his wet Herefordshire plot? PHOTO: MARSHA ARNOLD I hope it is raining as you read this. were large and interesting stones, the price was Fat steady drops falling for hours from a grey very reasonable and thoughts of a stone folly sky that do not batter but soak slowly into the in the garden danced irresistibly before me. thirsty soil. But chance would be a fine thing. As I write this the ground is bone dry. It has Then the pandemic came along and they sat, barely rained for a month, was a dry spring and uncollected, going nowhere. However, my son an exceptionally dry winter. The streams are and I eventually went over earlier this spring running dry and plants are digging into reserves and loaded his pick-up truck with the ones that should be stored for much later in the year. we could (just) physically move, grunting and heaving with a sack truck and ropes. These are I realise that this is all relative. Should you be now ensconced as part of the Dry Garden and reading this in Australia, say, or South Africa, I have replanted around them. you might be entitled to an ironic smile at what we laughingly call a drought. In the greater The idea of using stone came really from my scheme of things Britain has never been truly visits to Greek gardens. The dryness they have short of water. But gardeners are sensitive to cope with is twice anything we might souls, or should be. The variations and conceive here in wet Herefordshire, and yet the fluctuations of weather affect us minutely and combination of stone walls and the fallen stones climate change is the giant elephant in the back from old buildings with plants growing among garden that none of us know how to deal with – them is very beautiful. My thoughts were to use not least because none of us are sure how it is the atypical dryness and sunniness of the site changing and what effects it is having in the to double down on Mediterranean planting. garden. Give us another 100 years and we may be in a position to asses the situation. There is more stone to come, hidden ever- deeper under the brambles, and I could have Climate change is the another pass, building up a little. However, they giant elephant in the are as heavy as I can possibly manage and without some kind of crane or hoist, it is almost back garden impossible to get them into position without trashing all the planting. By and large it is always But I do not have 100 years. If I am still around better to complete all heavy-duty landscaping and able to garden in 20 years’ time I will be before beginning any planting. happy. I (and arguably everyone alive) need to engage with the issues that climate change I could perhaps sift through the heap to find is raising today, not in a 100 or even 20 years. smaller stones, but most are pretty big. And There is nothing noble or virtue-seeking about there is something monumental and powerful this. I am not trying to save the planet. Apart about large objects in a garden – especially if from being slightly beyond my remit, the planet made from natural materials like stone or wood. will do just fine although we humans might be They become sculptural without deliberately in a pickle. No, I am thinking for the moment being so and open out different ways of planting only about my garden. and of looking at plants. Which is why I took apart the Dry Garden Is it now a rockery? If so, then it has become earlier this spring, and before replanting the one by accident. But maybe I have stumbled things that were being submerged and upon the beginnings of one, a kind of post- swamped, like the irises, knautia, sedums, modern, deconstructed version where the stone euphorbias and tulbaghia, I added stones. has tumbled and fallen asunder, but which still Big ones. Just over two years ago, I was offered dominates both the appearance and the style of a pile of big ‘Old Red Sandstone’ building stones. planting. Who knows? Sometimes you end up They were said to have once formed a stone where you are meant to be by heading off in a bridge but when I went to see them, they were different direction altogether. an amorphous heap, mostly hidden by brambles and nettles. However, I could see that there MONTY ON TV Catch Monty and the rest of the Gardeners’ World team on Friday evenings (Thursday 7 and 24 July) – check TV listings for times. And hear him discuss growing your own food and other topics at GardenersWorld.com/podcast July 2022 GardenersWorld.com 17

Have your say The view from your side of the fence HOT TOPIC Caught on camera Mind, body and soil I had long wanted a wildlife camera to see what visited my Post Covid-19, one of the first things I did Growing your own fruit and veg provides many garden at night and with a February birthday, was sign up for one of Myerscough College’s physical and mental health benefits your feature on wildlife cameras (February gardening courses. I am a single mum with issue) was ideally timed. It’s been a great three young boys and I had been very ill. Just Watching the Gardeners’ World special present and has provided footage of the fox doing the course for three hours a week programme on indoor plants with Nick and I suspected had been visiting. I was delighted to helped me become more positive and more Frances, I was moved by the clip of Jason and find we had three hedgehog visitors every night. attuned to nature. the plants he grows on the balcony of his I didn’t specifically feed them, but they love the high-rise apartment. He seemed so happy. leftover mealworms I put out for the birds. I have suffered greatly with both my physical and mental health over the I just want Jason to know that I empathise I followed Kate Bradbury’s tips – pesticide- years, and always found gardening with him and commend his bravery in free gardening, having a small pond, growing therapeutic. Watching plants grow, sharing his feelings about depression. My wildlife-friendly shrubs and providing wildlife seeing the fruits of my labour and small garden always lifts my spirits. I have access to the garden – and this has enhanced observing the seasons change are just some 209 plants, mainly in pots. Like many others, my whole gardening experience. of the joys, and my boys have become more I battle with depression at times, and always interested in gardening. find solace and joy in my garden. Elliot Lane, West Yorkshire Now, two years later, I have completed Jayne Morgan, by email The kids are alright the City and Guilds Level 1 and 2 Diplomas and have been accepted for an RHS I enjoy seeing viewers’ gardens on Gardeners’ course, to begin in September. World, especially the enthusiasm of the children. It would be great to see this in the magazine I have also been gardening with my too – maybe dedicating a page, including snaps, local church, and it has been an exciting would encourage more youngsters to pick up a adventure for us. We’ve been working with fork and trowel? My garden bursts with far more Faiths4Change to produce seasonal fruit and vigour than me these days, but it’s good to know veg, which we donate to a food bank for the younger generation is taking up the gauntlet asylum seekers in Liverpool. to keep our gardens green and productive. Mari-Anne Valkass, Liverpool Pippa Gawthorpe, South Yorkshire We say See our Family Gardening Special on p52. A moat for molluscs Reuse guttering to keep snails off your veg Nurturing nurseries I would like to share an idea on how to control In the May issue, I read with interest the slugs and snails without harming them or the concern about whether small nurseries have animals that eat them. Many years ago, I made the capacity to manage changes. The answer a moat out of guttering and placed it around is yes if enough people support them. my veg crops. It was a delight to see the snails perched on the outer rim, straining their heads I visit a local nurseryman who sells plants and out of their shells, sensing the tasty tender soil. He uses and sells only peat-free compost, shoots and leaves on the other side, but and this year he plans to sell it loose so unable to swim across. customers can refill their own bags. Many of the plants are grown from cuttings rather than Some years later, my brother did the same buying in, and if you return the pots, he re-uses (see right). Apart from levelling the ground, it them. The more people that seek out and couldn’t have been simpler or more satisfying. support these traditional nurseries, the better. Ben Hooke, by email Diane Cooper, Buckinghamshire Wr e 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 Cucumbers 7 Eden 8 Pin 9 Lad 10 Reseda 12 Larch 13 Stamens 16 Apache 18 Armeria 19 Yarrow 21 Night 22 Drumhead 23 Satin July 2022 DOWN 1 Capillary 2 Cinerea 3 Mulch 4 End Rot 5 Sets 6 Seed 11 Eyebright 13 Seaweed 14 Almonds 15 Spartan 17 Corymb 20 Acre 18 GardenersWorld.com

We July Stay safe this spring with a Ru around the edges Henchman 1 Tripod Ladder I enjoyed The Full Monty in the March issue. It’s good to know that I am not the only gardener struggling with a four- “Sturdy, lightweight 2 legged ‘pest’. Monty, my Bernese Mountain Dog (named and, most importantly, after… you guessed it!), enjoys safe.” G Jones my borders as much as I do. I often find random things 3 3 44 5 YEAR buried in them and have lost a few plants from having been GUARANTEE repeatedly sat on. 5 Naturally, his favourite area is the veg patch, because If you’re planning to do anything at height, a Henchman Tripod that’s where the food is and Ladder will ensure you stay safe and secure this spring. With it’s we have learned the hard way no wobble stability and lightweight design, a Henchman is the not to put a veg-filled basket FRPSOHWHKRPHODGGHUDQGRQH\\RXFDQXVHZLWKFRQ GHQFH on the ground. A Henchman Tripod ladder is designed for uneven terrain, with Miranda Miller (and fully adjustable legs, claw feet, a wide platform rung for extra Monty), by email stability, a high rail guard so you can work hands free, and rubber overshoes for hard surfaces; the Henchman Tripod Ladder will What’s in a name? keep you safe at height whatever the task. I thought that Alan had read my mind when he wrote about 1 High rail guard enables you to work hands free names (Tales from Titchmarsh, May issue). Names to me are 2 Three independently adjustable legs for soft, uneven ground so important, as they give plants more of a personality and 3 Platform rung for extra stability many of the plants I have in my garden have a personal link. 4 Wide clawed feet for grip on soft ground 5 Rubber overshoes for security on hard surfaces After receiving a devastating health diagnosis, my dear mum took me to our local garden centre (my favourite place) for some plant therapy. When choosing the plants and seeds, I used my ‘horse-race system’, the same one I use for the Grand National. For the plants, I selected the aptly named clematis ‘Tranquillity’, rose ‘Lovely Lady’ for a friend’s special birthday and viola ‘Rebecca’ (below), my sister’s name. For the seeds, I chose sweet peas ‘Wuthering Heights’, after my favourite book, and ‘Berry Kiss’, the lipstick mentioned in the film The Holiday, which I knew my daughter would appreciate. Every year, I always try to add the gorgeous viola ‘Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow’ to my pots. It is such a poignant name, not only for me but also for everyone at this time. Alison Sharman, Berkshire This month’s prizes TOTAL Each winner will receive two VALUE £16.98 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) VIOLA PHOTO: SARAH CUTTLE Our Grow Your Own Guide • Improves grip on Durable. also includes 5 packets of veg Comfortable. seeds worth £11.65. For more hard surfaces The perfect details about the Guide Series, gardening glove. go to bit.ly/GWGBUN21 • Protects delicate flooring from scratching Apply discount code GW422 in basket TO ORDER OR FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT VISIT US AT THE Henchman.co.uk/world RHS OR CALL US ON 03333 444 229 MALVERN SPRING FESTIVAL OR RHS CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW July 2022

Our roundup of the month’s latest gardening news and views Caterpillar threat for pine trees Gardeners can save pollinators The white, silken nests that pine processionary moths build in January are a clear sign of trouble The Government is calling on There have been new calls for stricter import There is a hope, though: native predators gardeners to help stop the decline in pollinating insects. controls on trees, after the discovery of are getting a taste for exotic prey. Two types Environment Minister, Rebecca Pow, told GW a key aim potentially devastating pine processionary of parasitoid insect have now been discovered is to join up different habitats – and our gardens have an important role. moth on a shipment of pine trees from France. on box moth caterpillars, native to East Asia but “There are a million hectares of land in our gardens, and gardeners While the species is not yet established in the now common in the UK. Birds, ants and spiders can provide corridors between our gardens and the wider landscape.” UK, if it gets a foothold it could spell disaster for have also been seen attacking the caterpillars. She suggests growing nectar-rich flowers and letting grass grow long. the country’s pines – including our only native, Andrew Salisbury, Principal Entomologist But charity Buglife says flying insect populations have already crashed by the Scots pine. As with its close relative, oak for the RHS, says the balance is starting to tip. almost 60 per cent in 20 years, and more action is needed. “We need processionary moth – now well entrenched in “We will begin to see much less damage as actions both big and small to help stop this devastating trend, before London and the South East – the caterpillar stage natural predators begin to pick up on it,” he it’s too late,” said spokesperson Jamie Robins. has fine hairs that can cause painful rashes. says. “Hopefully that will happen before we Hunt for missing The infected trees have now been destroyed, lose too much of our box.” GW episodes and the Government has ended imports of pine Tony Kirkham, who ran Kew’s arboretum until GW fans could help replace lost TV history as the hunt begins for dozens and cedar trees from France and Italy. But the his retirement last year, wants all trees arriving in of missing episodes. Only a handful of recordings survive of shows made by Woodland Trust says the interception is a stark the country held in closely monitored quarantine presenters Percy Thrower, Clay Jones, Arthur Billit and Peter Seabrook. reminder of the risks for at least a year before planting. TV historian Chris Perry, of recovery specialists Kaleidoscope, is calling of importing trees. The “Once a tree goes on viewers to search their stash of old recordings. “These programmes Trust’s tree health and Once a tree goes into the landscape we represent the reality of what life invasive species Policy into the landscape, we walk away from it,” was really like in the 1970s,” he says. Lead, Alisha Anstee, he told GW’s Growing í Found a lost episode? Email Chris Perry at [email protected] wants the Government walk away from it Greener podcast. “If to invest in UK tree there’s a pest or disease Percy Thrower presented Gardeners’ World from 1968 to the mid 1970s WORDS: SALLY NEX nurseries instead, so we on it, it’s too late.” July 2022 don’t have to import trees from overseas. í Visit GardenersWorld.com/podcast to “Current policy isn’t working,” she says. listen to our podcast with tree expert Tony The Trust says UK trees now face at least 20 Kirkham. To report tree pests or diseases, serious new pests and diseases from overseas. go to treealert.forestresearch.gov.uk 20 GardenersWorld.com

We July Compost: look, no plastic bag Hard-to-recycle plastic compost sacks could be history after the launch of potting compost packed in cardboard boxes instead. Fertile Fibre’s Plastic Free DIY Compost arrives as a coir block, plus paper bag of nutrients: to turn into compost, just add water. Business Development Manager, Sam Dent, says he wanted a radically different solution to plastic pollution, and hopes it will catch on. “We positively encourage people to imitate the idea,” he says. í Find out more at fertilefibre.com Ancient trees honour Queen With no water, Fertile Fibre’s Plastic Free DIY Compost is easy to carry from the front door to the garden Seventy ancient trees have been dedicated to the Queen for the Platinum Jubilee. This includes the Crom Yew in Northern Ireland (pictured) which is actually two trees, the eldest being an estimated 800 years old. í queensgreencanopy.org Boost for community gardens Community gardens across England and Wales are sharing a pot of almost £200,000 after the National Garden Scheme gave awards to 75 projects, from food banks and community orchards to projects prescribing gardening for health at GP surgeries. Entries for next year’s NGS Community Gardens Award open in October. ngs.org.uk Earlier springs impact UK bird life PHOTOS: MAX BLAKE; GETTY/ANDI EDWARDS/RADIO TIMES; AMANDA Scientists have confirmed what gardeners climate change, but we don’t yet know The project at Whytham Woods, Oxfordshire is one of MCCONNELL; KEITH MCMAHON (GREAT TIT STUDY, WYTHAM WOODS); have suspected for a while: spring is now what their limits are,” she says. the world’s longest-running animal population studies CHARLES SAINSBURY-PLAICE/ADRIAN HOUSTON arriving up to three weeks earlier. There’s also evidence climate change is Beginning in 1947, a decades-long affecting migration. Survey BirdTrack has study of great tits in an Oxfordshire woodland shown that some swallows gave up recorded that year’s first their usual 6,000-mile migration egg as being laid on 27 April. to South Africa this winter and This year, birds began laying stayed in the UK, instead. nearly a month sooner. RSPB wildlife gardening expert, But Dr Ella Cole of Oxford Adrian Thomas, says that small University, who runs the study, actions, like mixing water and soil says caterpillars are also emerging earlier – so there’s still food for hatchlings. into mud pies during heatwaves to “Great tits in the UK are adjusting well to help house martins build nests, can help. “Birds can adapt,” he says. “Everything we do that can help is a win-win.” July 2022 GardenersWorld.com 21

We July My gardening world News in brief Deborah Meaden 1 Businesswoman Deborah Meaden has GLASSHOUSES SAVED been a famously tough-but-kind Dragon Two Victorian glasshouses on BBC2’s Dragon’s Den since 2006. She at risk of ‘catastrophic failure’ is outspoken about business and the are safe again after the Royal environment: her new series of The Big Botanic Garden Edinburgh was Green Money Show begins this month awarded £4 million by the on BBC Radio 5 Live. She lives in an 18th National Lottery Heritage Fund. Century farmhouse on the Somerset Levels with her husband, Paul. rbge.org.uk So, what’s your garden like? Deborah Meaden has turned much of 2 We bought an old farmhouse that had her garden in Somerset over to nature virtually no garden, and all we’ve really MOON GARDENING done is allow it to become itself again. weeds. We’ve got a very big vegetable patch Growing crops on the moon Around the house it’s quite formal, then and it used to be pristine. Now, we’re more may have moved a step closer beyond that it’s very natural. We love birds, of the view that they’re not doing any harm, we love wildlife, and you don’t move to the as long as they don’t affect the crop. to reality as scientists country to then make it sterile, so that persuaded thale cress to creatures can’t live in it. Does your garden help you get germinate in lunar soil. through your busy working life? Which wild creatures do you love I start every day – rain, shine, ice or snow bit.ly/moon-crops to see most in your garden? – getting a cup of tea in my hand and We’re so lucky. When we first came here we wandering around the garden. I do that 3 had one swallow sitting on a wire – now we religiously because it makes me a better have swallows, swifts, house martins and person. It connects me with the world FORCES OF WEEVIL owls. We even have the occasional otter visit and gives me a moment of peace to get my South American weevils have us. We have a pond outside our back door mind together and to breathe some fresh air. been released on UK waterways and the otter comes up to the reeds: it’s not to help fight against invasive frightened of us at all. It eats all of our fish. Having come through lockdown, what And there’s a kingfisher – I’d never seen a I really appreciated was the rhythm that floating pennywort weeds. kingfisher in my life. We walked out of the gardening and nature give you. In a world bit.ly/wonder-weevil back door and there was a kingfisher, actually where everything felt like it had stood on our pond. It moved me to tears. still, the flowers still came up in spring, 4 and the birds still sang. Are you a keen gardener? DOING THE CHARLESTON I’m not at all green-fingered, but I’ll have í Listen to our podcast with Deborah Gardening legends such as a go. I’m actually quite good at weeding! I’ve discussing wildlife gardening, at Great Dixter Head Gardener, learned to not get quite so stressed out about GardenersWorld.com/podcast Fergus Garrett, are headlining the Charleston Festival of the Garden for Grenfell Garden, near Brighton, 14-17 July. PHOTOS: CABI; GETTY/ANADOLU AGENCY/TOLGA AKMEN; PLANT HERITAGE The site where the ruins of Grenfell Tower in West London now charleston.org.uk stand could become a memorial garden. The Grenfell Tower Memorial Commission surveyed survivors, bereaved families 5 and local residents, and found 64 per cent wanted a garden as a lasting tribute to the 72 people who died in the 2017 fire. SEEDY SUCCESS A new kind of ‘sprouter’ – a Could you be a Collection holder? receptacle for sprouting seeds – has won pupils at a Cambridge Charity Plant Heritage is calling on gardeners to help protect secondary school a Design Museum award. It’s on sale at plants, such as campanula and spirea, that aren’t the museum shop from autumn. designmuseumshop.com protected by a National Collection, and are July 2022 therefore at risk of losing varieties. Amateur gardener Jonathan Sheppard started his hollyhock National Collection two years ago, and since then has appeared on Gardeners’ World. “Anyone can be a A final decision on the Grenfell National Collection holder,” says Plant Campanula Tower site will be made in 2023 Heritage Conservation Manager, Vicki Cooke. persicifolia í Find out more at plantheritage.org.uk 22 GardenersWorld.com

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Be inspired by the Lake District with our 2 for 1 Entry Card and Guide Explore the scenery that inspired the great Romantic poets and artists and discover hidden gems nestled among the fells Summer Family favourite PHOTOS: HISTORIC ENGLAND/ENGLISH HERITAGE TRUST/NICK DAWE; LOWTHER spectacle CASTLE/TONY RUMSEY MBE; NATIONAL TRUST/JAMES DOBSON; JUDY THOMAS One of 38 National Trust properties There is no better time to visit in our Guide, Sizergh Castle offers the Lakes than in high summer. a great family day out. As well as its Although famous for having richly planted landscaped garden, some of the wettest weather mirror lake and kitchen garden, in the UK, a Lakeland summer is it also provides a range of activities not to be missed. At Brantwood for all ages. The Scallop Trail in the Gardens you can explore house allows younger visitors to the gardens of Victorian art trace the history of Sizergh in a fun critic and social reformer John and interactive way. Kids can also Ruskin. Much like the artist test their agility on the Wild Play JMW Turner, Ruskin fell in love Trail. Keep a look out in summer with the sublime Lakeland for the many butterflies and other scenery, and his gardens reflect wildlife that thrive on the estate. this passion and the historical 2 for 1 entry £13 house & garden, significance of plants in British £9 garden. Open All year, daily culture. Take the Steam Yacht (house until 30 Oct, Wed-Sun). Full Gondola across Coniston Water details at nationaltrust.org.uk to arrive in true Victorian style. 2 for 1 entry £7. Open 16 Mar- July 2022 end Nov, daily. Full details at brantwood.org.uk 24 gardenersworld.com

2 for 1 garden entry A sleeping beauty Quite the cache! For half a century Lowther Castle Ever tried geocaching? At lay in ruins. It was only in 2008 that Acorn Bank you can explore it was given a new lease of life, its the parkland using a GPS app gardens transformed by renowned and discover hidden treasure! designer Dan Pearson. The Garden- Track down the six concealed in-the-Ruins offers naturalistic containers (or caches) and be planting that pays homage to the surprised by the trinkets inside castle’s history. The latest addition – if you take one, just leave your is a rose garden in the shape of an own little prize for the next English rose and inspired by the person to find. The gardens tale of Sleeping Beauty – it’s an apt themselves offer colourful tribute to the many years that the borders, orchards and a herb castle’s beauty remained dormant. garden with over 250 varieties 2 for 1 entry £12. Open All year, of medicinal and culinary plants. daily. Card not valid on event days, 2 for 1 entry £9. Open 14 Mar- check before visiting. Full details 4 Sep, daily, then 5 Sep-30 Oct, at lowthercastle.org Thu-Mon. Full details at nationaltrust.org.uk Food for thought Levens Hall is most famous for having the oldest topiary garden in the world. It also offers a delicious selection of food and drink. The kitchen café is worth a visit in itself, with its ‘estate to plate’ approach and seasonally inspired menu. Work up an appetite by exploring the amazing topiary, along with elegant rose and fountain gardens, a willow labyrinth and a wilderness. 2 for 1 entry £10.50 (plus £4 per person for house). Open 3 Apr- 6 Oct, Sun-Thu. Full details at levenshall.co.uk Picnic with a poet to see where he got his inspiration. Register for our 2 for 1 newsletter at There is even a picnic spot where Walk in the footsteps of the most you can enjoy the beauty of this GardenersWorld.com/gardens famous Lakeland poet, William wild and romantic informal garden. Wordsworth. At Rydal Mount & 2 for 1 entry £12.50 house & for more garden recommendations and updates Gardens you can visit the poet’s garden, £6 garden. Open All year idyllic home – a part of the Lakes except Jan, daily. Card not valid on a Use your 2 for 1 Entry Card from the May issue he once described as “the loveliest event days – check before visiting. to visit gardens listed in the guide and in our directory spot that man hath ever found”. Full details at rydalmount.co.uk a Missed the May issue or need additional 2 for 1 With breath-taking views of Rydal cards? You can buy copies of the May issue at Water and Windermere, it’s easy GardenersWorld.com/gardens Before you set off Always check the garden’s website and the 2 for 1 Guide before visiting, as the card may not be valid on specific days and/or booking may be required. Note: 2 for 1 only available on Adult tickets. a Share images of your best garden visits using the hashtag #GW2for1 July 2022 NEXT MONTH Explore the fabulous gardens of Cornwall – the ideal destination for a summer break GardenersWorld.com 25

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28 GardenersWorld.com July 2022

monty’s garden Beans, peas, the first tomatoes and salads all tumble from garden to kitchen with increasing rapidity. Supermarket shopping seems a dreary process in comparison July 2022 Monty gathers huge lush bunches of flat-leaved parsley to use liberally – in a totally different league to small straggly shop-bought herbs GardenersWorld.com 29

I love July most for its harvests. Three star veg to harvest These days, an allotment or a vegetable patch in the back garden Parsley is the nearest that most of us get to experiencing a harvest. But it remains I principally grow flat-leaved a magical word, bringing with it all the parsley, which I think has a resonance of fulfilment and completion. better flavour and texture. Around the time of my birthday, at the Curly leaved parsley was beginning of July, our summer vegetable the only type I ever came harvests begin. The first is new potatoes, across until the 1980s, used which emerge white and gleaming from as a garnish or in a sauce to the soil, almost blinking in the sunlight. accompany gammon – and No potatoes ever taste as good as this first, is good and decorative. But shy crop of the year. the flat-leaved kind, used liberally with vegetables, Next comes the garlic crop that has been stews, soups, in salads growing since October. I harvest ours and in delicious walnut when the leaves start to fade, lifting them pesto, is magnificent. carefully with a fork so as not to damage the necks, and dry them in the sun for a few Courgettes weeks to store until the following spring. Then beans, peas, the first tomatoes and The great advantage of the salad crops all tumble from garden growing these yourself is to kitchen with increasing rapidity. that you can harvest when Supermarket shopping seems like a dreary they are very small and process in comparison. It goes without the skins very thin. Mass saying that all this homegrown bounty production tends to favour tastes best eaten in the garden on warm more robust types, to avoid July evenings as the light gently fades. damage in transit. However, varieties such as ‘Ronde de The first potatoes Nice’, yellow ‘Gold Rush’ and near-black ‘Verte de Milan’ On some birthdays I can hold the harvest (or ‘Verdi di Milano’) are of conker-sized spuds in one hand, while nutty, delicious and need no on others they are like an overblown robustness for their journey maincrop, several weeks past the perfect from veg plot to kitchen. egg size. Regardless of this, they get taken indoors, cooked immediately and relished just like asparagus or the first peas. And they should be viewed in this light: a treat that, by definition, cannot be replicated out of season without betraying the whole ethos of such treats. This is right at the core of the pleasure of growing your own. It is the real thing and there is nothing between you and the experience, no one promising year-round satisfaction, packaging and selling it to you as The New Potato Experience or A Taste Sensation. Grow some spuds and plug in directly, full power. The whole point of first and second earlies is not that it gives you a summer supply of spuds, because these are easily and cheaply bought, but it is their texture, taste and, above all, sweetness. The sugars in a potato fresh from the ground are more intense – and, if you cook and eat them as soon as possible after harvesting, there is an appreciable difference from anything that is transported. New potatoes should be dug fresh for a meal, with each harvest cooked in its entirety, because cold left-overs are almost as good as those served hot. If you have missed this year’s new potato boat – and how about that for an image struggling to float – do not despair. You can provide yourself with new potatoes for Christmas by planting a few first or 30 GardenersWorld.com

monty’s garden second early tubers this month in a which cause the leaves to curl inwards. become stressed and more susceptible to large pot or tub. Use a peat-free potting I tie the growing stems to their supports blight, while the airborne spores are more compost, add some grit and a generous likely to get into the greenhouse through amount of garden compost. Allow three weekly, pinching out all the sideshoots as open windows and doors. seed potatoes per pot and place on a 15cm I go. All tomatoes develop shoots growing layer of compost. As the foliage grows, top up diagonally between the stem and leaves. Summer fruit the compost to cover it until it fills the pot. These sideshoots will form fruit, but have Water regularly and generously, especially more vigour than the purely lateral fruit I would trade the very best strawberry when in flower, and bring under cover when trusses, so they tend to take a large share for any raspberries, and summer-fruiting there’s a hint of frost. And wait till Christmas of the plant’s goodness if left unchecked. varieties are at their best in July. I grow morning to relish the best of their sweetness! By pinching them out as they appear, three summer varieties: ‘Malling Jewel’, you concentrate the plant’s energy into an old-fashioned variety with large fruits Boost your tomatoes producing the maximum amount of fruit. and more modest growth, ‘Glen Ample’, and ‘Glen Moy’, which has smaller but July is when greenhouse tomatoes put on the I then give the plants a really good soak. more abundant fruits and few prickles. most growth and set the most fruit. Ripening It is important to water regularly to keep the can be very variable, but in most years we moisture steady and not let the plants dry Summer-fruiting raspberries carry their start to harvest by the end of the month. out too much. But by the end of the month, fruit on the canes that grew the previous I keep a constant watch on the ventilation as the fruits grow and start to ripen, I reduce summer, so all the fresh growth made in and temperature in the greenhouse. Both the watering. I don’t want the sugars in the the current year will crop next July. are controlled only by opening and closing fruits to be too diluted, as this would result Autumn-fruiting types such as ‘Autumn the doors and windows. Tomatoes grow in big but insipid-tasting tomatoes. Bliss’, by contrast, produce their fruit on best when the temperature is even. Steady, the new season’s growth. slightly cooler conditions are preferable to If the weather is wet and warm, the major great fluctuations between day and night, worry is blight. Not enough ventilation and There is a freshness and seasonal treat the plants stay too moist and foster the to the summer raspberries that makes fungus. Too much ventilation and the plants them especially good. We often pick a bowl just before supper and eat with We often pick a bowl of raspberries just before a little cream while they are still warm supper and eat with a little cream while they are from the evening sun. Heaven! still warm from the evening sun. Heaven! Make space for herbs We British, rightly, make a lot of fuss about growing vegetables, exhorting as many people as possible to do so. But we rarely Carrots Quick jobs for a better harvest We pull young carrots whenever we need them, as í Pick annual herbs regularly to keep a form of thinning, then let the rest grow unimpeded. them bushy and delay flowering The earliest crops are best, from ‘Amsterdam’-type í Harvest strawberries just before eating varieties with narrow, cylindrical roots and – don’t refrigerate them smooth skins. ‘Nantes’ are generally bigger and can be í Weed between onions to give the crop grown both as earlies and maincrops. ‘Chantenay’, the best growing conditions ‘Berlicum’ and ‘Autumn King’ are best as maincrops, í Feed and mulch rhubarb now that for big roots in autumn. harvesting is over í Sow salad leaves in gaps where new potatoes have been harvested í Water early in the morning, so plants don’t spend the day parched Snip young shoot tips from herbs for the PHOTOS: MARSHA ARNOLD; JASON INGRAM best flavour and to keep plants bushy July 2022 GardenersWorld.com 31

monty’s garden Six essential herbs to grow make the same effort to get more people growing herbs. Which is odd. Herbs are Grow these productive herbs in quantity to enhance your kitchen garden and flavour vital. A small selection of fresh herbs is your cooking all summer. Choose a mix of woody herbs such as rosemary and thyme, essential for any kind of cooking and that which will give you year-round pickings, and annual herbs such as basil and parsley small selection can be grown in almost for adding to summer dishes. any situation, from a window box or pots at the back door to a full-throated, booted- í ROSEMARY í THYME and-suited herb garden. I feel that we British take herbs for granted, growing a Grow from cuttings taken in summer Grow from divisions or from seed bit of mint, some rosemary, perhaps a sage Pick leaves and flowering shoots Pick sprigs throughout the growing season bush, lavender and thyme, maybe a bay tree for its clipped, decorative effect. í BASIL í CHIVES Nothing uncommon in this, but we grow by the by, without the enthusiasm Grow from seed sown indoors in spring Grow from seed in spring or divide in autumn we show for vegetables. Pick the tips of shoots to keep plants bushy Pick leaves and flowering stems at the base Rosemary, thyme, sage and oregano thrive on endless sunshine with low nutrients and very sharp drainage. So the first rule is find the sunniest spot in your garden and give it to them. Ideally, this is right outside the back door so you can nip outside and grab a handful of herbs as part of cooking. But they absolutely must have sun, and if that is at the far end of the garden then so be it. Instead of nipping outside it is a brisk march. Basil always responds to really rich soil and plenty of moisture. It makes large plants if growing happily – a world away from the etiolated affairs you buy to put on a windowsill. We use a lot of basil – mainly to make pesto, which freezes very well. All fresh tomato is improved with basil leaves in season. ‘Lots’ is an important word when growing your own herbs. Quality is good, but quality in quantity is best. One of my bugbears in life is the parsimony with which herbs are treated – all those spindly little plants in plastic pots masquerading as parsley or basil. You must be generous with herbs, both in the number of plants you grow and the amount harvested. Given that almost all herbs grow easily from seed or cuttings, this is cheap and easy to achieve. It depends on a state of mind rather than the state of your bank balance. „ Monty on TV Gardeners’ World airs on Friday 1 & 29 July and Thursday 7 & 21 July – times vary, see TV listings. í SAGE í OREGANO HEAR Monty PHOTOS: MARSHA ARNOLD; JASON INGRAM Grow from cuttings or spring-sown seeds Grow from softwood cuttings or divisions discuss how to start a Pick the tips of shoots before flowering Pick leaves throughout the growing season vegetable garden that produces crops all year long at Gardeners World.com/podcast NEXT MONTH Monty looks at how to keep on top of bountiful harvests and get ahead on winter crops 32 GardenersWorld.com July 2022

Keep the legends alive Ancient trees are living legends, wildlife havens and carbon stores. But most have no legal protection. Help keep them safe as a member of the Woodland Trust. woodlandtrust.org.uk/join The Woodland Trust is a registered charity, numbers 294355 and SC038885. The Woodland Trust logo is a registered trademark. Photo: Phanie/Alamy. CP00519 GW 05/22

PLANTS WITH PURPOSE Part 5: Perennials Long-lived and easy, perennials fill our gardens with colour. Carol Klein explains why she loves them and how to grow them 34 GardenersWorld.com July 2022

plants with purpose Astrantia major ‘Star of PHOTOS: SARAH CUTTLE Royals’ thrives in light shade July 2022 or sun, producing pink-tinged pincushion flowers from early summer. Cut it back after flowering and it will often produce a second flush. Height x Spread 50cm x 50cm Flowers Jun-Sep GardenersWorld.com 35

I love perennial plants. I love the way they develop through the seasons, making garden life exciting at every twist and turn – every day new pictures unfold as shoots lengthen, buds swell and flowers open. They offer beautiful foliage, seedheads and often autumn colour too. It’s the way they change with the seasons that is so endearing and although the great majority are herbaceous, disappearing over winter, when they reappear they make up for lost time, filling our gardens with colour and perfume. Of all the plants we can grow, perennials are the ones you can have most fun with. They are plants that collaborate, that mix and mingle, that complement each other, sometimes by contrast, sometimes in harmony. They give us a real opportunity to be creative and express ourselves. Few garden perennials are fusspots – most are accommodating, easy-going and trouble- free. More importantly, they’re richly diverse, infinitely interesting and eminently beautiful. The great majority of plants here at Glebe that ideas of what is and is not hardy may CLOCKWISE FROM TOP PHOTOS: PAUL DEBOIS; JASON INGRAM Cottage are perennials. What’s more, they need to be reassessed. Some South African í Dahlia ‘American Dawn’ illustrate the versatility of perennial plants, crocosmias and agapanthus, for example, as they grow in every situation here. Within the which were once treated as being on the edge Height x Spread 90m x 60cm Flowers Jul-Sep bounds of our garden we have a wide range of of hardiness and perhaps in need of winter different conditions, from dry shade to damp protection, may now be considered hardy. í Agapanthus ‘Blue Moon’ and boggy, to sunny, exposed and well drained. And in every area we rely on perennials to form My main focus in this article is on hardy H x S 1.2m x 50cm F Aug-Sep the major constituents of our planting. Yes we perennials, although ‘perennials’ is a bit of an have trees and shrubs, we use bulbs widely umbrella term that can include half-hardy and í Euphorbia polychroma and we supplement with annuals and biennials, tender plants, which, given protection, will but it’s perennials that play the major role. bloom year after year. Dahlias, pelargoniums H x S 40cm x 50cm F Apr-May and fuchsias fall into this category. What is a perennial? As the name indicates, seeds or allow plants to self-sow. Astrantias it’s a plant that persists, that endures. Most of Growing perennials is hugely exciting and is obligingly throw their seeds around readily, those we grow in our gardens are herbaceous even more enjoyable when you propagate your but if plants are very special then we collect perennials, which simply means that as autumn own plants. Unless a perennial is a sterile and sow the seeds ourselves. progresses their top growth gradually fades hybrid, it will almost certainly set seed. I just and they disappear under ground for the winter. love collecting my own seeds and helping a With most plants whose flowering stems are They don’t die after flowering and setting seed, new generation to come into existence. finished and there are no more buds to open, like annuals and biennials do. No, perennials the stems should be cut down to ground level, repeat the same cycle year on year, shooting Of course deadheading (see panel, opposite) allowing basal foliage to gather strength. But up from the soil in spring, flowering, setting isn’t a good idea if you want to collect your own some should only be cut if necessary – the seed and then retreating for the winter. But flowers of pulmonarias, for example, finished they don’t stay the same size – although their long ago, but if their leaves are looking jaded character is pre-ordained, most increase in it’s worth shearing them down, and within stature each year. This means that every so weeks they’ll have made fresh foliage. If you often we need to dig them up, both to make have the time and patience, it’s worth more (perennials are the easiest plants to removing individual spent flowers from phlox, increase by division) and to rejuvenate the so they look pristine for longer. And, call me clump, discarding the old woody middle and pernickety, but when I have time, I remove replanting the smaller vigorous outer sections. the spent petals from agapanthus, to show off their seedheads, which are so structural My favourite perennials are hardy – they or and often imbued with blue. their forebears originate either close to home or in regions that resemble our own in terms of climate and conditions. Although that is not always cut and dried – climate change means “Of all the plants we can grow, perennials are the ones you can have most ”fun with – they give us an opportunity to be creative and express ourselves 36 GardenersWorld.com July 2022

plants with purpose There are perennials for every garden situation – partial shade is perfect for spring-flowering Mount Cook buttercups (Ranunculus lyallii) July 2022 Surefire success with perennials When to plant There are two periods when planting is most successful. But the fact that almost all perennials are now sold in containers makes planting possible at any time of year. Traditionally, spring was thought of as the best time to plant – the soil is beginning to warm and both temperature and day length are on the increase, so plants can get on with pushing their roots out into the soil and this is the season when they would begin to grow away. But autumn too can offer ideal conditions for planting, as long as the soil is still warm and preferably moist. If a perennial is an early bird, a euphorbia perhaps or a spring-flowering ranunculus or pulmonaria, then autumn planting is ideal. But the roots of grasses tend to stop growing during winter (just think of a lawn), so it’s best to plant or divide them in spring. How to care for perennials Deadheading is essential – if you don’t do it, then plants such as perennial daisies will stop flowering, knowing that they’ve successfully set seed. Dahlias, cosmos and rudbeckias all belong to the daisy clan, Asteraceae. Cutting back the stems to the next embryonic bud once the flowers have faded encourages the plant to invest its energy into opening those new buds, to flower again. Staking to support taller or potentially floppy perennials is worthwhile even if it’s an after-thought. Remove weeds before planting and ahead of any self-sown seeds germinating. Water perennials when necessary during dry spells, give them an occasional organic liquid feed, and apply mulch when the soil is damp. GardenersWorld.com 37

plants with purpose 5 perennial plant must-haves 4 Phlox × arendsii 1 leathery with a high gloss, and ‘Luc’s Lilac’ Rudbeckia fulgida in autumn develops rich colour. deamii The pink flowers are borne in 1 fluffy panicles. Rudbeckia Great for adding late colour to H x S 1.2m x 1m F Jul-Aug fulgida deamii borders, this rudbeckia flowers well into autumn. It forms clumps 4 5 of bright yellow daisy flowers Phlox × arendsii Anchusa azurea with raised black central cones. ‘Luc’s Lilac’ ‘Loddon Royalist’ It loves full sun and fertile soil. Height x Spread 60cm x 45cm Phlox are a splendid group of Flowers Aug-Oct plants when in attendance at the late summer garden party. Their 2 flowers are fragrant, especially in Selinum wallichianum the evening. Unlike some phlox, this one never develops mildew. Milk parsley combines strength H x S 1.2m x 50cm F Jul-Sep and structure with delicate refinement. In spring it rises late, 5 but once it gets up, it briskly Anchusa azurea spreads out its basal leaves to ‘Loddon Royalist’ form a neat mat. Each flowerhead is a plateaux of tiny white florets. Although short-lived, this H x S 120cm x 60cm F Jul-Sep will often last several years, especially in loamy, silty soil. 3 The blue of its flowers is Rodgersia pinnata scintillating. It looks brilliant ‘Superba’ alongside euphorbias, doronicums and the green This is a magnificent and long- spikes of molinia grass. lived perennial with bronze H x S 1m x 60cm palmate leaves. Eventually the F May-Jul foliage becomes tough and Dainty spires of red and white Persicaria Plant with: perennials a cat among the pigeons – a bright red among PHOTOS: ALAMY/JAN SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY; PAUL DEBOIS; JASON INGRAM amplexicaulis mingle harmoniously the greens – then you’ll startle and surprise. RUDBECKIA PHOTO LOCATION: RHS GARDEN WISLEY, SURREY What we plant with what decides the style Red and green are opposites, which our eyes and overall effect of our plots. Many gardeners find difficult to accept and try to compensate find putting plants together the most difficult for, so they zing. Put soft pastels together and part of gardening. As with so many other you’ll create a different mood, one of peace areas of life, if we go into it believing there and quietude. Combining plants is one of the is a right and a wrong way of doing it, we’re most absorbing aspects of gardening, one liable to become inhibited and may not enjoy of the most creative and most enjoyable. the process. But in gardening there are so many solutions to every quandary. Carol on TV When considering plant combinations, Catch Carol on Gardeners’ we first need to choose plants that will World on Fri 1 & 29 July flourish in the conditions we can give them. and Thurs 7 & 21 July – They must also be able to live happily together times vary, see TV listings. where we intend to plant them. WATCH our guide to The next major consideration when putting plants together is their colour. So much can be saving money on perennials created and so much changed by using colour at GardenersWorld.com/ deliberately to establish a mood, a feeling that save-on-perennials affects the viewer. When you put greens together, even if the form and texture of the leaves you incorporate vary enormously, you’re almost bound to create something that’s peaceful and harmonious overall. But if you put NEXT MONTH Follow Carol’s advice on her favourite trees and how to choose them for your garden July 2022 38 GardenersWorld.com

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“The hydrangea’s big blowsy cream flowers really sing out in the half-light” Pots for summer impact PART 2 BEST FOR SHADE Arit Anderson shares her pick of plants for a stand-out container display that’ll transform any shaded area into something special 40 GardenersWorld.com July 2022

summer pots Containers aren’tPHOTO: NEIL HEPWORTH just for sunny patios LOCATION: CHARLES RUTHERFOORD – a large pot filled with & RUPERT TYLER, NGS.ORG.UK/51-THE-CHASE shade-lovers will need July 2022 less watering and look great all summer long GardenersWorld.com 41

summer pots Often we have a shady spot in the garden that gets neglected 5 best plants for shade because we’re not quite sure how to brighten it up. This is where a container can work wonders. Not only can you experiment with plant Many woodland plants love shade, as they grow naturally beneath trees. combinations, but if you choose the right container then this once They may rely more on foliage to make an impact but those with pale overlooked space can become a real focal point. flowers really stand out. Choose plants that all like either damp or dry shade – as your pot can only be one or the other! You need plants that will shine out from the shadows, and that’s why I chose to use Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’. This shrub gives you 1 Hakonechloa macra so much. Structure from the stems and big blowsy flowers that are cream with hints of lime, so they really sing out in the half-light. An eye-catching Japanese grass with sweeping foliage. It will It’s not just colour that can entice us in a garden, we can also attract make a great focal point in any attention using scent. The aromatic leaves of the nepeta – which will pot or a lower tier, cascading tolerate partial shade – and the heady evening fragrance released from over the edges. Choose from the nicotiana will bring joy from the dappled depths. green- or yellow-leaved forms. Height x Spread 40cm x 45cm How to plant up your pot Flowering Aug-Sep YOU WILL NEED: 2 Blechnum spicant í Hydrangea paniculata ‘Limelight’ í Nepeta racemosa ‘Walker’s This native fern has glossy fronds Low’ í Nicotiana ‘Merlin Lime Green’ í Peat-free multi-purpose with feathery edges that provide compost í Terracotta pot, at least 40cm wide (we used Deroma year-round interest. It thrives in Vaso Conico pot, 43cm, from £25, burford.co.uk) well-drained soil, in partial to full shade, and brings a luscious green hue to any pot. H x S 50cm x 45cm 1 Half-fill your pot with peat-free 2 Add the smaller plants – the 3 Omphalodes compost, plus some garden soil nicotiana complements the cappadocica and slow-release organic fertiliser. hydrangea’s colours, while the ‘Cherry Ingram’ The hydrangea is the biggest plant, contrasting nepeta will make a so start with this. Tease out the mauve froth and tumble over the Evergreen leaves provide the roots and position it near the back, side. Add more compost if needed, backdrop for small yet mighty, with its best side facing forward. so everything sits at the same level. brilliant blue flowers. It’s ideal for shady corners and will self-seed. H x S 20cm x 30cm PHOTOS: ALAMY/MATTHEW TAYLOR; TORIE CHUGG, PAUL DEBOIS, GETTY/RA KEARTON; NEIL HEPWORTH F Mar-Apr 4 Anemone x hybrida ‘Lady Gilmour’ A tall perennial with slender stems topped with poppy-like pink, cupped blooms. Great for the flower vase too. H x S 100cm x 60cm F Jul-Sep 5 Sarcococca hookeriana ‘Winter Gem’ A compact, evergreen shrub with glossy dark-green leaves. Its small, spidery, white flowers open from red buds in winter and are highly fragrant. They’re followed by shiny red berries. H x S 75cm x 75cm F Jan-Feb 3 Once you’re happy with the The cream and lime-green colours offer Meet Arit at Highgrove arrangement – here I’ve really stand out in a shady spot balanced it with a nepeta on each Join us on 20 September 2022 for an exclusive tour of Highgrove side and the nicotiana centrally at Gardens, with a talk by Arit Anderson and a delicious three-course the front – fill any gaps between dinner. Tickets cost £200. See page 76 for full details. the rootballs with more compost. Firm in gently, then water well. NEXT MONTH Arit designs a container filled with bold, summer colour 42 GardenersWorld.com July 2022

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ADVERTISEMENT 5 reasons why you should consider moving to an Inspired village The retirement communities operated by Inspired Villages are helping people live the best years of their lives, here’s why… Y our later years features to make sure the 3. Joining a vibrant reaching any health goals. forefront in everyone’s can be a time of homes will carry on being community with amazing The wider village team minds right now and wants great freedom with comfortable to live in as you activity options on your is always on hand to help to support its customers, retirement giving age. doorstep out if any other assistance so it has introduced an you more time for you and is required too, which is a incredibly generous your loved ones. Retirement 2. Ability to ‘lock up Imagine having a swimming reassurance for residents deal. “We want to make villages run by award- and leave’ pool and gym right on your and their children. sure living in one of our winning operators like doorstep… well you don’t communities continues to Inspired Villages, allow you Living in a retirement have to imagine that if you “I feel healthier since be accessible,” says Cobb. to make the most of that village means you can go live in an Inspired Village! moving,” says Inspired “We are therefore offering freedom and pursue the travelling more often and Their village centres also Villages resident Dorothy. new customers up to independent, fun retirement for longer periods, secure have restaurants, cinemas, “I use the gym twice a £50,000 towards their living of your dreams. in the knowledge there is a libraries, croquet lawns, arts week, and I’m learning to costs in our villages. On top village team on site to make and crafts rooms and more swim. Compared to two of our other great offers “We have seen a 40% sure your property is safe. for the residents to enjoy. months ago, my children that help make the move increase in the number of can’t believe I am the same as smooth as possible, and people choosing to buy “There’s overnight security There’s always a range of Dorothy.” the benefits of living in our or rent an apartment or with CCTV cameras. It optional activities going on villages, we hope to make house in our villages now means I can lock and leave too, from pool Pilates and 5. Combating the cost of a real difference to people’s awareness of the benefits my home and the village paddle boarding to BBQs living in retirement! lives.” is growing,” says James manager is on hand to and Bridge nights, so there’s Cobb, Director at Inspired contact me if anything were plenty of opportunities to Inspired Villages recognises Villages. “And so many of to happen,” says Stephen, an make new friends and try that the cost of living is them tell us they wish they Inspired Villages resident. new hobbies. had moved in sooner!” “At my old home, I used to spend ages checking 4. Enjoying healthy, Here are just some of and rechecking I’d turned independent living those benefits… everything off, locked the for longer doors and such – now I can 1. Chance to ‘rightsize’ ring the village manager for Alongside providing state- to a beautiful but reassurance. If I’m expecting of-the-art leisure facilities, manageable home a delivery, I can just leave a there are fitness instructors message and they will take in the villages, happy to Do you want to spend less care of it.” support residents with time on home maintenance and more time relaxing? Inspired Villages operates communities in Rightsizing can deliver Bedfordshire, Cheshire, Kent, Warwickshire huge practical and financial and West Sussex. To find out more visit benefits, particularly if you www.inspiredvillages.co.uk or move to an Inspired Village call 0800 531 6556. where housekeeping and property maintenance teams can take care of all the big chores if you want them to. You’ll have more free time, and could even gain some extra capital to spend on travel and daily luxuries. Inspired’s properties also have discreet design

Heaven as they look with Adam Duxbury’s ᕡ scented summer pots ᕤ Creating beautiful pot ᕢ July 2022 combinations that use the ᕣ best plants of the season is a true joy. But when those ᕥ containers are bursting with fragrance the enjoyment is doubled. Here, I’ve taken that idea a step further by theming each pot with a mix of plants whose perfume will evoke a specific mood. Just brush your hands gently through the foliage and lean in closer for a sniff – you’ll discover the sweet romantic fragrance of roses and dianthus, the rich and heady spice of Vietnamese coriander and salvia, and the zesty fizz of eucalyptus and thyme. When choosing plants, one of the first things we do is to inhale their unique scents. How a plant smells is intrinsic to how much we enjoy them. We all have our own likes and dislikes, so with these pots as a guide, you can take your olfactory adventures wherever you please, with the plants and scents you love the most. 46 GardenersWorld.com

scent in pots ̇ Modern romance ᕡ Of course, a fragrant rose just had to be the star ᕤ of this classically romantic container. And Rosa ‘The Generous Gardener’ certainly delivers in ᕢᕣ ᕥ that department, with its soft, sweet and totally scrumptious perfume. A hot splash of love-it-or- ᕦ loathe-it dianthus amplifies the sweetness – and surely the name ‘Tickled Pink’ makes up for any ᕨ garage-bouquet associations? The ‘spiller’ here ᕧ is Erigeron karvinskianus: no fragrance, I’m PHOTOS: PAUL DEBOIS afraid, but sometimes when you look this ᕩ charming you can’t have it all. This rose is a climber so, come late winter, move her out to a GardenersWorld.com 47 sunny spot in the garden with a support frame and let her run free. We used ᕡ Rosa ‘The Generous Gardener’ ᕢ Dianthus ‘Tickled Pink’ ᕣ Viola ‘Raspberry’ ᕤ Erigeron karvinskianus ᕥ Container: Deroma Taso Cilindrico Terracotta Graphite, 35cm, from nunheadgardener.co.uk, £36.95 5 other scented roses to try í R. ‘Gertrude Jekyll’ (pictured on our cover) í R. ‘Letchworth Centenary’ í R. ‘Benjamin Britten’ í R. ‘Darcey Bussell’ í R. ‘Grace’ Fire and spice ̈ The starting point for this peppery planting combination is the scarlet-red container, complemented by the violas and long-flowering salvias. A frothy imperata grass adds some oomph and chocolate cosmos gives a rich cocoa hit. But it’s the herbs that really bring the heat: a gentle rub of the Mentha x piperita ‘Chocolate’, the tangy Vietnamese coriander and the purple basil will release a powerful scent combo guaranteed to lift your mood. We used ᕡ Salvia ‘Embers Wish’ ᕢ Ocimum basilicum purpurascens (purple basil) ᕣ Salvia coccinea ᕤ Cosmos atrosanguineus ‘Chocamocha’ ᕥ Imperata cylindrica ‘Red Baron’ ᕦ Mentha x piperita ‘Chocolate’ ᕧ Viola ‘Red Blotch’ ᕨ Persicaria odorata (Vietnamese coriander) ᕩ Container: similar 30cm pot available from elho.com, £15.29 5 other warm and peppery plants í Chrysanthemum ‘Allouise Salmon’ í Curry plant (Helichrysum italicum) í Bay (Laurus nobilis) í African marigold (Tagetes erecta) í Lydian broom (Genista lydia) July 2022