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Great bulbs for your pots Send your summer flower-power rocketing

CONTAINERSYOuR GARdENING wEEk

Top tips on creating a splash of colour

By Clare Foggettgardening editor

Gardening’s all about planning ahead, and just as spring

bulbs are getting into their stride, we need to start thinking about summer-flowering bulbs.

now’s the time to get your orders in or head down to your garden centre for bulbs that will explode into colour during the summer months, and send your garden’s flower power rocketing!

summer bulbs look

TRY THESE BULBS IN SUMMER DISPLAYS

SuMMER POT 1Lily ‘Mona Lisa’ has pale pink flowers with a darker rose-pink stripe down the centre of each petal. It’s an excellent choice for larger pots as it reaches 75cm (30in) tall. Pink nemesia ‘Confetti’ fills the spaces around the bottom of the lilies’ stems with clouds of pinky-lilac, sweetly-scented flowers and trailing ivy softens the edges.

SuMMER POT 2Recent breeding has given us lots of new and colourful zantedeschias or calla lilies. Their flowers last for ages and although they’re exotic looking, they’re very easy to grow. ‘Pink Persuasion’ has deep rose-pink flowers and is a strong grower. A magenta-pink busy lizzie planted around its base hides the bottom of the plant and enhances the pink theme.

EAgapanthus make ideal container plants, but the compost must be well drained. Try mixing two parts multi-purpose compost with one part grit sand. In their third year container-grown agapanthus may need repotting, in which case move them up into a container slightly larger than the one they’re in, but don’t divide them.

ETuberous begonias are perfect for pots and the pendulous kind look fantastic in hanging baskets. Follow our begonia expert, Alan Harris’s advice and start the tubers into growth in small pots, then plant up your pots and baskets when the plants are growing strongly. Use an odd number of plants for a balanced effect and don’t skimp: three in a 30cm (12in) basket, five in a 35cm (14in) one and seven in a

40cm (16in) one will give you that stunning flower power.

EGrowing cannas in containers is especially handy, as you can whisk them under cover to protect them from the cold. Move them indoors before the first frost – a greenhouse or garage is fine – and keep them just moist over the winter months. The foliage and stalks will die down and can be pruned away when they’ve turned yellow. Start them into growth by upping the watering in spring and bring them out when all risk of frost has passed.

EGloriosa or glory lilies also make great pot plants (like cannas, it will be easier to move them under protection when winter comes if they’re in a container), but you will need to provide a support for them to clamber up

EColourful sparaxis can also be grown in a container, but choose a shallow ‘pan’ rather than a deep pot and fill it with gritty alpine-type compost. Make sure that the pot is in full sun and because the flowers stems can be quite willowy, have some short twigs to hand to help support them.

ERanunculus (the florists’ kind with their big globe-shaped blowsy flowers) can be bought in spring to flower in summer pots. After the first year, they will revert back to their default flowering time, late spring, but this is no bad thing as they can help to fill that gap between spring bedding finishing and summer bedding starting.

SEVEN STuNNING

CONTAINERS FOR YOU TO RECREATE

great in borders, but you can really make them the centre of attention by putting them in pots.

The majority of summer-flowering bulbs suit being grown in containers and they don’t need to be planted on their own – they look great mixed with summer bedding and other plants too.

Make sure you use a weighty pot so that tall top-heavy plants like lilies can’t make it topple over.

Your pot needs to be well drained. Put crocks over the drainage hole so it won’t get blocked. Multi-purpose compost is a good

choice to fill your containers with if you’re only planning on keeping the bulbs in their containers for a season. For bulbs that thrive on sharp drainage – such as lilies or gladioli – you can also sit them on a layer of grit.

Look out for lily beetle if you’ve chosen lilies. according to gn readers they’re on the march already, so it’s not too soon to start keeping an eye on existing lilies.

Pick off the beetles by hand and squash them, or use a systemic pesticide such as Provado Ultimate Bug Killer.

12 GARdEN NEwS March 17 2009 For more tips and offers visit

EGet all the bulbs featured in our containers p30

SuMMER POT 3Eucomis bicolor or the pineapple lily looks great in pots, as its large, wide leaves explode out from the centre like a fountain. Its limey-green flowers, topped with their tuft of leaves, grab attention in the summer months. Purple-leaved heuchera ‘Palace Purple’ fill in around the base, their frilly-edged leaves contrasting with the strap-shaped ones of the eucomis.

SuMMER POT 4 Zantedeschia ‘Picasso’ has creamy white flowers, smudged on the inside with a deep aubergine purple that we’ve picked up on by using a purple-leaved bedding begonia around the bottom. Both the zantedeschia and begonia flower on and on throughout the summer to give you a long lasting display.

Use bedding plants in pots

1 When you’re planting spring bedding in pots, follow the same basic rules as

you would for all containers: Make sure the pot has a drainage hole and cover it with crocks so it doesn’t get bunged up with compost.

2 Fill the pot with good quality multi-purpose compost, either one that

contains peat or peat-free, depending on which you prefer to use.

3 What you plant in your pots is up to you, but if you can choose something

larger that will form a focal point so much the better. Position it in the centre, or if you think your container is going to have a ‘front’, you can put it towards the back.

4 Use smaller plants to fill around the edges of your focal plant and

something trailing to soften the edges and you’ll be on to a winner. Trickle more compost into the gaps between the root-balls, ensuring they’re all well covered, and water the plants in.

I HAve definitely started to feel that spring is in the air. But the lighter afternoons mean I’m spending more time in the garden, extra time that has made me realise my garden could do with perking up!

Some new spring pots are the

answer. In my opinion, there’s nothing as instantly cheerful as an injection of colour courtesy of spring bedding.

I’ve gone for three different colour co-ordinated containers, the ‘recipes’ for which are below.

SPRING POT 11 Helleborus niger £

3.99

3 white hyacinths

(Hyacinthus orientalis) (99p each) £2.97

1 Erica carnea ‘Isabell’ £1.99

1 bedding pack of six white

polyanthus £2.99

1 bedding pack of six primula

‘Woodland’ £2.99

1 Carex brunnea ‘Jenneke’ £5.99

1 variegated sage

(Salvia officinalis ‘Tricolor’) £2.99

1 trailing variegated ivy £1.99

TOTAL COST £25.90

SPRING POT 24 narcissus ‘Jetfire’ (£2.99 each) £11.96

1 heuchera ‘Frosted violet’ (split in two) £5.99

1 bedding pack of six pansy ‘Citrus Mix’ £2.99

TOTAL COST £20.94

SPRING POT 31 hebe ‘Lady Ann’ £8.49

3 pink primroses (79p each) £2.37

3 pink hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis) (99p each) £2.97

TOTAL COST £13.83

www.liveforgardening.com March 17 2009 GARdEN NEwS 13

Carol Klein16 Garden news March 17 2009 For more tips and offers visit

The experTsThe best advice from gardening’s top brains

gladioli

Trevor Fawcettleading showMan

‘Rob’s aim is to get a gold medal at every show’

ROB Evans only started growing gladioli two years ago in 2007. That September he put on his first display at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Autumn Show in London and came away with a gold medal. In 2008 he picked up more red cards at eight shows. This year, he hopes this impressive track record will continue.

Rob’s aim is to get a gold medal at every show at which he puts on a display, including Hampton Court. After Hampton, he’ll exhibit at another eight venues around the country.

PlantingRob grows his gladioli on a piece of farmland near his home at Pen-y-fai, Bridgend, South Wales.

Dutch varieties such as white ‘Essential’, blue ‘Costa’, rose ‘Flevo Amico’ and ‘Flevo Candy’ and ‘Green Star’ are planted in February for early shows.

After he has taken off the skins, he plants five corms to each 30cm (12in) 10-litre pot. He plants them 75mm (3in) deep in an equal mixture of peat and sandy soil to which he has added 28gm (1oz) of Vitax Q4 to eight gallon bucketfuls of mixture.

The pots are kept in a greenhouse on a layer of sand with heating cables underneath to give them the perfect start.

Rob gives them a top dressing of Vitax Q4 in April and further feeds of natural seaweed every week throughout the season.

The next batch of planting, at the beginning of March, is for Hampton Court. Rob uses a wider range of varieties, including ‘Cream Perfection’, red ‘Drama’ and the tall- growing rose ‘Lowland Queen’.

These varieties will be grown in one of Rob’s five polytunnels; each tunnel will grow 3,400 corms in 1m (3ft 3in) wide rows.

Rob plants around 100 corms each of 50 varieties for Hampton, 75mm (3in) deep and 15cm to 20cm (6–8in) apart.

He mixes a dressing of 4oz (110 gm) of Growmore into the top of the soil. This is all they get until they are in the third leaf stage, when three further feeds of Maxicrop and Vitax Q4 will be given until flowering.

Rob continues planting 5,000 corms every 10 days until all the tunnels are full. He grows the remainder of the corms outside in raised 15cm (6in) 1m (3ft 3in) wide beds, covered with 12.5cm (5in) of sandy soil.

To stop the flowers falling over, they are grown through wire mesh, which keeps the stems straight.

VarietiesThe main varieties which Rob grows outside are ‘Amsterdam’ and ‘Bangladesh’, both white, ‘Pink Lady’, creamy white ‘Grand Prix’ and orange ‘Esta Bonita’ which carries on flowering later in the season.

Some pot-grown gladioli are

also used on the displays – usually the smaller-flowering Glamini types such as ‘Zoe’, an orange-peach combination, ‘Emily’ and ‘Eva’, both pinkish rose, and bright yellow ‘Charlotte’. They’re grown in the same way as the early-flowering varieties and, by planting some every week, Rob makes sure there are always a few pots to take to the shows.

Watering and spraysThroughout the growing period both tunnels and outside-grown crops are watered by hosepipe.

Rob only sprays for insects and disease three times during the year. Any plant which looks in distress or diseased is pulled out to help keep the rest of the stock clean.

At flowering time, many of the plants come into bloom at the same time and they are cut every day. Only 20,000 of the 60,000 corms planted are kept to grow on the following year. The rest are pulled up when the blooms are cut to get rid of any disease which could infect the rest of the plants.

Various designs are made for different exhibits. With a basket taking up to 40 spikes of large-flowered gladioli and often as many as 20 baskets to be prepared, there is a big demand for blooms, especially for the multi-day shows where some spikes have to be replaced.EFor Rob’s gladioli catalogue send two 1st class stamps to Rob Evans, Pheasant Acre Plants, 3 Pheasant Acre Walk, Pen-y-fai, Bridgend CF31 4DU.

ToPical TiP EKeep checking on corms as the severe weather we have had in the last two months may have taken its toll.

Set them up in trays and go through them, carefully taking off the skins to make sure they are still clean. Throw away any that look suspect.

if corms that are needed for the earlier shows aren’t showing signs of root nodule growth or shooting in the next week or so, put them in warmer conditions to bring them out of dormancy a little quicker.

say it with daffodils!Nothing personifies spring more

‘Narcissi in gardens are at their best growing in grass, and the more informal, the better’

one of Rob’s award-winning displays of gladioli

Rob Evans - growing great gladioli

Carol Kleinwww.liveforgardening.com March 17 2009 Garden news 17

The TV gardener who really knows your plants

Get Garden news for only £1 – p20

which plant best personifies spring? For optimists it is the

snowdrop, for realists, the primrose, but for most, it must be the daffodil. Nothing says spring so categorically.

There may be frosts after its arrival but, by the time the familiar yellow trumpets start to appear, the wheels of the year have begun to grind inexorably forward.

Narcissus pseudonarcissus is our native daffodil. it is small (23cm/9in), strong and stocky. The flowers emerge from a papery spathe, gently turning themselves downwards to protect pollen and to shelter obliging insects inside their deep yellow trumpets. The outer perianth is pale soft yellow. These are Wordsworth’s host, his golden daffodils, the Lent lily.

Not so long ago, the dancing yellow flowers of Narcissus pseudonarcissus could be seen displaying themselves in woodland and along river banks up and down the country.

Many of its former homes have disappeared, subsumed by development and drainage. To add insult to injury, just as with the snowdrop, unthinking people helped themselves and colonies dwindled or were destroyed.

But those were the bad old days. Nowadays we are more aware of how populations of plants can be decimated by human action. conservation is higher on the agenda.

Where it has been left undisturbed, Narcissus pseudonarcissus increases well, seeding itself around, making vast sheets of yellow. Most often it grows in grass.

Naturalising in grassThis is by far the best way to see most daffodils. Not only does the grass provide the perfect foil for the yellow of the flowers but it hides their demise when old blooms and dying foliage shrivel.

The same can be said for narcissi in gardens – they are at their best growing in grass and the more informal and meadowy it is, the better.

Bulbs and manicured lawns just do not go together; their needs are diametrically different. Bulbs need to be left to re-absorb all the goodness from their foliage and manicured lawns need to be cut short frequently.

Large drifts of Narcissus pseudonarcissus planted in grass close to trees work best. in a meadow setting, they can be planted alongside other bulbs such as Fritillaria meleagris and camassia and with a variety of suitable meadow perennials. Left to

their own devices, they will have the opportunity to set and distribute seed.

The Lent lily is ideal for orchard planting, too. Even if you only have one tree, groups of Narcissus pseudonarcissus among its roots and straying into the surrounding area, make a delightful picture.

Beware planting a solid circle between the trunk and the circumference of the branches. Any symmetry in their arrangement mars the simple beauty of these daffodils.

The Tenby Daffodil, Narcissus obvallaris, in clear yellow, is equally suited to the same informal treatment as Narcissus pseudonarcissus to which it is closely related.

The soft milky-lemon colouring (just like lemon syllabub) of narcissus ‘W. P. Milner’ is always easy to use. This is one of the most

outstanding of all the small narcissi. Although a variety, it has the grace and simplicity of a wild daffodil.

it was first listed by the famous covent Garden nurseryman, Peter Barr, in his catalogue of 1884 so has stood the test of time well. it prefers damp soil and needs deep planting to prevent its bulbs splitting up and becoming unproductive.

From the Pyrenees, Narcissus moschatus has similar ‘moonlight’ colouring and a quirky tendency to twist its outside petals.

Shorter typesThere are several diminutive wild, trumpet daffodils which are perfectly suited to growing through very short grass or even moss.

The first and smallest, at 7.5cm to 10cm (3-4in) tall, is Narcissus asturiensis which sometimes starts to flower in

choosing plant partnersaS WiTh all gardening, the best fun is working out what to plant with what.

Narcissus ‘W. P. Milner’ looks even more pale and interesting alongside the large beetroot red leaves of Bergenia cordifolia ‘Purpurea’ or bergenia ‘Ballawley’. Even if their rather puce flowers appear simultaneously with those of the daffodil, there should be no shock waves.

Blue-flowered pulmonaria are perfect companions for the smaller narcissi and the lungwort’s mature leaves hide a multitude of sins. Both prefer heavy soil.

Pulmonaria ‘opal’ or ‘Blue Mist’ make a quiet harmony with Narcissus pseudonarcissus or for something more invigorating, try pulmonaria ‘Blue Ensign’ with the clear yellow blooms.

February. it is often grown from seed and the colour can vary. if possible choose it in flower.

Narcissus minor, with a pale perianth and yellow trumpet, is only slightly taller. Narcissus pumilus is taller again, standing a full 15cm (6in). it has very dainty flowers of brilliant yellow.

All these trumpet daffodils bear their flowers singly. They make their impact by force of numbers rather than multiple flowers on each stem.

Their colour is never garish. They fit in wonderfully around the edges of informal urban gardens, under hedges, fences and walls. in more rural settings, they have the perfect persona for hedgerow planting. So much more fitting than the eye-wateringly garish clumps of vivid, large-flowered hybrids which shock and disorientate those travelling along many a

country road.There are several old

trumpet varieties which share the relaxed look with the wildlings and are recommended for naturalising in longer grass.

‘Golden Lady’ has long trumpets held on 40cm (16in) stems and flowers early. ‘Topolino’ is sturdy and short with neat foliage.

daffoldils with low-growing Anemone nemorosa and A. blanda

Narcissus pumilus has dainty flowers of brilliant yellow

creamy white-flowered Narcissus moschatus

Narcissus obvallaris

22 Garden news March 17 2009 For more tips and offers visit

ParT 5

Bring on brassicas

Follow our expert tips and grow tastier veg. You’ll save money too

Grow crops that will keep you in veg for months

By Greg Loades garden Writer

Brassica is really just a posh word for a member of the cabbage

family. Whether you want king-size crops for summer or hardy veg to see you though the winter, there’s a member of the family that fits the bill.

Brassicas are essential vegetables for many on allotments and veg patches, but let’s be honest; they can be tricky plants to grow. i’m sure we’ve all been disappointed with bolted cauliflowers or blown Brussels sprouts at one time or other. still, we can make life easier for ourselves and prevent our efforts coming to nothing.

Get the soil rightBrassicas will not grow well on acid soil. You may want to do a pH test (acid/alkaline level) on your soil first; you can buy cheap kits from garden centres. The disease club root is also more likely to be a problem on acid soil.

To overcome acid soil, grow brassicas on soils that has been limed. Even if you have alkaline soil, you can still add lime because it will help loosen it up and improve drainage. Moist, well-drained soil is also a must, so patches that have been winter dug are suitable.

cool, moist conditions will give the best results and make the plants less prone to bolting (going to seed). also avoid growing brassicas on soil where you’ve grown them in the previous year.

How many plants?stick to the brassicas you really want to eat and don’t grow too much of the same crop. Decide whether you want to grow brassicas from seed or plants. if you only want five or six plants of one crop, plants will be no more expensive than seeds and is easier too. Make sure you go to garden centres early to get good quality plants.

Try GrowinG THese easy Brassicas THis yearsow all brassica seeds in cell trays. Put two seeds in each cell to grow your own ‘plug plants’ for hardening off and then transplanting. Plant outside when frosts are over and the plants are sturdy and have at least two pairs of true leaves.

calabreseTry growing calabrese as a quick and easy alternative to broccoli. The plants are a lot more compact than broccoli and will reliably produce a crop of dense, thickly-stalked heads in as little as three months. Sow in spring and summer to give you two batches of produce.

Plant each module out 30cm (12in) apart. Make sure you harvest the heads before the plants start to flower. Try ‘Marathon’ (from Thompson & Morgan) or ‘Ironman’ (see our offer on page 30).

Brussels sproutsMake life easier by growing F1 hybrid varieties such as ‘Maximus’ (see our offer on page 30) or early cropping ‘Bronte’ (from D T Brown). These will produce firmer sprouts that are less likely to be blown (fluffy and leafy). F1 varieties also have good resistance to disease so they will be easier to grow than the older varieties. Make sure you keep earthing up the soil around the plants to keep them firmly anchored in the soil. Plant 45cm to 60cm (18in-2ft) apart

KaleOne of the easiest brassicas to grow as they are usually untroubled by diseases and pests. They are also very hardy and can be left outside for harvesting in winter. You can sow seed under cover now for a summer harvest and sow at the end of spring for a crop that can stand through the winter. The fresh shoots are ready to pick when they are around 10cm (4in) long and need picking before the plants come into flower. Try ‘Dwarf Green Curled’ (from Thompson & Morgan).

club root is more likely to be a problem on acid soil

www.liveforgardening.com March 17 2009 Garden news 23

Bring on brassicas winter cabbage

winter cabbages can be harvested in autumn if you like, but because they are hardy, they can be left outside right through winter. includes the attractive, crinkly leaved savoy cabbages. Try ‘Traviata’ (see our offer on page 30) or the old favourite ‘January King’ (from Thompson & Morgan).sOw May PLanT OUT July HarVesT november onwards.

eaT caBBaGe every MonTH of THe year!sow or plant at different times and you can have a fresh cabbage to eat nearly every month of the year. for all cabbages, add a balanced granular fertiliser to the soil before transplanting and feed with a high nitrogen fertiliser in mid-spring to give a boost to growth.

spring cabbagea good veg for beating the ‘hungry gap’, with fresh green leaves to harvest in early spring. Leave some plants to mature and you can have some larger sized cabbages later on while other crops are still developing. Try ‘advantage’ (from Thompson & Morgan) or ‘spring Hero’ (form Mr fothergill’s).sOw august PLanT OUT september HarVesT March onwards.

summer cabbageThese cabbages should be harvested and eaten in summer because they are not tough enough to survive the winter if left in the ground. includes Dutch whites, which are great raw and shredded in a salad. Try ‘candisa’ or ‘Kilaxy’ (both from suttons)sOw March (indoors)/april PLanT OUT april/May HarVesT June/July.

red cabbageThese underrated cabbages have a taste of their own. you don’t have to restrict yourself to pickling them; they also make a delicious oven-baked vegetable. will keep well if kept cool once harvested. capable of producing firm rounded crops. Try ‘ruby Ball’ (from Thompson & Morgan).sOw april PLanT OUT May HarVesT september onwards.

UnUsUaL Brassicas for conTainersMOST well-known brassicas such as sprouts and cauliflowers are too big to grow easily or well in containers. Instead, try growing these leafy brassicas in pots. They will make tasty crops to fill up a container or two. Sow seed thinly on the compost surface and cover with a thin layer of compost or vermiculite. You can also sow

them indoors now for a quick and easy crop.EMizuna – this mild, peppery salad leaf can be harvested three weeks after sowing and will keep re-sprouting after being cut. If left to mature, the jagged leaves will make an attractive feature for the patio and the salad bowl. Try Mizuna ‘Purple’ from Mr Fothergill’s to add

extra colour to your salads. EMustard – another unlikely brassica, mustard leaves can be picked young for salads or left to mature. They are good leaves for stir-fries if you want to try your hand at Chinese cooking. Different varieties vary from mild (‘Red Frills’ from Dobies) to hot (‘Red Giant’ from D T Brown). EPak choi – growing pak choi

as a thick-stemmed vegetable is tricky because spring-sown plants tend to bolt. Growing it as a ‘cut and come again’ salad is much easier. Harvest young leaves, cutting them 2.5cm (1in) from the base and they’ll sprout again for another crop. Try ‘Revolution’ from Mr Fothergill’s, or ‘Tri Coloured Mix’ from Thompson & Morgan.

PiGeonsPigeons are the cabbage growers’ worst nightmare, capable of stripping rows of crops to nothing in one sitting. Plastic bags on canes and strings of cDs may scare them off, but the best form of protection is to cover plants with netting as soon as they are planted. if you are using old netting, check it for holes first.

caTerPiLLarscaterpillars love to eat our brassicas. There are two main ways of keeping them off your prized plants. if you are happy to use sprays then use a bifenthrin based spray such as scott’s Bug clear at the first sign of damage. if you want to be organic, then it’s a case of picking off the caterpillars by hand. Go out at night with a torch and you are likely to catch them red-handed!

caBBaGe rooT fLycabbage root fly is another major pest and there are no pesticides you can use to control it. instead protect plants with collars of fleece as soon as they are planted out, to stop the flies laying their eggs on the soil.

suppliersEDT Brown, tel: 0845 3710532; www.dtbrownseeds.co.ukEsuttons, tel: 0844 922 0606; www.suttons.co.ukEThompson & Morgan, tel: 0844 2485383; www.thompson-morgan.comEMr fothergill’s, tel: 0845 3710518; www.mr-fothergills.co.uk

TacKLinG ProBLeMs

Mizuna Mustard Pak choi

24 Garden news March 17 2009 For more tips and offers visit

Kick your grass into shapeLearn from groundsman Ian ayling as he reveals how the playing surface is tackled at the home of England rugby

London’s Twickenham is known as the home of English rugby but did you realise it has been dubbed

‘the cabbage patch’ in the past?The famous sports stadium was

once an allotment side, and according to groundsmen is good enough to grow your spuds on.

But it’s the hallowed turf that is now the centre of attention, and while for most of us keeping the grass in good nick is a spring-to-autumn job, growing perfect grass at Twickenham is an all-year-round task.

Ian Ayling, a third generation groundsman, knows the challenges at first hand. He has been at

Twickenham for 11 years after a spell working in Hong Kong. He has also been a cricket and football pitch groundsman.

“Grass is grass and all sports have their own challenges,” said Ian, who is assistant to the head groundsman and one of the three members of groundstaff at Twickenham. “one of the big challenges at Twickenham is that the pitch is enclosed on all sides. This means there is little air movement so nothing clears the pitch of moisture.”

To get round this problem, the top 10cm (4in) of soil is made up of a mixture of very sandy soil and polypropene fibres. “This makes the pitch drain very well and the fibres wind themselves round the roots of the grass, so they are held tightly in place.”

Coping with shadeWith the pitch being enclosed by towering stands on each side, shade is also a major obstacle. “Parts of the pitch get no sun at all in autumn and winter, so light levels are very low. Low light levels result in bare grass,” said Ian.

drastic measures have been taken to cope with the lack of light. six gigantic lighting rigs, measuring 12m (40ft) long and 25m (83ft) wide are used to

add extra light to the pitch 24 hours a days in the winter. “They’re sodium lights set at the same frequency as sunlight. They were originally designed for commercial rose growing. They keep the grass growing and germinating through winter so we can fill in bare patches all year. The lights are a saviour.”

As Twickenham plays host to many high-profile, televised rugby matches, the state of the pitch is always under the spotlight.

“sometimes people see an England game from

Twickenham on television and think the pitch could look better. They don’t realise that there have probably been two or three games played on it

just hours before!”one moment under the

glare of the cameras sticks in Ian’s memory. “There was a game here in the nineties when Will Carling was playing for England. He was clean through, heading for the try-line when he tripped over. After the game he said that he had tripped over a divot,” said Ian. “divots had never been a problem before then. now we get out onto the pitch at half-time with hand forks and replace the divots, just to be on the safe side!”

Repairing the pitch After a game, it can take up to five hours to repair the pitch. “We get rid of all the divots and bits of debris left on the pitch with 21in rotary mowers,” said Ian. “We put the cutters on a high setting so they don’t cut the grass but they suck everything up. Because the

Stat attacK

82,000Twickenham’s capacity.

2001The last time the pitch was re-laid.

1907The year the land was bought by the Rugby Football Union.

400

Tonne stage used when the Rolling stones played at Twickenham.

360Lights used to make grass grow in winter.

100m x 70m size of the pitch post to post.

70 Grams of seed per square metre used when re-seeding.

44 number of games played in two days when Twickenham hosts the London sevens.

20 Bags of seed needed to seed the pitch.

10C (50F) Ian’s magic temperature for growing grass.

6.7 The pH (acid/alkaline level) of the soil at Twickenham.

5 Hours it can take to ‘patch up’ the pitch after an England game.

3 Members of groundstaff.

By Greg Loades garden Writer

www.liveforgardening.com March 17 2009 Garden news 25

Kick your grass into shapeLearn from groundsman Ian ayling as he reveals how the playing surface is tackled at the home of England rugby

IAN’S TIPS ON Lawn Care

mowers are small and light they don’t compact the pitch.”

To avoid the pitch becoming compacted, it is ‘deep spiked’ with an aerator every six to eight weeks. “spiking the pitch lets air circulate around the roots. Letting air into the pitch really helps drainage. If you’ve got time to spike your lawn then it’s worth doing.”

As with all areas of grass, the weather, in Ian’s words ‘dictates everything’. “The weather can be every gardeners’ nightmare and can cause us headaches. The one thing we have in our favour is that rugby players will play under two inches of water and just carry on!”

The winter weather can be a particular challenge because the pitch has no underground heating. “We have to use frost sheets to protect the pitch from freezing. once

the frost is in the ground it is very difficult to get out, so we have to keep an eye on what is forecast.” Help is at hand though, with weatherman John Kettley giving two forecasts a week for the ground.

“Ten degrees centigrade is the magic number for growing grass, so we do our best to keep it at this in winter. The lights give an extra three degrees of heat and the frost sheets help to raise the temperature by a few degrees more.”

Wear and tearAside from the weather, more unusual challenges have faced Ian at Twickenham. “The Rolling stones played a concert here in August 2006 and we had a 400 tonne stage

on the pitch” said Ian. “The area covered by the stage

had to be completely re-turfed. This would have been less of a challenge if there wasn’t a rugby league cup final scheduled for two days later! We ended up working through the night.

“The area of the pitch used for the crowd at the concert was covered in a 3cm (1.5in) layer of protection material called Terraplas, which lets in light and stopped the grass turning yellow. We sprayed the grass with fungicide before the Terraplas went down because it’s easy for

temperatures to rise underneath the covering, which makes the grass more prone to disease.”

With the grass growing all year, mowing, feeding and seeding are never-ending tasks. “We feed the grass twice a month all year. once with a liquid feed and once with a granular one. Mowing is done twice a week at this time of year, and every day in spring and summer.”

“We have to re-seed all year to keep 100 per cent grass coverage. It’s just scattered on the surface.”

The pitch hasn’t been re-turfed since 2001, but every year the top 2.5cm (1in) of the pitch is skimmed off and the whole pitch is re-seeded. “This is an essential task because it prevents the long-term build up of thatch,” said Ian. “Looking after grass isn’t just about cutting it.”

Try not to use spraysWe don’t spray the grass for weeds at Twickenham. We concentrate on keeping a tight sward. If you keep sowing to make sure you have a good coverage of grass, then it’s difficult for weeds to establish. If we come across the odd weed, we fork them out by hand.

seed after scarifyingScarify in April and then re-seed straight after. Grass tends to look a bit of a mess after scarifying and you can be left with lots of gaps. Re-seeding after scarifying helps the grass bounce back quickly to give a good coverage of grass again.

Use different varieties of seedWe mainly use rye grass for seeding the pitch because it’s a very hard-wearing grass. It has thick leaves, its roots develop well and it keeps its colour well in winter, so it’s a good, tough choice for gardens, too.

How you can get the chequerboard effectIf you want a stripy lawn, use a mower with a roller on it. That way the grass is brushed one way then the other to make stripes. It’s like brushing velvet. When I first started I used string as a guide to cut the lines straight. Now I focus on a point in the distance, keep my eye on it and don’t look at the grass. To keep the stripy look, only walk on the light stripes, then you can’t see the footprints. I tell that to people who walk on the pitch before a game!

don’t feed too soonYou have to be cautious with feeding grass at this time of year. If you feed your lawn with a high nitrogen spring feed in early March and then get a week of frost, the feed won’t do any good. Wait until the worst of the winter is over before applying a high nitrogen feed. We wait until the end of March at Twickenham.

swap tired patchesOne big problem at Twickenham is foxes weeing on the pitch, which turns the grass yellow. To make the grass look better, swap the bad patch with healthy turf taken from somewhere that you won’t notice. We swap the yellow patches with healthy pieces of turf taken from behind the touchline. The yellow patches are left to recover (see inset picture below left). They are on the east side of the pitch, which you can’t see when you’re watching on TV!

seed for shadeAs well as the lighting system, we also use shade tolerant grass to cope with the lack of light. We use a shade tolerant variety of grass seed called ‘Snowbird’ for sowing in the darkest areas of the pitch. It is also tolerant of low temperatures so it keeps growing and looks good in winter. Shade tolerant grass seed is available in most garden centres.

PIP

WA

RTE

RS

sodium lights are on all day in winter to keep grass growing. The frost sheets give extra warmth and stop the pitch freezing

divots are replaced at half time at every home game

damaged grass is swapped with healthy turf and left to recover

Brilliant bulbs for cut flowers

How your potatoes turn out depends on their growing conditions

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3 ways to get your questions answered

your questionsBroadcaster Nigel Colborn answers your gardening queries

Make sure ant sprays are safe question of tHe week

qi wouLd like to grow cut flowers in the 3m by 60cm (10ftx2ft)

border in my unheated greenhouse. i’ve tried carnations, which have been fine, but they do tend to get straggly. what would you suggest?Colin Carmichael.Aberfeldy, Perthshire.

a I would plan a running programme with plants coming

into bloom through as much of the year as

possible, but concentrating, perhaps, on winter and early spring, when outdoor cut flowers are less plentiful.

Try 10-week stocks such as matthiola ‘Giant Perfection Mixed’ from Thompson & Morgan: (www.thompson-morgan.com). Seed sown in July will produce fragrant flower spikes under glass during winter and spring.

Tall, single spike antirrhinums are great too and Nicky’s Nursery (www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/seeds) offer two strains

– ‘Potomac Mixed’ and ‘Maryland Mixed’. Other cut beauties include eustoma (lisianthus), gerberas, spray chrysanthemums and so many more.

Don’t overlook the value of bulbs! Lilies are brilliant for greenhouse production, as are chincherinchees (ornithogalum), tuberoses, nerines, hippeastrums and even hyacinths – grown for winter cutting rather than in bulb bowls. You could also plant the queens of cut winter flowers, freesias.

38 Garden neWs March 17 2009 For more tips and offers visit

qwHere can i get tomatillos and the round

courgette seed which was described in a recent issue of garden news?Mrs M Tuck,Norwich, Norfolk.

a I am not sure where you’ve been looking, Mrs

Tuck, but the range and variety of seed on sale in Britain is staggering. Almost every gardening outlet, not to mention some supermarkets and hardware stores, will have display racks with packets of seed on offer. All you have to do is

i put onion sets in refrigeratorqi received onion sets

back in winter when the ground was unsuitable and was unsure how to store them. i kept them with other seeds in the salad compartment of a refrigerator.Bernard Hyde,Folkestone, Kent.

a It can be frustrating, especially in difficult

winters like this, to receive plants and bulbs that you’ve ordered but which you cannot get safely into the ground. However, onion sets and seeds have an excellent shelf life and provided you get yours planted as soon as the

qi Have always grown ‘desirée’ potatoes on my

allotment and bought seed potatoes from two different sources last year. this year, they have broken up in the water when cooking. would that be because of blight or where i bought them?Ms C Court,Milton Keynes.

aAll seed potatoes of the same variety originate

from the same, single plant and are therefore clones. One ‘Desirée’ potato is genetically identical to another and so it follows that the tubers should all be alike.

However, different growing conditions result in differing characteristics and even with such a dependable and

excellent variety, some will cook better and taste nicer than others.

I can only suggest that the cool, wet summer experienced last year may have something to do with your potatoes breaking up on boiling. Blight is unlikely to be the cause since affected tubers either appear sound or rot to a mush.

The last crop of ‘Desirée’ that I grew behaved in precisely the same way, also after a damp summer. But several purchased bags, of the same variety this year, have behaved exactly like the firm, creamy-fleshed, tasty variety we used to know and love. Try them again next year and see if they do better.

worries about ants and toddlerqMy daugHter and her

husband have a problem with ants in their small, enclosed garden. they have a toddler who will be two this month and are worried. i told them to put white powder down or spray the ants. can you help please?Mrs J Cochrane,Dungannon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

aOn behalf of the toddler, I’d be more worried about

using chemicals in the garden than about ants. Although these insects can be unpleasant, they are annoying – and painful – rather than life or health-threatening.

If chemicals are used, make sure these are safe! You can get proprietary ant remedies which consist of a bait container. These are visited by the insects which carry the chemical, usually boric acid, back to their nest. You can buy such baits at any garden centre, supermarket or hardware store.

no-one quite knows what a shamrock was, but three-leaved clovers symbolise the Holy trinity to perfection.

they’re lovely garden plants too, so why not plant Trifolium repens ‘Purpurascens’ for its carpet of ox-blood leaves or the patterned variety ‘Harlequin’.

cream-flowered Trifolium pannonicum is an excellent border plant and the wine-red flowers of T. incarnatum are a delight.

saint Patrick would have been glad to see any of them!

tiP of tHe week

‘desirée’ potatoes broke up when i cooked them

Where can I buy tomatillos?

go to one of them and ask.My favoured method of

buying seed, though, is by mail order. You can browse through catalogues to your heart’s content, before narrowing down the choice to an affordable order.

weather permits, no harm will have been done.

Storing them in a fridge is a little excessive. The seeds will be perfectly alright in any cool, dry place, whereas by storing them in a salad compartment, the packets may become soggy.

Your onion sets should be

Major seedsmen such as Suttons, Thompson & Morgan, Mr Fothergill’s and Marshalls all offer rich ranges, including the seeds you seek. Look up their numbers in the phone book or scan Garden News for advertisements. You can phone your order or ask for a catalogue by post.

If you have access to a computer consider the benefits of shopping online. I now buy books, dvds, garden equipment, music plus travel, flower show and theatre tickets online. You’ll love the convenience!

tomatillo seed is easily found

frost can damage the new growth of many shrubs

‘You could also plant the queens of cut winter

flowers, freesias’

the garden news team are (from left) greg Loades, clare foggett and Pam richardson

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noon - 1PM Monday-friday. caLLs cHarged at uk nationaL rate01733 465616

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inside or outside for holly fern?qi Have been given a

Japanese holly fern, but don’t know whether it’s an indoor or outdoor plant.Susan Jermyn,Rochester, Kent.

aCyrtomium falcatum is a lovely fern. I grow mine

outdoors just below a north wall. It seems happy in any soil and is perfectly hardy and also evergreen. The fronds turn rather yellow and scruffy by winter’s end, so I usually cut all the old foliage off in early spring, taking care not to spoil the emerging young fronds.

Long shoots on seed potatoesqtHe seed potatoes i set

up to chit have produced very long, pale shoots. will it hurt if some of these get damaged when i plant them?Mr F Darby,Nuneaton.

aYou probably left them in too dark a place,

Mr Darby. Seed potatoes chit or sprout best in strong light, such as in a sunny window or on a greenhouse bench. But don’t worry, yours will produce plenty more shoots and will thrive, even if the odd stem gets broken off.

Best time for whitefly controlqwHen is it alright to

begin biological control of whitefly in an unheated greenhouse? Ernest Blaine,Wellington, Somerset.

aThe most widely used control is with the wasp

encarsia which is supplied as pupae, stuck to a card. You hang the cards among the plants and the tiny wasps hatch out and prey on the whitefly. They breed over the summer, but are inactive at temperatures lower than about 20C (68F). Mid-April is therefore the best time to buy the cards.

seed potatoes should be chitted in strong light

Cyrtomium falcatum is happy growing outdoors

tree ferns are easily moved to a new spot

Hanging encarsia pupae in the greenhouse

www.liveforgardening.com March 17 2009 Garden neWs 39

i want to move my tree fernqis it possible to move

Dicksonia antarctica? it has been in the ground for three years.David Elliot,Hyde, Manchester.

aPerfectly possible, David, and you have two ways in

which to do it. The first option is to dig up the entire plant, taking as much of the root system as you possibly can. Prepare the new planting site before you make the move, digging peat or good quality, ericaceous potting compost into the planting hole. Tree ferns love humus-rich, moisture-retentive soil.

The second option – and this one takes courage – is to sever the trunk and plant the top as if it were a giant cutting. Tree ferns are often sold like this. You’ll need to bury at least 30cm (12in) of trunk in the ground and erect guys or stakes so that the plant can be held in position while the new root system develops.

Whichever choice you make, remove all the fronds before transplanting. That will reduce strain on the plant while it settles into its new home. The best time to do it is spring when the fern is coming into sturdy growth.

Tree ferns need a sheltered, preferably shaded or semi-shaded spot, in humus-rich soil. They are not lime-haters, but seem to grow best in neutral or acid soils.

qi Have a phalaenopsis orchid which has

developed a new plant at the end of the stem. it has leaves, a few roots and has flowered. i can’t decide whether to remove the new plant or not. it makes the older plant look more interesting, so what should i do?Joan Bevan,Neath, South Wales.

aThe choice is yours, Joan. It seems rather

charming to have a

will hydrangeas flower this year?qfrost has killed a lot of

the buds on our hydrangea bushes. can i expect them to flower at all this summer?Mr H Dean,Doncaster.

aThe tip buds of hydrangeas are always

vulnerable to severe frost and are frequently destroyed. However, the bushes have excellent powers of recovery and although the early, largest blooms are lost, there should be plenty from strong sideshoots which will flower from the second half of summer.

orchid has grown new plant on stem

fine if stored relatively cool and dry, but not refrigerated. Plant them out the moment weather and soil conditions permit and try not to worry.

I hope that the refrigeration will not stimulate the sets to bolt – but that could happen if the shoots had begun to move and were then checked.

flowering off-shoot and is by no means unnatural for phalaenopsis to layer itself in this way. My inclination would be to leave it be, unless it is harming the parent plant in any way.

If you want to keep the offshoot, but remove it from the parent, it might be a good idea to rig up a small pot so the baby can be planted in it using epiphytic orchid compost. Give it time to establish, before you sever the stem which connects it to the parent.

Plant onion sets as soon as conditions allow

Simple steps to planting a container

This week’s tips, ideas and reminders are brought to you by gardening expert Martin Fish. He tells you how to plant a spring container and lift snowdrops.

aN easy way to bring extra colour and interest into your garden after a cold, long winter is to plant a spring container or two. There is a huge range of plants in garden centres now that will kick-start the gardening year and make your garden or patio look more colourful.

1 To help drainage, cover the holes in the base of

the pot with pieces of broken terracotta plant pot and then fill the pot almost to the top with multi-purpose compost.

2 Now it’s the fun part – planting up the pot.

arrange the plants until you are happy with the display and then plant them, starting with the larger ones first.

2 Replant the bulbs as soon as possible, making sure they are at the same depth.

To help the bulbs establish and bulk-up for next year, water the clumps with a fast-acting feed such as Phostrogen.

3 Use smaller plants to fill the gaps and some trailing

ivy over the sides. To add extra interest, cut a few twisted stems from willow or dogwood, and push into the compost.

Brighten up your plot now

Instant spring colour

THe cold weather in January and February has meant that snowdrops have flowered for a little longer this year and in many gardens they have only just stopped blooming.

shortly after the flowers fade, the foliage will start to turn yellow and die down and the small bulbs will remain dormant until next winter.

This is the ideal time to lift and divide established clumps, while they still have green foliage.

you may have heard the term ‘in the green’ and this is what it means – while the snowdrop plants still have green leaves. snowdrops transplant much better ‘in the green’ than as dormant bulbs.

If you have a few large, established clumps, it’s certainly worth lifting, dividing and replanting the bulbs every few years.

Not only does it help to spread them around the garden, it also invigorates the plants and they will grow and flower better in subsequent years.

Split up snowdrops

Your gardenIng week March 17-23

The key things you should do over the next seven dayseSSentIalS P6 and 7 FruIt & Veg P9 and 11 FroM Plot to Pot P11 SuMMer FlowerIng bulbS P10

Buying new snowdropsIf you want to plant more snowdrops in your garden, now is also the time to buy them. Many nurseries and mail order companies supply snowdrops ‘in the green’ and send them through the post. Planting now will give much better results than leaving it until the autumn.EFor suppliers, turn to page 32.

1 Gently lift a clump of snowdrops and pinch off the dead flower-heads. This diverts the plant’s energy into the bulb rather than a seed-pod. Carefully pull the clump apart into

single bulbs or clumps of three or four.

6 garden newS March 17 2009 for more tips and offers visit

www.liveforgardening.com March 17 2009 garden newS 7

top tips for container successETo save compost in large or deep pots, fill the base of the pot with chunks of polystyrene. This also makes the finished pot lighter and easier to move around. ELeave potted bulbs in their original small pots and plunge them into the compost. after flowering, you can take them

out and plant them in the garden.

EOn warm spring days, compost can dry out quickly, so check all containers every few days and water if needed.

EDead-head regularly to keep flowering plants blooming for as long as possible.

DaHLIas If you have recently bought some new dahlia tubers, rather than wait until May to plant them into the garden, start them off now in pots in a frost-free greenhouse. This gives the plants a head-start and you can also take some cuttings from the new shoots in a few weeks’ time.

aNNUaLs Hardy annuals such as larkspur, godetia and cosmos can be started off in plug trays in a cool greenhouse or cold frame to produce plug plants for the garden in late April.

mOULD CHeCk Make regular checks in the greenhouse for signs of moulds or damping off on cuttings or seedling. Take off any infected leaves straight away and, if necessary, apply a fungicide.

FeeD baskeTs Hanging baskets that were planted up in the autumn with a selection of pansies, polyanthus, spring bulbs and ivies, are now looking good and flowering well. Remove dead flower-heads as often as possible and feed them once a week with a high potash liquid fertiliser to keep them in good condition.

Other jobs to do... greenhouse

lawns

Shrubs

Containers

More great planting ideas for containers p12

PRUNe sPIRaea Prune back overgrown spiraea, such as ‘Goldflame’ and ‘Golden Princess’ that are mainly grown for their coloured foliage, to encourage new growth.

Rake OUT mOss If you applied mosskiller a couple of weeks ago, you can now rake out the dead moss. If you haven’t already treated the moss in your lawn, there is still time to do so.

‘Kick-start the gardening year

with a spring container’

Choosing plants PAnsIes and polyanthus are among the most popular flowering plants for spring containers. They come in many different colours and will flower from now until late spring.

Bulbs also perform well in containers and spring-flowering bulbs such as miniature daffodils, tulips, irises, hyacinths and crocuses are available in small pots.

It’s also worth adding a couple of shrubs or perennials to larger containers to add extra height and interest.

evergreen shrubs with coloured foliage, such as photinia ‘Red Robin’, spring-flowering shrubs such as forsythia or twisted-stemmed plants all work well in containers.

Perennials like hellebores, pulmonaria and ornamental grasses can also look effective.

Water on warm spring days

Fill large containers with polystyrene

Dead-head to keep the flowers coming