Gardeners’ World 2021 episode 26: We join Adam in his garden for a seasonal catch-up. Toby Buckland gives timely tips on summer and autumn maintenance for your borders, and we join singer-songwriter Billie Marten as she shares her passion for growing vegetables.
In North Yorkshire, we meet a couple who have developed a colourful garden on a sloping site, and we also catch up with more viewers’ gardens.
Gardeners’ World 2021 episode 26
How to grow brugmansia
Bring tropical spectacle to a warm, sheltered patio or doorstep with the fragrant, hanging trumpet flowers of this tender shrub. It’s best grown in a large container, so it can easily be brought indoors over winter.
Also known as angel’s trumpets, these tender tropical shrubs or small trees are grown for their highly fragrant flowers. White, red or pastel shades of pink, orange or yellow, the large flared trumpets hang from the branches throughout summer. The flowers can grow to an impressive size – up to 30cm (1ft) long – and waft their heady perfume far and wide, especially on warm evenings.
Brugmansias come from tropical regions of South America. Here, most species are pollinated by moths, which is why the flowers are noticeably more fragrant in the evening. Only one species, Brugmansia sanguinea, has no fragrance, as the flowers are pollinated in the wild by hummingbirds, which are attracted by the bright red colour of the flowers.
Plants can flower very abundantly over a long period, especially more mature specimens. But they do need lots of water and feeding throughout the growing season, and must be kept above 7–10˚C (45–50˚F) in winter.
Container maintenance
Growing plants in containers is a great way to bring life and colour into otherwise dull spots in your garden. Patios, balconies and window boxes are all places where plants can be easily introduced in containers. Plants in containers do require more care than those in gardens, but by following our advice you will find this easy.
Plant in early spring so that plants quickly grow roots and become established. Autumn planting may lead to losses from waterlogging and evergreens may deteriorate over winter from dryness at the roots or wind-burn of the foliage.
Watering is one of the most important jobs when growing plants in containers. Roots need a balance of air and water to grow well which is easy to provide if you have a good quality compost or soil. Plants don’t grow well if their roots are in very wet compost (not enough air) and plants will often benefit if the compost is allowed to dry a little between waterings. See the advice below on summer care and winter care for information on watering plants in containers. How much you need to water is very weather dependant.
Plant roots eventually fill containers and this often reduces growth. This is not necessarily a bad thing as slightly stressed plants are often attractive and the slower growth reduces the maintenance needed. However, eventually the plant will need to be moved to a bigger container or the compost refreshed in the same pot, as composts lose their structure over time. Shrubs and trees that stay in a pot for years are especially vulnerable unless re-potted.
