Gardeners World episode 18 2020

Gardeners World episode 18 2020

Gardeners World episode 18 2020: Adam Frost is in his garden, bringing viewers up to date on how it has been developing over the summer, as well as giving plenty of advice on looking after and growing hydrangeas.


 

 



In Devon, Toby Buckland shares his tips on dealing with damaged shrubs, tree pruning and transplanting perennials, while Frances Tophill travels to West Sussex to meet a gardener and professor of biology whose garden has been planted with the conservation of insects in mind.

There is a second chance to see Carol Klein’s in-depth profile of a national collection of hydrangeas at Darley Park in Derby, and a couple of years ago, the team met Charles Dowding, whose unique method of growing vegetables results in bumper crops. And there is a selection of films made by viewers from their own gardens.

 

Gardeners World episode 18 2020

 

Hydrangea pruning

Shrubs like hydrangeas flower from mid to late summer on the previous year’s growth. Mophead and lacecap hydrangeas will bloom satisfactorily with little attention, but regular pruning encourages new, vigorous growth that can produce a better display. Likewise, other species, including the climbing hydrangea, will benefit from a trim.

The pruning methods explained below are for individual types and species of hydrangea. The most commonly grown hydrangeas in gardens are lacecaps and mopheads – mopheads are identified by their full, roundish heads of large petals; lacecaps have tiny flowers in the centre of the bloom and an outer border of large petals. Most pruning is carried out in late winter or early spring. However, the climbing hydrangea is pruned after flowering in summer.

Crop rotation

The principle of crop rotation is to grow specific groups of vegetables on a different part of the vegetable plot each year. This helps to reduce a build-up of crop-specific pest and disease problems and it organises groups of crops according to their cultivation needs.

Crop rotation is used in allotment plots and kitchen gardens for most annual vegetable crops. Perennial vegetables (such as rhubarb and asparagus) do not fit into the rotation. Certain annual crops such as cucurbits (courgettes, pumpkins, squashes, marrows and cucumbers), French and runner beans, salads (endive, lettuce and chicory) and sweetcorn can be grown wherever convenient, merely avoiding growing them too often in the same place.

Plan your crop rotation before the growing season starts, and mark out the plots on the ground so you know where to plant each crop. Divide your vegetable garden or allotment into sections of equal size (depending on how much of each crop you want to grow), plus an extra section for perennial crops, such as rhubarb and asparagus

Grow your own leeks

Leeks are a flavoursome winter vegetable that can be steamed or boiled, braised in a cheese sauce and used in soups and stews. Leeks are easy to grow, but need looking after – you need to sow them in containers or a separate part of the garden before moving them to their final position. Sow seed in spring, and you will be lifting leeks from autumn to late winter.

For bumper crops you will need to improve the growing area by digging in plenty of compost or well-rotted manure in the autumn. Leeks are best suited for growing in the open ground, but you could grow several in large, deep containers or raised beds.

Traditionally, leeks are sown into a seedbed, which is a site away from your main vegetable plot and transplanted later in the season. This is because sowing leeks at their final spacings in your main vegetable plot would take up a lot of room early in the growing season, when you could be growing fast-maturing crops such as lettuce. Sow seed thinly 1cm (½in) deep in rows 15cm (6in) apart in a seedbed in March and April.

Wisteria pruning

Wisteria needs regular pruning to keep the growth and size under control, but it will also improve the flowering display. Although it seems complicated, wisteria pruning is quite simple if you follow our simple guide.

Wisterias can be left to ramble unchecked where space allows but will usually flower more freely and regularly if pruned twice a year. The removal of growth in summer allows better air circulation and more sunlight to reach the base of the young growths, encouraging better ripening of the wood and improving the chances of flower bud formation. Restricting the amount of vegetative growth and encouraging short, flowering spurs will result in more flowers.

With older plants severe pruning may be needed to remove old, worn-out growths, or branches growing over windows or protruding outwards from the face of the building. Likewise, hard pruning maybe required where maintenance needs to be carried out on the structure supporting the plant.

Drastically shortening back long branches, removing sections of older stems to just above a strong young branch or growth shoot lower down, or cutting completely back to a main branch, or even to ground level may be necessary. A careful, unhurried approach is needed if larger, thicker branches are to be removed and where a branch is twining it may be necessary to trace back and mark it at intervals with string before removing it. The end result should be a skeleton frame work of reasonably well-spaced branches.

 

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1 thought on “Gardeners World episode 18 2020”

  1. Patricia Wilkinson

    We have a wisteria that is very profuse with foliage but has never flowered we planted it at least 8 years ago what’s wrong Patricia Wilkinson

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