Fall garden tips

NOW’S THE TIME TO...

Here are garden tips for September: Clip hedges.With deciduous hedges timing is not so critical, but with evergreens such as taxus you only have a narrow window of opportunity to cut: any earlier than late August and re-growth will occur, any later than late September and the newly exposed garden tips will be prone to frost damage.

Lift and divide perennials in your cottage garden. If the conditions are right then September is best, so the plants have time to settle down. Once you have lifted the groups you can begin splitting. Sometimes it is possible to tear the clumps apart, but more often you will need to use two forks.

RESEEDING THE GRASS 

Next fall garden tip: reseeding the grass in areas of bare lawn, either due to heavy traffic or where the roots of trees have come to the surface, making mowing difficult, we use top dressing with grass seed spread onto the surface. We brush or rake this in to create a level and to ensure the seed is well mixed with the soil, and so that it doesn’t blow away or feed the birds. For a sward that is strong, drought resistant and tolerant of close mowing, use a blend of hard wearing dwarf rye grasses, smooth stalked meadow grass, browntop bent and Chewing’s fescue.

Vintage garden tools

Man is a natural garden tool user. The origin of the plethora of power tools that pack the shelves of DIY stores can be traced back to prehistoric man chipping away with a piece oi rough-hewn flint. But there was onetime when these tool-using tendencies were capitalized on, and
that was the Victorian Industrial era - an age obsessed with 'things' of all kinds, garden tools no less than anything else.

Before the mid-18th century, a limited range of garden tools were hand forged by the blacksmith. But the Industrial age brought not only the means for producing tools on a larger
scale hut the wealth needed to buy them. This was a time of new prosperity and for the first time, gardening became a leisure activity. Soon there was a tool or every job, from
cucumber straighteners and asparagus cutters to lawn rollers and rose pickers. And you certainly couldn't get away with calling a spade a spade - one company, C.T Skelton of
Sheffield, had an impressive 35 different garden tools varieties!

Long left languishing at the back of garden sheds, old garden tools are being looked at anew, with many people discovering their beauty - the solid handmade feel, the smooth polished wood of a handle worn down from years of use, even the build up of rust on the metal all add to the appeal. It was just such discoveries, in the sheds and cellars of old houses he moved into, that encouraged Trevor Farrell to start his collection. "I loved the way the tools showed

the marks of human wear," says Trevor. Some 20 years on and he now holds one of the world's largest collections of old garden tools- a true homage to simple, honest manual labor. What's more, this is proving a useful props resource for the film industry, and was recently dipped into by the makers of the new Beatrix Potter biopic, Miss Potter, who borrowed about 50 items, all of the sort that Beatrix would have used in the garden of her beloved Hill Top Farm.

STARTING A VINTAGE GARDEN TOOLS COLLECTION

Although antique garden tools are valued for their decorative appeal, most are extremely well made and perfectly usable, with years of good service left in them. Jenny Vaughan, owner of interiors shop RE who stock a range of antique garden tools, says: "Most people buying
tools from us are buying them to use them. Many talk about replacing a life-long tool that has been lost or broken and people are elated when they find something that replaces an old friend. I don't know whether it's a physical Or a nostalgic thing, but people who are keep on

Vintage garden tools don’t want to use anything else.

RESTORING OLD GARDEN TOOLS

Rusty vintage garden tools often look great left as they are, but if you want to polish them up it's a simple, if time consuming, process. Clean the garden tool with warm water and detergent and then polish the metal with a fine-grade wire wool - if you keep going you can achieve a really nice shine. Finish with clear wax and buff up. Wax can also be applied to the wood to give it a protective but natural finish. Be careful not to over restore your items, however. By repainting chipped paintwork, for instance, or applying a tough polyurethane varnish to wood, you may lose much of what gives the tool its unique character.

COTTAGE GARDEN DECOR

Accessories are vital for finishing and lending your cottage garden decor a distinct look. Terraotta tiles, plaques, pot hangers, wall pots all make for great cottage garden decor accessories, whether it's in your balcony, terrace or even your backyard. One of the most practical and accepted container types for planting is terra(clay) cotta(pots). Made of baked earth, clay has been in use for containers, bricks, pipes, roof tile, and sculpture for thousands of years in both Eastern and Western cultures.

WHY CLAY POTS? 

There are a number of advantages to using terracotta for your cottage garden decor. Clay is completely natural. It's porous so it's nearly impossible to overwater plants, something many gardeners learn to be wary of when using plastic or resin containers. Clay tends to protect above-ground root systems from extremes in temperature too, which is especially important during warm summer months. Its porosity contributes to the breathability of the container, so roots (which need air) can breath and remain healthy. If you notice a damp, green film on pots left in the shade, you have a fine crop of algae. It doesn't hurt the plant so leave it alone. You can clean clay pots at the end of the growing season.

CARE AND NURTURE

The quality of clay is critical to the final quality of the pot. Other factors include construction and the temperature at which the pots are fired. You can tell something of a terracotta container's quality and durability by rapping it with a knuckle while holding the rim. If il goes "Ihuri" when you hit it, it's fired
at a low temperature. If it "rings", it's probably Fired at higher temperatures and more likely to be durable. 

Hand-turned or molded pots are most common. These are made individually by potters and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. As with any craft that is labor intensive, the cost of such pots is relatively
higher compared to the molded pots that are mass produced in factories. Coarse, low-fired clay pots can disintegrate in four or five years. Others may contain resins or have finishes that supposedly prevent wear or cracking, but should you decide to fire an additional glaze (as some ceramics students have been known to do) the pot could melt in the kiln.

Understanding your clay pots is the first step to protecting them. With proper care, you can enjoy and decorate your cottage garden with them for many seasons.

Garden tips: PLANNING AHEAD

Use our simple garden tips for your spring cottage garden. With spring flowers thick on the ground and trees soon to come into blossom, winter could hardly be further from our thoughts. Yet if wood fires and stoves are a primary heat source during the colder months, a specially constructed log store may be an excellent
investment to make at this time. Providing a sheltered, airy spot in which wood can season through the course of the year without ground contact, the ideal log store will be discreet, but not so far from the house
as to make fetching wood on a frosty evening a chore. Another good spring garden tip. Consider using an existing construction, such as a garage or garden shed, for support and to keep out the worst of the weather.

Do not be alarmed if the store jars with gentler tones in the garden initially, for it will mellow over time and provide useful structure for rambling roses and climbers such as clematis, jasmine and passion flower.
Potting shed and log store, part of a larger range of oak garden structures.

Back-garden farming: Rearing chickens

Hens eat garden weeds, provide fresh eggs and are very family-friendly.

Add caption

Here's how to keep hens:

Hens need grass and must have grain when they are laying. Some of this can come from wheat straw.
You will need a chicken house with nesting boxes accessible from outside and a wire mesh run. Look on
Freecycle.org or in the local press for secondhand ones.

Chickens are happy to wander picking up scraps but do need to be fenced in at night against foxes.
You'll need half a dozen birds for a good supply of eggs. Hens can be bought as day-old chicks, eight-
week pullets or at point-of-lay (18+ weeks), which is the most practical choice.

Rats can be a problem with rearing chickens, stealing eggs and living in the hen house. Look out
when cleaning the coop.

The Cottage Garden Gate, a photo by justmecpb on Flickr.

Cottage Garden, a photo by Charliebubbles on Flickr.

Beautiful cottage garden in summer

How to Grow Basil

Although the Italians might have grew basil their own, they're comparatively recent adoptees. Oclmum bastlicum was originally a weedy plant of forest clearings, probably native to India, and its cuitivars are found in cuisines as disparate as Thai, south Indian, Greek and Mexican, in the cottage garden, like any annual from the wet tropics, basil favours moisture, warm soil and sun. other conditions either slow it down or kill It outright. Even in the Far North, basil will struggle outdoors in winter. Toensure a good supply of tender young leaves throughout summer and well into autumn, sow basil seeds indoors every three weeks, starting in early spring.

When you grow basil, don't plant them out until the soil has well and truly warmed up and any risk of frost has passed, in cool, damp conditions basil seedlings are prone to the fungal disease fusarium wilt and at all stages, basil can be plagued by slugs, snails and, to a lesser extent, aphids.

Since basil is a plant from the humid tropics, basil has no means of retaining moisture. When grow basil and if allowed to dry out it will droop pitifully, which often triggers panicked flowering. This leads to smaller, tougher leaves and yellowing as the plant directs all its resources into emergency seed production.

Flowering is inevitable in the long run, but pinch out buds for as long as possible to keep plants in active growth. The intensity of flavour in basil is affected by watering too - too much and the leaves will be lush

but insipid, too little and they'll be pungent but straggly. 

Grow basil seeds need to be shaken from spent flower heads (the seeds turn brown/black when ripe) and saved for the following year, unlike fennel or rocket, basil , does not readily naturalise here because the seeds tend to rot in the soil overwinter. 

Like all leaf crops, basil grow responds best to nitrogenous fertilisers. But not too much or too often - as with over-watering, excessive feeding in grow basil can compromise flavour. Diluted liquid blood and bone applied every other week is more than enough (any other soluble fertiliser should do the trick too).

Basil is often grow as a good companion plant for tomatoes. But in my experience basil and tomatoes form a fine partnership on the plate, not in the cittage kitchen garden. Both are fast-growing, hungry plants that

perform better apart, where they don't have to compete for food, water and light.

To grow the best basil for you

Since nearly all basils are simply cultivars of the same species, they all tend to grow as well as each other in most situations. Some are more prone to wilting, others are slower to flower, but they're essentially much of a muchness.

Aside from obvious difference in their physical form (colour, size of leaf), the real difference between cultivars comes down to flavour and scent, some are delicate and understated, others big and brash, with

plenty of subtlety and nuance in between.

Grow basil in pots

Basil is grow in pots great and is excellent container subject, but needs plenty of room to support its extensive, thirsty root system so don't skimp on container size. Terracotta containers are preferable to plastic

because they offer better protection to the plant's roots from overheating in summer. Grow basil plants with compost worked into the mix or used as mulch.

Although compact basils were specifically developed for pots and window boxes, all cultivars can be grown

in pot and containers, including the near shrub-like perennial holy basil.

Variety basil guide 

Compact basil

Compact basils don't look like the basil of one's mind's eye but they're the most potent by far. Gillian Hurley-Gordon of Italian seeds Pronto says Italian gardeners and cooks prefer smaller basils, especially for pesto. "The smaller the leaves, the higher the concentration of cnlorophyll and the greater the depth of flavour, especially at the height of summer when the oils almost seep from the leaves," she says.

In Greece, compact basil varieties have been grown in window-boxes within easy reach of the kitchen for hundreds of years. Although this has the obvious benefit of convenience, the habit also had its origins in a widespread fear of unruly spirits, saucy vampires and witches of loose morals, none of whom were keen on breaking and entering through a thicket of supposedly God-imbued basil.

1 'Spicy Globe'

Gerard Martin of Kings Seeds and I share an abiding love for this true miniature basil. It's slow to bolt, powerfully fragrant and perfectly pompom-esque. Ultra-cute grow in a window box too. 

2'Greek Mini'

More upright than 'Spicy Globe' and with slightly larger leaves, but similarly well endowed with flavour and fragrance, ks

3'FinoVerde'

The basil of choice for Italian pesto makers, who rate it very aromatic.Featuring miniature leaves on a full-sized plant. 'Fino Verde' is highly productive and perfect for those craving a no-holds-barred assault on the senses. KS

Lettuce leaf basil

The lettuce leaf basils are often described as insipid, but this misses the point entirely. Yes, they're often milder than other basils, but they're intended for use in salads, where subtlety is key. Grow them in sheltered positions to avoid wind burn.

4 'Foglie di Lattuga'

A favourite of NZ Gardener editor Jo McCarroH, this Italian heritage variety is reputably the basil for making the classic insalata caprese (tomato, basil and buffalo mozzareiia salad). The huge, tender leaves

also work frighteningly well in sourdough sandwiches filled with provoione dolce cheese and prosciutto. ISP

5 'Genovese Giant'

similar proportions to 'Foglie di Lattuga', but with a gutsier flavour and less crinkling to the leaves, ks

Sweet/Genovese basil

People from Genoa are a litigious and sensitive lot when it comes to the good name of their city being thrown about, particularly in reference to basil or pesto. under EU law it's illegal to call any basil Genovese unless it has been grown in a certain region of Liguria. But Gillian Hurley- Gordon of Italian Seeds Pronto is not sure

that law is being adhered to. "The output from that one region is small," she says.

"It can't possibly be supplying all the seed companies around the globe offering so-called Genovese basil." In other words, don't take the word Genovese too literally.

6 'Sweet Genovese'

Probably the most widely grown Italian- style basil in the world, if it's reliable, generic basil you're after, this may well be the one for you. KS

7 'Bolloso Napoletano'

The definitive pizza basil, originating in Naples well over 100 years ago (roughly coinciding with the invention

of the Margherita pizza). The slightly blistered leaves (described by Gillian as "iPhone-sized") are richly scented, with a distinctive edge of anise. ISP

Purple basil

I don't mind telling you that I'm not a big fan of the purple basils. I find them pretty enough but so often lacking in flavour, and what's more they're prone to turning black when cooked. However Gerard Martin at

Kings Seeds tells me they're among his top sellers, so who am I to judge?

8 'Violetto Aromatico'

Bred specifically to please purple basil-haters like me, this variety sports the most fetching violet leaves and a none too shabby basil flavour to boot.

9'DarkOpal'

A top seller worldwide and certainly very showy, this basil adds colour and interest to summer salads. It's very popular with microgreen growers too. And it can look great as a border in the salad garden. KS

Southeast Asian basil

The various basils of Southeast Asia are characteristically spicy with strong liquorice notes. As a group they hold their own against the onslaughts of ginger, chilli and fish sauces typical of these regions. Contrary to European traditions, Southeast Asian cooks often use immature basil flowers as well as leaves.

10 'Thai Siam Queen'

Although often eclipsed by kaffir lime, basil is one of the most important herbs in Thai cuisine. With a hot, liquorice/anise flavour and room-filling fragrance, 'Thai Siam Queen' is the only cultivar I'll allow near my favourite roast duck curry. KS

11 'Mrs Burns Lemon'

Officially Mexican in origin, the lemon basils (there are quite a few) are probably descended from the Southeast Asian basils. 'Mrs Burns' packs an authentic citrus fragrance and, with its tender leaves, is a real boon for salad lovers. More recently, lemon basil has found a place in esoteric desserts, a la Kiwi chef Michael Meredith and friends. KS

11 'Mrs Burns Lemon'

Officially Mexican in origin, the lemon basils (there are quite a few) are probably descended from the Southeast Asian basils. 'Mrs Burns' packs an authentic citrus fragrance and, with its tender leaves, is a real boon for salad lovers. More recently, lemon basil has found a place in esoteric desserts, a la Kiwi chef Michael Meredith and friends. KS

12 'Sacred'

Although quite different to sweet basil, holy basil (Ocimum sanctum), sold under the name 'Sacred', is an interesting herb used widely in Southeast Asia and India. The hairy leaves are ideal in salty/sweet stir-fried dishes and rich soups. 'Sacred' is a frost-tender perennial, but it becomes rather straggly after a couple of years. The long spikes of its pink flowers attract bees and other beneficial insects. KS

Seed sowing

Seed sowing can start seriously under cover this month. If you have a heated propagator or warm, light windowsill, start sow seeds of tender summer vegetables in pots or modules, especially slower- growing ones such as peppers and aubergines.

Tomatoes for unheated greenhouses and tunnels will often catch up if not sown until early March, and cucumbers can wait even longer. You can sow seeds hardier crops direct into greenhouse and polytunnel borders - rocket and carrots, for example, are best treated in this way.

However, I usually sow peas, lettuce and brassicas in modules for transplanting so I can give them more attention and keep them out of the way of slugs and mice. For extra warmth, sometimes I take pots and trays  with seed sowing into the house, just until the very first signs of seedlings emerging; alternatively, large seeds such as peas can be pregerminated on paper towelling in a warm place before sowing.

These early seed sowings need all the help they can get to give good germination and avoid 'damping off (where seedlings rot at the base and topple over).

Plant seeds 

Start seed sowing of these plants in February:

Sow in Feb.  without extra heat:

lettuce, kohl rabi, calabrese, summer cabbage, radish, annual spinach, cutting salads (leaf lettuce, rocket,

cress, oriental greens), carrots, sugar peas, early peas, broad beans

Sow this month with extra heat:

tomatoes, peppers, chillies, aubergines, spring onions, onions, celery, celeriac

EARLY SEED SOWING TIPS

• Make sure plant seeds pots and modules are clean.
• Add sharp sand or vermiculite to seed sowing compost. If necessary, as it needs to be well drained.
• Use new seed - this should germinate more quickly and produce more vigorous seedlings than seed that is several years old.
• Provide extra heat for germination where possible.
• Don't overcrowd seedlings and give them good light so they don't get leggy.
• Don't overwater your seed sowing.

English garden

A wonderful sense of peace and seclusion descends the moment you step into Bob and Sue Foulser’s English garden. This is unexpected, given that this beautiful cottage garden is at the end of a terrace in the heart of Cerne Abbas- an idyllic but bustling village in Dorset best known for its chalk hillside Giant.

‘Eight neighbours surround us here,’ says Bob, ‘but as the country garden is designed as a series of rooms, your eye is drawn from one section to the next, rather than to the boundaries.’ The English garden laid out in the 1920s by the artist Joseph Benwell Clarke, the garden includedmany ideas that were new and exciting at the time. Creators of iconic Arts and Crafts English gardens such

as Lawrence Johnston at Hidcote Manor Garden, and Vita Sackville-Westand Sir Harold Nicolsonat Sissinghurst Castle, were advocating a return to nature and more subtle divisions between house and cottage garden. Benwell Clarke was inspired to make a series of outdoor ‘rooms’ separated by beech hedging and paths, filled with naturalistic planting.

Nearly a century later, the Foulsers have successfully performed the role of being both caretakers and visionaries, achieving an English garden that still encapsulates the spirit of that bygoneera and remains faithful to the structure of the original garden design, while infusing it with their own style.

‘When we took over the cottage English garden 25 years ago, it had been neglected for some time and was on the tipping point of decay,’says Bob. ‘I remember first seeing garden through a gap in

the garage door. Catching glimpses of the topiary yews, beech hedging, old apple tree and flint paths, I felt sure there were yet more treasures to discover.’ In love at first sight, the Foulsers bought the property in the winter of 1983.

Cottage garden photos

Bob Foulser created his formal garden in the Arts and Crafts style, using a sundial made by the original owner, artist Joseph Benwell Clark, as a statuesque focal point.

OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Bob and Sue Foulser prepare the garden for an

open day in June; an old medlar planted by Benwell Clark provides a link to the cottage gardens original design; Rosa ‘Maigold’ flowers from June to September; paths, topiary and naturalist planting were key features in the Arts and Crafts movement.

‘The prospect of working with the bare bones of such an interesting country garden was excitingbut daunting,’ says Sue. Their first job was to clearthe overgrown, neglected plot. ‘It seemed to be the best way to get to know what was there and gave us the opportunity to take refuge from the house, which was actually colder inside than it was outdoors,’ she laughs.

‘The English garden had such a strong character that we didn’t want to impose our style on it. It was more a question of rejuvenating tired and neglected areas.’ Given the cottage garden’s

history, it seems fitting that, some years ago,members of the Benwell Clark family visited the Foulsers, bringing with them pictures of the original cottage English garden and giving a stamp of approval.

Cottage garden

Looking at the English garden today, one of the most impressive original features is the beech hedge that divides the garden into rooms, while at the same time helps knit it together with a seamless band of lush green foliage. ‘As the hedge is such a precious and prominent feature, we decided to use tree surgeons to give it an annual prune,’ explains Sue. ‘It’s reassuring to know cottage is in the very best hands and will continue to thrive.’ The Foulsers have adopted this

philosophy with other parts of the garden too, calling in experts to maintain the lawn.

A self-confessed plants woman, Sue loves to buy on impulse, worrying about where to place them afterwards. Although she does draw the line at species that would look completely out of place, like exotic cannas or bananas. ‘Hostas and helleboresaremy favourites, and I’ve plantedthem wherever

I can find space in the cottage garden and in large containers on the terrace,’ says Sue. ‘I like Italian gardens too, even though traditionally they have fewer plants, and we were keen to create a small version of one in the cottage garden.’ Looking out at English garden from inside the recently rebuilt summer house, the effect is calming, with a rectangular lawn bordered by box hedging and shrub roses, and a tall Juniperus communis ‘Compressa’ planted in homage to Italian cypress.

Bob’s approach to the English garden is more considered, however, and he prefers to tackle the overall design. Over the years he has repaired the numerous flint paths and paved areas, as well as redesigning the old vegetable patch to make an ornamental cottage garden. ‘You reach it from either the wild area at the bottom of the garden or from the Italian garden,’ explains Bob, ‘so the formal planting style is an interesting contrast.’ Initially planting Buxus ‘Suffruticosa’ to edge the

borders, it sadly suffered from blight and had to be replaced.

A pretty myrtle hedge followed, but two consecutive wet winters proved fatal, so Bob finally settled for common box, using 600 cuttings, which he and his friends propagated. One of the most recent additions to the English cottage garden is a bespoke wooden pergola made from oak from the nearby Melbury estate. ‘Wehad seen something similar on a visit to Hidcote Manor Gardens, and it seemed the perfect replacement for the old lilac that used to divide the long borders in two.

Draped in jasmine and honeysuckle, the garden structure design now helps to maintain a sense of privacy and provides a spot where visitors can pauseand consider the country garden.The long borders flank it on either side, with magnificent Jekyllesque-style colour combinations: hot reds and oranges in the top section, to compliment the yellow Paeonialudlowii and climbing Rosa ‘Maigold’ planted in the opposite border, and cool whites, greens and pinks in the section nearest the house.

Saving the best for last, through the beech hedge and via the blue and white cottage garden, a newly made wild garden awaits. A splendid rodgersia, a gift from a friend, creates a natural focal point and picks up the purple foliage of the berberis. Epimedium, lily of the valley, honesty, Anemone amurensis and periwinkle blend together - a celebration of Arts and Crafts in all its glory.

English garden info:

Barnwell, Cerne Abbas, Dorset DT2 7JW.Open Sat 20 and Sun 21 June as part of Cerne Abbas Open Gardens, 2-6pm. To enquire about appointments for other days, tel: +44 (0)1300 341311.

Beautiful English cottage country garden

WHICH EXOTIC PLANTS IS IT POSSIBLE TO GROW IN BRITAIN'S TEMPERAMENTAL CLIMATE?

Most truly exotic plants aren't hardy and do need protection in our climate. But there are some plants which look exotic but are perfectly hardy. These exotic plants include Black Bamboo (Phyllcstachys nigra), the huge-leaved Petasites japonicas, and the ornamental Rhubarbs -
Rheum palmatum.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO GROW EXOTIC PLANTS WITHOUT A GREENHOUSE?

It's always a bit chancy to risk more tender exotic plants outside all year - it's not so much the cold, as the wet and cold that gets to them in a UK winter. We keep most of outs in an unhealed polytunnel, mostly to protect exotic plants  from excess wet. The woody exotic plants such as Paulownta, Butia capttata and Dicksonia antarctica can be protected outside using straw piled
up around the bases and wrapping in fleece or hessian. The banana, Musa basjoo, is actually a herbaceous exotic plants perennial, so even if you lose the main stem to frost, it usually re-shoots from the base to give you new plants next year if it has been well protected. With most of the softer plants such as Cannas and Colocasias it does pay to dig them up and put them outof the reach of frosts for the winter. A garage will do!

WHEN SHOULD YOU GO ABOUT PLANTING EXOTIC PLANTS?

Planting out exotic plants depends on your region's last frost date. I planted our exotic garden in
late May here in Cheshire. This may seem late, but there is still plenty of time for exotic plants to grow and produce their peak performance from July on wards. If exotic plants go out too early a cold spell will check their growth and leave them susceptible to attack from predators and pathogens.

GROW VEGETABLES 

GROW YOUR OWN VEGETABLES

Make the most of your own vegetable garden with Sue's expert advice for growing vegetables and exotics.

WHAT ARE THE EASIEST VEGETABLES TO GROW?

Radishes are really easy to grow vegetables and will be ready to harvest in less than a month. Just sow them thinly and cover with a little fine soil. Fresh young radishes are much less spicy than from the supermarket-Spinach is easy grow vegetables too and can be eaten raw in salads when young, or steamed. Don't worry about sowing rows, just sprinkle some seeds in a small area and pick off the leaves when they're ready. That's the way to easy grow vegetables! Dwarf French beans and courgettes are quick to grow too - it's best to start them off in pots indoors in early
May and plant out when they're a few Inches high. Allow lots of space for courgette plants as they get quite big!

HOW CAN YOU GET THE MOST OUT OF A VEGETABLE PLOT?

Most vegetables that grow in the garden can be sowed much closer than shown on the packet, especially if you want to pick young, lender crops. Sowing some seeds each week, such as carrots, letcuce and beetroot will keep a succession of produce through the year. Some plants can be
slotted in after others have finished - we sow our leeks in April and plant them when the broad beans have finished. And our autumn/winter cabbages go in after the new potatoes have been lifted.

WHAT VEGETABLES TO GROW IF YOU ONLY HAVE A SMALL GARDEN?

Raised beds are a very good way to use to grow vegetables in a small space. They don't need to be raised much, it's really about defining a snail space for vegetables. We use 1m x1m wooden framed
squares for grow vegetables and pack in as much as we can.

Alternatively carrots grow really well in pots, potatoes are perfect in old compost bags or sacks and salads and leafy crops work perfectly in small wooden trays.  Or try just grow vegetables by sowing a few seeds amongst your ornamental plants. Runner beans look very pretty in flower climbing up a pergola and Rainbow Chard stems look fabulously colorful in borders.

These are very helpful garden tips on how to grow vegetables!

Grow your own pots of produce

Even the smallest outside space can be filled with a wealth of colorful crops that will please the eye as well as the palate

What vegetables to grow in pots or containers

The following vegetables will all do well in pots or containers: herbs, salad leaves, spinach, dwarf runner/broad and French beans, radishes, peas, beetroot, compact courgettes (Summer Ball" and
Midnight'), potatoes, dwarf carrots ('Caracas' and 'Parmex'), aubergines, peppers and rhubarb, Thompson & Morgan, Dobies. Suttons and Chiltern Seeds offer vegetable seeds for growing in pots. Suttons has a Patio Vegetable Seed Collection of 15 varieties and 'Chiltern Seeds' Urban Selection has nine varieties suitable for containers.

Fruit trees in container

Some fruit trees, such as figs, enjoy having their roots restricted so are ideal for growing in pots, while others are suitable because they are grafted onto dwarfing root stock. such as M9 or M26 for apples and St Julien A for peaches, apricots, plums and nectarines. Use a large pot and fill it with heavy, soil-based compost for stability. Pruning and general tending is carried out in exactly the same way as for fruit in open ground. Recommended fruit varieties for growing in pots or containers: apple 'Bright Star', 'Falstaff and "Pixie"; nectarine Nectarella'; peach "Garden Lady'; fig 'Brown Turkey', pear Garden Pearl'.

Pots full of vegetable goodness

With just a few containers and pots outside your kitchen door, you can pick-your-own vegetables all summer long. Plus, you don't have far to go to tend them, which is ideal for things you use little and often, and you can also keep on top of pests and diseases. Regular watering and feeding vegetables in pots are essential but your efforts will be more than repaid by the satisfaction of stepping back into the kitchen with your home-grown produce.

Choose your compost for vegetables in pots

Good quality multi-purpose compost is fine for most vegetables and soft fruit in pots. Adding some well-rotted manure into the lower half of the containers or mixing in a humus-rich soil conditioner
such as Lakeland Gold will provide slow-release nutrients and improve moisture retention. Fruit trees, being more permanent plantings, need a soil-based compost such as John Innes No 3. Acid-loving blueberries planted in pots require ericaceous compost.

Seeing red vegetables in pots

Blight-resistant bush tomatoes such as sweet, cherry-sized 'Losetto' from Thompson & Morgan  thrive in hanging baskets and pots, and you don't need to pinch out any sideshoots; Vilma', which
only grows to 50-60cm tall, is also a good choice for vegetables in pots. For hanging vegetables in pots baskets, try Tumbling "Tom" and 'Hundreds and Thousands' (just as prolific as its name
implies). Find space for a few chilli plants, too: 'Basket of Fire' and Prairie Fire' are both compact and bushy vegetables in pots.

Soft fruit for pots

Strawberries, blueberries, redcurrants. white currants, blackcurrants, gooseberries and autumn raspberries can all be raised in pots and containers. You need a pot that is at least 45cm deep,
ideally in a sunny position for the vegetables in pots, although gooseberries and currants can cope in partial shade. Recommended varieties of soft fruit and berries for growing in pots: strawberry 'Flamenco'; blueberry Sunshine Blue'; redcurrant 'Rovada'; blackcurrant 'Ebony'; gooseberry 'Lady Sun'; raspberry 'Autumn Bliss".

Seeds or plants for veggies in pots?

You will get the widest, most economical range by raising plants from seed. However, you have to find space for the seed trays, plus raising seedlings takes time and dedication and there's an increased risk of them succumbing to slug attack before they're sturdy enough to cope. Alternatively, you can buy small plants. The main seed suppliers sell some of their ranges as young plants and the selection at nurseries is increasing.

Shoots and leaves

It's immensely satisfying to slip outside and snip off fresh leaves from the  vegetables in pots every day. The seed companies have made it simple with salad- leaf mixes in all conceivable combinations, from baby leaf and Oriental to bright and spicy. Stagger sowing every four weeks to produce a continuous supply. You can double up  vegetables in pots on space by sowing lettuce in gaps between other plants.

How to plant veggies, vegetables in pots.

WORDS BY PAULA McWATERS

From the kitchen garden eggs

Boiled, poached or scrambled but always home laid, Francine Raymond takes a fresh look at eggs
PHOTOGRAPHS SARAH BUSH

Americans buy white eggs and believe they are cleaner; we prefer brown eggs, thinking they're healthier, but all eggs, be they brown, white, beige or even blue, are exactly the same under their shells. Most Mediterranean chicken breeds of poultry - Leghorns, Minorcas and Anconas - lay white eggs; brown
layers include French Maran hens, Wei summers and Croad Langshans;while South American hens lay bluish-green ones. The rest lay a nice tinted beige egg. The color of egg yolks is determined in nature by the amount of greenery the bird consumes, and in the commercial industry by feed additives - the latest trick is adding marigold petals to the feed, resulting in lurid technicolor orange yolks - somehow even more of a travesty than the usual pale yellow blobs that stare up at you. An egg's flavor is governed by what the hen eats, but the real difference is whether the egg is fresh, and nothing beats a home-laid egg.

Obviously, cooks would be lost without eggs as ingredients, and if I'm at risk of stating the obvious and teaching grannies to suck eggs, forgive me, but I'd like to champion some of the simplest ways of cooking them - as meals in themselves. Quick, easy, nutritious and ideal for busy gardeners (who would rather spend more time outside than in the kitchen), eggs are the ultimate fast food.

Boiling an egg is a controversial topic, maybe even our first gastronomic hurdle. But those eating really fresh eggs for the first time may like to re-visit this most basic of recipes. Pop your eggs in boiling water and cook for three and a half minutes, timed from the moment the water starts to boil again. Hard-boiled eggs need 10 minutes, and should then be plunged into cold
water. Experiment with your timings.

Those with really busy lives could try coddled eggs: placed in a pan of boiling water, covered, and left off the heat for five minutes. Eaten with soldiers, or added halved to salads with a drizzle of spiced dressing made with fried chillis  cumin and coriander seeds, hot and sizzling from the pan; or with a dollop of yogurty mustard mayonnaise; or popped on to kedgeree or salade nigoise; or mashed with artichoke hearts, or peas; and you have made an instant lunch.
Poached eggs take even less time. Fill a deep frying pan with water and add a tablespoon of vinegar. Leave to simmer, then carefully crack in a fresh egg, and poach for three and a half minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon straight
into a nest of drained spinach and sorrel, on to a crusty piece of buttered toast, garlicky oiled bruschetta,or a bed of grilled early asparagus.

One of my favorite lunches is to take a wholemeal roll, cut off the top and hollow out the inside - the crumbs go to my hens. Then I crack an egg inside, and cover with sliced mushrooms and Gruyere cheese. I pop it in the Rayburn with its top back on until the white has set, then out to the garden to eat in the pale spring sunshine, surrounded by my flock.

For an unexpected guest, scrambled eggs are a doddle: break four eggs into a bowl, add a little sea-salt and a few grinds of black pepper, mixing the yolks and whites with a fork. Melt an ounce of butter in a pan, pour in the eggs and gently stir with a wooden spoon for about two minutes, bringing the outside edges of the mixture to the middle, until the eggs are just set. Don't overcook
or you'II get yellow rubbery sponge. Top with grated cheese (Parmesan, Emmenthal or hard Cheddar), some snipped chives or a sprig of tarragon, home- made pesto, a few slices of smoked salmon or mackerel and lots of crusty bread.

Newly laid duck eggs make wonderful creamy scrambledeggs, pretty hard-boiledquaiI eggs look great in a salad sprinkled with cumin or celery salt, and even bantam eggs are availablein some delicatessens and supermarkets. If you keep bantam hens, you'll know you need three eggs to the standard two in most recipes. If I can't tempt you to share your garden with a few hens
or ducks, but you'd still like to experience the thrill of a really fresh egg, check out farm-gate stalls, farmers' markets, or beg from hen-keeping friends, who should have a surfeit of eggs now that spring is here. A further spur could be the knowledge that a shop-bought egg has a 'best before' date a month after the egg was laid.

Have eggs from your hens in the kitchen garden.

 Vegetables in Containers

Enjoy tasty, homegrown vegetables on your doorstep, deck, patio, balcony, or garden with these herb and vegetable garden ideas for containers.

Add Color with Containers

Boost your garden's color quotient by using bright pots. These glazed containers in cheery shades of blue, orange, and yellow instantly add interest to a display of purple basil, Hungarian Wax pepper, tomato, parsley, and golden oregano.

Grow Up

Grow your vegetables in hanging baskets if ground space is scarce. Compact or "bush" varieties are best, though many herbs are also perfect picks for baskets. This pairing of tomato and basil, for example, creates a delicious and attractive display.

Test Garden Tip: Set up a drip-watering system to save you a substantial amount of time with a hose or watering can.

Be Creative

Give your plantings personality and save money by using recycled containers. Here, old wine crates provide a perfect home for small varieties, including lettuce, Thumbelina carrots, everbearing strawberries, and signet marigolds.

Stagger Height

Select containers of different sizes and create a grouping to offer additional interest. These four containers filled with cucumber, tomato, pepper, basil, thyme, and parsley add lots of visual appeal to a landscape.

Incorporate Colorful Varieties

Use vegetables with attractive foliage, flowers, or fruits in your favorite planters. Here, red-stemmed Swiss chard, glowing Lemon Gem marigolds, and a hot pepper add great colorand texture to a container.

Make an Herbal Window Box

Let great scents waft in your home each time you open a window by growing herbs in your window boxes. This lovely example incorporates variegated sage, variegated thyme, Italian parsley, and sweet alyssum.

www.bhg.com/gardening/vegetable/vegetables/grow-vegetables-in-containers

Fresh Ideas for Growing Vegetables in Containers

Vegetable Garden Plans

Garden Decor

Very interesting garden decorating idea!