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RHS Garden Rosemoor
Great Torrington
Devon
EX38 8PH
Tel: 0845 265 8072

Carol Klein and the new gardeners, Dan and Dominique Farmer, went to RHS Garden Rosemoor looking for autumnal inspiration. They found lots of interesting and unexpected plants in the Hot Garden and Foliage Garden, including Rudbeckia fulgida var. sullivantii 'Goldsturm' (Black-eyed Susan or coneflower), asters (Michaelmas daisies), Verbena hastata (American blue vervain), Tetrapanax papyrifer 'Rex’ (Chinese rice-paper plant), Cautleya spicata 'Robusta', Fatsia japonica (Japanese aralia) and Tricyrtis formosana (Toad lily).

ÌýÌýÌý(www.rhs.org.uk)

Visiting gardens is one of the best ways to get inspiration and explore what plants look like in different seasons. Stay local and you may find plants which will enjoy a similar soil type to yours or travel further afield and get inspiration and exciting design ideas which may change the way you garden.

This is a good time to plant garlic. The clove will be able to put down roots and sprout just before it gets cold, then low winter temperatures will vernalise the garlic and ensure the plant bulks up into good bulbs the following year.

There are two types of true garlic, hardneck and softneck. Hardneck types such as Sprint, Chesnok Wight and Red Sicillian have more complex flavours, they also readily produce flowering spikes called scapes, which are delicious in stir-fries. Hardneck refers to the remnant of the flowering stem which you find in the centre of the bulb. Although thought to have better flavour hardneck types generally store for shorter periods.

Softneck garlic, like Therador, Vallelado and Solent Wight produce tightly packed bulbs which store for longer than hardneck types. Softneck garlic generally lacks the hard flower stem in the dried bulb which defines the two types, however under stress, softneck garlic will flower and it will end up with a stem in the bulb.

Monty also likes to grow elephant garlic which is planted deeply and is actually a leek! The taste is much milder but it does store well. A good addition to the veg patch for garlic lovers!

(www.rhs.org.uk)

Monty takes cuttings from blackcurrants using material from this year’s growth, which by now should be woody. Strip off all the foliage (if it hasn’t already fallen) and divide any long pieces into cuttings about 6 inches long. Cut the top diagonally (sloping away from a bud) and the bottom straight. This will help you know which way is ‘up’ on the cutting and also helps water run off and away from developingÌý buds when it rains.Ìý Dig a slit trench and bury the cuttings so most is underground. Backfill the soil around the cuttings and leave; they will show signs of growth next summer.

Ìý (www.rhs.org.uk)

As the growing season comes to an end you may want to give tomatoes a helping hand to ripen.Ìý Pick them and place in a drawer somewhere warm. Add a ripe banana and the process will be assisted by the presence of ethylene, a natural gas associated with fruit ripening. Check the tomatoes regularly and use them when they are soft and ripe. Don’t forget to check as they may ripen faster than you expect! Finally, if the fruits haven’t fully developed and are quite hard and green they may never ripen but don’t worry, they make great ketchups, chutneys and sauces!

(www.bbc.co.uk)

Now is the time to buy specially prepared hyacinth bulbs, which will give you wonderful winter colour and fragrance in the home. Make sure you buy prepared bulbs - they should be clearly labelled. Use free-draining compost and place the bulbs so that only half is below the surface. Water them so they are moist but not too wet, and place them somewhere cold and dark (or cover with a box or black plastic to omit light). They will need to remain somewhere dark and cold for up to 10 weeks, when they should have rooted and shooted. At that point, move the plants indoors to a bright, cool room, water when the compost dries out and you should have blooms within a few weeks. Do make sure not to place the hyacinths in direct sunlight initially, as this will be too bright but once the plant has acclimatised, feel free to move it to a windowsill.

(www.rhs.org.uk)

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