August 2024: Gardeners Question Time

An entertaining and informative evening was had at this year’s Gardeners Question Time. As usual, it enabled members to get advice on their gardening problems, and to air their gardening frustrations. Chaired by Sir Nicolas Bevan, the CABAHS President, the panel also comprised Tom Brown, the Greenwich Park’s Head Gardener, and Pat Kane, a long standing CABAHS member.

Most of the questions were sent in by members beforehand. They covered a broad range of gardening areas and problems: growing hollyhocks; aphid control; tree size; cistus, salvia and sisyrinchium pruning; how to grow dahlias; what killed my rose; problems with apple trees and rambling roses; how to encourage children to get involved in gardening; recommending a fertiliser for yew hedges; the cause of curly cucumbers; dealing with self seeding; and problems with bamboo.

How to deal with aphids without resorting to chemicals: they can be got rid of manually by squeezing your finger down the stem; by spraying them with soapy water; using a hosepipe jet of water; or encouraging ladybirds as they love eating aphids – apparently, ladybirds can be bought online.

Another question was about self-seeders. Many gardens are plagued by self-seeders such as Verbena bonariensis, Mexican fleabane and Welsh poppies. If not wanted, flowers should be dead-headed so they do not self-seed; if you like them, leave them where they are; lift and plant them elsewhere; or pot them on and bring them in to sell at CABAHS plant sales.

One member had been growing cucumbers, one was straight and another curly, and she wanted to know why: the curliness may be due to genetics; or to a virus spread by aphids; or not enough water – water from the base. The member could grow them next to companion plants such as marigolds and nasturtiums which attract aphids, but better still, grow them indoors.

And – how to grow dahlias: dahlias do not like the wet, they like well drained soil. Some gardeners leave them in the ground over winter, but Tom suggested they should be grown in pots and kept warm. Also it is necessary to keep an eye out for slugs: beer traps, pellets, prickly or slippery barriers were mentioned.

And – how to encourage children to get gardening. The panel agreed that children where possible should be given their own little patch of land, and provided with seeds to grow their own vegetables and flowers. They should be given access to sensory objects such as wind chimes and water features, and sensory plants such as Lambs ears. Watercress on blotting paper on windowsills was also mentioned.

At the end of GQT: what book and luxury item would the panel take with them to the desert island. And, come Armageddon, what single plant would they try to save. Sir Nicolas said he would take W. J. Bean’s five volumes on Trees and Shrubs (enough to keep anyone going for a long time) and his luxury item would be a watering-can. The plant he would try to save would be Geranium macrorrhizum ‘Bevan’s Variety’: it reminded him of his father who had spent time in Romania where they flourished and were prolific – alongside the name. Pat would take Flora of the World so she could recognise the plants on the island and know what she could eat, and a machete to use to build shelter. Pat would save an old-fashioned Pink to remind her of an aunt who grew them. And Tom would take the RHS guide on Pruning and Training, and secateurs, and his plant would be a Hydrangea he inherited from his mother, as it would remind him of her. Each of the plants chosen carried a personal memory.

This year’s Gardeners Question Time was one of the highlights of our monthly talks: it proved a very successful evening; and I encourage members to attend next year’s GQT. As usual, there was an exciting raffle and a great display on the Show Table – Terry won the prize this month.

Angela B