Amateur Gardening

Tamsin Westhorpe celebrates self-seeders and offers advice on getting the best out of these generous plants Tamsin Westhorpe celebrates self-seeders and offers advice on getting the best out of these generous plants A few self-seeders mixed with your better-behaved ornamentals will create full borders where plants merge and cushion each other in a natural way. When I gardened on a sandy soil in Dorset, Verbena bonariensis sprung up everywhere, but in my heavy clay border in Herefordshire I can’t get even one plant to survive. If self-seeders are deep rooted and hard to remove from the garden, cut off the flowers before they have the chance to set seed.

It pays to follow the times-two rule, as former Gardeners’ World host Toby Buckland explains how ‘double-doing’ can benefit your lawn It pays to follow the times-two rule, as former Gardeners’ World host Toby Buckland explains how ‘double-doing’ can benefit your lawn Measure twice, cut once. I’ve been applying an eco-fertiliser and moss killer to my grass that feeds the sward, encouraging unwanted moss to grow up into the blades of the mower and killing what the blades can’t with a naturally occurring moss-eating bacteria. When dosing any lawn with fertiliser, moss killer or weed-and-feed, a wheeled applicator that delivers the amount recommended on the side of the pack is really helpful, especially on larger lawns. That’s why it always pays to apply the fertiliser at half strength in two passes, ideally at right angles, so the feed falls evenly into the sward.

Tamsin Westhorpe celebrates self-seeders and offers advice on getting the best out of these generous plants Tamsin Westhorpe celebrates self-seeders and offers advice on getting the best out of these generous plants A few self-seeders mixed with your better-behaved ornamentals will create full borders where plants merge and cushion each other in a natural way. When I gardened on a sandy soil in Dorset, Verbena bonariensis sprung up everywhere, but in my heavy clay border in Herefordshire I can’t get even one plant to survive. If self-seeders are deep rooted and hard to remove from the garden, cut off the flowers before they have the chance to set seed.

Tim Rumble tests six lawn seed and fertiliser spreaders Avoid waste and get the best from lawn treatments, fertilisers and seeds with a tool to deliver the right amount in the right place, quickly and efficiently. Worked well with lawn seed and granular lawn treatment, and gave a light though adequate spread of chicken-manure pellets on the highest setting. Twist/gravity-powered hand-held spreader with four different settings (using dial on base of tub) for seed and granular feed. Worked well with granular lawn treatment and pelleted chicken manure, but difficult to get a good flow setting for lawn seed.