Coleus plants are easy to care for, low-maintenance, and grow quickly, which makes them ideal for beginners.
23.11.2023 - 10:35 / gardenersworld.com / Monty Don
Growing beetroot is easy, giving you delicious, round, red roots that can be boiled, roasted and pickled – and even grated into salads. The colourful young leaves can be picked fresh and used in salads, and mature leaves can be wilted and used as spinach. There’s a wide variety of beetroot to grow, with orange, yellow and pink cultivars to choose from.
How to grow beetrootSow beetroot seeds outdoors from mid-April to late June, into a shallow drill, 1cm deep. Space seeds 10cm apart, with 30cm between rows. Water beetroot plants regularly and keep the area free from weeds. Harvest the beetroot when they’re the size of a cricket ball – larger roots can become woody.
How to sow beetroot seedWhen to plant beetroot depends on the equipment you have to hand. Sow beetroot seeds direct in the soil outdoors from mid-April to late June, into a shallow drill, 1cm deep. Space seeds 10cm apart, with 30cm between rows. Being a root crop, beetroot does best if the soil is free of large stones.
To extend the beetroot season and ensure an early crop, select a variety known for its resistance to bolting and sow under cloches from the beginning of March.
Growing beetroot in pots of sifted garden soil or high-quality compost such as John Innes No. 2 is a good option if you’re short on space. It’s an attractive crop and perfect for an ornamental kitchen garden.
You can also sow beetroot in modular trays and transplant the plants outdoors later on. In this clip from Gardeners’ World, Monty Don sows beetroot in modular trays indoors, explaining which compost to use and the best way to sow the seeds for good results. He also recommends his favourite variety:
Planting beetroot plugsYou can buy beetroot plug plants or
Coleus plants are easy to care for, low-maintenance, and grow quickly, which makes them ideal for beginners.
Silver birch (Betula pendula) is a deciduous tree with a slender shape and graceful appearance, which has given rise to its lovely name of the ‘lady of the woods’. Silver birch trees look attractive year-round with white bark, spring catkins and yellow autumn leaf colour. The catkins and seeds are popular with wildlife such as bees and birds, while several species of moth lay eggs on birch leaves.
Hardy fuchsias are commonly grown in UK gardens, and it’s no surprise – many flower from June to November and need very little care. Native to Central and South America, most hardy fuchsias survive UK winters (RHS hardiness rating H4), although some may still require protection from the harshest weather (RHS hardiness rating H3 or H2). In milder parts of the UK, hardy fuchsias can grow into a shrub up to 3m in height but in colder regions they may be damaged by frost and require cutting back to the base, from where they regrow in spring.
A great tree for multi-season interest, Lagerstroemia fauriei adds a decorative flourish from summer to winter. The Japanese crepe myrtle, as it is also known, is a deciduous tree with gorgeous fall color. This crepe myrtle also develops beautiful summer blossoms and attractive peeling red and brown bark.
Mahonias are woody evergreen shrubs and the best of them flower in winter. In the past, they were regarded as something to shove in the shady corner or, even more insultingly, as car park plants. But now – thanks to the demand for architectural foliage – they are having their moment in the sun... or, rather, their moment in light shade, which is where they prefer to be.
Who would be without a hellebore or two in the dark months of February and early March, when we long for the onset of spring? Their generous, characterful flowers bring colour and hope to the garden when we need it most, and they really don’t need much to keep them happy.
As inextricable from mass festive wares as tinsel and paper hats, the poinsettia blazes red in most shops and homes during December. Being such an omnipresent sight makes it unappealing for many of us, but, thankfully – if the standard scarlet species makes you wince – there are less common forms available that are well worth buying to brighten the house this Christmas.
Should you be stopped in your tracks by the blazing colour of a tree this autumn, it is likely to be a maple (Acer). Their distinctive palmate leaves burn breathtaking, vivid shades of scarlet, ruby, or gold before they fall, outshining most trees in the vicinity. Some acers also offer colourful spring foliage; others have a sculptural spreading shape with multiple trunks; and a few provide attractive bark during the winter months.
Cherry blossom on show in a west London garden by Sheila Jack
How to Grow a Ginseng Ficus Bonsai
Basil is a versatile annual herb used in pasta sauces, pizzas, salads and Thai curries. It is a member of the Lamiaceae (mint) family. Sweet basil plants tend to dominate the supermarket shelves, but there are many other exciting types to try when you grow your own.
Strawflower (Xerochrysum bracteatum) is also known as everlasting flower, immortelle and paper daisy. Strawflower plants have an upright habit and branching flower stems topped with many-petalled blooms to 8cm across. Hardy annuals, strawflowers bloom abundantly from summer into autumn, in shades of red, pink, yellow, orange, purple and white. The naturally dry texture of the blooms makes them an excellent choice as cut flowers to use fresh, or in dried arrangements that will last for years. Strawflower grows quickly and easily from seed and lasts for one growing season only.