Country & Garden: Weekend Work
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Your support makes all the difference.THERE HAVE been vast clouds of hoverflies in the garden, more than I have ever seen before, consequently not an aphid in the place. Hooray. Even artemisia `Powis Castle' is clean as a whistle after a monster attack of blackfly. That may be the work of ladybirds as they are perched all over the bushes. One small victory for the natural scheme of things.
HARVESTING IS my major preoccupation as the vegetable garden comes to fruition. French beans need frequent picking over if they are to continue to produce. So do courgettes. Onions should be drying off now before being stored.
LOGANBERRIES AND other hybrid berries of this sort need pruning and tying in. Cut out the old fruited canes, removing them from the base of the plant. Tie in the new growths in their place. This is easier to do if you stretch wires against a wall or fence and train the long growths along these. To increase stock, bury the tips of one or two new canes in the ground. They will quickly root and next year you can detach them and start off a new plant.
TAKE CUTTINGS of tender perennials like penstemons, argyranthemums, and felicias. These will need protection through the winter.
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