大象传媒

Peter Dowle鈥檚 garden 鈥淭here鈥檚 a place in the woodland鈥�where East meets West鈥� was a hit with the judges, winning a Gold medal and Best in Show. Taking inspiration from Japanese tea gardens, Peter has created a tranquil oasis using an eclectic mix of plants from around the world. A curved, moss-covered bench provided Monty, Carol and Joe with a lovely sheltered spot out of the wind.

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Primula sieboldii is found in moist meadows and light woodland in East Asia, so if you want to have a go at growing them in your own garden, you need to mimic these conditions. A damp area where the soil remains moist but never floods would be ideal. In these moist conditions, plants will tolerate a certain amount of sun but on drier soils, light shade is the best way of ensuring the roots don鈥檛 dry out. Add plenty of organic matter to increase the water-holding capacity of your soil.

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In sheltered gardens, rosettes of lush, green leaves can persist through the winter. If they look a bit tatty, resist the urge to cut them back in the autumn. Instead, give them a mulch for a bit of extra protection. Once established, their creeping roots will allow them to form large clumps.

As the flowers develop on your strawberry plants, it鈥檚 a good idea to cover some of them with cloches. This will encourage them to ripen early which, in turn, will give you a staggered harvest rather than one big glut in mid-summer.听Leave the ends open so that the bees can pollinate the flowers.

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You can鈥檛 beat the flavour of home-grown sweetcorn. And now鈥檚 the time to sow some. Monty likes to sow one seed per module and then pots them after about a fortnight. These are plants that need warmth right from the start, so make sure you wait until the nights have warmed up before you plant them out.

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It鈥檚 really important to harden off any plants that have been raised under cover, and that includes plants bought from the garden centre. A cold frame is ideal for this, but if you don鈥檛 have one, a sheltered corner will do. After a week or so, the plants will have acclimatised and after then, can be moved to their final position.听

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