Amateur Gardening – 24 August 2019

20 AMATEURGARDENING 24 AUGUST 2019

TamsinWesthorpehasa softspotforsoftfruit.Sherecommendsthebestraspberries,

strawberries,blackberries, blueberriesandgooseberriesforpotsandtightspaces

W

HATwouldsummer

belikewithoutthe

tasteof strawberries,

raspberries,

blackcurrants,gooseberriesand

blueberries?Prettydreadful,I would

imagine.A scatteringo

fruitonicecreamorin a

smoothieis theperfect

treatfora hotday,and

they’rea veryhealthy

additiontoanydiet.

In mygarden

thesoft-fruit

seasonstartswith

strawberries,and

forflavourI prefer

‘CambridgeFavourite’.

Thisheritageberrywas

introducedjustbeforet

startof theSecondWor

andit’sstoodthetestof timeasit’s

reliableandgrowsin mostconditions.

Thesearefollowedbyloganberries,

summer raspberries, gooseberries and

thenautumnraspberries.Myfavourite

autumnraspberryis ‘AutumnBliss’.

If youhaven’texperiencedthejoyof

poppingoutintothegardentopicka

bowlof sweetfruits,thenit’stimeto

changeallthatbeforesummer

notonlychildren

njoypickingfresh

• adultswillbe
  st asthrilledbythe
  rospect.Thanksto
  newvarietiesand
  growingtechniques
  youdon’tneeda
  argegardento
  growyourown,so
  veryonecanhave
  go.Youcaneven
  w a blackberry
  Cascade’)in
  basket.
  Strawberriesareverysuccessful
  whengrownin hangingbaskets,window
  boxesorpots.In fact,I wouldgosofar
  as to say they are the easiest of the soft

fruit.Thesecrettosuccessis usinga

good-qualitycompostandensuringthat

it is welldrained– overwatering is the

maincauseof failure.

I recentlyspoketoanexpertat Ken

Muir(kenmuir.co.uk)andaskedwhich

strawberryvarietieshadprovedthe

mostpopularthissummer.Thelate

season‘Florence’hasbeena best

sellerthankstoitstasteanddisease

resistance,while‘Cupid’,whichhasa

veryappealingname,alsooffersgood

diseaseresistanceandhas been a hit

withcustomersin 2019.

LanceRussellfromThompson&

MorganwasquicktopraiseStrawberry

‘JustaddCream’foritswonderful aroma

( thompson-morgan.com).

Beefriendly

Takea quicklookat thedifferentsoft

fruitsonFrankP Matthewswebsite

(frankpmatthews.com)andyour

mouthwillwater.I’mkeentotrythe

Blueberry ‘Pink Lemonade’ in a pot in

Youcangrowa rangeofsoft fruit

even in a small garden

with Tamsin Westhorpe

All

photography

Alamy,

unless

otherwise credited

Berry good ideas

Strawberriesareidealfor

growing in baskets