Amateur Gardening – 10 August 2019

10 AUGUST 2019AMATEUR GARDENING 47

Crossword

A question

ACROSS

2 Genusof flowering

annuals,manyof which

usedtobegodetia!(7)

6 TheEgyptianpaperreed

(Cyperuspapyrus) is also

knownasthe____grass (4)

7 Therosegenus(4)

8 Usualcolourof theflowers

of thisweek’sMiscellany

subjects(3)

9 Foundin semi-ripecuttings,

ElectricalandMusical

IndustriesLtdwasa British

businessgroupanda

recordlabelbetween 1931

and2012!(1,1,1)

10 TheInstituteof

Groundsmanship,forsports

turfandgreenskeepers(1,1,1)

11 The‘rinds’alongthepods

of thisweek’sMiscellany

subjects(7)

12 Tabletennis,cricket,the

greaterhorseshoe and

pipistrelle!(3)

13 In addition,thisis foundin

handtools,greasebands, as

well as in sand! (3)

14 Extremepartof endive!(3)

15 ____majus– thebullwort,

anannualwithwhite flowers

in summer(4)

16 Startthesnapdragon

genustobeagainstit! (4)

17 Thisrhododendron

cultivaris alsoa river,gorge

andnaturalfeatureonthe

borderof theCanadian

Provinceof Ontarioandthe

USstateof New York (7)

DOWN

1 Thesubjectsof this

week’sMiscellany! (6,5)

2 Genusnameforthe

bottlebrushshrub(11)

3 Seedringing,in caseyou

needtoplanthegarden

again!(11)(anag)

4 Latinnameforpheasant’s

eye,anuprightannualwith

finelydissectedleavesand

deepscarletflowers in early

summer(6,5)

5 Commonnameforthe

perennialErigeron

aurantiacus (6,5)

CROSSWORDABOVETO ANSWERS

End 14 And 13 Bat 12 11 StringsIoG 10 9 EMI8 Red7 Rosa6 Nile Clarkia ACROSS

17 NiagaraAnti 16 Ammi 15

5 Orange Adonis annua 4 1 Runner beans 2 Callistemon 3 RedesigningDOWN

daisy

Pole to pole

TRADITIONALLY,we
supportedgardenpeas
(closerelativesof runner
beans)withbrushwood
insertedin theground
betweentheplants.Why
notdothesameforrunner
beans?Well,withthe
lengthsof thebeanvines,
andtheweightsof thebean
crops,thisbrushwood
wouldhavetobemade
fromlumpsof trees.
In thedaysbeforecheap
bamboocaneimports,
runnerbeansweregrown
onstraighttreebranches,
orpoles,cutfromcoppices
andwoods.Poleswere
perhaps1in(2½cm)orso
in diameter and, once

of naming

RUNNERbeansoriginatefrom
thenear-tropicalpartsof Central
America.Buteatingthemis a
peculiarlyBritishthing.If youwe
gotopartsof theAmericas,orevennorthernEurope,and
tellpeopletoeatthem,theywouldthinkyouweremad.
In theUS,theyareknownas‘Englishrunner beans’ (and
sometimes‘polebeans’,seebelow).
TheywerebroughttoBritainin the1600s(possiblyby
JohnTradescanttheYounger,seepictureabove)andwere
grownpurelyasornamentalvinesuntilabout 200 years
ago.Thelushgreenfoliageandredflowersarestill
grown just for decoration in some parts of Europe.

1 2 3 4 5

6 7

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12

9

13

14

15 16

17

Wow! I didn’t know that...

A well-grownrunnerbeancanyield1-2.3lb(0.5-1kg)of
beansin a season.A singlewigwamof sixcanesin a 2ft
(60cm)circle,withtwoplantspercane,wouldbeplenty
fora smallhouseholdoversummerandearlyautumn.
Haloblight(pictured)is a seed-bornediseasethat
producescircularlesionsontheleaves.Plantsare
weakened,andleavesturnyellow
drop.There’snocure,soyounee
todestroyaffectedplants.
Fiftyyearsago,in the 1969
OxfordBookof FoodPlants,
runnerbeansweredescribed
as‘byfarthemostpopular
green bean in Britain’.

KEYWORDTOWORDSEARCH 474 (AG6 JULY):

CADBURY

AND THE WINNERIS:ETHAN BLOOM, CAMBRIDGE

anchoredproperly,could

besecuredtogether tightly

againstthewind.

Unfortunately,old-

fashionedbeanpolesare

nowuneconomicalunless

youlivein thecountry,but

thepolereferenceliveson

in thesaying‘as slim as a

bean-pole’.