Amateur Gardening – 21 May 2019

11 MAY 2019 AMATEURGARDENING 7

Time for the Chelsea chop

I

T’Sthetimeofyearwhencertain

floweringherbaceousperennials

canbecutbackbyuptoa half

to keep them looking neat and

encouragea secondflushofblooms.

Thisprocedureis calledthe‘Chelsea

chop’becauseit coincideswiththe

world-famous horticultural show in

Feed them as they grow again after winter, saysRuth

I’mchoppingbacka largecatmint

tostopit becomingstragglyandto

encourage secondary fl owering

London.Plantsthatbenefitinclude

perennialsunflowers,phlox,sedums,

catmint,echinaceaandheleniums.

TheChelseachopdelaysflowering

byfour-sixweeks,helpingyoustagger

andextendyourbordercolourbymore

thana month.Youcaneventrychopping

verylargebushyplantsin stages,so

thereis a successionof newbudsto

openasotherbloomsfade– something

I oftendowithourbigcatmint.

Alternatively,if youhaveseveral

clumpsof onevarietygrowingin the

border,youcouldchopthemin

successiontofurtherextendtheirshow.

Aswellasprolongingflowering,the

Chelseachopproduceslotsof smaller

flowers,getsridof leggygrowthand

reducestheneedforstakingplants.

Cuttingbackplantsdrasticallycan

shockthem,sowaterthemwellif the

groundis dryandeitherfeedwitha

granularfertiliser,forkingit in and

watering,orwaterandpilemulcharound

therootareatoholdontowater and add

nourishmenttothesoil.

Youshouldnotexperienceany

problemsafterdoingtheChelseachop

unlessyouhavecutbackplantsthatit

doesn’tsuit,in whichcasetheymay

not flower well or at all this year.

How AG reported its Chelsea medalÉ

T

HEhighlightofthegardening

year,RHSChelseaFlowerShow,

is backfrom21-25May.Expect

fabulousplantsandgarden

designsanda sprinklingofcelebrities.

If youareunabletoattendyouwon’t

missoutastherewillbeextensiveBBC

coveragethroughouttheweek,helped

byAG’s TobyBucklandwhosebrief

includesthePeople’sChoicecategory

andcurrentgardeningtrends.

In 1984,AGentereda gardenin the

showtomarkthemagazine’s100th

anniversary.Wewona covetedgold

medal,andhereis howthen-editor

PeterWoodreportedit:

“Muchtothedelightofeveryone

concerned,AG’s VictorianVillagarden

attheChelseaFlowerShow won a

covetedGoldMedal.

“Thehighlightof theshowwasa

visitfromHerMajesty,TheQueen,who

expresseda delightin ourgardenand

showedspecialinterestin theVictorian

edgingtilesthatwereusedaroundthe

bedsandborders.Otherroyalvisitors

includedPrinceCharlesandPrincess

Diana, the Duchess of Gloucester and

PrincessMichaelof Kent.Nearlya

quarterof a million people saw

thegarden.

‘Planningforthegardenstartedabout

twoyearsago.TheVictorianthemewas

chosentolinkin withthebirthof the

magazinein May1884.Roger

Sweetinburgh,thedesigner,andI spent

manyhoursporingoveroldvolumesto

discoverwhata Victoriangardenwas

reallylike.Rogeralsohadgreathelp

fromDrBrentElliot,theRHSlibrarian.

“Werequiredrusticornaments,which

werepopularin thosetimes,and

consultedJohnPerkinsfromWoolin

Dorset,whodesignedandmadethe

summerhouse,plantcontainer,trellis

andseat.Finally,weengagedGoddards

(LandscapeContractors)Ltdof Farnham

asconsultantsfortheconstruction of the

gardenontheChelseasite.

“Thentherewerea hostof others

whohelpedin somanyways:MrsAnne

StevensfromDorchester,Dorset,who,

withverylittlenotice,produceda

wonderfulselectionof herbaceous

plantsfromherowngarden;the

gardeners at Poole Park, Dorset, who

Cutbackbyaround

a half

grewallthe

beddingflowers

exactlyontime;

andthereaders

whoprovidedthe

Victorianedgingtiles.”

ChelseaFlowerShow

is at theRoyalHospitalChelsea,London,

SW34SR.Thenearestunderground

stationis SloanSquare, 10 minutes’walk

away,andfulldetailsareavailable at

 rhs.org.uk/shows-events.

AG’sChelseagoldmedal-winning

Victorian Garden in 1984

Summerfeed:Ialsochoppedbacka pulmonariato

encouragea secondflowering,andthenfedand

watered it to give it a mid-season boost.

Heleniumsbenefit from

the Chelsea chop