A healthy winter garden

The peppers have finished and the tomatoes are nearly over. One cold morning soon the basil suddenly will be black and the summer vege garden will be done. No need for sadness - you can plant and harvest veges throughout the winter.

The brassica family, which includes cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli and Brussels sprouts, is the mainstay of the traditional winter garden. Now that the weather is cooler it is a good time to plant them. These guys take a lot of space and time. However you can take advantage of slow-growing brassicas by planting quick crops between them. Lettuces, spring onions and baby carrots can all be sown between brassicas and they will be harvested and gone by the time the brassicas reach full size. Garden centres sell mixed vege punnets designed for this. They also sell punnets of mixed brassicas - an ideal way to avoid a glut of one variety.

Nowadays we grow many winter greens from Asia as well as Europe. Pak choy and wong bok are two favourites that can be bought in punnets. They mature quickly for delicious stir-fries. If you can't grow silver beet or rainbow beet it's time to give up - but I bet you can! If the taste of silver beet isn't popular in your house, try English spinach or perpetual spinach. They are easy, mild-tasting alternatives. New Zealand spinach is a native plant that Captain Cook used to treat his crew for scurvy. It is a coastal plant that scrambles on sand dunes, and will thrive in a dry sunny corner of your garden. The succulent leaves can be steamed, stir-fried or used in any dish calling for greens. The taste is mild and sweet.

Potatoes are easy to grow by many methods, and they can be started any time over the next few months. In limited space grow them in a barrel or another large container. Put a layer of compost or garden mix at the bottom of the barrel and set the sprouted seed potatoes on it. Cover them with about 10cm of garden mix. As the stems and foliage develop add more mix to bury the stems so that only the top leaves show. Keep building up the mix layers until the potatoes begin flowering. When the flowers have finished and the stems have died down you can begin to harvest your spuds.

Tradition has it that garlic and shallots should be planted on the shortest day and harvested on the longest. Keep to this rule of thumb and plant them some time in mid-winter for summer taste treats.

If you have spare space sow lupin or mustard to revitalise the garden over winter. This green crop or living mulch will flourish in bare patches and prevent weed growth. A few weeks before planting in spring, dig the garden over and bury the green crop. It will add nitrogen to the soil and condition it for the summer garden and those colourful peppers and tomatoes.

Essential Gertrude Jekyll

Delphiniums

As a colonial gardener I've always known about the great Gertrude Jekyll, without having read any of her writings. I've vaguely associated her with planting herbaceous bordsers with drifts of perennials, and hating the colour magenta.

Finally I've decided to read more, borrowing a book from the local library entitled 'The Gardener's Essential Gertrude Jekyll'. It's a selection from her thirteen books - writings on various topics, ranging from grand sweeping concepts to the tiniest plants described in full frontal detail. And most of all she is very, very quotable.

A Gardening Wise-Woman

I've decided that Miss Jekyll is a genuine wise-woman of gardening. Some of her comments are obviously old fashioned and lack today's requirement for political correctness. But there's still much for the thoroughly-modern, environmentally-aware, quasi-organic, recycling-mad gardener to get his or her gardening teeth (and gloves) firmly into.

Ghislaine de Feligonde

She's a French beauty, bred by Turbat in 1916, and is said to be hardy and extremely disease-resistant. I've planted two, with irrigation drippers, on an archway in the Hazelnut Orchard. It's an area with loads of sunshine and fresh air, where no rose should ever dare expect to be sprayed.

Ghislaine de Feligonde Rose Cluster

A Good Report

The catalogues I chose my climbing roses from gave her a good report - using words like 'vigorous' and phrases like 'occasionally blooms in autumn'. Well, well, well! This autumn my Ghislaine de Feligonde roses are covered with the most beautiful clusters of flowers.

I like the slightly dishevelled look of her flower clusters, the texture of her leaves, and the mess of her colours - one bloom apricot-pink, the next soft yellow, pale cream, orangey-yellow, pale buff, or white...

And I'm sorry for being so 'sizist' in my initial comments. Small is definitely beautiful, in Ghislaine de Feligonde's case

What's Up With That?!

Weird Stuff and Fun Facts from the Gardening World

Most trees bear their flowers and fruit towards the outer tips of branches or on new growth. But there are a few trees that can sprout flowers and fruit directly from mature trunks and branches. This trait is known as cauliflory (from the Latin words for “stem” + “flower”).

Most cauliflorous trees are native to the tropics. Examples include papaya, breadfruit, and that most vital of plants, cacao (the source of chocolate!) Some fig (Ficus) species also exhibit cauliflory. Despite its name, cauliflower doesn’t really count as cauliflorous since it’s not a woody plant.

Even if you can’t make it to the tropics you can still see at least one cauliflorous species. Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis) is one of few non-tropical tree species that can bear flowers and fruit (actually small papery seed pods) on its trunk and older branches as well as on newer growth. This small ornamental tree is native to much of the Eastern half of the U.S. Eastern redbud is not native to Minnesota but can be grown successfully through Zone 4 if plants from hardy seed strains are selected.

Flavoured foods 'lacking fruit'

Not necessarily found in strawberry-flavoured foods

A consumer pressure group says that shoppers are being misled into buying fruit-flavoured products which contain little or no fruit.

The Food Commission said that too many products have images of fruit on the label, but often none inside.

It is calling on companies to reduce the number of artificial flavourings, which it said were used instead.

Some of the companies named insisted that their products met all legal and labelling requirements.

The Food Commission campaigns against the use of artificial additives in food, and said that these should not be used to replace an ingredient which might be more beneficial to health.

It produced a long list of strawberry-flavoured products available in British supermarkets which it said could potentially mislead customers.

These included strawberry jelly and milkshakes which contained no strawberry element whatsoever.

One strawberry fruit bar had 0.5% strawberry, and was actually made almost entirely from apples.

Another own-brand strawberry fruit tea contained 0.2% strawberry.

Ian Tokelove, from the Food Commission, said: "Flavourings allow companies to cut costs at the public's expense.

"With thousands of cheap flavourings to choose from, many food manufacturers can now flavour their products using these specialist additives instead of real ingredients.

"Describing a product as strawberry flavour and plastering the packet with pictures of strawberries, when that product contains just a tiny percentage of strawberry or even no real fruit at all, is misleading and deceptive.

"Unfortunately it is also legal and the practice is widespread."

'Consumer demand'

A spokesman for the Food Standards Agency said that food manufacturers did have an obligation not to mislead customers about the content of their products.

He said: "However, we would tend to focus on manufacturers clearly describing what is in their food, rather than what isn't in it."

He said there was no reason to avoid flavoured drinks that were low in natural products, so long as they were part of a healthy balanced diet which included plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.

A spokesman for the Food and Drink Federation, which represents the industry, said: "Food and drink manufacturers rely on the trust of consumers to buy their products every day and do not set out to mislead.

"All ingredients used in food or drink products, including flavourings, must be labelled by law.

"Manufacturers make a wide range of foods to suit consumers' varying tastes and pockets. In response to consumer demand, companies are increasingly using natural flavours."

A spokesperson for Nestle said: ''The ingredients used to make Nesquik are clearly labelled on the pack to ensure that consumers can make informed choices

"In line with our long-term reformulation programme, we are currently working on a move to use a natural colour in Strawberry Nesquik Magic Straws."

A spokesman for Premier International Foods, the makers of Angel delight and Hartley's Jelly, said: "As in any kitchen, we sometimes add flavours to bring out the taste and aroma of food.

"Hartley's Strawberry Flavour Jelly and Strawberry Flavour Angel Delight are both made without artificial flavours; the pack fronts do not feature pictures of fruit and the products are clearly described as 'fruit flavour'."

Pot plant market success: Narcissus Trumpet ‘Attraction’

Not only should a good potted Narcissus be beautiful but also robust as the unpredictable spring weather can sometimes be quite turbulent. The two-coloured trumpet Narcissus ‘Attraction’ offers both beauty and strength.

The assortment of large-flowered potted narcissuses consists largely of cut flower strains with attractive long stems. The consequence of this is that stems sometimes weaken when the Narcissus is in full bloom. However, the Narcissus ‘Attraction’ is a real potted plant, it grows solidly, has sturdy stems and ‘hard’ leaves. As a result it can be placed indoors or outdoors, without the risk of wind damage. Neither is a bit of frost any kind of problem. It’s a tough Narcissus, this ‘Attraction’, without compromising on beauty - in fact quite the opposite! You see, the success of the potted Narcissus launched in 2005 is mainly due to the pretty two-coloured flower which can reach a diameter of 10 cm. The appeal of ‘Attraction’ is increased further by its pleasant scent. The flowering period is up to three weeks. If the stems still have to grow, the lifespan is of course even longer! Narcissus ‘Attraction’ (vbn code 23401) is sold in a 13 cm pot (4 bulbs) and a 16 cm tray (5 bulbs). Its height on delivery is approx. 35 cm. The potted Narcissus is sold from January to March at the FloraHolland branches in Naaldwijk and Aalsmeer. This season we expect to receive 60,000 items. Additional product information Successful market launch: Successful market acceptance of new pot plant.

Alstroemeria Fortaleza

Fortaleza is a new large-flowered Alstroemeria that makes a cheerful impression immediately. Not just because of its festive - almost celebratory – red, orange and yellow colouring, but also because of its excellent quality and long life.

Both flowers and leaves last for an average of 17 days, according to a lifespan test carried out last year. Fortaleza also has a robust leaf that does not break easily and another unusual feature is the dark-green edge of the leaf which provides an even more attractive contrast with the spectacularly flamed flowers. The product has been selected as Fleur Primeur by the Aalsmeer branch of the FloraHolland auction. The flower has been available since June 2007. Its average weight is 45 to 70 grams; its length 80 cm. Alstroemeria Fortaleza is named after a city in Brazil. No wonder, as the Alstroemeria comes from South America originally. Introduction: A recent introduction of a new and distinctive cut flower.