Your lovely letters, emails and social media posts continue to flow in beautifully. I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying receiving them. Every message, poem, idea and comment matters. Please keep them coming. We will send out a thank you gift for every item published in the magazine so do please send your address and contact details when you get in touch.
The Facebook account for Amateur Gardening magazine is now up and running again so we hope to see you there.
Gardening group support
Hi Kim, Great to see Amateur Gardening back on the shelves, and I would like to put forward a suggestion.
Gardening groups like ours are struggling with numbers up and down the land, and even with the use of social media, many people don’t know of our existence.
Our particular group went from being a fuchsia society, to a more general gardening group, still heavily focussed on fuchsias, after lockdown. We seem to be bucking the trend and have increased our membership base by over 50% in the last two years, but I know many groups up and down the land suffer with membership numbers, plus getting people to take on the responsibilities of running them can be tricky.
Welcome back AG
Mrs Joan Lane
I wondered if your magazine could find room for a regular “Club News” section, where you could focus on a particular society each month, to showcase what they do. Not only do these societies keep the skills going to grow various plant groups, but also keep the thousands of varieties available for gardeners to buy and grow.
If you feel this is something that could be of use, it would be great to hear from you.
Very best wishes, Gail Barber I Club Secretary I Sutton Coldfield Fuchsia Society & Gardening Guild
Kim says; Thank you Gail for writing in about this. It’s an interesting idea. I’d be keen to hear from other gardening groups about the challenges you face and to hear if this is something readers and groups would like to see. editor@amateurgardening.com
Cabbage white butterfly challenges
Firstly, great to see Amateur Gardening back.
Just a word of warning based on my experience last year. I net my brassicas and have done for many years to protect from both small and large white butterflies and pigeons in winter. Anyway last year I thought I would give the caterpillars a chance by sowing nasturtiums. Well it was hugely successful until they had eaten all the nasturtiums. At which point they duly marched across the garden in through the netting and started eating my brassica. So my warning is grow both well away from each other or just rely on netting to keep butterflies at bay.
Kim says; you make a valid point Richard. Nasturtium is know as a sacrificial crop as the cabbage white caterpillars and friends go for this first, but they will move on after. The nasturtium is
