GINA PARKINSON welcomes an unexpected guest in to her garden.

SOMETIMES gardening is about happy chances rather than rigid plans carried out to the letter.

And even when the latter path is chosen somehow an unexpected plant will appear and look so right in the spot it has chosen that it seem churlish to remove it.

Of course, plants never really suddenly appear. They must have been there sometime to have got large enough to be noticed, usually when they flower, but for some reason their passage to maturity has passed the gardener by.

Feverfew or Tanacetum arrived in our garden this summer. It hasn’t grown here for ages, when a small ferny seedling popped up in a semi shaded bed a couple of months ago.

It is now a decent sized plant with pretty divided leaves and daisy like flowers with pure white petals surrounding a central disc of yellow.

The first flush of flowers have faded but a new crop is about to open with more appearing until the first frost stop them. This simple looking plant will grow in most positions although it prefers to be in sun for at least part of the day. Its long flowering period makes it useful for filling in spaces in the garden around the feet of taller perennials or in summer containers.

Feverfew doesn’t seem to mind being moved even at the height of flowering, just give it a good soaking and dig it up with a much root ball as possible transferring it to the new position straight away.

Puddling in will help the plant recover, especially when the weather is hot.

This is done by filling the planting hole with water and popping the plant straight in. Back fill with soil, firm in and water again.

Feverfew is a short lived perennial which is usually grown as an annual either by sowing seed in late winter or by allowing it to self-seed in the garden and lifting the seedlings once they are recognisable. They can then be potted up and grown on or just put straight into their flowering positions. The foliage is very pungent and the plant has been used traditionally around other plants as a natural pest control.

The only problem is that the aroma may also ward off bees and other beneficial insects.

Bat night

CLAIRE STOREY will lead an evening walk in York Cemetery to look at the bats which will be out and about at that time.

The walk begins at 9pm on Thursday and tickets, which cost £2.5,0 need to bought in advance from the cemetery office as the numbers are limited.

Phone 01904 610578 or 01904 620279 for further details.


Open Gardens

Saturday, July 24

• 24, Highfield Crescent, Barlby near Selby

In aid of Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

There will be a raffle, white elephant and jewellery stalls, refreshments, and an exhibition of paintings by local artist Jackie Smith. Open 11.30am-7pm, admission £1.50 (donation to Barlby wildlife areas).

Also open today, from 11.30am to 7pm.

• 58, Rawcliffe Lane, Clifton, York

In aid of the Candlelighters and CLIC Sargent Children’s Cancer Groups.

Attractive suburban garden filled with trees, shrubs, perennials and climbers. There will be plants, greetings cards with photographs of the garden and Picky’s homemade cream teas on sale. This is the eighth time the garden has been opened for these charities and more than £10,000 has been raised over the years. Open 10am-5pm, admission £2 adult, 50p child (ticket includes tea or coffee).

Also open today from 10am to 5pm, Berwick Kaler will be opening the garden at 10am.

• Burton Fleming Gardens, Burton Fleming

In aid of the National Gardens scheme.

Eleven miles north east of Driffield off the B1249 before Foxholes. Two village gardens open. Holly Tree Cottage has a small garden planted with more than 100 clematis and 50 roses as well as geraniums, perennials and shrubs in colour themed borders. There is also a new collection of herbaceous clematis. It is the owner’s third NGS garden.

The Ridings has a cottage garden on a reclaimed site with climber covered brick pergola and arches leading to a lavender edges secret garden, colour themes mixed borders, gravel garden and small potager. Open 1pm to 5pm, combined admission £5. Within visiting distance of Rustic Cottage, details below.

• Goldsborough Hall, Goldsborough.

In aid of the National Gardens scheme.

Two miles south east of Knaresborough. Eleven -acre garden and formal landscaped grounds in parkland setting with Gertrude Jekyll inspired replanted double 120 feet double herbaceous borders and rose garden. There is also a long lime tree walk planted around 1920 and a woodland walk. Until this year, the gardens had not been opened for the NGS since 1930 and have been restored by the present owners. The C17 house is the former residence of the late HRH Princess Mary, daughter of George V and Queen Mary.

Open noon to 5pm, admission £3.50.

• Rustic Cottage, Wold Newton,

In aid of the National Gardens scheme.

From Driffield take the B1249 to Foxholes then left to Wold Newton. Cottage garden with roses, fragrant perennials, herbs and wild flowers grown together to provide a habitat for birds, bees, butterflies and small mammals.

This is the owner’s second NGS garden. Open 11am to 4pm, admission £2.50. Within visiting distance of Burton Fleming gardens, details above.


TV and radio

Saturday, July 24

8am: BBC Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors. Presented by Mike Morris and Doug Stewart.

9am: BBC Radio Leeds, Tim Crowther and Joe maiden.

2pm: BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. The team are in West Yorkshire where Bob Flowerdew, Pippa Greenwood, Christine Walkden and chairman Eric Robson are guests of Blackshaw Head Optimistic Gardeners’ near Hebden Bridge.

Friday, July 30

3pm: BBC R4, Gardeners’ Question Time. A change in the programme this week when Matthew Biggs, Matthew Wilson and chairman Eric Robson join Bob Flowerdew at his home to answer letters and emails sent in by listeners. Repeated on Sunday, August 1).

9pm: BBC2, Gardeners’ World.

An hour long programme with Toby using recycled materials for a garden path and Joe transforming a reclaimed pallet into a garden bench. Carol visits the restored Victorian vegetable garden at Knightshayes Court in Devon and Alys looks into having a natural swimming pond in the garden.