Shrubbing along

Don't dismiss the hydrangea family completely if these are not to your taste, because there are many more members to choose from which are just as easy to grow and will give a long-flowering season.

One of my favourites is hydrangea arborescens Annabelle, a deceptively delicate-looking shrub with twiggy growth and large white flowers. The oval-shaped foliage is bright green and the blooms are sometimes tinged with green, especially when young and as they begin to fade at the end of the summer.

A mature shrub can be three metres or so across with a similar height and is a magnificent sight in bloom, heavy with flowers that weigh the stems down, especially after rain.

This is sometimes cited as a problem for this plant, but it usually only happens when the specimen is young. A well developed shrub is able to hold its flowers up, the size of which is dictated by pruning. The harder the pruning in early spring, the larger the flowers in mid to late summer.

Like most hydrangeas, Annabelle is easy to grow but is at its best grown in semi-shade and in moist but not water-logged soil.

A shrub for a hotter spot is spirea japonica Anthony Waterer, another popular but nevertheless garden-worthy specimen that will give flowers over a very long period.

Reddish young foliage begins to appear in spring, growing rapidly until June, when tiny, tight dots of brown appear at the top of each stem.

These slowly change to brightest deep pink, each spot appearing to hover unattached to the plant until they merge into flat heads of flowers.

The pointed, deciduous leaves age from mid to dark green and a mature plant will grow a metre or so tall with a similar spread. Like the hydrangea above, pruning spirea japonica is done in spring when all stems can be taken back to a bud just above ground level to give a well-shaped plant with lots of new growth.

Weekend catch-up

HARVEST sweet peas just as they begin to open to encourage the production of more flowers and prevent plants going to seed. Removal of all but the most necessary tendrils will also keep the plants vigorous. I picked my first three sweet pea flowers last Sunday and they filled the kitchen with scent for a few hours, despite the small number of stems.

Butterfly walk

THERE will be a Butterfly Walk at York Cemetery tomorrow in association with the Butterfly Conservation Society. Pat Bone will lead the walk which begins at 2pm at the gatehouse and will last approximately two hours. Tickets are £2.50 adult, £1 child and include tea/coffee and biscuits after the walk. Please meet at the gatehouse at 1.45pm to buy tickets.

Gardening TV and radio

Tomorrow

8am, Radio Humberside, The Great Outdoors.

9am, Radio Leeds, Gardening with Tim Crowther and Joe Maiden.

2pm, BBC Radio 4, Gardeners' Question Time. Postbag edition with Anne Swithinbank, Chris Beardshaw, Pippa Greenwood and chairman Peter Gibbs.

2.45pm, BBC Radio 4, Nearer Gods Heart. Anthony Noel visits the gardens at Sissinghurst Castle.

Thursday

8pm, BBC2, RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park. In the first of two programmes the Gardeners' World team report from the Cheshire show.

Friday

8pm, BBC2, RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park.

8.30pm, BBC2, Gardeners' World. Monty, Joe and Carol are hard at work looking after the vegetable patch and keeping perennials at their best.

Open gardens

Today

In aid of chapel funds Bolton Gardens, Bolton, near Pickering.
Several private village gardens open. There will also be refreshments, cards for sale and a treasure hunt in the chapel. Open 2pm to 5pm. Combined admission £3. Also open tomorrow 2pm to 5pm.

Tomorrow

Bolton Gardens, near Pickering, details above
In aid of Leavening Church Restoration fund Gardens of Leavening, near Malton.
Several private village gardens open. There will also be teas, refreshments, a plant sale and a tree trail. Off-road parking. Open 11am to 5pm. Combined admission £3.50.

In aid of St Catherine's Hospice and Grisethorpe Village Hall
Hidden Gardens of Grisethorpe, near Filey. A mixture of cottage, country house and farm house garden open to the public. Entertainment will be provided by Scarborough Concert Band and Hunmanby Silver Band. Teas, cake and plant stalls, tombola, ices and art sales will also be available. Open 1pm to 5pm. Combined admission £3.

In aid of the National Gardens Scheme
Cawood Gardens, on the B1223 five miles north west of Selby. Three private gardens open in this riverside village. 9 Anson Grove has an oriental-style tranquil garden with pools, a Zen garden, winding paths and more than 30 different grasses. Ash Lea has formal borders, shrubs, ferns, pool, dining area and a traditional vegetable garden. The garden at 21 Great Close has mixed planting, vegetables, herbs, grasses, exotic perennials, ponds, stream and new rose walk. Gardens open midday to 5pm. Combined admission £4.

Holly Tree Cottage, Burton Fleming
11 miles north east of Driffield, off the B1249. Third NGS garden for the owners who have planted this new one with more than 100 clematis and 50 roses, as well as hardy geraniums and unusual perennials and shrubs in colour themed borders. Open 1pm to 5pm. Admission £2.50.

Rudston House, Rudston, near Driffield.
Three acres of garden with old trees, lawns, clipped box hedges, roses, potager, hosta bed with lilies and short woodland walk. The Victorian farmhouse (not open) was the birthplace of the author Winifred Holtby. Open 11am to 5pm. Admission £3.

Sleightholmedale Lodge, Fadmoor
Six miles north east of Helmsley. Hillside garden with walled rose garden and herbaceous borders. Open 2pm to 6pm. Admission £3.

In aid of St John Ambulance
Rye Hill, Station Road, Helmsley. Half-acre garden divided into interlinking compartments, each planted in a different style. Intense planting using a large range of plants provides colour and interest throughout the year. Open 2pm to 5pm. Admission £2.50.