Crossword

Put down your trowel, pick up a pen and exercise those brain muscles instead…

ACROSS

1 Sow __ plants, such as tagetes, in the vegetable plot to attract beneficial insects (9) 7 Genus commonly called gorse (4) 8 Seeds of this flat-podded pea variety can be sown now (9) 9 Eliminate this mat-forming invader from lawns (4) 11 Latin name meaning scented, as in Viola __ (7) 13 Tropical American genus grown for its rosettes of showy, pointed leaves (5) 15 Ponds should be full of these infant amphibians (8) 18 Lambs’ __ is a descriptive name for the distinctive male catkins of hazel (5) 19 The art of growing tiny trees in pots (6) 20 Microscopic pest that can kill potatoes (7) 22 Fuji cherry is the popular name for Prunus __ (6) 23 The segments of a flower corolla, often colourful (6)

DOWN

1 Fork __ into flower 6 now to prepare for summer bedding (7) 2 __ fly is a pest whose larvae tunnel through beetroot leaves (7) 3 __ sativa is better known as oat (5) 4 Genus of tropical evergreen shrubs and trees, mostly from Asia, with colourful blooms (5) 5 Hard, aromatic seed from the tropics used as a spice (6) 6 Flower __ will need hand weeding every fortnight (4) 10 Dogwoods and willows brighten the winter garden with their colourful __ (5) 12 Piggyback plant is a name for __ menziesii (7) 13 Genus of clump-forming perennials with striking, plume-like blooms (7) 14 American state that gives its name to a popular cypress (7) 16 Fruits of the oak (6) 17 Female reproductive organ of a flower, comprising one or more carpels (6) 21 Cornelian cherry is a name for Cornus __ (3)