Crossword

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

ACROSS

1 Use a soft brush to hand __ flowers of peaches (9) 7 It’s a good time to __ potatoes to encourage earlier crops (4) 8 You could raise this leafy salad staple in a pot for early pickings (7) 9A dried grape (6) 10 A honeysuckle and a rose are among the plants named after horticulturalist Graham __ (6) 12 __ menziesii is commonly called pickaback plant (7) 15 __ lily is a name for Lilium longiflorum (6) 17 This micronutrient is essential for the formation of healthy plant cells (5) 19 Genus of shrubs also known as spindle (8) 21 ‘Golden __’ is a popular hosta with yellow-rimmed leaves (5) 22 Evergreen flowering shrub native to New Zealand (4) 23 Strawberry black __ is a risk in frosty weather (3) 24 These fragrant favourites could probably do with a prune (5)

DOWN

1 Cover soil with this to warm it ready for early sowing (9) 2 Genus of succulents known as living stones (7) 3 Elecampane is one of many names for __ helenium (5) 4 The maple genus (4) 5 Viper’s bugloss is a name for __ vulgare (6) 6 Now’s the time to lift and __ congested clumps of snowdrops (6) 11 Tool for cutting awkward areas of grass (8) 13 Clianthus puniceus is also known as __ claw (7) 14 Sow seed of hardy __ now for early blooms (7) 16 Crowns of __ plants may need the protection of a thick mulch of bark (6) 18 Cuts, or gathers, a crop (5) 20 The bright yellow blooms of __ europaeus can be seen in late winter (4)