Crossword

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

ACROSS

1 It’s time to plant these showy tuberous favourites for summer bedding (7) 7 An unusual genus of exotic bloomers from Southern Africa (6) 8 Common name for acer (5) 9 Beardless __ are one of the pleasures of spring (6) 10 Alnus cordata is commonly called __ alder (7) 12 __ bands around fruit trees protect against winter moth (6) 14 Fruits of the vine (6) 16 Gardeners should beware of this bacterial infection (7) 19 You may need this to protect young plants from late frosts (6) 22 A bag of barley straw in the pond will discourage this (5) 23 A controlled-release __ fertiliser could be spread around the base of plants this month (8) 24 Libertia chilensis is popularly called the New Zealand __ flower (5)

DOWN

1 Watch young seedlings for signs of __ off (7) 2 Fruit of the rose (3) 3 __ herbstii is also known as bloodleaf plant (7) 4 Keep deadheading __ bulbs and bedding (6) 5 The honeysuckle genus (8) 6 Latin name meaning creeping, as in Salix __ (6) 11 Genus of exotic succulents that includes the century plant (5) 13 __ cyclamen is a common name for C. coum (7) 15 ‘__ de Oro’ is a daylily prized for its fragrant yellow blooms (6) 17 Lady’s – is one of many names for Convallaria majalis (5) 18 ‘Queen of __ ‘ is a classic tulip with dark maroon blooms (5) 20 Mix this with breadcrumbs and seeds to make fat cakes for birds (4) 21 Genista aetnensis, or Mount __ broom, hails from Sicily (4)