Crossword

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

ACROSS

1 The red buds of __ japonica brighten the winter garden (7)

7 __ canadensis can be a troublesome aquatic weed (6) 8 The oat genus (5)

9 Watch out for the blotches of this fungal disease on young hellebore leaves (4,4)

10 ‘__ McKenzie’ is a popular crocosmia with fiery blooms (5)

11 ‘Compassion’ is a hybrid __ with salmon-pink blooms (3,4)

14 ‘__ de Oro’ is a compact, fragrant, yellow daylily (6)

17 Latin name meaning prickly, as in Picea __ (7)

19 Use cloches now to warm __ for early sowings (4)

20 __ coccinea is also known as jungle geranium (5)

21 The root __ is the space taken up by the roots of a plant (3)

22 ‘Baby Marie’ is a dwarf variety of this evergreen shrub (4)

23 ‘__ Superb’ is a Gallica rose with crimson-purple blooms (7)

DOWN

1 Use bird __ to protect fruit bushes from hungry birds (7)

2 Beef plant and bloodleaf are names for this plant genus (7)

3 Watch out for sap-sucking __ bugs in the greenhouse (5)

4 Spiking is the usual way to __ a lawn (6)

5 Clear this spongy green growth from paths and steps (4)

6 Oval citrus fruits widely used to flavour drinks and desserts (6)

11 A single main root that grows downwards, such as a carrot (7)

12 Sow tender __ such as cosmos in the greenhouse (7)

13 Genus of plants with daisylike blooms, known as daisy bush (7) 15 Handy tool for lifting plants (6) 16 It’s a good time to plant these bulbous favourites in pots (6)

18 Describes a soil that is light, dry and low in nutrients (5)