Ask Alys: your gardening questions answered

I would like to grow some “barometer plants” to use as an early warning system for my garden. What plants are first to respond to frost, first to bolt and first to wilt? Is this a waste of time?
It’s not a waste of time, but I’m not sure you’d have to invest in any particular variety. I would use half-hardy annuals that are sensitive to frost, such as cosmos, lobelia or nasturtiums. One side of my tiny garden can act so differently from the other that only by growing the same plant in several spots have I learned which plant can tolerate what.
An urban back garden is generally a sheltered place because of the effects of the urban heat island, so worrying a great deal about frosts is not necessary; there’s usually plenty of warning when a cold snap is coming. If a vegetable goes straight to seed (bolts), this is often an indicator of environmental stress; it can also be down to changing day length and temperature. If you want resilient plants that can withstand stress, worry more about improving your soil and spend more time making compost. Ultimately, it’s the strength of the roots that allows plants to withstand droughts and extremes of cold and heat.

Lotus flower season in China reaches full bloom – in pictures

July is when China's auspicious lotus flowers come into glorious full bloom – here are some beautiful specimens photographed at the Lotus Park in Luoyang, Henan Province, China

Magnolia magic: how to grow our favourite flowering tree

In the pink: sun-loving Magnolia grandiflora in bloom. Photograph: shapencolour/Alamy
On a bright day in February, with the grip of winter still upon us, I noticed that a silent shift had happened in the front gardens. The magnolia buds were swelling, the buds standing proud and silvered in the branches with their downy cases catching the sunlight. Just a week before I had passed the same trees and stopped more than once that day to ponder the value they bring in pure expectation.
Magnolias are some of the most primitive of our flowering trees, and fossils dating back millennia prove that they have had little need to evolve. I like the thought of them unchanged and illuminating darkly primitive forests, but their adaptability has also made them the subject of many a nurseryman's obsession. Today we are spoiled by a magnolia lovers' legacy of selection and breeding, for they make good garden plants, from neatly behaved bushes to the grandest of flowering trees.
They are worthy of investment and most are happy in a range of conditions and will thrive in sun and flower more heavily there if given shelter. Most importantly, they will mark the time of year like clockwork when they bless you with flower.
Despite their natural forest habitat, the majority are perfectly happy to adapt to city living. The fleshy tones of Magnolia x soulangeana have become a signature of a certain period of town garden and the trees we see emblazoning front gardens are as old as our grandparents. Although I am always pleased to see their return in March, this sugary hybrid suffers from its own success and I have never planted one. Why do that when you could dip into such an extensive list of reliable cultivars?
In warmer parts of the country the tree magnolias have been blooming since February. I first came upon Magnolia campbellii as a student at Wisley. Once seen, never forgotten. You need not only room but also time on your side if you are to plant one, because they can take 15 to 20 years to flower. The flowers emerge from primitive buds which stand bolt upright in lofty branches and the bud casing is felted brown or gold and breaks open to reveal a cerise pink bud. This opens over the course of a day to expand into an open goblet the width of your two hands placed palm to palm, your fingers extended.
I prefer to opt for the hybrids which combine the drama of this parent, but include the genes for trees which are more modestly sized and bloom at an earlier age.
"Atlas" has perhaps the largest flowers of all and they need a sheltered spot if they are not to be torn to shreds by a March wind. Of the large-flowered hybrids those with flowers are better designed to cope with the vagaries of our weather. There's moody "Iolanthe", with dark mauve flowers bleeding deeper at the base of the petals; "Vulcan" and "Felix Jury", with cerise pink goblets and an eagerness to flower young. "David Clulow" is perhaps the best of this group and arguably of all the all-white magnolias for purity, form and poise in that window of life while blossoming trees are still alone and leaves are yet to break in the trees.
Adaptable to a range of conditions are the Magnolia x loebneri crosses. Magnolia x loebneri "Pirouette" retains the stellata in a neat, well-behaved form ideal for the smaller garden while "Merrill" has larger flowers, loosely formed and the ability to equal the size of an old apple in stature. "Leonard Messel" has flowers twisted dark sugary pink on the outside with a paler pink inside. They are spicily scented and more than happy in an exposed position. Though most magnolias prefer a soil on the acid side of neutral, M loebneri is adaptable to a limey soil.
A frost pocket is the worst situation for the spring-blooming magnolias so grow them where the frost doesn't linger or on the west side of a building where early-morning sun won't thaw buds quickly. This can be lethal and one of the few things to blight an otherwise reliably wonderful race of beauties.
Get growing
Grow the later-blooming summer-flowering magnolia, such as M x weisneri and the sun-loving M grandiflora if you suffer from frost but still want to bask in their glory

The Perfect Tribute to Honor Our Veterans

As a U.S. Air Force veteran, artist and flower shop owner, I’ve always known the positive power of flowers. From my youth on the flat farmlands of Illinois to the alpine flora in the great state of Colorado, I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by Mother Nature’s bounty and beauty for most of my life.

The relationship between flowers and life’s events are like peanut butter and jelly, heck, they just go together. Any celebration or holiday from birth to death is a cause to receive or give flowers. Memories of prom, homecomings, Valentine’s Day, weddings, funerals, Mother’s Day, Christmas and Thanksgiving are just a few of the important times and chapters of our lives when flowers impact our thoughts and feelings. Their sights and fragrances forever embedded in our memories. I can still remember the smell of that carnation on my tux lapel in ’78. As life got more complicated and I moved on into the military, I still felt the need to stay connected with family. Sending flowers home was a way to accomplish that, those blossoms served me well to convey my thoughts and feelings to the ones I cared about most.
The connection between the Armed Forces and flowers goes deep into our past, from decorating the graves of the military killed in the Civil War. Flowers have always been there to express our feelings and gratitude.
After WWI, the red poppy became a symbol to honor the soldiers who fought and died in Europe near Flanders Field. Nearly 150 cemeteries are located in the area of Ypres, Belgium. Row upon row of headstones and crosses mark the final resting place of more than a million U.S., Australian and European soldiers and civilians who gave their lives in combat that lasted four years. Each spring, a common plant, the red-flowered corn poppy, blooms to honor the fallen. A poem, “In Flanders Field,” written by a Canadian surgeon and soldier, Lt. Col. John McCrae in May 1915 depicts the scene. It was a tribute to his friend, Lt. Alexis Helmer, who died there. Wearing of the silk red poppy is still today an official remembrance for those who died serving our country in war. Lest we never forget.
The practice of decorating soldiers’ graves with flowers dates back to ancient times. But in the U.S., it became customary during the Civil War. Mothers and wives of the fallen of both the North and South decorated graves. With some 600,000 soldiers dying, burial and memorialization took on a new cultural significance.
Memorial Day, also known as Decoration Day, was created. The date of May 30 was originally chosen due to the fact the flowers would be at their optimal abundance. It is now observed every year on the last Monday of May.
Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day. Veterans Day, November 11, is to celebrate and honor the service of all U.S. military veterans. Whereas Memorial Day is a day of remembrance of the men and women who died while serving this great nation.
Other important dates to honor our military and their service:

• Patriot Day, September 11
• Independence Day, July 4^th
• Remembrance Day is also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day and coincides with Veterans Day on November 11
• Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, December 7

Be it to honor, celebrate, remember or pay respect, flowers can speak the words that are hard to come by. When you fly your flag, plant some flowers nearby to pay tribute to our heroes. When you see a soldier, hand them a flower, they’ll understand. The power of flowers is undeniable and I salute you.