![Our successes and failures in 2022](https://cdn.magzter.com/1387284923/1672065219/articles/fGldlZAAP1672309685876/OUR-SUCCESSES-AND-FAILURES-IN-2022.jpg)
Squash hopes quashed but lots of joy elsewhere
WELL that was quite the year wasn't it! A scorching summer when many crops and plants failed was followed by a mellow Indian summer and ridiculously mild autumn that led to our canna lilies flowering into late November and spring knapweeds having a third flourish at the same time.
In March I sowed 'Gardener's Delight' tomatoes as part of our free seeds schedule and in a previously unheard-of development in my world, every seed germinated.
As a result we've had a bountiful crop of small and medium-sized tomatoes from the garden and greenhouse, so many in fact that a freezer drawer is full of tomato halves and home made tomato sauce, and I made a good haul of chutney too.
Our 'Cox's Orange Pippin' and Jonagold' apples produced bumper crops, as did the fig tree and raspberry canes. The autumn-sown leeks are looking good too.
Our butternut squash and courgettes never really got going. We also had a disastrous brassica season because small white butterflies romped through the double layer of netting supplied with our Agriframe brassica cage and merrily laid their eggs everywhere. Lesson learned, next year I'll get a thinner mesh.
In the flower garden the roses, rudbeckias, fuchsias, gazanias, gaillardias and delphiniums did us proud, but the sweet peas and summer bedding initially gave a very poor performance, though the zinnias and antirrhinums pulled their socks up when the slightly cooler days of autumn arrived.
A garden of 'Eden' but poor potatoes
EVERY gardening year is a mix of triumph and failure, but if I was to pick out a moment, it would be getting my first crop of 16 gorgeous apples from a tree I planted three years ago - against the advice of the late Peter Seabrook.
Esta historia es de la edición December 31, 2022 de Amateur Gardening.
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Esta historia es de la edición December 31, 2022 de Amateur Gardening.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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![To dig or not to dig?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5171/1457533/srY9Bgqgg1696077695176/TO-DIG-OR-NOT-TO-DIG.jpg)
To dig or not to dig?
Should we be carrying out a full dig on plots now? Bob considers the pros and cons of the 'autumn dig' debate
![The box ball blues](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5171/1457533/MSiW9S-3s1696077564674/THE-BOX-BALL-BLUES.jpg)
The box ball blues
As if his beleaguered box hadn't already taken a beating, Toby now has to deal with some hungry box caterpillars
![Save your own seeds](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5171/1457533/gxMCpsinZ1696077466987/SAVE-YOUR-OWN-SEEDS.jpg)
Save your own seeds
Masterclass on: seed saving
![Strange sightings](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5171/1457533/ddasMklZP1696077318893/STRANGE-SIGHTINGS.jpg)
Strange sightings
Three unusual insects turn up in Val's garden in one day
![A bolt from the blue!](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5171/1457533/7nMhGuBLn1696077232526/A-BOLT-FROM-THE-BLUE.jpg)
A bolt from the blue!
Cornflowers are perfect for garden and vase
![Winter moth prevention](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5171/1457533/uaMLSKKf61696077078880/WINTER-MOTH-PREVENTION.jpg)
Winter moth prevention
Ruth shows you how to avoid maggoty tree fruits
![Create a winter container](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5171/1457533/Jd1C8L2Ax1696076912753/CREATE-A-WINTER-CONTAINER.jpg)
Create a winter container
There are as many options as in summer
![Lightweight gardening tools](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5171/1457533/2M8ifxUcL1696076768203/LIGHTWEIGHT-GARDENING-TOOLS.jpg)
Lightweight gardening tools
AS well as being good for our mental health, gardening is also great exercise.
![Autumn price round-up](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5171/1457533/8CDp1hNq-1696076665397/AUTUMN-PRICE-ROUNDUP.jpg)
Autumn price round-up
AG finds better bargains in lesser-known brands
![Rudbeckias](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/5171/1457533/n0XuNlGYP1696073214532/RUDBECKIAS.jpg)
Rudbeckias
Rudbeckias are ideal for sunny summer patios and borders, with some able to survive our coldest winters