Category Archives: Gardening Tips

Bulbs & Corms for Alpine, Rock gardens and Trough Gardens.

Bulbs in a rock garden.

Miniature flowering bulbs and corms add a splash of colour to the early alpine garden or the rock garden and are a must in trough gardens, here are few to consider.

Chinodoxa forbesii

Chinodoxa forbesii: A beautiful early flowering bulb March/April. With low clumps of flowers which are bright blue and open to show a white central splash. Flowers are held above the clumps of leaves. A bulb that is good for naturalising in the rock garden in Sun or part shade. 10-15cm

Cyclamen alpina

Cyclamen alpinum: These wonderful plants add a shock of colour to the winter garden. Flowering January/February. They have heart-shaped leaves with decorative sliver marbling. The dainty pink flowers are in clusters above the leaves. With a good long flowering period in dappled sun. A must for the winter alpine garden. 5/7cm

Iris donfordiae

Iris donfordiae: This is a lovely low growing Iris at 5/8cm high, perfect for a trough garden, giving very early colour flowering in February. Plant in small clumps to enjoy this elegant rich yellow flower. Full sun

Muscari maxabel

Muscari maxabel: A great addition to the rock garden this low growing muscari will naturalise well forming sweeps of colour. With it’s unusual flowers of sky blue and white edges. Perfect for a sunny spot. Flowering March/April. 10cm

Muscari maxabel

Narcissi bulbocodium ‘Golden Bells’: Small clumps of very fine green leaves, give way to this very delicate small flowered daffodil. Which has a very unusual golden flower with an wide generous trumpet and small tiny outer petals. Full sun, April flowering. 15cm. Lovely in any rock garden.

Scilla bifolia

Scalla bifolia : A wonderful early flowering bulb, not to tall so ideal for trough gardens at 5/10cm. This bulb likes more moisture and dose not like to dry out. But must not be waterlogged. Short wide leaves with star shaped open flowers are produced in March/April.

Groups of different coloured Iris

Top Tips: All of these bulbs require good drainage, they will not cope with water logging, so add grit to planting holes. To really get that alpine look plant in small clumps, surrounded by chippings and rocks, and if possible as close to eye level as possible, so you can appropriate the beauty of the individual flowers of this miniature world.

Iris retiuclata groups of varying colours can make a delicate but powerful impacted.

I hope I have inspired you to get planting, come the Autumn, so you can enjoy these winter and early spring gems.

Winter clean your garden shed

The Shed

Mid winter, particularly that nomens-land between Christmas and New Year is a great time to tackle, possible the most forgotten place in the garden, the shed. Often crammed to over flowing with, broken and discarded tools and cracked plastic pots and some very suppositious looking chemical bottles and boxes which have gone soggy and have labels falling off. This is the time to put aside a day or more and get things ship shape, ready for the growing season ahead.

The lawn mowers and other kit

The first thing to tackle is getting your lawn mowers and strimmers in to be serviced and have the blades sharpened, before Christmas if possible. Hopefully on the last couple of cuts, you managed to use most of the petrol, so it want go ‘stale’ sitting in the lawn mower/strimmer tank over the winter. Next unhook the spark plug for safety and on a dry day tip the mower over and remove all old grass and brush and scrub down also clean the surface of the mower. With strimmers give a general clean and in particular all guards. Ready to take your machines in for servicing.

Next check all seeds, they should be stored in a water proof box some where cool and dry. It is very easy to end up with lots of half packets of seed. Look at the ‘sow by date’ this is a good guide, however of course some can still germinate after this date. If you are not sowing direct into open ground of course you can use the seed and see what happens. If the seeds are for direct sowing, then perhaps use then up on a small area and buy fresh seed in date for a more guaranteed show. Always sow, carrot,parsnip, sweet corn and lettuce for example as fresh seed. Last years half opened seed will give poor results.

washing plant pots

Most sheds seem to be two-thirds full of plastic pots in a variety of shapes and sizes. Get bold and really reduce them down. Decide are they all going to be round or are you going for square, the stacking and sizing will be easier if you keep to the same shape. plastic pots also crack and break over time. So get sorting the sizes out and washing in a mild disinfectant solution, dunking in water afterwards and then leave to dry before stacking in the sizes back in the shed. Sadly plastic plant pots are the real environmental disaster of the horticultural industry, with few nurseries having a returns policy and at the moment as most pots are black, they can not be recycled in local authority recycling systems. However, there is some hope on the horizon, plastic pots in colours that can be recycled are being used, light blue and pink etc. But much better; pots are being produced for the nursery sector using compostable materials like cardboard fibre and coconut fibre etc. so we all have to hope this will become much more wide spread and will become the future

chain saws

If you have completed your winter hedge cutting and have used your chain saw a lot, then now is the time for them to have a full service. Disable the machines so they are safe to clean, with a soft brush, brush all surfaces and the blades and chain, so they are ready for surfacing. It is advisable to have at least one spare chain for the chain saw, so all the chains will need to be sharpened.

Fertilizers and plant food.

So now is the time to sort your way through your garden ‘Medicine Cabinet’ wearing rubber gloves. It is far to easy to keep that box of sequestrated iron over a number of years and then realise with the damp it is now one huge solid lump and falling out of the box. Some old compacted plant food/fertiliser can be broken up and dissolved in water and still used as a liquid feed. Follow all manufactures instructions.

Herbicides and Pesticides.

Then turn your attention to the ‘nasties’ these are the herbicides and pesticides that you have in your shed. Again were protective gloves and long sleeves and possible a face shield. Follow manufactures instructions on safe handling.

Firstly are they all still licensed for use? www.rhs.org.uk/prevention-protection/withdrawn-chemicals. Would be the first place to check, to see if the old bottle at the back of the shelf should still be in residents in your shed. Check all the bottles and containers are in there original packing with their instructions on use and handling attached. Check there are no broken or leaking containers. Check use by dates.

Any chemicals that need to be disposed off, must be in their original packaging. Contact your local authority for advise on where you can take your unwanted chemicals, you can also have a look at the website. www.gardenchemicaldisposal.co.uk

Sort your chemicals safely.

I would suggest having 2 separate high shelves, one for foods/fertilisers and one for chemicals/herbicides and pesticides.

Of course once you started sorting through your garden ‘medicine cabinet’ you might decide you want to go organic and let nature take control.

Clean tools and oil.

Now after a growing season of hard graft, check and clean and care for your hand tools. Do any need new handles? clean all mud and soil from the blades, sharpen spades and hoes, or send them off to be sharpened and oil all tools. Shears and secateurs after a long season will need sharpening, again you can do this yourself with a wet stone, but if you are not comfortable, then many garden centres and nurseries offer this service.

Go through you bags of opened compost, reduced them and roll or tie the top. If you can get them under cover so the rain is not leaching out the nutrients in the compost, that is better, perhaps a spot at the back of the shed. Also now you are not in a flat spin in the growing season, get that muddle of a fruit net out of the shed and fold or roll it and put in a labelled bag, do the same with any garden fleece.

hand tools

So now you can see the back of the shed and you can move about in it, would more selfing help or hooks to get the hand tools off the floor of the shed so there is more room for the mower be a good idea? As the enthusiasm is now high this is the moment to get going on some shed DIY.

Get painting or staining your shed.

Perhaps the shed it’s self could do with some TLC? a fresh coat or couple of stain or paint? re-felting? new door furniture, now is as good a time as any.

I hope I have inspired you to work off some of the Christmas pudding and get cracking on a winter clearance of your shed. One thing is for sure, you will have earned a cup of tea and a big slice of Christmas cake!

Autumn Lawn Maintenance

Hard working lawns

September is the time to give your hard working lawn a little TLC. After a long summer of ware and tare and this year 2022 a draught. There is enough warmth to germinate grass seed and with the early autumn rain, to help repair bold spots and get the lawn in good health ready for the winter.

Cutting lawn edging with edgeing shears.

Cutting lawn edging with edging shears.

1) Edging: Over the summer plants have no doubt spilt out over the lawn, so re-defining the edges is important, be weary of constantly making the beds a little larger as the plants flop forward. This ends up with wobbly edged beds and more weeding. Better to sharpen the edge of the lawn and repair any bold patches where the plants have grown over the summer. For existing edges, just a short trim with lawn edging shears should do the job. To redefine a long edge, mark with pegs and string or use marker spray and a good sharp half moon edging tool, to cut a clean crisp lawn edge.

Scaffing a lawn with a wire rake.

2) Scaffing Lawn: Over the growing season the lawn will have built up thatch and possible mossy areas, on a dry day, get a good strong spring-bok or similar wire rake and rake the lawn hard. Start at one end and edge of the lawn and work your way over the whole lawn. Then for a really good job rake across the lawn over the grain as it were, in the opposite directions. All the material you have removed from the lawn, can go into the compost bin.

Aerating with a garden fork.

3) Aerating the lawn: Aerating compacted areas of a lawn is really important it aids drainage and gets air and moisture down to the organisms that live in your lawn and make it healthily, It might just be the areas that have been the goal or a worn path across the lawn, or the dog run route or it could be the whole lawn. If it is just patches then using a folk will be fine or if it is a very small lawn, for anything a bit bigger if you are doing the whole lawn then I would suggest hiring an aerating machine or getting a lawn maintenance company in to carry out the hard graft. For small patches, starting just beyond the bold compacted area, hold the fork vertical and dig down to a ¼ spits depth about 75/100mm, give the fork a bit of a wiggle not too much and pull out, you need to work your way in lines over the whole area with a gap of about 70mm between each forked area. You can get specialist aerating forks that have hollow tines and remove a plug of soil, but unless you are doing a lot, I would say that it is a bit of kit you can do without.

An airrating machine, being used on a lawn.

An aerating machine, being used on a lawn.

Re-seeding the lawn.

4) Weeds and Seeding: So no doubt your lawn is now possible looking a bit bald after all your efforts of scaffing and aerating. Walk over the lawn with a small hand trowel in hand and dig up any really large and persistent weeds, unless you are happy with a more flowery lawn approach. Dandelions, plantains and the odd nettle. So identify the areas of the lawn that need seeding all those bald patches. With a fixed tine rack, rake them hard to get a thin soil thilth to seed into. Buy some lawn sand, or a lawn sand top soil mix, lightly spread this over the bald patches, to make a thin layer. Now with a watering can with a fine rose, gently water the areas you are going to seed. Now using a good quality grass seed for hard wearing domestic use, follow the quantise recommend on the packet and lightly seed the areas. For larger areas of the lawn where the grass is just looking thin after all your work, rake with a fixed tine rake, then water with a fine rose and the seed direct onto the existing grass. If you can you need to stop animals and people walking across the newly seeded areas, also anything else you can do to try to keep the birds of the seed is good. Water with a fine rose very few days, but making sure you do not displace the grass seed, if it is raining this will not be needed. After about 3 weeks the grass should be germinating well if it has been wet and warm enough. Re-seed where needed.

A beautiful striped lawn.

So don’t delay now is the time to be kind to your lawn, whether a small patch in a court yard that you sun bath on or a family lawn that has had ball games on all year. Or a lawn that has had the dogs running circles on. All can do with a little lawn TLC.

Alpines-Small is Beautiful

Alpine rock garden

Alpines, allow you to enjoy gardening in miniature, whether you are creating a small intermit rockery in a corner of a garden, or a low dish of plants on a table or a traditional rock basin with choice plants in. There is a lot to enjoy and discover about gardening with small Alpines. Here are a few to consider.

Arabis androsace: This is a tiny and perfectly formed alpine perfect for a sink or low saucer planting, reaching 2cm in height. A rosette of tightly packet leaves, with tiny white flowers in March-April.

Dianthus freynii

Dianthus freynii: This delightful alpine pink reaches the dizzying heights of 5cm. Making a pin-cushion of grey leaves, with fat pink flowers held on grey stems in April-May. Looks good in a scree garden.

Geranium sanguineum lancastriense

Geranium sanguineum lancastriense: 7cm tall, with a spreading habit. With small mid-green palmate leaves and pink flowers May-June. Would happily scrabble over small rocks in a rock garden of the right scale.

Lithospermum diffusum ‘Heavenly Blue’

Lithospermum diffsum ‘Heavenly Blue’: Getting a little taller this plant gets to 10cm in height. This is a striking alpine with intense gentian like flowers of a stunning blue, flowering from May to July. It makes an eye-stopping addition to a alpine planting.

Phlox douglasii ‘Eva’

Phlox douglasii ‘Eva’: A good upright habit reaching 10cm tall. With a mass of small open pink flowers with a darker eye. Flowering latter in the season, from July into August. A good addition to the Alpine garden to help to extend the flowering season.

Saxifraga burserian ‘Brookside’: A good completed plant at 5cm tall. With a dense cushion of grey tiny leaves. Tall red flower stems with white star flowers are produced from late April into May.

Alpines planted on a rock wall

Top tip: All the alpines I have chosen are hardy in Southern England. They like full sun and sharp well drained soil, so adding horticultural grit and sand will help. Plant Alpines like they are specimen plants, so you can really see the individual beauty of each plant. Think about the mulch and items round the alpines, the rocks and build of a rock garden with good horizontal stator to give a natural look also think of the scale of the plants and any rocks or mulches used. These should work in harmony with the planting. Even on the small scale of a pot, stones and pebble mulches can be used.

I hope I have inspired you to think again about Alpines, particularly if you have limited gardening space, as a few different pots with groups of alpines, can turn even a small balcony into a variety rich garden.

Enjoy!

More Unusual- Bulbs

Frittillary in a meadow

When you say ‘bulbs’ to most people they think Daffodils, a handful of tulips and a sweep of crocus, but there are many more tempting bulbs to try. Bringing extra and more unusual colour and form to the spring bulb display and lengthening the bulb season into the summer months. Here are some to consider.

Camassia cusickii

Camassia cusickii: This tall bulb makes a sward of tall mid-green leaves, with a central flower spike up to 60/75cm tall. Flowers unfurl from the bottom upwards in session. Flowering in June with good clear blue star shaped flowers. Excellent for semi-shade

Camssia leichtlinii ‘Alba’: A white form, with flowers creamy to white growing to 70/90cm tall. As with all Camassia excellent for naturalising in wild meadows and grassy areas in semi-shade like orchards.

Chionodoxa forbesii

Chionodoxa forbesii: This bulb is often commonly called the ‘ glory of the snow’. It is certainly one of the earliest to appear. Delicate and low growing at 10/15cm, plant in small clumps. Bright sky blue flowers with a white splashed centre. March-April.

Chionodoxa forbesii

Chionodoxa lucilliae ‘Alba’:Pure white large flowers March-April, 10/15cm tall. These bulbs are superb at naturalising in both sun and semi-shade.

Fritillaria meleagris

Fritillaria meleagris:The snakes head fritillary. This delicate bulb is small in statue but is a show stopper, only 20-30cm tall, it’s beautiful nodding heads reach above the grass. The distinctive flowers are bourne from March-April. In shades of white, cream and soft pink. With scale like markings on the petals, hence it’s common name. Grows well in full sun and well drained soil.

Fritillaria imperialis ‘Aurora’

Fritillaria imperialis ‘Aurora’: ‘Crown imperial’ this is the Emporia or fritillaries. A striking plant reaching 60/70cm in height with mid green base leaves a tall strong flower spike with a ring of orange bell like flowers set under the tuft of small leaves above. Flowering March to April

Ipheion rolf fiedler

Ipheion Rolf Fiedler: A hardy bulb from South Africa. Clumps of low mid- green foliage and open star shaped flowers in bright electric blue. This is truly a eye catcher for the early spring. 10/15cm tall. Flowers March- April

Ipheion Alberto Castillo: pure white open clear flowers. 10/15cm tall Flowering March-April. These bulbs like a sunny spot and good drainage, they naturalise well.

A mass of Chionodoxa planted under trees.

I hope I have wetted your appetited to try planting some bulbs that are a little different. Enjoy!

Redefining the Edge

Neatly edged flower borders

Mid-winter is a good time to take a good hard look at your garden. You can clearly see, the structure of the garden and it’s layout. Perhaps the crisp lines of the rectangular beds you set out and the geometric circles and square of planting on the lawn, have lots their crispness. Or has the straight boarder along the house begun to wavier. Have your planting beds become a little woolie about the edges?

Planting flopping over the path edges.

Now is a good time to redefine the edge of planting boarders, taking sprawling planting back in hand. Mature planting boarders can often become much larger than originally designed, the plants mature and flop and move forward, the edging geraniums and other exuberant herbaceous plants freely flow out of the flower bed onto the lawn, you start to cut round them and so year on year, the bed gets bigger and wider and the shape and form of it is lost. Paths can also fall prey to this, a little softness of plants edging the path is one thing. Overflowing planting can easily turn a wide path into a narrow slalom course, which can get almost unpassable, particularly in wet summer weather when the weight of wet planting flops and sags forward even more. It can also be quite a trip hazard.

Over grown path

But there are a number of things you can do to get your planting beds back into shape and this is the time of year to do it. Firstly take a good hard look at the shape and size of your planting, has it grown in size over the years? Have plants spilled to the front to get light leaving bare areas under other shrubs in the middle or the back of the boarder? So this may be the opportunity to not only redefine the existing edge of the boarder, but perhaps to completely reshape the boarder or even to reduce it’s size. So the next stage is to mark out using canes, the shape and size of the boarder, and then use string and pegs to mark the edges.

marking out the edge of a flower bed

Now you need to prune back any planting in the way of the new edge and possible even dig some plants out, perhaps they can transplanted back into new positions with in the same boarder or found a new home somewhere else in the garden or given to gardening friends. Be bold, it is no good putting an edging in that will instantly in the first growing season be swamped by the planting.

Digging up plants along the edge

Next you need to decide what job your edging is doing, to help you decide what type will be suitable. Is the edging to be laid flat and level with the lawn to make lawn care easier, so you can mow over it so it is a mowing strip. Brick or paving slabs work well.

brick mowing strip

Is the edging to help to retain a slightly higher soil level of the flower bed from the lawn level. Then both a metal edging of the right height like ever-edge or a brick edging would work.

Ever-edge edging round lawn

Is the edging to keep taller plants flopping on the edge of paths, perhaps you would like it to be decorative. Traditional rope edging tiles are beautiful, but if you do not have the budget or the time to hunt demolition yards then, there are dyed concrete edging kerbs that may be to your liking. As well as some fancy metal edging.

metal hoop edging

Think about the area of the garden and the style of your garden to choose the right edging, so if it is a cottage garden for an old thatched cottage, then tile edging or bricks on edge will be more suitable.

brick edging

Tiles used as an edging

A woodland garden would be best with old logs or even sleeper edges, which even if they are new would soon weather down, to fit the mood of the woodland planting.

log edging in Woodland planting

If your garden is a dry seaside garden, then, pebbles, and larger stones and even boulders, may be the edging of choice.

Once you have decided on you edging material and there is a huge choice on the market. Give yourself good working room in the planting bed to install your new edging. If you have reduced the size of the boarder then you may need to repair the lawn, with some top soil raked to levels, ready for seeding in the spring. Or you may have been lucky enough to have regained a path, from excess planting.

Well edged flower beds, give the winter garden formal elegance

If you need help to restore an old boarder or a planting area in your garden. Then I would be happy to help and this is the very time of year to carry out the work. Give me Emily a ring 01273 470753. I would be delighted to discuss your garden project with you.

Flowering Bulbs for Christmas

Forcing spring bulbs to flower ‘early’ for Christmas or New Year, can bring scent and flowering magic to your home in the depths of winter. From the blousy Amaryllis to the delicate paper white daffodils to the knock you over scent of Hyacinths. There is much to enjoy. You need to plan early to get your mid-winter display, planting prepared bulbs in September or early October. Here are some to consider.

Hippeastrum Aphrodite

Hippeastrum Aphrodite: A striking form, with hansom double pink and white flowers with delicate red edges, held on tall stems, with several flowers per stem.

Hippeastrum Barbados

Hippeastrum Barbados: This variety has Christmas written all over it. With rich striking red flowers with a central white stripe. Held on sturdy stems and if you are lucky you will get more than one stem per bulbs.

Hyacinthus Delt Blue

Hyacinthus Delft Blue: This is a classic hyacinths, with a delicate pale blue and slightly darker centre, with great scent.

Hyacinthus Pink Pearl

Hyacinthus Pink Pearl: This is a deep pure pink and will add a splash of colour to a house plant mid winter display and good fragrance.

Narcissi paper white Omri:multi-headed delicate flowers on 40/50cm tall stems with a subtle scent.

Narcissi tete-a-tete

Narcissi tete-a-tete: A good strong yellow dwarf form, from 15/20cm tall, ideal for indoor forcing. With multi-heeded small trumpet daffodils.

Groups of forced bulbs make a great Christmas display

Top tips; Always use prepared bulbs. Plant in September, early October at the latest. Use bulb fibre compost, which helps to prevent waterlogging particularly in containers with out drainage holes. Or even no compost at all, bare in mind the bulb has all the nutrients it needs in the bulb it’s self, the compost is merely there to act as an anchoring medium. It is important to choose a container that is the right depth and size for the bulbs you are planting. Also consider the colours of your bulb flowers and the sort of look you want to achieve, whether going for a classic old willow patterned chamber pot or a modern large glass jar filled with colour glass beads for an Amaryllis, or a coloured glass hyacinth jar, all should be considered. Put gravel at the bottom of your container to help with drainage, add the compost, place your bulbs in a group near the centre of the container, but so the bulbs do not touch. Have just the neck of the bulb peaking out of the top of the compost, make sure the compost finished about 30/50mm below the rim, to allow for watering. The compost surface can have a layer of decorative gravel/glass beads or even some moss from your garden (but not from the countryside). Water lightly before adding your mulch layer. Now leave the bulbs in a cool but dark place, like an outside shed or garage. An airy cardboard box can help to block out more light. Check weekly and water lightly so only moist. Once 5cm of shoots are showing, bring the pot of bulbs in doors to an unheated room with good light levels and allow the shoots to ‘green up’. Once there is good green growth, bring the bulbs into a warmer room to push the growth ahead for mid winter flowering. Use colour stems and canes to support taller flower stems.

Get creative with indoor bulb planting

So get planting to enjoy for Christmas!

Quinces and Pears- The Noble Fruit

An orchard of pear trees

While apples are all about quantity and glut, buckets of apples for cider making, huge pies and crumbles and endless chutney etc. Pears seem revered for their singularity and delicate flavour, if there was ever a fruit to be carried on a velvet cushion it would be a beautiful, blushed perfect pear. The Quince on the other hand is an ancient fruit enjoyed and praised for its culinary uses from ancient Prussia to medieval England and although more modern fruits have pushed it to the margins, it still has lots to recommend, not least it produces a tree with a beautiful habit, a rarity in most fruiting trees. Here are some to consider.

Pear Buerre Hardy

P.Buerre Hardy: Pollinator, from group 4. A pear that will cope well with the colder conditions in northern England. A strong grower with good upright habit and good autumn tints. It is dual use. Fruiting in October with large, copper, russeted red fruit, with an excellent flavour. Pick when still hard and allow to ripen in store.

Quince Meech’s Prolific

Q. Meeches’s Prolific: Self-fertile, with a hansom shaped tree, which is slow growing and needs no pruning. With delicate wide single open blossom white blushed pink, it is a beautiful tree. Large pear shaped fruit, October, with a dusty down finish. A regular and heavy cropper.

Pear Concorde

P.Concorde: This well know pear is very reliable and partially self-fertile, although fruiting will be more guaranteed with a pollinator from group 3. This pear produces a good compact tree. Fruiting October/November with dessert fruit, which are born in clusters, Long pale green fruit, ripening blushed yellow. Can be picked ripe from the tree, or equally pick hard and keep in the fridge and ripen one at a time.

Q. varanja (Bereczchi):A very vigorous tree, with all the habit and growth as described above. Named after the Serbian Pomologist called Bereczchi. It produces large very golden fruit, with a good flavour and is a good cropper. Fruit September/October.

Pear Doyenne du Comice

P. Doyenne du Comice: Pollinator from group 4. One of the best know older varieties of fruit, produces a strong growing tree, with vigorous growth. Fruit November/December. Large golden fruit, with slight russeting and a red flush. A delicious flavour, this dessert pear is a good keeper, lasting up to April in store.

Pear William Bon Chetien

P. Williams Bon Chrretien: Pollinator group 3. Must be one of the most widely planted and best known of pears, it will even grow very happily on a north wall as an espalier. This dessert pear fruits in September. With large pale yellow fruit and juicy white flesh with a delicious flavour.

Pear Shinseiki

P.Shinseiki: Asian pears, offer a delightful twist on pear growing. This early variety is self-fertile, producing at the end of August into September, round rust coloured fruit about the size of an apple. With white crisp flesh with an aromatic flavour.

picking pears

All pears do best in a warm sheltered spot. They like a good water retentive soil, they do not like dry conditions. Root Stocks, Pears are grown on either Quince A ( approx 16ft.)

or on Quince C (approx 10 -12ft) root stock. They can be grown as stand alone trees or a cordons or as traditional espalier, up a warm wall and a more modern approach is now fan trained pears up a wall.

Pears and quinces, making it to the table

Storing of Pears and Quinces: Quinces, bruise easily and even if you have picked the perfect fruit and keep it in ideal conditions, they just do not keep. Best to get going with the pies, jams, and fruit cheese straight away. Or peal and quarter dip in cool water with lemon juice, pat dry and weigh, bag and freeze for future use.

Quince jam in the making

Pears on the other hand vary, some it is best to pick when hard and store to ripen. All fruit that is to be stored must be without any blemishes and dry. Store somewhere with out strong odours, so not next to the stack of paint pots and the old tub of creosote in the garage. The store wants to be dry and ventilated if possible and most important of all vermin free, as the mice will love your stored fruit. Then put the fruit on trays lined with tissue paper, so each pear dose not touch. Or if space is an issue then wrap each fruit in a couple of sheets of tissue paper and stack in a box, 1 layer per box is best but 2 layers is the maxim. Keep an eye on your fruit, it is a fine line between a slightly hard pear and a ‘sleepy’ pear. For a small crop, keeping the pears in the bottom draw of the fridge and just bringing a couple out at a time to ripen over a few days in a fruit bowl, also works well. Long term storage of pears is only for ‘keepers’. Others will need to be enjoyed ripened straight from the tree.

Pear pie

I hope I have inspired you to find a spot for the ‘noble fruit’ or enjoy the ancient fruit of the Quince tree. Making sure you choose the right root stock, for your site and situation.

Enjoy!

Native Pond Plants- For A Wildlife Pond

A large pond with native planting

Most of us want to encourage wildlife into our garden and a pond planted with native aquatic plants is high on the list to increase the biodiversity of your garden. One thing to bare in mind right from the start when planning what aquatic natives to use, is that nearly all pond plants are very vigorous, so less really will become more! So that your pond has a wide range of habitats, grade the sides of your pond to create different planting depths, each of these planting steps will become mini habitats and will suit different pond life. Here are some natives to consider.

Starting with shallow water on the margins of the pond.

Mentha quatica

Mentha aquatica: is the water mint, with creeping stems and aromatic leaves when crushed and pink/ purple flowers in spring. It will be happy in damp areas and in water up to 150mm. It is very vigorous so better in larger ponds.

Caltha palustris

Catltha palustris: King cup/Marsh marigolds, this is a much better behaved marginal shallow water plant, forming a compact habit, with bright yellow large buttercup flowers in mid spring. Planting from damp margins up to 50mm deep water.

Iris pseudacorus

Iris Pseudacorus: Yellow flag, no wildlife pond would look right with out this beautiful native, very tolerant from almost dry soil to damp boggy margins up to 75mm of water. Mid green sword like leaves and a secession of yellow flower from April into May.

Medium depth of water from 100 to 150mm deep.

Butomus umbellatus

Butomus umbelletus: Flowering Rush, this beautiful reed has dark leaves up to 70cm tall and in May heads of dropping pink bells, borne on thin stems that radiate out, like an umbrella, it forms dense clumps in water from 50 to 100mm deep, not quite as vigorous as some other pond plants.

Menyanthes trifoliata

Menyanthes trifoliata: Bog Bean, this lovely pond plant creeps around in deeper water, round the base of reeds, with pink buds in mid spring giving way to white fringed flowers. From 100 to 150mm deep water.

Deeper water planting from 130 to 170/200mm deep.

Scirpus lacutris

Scirpus lacustris: common club rush, this is a very hardy rush from the margins to deeper water, with rounded rush leaves in dark green. With a ‘fuzz’ of brown flower/grass heads about 100mm below the top of the rush stem. It may not be the most glamours plant, but it is invaluable as a habit maker in a pond.

Sagittaria trifoliata

Sagittaria Trifoliate: Swamp potato, it’s common name dose not really sell it, it has arrow head shaped leaves held upright with white flowers in the spring. Suitable for smaller ponds. Water depths from 100 to 130mm.

No pond would be complete with out a water lily, and don’t be tempted, one is all you will need unless we are talking lake in size.

Nyhoides Alba

Nyphoides ‘Alba’, is the native white water lilly, in any still water, but it is big so if your pond it only a couple of meters in size it really will be to big. But it is a beautiful addition to any pond.

All natural ponds that do not have moving water are going to need oxygenates. These can be very vigorous and it is important to work out the water volume of your pond, to work out the numbers you are going to need, most good Aquatic Nurseries will help you with this.. Here are 2 native varieties to consider.

Potamegeton crispns

Potamegeton Crispns, curled pond weed

Ranunculus aquatilis

Ranunculus aquatilis, common water crow foot

Planting tip: either plant into aquatic plant baskets or to get a more natural growth pattern, cover your planting shelves in screened aquatic plant soil ( this will be very low in nutrients and mostly clay and will have been screened for stones) and plant straight into the soil. It is fine to spread the pond soil on top of the liner, just take great care of the liner when planting.

Planting pond plants in an aquatic planting basket

If you want to learn more about looking after a wildlife pond then have a look at November 2015 Blog also have a look at the portfolio section of the web site to see wildlife ponds that Arcadia Garden Design has created.

A wildlife Pond created by Arcadia Garden Design.

I hope I have inspired you to think about creating a wildlife pond or replanting with natives an existing pond. If you want help with your pond project, then do give me Emily a ring 01273 470753, I would be delighted to discuss your project with you.

Planting on thin Chalk Soils

Planting thieving on poor soils.

For most gardeners, the soil is the thing that gets us all most worked up, and thin chalky soil for most would seem a real challenge and perhaps a hurdle to far; but do not despair, because in fact there is a huge variety of plants that love thin poor well draining chalky soils. Think of all the billowing scents and colours of the southern Mediterranean and you already have a plant palette to build on. Here are just a few to whet your appetite.

Thymus vulgaris ‘Sliver Posie’

Thymus vulgaris ‘Sliver Posie’: this is one of my favourite thymes, it grows to about 15cm high and produces a compact habit. With soft evergreen silvery leaves with cream variegation and light mauve flowers in the mid summer. It will do well in a sun baked spot.

Iris ‘Brathwaite’

Iris ‘Braithwaite’: Breaded Irises do very well on poor soils with good sharp drainage. This tall variety up to 75cm, wants full sun. it has grey leaves and stunning flowers with regal purple velvet uppers and soft mauve falls and an orange throat, flowers produced in May. It will flower well, where its rhizomes can be baked.

Lavendula angustifolia ‘Munstead’

Lavendulea angustifolia ‘Munstaed’: This small compact variety has all the traditional traits of the common ‘English lavender’ but without the size, so is more suitable for a small garden growing to 40/50cm tall. With good evergreen aromatic sliver foliage and the light mauve of traditional lavender flowers produced freely in midsummer.

Salvia officinalis ‘Purpurascens’

Salvia offcinalis ‘Purpurascens’: Herbs are not just for the herb garden of the cooking pot and this is one of them. This beautiful evergreen purple sage, makes a good low growing ground cover plant, with soft grey/purple foliage and spikes of small purple flowers in the summer, it likes a good sunny spot.

Helianthemum nummularium ‘Wisley Primrose’

Helianthemum ‘Wisley Primrose’: is one of the best ‘rock roses’ there is, it thrives in dry poor spots in full sun and it will happily grow on the tops of walls or the edge of dry Rockies. Reaching the dizzying height of about 10cm, with soft evergreen sliver foliage and a succession of round open clear yellow flowers from midsummer onwards.

Ulex europaeus ‘Flore Pleno’

Ulex europaeus ‘Flore Pleno’: There is nothing quite as tough as old boots, than gorse, it will grow on the very poorest and thinnest of soils and in the south of England has an unbelievably long flowering time, starting from late February through to midsummer and even a flush in the autumn. This variety has a compact habit with dense spiky evergreen foliage and brilliant yellow pea like flowers, which bees love.

A garden of planting for poor soils.

I hope I have inspired you to think more positively about your chalky poor garden soil and realise that there is a large variety of plants that can be grown and even thrive on your garden soil type. All of the plants I have chosen happen to be sun worshippers but there are also shade lovers that will do well.

If you need some help planning the planting in your garden, then I would be delighted to help you, give me, Emily a ring on 01273 470753. Also have a look at the portfolio section of the web site to see some of the many garden projects we have been involved in.

Happy Gardening!

Delightful Daphnes

Delightful Daphnes in mixed planting

Daphens are a welcome addition to any early spring to mid summer garden, with fragment flowers over a long season and with attractive foliage and a compact habit. They are worth including in a planting scheme, particularly one near a path, so their gorgeous scent can really be enjoyed. Here are a few to consider.

D. bholua’Gurkha’

D.bholua ‘Gurkha’: A medium sized shrub, with a dense upright habit with mid green foliage. Clusters of richly scented purple to white flowers are produced from December to February, plant in a sunny sheltered spot to get a, long flowering period. The flowers are followed by black fruits.

D. x ‘bankwodii’

D x burkwoodii: A small moderately slow growing shrub with compact habit and small whirls of evergreen foliage. Groups of pale pink flowers open white, with a good fragrance and are produced along the branches from May to June, it likes a sunny spot.

D.cneorum ‘Variegata’: A low growing prostate shrub, that makes good ground cover, with vargated evergreen foliage. It is a vigorous grower and is happy in semi-shade. Dark rose pink flowers are produced in clusters from April to May.

D. collina ‘neapolitana’

D.collina ‘neapolitana’: A compact moderately slow growing dwarf shrub, with mid green evergreen foliage, grows well in full sum. One of the darkest pink flowers of any Daphne, with good scent produced April to June.

D. mezereum

D.mezereum: An upright small shrub, which needs full sun, it will cope well with growing on chalk. Flowers are produced up the stems in pink clusters and are highly scented, from February to March. Small orange poisonous berries follow.

D. odora ‘Aureomarginata’

D.odora ‘Aureomarginata’: a beautiful small to medium shrub with long glossy emerald leaves with a creamy white edge. Scented clusters of waxy blush to white flowers are produced from February to early April, it will tolerate a chalky soil. Best grown in semi shade to full sun.

Bringing Daphnes indoors, to enjoy the scent.

Growing conditions: most Daphnes prefer semi-shade, although some do well in full sun. also as a rule they needs to be neutral to slightly acidic soil which is humus rich which has good moisture retention but is not water logged. The one big exception to this rule is Daphne odora, which will cope with an alkaline soil, but it still needs lots of compost and humus, it will not like drying out and very poor soils, so it will be important to make sure it dose not suffer from magnesium deficiency with yellowing leaves.

I hope you will be inspired to add these worth while shrubs to your next garden planting scheme.

The Shady Courtyard

A Shady courtyard garden

In town centres, surrounded by buildings or the basement flat, shady courtyards are common as the outdoor space for a lot of town dwellers. They can be more then the space to dump the bike or keep the bins. With good planting they can become a vibrant and beautiful outdoor place to sit and enjoy. Low light levels mean plants need to be chosen with care. Here are a few selections to consider, whether planting into the ground, raised beds or gardening in containers, all will do well.

Hydrangea anomala petiolaris

Hydrangea anomala petiolaris: a superb clinging wall climber which dose well in dense shade. Deciduous, with mid green leaves and open ‘lace cap’ type hydrangea flowers in white, in late summer, make this a must to brighten any courtyard wall. It is moderately slow growing but worth the wait.

Buxus sempervirens ‘Aureovariegata’

Buxus semperviens ‘Aureovariegate’: this is the variegated Box, with it’s delicate creamy variegation to the dark green leaves it will add a splash of colour to a dark courtyard. It has the added bonus of being able to be clipped into topery forms from the traditional ball to cones, squares and even a wacky peacock.

Vinca minor ‘Illumination’

Vinca minor ‘Illumination’: a wonderful evergreen ground cover plant, with creeping stems of dark shiny green leaves with brilliant splashes of golden yellow in the centre, to help add vibrancy to your dark space. It has the added bonus of purple flowers produced from early March to late April early May.

Hellaborus ‘Nigra’

Hellaborus ‘Nigra’: This is a more elegant Hellebore than the common orientallis. With finer palmate leaves in a soft grey-green. With clear white flowers from December round to the end of February.

Carex ‘Evergold’

Carex ‘Ever Gold’: This as an easy to grow evergreen grass which is as tough as old boots it makes neat clumps of mid green striped yellow leaves up to 20/25cm tall. It will help to bring colour to a dark corner.

Phyllostachys aurea

Phyllostachys aurea: A superb statuesque clump forming bamboo. With soft mid green leaves and canes that mature to a beautiful golden yellow.

A hansom shady courtyard seating area.

All the plants I have chosen are moderately easy to grow and will do well in most soils with good organic matter added. I have chosen mostly evergreen plants to help green a courtyard space and give a good constant back drop, variegation, yellow and golden foliage help to lift the light levels as do white flowers.

I hope I have inspired you to get creative with your courtyard space. If you need help with designing your courtyard garden, then I know just the person to help you. Give me, Emily a ring on 01273 470753, I would be delighted to discuss your garden project with you.