Apple Blossom Time 2013

By on May 20, 2013 in Fruit, Vegetables & Herbs, Shrubs and Trees

Late arrivals in 2013 looks like being a good year for apple blossom and thus fruit in the North of England.

bud-burst

A cold and late spring delayed the buds and blossom until the worst of the weather was over. Energy has been diverted into fruit production rather than new wood after judicious pruning. There has been no significant late frost to damage blossom and there are now many pollinating insects on the wing. Hopefully these are signs that we will have a good crop of juicy apples this year. Just in case here are a few tips to help nature along.

Tips for Better Apples

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Osteospermum African Daisy & Cape Daisies

By on May 19, 2013 in Flowers and Plants



African Daisy, South African Daisy, Cape Daisy or Blue-eyed Daisy more correctly called Osteospermums not surprisingly belong to the daisy family of Compositae – Asteraceae.
They are similar to the annual Dimorphotheca with which they can be cross pollenated.
Although most Osteospermums are labeled as annuals they are in fact half-hardy perennials
The bright sun of the African or Namibian velt helps these flower show the true colours which are some of the strongest in the garden. These plants almost look fluorescent with the purples, oranges and yellows.

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Black Geranium Cranesbill

By on May 17, 2013 in Flowers and Plants

There are not many totally black flowered plants but this geranium gives a good impression.
black-geranium

Geranium phaeum is called ‘the mourning widow’ because the late spring flowers are dark maroon often sold as black. I am in mourning because the plant has been more trouble than it is worth in my garden and this morning I dug out what I hope will be the last surviving specimen. This plant grows well in shady places but the flowers I got were meager to paltry. Despite this poor flowering it managed to self sow in the most amazing places usually in the best sunny spots.
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Growing Lettuce

By on May 16, 2013 in Fruit, Vegetables & Herbs

Lettuce may not contain that many calories so it makes a great summer food crop.

Lettuce

Lettuce in neat rows, looks a great sight as well as offering great crops

Growing lettuce is one of the most rewarding vegetable or salad crops. If you keep the slugs at bay, you will have a rewarding crop, even from a tiny space in the back garden.

In summer, lettuce has a short growing season. It means within a couple of months, you can be cutting leaves for the salad bowl. The loose leaf varieties can be ready for harvest after only 6-8 weeks. If you sow at regular intervals and make use of cloches, you can have a supply of lettuce for a large part of the year.

Tips for Growing Lettuce

  • Sow directly into the ground and thin out later. Lettuce doesn’t like being moved. If you have to sow in greenhouse, use modules for easy transfer.
  • Lettuce do npot germinate well in hot temperatures.
  • Lettuce like a humous rich soil, so make sure soil is well prepared, otherwise, the leaves will be tougher and more leathery.

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Anemone in Strong Colours

By on May 15, 2013 in Flowers and Plants

I have had a great show from 100 Anemone coronaria corms I bought in January. I only got them because they were being sold off at half price but were in individual packs of one variety.

Varieties Chosen

  • The double blue Anemone Lord Lieutenant (shown above)  was planted in a large container and has given the best display. I have now planted the compost corms and all direct into the garden.
  • The Govenor is a deep red with a white inner ring and I planted this direct into the garden. Where I got good flowers the colour was striking but I had fewer blooms.
  • Admiral and Sylphide are both pinks that I mixed together – why I did I don’t know considering my comment above.
  • The Bride was my selected white Anemone and this did very well in its own container. Whilst I thought I watered the containers quite well I found the bottom half of the soil had totally dried out and was hard to re wet. I must remember to do something about this next time.

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Chose Your Berberis Variety

By on May 15, 2013 in Shrubs and Trees

A prickly subject is our Berberis unless you pick with care.

berberis-orange

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Berberis Julianea is a colourful low maintenance foliage plant with flowers, berries and prickles! Good Berberis are  prickly flowering shrubs often with fragrant flowers ranging in colours from pale primrose to pumpkin orange, light pink to darker red.

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Moses Roses

By on May 14, 2013 in Books

Do not mistake roses for noses and ask for a big red one.

Canary Rose

Teach a Poem to Your Canary Bird Rose

Moses supposes his toeses are roses,
but Moses supposes erroneously,
Moses he knowses his toeses ain’t roses,
nobody’s toeses are roses as Moses supposes his toeses to be.

OK but not that poem!

May be you don’t want a poetic budgie but many gardeners feel the urge to rhyme occasionally.

Try clicking these books if you feel poetic;
Book Cover

Book Cover

Book Cover

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Orange in your Garden

By on May 13, 2013 in Flowers and Plants

Orange trees wont fruit in the open in the UK but you can still find the colour in flowers and plant combinations.

Poppy Polly

Orange was the colour of the 1970′s but gardens seemed to reject this colour as too gaudy and fit only for psychedelic record sleeves. Times have now changed and hot borders are fashionable with an exciting choice of plants including those from the Poppy family. Oriental poppies are big and blousy whilst the strong orange of Californian poppy on frail foliage can be startling.

Orange can be a hard colour to place but a strong purple leaf like Cotinus Royal Purple will offer a good contrast. However Geum Borisii will provide perennial blooms in any location without a backdrop. Acer palmatum Osakazuki is the autumnal orange leafed small tree variety to go for, underplanted with orange lilies Jet Fire, Orange Pixie or Tigrinum maybe.

Roses have a variety of orange colour schemes, choose from creamy pale Just Joey, floribunda Anne Harkness, clear toned Geraldine, apricot Pensioners’ Voice and patio rose Sweet Magic.
Beggars Begonias

Canna lilies in pots with purple leaves and orange flowers can be titally stunning like Triomphe, Wyoming or Delibab varieties and for a Gladioli try Topaz or the reddish Hunting Song. Also amongst summer tubers you can do worse than give space to some Dahlias like Bishop of Oxford and Catherine Deneuve with dark foliage or the decorative Mrs Eileen.
Eden Project Calla Lily

Tip Winter is a good season to dream of those hot psychedelic orange colours and plan where to grow the plants that will catch everyone’s eye next summer.
Primulas 172
Yellow and red make orange in some colour schemes.

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Plants on Windowsill

By on May 12, 2013 in House & Greenhouse plants

Houseplants in pots are popular windowsill subjects but broaden your horizons.
Cape windowsill

No greenhouse or conservatory but lots of windows? Then you can grow a range of plants using the windowsills or a shelf under a window. Chose small plants and pots that are and will be in proportion to the width of the windowsill.
Tender plants may suffer in winter behind curtains but with good double glazing I do not bother moving most plants at night.

On the Kitchen Windowsill

Herbs will be many gardeners first choice and curly or flat leaved Parsley are likely to figure most frequently. Basil  can be used as cut and come again and is available in several varieties so I would add this to any list of windowsill plants.
The hot and steamy conditions of many kitchens don’t help all plants but ferns and Orchids usually like these conditions particularly on North or East facing window ledges.
We currently have a white Saintpaulia which enjoys humidity but it will be moved when the flowers go over to be replaced by a Christmas cactus in flower. Continue Reading →

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Contrasting Grass Forms and Foliage

By on May 10, 2013 in Garden Design

Lawn, meadow, prairie or specimen grass it is all one to the sheep.

Fountain Grass

Undulating shapes and sizes in an attractive outline help to create a flourishing and sophisticated design in a garden. By varying plants and grass shapes in your landscapes you can create a lively scene.
There is no end to the combinations you could select but below is one option.

Simple Contrasting Foliage

Miscanthus sinesis Graziella is a vigorous ornamental, clump forming grass with bold narrow leaves that grow to 4 feet high. It is well behaved and will not spread and has showy white flowers at the end of the season.
Variegated foliage can add a new visual dimension and the white striped leaves of Gardeners Garters Phalaris arundinacea Picta has floppy to arching leaves that can be stricking. It is a bit of a thug spreading rapidly in damp soil but you can plant it in a buried pot.
The Solenostemon family of Coleus have a wide range of colours often on the same soft leaf.
For mobile grass try Pennisetum alopecurides the Fountain Grass with seed heads that can reach 3 feet high.

Wheat grass
Artemesia stelleriana has silver-grey leaves through out the year.

In this selection I have avoided plants grown primarily for their flowers. However if you wanted to intersperse just one flower then a Hemerocallis ‘Imperial Lemon’ may suit the situation.

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