The mushroom we see is the fruiting part of a fungus that distributes the spores of the fungus for its own reproduction.

Fungus Facts

• Most fungi are small microorganisms that live in soil, on dead matter, or as a symbiont of plants or animals.
• Fungi perform an essential role in the decomposition of organic matter and have fundamental roles in recycling nutrients.
• The study of fungi is known as mycology, which is often regarded as a branch of botany
• Yeasts and moulds are forms of fungi but slimes are not.
• The Kingdom Fungi has been estimated to include approximately 1.5 million species, most of which have not been classified.

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‘The Garden of Reading: An Anthology of Twentieth-century Short Fiction About Gardens and Gardeners’ edited by Michele Slung.

I was going to write about brochures, bulb and seed catalogues, but then I came across this book. At least the anthology collects works that set out to be  fiction, whilst gardening brochures presumably did not.

On Brochures

• The best photographs you can imagine are used in brochures. So more flowers and better colours are visible than you may attain with your own plants.
• Printed brochures are subject to the skill and vagaries of the printer and his reproduction processes. Accurate colour matches can’t be guaranteed.
• Brochure side step, insect damage, weather problems and  other trials and tribulations facing gardeners.
• It is a brochures  job to put the best foot forward not talk you out of a purchase.
• So are Brochures fact or fiction – well I will read the Anthology whilst I make up my mind.

On the Anthology

‘….The twenty-four stories in The Garden of Reading comprise a diverse and unexpected collection but one that stays true to its central and harmonious theme. Included are Colette’s sensuous ‘Grape Harvest,’ David Gueterson’s poignant ‘The Flower Garden,’ Stephen King’s sinister ‘The Lawnmower Man,’ J.G. Ballard’s lovely and otherworldy ‘The Garden of Time,’ the ominous ‘Green Thoughts’ by John Collier, Rosamunde Pilcher’s touching and simply titled ‘The Tree,’ and the splendid ‘the Fig Tree, by V.S. Pritchett – as well as classics from such masters as Saki, Robert Graves, and Eudora Welty, and contemporary writing from the likes of Sandra Cisneros and Garrison Keillor. If you’ve ever nurtured a flower, a green plant, a tomato plant, or a gleam of imagination, there’s something in The Garden of Reading that is sure to delight.’ source amazon review.

Double flowers are generally ‘Gardener bred’ and not naturally available in the wild.

Doubles are harder for insects to pollinate and therefore single flowers have survived and evolved more readily.

Double flowers were the aim of many Victorian breeders and plantsmen as they sought the awe factor.

These blousy double Peonies have this Awe factor with both colour, double petal form and a tremendous scent.

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If you like daisy flowers then you will love Anthemis. A couple of varieties, to grow, are shown above and detailed below.

Anthemis arvensis is a clump-forming plant with green, ferny foliage, that produces numerous daisy-like flowers with white petals and a bright golden centre.

• It is a good plant in a naturalised planting or wild flower meadows.

• Anthemis are short-lived perennials easily grown from seed.

Anthemis tinctoria has several common names including Golden Marguerite, Marguerite Daisy, Dyer’s Chamomile, Ox-eye Chamomile, Boston Daisies and Paris Daisies.

• E.C. Buxton is a variety of Golden Marguerite that flowers from June to September
• Also clump-forming this free-flowering perennial features branching stems bearing masses of 1 inch lemon-yellow daisy blooms which smother the compact plants all summer.
• Anthemis is good for cutting for indoor flower arrangements.
• It is ideal for borders growing 30 inches high and wide. It prefers sun and sandy or free draining soil.

Seeds available from Thompson Morgan

Tigridia is also called the Mexican shell flower or the Tiger Flower due to its shape and spotted petals.

Facts about Tigridia

• This exotic Mexican bulb is also sometimes called the Peacock flower, an appropriate name in view of its quite startling colour combinations.
• Tigridia Pavonia flowers are short lived but often several flowers will bloom from the same stalk.
• Many colour combinations are available including scarlet, orange, pink, yellow, mauve and white, usually with contrasting markings.
• Tigridia is not very hardy and is grown as a tender summer bulb planted in spring and dug up again in autumn for storing in a dry frost-free place.
• Tigridia needs all the sun it can get to encourage flowering and ripen the bulb to ensure a similar display the following year.
• Tigridia makes a good greenhouse potted bulb.

More coloured Tigridia photographs

Read more on the Pacific Bulb Society site

A colourful carpet of ground cover plants may be a creative, low maintenance alternative to a lawn. Alternatively a pattern of coloured stone or chippings with feature plants in containers may be your preference.

Collection of Low Growing Plants

• A mix of flowers and shrubs can include conifers like Golden Juniper Juniperus x media ‘Golden Sovereign’, Juniperus horizontalis, Juniper squamata ‘Holger’ and Picea pungens ‘Glauca Prostrata’ all around one foot tall with varying spreads.
• For colour in summer you can’t beat some Petunia multiflora and vibrant Busy Lizzie Impatiens. Try the ‘accent’ series from Thompson Morgan
• Bulbs of Dutch Iris, Cyclamen, Crocus and Muscari can provide spring and autumn colour.
• Fillers and good doers include Bugle Ajuga reopens, Pinks Dianthus Indian hybrids, Geranium, Sedum and Vinca.

Design Features

• Wide flat rocks can break up the verdant space and give the gardener a place to stand and weed.
• Think in terms of 8-12″ as the average height with accent plants if required.
• Create a backing or edging with taller uniform plants. Roses box or taller Conifers may suit.
• Plant in bold blocks of colour with annuals close together for maximum effect.

Patterns of Gravel

• Ground cover of pebbles, chippings or gravel can add colour. I like plum coloured slate chippings.
• The covering can be used to stand elegant containers perhaps containing trailing plants like lobelia or geraniums.
• Make sure you have a weed barrier under the gravel.
• Gravel should be comparatively low maintenance but keep it spruce and moss free.

Similar rule apply when planting ground cover that grows taller. Select a height 18-24″ in this case and plant appropriate plants in the designated area. Tree ferns have been used as accent plants in this design.

Vegetation of open habitats can be an interesting form of study for the keen gardener. Knowing what grows where in the wild, inform us about our own harden habitats.

Develop an understanding of ecology and wild plant development to augment your gardening interests.

Plant Habitat Classifications

Plants growing in the wild are found in several types of location that have been classified below.

• Mires and heaths
• Woodland and scrub
• Grassland
• Aquatics
• Maritime

The authoritative texts are written by J S Rodwell provide a framework for a wide variety of teaching, research and management activities in ecology, conservation and land-use planning.

There are sub-classifications including geological, geographical and environmental.
These situations include:-  Height above sea level, rainfall, wind direction and strength. Soil fertility, cultivation practices now and in the past all can play a part.

Witch Hazel or Hamamelis is a scented winter-flowering shrub. The spicy fragrance and spidery flowers in yellow, orange or red  make it a must for the winter garden.

Where to Plant Witch Hazel

• Do not plant young shrubs in a frost pocket even though plants are hardy.
• Witch Hazel like an open sunny position and need space to develop all be it slowly.
• Avoid exposed and windy positions.
• Clay soil needs improving with added humus and drainage.
• Acid or neutral soils are best but chlorotic yellow leaves can be treated and fed with chelated iron.

On Going Cultivation

• Water young plants during dry spells.
• Propagation is from budding to root stock. It is difficult to grow from cuttings.
• Witch Hazel needs little pruning provided there is room to let them grow freely to their full size.
• Prune out any dead or damaged wood and any congested, crossing or weak shoots.
• Remove suckers in autumn  as these will probably be from the rootstock plant.

RHS Recommended Varieties

H. x intermedia ‘Diane’ AGM: The finest red flowered witch hazel. It has a long flowering period throughout midwinter and is lightly scented. Height 2.5m (8ft). Spread 3m (10ft). Read the rest of this entry »

Orchid flowers are available in so many different colours and forms.

It struck me that both of these Orchids had the look of Pansy flowers with the whiskery central colouring and petal formation.

Have the Pansy and Orchid genes got mix up somewhere in evolution? Not really but a gardener needs some imagination, to say nothing of perseverance, patience etc.

Miltoniopsis Species and Hybrids

• After noticing this I discovered that the Pansy Orchids are called Miltonia Orchids.
• They grow rapidly into specimens if they can enjoy warm conditions.
• Many hybrids have been bred over the years that are easy to grow and they will flower with the flat Pansy-like face
• A humid atmosphere is beneficial. Miltonias prefer to have their roots constantly damp, but never soggy .
• If the leaves have a pink tinge the plant is receiving the maximum amount of light. Red leaves are a sign of too much light and yellow too little.

August is a good time to trim your hedges and create a neat appearance for autumn and winter.

When of Hedge Trimming.

• When birds have flown their nests you can trim to your hearts content without disturbing the fledglings.
• Try to prune a wild life hedge only after the fruit have been eaten in late winter.
• Trimming in late summer leaves enough time for hedges to to put on a bit of new growth to cover ravaged twigs.
• Do not trim conifers later than August as they may go brown and unsightly.
• Prune flowering hedges straight after flowering.

The How of Hedge Trimming

• To achieve a flat top stretch taught string to provide a horizontal plumb line.
• To make a bend in the hedge use double stakes with the string as in the photograph.
• Trim a hedge from the bottom upwards so trimmings fall away.
• Use secateurs to tidy up after trimmers if they leave a mess.
• Beech, Privet, Holly and Hawthorn all recover from hard pruning. Conifers will not regrow from brown wood.

Flowering Hedges

• Camellia will form an evergreen barrier.
• Forsythia has brilliant yellow flowers in spring but works best in a mixed hedge.
• Berberis creates a dense, thorny  hedge with spring flowers  and autumn berries. Deciduous and evergreen varieties are available.
• Upright hardy varieties of Fuchsia can look good in a warm garden.
• Lavender’s fragrant flowers add to an informal low hedge.
• Informal hedges of large leaved Laurel are often found in old gardens