Who features amongst your top famous Gardeners?  Percy Thrower‘   Geoff Hamilton or  Alan Titchmarsh are in the traditional mold along with Geoffrey Smith, Beth Chatto and perhaps Peter Seabrook although he is more a journalist as Alan Titchmarsh is a TV presenter.

The modern off-cumdens like Diarmuid Gavin and Charlie Dimmock seem to be all form over substance. An outsider in this modern category could be Adrian Fisher the designer of over 500 mazes and setting 6 Guinness world records. He has also designed over 40 hedge mazes, including those at Leeds Castle, Blenheim Palace and Scone Palace.

Gertrude Jekyll, Christopher Lloyd and Roy Strong inspired my father but then so did Adam the Gardener from the Sunday Express so whoever you put at the top of your list do not forget the true number one – you or your spouse.

‘Lloyd George knew my gardener’ engraving caption competition send in your own caption on the comments page.

I was a bit cruel to our Water gardener Charlie Dimmock so will promote one of her books ‘Enjoy your Garden’.

Perennial is the name of the Gardeners Royal Benevolent Society the charity for ‘Helping Horticulturists in Need Since 1839′. They have an interesting programme of events for 2009 and a selection of garden related gifts to support the charity. Last summer I visited Perennial’s own garden near Leeds called York Gate and found the volunteers very attentive and helpful. Best of all was the plants propagated from within the garden that were available for sale at economic prices.

York Gate

Approaching the garden through an old church yard in Adel and straight down a short lane you cross the narrow road into the one acre garden. ‘Created by the Spencer family during the second half of the twentieth century, and bequeathed to Perennial in 1994, it is a garden of immense style and craftsmanship, widely recognised as one of the most innovative small gardens of the period.

The garden is divided by yew and beech hedges into a series of smaller gardens, each with its own theme and style. From the formality of the Herb Garden, with its topiary to the Dell with its half-hidden pathways and stream, every area has an intimacy and charm of its own. Traditional materials are used with extraordinary creativity and invention. From pretty paths to pergolas, detailing throughout is exquisite. Evergreens, clipped into strong architectural shapes are used to spectacular effect throughout the garden.’

There was an attractive white garden with plenty of ideas to take away and try for yourself.

Admission was £3.50 or a season ticket costs £8.50 and the bright sunny day made the cost seem insignificant. the garden is only open Thursdays and Sundays 2nd April until 27 September.

Gardening will help in the war against economic recession. These tips give you some ideas how to increase the area you cultivate and the number of crops you can grow even if your garden space is restricted.

More Growing Area for a Small Garden

Special Crops

• Mushrooms can be grown in a cupboard or garage, bean sprouts can be forced in a jam jars in similar conditions and mustard and cress can be grown in an old flannel.
• Old dustbins with holes in the bottom or any deep container can be used for Leeks, Parsnips or Potatoes and stood on a path or hard-standing.
• Use hanging baskets to grow extra crops like tumbler tomatoes.
• Window boxes can be brought into service for herbs and salad crops.
• Window sills are grand for herbs but be a bit more adventurous and try some pick and come again salad crops
• Plant pots and containers can be pressed into service to grow more vegetables, small apple trees or strawberries.

Grow Bags and Containers

• Grow bags can be stood on paths or waste land and can be used for many crops like onions, salads, tomatoes or courgettes.
• Make your own grow bag, if they are too expensive, with ordinary soil in a plastic bag. To help water retention I have used those packets of silica they use to keep electrical products dry.
• To get a deep grow bag I cut them in two and stand them on there ends for crops I want to cosset.
• There are a wide range of baskets and boxes that can be fixed to a wall or fence to increase your growing area.
• You can make a raised bed on hard standing. I have put 10 inches of soil over an old tarmac drive and it is fine for leafy crops.

Chinese lantern, Physalis franchetii, grows from seed and is a very short lived herbaceous perennial. It will grow two feet tall and bear small, white flowers followed by large, balloon-like papery husks in July and August.

Growing Chinese Lanterns

• The Chinese lantern plant is valued for its inflated orange-red seed coverings or calyx which resemble miniature Chinese lanterns.
• Inside each 2-inch long husk is a small edible but often tasteless red fruit. The lanterns are not edible
• The leaves are long pointed and heartshaped.
• The plant can tolerate very cold conditions, flower quickly from seed and like full sun.
• For winter bouquets, cut the stems in Autumn just as the lanterns turn color, remove the leaves and hang them, right side up, to dry in a shady, airy place.
• They are related to the Cape Gooseberry Physalis peruviana and other species to try include P. Alkekengi

Snowdrops for me signify the end of Winter rather than the coming of Spring. Tucked under this hedge row the snowdrop is left to multiply naturally by seed and by division.

Tips for Snowdrops

• Transplant snowdrops as soon as they finish flowering and have visible leaves. This is when they are ‘in the green’ and is the safest time to plant snowdrops. Many bulb suppliers sell them in the green.
• The small bulbs are prone to dry out and these dry bulbs do not grow on as successfully as snowdrops in the green.
• The Galanthus family of small waxy white flowers have a green V or horseshoe marking on the inner petals and flowers pay close inspection.
• There are several varieties of snowdrop and you may want to have a range of them. After the single variety Galanthus nivalis you may want a double Flore Pleno or the rare and more expensive double Hyppolyta.
• Elwesii, S Arnott, Ikaraie, Atkinsii and Viridapice species are also currently available ‘in the green.’
• According to The Scotsman ‘Some snowdrop enthusiasts, known as galanthophiles, will pay big money for a single, rare bulb. A lorryload of snowdrop bulbs, valued at £60,000, was seized in Fife in 2003.’

My Rhododendrons hope the worst of the snow has now passed and that there will be nothing to break the young flowering shoots. The buds are swelling nicely and the rain and sun from last year should bring forth a good crop of  ‘blousy’ flowers.

Housekeeping Tips

• With the ground still wet I have mulched around the plants to preserve moisture. I used a mix of peat and coarse river sand to help maintain the acidic ph. The sand will keep the soil open and allow more rain and fertiliser to reach the roots. A better mix might have been beech and Oak leaf mould but I had none to hand so I will check that the peat doesn’t make a compacted crust.
• As Rhododendrons are shallow rooted I have not mulched too thickly but enough to stop weeds.
• Dwarf rhododendrons are generally clothed to the ground and little can grow under their canopy. It helps shade the roots and dead leaves create a natural mulch.
• Good clean husbandry helps to show off the smaller Rhododendron varieties to best effect.
• In a gap I have planted a yellow dwarf Rhododendron ‘Princes Anne’ grown in a pot at a local nursery. Read the rest of this entry »

Miniature daffodils grow from 4 inches to just short of a foot. Varieties Minnow, Toto and Canaliculatus have several flowers on the one stem and are particular favourites of mine. Try growing some in pots in the cold greenhouse as welcome additions to your alpine plants.

Tips on Minature Daffoldils

• Look in spring for successful varieties that you may want to buy for planting this Autumn.
• Buy pots in bloom this spring so you know what you are getting. Deadhead before the seedheads start to develop and feed the bulbs with a high phosphate feed.
• One of the smaller varieties is Bulbocodium Conspicuous, yellow hooped petticoat at 4 inches tall with golden yellow flowers.
• The scented Jonquilla has a couple of varieties that are low growing including Jonquil Single, Sugarbush and the ivory white flowered apricot cup of Waterperry.
• Cyclamineus varieties tend to be low growing. One of the most popular is the Tete-a-Tete with fluted golden trumpets which bulks up quite well year on year.
• For something different try the double Rip Van Winkle or the pinky yellow Nanus.

Each year I buy some little pots of Million Bells or Surfina petunias for less than a £1 each and try to get as many plants and flowers from the one plant as I can. See how many plants from cuttings you can get. Then let us know how many flowers you achieve.

Million Bells Tips and Information

• Bred and registered by Suntory, the faux whiskey people, Million Bells (not Bells Whiskey) are varieties of Calibrachoa and resemble mini petunias.
• The plant label on my specimen bought 12 February 2009 calls the colour Cherry and the variety Sunbelchipi. Other varieties can be seen on the web site
• I have cleaned up some rotting foliage at the front of the plant and increased the pot size to give room for root growth. It is roots I want at this stage before I start taking cuttings.
• Bushy growth comes from pinching out and I find the ‘pinch’ can usually be rooted to form a new plant. I will be disappointed not to get a dozen decent plants before I plant them out when the last frost has gone. A good pay back for some TLC during early spring.
• During summer regular feeding and watering in very dry conditions will help you get Millions of Bell shaped flowers but if it is only thousands don’t blame me.
• You do not need to dead head Million Bells they should be ’self cleaning’
• Because the plants are registered and PBR exist you can’t sell your cuttings but you can grow them for your own purposes.

Sorry the prize for the winner in October will not be a bottle of whiskey but the consolation of a job well done and the admiration of readers on this site.

February 15th and virtually all the snow has gone from this laurel and the rest of  from the garden.  I had made a raised bed so months ago so today I planted some garlic cloves  Allium Germidour. The variety was recommended for Northern Europe but to be safe I also started some cloves in pots in the greenhouse. I fed the soil with some Super Phosphate fertiliser at 2 oz to the square yard because in the past I have struggled with Garlic and phosphates are good for roots and bulbs.

• I have saved some cloves to plant in April near my roses to try deter greenfly.
• I also planted some garlic in Autumn and I will see which of the 3 methods works best.

True blue flowers are hard to find in many gardens although Purple, Lavender, Lilac, Mauve and Violet exist in many shades. Since there are no true blue Roses, Peonies, Dahlias, Daffodils or even Tulips these showy flowers are out. So if you find a good strong blue then stick to it and use it with great abandon.

This Delphinium was in our garden 20 years ago when we arrived and it has given great service. Unlike my spade that has had 2 new blades and 6 new handles the Delphinium is the original stock. Give or take an occassional cutting it is as new each summer with its tall spires of the strongest, clearest blue you could desire.

Good blue plants include Ceanothus impressus, Corydalis flexuosa and the Gentians. In bulbs there are blue Muscari, Chionodoxa  and the Agapanthus. Hydrangea macrophylla Blue Wave is one of the bluer hydrangea but most plants labled or called blue are pale imitations.

If your favouirite plant is missing from this list let me know.