Attracting wild life and birds in particular is achieved by providing food, water and safety. Your bird-bath has provided the central issue, water, and your plants can help in the other two areas. There is no need to sacrifice colour or the ability to grow flowers for cutting if you choose wisely.

Aiming for a Cool Effect
Vebascum bombyciferum the Mullein has yellow floral spires on grey green foliage and lots of seeds later in the year.
Lamb’s Ears or Stachys byzantiana have mauve flowers with hairy grey leaves.
Yarrow is easy to grow and Achillea Moonshine is the lacy leaved variety I would go for to add to the grey leaved scheme.
Grass is popular with birds and Fountain Grass ‘Pennisetium alopecuroides’ produces late summer floral spikes and winter seeds.
White flowering Rosa Nevada has pale green foliage and the Foxtail Lily Eremurus stenophyllus has white racemes.

Other Plants and Tips
Birds will be attracted by insects who visit flowers like Thyme, Sedum, Sweet Rocket (also called Hesperis matronalis) and Heather.
Background plants can overwinter insects in Virginia creeper and Ivy and also provide nesting sites.
A mixed hedges provide a place of sanctuary.
See also Gardening for Birds on Gardeners Tips or Trees and Shrubs for Birds.
Purchase a good mix of plants of varying heights including some low lying creepers for the edges.
For plants in the shade read

Photo Credit normanack flickr creative commons.

I planted some seeds of Hesperis Matronalis also called Sweet Rocket or Dame’s Rocket, and the plants came up like grass in next to no time. I should have reacted to the advice on the packet ’scatter thinly when sowing …..thin out as necessary. Plants will self seed in following years after flowering. Sow outdoors in May to June, transplant in autumn.’ Well now I have a veritable forest to prick-out and keep under cover until the frost goes.

Growing up to 3 foot high the open airy plant flowers in shades of purple and lilac to white.The fragrance is as sweet as a violet’s, and most pronounced in the evening. It looks good in a border or a cottage garden and is attractive to wildlife. Some plants may bloom until August but warm weather shortens the flowering period.

Treat the plant as a biennial although it can often be perennial. When established it can be invasive and seeds freely.

Seeds are available from Thompson Morgan Sweet Rocket

Photo by nicoretro on flickr

Tips for Designing Shrub Borders

• Create a tiered effect in your border by using shrubs of different heights.
• Plant low growing types at the base and later flowering ground cover.
• Select flowering shrubs who’s colour will lead the eye from one plant to the next.
• Only bother to prune to take out dead wood or if the shrubs become unruly or too high.
• Grow flowering shrubs to make a partially shaded plot for delicate flowers.
• Plant larger trees or shrubs off-center to avoid a too formal appearance.

Plant selection for an Acid Soil Border

• Camellia japonica can be planted at the back as it will grow 6-12 feet tall but only spread 3-5 feet. Red, white and pink are the most common colours to buy and the thick leathery leaves are evergreen.
• Azalea Knap Hill hybrids or Mollis are very floriferous decidious plants that flower in spring before the leaves grow. Mine are now 4 feet tall after 5 years. Depending on the size of you border I would use 3, 5 or 7 of these great plants in various colours.
• Callicarpa bodinieri produces stunning purple berries in Autumn 3-6 feet tall and wide.
• At the front you may need some shade loving plants like Epimedium with copper tinted leaves. Trillium sessile has ivy like leaves and white, red or brown springtime flowers.
• For shape it may be appropriate to add some Box (Boxus Sempervirens) near the front. 12-36″ tall.

Other Selections

• The scheme above is strongly spring flowering and Mahonia x media ‘ Charity’ or Pieris japonica could also be incorporated into the planting.
• For summer interest you may substitute or add Escallonia ‘Apple Blossom’, Hydrangea macrophylla or a hardy Fuchsia magellancia.
• Ceanothus ‘Autumn Blue’ will fit in a sunny spot and a variegated Ilex aquifolium at up to 12 feet adds berry interest late in the year.
• For general all year round cover the Elaegnus pungens Maculata has good colour in the leaves, Euonymus can grow to 10 feet and Skimmia has cream flowers in spring followed by red berries.

‘The Gardeners’ Book: For the Gardener Who’s Best at Everything’ is really grand for novice gardeners taking up gardening for the first time or those seeking to grow some green fingers.

Improve Your Own Soil’s Consistency

• Great soil contains air, water and nutrients appropriate for the plants you want to grow.
• Digging soil over introduces air then weather breaks it down into a fine tilth.
• Worms aerate soil and improve the texture. They feed on humus or rotting vegetable matter so encourage worms by feeding the soil with humus.
• Sandy soil needs more humus to help it retain water. Clay needs more humus to hold the soil open for delicate roots.
• Soil should drain excess water away so some stones are not a problem. If there are lots of stones and rocks remove them or grow plants that like those conditions.
• Do not walk on very wet soil. Use a plank or duck board.

Bought Soil and Compost

• Compost in bags can be perfect for pots and containers. It usually has some fertilizer, some wetting agent to make it easy to water and is of a consistancy that helps plants grow. It is not economic for larger garden areas although I use it in the greenhouse beds.
• Peat, as well as being out of favour as unsustainable or eco-unfriendly, has no nutritional value and is hard to water once it dries out.
• Top soil can be bought in various quantities but may contain stones, weeds and poor soil so beware.

The Right Soil Chemical Content

• Plants need Nitrogen, Phosphates and Potassium (NPK) as food from the soil. Sun is the enegy to turn this food into growth through photosynthesis.
• Hearty soil will have accessible NPK that can be augmented, for heavy feeding plants, with a balance fertilizer such as Growmore or Blood, Fish and Bone.
• Some plants prefer a slightly acid soil from which to extract the nutrients and animal manure and peat mixed with your soil will increase the acidity.
• Vegetables often prefer an alkaline soil so you can add a dusting of lime.

I thought my humus was a funny bone until they gave me the elbow.

Novice gardeners can expect to get fair crops from Fruit trees and bushes without too much effort. With extra care a great deal more can be achieved.

Beginners Tips
Go for well know fruit types do not start off with the exotic.
Buy good quality plants from a local nursery. Ask nurserymen what varieties grow well locally and do they need other trees as pollinators.
Give them enough space to grow in fair soil with some sunshine. Do not just cram them into a small corner space.
Trees need time to establish themselves but get better with time so do not rush the crops.
Bushes and canes will produce a crop quicker.

Prepare the Ground
Remove all perennial weeds
Double dig the soil, that is two spits deep. If the ground hasn’t been cultivated for several years ‘Bastard trench’ by removing the top 10″ of soil to a top-soil pile then double digging incorporating lots of humus and drainage material, then return the top soil.
Organic matter will help increase the humus levels.
As you only access the soil under a fruit tree once I would lime the soil and add slow release fertilizers.

Tips on Planting Fruit Trees
The best time to plant trees, canes and fruit bushes is November when there is residual heat in the ground to aid root establishment. In heavy soil bare rooted stock can still be planted through March before bud burst.
Plant shrubs, trees and canes at the depth they were grown in the nursery. The old soil level mark should be obvious.
The hole should be wide enough and deep enough to accommodate the roots without bunching or bending.
Firm down soil as you backfill.
Most trees benefit from stake support for at least 2 years and permanently for dwarf rooting stock. Tie a flexible support one third and two thirds the way up the trunk with the head able to blow in the wind.
Protect from rabbits and deer with netting if damage is likely.

For soil fertility read Organic fruit growers year.

The traditional Cottage Garden was a working garden for the growing ornamental and edible crops. Planting included fruit, vegetables and herbs mixed with flowers such as Peonies, Delphiniums and Aquilegia to produce a haven for insects, an eye opener for gardeners and crops for the house.

Cottage Fruit Garden

• Rhubarb would be one of my key plants in any cottage garden. In addition to the fruit pies from the pink and red stalks I would allow some plants to throw up the striking flower stalk. The Sutton or Victoria from Thompson Morgan would be appropriate varieties.
• Gooseberries remind me of grandparents garden and Lancer is a green mid season fruit that crops well. Whinham’s Industry is a neat red.
• Raspberries like Malling Jewel with some wire support near a wall or strung from two stout posts would also go into the cottage fruit patch.
• Currants smell so good when the leaves are slightly crushed and redcurrant  Red Lake and the blackcurrant Wellington XXX would fill up the patch.
• An old Apple tree in the corner may be supplemented by new ballerina columnar trained small trees.
• If there is space for a Plum tree it will be an eating variety like Czar fan trained against a wall.

Cottage Vegetable Garden

• Runner beans can hold there own amongst many flowers and I am growing Painted Lady variety this year.
• French beans and broad beans are popular in my household so I will grow more of these than the brassicas which do not get eaten.
• For colourful vegetables I will plant some Swiss Chard ‘ Bright Lights’.
• I grow a mix of mangetout and garden peas that need regular picking.
• You can also get away with a Tumbler tomato or two in a front garden.
• Leeks look flamboyant when grown with  large flags and a good leafy marrow will provide lush green growth.

It is hard to agree on a range of flowers for a cottage garden so I have ducked the issue a bit. Nasturtiums are edible and cottagy and where would a garden be without Sweet Peas.

Swiss Chard

These short tips are designed to help you avoid failures and give you success without having to worry about too many rights and wrongs. You haven’t missed spring yet but to get going you need a quick win!

Quick Wins with Bulbs

It is hard to go wrong with bulbs. (The flower is already sealed within the bulb and they just need a bit of help and protection from you).
In February you can buy pots of daffodils, tulips, grape hyacinth and crocus that have been grown for you. It is easy to put them into bare soil, a container or bigger plant pot and wait for them to flower.
I would take them out of the retailers pot as they will have been grown tightly packed together but I wouldn’t try to separate them. Plant them at the same depth as they have been grown so you do not need to excavate a deep hole.
When planted in the ground or a new container water them gently.
Daffs and crocus will flower again next year but the tulips may not survive (it won’t be your fault, it is just nature)

Summer Bulbs

• Summer bulbs are the next job to get great colour this summer with minimum know-how and effort.
• In March or April clear weeds from a patch of garden  and you have made a flower bed.
• Break up the top of the soil so water and air can get down to the plants then individually bury your bulbs twice as deep as the bulb . The soil on top of the bulb will be double the depth of the bulb.
• I would start with some short stemmed Lilies and if I know my garden is very wet I would but some sand or gravel at the bottom of the planting hole. If you are not sure which way is the top and what is the root then lay the bulb on the side and let the plant choose.
• Gladioli, Begonnias and Dahlia will all produce very colourful shows in summer. Glads have a nobbly bit at the top, begonias have a slight hollow and Dahlias have a twiggy bit to show which way up to plant them.
• Read the instructions on the packet for general guidance but you do not need to slavishly follow everything they say.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ten Tips for Growing in Pots and Containers

1. Terracotta is a sympathetic choice for containers in your garden. They are also porous and let in air and allow plant roots to cool through evaporation.
2. Try several pots of the same size and or shape in a group (I like ‘long tom’ pots). Planted with Agrostis Cloud grass will create a real impact.
3. Exotics like Banana plants look shapely and they can be moved, pot and all into shelter or wrapped for winter protection.
4. Keep a sense of balance between the needs of your container plants. They need water, food and light but not an excess of any one feature. The pot is a micro environment that needs regular care such as watering / drainage, fertilizer and shelter.
5. Trailing plants will benefit from a bit of training in  the right direction.  Pinch out rampant plants and those you want to branch. Pick off faded flowers.
6. Constant watering can wash out nutrients so give a weekly liquid feed.
7. Mix plants of different colours, textures, habits and heights. Variegated plants and scented plants often work well.
8. Locate the pot carefully as the aesthetic of the base and pot combination can be important. A gravel or coloured chipping base can be very effective.
9. Do not be too conventional with the container. In addition to the old gardeners boot (above) I have seen a wheel barrow planted with courgettes and fire buckets (with holes) used for displays. Use your artistic skills like many container on the top of barges that are brightly painted.
10. Choose appropriate plants. Below is a second top ten of plants you may want to try in pots.

Top Ten Plants for Outdoor Pots

1. Clematis cartmanii ‘Joe’ is a white, spring flowering trailer that can be tied to an upright. Try it with blue Crocus or Muscari.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is not an injunction to grow Pot, Hash, Skunk, Kief, or Marijuana all correctly forms of Canabis sativa relatives of which produce hemp. Rather my suggestion is to use a  pot or container to grow a collection of Grasses.
Contrasting colours, textures, habits and heights will provide long lasting interest. The grasses will be tactile and give a sense of movement in a breeze.The pot can be moved around to change the display.

The combination of plants are endless but this is a selection of easy to grow and obtain grasses that you could start with.

• Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’
• Carex flagellifera
• Carex comans ‘Frosted Curls’
• Stipa tenuissima
• Festuca glauca ‘Golden Toupee’

How to Pot Up
Select a pot, 15″ diameter will hold the 5 plants.
Put broken crocks or stones at the bottom of a container with holes for drainage.
Half fill with compost containing slow release fertilizer and water storing gel granules.
Cram the plants in close together to get an instant effect.
Pack in the remaining compost around the roots and sides of the plants.
Put some pebbles or grit on the surface of the compost to retain moisture.
Water and enjoy the display.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so keep an eye open for unusual sights on the 14th February. Rather than Roses or posies this Aubretia plant has decided to grow a heart shape all of its own.

Aubretia is a compact low growing plant that flourishes on walls and rockeries in full sun. Aubretia is easy to grow at the front of the border on any reasonably drained fertile soil and will spread naturally by seed.

Aubretia deltoides or rock cress is good for ground cover and is available in shades of blue and purple.

Grow from seed by sowing from late winter to early summer in a good free draining seed compost just covering the seed. Make sure the compost is moist and not wet and seal in a polythene bag until after germination which usually takes 14-21 days at 18C (65F).

Aubretia is an evergreen perennial plant that is attractive to butterflies.

Plants by Thompson Morgan

Seeds by Thompson Morgan

Read the rest of this entry »