Pollination is the transfer of pollen (with male hormones) from the anthers of a flower to the stigma to create fertilization and sexual reproduction.

Types of Pollination

• Some flowers will develop seeds as a result of self-pollination, when pollen and pistil are from the same plant but different flowers.
• Many plants require cross-pollination, pollen and pistil must be from different plants.
• Yet other plants will self fertilize from the same flower.

The Need For Pollination

• Without pollination there would be no seeds or only sterile seeds.
• Fruit needs pollination so it can mature and grow.
• Farmers need pollination to produce crops.
• Insects and animals that are involved in pollination are rewarded by energy food in the form of nectar or pollen.

Specific Pollination Issues Read the rest of this entry »

Some of our gardening books

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We will try to focus on common sense gardening advice, avoiding too much technical jargon.

Sweet Williams are bright cheerful flowers that are looking good in my garden at the beginning of July.

What Are Sweet Williams

• Sweet Williams are a cottage garden flower that can be used as a cut flower.
• They are a herbaceous biennial growing one year to flower the next.
• Sweet Williams grow 10″-24″ tall and have tapered leaves.
• The flowers are produced in a dense cluster of up to 30 at the top of the stems.
• Each floret has five petals with serrated edges and looks like a ‘Pink’ to which they are related.
• Most Sweet Williams have a spicy, clove-like scent.

Tips for Growing Sweet Williams

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Seeds are self sown when seeds germinate and grow without the help of a gardener. The majority of plants grow, flower, get pollinated then set seeds. If seeds are then distributed naturally from the plant they are self sown.

What Plants are Self Sown

• Weeds are the most common self sown plants. I am thinking of Dandelions, Daisies and Buttercups but unfortunately there are lots more.
• In a broadleaved wood you may get Oak trees growing from self sown acorns whilst Rowan and Elderberry are sown by birds eating berries and dropping seeds.
• Garden flowers that are commonly self sown include Foxgloves, Nigella, Candytuft, Poppy, For-get-me-not and Nasturtium.

How are Seeds Self Sown

• Wind distributes seeds that are very light or have a float mechanism like a Dandelion clock or Sycamore seed’s wings.
• Some seeds are expressed from seed pods by firing. Pansy seedpods tighten up and the ripe seed is squirted a good distance from the parent plant.
• Birds and animals including humans can be responsible for spreading seeds. Some stick to your clothing others are eaten but not digested like Tomatoes.

Top Ten Self-Sown Plants

1. This list was compiled with the help of Crocus whose first choice was Alchemilla mollis aka Lady’s mantle, good for edging sunny and shady borders and filling cracks in paving.
2. Aquilegia ‘Nora Barlow’ or Columbines self-seed readily and are very easy to grow in sun or partial shade.

Read the rest of this entry »

Great Seed Catalogues for Gardeners

• I keep all my seed catalogues in an old box. Periodically they get thrown out but I find they are a great source of information and inspiration.
• I regularly buy from Wallis Seeds and Chiltern Seeds, neither catalogues  have  gone to the expense of glossy photographs.
• I am more selective when buying from the bigger well know suppliers on the grounds of cost and I am just as likely to pick up a packet at Focus or similar own brand.
• For tips on growing from seed see Gardeners tips
• The best germination however comes from fresh seed so you need a company with fast turnover:

Thompson-Morgan have 2206 different packets of seeds on the website at the moment with an A-Z search. The catalogue is one of the most colourful and once on their list you get regular offers. They are a good partner to Gardeners Tips and if you buy via our link we get a small commission that helps with the cost of this site.

Tozer Seeds can’t be beaten when it comes to Vegetables at which they excel. Link

Wallis Seeds have a web site at last

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History of Allotments
Allotments were first introduced in 1845 as field gardens for the landless poor. Originally intended to grow food Victorians thought it would ‘keep them from the evils of drink’. (A cool beer or glass of wine at the end of a session on the allotment is just the job now-a-days.)
In 1908 the Small Holding and Allotment Act made it a duty of Local Authorities to provide allotments where there was a demand.
During both World Wars allotments were a vital source of food & the number of allotments peaked in 1943 at 1.4 million. There is less than a quarter of that number now.

First Steps

• Time spent preparing a new plot is seldom wasted time. Remove weeds.
• Put in permanent structures like good paths, a compost bin, water butt and a shed.
• If the land slopes use raised beds or make a terrace.
• Arrange the beds so you can rotate crops (see below).
• Check the site and association rules.

Planting your Crops

• Grow what your family like to consume or use.
• Easy vegetables to start with include Potato, Leek and Runner Beans.
• Courgettes, Tomatoes and salad crops are only slightly more difficult.
• I would have an area for cutting flowers but that is my personal preference.
• Sow seed sparsely, thin out to avoid over crowding and do not sow too soon in the season.
• Give herbs there own area in the sun.

Crop Rotation
Different plant groups do different things to the soil. Using 4 beds, rotate the following crops around so that after 4 years each bed has been used by each group.

1. Potatoes
2. Legumes; Peas, Broadbeans, Other beans, mangetout etc
3. Brassicas; Cauliflower, Cabbage, Sprouts, Broccoli etc
4. Onions and roots

Lettuce, Courgettes are neutral and can go anywhere. Soft fruit and rhubarb may go around the edges or in there own space.

I have reported before about the Alpine house at RHS Harlow Carr. Now we can begin to see the fruits of all the labours both in growing and display.

There must be 100 different plants on display many of which were in flower this week. I know the pictures are small but how many varieties can you recognise?

Just by observing the plunge beds regularly, I am picking up tips that I hope to be able to use in my own cultivation.

See Gardeners Tips on Plunge Beds

Beginners instructions for building a plunge bed for growing Tete-a-tete narcissus from the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society.
‘To construct a plunge-bed dig a pit in a well drained piece of ground that will not flood – near a tree or hedge will be fine. A wooden frame, sufficient to hold the pots, on top of the ground will do equally as well. Place the pots in the plunge-bed or frame and cover them with soil/compost/sand to a depth of about 5cm. They can now be forgotten until the spring. A strong cardboard box stored in a dry cold garage or shed will do equally as well. Cover the pots in the same way as above and don’t let them dry out.’

Think about the plants you are going to grow. Fruit and shrubs will be long term investments. Bedding and vegetables will need different treatment or nutrients.

Prepare Your Soil

• Eradicate nasty perennial weeds such as Dandelions, Bindweed, Couch grass and Ground Elder.
• Cover with thick black polythene for at least a year to smother the weeds or use a Glyphosphate based weedkiller like Roundup.
• Dig the soil 2 spits deep (2 spade depths or 20″). If the sub soil is very poor go one spit deep and create a raised bed to lift the height.
• Incorporate as much organic matter as you can. Use garden compost, rotted manure, spent mushroom compost and even council recycled and composted waste.
• Do not worry about a few stones but remove builders debris.

Good Fertilizers

• Dress the soil with a general purpose fertilizer that releases nutrients slowly. Rake into the top 4″ a week or so before planting.
• Growmore, fish blood and bone or just bone meal may increase overall fertility.
• Remember NPK stands for Nitrogen to help green leaf growth. Phosphor for strong roots and bulbs, and K for Potassium for fruit and flowers.
• Proprietary feeds can be expensive and I would only use them once the plants are growing in situ.

Planting and the Hole

• You may have heard about a £10 hole for a £5 plant. Well, dig a good size hole, break up the soil in the bottom, place the plant in the hole at the same level it was grown at and firm the soil around the root ball or roots.
• Stamp around the plant to firm it in again and use a cane or stake as needed for support and protection from wind rock.
• Plant into moist soil, soak container grown plants before planting and water in after planting.
• Mulch around the plant (but not touching the stem) to conserve moisture.

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Chinodoxa are beautiful, hardy spring flowering bulbs that are easy to grow. They grow 6inches tall from small bulbs and have pretty star-shaped flowers with long narrow leaves. (Also spelled Chionodoxa and common name Glory of the Snow)

Cultivation 0f Chinodoxa

They do well in most garden soil. Plant 2-3″ deep.
Chinodoxa are most effective when planted in clumps and allowed to naturalise.
Suitable for rockeries and growing in pots.
Flowers lasts for 3-4 weeks, after which both the flowers and the foliage die back.

Chinodoxa Varieties

Chinodoxa Lucilliae is widely available and flowers bright blue
Chinodoxa Luciliae Alba is a clear white with star shaped flowers in March.
Chinodoxa  Forbesii Pink Giant produces a wealth of pink flowers.
Chinodoxa Forbesii is bright blue with a white centre.

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Aubretia is available in many colours of blue through to the deepest purples. Reddish tinges help create the pinker varieties but it is the blues and mauves which really catch the eye.

• Aubretia will tumble happily from cracks in walls, creep across rockeries, and crawl through the front of mixed borders.

• Aubretia forms dense mats of evergreen foliage with a profusion of spring blooms, these little plants thrive in reasonably poor soils with a toughness that belies their beauty.

• The leaves are a grey green and are not unsightly but cut back hard after flowering to promote a fresh flush of growth and maintain its compact form.

• Aubretia is perennial and will spread for upto 24 inches at a low height of 2-3 inches.

• Plant in any reasonably drained fertile soil and will spread naturally by seed. Aubretia is quite hardy.

• Aubretia is also know and sold as Purple Rock Cress and Aubretia deltoides.

Aubretia plants and seeds are available from Thompson Morgan.  Once established you will get many years of happy spring  flowering.

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