Browsed by
Author: hortoris

Ideal Homes Need Ideal Gardens

Ideal Homes Need Ideal Gardens

The Ideal Homes show at Earls Court runs until 27 March 2011 and Dermot Gavin is the ambassador for Ideal Gardens this year.

‘Show Gardens will be outside of Earls Court in their ‘natural’ habitat for the first time ever! Located just outside the main entrance to Earls Court, you won’t be able to miss the stunning garden displays when you arrive. The Show Gardens this year form a competition that has encouraged the very best horticultural students from around the country’.

Dermots Themes

  • Environment is a major and ongoing theme.
  • Water preservation despite our winter and wet spring to date.
  • Compost is a win win helping to improve the soil and putting waste to good use.
  • In small urban spaces do not for get to grow herbs that can enhance your cooking.
  • Lavender, Bay, Rosemary and Sage feature on Dermot’s list of plants.

 

Ideal Gardens brings together all the latest innovations for outdoor living to the Ideal Home Show.

Dermot Gavin is based in Dublin and has presented a number of BBC television programmes including Gardeners’ World; RHS Gardens Through Timeand the RTE TV show “I want a Garden”.

Mothers Day for Gardeners

Mothers Day for Gardeners

daffodils-river

3rd Aprill 2011 is Gardening Mothers Day and if your mother is any form of gardener or interested in flowers (and who isn’t) then here are our tips for  presents.

Mothers Day Gardening Gifts and Ideas

  • RHS membership is being promoted on special Mums day offer – link
  • Have a family day out at a local garden or park. Take a walk looking for wild flowers or you will find a list of places to visit at the National Trust or English Heritage. Most have suitable tearooms for that important cuppa.
  • If it is going to be a bunch of flowers then seasonal Daffodils are a firm spring favourite. Do not put Daffodils in mixed bunches.
  • Tulips imported from Holland will be on offer as will Alstroemeria, Carnations and other air-mile flowers.
  • This year to be different buy a vase for all the flowers your garden is going to supply Mum this year but remember to keep filling it.
  • Pot plants in season include the fragrant Hyacinths and the colourful Azaelas.
  • Garden tokens may seem to lack thought but they may be very welcome allowing Mum too buy something special when she needs a lift.
  • Young children could buy Mum some seeds to be raised together. Sunflowers, mustard and cress or beans are popular.
  • A glossy gardening book may be the answer. I wouldn’t go for a detailed tome unless you know what would be appreciated.
  • There are many tools that would suit ladies. From pink trowels and gloves to light weight spades, choose wisely.

Gifts from Amazon our sponsor link

A mother is for life, not just for Mothering Sunday, so you can treat her at any time of year.

Spotted Laurel Acuba Japonica Crotonifolia

Spotted Laurel Acuba Japonica Crotonifolia

Spotted Laurel

A good sized shrub the Laurels are sold under several family names.

The Spotted Laurel Acuba is an evergreen shrub for almost anywhere in the garden.

  • I grow mine 5 feet tall in quite dark shade.
  • It is quite slow growing but very hardy.
  • Shade helps the yellow spots – strong sun encourages green chlorophyll
  • The soil is moist and rich but it would also do as a hedge plant in ground.
  • Shrubs may be strictly pruned as hedges, left to grow unchecked, or lightly trimmed to shape once annually, always using secateurs to avoid cutting the large leaves.
  • All parts of the plant are poisonous, take care with the seeds.
  • Propagate by softwood cuttings in spring/summer or less reliably by seed.
  • Crotonifolia and Variegata are the best varieties. Both are female so they produce red berries which usually last from the autumn  through to spring.

 

More images

Seed Sowing March

Seed Sowing March

107

A great time to be getting your first crop of seeds sown.

The RHS seeds I ordered were late arriving but landed last week so I have 21 packets to sow this morning.

Covering Seeds

  • There is no need to cover very fine seeds or seeds that need light to germinate. This includes Begonia, Alliums, and Roscoea for example.
  • Covered with a layer of vermiculite most seeds will germinate in 30 days. If covering with compost reduce the depth of cover to little more than the size of the seed.
  • Slower germinating seeds should be covered with grit instead of vermiculite.
  • Place a glass or plastic propagating cover over the top to retain humidity and provide early protection. Ventilate as soon as seeds germinate.

Special Seed Treatments

  • Cold moist stratification involves giving seeds a period of frost or cold to break dormancy. These seeds may take over a year to germinate so do not give up hope. Try 12 weeks in the fridge if there is room.
  • Chipping (nicked with a knife or sandpaper) or softening seed coats may be needed for hard covered seeds like Lupins and Sweetpeas. This is to allow water to enter and start the germination proocess.
  • Warm stratification may be necessary to mature an embryo. Put the seeds in damp compost in an airing cupboard for a couple of weeks prior to sowing.

General Seed Sowing Tips

  • Use commonsense and read the seed packet. Follow the instructions where practical rather than slavishly.
  • Seeds are pre-programmed to grow to maintain the survival of the species – just give them half a chance.
  • Some seedlings resent root disturbance so sow where you want them to grow or in individual pots of a suitable size for the ultimate plant.
  • Do not be too greedy by planting too close, better 5 good plants than 20 poor weedy specimens.
  • Match the growing medium to the size of the seeds. Sow fine seeds in fine compost and bigger seeds in rougher compost
  • Beware of damping off – seedlings dying due to fungus before they grow leaves.

 

Read Seed Storage tips and When to sow seeds

 

Lenten Roses and Other Hellebores

Lenten Roses and Other Hellebores

Heleborus

Hellebores are not just for Christmas as in Christmas Rose there are species that are also called Lenten Roses.
Generally they bloom between December and April depending on the type and conditions.

London Heleborus

Hellebore Facts

  • The majority of Hellebores are deep rooted, stout plants well-known for their thick, shiny green foliage.
  • The large leaves may survive through winter but not all plants are evergreen.
  • Once established, most Hellebores make drought resistant plants particularly if given some dappled shade in summer.
  • Happy in shade plants will perform their best if given some sun.
  • Wild species grow in open meadows with only short grass for shading the roots.
  • Hellebores are acaulescent which means they have leaves but flower without stems straight from the ground

Helebore hybrid

Gardening with Hellebore
Hellebore heaven or hell

Helebore

VisitHellebore.org

RHS Spring Advice

RHS Spring Advice

feb harlow carr

Curves at RHS Harlow Carr Garden

 

The Royal Horticultural Society offers free advice on there web site and to members. Other membership benefits include free entry to some gardens and a monthly magazine.

Jobs to do in March

 

Spring usually arrives by mid-March and the frequent sunny days provide the opportunity for an increasing range of gardening tasks.

  1. Plant shallots, onion sets and early potatoes
  2. Protect new spring shoots from slugs
  3. Weeds come back in to growth – deal with them before they get out of hand
  4. Start feeding fish and using the pond fountain; remove pond heaters
  5. Lift and divide overgrown clumps of perennials

Get more RHS expert advice

When you have done these jobs you can cut the grass, sow some seeds, dig the veg patch and a runner bean trench then in the afternoon prune the roses, spread the compost heap and have a cup of tea!

 

 

 

Magic and Green Simmia

Magic and Green Simmia

Magic Marlot Skimmia

‘Magic Marlot’

  • Compact evergreen shrub grows perfectly in containers to give a wonderful display. Forms a  mounded, upright, evergreen that works for the border, garden bed or large containers.
  • The variegated foliage is medium green with a cream edge.
  • Autumn produces green-white buds that turn wine red as the temperature drops.
  • Spring brings rich-flowering, pink tinged white blooms.
  • Tolerant of heat, frost, shade and dry soils.
  • Spacing   24 – 36″,  Height : 12 – 18″,  Width : 12 – 24″

 

Kew Green Skimmia

Skimmia ‘Kew Green’

  • This low to medium sized shade tolerant shrub provides much needed winter blossom.
  • Scent from male plants  is followed by attractive berries on the female form.
  • Attractive foliage and makes Skimmias ideal as ground cover in problematic shady areas.
  • Skimmia ‘Kew Green’ prefers a well drained neutral to acidic soil that is reasonably fertile yet well drained,
  • Skimmia flourishes in full or partial shade.
  • Trim to shape after flowering and mulch occasionally.
  • Ideal flowering shrub for problem clay soils.

Rubella Skimmia

 

Rubella’  Award of Garden Merit (AGM)

  • There are numerous lovely skimmias, generally from the Himalayas and the Far East. Skimmias form evergreen shrubs of varying heights.
  • Most are ‘dioecious’, meaning they have male and female flowers on different plants, and both sexes must be planted to ensure a crop of fruits.
  • ‘Rubella’ is a compact male variety with attractive red-margined, dark green leaves.
  • The flower buds, which appear in autumn and winter, are a prominent feature of the plant, as are the scented flowers which open in spring.
  • It is perfect for growing in containers and provides good all year round colour.

 

Read about other Skimmia species and Skimmia for buds and berries.

Tulips in Containers

Tulips in Containers

Tulip display

My Tulips in pots, barrels and all sorts of containers are in fine health at the start of March. The pointed shoots are looking particularly good with red and lime green sprouting varieties showing through. You may remember, I planted some tulips in pots that I then buried in the garden so when they are finished flowering they can be dug up, put to one side and allowed to die back, whilst other plants go in the space. So far these pots look the part keeping the plants in a neater circle than I would have achieved with normal planting.

Tulips in Container with Euphorbia

Container Tulip Problems

    • Tulips do not like small containers. They like the right conditions for roots and bulbs and containers do not do the business
    • Two other problems have arisen firstly with mice eating some bulbs in greenhouse pots. They also took many of my broad bean seeds. I didn’t try the old trick of soaking them in paraffin, perhaps next year but my losses aren’t too serious.
    • The other problem may be worse with Tulip Fire damaging one pot and disfiguring most of the leaves. see below

Tulip Fire

  • Tulip fire is caused by a fungus Tulip Botrytis
  • All diseased plants must be removed immediately to prevent rapid spread of the disease.
  • Do not replant infested soil with tulips for at least two years.
  • When planting, reject and dispose of bulbs showing any signs of decay, or bearing sclerotia.
  • At the end of every season lift bulbs and discard, or treat with yellow sulphur  and dry before storing.

Botanic Tulips in pots
botanic tulip

Growing Phragmipedium Slipper Orchids

Growing Phragmipedium Slipper Orchids

Phragmipedium Dom Wimber

Phragmipedium

  • Phragmipediums are ladyslipper orchids that originate from Mexico and northern parts of South America.
  • Their flowering season is heaviest in the spring but some species can bloom for 6-10 months at a time.
  • Phragmipedium Don Wimber (shown) is a cross between a the orange flowering starburst Eric Young ‘Rocket Fire’ and the red flowering besseae.
  • They are strong, fast growers producing large handsome leaves (Eh? not here ed.) with tall flower spikes.
  • The 3 petals are 3 to 4 inches across and are colored in a medium orange with a deep pouch or slipper.
  • Phragmipedium are easy to grow in good strong light given plenty of water and moderate temperatures.
  • Slipper Orchids can bloom for several months and will flower on a single growth .

See Orchids at the shows