Tips for ecologically friendly gardeners and gardens that green and protect the environment.
Hostas should be renamed ‘Slug Food’
Every year my Hostas have been nibbled when young, eaten in Summer and decimated by Autumn.
Guess what I have done this year – yep I have potted them up into containers and so far so good (until the little devils learn to fly or crawl up the pot sides).
It is the little black slugs rather than the fat juicy brown slugs that do the most damage but knowing that won’t make you feel any better.
Halloween grass is special and only grows one day of the year.
Assuming you have elected not to leave your grass to become a wild flower meadow, or a rough patch as a haven for wild life, there are still measures you can take to be environmentally friendly.
Green Watering Tips
At the first sign of snow I walk round my trees or at least the garden they are planted in.
Snowy Winter Tips
Conifer branches were weighed down with wet snow and a cane was used to knock excess off before branches broke or were set at an ungainly angle. Some ornamental conifers can be wired up so the shape is retained.
Rock salt was not used on paths where there was any danger of ‘run off’ as the salt could poison the ground and plants.
I tried to avoid walking on lawns when the ground was frozen or covered in snow.
Birds were fed with seeds, peanuts and fat balls to help them through the winter. They will pay back by eating insects later on.
Moss in the right place can look good but in your lawn it is a no-no.
Whilst I am on an environmentally friendly kick I thought I would comment on Moss.
Mosses are bryophytes and there are over 10,000 species that grow from spores. Moss can grow on rocks, roof, lawns paths and many other places. Beware raking or removing live moss as you only spreads the spores.
Sphagnum moss is a group of several hundred mosses that can decay into peat over many decades and centuries. The sphagnum peat is the dead brown moss formed in boggy conditions that have now been exploited or over exploited for peat burning and garden purposes. Use peat substitutes to protect our old peat bog environments.
Moss Facts
Top ten green garden habits
See our report on ‘Organic pond habitats for green gardeners’.
To combat Algea, Blanket Weed and Invasive aquatic species you need to be on your guard.
A small wild life pond doesn’t have to be weedy in either sense. This pond in our park for example is a fairly large size. However as you can see it is ‘Weedy’ in the gardening sense.
If you are thinking and planning to get the best out of a new or rejuvenated pond than consider these quick tips
Design Tips
Planting Up
A well stocked garden is a treasure chest of potential new perennial plants. Divide clumps, take cuttings or collect seed and you can increase your bounty of hardy long lived plants to give away or replant.
Keep an eye out for new plants for your garden at reasonable prices as garden centers sell off old stock. I got 5 plants in 2 liter pots for a fiver at the weekend. It is a better form of recycling for me to renovate the plants for next year rather than see them composted.
Dianthus ‘Kahori’ is an evergreen perennial with an erect habit. Its narrow leaves are greyish-green. In summer it bears scented pink flowers with a later flush in August if deadheaded.
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To set fruit curcurbit vegetables need help with pollination and you can do help to do this with sympathy and a fine brush or natures way.
Interspersing flowers that attract bees and hoverflies amongst marrows, cucumbers and courgettes will help transfer pollen from male to female flowers. No more hand pollination required.
The organic gardens at Balmoral castle leave areas of natural grass and undisturbed land to help generate more insect and pollination life.
If you need a stream of ideas of plants for your waterside look no further.
For bog gardens or the streamside there are many plants that will be happy with damp roots. This is our selection of the flowering plants that will grow well in a waterside position.
Flowering Waterside Plants a Top Ten