Browsed by
Category: Novice Gardeners Advice and Pointers

Learning to garden is part trial and error and part recommendation, learning and application of information.

Plants Around a Birdbath

Plants Around a Birdbath

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


Getting birds in your garden
Photo Credit normanack flickr creative commons.

Growing Sweet Rocket or Dame’s Rocket

Growing Sweet Rocket or Dame’s Rocket

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 Flowering Shrubs in Your Border

Tips for Flowering Shrubs in Your Border

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.

Cottage Garden for Edible Crops

Cottage Garden for Edible Crops

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
Beginning Gardening Tips on Bulbs for Beginners

Beginning Gardening Tips on Bulbs for Beginners

Narsicci

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.

Rosy

Beggars Begonias

…

Read More Read More

Growing Pots of Grass

Growing Pots of Grass

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.

St Valentine’s Flowers but Aubretia?

St Valentine’s Flowers but Aubretia?

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 More Read More

Corms for Beginners

Corms for Beginners

Crocus and Gladioli are easy plants to grow from corms. Plant some ‘Glads’ in March for summer flowering and some Crocus in Autumn for next spring. You may even find some Crocus in pots that will flower now and can then be planted out for next spring.

What is a Corm?
Corms are (underground) stems that are internally solid tissues with a fibrous outer. This differentiates corms from bulbs, which are made up of layered fleshy scales that are modified leaves. As a result, when a corm is cut in half it is solid, but when a true bulb is cut in half it is made up of layers. The Corm is the food store for the next generation of plants.

Crocus and Gladioli are two of the best known plants grown from corms. Also Cyclamen, Bananas, Diermia, Crocosmia, Liatris and Freesia are corm based plants.

Roots growing from the bottom of the corm are normal fibrous roots are formed as the shoots grow. The second type of roots are thicker layered roots that form as the new corms are growing, they are called contractile roots and they pull the corm deeper into the soil.

Corms of some species of plants are replaced every year by the plant with growth of a new corm at the shoot base just above the old corm. As the plants grow and flower, the old corm is used up and shrivels away. The new corm that replaces the old corm grows in size, especially after flowering is done.

Corms can form many small cormlets called cormels at the base of the plant and these can be grown on for subsequent seasons. They grow true to the parent plant and are a way of increasoing stock. A corm can be cut into wedges and grow a new plant as long as there is a bud on each part.

A description and graphic of a good corm is available from the University of Illinios

Beginners Seed Tips

Beginners Seed Tips

Easy Annuals ‘Fairy Mixed‘    by Thompson Morgan

Beginners and novices can grow some colourful annuals quickly and cheaply. If the packet instructions says ‘can be sown direct outdoors then do so when the soil warms up.  If you want to get a quick start use a tray on a warm window ledge.

Starting  with Seeds

  • Always read the instructions on the packet of seeds.
  • Use a good quality seed or potting compost with a level surface.
  • Water with a fine spray and leave to drain.
  • Scatter seed evenly or place individual seeds in each cell and use a clear lid to maintain humidity.
  • Maintain an even temperature, generally 20º C will suit most seeds but again read the instructions.
  • Allow air to circulate once leaves start to appear.

…

Read More Read More

Gardening Jargon Busting

Gardening Jargon Busting

Mulch
A product put around the roots and base of a plant to retain moisture and stop soil erosion. Inert material like gravel or glass beads may be appropriate for some circumstance whilst bark chippings, peat substitute or compost is often used.
Bark Mulch Cyclamen

Compost
This term confusingly covers two items. Firstly compost made from rotted down green and brown garden waste that contains natural nutrients and humus to retain moisture. Secondly purchased compost is a manufactured product sold in plastic bags as a growing medium. Thus there are seed composts, potting composts, general purpose composts and specialist composts for individual genus like Orchids, Cacti, Alpines etc.

Tilth
digging your soil to produce a fine crumbly top to the soil for planting seeds.

Interplanting
Crops grown together to utilise space, light and water more efficiently like lettuce between peas early in the season or garlic between roses.

Catch crops
Filling seasonal gaps particularly in the kitchen garden with fast growing crops like radishes or lettuce.

Lettuce - Bijou & Freckles

Companion Planting
Use of one plant to help another like marigolds in a greenhouse to suppress white fly or planting onions with carrots to deter root fly.

Perennial
A plant that is meant to live for more than 2 years given the right treatment. It may be hardy and thus frost tolerant, herbaceous by dieing down into a root stock, or tender where it needs some winter protection.
Perennial Heuchera

Annual & Biannual
Annuals last only one year (or part) from seed sowing, growing, flowering and setting new seed such as Antirrhinum, Alyssum and Lobelia. A biannial is sown one year to flower the next but then expire like Wallflowers or Sweet Williams
Antirrhinum