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General gardening tips and hints

Spring Cleaning Your Garden

Spring Cleaning Your Garden

It may be boring but what better way to set off your garden than by getting everything neat, tidy, sorted,  spick and span. A tidy area will draw attention to the garden and plants not the bits that are out of place, dirty or untidy.  Here are my top ten tips.

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Top Ten Tips to Spruce up Your Garden

  1. Clean your paths, pavings and slabs. Make them look bright and new with a pressure washer or scrub them with Swarfega Path and Patio cleaner or equivalent. If stepping stones have sunk below soil height raise them so soil isn’t easily washed on to them. Clean glass in cold frames and greenhouses.
  2. Remove any weeds growing in cracks and give all hard surfaces a good brush.
  3. Trim the edges of Lawns, it is one of the most effective face lifts for the green parts of your garden.
  4. Stain or repaint any wood decking, furniture of visible structures. You can go as far as spray painting support canes for your runner beans though hopefully they will grow and cover them very quickly.
  5. Keep empty or non-flowering pots and containers away from important areas until they are at there best. Then move them into position for the duration. Pots need to be clean to look good. …

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Growing Courgettes

Growing Courgettes

Courgettes
Courgettes

Courgettes are an easy crop to grow and well cared for will produce an excellent crop of tasty veg. Global warming in the UK, has made this crop even more successful and can be grown out of the greenhouse, even in the north of England.

Tips for Growing Courgettes

  • Sow from late March to May in pots to make easy planting out later. Make sure soil is well manured and fertilised, the plant is a heavy feed.
  • Early courgette plants should be grown in a warm greenhouse to protect against any frost and cold temperatures. They do well in full sun.
  • Courgettes do better in warmer climates, heat will give a bigger and faster crop.
  • Protect from slugs in the early stages of growth. But, once established they are fairly pest resistant.
  • Crop regularly when courgettes are 4-6 inches. Cropping encourages more vegetables to be made and stops them turning in to marrows.
  • When growing in the greenhouse be ruthless in removing any fungal leaves or fungal vegetables. This fungal disease can easily spread if not kept in check.
  • If you grown courgettes in the greenhouse you may find the leaves can become too big. If this is the case, you can remove some of the bigger leaves without much loss. It is important to ensure good airflow.
  • When vegetables are forming it is important to keep well watered and well fed. A proprietary tomato feed is an excellent food for the cropping vegetable.

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Grow Early New Potatoes

Grow Early New Potatoes

potato

Quick Tips on Growing Early Potatoes

  • Aim for crops of new potatoes to lift  in May-July from ‘first early’ varieties Rocket, Arran Pilot, Duke of York, Pentland Javelin, Rocket, Winston and/or Lady Christl. they will be ready in 10-12 weeks.
  • Buy small tubers (size isn’t so important) of seed potato from your garden centre or mail order
  • Encourage sprouting,  ‘chitting’, by placing the potatoes in a cool light place with the bud eyes facing upwards. For a small number you can stand them in old egg boxes. You are aiming to get short, strong shoots at the rose end. If there are too many shoots I rub off some of the surplus to channel energy.
  • A bit of warmth or at least a sheltered spot will bring them on. Avoid frost and cold as they grow.

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Cure Hellebore Problems

Cure Hellebore Problems

Hellebore sap can cause irritation to skin or an allergic reaction. No part of the plant should be eaten.
Pink & White Hellebore
Hellebores flower in winter or early spring from buds formed during the previous summer. They may benefit from some watering during a dry summer to encourage more buds.

Healthy Hellebores growing in well ventilated, damp but not waterlogged environments should not show any blackening on actively growing tissue.

Mosaic viruses known as ‘Hellebore black death’ is similar to tomato and cucumber mosaic viruses. Spots or streaks appear on the leaves and plants are stunted or die. There is no garden cure so dig up the plants and burn them – do not compost.

Hellebore leaf spot is caused by a fungus Coniothyrium hellebori. The hellebore gets irregular brown or black spots on the leaves and sometimes the flowers. This causes leaves to yellow and flowers to wilt. Buds often fail to open on infected plants

Cures for Hellebore Leaf Spot

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Snow Damage

Snow Damage

Snow in February can be very wet and thus heavy. Powdery dry snow is not so much of a problem for plants although it may be if caused by extra cold snow.

hand-of-snow

Is it too late to worry about  damage to your favourite plants when the snow has already arrived?  This Fatsia japonica has survived several years in our back garden probably because the winters haven’t been too harsh and the soil is well drained. It is part of our low maintenance section where shrubs provide colour, shape and texture without needing too much attention.

Tips in Snow

  • Knock off the snow from small conifers before branches are bent out of shape. I use a long cane so I don’t get wet and avoid collateral damage.
  • Tie up plants so the weight of snow can’t damage young outer growth.
  • Wet snow is heavy and can break off even sturdy branches. If you get breakages cut back to a sensible point eg near the stem or trunk.

Snow Damage to Equipment

  • If you salt paths don’t let run off get onto the garden.
  • Sweep the worst of snow off any aluminium framed greenhouse to avoid damage under the weight.
  • Do not leave tools out in the snow

white-greenhouse

Snow Damage to Lawns

  • Just because there is snow covering a lawn do not think you can walk on it without damaging the grass.
  • After a quick thaw it takes time for the water to drain away. Snow on top of frosty ground takes even longer.
  • If you must have a snowman try position it on hard-standing not the lawn.
White Flowers and Features in the Garden

White Flowers and Features in the Garden

Colour bed

White is the second most useful colour in the garden after green. I am progressively increasing the number and variety of white and grey plants that I grow.

White Flowers

  • Roses are a current favourite and there are white Species Roses that are worth seeking out. Rosa: arvensis, banksiae, fedtscenkoana, helenae, longcuspis and multiflora just as examples.
  • The early flowers of Snowdrops and the Christmas Rose Heleboris niger start the flowering year.
  • Camellia japonica Nobilissima and Tulip Purissima are pure spring whites .
  • Personally I like Cistus Corbariensis and Malva moschata Alba to contrast with green leaves and pink stamen.

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Making A Rock Garden or Rockery

Making A Rock Garden or Rockery

A rock garden is a grand place to display your alpine plants. You can shade them with rocks, provide deep root runs and provide rain cover with perspex roofs
rockery

In Alpine conditions plants can shelter behind rocks that give them protection from wind and rain and help with drainage. Try to give your plants similar conditions to there original habitat and they will repay you for your attention to detail.

Tips for Making a Rock Garden

  • A rock garden should be open and unshaded by over hanging trees
  • There should be a slope either natural or built up. This allows plants on the North facing slope to receive 25% of the sun (and heat) of those on the South slope so those delicate plants don’t fry.
  • Study the prevailing wind so you know where most rain will fall and plant the rain shadow area with plants that need to stay dry.
  • If in doubt about drainage improve it by adding grit. If the soil is clay, a pile of brick rubble 15 inches below the surface will aid drainage no-end.
  • The soil can be average soil but will not need extra nutrients or fertilizer except for special situations. Pack all crevices tightly with soil to prevent unwanted pests like mice.
  • Plan your rock positions and lay the grain or style of rock all in the same direction. Do not mix rock types or the harmonious effect can be lost.
  • Do not plant higgledy piggeldy but select plants that fit into a simple plan. Keep slow growing plants needing similar conditions together. Consider haveing zones in the rockery for different plant requirements.
  • Mulch new plants with pea gravel

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Alpine Growers Club AGS

Alpine Growers Club AGS

 

This is an update from my last report on the AGS in September 2009. After 7 years of happy membership I am letting it lapse and saving the money to spend in the garden. The local branch society never lived up to my aspirations as a club despite some great speakers, I never felt part of the in crowd. The national society provided an excellent magazine and a seed distribution service which I will miss until I decide to rejoin.

alpine-s

For my birthday I received membership to the Alpine Garden Society ‘The Big Society for Small Plants’. The package supplied with my membership is very impressive, in addition to my national membership card I received a membership voucher for 1 years local group membership and a list of 53 regional venues. As a special offer my first years membership will run from August to the end of next year and at £25 for 16 months, it seems great value.

Alpine Package

Competitions and shows are a large part of the society’s activities . A full programme (72 pages) for 2009 with rules and specifications was sent with my pack. This years remaining events include, 26th September 2009 Gillingham Autumn show, October 3rd Loughborough show and October 10th Newcastle.  A 2010 programme  is promised shortly. Whilst I am not likely to enter competitions it was interesting to see what plant varieties were consistant winners.

The Alpine Gardener Bulletin volume 77 no.2 is a superbly produced 140+ page book with stunning pictures. Whilst this is the 80th anniversary edition I hope the other quarterly books are to the same standard. ‘Alpine news’ lists books and holidays for sale and it is a good idea keeping these adverts on a separate leaflet, away from the main publication.

Seed distribution is also one of the services the society offer and you get more seeds if you collect and donate your own seeds.

So far so good the Society seems to be a great advocate for Alpine gardening and have a good membership package. As with all societies I guess the more you put in the more you get out so it looks like I will have to polish my Alpine gardening skills.

Membership details available here.

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The Scottish Rock Garden Club links with The RHS and Alpine Garden Society on the joiny Rock Garden Plant Committee.

Growing and Floristry of – Peruvian Lily

Growing and Floristry of – Peruvian Lily

Alstroemeria is a beautiful flower also known as Peruvian Lily or Parrot Lily.

Cultivation of Peruvian Lilies

  • Alstromerias are tuberous perennial plants for the border and grow deeply in light soil.
  • If the conditions are dry when in flower give them a good watering to boost flower production.
  • Plant roots in the dormant season after November. They don’t like to be moved as the roots break easily, if you do transplant dig deeply as the roots are drawn down.
  • Propagate from finger length roots or with some skill grow from seed. Pull up old stalks to encourage growth from the roots.
  • Plants will grow in large deep pots and provide flowers for long periods.

Floristry

These stunning plants add an exotic touch to any flower arrangement with their elaborate blend of vividly coloured and intricately marked flowers. I like the red yellow and white varieties which are easy to grow once they get started forming a good clump in the border.

  • When picking for the vase pull the stalk up then cut to length as needed and they will last up to three weeks.
  • Remove all leaves as they yellow before the flowers die
  • Do not disbud
  • Many of the shop bought flowers are from Kenya and Chile but they are east to grow yourself

Varieties to Consider

·Alstroemeria pulchella the parrot lily and Alstroemeria aurantiacastrong orange shades and Alstroemeria aurea

·Alstroemeria Ligtu hybrids are shorter and may be used in containers. Also called the lily of the Nile

·Inca Hybrids are also on offer in some areas

·A. psittacina ‘Casablanca’ claims to being white, but the markings create a special effect.

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Help with February Gardening Jobs

Help with February Gardening Jobs

snowdrops

There are numerous jobs to start in February and most gardeners will be very busy. Perhaps too busy to read this article. Still Gardeners Tips tries to help new and experienced gardeners with a series of tips and job lists that should save time in the long run.

Jobs for New Gardeners In February

  • Do not rush, the season hasn’t started and there is a lot of time to catch up.
  • Complete any hard landscaping and design changes that you do not want to be doing when the growing season starts in earnest.
  • Plot and plan, February is a great time to be sorting out your thoughts and getting all your ‘ducks in a row’ ( do not mix ducks with an ornamental garden they eat and fertilize the wrong things.)
  • Read what the experts will be doing – plants want to grow for beginners and experts alike.

Jobs for Expert Gardeners In February

  • Sow seeds of Broad Beans and Sweet Peas in a cold greenhouse or outdoors with some protection.
  • Sow hardy annual seeds in trays
  • February is the time to dig in any green manure that has over wintered.

Fruit

  • Prune outdoor vines, blackcurrants and gooseberries using off cuts as cuttings
  • If you are troubled with moss on tree trunks use lime wash to remove it.
  • Spray peaches against leaf curl

Vegetables

  • Order any seeds and sow early carrots, parsnips or parsley
  • Draw up soil around spring cabbages
  • Plant out autumn sown lettuce and broad beans

Flowers and Shrubs