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Category: Gardening

General gardening tips and hints

Stingers in the Garden Get Me Nettled

Stingers in the Garden Get Me Nettled

I was picking the Czar plums to make more jam when a wasp was disturbed from eating it’s lunch. Wasps go for my plums just as they are at their sweetest best. My problem was I couldn’t see which plums had a wasp in the fruit if they were above head height or facing away from my hand. The resulting sting set me on the trail of other stingers in the garden.

Plants Stingers

  •  Who has not been stung by a common nettle or the stinging nettle  a herbaceous perennial aka Urtica dioica. More likely to be stung walking on country paths or unkempt areas not in your garden I am sure!
  • The nettle family are stinging plants with  hairs on  leaves or stems that are capable of injecting formic acid that cause pain or irritation. Brushing bare skin against the leaves causes initial pain with the potential for more effects caused by histamine, acetylcholine and other chemicals that are also present.
  • Giant hogweed  contains a corrosive sap that causes severe rashes,  burns and even serious eye damage if you get the photosensitive chemicals  in your eyes . aka Heracleum mantegazzianum.
  • Poison ivy & its cousin, poison oakone is a noted rash-maker. It’s toxin, urushiol oil, is in the sap of the plant and present in minuscule quantities in some other food stuff.
  • Other plants, often those with hairs or irritating sap, can cause irritation and allergic reactions. I suffer with some verbascum Optunia cacti and euphorbia.

 

 

 

Take a Close Look

Take a Close Look

We tend to see gardens in the round and I seldom inspect individual plants. I often think I am missing something by not paying close attention. This obviously casual approach doesn’t work for those who specialise in a species or collect special examples of plants.

Careful Looking

  • Patterns and repetitions can be fascinating. Not all are immediately obvious. There is a repetition of colour in the flowers, stems and hairs on the stems of this Geranium maderensis.
  • Seed heads and capsules have their own shape and attraction. They also give good clues as to the species or family of the plant. You could guess this was a part of the geranium family.
  • Plant explorers often took magnifying glasses to get to the crux of a plant.
  • Insect life is not always visible to a casual observer and on the dahlia below the second fly could be missed. No big deal may be but for come the extra attention would be worthwhile.

Diverse Use of Hostas

Diverse Use of Hostas

Hostas can be used for in a variety of situations due to their diversity as a species. As basically known as foliage plants they prosper in the shade but have other uses.

Use of Hostas

  • Available to the gardener as foliage plants from spring to the first frosts, hostas only miss out without a winter display.
  • Used as pot plants they can be moved around the garden and the right pot complements the colouring or leaf shape.
  • Pots can be grown indoors and even cultivated during winter.
  • Different varieties offer colour, size, shape, texture and form. This can be used to create architectural effects, ground cover  or lush tropical effects.
  • Add to this the flowers, the reverse colours and bicolours and you have some great design opportunities.
  • You can even grow your hostas in a window box.
  • Hostas combine well with water locations and as companion planting.
  • Hosta collecting can be an interesting pastime.
  • Flower arranging using hostas is very popular in Japan where many plants originate.

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Woody Prunings and Compost

Woody Prunings and Compost


I have 3 good sized compost bins and the Metro district council supplies and takes away a brown bin  each month (for an annual fee). However that is still not enough at this time of year and I can fill the car boot many times over to take thick hedge prunings and woody bits to the local recycling center.

I need one of those – a big rolling compost smasher. It is used to tamp down the tipped compost so we can tip more and the trailer can carry larger loads to the ultimate council compost site.

Other Woody Composting

  • In the past I have had a shredder that was great when it didn’t get clogged up. Sadly it rusted away and I couldn’t foil to do all the extra shredding hence the trips to the tips.
  • In my enthusiastic days I spent many happy hours cutting twigs and prunings into small pieces to encourage early rotting down.
  • Oft times I had a bonfire but then moved on to a dustbin with chimney that is useful for collecting those annoying bits that I want to burn.
  • I had a special 2 year compost bin which reduced volume considerably but the woody bits lingered longer. It is now one of my 3 bins.
  • Garotta compost maker is not man enough for woody items even though I have tried more in hope than expectation.
  • I have never tried guerilla composting ( called fly tipping) but I often see the result of other people trying this antisocial method of eliminating their compostibles.
August Garden Needs More Colour Less Green

August Garden Needs More Colour Less Green


Shrubs rule the roost in August and apart from some Hebe there is not much other than green and a bit of leaf colour. Roll on the second flush of roses.

Next year I will think about more annuals and a better range of perennials with August in mind.

There is nothing wrong with green, it is what Chlorophyll is all about.

It is no surprise that many colours related to green have connections with natural items: –

Lawn green, sap green, chartreuse, sage, lime, olive, moss, mint, emerald, viridian, virdigris, avocado and British racing green.

Not real greens :-

Envy green, Lorne Green, Hughie Green, Ever Green, Green Gills, Thumb or finger green (enough ed.)

 

 

Good Gardeners Tips

Good Gardeners Tips

A tip for today

  1. Fertilise weekly weakly
  2. N for leaves
  3. P for roots
  4. K for fruit and flowers
  5. Fertilise when plants need to grow not as they go into a rest period
  6. Stand thirsty houseplants on damp clay granules to maintain humidity
  7. Houseplants can burn from strong sun through a window
  8. Houseplants will grow towards the light so turn the pot regularly.
  9. Houseplants can get pests like other plants so watch and treat when spotted.
  10. Do not sow seeds too early (they can get a growth shock in cold snap). They will catch up by up to 4 weeks no problem.
  11. Sow seeds thinly, smaller the seed thinner the sowing.
  12. Sow big seed individually
  13. If sowing in plastic cell trays chose an appropriate size 4’s, 12’s 15’s etc
  14. If sowing in plastic cell trays keep
  15. Mark or label what and where you have sown seeds.
  16. Practice gardening until you get it right – keep on gardening for the rest of your life hoping to never get it wrong.
  17. Keep conifers well watered or they will go brown.
  18. Golden conifers go greener in the shade, golden in the sunshine.
  19. It is bad luck to be superstitious about your plants.
  20. Mulch to keep soil moist.
  21. Mulch to keep down weeds.
  22. Mulch to make an area look tidy.
  23. Mulch to improve soil texture
  24. Deadhead flowers to try get another flush of youthful blooms.
  25. Deadhead to direct energy away from making seed.
  26. Deadhead to maintain a tidy appearance
  27. Prune to remove sick and damaged shoots
  28. Prune to keep plants tidy and in check
  29. Prune to encourage flowering and fruiting
  30. Prune to maintain a hedge’s shape
  31. Prune to encourage new growth
  32. Plant bulbs as deep as the bulbs size
  33. Daffodil bulbs need time in the ground plant early autum
  34. Tulips can be planted up until November/December
  35. Grit or gravel on top of pots deters moss and helps watering
  36. A saucer under a pot holds water – beware of water-logging which will rot roots
  37. A saucer under a pot holds water to help watering. Use some gravel to keep pot out of a permanent puddle.
  38. Clay pots dry out quicker than plastic or ceramic pots
  39. Black plastic pots get hot in the sun.
  40. Standing pots close together creates a useful micro climate
  42. In winter keep tender plants in pots frost free.
  43. Stand pots on feet so they do not freeze to the ground (a cause of damage to pots)
  44. Refurbish plants in pots by removing the surface soil/compost and replace with fresh compost
  45. Pots rely on you for care, there is no worms to aerate or feed the soil nor a water table.
  46. The bigger the pot the more water it can hold – small pots dry quicker
  47. Some plants like to have the roots constrained in a smaller pot to encourage flowering.
  48. Plants become pot bound when the roots fill the pot – repot with fresh compost in a bigger pot
  49. For a low maintenance garden try conifers of varying sizes.
  50. Dwarf conifer are available in different varieties, shapes, textures and forms.
  51. Keep tools sharp
  53. Keep tools clean and disinfect to avoid transferring pathogens
  54. Keep tools where you can find them and where you want use them.
  55. Appropriate tools for the job make gardening and  life much easier
  56. If your orchid loses   its leaves and turns yellow, it’s dead.
  57. Wait until daffodils are in bloom before pruning roses.
  58. Cut the roses down to the same height as the daffodils – this requires some commonsense as there are small and tall daffs and a wide variety of roses but it provides a rule of thumb.
  59. You don’t need to cut down your fuchsias for winter but stuff Strulch, straw or pine needles between the branches.
  60. When new growth starts you can trim up your Fuchsiaskale
  61. When planting out leeks or onions dip the roots in water just prior to planting. The weight of the water keeps the roots extended.
  62. Make a homemade birdfeeder in an old hanging basket and add a perch by using a strong stick or cane.
  63. The soil on plants from garden centers is often too dry and hard to re-wet. With care you can shake off this compost and replace it with your own.
  64. Alternatively leave the pot in a dish to soak in water, with a drop of washing up liquid to break the waters meniscus and simultaneously water from the top.
  65. Pansies and to a lesser extent viola are prone to black root rot if over watered. Be sparing when watering.
  66. Create smaller beds they are easier to maintain in tight spaces.
  67. Take photographs of your garden regularly and at least every season.
  68. Take photos before and after a renovation project or new planting.
  69. Take photographs of plant labels at botanic or show gardens of those plants you like.
  70. Keep old plant labels (and seed packets) in date order as a reminder
  71. Use some sort of mulch to line the spaces between your vegetable beds.
  72. Birds adore the red, egg-shaped hips of the wild dog rose.
  73. Best rose hips are produced by species roses.
  74. Where there’s muck there’s brassicas – they love a lot of horsesh…
  75. When summer sets in with all it’s usual severity don’t walk on frozen grass.
  76. Visit New Zealands exotic Taranaki world-renowned rhododendron garden
  77. Keep reading Gardeners tips

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Comments made about Overwintering

Comments made about Overwintering

Irena Dorney a reader of my chrysanthemum post has asked ‘ Tell me do you overwinter your plants? I can no longer afford to keep buying new plants for my planters so I want to invest in plants with a perennial habit that will work hard in my raised bed.’

Overwintering Generally

  • I am a Yorkshire man so yes I try to over winter many of my plants. I want value for money and the thrill of getting or keeping ‘summat for nowt’.
  • A major proportion of my garden is planted with evergreen shrubs and they overwinter themselves.
  • Alpines are generally designed for cold wintery weather but HATE  wet so I don’t worry about frost but will shield or deflect rain from auriculas and damp haters.
  • Bulbs I leave in the ground or pots but take up begonias and dahlia tubers and keep them frost free for planting the following year.
  • You can forget about your tender annuals but the seeds are worth collecting. You then overwinter them as seeds or biannuals.

Overwintering Planters

  • Selecting ‘hardy’ plants that are more likely to survive to survive is a skill worth learning. Violas will last better than pansies for example and dwarf conifers and acers do well in my pots.
  • One of the biggest risks to plants in pots is death by frozen roots. A big pot holds more soil and is harder but not impossible to freeze.
  • I gather pots together for wind and frost protection. A group of pots can create there own micro climate.
  • Under a hedge row I store many pot plants where I am fatalistic. If they survive great if not then c’est la vie & I try to propagate more.

Overwintering in a Raised Bed

  • Selecting herbaceous perennials can fill your raised beds. Herbaceous plants die back every year when the weather gets cold but the right ones regrow next year. If the winter conditions are harsh then mulch around the root area. Delphiniums, alstromeria and primroses have done well this year.
  • Tender subjects like musa (banana) or ferns can be wrapped in hessian or covered in straw but that is too much bother for me.
  • I grow rhododendrons and deciduous azaleas in a raised bed for the want of a larger area. Like many woody shrubs they do fine.

Enemies of Roses That Affect You

Enemies of Roses That Affect You

I do not want to start by worrying you but I am probably going too anyway! After an early summer of brilliant rose displays the down side is the number and volume of enemies our roses are having to contend with.

This is Nothing New

  • I am borrowing heavily from the National Rose Society publications including the title of this post ‘The Enemies of the Rose.’
  • The national rose society’s handbook on the insect, pests and fungus  of the rose was first published in 1908 – over a century ago.
  • My copy is the third edition from 1952. I can’t find a more recent edition nor current reprints. Old copies surface at secondhand booksellers and are crammed with over 150 pages of problems.
  • For example the contents include a virtual dozen references to a variety of different Sawfly but I get ahead of myself.
  • The evils of modern publishing have created a digitised Kindle 2012 edition (? scanned?) and it may be worth the 99p down load but it seems at variance to the older books.
  • The collective brains of an Entomologist, Zoologistand an expert in Cryptogams have been combined with 110 years of horticulture experience and specialist knowledge.

Picking Out Some Rose Enemies

  • I will not try to paraphrase or emulate the original record but will pick out bits worth further exploration.
  • Fungi and bacteria are classified as ‘Diseases’ and insects and sundry creatures as ‘Pests’.
  • Sadly developments over time plus health and safety worries have made many of the cures, potions, treatments, unctions, chemical controls and interventions illegal, outdated or unobtainable.
  • I am not sure whether Defra, European Union and sundry Ministries such as Agriculture  should be classed as ‘The Enemies of the Rose.’
  • Bad health in what ever form is potentially just a sign of a rose failing to achieve the growers ideals and aspirations.
  • Setting standards is essential but being able to cope with the consequences of weather, breeding, growing conditions and external influences can all be enemies of roses.
    • Pests include: thrips, aphids, leaf-hopper, caterpillar, rose maggots, chafer, leaf miner, sawfly, leaf cutter, gall wasps, ants, mites and other maggots and bugs.
    • Diseases include: black spot, rust, mildew, leaf scorch, anthracnose, cancker & die back, botrytis (grey mould), gall, silver leaf, chlorosis, sooty mould and variations on the virus and fungus themes.

Another digitised version  .  The Enemies of the Rose by George Massee Frederick Vincent 1868- Theobald National Rose Society (Creator) …

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Black Aphids on my Dahlias

Black Aphids on my Dahlias

These little breeders have been having a banquet on some of my Dahlias. They go for the soft new shoots and nascent flower stems which must be easy to get their teeth into. For some reason they have been quite selective on the plants they choose (As has been the spray I have used in a prophylactic manner). I hope the rest of the summer is black fly free but you never know.

Why are Black Fly Bad News

  • Black fly aphids or thrips are common sap-sucking insects. 
  • They are unsightly and look like they can do serious damage to plants.
  • As sap sucking insects they can create a lack of vigour and damage growth.
  • Insect secretions can go mouldy and add further problems to the dahlias
  • In severe cases viruses can be transferred to plants by these insects.

Lulled into a false sense of security by the low level of greenfly around my garden I wasn’t expecting black fly. I only left my dahlias alone for a few days and the flies multiplied like rabbits. I am on a more frequent look out patrol now. The muggy weather is one reason for the outbreak of black fly.

Winter Moth Problems on Fruit Trees

Winter Moth Problems on Fruit Trees

Fruit trees can be a winter home for a range of female moths. Amongst them are woolly aphis and capsid bugs plus other pests that emerge from the ground. They crawl up fruit tree stems and trunks in October to lay their eggs. The caterpillars hatch in spring and feed on the foliage and fruit.

Prevention and Treatment

  • To check the progress of these pests a barrier can be erected. Some fruit growers use a band of paper covered in tacky grease.
  • Tubes of special grease are now available specially for older fruit trees with rough bark where grease bands are less effective as pests can crawl under the band. Alternatively the bark can be smoothed first.
  • Winter moth and mottled umber moth need an  application at the beginning of winter before adult female moths climb trees to lay eggs. Apply again in summer to protect against ant infestations.
  • Rentokill call their product ‘Glue Bands’.
  • Grease any support stakes and low hanging branches.

Other Tips

  • Fix the grease band 1 ft below the lowest branch. Paint the stem with lime wash above the grease band.
  • Reapply after 2-3 months or renew the grease effect.
  • Also suitable for ornamental trees that are susceptible to infestation.
  • Keep bands free of dead leaves.