No prizes but this is a Tulip called ‘Sensual Touch’. It is amazing what breeders are able to create with modern technologies.
As this is Tulip season I have included a few more less common pictures of Tulips that I have found on my travels this spring.
Blousy flower
Fringed Tulips
…
Plants grown from seed need to be given space to grow by ‘Pricking Out’ or thinning.
This process gives young plants space and nutrient necessary for healthy growth.
Guide for Pricking Out
Other Pricking out Activities
Seeds sown direct into their final position in the garden may need to be spaced. Pinch or pull out seedlings that are cramped, to leave a space between your selected plants for growing on. Carrots and plants that don’t tolerate root disturbance are treated this way.
Seeds sown in a garden seed bed can be pricked out if required but I sow them thinly enough to be able to just move them once into the final growing position.
Some flower mixtures are best just broadcast and left to grow where they germinate.
Tip
If you are growing a seed mixture transplant a range of seedlings not just the largest. Often different coloured flowers grow differently at the seedling stage.
The day was still and the only movement was the lazy (none PC) smoke drifting from a brushwood fire but it made me think of movement in my garden.
Natural Movement.
Man-made Movement …
Veronicastrum grows and flowers 3-6 feet tall and adds height to many gardens.
Tips for Growing Veronicastrum
Hardy Varieties to Grow
2010 seems set to be a great year for Apple Blossom. All around there seems to be vast quantities of blossom on each tree – let us hope there are enough Bees to go around when it comes to pollination.
I was surprised when I looked more closely at the size and colour on the blossom of different trees and have reproduced some varieties here. As you may remember there was a lot of frost damage on a row of cordons but, touch wood, my main trees remain unaffected.
The late arrival of warm weather is playing into the hands of pollination as most varieties seem to have opened at the same time. This will bring the insects out and help cross pollination to produce a good crop of Apples.
Glowering skies loom over this tree but showers of rain are an occupational hazard for Apple blossom. As long as the rain drains from the tree and is not trapped in pockets to cause wood rot there is no problem.
I have to admit to a spray regime after blossom fall to protect my fruit to deter insects
This eating apple has dark red skin and I will have to look in my old note book to remind me of the variety. Still I am not surprised to see that it has pinker blossom than the James Grieve.
Each blossom was larger than the old half-crown and made a wonderful sight.
There are many species of daisy like Erigeron in annual, perennial and biennial varieties. Flowers may be small but you get lots of them
Erigeron karvinskianus
Erigeron aureus – The Alpine Yellow Fleabane is shown above
Erigeron ‘Dunkelste Aller’ has a dark purple flower
Erigeron Alpinus grows 6″-8″ high with mauve florets and a yellow disc.
Erigeron glaucus the Seaside Daisy
for other species see selected taxa
Suggested Locations for Erigeron
Centaurea are a group of plants, the Knapweeds, related to cornflowers and similar in appearance to thistles they look far better than either in a cottage garden environment.
The National collection of Centaurea is held at Bide-a wee Cottage garden in Morpeth Northumberland.
Centaurea Growing
Some Varieties to Grow
For more information on growing larger Centaurea read ‘garden gem or invasive weed’.
Plants and seeds are available from Thompson Morgan
History of Allotments
Allotments were first introduced in 1845 as field gardens for the landless poor. Originally intended to grow food Victorians thought it would ‘keep them from the evils of drink’. (A cool beer or glass of wine at the end of a session on the allotment is just the job now-a-days.)
In 1908 the Small Holding and Allotment Act made it a duty of Local Authorities to provide allotments where there was a demand.
During both World Wars allotments were a vital source of food & the number of allotments peaked in 1943 at 1.4 million. There is less than a quarter of that number now.
First Steps
Planting your Crops
Crop Rotation
Different plant groups do different things to the soil. Using 4 beds, rotate the following crops around so that after 4 years each bed has been used by each group.
Lettuce, Courgettes are neutral and can go anywhere. Soft fruit and rhubarb may go around the edges or in there own space.
These Daffodils growing in grass have naturalised successfully and don’t get deadheaded but in your garden deadheading is a good idea.
May Activity for Daffodils.
We often write about how to kill pests, how to grow vegetables, how to keep on top of the weeds. But, what about how to enjoy the garden? We all know gardens are for enjoyment, but, if we’re not careful, they can become a beast of burden rather than a paradisical area for our relaxation and enjoyment.
Do a Job 100%.
It is tempting to be in the half mood of gardening, we wander out in our slippers and start half heartedly pulling up some couch grass with our bare hands. We don’t really get the job, (we don’t even want to get our slippers on hands dirty). When we are weeding, we want to go at it ruthlessly, will all the right equipment to eradicate an area or particular weed. It is more efficient to get a job done, than leave it at 50% done.
Perfection Should be A Natural Perfection
Do you wander round famous gardens and get jealous of the immaculate lawns the absence of any weed e.t.c? The great natural garden can happily incorporate the odd weed without losing its beauty and naturalness. If we are only happy when there are no weeds and no pests and neat rows, and immaculate petunias… we will never be able to enjoy the garden.
It’s just a matter of looking on weeds with a different perspective. Look at the bigger picture and enjoy the different shades of green…
Feel the Living Energy.
A garden is more than a beautiful picture to look at. It is enjoyable to sometimes just sit back and listen to the hum of insects and feel the life that is going on in the garden.
Do Manageable Tasks.
Have you ever started with a little light pruning and before you know it you’re trying to tackle and giant conifer involving innumerable visits to local recycling place. Before, start gardening have a manageable task. It is better to grow six tomato plants well, than try and grow 50 tomato plants badly. You will never be able to eat all tomatoes anyway. Keep the scale to fit your schedule. If you have little time, look for time saving techniques. If a bush grows so quickly you are always having to prune it, why not take it out and put something in lower maintenance.
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