Gardeners Tips – Page 50 – Tips and advice for gardeners about gardening

Auricula Knowhow & Books

April 24, 2017 hortoris

It has been a good spring for auriculas in my garden and cold greenhouse. Now the plants need time to rejuvenate after flowering so I will have time to read the National Auricula and Primula and Society’s excellent new members handbook and some of the following epistles.

The powder blue auricula is in a home made ‘tufa’ pot

Auricula Book Examples

The Auricula: History, Cultivation and Varieties Allan Guest

Every now and then I decide to focus on one species or plant group. For 2014/2015 it is going to be the Auriculas. I need to practice the techniques explained in various books and learn’ what is what’ with florists Auricula. With that in mind I have joined the National Auricula and Primrose Society northern section and so far it seems very good value for money.

On to the books I am looking out for:

Auriculas – Their Care and Cultivation B.Hyatt Cassell, London.
Auriculas Through the Ages: Bear’s… by Patricia Cleveland-Peck
Auriculas for Everyone: How to Grow and Show Perfect Plants by Mary A. Robinson
Auriculas and Primroses by W.R. Hecker (22 Apr 1971)

Primroses and Auriculas Wisley Handbook by Peter Ward
The Auricula: History, Cultivation and Varieties by Allan Guest
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Quick Guide to Chelsea Designers & Gardens

April 23, 2017 hortoris

‘Take Chelsea Home’ by Chris Young shows the “Best Garden Design from the Chelsea Flower Show”. Below is a brief preview of the 2010 gardens and designers.

Tom Stuart-Smith; The Laurent-Perrier a champagne of gardens featuring a woodland of birches.
Roger Platts; The M&G garden roses for the main sponsor.
Sue Hayward; The Stephen Hawkins MND garden with unusual plants.
Pual Stone; Place of Change a large community design.
Leeds City Council; Hesco garden trying to pretend Leeds isÂ a tourist destination.
James Wong;Â Malaysia tourism garden, now here is a tourist destination.
Robert Myers; Cancer Research garden, charities normally perform well at Chelsea.
James Towillis; The L’Occitane garden a landscape of Provence.
Andy Sturgeon; Daily Telegraph garden with international plants
Thomas Hoblyn; F&C Investments garden that should grow better than the investments.

Bonanza of Nasturtium Flowers

April 22, 2017 hortoris

When it gets backendish as October begins to give way to colder nights, have a look around your garden.
The Nasturtiums are still flowering strongly as they clamber up this wall but one good frost will see them turn soggy and die. As Nasturtiums are good at self-seeding I will doubtless get many new plants next year without any effort.

Tips Growing Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums do well in poor soil. If the soil is too rich then you will get more leaf than flower.

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Gardening Magazines Top 10

April 19, 2017 hortoris

Top Ten Gardening Magazines

Gardens Illustrated a respected glossy that aims to be a ‘style bible’ for serious gardeners.
Gardenersâ€™ World, the UKâ€™s biggest selling monthly gardening magazine provides you with key practical advice and tips, just when you need it! You can get a subscription by clicking the link on the right.
Grow Your Own delivers clear practical advice every month. Especially good for vegetable growers.
Garden News a weekly newspaper format with offers and articles. 50 years old this year so they get some things spot on.
The English Garden seeks out gardens from ‘the length and breadth of the country’
Amateur Gardening weekly features some of the most trusted names in gardening, including Anne Swithinbank, Peter Seabrook and Bob Flowerdew.
Garden Answers provides 50 answers to you questions per issue
Kitchen Garden for gardeners who love to grow their own fruit and vegetables whether this is on the allotment or vegetable patch.
Homes and Gardens and House and Gardens joint 10th are glossys with an inspiring mix of stunning houses, glorious gardens, gorgeous decorating and contemporary products for your home.
Organic Gardening have gathered the basics of organic gardening for you here. You’ll be able to find where to get your soil tested, learn how to manage pests without using chemicals, and read growing guides for vegetables and flowers.

Special Mentions

The Garden the RHS monthly magazine (free with a subscription) full of handy gardening tips, ideas and superb photography so youâ€™ll have the latest gardening issues to hand.
The Plantsman (shown above) is an excellent quarterly from the RHS with negligible advertising, through research and detailed articles.
Garden Design Journal quarterly is the only gardening magazine in the UK dedicated solely to garden design.
Which Gardening is an excellent way of being kept informed on the best way to spend or save money in your garden.

Do not forget the link on the right for a couple of the above subscriptions.

Rudbeckia Choosing and Growing Tips

April 19, 2017 hortoris

Over 1500 posts are available on Gardeners tips and Rudbeckia has been covered several time before. I make no apology for this as they are a handsome plant worth considering for their long flowering season that lasts well into autumn.

Rudbeckia are perennial plants that form rounded clumps. They are easily raised from seed available from Thompson Morgan and other merchants.Â Plants will grow in semi-shade or full sun without much help.

Types of Rudbeckia to Grow

Rudbeckia hirta is probably worth growing as a half-hardy annual.Â Named varieties include Goldilocks, Irish Eyes, Toto, Autumn Forest and Prairie Sun.
Rudbeckia missouriensis is a rockery sized plant growing 12-16″ and flowering profusely
Rudbeckia laciniata will grow up to 10 feet tall in moist soil and flowers with a lemon petal and green centre.
Rudbeckia maxima is even taller than laciniata with blue green leaves and large ray flowers.
Rudbeckia speciosa is a traditional hardy plant like the one shown above.
Rudbeckia occidentalis Green Wizard has a brown centre with green petals on the flowers.

Read Other Rudbeckia Posts

Double flowering Rudbeckia
Growing Rudbeckia in Autumn
Rudbeckia growing tips.
Brash coloured Rudbeckia

Or buy the definative book ‘Rudbeckia: Rudbeckia Hirta, Rudbeckia Fulgida, Rudbeckia Laciniata, Rudbeckia Triloba, Rudbeckia Pinnata, Rudbeckia Maxima, Rudbeckia Alpicola’ from amazon for under a tenner.

Gardeners tips on Easy Autumn Rudbeckia

Plunge Bed Success this Spring

April 17, 2017 hortoris

I have reported before about the Alpine house at RHS Harlow Carr. Now we can begin to see the fruits of all the labours both in growing and display.

There must be 100 different plants on display many of which were in flower this week. I know the pictures are small but how many varieties can you recognise?

Just by observing the plunge beds regularly, I am picking up tips that I hope to be able to use in my own cultivation.

See Gardeners Tips on Plunge Beds

Beginners instructions for building a plunge bed for growing Tete-a-tete narcissus from the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society.
‘To construct a plunge-bed dig a pit in a well drained piece of ground that will not flood â€“ near a tree or hedge will be fine. A wooden frame, sufficient to hold the pots, on top of the ground will do equally as well. Place the pots in the plunge-bed or frame and cover them with soil/compost/sand to a depth of about 5cm. They can now be forgotten until the spring. A strong cardboard box stored in a dry cold garage or shed will do equally as well. Cover the pots in the same way as above and donâ€™t let them dry out.’

Sedum spathulifolium all year round

April 15, 2017 hortoris

Sedum spathulifolium make dense mats of grey foliage. The cheerful yellow flowers can be up to 3″ across.

Originally from west and north America this hardy plant is now found in many rockery and alpine gardens. It can be grown successfully with Sempervivums or other Sedum.

Sedum spathulifolium varieties to Grow

Sedum spathulifolium purpureum has wine coloured leaves when young.
Sedum spathulifolium ‘Capablanca’ has virtually white leaves and is more delicate needing protection in an apline house.
Cape Blanco has tiny, fleshy rosettes of whitish-gray leaves. It spreads slowly to form low dense mats. Good in containers.
Although attractive in flower, Sedum spathulifolium are at their best in midwinter with their colourful evergreen foliage and attractive shapes.
‘Carnea’ has rounded, fleshy, silver-green leaves shaded with crimson and bright yellow summer flowers. see images.

Gardening as a Business

April 14, 2017 hortoris

How to Start Your Own Gardening Business An Insider Guide to Setting Yourself Up as a Professional Gardener is a useful tutorial if you want to set up a gardening business. I recommend you consider your aspirations and limitations carefully and either set up a ‘Life Style business’ or consider becoming a qualified, professional career gardener.

Life Style Gardener

There are many jobs from spring onward for jobbing gardeners. Lawyers hang out a shingle but for gardeners a post card in the post office usually suffices.
Labouring on hedges and lawns for the infirm or doing small construction and garden maintenance projects are within the grasp of most hobby gardeners.
If your work is good then word of mouth should get you lots of referals.
Hourly rates in the North of England vary from Â£6- Â£20 per hour depending on the level of horticultural skill, experience and quality of garden. Ask around amongst those already in business.

Career Gardener

You need to have some formal qualifications and on the job training. See Alan Titchmarsh’s list from How to be a Gardener.

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Cushion Plant Growing Tips

April 13, 2017 hortoris

What are Cushion Plants

Surprise!Â Cushion plants look like cushions although they may be firmer.
Cushion plants grow very slowly andÂ evenly. They grow rosettes of leaves all at once so that no one part of the plant is more exposed than others.
The flowers are small and often massed closely nestled in the leaves for protection.
The low growing, dense foliage of a cushion plant acts as a layer of insulation, protecting the roots and stems.

Where to Find Cushion Plants

Cushion plantsÂ grow in rapidly draining rocky or sandy soils
They grow in exposed and windy conditions such as alpine, arctic and arid areas.
A cushion plantÂ can thrive because it insulates itselfÂ and has time to develop very deepÂ taproots .
Cushion plants in several families can be found all over the world. …
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Rockery Plants in a Rock Box

April 12, 2017 hortoris

A call this a rock box as it is one way of displaying rockery plants above ground level.

The size of these interesting rock plants allows you to get many species in one small container. This tannalized wooden frame was custom made about 4 feet square and is on display outside the new Alpine house at RHS gardens Harlow Carr. I counted over 30 different species planted in this one container.

Below is a close-up of the Armeria junperfolia from the same display.