Autumn Colour in the Garden
Grasses give a rich combination of autumnal colours
The purple Cosmos also add a dash of colour to this autumnal scene.
New for Ponds or Renovated Ponds
I may be behind the times but here are some new, or new to me, ideas to enhance your garden pond this summer.
New Pond Design
‘Islandscapes’ and Floating Planters
‘The Next Big Wave In Ponds’ (Oh please) ‘enhance the beauty and biological health of ponds, providing innovative filtration and a lush growing environment for terrestrial plants. lslandscapes offer food and fun for fish, frogs and other wildlife’ according to the blurb on Freedomponds.com
Velda do several floating planters made in covered styrofoam.
Ecopond Tadpole Food
I have to admit to never thinking of feeding tadpoles but if I did here is the answer. Ecopond Tadpole Food provides the nutrition that tadpoles need up to the point where they develop back legs (4-6 weeks after free swimming begins). See also frogspawn tips on Gardeners Tips
Rubberised or rigid plastic ponds are one of the easiest methods of creating a new pond. I bought one in a kidney shape with 3 different depths created by shelves. It saved a lot of hard work once I had dug an appropriate hole!
In one garden I saw such a preformed pond raised up rather than buried and think that is a creative idea if you can support the weight of water.
Pond Liners
Now you can cover black PVC liners with a stone coating. This makes the black edge of a pond look natural with a pebble or stone finish. Sold in various widths it could be used to finish off a butyl lined pond or as a run off into your garden proper. The brand I have seen is Oase Stone Liner.
All these products are available from the links above or a specialist like Bradshaws of York. Amazon supply the preformed ponds.
Pond Renovation
- As winter approaches all ponds need a bit of tlc to see them through the winter.
- If removing dead leaves and waste from the bottom of the pond leave the sludge on the edge so any small creatures can crawl back into the water.
- Repair leaks to prevent having to regularly top up the water. Evaporation is unavoidable so you may want to think of easy top-up methods.
- Create ways of stopping leaves dropping into the pond. Nets are unsightly unless semi submerged. Barrier hedges of box to stop prevailing winds may help.
- Make edges safe and secure. Reinforce and renew if necessary any childproof measures.
Read more on Preformed Pond Shapes including installation tips.
10 Green Gardening Habits
Get into Green Habits
- Work with nature. Grow native plants which will thrive in your local conditions. If you live in an arid area choose plants which are tolerant of draught. Labouring in a garden is healthy, satisfying, cheap and can be fine tuned to your own vision of your environment.
- Grow a good variety of plants including, shrubs and hedges for nesting, nectar plants and caterpillar food such as nettles.
- Do not be too tidy under hedges, keep a rough area to encourage wild life, keep a pile of logs or branches to rot down and an uncut grass area with a few weeds.
- Put up home made birds nesting boxes, bee nests with hollow tubes, and make areas safe from predators.
- Provide appropriate food and water for birds and hedgehogs. Birds and hedgehogs can be great eaters of slugs!
- Reuse, recycle, repurpose and retry if you fail, because that is what gardeners do. Don’t worry if your garden is not perfection – it is not a finished painting, but, an evolving organism.
- Have a fast compost bin for soft waste and a slow one for twigs and harder matter plus a wire frame for leaf mould. Compost provides one of the best organic soil improvers.
- Try growing your own herbs and vegetables without chemicals but using complementary planting.e.g. Tomatoes and French marigolds, Brassicas with Onions and Leeks
- Keep your greenhouse unheated but insulate tender plants with straw. You will be less encouraged to buy imported plants from exotic regions and will save fuel.
- Maintain your green sense of humour and green fingers but don’t become green with envy when your neighbours buy the latest Chinese electronic gardening gizmo.
The Perfect Rose
When Roses are in full bloom I can’t resist taking photos of them. With this rose I tried putting white paper behind the rose to highlight its colour. The rose below is taken with a dark background but is still satisfactory.
It is far from perfect, but, still very nice.
…
Super Star Rose of September
Super Star is one of my star picks when it comes to late blooming roses.
The petal colour is a luminous vermillion, a reddish orange with some slight veining to add mystery.
Heavily scented, Super Star spreads its perfume on still September evenings.
Super Star is free flowering with a vigorous growth habit that will see it reach 3-4 feet tall.
The buds and double flowers have a high center that opens out as the flower matures.
As a Hybrid Tea rose, Super Star is a good bedding rose that flowers through the season.
Problems and Comments on Super Star
- One thorn in the side of Super Star is the thorns that catch the unwary.
- This rose is also prone to mildew.
- I am trying to grow a cutting from a 15″ length of firm none flowering stem and will update you later.
- These photographs are all taken from the same robust tree that was accurately pruned to about 12″ from the ground in early spring.
- The roses sunny position and disposition make for an attractive garden display.
Propagation of Super Star
- The rose was bred and named over 50 years ago by Tantau (1960).
- The parents were a (Seedling x Peace) x (Seedling x Alpine Glow)
- Initially raised from seed, The stock was then increased by budding and later cuttings.
- Modern propagation techniques and vigour of the plant have speeded up the process.
- Super Star has taken many of the attributes of Peace Rose and the colour from Alpine Glow
Is sponsorship moving in on the naming of the rose?
‘Tropicana rose bush, one of the beautiful orange roses, previously called “Super Star”, is also available as a climbing rose. The ‘Tropican’s gorgeous blooms are shades of orange, vermillion and coral.’ according to Rose Gardening Made Easy
Combine Columbine and Honeysuckle
I like this combination of Aquilegia and Honeysuckle. The lobed leaves offset the spiky flowers.
The Aquilegia is flowering with light purple almost lilac, open blossoms with darker spurs surrounding bright yellow stamen.
The Honeysuckle is yet to get into flower but young buds are just forming at the end of the twisting stems.
Honeysuckles
- Honeysuckles, part of the Lonicera family, have sweetly-scented, bell-shaped flowers that produce a sweet, edible nectar.
- Breaking the Honeysuckle’s stem will release a powerful sweet odor.
- The fruit on honeysuckle are red, blue or black berries containing several seed.
- There are many Honeysuckle varieties to try but not all are prolific flowerers.
Read about Honeysuckle as climbers and Aquilegia Growing
Swiss Chard a Vegetable Show Stopper
Autumn sunshine sets off the traffic lights in the vegetable plot. A low angle for the rays of sunshine creates an extra opportunity to appreciate this vegetable. I like the leaf texture and think Chard can look so colourful that I will grow some amongst the flowers for next year.
Swiss Chard Varieties
- Ruby Red has stunning deep veins and can be picked young.
- Bright Lights is a seed mixture ready within a month.
- Lucullus with a clean white stem.
- Bright Yellow as it says on the label
- Leaf Beet Rhubarb Chard is deep red burgundy coloured.
- Leaf Beet Bulls Blood is used as a salad leaf.
available from Thompson & Morgan
Eating Swiss Chard
- Also called Leaf Beet, Swiss Chard is similar to spinach with a slightly bitter flavour.
- Swiss Chard is pungent and tastes slightly salty.
- It contains an exceptionally impressive list of health promoting nutrients and is definately one of your five a day.
- Both the leaves and stalk of chard are edible, although the stems vary in texture with the white ones being the most tender.
Crocus Buying & Cultivation Tips
Crocus Cultivation Tips
- Allow foliage to die back. Do not tie foliage because it weakens the bulb and flowers for next year.
- A little bonemeal in spring will help build up corms and bulbs for next year.
- Crocus often like a rather heavy but well drained soil. Enrich sandy soil with leafmould.
- If troubled with mice or squirrels eating corms, place wire netting just below the soil surface.
- Bring a pot of Crocus into the house when the first buds show and keep in a light cool spot.
- Allow species crocus to self seed to increase your display in years to come.
- Suspend black cotton over the buds to stop them being attacked by birds.
- After the foliage fades Crocus can be lifted and split every 4-5 years to avoid over crowding. Leave them be if they are naturalised under grass.
- Mulch with garden compost only sparingly 5cm deep.
Types of Crocus
- Autumn Crocus flower before the leaves and are also sold as Colchium. If autumn is dry water the corms.
- Crocus vernalis tend to have larger bulbs and spring blooms.
- Crocus chrysanthus like sun or light dappled shade and a lighter soil.
- Species Crocus Tommasinianus, C.sativus, C. angustifolius C. biflorus, C. korolkowii and C. olivieri will grow well under a late leafing shrub.
Buying Hints and Advice
- Buy firm plump bulbs.
- Avoid bulbs that are in the least bit soft.
- Avoid bulbs which are already sprouted and showing green.
- Avoid any bulbs that show signs of fungus, spots, rot or mould.
- Buy as soon as Crocus become available and plant September-November
I have just planted 100+ crocus around a new Paperbark Acer and a similar number in a variety of pots and containers. When the containers have flowered the crocus will be fertilised and planted out.
See our other photos
Bulb: A Hand-Picked Selection of the World’s Most Beautiful Bulbs by Anna Pavord is a personal selection and authoritative guide to the most gorgeous bulbs on the earth.
Anna Pavord, world-famous author of “The Tulip”, writes charmingly about her favourite subject from Acis to Zigadenus via Tulip and Crocus.
Spring Flowers Magdalen College
These photos are from Magdalen College Oxford University.
“At twilight, nature is not without loveliness, though perhaps its chief use is to illustrate quotations from the poets.”
– Oscar Wilde (a famous alumni of Magdalen)
Looking After Garden Tools Old & New
Clean your Garden Tools
- Clean all of the dirt and soil from your spades, forks, trowels etc. after each use.
- Allow your tools to dry completely before storing to prevent rusting, mould and handle rot.
- Before storing, wipe the metal parts of pruners, shears, and loppers with an oily rag. A shot of products such as WD40 will also do the trick.
- Rinse off tools with soap and water then dry and rub with an oily rag as chemicals such as fertilizers will quickly corrode any metal parts.
- Disinfect old terracotta pots before reusing.
Oil Your Tools
- Especially with old tools, rub linseed oil into the wooden handle of your tools to help prevent drying out and splintering.
- Spray metal tools with WD40 or equivalent to prevent rust.
- Rusted tools should be cleaned with a wire brush, sandpaper and steel wool. Penetrating oil will help with the more stubborn spots.
- Oil tools well before storing for winter.
- Mix builders sand and oil in a bucket to plunge tools into and it will clean and prolong the life of your tools
Sharpening and Repairing Garden Tools
- Use a flat edged file to keep your tools sharpened to maximize their efficiency.
- Pruners, secateurs and shears can be tricky to sharpen so you can leave these types of tools to the professionals. If you use a sharpening stone work on the outer side of the blade not the smooth cutting surface.
- Sanding down a splintered handle then rubbing with linseed oil will restore it to a smooth finish.
- Old good quality but rusted tools that you see at car boot sales can be restored to almost new condition. A good old one often beats a moderate new one (see reuse recycle).
Read Garden Products Old Garden Tool Books
Consider insuring your better tools.