A Busy Week in the Garden

A BUSY WEEK IN THE GARDEN

The variability of our British weather is so unpredictable that it is very hard to plan tasks that are weather dependant. When should I harden off plants, when do I plant my tomatoes and sow my first vegetables. At this time of year we have to watch out for that late frost. After a couple of nice warm days we get the early vegetables sown or plant those raised in the glasshouse, only to find we run into a dry spell when watering has to be resorted to. Once young seeds germinate or new plants get planted they can get a check to growth if they get too dry or we get those strong cold winds that can shrivel up tender young growth.

Although spring has been quite cool it has helped to hold back early flowering trees and shrubs now less liable to suffer a late frost. Weeds are slow but they are beginning to appear, and many lawns are getting their first cut in the second week of April, rather than the last week of March as in previous years.

However plants are wanting to grow, so there is work to be done in every part of the garden.

We did get a couple of warm days when the sun lounger came out, the winters dust got blown off, and I did manage to have my coffee break at leisure, but it is hard to relax when you know there are more than a dozen jobs all needing done.

In the greenhouse

Tomatoes. Growbags were purchased from our City Road Allotments onsite shop for my tomatoes. Both my maincrop Alicante and cherry tomato Sweet Million produced excellent plants in small pots. This year’s growbag is just a wee bit smaller than last years so I am only putting in two plants per bag rather than three. I cut out my circles and thoroughly water the compost, then leave it for at least one day to drain and warm up before I plant. I always cut slits in the bottom of each bag to allow drainage. The tomatoes are supported with polypropylene binder twine which hangs down from wire supports in the roof of the greenhouse. As the plant grows it is twisted around the twine.

It will not need any more water for a couple of weeks and no feeding till the first truss sets.

Chrysanthemums. Cuttings continue to be taken, but losses from the hard winter have killed out some varieties and weakened others. To make up my numbers I will have to take the tops out of freshly rooted cuttings and propagate these to increase stock.

Young plants of Cosmos, cabbage Golden Acre, Brussels Sprouts and my onions have now all been put out to harden off. All my geraniums were put out last week as they are usually pretty tough.

The space left will be filled with a batch of Nemesia Carnival, Petunias and Busy Lizzies which are excellent for tubs and hanging baskets.

Sweet corn plants have germinated and continue to grow strongly. They will be potted up in another couple of weeks.

Tuberous begonias are now growing slowly, but will soon need more room as these mature tubers produce big plants.

Grape Vines. All my rods which were pruned in winter are now sprouting several new growths from each spur. I will leave these alone for now as they may not all produce a fruiting bunch. Once I can see the bunches, I will remove any that are barren and thin the other down to one fruiting lateral per spur, which are spaced about nine inches apart along the rod.

The Allotment

At long last I have completed my winter digging.  I had intended to complete digging before Christmas not knowing that a two foot blanket of snow was scheduled to arrive quite early and was in no hurry to melt. That episode put back plans a wee bit.

Strawberry variety Mae is now in full flower in my low polythene tunnel, and as long as we don’t get a late frost I should be enjoying my first fruits at the end of May.

Early summer salads have been transplanted from cellular trays previously grown under glass into another polythene tunnel. I have planted lettuce, radish, spring onion, beetroot and Early Nantes carrots. They are all grown very close together, but will be spaced out as I use them.

Leeks have now been sown in a well prepared seedbed. However I still have enough leeks left from last year to crop another two weeks. They have been great value.

Broad beans are now growing strongly from a late March planting.

Kale and Swiss Chard plants left from last year continue to grow and get used as spring greens for stir frying and in soups.

Raspberry Glen Ample was wiped out by a root rot over four years, most likely some strain of Phytophthora. The dead plants were removed, topsoil replaced and mounded to assist drainage then the row was replaced with twelve pot grown Raspberry Cascade Delight. This new variety is supposed to be resistant to Raspberry root rot disease. This is now April and there is not the slightest sign of any life in any of them. Either they have been infected by the disease still around on the land, or they have not been bred resistance for all strains of phytophthora, or maybe the Scottish winter was more than they could handle. End of experiment.

I have planted up a new row, going back to Glen Ample, as it really is an excellent variety, but this time on a new part of my allotment.

Ornamental Garden

Spring flowering shrubs are now at their best with rhododendrons, azaleas, kerria, mahonia and camellias all putting on a brilliant display.

Gladioli can now be planted fairly deeply just in case there is any late frosts, but also to help support them. I will keep some back for the allotment to grow on for cut flower.

Aconites are now well past, but the seeds can be gathered and broadcast to other areas to increase the display. Each seed should flower after about three years.

Peach Peregrine flowers get hand pollinated with a sable brush every second day. Even though the flowers are late, there are very little insects around to help with the pollination.

The flowers are not very strong looking. They may have suffered in our harsh winter.

Time will tell.

Peach leaf curl disease is still affecting some new buds, even after spraying twice with Dithane at leaf fall and just before bud burst. I pick these off and destroy them.

Now, just before I find yet another job, the sun is starting to shine so I may risk a few minutes on that sun lounger.

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The Growing Season

SPRING PROPAGATION

Early April is a time when gardening really gets serious. Seed sowing of vegetables and flowers is in full production, chrysanthemum cuttings are being rooted, begonias started and plants germinated earlier are now needing pricked out or potted up. My greenhouse is always full even though I keep putting out plants to harden off as other younger more tender plants take their place. Outdoors I will be preparing the ground for the first sowings of vegetables and flowers, then if I can find a few spare days there is fences to be repaired, outdoor tables to paint, the greenhouse glass needs a wash,  my allotment shed roof leeks badly, and now the weeds have started to appear.

Fat chance of me taking advantage of some nice warm day to make sure my sun lounger is still in good working order. However my winter art classes are now finished till after Easter when I start again with a ten week summer session, (information on my website), so I will have no excuse for not getting some gardening done, unless of course I find my latest art project too stimulating to leave. I am currently working on new paintings for the Aberdeen Arts Fair in August where I will have a stand. My beautiful bright red Amaryllis was perfect as a colour prop in one of my figure paintings.

Greenhouse activities

Sowings of broad beans, onions, lettuce, early summer cabbage and cauliflower are now big enough to get hardened off so they are now outdoors in a sunny sheltered spot. They all went into cellular trays so did not need pricking off. This gives me a bit more space for my tomatoes now that they have been potted up and are growing strongly. They should be ready for planting into the growbags next week, but that depends on the weather just in case we get a late cold spell.

Overwintered geraniums are looking great. The largest ones are now outdoors, but younger smaller ones need a bit more warmth to bulk up.

Grape vines propagated last year from cuttings are now all breaking into growth, so they are due to get hardened off very soon. My greenhouse grapes are also starting into growth, so I ventilate on all warm days to keep a buoyant atmosphere so I don’t get troubled with mildew or botrytis.

Seed sowing continues with sweet corn going into small cellular trays to be transplanted into larger ones after germination.

Cape gooseberry seeds are also going into cellular trays as well as kale and Brussels sprouts.

Tuberous begonias have now come out of storage in the garage. I overwintered them in polystyrene boxes filled with a mixture of dry soil and sand, but now the warmer atmosphere has plumped up the buds which want to get growing. I start these in boxes packed quite close together covered lightly in compost, but they will get potted or boxed up again when they start to put on more growth. I have had about thirty non stop tuberous begonias for over fifteen years. The tubers get big enough in time to split in half as long as there is a few buds on each portion.

Chrysanthemums have had a hard time overwintering in my cold greenhouse, and I may lose some varieties, though it is early yet. Time will tell. I have started to take cuttings as they are big enough, (about two inches long) inserting them into trays. They will enjoy a bit of warmth on the living room windowsill to get them rooted, and then it is back into the greenhouse. I have a collection of early outdoor reflex and incurves which get disbudded to give me large heads and another collection of sprays which do not get disbudded. They are grown in a bed system on my allotment, giving a glorious display before getting cut for the house.

Outdoor work

Leeks can now be sown thinly in a well prepared seed bed outdoors. Once they are pencil thickness and about six inches tall, they can be lifted, topped and tailed, dibbled into big holes, then watered in to firm them up. The variety Musselburgh is always a good favourite. They are heavy feeders so make sure the ground for them has been well manured or composted, and still give them a dusting of fertilizer.

Dogwoods and willow growing in the winter border have now been pruned right back to ground level. This always seems very harsh, but they are very resilient and soon grow back quite strongly. I encourage growth with a dressing of compost in winter, then some fertilizer in spring. It is the fresh one year old shoots that give the brightest colours.

Landscaping works

Several shrub roses have been removed as they just were not strong enough to fight off attacks of mildew, rust and blackspot. They were growing on a very steep bank, so now I have to seek plants that can stabilize the soil and prevent erosion of soil running down the slope. Last summer I planted drifts of flag iris that have surface rhizomes that soon cover the ground holding the soil in place. They were supplemented with polyanthus, which were spare after they finished their spring display in tubs. They are brilliant at hugging the ground and continue to flower all spring. I will be adding a batch of Shasta daisies that are also great for soil stabilization, and once the threat of frost has passed I have a dozen young Fuchsia Mrs Popple ready to go out.

To add variety and cover other areas of this steep slope I am growing a batch of Cosmos which will go under glass for a few weeks to get them started, and a sowing of the annual Shirley poppy will go straight onto the steep sloping ground. I will prepare a fine tilth and add a sprinkling of old growbag compost to assist the germination, but they will get no fertilizer, otherwise it will be plenty of growth at the expense of flowers.

Early spring bulbs

The spring bulbs continue to flower. Now it is the turn for the Scilla siberica, Anemone blanda, grape hyacinths, early narcissi, and tulip species. February Gold is one of the first narcissi to flower, and the kaufmanniana tulip Stressa, Shakespeare and Show Winner are in bloom at the end of March. These are followed by the Fosteriana types such as Red Emperor and the white Purissima and the greigii hybrids Red Riding Hood.

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Planting Spring Bulbs

PLANT SPRING BULBS NOW

It is always very uplifting to see the emergence of the first spring flowers after a long dark cold winter. They are the sign that winter is ending and warmer weather is on its way.

Traditionally March was the turning point when shoots started to appear, then up popped the first snowdrops and winter aconites. Global warming has changed all that, but climate change is not occurring gradually. It is a bit like the stock market, over time it improves but has wild swings along the journey. Several years ago I was enjoying a coffee break outdoors in glorious warm sunshine at the end of February. Last April my early tulips were broken down with the weight of snow on them. I used to think Narcissus February Gold was a joke as it flowered in April, but now it almost does flower at the end of February. See the drifts of them along the Lochee Road next February or maybe March.

This is the time of year to be planning, buying and planting bulbs for that early flower display. The garden Centres, nurseries and stores are full of bulbs for every situation around the garden.

Bulb planting ideas

Bulbs start to flower in February with the snowdrops and continue till mid summer with the lilies. They will give a more impressive display if they are planted in bold drifts. They can also be mixed together with several types of bulbs to extend the season of display. Snowdrops can be mixed with crocus and tulips which are planted deeper and also summer lilies which flower much later, but all grow happy together.

However consider the location for each type. Snowdrops, aconites, bluebells, chionodoxa and grape hyacinths are all happy in partial or dappled shade, whereas crocus need sunshine to open up the flowers. Many bulbs thrive under deciduous trees as they do their growing early before the trees develop a dense canopy. Often this canopy will dry out the soil surface in summer which may suit the bulb during its dormant stage.

I find numerous places to grow bulbs in association with other plants such as in the herbaceous border, coloured stemmed or winter border, woodland border amongst the Himalayan blue poppies, and of course in the spring bedding displays in borders and tubs.

Bulbs, such as hyacinths and narcissus can also be grown in pots for the house, then later after flowering dried off and planted out in the garden.

Early flowering bulbs such as narcissus and crocus can be planted in lawns, but remember to let the leaves grow to feed the bulbs for the following years flowers. Always allow a minimum of six weeks from flowering before mowing off the leaves, though many people will advise to leave them till they begin to turn yellow. In some wet years that can take a long time especially with the large headed daffodils.

Another great plant association is a drift of Anemone blanda with Cyclamen hederifolium as they both have totally different flowering and growing seasons. Anemone blanda flowers in spring, then grows quickly till mid summer before dying down. The cyclamen flowers emerge in late August to September and continue to grow till winter before dying down.

To capture and enjoy the beauty of those first flowers in late winter plant some snowdrops, aconites and crocus species in view of the main house windows. Then even after a snowfall you can still see them emerging unscathed from the comfort of a warm house. I have a drift of these next to a beautiful pure white Christmas rose, Helleborus niger which flowers at the same time and viewed from the patio window.

Bulbs for the house

Hyacinths are hard to beat for a flowering scented house plant and come in many colours. My favourite was always the red Jan Bos, but there are excellent blues, pinks and whites. For the earliest flowers choose bulbs that have been prepared for forcing and try to get them potted up at the end of August or early September.

Bulbs can be planted close together, even one above the other in bulb fibre compost in wide pots. Water them in then put them outdoors against a north wall. They prefer to be kept dark at this stage for about ten or so weeks and protect them from frost and mice.. This encourages root growth but holds back leaves and flowers. They should not need much watering. Keep checking them for signs of shoot growth and as soon as they begin to grow, probably in late November to December, introduce them to a light but not sunny place such as a cold frame or cool greenhouse. Keep them cold but frost free, until the flowers begin to show. Gradually warm them up but leave it to the last minute before you take them into the warmth of a house otherwise they will grow too tall.

Early narcissus and dwarf tulips e.g. Red Riding Hood, can also be grown in pots for early flowering. I like the scented Cheerfulness types which have double flowers and a heady perfume. Grow them the same way as hyacinths.

Bulbs for the garden

My season starts in early February with a clump of snowdrops planted under my grape vine on a south facing wall which gets a lot of heat from the sun. Then other snowdrops, aconites and crocus species all come together. Crocus should come after the snowdrops, but not any more. Anemone blanda is drifted under our apple trees and follows the crocus before the bluebells smother the ground under our Bramley apple and Victoria plum, all happy to grow together. In the front of our fruit tree mini orchard, (five trees) there are drifts of lilies which grow up into the sun.

The herbaceous border is covered in hyacinths previously grown in pots but now naturalised plus Chionodoxa, the Glory of the Snows. One display after another.

Where ever there is a space amongst shrubs I have planted sacks of daffodils, narcissus, tulips and grape hyacinths which are all left to grow and spread as they wish. I keep adding to them every year. Types of fosteriana tulips have large flowers, are very early and naturalise well.

Tubs and Beds

My Parks Dept training as a gardener was very thorough so I always follow our tradition of planting both summer and winter bedding plants in borders, tubs and hanging baskets.

At this time of year the normal selection will be Wallflowers, Myosotis, Polyanthus and winter flowering pansies.

I choose the tall Darwin Hybrid tulips for interplanting amongst the wallflower, but dwarf early tulips or species to go between the others.

Tubs and pots are also planted with dwarf tulips amongst the pansies and myosotis and often a few crocus are added to give an early display.

I do not use bulbs in my winter hanging baskets as these are usually filled with winter pansies which can suffer from too much foliage from the crocus which just loves to grow when you water and feed them.

All of these bulbs get dried out after flowering to be reused elsewhere in the garden the following year.

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The Winter Garden

Plan a garden for colour all year round

A garden can have year round interest with the availability of such a wide range of plants to choose from at local garden centres, or by mail order from a host of excellent gardening magazines.

It is very easy to create interest from spring to autumn, but winter can also have its charm to be enjoyed through the window of a warm home, or to wander round the garden on those cold but pleasant sunny winter days.

The Winter Garden

When the summer flowers fade, the last roses get frosted and the few remaining leaves with autumn colour fall off, now is the moment the winter garden gets some attention. An attractive winter garden full of colour is much appreciated during the long winter months of cold weather and short days.

Plan the garden

It is a useful exercise to make a list of all the different types of plants you wish to grow, pondering through gardening books, visiting garden centres, botanical gardens or National Trust gardens of stately homes or look through gardening magazines to find out what can be grown successfully in your own area.

Consider ground cover including heathers, coloured stemmed shrubs, flowering shrubs, scented shrubs, climbers and for late winter plant some early flowering bulbs.

The winter season

In past years the winter garden began its season in late autumn as other parts of the garden were going into dormancy. The recent climatic changes brought about by global warming effects have given rise to an extended season for many plants. We now get roses and geraniums up to December. The autumn leaf fall now happens in early winter and yellow Jasmine can easily provide a beautiful Christmas table decoration combined with red carnation (purchased.)
Spring flowering bulbs no longer wait for spring but are ready to put on a show from January onwards. These really are a bonus for the winter garden.

A Scottish garden

My winter garden in sunny Dundee has only a few square metres combining ground cover plants, shrubs with coloured stems, climbers at the back, a specimen tree and all underplanted with bulbs.
The show begins when the tree and shrubs lose their leaves to reveal the brilliantly coloured stems of Cornus sibirica Westonbirt and Mid-winter Fire, Kerria japonica, Leycesteria Formosa and the dazzling orange stemmed willow, Salix britzensis emerging from the ground cover of the black grass, Ophiopogon nigricans. This grass is quite black forming dense ground hugging clumps that give a perfect background to a drift of snowdrops. Now white on black; that’s different.

I did have a black stemmed Cornus kesselringii but I am afraid it was a curiosity, not quite a thing of beauty to warm the soul on a cold winter’s day so it has been relegated to the shade border.

The coloured stem border leads into the heather garden where a magnificent specimen birch tree Betula jaquemontia with pure white bark takes a central positio

n within a drift of gold and crimson heather, Calluna vulgaris Beoley Gold and Beoley Crimson. All of these plants are enhanced with the first cold evenings and a bit of frost. The heather garden extends with drifts of a wide range of Calluna and Erica including the winter flowering Erica carnea Springwood white and Springwood Pink.

If there was more room I would include a Rubus cockburnianus, the grey stemmed bramble. This is a lovely grey plant but has vicious thorns.
For those in a more frivolous mood in need of the perfect small specimen tree, I recommend the Japanese maple Acer palmatum Sangokaku and although it is not cheap, it will not disappoint. After the vivid colour of the autumn leaves fall off the bright wine red stems are brilliant in sunshine.

It is important to create a dark background to enhance this border, so consider the fence colour, or use evergreens or climbers on a fence or wall. Climbing plants and wall trained shrubs can be grown on all fences and walls to add beauty, (climbing roses), provide scent, (honeysuckle), give protection, (pyracantha), or provide a fruit crop (figs, vines, or peaches). The winter flowering yellow Jasminum nudiflorum is superb at this time of year.

Spring arrives in February

The winter garden would be incomplete without a heavy planting of spring flowering bulbs drifted in amongst the low ground cover. It is quite feasible to have successional plantings each at their own depth giving a long display of flowers right out of winter and into summer.
The show starts in February when the Aconites, Snowdrops and Hellebore all compete with each other to see who can flower first, followed by the Crocus species. The large Crocus hybrids flower a week or so later, but what a fantastic display they make. Then immediately behind them is the polyanthus a couple of months early, but very welcome.

Cultivations

It is important that the border is kept weed free especially in autumn and top dressed with a mulch of well rotted garden compost. This humus helps to feed the soil, as well as creating a clean darker surface which helps to show off the coloured stems and spring flowers at their best.

In March there is always the occasional warm spring day that brings out the best from the flowering bulbs, and then we know that winter is past. Large drifts of brilliant crocus give way to the first early Narcissi and daffodils. February Gold usually leads this group, though in Scotland more often in March. Above the daffodils the Kerria japonica now puts on its show for a few weeks, before the first of the tulips underplanted amongst the cornus push up and open into the sun.

At the end of March the buds on the shrubs will start to grow, so now is the time to prune them back to a stool to encourage the growth of strong young stems that have the brightest colouring. Assist this growth with a dressing of nitrogenous fertiliser, but only after the flowering bulbs have finished. However I do not prune back the Kerria or Leycesteria. These get a light pruning after flowering by removing some older shoots back to decent fresh young growth.

The winter season ends, but the display continues.

Although the coloured stems have been pruned and the early spring bulbs are finished, I have also planted drifts of tulips which can now add interest to the border in May then these are followed by my scented lilies in mid summer. All these plants seem to work well together without any overcrowding

The show goes on.

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