A SMALL HORTICULTURAL ENTERPRISE

A SMALL HORTICULTURAL ENTERPRISE

Last week I ran over some landscape design ideas for improving the garden space around the house of the Courier “Money Can’t Buy” competition winners, Fiona and Scott Merrilees. However the house sits on a large field of nearly an acre so there is a fair bit of land available for some outdoor hobby, activity or enterprise.

I will offer my thoughts on how I would utilise the spare land, but understand there are very many other worthwhile ventures worth consideration. Half an acre is probably too small to consider a fully commercial agricultural or horticultural enterprise, but it is big enough to offer a valuable return on capital invested as a part time or start up venture.

Many businesses start off quite small but plough profits back into the business to grow bigger.

Thirty years ago I would be starting my own nursery, garden centre or strawberry farm as I had youthful energy, some knowledge and loads of ambition. Today I am now into Saskatoon fruit and heritage apples as well as enjoying a bit of forestry, so I will look a bit closer at these three options.

A small woodland

A half acre of land could take about 400 to 500 young trees and provide shelter, improve the landscape amenity and once they mature could provide a nice profit at harvest for the owner or their family. There is a huge demand for timber in the UK so the Government encourages land owners to plant trees whenever they can. A whole range of grants is available depending on location, local woodland policy, proximity to population, size of land available and type of woodland proposed.

A higher level of grant is given where there is more broadleaved trees planted rather than just conifers as they are more expensive to buy and need more room to grow.

Commercially, pines, spruce and larch are very popular, but many other attractive conifers exist where appearance is just as important as producing commercial timber stands. Similarly there is a wide range of very attractive broadleaf trees to choose from including the common beech, oaks, lime, horse chestnut, and maple, but give thought to adding in some sweet chestnut and walnut.

Mixed woodland is very attractive and native species help to blend into local landscapes.

Often the edges of woodland blocks are planted with a diverse range of smaller trees to add interest.

These can include birch, field maple, rowan, alder, bird cherry, sloes and elderberry.

The land is usually ploughed into raised furrows and the trees planted into the top or side of these to assist surface drainage. Weed control is practised in the early years to get the trees established and any losses are replaced after one year.

This is a commercial undertaking so advice, plants and chemicals are available in the trade.

Local apple orchard

This field is a perfect size to establish a small apple orchard to produce apples in season for local shops and farmers markets. As commercial practises will be kept to a minimum it is not necessary to worry about the needs of a fruit that does not bruise easily and has a long shelf life as the skin is usually quite tough. These popular commercial fruit varieties are usually devoid of flavour.

In the past when fruit was grown for local markets and hand picking and packing were normal the flavour of fruit was very important. These varieties are still around and with a wee bit of research, trees from the past, our heritage varieties, can still be grown so we can give our kids an apple they will enjoy and come back to look for more.

This venture will preserve apple varieties in danger of being lost so could well qualify for grant to buy and establish a heritage orchard.

Land is usually weed controlled then ploughed and harrowed then marked out for planting. Apple trees are usually one year old feathered whips planted about two metres apart in rows spaced at four to five metres apart and each tree will have its own six foot tall stake. The crop is grown as a spindle bush hedgerow so picking is always done from the ground.

Heritage varieties worthy of inclusion include Lass of Gowrie, Park Farm Pippin, Oslin, Lord Roseberry and Coul Blush. Other varieties known to do well in our area include Discovery, Red Devil, Red Falstaff and Fiesta.

A Saskatoon farm

At present saskatoons are not grown commercially in the UK, so the first fruit plantations may well qualify for an innovation grant. They grow very successfully in UK and the black berries will go down very well with anyone who likes blueberries which they look like in size and appearance, but are a little sweeter. They crop before the blueberries so will not compete with that fruit. In Canada where the saskatoon is grown extensively the demand far outstrips the supply so growers are propagating them and planting up new fields as fast as they can. They can be sold locally or transported easily to stores anywhere. The fruit is eaten fresh or used as jam, juice, in yoghurts, pies and wines and liqueurs. When this fruit crop takes off, the demand for it will be massive.

The bushes are very easy to grow and require hardly any pruning. They will start to crop in their third to fourth year and continue for the next fifty years.

Prepare the land as for apples then plant one or two year old bushes about a metre apart in rows spaced about three metres apart. This will allow for hand picking, though they do machine pick very well. A wealth of information on growing saskatoons can be found on Google at Prairie Elements.

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Choosing landscape plants

CHOOSING LANDSCAPE PLANTS

Last week we looked at Fiona and Scott’s new garden project beside Lumphinnans Farm in need of ideas and planting. The site was analysed their needs discussed and a programme to implement a landscape plan was suggested.

Plans can always be flexible as it is usually to have some parts ready for planting while other parts are still under construction for paths, patio, hard standing and garage.

It is a good idea to use a planted border around the base of the house to soften the structure into the surrounding landscape. Even when builders leave the area packed down with hardcore a narrow one foot wide border is not hard to dig out and refill with good soil about ten to twelve inches deep. Plants will be very happy to grow in this environment, though a two foot border would give more impact.

The landscape design will be based on an attractive range of plants that will not need much maintenance, but be very effective in function and appearance.

Ground preparation

Although farm land usually means good soil, it may well be hard packed after building works and have a lot of old bricks and other debris buried in it. These need removing from the top soil, but they are not usually a problem in subsoil, unless this is very hard packed. Sometimes it is just as quick to excavate the planting areas and bring in fresh top soil. It is beneficial to mix in some peat, compost, well rotted manure, old grow bags or planting compost into the top soil. Always add some fertiliser to new areas to get plants off to a good start.

Around the house

The south and west facing borders will allow a wide choice of flowering plants enjoying a sheltered sunny position. Good ground cover plants include heathers, lavender, cistus, genista, senecio, mahonia and helianthemum. To add some height where ever there is space at the side of doors and windows add the New Zealand Flax, cytisus, (brooms), ceanothus, fuchsia Mrs Popple, Rosemary or Kerria. Some herbaceous plants can be very reliable and easy to look after such as flag iris, Shasta daisies and phlox.

A climbing rose trained up part of the chimney would add colour, scent and height.

Specimen plants

A large expanse of lawn in front of a house deserves a very special specimen tree to add class. My favourites are the white stemmed birch Betula jacquemontii and the blue Atlas cedar Cedrus atlantica glauca. You only need one specimen planted well back from the house but visible from the windows.

Screening

Outbuildings, parking areas, storage space for materials and fence lines can all be screened with a mixture of trees and shrubs. The trees can include pines, spruce, rowan, birch and taller oaks, beech and even the more exotic walnut and sweet chestnuts. Shrubs are better if views are not to be impeded so include philadelphus, shrub roses, lilac, and magnolias and where evergreens are needed for screening all year round include rhododendrons, ceanothus, pyracantha, camellias and yew.

The steep bank at the back of the house is overgrown with gorse and is not particularly attractive. It could be improved by cutting back the gorse and planting a mixture of woodland edge trees such as rowan, alder, elderberry, birch, sloes, and field maple. Plant young bare root plants direct into the soil spaced about two metres apart or closer together then thin out a couple of years later transplanting spares around field perimeters.

Spare land

There are many options for using a half acre of spare land, but practical factors such as time, labour, funding and interest will help decide what to choose. Different people will come up with a variety of good solutions depending on their own knowledge and experience. A lot of thought and research is essential to get the option most appropriate for Fiona and Scott as the choice may well be for the long term to make the most of a golden opportunity.

I will consider three ventures in greater detail next week. These include establishing an attractive easy to look after small woodland, a small apple orchard producing high quality heritage fruit for local markets and the first commercial Saskatoon fruit farm in UK.

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Landscaping in Practise

LANDSCAPING IN PRACTISE      

One of the winners of the Courier “Money Can’t Buy” competition got the prize of a visit from myself to give advice on any gardening matter they wished, in addition to £200 of vouchers from Dobbies Garden Centre and a meal out in their restaurant. The prize was very appropriate as Fiona Merrilees and her husband Scott from Lumphinans in Fife had a major problem with their new garden.

Scott is a builder and had just built a beautiful detached house in the country with an acre of land, but not a clue on what to do with it. The house was completed three years ago, but they had very little time to spare for sorting out the garden landscape as they both worked and had a young family. They desperately needed someone to advise them on how to make a start in creating a garden fitting to match the house.

Most garden landscaping follows the same creative path so although everyone has their own specific problems, these can all be sorted out by identifying personal requirements and site problems.

I thought it would be helpful for those readers in a similar position of having a new garden to landscape if I ran over the options for landscaping Fiona’s garden.

Site survey and analysis

Access is from a shared farm track with a proper road not yet in place.
Great views exist to the south and east and also to the north from the top of a bank.

The garden is still a large field running south down a slope to a burn at the bottom.

Adjacent fields are fenced off and mature trees to the west afford some shelter.

The site holds vehicles, machinery, caravan and useful stocks of builder’s materials.

At present the site is virtually devoid of trees, shrubs or useful garden plants, i.e. landscaping has not yet started.

Specific needs

Safe play area for young family

Attractive garden around the house, and ease of maintenance a priority.

Patio and seating area on the south and west of the house

Double garage

Henhouse for farm hens and kennels for four farm dogs

Hard standing for caravan, machinery and building materials

Ideas for land use for over half an acre of spare land.

The plan
(show detailed plan)

Discussion

Excellent views to south and east must be retained

A patio facing south and west is required

A double garage with workshop space is required
Hard standing for vehicles and materials is necessary, but it must be screened from view.
A lawn in front of the house will add prestige to a lovely new home.
Permanent landscape plants around the house will blend it into the landscape, add interest and colour. Plant tubs will add a splash of colour with annual bedding plants.

Create a play area at the far end of the lawn

Consider options for spare land use

The landscape programme

This garden is big so landscaping will require a fair bit of resources, funding and labour, but most of the work will be done by Scott and Fiona as and when time and funds are available.

The first priority is to sort out the hard landscape features, (paths, drive, patio and hard standing areas).The hard landscaping could take between three to twelve months depending on time, labour and funding.

The double garage should go in before the roadworks at it will need services laid through the ground. Once complete the soil can be brought in as required and prepared for planting.

Nowadays with so many plants available in pots and large containers, planting is no longer restricted to the winter dormant season.

There is about just over half an acre of spare land to the south of the property which can be used for numerous purposes. Being in the country the obvious ones are grazing for ponies, a few sheep, cows or other farm animals. The land is also perfect for a small woodland, orchard or fruit farm with blackcurrants, blueberries or saskatoons.

There are always plenty of professional organisations available and willing to offer advice and sometimes help with funding to get these projects up and running and assist with advice with ongoing maintenance.

Next week I will be landscaping around the house, discuss the use of specific plants and look in greater depth to the use of the spare land.

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Creating a New Garden

CREATING A NEW GARDEN      

It is always sad to leave behind a mature garden that has taken ten years to create and is now fully functional, i.e. shelter and privacy are in place, we have flowers all year round, the fruit trees give us more fruit than we can use and our two patios mean we can follow the sun around in those rare moments of relaxation.

However life does not stand still. Our needs are changing, as we approach retirement, (its only ever going to be a pleasant thought.) We no longer need a large house as family grow up and travel to the other end of the world, so a nice wee cottage somewhere but with a decent garden would be just right. I then have the task of bringing together a lifetime of growing my favourite plants and starting it all over again. The new garden must be functional so I will take time to design all the features so everything is in the right place from the beginning.

Everybody at some time or another has to confront the new garden and where you begin, whether it is a new build on a new estate with a nice turfed lawn but nothing else, or whether it is a garden left by a previous owner.

When I find my wee plot of potential paradise and start the landscape works I will keep my readers up to date with progress and hopefully pass on a few ideas. There will always be a few success stories mixed with a few disasters. I will try and keep the latter at a low level, but when the brains creativity kicks in anything can happen.

Function

It is a good idea to make a list of all the things a garden must do. Include security around the perimeter if necessary, especially if you are next to a field full of cows or sheep. Shelter from winds from the south west is high on my list and a patio is an absolute essential as I do not want to be grafting in the garden on a hot sunny afternoon, and I will need somewhere to park my sun lounger.

On the practical side find a suitable spot for the outdoor rotary drier, the compost heap and a vegetable patch for some fresh greens and a few home grown chemical free spuds. A fruit garden is a must with room for an apple, pear and plum, and all the soft fruits. Then of course we must integrate space for a year round display of flowers with special emphasis around the entrance and patio areas.

I also like to create a winter garden to be seen from the comfort of the house during the cold dull days and usually fit in a bird table and water bath. Our blackie likes to shower every morning.

This all sounds very ambitious but with careful planning it is very surprising what you can fit into a small garden.

Favourite plants

Every one has their own favourites from scented lilies, flag iris, climbing roses, delphiniums, rhododendrons, flowering cherry, tulips, crocus, daffodils and snowdrops and many more. Give a lot of thought as to where to plant them for their best position.

Colour and Impact

Spring and summer bedding plants can give a huge splash of colour and be very impressive when grouped together at entrances and around the patio. Wallflower and tulips in spring and geraniums and tuberous begonias in summer are hard to beat for impact.

Many border plants, shrubs, roses and trees can all be very special in bloom, though they are all seasonal. Make use of this feature and group together those at their best at different times of year. In March when the Forsythia is in full flower plant some early flowering Red Emperor fosteriana tulips underneath them to give impact and create a contrast of colour.

Shelter and Privacy

There is always a need for shelter from winds in our country and privacy is important today as houses are often built very close together. Open plan frontages may be the modern idea to improve the appearance of a whole estate, but people have to live in the houses and open plan is not to everyone’s taste. A house integrates better into the landscape when the edges and perimeters are softened with trees, shrubs, roses and ground cover. The size and selection of the planting will relate to the surrounding area. If there is a good view to preserve then lower ground cover is best, but if there are busy roads, shops or any eyesores to screen then trees and taller evergreens may be a better bet. However unless you live in the country with your nearest neighbour a couple of fields away do not entertain planting Leyland cypress. It is very vigorous, very tall, its roots rob the ground of all moisture and nutrients and is responsible for feuding neighbours all over the country as their is always somebody unable to control its rampant growth.

Relaxation

The patio is essential and should be sited close to the house for privacy and shelter and built as large as possible. This is where you can indulge in brightening it up with scented climbers, summer bedding, scented lilies, tubs and hanging baskets. This is where you dine outdoors at every opportunity, socialise in the evenings and weekends and relax on that sun lounger after a bit of garden graft enjoying a small glass of Saskatoon wine.

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