REVIEW OF SCOTTISH EXOTICS

REVIEW OF SCOTTISH EXOTICS

Creating an attractive garden with flowers all year round and almost self sufficient in fruit and vegetables is expected when you have had intensive horticultural training and gardening has been in your blood since childhood. I have always experimented with new plants, so when the prospect of climate change promised to give Scotland a wee bit of global warming, you have to try out something new and maybe a wee bit exotic.

Saskatoon fruit growing may not be very exotic, and they had been growing at the James Hutton Institute for over forty years, but no-one had taken them to the next level. They needed promoting to let folk know they are edible, delicious, easy to grow, suitable for UK conditions and hopefully before long our garden centres will be stocking them.

Chokeberries are also a novelty fruit needing a wee push as tasty health product. Although they may be just a wee bit astringent for eating fresh from the punnet, they make brilliant jam, compote, summer puddings and one of our favourite wines, now considered a health beverage.

We may not need a warmer climate for those, but as my garden is on a southern slope with some south facing walls it is perfect for trying out other Scottish exotics.

Peaches, figs, cherries, goji and outdoor grapes have all been planted and assessed to date.

Fig Brown Turkey is this year’s success story. I took a chance by leaving all last year’s unripe fruitlets on the bush, against normal good practise, as these will take up the plants energy, only to fall off in a cold winter. However we never got a cold winter and my figs survived and gave me a bumper crop of nearly eighty ripe fresh figs. They cropped over many weeks so most were consumed fresh, though some were lightly stewed to concentrate sweetness for a dessert.

Goji, however, was this year’s failure. I had waited about five years for the bush to flower. It had grown ten foot tall and I had to be pruned before it took over the garden. It never ever looked like it wanted to flower or fruit, then in spring it died, most likely from phytophthora root rot which my allotment now seems to be suffering from.

Outdoor peach Peregrine and cherry Cherokee both put on plenty of good growth and were covered in flowers, but there were very few pollinating bees around in spring so the flowers never got fertilised and just fell off. I got one peach and about ten cherries. Not a great success.

Outdoor grapes

My outdoor grape trial continues to battle with problems. I have tried eight varieties all planted against south walls and fences, but lost one (Siegerrebe) to a red spider infestation from which it never recovered. Then Rondo which produced its first well ripened bunch last year died in spring. Regent grew for two years, produced several bunches this year, then died before these could ripen up. I think the phytophthora root rot may be the type that can infect a whole range of woody plants. I can see no other explanation for gradual deaths of so many plants. Muscat Bleu and Polo Muscat are both growing just fine, but have not yet flowered. Solaris is now about four years old and still to produce its first bunch. However, Phoenix, in its second year has produced masses of growth and three bunches which ripened up, though they were small and seedy. The Muscat flavour was terrific.

My ornamental grape Brant growing on a south facing wall gave me forty pounds of ripe sweet black grapes now fermenting peacefully in several demijohns, but scheduled for the first tasting at Christmas 2015. Its success gives you faith that we can grow grapes outdoors in Scotland, but they  need a warm sheltered spot with deep well drained soil, and the pruning has to be precise and constant to curtail excessive growth to allow sun onto the bunches, while retaining enough leaves to feed the swelling bunches. Although 2014 got a decent summer from spring till the end of July, the wet and cool August did the grapes no favours at all at a critical time.

Chris Trotter’s vineyard on the south slopes of Upper Largo in Fife had a similar result with Solaris not having its best year, though Rondo produced enough grapes for a small trial run. Chris feels 2015 will be the year for his first decent grape harvest from his 400 vines, though he has had to learn to adjust pruning to cope with Scottish conditions.

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NOW FOR SOMETHING BLUE

NOW FOR SOMETHING BLUE

Gardeners throughout history have always had a fascination for blue flowers. It is both the beauty of a pure blue flower as well as the emotive response we share with the colour. The climate in UK is quite variable and in Scotland we get our fair share of cloudy skies, so we get that feel good factor every time the sun shines giving us that bright blue sky and we can feel the warmth.

My garden is not large, and being a very keen gardener I grow a wide range of plants. When checking out all my blue flowered plants it struck me that the majority flowered in spring and early summer. This suggests that these blue flowers remind us that winter is past and sunny summer days are just ahead.

When planning new landscapes, or bedding schemes we go for bright red and yellows flowers to create drama and impact , but nothing beats blue to relax and calm us down.

As winter gives way to early spring and the first flowers appear the dominant colours are white with the snowdrops, then yellow with the aconites. Chionodoxa, the Glory of the Snows, and Anemone blanda lead the blue flowers out of winter, and then the Pulmonaria, a low growing herbaceous plant comes into flower. I always try to grow plants in association groups so a range of different plants can add their own bit to enhance the group. My Pulmonaria is planted amongst a drift of aconites alongside some early flowering yellow Doronicum. That way I am sure to have the blue pulmonaria flowering next to some yellow flowers, but depending on the season.

Once spring takes over and warmer days become normal, blue flowers get stronger in intensity. Tubs and hanging baskets will always have some deep blue Pansy Ullswater, and to show off dwarf red, pink and yellow tulips in flower beds, it is hard to beat Myosotis the Forget me nots, or the blue Polyanthus.

Tubs growing near doorways will have some deep blue scented hyacinths underplanted amongst the spring bedding plants.

This is also the time for my drift of bluebells growing under the apple trees to but on their display, but I always remove seed heads after flowering as they can take over the garden given half a chance.

Summer sees another range of blue flowers from the delphiniums, meconopsis and iris in the herbaceous border to the gentianas in the rock garden. Large outdoor tubs can be planted with the not so hardy agapanthus, and smaller tubs and baskets always have some blue scented petunias.

Annual borders can find spots for some drifts of cornflowers and Nigella, the Love in a Mist.

Plant breeders have always risen to the challenge of trying to create a blue flower from some plant that is not naturally blue. Roses and tulips have tested the breeders for years, but if the gene for blue colour does not exist in the species or genus they will have an uphill battle without resorting to genetic modification. Last year saw the first blue flowered phalaenopsis orchid appear in the garden centres, but then it emerged that the plant had been treated to some blue dye that would only last the one flowering season.

Another favourite plant prone to modification is the hydrangea being very sensitive to soil acidity.

The flowers will only remain blue with the right variety on an acid soil enhanced with some aluminium sulphate.

Plant of the week

Pernettya mucronata is a low growing evergreen shrub which produces an abundance of pink, white, red or mauve berries. These can last all winter as birds leave them alone till near the end of winter when lack of other berries and food drives them in desperation to eat a few Pernettya berries. The plants which are female benefit from a male to assist in pollination to produce berries. This shrub grows on most soils as long as it remains moist and is happy in the shade.

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ONE SEASON ENDS AND ANOTHER BEGINS

ONE SEASON ENDS AND ANOTHER BEGINS

Snow has arrived in Scotland, frost threatens so we assume the summer flowers will be finished. However on looking around my outdoor fuchsia Mrs Popple is still in full flower, the cosmos is at it’s best, the roses and geraniums are far from over and I am still picking plenty of chrysanthemums for the house.

Going into the greenhouse the Alicante tomatoes are still growing and fruiting. My plans to plant up winter salad leaves in the greenhouse once the tomatoes are finished and pulled out will have to be put on hold. Back amongst the fruit crops all the apples are harvested and now in store but I am still getting some nice Autumn Bliss raspberries to add to my muesli in the morning.

Over on the allotment the winter vegetables are having a field day. The last courgette has been picked and is heading into the kitchen for the next vegetable bake.

I await a few frosty nights to help to sweeten up my parsnips, swedes, brussels sprouts, leeks and winter cabbage. In the meantime the mild autumn has allowed plenty growth on my late summer lettuce and salad leaves as well as my new trial of mooli radish. The latter have been very successful in producing large pure white carrot sized roots. However in the kitchen the mooli are giving off an extremely strong turnip smell which is a major downside.

Our thoughts now turn to 2015 and the spring flowers. This is the time to be planting our wallflower, polyanthus, tulips, crocus, daffodils, and hyacinths, but before that the summer flowers must be cleared out of the flower beds, tubs, and hanging baskets. This is the last chance to take geranium and bizzie lizzie cuttings to provide stock for next summer. I usually take geranium cuttings 3 – 4 inches long and place them around the perimeter of a shallow flower pot, in well drained compost. These are placed on a windowsill of a warm room, but not in full sun. The bizzie lizzies are placed in a narrow glass jar filled up to the top with water with about four cuttings in each jar. These will root after about two months and can then be potted up into compost.

Back in the garden, now is the time to lift the gladioli that finished flowering several weeks ago. Cut back the old stems 3 inches above ground level, lift them up, shake off the soil and store in a cool frost-free shed or greenhouse until they dry off. Once they dry off, they can be cleaned up and stored in boxes. Remove all the small bulbils but retain the biggest of these as these can be grown on to produce a flowering plant in a couple of years.

Once all the early flowering chrysanthemums have finished, they can also be carefully lifted, labelled, and boxed up in good soil, and kept in a cold greenhouse over winter.

Tuberous begonias put on a fantastic show this year but have now come to the end of their season. These can be lifted up and placed in trays in a frost-free airy greenhouse, shed, or garage to dry out. Once they are completely dry, they can be boxed up for over wintering in frost-free conditions. Autumn which is now upon us is a great time to take shrub cuttings for those special plants that you wish to propagate such as Cotinus, Cistus, Cornus from hardwood cuttings. The best time for successful rooting is usually between two weeks before and two weeks after leaf fall.

Back in the garden the autumn gales have arrived, and the leaves are coming down from the trees rapidly. These need sweeping up and are very useful taken to the compost heap.

Plant of the week

Coleus blumei used to be a very popular house plant 30 years ago but had been replaced by more fashionable house plants. However they’re having a resurgence of popularity. They are available in a large number of very brightly coloured leaves. They are very easy to grow, requiring moderate feeding but are not frost-hardy so are only suitable for indoor decoration. The plant grows fast, but if it gets too big it is simply a matter of taking some more cuttings to start new plants. They root very easily from softwood cuttings.

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PUMPKINS

PUMPKINS

I first grew pumpkins about thirty years ago on my allotment in Darlington. I thought it a good idea to encourage my young daughters in the ways of outdoor gardening by giving them the task of growing a huge pumpkin. This of course would be destined for a lantern at Halloween. I would never have dreamed that any part of it could be consumed.

At the end of October one massive pumpkin got harvested to the delight of a young lady who set about the task of creating the ugliest scary lantern she could carve for Halloween.

As parents we do our best and hope that our efforts in the garden, getting the kids to help with the strawberry picking, pea pod harvesting and cutting some nice flowers for mother will pay rewards in creating the next generation of garden lovers. No chance.

Pumpkin growing continues to be an annual event, but for entirely different reasons. You can forget the lantern. They are a health food product, and growing them is still a whole load of fun. The challenge is always to grow them as big as possible, and try to get at least two from each plant.

The more pumpkins you grow the more delicious soup, risottos and pumpkin pie you will enjoy.

Now that will give you far much more pleasure, than one useless but scary lantern.

However there is bound to be a few kids out there who might disagree with that thought.

Let’s start at the beginning.

If you want the biggest pumpkins you need the right varieties so choose Hundredweight or another type known to grow massive. Sow the seeds individually in small pots in mid April on a warm windowsill or greenhouse if it has some heat. Germination only takes a couple of weeks then the seedling wants to grow quite quickly. It will need potting up after a few weeks, then hardening off in May. However watch out for spring gales which can shred the soft large leaves. Strong young plants can be planted out in late May to early June.

Back on the allotment the ground allocated for pumpkins and courgettes will be left fallow for a few months in spring. Do not waste this opportunity. Sow an early green manure crop of clover as there is plenty time for it to mature and get dug in before you need the land for planting the pumpkins.

Pumpkins need rich soil that can hold moisture, so give a heavy dressing of manure or compost before the green manure is sown. Encourage the green manure to rot down after digging by giving a nitrogen fertiliser. This is also necessary to encourage ample growth once the pumpkins are planted.

While they are growing, keep them well watered during the summer and give regular feeding to encourage strong growth. As the pumpkins form place some straw underneath the fruit to keep them clean and off the soil. They should be coloured bright orange in October when they can be harvested. Store them in a cool frost free place and they should keep till next March.

When preparing the pumpkins for cooking you can save some seed for the following year’s crop, but it may not come true to type especially if you have courgettes or other squashes growing close by. Bees will cross pollinate them. I discovered this when I saved seed from a massive pumpkin.

The following year I grew loads of plants and passed them around allotment site friends who produced courgette shaped pumpkins of a range of colours. One plot holder thought this a bit of fun so saved the seed yet again and produced pure white oval pumpkins.

Pumpkins can be used for pies, risotto, soup and many other dishes. The flesh can be pureed and stored in the freezer for future use. My favourite has always been the soup, though the risotto comes close.

All parts of the pumpkin are edible, including the flowers, leaves and seeds. They are a very healthy food to eat as they are rich in vitamins A, B, C, E and K and contain the minerals iron, manganese, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc.

With this amount of goodness, by all means have your lantern, but use that flesh as a very healthy food product.

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HARVESTING SOME APPLES

HARVESTING SOME APPLES

It seems to be a good year for apple crops. A lot of top fruit suffered poor pollination last spring as the very mild winter brought flowering forward before the bees got their act together. However apples flowered a wee bit later and managed to get pollinated just fine. The hot, sunny and dry weather in June and July helped growth and swelling of the apples but the cool wet August gave them a fright. It was such a contrast that many of them got a bit confused, thought autumn was arriving so started to drop the apples before they were ripe. It was a daily task to collect these from the ground before the slugs and wasps found them and bring them indoors to ripen up.

Test the wind falls to check ripeness by cutting in half. If the seeds are black the apple is ripe but if still white or just turning colour it is not yet ripe, though you can still cook with them.

As usual Arbroath Pippin all got picked in August but suffered a lot of brown rot in the wet weather. It is a poor keeper so it was an apple a day till they were all gone.

Discovery was the next to get picked, and although the apples were massive the total crop was not huge. Maybe I was over zealous with the July thinning.

Red Devil was surprisingly very early to shed the crop this year. It normally hangs on the tree till well into October as it ripens quite late. My crop this year was all picked in September before they all fell off the tree. They are now in store and will continue to ripen and keep well for months.

Fiesta and Red Falstaff are still on the tree as we need more sunshine to ripen them up, but if bad weather or gales threaten they will need to get harvested otherwise they could suffer too much damage dropping to the ground.

Bramley cooking apples are also on the tree catching as much of the late sun and warmth as possible before picking. If the autumn is kind I will leave them on the tree till the beginning of November. They are not slow to let you know they want harvesting as they will start to drop off the tree so I keep a watch over them, though this year’s crop is just a fraction of last year’s crop. Might only have enough spare for two demijohns of wine whereas last year I got eight demijohns with the surplus apples.

Storage

Apples need sorting out before storing so they keep well. We wash all the dirt off, dry them, then sort them out, but keeping all varieties separate. Only store clean disease free and undamaged fruit otherwise they will rot in store and spread to healthy apples. However the damaged fruit can be used for cooking in numerous recipes including stir fries, sauces, compote, summer puddings and crumbles.

They are also fine to eat when ripe but just cut off the bad bits.

Small fruit, misshapen fruit and those with only slight damage are separated out for wine making as I just love my Sauterne styled apple dessert wine. These apples are also just fine for juicing or cider making. Juice can be bottled up and will keep for two to three days  in the fridge or even longer up to six months in the freezer.

Plant of the week

Impatiens commonly known as the Busy Lizzie

gets a second mention as my plant of the week as it has had a fantastic year and although we are now getting cooler nights it is still flowering its wee heart out. They have been outstanding in my hanging baskets and in a well drained border that only gets sun for a couple of hours each day. This ground is undisturbed as it is a drift of aconites. These flower in February, grow in March to April then die down for the summer. It is a perfect spot for a carefully planted batch of small Busy Lizzies to add colour in summer and early autumn before leaving the ground for the aconites.

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LOOKING AHEAD TO SPRING

LOOKING AHEAD TO SPRING

As summer flowers are just about finished we turn our attention to next year to plan what bulbs to buy for our spring displays, as well as the main annual bedding plants for beds, tubs and hanging baskets.

For sheer impact in large beds and borders it is hard to beat Golden Monarch wallflower underplanted with the large Darwin Hybrid tulip Apeldoorn. This combination is as old as the hills, but it will always be a great winner for sheer impact. However there are many other very successful partnerships with spring bedding plants and tulips. Polyanthus, primroses, myosotis (Forget me nots) and winter pansies will all give a great display on their own, but are best enhanced to full glory with an underplanting of tulips, hyacinths and crocus.

It is important to match tulip height with its bedding plant ground cover as well as its colour and flowering season. Wallflower is the tallest so needs a tall tulip like the Darwin Hybrids, the Fosteriana types or the slightly smaller early single tulips. For all the other bedding plants that only grow about a foot tall I use the early dwarf double tulips, (Peach Blossom)  or some of the species such as Red Riding Hood.

Tubs placed near entrance doorways can be planted up with some of the scented tulips such as the white Fosteriana Purissima or Apricot Emperor.

Hyacinths are also favourite for these locations as they are also very scented and the strong solid flower spikes are very impressive. The flowering season for tubs can be extended by adding snowdrops or crocus as well as tulips as they all grow at different depths and have different flowering periods so will grow happily together.

I also plant up my hanging baskets with pansies for a spring display, but don’t use bulbs as the baskets are too high to show the bulb flowers. I tend to keep my hanging baskets in my cold greenhouse to give them some winter protection and bring on the flowers a wee bit early. It also makes watering a lot easier.

However when planning my bulb purchases I organise the garden needs by season starting with the earliest flowers. Snowdrops and aconites will emerge in early February in a normal year, but since we never seem to get a normal year, (they flowered in January this year after a very mild winter) just expect them sometime in late winter. Both will rapidly spread into large drifts as they seed and naturalise happily.

These are followed by the Crocus species, (two best ones are Cream Beauty and Blue Pearl) then the hybrid crocus. These are all brilliant in tubs, beds, deciduous shrub borders and even under the apple tree orchards.

Daffodils and narcissus follow with any amount of different types available and many highly scented especially the Jonquills and the Cheerfulness varieties.

There are many types of dwarf bulbs very suited to the rock garden as well as underplanted amongst deciduous shrubs. Chionodoxa (Glory of the Snows) and grape hyacinths are very welcome harbingers of spring, but be careful with the grape hyacinth as it grows very easily from its own seeds and can be very invasive.

Bluebells can also be very attractive, but are hard to control as they will want to take over the whole garden.

The Cornish Lily, Nerine bowdenii is in flower now rather than in spring, but bulbs are available for planting in autumn. It forms dense drifts of pink flowers once established.

 

Plant of the week

 Jasminum polyanthum is most often grown as a houseplant, but can be grown outdoors in a sunny sheltered spot. It is fairly hardy but will not survive a really cold winter outdoors. It grows best on most soils, except clay as long as they are free draining. It has white scented flowers in summer. It is an evergreen climber that can reach several metres high.

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