SUMMER FLOWERS

SUMMER FLOWERS

We have enjoyed a brilliant spring display of flowering bulbs, wallflower, polyanthus and pansies, but as most have now given us their best it is time to make the change over to the summer bedding plants for beds, borders, tubs, pots and hanging baskets. As usual my winter flowering pansies refuse to die down and always seem at their best just when I need to remove them, but with some care they can be replanted into a border where they will continue to flower for a few more weeks.

Summer hanging basket

Any tulips, narcissus, crocus or hyacinths removed from tubs and baskets can be replanted into a spare patch of ground to allow them to die back slowly. Once they are fully dormant they can be lifted for storing somewhere dry and free from mice. The bulbs can be planted in borders in the autumn and left undisturbed to naturalise.

Before planting up pots, tubs and baskets freshen them up with some new compost and some fertiliser. It is ok to retain a fair bit of the old compost but it will be deficient in humus and nutrients, so will benefit by the addition of fresh compost.

Tuberous begonias

We can now plan for the summer displays using whatever we have grown ourselves plus other bedding plants from garden centres which offer us a great variety. We all have our favourites that we continue to grow every year. I have my own range of geraniums that give me a dazzling red, a lovely pink, a pure white and a salmon with a strong zonal leaf effect. I retain these varieties by taking cuttings at the end of summer and growing them over winter on a windowsill. My tuberous begonias were purchased about twenty years ago and although the tubers can get to a fair size I just chop them up as long as each bit has two to three shoots. They never let me down.

It is good to have a range of bright dazzling colours, but I also like some white petunias and  as well as Nemesia and trailing Lobelia.

Impatiens to cool down the display. For a splash of yellow there are many good varieties of dwarf French marigolds, but keep the African Marigolds for larger tubs and borders as they can grow a fair size. Tubs and hanging baskets also need edge plants to hang down the sides so I use Impatiens

Summer bedding plants

Where ever I have a hanging basket beside entrance door ways I add in some dark blue Petunias as they have a wonderful perfume, and I usually place a bright red geranium in the middle for impact.

Fuchsias are also perfect in baskets as we can appreciate the flowers best when they are at eye level. Two varieties that really stand out are Swingtime a red and white double and Southern Belle a white with deep purple petals. Another perfect hanging basket plant is the trailing tuberous begonias available in a wide range of colours. It is a good idea to plant up the hanging baskets well ahead of time and give them some greenhouse protection (if you can find space) to get them established, and make sure the wall support brackets are strong enough to take the weight as a large hanging basket that has just been watered can be quite heavy.

When planting up beds, borders and other spare places in need of brightening up we can extend the range with Antirrhinums, Salvias and African Marigolds and for a soothing drift of deep blue Lobelia Crystal Palace is just perfect.

Dot plants were once essential to add height and character, but times change so we don’t see so many Caster Oil plants, Brugmansias (Angels trumpets) or Kochias or even Zea maize, though you could substitute it with a few sweet corn plants.

Wee jobs to do this week

 

Sweet corn freshly planted

Sweet corn sown at the end of March was potted up and grown in the greenhouse to make a strong plants which were ready to plant out towards the end of May. I choose land that has been well manured or composted and as the ground has been lying vacant there has been just enough time to grow a fast acting green manure to improve soil structure before it gets dug in a fortnight before the sweet corn needs the space. Space the plants just over a foot apart in a square block. This assists pollination in summer as these plants are wind pollinated.

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HERBACEOUS PLANTS

HERBACEOUS PLANTS

Himalayan Blue Poppy

The garden is in a constant state of change and every plant or group of plants have their moment in the spotlight. I try to group different plants together when I see them at their best, providing the soil and location suits them. In winter we had the snowdrops, aconites and the yellow flowered Jasmine put on a terrific display letting us know that the season had started. This was followed by the crocus, anemone blanda and chionodoxa.

Iris Jeanne Price

Then the other larger bulbs started to flower with daffodils and the early tulips. Planting early flowering tulip Scarlet Baby next to my yellow saxifrage was a great combination brightening up a few square metres in early April. Spring this year was very dry and cool, though there was plenty of sun as we went into May. This was perfect weather for tulips, and as I have flooded huge areas of garden with tulips there was mass displays everywhere. May is one of the best months for rhododendrons and azaleas so these came alive as the tulips needed a rest to build up their strength for next year. Rhododendrons and azaleas are similar in display to the bulbs as they can provide a brilliant splash of colour over many weeks as one variety has its moment then another takes over as the centre of attraction
.

Iris Spellbreaker

All the while the herbaceous border is biding its time as it knows that come June it will hold centre stage. Already the oriental poppies and flag iris have started to open and delphiniums are stretching upwards to the sky. They will need support as do many other herbaceous plants. You can buy purpose made supports or use canes and green twine, or even tree and shrub prunings if they are big enough and can easily be pushed into the soil.

Red peony roses may be the common peony and there are other brilliant varieties but the common red puts on a great display and is very reliable. If the soil and location suits them they can spread almost to nuisance levels, and even after digging them out there is alway

Red Peony

s a wee root that just refuses to die off. Mine have spread all over my mini apple orchard of four trees (but with ten varieties through grafting) however they provide a dazzling display to follow the apple blossom so we just leave them alone and let them have their moment. None of them get tied up so the taller ones fall over onto the ground but the main shoots then head upwards or one falls onto the next peony for support.

Day Lily

Oriental poppies fall into the same category and never get any support as they grow in huge groups and tend to support each other. They also like to take over garden space if allowed.

Pyrethrum, however is one of those plants that only needs support if you grow taller varieties.

Then there is a wide range of herbaceous plants that are not so tall so need no support and are perfect in drifts towards the front of the herbaceous border.

Iris, Geum, Hosta, Shasta daisies and Himalayan Blue Poppies are all in this category as is the

Oriental lily Chelsea

Euphorbia Fireglow and the sulphur yellow Euphorbia polychroma.

There are many border plants that may not be herbaceous in growth but plants like pinks and border carnations can add to the display especially if flowering times can be co-ordinated together. Then again more colour can be added with bulbous plants such as gladioli and lilies. The oriental lilies are perfect as they can be bold, add height, and the scent is heavenly, especially the pink Chelsea.

The show goes out in mid summer as the tall deep blue delphiniums steal the show with the white Shasta daisies at their feet. To add to the show I have a large drift of lavender adjacent.

Wee jobs to do this week

 

Thinning radish

Many fast growing root vegetables such as turnip and radish and salad vegetables such as lettuce and rocket will have germinated with the warm weather in early May, especially if you have been able to give them a watering so now they will need thinning out if the germination has been good and rows liable to suffer from overcrowding. Thin radish to an inch apart, as they do not need a lot of space but all others are best at a couple of inches initially then about six inches later on once they have put on some growth.

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RHODODENDRONS AND AZALEAS

RHODODENDRONS AND AZALEAS

Growing rhododendrons and azaleas got into my blood in the early years of training around Dundee’s parks and nurseries. A large drift of Rhododendron praecox which is one of the earliest to flower was planted in a bed of pure leafmold in Dawson Park and seemed to thrive.  We also had a sunken garden planted with a range of the dwarf Japanese Kurume azaleas. As a young kid on low wages this was brilliant as these grew very easy from cutting. Other plants had to be grafted or sown from seed which then took ages before they flowered.

Azaleas in May

Then a few years later in Camperdown Park I saw the range widen to cover flowering from spring till summer. We were blessed with plenty of experienced gardeners so soon I was taught how to layer some of the large flowering hybrids, but got moved to another park before my layers had a chance to root. It was a hard life being an apprentice gardener but very rewarding.

Mixed azaleas

I have never been without rhododendrons and azaleas ever since, and a trip to see the massive range growing naturally in the woodlands around Glendoick nursery is a must at this time of year. They also stock a huge range of all types for sale and this being one of their specialism’s the quality is very high.

Rhododendrons and azaleas thrive in a well drained but moisture retaining woodland acidic soil. They do not tolerate lime in the soil. They need to be moist at all times so really thrive in the west of Scotland in areas of high rainfall but provided drainage is good.

They also enjoy dappled sunlight as well as shade and sunny positions provided it retains moisture.

Rhododendron dauricum

To encourage good growth and flowering, it is a good idea to add a light mulch of well rotted leafmold or ericaceous compost in late autumn or early winter. However they are not heavy feeders so do not give them any fertiliser as it may scorch the leaves. They do not require any pruning, but it does help to remove old flower trusses before they start to produce seeds.

Most rhododendrons are evergreen, but azaleas come as both evergreen and deciduous. Height depends on species and varieties as some may grow into small trees whereas other are ground hugging dwarfs. Plant hunters over the last two hundred years have gathered thousands of different species from all over the world especially China, Tibet, Burma and Japan. Then nurseries and plant breeders got to work and now we have any amount of different plants to choose from to suit every situation

Japanese Azalea Hinomayo

. Many deciduous azaleas have a wonderful scent.

Today many large flowered hybrids are grown as grafted plants, but can be propagated by layering once the bush is big enough with branches at ground level, but it is a slow process so patience is needed. The easiest forms to propagate are the dwarf evergreen azaleas, which can be layered or rooted from cuttings. Short pieces can be inserted around a shallow pot with a mixture of ericaceous compost and grit for good drainage. Place a large polythene bag over the pot to retain a moist atmosphere and rooting will occur after a few months.

When it comes to selection of the best to grow consider whether you prefer large bold plants, or ground cover, scent, autumn colour especially good with deciduous azaleas and how much space is available. Everyone has their own favourites and as new varieties are coming out all the time the choice is endless. Rhododendron praecox is a must for me as it is very early, but then Elizabeth a low growing bright red was favourite for a long time, but suffers from mildew.

Potting up sweet corn

Wee jobs to do this week

Pot up sweet corn seedlings into their final pots. Grow on for a few more weeks to produce a strong plant for planting in early June. Plant in square blocks as this helps with the wind pollination with spacing about 18 inches apart. As planting occurs later than other crops I take the opportunity to sow the space with a clover green manure to improve fertility, but it needs digging in at least two weeks ahead of planting.

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PLANT PROTECTION

PLANT PROTECTION

The last week in April saw a return to cold winds and frost so care had to be taken to protect vulnerable plants. Salads, cabbages, dahlias and even my onions from seed which had been hardening off for the last two weeks all went back to the greenhouse for a few days. Tomato and peppers need warmth so a heater had to be used in the greenhouse while the cold weather persisted. Today we all enjoy holidays in warmer climates and seeing and enjoying tropical crops we would just love to have some of these back home. Garden centres and mail order nurseries are also encouraging us by supplying a few specimens to try, and if we accept that global warming may arrive some time soon then we might just be successful with a few exotics.

Low polythene tunnel over strawberries

However, back in Scotland most will likely need some protection from cold winds and frosts.

This is where hedges, shelter belts, walls and fences all play a part. I use every south facing wall and fence at home and on my allotment to try and grow some exotic with a challenge.

Protection against birds and butterflies

A greenhouse with or without heat is almost an essential for tomatoes, cucumbers, pepper and melons. If you have a large greenhouse with plenty of space try a kiwi. Figs and grapes were normal under glass for a long time, but now there are varieties that will give a decent return outdoors though benefit with a warm south facing wall or fence. Fig Brown Turkey and grapes Rondo, Phoenix and Regent are all showing promise outdoors but I need a few more years to see how they fare. Cape gooseberries are another exotic that can crop outdoors in a good year if given some protection for a few weeks after planting, but also benefit from a good summer.

Protecting cabbages

In times past it was the practise to have a cold frame on the south side of all greenhouses to harden off plants and even grow some early crops with a bit of protection. Today these are less common as plastics take over.

Polythene tunnels which are a lot cheaper than a permanent greenhouse are becoming very popular.

They come in all sizes from massive and any length of walk in tunnel to low polythene tunnels and some quite small. Although most are purchased ready for assembly, some people prefer to build their own with a supply of timber and heavy duty polythene.

Coming down in scale some keen gardeners are quite happy to use plastic bottles with the bottoms cut off and then placed over individual plants to give protection in the early stages of growth.

Fleece over early peas

Protection is also needed from pests which like to lunch on our plants. From caterpillars on our cabbage, cauliflowers and sprouts to pigeons on the same as well as our young peas and then  the blackbirds devouring our strawberries, saskatoons, blueberries and red currants. Even our cherry

trees are not safe and difficult to net due to size, and under glass the wasps have discovered that my new grape Seigerrebe is quite sweet, so put word round their mates and now becoming quite a problem. When you purchase nets to keep birds off crops you are just as well to get one with a finer mesh to use to keep butterflies off the brassicas.

Glasshouse protection

Down at ground level success with carrots would be impossible without fleece protection to keep of the carrot fly, but I wish I could educate our local allotment site cats that these are not

hammocks to sleep on or to be used as a scratching pole.

Breeders have given us a great thornless gooseberry, but now our local fox can get into the bushes so sturdy netting has to be put in place as they ripen, or he will eat the lot.

Wee jobs to do this week

Red begonias for blue tubs

Start to collect summer bedding plants for tubs beds and hanging baskets as the spring flowers pass their best and we start to think about our summer displays. Looking ahead I have retained tuberous begonias from last year as well as fuchsias and geraniums in shades of red, pink and white. I will buy in some petunias, impatiens, French marigolds and trailing lobelias. I keep spare hanging baskets so I can plant up summer ones, kept in the greenhouse for a couple of weeks to establish, while the spring baskets full of pansies continue to flower.

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LATE SPRING GARDEN UPDATE

LATE SPRING GARDEN UPDATE

This must be the driest April for a long time. Scotland gets rain in the west, and the north, but seems to miss the Tayside region. The hose has been in use as even my tulips have been wilting. Aconites and Pulmonaria have all fallen over with the drought. On the positive side weed killing has been easy as the cool dry wind just shrivels up any weeds after some hoeing. It has also been a very cool month, so again the show of tulips and daffodils have lasted a long time. Mixing red and purple tulips into my drift of yellow Doronicums has been a great success as timing of both plants was perfect. Early dwarf tulips have been planted in my rose bed giving a terrific show of solid, but mixed colour, and as the roses are taller than the tulips they are all happy together.

Broad beans and onions ready for planting

Garden shrubs started flowering in early March with my Rhododendron praecox, then out came the Forsythia, Magnolias, Kerria, Berberis darwinii and Camellias with Donation a star performer. My red Camellia Adolphe Audusson has suffered with the drought and many of the top branches are dying off. Must keep that hose busy.  It seems to be a great spring for flowering trees, especially cherry blossom, but apples, pears and plums are also all in full flower.

Berberis darwinii

My new peach tree Avalon Pride which is sold as peach leaf curl resistant has a fair bit of this disease, and with a few very small insignificant flowers opening in late April, I reckon I will be back to the supermarket for my fresh peaches this summer.

Saskatoon bushes suffered from the mild winter, as these plants like a severe winter chill to ripen up the wood and produce a flower crop. They are very late this year and not covered in blossom as in previous years. However my fig tree did enjoy the mild winter and most of last years immature figs have survived and should help to produce an early crop.

Weird weather is playing havoc with my strawberries. They are all beginning to flower but the earliest one out was my perpetual Albion which is usually my autumn strawberry. Last spring I

Apple Red Falstaff flowers

bought in some of the new giant strawberry Colossus, but it never gave me a single berry. This year it is the end of April and still there is no sign of any flowers, but plenty of growth.
Maybe I have to be very patient before I can sample these colossal berries.

On the vegetable plot planting is well ahead with broad beans and onions, and leeks are quite sturdy. Potatoes are now pushing through the ground, but as frost is always a danger the rows need to be well earthed up. Early peas are also growing so they also get earthed up and soon they will need support and protection from pigeons.

Good potential grape crop

I use the pruning’s from my stooled willow shrubs for support and tie in a couple of rows of black thread which seems to keep the pigeons at bay.

Sowing continues with maincrop peas, salads, carrots and turnip. The carrots will have some fleece cover to keep out the carrot fly.

The greenhouse is getting a bit quieter as plants are moved outdoors for hardening off, but I keep some space available in case of an overnight frost, when plants can be returned for protection.

Chrysanthemums are fairly hardy so can remain outdoors but my dahlias are not so hardy, so they remain fairly mobile. Peppers and tomatoes have both been potted up to put on some growth before planting in permanent positions.

Camellia Donation with birch tree

The grape crop is giving signs of great potential as most spurs are laden with up to three bunches of grapes per shoot, so some thinning will be necessary to maintain a good berry size.

Wee jobs to do this week

As weather begins to warm up garden pests become more active. Slugs and snails can devastate young tender seedlings so watch out for them and take action or put down some pellets. Greenfly are active on new shoots of roses and pansies so if they become a problem use an appropriate insecticide. They can also be a problem on the tips of young growth on blackcurrants and gooseberries. Also watch out for sawfly maggots on gooseberries.

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LADY IN RED ART EXHIBITION

ART EXHIBITION LADY IN RED

I would like to invite my readers to pop in to see my LADY IN RED
art exhibition held in my studio at
17a Menzieshill Road in Dundee, DD2 1PS.

Lady in Red in the High Street

As an artist always looking for an interesting project for a series of paintings, I decided to make my home town the topic showing Dundee City Center in summer and winter in daytime as well as evening covering areas including McManus Gallery, High School, Reform Street, through to the Mercat Cross, and showing the
Trades and Bank Bar pubs, then further afield at the bandstand at

Benvie

Magdalen Green and of course our Tay Bridge.

So my Lady in Red has been traveling around the town.

The exhibition also includes some Scottish landscapes, snow scenes, figures, flowers and still life studies.

VISIT THE GARDEN

As my garden in spring is just bursting with flowers, visitors are welcome to walk around the garden to see and enjoy a feast of colour with tulips, rhododendrons and azaleas looking great.

Lady in Red has a Night Out

The exhibition starts on Saturday 29th April and runs till Sunday 7th May open every day from 11am to 5pm.

Summer Seas

Some of the paintings can be seen on my website exhibition page.

Lady Resting

SPRING FLOWERS ARE ARRIVING

SPRING FLOWERS ARE ARRIVING

Plum Victoria

Last year we got blessed with a terrific display of tulips so we thought it would be a good idea to run with this theme by adding another big bulb plant in the autumn. We are now reaping the benefits as these spring flowers are all competing with each other for attention. Many areas have two or more layers of bulbs planted at different depths but as they may have different flowering and growing times this idea is working just fine. The winter border with cornus, willow, kerria and red maple is underplanted with snowdrops and aconites (for late winter display) followed by tulips for a spring display, and then lilies grow up through this to give a summer display.

Another border with mass plantings of aconites has been added to with a drift of cyclamen which will grow once the aconites have died down for the summer. Normally the aconites grow from January/February till mid summer then go dormant allowing the cyclamen to flower in September then grow through till mid winter then go dormant for the spring and summer, but with the recent mild winters none of them want to go dormant. It makes gardening ideas interesting.

Tulip Abba

Another border packed with grape hyacinths has been underplanted with red and yellow tulips which flower just above this carpet of blue. The display will continue into summer as this border has a third bulb layer of oriental lilies planted underneath the tulips. Hopefully they will all live happily together. This drift of grape hyacinth flowers is at its best in mid April, but in mid March I noticed a couple of purple crocus in flower, unaffected by the leaves of the grape hyacinths which were still only a few inches tall. So now I am planning another layer of about 100 crocus bulbs planted amongst all the other bulbs to see if I can get in a third flower display.

Spring flowers

Blue spring flowers of Chionodoxa, Anemone blanda, Scilla and hyacinths are also all adding to displays all over the garden, and my purple tulip Negrita is accompanying the yellow flowers of Doronicum Little Leo.

Chionodoxa

A few years ago I noticed that a very early dwarf tulip, Scarlet Baby flowering in late February coincided with my yellow saxifrage drift, so I purchased more of these tulips to plant alongside the saxifrage to enhance the show. However the very mild winter brought on the saxifrage more than the tulip, so this year they had a fortnights time difference, but still brilliant to see.

Flowering trees are also giving us a great display with plums, cherries, pears and even my peach all

Hand pollinating peach flowers

in full blossom. My new peach Avalon Pride took over from Peregrine which got devastated by peach leaf curl. However peach leaf curl resistant Avalon Pride is flowering very late, so although I see plenty bees around I still need to hand pollinate as the flowers are so small that I doubt if any of  the bees will bother much with them.

Camellia Donation

Spring flowers continue with the white scented shrub Viburnum carlcephalum, and Camellia Donation a star attraction soon to be followed by a large Kerria japonica which has been allowed to grow full size. The garden displays then change as the rhododendrons and azaleas have their moment in the spotlight, and looking forward I can see the first flower buds on my climbing rose Dublin Bay waiting their turn for attention once we get a few warm days.

Potting up tomato seedlings

A garden full of flowers gives so much pleasure that I am happy to share these moments with anyone who wishes to visit the garden, so I will open the garden to visitors from Saturday 29^th April to Sunday 7^th May. Visitors can also view my artwork on display in my studio as I show recent paintings of Dundee town centre in my “Lady in Red” art exhibition.

Wee jobs to do this week

Pot up young tomato plants into their final pots where they can continue to grow before getting planted out in growbags, large pots or a prepared border. Wait until the first flowers open up on the first truss before planting out.

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HEALTHY FRUIT and HEALTHY LIVING

HEALTHY FRUIT and HEALTHY LIVING

Anna picking fresh rhubarb

Hindsight is a brilliant factor. Today I feel I live a healthy lifestyle and because of my interest in gardening it keeps me active and the fresh produce gives me my at least five but most often a lot more different fruit and vegetables daily. Looking back into the teenage years I couldn’t wait to leave school to earn a wage. I needed money not education, and I needed an outdoor life in the sun. Just could not be happy in an office or factory so I chose gardening. It is here I was taught how to grow a wide range of fruit and vegetables and how to use them. However quite soon I realised I did need education if I wanted to climb the horticultural ladder. This resulted in a career that took me all over UK, dabbling in fruit production, forestry, landscaping, education, and plant propagation. In the early years money is tight so you need an allotment to grow food trying to cover the whole twelve months with self sufficiency. A very hard task but is made easier today with the use of fridges and freezers. Gone are the days when I needed to make 110 jars of jam (two jars per week) during the berry season to be stored in a cool shed over the next twelve months. In the younger years life was very active with the normal diet of sausages, beef burgers, mince and chips from the deep fat fryer with everything, but we burnt off any excess by an active life. One day in my early

Saskatoons

thirties after a large helping of sausages full of gristle, I felt ill and vowed, no more crap, so sausages went out and the deep fat fryer got binned. From now on it was to be healthy foods only, though an occasional wee relapse at Christmas, and my two lassies needed help to get through their Easter eggs. Next on the list was sugar, so it was tea and coffee without sugar and nae mare honey in my porridge. Now that was a hardship!!! But we survive and prosper.

I now look into which foods give you the most benefits, and research gives very interesting reading. Green vegetables, roots and salads are now normal daily crops grown on the allotment, but it is the fruits that give you that extra boost. My healthy fruits include chokeberries, blackcurrants, saskatoons, blueberries, brambles, cherries, figs, rhubarb and black grapes.

The dark colour of these berries is caused by the very high levels of anthocyanin, an antioxidant. The fruits are also packed with dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals. Antioxidants prevent free radicals from damaging cell components. These plus the other vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre  assist the fight against heart disease, cancer, diabetes, alzheimer’s disease, reduce the absorption of high cholesterol, and can delay macular degeneration.

Pumpkin Hundredweight

Pumpkins, tomatoes and peppers are three fruits we treat as vegetables, but all three score very highly in providing great health benefits, and although seasonal crops, they can be stored for future use. My pumpkins usually store till early April, but then surplus gets frozen.

Chokeberries are not very common at the moment but they produce one of the healthiest fruits on the planet, with very high levels of anthocyanin an antioxidant(1480 mgs per 100gms) high levels of dietary fibre, plus vitamins A, C and E and the minerals potassium, iron and manganese.

However chokeberries are too astringent to eat in any quantity straight off the bush but can be juiced, cooked, added to compote, yoghurts and makes a delicious jam and a healthy wine.

Blackcurrant Ben Findlay

Blackcurrants, red and whitecurrants may only have half the level of anthocyanin, but at over 700 mg per 100gms they are still very high. They are also high in vitamins, dietary fibre and minerals similar to chokeberries plus calcium and zinc.

Saskatoons are also very high in anthocyanin (562mgs per 100gms) plus high levels of dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals. The berries can be eaten fresh, and frozen for future use in compote, summer puddings, juices, wines, added to cereals, yoghurts and cooked in cakes, oaties and jams.

John picking kale shoots

Blueberries, Brambles and Black grapes, similar to the above (blueberries have 386mgs per 100gms anthocyanin.) However they will allow you to extend the season of use for fresh healthy fruit from summer till winter. Black outdoor grape Brant has pips in the berries, but now we find that these seeds are packed with goodness. So instead of discarding these pips as a nuisance, give them a wee crunch and swallow them. They are anti allergenic, antihistamine and anti inflammatory. They strengthen blood vessels, aid circulation and improve skin elasticity.

Wee jobs to do this week

If old brassica plants (cabbage, cauliflower and kale) have been harvested but not yet been dug out leave them till young flowering shoots appear, usually with soft fresh leaves, then use these as a spring vegetable just perfect stir fried with a light oil dressing, or they can be steamed for a few minutes adding some ginger, garlic and seasoning.

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A GOOD TIME FOR SEED SOWING

A GOOD TIME FOR SEED SOWING

Spring weather seemed to be running a bit late this year, but then a warm sunny spell towards the end of May warmed up the soil just enough to let us get on with the seed sowing.

Root crops such as carrots, turnips and leeks, and salads such as lettuce, rocket, beetroot and radish all need a firm level surface with a good tilth. So choose a dry day and get that rake moving.

Sowing peas

Once the outdoor seed bed is prepared give a light dressing of fertiliser high in phosphates (potato fertiliser) for root crops but a balanced one such as Growmore for salads, then rake in before taking out seed drills. Most crop rows are spaced a foot apart

Tulips and pansies in a tub

but give turnips and parsnips 18 inch spacings as they need more room. Scottish conditions may be a bit on the cool side for spring onions sown outdoors in spring so I sow mine in cellular trays indoors to get them started, then after a few weeks plant them out. These can go in rows spaced just six inches apart as they are quite narrow and upright. Carrots are another crop that can be sown closer at six inches between the rows with three rows together so you can straddle them for weeding. Carrot fly is a real nuisance so cover the carrot bed over with fleece held up over the foliage with hoops.

Sowing salads

Leeks are sown thinly in a seed row and left to grow to pencil thickness before lifting, topping and tailing and transplanting into permanent rows by dropping them into a deep dibble hole and watering them in.

Early peas such as Kelvedon Wonder are best sown in a six inch wide trench a couple of inches deep and space out the seeds along the bottom of the trench in three rows a few inches apart.

A hardy annual flower border can be sown any time from early April onwards. Again they germinate best if the ground is well prepared with a deep friable tilth, but not manured or composted and adding fertiliser will give them a boost but then excessive growth will result at the expense of flowers. Annuals flower best on well cultivated but poor soils.

Back in the greenhouse seed sowing continues in seed trays and cellular pots. Cabbage, cauliflower, kale and brussels sprouts are best sown thinly in shallow seed trays using a well drained seed compost. Once they have germinated they can be

Iceland poppies

pricked out into large cellular trays or pots to grow on for a few weeks before they are big enough to plant out.

Take care to protect young plants from slugs and snails and pigeons which like to feed on all brassicas as well as young pea foliage, and if your land is infected by clubroot grow some of the clubroot resistant varieties of cabbage (Kilaxy), cauliflower (Clapton), sprouts (Crispus) and Swedes (Invitation).

Sweet corn is best to go direct into smaller cellular trays for germination then a few weeks later they can get potted up into bigger pots so that you have a strong plant at least a foot tall for planting out.

Most summer bedding plants such as Impatiens, petunias, salvia, antirrhinum, French and African marigolds can all grow from seed, but in spring the garden centres are just bursting the these plants in cellular trays as plug plants just ready to take home and pot up. Grow them on for another three weeks or so and they will be ready for their summer quarters in tubs, beds and hanging baskets.

Wee jobs to do this week

Planting early potatoes

Recent sunny weather has warmed up the ground so we can now plant our potatoes. Start off with the first earlies such as Casablanca and Foremost, then second earlies such as Charlotte and International Kidney then go onto the maincrops where choice is wide so pick one to suit your own needs. For a good baked potato Amour is a winner, Lady Christl has taste and great flavour and Sarpo Mira has good blight resistance. I like to plant sprouted seed potatoes in a deep drill lined with compost to get them off to a flying start. Add some potato fertiliser to keep them well fed for a heavy crop. Space the sets about a foot apart in rows two feet apart for earlies, but give maincrops a bit wider spacing between the rows.

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