START OF THE BERRY SEASON

START OF THE BERRY SEASON

I just love it when the first strawberries ripen and the berry picking season begins. Memories of berry picking are still very strong although I am going back sixty years or more, but they were great times, as we got a few shillings to spend and there was always a pound or so of berries followed us home so

Anna making pots of jam

mother could make us some jam. It was an early rise at 6am then a cycle from St. Marys to the berry fields at Longforgan with me mate, so we could pick each side of the raspberry dreel, though I

Black currant Big Ben

preferred picking strawberries as I always made more money. As kids we noticed that there was always more berries on the east side of the rows which nearly always ran north to south. Later on as the wee kid got wiser this was put down to the prevailing winds coming from the west encouraging the fruiting shoots to lean to the east.

Bramble Helen

Today, life on my allotment berry field has come down a bit on scale, but the picking season goes on a lot longer. It starts with my early strawberry Christine and sometimes Mae another good early, but brought on a fortnight earlier with extra warmth and protection under a low polythene tunnel. Then the mid season varieties Elsanta and Honeoye ripen followed by the late varieties Symphony and Florence and taking us into early autumn the perpetual Flamenco is outstanding. However to get the best out of the strawberries they need to be netted against birds, use slug pellets to control slugs and snails which seem to be around in packs this year, and to stop soil splashing onto the fruit the rows need straw laying up the rows.

Chokeberry Aronia Viking

Raspberry picking kicks of in early July if the weather is in your favour, but now we have good autumn fruiting varieties like Autumn Treasure and Polka, so we can enjoy fresh berries well into autumn. Anna has her work cut out finding ways to use our heavy crops with compotes, summer puddings, jams and eating fresh within a couple of days from picking. Raspberry maggots are still a real pain on both the raspberries as well as the blackberries, so an insecticide spray is needed at the sign of the first pink fruit then ten days later.

Gooseberry Invicta

Blackcurrant Big Ben has been the first to ripen in early July and both this variety and my Ben Conan are laden down with huge crops bending branches down to the ground so it has been necessary to lay straw down to stop soil splashing onto the fruit. Gooseberries are also showing very heavy crops so they also needed straw laid underneath the branches. Gooseberries are added to summer puddings, stewed for compote to add to breakfast cereals, great for mint and gooseberry jelly and brilliant in chutney, but my favourite use of the surplus is in my dessert wines. The redcurrant crop has a similar use in the kitchen but also for my home brew wines.

Redcurrant

I think it must be seeing the result of last years fantastic summer which ripened up all the wood and now everything is cropping like never before. Chokeberries (Aronia Viking), saskatoons and blueberries are all laden down with very heavy crops this year. These will all keep me supplied in fresh berries right through summer into autumn but surplus berries in the freezer keeps can be used 

Saskatoons

all year round. Chokeberries (Aronias) and saskatoons are both destined for fruit wine production as they both make fantastic wines, though I lay mine down for three years to mature to get the best flavour from them. Saskatoons mixed with rhubarb makes brilliant jam. This combination works as the saskatoons are quite sweet so the rhubarb balances it as it is more acidic.

Fig bushes are following the same pattern with huge crop potential as I left the small fruit buds on over winter as with our recent mild winters they seem to survive and give me an early crop.

Wee jobs to do this week

Sweet William

Many early flowering herbaceous border plants such as oriental poppies, peonies, lupins and bearded iris are now finished so they can be cut back to leave more room for later flowering plants such as day lilies, oriental lilies, Agapanthus and delphiniums, though the latter are now also beginning to go past their best. Any space left can be planted up with a few bedding plants such as African marigolds, geraniums and Sweet William to keep the border attractive through summer.

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LET THE BATTLE COMMENCE

LET THE BATTLE COMMENCE

Fifty years ago there was an armada of chemicals to use for every gardening problem. We could grow any fruit, flower or vegetable to exhibition standards since we had a good chemical to sort out any pest or disease that dared to show its head on our patch. We had great training on insecticides, fungicides, weed killers and soil sterilants.

Nets on brassicas

There was Aldrin, Dieldrin, Parathion and DDT to sort out pests of cabbages, caulflowers and turnips and carrots then plenty systemic insecticides containing Dimethoate ot Demeton S methyl which was

Cuckoo spit on Lavander

systemic so quickly sorted out any greenfly problem. Weed control was also a breeze as we had the residuals of simazine and atrazine and for real problems Bromacil. That kept our raspberry plantations weed free from both annual and perennial weeds. In woodland areas and rough land we had 245T to control brushwood, but it got a bad press when we discovered it was used in the Vietnam War as Agent Orange and had a devastional

Carrot fly on parsnips

affect on the population as well as plants. There was also a huge demand for a contact herbicide for an instant kill, so paraquat and diquat, as Grammoxone, found a great market, but just a pity it was a poison with no known antidote. Today there are no residual herbicides but at the moment Glyphosate is still available. It is the last one and very effective. Research into the effects of pesticides on the environment was in its infancy fifty years ago. Then Rachel Carson brought out her book, “The Silent Spring” to be followed by John Coleman-cook’s “The Harvest That Kills” and suddenly we young horticultural students began to realise what was going on all around us. Wildlife

Rosy leaf curling plum aphid

and birds were all dying due to the exposure of all these toxic chemicals. Slowly one by one nearly all these chemicals were withdrawn so we saved the wildlife and the environment, but now scientists and plant breeders have the task of pest and disease control in a safe manner.

We still have a few chemicals left that are considered safe, but are constantly reviewed and in danger of being banned. Slugs and snails have always been a real nuisance in the garden, but in the past we had slug pellets with metaldehyde at 3% strength. This has now been reduced to 1% and slugs go sick for a few days then return as hungry as ever. Carrot fly has no chemical solution, so

First pink fruit is time to spray for maggot

fine mesh netting has to be used on carrot and parsnip rows.

Greenfly have now become a major pest on numerous crops made worse by mild winters so all the over wintering eggs survive. Some chemicals used for roses will give some control, but on a small scale you can revert to the messy business of squashing them with fingers. Fingers are also used for control of the frog hopper hiding in the cuckoo spit.

Rose mildew, rust and black spot can be sprayed with some chemicals, but rose breeders are now concentrating on breeding disease resistance into new varieties. Breeding resistance is also used with brassicas to eliminate clubroot fungus as well as peach leaf curl on outdoor peaches.

Netting has now become an essential task to protect plants from cabbage white butterfly, pigeons and other birds. Blackbirds just love strawberries, blueberries and saskatoons. New varieties of strawberries are now mostly resistant to botrytis fungus so no need for

Slug damage on hosta

spraying. However raspberries still need two sprays to control the fruit maggot which will infest the fruit.

Phytophthora fungus is the latest serious disease that has scientists and breeders working hard to bring out plants with resistance. Different strains of this disease affect raspberries, potatoes as well as many trees including larch plantations. Fifty years ago it was the elm trees that got just about wiped out with Dutch elm disease but now we have Ash die back and sudden oak death affecting our trees. The battle never ends.

Transplanting young leeks

Wee jobs to do this week

Leeks that were sown outdoors at the beginning of March have now made good growth and are ready to transplant into their final rows. This year I am sowing two old but reliable favourites, Lyon and Musselburgh. The young seedlings are now about ten inches tall. Lift carefully then sort out the biggest and discard the weakest. The chosen ones are topped and tailed then dibble deep holes into a three inch deep furrow and drop the plants into the holes. Run a watering can along the holes to bed in the transplants then after a few days straiten them up and wait for them to grow.

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SUMMER GROWTH ON THE PLOT

SUMMER GROWTH ON THE PLOT

Summer was late to start, and the rain was never far away, but things turn round, the summer returns and the garden just bursts into growth with flowers everywhere. June may have finished with the sun shining, but it will go down as a very wet month. Although this resulted in a flush of growth on all crops, and also gave the weeds a huge boost, so it was out with the hoe to catch up before those weeds got too big. Then numerous rows of young seedlings needed thinning out. Swedes, Golden ball turnips, lettuce, spring onions, dwarf French beans,

John tying up the broad beans

beetroot and parsnips all got their final thinning.

Previous ideas for intercropping had mixed results. Chrysanthemums inter planted amongst young cabbages took off quickly, but my nets were not tall enough for both crops so the chrysanthemums got replanted elsewhere. They never looked back as the good growing weather was in their favour.

Good crop of figs soon

Another block of chrysanthemums had lettuce Lollo Rossa planted in between the plants and this has worked a treat, as the lettuce are low growing and do not affect the chrysanthemums. I have been cutting the lettuce before they get too big. However another batch of lettuce and spring onions were planted in between rows of broad beans when the bean plants were very small, but the beans took off at a great pace and now I cannot even see the salads. You win some, you lose some but you keep trying.

Onion Hybound grown from seed sown in mid February have put on superb growth with the warm weather and plenty rain, and no sign of white rot. Potatoes however are mixed. My late and maincrop varieties have all been flowering since mid June, but as yet there are no flowers on my earlies. I started lifting a few shaws of first early Casa Blanca. This is a salad variety so no huge spuds, but enough for two wee Scots folk who are no into huge platefuls. Potato Mayan Gold has developed some strange affliction. Plants are dying back like in drought but soil is moist and it does

Young parsnips

not look like blight or blackleg. Afraid this one beats me.

Peas and beans all needed supports and protection from pigeons and slugs. Slugs were also a problem with strawberries, and they just love marigolds, and I think they have been holding meetings under my rhubarb leaves.

Weather was good for planting sweet corn, pumpkins, courgettes, and a second crop of cabbages and cauliflowers.

Harvesting has started with strawberries, salads, potatoes and kale and Anna was determined to lift a few of my Golden Ball turnips, but I think they will benefit from another week’s growth. Strawberries brought on early with low polythene tunnels are now all finished so the old leaves will get cut down and removed together with the protective straw. All good stuff for the compost heap.

Gooseberries are absolutely laden with crop bending branches down onto the ground so they will need a layer of straw to prevent soil splashing onto the fruit. No sign this year of any sawfly damage. Blackcurrants, bramble Helen, Chokeberry, saskatoons and raspberries are all looking great and heavy with potential crops.

Peony Doreen

Last year’s hot summer appears to have ripened up the shoots on apples, and pears so this year they all had masses of flowers, but much more than the tree could cope with so the June drop (and it came in June this year) was heavy but enough fruitlets were left for a good crop, though Bramley and Falstaff are lighter than normal.

Roses are starting off the year in great form. Vigour is very strong and all bushes a good foot higher than last year with large flowers in abundance. Mildew has been a problem on climbers due to the dry weather early on in the year, and greenfly have been in plague proportions.

Plants potted up

Wee jobs to do this week

June has been a busy time with potting up of rooted figs, and grape vines from cuttings, saskatoons

from layers, geraniums from cuttings, strawberry Flamenco (an autumn fruiting variety) from runners and many other plants for the City Road Allotments Open Day on Sunday 28th July 2019.

 

HERBACEOUS HEAVEN

HERBACEOUS HEAVEN

Herbaceous plants are traditionally grown in a long

Peony Doreen

border with an evergreen hedge or shrubs behind them to create a dark background to set against the colourful flowers. However in the small garden landscape, we tend to find spaces to fit them in mixed with other plants. Different herbaceous plants prefer soil type and location to suit their own needs. My delphiniums are planted next to fences for easy support and peonies and oriental poppies are planted under my apple trees, which seems to suit them. Doronicums have ended up in borders against a wall on the patio as I have under planted them with red tulip Abba and purple tulip Negrita which in a normal year they will all flower together. The colour contrast of red and purple dwarf tulips against yellow  daisy flowers of the Doronicum makes a great show in spring. My Shasta daisies are planted on a difficult bank where they can help to keep down weeds. However I still keep a border dedicated to a selection of my favourites. Peony Doreen and Hemerocallis

Iris Dusky Challenger

Patricia are in the centre of this border adjacent to my Oriental poppies and a large drift of Flag Iris. At the back of this border I grow my hollyhocks, lupins and red hot pokers. In mid summer the Oriental lilies have huge bright heads of flowers with fantastic scent so these get a border all to themselves next to paths so they can be enjoyed at close hand. This area is not wasted while we wait on the lilies to grow in early summer, so it gets a mass planting of the tall Darwin Hybrid tulips, red Apeldoorn and the yellow Golden Apeldoorn, together with the white fosteriana tulip Purissima. This is claimed to be scented but I have not detected much scent on mine. Lilies like really good drainage and are not fussed about rich soil so areas for lilies get plenty of land preparation to help drainage before planting. Borders along the tops of walls are a favourite spot as these are usually well drained and another dwarf plant for the tops of walls is the garden pinks. I have many different varieties but for sheer intensity of colour the dazzling red Passion is hard to beat. These come in a wide range of colours and sizes and most have a terrific

Oriental poppies

scent. Tops of walls are also perfect for planting the succulent yellow flowered Delosperma nubigenum and its brother the purple Delosperma cooperii both of which just love to grow over the top and hang down the wall. Both of these can also grow well if bits of stem are pushed into the cracks in walls. They do not need much soil. However my Astilbe and Himalayan blue poppies prefer a semi shady area with a soil that retains moisture like a woodland fringe. They associate well with dwarf azaleas and the latter can be planted amongst them.

Cottage Pinks Passion

Herbaceous plants can give flowers over a long period. The earliest can be the blue Pulmonarias in April, then the yellow Doronicums, but my border is in flower from early February as I take advantage of those plants that go dormant in winter and do not need the space till later. So I plant up the empty space with snowdrops, aconites, narcissus and daffodils as well as tulips to take me up to the end of spring. I also experiment with planting early dwarf tulips amongst some of the low growing herbaceous perennials. I try to use colour contrasts, but getting the timing right always depends on the weather and with frequent mild winters plans often go astray. Another good combination, (when it works) is a drift of the blue Anemone blanda surrounding a clump of pale yellow Euphorbia polychroma. In summer the other Euphorbia griffithi Fireglow with orange red flowers is great in the middle of the border as it grows quite tall. The Euphorbias remind me of the yellow and red variegated Houttunias as they all have sap that can seriously cause a skin rash, so always wash your hands after working with them, and wear gloves when cutting them back.

Wee jobs to do this week

Lettuce and chard

Continue to sow a succession of summer salads as these are fast growing and very popular so crops soon get used up. Lettuce, spring onion, radish and rocket are perfect for sowing in between slower crops such as sweet corn. Salads can also be used where ever early crops have been harvested. The first early potatoes will soon get dug up, and early strawberries brought on under tunnels will soon be finished. If these have cropped for a couple of seasons they may well get dug in after taking runners off for a new row. Spaces left from these crops can be sown with fast growing salads.

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PLANTS FOR WALLS AND FENCES

PLANTS FOR WALLS AND FENCES

Clematis montana

At some point we all experience the trials and tribulations of moving house, usually in connection with going for a new job, or as we get older we no longer need a large home so we down size to a smaller house. Once settled in the keen gardener

Camellia Donation

can analyse the existing garden’s merits or if the move was to a new build home then the garden can be designed from scratch. The priorities are usually drives, paths, lawns, then borders, shelter, patio, and then vegetable and fruit garden. Size has a lot to influence how many of those must have plants we can fit in, so we need to utilise all available spaces. Walls and fences can all accommodate a few plants and this helps to blend the home into the landscape. Traditionally north facing walls were the most difficult to find a good plant that was happy with lack of sunshine, but then the south facing walls allowed us to experiment with the more exotic plants looking for a hot spot. When planting against a wall it is important to give the plants a good

Solanum crispum

start, so excavate the planting area a foot deep and fork up the subsoil before replacing the top soil, with some good compost added in. If you are planting the more exotic plants such as vines or figs add some stones or gravel in the bottom of the pit to improve drainage. After planting give the plants some fertiliser to boost growth to help them get established, and keep them watered in dry spells in the first and subsequent year.

North walls will be fine for most plants, but some are better than others. The firethorn, Pyracantha Orange Glow was always a favourite. It gets smothered with bright red berries in the autumn which will feed the blackbirds for weeks and the bees just love the flowers in spring for their nectar. It makes a dense climber, great for nesting birds but needs support and some winter pruning.

Delosperma cooperii

Hydrangea petiolaris will also be fine on the north wall but again it will need support. Most Camellias are fine on north and west walls but not east due to danger of sun scorch on frosted buds, and south walls may be liable to drying out. Virginian creeper can go on a north wall and has great autumn colour, but it can be very rampant once it gets established. Clematis can go on any wall, but again some varieties like Clematis montana love to ramble, and climb through anything in its path.

Another three rampant climbers for wall and fences are the yellow Jasminum nudiflorum, the scented honeysuckles and the Chilean Potato vine, Solanum crispum.

Some climbing and shrub roses can be trained up walls in any aspect, but they are so numerous that you need time to study rose growers catalogues as they bring out new varieties every year, and now they are concentrating on disease resistance as chemical control is falling out of favour.

As well as flowers and berries walls can also be used for fruit

Delosperma nubigenum

production. Perfect places for a Bramble such as Helen, or you can train apples, pears, peach Avalon Pride, (all grown as fan trained,) cherries and fig Brown Turkey to grow and crop on a fence or wall.

Grapes can also benefit from the warmth of a south facing wall and it is hard to beat Brant, though the bunches are not big, but the black grapes are sweet and juicy. Grapes can be very vigorous so need constant summer pruning to restrict growth and let the sun shine in to ripen up the grapes.

Tall stone built garden walls can be planted with the succulent Delosperma which is happy to grow from shoots pushed into cracks between stones where they will root. They are quite drought

Outdoor grape Brant

tolerant. Delosperma nubigenum hugs the wall and is smothered in yellow flowers in late spring, and the other variety Delosperma cooperii has purple flowers.

Anna trying out the first strawberries

Wee jobs to do this week

Protect strawberries from birds, slugs and soil splashes in wet weather. The strawberry season is now upon us. I have been picking my early variety Christine since late May but it had been growing under a low polythene tunnel for warmth and protection. Normal varieties will crop from now for early varieties (Honeoye) and continue as mid season (Elsanta) and late varieties (Florence and Symphony) come into season, then finally the perpetual autumn varieties such as Flamenco will crop till October. Protect the rows from birds with nets and lay straw along the rows to prevent soil splash damage and if slugs and snails are a problem sprinkle some pellets along the rows.

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PLANT PROPAGATION

PLANT PROPAGATION

As a young gardener, plant propagation was a very important topic. Apprentices got both practice and lectures on the techniques employed at college. This knowledge was enhanced with time spent in the greenhouses at Camperdown Park and the outdoor nursery. We were taught how to take outdoor hardwood cuttings and indoor softwood cuttings.

Fig cuttings starting to grow

We were always keen to learn how to propagate all kinds of plants, as during the hard times fifty years ago it was a way to create an attractive garden at home with plants for free from a few cuttings found here and there. This also gave us the chance to replace the large drifts of London Pride ground cover which most gardens had in abundance. Today we still propagate plants all year round in our own gardens to create a display, or to give a few spare special plants to friends and family as well having a few for our City Road allotments Open Day in Summer when we invite the public in to see what we grow on our plots.

In early winter we take hardwood cuttings of currants and gooseberries and numerous flowering shrubs. Use current growth

Grape vine cutting now growing

about nine inches long and line out four inches apart in rows a foot apart in open ground or in a cold frame if one is available. This gives some protection in winter. The cuttings will root and begin to grow the following year when they are carefully lifted and either potted up or lined out about six to ten inches apart to grow on to form a sturdy plant a year later.

This is also a good time to grow grape vines and figs, but these are best grown in pots and kept in a greenhouse where it is warmer. However as soon as they have made a decent bit of growth usually by June they can be potted up individually.

In early spring the Christmas cactus, Zygocactus truncatus will be

Zygocactus cuttings

approaching its growth phase, so this is a good time to propagate it from cuttings about four inches long. I usually place about three shoots together in a small pot and keep them on a windowsill that does not get much sun till they are rooted and beginning to grow, when they can then go in full sun.

Geraniums and Impatiens must be some of the easiest plants to propagate. Start to take cuttings in autumn. Place short tips of geraniums individually cellular pots in well drained compost. However the Impatiens are best rooted in a wee jar of water where you can see the roots emerge before potting up. They grow fast and soon you will have a small flowering house plant over the

Rooted geranium cuttings

winter. They can also set seed in late winter and this can be scattered in a seed tray to germinate and grow on then as soon as they are big enough to handle prick them out into cellular pots.

Fuchsias can be grown from cuttings taken in autumn or late spring. Take the top shoot about three inches long and place in cellular trays in well drained compost and cover over with a polythene bag to maintain a moist atmosphere. They will root in four to six weeks.

Fuchsia cuttings

Spring is a great time for propagating numerous rock garden plants. Phlox, Aubrietia and Delosperma can often be taken as shoots with some roots on them as these ground hugging plants will layer as they spread. Dwarf Japanese Azaleas will also layer and root as they grow and cuttings taken in spring root fairly easily.

Summer is a great time for propagating strawberries from runners which root once the tip is secured to the soil. Border carnations and Pinks are also propagated in summer from growing shoots but avoiding flowering shoots. Use growths about four inches long placed in a sandy compost in pots kept in a cool spot outdoors.

Summer growth

Wee jobs to do this week

Greenhouse crops of tomatoes and grapes will now be in full growth so encourage this with extra feeding especially for the tomatoes. Give them a weekly liquid tomato feed, but I give my vines a feed once a month. Side shoot removal on tomatoes is a regular chore as they are grown as upright single stemmed cordons and grapes also need to be kept in check as they would love to run riot if given half a chance. All sideshoots must be cut back after one leaf but if growth is plentiful then start removing side shoots entirely to allow light and sun in to ripen up the fruit. Give full ventilation on all warm sunny days to prevent any build up of diseases.

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TIME TO PLANT PUMPKINS COURGETTES AND CUCUMBERS

TIME TO PLANT PUMPKINS COURGETTES AND CUCUMBERS

Pumpkins and courgettes have a lot of similarities in their needs for producing good crops. They are both gross feeders, so get the lion’s share of manure or compost during the winter digging. It is always a good idea to plan well ahead and using

A good year for pumpkins

a four year rotation you will know what space they have been allocated before the winter digging begins. They are also both a bit tender so sowing is best in mid spring and the plants kept protected in the greenhouse to grow on to sturdy strong plants before hardening off in late May to early June

Courgettes ready to cut

depending on weather at that time. A late frost or cold snap can harm them so keep an eye on the weather once they go out for hardening off. Also beware of any strong winds as the large leaves makes then vulnerable to getting blown over and damaged.

Pumpkins running riot

Early to mid June is soon enough for planting, as once established they grow very rapidly. This late planting gives us the opportunity to enrich the soil further with a fast growing green manure crop of tares, ryegrass or clover. Sow this down on prepared soil which has previously been well composted before the winter digging. The green manure crop has plenty of time to make good growth before trampling down and digging in at the end of May. Plant out in early June into prepared soil, raked level incorporating a dusting of fertiliser, but leave a depression at the planting stations to allow for watering which both plants need all through out summer. They will also benefit from a mulch of well rotted compost to maintain reserves of moisture and feed the plants as it rots down. Space plants about three feet apart. Where these plants are grown together do not be tempted to save seeds if you happen to get a cracker of a pumpkin. I tried it and got white striped courgette shaped pumpkins as the bees will ensure cross pollination,

Cucumber passandra

and then traits from the past are also likely to appear. During the summer keep them well watered and feed monthly. Weed early on, but once the large leaves take over weeds do not stand much of a chance to grow. Harvest courgettes once they are about six to nine inches long, but as usually happens a few days absence results in vegetable marrow sized courgettes appear. Do not discard them as they can make a brilliant soup together with other summer vegetables. Leave pumpkins to grow large then ripen off ready to harvest at the end of autumn. Pumpkins can produce long shoots which love to wander all over the plot and don’t necessarily produce any more fruit so chop these off after each plant has made a couple of fruits.

Courgettes cannot be stored for any length of time unless used in a recipe then frozen. However pumpkins will store till the end of March.

Cucumbers

Young cucumber

Cucumbers come from the same family and enjoy similar conditions, but grow best indoors under the protection of the greenhouse. They are sown at the same time as courgettes and pumpkins, then pricked out into pots to grow on before planting into ten inch pots spaced 18 inches apart, or in growbags (two to a bag.) Like tomatoes they are best grown as cordons up a cane, or strong polypropylene baler twine. Pinch out the top once it reaches the roof and cut back side shoots to two leaves after a female flower, seen as having a wee cucumber behind the flower. Remove any male flowers as these might pollinate the female flowers and produce bitter tasting cucumbers. Keep the plants moist but not wet and feed every fortnight with a liquid fertiliser high in potassium like tomato feed. Carmen, Zeina and Femdan are all female varieties so no need to remove male flowers.

Aconites

Wee jobs to do this week

Remove withered leaves from spring flowering bulbs. Snowdrops, crocus, daffodils, tulips and the

smaller bulbs, Chionodoxa, Anemone blanda, Aconites, grape hyacinths and bluebells will now all have just about gone dormant. This old foliage can go on the compost heap, but some will have produced seeds. Aconites, snowdrops, crocus planted drifts will increase from seed which in time gives a better display, but bluebells and grape hyacinths can become very invasive so remove the seed heads, once they have spread to their allocated space, before discarding the old foliage.

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RHODODENDRONS, AZALEAS and CAMELLIAS

RHODODENDRONS, AZALEAS and CAMELLIAS

Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Camellias flood the garden with colour in late spring when most spring bedding plants and bulbs have faded away. The first to flower is usually the Rhododendron praecox, a small evergreen bush with mauve flowers in

Mixed dwarf azaleas

late March provided there are no late frosts around to spoil the delicate blooms. Rhododendrons and azaleas come in all sizes and are very popular all over UK, as they are very reliable and easy to grow provided you give them well drained but moist soil, not prone to drying out and the soil must be acidic. A sunny aspect is also of benefit, as is dappled shade, but not deep shade under trees. In

Azalea Vyuks Scarlet

preparing an area for these plants add plenty well rotted leaf mould and even rotted pine needles. A bit of feeding is good to get them started, but either use ericaceous fertiliser or the sulphates of ammonia, potassium and iron, but in modest amounts as these fertilisers are all acidifying in nature. A good source of plants and information can be found at Glendoick Garden Centre, and with an enjoyable trip up the glen beside the centre you can see them at their best in a natural environment as well as other woodland plants such as the Himalayan Blue Poppy, maples and primulas.

Some plants can be propagated by cuttings and layering but for

Camellia Adolphe Audusson

the difficult varieties grafting onto a suitable rootstock is necessary. Best to leave that to the professionals who use non suckering under stocks. The dwarf Japanese azaleas are relatively easy to propagate from both cuttings and layering made easy as they are ground hugging. Adding a top dressing of well rotted leaf mould often helps the layering process.

Varieties The gardener is absolutely spoiled for choice as there are thousands to choose from. So give thought to space available with good acidic moisture retaining soil (but not a heavy clay soil), the right degree of light and shade, good drainage and how deep pockets you have. My first choice in late teens were associated with experiences in the Dundee Parks, so Rhododendron praecox was a must. We had a gorgeous bed of them in Dawson Park, grown in almost pure leaf mould, and then in the sunken

Rhododendron praecox

garden there was a range of the dwarf Japanese Kurume Azaleas. Of course as an apprentice I was shown how to propagate these by cuttings and layering and soon I had my own wee collection in my council house garden in St. Marys. My two favourites were Blaaws Pink and Vuyks Scarlet, both still popular today. As apprentices we were told about the plant explorers, both the Cox family members and also E H Wilson who went to Japan and returned with his choice of the best evergreen dwarf Japanese Azaleas known as the Wilson 50. My next choice was Rhododendron Elizabeth, a low growing bright red but a bit prone to mildew. Many years later I still grow a wide range of Rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias. I like the scented yellow deciduous Azalea luteum, and A. Anneke also yellow, A. Gibralter and Klondyke both an eye catching golden orange, but there are masses to choose from. Low growing yellow Rhododendron Nancy Evens, scarlet Dopey, and for a good white try Dora Amateis. My two must have Camellias are the very popular pink Donation and the bright red Adolphe Audusson.

Like all plants they are also prone to a range of pests and diseases. The Azalea gall Exobasidium vaccinii can be a real nuisance on the dwarf Azaleas, but keep problem at bay be removing the galls as soon as seen. Scale is the latest problem and associates with sooty mould. Spray under the leaves with an insecticide in late spring once the scales are on the move. Phytophthora root rot is the latest plant problem affecting everything from trees and shrubs, raspberries and potatoes. Just keep fingers crossed as there is no solution yet.

Wee jobs to do this week

Planting sweet corn

Plant out sweet corn on ground that had a green manure crop of tares sown in early spring and dug in a couple of weeks ago. Plants were raised from seed grown indoors under glass, and then potted up to make strong plants for planting out. I plant out in a square block, spacing plants just over a foot apart as this will assist wind pollination. In last years brilliant summer my plants were yielding between one and three cobs per plant with the variety Incredible.

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