SPRING BECKONS

SPRING BECKONS

Spring has been just round the corner now for a few weeks. Snow was often forecast but rarely appeared, though cold rain took its place. There were many dry sunny days, but accompanied by a cold wind from the north, so that sunny day with warm sunshine where the hardy gardener can take his coffee

Aconites push through the snow

break outdoors in blissful warmth was hard to find. Garden flowers are often influenced by day length as well as temperature, so aconites are all above ground with full buds just waiting on some sunshine and warmth so they can open up fully. Snowdrops on the other hand respond to temperature so while the winters have been mild they started to bloom last December in sheltered spots. Crocus are not far behind with a few in sheltered areas popping their heads up waiting on a bit of warmth so they can open up fully. I have a mixed batch planted under a drift of grape hyacinths hoping they will work in harmony as the crocus flower in early March and the grape hyacinths a few weeks later. Underneath these two

The first crocus

I have narcissus for April flowering and deep under them there is my summer oriental lilies. Hoping this layered planting style will work.

The winter border of Cornus, Willow, Kerria japonica Japanese maple and Acer Sangokaku has provided colour all winter from the range of coloured stems, and now the ground around these bushes is getting ready for the spring display as drifts of crocus push up into the sunlight. The coloured stemmed bushed (except the Kerria which flowers in May) get pruned back to ground level at the end of March leaving the flowering bulbs to have their moment in the sun. A few weeks later tulips planted below the crocus will have their moment of glory before the shrubs begin to grow

Early snowdrops

and produce shoots for next winter’s decoration.

Roses are starting to grow, but not as fast as last years shoots as they got a really mild winter in 2016/17, but keep an eye on them as greenfly are very quick to spot young shoots to feed on.

Daffodils and early tulips are also well advanced and it won’t be long before the first flowers appear. Narcissus February Gold is always my first to bloom and tulip Scarlet Baby is my first tulip in flower in March where I have them planted next to some yellow flowering saxifrages. Hopefully they will all flower at the same time, though sometimes the tulips can be a few days late.

Spring is also a time of activity getting ready for seed sowing, planting and propagation, so once you have read through all the catalogues and checked last year’s activities, sorting out successes and failures if you have not yet done it, buy in your seed requirements, potatoes, onions, dahlias, new chrysanthemums and gladioli. I just love the strongly scented oriental lilies, so these had to be purchased in the autumn, but now I see young shoots pushing up into the light.

Taking chrysanthemum cuttings

Once your seed potatoes arrive, place them in boxes, rose end upwards, label them, and put them in a cool but frost free place in the light so the young shoots can grow up without getting leggy and ensure a perfect take after planting in spring.

Order trees, shrubs and roses now from a good source for early planting, so they have the whole season ahead to get well established. I will be planting another Victoria plum tree as the one I bought last year was a complete failure as I had bought mine locally, and though it looked good at the time and the price was in my favour, it struggled to grow as disease ultimately killed it.

Chrysanthemums boxed up last year, and over wintered in a cold greenhouse are now growing strongly so choose healthy shoots and take some cuttings about three to four inches long. Dibble them into pots or boxes containing well drained compost and they will need some warmth to get them rooted.

Wee jobs to do this week

Cleaning the glass

Choose a sunny dry day and give the greenhouse glass a good wash both outdoors and inside to remove grime, algae, spiders webs and other muck. Clean out the gutters at the same time and check the both doors slide smoothly and windows open and close properly. Check borders for grape vines, remove weeds and add some fresh soil or potting compost to revitalize the soil.

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APPLES

APPLES

Growing an apple tree has never been more popular. The breeders have been busy creating forms suitable for any size of garden and it has not been lost on them that we want flavour, a good red skin colour, an apple that can store a few months and a tree that has strong disease resistant leaves able to withstand attacks of scab and mildew.

Apple Fiesta

We do not need an apple that only grows to an even commercial size, requires frequent spraying throughout the growing season to keep it pest and disease free and has a long shelf life enhanced by even more chemicals. Our home grown apples are very healthy as they have been grown without chemicals apart from a spring dressing of fertilizer to get them growing strongly. Today we have the choice

Fiesta in bloom

of large standard trees for the big gardens down to spindle bushes where all fruit is picked from the ground, and for those with very limited space the choice is a fan, cordon, an oblique cordon or an espalier to plant against a wall or fence. Then tree forms get even smaller with the upright columnar Starlight tree range and the dwarf stepover forms to plant along the edges of borders. A garden with an apple tree with bright red fruit will always impress as they stand out from the crowd. However apples as a snack fit in very well with modern busy life styles, and for those that can cook the Bramley is perfect for numerous recipes. Then for those that like to count the calories and are conscious of eating the healthy diet, a daily apple fits the bill. They are absolutely packed with vitamins, minerals and fibre. The apple season starts in August with the earliest varieties like Oslin, but with cool airy storage others will last till March. Thereafter if it is back to supermarket apples, remember to wash the skin thoroughly to remove any chemicals bombarded on the apples while in the orchard

Apple Discovery

and after harvesting in the packing shed.

Form and Rootstocks

Rootstock M27 is very dwarfing so it is used for columnar shapes, dwarf pyramids and stepover trees. Rootstock M9 is a dwarfing type used for cordons, dwarf bush and spindle trees, but as it lacks vigour the trees need permanent tree stakes or support systems. M27 and M26 and MM106 are still dwarfing but will give a bigger tree than the previous ones, growing up to ten to twelve feet. Where tree size is not a problem use trees grafted onto rootstocks MM111 or M25.

Varieties

Apples for Scottish soils and climate are plentiful so look for Discovery as a great early, then Katy, Scrumptious, Falstaff, and Fiesta for maincrops with Red devil as a great apple in storage, though Fiesta is also a great keeper. For cooking it is hard to beat Bramley which also stores up to the end of March in a cool airy dark store. My preference in the upright Starlight range is the red Firedance.

Pruning Bramley apple tree

Pruning and Planting

Dwarf apple forms are usually grown on a spur system, where summer growth is cut back to about four or five buds which are then further pruned in winter to a couple of buds. With other forms shoots are left for three or four years then removed back to a younger shoot to take its place. Upright shoots are removed as they would be too vigorous at the expense of fruiting.

Bare root plants are planted in the dormant season, but today most plants come in containers to be planted all year round. As trees are in the soil for a long time, prepare a good planting hole by removing topsoil and adding compost to the subsoil and forking it in, and then replace topsoil mixing in some planting compost. After planting add some fertilizer water the plants.

Wee jobs to do this week

Winter work in the greenhouse

Time for a greenhouse tidy up. Hopefully the grape vines will all be pruned and the tomato bed
I keep some spring bedding pansies and polyanthus under glass in boxes and hanging baskets to protect them from cold wet conditions before they go outdoors in March.

will be getting prepared for this year’s crop. We all have our own pet methods. I remove six inches of top soil, then sterilise the soil with disinfectant to kill off any soil born diseases. Then I add compost and dig it in then spread potting compost from growbags over this in readiness for planting.

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VALENTINES DAY THOUGHTS

VALENTINES DAY THOUGHTS

As we head through winter in the knowledge that spring is not too far away, we look back at happy moments over Christmas and New Year; great events that cheer us up on cold gloomy winter days. However Valentines Day is the next great event, especially for those of us with a romantic nature. Age is not a barrier for romantic notions.

Say it with flowers

The weather is on our side as wee feel just a bit of warmth on those few sunny days and the garden begins to come alive. Romance and creativity are closely entwined whether through art, music, dance and gardening where those with green fingers and a creative mind design landscapes to please the eye of many admirers.

Aconites

Dahlia My Love

The gift of flowers at Valentines Day is a hugely romantic gesture, and there is plenty to choose from as shops, nurseries, garden centres, gardens and greenhouses are amass with them for this event. The romantic gardener can plan ahead to make sure he has a few selected pot plants in flower, such as snowdrops, aconites or even a red Amaryllis if you can get your timing right. A pot of scented red or pink hyacinths is also feasible, but again timing is crucial. There is also plenty pansies and primroses in flower at garden centres ready to pot up for instant use. Another favourite for this occasion is an orchid in full bloom available in a wide variety of colours, and with good care the flowers can last for many months. Cut flowers of daffodils, tulips and lilies are always welcome as they

Japanese maple

have impact, bright colours and many come with a beautiful scent. Cut flower roses are also popular, especially red ones for this occasion, but it is just a pity no-one has bred a scented cut flower rose. Whilst it is a great achievement to grow our own flowers for Valentines Day, we have to work with the weather and it is not always in our favour, so if flowers from the garden are hard to find, resist picking that massive cabbage from the vegetable patch even though it has been grown over many months with love and care and a fair bit of manure, as it will just not get you many brownie points. However all is not lost as we can still purchase a large bunch of red roses from the supermarket,

orchid

but for garden lovers with a bit of spacem, select that special garden plant that will always bring back loving memories. We travel abroad on holidays and honeymoons and may see some wonderful flower or plant which sets a memory, or the name of the location may well be used in a plant name. Another

Rhododendron Elizabeth

option is finding a plant with your partners name such as Rose (Margaret) Merrill, (Dawn) Chorus, (Evelyn) Fison, Anna’s Promise, (Anna) Pavlova, no relation to the Russian dog!!! Then there is Rhododendron Elizabeth and Viburnum Dawn, and many more.

Plants associated with memories of a location are always favourite. Rose Lovers Meeting fits the bill as does Celebration. I grow shrub rose Wisley as that’s where I sat my National Diploma exams, and I always grew an Atlas Cedar as I was very impressed by one at the College in Essex where I

Red camellia

studied, but after ten or more years they just get too big for a small garden.

Plants can also be bought if you know your partner has a favourite such as oriental scented lilies. Another romantic gesture is to buy that red scented rose bush for the occasion, such as E H Morse, Alec’s Red, Deep Secret and Thinking of You. If you have spare wall space the red climbing rose Dublin Bay, which unfortunately has no scent though climbing rose Ena Harkness is highly scented. There are plenty other plants to mark the occasion which may be more expensive but then more memorable such as the red Camellia Adolphe Audusson, or pink Donation, the red twigged maple Acer Sango Kaku, or the pink flowering cherry Prunus Amanogawa.

Rose Dublin Bay

However on a more practical note the bramble Helen is thornless with smooth skin and the fruit is very sweet.

Wee jobs to do this week

As daylight lengthens we are all looking for some signs of the arrival of spring so to what could be better than a trip to the Snowdrop Festival at Cambo Estate open from end January to 11 March 2018 to see over 300 different varieties as they hold the national Collection. As well as snowdrops they have winter gardens and numerous activities arranged for adults and the kids.

For further information check out the website at www.camboestate.com/estate/snowdrops

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CREATE FERTILE SOIL

CREATE FERTILE SOIL

We are all aware as gardeners that to grow plants at their best we need to cater for their own particular requirements, and that can vary tremendously. Cacti need sandy soils with perfect drainage, water lilies need a pool of water, rock garden plants like thin stony soils with good drainage and vegetable crops like fertile soils.

Digging up some good compost

Allotment plot holders and others with gardens around their houses grow a lot of flowers, shrubs, roses, fruit trees and bushes and a wide range of vegetables. These all need fertile soil, which is often not what we start off with. Even allotment plots over fifty years old can be infertile if plot holders over time never added any compost or manure, but always took a crop of vegetables every year, then wonder why their potatoes and cabbages are not vey big. It is quite surprising to see many allotment plots with no compost heap.

Clover green manure ready to dig in

We can do many things to bring our soils up to a highly fertile standard.

First look at what kind of soil you have. Angus and Tayside have a great variety of soils from the fertile alluvial plains of the Carse of Gowrie, the sandy soils around the coast to the boulder clays inland deposited after the last ice age. Some parts of the central belt on higher ground are wet and peaty, but with good drainage can be quite fertile. Over the years the boulder clays have had the bigger stones removed to assist cultivation, and these soils can be very fertile as clay particles hold a lot of nutrients which can be released by encouraging soil organisms to break down the clay. If these soils are acidic adding lime is very beneficial as it assists nutrient release as well as helping to create a crumbly soil structure which in turn drains

Some good compost

better. Get a small garden soil test kit to find out just how acidic your soil is so you can be guided as to how much lime to add. For allotment holders who grow cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and kale in their rotation it is normal to lime a quarter of the plot once every four years to that area allocated to brassicas.

Adding manure and compost creates humus which darkens the soil and helps it warm up quicker, as well as adding nutrients for crops and food for soil organisms which open up the soil.

Digging manure into the border

Every garden should have a compost heap for all the garden waste, kitchen waste, leaves, grass clippings and annual weeds. Old compost from used growbags, pots, tubs and hanging baskets can all be added, but check for signs of vine weevil grubs before you mix in the compost. Although it may be hard work it is very beneficial to help the compost heap rot down if you can turn it twice a year. This way you can get well rotted compost ready to use in nine months, or less during summer when soil organisms are at their most active.

It is normal to add manure and compost to the soil ahead of digging and then incorporate this into the soil as digging proceeds. Digging in early winter and leaving the soil as rough as possible allows weathering by frosts over a large surface area. Most gardeners dig the normal full depth of the spade, but for some permanent plants such as trees and fruit bushes which will be in the ground for years it is better to double dig the soil to break up subsoil and give them a deeper root zone.

Mulching some pumpkins

Mulching with well rotted compost around trees, roses and fruit bushes is of great benefit to retain moisture during the summer, control weeds as well as supplying a steady stream of nutrients.

Grow a green manure crop of clover, ryegrass, vetches or field beans in early spring and late summer before and after crops when land is vacant helps to break up soils and adds humus when the crops rot down after digging in.

Wee jobs to do this week

Making pumpkin soup

When the winter colds bites and snow covers the ground, now is the time to lift just a few leeks, pick some kale, raid the freezer for some broad beans and bring a pumpkin out of storage to make a large pot of pumpkin soup. Anna chops up the kale finely, slices a couple of leeks, adds the broad beans and prepared pumpkins without the skin and adds to the pot with some stock left over from a cooked gammon steak. After thirty minutes and a sprinkling of pepper, the pumpkin soup is ready to serve. On a cold winter’s day this is the perfect tonic.

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