Creating a New Garden

CREATING A NEW GARDEN      

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

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

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

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

Function

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

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

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

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

Favourite plants

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

Colour and Impact

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

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

Shelter and Privacy

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

Relaxation

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

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The Autumn Harvest

 THE AUTUMN HARVEST      

 As autumn comes to an end most crops have been harvested and we can assess the results of our gardening skills and the effects of weather on the different plants.

It has been a good growing season for those plants that like plenty moisture, but a poor one for those that prefer a bit of sunshine after a shower. Many plants need a dryish warm and sunny spell at maturity to ripen up. This helps them to sweeten up, improve the flavour and assists their ability to store well. That kind of weather has been in very short supply this autumn.

This is a very busy time to harvest, dry off, clean and find storage space in garages, sheds or the freezer. However there are still many vegetables still growing slowly to take us into the winter with fresh healthy greens. Brassicas have really enjoyed the wet year. Cabbage, kale and Brussels sprouts have been excellent, though losses from clubroot and attacks from mealy aphis, caterpillars and cabbage rootfly very serious. Early summer cauliflowers were wiped out by clubroot so I grew a stronger batch in pots for late summer cuttings. These got wiped out by rootfly. Alas the home gardener no longer has any chemicals to protect our crops from these attacks.

At least leeks do not seem to have any pest or disease problems and it has been an excellent year to grow huge Swedes.

Apples

My last variety of apple has now been picked. Bramley is a huge fruited cooker that is very reliable giving heavy crops that store right into March. The tree is strong and not affected by many pests or diseases, though I always find and remove a few mildew infected young shoots in spring. These primary infections come from overwintering spores in buds that develop as the young bud grows. However if you remove them quickly you prevent the disease spreading.

The huge crop was more than we can use, so a batch of good windfalls, smaller fruit and those with blemishes was put to immediate good use. I needed 30lbs for a three gallon batch of Sauternes type wine also adding raisins and ripe bananas for body, strength and flavour. With modern yeasts it is not too difficult to achieve a high alcohol content for this sweet dessert wine, if only I can be patient enough to wait till it reaches a fuller maturity. Gardening can be very rewarding. This is what makes the hard graft very worthwhile.

Other Bramleys going into storage are sorted into boxes and kept in my cold garage. They get a regular inspection and any showing signs of brown rot are removed immediately. Bramley is the perfect apple for cooking and numerous recipes abound for crumbles, stewed fruit, pies, stir fries, added to a cooked breakfast, curries, apple jelly, sauces, baked apples.

The gardener has no a bad life!!!

Dessert apples Fiesta and Red Falstaff are in store and continue to be used daily. Red Devil apples were fantastic, but have now all been eaten.

Grapes

Under glass the Black Hamburg grape continues to fruit, but lack of sunshine has caused some bunches to shrivel up without ripening. Not such a heavy crop as last year and outdoors my Brant grape is late but needed to be picked as the blackbird found them, told his mates and I had to chase four of them off before I could pick them. The berries were picked from the stalks, crushed and put in a pan to heat up and simmer for ten minutes. This helps to extract the juice and sterilise it. It is then strained through a jelly bag and bottled in sterile plastic bottles. These will keep for two weeks in a fridge, and any surplus bottles can be frozen.

Cape Gooseberries

Growth has been excellent but lack of sunshine has prevented them from fully ripening even if they are grown against a sheltered south facing fence. They really need a decent summer if you grow them outdoors. I still await my first fruit and although I have great patience, I am not hopeful.

Vegetables

Swiss chard always looks brilliant in such a wide range of bright colours and it is a very healthy plant to eat. It is having a good year unlike my beetroot which have struggled badly to grow bigger than a baby beet. They might be delicious, but there is nothing to store.

Courgettes were very poor with me as my plants got severely damaged by the gales in May and never really recovered, but other gardeners who kept them protected at that crucial time have had a great crop with massive surpluses.

Pumpkins need plenty moisture, a rich soil with extra feeding and warm sunny weather to pollinate the flowers and produce a good crop. This then needs a lot of sunshine to ripen up the swelling fruit. Sadly my two plants only produced two small pumpkins. I did not need a wheelbarrow to take in this year’s crop. However they do make a terrific soup, so my small crop will be much appreciated even if only for a very short spell.

Leeks are looking very strong and should keep cropping right through winter into next March.

Kale, swedes and Brussels sprouts are also in good form so we should be ok for healthy living if the snow arrives early and if it gets too cold I may just open up a bottle of my Apple/sauternes wine to cheer us up.

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Autumn is for apples

AUTUMN IS FOR APPLES      

Autumn has appeared and the Scottish apple harvest has started at a fast pace. We may not have a high acreage of commercial orchards yet, (if any), but there is a massive interest in planting apple trees from the small garden scale to small estates, schools, edible landscape groups increasing the biodiversity and in renewing old orchards.

There is a resurgence of interest in trying to achieve a healthy lifestyle by getting a plot of land or garden to grow some fresh fruit and vegetables. The smells, tastes and flavours of home grown produce picked when fully ripe and consumed within a few seconds to a few hours is an experience to savour. Supermarket produce just cannot compare.

Many varieties of top fruit grown extensively in Scotland are now almost extinct. Renewed interest in our heritage has focussed on retrieving whatever remnants of this industry can be found and bringing them back into production. These old varieties had a flavour to die for, but may have matured unevenly, maybe not handled well with mechanised harvesting and packing equipment and liable to the occasional blemish, so went unloved by the major supermarkets. However people are now buying from farmers markets and the small grocer so heritage apples can supply these outlets and give the discerning public an apple to enjoy.

 

Apple, pear and plum orchards once flourished in our fertile Carse of Gowrie supplying local markets, but trade is now done on a global scale with fresh apples and pears coming into supermarkets from all over the world. This trade is driven by profit with appearance, marketability, cheap to produce and good shelf life given higher priority than flavour, texture and fragrance.

I can understand why young kids take no pleasure in eating an apple a day if it was not home grown. For the last five months all my apples came from the supermarket as I am only self sufficient in apples for seven months, ie. end of August to end of March.

The first apples ripen

However at the end of August my first Arbroath Pippin, also known as the Oslin was ready. It was sheer heaven with a very distinctive aromatic flavour. They must be eaten frequently as they do not store well, so I only grow a small batch. These are quickly followed by another early, Discovery, and again a very tasty and distinctive apple. James Grieve is very popular in Scotland, but I cannot say it is one of my favourites.

Fiesta will soon be ready then Red Falstaff and then my best late for storage is Red Devil. Do not eat this one fresh from the tree as it takes a few weeks of storage to be at its best.

Last spring I grafted three new varieties (Pearl, Park Farm Pippin and Lord Roseberry), onto my old James Grieve and they have all taken beautifully, so I look forward to next year when maybe one of them may give me an apple or two.

The apple crop this year is excellent. The spring was good so pollination was perfect, then the wet summer gave us good growth and big apples. The crop needed a serious thinning just after the June drop in mid July. However wet weather increased the incidence of brown rot, then more gales dropped a few more apples, but I still have a huge crop. Just a pity we couldn’t get a bit more sunshine to sweeten up the fruit, (they would be perfect for the supermarket)

No pears this year

Last year was so wet, (almost as bad as this year) that my Comice pear tree got totally infected with scab wiping out the whole crop as well as the foliage. It had to go, so I looked around for a good flavoured pear that had disease resistant leaves. Glendoick Garden Centre came up with an excellent Beurre Hardy and well known horticulturist and fruit grower Willy Duncan came up with The Christie. Grafts from these two have now replaced most of my Comice with growth so strong and sturdy that I think they will fruit next year.

I covered the topic of grafting last March, and archived it on my blog (scottish artist and his garden blogspot) for anyone interested in trying it out to replace a poor variety with a good one known to do well in this area. It sounds very specialised and technical, but is amazingly easy as the small grafts are just itching to leap into growth at any cost. It is hard to fail, even with my broken pen knife, a plastic supermarket bag cut into strips to tie them with and some Vaseline to seal the cut ends if you can’t get grafting wax. Just make sure the sap is rising (usually about flowering time) so the bark can separate easily when cut to allow you to push the graft in.

Scottish apple events

Megginch Castle is host to a guided tour by local apple expert Andrew Lear showing visitors around an old orchard being revitalised. Megginch was home to The Bloody Ploughman apple, named after the tragic incident when a ploughman was caught stealing some apples to feed his starving family. He was shot on the spot dropping his apples. An apple tree grew up from one of the seeds producing an apple with blood red skin. You can also see some excellent heritage pears including Black Worcester, Catilac and Jargonelle. Tour begins at 2pm on Wednesday 5^th October as part of the Carse of Gowrie Orchard Festival starting on the 1^st October 2011.

Scottish Orchards run by John Hancox aims to promote apple tree planting in local communities and schools to give youngsters the opportunity to plant, grow, harvest and taste fresh home grown Scottish apples. Mini orchards are being established in schools all over Scotland including our own Kingspark School. More information at www.fruitfulschools.com

Abundance Edinburgh is a group of volunteers taking action on food waste. They arrange the harvest of apples and other fruit from gardens or the wild then some get converted into jams and chutneys for redistribution to local charities.

Scottish cider is now being produced locally at Cairn o Mohr with apples harvested from the Carse of Gowrie and another cidermaker, Thistly Cross,  has started up in East Lothian making award winning ciders blending local harvested apples with strawberries.

The future for Scottish grown apples looks very rosy.

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Spring at Last

SPRING AT LAST

The end of February and early March brought a very welcome period of sunshine and dry weather not seen since last October. The urge to get outdoors into the garden was very strong especially as there is a mountainous backlog of tasks seeking attention. The long lasting blanket of snow which fell in November and December but did eventually melt a couple of months later was followed by cold wet real dreich weather that put any thoughts of gardening on the back burner.

That was yesterday and now today the sun is shining, the ground is drying up and gardening can begin at full speed.

Complete the winter pruning

The warmth of the sun has been sufficient to start the sap rising on my fruit trees as buds begin to swell, so pruning had to be completed before dormancy breaks. However if you have any tree which is showing too much vigour at the expense of fruiting delay pruning till just after bud burst as the shock will help it to reverse that trend.

I do not spur prune my fruit trees, but carry out a minimum of replacement pruning to remove some old wood and encourage a balance of young wood and mature fruiting wood which will fruit for several years before it gets replaced.

Apples, pears, my peach tree and my newly planted cherry tree Cherokee all got pruned. I will grow the cherry as a fan trained dwarf tree against a south facing fence, so the strong main shoot got cut back to two feet and side shoots shortened by a third. Two shoots growing at the front and back got spurred as they are unwanted in a fan trained shape.

Although I love my very early Arbroath Pippin apples, they do not keep, and as you can only eat so many, I will cut some branches back to stumps and graft some new varieties onto them in late March to early April.

I will also replace most of my Comice pear with other stronger disease resistant varieties which don’t get wiped out with scab in our wet summers. Grafting is very easy and rewarding as the new grafts grow on the older tree very readily as long as a few basic principles are followed. One main principle is that the new shoot, called the scion, should be dormant when grafting, but the tree has to be growing with the sap flowing to lubricate the inside of the bark so it separates easy from the trunk without tearing. I cut my scions in February to early March then heal them in a north facing cool border to hold them back. It always seems to work just fine.

I will cover grafting next week, so if you wish to make a family tree or try out another variety get your scions ready now.

Good apples in our area are Fiesta, Red Falstaff, Scrumptious, Discovery and Red Devil.

Summer and autumn raspberries, black, red and white currants, brambles and gooseberries should all be pruned before growth starts.

I will be doing my first pruning of my six year old Saskatoon bushes to open up the centres allowing more light in and encourage some younger shoots to grow from the base.

My ornamental exotic Cordyline australis did not survive the winter to it got chopped down to ground level. I will leave it for a year or two to see if it regrows from the base.

The fruit garden

Last week I removed a lot of runners from my early strawberry variety Mae to make two new rows. As there was plenty runners I complete each row as a double row at six inches apart and the runners spaced at six inches. This will increase the cropping significantly.

To get even earlier crops I put a polythene tunnel over an existing row of Mae. This will fruit two weeks ahead of the others. It is easy to make your own tunnels very cheaply and they can last for years. My tunnels are made from 4 foot wide polythene (150 gauge) held over wire hoops (high tensile 8 gauge galvanised wire) and secured with polypropylene binder twine.  The wire hoops are about 5 feet long. Allow a 9 inch leg to insert into the ground then bend the wire round a broom handle to create a loop on the outside for tying the twine to. I dig the polythene into the ground at each end of the row to secure it, the tie it down with the binder twine at each hoop spaced about 3 feet apart along the row.

You can buy the materials online at www.lbsgardenwarehouse.co.uk

This is the last chance to spray your peach tree with a copper fungicide, or Dithane to control peach leaf curl which can devastate the tree if untreated.

Early vegetables

Tomato Alicante and my favourite cherry type Sweet Million germinated successfully so have now been pricked out into cellular trays. They are to grow for a few weeks on the south facing living room window sill until warmer weather arrives and I can transfer them to my cold greenhouse. They will then get potted up again before planting into growbags.

Broad beans have now been sown as one seed per cell in a cellular seed tray. These are kept at home in the warmth under a table to germinate, and then they will be transferred to the cold greenhouse. They are pretty tough hardy plants so the cooler regime will not harm them. They will be one of the first to move out of the greenhouse together with my geraniums to make way for other plants. Geraniums are also quite hardy and can take a degree of frost, as long as they have been hardened off properly and the frost is not severe or prolonged.

Back on the allotment low polythene tunnels are perfect for an early batch of lettuce, radish and spring onions, but put it in place on prepared soil for at least one week to warm up the soil. There is nothing to beat those early first salads, picked fresh and onto the plate within hours.

The first flowers

Those first few days of bright sunshine was perfect to open up the spring flowering crocus to add to the aconites, snowdrops and my dazzling white hellebore.

My winter border of coloured stemmed shrubs, (Cornus Westonbirt, Kerria japonica, Salix britzensis and the Japanese maple Acer Sangokaku) has been flooded with drifts of crocus and snowdrops. It is an amazing site at present at its best for the season. The show of coloured winter stems will remain effective for another couple of weeks before they get pruned down to the base.

Under my carpet of crocus in this border I have planted tulips for flowering in May and scented lilies which flower in mid summer.

I am hoping that we do not suffer any late frosts as my first flowering shrub, Rhododendron praecox is beginning to open up. This lilac early dwarf Rhododendron is spectacular for at least two weeks provided it does not get frosted.

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