ENJOYING THE SUMMER IN THE GARDEN

ENJOYING THE SUMMER IN THE GARDEN

At long last the Scottish summer has arrived and has surpassed itself with a lot more than just our normal three consecutive days of brilliant sunshine. We have a lot to thank for with global warming.

The garden has been unbelievable. Summer flowers are not waiting to put on a decent bit of growth before they settle down to flower. There are flowers everywhere. Hanging baskets and tubs full of geraniums, petunias and impatiens are at their best, but with still plenty of time to grow bigger and provide even more flowers. Even the winter flowering hanging baskets full of pansies are still flowering so though they have been replaced they are now sitting on large pots on the patio. As long as they get dead headed they will continue to flower.

However begonias, lobelia and nemesia are all growing strongly but not yet coming into flower. Their time will come.

In the herbaceous border the oriental poppies, peonies and flag iris have all finished, but now the delphiniums are taking central stage.

Both bush roses and climbing roses are at their best and my shrub rose Ispahan and Lavender Lassie are covered in masses of scented pink flowers.

Summer flowering shrubs provide the backbone in the garden landscape with the larger ones giving privacy around boundaries. Philadelphus has masses of pristine white scented flowers in mid summer and can grow very tall. Buddleia and some Escallonias  all in flower now can also reach for the sky. Coming down in scale the Hypericums, Cistus, fuchsia and Senecio just love these long days of hot dry sunny weather. I am just hoping that it will still be there when this comes into print.

The hot dry weather has been great for weed killing as hoed weeds left on the surface just shrivel up, and paths, hard standing and other areas where weedkillers, mainly glyphosate has been used are perfect to wipe out pernicious perennial weeds.

Down on the allotment strawberry picking is in full swing, so for breakfast it is strawberries in the muesli, then strawberries with Greek yoghurt and a drizzle of honey for lunch, then in the evenings it is just strawberries to enjoy as we watch the World Cup. There might even be some left over to enjoy once Wimbledon starts and Andy gets into his stride.

Staying on the healthy foods, lettuce, radish, spring onions, Swiss chard and the first of our Purple Top Milan turnips are all ready for the plate. Most of the overwintered cauliflower Aalsmeer have finished, but for some reason there is one left that just seems to grow bigger and bigger but as yet the curd has not formed. It is going to be a cracker, I hope.

Broad beans have responded to the warm weather and are in full flower with plants standing over five feet tall. However dwarf French beans had a very poor germination, then the slugs had a feast before I got the pellets out. This might not be their year, but it is too early to condemn them yet.

Peas are all growing very strongly. I have recycled my pruned shrubs for supports for them, so Salix britzensis looks after my Kelvedon Wonder and my dead Goji which I dug out now supports my Hurst Green Shaft. Both the willow (Salix) and the Goji prunings have rooted and started to grow.

Is it the weather or my green fingers. That Goji was dead, but now it wants to live after I dug it out. That is just plain weird.

Potatoes are all now in full flower and looking very strong, but I will wait another couple of weeks before I lift a sample of my early variety Lady Chrystl.

Plant of the week

Senecio greyi is a medium sized evergreen shrub with grey foliage and in mid summer gets covered in masses of bright yellow daisy shaped flowers. It is perfect for maritime locations and dry soils with good drainage. It flowers best in full sun.

It is very easy to propagate from softwood cuttings in early summer or ripe cuttings later on.

The yellow flowers associate very well with mauve flowers of Erigeron and the bright purple succulent Delosperma cooperi which all flower at the same time and will all grow in drier soils.

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POTTERING AROUND

POTTERING AROUND

Relaxation in the garden is difficult in early summer, even after most crops have been sown or planted and harvesting has not really started as there is always some wee job needing attention.

The old leaves of crocus, daffodils, tulips and other spring flowering bulbs have all died down so these can be removed and added to the compost heap.

Any bare soil left behind once all the leaves have been removed can be planted up with annuals from seed or summer bedding plants such as Impatiens, Marigolds, geraniums, petunias or lobelia.

Dead head rhododendrons and azaleas so the bushes can direct all their energy into growing the young shoots that will ripen up in autumn and produce next years flowers. Add these to the compost heap.

The damp mild weather has encouraged the growth of annual weeds so remove these before they get too big and again add to the compost heap mixing them in with any grass cuttings from the lawn.

Even after completely using up all last years garden compost and starting another heap in early March, my new compost heap is already gaining size as I add shredded tree and shrub prunings and all our kitchen waste.

This was turned at the beginning of June to assist rotting then some fertile soil added to the top so I could plant a few spare tomatoes and pumpkins. Slug pellets were necessary to control compost heap slugs and snails, but now they are all growing quite strongly and small tomatoes are beginning to develop.

Good growth is assisted by the heat produced as the compost heap rots down, and now these outdoor tomatoes are flowering on their second truss. Both these plants and my greenhouse tomatoes, now flowering on their third truss, will get weekly feeding, removal of side shoots and tying up as they grow tall and need good support. Never underestimate the weight of crop as the tomatoes ripen, as supports need to be very robust.

Indoor and outdoor grape vines have now all developed the grape bunches so summer pruning has started. As I grow mine on the cordon system with one upright rod that produces several fruiting laterals, the pruning is simple but constant from now right up till late autumn. Any barren shoots with no sign of a bunch are removed. All other fruiting laterals are tipped at two leaves after the fruiting bunch. There after every shoot is tipped at one leaf so the plants can turn their energy into developing the fruit rather than producing excess growth.

Keep the ventilators in the greenhouse wide open all summer and open the door as well on warm days to prevent any build up of mildew, botrytis or other diseases likely to affect tomatoes or grapes.

Now is a perfect time to propagate numerous plants, e.g. fuchsias, by softwood cuttings. Take these about two or three inches long and put into a free draining compost then after watering cover with a polythene bag for a month. Once they are rooted they can be potted up. Some plants such as the succulent Delosperma can be propagated by pulling off pieces and putting them into pots of compost where they root very quickly.

Hanging baskets do not have an abundance of compost so need regular feeding to keep them growing and flowering. Give them a general feed once a week.

Some taller growing herbaceous plants such as delphiniums need tying in as they can grow quite tall. Mine will grow up to six feet tall, and give great value with the bright blue flowers.

Plant of the week

Cistus purpureus is a small evergreen shrub with grey foliage and deep pink flowers with central crimson blotches. It flowers in early summer and is perfect for seaside locations and drier soils as long as it gets watered enough after planting to get it established. Plant it in full sun.

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THE GARDEN BATTLEGROUND

THE GARDEN BATTLEGROUND

Gardeners, growers, farmers and foresters have always struggled in the war against pests and diseases. In years gone by there was always some chemical you could use to prevent or cure most troubles. Today most of these chemicals are no longer available and those newer ones taking their place are just not as effective as health and safety ensures they have to be perfectly safe to the user.

The problems of today are made worse by the ease of world wide travel for people and plants so that we are now subjected to new types of pests and diseases brought in on plants and soil from all over the world.

Global warming is also helping those pests from warmer climates to spread into our temperate areas as temperatures improve. Climate change has also given us milder winters which allow pests and diseases to come through the winter period unscathed.

The landscape of our fathers is changing rapidly as man is unable to control the ravages of pestilence brought on by our modern way of living.

Way back in the sixties while studying horticulture at college there were two essential reading books called The Silent Spring and The Harvest that Kills. These brought to our attention the damage to man and wildlife by the indiscriminate use of chemicals as a cure for everything. That message was well understood and acted upon, but now we have left our crops unprotected at least at garden level where access to chemicals is severely limited.

Back at college one of the main talking points was the expansion of armillaria root rot and Dutch elm disease. Armillaria could be very easily spread and infected a wide range of shrubby plants. There was no cure if you got it in your garden.

Dutch elm disease was rife in Europe wiping out most of the mature elm trees. As the UK bought a lot of nursery stock from the continent, it was not long before infected plants arrived and then the disease started its journey all over England, then Scotland killing almost every elm. There are very few elms left in UK apart from Brighton and Hove where protection existed on one side with the South Downs and the English Channel on the south side. Some species are however resistant and breeding to produce new resistant varieties has been carried out.

It is good to see that our local dwarf weeping elm Ulmus camperdownii is still growing and looking quite happy in Camperdown Park in Dundee.

The weather can also create profound effects. In the summer heatwave of 1979 farmers in central and southern England took advantage of the good growing conditions and doubled up the nitrogen fertiliser applications on the cereal crops to increase yields. However this increased the green foliage on which greenflies were feeding giving them perfect conditions for a breeding frenzy. Once all the foliage was packed with greenfly standing shoulder to shoulder there was no room left for new offspring so the next generation produced was winged aphids which could rise up on the next wind to carry them to pastures new. A massive plague of biblical proportions rose up in a black cloud spreading out from Kent to Newcastle.

Scientists estimated that there were at least 200 000 tons of greenfly in this wave. I found myself in the middle of the plague while on holiday on Scarborough beach with the kids. The approaching black thunder storm on the horizon rained down billions of greenfly covering everything and everyone in its path. We all ran off the beach for shelter, back to the caravan with all the windows shut. The next day the outdoor swimming pool was like pea soup. The following year there was a plague of ladybirds which had fed on the greenfly.

Wet weather can also devastate plants such as the potato blight disaster in Ireland many years ago following a very wet year. This was caused by the fungus phytophthora infestans. Other species of phytophthora has wiped out our local raspberry plantations so now growers have to grow them in containers above soil level. Other species of this disease are affecting many other garden plants and making me wonder if this has been responsible for my loss of goji, outdoor grape vines, white currants, blueberries and my robinia frisia. New raspberry canes bought in several years ago were all infected with phytophthora which then spread to other bushes and trees.

Today we now have ash dieback, sudden oak death, and serious diseases affecting pines and beech trees. It was bad enough losing our majestic elm trees but it would be a disaster if Scotland lost its pine trees.

The battle never ends.

Plant of the week

Oriental poppies can give a brilliant splash of bright colour to any herbaceous border. They come in bright reds, deep reds, white, pink and orange and are very easy to grow. They like good soil and a sunny position. Propagate mature clumps by digging up and pulling apart rooted stems to replant.

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ALLOTMENT LIFE

ALLOTMENT LIFE

This is the time of year when we reap the benefits of our garden and allotment, in theory.

Most crops will have been sown or planted, the flower beds full of flowers and so we relax on our sun loungers, enjoying the warmth of the early summer on the patio as the scent from our climbing roses wafts over the scene. Ok, now let’s get back to reality. Tayside has had too much cool easterly winds and not enough warmth this spring, at least up till the end of May. This has been fine for cracking on with the digging and soil preparation ahead of sowing and planting, but not great for those seed crops trying to germinate. Carrots, pickling onions, spring onions and even my leeks are all looking proper miserable. Germination on all, except leeks has been very poor, though parsnips, turnips and beetroot have excelled. I have used the clubroot resistant swede Marion this year. You do not get many seeds in a packet, and the germination has been a bit wanting so I may have to fall back onto a standard variety if I don’t get a few more seedlings appearing. Last year I used the other clubroot resistant variety Gowrie and got great results.

A lesson for 2015, or change my seed supplier as too many packets gave poor germination.

It has been too cold to plant out sweet corn, courgettes or pumpkins. The latter were outside hardening off from early May, but looked really sad, so I had to pop them back into the greenhouse to cheer them up. They will get planted out sometime in June when warmer weather arrives.

This will give my green manure crop of clovers and tares more time to rot down after I dig it in ahead of planting. The pumpkins and courgettes will get extra compost worked into their patch before planting as they are both gross feeders and require ample moisture all summer. This year I will separate my planting of pumpkins and courgettes just in case I get some cracking pumpkins and wish to save the seed. Previous experience has shown that bees have no respect for my horticultural principles in preserving a good strain of pumpkin. They are quite happy to jump onto my large golden yellow pumpkin flowers after first visiting my courgettes. This cross pollination does not show up in the developing pumpkin, but it does give you quite a surprise the next year when the pumpkins all grow very oval in shape and are useless for a lantern.

Numerous wee tasks

Turnip Golden Ball and Purple Top Milan have now been thinned out to four to six inches apart and kept weeded. Parsnips have also been thinned out to six inches apart.

Blackcurrants and gooseberries needed another spray to kill greenfly which seem to be in plague proportions this year. However there are no signs, yet of any gooseberry sawfly, and it seems the cabbage white butterfly is a bit slow of the mark with its egg laying so caterpillar removal has not yet started.

Peach leaf curl is still a big problem so infected leaves still need removal as the disease appears.

The wet cool spring has not been favourable for my pear tree. Conference and Comice shoots have now been infected with scab and opened up wounds allowing bacterial canker to girdle a couple of shoots. These had to be pruned out.

Wallflower seeds have been sown in between the rows of cabbage and cauliflower as they all like the same type of soil, (limed) to prevent clubroot. Hopefully I will be lifting and transplanting the wallflower as young sturdy seedlings before the other brassicas need the space.

Later sowings of cabbage and cauliflower in small batches have now been planted in the ground dedicated for my brassicas rotation. This will give me a succession of cropping as the young plants are about two months later than my first batch. They have all got protection from the war against pests and diseases which brassicas suffer from. The ground has been limed in winter and dressed with Perlka before planting. Perlka is a nitrogenous fertiliser high in lime content which helps ward off clubroot. Nets will keep the pigeons and butterflies away. All plants have collars around them to prevent the cabbage rootfly laying eggs which then hatch out into root eating maggots, and slug pellets have been spread for slugs and snails which after the mild winter seem to be very numerous.

First harvests

Low polythene tunnels planted with lettuce, radish, spring onion and beetroot are now giving us our first tender delicious salads, and hopefully by the time this appears in the magazine I will be sampling my first strawberries also grown under low polythene tunnels.

The wind has just turned around and now a warmer breeze is blowing up from the south, high pressure is overhead so the sunny spell could last a good few days. I am well ahead with garden tasks so now it is time to relax on the patio and maybe open up a wee bottle of Saskatoon wine to see if it is ready yet.

Plant of the week

Lilac Michel Buchner has warm purple coloured flowers. Most lilacs are very scented and give a great show in late spring before other summer flowers appear. These large shrubs or small trees are very easy to grow, so even those with a small garden can usually find space for one.

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