PERIMETER PLANTING
There has been a very
remarkable change in the gardeners weather pattern. Climate change
has not only given us mild wetter winters and more summer rainfall,
but there has also been a lot more gales to live with. This year
raspberry canes got flattened, roses got the flowers blown off and
pears and blueberry leaves and young fruit got shrivelled up in the
spring and summer gales. Where ever possible garden design can help
to mitigate these problems by planting up the perimeters with tall
trees and shrubs to give the garden some shelter, especially on the
south west side where most prevailing winds come from. During the
long periods in lockdown we had more time, to relax in the sun on the
patio. However some planting may be required to give us a bit of
privacy.
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Picking apples and pears
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There are any amount of
plants that can be used for shelter and privacy, but garden size may
well determine what we can use. Trees and shrubs should also have
merit of flowers, autumn colour, coloured bark or even edible fruit,
and where trespassers may be a problem, go for plants with thorns
such as pyracantha, the Firethorn. For the very large gardens mature
trees of beech, oak, maple and hornbeam may be fine and if evergreens
are preferred use, pine, spruce or cedars.
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Eucryphia Rostrevor
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My favourite has always
been Cedrus atlantica glauca, but I soon realised my wee garden could
not contain it once it started to put on a bit of growth. I have
never been a lover of hedges, as they are not attractive and need a
lot of maintenance, and the one very popular hedging conifer at the
top of the hate list is the Leyland cypress, unfortunately still a
favourite for those without a clue. A few other on my hate list is
holly and Berberis darwinii with spiky leaves a nightmare when hand
weeding close by, and Cotoneaster simonsii which seeds profusely all
over the garden.
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Japanese maple Acer Sango Kaku
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However many tall
shrubs will both give shelter as well as fantastic flower displays
such as Rhododendrons, Azaleas, Camellias, Escallonia, Philadelphus
and Fuchsia Mrs Popple.
The Japanese maple Acer Sango-kaku has
brilliant autumn colours as well as bright red stems and the hardy
palm Cordyline australis is always a touch of the exotic.
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Cordyline australis
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Lonicera
Baggesons Gold is an attractive evergreen golden shrub about six feet
tall, and is so dense it is a favourite for nesting birds. Three
small trees excellent for perimeter planting is the white flowered
Eucryphia Rostrevor, the upright columnar pink cherry, Prunus
Amanogawa, and the golden leaved Robinia frisia.
Most gardens now come
with walls and fences around the perimeter and these can support a
range of flowering climbers and edible plants. I have been
experimenting with hardy grape vines to see what will ripen in
Scotland. The variety Brant is tops and although the bunches are not
big, they are black, sweet and juicy and the pips are so small they
are easy to swallow. Regent and Rondo are fine but need a good autumn
to ripen up the grapes. Another very successful exotic is the fig
Brown Turkey giving about a hundred fruits each year from a ten year
old bush. Other edible fruits can include apples, pears, plums to
grow a few metres high, and some come on dwarfing rootstocks to keep
size down and some apples come as narrow columnar trees.
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Grape vine Brant on wall
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For
something smaller try
saskatoons, brambles
or even a row of raspberries very much at home in Scotland. Our local
James Hutton Institute has breeders working on raspberries,
blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries and honey berries. Although
plants are bred for commercial markets there is always a spin off for
gardeners. Breeder Nikki Jennings latest raspberry to be released is
Glen Mor with large sweet berries in early summer, then Lewis and
Skye for an autumn crop. Nikki has bred a very promising blackberry
with large sweet fruit and is a heavy cropper. It is still being
assessed so is not yet named, but make a note of selection number 11.
Could make a perfect edible boundary hedge.
Wee jobs to do this
week
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Apple Starline Firedance |
This
year apple, plum and pear crops are ripening up a fortnight earlier
than last year so keep checking them and harvest any that have
ripened up. Cut an apple open and if the seeds are dark brown the
fruit will be fine. Apple Oslin ripens at end of August followed by
Discovery in mid September. Pears are usually best left about a week
in store after picking to let them ripen up.
END