Heavenly scent

Heavenly scent

The Sweet pea has long been considered as the Queen of annual flowers, since there introduction at the end of the 17thcentury through the developtment of Henry Eckford (1823-1905), a nurseryman of Scottish descent, who cross-bred and developed the sweet pea, turning it from a rather insignificant, if sweetly scented flower, into the floral sensation of the late Victorian era. Also on to the early waved or Spencer varietiys full of perfume and up to date with the modern hybrids, that allow the grower to invite a host of celebrities in to the garden;

Terry Wogan a soft charming pink, Lady Diana a very attractive sweetly scented bloom with very pale lavender pink flowers Norman wisdom bears big, sweet smelling white flowers, emerging from primrose-tinted buds.

 And who doesn’t need a little help from Alan Tichmarsh, an almost candyfloss pink, fading to cream, tends to be a bit blousy and sulks in cold weather.

 

Sweet Peas are actually very easy to grow. You can simply plant them in the soil where you intend them to grow in March or April here in the southwest and leave them to it. By July you should have flowers. However, to get the best from your seeds you should consider planting them in autumn or very early spring (February to March). This will enable you to have stronger and earlier flowering plants. I tend to sow then as the plants tend to flower on into late August, which will hopefully offer blooms for the village show.

Sweet Peas benefit from well-cultivated soil and adding a little well-rotted manure or organic compost will certainly help.

For best results use named varieties or cultivars in good potting compost and do not overcrowd – plant 1 seed to a 3 inch pot or 6 to 8 seeds to a 6 inch pot.

Place the pots in a cold frame or greenhouse and cover them with newspaper until the seedlings have germinated. If you are planting in January to February your seedlings may need a little gentle heat to germinate. Make sure you stop the heat as soon as germination has occurred; otherwise your plants will get leggy.

 

 Sweet Peas perform best in an open sunny site.

For plants you wish to grow using the cordon method plant out your seedlings 8 to15 inches apart in rows from March or April in your previously prepared site Each plant will have its own cane to grow up.

If you want to grow your plants naturally, set plants 8 to12 inches apart and give them something to scramble up such as a fence with pea net, or a wigwam of canes with some string or raffia for the tendrils to catch on to.

Make sure your plants do not suffer from lack of water but remember not to water during the hottest part of the day.

Enjoy the flowers which should start to appear from late May to early June. To prolong flowering ensure that the flowers do not set seed, take the flowers into the house and enjoy their scent.

 

 

Tasks for July

As beds are cleared of early crops such as early potatoes, lightly fork over the surface and sow fast growing vegetables like turnips Lettuce, late peas or even a variety of early carrots.

 

These can be planted between rows of next winters Brassicas, as they will mature before the winter vegetables need the extra space, thus enabling two or even three crops off one bed in a year.

 

Keep weeds at bay with regular hoeing and weeding.

 

Deadhead flowers as buds fade, as this will prolong flowering.

 

 

 

 

wind breaks

As I sit and write looking out over the Dart estuary the sky is grey and the rain is falling and has been since the early hoursof this morning, this is the first sicnificant rain for approxamatly four months.

The last few months have given cause for concern, as watering the plot or garden has become a chore, though it does give one a chance to get up close and personal with the plants, constant watering simply can’t replace a good nights rain. Most of the vegatable garden has not thrived and would appear in part to have just hung on. The wind on our exposed plot has been a majour factor in the ground drying out.

In the flower garden we erected live willow screens and planted hardy perenial sunflowers to help filter the wind. The former was ordered on line from a willow grower in somerset and then planted as one would take hard wood cuttings, due to lack of time one bundel was left to saok in the water butt over night, well over night turned into three weeks, so when we came to weave the second fence we dicovered that thin white roots had formed.

Needles to say when the screen was planted and thourghly soaked it soon caught up with and over took its predecessor.

Perrenial sunflowers are a close relation to the jerusalem artichoke and make a thick screen, ours are shielding the gladioli bed, but beware like its cousin, once established it will if given a chance take over the garden. This can be remidied by just thining out with a spade in the winter.

In researching material for this months article I discovered a new term to me,

xeriscaping the word is a portmanteau of xeros

ξήρος (Greek for "dry") and landscaping, and xeriscape refers to a method of landscape design that minimizes water use.

Plants whose natural requirements are appropriate to the local climate are emphasized, and care is taken to avoid losing water to evaporation and run-off. The specific plants used in xeriscaping depend upon the climate.

The Xeriscape concept is based on The Seven Principles:
1. Plan and design
Create a diagram, drawn to scale, that shows the major elements of your landscape, including house, drive, deck or patio, existing trees etc.

Once finished, develop a planting plan that reinforces the areas in the appropriate scale.

2. Soil amendment

Most plants will benefit from the use of compost, which will help the soil retain water.

3. Efficient irrigation

Xeriscape can be irrigated efficiently by hand or with an automatic sprinkler system

If you water by hand, avoid oscillating sprinklers and other sprinklers that throw water high in the air or release a fine mist. The most efficient sprinklers release big drops close to the ground.

Water deeply and infrequently to develop deep roots. Never water during the day to reduce water lost to evaporation.

4. Appropriate plant and zone selection

Different areas in your yard receive different amounts of light, wind and moisture. To minimize water waste, group together plants with similar light and water requirements, and place them in an area that matches these requirements. Put moderate-water-use plants in low-lying drainage areas, near downspouts, or in the shade of other plants. Your turf will require the most water and shrub/perennial beds will require approximately half the amount of water. Dry, sunny areas support low-water-use plants that grow well in our climate. Planting a variety of plants with different heights, color and textures creates interest and beauty.

5. Mulch

Mulch keeps plant roots cool, prevents soil from crusting, minimizes evaporation and reduces weed growth. Organic mulches, such as garden compost or composted green waste, which can be bought locally in bag or bulk load form,should be applied 2 to 4　inches deep. Fiber mulches create a web that is more resistant to wind and rain washout

6. Alternative turf

many lawn and grass areas have suffered this spring but don’t worry as it will return to a fine green sward by the autumn.

7. Maintenance

All landscapes require some degree of care during the year. Keep your grass height at 3　inches and allow the clippings to fall. Trees, shrubs and perennials will need occasional pruning to remove dead stems, promote blooming or control height and spread. Much of the removed plant material can be shredded and used in composting piles.

Robinson's most famous contribution to gardening was his book The English Flower Garden, which he published in 1883. He encouraged his readers to aim for a less strictly structured garden, arguing that "the best kind of garden grows out of the situation, as the primrose grows out a cool bank"(69). While Robinson favoured "wild" gardens, he felt that grouping flowers together in an artful way was important. The greatest contribution of the book was probably the introduction of the "herbaceous border" which most gardeners are quite familiar with.

Although the weather in June is notoriously unpredictable,following the long dry spring, with this April being the warmest on record and the unsetelled weather during the Music festival in May, June can be a wonderful month in the gardener on the allotment, with things looking almost perfect will once the first flush of spring has passed. The gardener will need to juggle his or her energies, for the garden to continue into the fullness of summer.
This time of year little and often tends to be the best policy in the garden, as it helps one keep an eye on the lush growth of garden plants and the tenacious weeds and though toughts of long days spent in the garden during warm sunny weather is the ideal that we all dream of, the tasks of life in general will always get in the way and most times have to take preferance.
Early summer mornings spent dead heading, with a mug of coffee in hand and feet adorned with ones best gardening slippers is surly not a bad way to start the day
. As this month is so busy here ensues a list of jobs for the month.

General Care

• Peas need staking with pea sticks, netting or pruned garden twigs.
• Continue to earth up potatoes
• Hoe between rows on hot days to make sure weeds dry up and die without re-rooting or they will compete for moisture and nutrients.
• Continue to tie in Sweet peas removing, side shoots and the tendrils to encourage extra long flower stems.
• Continue to pick cornflowers and other early flowering annuals from the cutting garden to ensue repeat flowering. Also dead head to prevent seed setting, as this will stop flowering.
• Mulch beds after wet weather to trap moisture and smother any weed seedlings. Home made garden compost or bagged from the garden centre works well especially if spread over 2-4 layers of newspaper. The broad sheets work best as tabloids leave more joints
• Dahlias should now be in full growth filling the flower beds, remember to stake with a coral of bamboo and string, do this as soon as possible so that the new growth will mask the supports.
• Be ever watch full for slugs and snails and any other night time visitors. I recollect when I once grew Dahlias on the Jawbones allotment site Badgers would dig in and around the mulch material up ending plants and canes.
• Bulb catalogues will be arriving by now so it’s not too early to be thinking of where to be planting out ready for next spring.
• Take photos of the garden for reference when planning for next year.

Sowing and planting

• Continue sowing salad crops, such as beetroot, Chinese cabbage, Pak and radish. Leafy salad crops may do better when sown in partially shady sites since hot dry weather can lead to bitter tasting leaves.
• Sow French, runner and, peas, squash, sweet corn, and outdoor cucumbers directly into prepared beds outside.
• French beans are best sown in traditional rows, (18in) apart, at  (6-9in) spacing.
• Sweet corn works best planted in blocks, at 45cm (18in) spacing, with two seeds per hole. Any seeds sown earlier under cover can now be planted out into the same block pattern.
• Runner beans need well-prepared ground and suitable supports (often a frame or wigwam of bamboo canes tied together with twine) for the shoots to twine around and grow upwards.
• Courgettes, marrows and pumpkins can still be sown outdoors in early June. Encourage good fruit set by hand pollinating.

• Plant vegetables sown indoors earlier in the season, including winter brassicas. These can be planted out in ground cleared of early potatoes.
• Gaps between winter brassicas plants can be used for quick-maturing catch crops, perhaps radishes or gem lettuces.

 

Here we go !

May can be such a busy month in the garden with planting out seedling and direct sowing of so many vegetables and flowers along with hoeing and watering, these jobs need to be tackled now for next month its to late.

Weather wise the last of the frost should have finished, but a keen eye needs to be watchful of those night time temperatures and of coarse the extremes of weather that tend to go with the Music festival and the county show, will have us all trying to decide flip flops or wellies?

May is usually the time for planting out any cuttings taken through out the spring or purchased on line. These will include any Dahlia cutting struck from shooting tubers that have been potted up in the green house, in March or April. Bare root tubers will have been already planted in to the garden in mid April.

Since its introduction from South America some two hundred years ago and with a multitude of alterations to its make up, with the work of hybridisation, much achieved by enthusiastic amateurs the dahlia now comes in many forms and an array of colours to suit all tastes.

Divide into categories of form, from the tight balls of the pom-pom through the cacti and decorative forms right up to the large and giants, much favoured on the village show bench.

Some times maligned for being gaudy and crass the Dahlia has had a bad press over the years but they are now returning to favour as new varieties are being seen in the garden centres.

Cultivation is simple plant out as shown above into a reasonable draining fertile soil. In the early stages care needs to be taken to protect the young plants from slugs and snails, also the need to remember, a single cutting can grow into a plant 5-6 ft tall and 3-4ft across a support frame of canes and string will be needed to fight against wet and windy conditions.

When the plant has made five pairs of true leaves, the plants need to be stopped by cutting out the leading tip. This term can be miss leading in that far from stopping the plant it encourages growth in the side shoots that will go on to form the structure of the plant.

For larger blooms the disbudding of the smaller flower buds will assist in the development of the main bloom.

A good mulch of garden compost will help the feeder roots and conserve moisture.

Though many gardeners lift their Dahlia tubers at the turn of the first frost in our warm southwestern climate a thick layer of compost after cutting down the frosted tops should help protect the roots through the winter.

The Vegetable garden

• Sow French beans, runner beans, squash, cucumbers sweet corn and pumpkin seeds directly into prepared beds outside.
• Sow cauliflowers and purple sprouting broccoli for harvesting next winter.
• After all risk of frost has passed, plant out tomatoes, courgettes and pumpkins that were previously sown under cover.
• Other young plants can be planted out once conditions are suitable, and once they've been hardened off (acclimatised to the colder outdoor conditions) for 10 to 14 days.

• Earth up potatoes when the shoots are 23cm (9in) high, in order to prevent the new tubers going green.
• Start to remove side shoots from cordon tomatoes as you see them. The side shoots develop in the leaf axils (i.e. between the stem and leaf), and if allowed to develop will sap the energy of the plant and reduce the quality of the yield.
• Strings stretched along the tops of broad bean plants can support them, and prevent them flopping once pods develop.
• Peas need staking with pea sticks, netting, or pruned twigs from the garden.

Check out more garden tips at http://earthgardencareanddesign.moonfruit.com/

The Vegetable garden

 

Plant onions, shallots Garlic can still be planted if not already do so.
Plant Jerusalem artichoke tubers.
Chit early and main crop potatoes. Do this in a cool dry shed or out house.protect from frost.
Plant asparagus crowns.
Sow seed outdoors
: Broad beans, carrots, parsnips, beetroot, onions, lettuces, radish, peas, spinach, summer cabbage, salad leaves, leeks, Swiss chard, kohl rabi, turnip and summer cauliflower. Watch the weather, and sow only if conditions are suitable.
Sow seed indoors of sweet peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines, celery, salads and globe artichokes.
Cultivate and prepare seedbeds, covering them with clear polythene or fleece to warm up the soil before sowing.
Protect early outdoor sowings with fleece and polythene.
Feed crops that have been standing all winter.

                             

Put supports in place for peas. Stout posts and chicken wire or plastic netting work well, as do traditional pea sticks.
Start preparing runner bean supports and trenches for sowing (in May) or planting out (in June).
Try to avoid digging in wet weather, but if gardening on wet soil, work from a plank of wood, to avoid treading on the bed and compacting the soil.

Ready steady grow

Ready steady grow

It has been said that hearing the first cuckoo was the first sign of spring, but for most of us it’s the sound of the first lawn mower as March is normally the month we make the first cut.

There is some thing quite magical and intoxicating about the smell of freshly cut grass, it burrows into the heart and mind, it just makes us smile, lifts the heart as we then know, spring has sprung.

If the smell could be bottled, well I’m sure a cure for many maladies would be found,

Natures very own medicinal compound.

In the flower garden things are already on the move. Towards the end of the month the green shoots of the early Daffodils will be in flower heralding the spring with those yellow trumpets.

Any Hardy annuals that have survived the winter snow and wet will need to be nurtured and weeded, should any have failed there will be plenty of time to catch up.

If you have the space a few packets of annuals can help brighten the garden as well as the vegetable plot.

The analogy that all the worlds a stag fits so well to the garden, when it comes to flowers there are so many blousy leading ladies but of coarse these must be supported by the rest of the cast and chorus,

 Zinnias especially the taller varieties tend to steel the show in late summer and can be sown now, they tend to be free from pest and disease and make a good cut flower.

This year I have sown the Zinnia elegans 'Benary's Giant Lime'

This is a special giant Zinnia with long, thick sturdy stems with magnificent, fully double blooms, each almost four or five inches across, in a unique and fashionable colour of lime green. Blooms to dream about.

Zinnia seed’s tend to be easy to handle and though they can be sown where they are

to flower (they like a sunny, sheltered position) from the end of April to the end of May when the soil is warming up.

I normally start them of undercover in modular trays

Apart from keeping the weeds at bay, just let nature do the rest. If you feel you have to thin out, be careful not to disturb the roots of the plants you are retaining. And in a few short weeks you'll be able to sit back and admire the colourful results of your hard labours 

Other easy annuals-

Larkspur

Cornflowers

Asters (annual form)

Nicotiana sylvesteri

Nicotiana alata 'Sensation', Mixed Colours

Sunflowers

Cosmos purity another of the leading ladies