Newsletter Summer 2016

I went for a walk in Burgess Park recently, in the late afternoon sunshine, and was astonished at how fantastic the swathes of mixed ‘prairie’ planting beds are looking. The overall effect is of great sweeps of natural wild flowers and grasses, though I know that it is, in fact, an example of very clever and careful design in the planting scheme. It made me wish for more than my tiny little pocket handkerchief garden, so that I could try to emulate it. After giving it some thought I realised that whilst I don’t have the space to recreate it on the same scale, the sense of natural flowing unity can be achieved almost anywhere. They key, of course, is careful planning, and ensuring a sense of ‘flow’ by repeat planting. It’s easy to get carried away and want to plant one of everything, but if you rein yourself in, and choose a more limited palette of plants that work well together, planting several of each, the overall effect is more natural and pleasing to the eye.

You probably have more space than I do, and almost undoubtedly more sun too. If so, why not include some of the hotter coloured plants in your beds, such as those just coming into their own now …. Crocosmia, Helenium, Echinacea, Leucanthemum and Salvia, to name but a few. Any of these planted with grasses look amazing in the late summer, especially when the sun is that bit lower in the sky, lighting them up. If you have the chance to get to Burgess Park to see what I mean about the planting there, I’m sure you’ll be inspired.

This year I’ve done far less in terms of trying to control and tidy my own garden, and allowed the planting to run a little wild. Of course, all the rain has helped this along, and it’s been wonderful to see the way in which, left to their own devices, many plants naturally flow and billow together in ways that create new and unexpected marriages. For example, the now mature Geranium Rozanne has woven its way into the branches of a Hydrangea paniculata Limelight to glorious effect, and elsewhere it’s reaching into the lower stems of a Sambucus nigra. Opposing background colours, but both work brilliantly.

Beside the path, Erigeron karvinskianus is now flowing up and over the buxus hedging, and the paving is softened with creeping Helexine, as well as self-seeded Alchemilla mollis and Nigella in the gaps between them. In the shadiest spot, the vibrant silvery leaves of Brunnera Jack Frost pick up on the delicate flowers of Fuchsia Delta Sarah, and Astrantia major Alba, all under-planted with Sweet Woodruff. Anemone japonica, which I’ve left this year to do its own thing, is popping up all over the place. All of the beds are overseen by either Trachelospermum jasminoides, or deliciously scented roses, arching over the beds in places, and ‘holding hands’ with branches from the apple and Amelanchier. Where once I would have been quick to clip, tie back and weed, this year I’m leaving it to become overgrown and blowsy … and loving it!

Even with all the wet weather we’ve had, I’ve still had several barbeques this year, and it seems the word is out regarding our fantastic Kadai firepits, as they are selling fast. With the cooler evenings we’ve been experiencing, they work a treat, as they can be placed on a lower stand once you’ve finished barbequing on them, thus becoming warming firebowls. Adding a few logs to the smouldering charcoal adds the delicious scent of woodsmoke too.

To add flavour to your barbeques and summer meals, we've got a fresh batch of our lovely British Grown Hairy Pot range, including coriander, tarragon and some lovely purple basil, as well as the usual mint, thyme, parsley and more.

Enough from me for now, I think, but as usual Sally’s Garden Tasks follows. Don’t feel guilty if you don’t do everything you should (I never do!) but make sure you do the essentials. For me there is one job I simply have to do now and that is the summer prune of the wisteria ….

Kind regards

Karen

Indoor  Gardening

This month I wanted to talk about a group of houseplants that I consider interesting not so much for their attractiveness (although I do think they make a stunning specimen pot plant) but for their fascinating reproduction technique. These plants fall into the botanical section Bryophyllum, within the Kalanchoe genus. The interesting thing about this group is their ability to produce fully formed plantlets or seedlings along the edges of their leaves, these plantlets then drop from the mother leaf into the soil below, where they can put down roots and form a new plant. One of the more well known species is Bryophyllum daigremontianum or ‘Mother-of-Millions’ and when we receive plants from our grower, the soil is already full of hundreds of baby plants. There are always a few different species available in our houseplant section - buy this plant once and you’ll never run out of baby plants to gift to your friends!

Alex

Garden jobs

Summer should mean sunny days and picnics, but you need an umbrella as well as your sunhat this year! Gardens have grown abundantly, shrubs are flowering prolifically and borders and containers are looking fabulous – as long as they haven’t been attacked by slugs, snails and other pests.

Here are some jobs to keep your garden healthy and looking good through the weeks to come.

My top two jobs for summer...

1. Pottering in the garden: this is a perfect occupation in the summer months. Walking around slowly, pulling out a weed, deadheading a rose, noting what needs doing and doing it!

2. Watering : In dry periods, keep everything watered, especially pots and containers, recently planted trees, shrubs and borders. Water in the early morning or evening, when there will be less evaporation.

General maintenance

• Keep weeds down by hoeing the borders. Weeds compete with plants for water and nutrients, so it’s worth keeping on top of them.
• Feeding plants is important. New compost contains nutrients to support plants for 5-6 weeks, thereafter you need to use suitable fertilisers. Established perennials and shrubs which are not performing well, containers of summer bedding, and house plants will all benefit from regular feeding with the right fertiliser. Know whether your plant is acid loving, such as Azalea, Rhododendron, Pieris or Camellia, therefore requiring an ericaceous fertiliser.
• Camellia and other early spring flowering shrubs set their flowers through the summer. Make sure you water and feed them now, especially container grown specimens, for a good show next spring.
• Deadheading: Sweet peas, roses, dahlias... most plants will flower for longer if spent flowers are removed by deadheading. Deadhead roses by cutting back to a bud in a leaf axil lower down the stem. This will encourage strong new shoots which will produce more flowers, often well into the autumn. With bedding plants, dead heading stops the plants setting seed, and forces them to produce more flowers. Some plants, such as petunias, may get straggly and can be cut hard back with secateurs and fed with a high potash fertiliser to encourage new growth. This is a good thing to do before going on holiday.
• Remove spent flower spikes on lavender, ahead of cutting the whole plant back when it has finished flowering in the autumn.
• Cut back straggly and faded perennials to keep borders tidy and then give them a feed. Plants such as tall Achilleas can flop and smother smaller plants. Trim them back and they may flower again later. If you haven't already cut back hardy geraniums, do it now to tidy them up and they will produce new growth and may flower again. Feed and water to encourage new growth.
• Water evaporates very quickly in hot weather, so check ponds regularly and top up water levels if necessary, but only with rainwater. It is harmful for wildlife in the pond if you use tap water. Remove yellowing leaves and fading flowers from plants around the pond and remove them: plant debris in the water can raise nutrient levels which in turn encourages algae.

Container gardening

• You will get to know how often to water large container grown plants, but smaller containers and baskets need watering every day, or, if temperatures are high, twice a day.
• As well as summer bedding plants, think about more permanent planting in containers: evergreen Heuchera, prolifically flowering hardy geraniums, ferns, herbs, roses… the options are almost endless.

Pruning

• Summer prune Wisteria by cutting the long wispy shoots back to 5 buds. For guidance on this, look at our Pruning Wisteria notes on our website.
• Remove unwanted growth from trees. Many trees and shrubs produce a mass of shoots at the base, which need to be removed because they sap energy and strength from the plant.
• Remove any shoots with plain leaves on variegated plants such as Euonymus.
• Trim conifer hedges such as Leylandii to keep under control.

Planting

• If a gap appears in the border, or you find a pot which needs filling, there are plenty of options. Introduce some late summer perennials to borders or pots which will flower into the Autumn. Or a shrub or tree which will have glorious autumn colour.
• Make sure you plant well with a big hole, good compost, Rootgrow and fertiliser, soak the plants beforehand and then water in well.

Fruit, vegetables and herbs

• Cut out old fruited canes on raspberries.
• Keep birds and squirrels off berries with netting.
• Protect your crops with a bird scarer made from old CDs tied to strings.
• Harvest your fruit trees - cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines and apricots should all be ripe now! Early varieties of apple trees will be ready towards the end of the month
• Blueberries in containers must be kept watered, ideally with rain water or soft water.
• Remember to feed lemons and other citrus fruit trees throughout summer with a special citrus fertilizer.
• Everything in the vegetable garden or allotment will need attention at some stage, whether supporting tall crops, protecting from slug damage, or harvesting.
• Apply a high-potash fertiliser such as tomato food once fruits start to form on tomatoes, peppers, cucumber and aubergines.
• Water runner beans and tomatoes (and many other crops) regularly. Tomatoes should be kept evenly moist: irregular watering can cause fruit to split.
• Sow autumn and winter salads. Lambs lettuce, rocket and many mixed leaf seeds can be sown for extended harvesting. There are many cut and come again varieties.
• Pick out the side shoots of tomatoes so that you maintain one main stem. Side shoots are the little shoots that emerge where the leaves join the main stem. If you leave them, they take energy from the developing fruits. Remove leaves lower down on the plant to help with air circulation and prevent disease.
• When beans reach the top of their supports, pinch out the leading shoot, which will encourage more side shoots and beans lower down.
• Pick herbs to dry or freeze. With most herbs, the more you pick, the more tasty young shoots will be produced. Most herbs will benefit from being trimmed occasionally with garden shears to encourage a flush of new growth.

Lawns

• Continue mowing and adjust the height of the blades when necessary. The general consensus is to raise the blades if the weather is hot, removing less grass.
• Recently sown or turfed lawns need a good soaking every few days, so that the water gets down to the roots.

Pests and diseases

• The warm wet weather has created the perfect environment for many fungal diseases on plants such as the dreaded Box Blight and rose black spot. Take preventative action - healthier plants are more resistant to problems - and apply appropriate treatments as soon as you see signs of disease.
• Warm weather can encourage pests. Greenfly and black fly can multiply really quickly and it can be difficult to keep on top of them. Think about building up diversity in the garden by planting a variety of plants, which will attract beneficial insects and other wildlife, improving the balance of pests and predators.
• The continuing wet weather has boosted the slug and snail populations dramatically this year. Use anti-slug products as directed: apply slug bait or pellets thinly around susceptible plants; copper tape around pots delivers a sharp shock to the molluscs, but make sure they can't reach the pot from an overhanging plant; wool pellets and Strulch create a barrier which slugs and snails are reluctant to cross.
• Watch out for powdery mildew, on roses and honeysuckle particularly. Remove affected plant debris, water and mulch, and if possible improve air circulation around the plant. If necessary, treat with an appropriate fungicide.

Wildlife

• Keep supplies of food and water going for the birds. If they are used to finding food in your garden, they will continue to visit. Birds help to keep pests down in the garden, need I say more?

Holidays

• When you go away, group containers together in a shady spot if possible and ask a friend or neighbour to water them. Invite them to enjoy tomatoes, beans and other soft fruit and vegetables, which will ensure that the supply continues when you return. Return the favour when they go away!

Finally

Get your camera out and take lots of photos of your garden in the next couple of months so that you have a reference in the winter and spring if you want to do some rearranging. Enjoy the summer holidays and we’ll see you at the start of the autumn.

Happy gardening

Sally