Mini Woodlands - William Robinson

I’ve dabbled if forest gardening occasionally. It’s a great way of utilising small neglected areas of the garden.

What is Forest Gardening?

Forest gardening is a low-maintenance sustainable plant-based food production and agroforestry system based on woodland ecosystems. The planting generally includes layers of fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines, perennial vegetables and ground cover plants which have yields directly useful to humans. The system will require some annual maintenance but not as much as a regular vegetable plot. 

If even that seems a bit too high maintenance for you or you don’t have the room then how about planting mini woodland?  You don’t even need to plant any edibles and you’ll still be helping the environment  as the primary reason would be to promote wildlife and reduce pollution. I think it’ll be the planting favourite of 2019 as we are going to see examples in most of this year’s flower shows.

Mini Woodlands

In the past, most horticultural show exhibits featured gardens with painstakingly pruned bushes, flawless flowers, weed free beds and manicured lawns. This has changed over the last few years with gardens concentrating on using recyclables, renewable energy, minimalist planting and after last year’s heat wave, drought tolerant planting. 

This year we’ll see planting schemes hoping to cool the gardens down with tree canopies, or at least give us somewhere to sit under in the shade when the sun does come out in force. With that prediction for 2019 I’d also think we will see cooling water features being a popular addition to the garden. 

Trees though are the single most efficient way for gardeners to improve our environment and help wildlife. Creating a miniature woodland will encourage wildlife and help reduce pollution particularly in urban areas.  Well-chosen small trees, such as ornamental and fruiting apples and cherries will be trouble free and for small gardens, shrubs can be used to good effect.

Birch trees are noted for pollution catching properties and also do surprisingly well in pots of soil-based potting media where space is very tight on a patio or back yard.  

This year at one large show there will be a Resilience Garden for the Forestry Commission, which showcases the ‘forests of the future’ and the trees that are resilient to the impending impact of climate change.  I don’t have any more details at present but have been told it will draw attention to the issues facing forests, woods and horticulture today.  Warmer climate facilitates pests and diseases, which can wipe out forests that are made up of only a few species. Because of this, the Forestry Commission is working to plant a greater variety of trees to safeguard our forests and woods for the future.  

William Robinson

I think it’s fair to say that one person who was and is a great influence on this new movement of wild gardening is a Laois born gardener and journalist called William Robinson (5 July 1838 – 17 May 1935) His ideas about wild gardening spurred the movement that led to the popularising of the English cottage garden.

He radically changed Victorian gardening, with his rants against bedding plants, his support of the wild garden, and his monumental book The English Flower Garden, which went into 15 editions in his lifetime.  

His most significant influence I think was the introduction of the idea of wild gardening, which first appeared in The Wild Garden and was further developed in The English Flower Garden.

The idea of introducing large drifts of hardy perennial plants into meadow, woodland, and waterside is taken for granted today, but was revolutionary in Robinson's time. In the first edition, he happily used any plant that could be naturalised, including half-hardy perennials and natives from other parts of the world, which meant the wild garden was not limited to locally native species. 

Robinson's own garden at Gravetye was planted on a large scale, but his wild garden idea could be realised in small plots, where the 'garden' is designed to appear to merge into the surrounding woodland or meadow. Robinson's ideas continue to influence gardeners and landscape architects today—from home and cottage gardens to large estate and public gardens. 

This year I think we’ll be hearing a lot more of William Robinson’s ideas in modern designs, with a few more trees thrown in for good luck.

Why do Birds Suddenly Appear?

Friendly Robins

Robins are often associated with gardeners, following them around and sitting on the spade handle when you are having a rest. You might even have a robin in the garden that is tame enough to feed by hand. It also means robins are incredibly easy to photograph close up and will happily pose for a photo.

There are a few reasons which may explain why robins appear friendlier than other birds (even though they are pretty territorial themselves and will fight other robins attempting to get a look in). When robins live in the wild in woods or forests they are known to follow large mammals, such as wild boar or deer, using their inbuilt curiosity to find new ways to find food.

As the animals move around they disturb the ground bringing worms and insects to the surface which robins can easily forage on. In more urban areas robins are mimicking this behaviour by following humans, taking advantage of the freshly dug up soil to find food.

Robins in other areas of Europe aren’t quite as trusting, hardly leaving the cover of the forest.  There has long been a tradition of hunting and trapping small birds on the continent so robins have remained fearful of humans. Here in Ireland they have co-existed with humans for many years and learned that there is no threat in being close to us. In fact they may be at an advantage by being friendly towards humans as they are rewarded with food.

How Do Birds Find Food?

We had quite a long break putting food out for the birds over the summer and autumn. There doesn’t seem any point when there is an abundance of food elsewhere and it keeps them from being totally dependent on us to feed them.

We started putting out the fat balls and seed a week or so ago and it’s amazing just how quickly the birds twig on to the fact their dinner is not dangling eight feet from the ground from a wire mesh container. For an hour or two there was nothing, then one bird, then 3, then ten and it wasn’t long before three or four different types of bird types were flying around making a ruckus.

It’s that same sort of experience when you drop a chip on the beach and within a few seconds the seagulls make you think you are in a remake of the Alfred Hitchcock film The Birds.

Our garden feathered friends are always around though even if we don’t see or hear them. Being small and warm-blooded, birds need to eat frequently to keep their energy levels up so they spend much of the time on the lookout for new food sources. They will fly around or survey the area from the tops of trees constantly searching for anything that could be a potential new source of food and our gardens will probably be surveyed on a daily fly-by.

Most birds use vision to find food. And because they spend so much time searching for food they become quite good at it. Birds also have good memories which helps them remember where food may be or look out for changes in the landscape that may signal food is about.

A Keen Eye

Birds may even be able to recognize bird feeders, not because of evolution, but simply because they are familiar with them. They may also start to learn the routines of people putting out food in their garden. There are times you’ll go out in the garden to be greeted with a few birds already waiting for you.

Once a bird has found a source of food, it generally can’t keep the new found supply to itself. In the excitement it may call to its mate or if there is plenty to go round to other members of its flock. However, if other uninvited birds turn up then they may begin fighting over food and the threat calls can alert other birds that something interesting is going on so they will join the party.

Despite this, sometimes new feeders can be left neglected for days or even weeks. We had one a few years ago which was never touched. I think it could have been the fact that we put it too close to the house and the only birds brave enough to come forward would have been robins. The feeder was filled with peanuts though which robins don’t really go for so everything went a bit mouldy. It’s a bit of trial and error getting the perfect food and spot for the birds in your garden but they will soon know when you get it right.

A Happy new gardening year to all

Holiday Wreaths - Make your own

I think I’ve covered most of the Christmas bases over the last few weeks. We’ve covered trees, houseplant gifts, outdoor colour, nuts and vegetables. That leaves us with just two topics to complete the Christmas festivities. How do decorate the dinner table and adorn the door with colour to welcome visitors. 

The Table

I like the idea of having colourful displays on a large table and there are plenty of ideas out there. We tend to put a few candles around the food dishes but they are very impractical and make reaching over the table to pick up the bowl of sprouts a dangerous mission. It usually ends up with someone getting scorched or at the very least singing their arm hairs. Some candles are disguised as birch logs which look attractive even when unlit and are a lot safer.

There are more practical things we can put on the table that doesn’t need a health and safety warning.  A few flowers go well in a centrepiece, especially the red and white roses and amaryllis. If you can’t find anything to suit try mixing some offcuts of pine twigs from the tree mixed with shiny baubles or crackers. Holly is always a favourite, especially with the berries in place. Dried orange segments go well and pine cones sprinkled with a bit of glitter always impresses. 

If you plan ahead you can get a wide array of fresh flowers from the shops or get dried flowers to add to the displays, you can mix these up with eucalyptus leaves or even some bay. We went to a wedding recently and the place names were written on small stones in gold glue pen and looked very pretty. This idea could be used but seeing as you’ll no doubt know everyone at the table you could put Christmas messages on them. How about a small poem or pearl of wisdom?

‘As green sticks hissed and spat into the ashes

And whatever rampaged out there couldn’t reach us,

Firelit, shuttered, slated and stone-walled.’

Glanmore Revisited (Seamus Heaney)

Maybe I’ve gone a bit off topic here and I might start suggesting we shovel in a few bags of fire ash  around the placemats from the garden so I’ll move on to door decorations.

The Door

Like our table, the door will be decorated mainly by things we have growing in the garden. A simple wreath can be made from twisting thin sprigs of willow together and then filling up with leylandii or Christmas tree offcuts again and then mix in holly, ivy and anything else that’s colourful. You can wire just about anything to the display to brighten it up. One of my favourites this year has ornamental goldfish attached to various pinecones sprayed white all wrapped around a heather stem circle. I’m not sure why it works; it’s maybe because it’s something a bit different. Artificial berries can be added too if you don’t have access to real ones. They last longer too and won’t drop off and be trodden into the carpet as guests arrive.

The wreath doesn’t have to be round either. Try making a star shape, it’s a bit more involved but can be a very dramatic piece. Try cineraria for a real silver look if you have some in the garden, this plant would also look well on the table centrepiece.

I’ve also seen quite a few wreaths made entirely from baubles this year you and if you don’t have time to go into the garden and make something up, this is always an option. 

All that is left for me to do is to wish everyone a very happy Christmas whatever you are doing. Remember if it all gets too much for you with the comings and goings then there’s always the grass to cut. That should at least get you outside for a while for a bit of peace and quiet. If you don’t have family to entertain then there’s still grass that could do with cutting.

Going Nuts at Christmas - And the Annual 'Get Rich Quick' Festive Idea

I had this great idea for making money from live plant last Christmas. It was yet another one of my “get rich quick” schemes that somehow has been taken away from me. It’s strange how I have these ideas and then the next thing you know someone on Etsy has the identical stuff. Either the universe has the ability to extract my ideas and give them to someone else so I don’t have to bother doing it or maybe there’s no such thing as a new idea and I saw it myself somewhere else. Or I talk too much.

  Whatever the reasons are I don’t mind because it frees me up to think about my next scheme.

What was the idea? I hear you ask. Well, I thought I could attach an air plant to an old smoking pipe (There are a lot of them about not being used now) and then stick this to an old vintage smoking tobacco tin. Hey presto a work of art, right there on your mantelpiece. I have thought of a few places to stick air plants but this one appealed to me more than a lump of driftwood.

There were two main problems though. The first is that most repurposed pipes really smell of stale tobacco, which doesn’t wash off. Secondly most air plants eventually die off which would leave the aforementioned smelly pipe sat on an old rusty tin on the mantle. Which isn’t exactly a work of art. You can get new pipes for 2 euro these days but where’s the fun in that?

Tiger Nuts

I was watching the UK version of Dragons’ Den last week and saw a bloke making milk out of Tiger Nuts (cyperus esculentus), which brought back a few memories of my childhood.  We always seemed to have a bowl of them in the house around Christmas and they made a really enjoyable snack. I missed the boat on making these a get rich quick scheme as I was a bit too busy polishing the lump of coal I got in Santa sack to think about anything entrepreneurial.   

These almost forgotten edible tubers have been cultivated for thousands of years and are generally considered weeds in most countries. They are also called water grass as they can be found growing next to rice and peanut farms. They have a distinctive sweet/nutty flavour and can be made into a milky drink or soaked in water before eating. They have a high oil content too so can be processed as well. The tuber is rich in energy content (starch, fat, sugar, and protein) and has a few minerals thrown in so it won’t be long before someone markets them as a “Superfood” It makes good fishing bait too.

 

Nuts

Nuts are a great snack and table decoration at Christmas, especially if you have a display of nuts that are still in their hard shells.  Peanuts (which are legumes that grow underground) are probably the most popular to have in a bowl at Christmas have a soft dried pod you can break open with your fingers (called monkey nuts). These give you something to occupy your hands instead of trying to smoke a pipe filled with an air plant and are great for popping open and eating as you witness a family member talking rubbish after too many cans of lager (other drinks are available) 

If you don’t have a nut allergy there are plenty more varieties to choose from. Some of the hardest shells like walnuts have a tendency to shatter into a thousand pieces when the nut crackers are applied. Try turning that into a game for the family, pick up a piece and after popping it in your mouth decide if its “Nut” or “Shell” The one with a tooth remaining is the winner. Walnuts are high in omega3 which can turn them rancid which increases the tension of the game. 

Christmas Nuts

Here are a few more gentle nuts to chew on

Almonds

Almonds have more fibre, protein, and other nutrients than any other nuts.

Brazil Nuts

Rich in selenium which helps digestion. Just the job for Christmas

Cashews

These sprout from the bottom of a cashew apple, the fruit of a tropical evergreen tree. Because their shells contain powerful, irritating oil, they are always sold shelled.

Hazelnuts

Mostly grown in Turkey, hazelnuts pair well with chocolate and coffee and are used in spreads.

Pecans

An especially high fat content helps give pecans their rich, creamy, buttery taste.

Pine Nuts

Also called piñon or pignoli nuts, these small, teardrop-shaped nuts are harvested from pine cones.

Pistachios

Originating from the Middle East, these nuts are high in calcium. The green colour is the result of chlorophyll that develops as the seeds grow.

All of the above go well with raisins.