The Dream Team

I’m contemplating hiring my dogs out. I think they would make the perfect rotovating duo when it comes to totally eradicating grass from the garden, turning the resulting ground into mud then filling the space up with chewed up work boots and garden ornaments.
I’m not sure there would be much of a market for this though but at least the lawn would have a bit of time to mend itself as they played somewhere else for a while. Don’t get me wrong, I love having them “helping out” in the garden, it just means that when it comes to garden design, most of the features you read about to include in the plan go out of the window and are replaces with chicken wire, concrete slabs, six foot fences and shrubs that would spring back up again after a JCB had run over them.

Crazy

Of course not all dogs go crazy in the garden, some of them are very well behaved, use paths, leave plants alone and don’t spend all day looking longingly at the fish in the pond as their appetizer for dinner. Our dog Chips spends a considerable proportion of her free time in the evenings staring at our one remaining guinea pig in his cage. I think they are really good friends as Chips always wants to be looking through the bars. This was confirmed a day or two ago when the cage somehow fell over and the guinea pig escaped into the garage. They still just stared at one another and I am sure if either of them had tails, they would be wagging.

How to plan the Doggy Garden

If the garden needs a makeover to accommodate a dog then the layout might need to be changed a bit. Frequently used grass paths are likely to become worn and muddy in wet weather if the dog uses it as a path. Bricks or paving stones along the routes the dog uses most frequently can be effective rather than grass cover. By doing so, you can greatly reduce the maintenance levels of you garden. Hard materials such as brick, slab or stone can also be easily hosed down if your dog messes on them.
Moving around the garden is an important factor; try to make it easy and enjoyable for the dog. Beware of slippery surfaces, especially in wet weather. Cover slippery steps with mesh or some other material to increase traction.
Take your dogs' age and physical condition into account and make adjustment accordingly. Ensure they have easy access to the house, their kennel, water bowls, shaded areas and their favourite spots in the garden.

Protecting Flower Beds

Flower beds in central areas of your garden are vulnerable to damage caused by the dog running through them or playing in them. Damage often occurs in flower beds separating two open areas of lawn or paving. Dogs often charge straight through these to get from one area of the garden to another, and plants may be trampled and crushed. Likewise, flowerbeds situated between the back door to the house and the main area of the garden often suffer as dogs run through them in the excitement of being let outdoors.
Flower borders around the periphery of the garden are generally much less likely to incur damage them than flower beds in central areas. You may decide the easiest option is to remove any flowerbeds in the middle of your garden your garden. Laying central areas of the garden to lawn will reduce maintenance and also provide more space for the dog to play.
Another solution is to create a formal pathway through a border. A path made of bricks, stone or slabs along the route your dog normally takes can minimise damage, allowing the majority of your plants to remain intact. Materials such as wood chip or cocoa shells could be poisonous to the dog, so preferably make the paths out of things they can’t eat.

Sturdy Plants

As another option, you could try using robust plants in flowerbeds that your dog tends to pass through. Some plants are remarkably resilient, and will stand up to dogs crashing around in them, heather and lavender for example. Planting tough lavender in a border near the back door has the added bonus of making the dogs smell nice when they run through it and come into the house.

Poisonous Plants

There are loads of plants suitable for gardens with dogs and you will find even the most delicate looking specimens pick up again after being trampled. There are some plants that could be poisonous to the pet though. Apple leaves, stems and seed all contain cyanide (all be it in very small quantities) but if they eat enough it could prove fatal to a dog. Azalea and Rhododendron are toxic to dogs. All parts of these plants are poisonous if chewed or ingested. Slug pellets and other chemicals shouldn’t be used in the garden either when dogs are around. They are not daft generally and don’t eat things that are poisonous intentionally, but if your dog is anything like Chips’ puppy, they will eat something first then decide if it’s edible later.

My First Houseplant

My First Plant

I remember my first car. It was a 1956 Morris Minor with no floor. I remember my first yogurt, back in the days when Ski just started and forgot to put sugar in the mix. I remember the name of the first man on the moon, my first go on a two wheeled bike and strangely enough I also remember my first house plant.
I was a young teen and spent my weekly paper round wages on a two stemmed yucca in a 2 litre pot. They were very exotic and quite rare at the time coming in from overseas and the plant took pride of place on my dressing table in the bedroom next to the coloured light bulbs, incense sticks and Gong LP’s (I was and still am a bit of a hippy). The plant survived for quite a while and died mainly due to overwatering I think, which is why most houseplants die. I kept taking the leaves off and cutting it back but it finally gave up on me and ended up as a stump. I went out to buy more plants to adorn the bedroom but try as I might I just can’t think what I bought. It’s like trying to name the second car you bought or the second man on the moon. All that I know is by the time I was on my mid twenties I prided myself in having over 90 different types of plants (300 in total)festooned around what was then my own home.

High Humidity

There’s a lot of moisture in 300 houseplants so I had a bit of a humidity problem and some of them, like my 5 foot in diameter aspidistra tended to get in the way a bit when exiting the room. It might have been the biggest one in the world and just the one that the song was written about. I did pride myself in not having paid a penny for any of them too. I used to take cuttings from friends plants and got a lot of them from garden centres skilfully nipping the tips off to root at home, of course no-one does that sort of thing anymore. Another way I used to add to the collection besides rescuing ones from dustbins was because of the job I did at the time. I delivered furniture to customer’s houses and if I saw any nice specimens I would ask them for cuttings or little baby plants. I found this was a great way to get things and eventually stocked most of my kitchen out with cups and mugs. I used to tell people that I collected them, which usually resulted in them rummaging around and offering me one to add to the collection. I suppose I wasn’t telling fibs as after the first one I probably was collecting then anyway.

Doubled Up

Things have changed dramatically since living in the humid house though. We had a present from a neighbour last week of a potted begonia. It made me realise that this plant actually doubled our houseplant collection. Before this one came along all we had was a neglected petunia in the hallway. I suppose it’s because I tend to look after edible plants outside and I have found other things to fill the gaps on the shelves, or the lads have anyway.
There will be lots of “exotic” (Don’t like draughts) plants around at this time of the year and I’m sure there will be something for everyone to brighten up the Christmas table, poinsettias, orchids, cyclamen, azaleas and the rest. One of our neighbours has plastic shrubs and flowers in their garden for winter and although this might save a bit of time and effort watering them and protecting them from the frost, they do look a bit odd.
I am trying (in vain I might add) to get the synthetic Christmas tree again this year, they don’t look odd at all do they? The family is split 50% about getting a real one or a lovely 1metre high plastic one that neatly folds away until the following year with all its needles in place. It’s been like this for years now and I can’t seem to understand why, although it’s a 50-50 split in the family, I am always on the losing side when it comes to choosing the tree. I suppose we are keeping the forestry industry going if nothing else.
I’ve just remembered what my second plant was. Well not so much plant, but type of plant. I delved into the prickly world of cacti and grew hundreds of them from seed. Now there’s a plant that thrives on neglect.

Buzz Aldrin was the second man on the moon ( I just Googled it)

Trees

Experiment to find trees of the future

I’m doing a bit of shredding this week. We have chopped back a few old shrubs in the garden and thought it would be a better idea for us to put everything back into the garden as mulch.
We have a small electric Mountfield shredder with the words “Quiet” written on the side. It is quiet too, sitting there on its hollow plastic wheels with only one moving part making the log grumbling noise. The machine actually grinds more than it shreds. There is a circular disc inside the bit where you push the twigs with sharp edges that push the waste through a very small gap. It is effective for anything up to the size of a broom handle, as long as the material isn’t too hard, dry, soft, wet or anything that resembles brambles as it causes the machine to clog up and irritatingly puts the grinding mechanism into reverse so it pushes everything back out of the hole.

All in all then it’s not really that good and every time I shove some shrub cuttings into the extremely small hole I wonder to myself if I would be far better off just building a small bonfire and have done with it. I am persevering though and hope to get through everything by Christmas, as long as I work nights.
I’m being a bit unreasonable here I think. There’s no point buying a machine for €80 and expecting it to do the same job as a €10,000 professional machine that can shred a whole tree in minutes.

Resilient trees

According to some boffins we might not have any trees left soon unless we find species that will be able to withstand higher temperatures. An experiment is under way to find the garden trees of the future, able to withstand the extremes of weather brought about by climate change and potentially replace any of today's garden favourites which may not survive.

The trial at Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire, entails planting tree species from all over the world to see how they fare in UK and Irish conditions over the next 40 years. It's predicted that in that time the currently temperate climate in here will become more like that in the Mediterranean, with overall temperatures rising by 2-3°C.
The first trees to be planted in the 1 ha (2½ acre) site have already had their first challenging test with the winter of 2010-2011, which saw the coldest December in a century. Many succumbed to cold, including Eucalyptus dalrympleana, African Juniperus procera and Acacia melanxylon.
However there were notable survivors, too. Turkish Mallotus japonicus (kamila trees) and Liquidambar orientalis, both trees with outstanding autumn colour, are now earmarked as possible substitutes for vulnerable species such as Acer which may suffer in the anticipated hotter, drier conditions.
'People are reluctant to change but this is why we've got to start thinking about it now,' said Hugh Angus, Head of Tree Collections at Westonbirt to a reporter from the Royal Horticultural Society. 'The weight of scientific opinion is that the landscape could look very different in 50 years' time.'
About 50 species, raised from seed collected in countries such as Japan, Chile and Mexico, will be planted to begin with, with casualties replaced with new varieties as the trial proceeds. I wonder if my shredder will be able to get through those branches.

Get ready for winter

Even if you are an optimist it does no harm preparing for the worst in winter.

With weather forecasters warning that the UK may suffer from the coldest Winter in decades the Royal Horticultural Society is advising gardeners to get prepared. Cold winters are actually very good for gardens, they force the trees and shrubs into a heavy dormancy making them less susceptible to frost and icy cold winds later in spring.
• Wrap your cordylines up with sacking; it protects them from frost.
• Cover pots with loads of bubble wrap (do the water pipes too while you are at it)
• Mulch thickly around plants, this protects emerging shoots and keeps soil in place come the floods.
• Try not to use too much salt on the paths, it can kill of delicate plants or burn their leaves. Get the kids outside and arm them with shovels.
Enjoy the winter process in the garden and look upon it as nature doing a lot of the hard work for you. Most plants will survive and if they don’t we can plant some new ones like they are doing at Westonbirt or put in something that’s more suitable.

I’ve finished my book!

It’s been a long time coming, but I have finished my book. What started out life as a one page A4 information leaflet about how to make your own raised beds has grown to over 25,000 words and 80 images.
I first started putting the information together in January in the cold spell when the ground was so frozen I couldn’t go out and do anything in the garden. As the weather warmed up, I got back into my usual routine and the book fell neglected into the background, until a few week ago when the rain was so constant I found myself again looking for indoor work. The final copy can’t be found on bookshelves in the garden centres though as it’s been published as an ebook. This means it’s only available to download from the internet through Amazon and the website I set up for the book. For those of you that are interested in such things it’s available in pdf, ipub and .mobi so it cvan be read on any of the latest electronic reading devices.

Raised Bed Handbook

The book is imaginatively called the “Raised Bed Handbook for the Organic Garden”. I have had such a success growing vegetables in raised beds and gathered up so much information that it seemed the obvious choice subject for my first book; I even had great success with beds made from old books. I have the first chapter here for you.
It’s 14 reasons for why I thing raised beds are great!

1. They help to define the edge of your beds and the paths.
2. Soil works better if it isn’t trodden on and compacted so if the beds are small enough you never have to tread on them to weed or harvest.
3. Raised beds have clean paths made from grass, woodchip or gravel help to stop you trailing mud into the house.
4. The soil and plants stay where they are. The soil doesn’t creep out onto the paths like it does in beds that are just mounded up with soil.
5. With raised beds there is better drainage. This is particularly an advantage in wetter gardens with clay soils, eliminating the chance of root rot. Drier soil can also lengthen the growing season.
6. The soil in a raised bed warms up more before seed sowing because of the sun shining on the sides. This is better for the germination of the seeds.
7. With a raised bed you can choose the type of soil that you want in the beds. Sandier soil for carrots, richer soil for pumpkins. Every year you can condition and improve your soil for crop rotation by adding bulking agents like compost and manure.
8. With deeper raised beds there will be very active root development of the vegetables. This means that you can plant closer together. This helps support taller vegetables and helps to keep the weeds down.
9. They can fit into any shape of garden. Wood can easily be cut to fit even the oddest of angles.
10. You can keep your vegetable garden to a manageable size. It is better to start with one or two small beds to build up your confidence and enthusiasm rather than too big and feel overwhelmed.
11. No heavy digging is necessary after the initial preparations.
12. With raised beds you can try out square foot gardening. All this means is areas are marked out (usually in one foot squares) on the raised bed and planting different vegetables into each square. One tomato plant could take up one whole square, four strawberry plants in another, and up to sixteen radishes in another. Compact planting in rich soil helps to suppress weeds.
13. Raised Beds can be built to any height you desire. This is particularly beneficial if there are any mobility issues with the user. Beds can be specifically designed at the correct height for wheelchair users and firm paths in between the beds allow for total access to all parts of the bed and vegetable garden all year round.
14. Raised beds are great for kids to experience the joys of growing their own food. A starter bed just 3’ (1m) square is enough. All too often children (and adults) can be put off growing vegetables because the plots are too large. A small raised bed gives the child their own personal plot.

http://raisevegbeds.com

Get one of 5 FREE copies

At just over 5 euro it would make a great gift for that budding gardener. And as a special offer I also am including Klaus Laitenbeger’s 10 page “Sowing and Planting Times” booklet so you always know the right time to plant seasonal vegetables. For your chance to get one of five free copies of “Raised Vegetable Beds in the Organic Garden” and Klauses booklet, just email me through the www.raisedvegbeds.com website with the words “Raised Beds”. I’ll announce the lucky winners next week. (offer closes tonight!)