Painting Winter Heathers

 Painted heather

I’ve been making a new bed along a wall this week. 

It’s to house my creeping thyme plants that have come on well over the summer in their small cells. Now is a good time to be setting up any new beds and borders before it gets too wet and will also spare the house and carpets getting covered in mud.

The soil in the new bed is quite fibrous as I put cardboard over the grass two years ago, but it’s full of lovely worms. I’ve sieved the top soil and any large clumps of fibre have been taken out and composted, which has left me with a lovely fine planting medium for the small plugs. I’ll keep an eye on any chickweed coming up and remove that too because like the chamomiles, thyme plants don’t really do well without us having to intervene occasionally and take out a few self-set weeds.

I’m starting small with an area of around 10’x2’ and can expand as the plants develop.  I might even get my whole lawn made from thyme just like gardens used to be a hundred and fifty years ago before lawn mowers.

Heather Sprayed with food colouring

Heathers are looking great in the shops and gardens at the moment. Winter flowering types are very popular and will brighten up a garden or planter well into spring.  One type of heather (calluna vulgaris ‘garden girls’) is particularly popular as the flowers are very bright and will last months because the actual flowers don’t open up, they stay as tidy buds. There’s plenty of colour range too from whites to pinks and purple. 

I did notice that the plants being sold at a garden centre this week were being sprayed different colours even though they were in flower. I’m not really sure why growers need to put colour on the plants; maybe they just weren’t bright enough. (They are proving to be the best sellers around our local garden centres so the growers are doing something right)

We’re used heathers sprayed with fake snow in December but colouring already colourful plants is a bit baffling. The dye used is generally a natural food colouring so it won’t harm the plants and will eventually wash off leaving you with (I presume) a dull looking plant that you can put out in the garden to fill up a gap. Either that or trim it back and get the food colouring out of the cupboard and get spraying. The only difference will be that the dye colours the whole plant-stems and leaves- as well as the flowers so they look a bit artificial, but at a glance you wouldn’t notice.

That reminds me of an experiment I used to do for the children when they were young. I’d choose a white flower, a rose or carnation, but any single stem flower will probably do. This is fun to do and usually leaves the stems their natural colour.

Colour changing flowers

What you need:

• Fresh white flowers, carnations are best
• Food colouring
• Warm water
• Several small jars to put in different colours

What to do:

Fill the jars 2/3 full with warm water.

Add 15-20 drops of food colouring to the vase. You can add different colours into each vase to see if some colours work better than others.

Cut the stem of the flower (adult stuff) at a slant. Put a flower into each of the vases and wait…

Let the flowers sit in the water and keep checking to see when the colour starts to change.  It should take about six hours, but it could take longer depending on the plant

Some colours might work faster than others and see what happens when to swap the flowers into different vases.

Salvia Artemis

I came across a Silver Sage, Salvia argentea in the garden centre and couldn’t resist stroking the soft furry leaves.  Usually sage plants are grown for their flowers but these short lived perennials or usually grown as biennials are mainly used for their foliage.  

They like dry settings with partial shade and will tolerate a mild frost in the garden especially if you keep the old leaves on the crown as they die back in the winter (like you would a gunnera).  The following year the plants flower so you can collect the seeds and grow some new plants for the borders.  If you want the plants to live longer just cut off the flowering spikes as they appear, this should keep them looking good throughout most of next summer.

Fallen Beech Tree

 Fallen Beech Tree

We’ve had a casualty from this month’s winds. The in laws twenty year old copper beech tree came down in a strong gust. 

There were other small branches flying from other trees and I didn’t really think the winds were that strong to bring down what I thought was a healthy, well-formed specimen. It’s been well looked after over the years so my fist though when I heard it toppled over was that the roots were really shallow and just gave up their grip on the earth.

On closer inspection the following morning I could see the roots were still very much in place, it was the trunk that gave way a few inches from the ground. The whole of the inside of the trunk was rotten and must have been ready to topple over for ages. There were no external signs that anything was wrong – if there were we would have taken the tree out as it could have easily fallen on a car.

I have a couple of theories, one is that the tree is on the lawn and the constant mowing around it damaged the roots so much that they no longer passed nutrients to the tree. The second theory (which is the most likely) is that tree beech trees are sometimes susceptible to root rot from a variety of fungal pathogens, including Phytophthora and this probably went undetected. Some trees can suffer from beech bark disease, caused by a combination of a sap-sucking scale insect (Cryptococcus fagisuga) and canker fungus (Nectria coccinea) but this generally shows signs on the external part of the tree so I don’t think it’s that.  Whatever the cause, the tree will need to be disposed of safely and cleanly because there are other trees around and it could be infectious. I’ll give the other trees a wobble and poke to see if they have rotten trunks too.

October in the Garden

This month it would make sense to tie things down in case another storm comes along soon. We lost all of our sunflowers and pea and bean poles in the wind and most of the pots flew to the top corner of the garden so any old annual plant displays could be composted and store the containers.  Aquatic plants might need a bit of protection too.

The autumn leaves are looking wonderful and will only get brighter before they fall so there will be a lot of chances to get out and do a bit of gentle raking to pick up the leaves before they mound up, go soggy and leave the paths slippery. It’d be a good idea to check the guttering too as the downpipes could get bunged up with clumps of leaves.

Rhubarb

If you have enjoyed rhubarb this year then now is the time to dig up the clumps and divide them with a spade to increase the stock

Chutney

A friend of ours gave us a delicious jar of pear chutney this week. It was from the fresh fruit and one of the nicest I have tasted. Other fruits like apples, grapes and nuts are all ready now for harvesting.

Climbing roses

The harsh winds can damage rose bushes as they sway in the wind. Climbing roses especially get damaged as they don’t hold on very tightly to things. Prune the back quite hard to keep them secure.

I’ve been collecting millions (I am not exaggerating) of Irish Moss seeds this week. I think the plants are becoming a bit of a problem in the garden as there are billions more germinating in every corner of the garden. There are less vigorous seeds you can collect to build up your stock for next year ranging from vegetables to annuals and perennials.

Lawn Care

It’s nearly time to ignore the lawn. I tried to do this a couple of weeks ago but it has just kept growing and growing. One or two moderate cuts left and I think we can take it easy until the festive holiday. If it’s dry we can escape for an hour or two and give it a quick trim. Keep the leaves off the lawn if possible but don’t worry if they stay as worms actually take a lot underground for you if you leave them. If you have a moss or thatch problem on the lawn this can be addressed now as well. Feeding isn’t necessary as this will just promote lush delicate leaves vulnerable to the oncoming frosts – They are not far away now.

Glee 2018 - Plastic reduction is top of the bill

My woolly hat is on and it’ll stay on now until late spring. I’ll need a new pair of steel toe capped work boots very soon too to tide me over the winter. It pays to plan ahead with boots and get the old leaking ones replaced before the wetter weather kicks in. 

There are other items of clothing to put on the list too, especially the hidden thermal clothing and waterproofs. It’ll make working outside more enjoyable and save the old joints from creaking. I’d much sooner be overdressed for gardening duties and shed a few layers as I warm up and put them back on again when the flask of tea comes out at break time.  

The growing season is quickly coming to a close now and I am starting to bring my tools in and give them a bit of maintenance and a good oiling. I’ll even be putting some Danish oil onto the wooden handles of my hoe (a Dutch one as coincidence would have it) as I think this will help preserve the wood for a long time, especially at the joints where they tend to rot. 

The small electric mower doesn’t really need any maintenance as it’s mainly all plastic. I just tend to clean the grass from under it and out of the wheels. I’m not quite ready to hang things up for the winter but it does no harm to just work through the long list nice and slowly.

Clearing out the polytunnel is a long way down the list as it’s still producing for me. Just this week I got a large bowl of chillies, a few pounds of delicious tomatoes and a handful of aubergines. The aubergines have been a great success and they are delicious fried up. I’ll be growing them again next year. 

Glee 2018

The annual Glee garden and outdoor living trade show in Birmingham signals the end of the growing year as it showcases products we will see on sale in the shops in 2019. This year, top of the list is plastic, peat and glyphosate reduction, one-stop shop suppliers, slug control, shrub replacement, lawn fixing, solar technology and heat-loving plants after this year’s warm summer.

One innovative new product is solar Bluetooth, which controls solar lights using a smartphone app, which automatically adjusts brightness to extend light functionality. Solar in-lit fencing panels are also available for a novelty item. 

Bamboo pots and trays are increasing in popularity. A more core product on display was the taupe plant pot - The new taupe-coloured pot is carbon black-free, recycled polypropylene that can be identified by near infrared (NIR) and consequently recycled through kerbside recycling schemes. This allows gardeners to dispose of pots to be recycled in a way that has not been possible before now. Car tyre stepping stones are also proving a popular choice

Glyphosate reduction was big news with the official launch of Evergreen's (formerly Scotts) glyphosate-free Roundup. With 98% of weedkiller sales being products containing glyphosate. They predicted market share for glyphosate-frees (usually acetic acid-based) to rise to anywhere between 2% to 20% of the market next year.

Slug killers Neudorff said it plans to release the first off-the-shelf slug killer nematode later this year, resolving issues with nematodes sent by post dying in the summer heat.

Peat reduction was led by Westland's new formulation New Horizon with Bio3. The Growing Media Association's Responsible Sourcing Scheme has begun trialling this month with Bord na Móna, Melcourt, Bulrush, Evergreen (Scotts) and Horticultural Coir, although the voluntary retail phase-out target of 2020 looks like it has gone by the wayside.

Bulb production has suffered this summer because of a lack of rain and a few favourites are in short supply.

Wildlife Bird baths sold well in 2018 because of the drought and companies such as Wildlife World has new launches aiming to feed that market.

Packaging

After 2018's anti-plastic campaigns, manufacturers have worked to reduce plastic packaging. For instance, Wildlife World has compostable cellulose inner packaging and biodegradable outer bags on its new hedgehog and bird food. It also has metal rather than plastic bird feeders for sale.

And finally to get you into the winter season - Christmas tree wholesale prices are up by €1.30 this year. The summer scorch scare has only hit newly planted trees so will make no impact this season. But retail prices are at their limit — any higher and more people will buy plastic trees.

Bulb Planting 2018

As growth slows down in the garden we can stand back and admire our achievements this year.

Shrub forms maturing, luscious bedding plant displays brightening up dull corners after being watered daily, the perfectly maintained veggie patch and the beautifully manicured lawn. 

OK, I’ll stop dreaming now.  At the beginning of the growing year that’s how we mostly expect the season to progress, keeping on top of things. 

If you are anything like me this only lasts a couple of weeks early on.  Next time I look at the garden its gone wild. Pea and bean supports have collapsed, I have courgettes the size of small Zeppelins and as tough as leather, the pots and containers now only support weeds as the bedding plants in pots have died from neglect and toppled over. The lawn edges are so long air traffic control should be notified.

It’s all good though and I’ll probably just leave everything until spring before I tidy as long as nothing flops onto the paths. There’s debate every year whether to clear up or leave dead plant growth and old seed heads. I tend to leave everything as I think it’s lovely to look at, holds the soil together and is a bit of a haven for overwintering insects and wildlife. It also means nature does most of the work, which is fine by me.

One job that can be done this time of year is to plant a few bulbs for next spring. Forward planning is probably one of the most challenging things I do in the garden as I’m generally a “live for today” sort of person who generally doesn’t plan much further than his next meal.

If you are organized then let’s take a look at what bulbs we can put in the ground now for a splash of spring colour. 

Plant Bulbs in Autumn for Spring Colour

Spring flowers popping up signals the rebirth of the garden and the start of a new growing season. Nothing lifts the spirits after a long, dark winter more than the sight of the first daffodils opening up.

Autumn is perfect for planting bulbs as the soil is still warm. This will allow them to develop their root system, which in turn allows them to flower in spring rather than summer.

September is the time for buying bulbs as a lot of them will be reduced because the garden centres need to clear them out fir winter stock.  October is the optimum time for daffodils; November for tulips. So this year we are well ahead of the game.

Top Tips

• When buying bulbs, reject any that are soft or showing signs of mould. Small bulbs may not flower in their first year.
• Bulbs should be planted in holes three to four times as deep as the bulb itself. So, for example, a 1in crocus bulb needs to be planted in a hole 3-4in deep.
• If you are not sure which way up a bulb should go, plant it on its side: its stem will find its own way up.
• Plant pots and window boxes with no more than two layers of bulbs to prevent the unsightly spectacle of later-flowering plants appearing through the dying foliage of earlier ones.

Once you’ve chosen a variety of bulbs that you like, plant them haphazardly in amongst your borders for a beautifully undone look come spring, or organise them neatly into a layered display for a more dazzling effect or put them in pots to plant out into the garden as they flower.

In Pots

Fill large plastic pots with your favourite bulbs and, just before they are about to flower, use them to plug holes in the border. Plastic pots can also be slipped inside more elegant terracotta ones and whipped out when the bulbs are over. I generally store the pots behind the shed to allow the foliage to die down.  This can be done year after year with a bit of top dressing and weed control.

Bulbs in Hedges

The dry conditions at the base of hedges make ideal growing conditions for many bulbs. Tulips will be very happy on the south-facing side of a hedge, and can be left undisturbed for years.  On the shady side of the hedge, encourage carpets of Anemone blanda  for a trouble free ground cover.

On their Own

Eighteenth-century gardeners planted tulips individually, the better to appreciate their beauty. Bulbs planted singly in small terracotta pots and placed in an ordered manner around the garden bring instant elegance and formality. Lily-flowered tulips, Fritillaria persica or large-flowered alliums give a simple minimalist display.