GARDENER'S WORD - IDEAS AND TIPS

Storm Boelo has caused a lot of tree damage in West Yorkshire and elsewhere. I was out and about yesterday and saw evidence of the damage on my journey. One tree in a long row of roadside trees on the way to Bradford had a trunk completely snapped close to the ground and had toppled over blocking the pavement. I realised how lucky I had been, getting away with just damaged dahlias, and Japanese maples stripped of their leaves. The glorious red of Osakazuki leaves have gone with the wind and it is now bald, as are Moonrise  and  Sango Kaku !  I have to laugh because despite the hammering from Boelo, Jordan , which has had its usual leaf scorch damage this summer, still has most of its leaves, and good old reliable  Katsura  only lost leaves on its north facing side.  I cut down the damaged dahlia stems, cleaned up the tubers and brought them indoors for overwintering. I grow dahlias in containers so I used the empty pots to plant half of my 100 Darwin (peren...

It has been a while since I last posted on my blog as things have just been ticking over in the garden.  I had to share this photograph of the Acer palmatum Osakazuki that I bought earlier this year, and almost killed off!  It seems happy enough in its new home, despite the howling winds here at about 850ft above sea level on the Pennines.  It is said to be perhaps the reddest of Japanese acers, maples, in autumn.  I can believe it.  Can it possibly get any redder? Acer palmatum Osakazuki When it arrived at my home back in May, after buying it online , it was so healthy and full of green leaves, and I never gave it a thought to having to harden it off and it suffered severe weather damage to its tender leaves.  After that sharp learning experience, I protected it for a while and then stuck it in its pot within a large, heavyweight, terracotta pot on the top patio where it will have to either like it or lump it.  I cannot say it is liking it but it is d...