GARDENER'S WORD - IDEAS AND TIPS

For three years now I have grown the Mignon variety of dahlias. They turn out an abundance of flowers and pollinators love them.  They are so easy to grow too.  I even, accidentally, left one planted in the garden over last winter, forgot all about it, and it appeared this year and put on a fine display. What a lovely surprise!  These, in the image below, are grown in large pots with two Mignon dahlias planted in each.  Mignon dahlias in yellow and white Obviously, Mignon dahlias are as happy in the ground as they are in pots but I will still protect the tubers indoors over winter. The weather is so unpredictable and where I live, on the Pennines of West Yorkshire, I try not to take risks. I will do what I always do, wait for the frost to arrive, carefully dig up the tubers, remove as much soil or compost as possible, and then trim back the stems to a short length. Then I will let them dry off (I try to tip them upside down so any water in the stems tips out, th...

Below is the dahlia 'Princess Nadine' . It is open flowered and so attracts pollinators, I am happy to say. I bought two of this dahlia by accident, a happy accident as it turns out. None of the dahlia tubers I have bought to plant in tubs belongs to the tall dahlia or dinnerplate flowered dahlias. Princess Nadine flower stems only grow to about 3ft high, 5ft max.  Dahlia 'Princess Nadine' The open flowers of Princess Nadine dahlias invites pollinators, such as this humble bumble bee. Dahlia 'Princess Nadine' with a Harlequin Ladybird (Harmonia axyridis) on board Dahlia 'Princess Nadine' with a Harlequin Ladybird on board

The fuchsia, Jack Shahan, is definitely one I will grow again.  The flowers are not massive but mine - I have one planted in each of four hanging baskets - are blooming by the hundreds.  The baskets are dripping with them and even outshine the showy Cecile double-flower trailing fuchsia .  Since taking the below photograph, there are easily twice as many flowers on display right now.  They just keep on coming! Fuchsia 'Jack Shahan' The label says that the fuchsia Jack Shahan needs sun to partial shade.  It has single flowers with a rose corolla and pale rose sepals with green tips. It can be planted in hanging baskets, patio tubs and windows boxes, preferably in dappled shade .  Mine grow on an east-facing wall in partial shade (morning sun, afternoon shade).  Be aware, the flowers should be dead-headed to encourage prolonged blooming.  The flowers attract lots of pollinators, like bees and those delightful garden  good-guys, little ho...

There's no doubt about it, the Southern Belles fuchsia, Cecile, is a show off.  It has big, fat, heavy flowers opening from big, fat buds.  I've planted this fuchsia in four hanging baskets this year and although it's not as floriferous as 'Jack Shahan', which I have also planted (will post about it next), the heavy flowers really stand out.  Fabulous. Fuchsia Southern Belle 'Cecile' The label says that the fuchsia 'Cecile' grows in partial shade, and achieves a trailing length of 30-45cm (12-18in). It provides a delightful succession of charming double flowers throughout summer to autumn.  It is suitable for hanging baskets, patio tubs and window boxes, preferably in dapple shade.  Spray flowers occasionally to raise humidity.   My hanging baskets are on an east facing wall and get morning sun and shade after that.  Fuchsias grow very well in that situation.  Although the flowers of Cecile are double, pollinating insects can easily ac...

One plant that I love to put in hanging baskets is bacopa. It can be quite pricey but it doesn't half work hard for the money.  Gulliver Dynamic White is not the bacopa with tiny flowers, this one has  flowers about 2.5cm (1in) in diameter with deep yellow eyes.  What I like, apart from a bacopa's appearance, is that I don't have to deadhead the flowers, they just wither away when finished. The plants just keep on flowering right through until the frost kills them off. Bacopa -  Gulliver Dynamic White The label says that Gulliver Dynamic White is an excellent trailing plant with strong green foliage, perfect for hanging baskets, window boxes and containers.  It trails to 30cm (1ft), and should be planted 20cm (8in) apart in any well drained soil in full sun or partial shade [mine are in partial shade].  They should be fed weekly when in flower and protected from frost. Bees and other pollinating insects love them, but I am talking about bacopas ...

Bought three echinacea plants today.  'Delicious Candy' was mentioned in my previous post and I also bought 'White Meditation' and 'Sunseekers Pink'.  While I think they are pretty, I didn't buy them for their looks but for their lateish flowering and, most importantly, because pollinators are just crazy about them.  I mean, I was going around the garden centre with bees hanging onto my plants.  Sweet or what!  Hoverflies don't sting (they're good guys) and I have never, in decades of gardening, been stung by a bee.  I treat them with respect (I don't try to grab hold of one!) but I don't mind them flying around me.  Echinacea 'Sunseekers Pink' The label says that Echinacea 'Sunseekers Pink' has an abundance of flowers with pink petals radiating round a central button-like disc, held on sturdy stems throughout summer.  It achieves a height of 55cm (22in) and spread of 45cm (18in).  It is suitable for borders and patio con...

Pollinators love echinacea (coneflower) and the sign in the garden centre was not kidding!  I picked three different echinaceas and was trundling them along in a shopping trolley and the sweet bumblebees and harmless hoverflies just kept on coming and I was wondering if I was going to have a car full of pollinators on my drive home.  A bit of a trolley shake made them head for pastures new but it was delightful, really it was.  The plant I am going to talk about here is Echinacea 'Delicious Candy'.  It's such a beautiful colour. Echinacea 'Delicious Candy' enjoyed by White-tailed Bumblebee Please, grow plants attractive to pollinators .    Save our pollinators . The label says: " The stunning fluorescent pink flowers are an amazing addition to your garden.  Flowering from mid to late summer, it will attract bees to your garden.  The attractive dark green leaves and stems have a compact habit.  It is hardy and foliage will die down i...

I wonder if chives are underrated by gardeners as plants which look beautiful in the garden.  I'm sure many cooks, or chefs, appreciate their culinary properties although I wonder how many people realise that the flowers are said to be edible (for use in, say, salads - not tried one myself!).  For me though, chives are more than that.  I have a clump right now that is rather spectacular, if I do say so myself.  In fact, I'd say it's a show-off! Clump of chives in full bloom I find chives so easy to grow.  They form a neat clump which can be easily lifted and divided, so you can end up with quite a lot if you wish.  If you cut the leaves for use in the kitchen, they soon make more leaves.  They are hardy and herbaceous, so they disappear in UK winters and come back again each spring.  And, for me, most of all, the bees love them. Bees love chives Busy bee filling up its carrier bags on a chive I suppose you might want me to tell y...

I've grown Wisley Magic runner beans for a few years and they always provide lovely straight bean pods after the loveliest of scarlet flowers.  Bees love them, and so do I. This year I decided to just grow a few up a metal garden obelisk.  I germinated the seeds and grew the plants a while before planting, but slugs still managed to eat all but two of the plants.  So I encircled the two surviving plants with sharp gravel and they survived.  I won't have a heavy crop but I am happy with what is growing.  And watch those runners run.  It's almost like you could watch them grow, they do it so fast.  I am training the runners beans to wrap around the obelisk and it's almost as if, as soon as my back is turned, they just go any direction they please.  Coincidentally, perhaps, although the climber is coiled around the obelisk, the leaves all seem to be opening on one side, the sunnier side. Wisley Magic runner bean growing on garden obelisk...

We are still having gloriously summer weather, with temperatures in some places reaching the 30c and more here in the UK, and on the Pennines of West Yorkshire, it is no different.  On Friday and Saturday, however, we have a warning of heavy rain, thunder, and even flash flooding in some places.  We need rain but does it have to be so extreme?   We've only had a few downfalls in the last few weeks.  High up here, though, there is no danger of flooding, unless it is Noah's-Ark-type-rain.  I took the opportunity of a bit of gardening this afternoon when the temperature was dropping and I still had the energy.  First though, I took photos of pollinators busily going from flower to flower on my Hydrangea paniculata 'White Lady' .  The bumblebees were creating such a happy racket that they were hard to ignore. Bumblebee on Hydrangea paniculata White Lady Pollinators, like hoverflies , are a blessing in the garden.  Some types of hoverflies e...

I visited East Riddlesden Hall in West Yorkshire today and my favourite part was mooching around the grounds, taking photos.  I saw these beautiful Echinops flowers and they were alive with butterflies and bumblebees.  I tried to take a video of it all but people kept walking into the shot while 'filming' and ruining it, so we just have stills to look at.   Bumblebees on Echinops flower Butterfly on Echinops flower  Bumblebees on Echinops flower   Echinops East Riddlesden Hall Allium onion Ornamental Seed heads at East Riddlesden Hall Dipsacus Sativus teasel at East Riddlesden Hall Mixed Border and Trees at East Riddlesden Hall Trees and Water – Duck Pond at East Riddlesden Hall

Often, in a garden, I find that seedheads can be really attractive long after the flower petals have long gone.  I expect there are thousands and thousands of plants that create lovely seedheads, so these are just a few from my garden.  And one strange seedhead or seed case that arrived in my garden from goodness knows where and to this day I have no idea what it is.  seed case or seedhead  Astrantia major 'Hadspen Blood' seedheads Astrantia major 'Hadspen Blood' seedheads Chive seedheads after beautiful flowers Chive seedheads Pulsatilla seedhead Pulsatilla seedhead Seedhead of Clematis Gillian Blades . Seedhead of Gillian Blades clematis Seedhead of clematis Dr Ruppel Seedhead of Dr Ruppel clematis Seedhead of the spring-flowering alpine clematis 'Constance' .  Seedhead of clematis alpina 'Constance'  Japanese  anemone seedhead  Anemone seedhead (with greenfly) Japanese an...