GARDENER'S WORD - IDEAS AND TIPS

I bought a fern from the Royal Horticultural Society at Harlow Carr the other day.  It was the only one of its type that they had on display and when I looked to see what it was, it had no identifying name other than 'fern', which was not very helpful.  Anyway, I thought I would be able to identify it when I got home, by book or by surfing the net.  Wrong!  I am wondering if the fern is still very young and will display more easily identifiable properties when it ages.  Fern Anyway, I wrote to the Royal Horticultural Society and asked what was the complete name of this fern.  I was told that they buy in bulk from a supplier and would write to the supplier and let me know.  Several messages have gone back and forth and still the RHS has been unable to supply me with the name of the fern.   Shame on the RHS.  Imagine, the Royal Horticultural Society selling plants that they cannot identify to customers.  Each fern frond h...

Many years ago when I lived in a different house that had a conservatory, I loved to grow succulents as well as many other types of indoor plants.  While cactii are interesting, they can be savage little beasts.  One succulent, crassula ovata, grew into a beautiful bush which flowered frequently, smothering itself with little white flowers.  That plant was left behind when I moved abroad for a while.  The other day at a garden centre I bought a young crassula ovata.  At least, I think that's what it is as it had no label.  I don't have a conservatory now but I am hoping that the plant will do well anyway.  Crassula ovata I'll post photos if it flowers but I doubt it'll do that any time soon. Below, a bowl of succulents which I grew many years ago

I never grow tomatoes from seeds.  I don't see the point in all that effort to nurture the seedlings in idea conditions, transplant or prick them out into pots, and generally faff around when I only want two or three plants.  This year my tomatoes of choice are again tumblers, the type that don't need you to do much else but water, feed, and eat the fruits of their labour.  There's no pinching out of side shoots with tumblers.  From previous experience, in no time at all these will need repotting.  Watch this space. The label says this about 'Tumber' F1 hybrid: This patio variety produces loads of sweet, tasty cherr-type tomatoes.  Matures in 49 days.  Best in organic-rich, well-drained soil.  Water freely in dry weather.  Requires full sun.  Apparently this one is well suited to a hanging basket and produces a good yield of tomatoes.  Some while ago I bought some ordinary red Jester tomatoes from Marks and Spencers ...

It's been a wet but mild winter and many plants in my garden have scarcely gone into hibernation—unlike me.  Today we have beautiful weather, a little cool but sunny and dry.  Of course, it could snow tomorrow.  Who knows?  A neighbour who is happily taking my row of seven Arthur Bell roses from me and planting them in her garden has shamed me into action.  I am finding gardening more and more difficult as years go by (don't we all?) and am now getting rid of plants that give me the most work; that includes roses.  I am no winter gardener and so I try to begin my spring gardening gently, to ease unused muscles into gradual awakening.  Today I cut back the dead and straggly growth on the Arctic Queen clematis to 18 inches (50cm) or so above its base.  It might be a bit early but it's planted in a pot which is overwintering in a sheltered position and will remain there for a little while yet until I can trust the weather not to turn suddenly sp...

It may only be early January but my treasured red pelargoniums, which I like to grow in a sunny trough under my living room window, and which I potted up for overwintering indoors, are producing a few flowers on a more or less east facing window bottom.  That's not the brightest aspect for pelargoniums and they do love the sun, but all the same they are doing well.  Now and then, when it is sunny outside, like yesterday, I move them onto the living room window bottom.  I make space for them by moving some of glass ornaments and give my plants a good dose of the sun's energy.  Why don't I put them outside in the sun?  Because it is still far too cold and the change in temperature would shock them.  Why don't I keep them there, on the south/west window bottom?  Because there is a huge double radiator running under the entire length of the window and the plants wouldn't be able to tolerate the intense heat when it's on and heating the room....

After weeks of mild temperatures and flood-causing rain here in West Yorkshire, we have been warned that colder weather is approaching.  My garden plants don't know what time of year it is, with temperatures occasionally in double figures.  Although leaves have fallen off many of the climbing plants, many of the penstemons are still lush and green and there is the odd rose in bloom.  Next week though sub-zero temperatures are forecast and my thoughts have turned to those more tender plants stored in my two mini-greenhouses.  One has two covers on it; a clear one and a strong clear and green outer one.  I've been out today and put a second jacket on the other mini-greenhouse.  Mini-greenhouses with plants for overwintering Inside, under protection, there are still leaves on the flat Italian parsley, the marjoram, thyme, and other small herbs are clearly not dormant, and the fuchsias in the four hanging baskets which were cut back and de-leafed, have l...

I took this photograph, using my iPhone 5s, while strolling around the Royal Horticultural Society greenhouse at Harlow Carr nearly two weeks before Christmas.  It's now January 1, 2016 with the old year behind and the promise of spring ahead.  Spring, my favourite time of year.  Imagine!  Imagine being able to grow to juicy fruition oranges, and lemons, and limes too, in your very own conservatory, picking the acid fruits when all outside is frosty and white as it was today.  Citrus orange, RHS Harlow Carr, 16 Dec 2015 Happy New Year - 2016!

We're having more rain, and snow is forecast.  While many areas further north, particularly in Cumbria, flood with too much rain saturating the land, here, high on the West Yorkshire Pennines, the rain runs down the valley to join the river Calder and my garden is left just a sodden restaurant for birds.  For it to flood where I live, there would have to be enough rain to worry Noah.  It's the wind that gets worrying here and when the snow comes it can last for weeks.  I hate that.  Meanwhile, before the snow arrives, IF it arrives, thrushes are attacking the fat balls which I hung out two days ago, and Gold Finches are extracting husked sunflower seeds from the bird feeders.  On the ground a Woodpigeon and a Blackbird are tidying up the garden by picking up fallen sunflower seeds and bits of fat that the Thrushes and Finches have dropped—thanks for that.  It might be a bit expensive feeding wild birds all year round but on days like this, wh...

Winter's coming.  It's arriving slowly here on the Pennine Mountains of West Yorkshire with temperatures sometimes in the teens but with lashings of rain and wind howling like a banshee much of the time.  I've seen long term weather forecasts of a dreadful winter ahead with lots of snow; months of it, the worst since 1966/67.  Oh, great!  Not.  For a change I'm hoping they get the forecast wrong.  My first thoughts, apart from stocking my cupboards full of food and what-not, and getting all the cat litter and cat food in for Alfie, the resident Ragdoll cat, that we might need in a siege of snow is to turn my thoughts to the wild birds.  Today I've made fat balls, the way I do every winter.  They cost peanuts compared to some of the ones I see in the shops. Home made fat and seed balls - 2013 This year I made eight fat-balls with 250g of melted beef lard.  I poured in enough mixed table seed and cheap raisins ...

It's a few weeks since I last posted on this gardening blog.  It seems to have done little else for days on end but either rain, blow a gale, or blow a gale and rain.  We even had snow the other day but it lasted a brief time, thankfully.  The temperature, considering we are now into the last month of 2015, is relatively mild which is no doubt the reason why my clematis, Dr Ruppel, is still in full flower in December .  December!  I kid you not! There are still raspberries on the Polka raspberry canes but I am leaving them for the birds and squirrels .  The birds give me so much joy and very shortly I will be making my annual Christmas fat-cakes for them.  I've never seen so many goldfinches at one time gathering around the seed-feeder.  I do wish I could get better photographs to show you but I have to take them through glass from indoors and it's not the ideal situation even for my camera, which is a far better camera than I am a phot...

It might have been a miserable November so far, on the Pennine Mountains in the north of the UK at least, but despite the constant rain and fog and sunless skies, I'm picking alpine strawberries and a few Polka raspberries.  I had some today with my breakfast cereal.  The alpine strawberries taste so sweet and they make me smile; they look to be such delicate plants with dainty white flowers and very small berries but, like some people, they're a lot tougher than they look.  Alpine strawberries and Polka raspberries - November 2015 Alpine strawberries - November 2015 The raspberries are taking a beating though as despite all the flowers and the tiny green raspberries, this horrible weather is making some rot before they can reach edible stage.  Still, I'm happy for whatever I can get.  The everfruiting, ever-yielding, perpetual strawberries, or whatever they are called, continue to flower and form fruit but the fruit isn't ripening bec...

Today the weather has been beautiful with blue skies and sunshine.  All in all though, it's been a very odd year in the garden with plants not flowering when they should, not flowering at all, or flowering over and over again.  Take for instance the clematis: the large flowered ones like Dr Ruppel and Elsa Spath were fabulous last summer, 2014.  This year, Elsa Spath hardly flowered at all, and Dr Ruppel flowered a little, then stopped.  Both are supposed to be repeat flowering.  I was expecting, hoping for, so much more.  Dr Ruppel has now, yes now it is nearly winter, decided to wake up and produce large buds and a flower.  Clematis Dr Ruppel flowering in November 2015 Clematis Dr Ruppel flowering in November 2015  I think Elsa Spath might be dead, and one of the Dr Ruppel's too (I had two of those but one seems to have disappeared).  I say that I think the Elsa Spath might be dead, but who knows?  A small flowered cl...

Every year my honeysuckle, Lonicera periclymenum 'Scentsation' produces beautiful yellow and cream fragrant flowers from spring to autumn when the flowers are replaced by red berries.  The berries are enjoyed by Bullfinches, Warblers, and Thrushes, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds ( RSPB - external link).  Not only do the birds like them, so do I.  The berries look beautiful and bright in the sunshine and even brighten up the dull days of winter.    Lonicera periclymenum 'Scentsation' November 2015

Finally, I have cut back hard the trailing fuchsias, Swingtime and Southgate, that have decorated four hanging baskets all summer long.  I hated to do it as there were still plenty of flowers and buds on the plants but the leaves were starting to fall and you just cannot trust the weather anywhere nowadays, including high up on the Pennine Mountains of West Yorkshire where I live.  I'm never sure what is the best way for me to overwinter fuchsias as I have no room for them indoors, and I don't have a regular greenhouse.  Still, last year I put the whole baskets with cut down fuchsias in a Gardman mini-growhouse (I call them mini-greenhouses) and most, if not all, of the plants survived.  This year I have done the same.  Gardman mini-growhouse, flaps open to air plants on sunny day November 2015 Southgate and Swingtime fuchsias are half-hardy which means they will tolerate temperatures down to 0 degrees centigrade and 32 degrees fahrenheit....

When I was at the Royal Horticultural Society garden centre the other day, mooching around, looking for violas to plant in a trough under my living-room window, I spotted this insect house, or insect hotel, built into a wall.   It's a good idea if you want to attract a lot of insects into your garden.  Personally, my garden is crawling with them and they have lots of places to hide out but if there is nowhere in your concreted, flagged, paved, gravelled, tarmacadamed outdoor space, you might want to give insects a chance. Insect house / hotel at RHS Garden centre, Harlow Carr If you want more ideas of how to design one, just do an internet search for insect house, insect home, insect place in garden.  Lots of images will come up for you to inspect an insect place. :)  There are some good ideas here: Insect houses (Growveg.com - external link).

I got quite a surprise when visiting the RHS garden centre at Harlow Carr the other day.  I saw these strange but architecturally interesting plants.  I suppose you would call it topiary although they did have a bonsai look about them.  They are actually Junipers:  Juniperus squamanta 'Blue Carpet'.  They were very expensive at over £40 for this size.  Larger ones were about £75.  Juniperus squamata 'Blue Carpet' at RHS garden centre, Harlow Carr Bonsai training Juniperus squamata (guide.makebonsai.com link) Juniperus squamata 'Blue Carpet' (RHS link)

I visited the RHS garden centre in Harlow Carr the other day and bought some violas for planting in the trough under my living-room window.  They seem to be surviving the strong breezes and rain we have had these last two or three days.  RHS gardens, Harlow Carr, October 2015 I only carry my iPhone with me when out and about, rather than my larger Canon EOS 6D.  For the above shot of the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) gardens I had to zoom in somewhat as the image was taken from the garden centre.  iPhone images aren't the best for that, but I think the photo turned out quite well (albeit rather pixilated) and shows how beautiful autumn can be.  The colour combinations are quite inspirational and the over all appearance made me think of what a garden border in autumn can look like on a much smaller scale. Below, the RHS garden centre where I buy many of my plants and pots.   RHS garden centre at Harlow Carr, October 2015 ...

It's a while since I last posted.  Almost a month.  Little is happening now in the garden except preparations for winter.  I'm no winter gardener, I'm afraid.  I've bought two new mini-greenhouses (my old one was collapsing with age) and put them side by side at the top of the garden, facing south.  The lovely red pelargoniums have now been removed from the trough at the front of my home, under the living room window, cut down and potted into large pots.  For the moment, they are out of the wind in a mini-greenhouse which has been left open for the time being.  The Italian parsley (a biennial, said to be hardy) is in there too, as well as some pots of herbs, like lemon thyme - just to get them out of the way of my feet on the top patio for now.  The front trough has now been replanted with tulips for next spring and on top of them some little viola plants (like the ones I grew in a pot last year, shown below) which I am sincerely hoping will...

Lewisia tweedyi 'Rosea' is an alpine plant that has such lovely flowers in summer and dazzling coloured leaves in autumn.  This is an unedited photograph I took yesterday of the leaves.  Lewisia tweedyi 'Rosea' leaves in autumn Below you can see Lewisia tweedyi 'Rosea' in summer flower. Note that the leaves are simply a dull green in summer. Lewisia tweedyi 'Rosea' Lewisia tweedyi 'Rosea' 

Months ago I planted sweet peas (lathyrus odoratus) that I bought as small plants from the RHS garden centre in Harlow Carr.  Although the number of flowers produced has been disappointing and probably down to yet another disappointing summer here in West Yorkshire, they have steadily given me enough blooms to put into a small vase in my kitchen.  Those small blooms, perhaps no more than half a dozen, can fragrance a whole room.  They grow on a south facing fence (right next to the Wisley Magic runner beans), and I am still picking them so it's worth growing them even for just a few flowers.  The more you pick, the more flowers are produced.  I took this photo yesterday.  Sweet Pea - Lathyrus odoratus