Gardening Ideas July 2010
Are you an angry
gardener? Our hobby is meant to be pleasurable and relaxing, but to
be honest, quite a lot can go wrong out there, with aphids on the
roses, seeds refusing to come up, lily beetles chomping away, cats
digging and rolling and awkward weeds. The pests, problems and
pitfalls are not going to disappear, so the only thing we can alter
is our attitude. I realise I'm cheating a bit on this one,
because to an extent, gardening problems are my business. When we
roll up at a venue to record Gardeners' Question Time, we have
no prior knowledge of the questions. If I've had plenty of
practise solving my own problems, I'm armed with more answers
to pass on.
Our plot about a mile inland from the sea is quite windy and mainly perched on a gentle north facing slope. The soil is clay with flints and there are some interesting pockets of dry shade. There is also a healthy population of rabbits, deer, squirrels and other assorted wildlife who are convinced this is their home too. But instead of wringing my hands, I've decided a 'bring it on' attitude is much healthier. The key to success is being observant, analysing the problem and then enjoying the process of finding a solution. I accept the wildlife. After all, it's cheaper to watch all those wild bunnies scampering about than keeping your own. As for smaller pests, it's amazing how many natural enemies they have. I encourage these (by clever planting and not spraying lots of chemicals around) and occasionally resort to little more than a few ferric phosphate based slug pellets and some horticultural soft soap (always applied during evening to avoid harming bees). A laid back gardener is a happy and contented one.
Garden clippings
......in the
kitchen garden
- check courgette plants every other day in order to harvest lots of tender, small fruits rather than allowing them to grow into ghastly torpedoes. Water during droughts.
- Thin the fruits on trained apple trees (an almost impossible job on full sized trees). Use common sense to reduce the numbers in clusters, snipping through the stalks with scissors.
- Water pumpkins (directing water to the roots, not spattering over leaves) when they dry out and mulch over the moist soil with grass clippings.
......in the
flower garden
- lift, divide and replant bearded iris whose clumps have become old and bare in the middle. Aim to have two or three growing points on each section and plant with the rhizomes facing south.
- prune ungainly wisterias by trimming back the long, waving sideshoots to just five leaves. They will be further pruned back to short spurs in winter, each holding two buds.
- Take cuttings of garden pinks. Dibble several into a 9cm pot of 50:50 soilless compost and sharp sand, cover with polythene and keep out of direct light. They'll be ready for planting next summer.
......and in
general
- prune magnolias (only if their branches are growing where you don't want them). Ours, for instance, has an annoying lower branch encroaching on a tree poppy. Wounds don't bleed in summer and will heal before winter.
- plan to cut meadow areas this month, whether they are tiny sections under trees to be trimmed with shears, or massive areas requiring heavy machinery. Leave a small section as refuge for wildlife.
- protect soft fruit such as hybrid blackberries with mesh (if they are not in a fruit cage). Left alone by the birds, they can then ripen fully, when many varieties become sweet enough to eat raw.
Gardeners Questions
Q: I have an
infestation of a species of Bee that emerges from my lawn every
spring/early summer. They leave a 3 inch high cone of soil with a
hole in the middle, making the lawn lumpy and killing grass roots.
How can I get rid of them?
A: This will be a type of solitary bee that
obviously finds your lawn an ideal habitat. Bees are charming and
fascinating creatures, whose pollinating antics we rely on to enjoy
a good set of fruit on our plums, apples, runner beans and so
forth. Honey bees have had their problems and there are fewer
around, so I would let your solitary bees prosper and hatch, then
indulge your lawn in some general care. Scarify it, to remove dead
grass and thatch (and push down the bee mounds), spike it to
improve drainage and then brush in a top dressing (to fill in bee
holes).
Q: Please
suggest a fast-growing plant to train up and hide a wheely bin.
There is not much sun and I'd like something
variegated. P.Willmott Cardiff
A: If you've space, fix some trellis first, to
start disguising the bin. Your best bet could be Pittosporum
tenuifolium 'Gold Star'. It is variegated, evergreen, fast,
doesn't mind shade, is clippable and bears lot of small, dark,
but highly fragrant flowers in early summer. My plant didn't
suffer at all during the previous harsh winter.
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