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Gardening Ideas May 2009

Post questions, comments and answers in the Gardening Ideas section on Candis Chat.

How do you get on with your other half in the garden? Do you choose plants harmoniously together, have a workmanlike division of labour or clash like the Titans? I'm convinced the happiest gardening partnerships are those based on artist and labourer. Naturally, I would like to be the artist and spend my time designing borders, raising plants and lovingly tending them. Meanwhile my ideal gardening partner would have a keen interest in DIY and willingly lay paths, erect fences and build pergolas, as well as taking care of the lawns and hedges. Unfortunately Mr.Swithinbank, my gardening partner of thirty years, loves his plants too (different ones, of course). The two of us struggling to garden in the same space has been like artists of different persuasions trying to paint on the same canvas. Long ago, after several years of throwing our tools out of the barrow and stomping off, we agreed to disagree. The garden is now divided into his and hers beds and borders, boundaries are drawn and peace is restored. May is a busy month and as we beaver away in our different sections, each genuinely admires what the other has created.

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Clippings

.....in the kitchen garden

• Sow runner beans (I start mine by planting seeds 5cm/2in apart in a pot measuring 17cm/7in across the top). Put up their supports (canes or hazel poles) ready for planting out later.
• Prune out unwanted shoots on cherries trained as space-saving fans or cordons, or they'll grow out of control. This is a great way to grow cherries, as it is so much easier to net the fruit against birds on small plants than huge trees.
• Grow salads by planting out young lettuce plants, sowing short rows of radish and spring onion. Buy and plant easy outdoor cucumbers now, training them up netting supported by canes.

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......in the flower garden

• Plant up beds and containers with colourful bedding plants such as abutilon heliotrope, petunias and verbenas, but remember they could still be prone to late frosts in cold areas. Protect with fleece or old net curtains if necessary.
• Check and improve the staking of tall herbaceous perennials as they grow. Heleniums, campanulas and achilleas may need extra ties or props as they develop, an easier job before rather than after they flop.
• Trim back aubrieta that has finished flowering on walls and rock gardens. A good shearing now promotes tight, healthy new growth for masses of bloom next year.

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......and in general

- Clip box hedges, balls and pyramids to maintain a neat shape. Laying a cloth underneath to collect the clippings is much easier than trying to rake them up later.

- Water new plants during dry periods, because they could be losing more moisture from their leaves than they are able to take up from fragile new root systems. Early morning is the best time, directing water straight to the roots.

- Look out for large-leaves lawn weeds such as dandelion and plantain, as well as spreading patches of creeping buttercup. Either winkle them out with a narrow weeding tool (or a screwdriver) or use a spot weedkiller.

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Q and A

Q: My parsnip seeds have barely germinated at all with just a few here and there. What can I do?

A: Buy new seed and as soon as possible, like yesterday, make shallow drills in the gaps and sow thinly into these. Water the base of the drills first if the soil is dry. Cover lightly, pat down gently and hopefully they'll catch up.

Q: We have a lot of empty borders in our new garden. What can I plant now to fill them quickly?

A: I would buy cheap, large-growing bedding plants like branching Cosmos bipinnatus 'Sensation Mixed', tall Lavatera Silver Cup' and clump-forming Rudbeckia 'Marmalade' for the summer, setting them a good 45cm/18in apart. Meanwhile, make a list of favourite longer-lasting shrubs and perennials to plant in the autumn