My Garden

Shiver Me Timbers..... Colourful Oceans Ahead!

Harlow Carr Gardeners — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 11:21:00 GMT

What a fabulous day we all had on our annual Pirate Day which traditionally marks the close of our family fortnight event here at Harlow Carr.

The Peoples Prize! Who will win?

Dennis van Wonderen — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:17:00 GMT

Only a few days left until the winner will be drawn, it's all pretty nail biting stuff... Visitors to the BFA Marquee at the Tatton Park Flower Show will remember voting for their favourite competitor in order for them to win a FREE bouquet of flowers delivered to their own front door for the whole of next year.

In just a few days the lucky winner will be revealed. Well folks,let me tell you, the tension is rising here in the BFA office. We're probably just as nervous as the unknown winner at the moment!! This prize worth £500,- is quite something to be sniffed at as a matter of fact, in more ways then one. Who wouldn't appreciate a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers in this gloomy times? As the press is having a field day with our global slow down issuing articles on a daily basis in the papers and on the news I honestly feel that we could do with a bit of a break now. Let's have some happy news for a change....

Phew-sha – what a show!

Jim Gardiner — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 13:58:00 GMT

It comes to us now just once a year, but when it does, it does it with a bang. Last week we held our annual Flower Show on Seven Acres at Wisley. The theme was fuchsias, and we had them inside, outside, all over. This tied in nicely with those that greet you as you approach the Garden from the the car park, guide you up past the Canal, and dazzle you in the Glasshouse.

Bank holidays - I love 'em

Geoff Hodge — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 08:43:00 GMT

You can't beat a good bank holiday to get loads done in the garden. Having spent so much time away recently, we spent all three days getting the garden back into shape and finishing off a few projects that we'd got part way through. One of my main objectives was to give the veg area a good seeing to.

The beefsteak tomatoes obviously were never going to do anything, so they got cleared out of the greenhouse, which made lots of room to space out the remaining tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and cucumbers. One of the aubergines has actually set a fruit, although I don’t hold out much hope of it getting to edible size this late in the season. The peppers are doing really well and we’ll have lots of chillies to keep us going through the autumn. Photographer Tim Sandall is having his own Chilli Festival in a few weeks’ time, so it looks like we'll be able to add to his endeavours.

In order to get all the grubbed up tomato plants onto the compost heaps meant that the finished heap had to be emptied and this was used to top up the beds and as a mulch around the rest of the garden.

Next job was to have a good tidy up of all the other crops – removing dead, damaged or dying foliage, remove spent plants, weed and generally make everything ship shape.

By the end of Saturday I stood back, lent on my hoe and thought ‘phew’ things are back to normal.

There was plenty to harvest and deal with. Although the tomatoes at home have generally been disappointing we’ve had a few fruit here and there and this weekend everything that was ready was harvested to make a rich tomato sauce, which along with some runner beans made a fantastic sauce for salmon steaks. The ‘Hundred & Thousands’ tomato plants have been cropping well and consistently and the tiny cherry tomatoes are great to eat raw and add a hint of sweetness to sauces. Sunday’s gourmet meal was pork with roast beetroot (red & orange) and carrots.

On Saturday we had a real ‘rock and roll lifestyle’ evening and spent hours cleaning, topping and tailing and peeling shallots and by the end of the weekend had six jars of them pickled and ready to store. Similarly the onions were cleaned up and put into store. Clare was a bit miffed as she was hoping to get three that were good enough to enter into one of our local shows next week but we just couldn’t find three that were the same size and shape. The potatoes that we harvested last weekend were similarly cleaned, sorted and put into boxes for storage in the garage.

As always, there were plenty of courgettes to harvest, so many so that Clare decided to bake a courgette cake. I realised she was baking, but hadn’t realised that it was courgette on the menu until I had my first slice to eat and noticed the green flecks. How was it? Well, it wasn’t long before I was tucking into my second slice; I think that answers the question! Moist & yummy is another answer; as you'll see I'm a real connoisseur when it comes to food.

By the end of yesterday the whole of the garden was looking much better, I’d moved a tonne of gravel, I ached all over, I’d eaten well from produce we’d grown ourselves, and was wondering why I’d been moaning about what a waste of time, money and effort gardening was a couple of weeks before! A happy ending to a happy bank holiday.

Good week for biodiversity.

Guy Barter — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:35:00 GMT

It has been a good week for biodiversity. While cleaning and sorting onions into those for late winter storage, ones to use before December and the rest to use as soon as possible, I saw, through the corner of my eye, a rather dirty onion get up and walk off. On inspection this unusual onion was a toad which had made a home in the cold frame where the onions are ripening. It crawled off into the herbaceous borders.

Then when lifting the mulching sheet as the last of the broad beans were cleared a slow worm slipped quietly from beneath the sheet into the adjacent strawberry bed. In fact there now appear to be slow worms under all my many mulching sheets - I have seen more slow worms this week than ever before.

Delightful dwarf daffodil

Graham Rice — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 20:41:00 GMT

As bulb-buying time is upon us, I came across this lovely little daffodil over on the Our Little Acre blog from Ohio - and it's available here too.

‘New-Baby' looks unique. It's a Jonquil, about 10in/25cm high, with slender dark green foliage and heads of three or four, occasionally five, 1in/25cm flowers. Each flower has a bright yellow cup backed by six white petals and here's what's special: the edge of each petal, at the base, is bright yellow, matching the cup. The result is a flower with real sparkle. Click on the image to see that delihtful colouring.

Frankly, I'm not quite sure how new it is but I've never seen it before and I'm looking forward to seeing it next spring.

Narcissus ‘New-Baby' (note that the name has a hyphen) is available from these suppliers: Miniature Bulbs and Choice Bulbs, Quality Daffodils and Thompson & Morgan.

Bank Holiday Weekend

Ian LeGros — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:50:00 GMT

Over the bank holiday weekend, Hyde Hall will be open daily from 10am and we have a number of special garden trails which will make your visit more enjoyable.

Koi fish

Ian LeGros — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:29:00 GMT

Regular visitors to Hyde Hall may have noticed that we have lost a number of carp, from the Top Pond, which have died as a result of Koi Herpesvirus Disease (KHV Disease). During this time we have followed the advice of the Environment Agency, Defra and the Centre for the Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), and closed the pond’s water course, and disposed of all the carcases through incineration. Following the confirmation of KHV Disease in the Top Pond a Designated Area Order (DAO) was placed on the site by Defra. The DAO prevents any movements of fish onto or off of the site. There are no implications for human health regarding the KHV Disease and it only affects fish of the carp variety. It spreads rapidly through the water during warmer temperatures and unfortunately there is no treatment or licensed vaccine to prevent or cure possible infections. We have posted information about the situation for visitors. Our pond is home to other species of fish not affected by KHV and some carp which might be resistant to infection. We have therefore opted to undergo a 4 year monitoring and testing regime under the supervision of Cefas. As our pond is a closed system, the infection is effectively contained. However, I’m pleased to say that over the past couple of weeks we have not had any fatalities and the Koi that remain appear to be healthy, so hopefully we are now over the worst. As a precaution all RHS Gardens have ceased accepting donations of fish from visitors, as the introduction of fish from other courses is a potential source of infection

Have you spotted us out & about?

Harlow Carr Events — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:13:00 GMT

Harlow Carr has been out and about in the last couple of weeks meeting and chatting to local gardeners and families - did you spot us?

Harvesting; where to begin?

Guy Barter — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:33:00 GMT

At last allotment work is easing off and the plot is mostly up to date. I have to say I am relieved – it has been a bit hectic harvesting and replanting at the same time.

With only six weeks or so of growing weather left, plants must not run short of nutrients. However everything looks mighty lush and only some weak, newly planted or pigeon damaged plants need feeding. Brassicas checked by pigeons, have had a second dose of calcium nitrate to boost growth and keep the soil alkaline. Where grow is not quite as it should be sulphate of ammonia has been applied, dissolved in water and placed at the base of affected plants with a watering can, to crops destined for autumn harvest; beans, beetroot, celery, courgettes and various salads and also in moderation to celeriac and leeks for winter harvest. Ground cleared of summer crops and due to be resown or replanted has received a boost of dried poultry manure pellets.

Garden open as normal

Harlow Carr Events — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:28:00 GMT

The garden is open again today as normal after the very heavy rain yesterday.

Stop Press Garden closed today

Harlow Carr Events — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:31:00 GMT

A sudden heavy tropical like downpour has flooded the main paths and the garden is now closed for the rest of the day. Check here for an update on conditions for Wednesday 20 August.

Exquisite new dahlia

Graham Rice — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:43:00 GMT

News from Ireland of a gorgeous new dahlia which Camolin Potting Shed of Wexford have on sale before anyone else.

‘Maya’ was raised in Holland by Kees and Aad Verwer of Verwer Dahlias, the good people who have been bringing us the superb Happy Single Series of dahlias as well as the popular dwarf double Gallery Series. (Verwer Dahlias do not sell direct to home gardeners). This is a more traditional Decorative dahlia, but what a gorgeous colour.

I won’t try to describe the delicate colouring, I don’t need to - just click on the picture to enlarge it. The flowers are about 15-17cm/6-7in across and are carried generously on plants about 70-80cm/28-32in high. ‘Maya’ makes a superb plant for a mixed border and a lovely cut flower.

It’s available to callers and by mail order from Camolin Potting Shed.

Umbrellas and umbellifers.....

Harlow Carr Gardeners — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:07:00 GMT

The umbrellas were up and down like yo yo’s last week at Harlow Carr. It appears the autumnal chill has descended over the country and the only glimmer of warmth is our success at the Beijing Olympics! We have done so well with our swimming medals, and you could have done a fairly credible backstroke in the stream in the gardens with all the deluges of rain too!. Still, the resilient plants are still flowering their hearts out, and despite everything providing a magnificent show to our intrepid, mainly sodden visitors.

Mixed fortunes

Geoff Hodge — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:28:00 GMT

Right! This is getting silly! I know each year in the garden is different – but I just wish they were different in a good way. Two years ago we were over-run with tomatoes, peppers, courgettes and aubergines and the freezer was swollen with ratatouille. Last year was the ‘blight year’ and tomatoes and potatoes took a bit of a hammering. This year – it has been beans all the way – in all their forms. But the tomatoes, peppers and aubergines…!

We’ve just come back from a holiday in the south of France – every day hot, sunny and glorious. And while I’m lying next to the pool trying not to become a British lobster I’m thinking it MUST be sunny back home and all the fruiting crops must be bursting with fruit. Luckily, the mother-in-law was house sitting so everything would be fed and watered as and when needed.

Ready, Steady, Floristry!

Dennis van Wonderen — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:59:00 GMT

It's been a while since my last post so here's some news from the BFA camp. Visitors to the BFA Marquee at the Tatton Park Flower Show were in for a bit of a shock when the floristry demonstrators started asking for volunteers from the audience for our Ready, Steady, Floristry! challenge.

After a brief introduction the volunteers were shown the item they would have to re-create following a short demonstration by the florist expert. What the volunteers didn't know though when they had stepped onto the stage was that they would only be given four minutes to create their masterpiece!

Exotic hibiscus – first time in Britain

Graham Rice — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:02:00 GMT

When we think of hibiscus we tend to think either of the hardy shrubs in which Notcutts have specialised for so long or we think huge and exotic... say Hawaii.

But Shelley and Robert Antscheri of Burton Grange Nurseries in Cheshunt in Hertfordshire realised that large-flowered, exotic hibiscus can be grown here. They have rooted cuttings and plants available for the first time this year.

Seventeen varieties of these amazingly exotic, large-flowered, tropical style hibiscus are available to grow as conservatory plants - and to grow out on the patio in summer. And those flowers really are huge, up to 25cm/10in across, and come in a range of vivid colours including red, pink, orange and white with a number of pretty bicolours and also a few doubles. ‘Bon Temps’, in yellow with a rich rose centre, is illustrated above, while ‘Magnifique’, below, is a wonderful swirl of strawberry ice cream. Click on the images to enlarge them.

"We are a small family-run nursery specialising in growing and selling tropical hibiscus rooted cuttings and mature plants," Shelley told me. "We originally sourced our very unusual varieties from Florida, and we now create the cuttings and plants from our own mother-stock.

"We are the only commercial growers of these varieties in the UK and so far they are largely unheard of by the general public, although we are doing everything we can to change this! We have secured a small programme with Marks & Spencer this year.

There's more information about these spectacular plants and how to grow them, plus and a very tempting picture gallery, at the Burton Grange Nurseries website where you can also order online.

Access to Rosemoor - Road Closure 26 August

Rosemoor Garden — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:41:00 GMT

Please note that the A3124 from Great Torrington to Rosemoor will be fully closed from approx 8am – 5pm on Tuesday 26 August, for an unsafe tree to be removed. South West Highways will have the relevant diversion signs in place for this.

The A3124 from Great Torrington will be down to a single lane, operated by traffic lights from Monday 18th - Wednesday 20th August.

It’s time to get lost…..in one of our mazes.

Jim Gardiner — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 12:47:00 GMT

Kids go free at Wisley this month, and families have been positively swarming through the gates, attracted by a host of activities. Among them are our mazes.

Plant of The Week

Harlow Carr Plant Centre — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:54:00 GMT

Buddleja

Three new roses

Graham Rice — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:32:00 GMT

There are almost seventy new roses in this years RHS Plant Finder and I was especially taken with Lucky (‘Frylucy') which I wrote about last month over on my plants blog from the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show and which is the Rose of the Year for 2009. But there have been even more launched since the Plant Finder went to press - and these are just two of them.

From David Austin Roses comes Wisley 2008 (‘Ausbreeze'). "This is a rose of exceptional delicacy and charm, perhaps more so than any other rose we know," says the man himself and he's raised a good many beautiful roses so it must be good. Flowers in perfect rosettes, delicate colouring, elegant arching growth and, I noticed, a lovely scent which is described as "a delightful, fresh, fruity fragrance with hints of raspberries and Tea". This replaces an earlier rose named Wisley which turned not to be sufficiently healthy.

You can order plants of Wisley 2008 from David Austin Roses or look out for it at the RHS Wisley Plant Centre (no mail order).

Pungent wheels

Guy Barter — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:11:00 GMT

People are even more reluctant than usual to ride in my car now carting home the alliums is in full swing. Last year my garlic, onions and shallots were so disappointing that an emergency leek planting session had to be undertaken to have enough alliums for the winter. Not so this year, although I have still planted an improbable number of leeks.

The spring planted onion sets and shallots have fallen over and dried off – they have come home now, to ripen in the coldframe, to make room for the last of the leeks. They were grown through white faced black polythene salvaged from the ‘Taste of Autumn’ Wisley event. This kept down the weeds and reflected light back up into the foliage. I have been a bit sceptical about this white polythene but I really think it has benefitted this sun-loving crop. With no need to weed and hoe there is no need to space plants widely or in rows. Therefore the onion crop was set out at a high density with about 10cm between plants. The onions are on the small side of course but there are a very great many of them, all about 6 - 8cm in diameter which is fine for home use. On the other hand the white kept the soil cooler delaying maturity by two weeks compared to black polythene, but I think the yield is better under white.

There was virtually no bolting suggesting I could have planted a fortnight earlier for a bigger crop.

In the coldframe they join the over-wintered crop, which being planted much more widely are very much bigger, although the crop per square metre is smaller than for the closely planted spring onions. ‘Setton’ and ‘Sturon’ were the main spring planted onions and cropped very well as usual and were joined by newcomer ‘Stur BC20’ which seems just as good although it is hard to say if it is better. A new red onion ‘Red Supreme’ seemed to have the edge on good old ‘Red Baron’. A white onion ‘Snowball’ also did well, but is so pungent as to be almost unusable. Perhaps it will come at you less fiercely after storage.

Official onion trials suggest some good newcomers for 2009: ‘Reddawn’ and ‘Red Emperor’ are reported to be very promising and two sets with good disease resistance may be available to gardeners soon. By some fluke of dry weather in June onion downy mildew was less damaging this year but is a scourge against which the gardener has no defence.

As ever ‘Senshyu Semi-Globe Yellow’ and ‘Radar’ were reliable over-winter and the red ‘Electric’ is completely reliable unlike older over-wintered reds.

A wide range of shallot cultivars were grown from onion-sized ‘Red Sun’ and ‘Hative de Niort’ to funny little ones whose label I have yet to uncover from beneath the black landscape fabric mulch through which all the over-wintered onions, shallots and garlic were grown. Some of these shallots were set out in spring to replace onions that failed over winter and have filled in the gaps productively.

To harvest the onions and shallots the sheet is lifted and those bulbs that don’t come way with the sheet are gathered up. I was pleased with myself for planting beans, courgettes and pumpkins into the maturing onion crop to get an early start but of course I cannot now lift the sheet and each onion has to be laboriously inched out without disturbing the following crop.

Garlic has all been gathered with ‘Early Wight’ and ‘Solent Wight’ making a heavy crop despite the severe rust disease and ‘Moldavian Wight’ being very much smaller, but supposedly tastier. I am not sure about that.

Bean (and pea) feast

Guy Barter — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:34:00 GMT

Peas and beans are the mainstay of my midsummer allotment crops; Pea ‘Ambassador’ grown for shelling produces two pods per node on tall leafy plants that put up a good fight against weeds. The pods this year area little short – it is always much better to have 10 peas in a pod than 6, as shelling is so much easier. ‘Balmoral’ has longer pods and lots of them but on shorter plants that compete less well with weeds. However, the edible podded snap pea ‘Cascadia’ is the most productive pea, which again grows tall and leafy, is delicious and I could grow only one pea this would be it.

Peas are not very high yielding. Official yield figures for peas are about 400g every square metre and broad beans are much the same, while dwarf French beans yield nearly double at about 750g and I would guess that edible-podded peas approach dwarf French beans (no official figures are available). Climbing French beans probably crop a little more heavily but nowhere near as much as the 2000g produced by a good crop of runner beans.

Like the pea season, the broad bean season is on its last legs. The main crop of ‘Witkiem Manita’ sown in March is nearly finished, the follow on crop of small seeded ‘Scorpio’ has been gathered and the final sowing of ‘Witkiem Manita’ has set a good crop and is just going over mature. Scorpio has very tasty small beans, but I still think the bigger, more vigorous, ‘Witkiem Manita’ gives the best results overall. If my eyes don’t deceive me this is the bean used for the August supermarket crops of broad beans and I hope to get similarly good results at this difficult season. Old books recommend ‘The Sutton’ for this period but I was deeply unimpressed by its late performance last year, although it gave fair results from an over-wintered crop.

The French beans raised indoors in April have been gathered. The direct sown beans from early May are almost over and the May sown is in flower now, while the June sown crop are 20cm tall but have yet to flower. As dwarf French beans are much the same in my view I just bought one big bag of 'Scuba' with some purple 'Royalty' for pretty.

To follow them July-sown yellow and purple climbing French beans are climbing their wigwams and to follow these late sown runner beans have reached the top of their canes

Both peas and broad beans are being cleared away now with time for a second crop before winter. It is well to have plenty of plants on hand to follow on, and my stock of cell trays has been re-sown with courgettes, cucumbers, beetroot, calabrese, cauliflowers, herbs, kohl rabi, oriental greens, and salads ready to go out into the newly cleared ground.

In the meantime courgette, French bean and runner bean seeds have been dibbled with a length of 25mm dowel through the holes in the landscape fabric through which broad beans have been grown. It is amazing how well seeds germinate under this treatment as long as they have some slug control applied at the same time. Without cultivation the soil has lost no moisture and the soil compacted by the dibber and the subsequent consolidation of the soil over the seeds by a clenched, gloved fist leads to rapid germination and growth, while the landscape fabric keeps the ground weedfree. If all goes well, and remains deer-free, these will be cropped in October. A covering of fleece boosts temperatures by a couple of degrees and excludes deer, which happily appear insufficiently enterprising to push aside the fleece.

Summer came and went

Guy Barter — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:31:00 GMT

The fleeting spell of hot weather after Tatton Park Flower Show made all the difference to my allotment..

For weeks careful watering and feeding to ‘push’ tender crops has been needed to make sure they develop enough roots and leaves to take advantage of summer when it arrives

Sweet potatoes under their low polythene tunnel have gone from weedy plants covering a tea tray’s worth of ground to cover over a square metre. In fact they are in danger of over-heating so the tunnel was pulled back and water applied to the landscape fabric mulch through which they are being grown. They got a really good soak and this might do them for the year; until mid August anyway. Abundant water can lead to lots of leaf and rather watery tubers, so they are being grown hard for smaller, but tastier tubers.

Tomatoes have gone from thin and willowy to thick, dark green plants with large trusses of fruit. Sweet corn from pallid and wispy to dark green and luxuriant. Climbing french beans have arrived at the top of their canes putting on a spurt of growth. Dwarf French beans are in full crop. Cucumbers have burst out of their fleece tunnel. Peppers have formed a heavy burden of fruit in their fleece tunnel. Unfortunately courgettes the size of my little finger when I left were only fit for the compost pit.

My numerous pumpkins and squashes have grown from plants you could almost fit under a bucket to sprawling monsters making their move on the nearby soft fruit

As usual in high summer one other, much less welcome plant has shown its appreciation of the hot weather; Galinsoga AKA gallant soldier or kew weed. This extremely virulent South American weed loves heat, is not at all put off by dry soils and whole regiments of it have sprung up, especially in the root and brassica crops. It had to go, but at least the weather was fine for a crawling though dusty crops pulling this stubborn weed out one by one.

YO HO MI HEARTIES!

Harlow Carr Gardeners — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:04:00 GMT

There be pirates at Harlow Carr!