July Gardening News
Well, we slipped through June without a scratch, the gardens were all planted up early as is still the norm in years of Royal celebration and the weather was ok. There was a curious undulation in temperatures almost on an hourly cycle, we would see changes that had temperatures rising and then crashing. The wind stayed keen and the rain, erratic, but things grew. The roses have put on a splendid early show, with Irises and peonies reaffirming themselves as my early summer favourites. I continue to marvel at the way nature can just sling together the most unlikely colour mixes and conjure something so joyous. Thus far pests and diseases have not caused too much havoc, although the snails did show up to maul our hostas and the pigeons have been about, though their attempts at raiding our greens thus far have been thwarted by netting. The first early potatoes are being lifted and are looking pretty good. The released space will allow a line of winter cabbage I think or perhaps some leeks. You will still be alright to continue salad sowing too. Small quantities of lettuce, radish, spring onions and beetroot will all still perform. If you are still looking for colour there seems to be plenty of bedding still about, with some larger plants bringing immediate life into dull spots. To get the best of what is already there, keep up with the tidying, dead heading and harvesting, occasionally rewarding plants with a spot of feed. Liquid tomato feed is a cheap and easy to apply all-purpose fertiliser, offering most of what the plant is looking for. Flowers love it. This month you can also be taking on a bit of pruning, blackcurrants can be repaired after fruiting and wisteria will be glad of a tidy up. Many early perennials can also be cut back and some like lupins will be encouraged to deliver a second display. The main issue is to discourage the production of seed, which is very draining on the plant. I slipped up though, with my rhubarb which decided to bolt, throwing a terrific plume of flower in a very short time. The seed of rhubarb is very viable and whilst the stem wants removing the seed will often grow like cress. And finally, there are still things that can be sown and this month I will sow spinach, which is a great extra winter vegetable and easy to grow. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
June Gardening News
Here we are three months into the ‘Odyssey of Covid’ an epic journey for us all. It has been both testing and at times joyously uplifting. People have talked to one another and there have been huge acts of kindness and of generosity. In parallel, there has been bubbling frustration and confusion, all presided over by nature as it just gets on. There has been a burgeoning commitment to gardening through the difficulties with people joining the adventure and trying their hand at all sorts. I am, as you will be aware, the promoter of the adventure and many have joined. So, what next? Well, I have been sowing seeds again, the summer vegetables are all looking good, but keep an eye for pigeons and the arrival of the marauding Cabbage White caterpillars. Each evening two wood pigeons drop in to see that my greens are covered over and the first butterflies are about. Both pests are very aggressive and will tuck into good green veg at the first opportunity. Look out for yellow cylindrical egg clusters on the underside of leaves and just smudge them with your thumb. With the crop protected look at the what next opportunities. This is a good month for quite a number of sowings. You can put in some late carrots and beetroot for autumn harvest and all basic salad can still be sown. Try Corn salad for over winter use and Chard and Perpetual Spinach will also take now. These two leaves are invaluable as a cut and come again winter veg. You can also be looking at Spring Cabbage seed too. On the flower front you may want to consider wallflowers and biennials like Sweet William (and a raft of other flowering items, just check the packet for the word biennial, you will be surprised by how many there are). The weeks have raced and the other thing to try if you can bare it is seed for winter pansies. Two months and we will be planting them. If nothing else keep up the general maintenance, feeding and watering in particular to ensure that you make the most of your spring labours. A bit of care and the garden will hold up to the autumn frost. And finally, Seed potatoes for Christmas are available this month. It’s a bit fun and a couple dropped into a pot will probably give you a few new spuds for the festive table. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
July Gardening News
Mmmmmmm…so we waited for the rain and then it came, the perfect fillip for new plantings. The beans romped and everything puffed up and grew masses of leaves. The turn around was amazing, at the start of June, the message was that rainfall was at an all time low and then within days the news is announcing three months rain in a day. It has resulted in a huge demand for canes and stakes and I just about managed to save our delphiniums. Anything not supported has taken quite a thumping. The days ahead will be full of restoration and maintenance. Baskets and containers will need to be clipped and tidied and then fed to rejuvenate them. So much water is very leeching, so much of the original nutrient is on your patio. Keep on top of dead heading too, diverting plants from devoting time and energy to seed production, which will encourage new flower bud. Many things are advanced and so it is equally important to keep ahead of the harvesting. Don’t allow things to get tough, everything will be made more prolific by your attentions. Courgettes do not have to be marrows ! Do feel able to continue with your sowing. Salad crops in particular will come through quickly, so lettuce, radish and spring onions, even beetroot will come up with the goods from seed and none of them need masses of space. Whilst you are in the mood for seed sowing, why not pop in some chard or perpetual spinach. They are amazingly resilient and sown now will offer quality edible leaf right through until Easter next year. I f you have space in the vegetable plot then be on the look out for some Spring Cabbage, which a really useful early season green. Then of course there is the lawn, it too has taken a bashing and whilst the temptation is to drop the blade and rip it off, be gentle. Skim it, leave it a couple of days and do it again. I understand the frustration at seeing the emergence of a million daisies, but hold back. And finally, as you pull up your first early potatoes, give a thought to Christmas. Just for fun select a few tubers, pop them on the window sill for a week or so to ripen and then replant them in a pot. With a bit of luck they may just deliver a taste of new spuds for Christmas. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
January Gardening News
Happy New Year! Yep, it’s the start of another one. December was a bit of a mischief wasn’t it? A few thumping cold nights and the first end of year snow for a while. Our big Christmas seller was fleece. It was at close, an interesting year. I always think January is an exciting month, a month for planning and buying in readiness for the new season. I spend hours poring over catalogues, looking for things that are new and different. As I mentioned last month most seed firms display their catalogues online, with paper copies becoming more of a rarity. The seed industry is flagging up 2018 as the Year of the Marigold for some reason, but the real growth in my eyes is with Petunias, there are an astonishing number and some really lovely varieties. If you are into your flowers check out Gaillardia Mesa too, what a delight that series is with some stunning sunshine shades. On the vegetable front, seed companies are promoting more depth in every area. One firm I looked at offers sixteen types of beetroot. Across the board, depth is the keyword, dozens of different Tomatoes, Chillis, Lettuce, wherever you look the choice is huge. Is 21 varieties of carrot in one catalogue a record? In my camp of course, the big thing is spuds and stock is arriving every day. Ok, I admit it, we get carried away with range too. This year my eyes are on ‘Kennebec’ a big potato with an interesting pedigree. The official catalogue description is ‘hefty’. The variety is favoured by giant veg growers, but don’t be put off it does have a flavour. If you want to actually plant something (weather permitting), then onion sets, shallots and garlic can all be considered as the month moves on and as always, I am playing with a pinch of lettuce on the window sill. If they are only nipped off for a sandwich, they will be appreciated. The new season is only days away. And finally, I’ve been looking at summer bulbs. We all do traditional autumn things, like daffs and crocus, but apart from Dahlias the summer bulbs are not well explored. So this year, I am going to play with some that I have never grown before and that will be wonderful, if they look half as good as the picture suggests. So Hymenocalis, Tigridia and Galtonia were all on my Christmas list. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
August Gardening News
Wow, that was a hot one! The dry spell was punishing, indeed quite debilitating for a day or so and just for a moment gardeners stopped. We sold a lot of ice cream. Every splash of rain raised the humidity too, which has been great for the pests and diseases. Crops have continued to grow, but in such conditions you have really had to be on the case with harvesting, with many things going past their best in a hurry. There were early beans that within days were going tough and courgettes that became marrows over night. So, the message is keep harvesting, even removing substandard material to encourage further production. The same rule applies to flowers, don’t allow them to waste energy on going to seed, just pick once a petal drops. Vegetative growth has remained luxuriant, but everything will quickly look autumnal if we don’t get some steady rain; your watering input is essential if plants are to see September out. Do try to feed too, plants are stressed and your encouragement will pay off. If you are up for some fun of course you can play with a bit of late seed and root crops in tubs are very manageable and results very achievable. Try carrots, beetroot, radish and spring onions. Close to the house and with gentle maintenance they will crop. With the carrots try Early Nantes. Normally grown (as you will have guessed) for early production they are very quick to mature. The other vegetable varieties are not so important, they will just do it. If you have room and enthusiasm then spring cabbage and spinach can still be planted. I really value these two items, which will reliably offer up strong greens for over winter use. You will have noticed that garden centres are showing bulbs, it is early, but if you want choice and quality buy them and cool store them until next month. Unless you are wanting to try once more to get Hyacinths for Christmas in which case you need to plant in the middle of this month. It’s crazy to be talking Christmas, but there you are, the winter pansies are on sale so why not. And finally, keep an eye out for blight and keep picking off those black spotted rose leaves. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
May Gardening News
April bounced along, in fact it flew once Easter had arrived. The late Easter was the starting pistol and we had the benefit of a few weeks of light evenings ahead of it to prepare. So many people use it as the start time for gardening, so there were many lined up for the charge and since that weekend trading has been lively. I say late Easter but in fact not as late as it can be, The date is determined by the first Full moon of the spring and in 1943 it didn’t happen until April the 25th in 1943. Anyway, it is all systems go now. The last of the spuds can go in, we can run successions of vegetables, keeping pinches of lettuce, radish, spring onion and beetroot going, pushing in summer cabbage and would you believe even planting sprouts. The real joy these days for me is that the supermarkets have introduced so many new vegetables. Well, not perhaps new but better publicised. Celeriac, Kohl Rabi and Flower Sprouts to name just a few. Celeriac is a long winded grow, but Kohl Rabi is a doddle and quick. As the month advances tomatoes, beans, marrows, courgettes and cucumber can all be put out. In the case of Tomatoes and Cucumbers watch out for late frost and be prepared to cover them with something overnight and if your garden is naturally cold then leave them in until the last week of the month. Beans and Peas in fact can be sown straight to the ground if you haven’t got plants (they germinate very quickly at this time). Try to give all plants space if you can, aphids and white fly are already busy and they are disturbed by the breeze. Of course all the bedding is about too and as with the veg, most things can be planted out. Here too there is a cautionary note, so do watch the night temperatures. Dahlias, Busy Lizzies and Marigolds don’t like frost much. I remember loosing every Marigold I had to a very late frost in the first week of June. And finally, look out for Chillis and heritage tomatoes. There are Chillis everywhere and even if you are not a fan,they are very decorative. The heritage tomatoes take you back to the ‘olden days’ when tomatoes really tasted and they certainly worth a space. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
July Gardening News
Once more the corner is turned, the longest day left behind and the fruits of our labour become ever more obvious. June in it’s passing brought us mildew and black spot, quite a number of early caterpillars and the pigeons haven’t given up on anything. The humidity has been a big issue for many crops, continuing to bring along disease, (so keep an eye on the spuds and tomatoes, it’s great weather for blight). An all purpose fungicide can be applied as a preventative, if the conditions continue. It’s also been perfect for midges and mosquito. I am not sure why, but they do like me. So everything is growing, although it has been a bit of a struggle with some of the root veg, most notably the carrots, many of which have found themselves pummelled into the ground and then baked. I think that it’s going to be worth doing some late sowing and if you use early season or short varieties like Early Nantes, I think that you can still expect a result, Beetroot will still make it too. More traditionally we can be sowing Perpetual Spinach and lining up the first of the spring cabbage. It always seems crazy to be making these plantings so early, but it does pay off. Spinach will be fit for harvest by autumn and with sensible harvesting can carry on producing long into the winter. If you have started to lift any early spuds, have a go at replanting a few for Christmas. Stick them on a window sill for a week to ripen and then pot them back into a pot for harvest later. It fun and can give you a taste for Christmas. The borders and containers will all be in full bloom by now, so try to keep them dead headed and watered across the summer. If time permits apply the same commitment to shrubs and roses too (many will repeat flower). Just a little effort will pay dividends and see your investment busy until the autumn. Pansy time will be back soon enough. And finally if you can find a quiet corner, sow a few Wallflowers and sweet William, both have been beautiful this year, but they do need a long growing season, so start now straight into the ground and transplant in late September. Enjoy ! Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
February Gardening News
Well, some slightly more seasonal weather around, with some spiteful wind pulling temperatures down. The water doesn’t want to go away though does it, everything is so wet. It is a very strange start to the year and you do wonder what will happen to all of the tender plants if we have snow, everything is soft and out of step. Everyone has been reporting the early showing of daffodils and snowdrops, but we have cowslips flowering and bluebells in full leaf. Anyway theoretically we have turned a corner and the spring is not far away. Easter is as early as it can be so let’s hope that it offers a springboard for a good season. We do need to start tackling something. Last months work will have rolled over in most households, so as space permits, Broad beans, Peas, Rhubarb, Garlic, Onions, shallots and Asparagus can all be planted out. Vegetables seed can be started, they will need some basic protection, a cold frame, greenhouse or even window sill. Hardy vegetables will not need heat, so you can consider Cabbage, lettuce, some late spinach or even a bit of Calabrese or Cauliflower. If you want a bit of fun try a few beetroot or onions in egg boxes. Put a pinch into each compartment and then drop the cells into the ground in four or five weeks. The trays will degrade and you will have some early salad. The potato season is in full swing and whilst it is still too early to set them in open ground, covered or raised in pots though they are worth a go. If you have a bit of protection or a window sill space, then you can also start off a few hardy annuals, Calendula, Carnations, Sweet Williams and Pansies can all be started now. They want very light covering with compost to encourage germination and a bit of polythene across trays will accelerate the process, though you must maintain a daily watch. The seedlings move quickly from sprouting to romping and they are a pain to transplant once they become leggy. If you fancy Antirrhinums then they too can be sown,but don’t cover the seed with compost instead lightly pat them to have them adhering to the compost lightly water and again pop over a bit of polythene. And finally if all of this weather is frustrating you, grab a packet of Nigella, a packet of cornflower, some Californian poppies and Larkspur, mix them all up together and sprinkle them into a border that is not going to be fussed over this spring. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
April Gardening News
So, the bleakness rolled on with an occasional punctuation of teasing sunshine that suggested momentarily that Spring was coming. The races passed almost unscarred with rain at the last, but there was spite in the wind and today it has moved once more to the east. The clocks have changed though and we have more light space. There is much to do and we must proceed with optimism. The seed potatoes can all go in now, no worth in staggering the planting, they will set their own pace (chatted or not). All of the hardy vegetables can be set out (though still not Runner Beans or Marrows, nor any other cucurbit). Salad stuff will also stand out and successions of salad roots can be sown. Sprinkle Radish, beetroot and spring onion between rows of heavier veg, they are not demanding and will all harvest ahead of their bigger neighbours. Tomatoes can be played with. They will be best undercover, but if you are feeling brave try something tough and old fashioned against a fence or wall. We used to put out a variety called ‘First in the Field’ which grew like a weed everywhere and which we always started early. Red Alert is also worth a try (it is always a gamble, but not high risk). Whilst you don’t want to be putting Runner Beans out, you can get the seed started and you can prepare the site for planting. Taking a trench out and back filling with well rotted manure or garden compost is worth the trouble, especially if as last year the season is dry. Organic matter retains moisture and will reduce the early dropping of flowers. On the preparation front, consider the protection of leeks and carrots either by getting organised with a mesh cover or by planting like the salad bits between taller veg. Both of these plants have suffered maggot attack in recent years so diverting or discouraging the fly will help. It’s also coming up to flower time too. I have just finished planting some new roses and have set out a few hardy bedding plants in the border. Things like Antirrhinums are very hardy and will benefit from an extended growing season. And finally. The first bedding heralds the changing season and prompts me to pull out my hanging basket for replanting. This is a job that can be tackled early even without constant protection. You just need to watch night temperatures and keep the frost off. If there is a sudden dip bring the thing into the kitchen overnight. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org