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
March Gardening News
Another month gone already, nothing particularly dramatic about it, no stormy punctuations, just a very mild grey block of time, a chilly wind and just enough rain to disrupt. Whilst there have been a few cold nights, it’s been the mildness that has brought the greatest confusion. The squirrels have kept busy, the magpies have been ripping twigs from trees for nesting and buds everywhere are swelling. This week when the sun smiled on us for a few hours, folk were starting their lawn mowers. As we move into March and the days lengthen gardening can start in earnest. I am busily trying to finish off pruning and have one or two bigger plants to try and move. Any day soon the sap will surge and plants will want to get going, so I cut and move in the knowledge that nature will swiftly bring repair to my disturbances. I may even find space for a few more bare root raspberry bushes too. (if you are buying anything bare rooted then you do need to get it into the ground smartly). This week I will be getting some more seed underway and last months sowing of lettuce and cabbage has already been transplanted. Keep the sowing light and regular especially with salad items, you just don’t want fifty ready on the same day. If you want to try celeriac then get it sown or you’ll finish the season with golf balls. Hold off with tender vegetables unless you have good, protected space. If you have that protection, then Tomatoes and Chilli’s can be started but it is too early for the cucumber and marrow families. As the days advance and towards the end of the month you can be getting some potatoes into the ground. At this stage don’t worry too much about the chitting, once in the ground un-chitted stock will soon catch up. If none of that appeals then you can be sowing a few flower seeds. It’s a good month for broadcasting some of the hardier annuals straight into the border, if the ground is clean. All of the cottage garden favourites can be scattered, cornflower, love in the mist, larkspur, candytuft and linaria will all take a hold quickly. And finally I am introducing a few more summer bulbs to the border. For sentiments sake I have some gladioli to put some bold height in and have eucomis and tigridia to bring a bit of exotic splendour. Check out bulbs. Happy gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
March Gardening News
The spiteful wind, that has been a feature of this month has dented the enthusiasm of the keenest of gardeners. It has scythed through every fibre, whilst nature has chosen to just bash on. Encouraged by the stubborn defiance of the dormant world to get back to business, I did sow seed in February and it has germinated. The first lettuce and cabbage are pricked out to trays. The days will race now, with the light extending and in just three weeks we will have our evenings released by the change of clocks. I am back to at the seed sowing and have set out a few early annuals in trays. Some subjects like Poppies, Californian Poppies and Nigella can be sown straight into the ground. Pansies, Sweet William, Calendula and Antirrhinums (which I’ve started) will cope with minimal protection, but subjects like Impatiens, Begonias and even Petunias will require a bit of warmth to get them going. Germination can be slow, so be patient and keep your compost damp. The vegetables are a bit more straight forward, even root vegetables can be started in pots or trays and most will grow in cool conditions. Don’t allow your enthusiasm to draw you in to planting Runner Beans, Marrows or Cucumbers though, all of these will perish quickly once chilled. Late April is soon enough to sow these subjects or you can wait until mid May for the plants which will be offered in most nurseries. Whilst I have potted a few early seed potatoes, I am going to set a few more and as the month draws on (probably in the third week), will look to get some into the ground. It won’t matter if (for your convenience) they all go in, as the varieties all tend to grow at different speeds, with second early and maincrop potatoes taking longer to mature. On the flower front you can also be planting summer bulbs, Liles and Dahlias will all benefit from a late March start and can be put straight into the ground or raised in patio pots. More broadly, finish pruning in the coming days and you can be quite brutal with some vigorous subjects like willow, hazel and cornus. And finally, Celeriac has become a very popular vegetable in recent years. It is easy from seed, but has a long growing season and needs sowing soon for best results. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
February Gardening News
And so to business! The distraction of COVID had disguised the advance of another month and there is a gentle easement on daylight. Nature teases and whispers of better days ahead. There is evidence of buds filling and bulb shoots are spearing out of the ground. In just two months we will be tweaking the clocks all over again. I think spurred by the successes and the distraction of last year’s garden, the populus are already looking to get gardening. It’s there to do and there’s plenty of variety. I am pruning and redefining a tired hedge at the moment, cutting away rubbish and slipping in bits of bare root hedging to fill gaps. My plan is to move on this month to finish pruning. I have some fruit to tidy up and towards the end of the month will cut back a couple of roses. I have a rambler that has gone mad. Whilst any regular roses can be cut back hard, I will be more modest with the rambler. With the sap on the rise, I don’t want the plant producing masses of new vegetation, so will just restore some order. I am going to get some onion sets and shallots out, indeed most bulbous vegetables are available this month including Garlic and Artichokes. Asparagus and rhubarb can also be considered. Rhubarb is a great plant to have around. It’s easy, prolific, edible and it looks good even in a border. Don’t rush to harvest it in the first season and with care you can have a crop that harvests for years. This month I will be seed sowing. Make a start on a few bits and pieces, it’s so uplifting. Vegetable seed sowing should be modest and regular, creating a succession of cropping. Everybody gets carried away, just sow a pinch at the time, nobody wants 100 lettuce in one go. Try running rows of different items across a seed tray on a window sill. Just fill a tray with some good compost and then create five or six lines across the width, depressing the line with your finger tips to create a shallow channel. Then spill a few different seeds along each line, lightly sweeping the compost back and firming over the seed. The method is great for lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and spinach. Lightly watered, you’ll see new growth within a fortnight. The journey has begun. And finally, remember, it’s just a game, sometimes we may lose, but when we win, what joy. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
March Gardening News
Wet, wet and a bit more for luck. My goodness we have had some rain. The ground is saturated, tough enough for gardeners, it must be a nightmare for farmers. It is very frustrating; you’ve really had to seize your moments to get out. Thankfully I did. I shifted a couple of shrubs, did some serious pruning and managed to sow a bit of seed. In the days ahead I will hope to finish pruning an apple tree and then I will hang out a Codling Moth trap. I had quite a bit of moth trouble last year, so a trap hung for two or three months will help to knock out adults ahead of mating. The beast is impossible to spray for and once the eggs are laid, trouble will follow, with emerging grubs diving into the bottom of young fruit and then eating their way out. I have some pricking out to do too, with cabbage and lettuce needing space. I will transfer them into a couple of seed trays for a few weeks and will hopefully have something fit for the ground around Easter. March is a really good month for sowing seed if you have space, you’ll need to be selective according to the space and protection that you can offer, but many things will grow now without extra heat. You can be sowing grass seed too, establishing new space or patching up old. It will germinate quite quickly and will be spurred by the changing of the clock to bring more light. You can continue to plant out onions, garlic, asparagus and rhubarb this month and they will be quick to show life. Towards the end of the month you can also get your potatoes into the ground and direct sow some salad vegetables. If you have any soft fruit or newly pruned roses, then a bit of top dressing with a general feed or even chicken pellets will be beneficial at the turn of the month. As the daffodils and winter pansies fade, you may want to bring some early colour back and many centres will have aubretia, pansies, anemones and violas to brighten the run up to Easter. And finally, consider growing the vegetable that you never have. Supermarkets do get plenty of bad press and certainly have a negative effect on the High Street, but they have created interest in a huge range of vegetables and many of them can be grown from seed at home. Try Celeriac or Kohl Rabi and sow it now. Re-join the adventure. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
January Gardening News
Hooray, the elections done, and we are all excited at the prospect of a new and bright beginning, well those of us who garden are anyway. I love packing up the old year and preparing for new adventures. The tidying up is taking forever though, the weather having been a tad challenging. The wet has been one issue, but the wind has been the real beast for me, it just cuts you in half. Anyway, progress has been made and a blank canvas awaits my attention. I have made something of a start, having planted some very late tulips, (that I picked out of a dump bin in a supermarket). They were cheap and will give a show in April. I am hoping to get in some bare root hedging in the coming days too. I’ve a strip of about 20 feet to close in. It awaited my attention throughout December. I will plant a staggered double row of mixed field hedging and will probably spend less than £20. Plants are dormant, so they will not mind the disturbance and as the temperature lifts and leaf appears, they will quickly look the part. Having had a fairly dull December, I am keen to stir new life and am getting some early sowing done, Antirrhinums and Pansies as well as carnations and sweet William will all germinate on a window sill at quite low temperatures, indeed my grandfather would have started them just under cold glass every January. These old varieties are great value, can be set out at the end of March and will perform for weeks. Some early vegetables can be started at the same time, a pinch of lettuce and summer cabbage will perform. All of these things will need transplanting to pots trays, when they have two leaves (after about two weeks) but their liberation as they are given space will see them romp. Kept cool they will reward. When time permits, you can be getting in the shopping in readiness, scouring seed racks, poring over seed potatoes and planting out onion sets and shallots. The nights are extending. And finally, as society becomes evermore focused on technology and gadgetry, make it your mission in 2020 to introduce a child to the mysticism that is the remarkable journey of a seed. As a kid I was spellbound by the wizardry of my elders. The extraordinary, under our noses and I was introduced at the age of 9. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
April Gardening News
Another interesting month passes through, with days of extremes, biting wind, torrential rain, blistering sunshine and hail that lay like snow. It didn’t exactly inspire confidence and the gardeners twitched, hesitated and then did what they do and battled on, it being after all the start of another season. Certainly, you have had to have your wits about you and then the clocks changed. New light just makes so much difference and the extended day allows us to play. As always there is plenty of squaring up to do and the lawns need to be pulled back to order. I have just set out a bit of grass seed too. It will get going fairly quickly at this time of the year. I have only run in a bit of hardwearing seed, it’s cheap and it goes a long way, I always think that grass illustrates the magic of growing really well, with a bright green sheen sweeping out within a few to transform space. I do sometimes use turf (and that too will take easily now), but the magic is different. I am trying to liven up a few pots at the moment and garden centre seem to have plentiful supplies of good hardy plants around, especially those that are perennial or biennial (and so will do more than one season). This year in particular Anemones seem to be in plentiful supply and for all the implied tenderness of the foliage, this is a wonderfully robust family, offering a mix of very jolly, strong colours. I have made the space. In all of the excitement of that colour, I need to remind you, that the garden gate is open and there is much to do. You can be sowing seeds for all sorts and often in the open, just check the packets for confirmation and there are plenty of plants around too. A good range of leaf vegetable plants, so cabbage, cauli and lettuce are all safe as are broad beans and peas. If you haven’t already done it, then your potatoes can go in any day and there is still time to catch up with onions. Before we know it there will be bedding plants everywhere. And finally, please don’t buy Marrow or Runner Bean plants, it is far too early unless you are going to grow them on for a month in a greenhouse, which I will not be. Astonishingly I have already seen some on sale. May is early enough. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
October Gardening News
The tide has turned and how very quickly, Autumn rushed in, the brutal heat of summer bringing the early surrender from an exhausted landscape. The trees tell of a desire to shed their leaves and rest. All across the garden there is a sense of shutdown. The harvest has been mixed, the runner beans cropping strongly but over quite a short season, the tomatoes outdoors have been amazing but are being messed up by the arrival of the wet, which is making fruit split. The cabbage, cauli and sproutings have also been tested as word of their availability passed to caterpillars, pigeons and aphids. I suspect these pests took in turns to hold up the net, for even when covered they were ripped and gnawed. But, we’re on to the next bit and we can be clearing away and clearing the way for over wintering crops. Salvage the last of your tomatoes to stand on a window sill to ripen and gather in leftover marrows, squashes and courgettes (cool and frost free they will store for some weeks).In the retrieved space Peas, Broad beans, Onions and Garlic can be set out and there are still some late greens and spinach to be found. Of course, if you have some shelter then you will still get away with a bit of sowing and certainly lettuce and salad leaves are worth a go. We need to be on frost watch now, so consider all tender subjects that you might wish to preserve. Frost is callous and treacherous, coming from nowhere and wreaking havoc. Geraniums and Begonias need shifting and may even be potted to continue showing off on the kitchen shelf, in fact many subjects can be transferred to give an extended show. As space is freed up bulbs and autumn and winter plants can be introduced, with pansies, violas, sweet William, forget me nots and many others being available in quantity. Take time to stop by a stand of bulbs and soak it up, then treat yourself to something. I just marvel at natures pallet and the carnival that heralds spring as the bulbs pop up. And finally get that compost heap topped up and if you haven’t got one, make one. It is hugely rewarding. Nature rips through the piled debris and turns into compost like nothing that you ever buy. Don’t make the job too sophisticated or complicated or you put yourself off…………just pile it all on. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
February Gardening News
Hooray, I can see the light. With January behind us, the spirit starts to rise, the extended days just 8 weeks away. The winter has been, well, wintry with a treacherous mix of conditions, changing by the hour. Every second person nursed a cough or a sore throat and whilst there were outdoor jobs that we could have tackled frankly it just wasn’t NICE. But brighter days loom and we can start to get back out there, even if we do need to tiptoe across the grass. There is going to be a bit of attention needed there next month, at very least a bit of prodding with the fork to move some of the wet. It’s looking like being a great season for moss. There’s enough in my lawn to service the Municipal baskets this year. So aeration, silver sand, lawn sand or even something heavier maybe on the shopping list. There is also a good deal of tidying up to do, so much rubbish scattered about, with plants and structures all taking a bashing in recent weeks. Whilst you’re tidying, if the mood takes, give the compost heap a turn, it too will have compacted down. It needs to breathe to be good and there will be some useful material to reward your efforts in the bottom of the bin. If you have any light ground that you turned in the autumn, then you can be setting out onion, shallots, garlic, asparagus and even rhubarb crowns. If you already have some, then rhubarb divides easily, so now is a good time to propagate or manage the size of the patch. Just set the blade of your spade on the crown and push it down, it’s very easy. Even the smallest pieces will re-establish, so spare bits can always be given away. Seed potatoes are about everywhere now and if you have picked some up, lay them out in a frost free location to spur sprouting. Just for fun drop a couple of early tubers into a pot of compost and see if you can get some new spuds up by May. As we turn out of February we can be looking at setting out vegetable plants, so this is a lovely time to start germinating a bit of seed. In shelter or on the window sill, pinches of all leaf vegetables can be started. Cabbage, lettuce, summer broccoli will all show within a couple of weeks. Seedlings will be soon be fit to prick out. And finally………welcome to another adventure. 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