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
August Gardening News
It can’t be August already surely? There has been a mistiness to the passing days, that has smudged the detail and had many of us puzzling over what day of the week it is. With the gentle easing of lockdown we will see clearer shapes and the return of punctuating routines. Thank goodness for the garden, which has continued to grow undaunted and there is harvest to reap. I’ve picked courgettes and beans, there are plenty of tomatoes and a continuous supply of salad leaves. The greens have romped too, although the need to be vigilant with netting has never been more important. The first cabbage white butterflies are around and the pigeons cast a cursory glance each evening to see if anything has been left unprotected. The flowers have been good too and in particular I have to mention my foray into the new world of garden hardy Gerbera’s, which have been fantastic. With care the summer looks promising for gardeners. Do keep on top of dead heading, feeding and watering. The watering issue is particularly important, the ground still seems incredibly dry and sulky plants don’t perform well. So keep a watchful eye, watering modestly on a regular basis. If you do have spaces around, then you can be doing a bit of seed sowing. Salad crops will all germinate quickly as will Kohl Rabi and all will harvest in the autumn. I often talk about Kohl Rabi . It’s very easy to grow and raised primarily for it’s bulbous crown, which sits above the ground. It can be steamed, roasted or braised, included in stews and is terrific grated in Coleslaw. It’s a filler. If you don’t want to be sowing vegetable seeds, but do have space, then Chard, Perpetual Spinach and Spring Cabbage plants are all around now. Incredibly in readiness for the autumn planting, we are seeing wallflowers, winter pansies and some biennials offered. These early offerings are for over wintering really and whilst early planting will build good roots, there is no rush. If you do want to treat yourself to anything, bulbs are starting to land in centres and the early bird will get the best pick. And finally, if you find yourself in the mood for a day out, head off to the Welsh border at the top end of Herefordshire. We recently visited the garden at Hergest Croft in Kington, which spreads across 70 acres and it is truly stunning. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
July Gardening News
The British climate doesn’t do half measures does it? Most notable through early June was the intensity of the sun. We all felt at ease about the planting, confident that the frost was left behind and then a fireball appeared in the sky and everything cooked. Any carelessness with watering saw things fry. Many hours were spent, just keeping things alive. Any late seed sowings were particularly vulnerable. Pea and bean seed shrivelled in the ground and late salad seedlings just fried. I had three goes at starting some summer lettuce, before I was able to celebrate success. Dedication to task has paid off and as June has rolled forward there has been some robust growth. The opportunity to sow seed continues and as we move through July. Perennials, biennials and vegetable seedlings can all be started, just think cool and set things off in pots and trays in a bit of shade. I try to sow perpetual spinach, spring cabbage and wallflowers in particular this month, lining up stock for autumn planting. Having identified that the gardening industry has (like so many) been chasing for stock, this year has seen a proliferation of quality in certain groups. I might have struggled to find fruit trees or rockery plants, but have seen some fantastic ferns and a delightful mixed range of big herbaceous plants. Do have a mooch about, there are some real treats. Recent sorties from the site have seen me buying Penstemons, heuchera and all manner of things from other centres for use in my own garden. A bit more maintenance for me and as the days roll on that becomes the keyword for gardeners. If the dry weather continues keep the blades up a bit on the mower to avoid scorching and keep things watered well. Feed summer bedding and vegetables, liquid Tomato food is particularly useful and easy to apply, it can be used on everything (it will really buck up baskets and containers). Keep dead heading as summer plants shouldn’t be wasting energy on seed production if you want them to perform until autumn and keep harvesting too. The first beans need picking, courgettes need to be cut quickly (you don’t need lots of marrows), the first potatoes will be ready and salads should be used before they bolt. And finally, check out the wildlife. The fields and hedgerows are bursting with life and I have never seen so many wild orchids. Nature always quick to upstage us. 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
September Gardening News
A whole season swallowed up by COVID and time to think about the what to do next in the garden. The Spring in the main was pretty good and the interest in gardening lifted hugely as people, locked down sought occupation. There were many new to the task and most I suspect will be pleased with their endeavours. The blackfly has been testing and the caterpillars fairly voracious, but with regular watering things have grown and flourished. Anyone who has planted French beans will be particularly pleased. Demand for colour has gone on and on, with big demand for late bedding. As the summer runs towards the autumn we wrestle with the start of the next bit. Autumn onion sets are arriving in garden centres and gaps are appearing on the vegetable plot in readiness. Spring Cabbage plants and Spinach (together with Chard) are all available. There is still time to sow a few seeds too, leaf lettuce, radish, rocket and spring onions will all still deliver. Winter Lettuce (like Arctic King or Density) as well as perpetual spinach will also come through. Keep on top of September harvesting, many vegetables will perform with encouragement and the worst thing is to leave things to get too big. So keep on top of beans, courgettes and tomatoes. I have been sowing one or two less common salad supplements and now have Claytonia, Celtuce and Corn salad on the go. The celtuce is particularly interesting, offering a salad leaf and a crunchy stem which can be steamed, stir fried or grated for salad. The stem is exposed as the leaves are plucked for use. I will keep you posted. As the month rolls on, we will consider flower borders, the pansies and violas are back, together with all the old favourites. So you can be planting Wallflowers, Sweet William, bellis daises and other biennial items and then there are the bulbs. Centres are full of them and the range continues to extend, as more new varieties reach the shelf. As usual I am hooked once more on tulips. If you have had enough of it all, or you just fancy a bit more lawn, then September is a great month for grass seed sowing. The days are shorter and the ground remains warm, so seed germinates quickly. And finally, Keep tidying up too, commitment wanes once the weather turns. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
August Gardening News
And then it was August. Completely bonkers, testing, amazing, uplifting and surreal. There are so many things that one could say about this extraordinary period and whilst it has at times been tough, I have had fun. The oft mentioned ‘playing’ has been at the heart of my journey and has reminded me of all that delivered me as a kid to gardening. I do hope that you have found the time to play too. Generally speaking, gardens have never been so good, though I must record that the rain came at the right time. Everything lifted and was refreshed. There was a cost of course, the weeds enjoyed the rain, the black fly have been dreadful and the pigeons hungry. The humidity is bringing in disease too, with many fungal conditions making themselves known. In particular there has been a lot of mildew and I think we will need to keep an eye out for blight. These things are not easy to combat. Thinning foliage to improve airflow can make a difference, but chemical applications need to be used as a prevention rather than as a cure. Around the garden the maintenance issues are key and harvesting is of real importance, leaving produce on the plant, blocks the way for the next pick and takes energy. So, keep crops picked and keep flowers dead headed to extend the season. Keep planting too. On the vegetable plot, we can still be sowing salads, extending the range to bring in mustard, endive, rocket and corn salad. We can still sow spinach and spring cabbage. There are still vegetable plants around and late sprouts and purple sprouting will still come through. Bulbs are arriving in garden centres and whilst there is no great urgency, the best ranges are there to buy in August. Certainly get organised with Hyacinths if you want to try your luck for Christmas. Pot them, water them and get them into a cool dark place to start the journey. They focus on growing roots when starved of light and will be ready for light after ten to twelve weeks. And finally, try taking some cuttings. Many bits of shrubs as well as geraniums and fuchsias will root now. Break a few bits off and give it a go. By the end of the month we shall see the first of the winter pansies. The year rolls on. 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
September Gardening News
So, that was summer then? What a strange month August proved to be, a real mish mash of unpredictable weather, that knocked over and knocked out. It tucked into everything above three feet, pushing over canes and cages and tumbling immature fruit. Not that the fruit issue worried me too much as pests have been active and every apple seems to have been visited by Codling moth grubs (the holes in the fruit announcing the departure of the overfed). Most things can be repaired though and the season of summer vegetables and flowers extended, with a prune, a bit of feed and the repair of support arrangements. Clip off the broken and damaged, even take out the tops of peas and beans and they will bounce back. Put your heel around winter veg to see it into the autumn. Sprouts and sprouting in particular will not deliver if they don’t have a firm hold. Have some net on hand too as the pigeons are already watching the domestic crop. Many gardeners are ready to move on and as we move into September, winter pansies and violas are back, as are many over wintering bedding items.Planting them now will set them up for a good performance through the darker months. There are some great autumn chrysanthemums and cyclamen around too and these will bring colour up to Christmas. Shelves are full of bulbs and it is worth buying this month whilst there is plenty of choice. Check out the labels when you buy, it is possible to create successions as varieties of many bulbs flower at different times. You can for example buy Daffodils and Tulips which are early, mid season and late flowering. So you can have colour from February to late April. If you like your bulbs it is worth the time. On the vegetable front, we are back in to the bulb season too, with Japanese onions, as well as shallots and garlic all appearing. You may still find a few greens about and it is worth trying your luck with Spinach, Chard and spring cabbage all of which can bring something else to the winter plate. And finally if you have space and nothing to do with it, then have a go with green manures. This is a range of vigorous plants, raised from seed which will quickly cover and smother the ground. The plants can be turned into the ground in the spring and as the name suggests improve it’s fertility. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
August Gardening News
Well, this year really is racing by. July has been an interesting month, the early weeks just a little too dry to bring out the best in things, but we may yet catch up. Certainly the warmth has been great for pests and when there has been a splash of rain all manner of things have turned up. We have seen plenty of Scale insects and woolly aphid, both of which have the armoury to confound treatment, unless you are constantly on the case. I do always look for the positive and in the case of these two pests, their lifestyle is worth reading into. The limpet like tenacity of the Scale insect is extraordinary.Your research will allow the frustration to be tempered a little in considering the remarkable diversity of life. Anyway, for the moment the trick is to keep up plant maintenance, watering, feeding, dead heading and ventilating. The more air that you get around undercover crops the cleaner you can keep them. Do keep on top of the harvesting too. The season is late, and many things are only just starting to perform. As spaces appear, we can do some infilling, spring cabbage can be put out and you will still get away with sowing Perpetual Spinach for winter harvest. There will be good space as the potatoes get lifted. In the flower borders very soon, we will be back on to pansies, violas, wallflowers and bulbs. I will certainly be putting in more bulbs this autumn. Last spring was great for all of them, with some wonderful colour. Daffodils and tulips were all fabulous and you will find something for every setting. The range of colours available in tulips draws from every part of the palette. All centres will be carrying stock now and you have three months to get planting but do start looking as choice items do sell through quickly. If you fancy trying your luck with Hyacinths or new potatoes for Christmas, now is the time. The Hyacinths must be purchased as ‘prepared’ and need doing by the middle of the month with pots being set in the dark. The potatoes just want popping into a bucket and lightly watering. And finally, August is a good month for dividing bulbous and tuberous perennials. So if you want a few more Irises or Day Lilies, push the spade through the clump and separate. 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