April Gardening News
Was there really a month of March? I think that I must have lost it somewhere, I guess that I was just too busy to notice it’s passing. I remember the tease of new buds and the rush to get my pruning finished, I remember the blooming splendour of Magnolias everywhere and wondering if, as last year a sneaky frost would spoil the spectacle. I remember too the first run over the lawn, the cough and splutter of the machine, chomping off six months of growth. That first cut is brutal and there is real joy as nature addresses mans savagery and restores order. In my case bare patches were highlighted and there is still time to sprinkle seed and bring about some repair. I will just scratch the gaps with a rake, sprinkle some seed and then tramp it in. April’s a great gardening month, the clocks have changed and the extended light brings new enthusiasm. The buds are popping everywhere and life is returning. The tulips are standing tall and poised to open and summer bulbs are being popped in to bring August colour. I have some new Gladioli to drop in and introducing Eucomis. It is an interesting subject to consider, it looks exotic with stems carrying pineapple like crowns of creamy flower and it isn’t difficult. The bulbs can be dropped in at about four inches and they will just get on with it. I am tucking into summer bedding sowing now too, with some bits going straight to the ground and others onto the windowsill. Almost any flowers can be sown this month, but consider the placement, some subjects will need to be protected initially. In the vegetable garden planting continues too and all of my spuds will make it to the ground in the coming days and I have some cabbage and lettuce plants to pop in. I am going to have a play with some vegetables in flower pots, there are a good range of seeds available for small space gardening, you just harvest smaller. Most seed companies are now offering a range and from previous experience I can report that carrots in pots are great. Ideally sow your choices into 10 or 12 inch pots. And finally, this year I am encouraging people to have a go with Sunflowers. It’s a small gesture, but the Sunflower is the National flower of the Ukraine and I want to display my support. Seed is very cheap, make a statement and find a space. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
January Gardening News
Here we are again. Another year older……but what the heck. Every year we reflect, on the highs and lows, it all started too wet and finished too dry, but overall not a bad season. So, the next one begins. It is all rather exciting actually. I have spent the last few evenings in front of the fire with my head buried in seed catalogues. There are just so many re-shaped, and new varieties on offer this year. I have never seen so many petunia varieties in all of my life. One catalogue alone is offering me six pages of them. There are climbing, crawling, trailing and upright forms, with both single and double flowers of every size in a big range of colours, including black, lime and orange. You won’t miss them. Fight your way through that and there are some rather special bits,and plenty that will come from seed. There are some good new salvias and do check out the gazanias and zinnias. Zinnias have had a troubled history and were notorious for disease, but they are so good these days. The other thing that you are going to see a good deal of are “plant recipes”, a very prescriptive range of planting schemes, illustrated to show that plants go together and that red, white and blue really can work. I am not totally sold into all of this, as it takes gardening a step closer to decorating and two steps away from the adventure of artistic expression, clearly some will find it useful. In the vegetable section too there are plenty of new introductions and I am particularly keen to try the seed raised shallots. I am hearing many good things about them and, like onions they are very straightforward. That’s just for starters, I have yet to open my 2015 CN Vegetable Seed catalogue. If seeds don’t float your boat, then how about potatoes (I must be great company in a pub don’t you think?). It is potato time all over again and with 7,500 varieties globally, I am always chasing new. The onion sets, garlic and shallots are all in, the rhubarb is pipping and the darkest winter night has passed. I am getting a bit of sowing compost in and will play about with sowing something, probably a pinch of lettuce and summer cabbage. Germination will be slow, they will come though and anticipation is the messenger of hope and the herald of a new season. And finally, if you need another herald, 2015 is officially The Year of the Sunflower, now there is a challenge for January! Happy New Year and Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org