April Gardening News
The darkness shrank and the light swept back across the land. A new spring has arrived and nature unperturbed by the turbulence of an interesting year, just moves forward. Buds have filled and are poised for the new start. Hazel catkins flicked lazily in the breeze above daffodils, snowdrops and crocus which all performed well, leaving the stage to the imminent tulip and bluebell festival. The weather continued to test delivering a challenging mix of hot and cold, the spiteful wind testing the fashion choice on an hourly basis. Meanwhile the early cherries perform, naked stems festooned in droplets of colour. It has been cold but so uplifting. The early sowing has germinated, more seed is sown and the first round of transplanting is done. Things are wanting to grow, I have lettuce and cabbage ready to go out and sweet peas standing proud in the ground already. Broad beans are surging ahead and I will plant more together with some peas in the coming days. This is a good month for seed sowing and germinated this month you will have good plants ready for May. You can get all of your potatoes in the ground now if you haven’t already done so and there is still time for Onions, garlic and shallots. April is also a good month for summer bulbs, so Dahlias, Gladioli and Lilies can be popped straight in, they do come in a range of sizes, so don’t allow limited space to deny you the chance to play. Be aware that there some very interesting, lesser known bulbs that are worth a space too. Freesia, Montbretia and ranunculus are available and if you fancy something different then take a look at Tigridia and Eucomis, both of which bring a sense of the exotic. I have already earmarked some for my own garden. Tigridia brings a carnival of colour to the border, whilst Eucomis, more muted in its colour is very regal. Do check them out. And finally, if nothing else consider the lawn. Most have had a very tough journey and the wet and warm has large swathes colonised by carpeting moss. I am not a big chemical treatment person, but there are products available to slow the moss if you want them. For my part I will be aerating (pronging) the ground with a fork to allow air in and then will deliver some feed later in the month. If nothing else get cutting. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org
October Gardening News
Here we are into October again, the journey through September interesting with early morning dew rolling off chilly nights. How quickly the evenings shrank too, night time squeezing away daylight by seven and we are still four weeks away from putting the clocks back. Whilst the autumn colours are only just showing, the gardens do look beaten up. Many things just never got started either, some of the bedding has been terribly disappointing with many people already replanted for the next season. The Pansy and Viola trade has been very boisterous and whilst the warmth is still in the ground planting can continue. Many will plant over the next few weeks and bulbs need to go in as do all of the autumn bedding subjects. There the chance for a final push on the vegetable plot, I still have onion sets, garlic and shallots to try and get in and I may even try my luck with a few late cabbage. Some of the cabbage is very hardy and will stand the winter and put on a final spurt in the new year in readiness for spring harvest. Do save a little space though, at the close of the month we can be setting out our over wintering broad Beans. Aquadulce are still the variety by most for over wintering, but any Seville variety should work just as well. You can also pop in a few peas to make the same journey, making some root before Christmas. This month is also the month that the keen sweet pea grower will be setting up some seed. We always used to start a few pots off. We used to use a bit of old fashioned John Innes compost and allow the pots to stand inside or out. The autumn start guarantees some robust early Sweet Peas, often showing colour in June. As the season turns, we are back on the maintenance duties. I shall be trying to apply a bit of time to spiking the lawn. It gets well compacted across the season and the damp retained in the top is already encouraging the moss. Just getting a bit of air into the ground with the fork will make a difference. And finally, the question on everyone’s lips………..yes, you’ve guessed it. When do I need to use bulb fibre ? Well, most of the time you don’t. Bulb fibre should be used when bulbs are being planted in a container with no drainage holes. The fibre will contain oyster shell, charcoal and some other element that keeps soggy compost fresh. If you are planting in open ground or in a drained container, you don’t need it. Happy Gardening. Chris Evans www.dundrynurseries.co.uk www.thebutterflygarden.org