December; a season of gifts

"Mummy, Mummy - that's the man who lives in our tree house!"

I felt I had finally made it into the local children's folklore. It made my morning and bought a long chuckle to my client too as her daughter pointed to me in awe. I momentarily considered becoming an unlikely extra in "The Hobbit".

Sometimes we seem to get "gifts" from the most unexpected sources. At a time of year when we are about to pour millions into the economy by buying presents that we often don't need, it is worth keeping our antennae up.

My allotment is looking pretty desolate - but the colours of the crab apples are stunning; even in the gloom they seem to glow. There is a mysterious purple to the shrubs in the evening. The cotoneasters and pyracanthas come into their own and the hollies are usually alive either with birds or berries. All beautiful and inspiring.

Winter scent can be bought into the house with cuttings of Mahonia, Witchhazel, Viburnum fragrans and a number of others; put them together and you will have the most dramatic arrangement on your kitchen table.

Even the much maligned Privet hedge can be raided for it's bright leaves; mix them with some dark evergreens from your boring laurel hedge along with bright stems of dogwoods you find out on a walk later this month and you will have the framework for an arrangement. I am no expert but there are a thousand ways you can go on from there using silver spray and ribbons.

December top-tips;

• If you are planting a tree or shrub in a particularly wet patch then plant in a mound slightly above the soil level. This will prevent the roots becoming water-logged
• On that note - you may have areas that become a muddy mire in winter. Don't go to the gym; get out there with a fork and jump on it at 150mm intervals to improve the drainage. (Then have that glass of wine).
• That climbing rose you were given last century can be renovated in stages; cut out a third of the stems now and then the same in the following years and it will show new vigour.
• As the frosts begin to come in wrap up the more tender plants that will take a knocking. Some plants ( such as the climber Passiflora and some Clemetis) will die back a bit but pruning them in spring is fine and no real harm will be done. It is the more tender species such as Abutilons and Yuccas from hotter climates that can suffer permanent damage so hessian, fabric or fleece will all help.
• Remember; it is the damp not the cold that will kill off perennials in the winter months so aerating the soil as well as the lawn may be necessary. The long-term strategy for this is to add organic matter and even grit to damp borders or better still - plant species that love their feet in moisture.

My experience is that it all gets a bit mad at this time of year. The real gifts for me are things that come in an unexpected way. Are my ears, eyes and hands open?

Am I really ready for gifts this Christmas?

November; Bonfires & beer

Gardeners are a funny breed.

I was sitting outside a pub in the sun yesterday afternoon drawing breath when a seasoned gardener drew up. ( It was my way of preparing for a hard 80 minutes against the All Blacks).

I waved in a hale and hearty manner."Lovely day isn't it? Good to get this sun!"

He shook his head; "Too warm for me. I prefer it cold - all this global warmth is no good for me. We need a good cold snap - that's what gets all the leaves off all the trees in one go, none of this sweeping them up for a month". I did my best to grin; "Well I like it" I said weakly.

He looked at me as if I was the typical Johnny-come-lately romantic gardener whose hands and now whose head was going soft. ( He is right of course ). "Well you rake leaves for a month and then tell me that". I left him to his pint hoping that he would spot that his glass was half full before it became half empty and that we probably won't be seeing polar bears in Hampshire quite yet.

The warmth certainly has gone on - and what a blessing. But it means that bugs and diseases are more likely to remain and bare-root planting should be delayed. There is still time to lift and divide herbaceous plants, to enjoy late flowering perennials and to be able to work in borders without tramping the life out of them when they are water-logged.

So now the rugby is over and half-term almost done;

• Enjoy a bonfire to burn all diseased cuttings and leaves such as black-spot on roses and coral spot on twigs that are dying back.
• Get all the leaves off the lawn and off the pond either to compost them or burn them if mildew is appearing.
• Plant out your Tulips where you know colour will be needed in the spring; you can still plant daffodils and many other bulbs.
• Bare-root hedging and trees can be "heeled in" by digging small trenches and covering the roots with soil. They can then be easily lifted to plant out when the time is right.
• Plunge into that compost heap you have been patiently filling with tea bags and potato peelings. Clear all your well-rotted compost ( hopefully with all the worms too) onto your borders and veg patches to make space for another filling this year.
• Check that all your tree and climber ties are not too tight or too loose; it is amazing how easy it is to forget such a simple task. Ties that are too tight will restrict the bark that is essential to growth. Ties that are too loose will make your trees and climbers vulnerable to wind damage in the winter.
• Now is the time of year to prune Acers as they are prone to bleeding in other months.

I like to add well-rotted manure to borders at this time of year too. It takes several months to break down so the nutrients are available to the plant in spring and humus would have worked it's way into the soil by then too. Roses particularly benefit from this.

Maybe not mention red roses and rugby shirts for a while. Perhaps my grizzled colleague was an England rugby fan and that was why he was so grumpy. I didn't ask though he did seemed to have cheered up after a few pints when I passed him on the way out.

Just don't mention global warming, the weather or the war.

October - making the most of the sunny days.

Oh Joy of Joys !

Not only do we get to see a glowing moon, but we get the promise of some sunny days - oh sing choirs of angels!

We are on bonus time of gorgeous blue skies ...which means time to catch up on unfinished tasks and a spot of sun basking.

But before you begin the work just take a close look at some of the shapes and colours that are emerging. Extraordinary. The light is less glaring at this time of year which accentuates the shadows. Somehow the quality of the light brings out the best of the textures and tones.

Orange and blue are opposites in the primary colour wheel which means they show each other off. (It was this colour wheel that helped bring on the Impressionist art movement; colour contrasts, compliments and hues were studied and used to dazzling effect).

Did you know that it is the unwanted toxins of the plants that create the bright Autumn colours in the leaves of deciduous plants? What a fabulous use of waste. I wish I could be so creative though I did get pretty excited at the quality of my kitchen compost after I added a handful of earthworms and some spadefuls of soil. Sad I know - but there it is.


Top-tips for October

• Get your spring-flowering bulbs planted planted but leave the Tulips for another month as they are susceptible to something called tulip fire ( no - you don't need a fire-blanket).
• Fallen leaves may look charming but won't do your lawn any favours - sweep them off asap if you want to keep the good looks. There is still time to scarify, spike and top-dress.
• If keeping the lawn 'beautiful' under the trees is too time-consuming then consider planting bulbs and allowing the grass to grow longer. You could add wildflower 'plugs' in spring.
• Keep your very woody prunings separate from the softer ones ( leaves, unwanted veg etc). Nothing like a bonfire for the woody pile and nothing like adding soft leaves with soil to the compost bin. 
• Ash from bonfires offers plenty of Potassium for next years growth which strengthens fruits and flowers ( which is why traditionally it was put around the base of roses and in orchards).
• Well composted garden and soft leaf waste offers plenty of Nitrogen for green growth but importantly improves the quality of the soil.

And don't stand too near the bonfire when you are taking in those yoga-like healthy deep breaths or you will end up like I did this weekend - doubled up and gasping for air whilst pretending that you meant to go red in the face to match the emerging Autumn colours.

                             

September; it's a garden Jim, but not as we know it.

I had a bit of a shock coming back from my mini-break ( no - that's not my garden above).

Shrubs bent double, bedraggled roses and where there had been glorious life - a rather messy heap of fading flowers. The rain on a bank holiday in a rather gloomy afternoon didn't help.

It was a garden - but not as I left it a week ago.

I think my surprise was also due to the fact that a few days earlier I had been at one of the finest period gardens in England - Kiftsgate Court Gardens in Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire. They had had exactly the same weather but somehow they had managed the changes better and got it right.

So what were they doing that I was not?

Here are some observations that you might find helpful;

• The roses ( including the famous 'Kiftsgate' variety ) had been ruthlessly cut back and where sensible had been carefully dead-headed. All the energy was therefore going into producing and sustaining the second flush of blooms. 
• The tall herbaceous plants that were likely to collapse had been staked up - often with fanning Hazel or Birch twigs which blended into the borders.
• Dying herbaceous stems and blooms had been removed to prevent mildew.
• Shrubs that were likely to collapse into an unattractive heap after heavy rainfall (such as Hydrangeas) had been kept to an appropriate size by good pruning earlier in the year.
• The fading leaves had in some instances been allowed to remain on certain plants due the interesting colours and textures they were offering.
• Timber duck-boards had been put on the grass paths where water collected so they didn't become a quagmire.
• There was still a thick layer of mulch preventing weed growth in areas that would otherwise have been difficult to reach with a hoe.
  
  

Of course we don't all have acres of gardens and a team of gardeners to work one''s land. But applying these principles will help keep the good looks of the garden. 

Finally - a reminder of other jobs for September ;

• Raise the level of the blades on your mower as the grass growth is slowing down.
• The soil is still warm and becoming more moist - absolutely ideal conditions for planting everything from trees to perennials.
• Now the birds have finished nesting you can cut back deciduous hedges such as Beech and Hawthorn. 
• Give your evergreen hedges a final trim before the cold sets in.
• Keep deadheading tender perennials in order to extend their flowering season.
• Put netting over ponds in anticipation of the leaf fall.
• And the bit I enjoy the most; start leafing through your catalogues to plan your autumn bulbs and winter planting campaign.

Who knows - we might even get an Indian summer? We have had the hottest summer on record I am told. But try telling that to the ducks.

August. Don't worry - Bee Happy !

Am I becoming the 'Mr Bean' of the allotments?

In the past few weeks I have had more pleasure out of my Bee 'meadow' ( a slight exaggeration of size) than, well, just about most other things.

Sad, but true. And all I did was buy a £3.95 pack of 'Bee-friendly wildflower mix' from my local 'Homehardware' store and three months later I am purring with delight at the results. Not only do I have a spectacularly colourful patch in my allotment but I have all the pleasure of watching nature do her bit in style. I might just also be responsible for saving the entire global food chain too of course. 

Blues, reds, yellows, different shades and textures - all because I knew I didn't have time to dig over that corner of my allotment this year and wanted an easy solution. There were a number of months from sowing in April where there was nothing showing so if you try it you need to be patient. Clearing the ground of aggressive weeds such as ground elder, bindweed and horsetail will help a great deal. Don't add fertiliser or compost as wildflowers flourish of 'poor' soil.

So when not gazing smugly on my 'meadow' there are plenty of other jobs to do...

Tasks for August include;

• Cut your conifers hedges now as you risk 'die-back' if you leave it later in the year. Conifers can be very unforgiving of bad haircuts so do not overdo it or you will permanently have a dark bald patch.
• Trim your lavender plants but again - be careful not to overdo it. Only take off 1" (2.5cm) of growth when you dead-head them as anything more can kill the plant - especially the more tender varieties such as French lavender.
• Ponds can become choked with oxygenating plants in warmer weather. Keep this in check by raking out excessive growth and look into organic ways of maintaining the right 'balance' of chemistry in your pond. Adding barley straw, more plants and better cleaning methods are all options.
• Iris will divide and take well now and are best broken into 4" (10cm) lengths.
• Our old friends the slugs and snails will still be doing their thing oblivious to the distress caused to the sensitive community of high minded gardeners. I was reminded that half-grapefruit skins placed cut side down work well as do small receptacles of beer buried at soil level. 

If the last item isn't humane pest control I don't know what is. 

What a way to go - but I would probably miss my bees.

July ; Holding your nerve - a gardener's Waterloo.

It's a tough, merciless world out there in the garden.

"Hold your nerve" came the deep voice from behind me. I thought I was in a battle of Waterloo scene from one of the many recent documentaries.

"Don't spray, don't interfere and don't fret". 

I couldn't argue with the seasoned gardener whose own veg patch was a testimony to years of virtuous gardening. "Let the ladybirds deal with the aphids and the frogs deal with the slugs..."

I also noticed rows of Calendula and Marigolds adorning beds where pesky pests might chomp their way through tasty produce to distract them from their dinner. Clever.

To my astonishment and delight I have begun seeing ladybirds in action all over the place though another friend tells me in disappointed tones that her frogs "don't like the slugs in her garden". Maybe they are the French ones. My friend is also going to build a pond to nurture different frog's spawn and some "insect houses" to provide shelter for overwintering insects. A sort of Holiday Inn for homeless bugs. 

But when not getting down to a bug's life there are other ways to spend your time in the garden this month;

• Trimming evergreen hedges (including conifers). Don't use hedge trimmers on broad leaf hedges such as Prunus Laurocerasus as you will end up cutting the leaves in half often leaving the remainder to die back in a rather ugly manner.
• To get the best out of your fruit trees and bushes try to water them regularly. If you can add mulch around the base ( straw or chippings or similar) and water outside sunshine hours the moisture will last a lot longer.
• Dead-head roses. This will encourage new blooms later in the season. Cut back to the next "node" or joint.
• Compost heaps benefit from being "turned". This increases the oxygen levels thereby encouraging bacterial activity. Some moisture helps too; I add a watering can or two in very dry weather.
• Use liquid fertilisers with a high potassium content on fruits and flowers to get the best out of them. Tomatoes, showy plants such as Dahlais and roses all respond surprisingly well to this.

And finally - if you have ever despaired of ladybirds taking a liking to your garden (and your aphids) you can always resort to using soapy water or old washing-up water. A squirt of washing -up liquid into your watering can is all you need. The soap and detergent clogs up the aphids "breathing" holes in their bodies so they suffocate. 

I told you it was a tough, merciless world out there. Better have un petit bier.

June; Smart plants and smart phones

There is a question I dread above all others...

"I have just been to the garden centre and spent a fortune! Look - what do you think?"

A split second of hesitation, deviation or repetition spells disaster. 

"Well, it's, it's, it's very...colourful". I can't win. "What do you mean? Are you saying you don't like it? What's wrong with it? I know you don't like it..it took me ages, I can't believe it!".

The wound has been inflicted and bang goes the glass of wine and next year's Christmas card.

The trouble is that all too often and in fits of enthusiasm merry gardeners speed off to smart garden centres. Buoyed up by fine weather and images of Monty Don fresh in their mind from last nights telly they proceed to spend the equivalent of the GDP of Norway on plants.

Further discussions with enthusiasts I have wounded ( who are probably still in therapy because I now remind them of their cruel Sunday school teacher ) will reveal that I am not against garden centres or enthusiasm. It's just that an understanding of a plant is vital to their success. So..... 

• find out where the plant actually comes from (not just B&Q). If it is from semi-shaded woodland (foxglove) or open chalk downland (Viburnum opulus) or the wet, acidic hills of China ( Camellia ) or the stony slopes of Crete ( Euphorbia c. wulfenii) you will have all the clues you need. Smart phones are brilliant for this.
• check the label as to how big the plant will grow, but more importantly how QUICKLY the plant will grow. My little Pieris has hardly done anything for years but the giant Bay is now a prime candidate for the chop.
• Think about your neighbors - not just the ones over the fence who may have their precious evening sunlight blocked out in a few years time by your monster shrub but also the plants in your garden surrounding your new purchase. Will they compliment, smother, clash or contrast them? It is not so different from cooking when choosing ingredients.

So - having rained on your parade for your plans for the w-end, please do go for it but it will never be "instant". It never is in gardening.

General gardening tasks for June;

• Prune spring flowering shrubs such as Deutzia, Philadelphus, Kolkwitzia and Weigelia. This will allow for plenty of new growth in the coming year.
• Trim Box, Yew and evergreens such as Viburnum tinus to get the shape you want. ( Yew is one of the few evergreens that can take a very hard prune).
• Now the frosts should be over you can cut back the more tender plants like Penstemon and Caryopteris.
• If the weeds are getting you down then buy a Dutch hoe (mine has a super-long handle) as you can get through a lot of work very quickly without bending down.
• It is still time to sow some annuals directly into the ground to fill out those gaps (Calendula). You can also crunch up and scatter seed heads that have ripened such as Aqualegia and any others you can spot.
• Mow your lawns but you risk doing more harm than good if you set the blades too low; it will suffer in dry spells
• Some plants, including trees may producing growth that no longer has that variegation that you paid so much for. Just prune out those sections out.

And of course the most important task in June is to pick your first home-grown or pick-your-own strawberries, sit back and taste the difference - because they really ARE different. 

As some of  God's little creatures who got there first will testify.