May It Always Be My Favourite Time Of The Year…

Undoubtedly May is my favourite time of year in the gardening calendar. It is the loveliest month in the garden as a lot of plants are putting on a splendid show of new growth, blooms, scent and colour.

With lovely warm long days everything is really doing well, but if you still find you have gaps in your borders or you simply want to add more colour to the garden, then around this time of year you have a wide range of wonderful colourful bedding plants to chose. For example, how about adding Geraniums, Busy Lizzies, Salvias, Petunias and Pelargoniums to really brighten up any gaps in your garden?

If you have woodland near you, then take a visit and see nature’s blue carpet of bluebells, which is so beautiful around this time of year. Also see the stunning Rhododendrons and Azaleas with their incredible range of colours from vivid pinks, purples, vibrant reds, oranges and yellows to softer pinks and lilacs. If you are tempted to buy a Rhododendron from the garden centre then remember that it favours acid soil, so it would be best to keep it in a large pot or container with ericaceous compost.

One of favourite climbers is the wisteria, which you will find blossoming now with its cascading waterfall-like pendent fragrant flowers in lilac-mauve or white. Grow this climber on a sunny wall, on a strong pergola or into a tree to give support to this showy climber.

One shrub that has a gorgeous pretty blue colour this time of year is the Ceanothus.

Grow it with a pink Clematis montana next to it or even scrambled through it and you’ll find that this pretty comnination will certainly give colour to any bare part of your garden.

If it’s scent you want for around this month then the heavenly rich fragrance of lilacs is fabulous. This shrub and tree comes in a variety of colours; from white, pink, almost red to magenta, lilac to purple or blue. If you only have a small garden then there are some species that will not grow too big such as the neat habit of the Syrina mircrophylla ‘Superba’.

The Peony is a favourite flower found in many old gardens, and this flower always reminds me of traditional English gardens. They are grown for their large showy blowsy blooms, which are often sweetly scented and have interesting foliage.

This is certainly the month for getting out and about, not just in your garden, but also visiting public gardens and woodlands for a display of nature’s abundance around this time of the year.

The Magnificence Of May

May is my favourite month of the gardening year as spring moves into summer and the weather warms up, and nearly everything in the garden is in full leaf. Lovely spring flowering plants in our gardens will soon give way to super summer flowering blooms.

If you’re tempted to dash out and buy your bedding plants, I’d advise that you wait for a while until the middle of the month as there still could still be some sudden sharp frosts at night, so just keep an eye on the weather forecast. If however you have a greenhouse, then you could store them in there for the time being.

Around this time of this month, you could now give your lawn a good “feed and weed” as a lawn in good condition really sets off a garden. Also don’t forget to mow regularly to encourage healthy growth.

If you have any evergreen shrubs which may have been damage by frost during winter, then this is a good time to give them a pruning to generally tidy them up and get them back into shape. Early flowering shrubs and climbers such as Kerria japonica and Clematis Montana can also be pruned around this time now. Evergreen hedges can now be given a trim, but only give them a light trim just to keep its shape and this will make it easier to cut next time.

If you would like some plants for free, then now is a good time to take softwood cuttings from shrubs. Most shrubs in the garden will now be producing young fresh shoots and these will be excellent for softwood cuttings. Another economical way to get some splashes of summer colour into your garden is with flowering annuals, and these can now be sown directly onto the soil.

If you enjoy eating runner or French beans then try planting some now. I think that this crop has such pretty flowers and can quite easily be incorporated into any garden and can look attractive growing over supporting structures. If you want your very own fresh salad than have a go at growing some salad crops this month too.

As the weather warms up this month don’t forget to get into the habit of watering your garden; also start feeding any hungry plants in the garden, particularly those in containers and in hanging baskets.

By putting in some extra effort this month, your garden will get a good head start and not only will it start looking good, but your efforts will pay off later in the summer months.

Designs On Your Garden…

One question that I ask my clients before designing their gardens is, “How much time would you like to spend maintaining your garden?”

More often than not the response I get is, “I hadn’t thought of that.”

When you think about it, it really does need some thought, doesn’t it?

Although most people generally at first say that they would prefer a garden with as little maintenance as possible, it is only after careful consideration that they come to the decision that they actually would like something to do in their newly designed garden… even if this just means “pottering around”.

After all if you’re going to be in your garden when it’s been re-designed, then why not do something while you’re out there – something that can help you build a “relationship” with your new garden.

A well designed garden can have this “maintenance-factor” built into it by an experienced garden designer – even if it’s as simple as providing small hedges which the owner can themselves trim and prune now and then. They can still however leave the more horticultural maintenance aspects to the professional gardener.

Perhaps this might be something for you to bear in mind as you develop your own garden.

Maybe you would really like a garden where the time you spend working in it is different to what you are currently doing.

Perhaps you really would prefer neat trimming and tidying instead of hacking through unkempt bushes, or perhaps you really would prefer “gentle weeding” on a nice balmy summer’s days as opposed to hacking through wild tangled weeds.

Think about it carefully and I’ll bet that you really would prefer to spend more time in your garden – but only doing the things you really want to do.

In a well designed garden… you can!

Clematis

If there’s one plant that I wouldn’t be without in my garden, then that has got to be the Clematis. This is such a useful and versatile climber and it can give an abundance of colour and vertical interest to any garden. 

It is said that you can have clematis flowering for each month of the year. You can have winter flowering clematis, evergreen or deciduous clematis. There are Clematis for both sun and shade and you can choose whatever colour to suit your garden.

Clematis, I think are so pretty and look stunning growing over arches, up obelisks, trellises, walls and trees. Vigorous growing clematis such as the Montana are useful for growing over areas that you would like to hide, such as the garden shed, brick wall or a garage. The evergreen Clematis almandii is also useful for this purpose.

Clematis are little trouble to grow and give you good value for your money. You can even grow two clematis side by side, one to give you early seasonal colour and the other to give you mid to late summer colour.

The thing that clematis do like is to have their roots in the cool shade so at the base of the plant cover the soil either with a few cobbles, gravel, stone tiles or bits of paving slabs.

There are three pruning groups for clematis, and once you know which group your clematis is in, its simple.

Group one,are the early flowering varieties. These need less pruning that the next two groups. Prune after they have finished flowering around April- May time. Just prune out the dead and weak branches to maintain the vigour and good shape and framework of the plant.

Group two, are the bold large flowering varieties, which include the double, and semi-double petal flowers, and these mainly flower during the summer months. This group will need just partial pruning, so lightly prune back to a healthy pair of buds around February or early March.

Group three, are the late flowering Clematis that bloom from mid-summer until the autumn or even early winter if the weather is mild. This group you prune back hard in late winter to a strong pair of buds about 12-18” (30-45cm) above the ground.

For just a bit of annual pruning, Clematis will reward you with a spectacular abundance of fabulous coloured blooms that will give cheery joy to any gardener.

Inspired…

One of my regular New Year resolutions is to make time during the year to get out and about as much as I can to visit some of the lovely public gardens and wonderful gardening shows.

The Royal Horticultural Society is Britain’s gardening charity organisation and has many wonderful gardens that you too can take time out to visit. The aim of the Royal Horticultural Society is to inspire, inform and to educate those who are interested in horticulture and gardening. Even if you haven’t got green fingers, a day out in the fresh air, taking in the atmosphere surrounded by plants can be very therapeutic and a great stress buster.

Many of the RHS gardens have their plants labelled, so if you see something that you find really attractive then you can simply make a note of the name and the have a go at growing it for yourself. By visiting these gardens you can also get ideas for planting schemes and exciting planting combinations. It’s also worth taking a camera so you can take photos to use for reference.

As well as gardens to visit, the RHS also arranges superb seasonal gardening shows, with the highlight of the gardening year being the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show.

If you can’t wait for Chelsea then here are some additional dates for forthcoming gardening events where you’re sure to find inspiration like I always do 

Passionate About Passion Flowers…

Have you ever taken a close-up look of a passion flower? I’m always amazed at how nature can create something so extraordinarily beautiful.

The Passiflora caerulea is the blue passion flower and has a real exotic appearance. Even though it originates from a tropical climate, the blue passion flower grows quite happily in our British climate. This lovely vigorous climber likes to be grown against a nice sunny warm spot against a wall or a sheltered fence in moderately fertile, moist but well drained soil. In return, it will bloom all summer long and look stunning and in milder areas this passion flower will keep its five lobed foliage throughout the winter.

This climber is also useful for autumn interest as it produces soft apricot coloured passion fruits, but as the fruits don’t ripen fully in this country and in theory could be edible, I really wouldn’t advise eating them. Another decorative feature of this plant is its winding tendrils, which will cling on to and help support this plant in its climb.

The flowers of the Passiflora caerulea are wonderfully intricate and are zoned in blue, white and purple and have an interesting historical tale. The structure of the flower was said by Spanish Catholic missionaries in South America to represent certain features of Christ’s Passion and this flower was used during religious lessons to teach children about Christ’s passion.

The five sepals and petals are said to represent the ten of the twelve apostles, less Peter and Judas. The three stigmas represent the three nails of the crucifixion, the five stamens are the five wounds of Christ, the corona filaments represent the crown of thorns and the fine tendrils are the scourges.

While some of us will be familiar with the common blue passion flower, there are even more colourful exotic varieties of passion flowers, but unfortunately they are tender and not hardy enough to be grown outside and will need a nice warm conservatory or heated greenhouse to keep them happy.

There are some gorgeous purple ones like Passiflora ‘Amethyst’ or Passiflora x caeruleoracemosa. There are some hot red coloured ones like Passiflora racemosa or Passiflora coccinea. One amazing passion flower is the Passiflora quadrangularis, Giant granadilla, which looks so exotic and unusual. It has deep red petals with long striped wavy filaments of purple and white fragrant flowers.

I’m truly passionate about passion flowers, and I hope you will be too.

Organic Pest Control

Whenever I see a ladybird in the garden I pick it up carefully and place it on a plant that is being attacked by aphids. The ladybird can then feast happily and save my plant from being vandalised.

I, like many gardeners, don’t like using toxic chemical pesticides, as some pesticides not only kill off the harmful pests but also the useful garden visitors too.

So what’s a better solution to save pest damage in our gardens?

Well, why not let nature help out instead? Pests themselves have enemies and understanding who the good and bad guys are in the insect world can help maintain and balance nature in the garden.

Creating a garden that is attractive to natural good predators will provide a base for organic pest control.

Many of the pest-consuming insects also need to eat pollen and nectar, and single open flowers are the best for attracting them as many of these small insects cannot reach into deep multi-petal flowers. Also try to have plants that flower early spring and autumn as well as the summer flowering plants to provide a constant supply of pollen and nectar food source.

Trees and shrubs are useful to provide homes for the garden’s allies. Remember that some of these allies are ground dwelling and like to live in dark, moist condition below ground cover or under mulch.

We all know and love the little dainty ladybird but not all the good guys of the insect world are as attractive. Centipedes and the shiny black ground beetle, although not as pretty as the ladybird, also get my support as they go around eating the slugs and snails.

The garden spider will make a meal of aphids, files, thrips and caterpillars. If you laya two inch deep mulch of dried grass clippings around your vegetables the garden spider will quite happily move in and reduce pest damage to your veg.

Hover-files have similar markings to that of the wasp. One way you can tell the difference is that hover-files have only one pair of wings and so they can remain static in flight. Hover-files have a healthy appetite and can eat up to fifty aphids a day; they also eat spider mites and caterpillars.

Lacewings are green coloured insects with delicate transparent wings with a lace pattern hence their name and their diet includes aphids, mites, beetles, leafhoppers, scale insects and caterpillars.

The parasitic wasp does not look like a normal wasp; it is smaller, mostly black and with long antennae. They give their prey an unpleasant ending by laying their eggs in the body of the pest, which then acts as food for the developing larvae.

So next time you need to consider pest control in your garden, enlist the help of the ‘good guys’ of the insect world use mother nature to help cut down pest damage in your garden.

“Hidden Perils…”

Most of the plants in our gardens can be considered our ‘friends’, however there are a few plants that are our foes.

Here in Britain there are few deadly poisonous plants, but there are some plants that could be harmful if ingested and some plants can cause skin irritations.

The first main precaution to take is to never allow any child to pick and eat any berries of plants, as it is always best to err on the side of caution.

The brightly coloured berries can be tempting to a child so either deadhead the plant before it produces the berries, remove the berries from the plant, or simply don’t have berry-producing plants in the garden.

A lot of retailers and plant suppliers are now providing more information on the labels as to whether the plant can be potentially hazardous in any way.

So always read the labels when purchasing your plants at a garden centre, or if you’re not sure then ask an assistant as they’ll be more than willing to help and give advice.

Various parts of plants can cause diarrhoea or vomiting if eaten.

Here named are a few of these harmful common garden plants.

All parts of the Aconitum, monkshood, for instance is poisonous and prolonged handling of this plant can enable the toxins to be absorbed into the skin. Other plants too have to be handled with care as they could irritate the skin or cause a skin allergy, so wear protective gardening gloves.

Aesculus horse chestnut is also poisonous and be aware that children may be tempted to eat the conkers thinking that they are edible chestnuts. Others plants include Aquilegia, Colchicum, Convallaria Majalis, which is the lily of the valley.

Also in this category are the Cherry Laurel, Daffofils, Euonymus, Euphorbia, Hedera, ivy, Iris, Laburnum, Ligustrum the common privet, Lobelia, Lupins, Taxus, yew, the conifer Thuja and the Wisteria. Serious poisoning can be caused by all parts of the Digitalis, foxglove.

Euphorbia also know as Spurges, have a white milky sap which could cause a burning sensation and a skin rash. Fremontodendron ‘California Glory’ is a wall shrub that has minute hair-like growths that can cause extreme irritation in contact with the skin, eyes nose or mouth. The handling of hyacinth bulbs or tulip bulbs too could cause a skin reaction.

Other plants that can cause skin irritation are the Ivy, Lobelia, Primula, and Ruta just to name but a few.

Gardening is probably one of the most popular hobbies and it’s worth taking extra care now that summer is just around the corner and more of us will be outside in our gardens.

If you keep a planting plan of your garden, it might be worth making a note on your plan of what, if any, dangers your plants could pose.

Remember, gardening should be safe as well as fun…

A Sense Of Gardening…

When I am designing gardens, I’m constantly thinking of the fact of making and creating the garden as an area to be a ‘stress free zone’; a place where a person can chill out and enjoy nature.

In this fast moving stressful life of today the garden can be a real sanctuary, and your own little bit of oasis to escape to.

Believe it or not the garden can actually promote healing, it is a proven fact that hospital patients recover more quickly when they have a view of a garden.

Plants can give us so much pleasure and can bring enjoyment and delight to our five senses. Fresh herbs from the garden add wonderful natural flavours to our taste buds together with the delight of enjoying fresh home-grown fruit and vegetables. The joy of colour in the garden can be uplifting and therapeutically.

Soothing sounds can be added to the garden like the refreshing sounds of running water or the gentle tinkling sound of a small wind chime. Nature’s sound of the wind blowing through the leaves of trees and shrubs can be claiming together with the gentle rustling sound of Bamboos and grasses. Creating sound within the garden can be really soothing and play a very useful part in distracting us from the outside noises of city life.

There are plants which are a joy to touch, various textures can surprise and delight us, like woolly soft leaves of the Stachys byzantina also known as Bunnies’ Ears or Lamb’s Tongue never fails to stop me to touch it. Also joy of rubbing the foliage of certain plants so as they release their aromatic scent and my favourite is the Phlomis fruticosa that has soft downy fruity scented leaves.

Scent plays important part in a garden as it can stimulate memory and enhance our moods. There are so many wonderfully perfumed flowers like the richly fragrant Jasminum officinale or the Lonicera japonica, Honeysuckle, plant these next to a patio or seating area so you can enjoy the wafts of scents.

So chill out and enjoy awakening your five senses to the garden.

“Maintain An Even Strain”

During this time of the year many of us will want to be able to just enjoy our ‘outside room’ without having to spend hours working in it. So here are some more hints and tips for a lower maintenance garden.

If you would like to have a hedge as the boundary to your garden, then go for one that needs less attention and which does not need regular clipping. You could opt for a Yew hedge, which is slow growing and will only need clipping about twice a year.

Alternatively you could go for an informal hedge of mixed evergreen shrubs.

A good manicured lawn is always high maintenance but luckily there are various options to reduce the workload.

Naturally, the simplest way is to reduce the area of the lawn so there is less to cut and therefore save time.

How about removing the lawn completely?

You could use different surfaces, such as gravel or hard landscaping and then plant some plants around these surfaces in order to soften the appearance.

Pots too need a lot of looking after, but time spent maintaining them can be reduced if you use larger pots so they don’t dry out so quickly.

Also, I would recommend using water-retaining gel to help conserve moisture in the compost.

Another trick is to line the inside of clay pots with bubble wrap.

This stops the pots soaking up the water and therefore retaining more moisture in the soil. During the winter however, this bubble-wrap could prevent possible cracking of clay pots when frozen as when the ice freezes, the bubble wrap eases the pressure and making clay pots frost hardy.

When opting for a low maintenance garden, be careful not to choose plants, such as rose, which need quite a lot of looking after.

Choose some evergreen shrubs such as the Acuba, Choisya or a Fatsia as they need require relative little attention. For summer colour in your garden, choose a low maintenance bedding plant such as the Busy Lizzie as this plant doesn’t need dead heading.

So, by taking some time to save time in your garden… you can spend more time simply enjoying it!

Bending The Rules Of Garden Design

Once you learn the rules of garden designing, you can create some interesting effects by not only bending these rules, but also by breaking them…

With some imagination, inspiration and sometimes a little perspiration, you can change your garden into an outdoor room where you’ll want to spend more time during the coming summer months.

Remember that you don’t have to do it all at once as you can spend just a few weekends transforming an ordinary garden into something very special indeed.

Let’s look at some basic rules that you can use to get you started with designing your garden.

First of all, make a list of all the essential things that you have to have in your garden like a washing line, an area for your dustbins, shed for storage and so on. Then list all the desirable things that you want to have in your garden like a patio for instance, a water feature, maybe a herb garden or vegetable beds.

The second step is to measure the garden and draw the outline of the garden including any features that will remain such as sheds, trees or any existing pathways or patio area. Also draw in the outline of the property with the doors and windows so you can take into account the new view out from them. By putting your plan on paper like this will give you a clearer direction of what you would like to achieve and help you avoid costly mistake.

Take into account the different aspects of the garden, like where the morning sun starts and where is the sun in the afternoon and evening and also which part of the garden is in deep shade. It’s a good idea to design a seating area in your garden where you can enjoy a morning cuppa in the morning sun – a perfect way to start the day in any garden. With regards to entertaining in the evening sun, plan your patio area accordingly.

After you’ve drawn up your garden plan to scale, a good idea is to put tracing paper over the top of your garden’s plan and then to start sketching over it with your designs and ideas.

Remember it’s your garden, so give your imagination free rein and try and bend the rules a little.

April… Sweet April!

Gardening certainly gets into full swing during this month of April!

Although we’d like more sunshine and less showers during the month of April, the plants in our gardens do thrive on rain to help them look their best. So with the better weather on the way, what could be nice than pottering around in the garden on a nice warm spring day?

Around this time of the year, many gardens, including mine, will benefit with some spring-cleaning to get things into some order ready for the summer.

One job that can be done around this time is to clear off the moss on many of our patios and pathways. It’s surprising how the whole garden can suddenly look a lot better just by doing this simple job. Just a pressure washer or a hose is all you need with a hard bristle broom to eliminate any unsightly moss.

Another way to get to your garden looking a lot better quickly, is to tidy up any woodwork, such as fencing, decking, sheds and trellis as these will probably need a lick of wood preserve to smarten it them up and prolong the life span.

Also during April, if you’re lucky enough to have a greenhouse, then it’s a good time to give it a good wash down. Clean the glass well to allow maximum light in and a good clean on the inside will promote good hygiene and help keep away pests and diseases.

This month you’ll notice that the lawn will need some attention after the wet months of winter and many of our lawns will now have moss growing among the grass. This moss needs to be removed as it will smother out the grass and prevent surface drainage for the lawn. I prefer the organic approach to eradicating the moss is to simply rake it out with a lawn rake.

As well as getting rid of the moss on your lawn, it’s also a good idea to improve your lawn’s drainage to allow water to get down to the roots were it’s most needed. To do this push a gardening fork in about four to six inches randomly around the lawn giving it a jiggle, this will also help with aeration, also don’t forget to hand dig out any weeds that could spoil the lawn too.

Later in April or even early in May it might also be a good idea to use a spring fertiliser which you can apply to your lawn, once again to promote good healthy growth.

If you find all this isn’t giving you the result you want and your lawn is still beyond salvation then use the time this month to sow a new lawn or lay some new turf as the April showers will water in the new grass.

The month of April is a great time to generally tidy up flower borders and once you’ve weeded, then put down a nice thick layer of mulch on the soil as this’ll save you back-breaking weeding work later on in the season.

With the bank holidays approaching many of us will be taking trips to garden centres. So if you have spring-cleaned your garden then you’ll find it easier to see where the gaps are in garden and exactly where it could do with some more interest.

Just one bit of advice for shopping at garden centres; don’t be tempted to just buy plants that are all flowering now, try also to plan ahead and think about having flowering colour interest for the other months to come in the year.

River Stone

It makes a refreshing change for me to feature a UK based homestyle shop and one that’s almost on my doorstep here in Hampshire, UK.

Riverstone carries a whole host of wonderful home accents, including, homemade soaps together with a veritable catalogue of furniture, garden accents and so much more.

Their home gift collection , as usual, always accentuates the beauty of the natural shades, browns & creams, a touch of burgundy and amber which brings up the natural elegance in any home together with warmth.

Riverstone’s 2008 Spring /Summer home giftware has been extended, to include pink, pale green and duck egg blue.

Visit Riverstone at www.riverstone-south.co.uk

The Spiritual Garden (Part 2)

During the course of my work as a garden designer I’m often asked by my clients to incorporate into their garden designs a quiet corner for meditation or an area where they can sit quietly and generally just enjoy their garden.

I think it’s so interesting that in this day and age where everyone is so hectic and busy, that more and more people regard their gardens as a place for quiet contemplation or even a spiritual haven.

Throughout history and in many religions the garden has often played an important role in being a place to seek spiritual enlightenment.

In the Christian religions, one of the most famous spiritual gardens must be the Garden Of Eden and the theme of the garden was evident through the medieval period where enclosed secret gardens were seen as a representation of the Virgin Mary.

These garden where often enclosed by a wall and planted up with lots of roses and usually had water features as well. Tending to these gardens was seen as a form of contemplation and prayer while in the worship of God’s flowers.

One feature that is seen in many spiritual gardens is the Labyrinth and the medieval Christian church produced an eleven ring sacred Labyrinth that had great religious and meditation significance.

The Labyrinth has only one path leading to the centre and one path back out again, its significance being that as you walk the Labyrinth one way then the other way it is meant to shifts awareness from the right side of the brain to the left.

This “mental exercise” was to induce a greater sense of awareness and spiritual enlightenment.

Islamic gardens were also held in great importance and gardens are referred to in the Koran.

Many Islamic gardens are meant to be a portrayal of what heaven would be like. Geometry and water are prominent features and both have symbolic meanings from the Koran.

The story of creation is said to have unfolded in a garden and God is considered to be the first gardener.

The Zen gardens of China and Japan where designed by Buddhist Monks for silent contemplation, for acts of worship and tea ceremonies. These gardens were designed to be places of tranquillity and often include several symbolic symbols to reflect solitude and the give enlightenment.

Once again water is an important element; often designed to help Buddhist Monks in their meditations.

Buddhists feel that by spending time in the garden helps to awaken one’s true self while contemplating the beauty of the surrounding garden in peace.

I believe that all gardens should capture some essence of nature, be an oasis, an area of paradise and your own little sanctuary from the busy world around us.

Keita Kawasaki

There’s a Japanese saying that goes along the lines of, “The Great Ocean draws from it’s hundred rivers…”

I think all artists and designers “draw” inspiration from other artists and designers.

Once designer I get so inspired by is Keita Kawasaki.

His techniques of “Flower Design” are just breath-taking.

Keita Kawasaki has established the theory of ‘Japanese Flower Design’ and combined this with his own artistic sensitivity to create today’s school, which is increasingly drawing the attention of people all over the world.

Also, visit Keita Kawasaki’s own website at www.keitakawasaki.net

Once you’re at his website, simply click on the beetle when he appears from the right side of the screen, turn the sound up a little, and explore his leaf menu…

… and prepare to be inspired…

… whether you can read Japanese or not…