Gardens

Plants&Gardens

New Year…new plans for the garden

Make 2023 the year you do more for wildlife and sustainable living by re-planning and planting your garden, with some expert advice from Reaseheath College

January is here – and it’s time to put those New Year resolutions into practice! If that includes cutting down on costs and living a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle, it’s likely that you’re considering growing your own vegetables – or already do and are ready to try new varieties. There’s also no better time to reassess and re-plan your garden, choose a new planting scheme and do more for wildlife.

Reaseheath College’s Assistant Principal (Land-based and Sustainability) Iain Clarke, who has years of experience in horticulture and commercial vegetable growing said: “There are plenty of jobs you can do in January and February, provided the weather is mild and dry. Even a small plot or patio pot can produce crops. The main thing to bear in mind is that all vegetables hate waterlogged soil, so it’s essential that your plot is free draining and has an open aspect that’s not overshadowed. It’s also a great time to dig, mulch and prune in your beds and borders.”

Iain’s top suggestions are: TOP TIP Check your soil type by digging to the full depth of a spade, then rub a sample of the soil furthest from the surface between thumb and forefinger. An open, gritty texture is ideal; if it’s heavy, wet and sticky it is likely to have a high clay content and needs more work!

In the veg plot

• Roughly dig over the plot to allow frost to get down into the soil and help break it up • Remove all perennial weeds such as thistles and couch grass • As the ground dries out, incorporate lots of well-rotted farmyard manure or homemade compost to open up the soil texture • Warm up the soil with cloches in preparation for sowing early crops of broad beans, peas, carrots, beetroot, salad onions, spinach and salad crops • Chit early potatoes

In the garden

• Begin preparing beds and borders in a similar way, but leave some piles of leaves and brushwood for another month as beneficial insects will still be sheltering • Prune fruit trees before the sap starts to rise and the buds break. It’s also pruning time for clematis, wisteria, winter jasmine, hydrangea, buddleia, mahonia, evergreen shrubs and climbing and bush roses. Cut out anything that’s dead, diseased or damaged and remove crossing branches.

TOP TIP Clean bird feeders and bird tables weekly with a wildlife-friendly cleanser to limit the spread of viruses. Top up food regularly and provide clean water.

Indoors

TOP TIP • Sow sweet peas under Pond frozen over? Gently make holes in cover or on a windowsill the ice to release toxic • • • Brighten cooler rooms with pots of cyclamen Catch up on TV gardening programmes Order seed catalogues gasses which can kill fish or frogs. Don’t use force, instead gently place a pan of hot water on the ice. or go online to see what’s new from growers • Make a bucket list of historic homes and gardens you’d like to visit and check out short break holidays nearby • Do the Big Garden Birdwatch bird count on 27th-29th January.

Reaseheath College and University Centre Reaseheath, in Nantwich are leaders in land-based education. See reaseheath.ac.uk/horticulture (diplomas and RHS courses), ucreaseheath.ac.uk/ courses (degrees) and reaseheath.ac.uk/

horticulture-courses-adult-learners

Love is in the air…

With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, we pay a romantic visit to a local garden with a passionate past

© National Trust Life, as we know, is not always a bed of roses, but many of the gardens and historical homes across the Shire patch have been the setting for great romances over the centuries. So with hearts and flowers on our mind this issue, we’ve been finding out a bit more about one particular local landscape of love.

Erdigg, at Wrexham, is one of Britain’s finest houses, set on a dramatic escarpment above the River Clywedog. Now owned by the National Trust, its displays tell the 250-year history of the family’s relationship with its servants. Portraits and carefully preserved settings capture life in the early 20th century, while upstairs is a treasure trove of fine furniture and textiles. It is the garden that witnessed the blossoming of love between two of its occupants just before the World War I – and it’s easy to see why. The 1,200-acre pleasure park, designed by William Emes in the 1700s and now fully restored, is a haven of tranquillity, perfect for romantic riverside picnics.

The relationship that bloomed was ‘below stairs’, between servants Lucy Hitchman and Ernest Jones. Records show the pair fell in love and took strolls around the park and gardens on their afternoons off.

A winter wonderland

If following in the lovers’ footsteps appeals this Valentine’s Day, you’ll be pleased to hear that winter is actually the perfect time to see and

appreciate the structure of the garden at Erddig. Pleached limes, hedges, trained fruit, paths, ponds and walls all take centre stage during the coldest season. Take a stroll to admire its stately old trees. Many are native, while others were introduced when the “Made for park was landscaped. romantic Look out for waxcaps riverside picnics” – there’s a huge variety of fungi, particularly on deadwood habitats, veteran trees and in the grasslands. Crab apples, sloes, holly berries and hazelnuts offer food for wildlife and later in the season snowdrops and wild primroses begin to appear. Keep your eyes peeled for rare green woodpeckers then too. ROSES ARE RED… ese local gardens o er roses in abundance Hard to imagine a more tranquil spot in summer – in red and many other colours! Bodnant Garden, Conwy Enjoy sweeping views of the mountains as you breathe in the scent of 1,500 blooms on the Italianate Terrace. Dunham Massey, Cheshire Around 300 varieties include Rosa ‘Stamford’s Sanctuary’, named after Dunham’s role as a military hospital during WW1. Powis Castle Hundreds of varieties grow on hoops, tumble at the feet of statues and spill from the borders.

Erddig makes a romantic day out appear. Keep your eyes peeled for rare green woodpeckers then too. Around 300 varieties

MY LOVE IS LIKE…

Our favourite owering plants that symbolise love and are often overlooked in favour of the traditional rose

Bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis)

With its delicate pink-red heart-shaped flowers, Lamprocapnos spectabilis is one of the most romantic looking plants out there. Native to Asia and commonly known as bleeding heart, this species is a member of the poppy family.

Anthurium

Many species within the Anthurium genus of flowering plants resemble romantic hearts in the shape of their leaves and petal-like spathes (large bracts enclosing the flower cluster). The bright red of the heart-shaped spathe adds to the plant’s amorous appearance.

Dancing lady orchid (Oncidium sp.)

Dancing and romancing go hand in hand. That’s why the Oncidium genus, native to tropical and subtropical America, deserves a nod for affairs of the heart. Many species within this genus of orchids are commonly known as dancing lady orchids for their clear resemblance to dancers.

Primrose

The traditional meaning behind the gift of a primrose is “I can’t live without you” or “Our love is eternal.” Generally these little plants are available in spring in bright fuchsia, yellow, purple and white.

Forget-me-not

The humble forget-me-not is often found as a wildflower. Giving someone this this delicate blue beauty is the sweetest gesture of love, as it generally has to be picked from the garden by the giver.