Long light days
Everything has certainly started growing now. It’s a great time of year with long days, lots of insects buzzing around the garden and it feels as if the bird population has doubled at least. The blackbird nest on our log pile right next to the backdoor was a big success with four fledglings fleeing the nest a few weeks ago. Pond life is also active and with a lot of sun early in the season before the plants started covering the pond I’ve had to research how to deal with
algae. Apart from getting in there and manually removing it, barley straw also does the trick. It takes a few weeks to work but it’s so simple. There’s also a natural water dye (endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society) which is worth a try. The key overall is getting the balance right in the pond, and I favour trying to do things naturally so I’m exploring the pond covering plants such as water hawthorn and getting those going. I’d encourage everyone to get natural water into the garden somehow. Even a little bird bath is a helpful addition. Staking plants is the next project! I had some prunings from currants and using these and a bit of garden twine can make sturdy supports for wavering salvias or dahlias; any sticks will do though. Luckily the lupins are holding their own so far…. Of course this time of year is the challenging time to cope with fast growing lawns. What
It’s not
a good idea it was to stop gathering the lawn cuttings but just leave them on the lawn; it surely helps with making the lawn more of a smooth carpetlike surface as it decomposes and adds nutrients to the lawn, and of course, you don’t have to empty the container every few minutes. Weeding the lawn is another chore, but keep the clover; it collects nitrogen and releases it through root nodules – a natural fertiliser, what could be better. Another challenge recently has been the dry spell, it makes me think about the benefits of collecting rainwater in water butts, not too tricky to do at all. And I’m also looking into what makes a good area for a rain garden – this is a dip that collects run-off water from the gutters etc and is planted up with plants that tolerate some short term waterlogging. There is a bit more to it than this, so keep an eye out for the next article where I’ll explore this further. In the meantime, I’m off to research a living roof as the husband is just finishing a shed… more plants… © Karen Roberts Garden Design
07856 528893 • karenrobertsgardendesign@gmail.com 07856 528893 karenrobertsgardendesign@gmail.com
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