Garden News October 11

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October 11, 2014

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Get late colour in shady spots with

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How to deal with a

WINDY PLOT PLANT A TRIPLEDECKER BULB POT

Chris Beardshaw "Why rowans are the perfect small garden tree"

tainer Plant a crocus corinng for a cheerful sp eds Collect and save se et Pot up supermark eeks! herbs & crop for w

Autumn ers!

eye-popp

CLIMBERS with colourful leaves, fowers, berries and seedheads TOP CHOICES to cover walls fast

"Foolproof dahlia deadheading!"

Carol Klein gets fowers for longer

Plant of the week FACTFILE

LIRIOPE MUSCARI Perennial Semi or full shade Fully hardy/frost hardy Light, well-drained soil, ideally acidic Flowers: September to November Height: 30-45cm (12-18in)

Flower spikes looking good now will be followed by black berries

Grow a late show of

Crazy colour

The many forms of Liriope muscari are the perfect antidote to functional evergreen ground cover plants GROUND COVER PLANTS have a bit of a reputation for being boring – not so liriope! Also known as ‘big blue Greg Loades lily turf’ and ‘monkey grass’, GARDENING this low-growing EDITOR spreading plant sends up an unexpected burst of purply-blue or white flower spikes now. This is followed by the bonus of dark berries in early winter.

Not a plant to blend into its surroundings at this time of year, this is the antidote to functional evergreen ground cover plants such as junipers and cotoneasters.

4 Garden News / October 11 2014

For the most crazy show of later colour, the variegated forms such as ‘Gold-banded’ create a big clash between the golden leaves and the purple flowers.

So why isn’t everyone growing these plants in favour of the dull ground cover plants we see outside so many supermarket car parks? Well, they prefer an acid soil (although they can grow in neutral soils) to thrive, so some garden soils may not be compatible. But when it’s in soil that it loves, it will start to colonise the area, its clumps spreading quickly to create a big impact.

From South-east Asia, these curious evergreen or semi-

evergreen plants are from forest habitats, so they grow well in shade, making a good colourful carpet for the awkward space beneath large trees that shed their leaves.

Once settled, liriope will tolerate drought although they like a fertile soil, which is why humus-rich soil beneath deciduous trees is so good. They will grow well in dense shade too, adding a bit of height and a lot of colour to areas of the garden under evergreens, that you may have written off as a dead area.

If the plants are getting greedy and taking up too much room they can easily be dug up and kept in

Plant now for instant impact in a shady spot

bounds. Any spare plants will make great gifts for friends.

As well as the variegated forms there is also an almost completely white-leaved variety called ‘Okina’. Looking like a plant that has just seen a ghost, it’s sadly a novelty rather than a ‘good-doer’, slow to grow and lacking chlorophyll, the molecule that plants need to make food.

Liriope are great to plant

Six super varieties

“Liriope are easy plants to propagate” Paul Greene Brooksby Melton College, National Collection holders

‘Gold-banded’

‘Majestic’

A thick-leaved variety with glossy, strap-like foliage that is edged with pale yellow.

Height: 40cm (15in)

Produces thick clusters of lilac flowers, complemented by classy, slender leaves.

Height: 40cm (15in)

Garden World Images

World’s End Garden Nursery

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‘Webster Wideleaf’

‘Moneymaker’

A high-impact variety with broad leaves and strongly coloured, deep purple flower spikes. Height: 50cm (20in)

Considered the most freeflowering with masses of pale blooms August to November.

Height: 50cm (20in)

They also thrive in rockeries and will make a loud and proud partner for autumn-flowering heathers to jazz up an otherwise traditional area of the garden. Or pair these plants together in pots of John Innes ericaceous compost to add a late shot of pink and purple to the patio.

You can plant them now, but don’t forget to keep them wellwatered in the initial six to eight weeks after planting to help them get established.

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Garden World Images

World’s End Garden Nursery

Keep newly-planted liriope well-watered until winter beneath shrubs and trees towards the back of a border. Then as summer perennials get cut back, they can take centre stage and add another layer of colour to the border as they start to flower.

They are also excellent edging plants because they spread well, so you can easily make more plants for free to cover a large area. Their graceful, cascading growth habit will provide the final flourish to an informal flower border.

World’s End Garden Nursery

variegated varieties we have in the collection.

The students are actively involved in looking after the National Collection. In spring, they give the plants a hard clip with shears to remove old leaves and encourage new growth. The leaves are at their best for about a year although they may persist for much longer, according to the severity of the winter.

In America, rotary lawnmowers are used to cut them back, but we are a bit more selective. You have to be when you are looking after a National Collection!

World’s End Garden Nursery

Garden World Images

We have had a National Collection at the college for 20 years and have 60 different types of liriope in the grounds, growing in neutral to acid soil.

Some of the variegated, silver-leaved forms of liriope aren’t completely hardy and they need to be grown in free-draining soil to help them get through the winter.

They are easy to propagate by spli ing and dividing established clumps and you can do it in either autumn or spring. ‘Gold-banded’, ‘John Burch’ and ‘Silvery Sunproof’ have proved to be the best

‘Variegata’

‘Ingwersen’

The wide, stripy leaves will create the ultimate multicoloured carpet! Good in dry shade. Height: 50cm (20in)

A slowly-spreading but longlived choice, with lilac-blue flower spikes. Good in partial shade. Height: 60cm (2ft)

Suppliers ● Big Plant Nursery, tel: 01903 891466, www.bigplantnursery.co.uk ● Long Acre Plants, tel: 01963 32802, www.plantsforshade.co.uk ● World’s End Garden Nursery, tel: 01905 640977, www.worldsendgarden.co.uk

October 11 2014 / Garden News 5

Award-winning garden designer, Chelsea Gold medallist and broadcaster

Chris Beardshaw The wonderful

PLANTS

WORLD OF

With fab autumn colour and berries, rowans are steeped in folklore N THE PAST, mountain ash or rowan (Sorbus aucuparia) was widely regarded as possessing the power to protect from the evil eye, witches and mischievous fairies, especially during the month of April when it bears its flowers. The custom can be traced back to the Druids, who planted mountain ash trees near their sacred stones and used them in their ceremonies.

The Druids lit fires of rowan wood to search for solutions in the demonic world. Following incantations recited over the flames, spirits were summoned to participate in solving troubles, particularly battles. They also thought the ghost of a slaughtered foe could be nullified by driving a stake of rowan wood into the body.

The common name, rowan, suggests the custom and belief was adopted from the Norsemen, as it is thought to be derived from the Norsk word ‘rune’, meaning charm. All parts of the plant were considered to possess protective properties. It was customary for baby’s cradles to be made of the trees’ wood, while children and fishermen wore jewellery with dried and threaded berries for protection and safe passage.

Rowan berries were harvested in autumn and were sewn into the hems of garments or carried in underwear to prevent

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All parts of a rowan were said to have protective properties

bewitchment. Twigs of rowan flowers were also tied to the tails of cattle, often with red threads to ensure good milk. Crosses of two twigs, usually split with the fingernails, were worn on clothing to protect the wearer but could also be hung to protect buildings,

residents and animals.

Rowan trees growing near buildings is generally considered an indication of an historic dwelling, but it was always considered unlucky to plant rowan and apples together as one would cause the death of the

Three rowans perfect for small gardens

Sorbus aucuparia ‘Fastigiata’ This narrow form reaches 8m (25ft) tall. Bears red berries.

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Garden World Images

Garden World Images

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Sorbus ‘Joseph Rock’ Creamy yellow berries among orange, red and purple autumn leaves. Height: 10m (30ft).

Sorbus vilmorinii Spreading plant with red berries, ageing to pink. Has pinnate leaflets. Height: 5m (15ft).

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A rowan tree near a building is considered an indication of a historic dwelling other. This might be down to recognition that both sorbus and malus are members of the rose family and can pass on the disease fireblight – once devastating to commercial orchards.

The wood of the tree found use as cattle wands, and hoops that sheep were driven through to cleanse them as a part of the spring cleansing of the flock, especially on Mayday. Rowan timber was placed under milk churns to prevent witches from stealing or turning the milk.

Decorative pins made from rowan were fashionable as protection and even spinning wheels and spindles were made from the wood. Rowan wood was also revered for construction of coffins, presumably to protect the dead on their journey to the afterlife, and until remarkably recently many key structural and integral wooden components in agriculture were made of rowan to ensure prosperity and protection.

October 11 2014 / Garden News 19

EN IN THE FLOWER GARD PRING CAN BE a long season if you plant a wide range of flowering bulbs.

Crocus (corms rather than bulbs) help the season get off to a cracking colour start after the snowdrops and winter aconites have finished flowering.

A mixed bag of Dutch crocus (sometimes sold as largeflowered crocus) will give you a busy and brightly-coloured show for barely five minutes work. Plant them now and keep them in a sheltered spot outside and you can have cheerful flowers on your patio from late February onwards.

You can get four to six flowers from one crocus corm, so it’s easy to create a full display with crocus alone in a pot. Their leaves are slender so they don’t have ‘ugly legs’ that need covering up with other plants.

Crocus are small corms so they are also good for putting the finishing touches to displays of bigger bulbs. Most largeflowered crocus flower at around 10cm (4in) tall so push a few into the compost surface around the edge of pots of tulips or daffodils and cover with twice their depth in compost. You’ll get some early bonus colour at a shorter height.

Keep the compost just moist through the winter and make sure the pot is standing on feet so water can escape and the compost doesn’t get saturated.

S

Plant a crocus pot for

early spring And start the season off with a cracking burst of colour on the patio, says Greg How to plant crocus in pots

1

Mix fresh multi-purpose compost with equal parts horticultural grit and fill the pot so there is a gap almost three times the height of the corm below the rim of the pot.

22 Garden News / October 11 2014

2

Place the crocus on the compost, leaving a corm’s width in each direction between each one to get the best display. Check bulbs aren’t spoilt or ro en before placing them.

3

Cover the corms so the compost is just below the rim of the pot, then water gently. Sprinkle on more compost after the water fla ens it.