31 Great Outdoors - The wonder of a wormery and let's get gardening

Outdoors The Great

Miranda takes us through the wonders of the common-or-garden earthworm. E arthworms are amazing little critters, underground garden heroes you could say. These funny little wrigglers break down your decaying garden waste and bring life to the soil by fertilising it with much needed nutrients. What’s more, worms breathe though their skin, can eat their bodyweight in soil in a single sitting and if you happen to chop one in half with your shovel, its head end can regenerate…amazing eh?! Well, we thought that this summer is the perfect time for us all to watch these little wrigglers at work. And it’s easy! All you need is a wormery, which is basically a little worm house. And we’re going to show you how to make one. You will need ... • 2 litre clear, plastic bottle • Compost or soil and some sand • Scissors • Black (or very dark) card • A few worms per bottle • Spray bottle • Worm food – grated carrot, vegetable peelings, dead leaves, shredded newspaper Your first mission is to go looking for some worms in your garden or local park. Take a trip to the compost heap if you have one as these are super popular with worms. Failing that, turn over some stones, or dig a hole, you’ll strike lucky somewhere! Cut the top ¼ off your bottle and snip a slit up the side of it. Put it to one side – this will become your lid and the slit you’ve made will help it to fit back over the bottle. Now, take your bottle and fill it up with alternating layers of sand, soil, sand, soil, sand etc. Spray each layer with water so that it is damp. Here comes the fun: Take a few worms and add them to the top of the bottle and watch them burrow down. Then add the ‘food’ to the top. This could be a mix of carrot peelings, potato peelings, dead leaves… Wrap the black card around the bottle to make it dark. Worms do not like light and the card will entice them to burrow around the outside of the bottle so that you’ll be able to see them when you want to have a peek! Worms like to be kept toasty so make sure you put the wormery in a warm place. You can take the cardboard off when you want to have a look at what they are up to, but always replace it once you’re finished. Check that the contents are damp and that there is always something there for them to munch on. After 1 week, take the worms back into your garden and look for some more if you’d like to try the experiment again!

Landscape garden designer Fi Boyle encourages us all to get gardening.

With longer daylight hours and sunshine, we are now at the start of summer and in these strange times, we find ourselves at home with time on our hands and for those of us lucky enough to have a garden it is time to make the most of them and get outside.

For the Parents...

Strategic Planning for your garden

Start a garden diary, walk around the garden each week and really observe what is emerging and when. Have a long, slow walk round taking photographs if possible, make notes on what is looking good and where. But even more importantly make notes about areas where you feel interest is lacking. Under planting shrubs with bulbs and early flowering ground cover plants will greatly increase spring interest. As the garden develops continue your visual and written diary to keep track of where the gaps are. It may be that you decide that a border needs a bit more wow factor and by having this dairy you will then be able to go back and address this as and when. It maybe that you want to rework part of the garden and use it in a different way, such as creating an entertaining space or putting a bench in a quiet corner so you can have time out.

Catching up on garden jobs

This is also the perfect time to look at all your shrubs and see if they need a remedial prune because they have become congested. Whilst others may just need a good prune to bring them back into shape. The majority of early flowering shrubs flower on last years growth so the ideal time to prune them is straight after they have flowered. For woody shrubs prune out a third of the old stems down to the ground, this should open up the plant as well as encourage new growth.

Buying Plants & Garden Supplies

Whilst most local nurseries are now open and delivering plants and produce, if you are struggling for ideas, give them a call to see if they can help out. Alternatively there are lots of UK nurseries who offer a mail order service. Here are a few you could try:- plantsforshade.co.uk specialplants. net hardysplants.co.uk woottensplants. com burncoose.co.uk claireaustinhardyplants.co.uk bethchatto.co.uk

For the Kids... A garden is so much more than just the plants within it. Consider the wildlife that lives in it or that you would like to encourage to take up residence. When planning plants consider if they will attract bees, butterflies and other insects. There are a plethora of plants to choose from. Lavender and Nepeta are commonly used, but you could also use Perovskia ‘Blue Spire’, Monada’s, Salvia and Sedum to name but a few. Spend time out in the garden spotting insects and butterflies with your kids so they learn to recognise the different kinds. Recently I have already seen quite a few Peacock butterflies as well as the little Chalk Hill Blues, along with a Hawk winged Humming Bird moth which is such a joy. Bird feeders, baths and boxes are an easy way to attract our winged friends, who at this time of year are providing a joyous soundtrack in the garden. Don’t forget hedgehogs too. A quiet corner with a pile of wood and leaves will provide a welcome home for them to hibernate over winter and perhaps produce some hoglets in June. Their champion slug-eating will more than repay you. Building a bird box or hedgehog house could be a great lockdown project - with or without children. Make the most of getting out into the fresh air. Spending time in your garden will not only make you feel better but it will make it even more lovely than it already is.

The Covid-19 crisis has forced many of us to stay at home but for those days when we cannot get outdoors, Fi Boyle has commissioned some 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles, featuring this stunning but deliberately challenging image of one her designs. All profits raised will go to NHS Charities Together to show the appreciation for those incredible heroes who are continuing to save lives Why not send one to a relative or friend who isn’t able go out or doesn’t have a garden themselves? Puzzles cost £25. Order via: admin@fiboylegardendesign.com Puzzle Perfection

HELP NHS