Out of Doors

FLOWERS

How to be blooming gorgeous!

Charlotte Tombs, an experienced Dorset flower farmer at Northcombe Flowers in Sturminster Marshall, shares her growing year and seasonal

Autumn gardening is all about planning and protecting plants in order for them to give joy and excitement next year, says Charlotte Tombs

It may surprise some people to learn that Autumn is a busy time of year for a flower farmer. One of the most important aspects about growing flowers from seed is that we have to look forward into the following year and this obviously means planning ahead. Like so many other businesses we keep our eyes focused on the latest wedding, fashion and colour trends. It is our job to to see what highly fashionable ‘society’ florists are using in their wedding florals and what the predicted new trends, colours and ideas will be as these will quickly make their way down to us in Dorset. We need to be ready as no one is going to want last year’s fashions!

Planting now

This week I have been busy planting my biennials which I sowed back in June. Normally around Midsummers’ Day is as good time as any but not if there is a heat wave forecast. You don’t want to fry those seedlings. Right now the soil is still warm enough so it’s an ideal time to plant the well-established biennial seedlings. You won’t see much leaf growth throughout the winter months but the roots will be growing, working deep down into the soil. Come the spring when the weather improves and it’s warmer they will already have a head start and will be much quicker to reward you with an explosion of gorgeous blooms.

“I’ve also been busy presoaking and planting up my ranunculus and anemones corms. Ranunculus are beautiful flowers with layer upon layer of petals that rather remind me of a ballerina’s tutu. What is fantastic about them is that they have a great vase life, and continue to grow and bloom in the vase. Tulips also continue to grow in the vase - you can find when you arrange tulips that a few days later you’re thinking they’ve put on a few centimetres in the water and grown at a funny angle.”

Pretty petals

Early autumn is also an ideal time to get ahead with sowings of hardy annuals such as calendula, cornflowers, sweet peas and antirrhinum (commonly known as snapdragons - those wonderful flowers of one’s youth that you squeeze the flower and ‘the mouth’ opens and it looks just like a dragon). Larkspur is another one to sow now. These can all be over-wintered in a cold greenhouse, sweet peas can be kept in a cold frame or just under the eaves of a house or perhaps even under a garden table outside just to keep the

“...what new worst of the weather trends, colours and ideas off them. These stalwarts of your cutting garden will put ‘society’ florists down a great network are using will of roots over the cold quickly make winter months. Some of them such as the their way down cornflowers are quite to us in Dorset.” frost-tolerant and you can plant them pretty much at the end of February or the beginning of March. I do this with my sweet peas as well but I do have a bit of horticultural fleece at the ready just in case they need an extra layer if it’s going to be very frosty or windy and, of course, we must protect against biting rain.

Is it really the season?

Cyclamen, Wreath Making workshops, Gifts for loved ones, and of course, the trees… yes, it’s all on our minds.

Cohle said that ‘Time is a flat circle’ (it’s actually Nietzsche’s doctrine of eternal recurrence - that everything repeats itself and that what happened before is bound to happen again), and the festive season approaches at speeds which feel like they’re faster than ever each year. Last month we talked about the joys that Autumn brings and it hardly feels like we’ve had much time to savour it!

A festive normality

It’s important to savour those good moments, and we also previously touched upon a sense of ‘normal’ really feeling like it had returned. The news on tv may imply some possibly difficult times ahead this winter, but our determination to press on safely, and with prosperity, has not waned. We know how important the festive season is to so many people, and how even a humble fir tree in the corner of the living room can bring a sense of togetherness and warmth at the coldest time of year. To some, of course, the end of the year doesn’t mean a great deal – it’s just another month on the calendar, and it’s other times of the year where they celebrate their own traditions. The diversity in our culture is something which makes a community so valuable. We can all gain knowledge and perspective from each other that enriches our own personal lives. If you’re not getting festive soon, we still remain a community garden centre, and we welcome everyone through our gates with experts on hand to provide you inspiration for your seasonal gardening. ‘Bah Humbug’ is a phrase that even many of our staff may utter, but we promise you, it’s all in good spirits! There’s an authenticity you’ll find at Thorngrove all year round. We’ll of course be on hand for many of your festive essentials this November and December, so please consider adding Thorngrove on your shopping destination to find something special this Christmas. There will be plenty of treats in the café too, so bring a friend, and savour that moment. Let’s enjoy the togetherness we have right now, because as far as we’re concerned, it’s never felt more appreciated. Ho Ho Ho!

The voice of the allotment

with Barry Cuff

The key to plentiful vegetables from your garden are top quality seeds and the best varieties. Barry Cuff spills the beans.

Barry Cuff’s squash harvest: two Crown Prince plants produced four very large fruits. One plant of Butterfly produced two very large butternut squash. Also harvested were Honeyboat, Sweet Dumpling and Walnut.

Our plot continued supplying us with fresh produce throughout October. Sunny and mild weather ensured that many vegetables carried on growing. But as heavy rain was forecast early last month we decided to harvest our winter squashes before the deluge. Most of the green material had died back making them easy to find as the patch had been like a jungle previously. The two Crown Prince plants produced four very large fruits. One plant of Butterfly produced two very large butternut squash. Also harvested were Honeyboat, Sweet Dumpling and Walnut. These varieties will keep in store through the autumn and winter. Another variety (Waltham) failed to produce any mature fruits. Once again we dug carrots, beetroot and radish as required. We never store carrots and beetroot as we believe they keep better in the ground despite a little slug damage.

Hello Mr Chips

Our first parsnips were made into tasty chips. Over the last few years we have grown Palace which we consider to be the

best variety. They are an early variety with a smooth skin and shallow crown. We cut the last of our Fargo cauliflower early in the month and await Cendis which will be ready from mid November onwards. Ironman calabrese has done exceptionally well, providing smaller individual spears once the main head had been harvested. It has been a bad year for White butterflies and on more than one occasion despite careful checking the odd caterpillar has turned up on the dinner plate! The last of the courgettes and French beans were picked on the 16th. We started digging a few leeks mid-month as we have four rows which will see us through the winter. “on more than one Because of the sunny days the occasion, despite self-sown Marvelcareful checking, of-Peru (Mirabilis the odd caterpillar jalapa) continued has turned up on to flower. We are not quite the dinner plate!” sure how this plant arrived on our allotment and we allow a few to flower and seed each year as it’s an interesting plant with marbled, striped and bicoloured flowers. We have ordered manure for the whole site and expect nine trailer loads to arrive in November. Some busy spade work to look forward to. As we belong to the South West Counties Allotment Association we get a 50% discount on seeds from both Kings and Suttons. Our order was posted a week ago and we expect to receive them anytime now. Both companies supply top quality seed.

Garden jobs for November

Here are this month’s jobs from Sherborne gardener Pete Harcom for you to get on and do in the garden before the Christmas rush!

• Clear up for the winter!

Clear faded and dying annual climbers such as sweet peas from their supports. Clear up fallen leaves and put them in plastic bags or in a heap to rot down as leaf mould ( may take a year or so) and then can be used as a mulch.

• Watch the compost heap

Keep on top of the creation of the compost heap by turning it regularly. Keep it moist, and mix well with shredded paper. Nettles and some weeds can be composted (if the heap gets heated well), but do not compost ‘difficult’ weeds such as bindweed, ground elder or docks.

• Mind your beds

When clearing up flower beds try to keep off of wet soil to avoid compacting the soil - use wooden boards to spread your weight.

• Birds enjoy your seedheads

It is a good idea to leave your plants with attractive seed heads, such as Rudbeckia, Sea Holly (Eryngium), Teasels, Love in a Mist, any ornamental grasses etc. as these provide valuable food for birds in the winter months and can be used in flower arrangements. Cut down the old seed-heads in Spring, when the new growth appears.

• Last chance for bulbs

There is still time to plant spring bulbs and bare rooted trees and shrubs before the colder weather.

• Winter mulch

Cover and protect agapanthus plants with mulch or garden compost. Straw can also be used for protecting half hardy plants. Alpines planted in the garden can have a gravel mulch, or if they are in containers will benefit from covering with straw or bring them into the greenhouse for the winter.

• Look after your acers

Acers are a particularly good show this time of year with their autumn colours. Japanese maples are acers, and they can be either planted in the ground or in pots now. They will benefit from being placed in sheltered semi shady spots in the garden.

• Time to sow

Sowing seeds in a cold greenhouse is a nice job to do this time of year. Some of the favourite seeds to sow now are Sweet Peas, Ajuga Reptans (really good for ground cover), Cornflowers, Astrantias, Corydalis Solida and Allium Sphaerocephalon. Eryngiums (Sea Holly) are particularly attractive and can be sown now in a cold greenhouse. They can take a while to germinate, but they are worth it and they are attractive for bees.

After all that is done, have a cuppa tea and browse through your seed and garden catalogues and plan for next year! Pete