20 minute read
Home and Garden
Home and Garden Love your garden
by Greenfingers
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Although the weather hasn’t allowed much time just lately to be working outside, the hedges have all been cut and they look fabulous! Nothing can make me feel better than a hedge or lawn well cut and finished……it makes everything in the garden look so much better and the land is defined so neatly. I’ve found a couple who have made such a difference. I met them before we had the lockdowns with Covid and they cut the hedges for the first time. I’m not as tall as I used to be, so hedge cutting would have meant me precariously poised up the ladder with hedge trimmer in tow……..not a good thought! As the hedges are quite dense and tall it’s too big a job for me to do on my own now. This pair came to the rescue and now have a job for life! I’ve begun the under-planting of the trees with spring bulbs and violas and have finally sown some seeds and taken cuttings which are nestling in the greenhouse. Wonderful to have one furnished with electricity, so the travelling kettle and CD player have found a permanent home inside! The Amistad salvia is, amazingly still flowering abundantly and has become an enormous plant…so copious cuttings from it are being taken. It’s not reliably hardy, so it’s an insurance policy against losing it in a sudden frost. I’m awaiting a delivery of other bulbs, directly from Holland, from a company that has a huge and different selection which I can’t obtain locally, so that will be a joy when they arrive, to get on with more planting. Cutting back the campsis vine has been a bit laborious, especially as a bramble had invaded behind it which I only discovered by getting a handful of it…a prickly surprise! Still the digging out and the cutting back have been good cardiac exercise and it’s good for the soul! I’m still undecided about where to site the pond in the back garden—it has quite a slope to it so I expect it’ll be at the top or the bottom eventually. I’m looking forward to that as a project and to introducing some new species into the garden. The medlar is still in a pot and I need to plant that out soon! It has such beautiful blossom and quite unusual looking fruits. I would also like to buy a small variety apple tree to complete the ‘orchard’. The variegated hedychiums haven’t flowered well this year due to lack of water, but the foliage is spectacular even now. The foliage on the others has begun to die back and I’m trimming it off when it starts to look really ragged. They are such large plants now, I’ll be splitting them again in the spring. More plants for free! My friend and I are still walking during the week and on the weekend. As we go along, we see all sorts of wild life and we’ve noticed that it has been a marvellous year for wild cyclamen……. they are everywhere that we walk, large clumps, small clumps… and the colours are a delight ranging from white through to purple. We can see through the hedges to fields beyond, all sprinkled with these welcome, cheery little plants. It’s made the walking quite special and we get a positive feeling from that. It’s not too late for us all to do something which will help plants like these and so many others, to survive. I too have cyclamen growing in the garden which I naturalised a few years ago and their natural propagation process is fascinating. The flower dies and the seed, like a small, hard nut, stays on the end of the stem. The stem then begins to spiral down towards the earth until it makes contact, and the seed is planted automatically! Isn’t nature wonderful?
Greenfingers
Now is the time to:
There are several jobs and activities which continue from last month; the garden and plants are gradually preparing themselves for dormancy; so if there is some repetition I apologise…….but if you haven’t had time yet to start on the winding down jobs you’ve still got time. • Although our winters are usually milder than those in the
UK, it is as well to check that structures in the garden are safe and secure…….the winds can be quite fierce during this season and after experiencing a greenhouse which blew away completely after a windy winter storm, I’m always keen to make sure that everything is tied in, tied down or tied up!……..I was collecting greenhouse panels from around the neighbourhood for several weeks after that escapade! • Check too that fence panels are secure as much as is possible.
It’s a good time to carry out any necessary repairs and also to repaint the panels with some wood preserving paint. Check that climbing plants are properly tethered and attached to supports. Make sure that tree ties are not biting into the bark, relax them a bit if they are. • Keep a supply of fleece to hand in case frost or snow are forecast and investing in a small greenhouse heater or even a hurricane lamp is helpful in keeping cuttings and seedlings warm and frost free. • Avoid walking on wet or frozen soil as this can lead to compaction. Walking on frozen grass can damage it badly too.
• Deciduous hedges such as beech or hornbeam can be trimmed or renovated during the next few months. • Lemon trees need a night-time temperature of around 10°C and will benefit from a citrus fertiliser at this time of year.
No more the scarlet maples flash and burn, their beacon fires from hilltop and from plain; The meadow grasses and the woodland fern, in the bleak woods lie withered once again. The trees stand bare, and bare each stony scar upon the cliffs; half frozen glide the rills; The steel blue river like a scimitar lies cold and curved between the dusky hills. Over the upland farm I take my walk, and miss the flaunting flocks of golden rod; Each autumn flower a dry and leafless stalk, each mossy field a track of frozen sod. I hear no more the robin’s summer song through the grey network of the wintry woods; Only the cawing crows that all day long clamour about the wintry solitudes; Come once again, O southern wind, --once more come with thy wet wings flapping at my pane; Ere snow-drifts pile their mounds about my door, one parting dream of summer bring again. Christopher Pearce Cranch 1813-1892
• Cut back the foliage of Hellebores in order to see the emerging flowers more easily. Hellebores can suffer from
Leaf Spot disease, which is easy to recognise from the brown spots which appear on the leaves. The ‘spots’ can become holes and make the plants look very ragged. If you can see the spots on the leaves, remove all the affected ones as soon as possible. Burn the leaves, do not include them in the compost heap. Mulch around the plants to keep the leaves clean.
• Prune free standing apple and pear trees, don’t prune those that are trained against a wall.
• Prune acers and birches before Christmas to avoid sap bleeding taking place in the spring. Side shoots of wisteria can be cut back to two or three buds.
• Grape vines can be hard pruned back now, cutting the vine right back almost to the base. If pruning is left until later, there is a tendency for the vine to bleed sap which will
weaken the plant generally and affect fruit production next year. Side shoots can be pruned back to two buds, this will encourage good fruit formation next year. Many vines grown in gardens, produce very small bunches of grapes. The hard pruning encourages more fruit of better quality • Deciduous trees and shrubs can still be transplanted from pots into the garden or just into a new position in the garden.
Any new tree or shrub additions can be planted at the same time. • Hardwood cuttings can be taken from willow and fuchsias and any other small tree or shrub. The best way to take these cuttings is to cut slim stems or branches from the ‘parent’ plant, trimming off the leaves and scraping a small portion of bark from the bottom of the stem. Dip this end into some rooting gel or powder and either plant into pots or directly into the flower bed outside, watering it in well. Hardwood cuttings do not require heat to root and don’t need to be covered outside. Cuttings like these can be planted in batches in one pot……..bundle the cuttings together, make one hole in the compost and insert the bundle into the hole. Once the roots have formed, the cuttings can be separated later.
Evergreens like laurel, holly, box, honeysuckle and escallonia, respond well with this type of cutting, but any shrub or small tree can be successfully propagated using this method. • Prune climbing roses, removing damaged or diseased wood.
Tie in new green shoots and cut back stems that bore flowers earlier in the year by two thirds.
• The tips of branches on fig trees are where the fruit will be borne. These tips can be damaged by heavy frost. If this is forecast protect the branches with fleece. • Dahlia tubers can be left in the ground as long as there is no danger of frost, otherwise they can be lifted now and stored in a cool dry place until next year.
Continued .....
• Continue deadheading winter pansies and violas so that flowering continues. • Take root cuttings from Oriental poppies and Japanese anemones. These cuttings should be taken when the plant is dormant. Dig around the ‘parent’ plant, exposing some of the roots. Cut off some of the larger roots and then re-cover the roots of the parent plant with soil. Cut the lengths of root cuttings into strips measuring about 5cms. Fill a seed tray with cuttings compost and lay the root pieces horizontally on the compost leaving a few centimetres in between each one.
Cover the cuttings with more compost and then a layer of fine grit or perlite. Water well and leave in a sheltered spot. • Spike lawns with the tines of a garden fork or an aerator to improve drainage and thus prevent waterlogging. Lawn sand can be sprinkled into the holes made by the aerator. Make sure any fallen leaves are removed from the lawn surface as if left, these will cause the lawn to die and leave brown patches.
• If you’ve planted sweet pea seeds, it’s time now to pinch back the stems, so that more shoots will grow up from the base. These new shoots will be thicker and stronger than the initial ones; doing this will ensure that the plants will be really ready to be planted outside in the spring and an earlier showing of flowers will be encouraged. • Sow alpine seeds now. The colder temperature will help to break the seed dormancy and they will germinate earlier in the spring.
• If you are going to give someone an amaryllis lily for Christmas, start it into growth now. Fill a pot with good potting compost and push the bulb into it, back fill with more compost just leaving just the tip of the bulb exposed. Water and leave in a warm, light place. • Sow seeds of hardy trees and shrubs now as with the alpine seeds above, the dormancy is broken by the cold and germination is more certain to take place sooner. • Regularly remove dead foliage from around plants in pots and in beds to prevent mould from establishing. • If you’ve grown asparagus this year, cut the old stems back to ground level. Use a small hand fork and lightly disturb the soil from around the base of the plant. This is where the asparagus likes to spend the winter. Leave the disturbed soil for a few days so that the birds can feed on what has been uncovered and then mulch with a good thick layer of compost mulch.
• Time to plant a dogwood (cornus) shrub. This will establish well if planted now as they prefer damp conditions. Bare root or pot grown specimens can be planted out from now until March. After planting, shorten the stems by a third and apply a mulch of well-rotted manure. Keep the plants well watered. The stems provide a real splash of colour which will brighten up the dullest of days. • Plant up some colourful troughs or pots to brighten up window sills.
• Sow pelargonium seeds for summer bedding.
• Tidy up flower beds by cutting back broken flower heads/stems and trimming any other plant that has been damaged; Add a mulch of compost or bark to help with moisture retention. • Harvest any remaining vegetable crops, storing them in a dry, cool place…remember to protect from mice damage! • Sow onion seeds in seed trays filled with good potting compost.
• Cut back gooseberry plants and red, black and white currant shrubs, removing any dead or diseased wood and then pruning back about ¼ of the older branches, to create an open shape. Cut side shoots back to two or three buds.
• Give the watering can a good clean in case there is a layer of sludge or debris lurking at the bottom. Clean the rose separately to ensure the holes are clear.
• Clean tools and give wooden handles a rub down with linseed oil and clean the metal parts and rub them with the oil too to prevent rust from forming. Enjoy whatever you do in the garden. Don’t forget to take a step back now again to appreciate what you are doing.
Keep warm and safe!
Greenfingers
DONNA IN HER POTAGER
December
by Donna Palframan
The nights are drawing in and getting colder but we have been blessed in Normandy with some lovely weather, not the normal Norman rain! The potager is still providing me with some good basic vegetables but the mâche seeds I sowed a while ago haven’t produced any leaves, which is a shame but that’s gardening for you. I’m hoping to get some seeds in the polytunnel in the next few weeks as I really must make more use of it over winter and extend the growing period.
I am now seriously casting my mind forward to next year’s potager and what I want to grow in it and how I want to grow it. First of all, the ‘how’, as the ‘what’ keeps changing, although I have decided not to grow parsnips, as mentioned last month, I love them but mister is not partial so for the few that I will use in a year, I might as well let someone else do the work!
I mentioned last month that I have the straw bales for next year and my task in the next few weeks is to get them into position so the outside ones at least, can be rained on throughout the Winter. Before starting to condition the bales with a very high nitrogen fertiliser, the straw must be saturated as this helps with the decomposition process, so what better way to ensure it is done but use rain! It is also better to let them get rained on in their final position rather than move saturated bales – they hold a lot of water and get very heavy, and while I can get move dry bales very easily, wet bales are a bit more trying. Did you know that in straw bale gardening there is a right way up? If you look at the long, thin sides of the bale, you’ll see that one side has mostly cut ends. This is the side that you want positioned upwards so all that lovely rain can trickle through the hollow centre of the straw all the way through the bale. This also assists with the conditioning process and getting the fertiliser into the centre of the bale.
What is this ‘conditioning’ she keeps mentioning, I hear you ask. To use straw bales for growing, there must be some degree of decomposition and while a bale left in the rain will decompose eventually, the decomposition needs to be accelerated to provide the optimum medium for growing. I won’t go into great detail, although if anyone is interested, I’m more than happy to share the detail with you! Depending on whether you are conditioning using chemical or organic fertilisers, it can take twelve to eighteen days to condition the bales using a Bales set up readyvariable regime
Well conditioned bale showing fungus
of adding fertiliser, watering it in, just watering, or just being patient and waiting to sow seeds or plant. As the decomposition in the centre of the bale produces heat, and the temperatures can be quite impressive, sometimes exceeding 40°, the ‘patient’ part is waiting for a few days for the bales to cool, although I’ve never had the very high temperatures that some people have reached. However, the warm bales mean that seeds can be sown earlier and plants can be planted earlier, especially as it is possible to provide cover using plastic sheet, rather like a mini polytunnel. In fact, I use the cover from an old polytunnel for this.
Seeds in compost in bales Straw bale gardens need less watering than normal gardens as the bales act a bit like a sponge, holding lots of water, but they will, of course need watering at some point, especially in a hot, dry summer and the best way to do this is to set up an irrigation system. I didn’t do it this year and really regretted it so I will be setting one up before growing in the bales. The photos I am sharing with you are from 2019, my initial foray into straw bale gardening. The configuration will be different next time, with bales in pairs, giving a bigger surface area and the bales will be caged in. As they decompose, they need to be compressed, or ‘smooshed’ and if there isn’t a boundary, they just collapse, making longer use difficult. The first year, I scooped collapsed bales into a pile and wrapped fencing around them – chicken wire works well and there is a method of enclosing them in chicken wire that I need to try.
Although the bales need generally less water, the plants, especially tomatoes, squashes and other hungry plants do need regular fertilizing to get the best results and this is done using a foliar feed and although I’ve used granular fertilisers, next year I’m going to use only liquid fertilisers and I promise to do it more regularly! Seeds and plants can be grown in bales. If using seeds, especially small seeds, a layer of compost on top of the bale gives the seeds a good base for germinating and growing, and they won’t be washed away by the rain or watering. For big seeds, like courgette or cucumber, some of the best results I’ve had are when I’ve just shoved Bales breaking down them in the bales. Seedlings or bigger plants can just be planted into a hole forced in the straw, although I still like to put some compost in and then the straw can be closed around the plant. It is important to provide support for climbing plants and tall plants. I’ve found that while broccoli and Brussels sprouts do well in bales, they do tend to get blown over easily by strong winds, so it is important to give them support. You can see in the pictures I have a supporting system in place and next year, rather than have it at the edge of the bales as it is in some places, it will be in the middle for all the bales.
I do have one more bale to get and that is one of the big round bales – this will be an experiment but I have this dream of having squashes cascading down the sides and flowers on top!
Watch this space!
Sweetness and Light
by Kevin and Amanda Baughen
We could all do with some of the above in our lives, as another difficult year comes to an end, and whether you’re a honey-lover or not, it’s sometimes surprising to realise how intertwined human society is with bees and honey. The Egyptians, in 3000BCE, adopted the bee as a sign of mankind’s ingenuity, a symbol of power, industry and production. Cleopatra is said to have used honey as part of her beauty routine. Bees are reputed to have settled on the lips of Plato, indicating his future brilliance with words, and similarly, a swarm of bees is said to have gathered on baby Ambrose’s face, leaving behind a drop of honey. Ambrose became a bishop in fourth-century Milan who encouraged monks to use the bees’ chaste hard-working life as a model for their own.
Bees and honey have been part of music, poetry (many of us can recite the first verse of ‘The Owl and the Pussycat’ by Edward Lear!), architecture, art, philosophy, politics and religion for thousands of years, so it’s no wonder these days we have such an affinity with them. We used honey long before sugar, in ceremonies and celebrations, for healing and for mead. The idea of honey, now, has the sweetest of associations, its flavours evoking thoughts of summer days and the sound of bees buzzing between flowers in the sunshine. AA Milne was on to something when he created the best known honey-lover in fiction, Winnie-the-Pooh. Thankfully, nowadays, we have safer, more efficient ways of harvesting honey; I don’t fancy just sticking my paw into a hive and scooping out what I can! Ripe honey has a moisture content of around 18%; this is nectar that has been collected, stored, treated and capped with wax by the bees as winter food. This enables the colony to survive until the spring when the worker bees can forage again for fresh supplies of nectar and pollen. You may have noticed that there are different types of honey for sale; what makes this difference? Honey varies in colour from very pale gold to dark brown-black, and this is determined by the nectar collected by the bees. Darker honeys tend to contain more minerals and have a stronger more robust taste than lighter ones. Some honeys crystallise more quickly than others and this depends on the amount of fructose versus glucose in the nectar. Acacia honey, for example, will stay liquid whereas oil seed rape honey will crystallise quickly due to its higher proportion of glucose.
2021 has been “une année noire” for commercial honey producers across France, according to UNAAF, the beekeepers’ union, meaning that honey harvests have been exceptionally poor due to the prolonged wet spring experienced across the country. Many beekeepers have had to feed their colonies with sugar syrup much earlier in the season than usual, and several (us included) have decided to take no harvest and leave the honey that has been stored, for the bees. This means that honey might well be more expensive over the coming months as it is in short supply, but if you see any beekeepers selling honey at markets, please buy a pot to support them!
If you are interested in learning more about bees, beekeeping, and honey, please visit our website for more information. Christmas vouchers are available too for wax workshops and beekeeping courses.
