The RHS London Show

Today I kept alive the Easter Bank Holiday magic by having another day off to go the RHS plant Fair show at the Horticultural Halls in Westminster. The show was filled with marvels...

MARVEL: you thought that there were only a few different types of daffodil and narcissus, there were hundreds all neatly laid out in a mega horticultural way

BEHOLD: see how plants can miraculously heal older people with disabilities, see people discard sticks and walking aids in order to carry more plants

AMAZEMENT: amongst photos of wild plants, see the bizarre picture of Meerkats

GASP: at the tiny bonsai tree doing an impression of a pencil

GIGGLE: at the plants with amusing names (this plant is Silybum)

And marvel at lots of lovely plants

Echium fastuosum

Pleiome  with Asarum at the back



Tropaeolum tricolor

another Tropaeolum whose name Ive forgotten

Bromeliads a go go

OMG

You know those things that seem like a good idea at the time?

Well on Monday we finally had tree surgeons in, and I asked to keep the chippings as a) they are free b) I’m fed up of weeding and a fully mulched garden is very appealing.  They were more than happy to, and have even promised more in the future, although they didn’t leave them straight away as said they would come back at the end of the week as there would be a bit more

Hurrah I said! The more the merrier! As the visions of wall to wall mulching, new paths and the most amazing soil materialised.

So all was well, with them suggesting next week for a delivery leaving me ample time to assemble the bee hives (bees coming on Monday) however yesterday I got a quick email saying they would ’drop them off’ that afternoon.

Fine I said calling Mum to open the gate dashing home.mmm. So I came home to threatening skies and seeing Mum looking panicked at the gate ‘the wheelbarrow doesn’t fit through the end gate....where shall we put them....there is, erm, rather a lot’

Walking round I saw tipped on the road the biggest pile of woodchip I have ever seen, it was a bit like the size of a tank, about 5ft tall and literally steaming. Mum and the wheelbarrow were dwarfed in comparison (think lego man next to a tin of beans)

With the sky looking ever darker, and friends coming soon to help finish the bee hives we urgently started shovelling and moving all the chip, which due to a narrow gate had to be carried up the slope in dustbins. Dad emerged home later wandering in the garden with a glass of wine in hand enjoying the garden not expecting the wood chip iceberg that was about to hit him. For 2 hours we shovelled, carried and piled. UG! Never again!

However I now have more woodchip than I know what to do with and all for free! I have been researching if it is ok to use fresh chip as mulch with very polarised views from yes its fine, to no it will kill all your plants and take lots of nitrogen. The advice seems to be that you can use it fresh if you keep it away from stems, don’t put it on too thick and put down nitrogen fertilizer first. Being the king of pelleted chicken manure this is a good option, but I think I will mainly use it for paths, and perhaps try out mulch in a few months when it has ‘cooked’ a bit as it was incredible hot how it got.  I think next year I can then use all the stuff that is on the paths as mulch and get a new load to replace this.

I should have taken a picture of them on the road when it looked immense as these pictures dont do it justice as it goes all the way back!

Anyway, other things....it is so good to get the trees sorted.....being in a conservation area we needed to apply for planning permission to cut anything more than 3 inches, and it took ages, but it is all done. Big things being removing a small Sycamore which was in the wrong place, coppicing 2 other Sycamores so I can manage them, and raising the crown of a big Sycamore and removing the ivy. I was very sceptical about removing the ivy as it’s a great wildlife plant, but apparently it was a big wind break so stressed the tree, and as it was dropping the odd big branch we had to do something.

So it all now actually looks really good, especially the big tree which looks healthy and seeing the ivy less trunks is quite beautiful. It’s also so light, and turns the bit of land by the stump (where the sculpture is) into garden and not just ‘that land by the tree where nothing will grow’

Managed trees....the surgeon shows how me and Dad on top of a rickety step lader isnt the best way of managing trees

This is the biggest change as none of this was visible...its so light and airy!

Spring is now firmly with us and the garden is awash with forget-me-nots, the birds are singing although things are currently very cold (Easter bank holiday special). Where we are the rain hasn’t been significant, and things are still dry...today is also the first day of the hosepipe ban which is tricky to fathom when Thames Water loses an obscene 25% of its water to leaks and the road near our house has had an unfixed water leak on it for weeks. Anyway, moan over....lots to do, the bees are coming on Monday which is both fabulous and shit scary, and there is the RHS plant fair on Tuesday to go to! Hurrah!

Happy Bank holiday gardening!

Brunnera, forget-me-nots and Lamium 'White Nancy'

A very floriferous Bishops Hat (Epimedium)

Hacquetia epipactis

Death of the Carol Klein banana and Venetian wonder

It (sniff) is (sob) with a heavy heart (boo hoo) that I report the probable death of the Carol Klein banana tree.  I had been thinking of doing some video footage to film the official unwrapping, however on investigation the stem was soft, and very dead feeling, proven after an emergency unwrapping of its protective winter fleece.

This was of course the banana tree made famous on Gardeners World that we dug up, re-potted, fleeced and tied up for film on 7^th October last year. The tree was then joined by its other Musa Sikkimensis friends in late November (see post here) and left over winter in our side passage. There was some HTUK concerns that this would create too damp and cold an atmosphere, but it gets ambient heat from the house and is well ventilated.

Ironically, every single other banana tree is alive and well...just Carol and my special tree has gone (sob again). I think on reflection it was just taken up too early as it was a month and a half before the others joined it and I think it has just dried out too much. However I hope it will regrow from the roots.

Anyway, the good news is that with all the hot weather all the living bananas are coming back into growth and I have decided to unwrap them all, even the Basjoo in the garden.  Everything is bursting back into life including the weeds and seeds of good things like Canary Creepers and nasturtiums.



Clematis filling the air with its heady scent, and a bedraggled M. Basjoo coming back to life. Whent he leaves are off the tree I feel a little awkward about how much the clematis has invaded next door. However what is to stop beauty?

I think it has actually been too hot as the greenhouse is still super insulated and yesterday with the hottest day so far my new Schleffera and Fatsia leaves got a bit fried. Seedlings are growing fast and I’m having to start water things in pots to prevent them drying out. The hosepipe ban is a worry as with so many new plants and things to go in they will need watering to prevent death.

We have actually been away for the last week or so in Munich, Austria and Venice. It was quite eye opening in Austria seeing somewhere so cold and snowy where every plant I saw seemed to be hanging on and on the edge of death from having the soil so frozen. They also all tended to tie up their plants to prevent the weight of the snow breaking branches.

I liked Venice and wanted to share some planty pictures (swanning around looking at pretty things, getting lost and drinking Spritz is my kind of break). It was great to see how even with no space people grew plants, and I loved the Eden like image that the walled gardens gave brimming over with plants.

Lots to do, however I’m looking forward to a hard core couple of weeks and Easter break of getting everything in.  We have even found somewhere in Lincolnshire to get bees from (Lincolnshire stuff gets everywhere), and they will arrive over Easter (hopefully not delivered in a giant egg by the Easter bunny).

Ciao!

Fabulous friends and spring renewal

I think the past month has been the busiest time in ages as everything is now full steam ahead. The corpses of last year’s luxuriance have been tidied up, the compost heap is the biggest beast imaginable and new life pushes through everywhere. There is something about natural rhythms and the 1000’s of sycamore seedlings pushing through every corner are saying that it’s time to plant seeds!

I can feel the excitement again, and it’s actually been great to clear everything back and see what big open borders I have. So much of the bulk of the garden is either annual, under the ground or waiting to be replanted and the change can be remarkable.

Garden today, all cut back and ready to go

Same view but the height of summer!

At the weekend I was also very happy to have help from 7 friends as part of my new ‘horticultural rehab for city people’ program. I marvelled at Sue’s staying power as she re-potted mall the mail order plants, bulbs and bare rooted things. I swooned at the testosterone coming from Richard, Phil and Laurence as they hurled logs and bricks around the garden and did other butch manly things. I gasped at how Charlie and Hannah spent the whole day making frames and putting together bee hives from a seemingly nightmare flat pack arrangement.

So I am lucky to have very nice friends, and parents who oiled the wheels with good food and endless tea and cake.

After all the help it finally feels like I’ve broken the spine of the land clearance as I was waiting for a huge log to be moved as once that had gone I could use it to line the edge of the bed which gave a place to pile soil and raise the levels which meant rubble could be moved and plants planted. More importantly it means that the huge old rediscovered pond has now been properly cleared and filled in and is looking very nice. Hurrah!

1 hive down, 1 to go

So lots still to do as my big order from Constantine is all potted and ready to be planted, I’ve done my first 8 pots of seeds and sorted the greenhouse for more, and a big order of Cannas is imminent (I had an obsessive Canna moment at work last week). My neighbour has also just offered 15 railway sleepers and paving slabs which whilst being a very generous offer is provoking some difficult logistical challenges!  But with the joys of spring this is all feeling ok, and it was so nice just to be in the garden with the birds singing planting onion sets and eyeing the last bits of Cavalo Nero which I need to pick to eat this week.

My army of plants waiting to go in

Rather busy greenhouse...must plant more seeds...

However the big news is that there is to be an imminent hosepipe ban....it has been very dry, but having a summer without a hose will be difficult. Im not a fan of excessively irrigated gardens, preferring the majority of my plants to fend for themselves, but you do need to water plants when they are new to help them establish, and I have a lot of new plants! Perhaps this will make for some uber selective watering, investment in lots of mulch and big arm muscels from carrying watering cans!

NGS: the book, the planning the worrying and gardeners who should know better!

Well the new Yellow Book has finally arrived...for people not up on their coloured books or new to the blog this is my ticket to open again for the National Gardens Scheme (NGS). This is year 2, and I must say that emotionally I’m probably on the same level as I was last year in terms of a winding stress and worry about getting everything right.....it is not getting much easier! With a new plant catalogue through my door almost every week I’m seeing images of perfect gardens and very aware how time is ticking quickly and my window of opportunity is narrowing

Gardening is also a funny creative business and although you can tinker through the year or have radical makeovers (if you have the budget), the main time to do stuff is now until about April/May by which time everything needs to be planted out. Time is therefore running out!

I think gardeners are notoriously critical of their own creations as when someone says, ooh that looks nice, you think yes...but that needs deadheading and that X is clearly in the wrong place. Some of this is the planning as I think you are always thinking about what needs to change and what needs to be moved so a current garden is just a transition point to the perfect garden.

I have been having an eek moment of gosh there is a lot to do and will it be good enough, and it was good fate that at the same time I’ve just been having emails with Wayne who has similar jitters about the first time opening of his garden in Clapham. I have realised that I should heed my own advice that it is only for half a day a year, and if its good enough for the NGS inspectors then its good enough for the public! Other people can also see things that you can’t , and after seeing pictures of Wayne’s garden he has nothing to worry about as it is fabulous tropical fiesta. I’m sure the same is true of my own garden where I do of course only see the faults/problem areas...however if Carol can say nice things then perhaps I should listen to them.

Waynes 'Clapham meets Jamaica' garden. Dont you think it looks fabulous?

I’ve also realised how I’m not quite as organised in the garden as I am at work where I’m very good at diarising and to do lists which I find a very good tool for calmness and planning, so to catch up I thought I would share:

So my big to do, and also figure out what I’m doing list at the moment is:

Shed/Summerhouse: We need some type of formal base to sit and ponder life from, we know what shed we want and have pondered the merits of concrete bases vs breeze blocks and sleepers for its base so now just need to do the base and get it assembled. I also think getting it in will be key as something like this radically changes the outlook of your space and denotes new views and vistas and as such the creative process will flow more once it is in.

The overlooked problem: the site is so overlooked, and the current construction of a new 3 floor house 2 doors down will only make it worse, as will the planned house at the bottom of the new land. I hate being overlooked and it really feels like you are on display at the moment wherever you are in the garden. I know this is compounded by the lack of leaves but I need to create lots of private areas and close vistas.....shed will help with this, as will lots of trellis and my slow growing bamboos but they need to grow quicker! Last year I found wigwams were helpful, and this year there will be lots along with some metal reinforcing things and wire mesh...

Digging and clearing: I am on the home stretch with this as only about 8-12 square metres of key 2012 garden space remains to be dug (along with a wooded bit where I have a digitalis dream) so I should relax about it! the problem of not really knowing what I will put there is a different issue!

Seeds and starting stuff off: I have planted the amazing total of 0 seeds so far, and in fact only dried off and stored the Kangaroo apple seeds last week. This is my priority over the next couple of weeks along with starting off the Eddoes and Coco Yams which took forever last year to get going (I don’t have the wonders of reptile mats or heated propagators that more professional folk have)

Bees: the bees have an amazing platform to live on, but in order to fulfil my honey drenched dreams I should really buy the 2 hives and some bees!

Mastering the concreting fear: I’m not great with concreting stuff as this involves buying the concrete and then doing permanent stuff. The shed base will need some concrete as will my artificial mound.

What plants where? The big dilemma, especially as I’m growing a good amount of stuff this year that I haven’t grown before, but hey that’s the joy of gardening! I also find it far easier to physically arrange stuff when planting. Last year it also all went ok the only mistakes being red zinnias (they weren’t big and wild enough) and orange cosmos sulphurous (bit small and weedy, also a bit suburban front garden. I need faith!

Anyway, things are happening and doing this list was cathartic in it’s self! I have a gardening day planned for the 10^th and 3^rd and have big piles of soil, bulbs , plants, pond liners and bee hives on order which will make me feel better about progress. As spring is approaching I also feel more and more positive every time a daffodil opens or new sycamore seed starts to grow!

Salacious thoughts, RHS shows and Helianthus

It may be cold outside, but inside I’m heading to RHS shows and buying lots of plants!

On Tuesday I went to the RHS spring show and was very pleased to meet up with the lovely Mark and Gaz. I had thought we may be fighting for the same plants, and arm wrestling for the last Fatsia polycarpa but it was all very amicable, and it was great to be able to talk plants with other people that understand!  Do check out their great blog about it, as they are proper bloggers they remember things like cameras to take pictures!

The show was very different from my usual experiences in that I went first thing on the first day (usually I go last thing on the last day) so it was packed and everyone was all keen and enthusiastic. No old ladies had yet fallen asleep on the chairs up the top, and I bumped into other friends including the lovely Leslie and Dr Dick. Being there when it was busy also meant that I spent more time perusing, although I was very strict about buying plants as I had pre ordered a load from Crug only being distracted to get a giant thistle.

For me the Crug stall was by far the best, as taste wise this was bang on and their stand was littered with many things which I had no idea what they were. Theirs is exactly the type of gardening I like....rare, unusual, big leaved and I am rather poorer financially as a result!

I was very pleased with my Crug haul... my top plants being a Schleffera taiwanna, a very deep cut Fatsia ploycarpa, and an amazing Rubus lineatus which has these beautiful large palmate leaves that are like a cross between a horse chestnut and cannabis....indeed when I got into a taxi to go home the driver leaned over and looking at the Rubus said ‘bought some special plants then mate?’  

Besides Crug, my other plant lusting have mainly been around Helainthus salicifolius and Eryngium pandanifolia both of which I hopefully now have on order.

A small one in a French square...thei planting is a lot more exciting than our carpet bedding of red geraniums

Helianthus is a family where it is the humble sunflower that is the child which is the centre of attention, distracting you from the other great members of the family.  I am a lover of annual sunflowers both for cut flowers and for fun as there is something magical about growing a very tall monster sunflower. Last year I grew a mix of sunflowers for cutting from Chiltern seeds which had a particularly good lemon yellow variety. I also grew a variety called moonwalker which had dark red/browny flowerswas ok, but I’m not growing this year as the flowers all looked down a bit and didn’t stand out as much as I would like.

Sunflower Moonwalker

My sunflowers for cutting (at the back)

However Helianthus has more than annuals in it, and in France last year I kept seeing Helianthus salicifolia and was captivated by its tall stems, with thin leaves giving it a different look, indeed its common name is the Willow leafed sunflower. It is a perennial, mainly grown for its foliage reaching 8-10ft in its native North America.  It is a little similar to Eupatorium capillifolium (dog fennel) which I also developed a little obsession with last year, finding some at the last RHS show and buying 2 plants which I’m keeping safe in the greenhouse until spring. This can also grow 1-2 metres tall and has that same elegent and slightly odd foliage.

So pretty! let me rub my hand up and down your body....

The other Helianthus I like is the common Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosa)..... many people dont realise it’s a sunflower until it flowers when the link is suddenly clear.  I got a large bag of these last year due to their previous owner realising that eating them was the cause of a large amount of wind in their flat and thus removing them from his allotment.  I like them as they grow quickly and bushy, with them reaching about 8-9ft last year making them an effective screening plant, although they can be a little susceptible to mildew. So this year I will use them as temporary screens to try and hide the neighbours with vast amounts of them to be consumed at the end of next year!

Jerusalem artichoke in the middle forming a very neat clump!

Finally I wanted to show you a good use for an old fork which I found when digging out the old pond. Who knew it would be perfect as my trident for when I was Neptune at Stevens seven seas themed birthday party!

Ahoy...I am king of the sea

An extravaganza, behind the scenes at Kew and a bit of snow

Well the snow has come; we have had a frosty week with a good splattering of snow overnight. Buses are skidding, old ladies are falling over and I’m staying in with the heating on all day.

I think I can safely say that all the tender stuff is now dead, hopefully the greenhouse is ok, certainly the stuff in the sideway is doing fine, when I checked the metre cupboard last week my Abyssinian banana looked quite happy, and the cannas had actually grown about 2ft of etiolated stems...oops.

So what better thing to do yesterday than head to Kew for a behind the scenes tour of the tropical nurseries and have a peep at the extravaganza.  We also went via the new David Hockney exhibition  at the RAA and I must say I was blown away by it........In essence there are lots of huge, energetic paintings of the Yorkshire landscape charting the seasons and really marvelling in the wonder of nature. Fabulous energy and celebration of the seasons, and very inspiring. Go see it if you are in London and can get tickets.

Anyway, I digress... we went to Kew as the fabulous Leslie (whom helped on the open day) is a guide there and was doing a special tour and gave us a heads up. I was really keen to go as I did a week’s work experience there when I was 15? which was a great experience I won’t forget  seeing all the unseen bits and tinkering with cacti and succulents whilst wandering the PoW.

The motley crew...deperate to learn more and find out why their orchids dont grow well

For the tour we headed out as a small group through a gate into the powerhouse of Kew, an acre of glass spread into about 24 different climatic zones. We wandered the path round the edge meeting some well placed plants on route from cacti to carnivores and critically endangered plants. There was also a good opportunity to peer through into the different bits of greenhouse to see the perfectly tended plants including about 7 of the giant Titan Arums which are wheeled out when flowering to the many orchids and succulents.

Ant plants (on hanging on the all): their stems swell up like footballs and have a warren of cavities inside for the ants to live in. They get a home, the plant gets protection from predators and considerate ants which poo in the right place to give the plan extra nutrients.

Loads of succulents, quite prickle tastic

No, not the sewerage plant but where they grow the tropical lillies

Leslie was of course fabulous and I have a lot of respect for the dedication and passion of the Kew guides whom are all volunteers, do go on one of their tours if you are around.

Afterwards we had a peek at the tropical extravaganza in the PoW. I must admit that this isn’t the end of gardening I’m particularly keen on as I prefer a more naturalistic approach......don’t even get me started on the giant luminous mushrooms......however, I can see how there were lots of very beautiful plants if you are into that kind of thing.

Mmmm im not sure. I think my Granny had one like this made of plastic.

Bit more exciting...lots of epiphytic orchids, their roots hanging down to grab you

So a nice weekend off digging! It has also been good to catch up with ordering things (Greengage, Mirabelle and Hereford Russet tree on its way) and planning for visiting the London RHS show. I’m also getting the hang of this Twitter malarkey and there has been some really good blogging going on. I was particularly taken with the pictures of using fire as a natural way of managing a prairie garden. And finding the blogs of pampas2palms and bamboo and more. Happy gardening!

The new/old pond looking even more like a swiming pool!