At last May is here which is one of my favourite months for gardening – flowers starting to burst and there is the lush green of new leaves everywhere. Oh and two bank holidays of course! There is plenty to do around the garden and a little work now will pay dividends in spadefuls when summer arrives.
It is always a pleasure to wander around other gardens on a warm sunny day and if you are regular visitor to certain places it may well be worth buying the May edition of Gardeners’ World Magazine which includes a 2 for 1 pass for adult entrance fees at hundreds of gardens until next April.
One of the heralds that spring is on its way are the daffodils and their cheerful chatter but once they have done their bit they do look a sorry lot and so it is time to get dead-heading. It may seem a bit daunting if you have hundreds of the little mites to deal with but there is a quick and easy way to dead-head daffodils and in no time at all you are helping them concentrate on the show for next year.
This year’s National Gardening Week starts on 28 April with theme of new and beginner gardeners. Creating your first outdoor garden or starting out as an indoor ‘plant parent’ can be a daunting experience – so the RHS are supporting new and curious gardeners as they start their growing journey.
A patch of daffodils never fails to cheer us up but when they are starting to fade, oh such a sorry sight. So, should you deadhead daffodils? Given that patches in the verges do not get deadheaded and yet return year on year in a blaze of glory the answer should surely be no. This was the question put to the Gardener’s Question Time panel recently and so I thought I would explore this further and see what the consensus is.
Yey, it is April again and you now need to be shifting yourself up a gear as spring starts to find its stride. The frosts are few and far between, the temperatures are slowly rising and the ground is nice and soft – perfect for weeds so time to get ahead of the little rascals and set out your stall for the season.
Spring has sprung – well sort of. March is the early spring month and whilst there is still more cold and wet weather to come, the daffodils are up and about and telling everyone else to wake up and that includes you – there is plenty to do!
Ah February, the last month of winter, and whilst there are signs here and there that plants are stirring from their slumber the weather is going to be cold for quite a while yet but don’t worry, there are still plenty of things you can be doing.
Whilst Winters are always busy, they are a good time to be catching up with learning so I finally managed to get a place on the Coppicing Course at Harcourt Arboretum and it was well worth the wait and in this article I share the things I learned on the day.
As January is the mid-Winter month this means it is likely to be the coldest month of the year so in theory there isn’t a lot to do… or is there?
“What three things would you give to a new professional gardener” was a question posed earlier in the month to my fellow pro gardeners. Not all made it the final list and I did some consult some other folk for their thoughts. So here we have 21 things that might be worth giving a new (or possibly experienced?) professional gardener.
It might be cold and dark and wet and grey and damp and really not a lot of fun but there are still plenty of things you can be doing in your garden. Others have more detailed suggestions (see end of article) but I have a few to offer.
Sometimes, finding the answer to what seems a simple question is very difficult (whether it is gardening or really any other aspect of life). So my simple question was, why did I keep finding metal watering cans with bowed out, distorted bottoms? The answer it seems is equally simple and logical when you think about it… ice.
Are you looking out of the window at the gloomy sky and the cold, wet weather and wondering what to do? Really? This is no time for lounging around – there is work to be done people! OK, things do start to become a bit challenging but November is a really great time (when dodging the showers) to invest a bit of your time that will pay dividends next year.
Right it is Autumn people and that means… lots of superb colour, long walks, wet grass and knowing that as nature starts to shut up shop for the year, there are still so many joys to find and that the wonders of winter are just around the corner before that new year starts again.
We won’t talk about the rain but three things from my week. First up, recycling of compost/soil etc. bags which is something which definitely gets me hot under the collar. Then…, gardening students… lovely people but trainers really don’t prepare folk for what the realities are. Finally, cake… sorry slugs & snails… Greg Foot’s investigation into our one footed foe is well worth a listen
The Barbican Centre is an essential escape from the hustle and bustle of central London. From the outside, it is a fortification of concrete and glass but, be brave, head inside and you will find yourself in an oasis of calm that will require many more visits to appreciate what it offers. The Conservatory is always going to be a delight and the open public spaces with the beds, planters and… those views – all tended by folk who both live and work there – it is a jewel – this is my postcard from the Barbican Centre.
September is my favourite month – the summer still lingers but clearly Autumn is on its way. The leaves are starting to fall and the sun rises later but after your month off in August now is a good time plan any Autumn work (paths, edges, new borders). In other words… plenty to be doing and plenty to be enjoying.
With the heat of mid-summer hopefully behind us, August is a time to enjoy those longer warmer evenings in your garden or at the allotment. Whether it is a session tackling those pesky weeds or just sitting down with a glass of wine and watching nature go by whilst the sun goes down, the only thing you really need to do is enjoy this time.
Deadheading is removing flowers that have finished or almost finished their cycle of life with aim of encouraging more flowers or keeping the prolific self-seeders in check. This short guide explains how to deadhead many of the flowering plants commonly found in a garden, which bits are which when it comes to deadheading and various other bits of useful info.