AUTUMN - PLANNING FOR SPRING!

27th SEPTEMBER 2020 NORTH YORKSHIRE.

The very cold North Wind has stamped AUTUMN on the garden with night temperatures falling below 3 degrees. It’s been a funny old Spring and Summer really.  The attention to detail in its horticultural progression has been exemplary in the ‘Isolation’ of Lock Down from late March until Mid August – just the HG and myself to tread the boundaries of our small territory and manicure every flower and blade of grass.  Must say the results have been splendid and sanity preserved.

The Geraniums and Fuchsias which were overwintered in the Greenhouse proved a boon and a source of numerous cuttings – managed around ninety Geraniums in various colours and forty Fuchsias in twelve varieties, which filled quite a few Tubs and Baskets

Below - geraniums in a trough, and just a few fuchsias!

As the physical contact with the outside world has been ‘NIL’ everything has had to be generated from within the abilities of what was available after he 16^th March (Lockdown Day). Re-use of all potting compost from last year with addition of any fertilizer remaining from last year suddenly became the planting ‘Norm’ and residual amounts of seed in old packets (some ten years old) became the basis of 2020 planning.

The surviving Dahlias from last year all proved to be ‘White Cactus’ (last year’s Bishop of Llandaff and Danish Flag just disappeared) but have enjoyed a magnificent show from late May till now (and first frost presumably). Awarded five First Prizes and two ‘Best in Show’ awards on my morning ‘Judging’ Inspections. All in the mind as ALL Shows were cancelled – but it does keep the plants’ spirits up to know they are appreciated for their efforts. The Fuchsias are still in full flower and will be good for Christmas (unless it snows). Cuttings from both these great supporters already taken and growing on for next year.

A very pretty bedding dahlia

Dahlia White Cactus

The Winter Pansies were still in full glory in March so with careful cutting back and coaxing are still going strong and giving colour to the Cordyline tubs, hanging baskets and window boxes – many of these plants are now three years old (that’s the best of Global Warming!). The packet residue and collected seeds from last year’s plants proved very beneficial in the Nasturtium stakes- must have managed to grow on well over two hundred plants so very colourful and expansive show in all quarters of the garden.  Now collecting seeds for next year and trying to note their parents' colour on the collection packets so next year’s planting may be better ordered.. (Head Gardener says "you must be joking, they have all gone into the same box!")

Below a few pansies and nasturtiums still carrying on!

Last year’s Begonias have also returned and have given a perfect show, the trailing Red Begonia has been especially praised. The Sedums have proliferated in the summer heat – yes it has been very sunny and warm during May, June, July and first half of August – and are now a rich deep Terracotta Pink. These, together with the red berried Cotoneasters and yellow berried Pyracanthus, give a seasonally Autumn base for October.

Below Begonias trailing red and vibrant yellow

Sedum in their autumn glory - the bees and butterflies love them

Yellow berries on the pyracantha

Roses, as always, have been beyond reproach. The mild start to the year encouraged early growth and the first blooms were out in late April, as all the Rose are repeat flowering varieties the summer garden has been full of colour and bountiful scents, and they will certainly flower until the first frosts arrive – just keep dead heading daily and feeding every fortnight (a benefit of being ‘Locked Down’ - plenty of time for a daily ‘Dead Head’)’

Below just a few of the many roses still blooming

Remember Me

Joie de Vivre 

Dancing Queen

Golden Celebration

That's Jazz

Olivia Rose Austen

Summer Sky

Super Trouper

Gertude Jekyll

In the search for seeds in early April a box of envelopes containing seeds dating back to 2010 came to light. Much had become dust but a few residual seeds remained. These include various Courgettes, Tomato, Purple Bean, Squash, Dahlia and Canna Lilly. Planted the lot and around fifty percent germinated into viable plants. Tomatoes were ‘Gardeners Delight’ and ‘Black Cherry’; both produced a good edible crop. Courgettes and beans have been eaten and the ‘Green Patti Pan’, ‘Butter Nut Squashes’ and ‘Eight Ball’ Courgettes are still trying hard to ripen. The Canna Lilies are 400 mm high and just might flower this year but will definItely bloom next year – so never throw any seeds away (You never know when the next ‘Pandemic’ will arrive).

Developing courgettes

Canna lily "seedling"!

Tomato Gardener's Delight ripening nicely

Purple beans (great flavour, but become green when cooked)

The Hanging Baskets have triumphed this summer with daily watering and weekly feeding – many of last year’s baskets were simply replanted with most of the background Ivies etc left in situ – minimal supply of ‘Potting Compost’ available – the results have been amazing, much greater growth and profuse flowering of the ‘Annuals’ (Petunias, Impatiens, Lobelia, Bidens, Bacopa).

Below a few of the hanging baskets when in full bloom - now replanted and waiting for Spring

Having plenty of time available in late Spring, the tubs of flowering bulbs, Tulips, Daffodils, Iris etc’, were emptied with care before replanting with summer bedding and the retrieved bulbs were cleaned, dried and stored.  These have now been replanted in refurbished ‘Old’ compost, the tubs topped off with ‘Winter Flowering Pansies’ and are in place in the garden for the Winter and Spring flowering.

Have even managed to collect the Hellebores from last winter, planted on for the summer resting months and now planted out for the Winter show of flower.

And the Head Gardener's pride and joy, Hydrangea Paniculata has been spectacular this year

So, sitting in state of exhaustion in the ‘Potting Shed’ contemplating a new supply of logs for the Winter Stove – that must be my ‘Lock Down Mate’ and Head Gardner about to surprise me with hot Coffee and a few words of Horticultural Wisdom.

Keep Gardening and STAY SAFE –

must dash,

see you soon even if it’s only in ‘VIRTUAL REALITY’!

Stuart

IT'S DEFINITELY AUTUMN HERE

14TH OCTOBER 2018 - NORTH YORKSHIRE

The mild winds of Autumn are blowing from the south this morning. The summer having been dry and very warm, has caused many trees to turn to early Autumn shades of gold and these leaves are the very early victims of the near gale force wind (possibly the tail end of various hurricanes currently dallying with the Eastern Seaboard of the U.S.A). The ‘Season of mists and Mellow Fruitfulness’ seems as confused as the other natural points of reference relied upon by the garden and field flora to delineate their growing and resting time scales, but the hedgerows are full of colour and fruit.

Sycamore tree wearing its autumn foliage

Elderberries

Hawthorn Berries

Wild Rose Hips

Yummy blackberries

The garden is still full of colourful bloom - Fuchsias and Geraniums  still almost at  their best.  This is the most advantageous time to taking cuttings for next year. Just keep moderately dry through the winter months and just free of frost for the best results. Roses soldiering on in colourful splendour, Dahlias making their final show before the early frosts of  late October strike. Cosmos have been particularly well flowered this summer together with the Potentillas and Geums. They all continue to fill their allotted spaces with plenty of enthusiastic blooms.

Climber That's Jazz - wonderful scent and velvet flowers

Rose Gertrude Jekyll in her final flowering

A small pot of bedding dahlias, with nasturtium trying to find  time to bloom again before winter!

Thalia Fuchsia is  very elegant

Fuchsia still giving lots of blooms

Dahlia Bishop of Llandaff is soldiering on bravely - until the first frost

Cosmos have bloomed contiuously well into October

Sedum brings autums colour and attracts the bees 

So a retrospective view of the summer garden can only give a feeling of satisfaction for a first year in a new setting. Possibly too many ‘Annuals’ planted (but masses of colour if a little ‘gaudy’ on the odd occasion). The bush and climbing roses, planted last October, are well established and are all in their fourth or fifth flowering (always choose perpetuals or repeat flowering for munificent results – and feed weekly, watering every two days when hot and dry). The light rains of September have just about managed to eradicate the ravages of Mildew, particularly on the Roses and Dahlias. As they have all been fed and watered well, there must be another reason for this stress related blight - the well noted ‘Acid Rain’ of current fashion does seem to remove most of the offending white powdery residue (so nature still has a wonderful performance record).

The plethora of ‘ready to use’ anti pest and disease sprays currently available have the ability to destroy most problems when used sensibly, and are most beneficial. Black Spot, Rust, Mildew, Green, Black and White Fly together with Red Spider and Thrypps can destroy a keen Gardener’s crop and ego in no time at all.

Gardeners, like all groups in society, are always subject to the ‘mores’ of fashion. The use of ‘chemicals’ to feed and cleanse the domestic garden have been in and out of favour possibly four times in my gardening career. The use of natural manure as a fertilizer is now often frowned upon in ‘Suburbia’ due to the pungent aroma that can permeate for 250 metres in the densely populated areas. The solution to this supposedly ‘Anti Social’ behaviour is conveniently packaged pelleted feeds (just take your pick – Organic or P.C.).

The general first impression of UK gardening after ten years away is mainly the lack of interest among the young (when you're 75 any under forty is ‘Young’). In the Forties  and Fifties the evening stroll around the garden with my Father was a high point of the day.

The demise of the small family run Nursery seems to be almost complete, first ruined by the corporate ‘Garden Centre’ – which no longer seem to sell plants but rely on Coffee Shops, Fashion outlets and Christmas Decorations to survive. The most reasonably priced, often best quality, but limited choice of the Super Market Gardening sections would seem to be the future for those on a budget – the disparity between a Super Market Fuchsia for £1- and other sources asking from £3.50 to £6- for and identical specimen does tend to shock and Tulip Bulbs priced at £2- for ten in  a leading Supermarket in UK and the last of the local Garden Centre Sites asking £5.99 for the same bulbs can only accelerate the Garden Centre demise into restaurants and Dress Shops.

The current predilection for the curse of ‘Global Warming’ – simply Mother Nature getting her own back on two hundred years of man-made miss use of her virtues – would seem to be the cause of all natural disasters from ‘Brexit’ to ‘Late running trains on Southern Region’. The effect upon my garden has been minimal, whilst Iberia seems to be entering a phase of very hot summers, high winds and colds winters (especially in the ‘Beiras’). The broad prairies of North Yorkshire are enjoying a renaissance of horticultural munificence – lots of sunshine and plenty of water all at the correct time.

And finally - violas planted  in October 2017 look set to give pleasure for another winter

So GARDENING is great wherever you choose to participate – just enjoy the natural pleasure in brings to the committed – and enjoy the coffee that, with a kind word and gesture- your Head Gardener will continue to supply.

Must dash – everything seems to be growing exceptionally well!

See you soon

Stuart.