Bumper Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
Are you looking for something to do in the garden this weekend?
Well here's a few suggestions that should keep you busy ...

1. Tomatoes  - If like me you are growing tomatoes make sure that you keep removing the side shoots produced on the Cordon varieties. Simply snap them off first thing in the morning to make sure the plant focuses all it's energy elsewhere. Your tomatoes should also be starting to set fruit so it's time to give them a weekly feed with either diluted tomato feed or liquid seaweed.

2. Roses - The weather has been rather variable over the past weeks and rain battered Roses are a frequent sight in my garden! Keep up with the deadheading and if you see any rose buds that haven't opened yet with brown outer petals, gently tease away them away in a downwards movement and your rose might just get the chance to bloom! If left more often than not the decaying brown petals prevent the bud from opening.

A Rose in the centre ready for dead-heading

3. Sweet Peas - Another plant that could do with a little care is the garden favourite Sweet Pea. 

Give them a weekly feed and keep up with tying them in to the their supports. Pick flowers every few days and make sure you remove any seed pods once seen to prolong flowering. 

Summer Bedding in Pots and Hanging Baskets will also benefit from a liquid feed once a week to keep encouraging blooms and healthy growth.

4. Winter Cabbages - If you sowed some winter cabbages last month such as January King into pots it's time to plant them out into their final positions. If like me you sowed them under cover gently acclimatise them to the outdoor positions by hardening them off over 7 - 10 days. Once this has been done plant them out with a distance of approx 50cm in a sunny position and provide protection from birds in the form of netting or fleece. You can also place a collar around the stems to protect from cabbage root fly.

5. Bulbs - It's time to start planting Autumn bulbs such as Nerines into Pots & Borders and whilst your doing so why not start thinking about the Spring Bulbs that you would like to have next year. Plant companies are starting to send out catalogues so if you know what you want it's best to order them now before they're out of stock! The same goes for Spring Bedding.

6. Watering - Even if it rains make sure you keep up with watering, some plants such as Celery, Beans, Peas, Tomatoes can be extremely thirsty and will suffer if they do not get adequate water.
Newly planted Shrubs, Tree's and Perennials this year will also benefit from extra watering to help them become established.

7. Apples & Pears - If the weather is warm and not too wet you can prune out any branches on Apple & Pear Tree's that may be crossing, damaged or diseased. 

You can also thin out the apples on trees that may be malformed or damaged to encourage a healthier crop.

8. Cuttings - Plants such as Fuschias, Pelargoniums and other tender perennials can be tricky to over winter if you only have a small space. Why not take some cuttings now from your favourite plants? This way you only have to over winter a smaller plant reducing the amount of space needed. 

Even if over wintering isn't something that you've considered cuttings are great for if you simply want more of a particular plant for free! Simply click HERE for a variety of posts on Cuttings.

9. Hedges -If you have any Hedges or Confiers that are needing a trim then now is the time to do it, however always make sure that there are no nesting birds before starting.

10. Ponds - Finally if you have a garden pond keep on top of removing any blanketweed or algea. Make sure that you leave it on the edge of the pond for atleast 48hours afterwards so that any creatures within can make their way back into the pond or water feature.

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

June's Floral Favourite's ...

Good Morning!

It's been a little while since I've had the chance to post on here so today I thought I'd share with you my favourite's from around the garden this month. 

Right back at the start of the month the Hebe 'Pearl of Paradise' of which i'd grown from a cutting came into flower. Even though they only flower for a few weeks of the year the blooms on this variety are well worth the wait.

Geum 'Tangerine' has also been flowering prolifically throughout the month ...

slowly followed by Geum 'Cosmopolitan'

My David Austin Rose 'Princess Alexandra of Kent' has produced some lovely blooms with a perfume to match.

The new variety of Cosmos called 'Xanthos' has recently come into bloom the past fortnight, so far the flowers are sparing but they are lovely to look at.

One of my favourite plants that I like to grow as an Annual each year are Nemesia's. Along with the Vanilla White variety dotted around the garden in Pots and Baskets I have a pot of the variety 'Easter Bonnet' of which you can smell straight away when walking past. 

The Hanging Baskets are slowly starting to fill out and establish themselves ...

Astrantias 'Rubra' and 'Buckland' have started coming into flower this past week ...

along with the Alstroemeria Inca Ice 'Koice' sitting outside the Greenhouse door ...

Finally followed by the first blooms from the Sweat Peas in the past 2 days.

Thanks for popping by, I hope you all get the chance to spend some time in your gardens this weekend!

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
Here's a few things that you can be getting on with in the garden over the coming week ...

1. Borders  -If your borders are showing a few gaps due to plants that haven't survived the winter, now is a good time to fill the gaps! As long as the ground isn't frozen you could fill the space with plants such as Hellebores or Snowdrops which have been divided into smaller clumps. 

2. Tomato Seedlings - If you have sown Tomato seeds and they have reached a height of around 2.5cm it's time to pot them on. When doing this make sure you hold the leaf, not the stem. Pot the seedlings into small pots such as 7.5cm and bury the whole of the stem.

3. Feed - Carrying on from the first tip mentioning borders now is also a good time to give your plants situated there a good feed.Sprinkle some Fish, Blood & Bone feed onto the ground and work into the soil. A mulch will also help improve your soil but make sure you add it when the ground is moist and not dry. 

4. Summer Flowering Clematis - Prune any Summer Flowering Clematis, cutting back to a pair of healthy buds. It will also soon be time to prune any early flowering Clematis as the best time to do this is after they have finished flowering. 

5. Roses - If you haven't done so already it's time to finish pruning roses over the start of this month. 

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

New Year Blooms ...

Good Morning!

I hope you have all enjoyed the Christmas  / New Year Break, it's flown by!
Today I thought I would share a few pics of what is currently in flower in my garden, what with all the mild weather we've had this Winter certain plants are flowering earlier than usual ... or simply haven't stopped! 

Why not take a look around your own garden and see what you can spot.

The White Speckled Hellebore I bought last year from a local garden centre is almost in full flower, a few weeks ahead than it should be.

Whereas my Hellebore 'Pink Beauty' planted in the ground is still forming buds.

Although it's not technically in flower, the brightness of the foliage of my 'Leucothoe Fontanesiana Makijaz' always catches my eye when I walk past it, especially when it's just been raining!

My Alstroemeria Inca 'Ice Koice' hasn't stopped flowering although this is the only stem with flower buds left than I can see.

I took two cuttings from my Hebe 'Pearl of Paradise' the year before last which have grown into good size plants. The one that is still remaining in a pot has started to flower this week.

Flowers have also appeared on the Viburnum 'Tinus' which is right for this time of year, the following photograph is from the plant in the back garden with just a few flowers, it was also attacked by Viburnum Beetle in the Summer. However the one planted in the border at the front of the house, albeit a bit smaller is covered in flowers!

The Euphorbia in the GH border has an early flower spike whilst the one in a pot hasn't any but looks equally impressive when it's glistening with rain.

The Winter flowering Clematis 'Winter Beauty' growing against the shed is in it's first year of flower. I've been watching the flower buds grow over the past month or so and one of them finally bloomed yesterday!

My Purple Penstemon hasn't stopped flowering since last Summer.

Nor has the Climbing Rose 'Hiedelberg'

... and finally the Iris 'George' that I have under cover in the Greenhouse is showing signs of colour!

Thanks for stopping by!

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
Here's a few things you can be doing in your garden over the coming days.

1. Lawns - Autumn is the time to give your lawn a little bit of maintenance! One of the things you can do after mowing is give it a good rake through to remove any moss that has built up, trust me there will be soon! This will improve the health of the lawn. You can also aerate it with a fork and remove any weeds you see growing through.

2. Planting - Autumn is a good time to get plants in the ground before winter. The ground is still warm over the next couple of weeks so if you have any evergreens, hedging or shrubs sitting around waiting to be planted, now is the time to do it.

On the flip side of this now is the time to dig up and move any tender perennials that need protection of winter before the frosts come! We've already had a couple of light frosts this week.
You can also lift and divide any congested Perennials and re-plant in various areas of the garden!

3. Healthy Plants - To keep your plants healthy keep checking them over for anything that can prevent them happening. For example as you can see below there are some faded flower stems that need pulling out and a sneaky snail that has climbed into one of the flowers!

Alstroemeria - Inca Ice 'Koice'

4. Harvest - Plants such as Chilli's are still ripening and ready to harvest, snip them all off once they are ready and store in a freezer if you won't be using them right away.

5. Over Wintering - If like me you are over wintering various plants, I like to reduce them in size around about now, such as with my Pelargoniums. In my personal experience I find by reducing the amount of foliage it helps prevent the chances of grey mould, which in a bubble-wrapped greenhouse can occur quickly. It also reduces the amount of water the plant needs to take in and the energy it uses. You can also re - pot into smaller pots if you are tight on space.

6. Roses - Keep collecting fallen rose leaves from around the plants base, especially if they are affected with blackspot. If they are left the spores can lay in the ground and raise the chances of the plant getting blackspot next year. 

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
As promised at the start of the week I am back today with my Checklist!
Here's some bits and bobs you can be getting on with in your garden ...

1. Roses - Now is a good time to take cuttings of your favourite Roses!
First off you need to make sure that you select a fresh healthy stem from this years growth to use as your cutting material. Make your cutting approx 25cm long, cutting with your secateurs above a bud at the top (removing the shoot tip) and just below a bud at the bottom. You can insert 3 or 4 cuttings into the same pot filled with gritty compost, leaving in a shady spot for about a year until the cuttings have rooted.

2. Leaf Mould - Leaf mould is fantastic for mulching plants, Hellebores love it, and it's also great to include when making your own Compost mixes. However it's not that easy to come by and the best way of getting some is by making it yourself! All you need to do is to collect fallen leaves and place them into a tied black bin bag, with some holes pierced through by a garden fork. Store somewhere out of view, e.g. behind a shed or Greenhouse and in about a year all of the leaves will have rotted down. If you want to collect pine needles it's a good idea to keep them in a separate bag as these will adjust the acidity level. Making them great for plants that need Ericacious conditions!

3. Winter Baskets - Yes it's time to start planning your Winter Baskets! You will have noticed that Summer baskets are starting to look a little tired now so it's time to make your mind up about what to put in them next! I always like to plant up a variety of Bedding and small Shrubs to provide varied interest. This year I am thinking of using some small Conifers, Broze Carex, Skimmia, large Cyclamen, Primroses and Violas ... to name just a few!

Winter baskets can also be used as "Evergreen Baskets" where they provide interest all year, only needing a tidy up every so often and the compost replacing each year to two, depending on what you use. I have some myself containing Ivy, Box and Primroses, with some Dwarf Daffs thrown in to. However I am tempted to replace the box with small conifers sometime soon.
This is what they looked like in February this year when I planted them up.

4. Under Cover - Now that the temperate is dropping it's time to bring tender plants under cover, such as citrus and potted Agapanthus. Check the plants over for any signs of pests before bringing in. If storing in an un-heated greenhouse it's always a good idea to insulate it with bubblewrap to help keep heat in. Before you do this however it's wise to give the GH a good clean to help get rid of any pests that want to over winter in there too!

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
It's time for my Weekly Garden Checklist ...

1. Dead Heading - I know I may sound like a broken record but don't forget to keep up with the dead heading. Not just the with the Bedding plants either, Perennials such as Astrantia's and Phygelius as you can see below need it to. It will also encourage more flowering.

2. Roses -Keep an eye on Roses for signs of any Pests & Diseases, remove any affected leaves with Blackspot and if needed, spray the Roses with Rose Clear every 6 weeks. When spraying make sure you do it either early in the morning or late at night to limit the chances of it affecting any Bee's.

 Also don't forget to pick up any fallen leaves as that can help spread disease.

3. Lavender - Another plant to dead head is Lavender, as you can see here my French Lavender has finished flowering so it needs cutting back. When doing so make sure you cut back into growth where fresh growth is still visable, if you cut back into the woody growth there's no guarantee that it will grow back again.

4. Damp Down - If you are finding that your Greenhouse is reaching high temperatures during the day, damp it down by spraying the floor with a hose pipe. This will increase the humidity and help prevent pests such as red spider mite which thrive in those conditions.

5. Stake - Stake and help provide supports for plants such as Dahlia's and Lilies that can get a battering in the wind & rain, what looks good one minute can look like a bomb has hit it within a few minutes!

Finally I thought I'd leave you with a photograph that proves that a Reindeer isn't just for Christmas ...

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
It's time again for my Weekly Garden Checklist, let's get started!

1.Harvest- If like me you are growing Cucumber plants you will have noticed that they have started producing cucumbers. I was able to harvest my first one yesterday morning and I'd advise you also start doing the same before they get too big so that the plant can focus it's energy on the rest.

2. Salads - Keep up with sowing your seeds for Salads. It's a good idea to sow them every 2 - 3 weeks to make sure that you have a steady supply. I like to start my Lettuce's off in trays in the Greenhouse before planting out into my Raised Bed however Radishes are sown straight where they are grow.

3. Roses - Keep up with the deadheading, the blooms can fade quickly and just like I mentioned earlier the plant can focus all it's energy on the up coming blooms once they've been snipped off. Plus it also looks much nicer!

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!
It's time again for my Weekly Garden Checklist, I know it's been more than a week, apologies!
Okay, let's get started!

1.Feeding - Plants such as Strawberries & Roses would benefit from a liquid feed right now with something like Tomorite or Liquid Seaweed. Not only will it give the Strawberries a boost but also the Roses will appreciate it once they have started flowering.

Another plant you can start feeding now are Tomatoes, make sure you wait until they have started setting fruit and give them a weekly feed. Summer Hanging Baskets & Pots can also be fed weekly now too.

2. Deadhead - Cut down the faded flower stems on Euphorbia's that flower in the Spring. 

Do this with care as the milky sap can be an irritant on skin.

3. Pinching Out - Keep pinching out the growing tips from plants such as Dahlia's and Fuchsia's to promote bushier growth. Don't let the tips go to waste though as you can use them for Cuttings. With Fuchsia cuttings cut the stem to beneath a leaf node and remove the lower leaves. Place down the side of a pot holding watered compost and within a few weeks you should see some new growth which will prove that it's rooted.

4. Plug Plants -Plants that arrived as Plugs a few months ago are putting on good growth and so should yours. Hopefully you have done the same as me and planted them in 9cm Pots upon arrival, gradually working up a pot size as they grow. They should now be ready to be planted into their final pots, here you can see that I have done this with one of my Dianthus Plugs. 

Also just like I have mentioned in no.3 you could also take some Cuttings from the non - flowering shoots to give yourself even more plants! 

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX

Weekly Garden Checklist ...

Good Morning!

Here are just a few suggestions that you could be getting on with this week ...

1. Weeds - Weeds such as Dandelions are popping up all over the place, especially in lawns, dig the weeds out and if you want to, reseed the patches with grass seed.

2. Pot On Seedlings - Seedlings such as the Antirrhinums I pricked out a few weeks ago should be about ready to pot on, a few of them are still in the trays needing a little longer, but as you can see quite a few of them were ready to go into 9cm pots. They will also need pinching out to help promote bushier growth.

3. Roses - April is usually the time to start spraying roses with a product such as Rose Clear to help prevent Pests and Disease. When using the spray do so either around 8am or 8pm to help prevent any harm to bees when spraying as this is the time they are least about, also avoid spraying in full sun. Repeat this process around every 6 weeks.

4. Pots & Containers - Permanent Pot Plants that live outside could do with a bit of a spruce up at this time of year, as you can see here by Hardy Fuchsia had developed moss on the surface of the compost. Simply scrape back the surface and revitalise with a fresh layer of compost. Not only does it help the plant but it's also much nicer to look at!

5. Support - Plants such as Clematis have leapt into growth over the past week which requires support. Why not place a few stakes together, tied at the top with string for them to clamber up. Once the plant has outgrown this support I will be replacing it with something larger, but for the time being it does the job and adds interest for the eyes!

Thanks for stopping by, don't forget you can find all the previous Checklists on the page tab above.

HAPPY GROWING!

XXX