Early Spring seems to be the season of yellow: Daffodils, Winter Aconites, Primroses, Crocosus but lots of people have a thing against yellow flowers in their gardens, and I have to admit I was one of them! I’m not sure why it is, perhaps yellow was unfashionable, a bi too ‘in your face’. But I think I was won over to yellow by orange! It took me to yellow and I have started to love it now, especially with orange!! Yellow also looks great with reds and blues and really zings infront of dark foliage or even a black fence! Here are a few flowers that might win you over to yellow!
Primroses – Quite a delicate shade of yellow to get you started! These hedgerow favourites are a great source of colour during Winter right through to Spring. They selfseed really easily and so will multiply for you. I love them planted in my gravel path, so they have a really natural look and once SApring is here you can transplant them to where you want so is the time of year to ask if you can have a couple from any rfiends with them in their garden!
Inula – This was a gift from a lady I gardened for. Her garden was on the North Downs so very chalky and alkaline, I’m on very sandy soil which is rather neutral in acidity and most of my garden is quite shady. These Inulas seem to love both conditions and from a couple of bits I dug up they have now formed a patch which flower from Summer through to Autumn.
Primrose
Inula
Mexican Satin Flower (Sisyrinchium striatum) – This perennial forms clumps of vertical sword-like leaves and in the summer straight stems shoot up with clusters of the tiniest pale yellow flowers. It loves being in the sun on really well drained soil and is so delicate and gorgeous.
Rosa banksia ‘Lutea’ – A beautiful rambling rose with sprays of small double, deep yellow scented flowers in April and May. Pros: its thornless and great for covering an arch or pergola. Cons: it only flowers once!
Lupin ‘Chandelier’ – Lupins were all the rage last year at the Flower Shows and they come in a wide range of colours; some bright and gaudy but some a bit more toned down and pastelly. I love this yellow Lupin with its geometric spire of flowers. They like it sunny and look great in a border of other plants, and remember to deadhead once its looking scruffy as it may well flower again for you.
Sisyrinchium striatum
Rosa banksiae Lutea’
Lupin ‘Chandelier’
I hope that gives you some ideas, I’m almost certain that yellow makes us feel good, it does bring a smile, so have a go at injecting some sunshine into your garden! Have a look at my board The Yellow Planting Edit on Pinterest for more inspiration.
In January this year I posted about how sad I felt seeing all the used real Christmas Trees left outside homes waiting to be collected by our local council to be recycled.
It made me wonder about the environmental Pros and Cons of real trees and fake trees. Having a fake tree in the loft and having used this for over 10 years interspersed with real ones, made me want to find out which was best. There are 3 options if you want a tree inside this Christmas: Fake, a cut real tree or a pot grown real tree. Below I try to lay out the pros and cons of each.
Carbon Footprint: The Carbon Trust state that ‘An artificial tree needs to be used for 10 Christmases for it to have a lower carbon footprint than a real one’. But to keep their carbon footprint down ‘real trees need to be properly recycled, either by being chipped or burnt’. It seems that how the tree is disposed of is more significant that where it came from when it comes to offsetting the production. They have some great advice on how to reduce your carbon impact generally over Christmas here.
Food Miles: Most fake trees are made in China and shipped all over the world. A locally grown or sourced cut or pot-grown tree is the kindest route when thinking of transportation and there is nothing nicer than going out to choose your own tree. It’s also good to know that you are supporting local businesses and the communities around them. You can find a registered Christmas Tree Grower local to you on the British Christmas Tree Grower’s Association Website
Cost: One of the greatest benefits of an artificial tree is you can use them year after year. I love this article from The Daily Mail about a tree that has been used by the same family for over 120 years. Not sure my tree from B&Q will make it as a family heirloom!
Recycling: So, it appears from the comments from The Carbon Trust above that how recycling a real Christmas Tree is more important than the production process. So firstly, yes, my local Council take Christmas Trees from those registered with their Green Waste Scheme in January and compost them and I believe many other Councils offer this service in January. Other organisations also take them and recycle them for different purposes including The National Trust to support the dunes at Formby beach near Merseyside.
Most organisations agree that the best tree to buy is a locally gown tree in a pot with its roots. You can then plant it outside after Christmas: no need for recycling and you will add to the winter interest in your garden. I would say add that it’s best to plant the tree in the ground, rather than leave it in the pot as pots are pretty high maintenance to look after and it will much prefer to get its roots in the ground! Or another solution is to see if you can rent a pot-grown tree for Christmas and hand it back in January to be planted elsewhere! Locavore is a social enterprise based in Glasgow which helps build a more sustainable local food system including the provision of a farm shop, veg box scheme and other initiatives including a Christmas Tree Rental Scheme!
So, in summary:
·If you’re buying a real cut tree, it’s best to buy from a local supplier. Most cut trees take about 8 years to grow to the size most of us want and are cut in November ready for sale. TOP TIP: run you’re your hands through the branches. If its fresh the needles will look bright and green and shouldn’t fall off.
·If you buy a potted tree it will likely be much smaller as it may have only be growing 1-2 years. It can be planted in your garden (or someone else’s) after Christmas.
·Keep your tree watered when you get it home as your central heating will zap it.
·Recycle your tree! This is the most important bit – it mustn’t end up in landfill – take advantage of any recycling schemes run by your local Council or chip it up for use as a mulch in your garden.
·If you’re opting for a fake tree, choose something you’re going to be happy to use for at least 10 years if not longer!
Let me know what you think and what you’ll be doing this year. I’m not sure what we will be using – I think my little girl usually as the final say, so we shall see!
Typically, we think of July as Summertime in Britain. Hampton Court Flower Show, Wimbledon and The Proms all feature this month and are markers of a British Summer. Then picture the quintessentially British Summer Garden and I bet you see beds of jumbled up Cottage Garden favourites, jostling with each other for space and competing with their colour!
Actually, July in the garden can be somewhat different! It’s a bit of a green month; sometimes providing a bit of a lull between the fresh greens and colours of Spring and the more intense colours that come with those plants flowering in late Summer. So, if you’re feeling a bit jaded in this heat and your garden is too here are some ideas for planting to pick you up in this July gap!
Lavender – the colour seems more intense than usual this month and I wonder if the dry weather is helping to lock in the colour and scent! It typically likes dry conditions, not liking heavy clay soils and the potential for soggy roots! Shear off the flowers after they have flowered and then shear again in the Spring to keep the bushes compact as they are prone to getting leggy and woody.
Hibiscus – the flowers on Hibiscus look so tropical but love the conditions in Britain. It’s just getting going in July and will last into the Autumn. Prefers a well-drained soil too and a hard prune in Spring.
Roses – Is it just me or have they been spectacular this year? Whatever your favourite colour or scent you will find a Rose for you. Just keep deadheading or picking them and they will flower for you all Summer long, if not year long! Prune them over the Winter, removing anything that is dead, damaged or diseased and a 3rd of stems and they will thrive and flower for you.
Allium Sphaerocephalon – is the later flowering Allium and was all over the Flower Shows this year. It’s a dark purple and tear dropped shaped and looks great planted through a border. Remember to plant in groups of odd numbers for bigger visual impact but a great plant that even when the flowers have faded will leave a striking seedhead for you to enjoy for the rest of the year.
Yarrow (Achillea) can be spotted at this time if year with it’s flat topped umbels and feathery light green foliage. It comes in a variety of colours, prefers well-drained soils but again gives you striking seedheads when the flowers have faded. All you need to do is cut them down when they look too scruffy and wait for the flowers again next year.
The Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) is tough as old boots! But produces the most beautiful flowers and (as its name suggests) the bees and the butterflies love it! Cut it down every Spring so it doesn’t get out of hand and it will reward with you flowers and scent!
Just a few ideas to bring some colour to July. Let me know what your favourites are.
I’ve just read this article about a community in London crowdfunding for a Community Gardener. The appeal builds on the 10xGreener project, which has seen a BBC TV crew following the local community’s attempts to make a single street, Daubeney Road, ten times greener.
They have realised to keep the impetus going they need some consistent help and expertise and so are looking for a gardener 1 day a week to maintain some of the projects that have been created, offer advice to residents and continue making and planting.
There is so much about this project that makes me glow: community and connection through gardening and planting.
But what it highlights though is that when you start something you often have to maintain it, and gardens and gardening is no different. I know that I get so excited by planting new plants, sowing seeds, making a hanging basket but that the nurturing of them, the care of them and the maintenance of them can sometimes feel overwhelming in the busy rush of life! And that the joy and excitement of starting the thing can quickly swing the other way when I’m disappointed in myself for not looking after something and seeing it literally shrivel up and die!
Don’t beat yourself up! Do what you can and most importantly enjoy what you can! Here’s some top tips to make gardening a bit easier:
Approach your space in chunks and do a chunk at a time. If your pots need watering and weeding do the watering today and the weeding tomorrow.
Weeding can feel overwhelming – use a hoe on a hot day to sever the small weeds from their roots – they will die in the warm weather on the top of the soil and you don’t have to collect them up – easier on the back and quicker to complete
Watering – water less often but for longer. Only new plants, seeds and pots and containers should need watering. Established plants in the ground should look after themselves unless we have a severe drought. Water your pots 2-3 times a week but make sure they get a good drink rather than just a splash every day
Leave you watering can outside so it can fill with rainwater and is close to hand to use
Don’t beat yourself up – it’s only you that knows what you haven’t done, or got round to!
Gardening can feel like a chore, but hopefully these tips can ensure you spend some time in your outdoor space enjoying it!
I’m very excited! They are remaking ‘The Secret Garden’ which is 1 of my very favourite books. Its not to be mixed up with ‘Secret Garden‘ which is being released this year and which is about an entirely different topic!! Its going to star Colin Firth and Julie Waters and I can’t wait to find out where they are filming it!
It got me thinking about our own gardens and how sometimes we want some secret space from the family but also private space from our neighbours. So what makes up a Secret Garden:
Paths – that twist or turn or that has planting either side to create a path that runs through greenery. What you don’t want is to see where the path goes. You want it to draw you in to find out where it goes.
A destination – the path needs to take you somewhere – it could be to a seating area, a focal point or to the shed! But the point is you can’t see the destination when you start out!
A canopy to cover and create a ‘room’. This could be created with trees providing a natural canopy of leaves or it could be made by an arbour or pergola covered in climbers.
A garden gate – nothing more secret than to have to open a gate to go through to the next space. It could be a wrought iron gate you can see through, or a panelled wooden one you have to open to see through!
Exuberant planting – that gives you a glimpse through to what is beyond. Think of height and movement; to screen the background and colour and scent to stop you on your way.
Light and dark – there might be distinct areas so that you pass from shady paths into a sunny courtyard, but the light and temperature change ensures that all your senses feel the change as you explore further.
Organised chaos – for me a secret garden is a bit unkempt! A bit overgrown and mossy at the edges!
Lights – the fabulous fairy lights that are available now are just the thing to be strung up in the trees, shrubs and canopy to let you use your secret garden in the evening when the fairies come out to play!!!
So having caught up with all the coverage from Chelsea here are my thoughts on what we can take away from the Show to use in our gardens:
Yellow seems to have been a really popular accent colour with yellow Globeflowers (Troillus), Ladies Bonnets (Aquilegia), Woad, Hot Pokers (Kniphofia) and Lupins appearing in lots of the show gardens. And we’re not talking pastel Yellow here we’re talking bold and dramatic hues of Yellow bringing sparks of brightness to the foliage. All of these plants can be used in our gardens and I would add Sneezeweed (Helenium) and Aunt May (Sisyrinchium striatum) (pictured) to the Yellow Hit List!
Plants with vertical spires of flowers also seemed to crop up all over the place with Foxgloves (Digitalis), Mullein (Verbascum), Foxtail Lilies (Eremurus robustus) and especially Lupins making bold statements throughout the show gardens. We can definitely use these in our gardens, I would clump then together in odd numbers to make more impact and add Turkish Sage (Phlomis russeliana) and Bears Breeches (Acanthus mollis) to a list of high performing Flower Spires!
Corten Steel – we seem to have fallen in love with the coppery tones of corten steel and its been used in lots of differentways: planters, pots, water bowls, edging and pergolas. It’s definitely a modern material that we can use our gardens that melds with other materials and styles, whether traditional or more modern and is easy on the eye in its simplicity and sleekness. I especially like these Light Fittings by Nordlux at Wayfair.
So yes they are Show Gardens that sometimes cost more than my house is worth but I very much see them as the Couture Shows in fashion; they’re exciting and innovative and always provide inspiration for even the smallest of spaces!
So having caught up with all the coverage from Chelsea here are my thoughts on what we can take away from the Show to use in our gardens: