gardening info- putting plants

Putting plants to bed, a strange statement I grant you,but there is still a bit of a chill in the air so what I do is to just drape a blanket over them in this case a fleece (horticultural) blanket it keeps the chill of them at night,you wouldn't want you baby(ies) to get a chill,no? Well keep them warm and they will repay you!

gardening info-sometimes plants need

aSometimes plants need to stretch their feet (sorry roots),don't give up on plants which are not doing well as you might expect especially wildflowers. These poor little forgotten (perhaps forgotten is not the  right word) primroses could not be sold in this condition so I decided to plant them up in a wheelbarrow for a late Spring display, with some TLC and some of the Hairygardener's special plant food both plants and I will be bouncing around like Spring lambs,a sight not for faint hearted. Good gardening to you.

gardening info-paper pots

One of the best things I love about my sort of gardening is when I can use pots made from newspaper,it's great fun. You can start seeds in them and when germinated the plant stays in the pot and planted out into its final position so there is no check in the  plants growth,so go on buy a paper pot maker, you will not regret it, I've had mine for nearly 25 years.

gardening info- that time again

Yes it's that time of year again when plant orders start to leave the nursery,Spring just around the corner,people planting up their gardens. So don't forget to plant a few (or a lot ) of wild flowers,the wildlife and your garden will benefit.

gardening info- heron

The heron was back at the National Wildflower Centre pinching the frogs,well not pinching,hunting and was quite successful while I was watching with a brace.This tells us two things, 1.Herons are nesting and mating at this time of year so the the chap or chapess has to keep his or hers strength up. 2 Frogs are entering the pond to spawn, so be warned frogs the heron's about

gardening info- pots in bad weather

In the recent bad weather the wildflowers in their pots suffered extremes in temperature and in water,as the photos show the plants were half frozen so the rain water could not drain away, but we grow them well here at the Wildflower Centre,these plants can survive anything nature can throw at them, it's just gardeners that they're are wary of.The plants in the photos are Leucanthemum vulgare, but you knew that :))

gardening info- willow fence

We put up a living willow fence(well I hope it lives) around the small pond at the National Wildflower Centre.The willow used is the same as the willow that is used for biomass,I was told it is known as Q83,the main problem is not to allow the willow to dry out.I decided to reduce the height of the willow to the height in the photos to reduce windrock which could be a factor in it failing to root. All being well if it takes the branches that will shoot up can be interwoven eventually making a really secure living fence or feature.

gardening info-first primrose

I saw the first wild primrose in flower at the National Wildflower Centre today,don't forget you can buy them from us(I grow them).A bit of folklore about primroses if you'll stay with me,the ability of Primroses to let people to see fairies,if you touched a fairy rock with the right number of Primroses in a posy you will be shown the way to fairy land. Don't let Primroses die as the fairies like them. Dismiss these stories if you like but who looks after the garden at night ........agh yes the Little People

gardening info-spirit in Court Hey Park

Walking into work yesterday I spotted this heron and took this long range photo(apology for quality).The heron in the spirit world signifies Aggressive self determination and self reliance,balance and wisdom,non traditional roles,enjoying your own company and not requiring or needing others

gardening info- cheap beds for spuds

Have you ever been left with builders delivery sacks,you used to be able to return them for cash, not any more.Well what you could do is turn them into raised beds for virtually anything you want to grow, I've turned these into beds for spud growing just by knocking 4 stakes into the corners of each bag. Some well rotted horse manure has been added to rotting leaves, this will be topped off with well rotted compost, a good growing mixture ready for when the potatoes have chitted