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| Go greener |
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| With a growing number of gardeners eschewing chemicals in favour of natural alternatives, we can suggest some effective products from our organic gardening selection |
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| Relax and refresh |
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| Good food freshly prepared daily, aromatic coffee, chilled wine and a grassy play area for the children. What more could you need? |
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| Food heaven |
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| Our Farm Shop is heaven for food lovers! Delicious handmade food, top quality groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables and stylish cookware and gifts. |
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| The Discovery Walk |
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| As thousands of daffodils herald the spring, stroll or stride around our Walk while the youngsters enjoy the Nature Trail |
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Looking to the fuchsia!
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| Thursday, 27th March 2008 |
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IN THE GARDEN WITH PETA MARSHALL
A friend of mine used to be the editor of a national gardening magazine (Amateur Gardening, the weekly that started life in 1884 and is still going strong).
I remember him telling me that if he put a big picture of a fuchsia on the cover, that issue would sell like hot cakes – in much the same way that the Princess of Wales in her day would sell any woman’s magazine her picture appeared on the front of.
You wouldn’t think that a flower would conjure up quite as much passion in people in the same way that Diana did, but to most gardeners the fuchsia is the perfect flower.
This showy summer flowering plant is known by many as the ‘ballerina flower’, for if you squint in a certain direction it can look remarkably like a ballet dancer – on points, and with very frilly skirts!
Children love to pop the buds of large fuchsia shrubs in parks and gardens. They do actually make very satisfying ‘pops’, but it certainly doesn’t do the flower any good and in a severe popping session the plant can be ruined beyond repair – for the current year at any rate.
There are the hardy fuchsias which stay outdoors all year round, and then there are the tender types that you can grow outdoors for the summer, or for keeping in pots in the greenhouse or conservatory. These tender types can be overwintered from one year to the next, but unless you’re a real enthusiast and experienced gardener, it is better to buy new plants each year.
Fuchsias were first discovered in South America and New Zealand where they grow wild, but these have quite different flowers to the cultivated types we are familiar with today.
The good news is that these are surprisingly easy plants. Yes, they need a certain amount of TLC, but no more than geraniums, roses, lettuces, peonies, tomatoes or any other of the hundreds of popular garden plants.
Here is my six-point plan for fuchsia survival:
1. Soil: Chalk or acid; clay or sand, whatever you have will be OK, provided it is well dug, with compost added at planting time. And if you have a heavy clay, add some gravel to the planting hole as well to assist drainage.
2. Position: Ideally, plant them in a spot that is west- or east-facing. With the exception of a rare old shade-tolerant variety (called ‘Gruss aus dem Bodethal’, the name of which really slips off the tongue!) fuchsias really need a spot that gets sun for at least some of the day.
3. Exposure: If your garden is very windy, opt for smaller flowering varieties, as they hold on to their flowers much better than larger types. Even hardy types will appreciate a bit of winter protection in an exposed garden.
4. Outdoor planting: Set the base of the stem an inch or so under the soil surface and water well immediately after planting.
5. Greenhouse growing: Move potted plants into pots a size larger once you see roots coming out of the holes in the bottom. Potted plants need a loam-based potting compost, such as John Innes no. 3. Provide bright, filtered light with moderate to high humidity. Ventilate well on hot days.
6. Feeding: During growth water freely and apply a balanced liquid fertiliser monthly.
So, now the hard work is out of the way, which are the varieties worth trying? Of the hundreds of varieties in commerce today, here are just 10 of my favourites:
• ‘Heidi Ann’ – double, cerise and pale heather purple with good, dark green leaves
• ‘Margaret Pilkington’ – vigorous and free-flowering, with pale violet and pale pink flowers
• ‘Marinka’ – masses of medium-sized flowers of a rich, shiny red
• ‘Patio Princess’ – bred specially for containers; double white and pink flowers
• ‘Sir David Jason’ – a brand new variety that is still hard to find but one to look for in the future, with semi-double flowers of bright red and rose pink
• ‘Snowcap’ – semi-double or double, bright red and clear white with a few red veins
• ‘Swingtime’ – one of the most popular; large, double flowers of red and white
• ‘Thalia’ – rich orange tube-shaped flowers
• ‘General Monk’ – semi-double or double, rose red and deep lavender-blue
• Fuchsia magellanica var. gracilis – hardy type; small red and purple flowers
A trip to the garden centre this spring will give you the opportunity to choose from plenty of varieties, with a great many different colours, shapes and sizes of flowers. And don’t forget, there are bushy and trailing forms (for hanging baskets, patio tubs and small windowboxes).
Make your ‘fuchsia’ bright this summer! Happy gardening!
This week in your garden
Sow perennial border flowers, such as coreopsis, hollyhock, lupins and verbascum, in a cold frame. Also sow the Chelsea Flower Show favourites – Icelandic poppies (Papaver nudicaule) – these are perfect to treat as hardy annuals (although they are technically a short-lived perennial).
Introduce potted hydrangeas to a greenhouse or conservatory, to force them into flower early. They well need light, air and water to succeed. Warmth and a little tomato fertiliser to encourage long-term flowering will help.
Frogs and, if you are lucky, toads, may have started to arrive at your pond on their annual migration. Construct a small series of steps in the pond with a few stones to give them an easy entry and exit point.
Peta Marshall is the plant centre manager at Priory Farm in Nutfield. Website: www.prioryfarm.co.uk
NEXT WEEK: Growing tomatoes
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