|
 |
 |
|
| Go greener |
|
| With a growing number of gardeners eschewing chemicals in favour of natural alternatives, we can suggest some effective products from our organic gardening selection |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Relax and refresh |
|
| Good food freshly prepared daily, aromatic coffee, chilled wine and a grassy play area for the children. What more could you need? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| Food heaven |
|
| Our Farm Shop is heaven for food lovers! Delicious handmade food, top quality groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables and stylish cookware and gifts. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
| The Discovery Walk |
|
| As thousands of daffodils herald the spring, stroll or stride around our Walk while the youngsters enjoy the Nature Trail |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
|
Change the bedding!
|
| Thursday, 15th May 2008 |
|
|
|
IN THE GARDEN WITH PETA MARSHALL
Red, white and blue – the colours of the Union Jack – were the most frequently seen shades in summer flowerbeds when I was a mere tot.
Our parents and grandparents were symbolizing the patriotic theme following the Second World War, and this continued right throughout the mod-and rocking 1950s and flowery powerful 1960s.
But then, in the 1970s, Britain seemed to have had its fill of red, white and blue – at least where gardening is concerned – for there was a sudden desire for all things ‘pastel’.
Flowerbeds up and down the land were filled with pinks, creams, light blues and silvers. If ever there has been a fashion in gardening, it was this.
In the decades since there have been other fads, too. The 1980s and 90s saw lots of hot, strong colours. Clashing shades of red and orange were grown next to each other, and everyone cooed and said “how wonderfully modern darling”.
What is the fashion today? Well, it’s not so much to do with flower colour, as neatness, compactness, length of flowering and resistance to drought.
Yes, drought! Two years ago we had one of the longest and hottest summers on record, and (if you remember) there was a nationwide shortage of water butts as everyone in the country decided that conserving rainwater in plastic barrels was the only way we’d all survive.
But then last year it rained from May 1st until, well, yesterday really! And the last thing on our minds at the moment is a ‘drought’.
But the companies that develop new flowers for the summer market had already put their ‘plants for drought’ hats on, and so we are being urged to consider this for our own gardens.
The garden centre is choc-a-bloc with summer bedding plants right now.
And there is a wealth of plants to choose from. The mainstays of marigolds, pelargoniums, petunias, busy lizzies and lobelia are, of course, there for all to buy and enjoy. Then there are the rather less frequently seen, but no less desirable others. Here are 10 of my favourites:
Ageratum (floss flower): neat mounds some 6-10in, high, with clusters of powder-puff flowers all summer long. They are mainly blue and mauve, but there are white and pink versions if you search long enough.
Antirrhinum (snapdragon): upright spikes about 18in. high, clothed with lipped, tubular flowers that open when squeezed. They come in a huge range of colours (except blues and greens), and they are actually perennials so may come through a winter unscathed – but they are far better when grown fresh each year.
Dahlia: I’m not talking about the tall, autumn-flowering tuberous perennial dahlia, but the low-growing summer bedding dahlia. The flowers are much smaller and usually daisy-shaped. Plants are usually 12-24in. tall and are really easy to grow. There are some fantastic colour ranges, and flowers can be single (with a single layer of petals) or double (with two or more layers, often of contrasting colours).
Dianthus (annual pinks): these mini, shorter-lived versions of the perennial and rockery pinks, very much like small-flowered carnations, are a real delight in the summer border. They form compact tufts of grassy leaves carrying usually single flowers each with notched or ‘pinked’ petals. Reds, whites and pinks are the main shades, and sometimes with combinations of all.
Matthiola (stock): if you want scent and fragrance from your summer bedding plants, then look no further than the stock. These plants produce dense clusters of flowers held above soft grey-green foliage. The blooms emit a perfume that fills the air. There is some confusion about stocks, as the name is given to several very different types of plant. I’m not talking about the biennial Brompton stocks, or the small-flowered night-scented stocks. I’m talking about Matthiola incana, often known as the ‘ten week stock’, which is a true annual – and is fabulous.
Mesembryanthemum (Livingstone daisy): these succulent, sun-loving plants produce bright daisy flowers in shades of orange, pink, red, yellow and sometimes white. These plants need a warm, dry, sunny spot, and are great for a wall, or even a patio container.
Nemesia: easy-to-grow plants with a vast range of flower colours – from white to dark purple, with a fair spattering of bicolours and tricolours. Each flower is usually about 1in. wide at its widest point. In the past they have had only short flowering periods, but this has been addressed and they are getting longer.
Nicotiana (flowering tobacco plant): most flowers have a really heady fragrance, which is strongest on a still summer’s evening. The taller varieties might appreciate some supporting or staking, but the modern lower-growing strains are perfectly all right on their own. And they are suitable for containers or the front of the border.
Salvia: back in the ‘red, white and blue’ days, the reds were most usually provided by the bedding salvia. Upright spikes of intense scarlet flowers were provided by a handful of varieties of Salvia splendens. These days there are pinks, blues and mauves as well. All are low growers for the front of a border.
Solenostemon (coleus or flame nettle): many people think of these multicoloured leaved plants as specimens for the conservatory or greenhouse. But they do make fine plants for planting out in beds and in containers. The leaves have such bright colours in shades from maroon and sugar pink, to cream, brown, lime green, yellow and orange, that they really do make a fantastic splash. The flowers aren’t really important, and if you pinch these out occasionally better leaf colourings are produced.
So these are my 10 favourites, but I’ve left out my 100 other favourites!
Take a trip to the garden centre now, to see what’s on offer for your flowerbeds this summer. Happy gardening!
Brilliant baskets!
Many of our familiar bedding plants can also be grown in containers and baskets. Don’t forget that there is a huge range of basket and pot styles available, and at Priory Farm we have had a team of planters slaving away for months now planting up these containers so that you don’t have to!
Come along and see the range available, and your patio this summer can be the best ever!
This week in your garden
Keep on top of weeding. As the weather warms up weed growth increases rapidly.
Continue to make sowings of vegetables such as cabbages (and other brassicas for planting out in late summer), as well as lettuces, salad onions, and beetroot.
Use pellets, or other forms of control, to protect flowering strawberries from the attentions of slugs and snails. If using pellets, apply them in small amounts around the plants, but top up the treatment regularly. Little and often is the key.
Peta Marshall is the plant centre manager at Priory Farm in Nutfield. Website: www.prioryfarm.co.uk
NEXT WEEK: Focus on peonies
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
