Propagation

What, when, how and why to propagate plants for your garden.

These are the questions a lot of people ask and is the purpose of the fun filled hands on propagation workshops I will be hosting here at Hardys.

Are you frightened to cut up your plants?

Do you know where to cut them off?

What is the difference between nodal, internodal, tip, root, basal cuttings?

If you want to learn more and get your hands dirty this is the course for you so go to Propagation workshop - Spring

Behind the scenes at the Natural History Museum

 We were very lucky to meet in the summer at Waterperry gardens a lovely lady Jackie McKenzie-Dodd who works at the National History Museum she mentioned that a trip around may be possible. So a plan was put forward for a group from OldHorts who would meet up and have a behind the scenes tour. The resulting day has non stop been talk and discussed continually since.

Normally you expect to go in through the grand front entrance not us it was the side doors. So what do we think the collective noun for OldHorts should be?

Once inside poor Jackie and Justin had the unenviable task of getting us all sorted into 2 groups with all passes in place. Then making sure we did not get left behind down all the different corridors, too much to look at.

Perhaps we all felt at home?

It's quite different being taken to the working areas hidden behind those little doors that say staff only.

You move from the rich tapestry of wooden panel rooms amazing brickwork and tiled floors to the stark reality ......

Oh well what do expect there is always an upstairs /downstairs in these places nothing new....

So once we were in this area it was time to see what Jackie gets up to, and where all those dead specimens are stored for use at a later date for research. ( no Paddington is not in here)

It was time for us to get all dressed up, some make this look good others well I leave it to you to describe it....

Now we were ready to clean the floors, it was time to look at the amazing range of storage for all the samples. The lines of freezers are all named not with what you may think is inside. The names are for ease of knowing which to go to should there be a problem and also for extracting samples to send off all over the country and globe. Everything is wired to the main control board and the temperatures monitored. They can send an alarm to a mobile should there be a powercut or a breakdown. Being called at 2am by a polar bear is so much better than freezer number 00251, most of us would be motivated to answer.

The freezers have numerous drawers should there be a major catastrophe the red drawer in each are the ones to be saved first. 

Obviously gloves are required to handle the trays as you can see the temperature is low. The room temperature is also low so there is not too much temperature raising when the doors are opened.

Within the trays the samples are held inside small phials, as not a huge amount of material is required to be kept. The samples sent out are small shavings, the scientist are looking at the cellular level, so sending too much material is a waste. It does mean that this is a huge resource for the world.

But obviously collecting out in the field travelling with a large freezer is impossible so mobile options range from hi tech to simple...

The cards will only store DNA but sometimes that's all that's required.

Dry samples are the easiest to transport.

So much information to take in and we had not been to see the mega storage that is the liquid nitrogen  vats.

Behind lock doors.....

Ooh this was like being in one of those science fiction movies.....oh or just an over vivid imagination taking over...

Some amazing sample material kept in here.

Jackie gives us the full demonstration, we get to see the samples in racks that were brought back from Vietnam. Although above these were some elephant blood samples taken by someone called Sir David Attenborough?!?

Oh no it's time to go on the other half of our tour.

We want to stay, there's a robot to look at...

Thank you Jackie and Justin 😊🐝🐞🐜

Architectural plants good for cutting starter collection

Many people are starting to look at the plants they put into their gardens with a view to them being useful for both the garden and house. I know not everyone likes cutting the flowers from their border perennials to adorn the house, but think of it as a pruning technique to produce more flowers on the same plant. If you cut to thin out a plant you will get more flower production and therefore a longer flowering period on that plant, it also helps keep them tidy.

Penstemon digitalis "HuskersRed"

This wonderful Penstemon has long stems with white to
lilac tubular flowers in the summer months. Unlike others in this family it has rosettes of nearly evergreen basal leaves. The new leaves appear ruby red in the spring and can go dark green by the end of the season. A semi shaded area is a good place for these to grow.
This is a selected form from Nebraska and can tolerate very harsh conditions. The plant also has many other attributes, being great as a beneficial insect attractant, resistant to deer damage and drought tolerant.

Alcea ficifolia Rosea - Flower

Often referred to as the fig leaved hollyhock due to resemblance of the leaf shape. 

The hollyhocks have been grown in gardens for centuries being introduced as far back as the 16th century and are striking tall perennials or biennials for the back of a border.

The ficifolia species are truly perennial  and have the added benefit of being resistant to hollyhock rust. 

This species is from Siberia and as such are very tolerant of many conditions.

Alcea ficifolia Rosea - Leaf

For long flowering, also great stature in a border in full sun and reasonable soil, you cannot do better than this wonderful sterile thistle. It has to be one of my favourites for being such a reliable free flowering plant, producing masses of deep magenta thistle flowers throughout the season and re-blooming well after cutting back. Rivulare means growing by a stream and this plant will benefit from being grown in moister conditions. It can produce copious amounts of down, but no seed.The leaves do produce thistle spikes but they are not too sharp.

Cirsium rivulare "Atropurpureum"

The Salvia family is a large diverse group with many great plants such as this beautiful

Salvia "Eveline".

The tall elegant spikes of soft pink cover the plant in mid summer. Cutting back can induce more flowering so it is beneficial to pick these. A sunny site with free draining soil is an ideal location. The bees and butterflies love the flowers for their nectar.

This form is a hardy perennial variety for planting in mixed borders or the cutting garden.

Salvia "Eveline

To finish off this collection of wonderful plants for stature and cutting we have an easy to grow but also extremely useful plant Astrantia major Alba.

Its name comes from the Greek for star which describes the shape of the flower, commonly know also as masterwort.

A moist humus rich soil and a semi shady position in the garden these plants will succeed happily.

Buy this collection here

Architectural cut flower selection

Shady Ladies a collection

Planting for the shade or semi shade is one of those areas in the garden where a lot of gardeners struggle to find a good solution. Let's just start with a few good plants known as Rosy's shady lady collection.

Omphalodes cappadocica "Cherry Ingram"
A fabulous low carpeting evergreen plant for shade and tolerates drier soil conditions, it is a native of Turkey. This has wonderful bright blue flowers in spring over mat forming leaf base. The common name is Navelwort and was a favourite of Marie Antoinette. Very useful plant for ground cover under trees and shrubs. Once it is established it can be split but it does not like too much disturbance, so split after flowering. This was named for Collingwood Ingram the distinguished horticulturist famed for his breeding of Japanese Cherries.

Geranium "Ann Folkard"
Hardy geraniums what more do I need say one of the most useful plant families there is. This one is a hybrid of G.procurrens and G.psilostemon bred in Lancashire by the Rev.O.G. Folkard and named after his daughter. It has a rambling habit from a central crown and is easily kept under control by pruning back. The early leaves appear golden yellow and turn green as it matures and flowers. It is happy in any shady border, any soil, it is deciduous.
Graham Rice puts it in his top ten hardy geraniums.

Anemone "Pretty Lady Susan"
This is part of the new pretty lady series of breeding by Mr Kanazawa from Japan. Their main attribute is that they are dwarf growing and very free flowering. They start blooming earlier than other forms of autumn flowering Anemones. Excellent in part shade for the front of border or under trees.
Pretty Lady Susan is a single flowered dark pink form, I use it as replacement for A."Hadspen Abundance".

Campanula "Pink Octopus"
I am aware this does not have a women's name but it is pink and has the appearance of a bouffant dress. This campanula has dark green basal leaves and a spreading habit. It is happier in a humus rich soil in part shade. The buds look like Japanese lanterns and open with flared petals.
This was introduced by Terra Nova Nurseries in the US and Jimmy Turner Of Dallas Arboretum gives it as a recommendation for roof garden plantings.

I have always wondered about calling it octopus as it only has six petals!!

Astrantia major "Florence"
One of many new varieties that are being bred at present this one was bred in the Netherlands and introduced by future plants. Astrantia produce large clumps and this variety being sterile flowers for a much longer period through out the early summer onwards. Given a good soil, part shade they are happy in most garden situations.

Buy your Shady Ladies Collection here
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Gaura

If you have a spare moment today please take a look at our the first of our gardening youtube series, Gaura


 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czs8fwA5OIM

Top 5 tips for June

 

5 top tips June

1. Hoeing if it is one of your passions, is best done at this time as the young plants can be hoed out and left to wilt and die.

2. Edging up the lawn needs to be a regular thing. Borders and lawns always look better with a good edge to highlight both.

3. Mowing be careful not to be too ruthless cutting low, because as the weather gets hotter it can lead to bald patches and we know baldness is never good.

4. As everything is starting to flower remember to cut back the dying spring plants and deadhead on a regular basis.

5. This is your garden and it is there for you to enjoy.  Make time to sit out and relax will a cool glass of your favourite drink.

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5 top tips May

1.Keep fleece on standby to cover some of the less hardy plants that may get caught by the late spring frosts.

2.Time to start planting up those large containers with a mixture of herbaceous perennials and annuals to give a season long display.

3.Any spring flowering shrubs need a good prune now to encourage bushy growth, especially Coronilla val. subsp. glauca Citrina.

Coronilla valentina subsp.glauca "Citrina"

4.Sow another batch of your favourite annuals such as cosmos to have some later blooming plants into the autumn.

5.As soon as Chelsea flower show is on the TV, it is time to Chelsea chop your tall late flowering perennials to keep them under control. Sedum, Aster, Helianthus, Phlox are a few examples and it is a chop to about 2 inches from ground level not a little trim. 

Phlox paniculata "Loggons Black"

Phlox paniculata "Gray Lady"

Sedum "Matrona"

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5 top tips April

 

We are well into the gardening year now with all the last daffodils finishing and the herbaceous borders starting to come into their own.

1.Spliting of autumn flowering perennials such as Aster, Helianthus, Hosta.

Hosta fortunei

Helianthus "Lemon Queen"

2.This is the time to start the pricking out of seedlings and hardening them off , best in a cold frame. Remember slugs and voles love young seedlings.

3.All the wooden garden furniture needs to be checked to make sure it is safe.  Then it needs to be properly treated to stay out all summer.

4.Annual climbers want to be hardened off and planted in large pots on tripods ready to go out in mid to late June (Lathyrus matucana, Dolichos Ruby Moon, Ipomaeae to name a few)

Lathyrus matucana

5.Get the staking equipment ready for around the tall herbaceous perennials try to be creative using Hazel or Willow they blend in really well.

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Getting ready for exhibiting at Flower Shows

Showtime

There is an awful lot of behind the scenes activity goes on pre-doing any of the flower show exhibits. Hilary who is in charge of show plants and their welfare is continually moving plants into or out of a tunnel depending on the vagaries of the British weather.....

For smaller exhibits we are moving in our 3litre plants to use in groups. these will be laid out in the show tunnel in batches weekly or fortnightly, batch sizes vary from 10-15. It is not quite an exact science but does follow some rules after many years of experience.

 However they do not stay in one place for very long depending on the growing year. Some batches remain outside, others are in either a tunnel or shade area. We have to keep an eye on their watering and feeding requirements to ensure good steady growth not excessive bursts. Within this we also move some plants in and out of various conditions to try to slow or progress the plants towards their peak.

Grow lights are required for some of the more reluctant to flower plants...

Hilary is not somebody who swears but as Chelsea flower show approaches each year and some plant is not performing as it should encouraging words change to #***##**. (make up your own thoughts)

Carefully tied up for transport in the lorry to the show, already cleaned.

When we get the plants to the shows even though they have been cleaned up prior to travelling it is inevitable that they still require further attention. This has to be done by those who have patience.

Large show plants are placed in position tipped up on blocks if necessary to show off their best side. If the plants are too heavy in a pot for me to be able to lift next year they are split and put into smaller extra large pots!
and finally they should look like this for Judging...

Once the labels have all been put into place we have to walk around the stand numerous times to multicheck there is nothing missing...
I do all the labels by hand as apparently my hand writing is the neatest!!
Once it is judged that is it and the display is there for people to admire.

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5 top tips March

 

1.Plant snowdrops in the green. Lift large clumps as the blooms fade and split in to small clumps to replant.

2.Cut off old leaves from Epimediums to allow you to see the beauty of the new young leaves and flowers.

 

Epimedium grandiflorum "Lilafee"

3.Cut all dead untidy leaves off Heucheras to ground level. If plants are large enough lift and split now.

Heuchera "Obsidian"

4.Start sowing drills of vegetable seeds batch sow, or you will have too many ready all together.

5. The yellow book of National Garden Scheme open gardens is printed either as a local county version or the whole country so get a hold of a copy and go visiting.

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Seeing Red?

What is red?

        All of these are described as red.

Colour and tone are something 

that are difficult to explain. 

Looking at a flower open in the 

morning it colour will change 

throughout the day depending 

upon the intensity or lack of 

sunlight thus changing the hue.

So what you perceive to be one 

colour may be completely 

different to another persons.

Remember just a scent and taste are personal so is colour, your colour perception and preferences should not be foisted onto others but take into consideration other points of view.

All the following are red of similar hue but vary in appearance due to many factors. The stamen colour where visible is red to orange to yellow, creating a different feel to the red colour. this difference means that it can be placed with many other plant colours. the black spots on the Papaver commutatum or Ladybird poppy draw the eye in.

 The more double the petal formation the more change in the colour due to the amount of surface area for reflection of light. So the soft frilly effect of ruffled petals in the Paeony (P.'Henry Bockstoce') soften the colour. The Monarda 'Jacob Cline' with its fine multi petals again give another feel to the colour.

So from bright reds to those with more of a burgundy tint, but again shape of petals, rainwater and different centres changes how they appear. From the tall elegant Angelica gigas to the black centred Potentilla 'Monarchs Velvet' these will draw the eye forward.

Then when you add in a bit of white or green to the mix they change again and the planting combinations that are possible are again different. How about those reds that border on the pink side as in Trifolium 'Red Feathers'.

I advocate playing an trying out colour combinations to enhance your borders as in the saying "anything goes"

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