Banana Bloom Boost

Posted on March 11, 2013 by davidsgardendiary

It seems that bananas may be good for our plant health as well as our own. Not sure how well known this tip is but yesterday a nurseryman told me to save my breakfast banana skins and use them as a high potassium fertiliser! Apparently, they break down in the soil or a pot really slowly and release up to 40% potassium which is great for flowers and fruit. He was referring particularly to Clematis but said it worked really well for roses and tomatoes too.
You can either bury the skins directly under the plant or spread them out on the surface of the soil, and because they turn brown quickly, you won’t see them after a few days. He also said it was easy to store them for later use by drying them in a warm oven for half an hour and then sealing them in an air-tight container kept somewhere cool. As it happens, I have just had a banana with my muesli and yoghurt so I will be checking it out!

Buried Alive!

Posted on March 6, 2013 by davidsgardendiary

I may have inadvertently stumbled upon a way of getting tender plants through the winter – bury them in your compost heap! This fuchsia which flowered beautifully in it’s pot all last summer was unceremoniously ‘dumped’ into the compost in October followed by all manner of debris and detritus, dead and forgotten as far as I was concerned…..until yesterday.

As I was turning the heap and adding loads of dead grass and thatch from the early spring lawn scarifying I came across this sad, but obviously alive specimen, struggling back to life. My inclination was to chop it up and put it back in the compost heap but a little voice was telling me to see if it survives. The little voice won. It’s now split into two, snail eggs removed, roots washed and pruned and back in pots in the greenhouse. Updates to follow!

Snow!

Posted on January 20, 2013 by davidsgardendiary

Garrya elliptica catkins in the snow

After 3 bitterly cold days, it warmed slightly and the snow arrived. Not much, 10cm or so, but enough to keep us indoors. Most low lying shrubs and emerging bulbs are now sleeping under a warm blanket but tall shrubs like the Garrya elliptica ‘James Roof’ look even more stunning when the long catkins are covered in snow.

Eranthis hyemale, the Winter aconite

These little aconites are reliable early winter stalwarts, emerging before everything else and gradually spreading to all parts of the garden. I must have disturbed them during the renovation because they are appearing in the strangest places. I think this one must have been in the root ball of the primula I transplanted last year.

The woodland path!

Just outside our bungalow, the one you can see in the distance in this photo, there is a lovely woodland path which winds it’s way up the hill on to Charlton Kings Common and then into the old stone quarry and beyond. Most of the year it is an enjoyable, dry and interesting walk but in recent winters, and particularly this one, it has turned into a stream bringing flood water and debris down from the hill and depositing it on to the road. More worrying is the fact that the first storm drain it reaches is the one outside our drive, 200 metres from the end of the path. By the time it reaches that, it is more of a raging torrent than a stream. So far it has not caused any significant damage but ……….. we’ll see!

Echinacea seed heads stripped by the birds

I only saw the finches a couple of times but it seems they made a meal of the Echinacea purpurea seed heads I left in the front border. We also had some strong winds which must have blown more away to be eaten by the Wrens, Dunnocks and Pied Wagtails which are always scratching around looking for stray seeds. Who knows, some may even germinate and give me some free plants.

Frosted Echinacea

This image is not one of mine but I thought it was nice to end this piece. I guess this must have been taken in a place which suffers very early frost because all my Echinaceas lost their petals weeks before our first cold snap in October. It reminds me of crystallised fruit dusted with icing sugar!

Turn up the heat – the response!

Posted on January 8, 2013 by davidsgardendiary

Had a lovely reply from DT Brown today, it went as follows:

Dear Mr Simpson, I’m down on my knees, how silly of us, 200 degrees! Was it the printer or was it just missed It could be the designer who had a slight lisp. Your email has given us all a big laugh and therefore I say on all our behalf However it happened we really are sorry And am sending a packet that will cost you no lolly.

Regards Deb Nicholls

It just goes to show that even in big business there is a place for humour and time to have a laugh!

Thanks Deb. You made my day!

2012 in review

Posted on December 31, 2012 by davidsgardendiary

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 2,600 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 4 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

The Girls!

Posted on December 22, 2012 by davidsgardendiary

Yula, Yana & Lake – ‘The Girls’

No blog about our garden would be complete without at least a passing reference to our three wonderful Labradors, Lake, Yana and Yula. They are such a big part of our life that they deserve a category of their own which I will update from time to time with the inevitable highs and lows! Continue reading →

Favourite Dahlia & Chrysanthemum of 2012

Posted on December 20, 2012 by davidsgardendiary

Bishop of Llandaff

Probably my favourite Dahlia of the year, Bishop of Llandaff. The sturdy stems holding gorgeous deep red flowers contrast with the dark foliage and, with regular deadheading, went on for months. A really good front of border dahlia and very attractive to bees. Started from seed this year, this was grown from a packet of ‘Redskin Mix’ from Suttons Seeds.

Orange Allouise

Undoubtedly my favourite Chrysanthemum of 2012, the gorgeous buttery yellow ‘Orange Allouise’ which captivated me every day in the early morning sun throughout August and early September. Strongly recommended if you like that sort of thing!

Framberry!

Posted on December 11, 2012 by davidsgardendiary

Those nice people at Spalding Plants and Bulbs are keen for horticultural bloggers like me to join their club and trial new products. They have kindly sent me a free gift of 100 Spring bulbs for joining and have asked me to review one of their newish plants next year. I have chosen to trial the ‘Framberry’ which is a strawberry that tastes like a raspberry!

Pineberries (Photo credit: Michael.Camilleri)

The Framberry – a strawberry that tastes like a raspberry!

How anybody managed to hybridise those two is anyone’s guess but that is not as weird as the Pineberry, a Strawberry that tastes like a Pineapple!!!!!

So, yesterday my two rooted runners arrived along with the bulbs and although it is -3° outside, they will be potted on and kept in the greenhouse until April when I am expecting great things!

Little Owl – Big Rumpus!

Posted on November 30, 2012 by davidsgardendiary

The Wise Old Owl…….scared all the little birds away!

This little chap turned up this morning after a frosty night, took up station in the Thuja tree near our bedroom window and sat there watching us! He is only the size of a fat Thrush, particularly when he fluffed himself up to keep warm.

We were excited at his arrival and were hoping he would stay until we realised that his presence was not quite so welcome among the regular garden visitors. Suddenly there was a terrible commotion as the Blackbirds started shrieking at him, obviously telling him in no uncertain terms that he should hoppit! Then the Great Tits and the Chaffinches joined in. He just sat there impassively, not bothered and not moving. Then they mocked him, and I don’t mean they made disparaging remarks! Time and again they swooped and almost knocked him off his perch but still he ignored them until, finally, the Magpies arrived and that was his signal to quit. Off he went.

Autumn Colours

Posted on November 15, 2012 by davidsgardendiary

The autumn colours of Liquidamber styraciflua ‘Worplesdon’

A walk around the garden on this cold and misty morning was a treat and just served to remind me how gardens change and evolve with each season. The immature Liquidamber styraciflua ‘Worplesdon’ is still only 2m tall but is already showing it’s well earned reputation for fabulous autumn colour. The red tipped foliage of the Photinia fraserii hedge glistens with dew and is quietly beginning to go to sleep for winter.

The young purple beech hedge holding it’s coppery leaves

The young purple beech hedge is gradually knitting together to give us some privacy in the middle garden and I am pleased with it after just three years from 60cm whips, particularly given the awful first two winters it endured. It has had it’s first proper trim this year and I think we will see some real progress next summer now that it has got it’s feet down.

One season’s growth on Cotinus coggrya ‘Royal Purple’ after cutting back hard in Spring

The Cotinus coggrya left from the previous garden in the middle of the lawn had got too big and sprawling and was therefore cut back hard in spring to either rejuvenate it or kill it off! The pruning worked and it responded with bigger and better leaves but on thin wispy branches. It will get the same treatment next year and should be even better for it. It is under-planted with cream tulips, yellow primroses and Geranium sanguineum and looks a treat!

Autumn foliage of Viburnum opulus after the birds had the berries!

Despite being munched by Viburnum beetle earlier in the year which turned a lot of it’s leaves into lace, the guelder rose, Viburnum opulus, has managed to retain some foliage which will gradually turn a beautiful shade of dark pink. The few bright red berries it produced have all gone, snaffled by the blackbirds, pigeons or squirrels!

New flower buds of Peris japonica preparing for the Spring show!

My little Peris japonica in a pot likes it’s position by the front door and is always putting on a show. At the moment it is covered in pink buds which burst into white flowers in spring to welcome visitors to the door. It is a constant talking point.

The emerging fat pink buds of Skimmia japonica, the hips of the dog rose poking through the Pyracantha, the fading flowers of Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ and the seed heads of Echinacea purpurea are all telling me it’s nearly time for me to stay indoors and start looking through those seed catalogues!