The Narcissus ThaliaThe garden is looking quite tidy at the moment. Years of making our own compost and spreading it on the borders as mulch has helped to improve the soil, seal in moisture and keep the weeds down!
I have been busy planting bulbs over the last few weeks. Dwarf Daffodils have been put in under shrubs along with the electric blue Scilla siberica and the pristine white variety Scilla siberica alba. I love the tiny bulbs and corms such as the yellow Eranthus (Aconite) which naturalise happily in short grass along with Crocus, welcoming in the spring, flowers beaming in any weak sunshine.
Dwarf Iris are another favorite. Iris danfordae with its golden yellow flowers can be in bloom as early as the end of January in sheltered, sunny spots and are shortly followed by others such as the deep wine purple ‘J S Dijt’ and royal blue ‘Pauline’. They are such brave little plants, flowering so early in the year defying frost and light snowfall. The thick green buds push up from the centres of the plants and seem to appear overnight with a tempting glimpse of the color to come. A couple of warm days and hey presto – they are in flower!
I like to grow these little treasures in shallow terracotta pots and gritty soil; many of our borders are too shady and damp for them to do well in subsequent years after planting as they like to be baked in hot sun through the summer months, as do my favourites Tulips.
It is still too early to plant my Tulips. They are best put in through November to reduce the risk of Tulip Fire which can distort the leaves and cause brown patches on them and the flowers. Sitting in wet, cold soil helps this disease to take hold so the later they are planted the better!
Now that the weather is cooler and deciduous plants are thinking about going into dormancy for the winter, it is time to start moving some of the shrubs to their new positions. From the end of this month until
Christmas is an ideal time to do this. The plants will be under less stress once their leaves have fallen and the soil will still be warm enough for their roots to establish before the worst of the winter weather hits us. Who knows – we may have another mild winter!
I have started to dig out the planting holes and improve the soil with more compost ready to take the plants and I have also dug around the base of the shrubs to be moved with my garden spade to create a ‘root ball’. Ideally, the circle dug is the same width as the shrub and a spades depth. The shrubs that are to be moved are not that big yet, so they can be undercut when we move them to sever the main roots. Large plants and trees are often undercut in late spring and allowed to re-grow some fibrous roots through the summer months before they are moved in the following autumn.
Now it is a case of waiting for leaves to fall and enjoying the colours of autumn before I can move the plants to their new homes, make room for yet more, and enjoy another visit to Notcutts!
The Narcissus ThaliaThe garden is looking quite tidy at the moment. Years of making our own compost and spreading it on the borders as mulch has helped to improve the soil, seal in moisture and keep the weeds down!
I have been busy planting bulbs over the last few weeks. Dwarf Daffodils have been put in under shrubs along with the electric blue Scilla siberica and the pristine white variety Scilla siberica alba. I love the tiny bulbs and corms such as the yellow Eranthus (Aconite) which naturalise happily in short grass along with Crocus, welcoming in the spring, flowers beaming in any weak sunshine.
Dwarf Iris are another favorite. Iris danfordae with its golden yellow flowers can be in bloom as early as the end of January in sheltered, sunny spots and are shortly followed by others such as the deep wine purple ‘J S Dijt’ and royal blue ‘Pauline’. They are such brave little plants, flowering so early in the year defying frost and light snowfall. The thick green buds push up from the centres of the plants and seem to appear overnight with a tempting glimpse of the color to come. A couple of warm days and hey presto – they are in flower!
I like to grow these little treasures in shallow terracotta pots and gritty soil; many of our borders are too shady and damp for them to do well in subsequent years after planting as they like to be baked in hot sun through the summer months, as do my favourites Tulips.
It is still too early to plant my Tulips. They are best put in through November to reduce the risk of Tulip Fire which can distort the leaves and cause brown patches on them and the flowers. Sitting in wet, cold soil helps this disease to take hold so the later they are planted the better!
Now that the weather is cooler and deciduous plants are thinking about going into dormancy for the winter, it is time to start moving some of the shrubs to their new positions. From the end of this month until Christmas is an ideal time to do this. The plants will be under less stress once their leaves have fallen and the soil will still be warm enough for their roots to establish before the worst of the winter weather hits us. Who knows – we may have another mild winter!
I have started to dig out the planting holes and improve the soil with more compost ready to take the plants and I have also dug around the base of the shrubs to be moved with my garden spade to create a ‘root ball’. Ideally, the circle dug is the same width as the shrub and a spades depth. The shrubs that are to be moved are not that big yet, so they can be undercut when we move them to sever the main roots. Large plants and trees are often undercut in late spring and allowed to re-grow some fibrous roots through the summer months before they are moved in the following autumn.
Now it is a case of waiting for leaves to fall and enjoying the colours of autumn before I can move the plants to their new homes, make room for yet more, and enjoy another visit to Notcutts!
