Instant Colour in Containers

Question:

I have just had a new patio laid and would like to know which container flowers/plants I can buy for an instant effect rather than having to wait until next spring for results

Answer:

At this time of year there are lots of plants flowering now, some of which will continue through to the first frosts others you will throw away and replace next year. You could choose from geraniums, lavenders, roses, Japanese anemones, fuchsias, Rudbeckia, hydrangeas, chrysanthemums, and lots, lots more. Have a wonder around your garden centre for inspiration. Most plants are OK in pots so you could plant anything you liked the look of. The important thing is to choose a pot big enough for the size of the plant, to ensure there is plenty of drainage in the bottom of the pot and use a good quality compost. Water well when first planted then make sure the pots don’t dry out. Feed about once a month using an all purpose general fertiliser. My favourites are Dahlia, there are lots and lots of shapes, colours and sizes available and all do well in pots. These are flowering now and if you remove the dead flowers they will still be flowering in November. The added benefit is that they will die down and come back again next summer. You just need to move the pots into a dry, frost free location. Water them on and off throughout the winter put don’t let them get too wet. Bring them out after the last frosts have gone next year and they will be flowering by June/July. You could choose annuals but at this time of year they are in short supply. Some garden centres still have pansies or violas which give a wonderful colourful display until the frost then you will pull them up and put them on your compost heap. You could then plant some spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, snowdrops etc. These will give a great display in spring and you can lift them to plant more annuals for a summer display. The bulbs can be replanted next winter for the following spring.

Planting ideas for small, dry flower bed

Question:

I have recently moved house and in the front garden is a small flower bed, the front of it is close to the pavement there is little room to put much soil let alone plant something, what do you suggest I do?

Answer:

Looking at your photos it looks like the soil is very dry and poor quality but all is not lost as there are a few plants that thrive in such circumstances. I think the trick will be to buy a few small plants rather than one or two larger ones. This will make planting easier even though they will take longer to look good. The links below are to a website I use a lot called Crocus.co.uk. It is great for information such as eventual size and care instructions. All of these plants should do well, but the important thing is to keep them well watered until they are established as they will dry out easily. Have a look and see which you like. Lavender Rosemary Geranium Potentilla Lamb’s Ears Grasses. There are lots of different varieties of lavender but make sure you check that it is fully hardy, some of the French ones aren’t. There are also lots of geranium (or cranesbill) so it is just a case of finding the one you like best. Grasses vary a lot in the size and shape but the low growing varieties should all do well. An alternative is to remove the shrub and stones and sow grass seed to extend the lawn, not exciting but easy.

Allotment Planting Times

Question:

Just acquired an allotment, don’t know what I can put in vegetable wise this time of year or have I got to wait till the actual vegetable season starts.

Answer:

It is best to begin preparations for vegetables in autumn and sow in spring or early summer. However, there are things you can sow now to cropping in autumn or winter. To make it easier for you I have a link to the RHS Veg site which tells you everything you need to know. There is also a calendar with the best times for each event. http://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/index.asp. I hope it helps. If you need to know anything further drop me a line.

Planting on Steep Banks

Question:

Hi, I’m wondering if you can help with any ideas on what I can do with a very steep bank in my garden. It is very difficult to reach the top to cut or prune anything (not to mention dangerous!)What is the easiest/quickest way to provide easy access and what sort of plants could you advice I put in this area. Preferably shrubs with some all year colour that grow to a maximum height/width of say a metre or so may be most suitable or maybe heathers of some kind? I may be asking a lot but also any that are hardy & therefore low maintenance would be good! Also what is the best way of minimising weed growth as they seem to take over this area?

Answer:

I have come up with some ideas for your slope. If you click on the plants you are interested in you will be directed to the relevant page on Crocus.co.uk where you will find additional information about each plant. You can buy them from them too if you want. I use them quite a lot and the quality is usually excellent. Before you begin planting it would be beneficial to carry out some work but that should be all you’ll need to do if everything goes according to plan. ? If possible try to remove all weeds. You can use a weedkiller such as Weedol2 which is an economical weedkiller that can be used all round the garden except on lawns, unless you want to kill them. Weedol doesn’t harm the soil so seeding or planting can be carried out immediately after treatment. It is effective at any time of the year, and is rainproof in 10 minutes. Keep away from children and pets. ? Once all the weeds are dead cover the whole area with a weed suppressing membrane and cover with a good layer of mulch such as Cocoa Shells or Woodchips. ? When you are ready to plant, choose your spot and push the mulch to one side and cut a cross in the membrane, fold back the edges of the cross and dig your hole. Add some well rotted manure to the hole and firm the plants in well. Make sure you give the plants a good watering before you plant them and then water the area immediately after planting and each day for about a week. Once they are established they shouldn’t need any more watering. Now for the plants. Firstly I think you need something at the top of the slope which requires no maintenance. I suggest Cotoneaster horizontalis. This is a very hardy, woody, plant which has red berries in the autumn. As the name suggests it grows horizontally so is excellent for quickly covering large areas. Each plant is 1m high and covers 1.5m; however, I would plant them about a metre apart so that they knit together more quickly. For some extra cover in this area you could add some Berberis in between the cotoneasters. This dwarf, deciduous shrub has two seasons of interest. In mid-spring, red-tinted, pale yellow flowers appear and in autumn, the small, purple, spiky leaves turn a dazzling shade of red. Something you could consider for the harder to reach areas is Ivy. I know these are usually grown up a wall or fence but they do very well growing along the ground, and believe me, once they get established nothing else can get through. There are lots of leaf sizes and colours available. I like Sulphur Heart which has a bright yellow middle so will brighten up a dull area. You mentioned Heathers. You could put in some of these in a well drained part of the slope but they do prefer a more acid soil so you will need to take a pH reading to make sure they will grow successfully. You will need to trim these back each year so they are best planted somewhere within easy reach. A very easy to grow plant with lots of colour is Geranium (Cranesbill). They come in lots of different colours and sizes but you will be probably be best choosing some of the larger ones for maximum coverage. These always benefit from being trimmed each year but if you can’t manage that they will be OK. The bottom of slopes are often moist, if yours is you may like to plant some Cowslips. You may need quite a few of these but they will begin to seed themselves around after a while. A great groundcover plant is Periwinkle. These can become invasive but this takes some time; they would look good weaving in and out down the slope in between the other plants. The flowers are usually violet but there are white varieties too. A quite unusual plant is Ajuga Reptans which has lovely purple flowers and evergreen bronze-purple leaves. It soon knits together to make a colourful mass. No garden should be without Alchemilla molis. This beautiful and useful perennial has scalloped, bright green leaves which catch droplets of water that look like quicksilver. From June to September, it produces a frothy haze of tiny, chartreuse yellow flowers. It will soon seed itself around so would be a good addition. Try to plant in threes for the best affect and have at least three of each. If you would like me to come up with a planting plan for you, just send me the dimensions of the area in question and let me know if there are any trees or shrubs on the area which need to stay.

Planting in Raised Beds

Question:

Can I plant the following trees in a 2ft raised bed: 1/. Acer Brilliantissimum 2/. Prunus pink perfection

Answer:

I would say that both trees would be fine in a raised bed but bear in mind that their spread may mean that you may not have room for anything else. The Prunus will grow to 8m x 8m in 10-20 years and the Acer to the same size in 20-50 years.

Planting in Wellingtons

Question:

What can I plant in a pair of wellingtons please? I know about drainage holes and grit below the compost. Would lavender survive in these conditions or can you offer me an alternative.

Answer:

Planting into a pair of wellingtons is a great idea. You could grow practically anything in them including herbs and small variety vegetables. The important thing, as you say, is to ensure that there are plenty of drainage holes and grit or stones in the bottom so that they plants aren’t sitting in water. Lavenders and most herbs like dry conditions so won’t need as much watering. Other plants, particularly vegetables will need watering everyday.

Planting in the Wet

Question:

We have 1/2 acre, was a field. Wet and clay, windy site. We tried planting as a wet meadow but got inundated with weeds and thistles. Is there anything we can plant which would take up the wet and cope with wind? Preferably not grass!

Answer:

I would be tempted to build a good sized natural pond and plant the surrounding area with moisture loving and bog plants. You could use the excavated soil to build a mound which could be turned into a wild flower meadow or add some grit and grow non-moisture loving plants. I have found a great article from English Nature which tells you all about ponds and native plants http://www.english-nature.org.uk/pubs/publication/pdf/GardenPonds.pdf. My own article also has some ideas together with selected suppliers of aquatic merchandise which may also help. http://gardeningregister.co.uk/NonProductPages/Articles/aquatic_gardening.htm

Thuja occidentalis and Coprosma porto red

Question:

I bought two nice shrubs today but the information on the labels is very patchy one is called thuja occidentalis golden trumpet the other a coprosma porto red any advice on planting aftercare such has watering would be welcomed

Answer:

Thuja occidentalis’ common name is White Cedar. It is quite easy to look after and likes full sun. It is hardy and likes most soil types. If you want to take cuttings the best time is July to August. Its maximum height is 120cm and spread is 90cm. It does not require pruning. I couldn’t find much information about Coprosma porto red but what I did find out was that it should be grown in well drained soil in sun but protected from cold wind.

Island Bed

Question:

I will shortly be transforming an island bed that I have got in my garden. I have decided on the colour scheme red and pink. This may seem like an unusual combination, but I will give it a go. I would like advice on some evergreen shrubs that have pink or red flowers on them. I do not want them to grow too tall or spread too much either. I thought possibly the red hydrangea (lady in red), your thoughts on this please. Other plants that I intend for this bed are geraniums, azaleas, cyclaems, fuschias, sedum, pieris (Kerrie, the new one with the dark red leaves), potentilla, weiglea (the one with the dark leaves and bright red flowers), carnations and Bishop of Llandaff in summer. I also intend planting some red and pink tulips for the spring, both tall and dwarf.

Answer:

I have done some research and have come up with the following suggestions. You don’t say what soil type you have so I have included some acid loving ones. Most Hydrangea are deciduous but if this is OK then Preziosa has masses of mophead flowers start out pinkish in June, maturing to red with a crescendo of burgundy by the end of the year. It produces these colours best in acidic soil. Although deciduous it will only reach 1.5m. Bergina Abendglut (Elephants Ears). Vivid pink spikes in spring with dark green leaves tinged with red. Cistus (Rock Rose) provides great ground cover and comes in lots of shades of pink. It loves the sun. There are some pink Daphne which are highly scented and not too big. Day lilies always give a good show. If you want structure then the New Zealand Flax (Phormium Rainbow Queen) has red stripes on the leaves. Skimmia japonica Rubella (male) has the red dark red flower buds which last through autumn and winter. For acid soils: There are some lovely red Camellias but the pinks are nice too and there are some nice compact Azaleas, Mothers Day is a particularly nice red.