Grow your own Saffron

Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world used in either sweet or savory dishes. It has a wonderful sweet, earthy taste and is a popular spice for rice.

Saffron comes from the bright red stigmas of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus). Plant the bulbs during August (or when your bulbs arrive) in a nice sunny spot or a pot on a hot patio and they will produce lovely scented blooms during the autumn year after year.

Once the flowers open look for the red ribbons dangling from the centre of the flowers, pick them carefully with a pair of tweezers and either use them in your favourite dish or dry them and store in an airtight container, in a cool place, for up to two years.

The best way to dry the saffron is to place the red strands on a paper towel for several days in a warm, dry place.

Alternative Lawns

A lush, well manicured, green lawn is most people’s idea of the perfect lawn but if you are looking for something a little easier to maintain or just fancy something a bit different then why not sow a wildflower or chamomile lawn?

Creating a colourful wildflower area in your garden is extremely easy and your garden will soon become a natural haven for beneficial insects as well as various species of butterflies.

Wildflower Lawn

A wildflower lawn is just a patch of grass that isn’t cut as short as usual and where you encourage low-growing wild flowers, such as primroses, violets and cowslips.

Some people also like to encourage some lawn weeds.

A wildflower meadow is wonderful in summer and attracts butterflies and bees. You can either let the wild flowers come up naturally, and weed out the ones you don’t want, or you can plant the wild flowers of your choice into the turf in spring, they will self-seed once they are established.

A wildflower lawn doesn’t need feeding but it will need cutting a couple of times a year in early spring and autumn.

Clover Lawn

White clover (Trifoliurn repens) makes a very good ‘lawn’. Sow it in the same way as a normal grass lawn, using clover seeds that you can buy from specialist seed firms.

Clover stays green in dry weather and it grows to only about 5-8cm (2-3in), so it doesn’t need regular mowing. Clover is a mass of flower in summer and very attractive to bees.

Flower Lawn

The classic flower lawn is chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile ‘Treneague’). You can also grow a lawn of creeping thymes; a mixture of mat­forming alpines; or one of the flowering chamomiles, such Chamaemelum nobile `Flore Pleno’.

Flowering lawns don’t need mowing; just a clip over after flowering, but they have to be weeded by hand so you may not want a large area. The types of plants used in flowering lawns need a sunny spot with excellent drainage so dig plenty of grit or gravel into the area before planting.

Buy your own wildflower seed collection from Thompson & Morgan; each collection comprises of one packet each of Common Primrose, Wild Cowslip, Wild Flanders Poppy and Sweet Rocket Alba. Or see a wide range of wildflower seeds from Suttons.

Butterflies in your Garden

A well designed and maintained garden is a joy but what make a garden complete is to have it full of bird song and the fluttering of butterflies.

There are 58 butterfly species in Britain and by carefully planning your garden you may be lucky enough to see a good number of these in your own garden. There are some essentials to ensure that butterflies will stop to take nectar from your garden, just follow the guidelines below.

Sunshine

You must position your butterfly plants in a warm, sheltered, sunny spot in your garden. Spend some time observing which parts of your garden get the most sunshine for most of the day. Butterflies will rarely feed in a shady area but part shade may suffice

Shelter

As mention above a sheltered spot is preferable as butterflies do not like to be buffeted by the wind.

Overnight Roosts

Grow some climbers and tall shrubs to enable the butterflies to roost overnight well off the ground. Hanging baskets also work well.

Food for Caterpillars

Most butterflies will only lay their eggs on specific plants in order to provide the right food for their caterpillars. Leave a patch of your garden “wild” with some long grass and nettles. Nettles are very popular with Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Red Admiral and Comma butterflies. If you don’t have room in your garden to leave an area “wild” try planting some nettles in a large pot and hide it away in the shrubs

The Right Plant for your Garden

Although there are quite a number of plants which butterflies love, do remember that the plant must also be suitable for your soil type and the aspect of your garden. See our Soil & Compost page for more information on soil types.

Visit our Plants for Butterflies page for a full list of the plants loved by our British Butterflies and the Butterfly Year to see which butterflies will visit your garden each month of the season.

Flower Carpet Red Velvet and Cynara scolymus

My garden has reached the stage where there is no more room left to plant anything! So you’d think I’d stop going to the garden centre wouldn’t you? But no ….. this week I came across a lovely red rose (yes, red again!).

This is Flower Carpet Red Velvet a ground cover rose.

It is a lovely bright red with a yellow centre with glossy, rich green foliage and it really catches the eye; I liked it so much I’ve bought mum one too, she’ll love it.

As I don’t have any room in the ground I have put it in a pot in the hope that it will flow over the top and give a trailing affect. There are lots of buds on both plants so hopefully we’ll get flowers until the frost; I’ll let you know.

Here are the details:

• It is naturally disease resistant
• It has a long flowering season
• It grows to 50cm (20ins) high and you will need 2-3 plants per square metre (yard)
• Plant in a sunny spot in any soil type or plant it in a container in a good quality compost, water well and keep moist
• Add a quality rose food to the soil / compost
• In early spring cut back to 15cm (6ins) from the base and add more rose food
• Trim off any spent blooms as this will encourage more prolific flowering

Buy your Flower Carpet Red Velvet from Gardening Express

While I was at the garden centre I found a bargain in the Sale section.

It is a Cynara scolymus or Cardoon.

It is a very architectural plant growing up to 180cm (6ft) tall and producing these wonderful purple-mauve, thistle-like flowers in late summer; keep them on for the winter for an extra show of interest. The foliage is jagged and greyish green which will make a change for my garden.

I have managed to find a small spot at the back of my main border I just hope it gets enough sun.

If you would like to buy your own Cardoon take a look at Cynara cardunculus ‘Cardy’ from Crocus.co.uk. This variety is shorter but has the same jagged foliage and bee-friendly thistles and is just as architectural.

How do you grow your own cut flowers?

Buying cut flowers on a regular basis can be quite costly, so why not try growing your own in the garden?

They can be grown in their own cutting bed or mixed into a border to add to the display; either way you could raise enough flowers to have a constant supply of fresh blooms for your home.

To get the best quality flowers it is best to grow them in a sunny spot on well drained, fertile soil. Most will need to be supported to avoid damage and it is also wise to provide shelter from strong winds.

What typs of flowers can I grow?

• Half hardy annuals

• • The are the easiest to grow as the seed are sown directly into the soil where you want them flower
  • Sow between March and May, staggering the sowings to get a succession of flowers over the summer
  • Once all the flowers have been cut and no more buds form, lift the entire plant and put on the compost heap
  • Repeat the process next spring
  • Some examples are:
    • tobacco plants (nicotiana)
    • zinnia
    • snapdragons
    • cosmos
• Biennials
  • Sow seed between May and July to flower the following year
  • Sow where they are to flower or in seed trays
  • As with the annuals, discard after flowering is over
  • Keep sowing each May to get more flowers each year
  • Some examples are:
    • erysimum (wallflowers)
    • sweet william
    • dianthus
• Perennial
  • These will flower year after year so are a good investment
  • Plant rooted cuttings in spring or pot-grown specimens at any time
  • Perennials will die down for winter and most will be OK outside, however dahlias will need a good layer of mulch over them to help them through
  • Some examples are:
    • dahlia
    • chrysanthemum
    • alchemilla mollis
• Bulbs
  • Plant spring flowering bulbs at the end of summer or early autumn
  • Once the flowers have been cut and no more buds appear leave the foliage on the plant to die down naturally, this provides the bulb with food for the following year
  • Some examples are:
    • daffodils
    • tulips
    • allium

Most plants will benefit from being picked regularly as it will encourage more buds to form and extend your cutting season.

Keep all plants well watered throughout the growing season a feed every couple of weeks.

Flowers for Young Children

Question:

I am planning to make miniature gardens with young children and would like to use petunias ans Impatiens (bizzie-lizzie). I just wanted to make sure that neither of these plants is poisonous.

Answer:

Petunias and Impatiens are not on the poisonous plants list. However, if eaten most ornamental plants will cause sickness in children and some adults. You will need to keep an eye on the children when they are in the garden or consider planting edible plants. Here’s a selection for you to consider:

• Nasturtiums – colourful and quick growing
• Alliums – taste of onions with purple or white flowers
• Rosemary – grows quite big but can be pruned down. Smells great. The flavour is strong so the kids won’t like it anyway!
• Mint – lots of different types with slightly different minty smells. They can take over so it’s best kept in a pot
• Violas and Pansies – cheap and easy to grow
• Parsley – annual only but easy to grow in a sunny spot
• Try planting strawberries or small tomatoes in hanging baskets

Tomatoes and Olives

Question:
How do I nurture a tumbling tomatoe plant that we have hanging in a basket? How do I ensure a good crop? There are very small green baby tomatoes at present. Does it need repotting as it looks a bit big now for the basket

I bought the most gorgeous olive tree a couple of months ago. Its about 2.5 feet tall. I repotted it in John Innes No 3 mixed with grit. Is it right to keep it very moist initially? What feed, if any, should I use? How do I know its healthy?

Answer:
Your tumbling tomato plant will need lots of watering to stop the fruits splitting and it will need feeding every week with a tomato feed to ensure a good healthy crop. They really need to be in a very sunny spot for the fruit to ripen successfully. I have never been able to grow tomatoes outside as my garden is north facing and doesn’t get much sun. I wouldn’t re-pot it; it should be fine if you keep feeding and watering.

Olives are not entirely hardy in the UK so will need some protection during cold and frosty periods. You were right to plant in a well-drained mix of compost and grit. Although they can cope with dry periods, olives in containers need regular watering and feeding to produce fruit. During the growing season keep the compost moist and feed every month. In winter, you can reduce watering, but don’t let the compost dry out completely. As long as the leaves are undamaged and there is sign of new growth you can assume the plant is healthy. If the plant is kept in a very sunny location you may even get fruit after a couple of years.