November Gardening Jobs

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Graham wright

Plant bare root trees and shrubs
Deciduous trees, and some shrubs, can be bought ‘bare-root’ during the dormant season. This is typically a cheaper way to buy plants, because unlike potted plants, which need a lot of care and attention by the nursery (regular potting-on, watering, etc.) these will have been grown out in the field, and are dug up and dispatched direct to the customer. Ornamental trees, fruit trees, fruit bushes (including raspberries) and roses are all supplied bare-root over the winter.
When they arrive, you should try to plant them as soon as you can. Soak the roots for an hour or so, and then get them planted. Don’t forget to buy stakes to support any trees you’ve bought. Although if you have very small saplings, they are best planted without stakes).

**A selection of roses, delivered bare-rooted in the winter, ready to be soaked in water, and then planted**

Move plants
This is, technically speaking, bad practice. In an ideal world, we would all place plants in exactly the right position. In reality, it’s easy to get the spacings wrong, or to find that combinations of colours and textures are not working as you’d hoped. I’m ashamed to admit this happens to me more frequently than I’d like. Now is a great time to move plants around, and although it seems like sacrilege to dig up a plant only to move it a few feet, it’s amazing just how much you can get away with (though it’s best to avoid moving trees and shrubs that are too established). Any perennials you dig up to move may be able to be split, and used to fill gaps elsewhere.

Make leaf mould
Continue collecting fallen leaves from paths and lawns and adding them to the leaf mould bin (if you’ve made one) or put them in bags (hessian bags are best, but you can use plastic bags – old compost bags, or bin bags – with holes punched into the sides and bottom with a garden fork). Leaves can be left on beds to rot down naturally – just make sure any small plants are not swamped.

Check tree ties
If you haven’t done it already, check the ties on any trees that are staked. There are bound to be storms blowing through at this time of year, so it pays to check the stakes are still sound, and the ties are firm, but not too tight.

Weeding
A perennial task, but despite the cooler temperatures, weeds are taking advantage of the rain to sprout and grow fast. Hoeing is not so effective in damp conditions, so weeds will need to be pulled or dug out.

Move self-seeded plants
There are bound to be some hard frosts soon, but while the weather stays (relatively) mild, you can move self-seeded plants like foxgloves (Digitalis), love-in-a-mist (Nigella) and forget-me-nots (Myosotis) to where you want them.

Clean the greenhouse
Haven’t you cleaned that greenhouse yet? You need to get it done in time to move in any tender plants before the weather gets too cold for them (okay, so I admit I may not get around to this job every year).

Store tender plants
As I’m writing this, we still haven’t had any significant frost, and the Dahlias, Cannas, Pelargoniums and the like are all still flowering. But the cold is coming soon. Dahlias are traditionally not brought into storage until the top growth has been blackened by frost. Pelargoniums should definitely be brought under glass before they are hit by frost. Traditionally, Dahlia tubers were stored in dry sand, or even ash from the fire. More recently, dry, spent compost is recommended – though there is the potential for introducing pests and diseases. The other day I saw some advice recommending using shredded paper. I’m going to try that this year, and put all those top secret documents to good use.

Plant some bulbs
It’s a good time to plant bulbs such as tulips and alliums, for next season, in pots and in the ground.

Plant for winter interest
At this time of year the cold, the damp, the short days and the low light levels can get you down. To cheer yourself up, and if you have the room, why not stick two fingers up to the cost of living crisis and buy a plant that will give you some joy over the winter months? I’ve just bought a witch hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Jelena’), the branches of which are laden with buds ready to burst into lovely, fragrant, spidery orange flowers any time now.

October Gardening Jobs

Posted on October 10, 2022 by Graham wright

Plant new trees and shrubs
The dormant season – autumn and winter – has always been seen as a good time to plant trees and shrubs. But if the pattern of dry springs and summers experienced over recent years continues, the sooner you get plants in, the better. The soil is still warm, there’s plenty of moisture around, so plants put into the ground now will have a chance of establishing an effective root system before winter.

*Liquidambar styraciflua* ‘Slender Silhouette’ – planted a few days ago.

Divide perennials
Perennials that have finished flowering and have formed decent-sized clumps can be divided now. If the centre sections are woody and unproductive they can be cut out and discarded. Re-set the other pieces where you want them, water them in, and they should be able to establish before the winter.

Use Fallen leaves
Autumn leaves should be cleared from lawns and paths (and beds too, if you wish) and can be collected up and turned into leaf mould – either in a purpose made-bin (with wire mesh sides) or in bags (hessian bags are best, but you can use plastic – but punch lots of holes in the sides and bottom with a garden fork). You could leave them on the beds as a soil-improving mulch that will rot down naturally – just make sure any small plants are not swamped.

Lawn Repair
Hopefully most lawns will have turned green again by now, but this is traditionally a good time to do remedial work, and after the summer we’ve had, many of them need it. Aeration reduces compaction, and can be done either with an aerator (manual, or powered), or with a garden fork. Push it in as far as you can, wiggle it about a bit, pull back on it to slightly lift the ground, and then repeat across the whole area. This is, I have to say, a job that consumes a lot of time and energy. Scarifying (raking) is good for the lawn too – it gets rid of a lot of the dead material, as well as moss. Any bare patches can be re-seeded.

Check tree ties
Bear in mind that tree trunks will have expanded, even during the poor growing season we’ve had. So if you have trees that are staked, you may want to check they aren’t being strangled. If ties are too tight, loosen them a little. A galvanised nail banged through the tie and into the stake (not the tree!) will stop the tie from slipping down.

Look for self-seeded plants
…pay attention, because among the weeds will be self-seeded plants you may want to keep. These might be wild flowers such as forget-me-nots and foxgloves – some people may see them as weeds, but many gardeners are happy to have them, as they’re colourful, attractive, and free. Many cultivated perennials, such as Verbena bonariensis, and Gaura, will self seed. And you might even find some surprises. In my garden, Salvia ‘Royal Bumble’ – a choice shrubby plant – has produced a couple of dozen seedlings in the ground around it.

Clean the greenhouse
Yes, I know – you don’t want to hear this, but it’s a good idea to thoroughly clean your greenhouse (if you’re lucky enough to have one). Cleaning the glass benefits the plants by maximising the light coming in. And keeping a clean greenhouse reduces hiding places for pests to over-winter.

Think about wildlife
Dead foliage and flower stems of perennials don’t necessarily need to be cut down until next spring. Left where they are, they will provide habitat and food for wildlife over the winter.

Store tender plants
Dahlia tubers can be lifted from the ground or removed from pots, cleaned up, and stored in dry material such as compost, sand or wood shavings, in a cool, dry, frost-free place. They don’t need light, so a garage or shed would be fine. It’s usual to wait until the first frosts have blackened the foliage before doing this. You can leave them in the ground, ideally with a thick mulch of compost on top, but there’s a risk they won’t come back next year if we have a cold and wet winter.
Cannas, frost-tender salvias (such as Salvia ‘Amistad’), pelargoniums etc. can be brought into the (freshly cleaned!) greenhouse (or a shed or garage, if you don’t have a greenhouse), in pots, ideally before the first frost. So keep an eye on the weather forecast!

Planting bulbs
It’s still a good time to plant bulbs for next season, in pots and in the ground. It isn’t too late to plant early bulbs like snowdrops, crocuses, or the little reticulata irises; or too early to plant later bulbs like alliums. I placed an order with Crocus again this year. Their plants can be expensive, but their prices for bulbs were very reasonable. I ordered ten each of three varieties of tulip, thirty Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’, and a pack of Iris reticulata. Very restrained!

**A freshly planted pot of *Iris reticulata* ‘Alida’ – these flower in spring and are small and dainty – ideal for displaying on a table, where they can be seen more easily.**

One problem I’ve encountered is that it’s impossible to identify where bulbs you planted into the ground in previous years are at this time, so you can end up inadvertently digging these up (and often damaging them), while you attempt to put the new ones in. Monty Don, on Gardeners World, offered a good solution to this problem. He planted his Allium hollandicum bulbs individually into small pots. He will plant them out next year, when bulbs in the ground are showing new growth, so he can avoid damaging them.

Covering pots with mesh, netting, chicken wire etc., until the bulbs start sprouting, will stop rodents digging them up and eating them. Some people do this for bulbs planted into the ground too, but it isn’t always practical.

Sow seed
And on the subject of greenhouses… Seeds of some annuals and perennials can be sown now, and kept in the greenhouse, rather than waiting for spring. Sweet peas are a favourite, but things like Ammi major, when sown in autumn, will flower earlier next year. A few weeks ago I sowed some Scabious (Scabiosa atropurpurea ‘Black Knight’), put them on a windowsill inside to germinate, and then moved them to a greenhouse bench to over-winter.

**Scabious (*Scabiosa atropurpurea* ‘Black Knight’) seedlings – germinated on a windowsill inside, then moved to the greenhouse bench.**

The summer is over, and it’s getting cold, damp, and dark. But there are still some warmer, brighter days. And the light at this time of year has a special quality. So if you choose your time, you can still enjoy the garden.

text & images © graham wright 2022

Planning for winter interest…

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Graham wright

Winter tends to be thought of as a time when gardens go to sleep. Trees and shrubs lose their leaves, perennials die back to ground level, and bulbs are dormant below ground. Evergreens may keep their leaves all year round, but they don’t do anything interesting in the winter, do they? And as for flowers, you’re unlikely to see any until the snowdrops pop up in early spring. Well, actually…

Flowers in Winter
With careful planning, it’s possible to have plants in flower all the way through what we refer to as ‘the dormant season’. There are a range of shrubs that flower in winter, and surprisingly, many of them are deciduous. Flowers tend to be smaller and less showy than summer blooms, but they stand out more against bare branches. What’s more, winter flowers tend to be strongly scented. Witch hazel (Hamamelis), a graceful deciduous shrub, produces striking, spidery flowers in yellows, oranges or reds in January and February. Winter sweet (Chimonanthus) has fragrant yellow flowers from December to February. And winter honeysuckle (Lonicera) has highly scented white flowers from December to March.

Viburnum x bodnantense makes a large, bushy shrub with attractive mid-green leaves. It has clusters of fragrant pink flowers intermittently throughout the winter.

Winter flowering evergreen shrubs include Mahonia; the bright yellow flowers of which are followed by dark berries, daphne and sweet box. All are high scented.

The appeal of bark & stems
Trees with decorative bark make striking features in the winter, when their colours and textures are more visible.

Many varieties of Dogwoods (Cornus) have richly coloured stems in yellow, orange, red or black. In the summer, these are hidden, but when the leaves drop off, they shine out and make a striking feature in the garden. Many willows (Salix) also have brightly coloured stems (willows are known as large trees, but there are varieties that are much smaller). For both willows and dogwoods, cutting some, or all of the stems back to ground level in spring enhances the effect (it’s the new growth that carries the colour).

**Colouful stems of dogwoods; *Cornus sanguinea* ‘Midwinter Fire’, *C. alba* ‘Sibirica’, & *C. sericea* ‘Flaviramea’**

And then there are trees and shrubs that produce attractive berries, many of which can last well into the winter.

*Malus* ‘Comtesse de Paris’ (Crab apple), *Rosa rugosa*, & *Ilex auquifolium* ‘Argentia Marginata’ (Holly)

In winter, the bare branches of trees and shrubs make for interesting structures in their own right, even without attractive flowers, berries or bark. Evergreens have a more solid presence, and those that have been shaped into topiary decorate the winter garden with their architectural shapes.

**Topiary at the National Trust garden Erddig, North Wales**

Autumn is the perfect time to plant new shrubs and trees, because the soil is moist, and still warm enough to allow roots to establish. What’s more, many are available ‘bare-rooted’ at a much lower price than potted specimens. Deciduous bare-rooted trees and shrubs can be planted any time throughout the autumn and winter.

At ground level, flowers are scarce in the winter, and those plants that do produce them, such as hellebores, reticulata irises and cyclamen, are valuable.

Winters in the UK are long, wet and cold, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still enjoy our gardens. And it won’t be long before bulbs come into flower, starting early on with snowdrops and crocus, then the various types of daffodil, and on to the tulips; when we’ll know that summer is almost here.

Text, title photo, and that of Erddig ©Strelitzia Garden Design. All other photos are from the on-line nursery Crocus

Up the Garden Path

Posted on March 12, 2020 by Graham wright

This is the back garden as it was mid December last year, when we moved in, laid mostly to lawn, and dominated by a straight central path cutting the space in two.

We’ve got a working plan now. It isn’t quite finalised, but I’m confident it’s close enough that we can prepare the ground where the trees will go before it’s too late to get them in. Trees are generally much cheaper when bought bare rooted, but this can only be done in the dormant season, and they have to be planted within a few days of being lifted out of the ground. The path had to go. Here it is after I was half way through taking it out (taken 25th Feb):

The bed on the left is also going, so I’ve been taking the plants out and moving them to the nursery bed.

Work has been progressing smoothly, as and when I can fit it in. As you can see here, the chickens have wasted no time in annexing the bare earth as a dust bath:

This was the state of play as of 7th March, with all of the concrete and gravel removed, and the paving slabs left loose for the time being, so we have something to walk on:

I had hoped the slabs and gravel were laid on membrane over compacted soil, but I was to be disappointed. It’s been a long time since the old pick axe has seen that much action, and I’m left with a huge amount of rubble that will need to be removed at some point (I may be able to use some of it under paths and patios elsewhere).

You may just have noticed we’ve planted some trees in the grass. The design I came up with has a mini orchard, set with six fruit trees – 2 apples, 2 pears, a plum and a damson. I’m aiming to turn the grass into wild flower meadow, with a mown path curving through the trees to a patio at the end, under the large birch tree. In total so far we’ve planted 9 trees, and 100 hedging plants. And there will be more to come.

I’ll sign off, for now, with this month’s centrefold; the lovely Lola, sprawled on a bed. Calm yourselves…

Winter Pruning of Fruit Trees

Posted on January 2, 2018 by Graham wright

With the exception of Prunus species such as cherry, which are susceptible to silver leaf disease, free standing fruit trees are best pruned during the dormant season. You can do it anytime from late October through to early March, but I prefer to wait until the tree is fully settled into dormancy, and then get it done well before the buds begin to swell. Anytime during December and January is fine. Ideally, pick a day that isn’t too frosty or wet. Make sure your secateurs, loppers and saws are sharp and clean. I like to sterilise mine with diluted Jeyes fluid before and after, to avoid spreading any disease from one plant to another.

I’ve just pruned my quince tree (Cydonia oblonga ‘Vranja’). Quince fruits are about the size of, and a similar shape to pears. They have a downy coating, and a wonderful fragrance. They can be added to apple pies or crumbles to give them more flavour, or made into membrillo – quince paste – that is eaten with cheese. Apparently. But I know what you’re thinking – ‘who does he think he is; Mary Berry?’ Back to the pruning then, and the first question to ask is ‘why prune?’

The patient before surgery…

…not massively congested, but could benefit from some shaping

Quince makes quite a small tree – one of the reasons I chose it for my small garden – and although this specimen has grown fast during it’s four years in the garden, I’m happy for it to put on more height. I didn’t want to restrict it’s growth (more on that later) so I was pruning to improve the tree’s shape and to promote it’s health. Trees put out shoots in all directions, which can lead to them becoming quite congested. There were a number of shoots that were crossing each other. This is bad, because when branches rub together, they wound each other, and wounds can be entry points for disease. So those shoots had to go – I cut them back to their source.

There were other shoots growing in towards the centre of the tree. What you should be aiming for is an open shape. This lets light into the centre of the tree, which helps the fruit ripen, and allows for a good airflow through the canopy, which helps to prevent diseases. This was particularly relevant to me, as my quince suffered a bad bout of Quince leaf blight last year (Pulling Weeds Post 8/9/2017). So I cut most of the shoots that were growing inwards back to their source, opening up the canopy, and ensuring that all branches had some space around them.

Incidentally, when pruning fruit trees, you need to have an eye on the future. It isn’t quite so important for quince, which don’t tend to produce a huge harvest, but pears, and apples in particular, can be laden down with fruit, and it’s easy to underestimate just how much it will weigh down the branches. So when pruning in winter you need to think about the effect of the fruit, and whether branches will be bent down so far that they rest on the branch below, and prune to try and avoid this happening.

The next thing to consider is what’s generally known as ‘the three D’s’ – identify and cut out any wood that has signs of disease (such as canker), or is dead, or dying.

Finally, I pruned some of the rather spindly top shoots. How much you take off depends how much you want them to grow – perversely, the more you cut off, the more growth you stimulate. I really just tipped them to take off the thin, straggly ends – they should produce new, thicker shoots from the next remaining bud. Getting up to reach the top shoots can be difficult. My ladders weren’t tall enough to get me there, but I’ve found that you can grab the branch lower down and bend it down (gently – don’t risk snapping it!) until you can reach the tip.
The finished result – not a huge difference, but as I’ve said, it didn’t need that much pruning, and my general rule is that any tree that obviously looks as if it’s just been pruned is a tree that’s been pruned clumsily

My quince didn’t need a great deal of pruning, but for older trees, and particularly ones that haven’t been pruned for some years, it can be a different story. You may have to cut back large branches that are growing into the centre of the tree. If you need to reduce the size of the tree, I think it’s best to do it by cutting out some of the higher, leading branches back to their source, to maintain a natural shape, rather than lopping all of the branches to the height you want, leaving ugly stumps, which isn’t a good look. You should be aiming to shape a tree, not round it over. Bear in mind too, that if you cut fruit trees back too hard, they can respond by throwing out lots of long, straight shoots (known as water shoots) which won’t bear fruit, and which really spoil the shape of the tree. If a tree needs serious renovation to check it’s growth, then it’s best to do this gradually, over a number of seasons.
The prunings – as you can see, I didn’t need to remove a large quantity of material

One more thing to bear in mind – be careful up those ladders.

There was a young chap called Vince,
Who attempted to prune a quince.
But he dropped his saw, then fell off the ladder,
When he picked himself up you could see that he had a
Wound that would make anyone wince.

…Happy pruning!

If Trees Could Talk…

Posted on September 8, 2017 by Graham wright

We’re not long into September, and I’d like to think it’s still summer, if only just. But it seems that many of the trees think otherwise. I can’t help feeling a little antagonistic towards them. It’s as if they’re trying to deprive me of what little summer is left; as if they somehow know there isn’t any more good weather to come, so they might as well get on with the autumn business of dropping their leaves. I have an instinctive sense that trees are wise, but in this case it may be less about being in touch with the rhythm of the seasons, and more about giving up regardless. If trees could talk, they’d be saying ‘we’ve had enough!’

My Quince Tree (Cydonia oblonga ‘Vranja’) has suffered a lot this year. In spring, its freshly emerged leaves were ripped to shreds by strong winds. Likewise its second growth. It’s lived through prolonged drought, excessive rain, vastly fluctuating temperatures, and now a long period of dull, humid weather. And now it’s losing its leaves at an alarming rate. Continue reading →

Pullingweeds

The musings of a horticulturist

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