Monday, November 26, 2012

Granny's Curls

Granny's curls, Pheasant Berry, Himalayan Honeysuckle, Flowering nutmeg are all common names for Leycesteria formosa. They are beloved by Pheasants and also Blackbirds (Turdus merula).

Both love the dark purple berries that the Leycesteria now carry at this time of year. The sweet berries attract them as they gradually ripen over the next couple of months. They look juicy and inviting, but I have not yet found anyone finding them to their taste. The flavour I can only describe as sweetish burnt sugar. First it seems okay then a sickliness follows on. Try one and see.

leycesteria formosa, pheasant berry, granny's curls,himalayan honeysuckle,flowering nutmeg

Lecesteria formosa is a shrub well worth growing with a graceful arching aspect to the stems, growing up to 6-7 feet (2-2.5 metres). It first produces white flowers followed by the showy red purple bracts and deep purple fruits.

It is very tolerant of most soils, though it likes to be well drained and moisture holding. Sun or partial shade suits it fine, but some shelter from harsh winds is advisable.

There is a golden leaved form around that will need sun to retain the leaf colour.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Curiosity Kills The Pheasant

It's time for the big kill now. In the wood below us they have been blowing pheasants out of the air. The shooting goes on  until Christmas and beyond (1st October-1st February).

pheasant, male pheasant, Phasianus colchicus Cock Pheasant

I just cannot see the attraction of killing a slow moving bird, or any bird that is. Does it pop into a shooters head "What a lovely day, the kind of day I want to go out and kill something". A day like that I want to enjoy to the full and it does not occur to me to deprive another creature the joy of the moment.

But the shooting goes on and the daftest thing happens. Pheasants that live up here at the top of the valley where there is plenty of food, disappear. They go off down into the woodland, crazy!

When the shooting stops after a few days a couple may drift back here again, but the numbers slowly dwindle.

We can only assume that they are so curious, instead of being scared, and go to see what all the noise is about ending up as another fatal casualty.

Curiosity kills the pheasant!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Snakes Alive

Digging out the compost heap to prepare the beds for garlic planting, suddenly a rubbery bundle fell out of the centre.

grass snake eggs, grass snake, natrix natrix Grass snake eggs

A full clutch of grass snake eggs, full with young embryos. Around twenty six in all , but one got damaged in the reveal.

This set me a problem as I had dug away the compost heap where they had been laid.

cut away compost heap 

The interior was soft and well rotted and well insulated from the cold. The only thing I could do was to dig a hole down in the thickest part of the heap to the depth that the eggs were laid. Then lining it with the soft rotted compost, gently place the eggs onto it. I carefully filled the hole to the top with the same rotted compost to protect the eggs. To make sure I also laid a piece of board over the top of the area and piled un-rotted coarse material on top for further insulation, the board spreading the weight.

So now I hope that they will get through to Spring when it is time to hatch out. This area of the compost heap cannot be touched until later in Spring when they should have all dispersed hopefully into the garden.

A salutary warning though to always use a fork to break compost heaps open. The fork tines are less likely to cause too much damage, unlike a spade that would have sliced right through the clutch with more casualties than just the one egg as in this case.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Garlic Time

October and it's time to start preparing beds for garlic planting. Here we can plant right up to December usually as we stay fairly mild then.
                                                           three heads of garlic
Growing garlic organically is the only way for this marvelous vegetable. Inorganic garlic has been shown to have lesser nutrients, which means lower levels of health giving factors.
                                                                     
Talking of growing organically. A fact that has come forward with the American Presidential candidates. Mitt Romney the multimillionaire Republican has been involved with Monsanto since the late 1970's. A firm supporter of GMO. Yet although he is all too keen for others to eat GM food stuffs he himself only eats ORGANICALLY.

That's right!

Even in his own private jet, the galley is stocked with all natural foods that are all organically grown. Old Mitt is not taking any risks with his health!

Mitt's wife also eats only organic foods and is a firm believer in wholelistic medicine. She herself is a sufferer of multiple sclerosis but credits the turnaround with her health due to organic wholesome foods.

Sadly even Obama is a supporter of Monsanto, yet the Obama's themselves eat organically. It seems other ex Presidents were not going to take any risks either, George W Bush and Mrs Bush along with the Clinton's all insisted on organic foods, yet see nothing wrong with the general populace eating GMO's.
                                                                                                                       

Monday, October 8, 2012

Environmental Mess

The only problem that we have with the track we live up is having to keep filling holes from the wear and tear of use. It's not something that worries us a great deal, as far as we are concerned it just comes with the territory. A hole comes, you fill it and that is how we have gone on over the years. The benefits of living here with the wild flowers, hedgerows and wildlife far out weigh what we see is a very minor inconvenience.

It worries many people though, especially those that are used to tarmac surfaces for their cars to run on. But our attitude is maybe a little anti social; if you don't like it, don't come up!

Periodically the owner of the fields around us will get a heap of some form of small rubble or stone to be put into the holes, which we appreciate. But this time he made a real boo boo.

The latest stuff is just a bit too small. It is fine in small holes and packs down well, but in larger areas where water collects, it just is not man enough for the job. In no time it reduces to a thick pudding like texture.
Unfortunately he got someone in over the weekend to spread it in the hole that collect the most water. We thought fine that's okay the machine will pack it down hard. Not too much damage. But by the end of Sunday we found the driver had gone mad and scraped up the area removing the centre grass and the small bank to the right and dumped it on top of the opposite bank.

muddy track     So gravel some soil and turf from the centre and the left side in this photo has been dumped over the wild flowers on the right hand bank.

turf dumped on side of track Dumped turf

gravel and mud dumped Gravel and mud mix thrown on side

The whole of the bank was in a really sorry state and we just could not leave it like that.
A mess So early on Monday morning, donning raincoats and wielding
shovels we got down there to remove and repair.

                                                      

It took us over 2 hours to move everything off. We rebuilt the opposite side where it had been removed to an extent that is. Enough to allow us to replace turf containing wild flowers so that they could at least stand a chance to re-grow.
track side repair Narrow bank repaired

bank after removal Opposite side after gravel and turf removed from it.
Using a manure fork we then teased up the growth to allow any remaining gravel and mud to fall down to root level, hoping now most of the damage has been averted.

achillea ptarmica Achillea ptamica
Achillea ptamica commonly known as Sneezewort remains untouched right at the back of the bank.
All this is down unfortunately to people who don't think enough of the environment around them. Ignorant destruction goes on like this everyday where small pieces of the planet are lost. The Earth is being destroyed not only in great swathes, but in tiny cuts, over and over.

If each of us can try to protect just a small area where we inhabit and try and repair any damage done, we may stand a chance of mitigating all out planetary destruction of the environment.
Hopefully.

Monday, October 1, 2012

Three invaluable helpers

The three duck girls have been invaluable this year. Seeking out and disposing of many slugs that have tried to invade the garden with the wet Summer we have had this year.

In a space of just a few minutes the two Khaki Campbells fished two of the largest fat slugs around. It took them longer to get them down their throats and was not for the squeamish. 
The three Duck girls







Saturday, September 15, 2012

No High

This is a fantastic looking shrub and many people may well mistake for the infamous cannabis plant. But Datisca cannabina will not give you a high other than the pure joy of growing it.
Datisca cannabina

Easily growing to 2 metres tall (6ft), making an impressive plant in any garden. Small yellow flowers form in May - August. 

It is an actinorhizal plant, which means it forms a symbiotic relationship with bacteria to fix Nitrogen into the soil. So will help to improve poorer soils where it grows.

Just make sure you label it prominently to make sure it does not get swiped for smoking!
 

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Purple Dust

A surprise can sometimes come in unusual places. I walked by one of the pile of logs in the garden and found an amazingly beautiful colour.
daldina concentric, fungus, fungus on wood, fungus growing on wood I believe the fungus is Daldina concentrica. A hard woody little fungus that grows on dead trees. But I have never seen such purple spores released by it. Normally they are just black. But these are blue black, looking as if somebody had spilt ink over the wood.



Hidden behind the Iris foetidissima and  nestled amongst ivy leaves, small Cyclamen hederifolium flower. These are growing in a lot of shade and in pretty dry conditions as they are at the base of conifers. But they
come up regularly every year.


cyclamen  hederifolium., hardy cyclamen, pink cyclamen, autumn flowering cyclamen Cyclamen hederifolium

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Surprise Guest

Picking up my gardening gloves from the shelf in the outhouse made me jump a bit. We had a surprise guest snuggled under them.

toad,bufo bufo A small Toad had somehow managed to clamber up onto the shelf 3 feet above the floor and hunkered down under the gloves.

I carefully took it outside and placed underneath the large rock slab outside the door, making sure it crawled under out of harms way.

Next day once again picking up my gloves, it was back there again!

toad in outhouse,toad,bufo bufo

It's easy for them this size to get under the door, plenty of gap to squeeze under, but how it manages to get up on the shelf is beyond me?

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Perfect Wet Weather Plant

Our Summer seems to show no signs of becoming dry. Small intervals of dry days in a week is all that can be hoped for. A washout is the simple way to describe it.

Many plants though are thriving, perennials and herbaceous forms seem untouched. But one that absolutely loves it has grown into a superb plant this year. The cool wet conditions suit it very well.

 

houttuynia cordata flora plena Houttuynia cordata flora plena

Flora plena is not very often offered for sale as it is a little understated to the more popular variety 'Chameleon' The leaves of 'Flora plena' have a nice red edge to them and contrast well with the glossy leaves. Double pure white flowers show up perfectly against the leaves.

It grows in poor wet soil conditions in full sun or partial shade. A deciduous perennial, dying down completely to underground rhizomes. It spreads well by the rhizomes and can easily be propagated by digging them up in winter and replanting into another position. They take well to growing in a pot ensuring the compost is good at holding water as it needs being kept moist suffering if allowed to dry out at all.

Most people come across the Houttuynia in the coloured leaved for Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon'

houttuynia_cordata_chameleon Houttuynia cordata 'Chameleon'

Treat it the same as 'Flora plena', though you may have to watch for reversion where the leaves revert back to green. Remove any of the plant that does not show the full colour in the leaves.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Striking colour

Dahlias are one of my favourite tender perennials, their often striking colours and vibrancy create a real Summery feel. The beauty of the Dahlia is that they are very attractive to Bumblebees. As long as they are single or only semi double flowers the bees love them.

One of my favourites is Bishop of Llandaff.

bishop of llandaff, dahlia, dahlia bishop of llandaff  Bishop of Llandaff

Deep purple leaves and vibrant red flowers, makes a striking garden addition. Well worth growing and easy to keep from one year to the next. I simply place the pot that it is growing in indoors once a frost has touched the top turning it black.

Cut the dead stem off and keep the pot frost free so that it cannot penetrate the pot. A shed will do to protect it.

In Spring the shoots will be seen poking through the compost. Its time then just to remove the top 2" layer of compost and replace with fresh. But sprinkle some fertilizer first such as chicken pellets or other organic fertilizer, then cover with the fresh compost.

Bring into the light where it is protected from late frost and grow on. Put outside once all frosts have gone.

Additional fertilizer should be given about 2 months after the first either another organic granular form or a liquid feed given weekly such as homemade fertilizer brew, liquid manure, comfrey etc.

Enjoy

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Small Dead Visitor

First thing in the morning I found this poor unfortunate visitor dead behind the car.

weasel A Weasel obviously caught by one of the cats at sometime the day before. We can only think that there must have been something wrong with it, ill maybe or it was of a more advanced age to be caught by one of the cats. A young weasel is extremely fast and I would doubt a cat could easily manage to catch one, especially as they are really fierce little predators.

The positive out of this is it confirms that they are active and present in our area for one to be caught like this.

Saturday, July 21, 2012

What Is It?

mould on oatcakes

It was so colourful and worth a shot.

 

 

 

It's mould on some oatcakes that we had completely forgotten in a container.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Stinking Gladwyn

If you have a difficult shaded place then look no further than Iris foetidissima. It's a little understated compared to other Irises, but the flowers have a delicacy about them.

Iris foetidissima,stinking gladwyn, Delicately coloured flowers of  Iris foetidissima.

Iris foetidissima_under_trees Iris foetidissima growing in the shade of trees where many other plants would fail.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Weed Inter-Crops

In the vegetable plot the paths often remain unproductive, especially so if you grow crops in beds with 12"-18" paths between them. We find one of the ideal vegetables to grow on these paths is the common Dandelion ( Taraxacum officinale). Many people I know do not class this as a vegetable, but instead think of it only as a weed.

That is a shame the humble Dandelion in fact is very efficient accumulator plant. The deep roots reaching down into the subsoil to bring up many valuable minerals and trace elements. Along with the high vitamin content, it's a good source of vitamin C and exceptional as a source of Beta Carotene. Well worth eating with many health benefits.

Some say it is too bitter, but we have never found this, in fact we enjoy the bitterness and find it is a great balance along with other sweeter vegetables eaten in salads.

dandelion,Taraxacum officinale, The Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) with its deep roots do not interfere with other plants growing in beds, a perfect perennial catch crop.

We do suffer a bit in the garden from Bindweed (Calystegia sepium) invading the garden from the banks and and hedges. We continuously dig out the roots. But what to do with them after? Throwing them away is anathema, that's nutrients going out of the garden.

Putting them into old compost bags and tying the tops to exclude light works, but takes longer to kill and rot them down, only a bit needs to survive and off it sprouts again.

So a simpler solution is to drop them in a bucket and fill with water. Any that stick above the water just need to be pushed under. gradually the roots suffocate and die. You know when they have died, the bucket starts to smell (actually it stinks). It's safe to put on the compost heap then where the nutrients are recycled.

bindweed roots, calystegia sepium roots The roots take about 2-3 months to degrade depending on the weather.

Many other difficult weed roots can be treated the same with good results.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Deep and Musky

Drifting in the air a heavy musky scent greeted us every time we came out into the garden.

prunus lusitanica, portuguese laurel, portuguese laurel flowers Prunus lusitanica

The Portuguese laurel was in full flower and the delicious heavy muskiness surrounded the whole of the front area.

prunus lusitanica flowers Flowers of Prunus lusitanica

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Wonderful Weigela

Weigelas have shown masses of flowers this year. the plain leaved one has been exceptional as the flowers have been giving off a delightful perfume, stronger this year than other years.

weigela florida, weigela, weigela flowers, scented weigela Weigela florida

The scent is I can only describe as having a slight powdery flowery highlight. Think of a talcum powder used by a favourite ancient Aunt or Grandmother, warm and homely.

Weigela flowers attract Bees to them, especially Bumble Bees who crawl through the flowers slowly and methodically.

weigela florida variegata, weigela and bumblebee  Flowers of Weigela florida variegata attracting a Bumblebee

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Starry

On dull days in Spring the Magnolia stellata lights up any area it is growing in

magnolia stellata, star magnolia Magnolia stellata or Star Magnolia

Slow growing and suitable for small areas, it will thrive in sun or semi shade on well drained lightly acidic soil, although it has some tolerance to lime. But position it where it does not get the early morning sun as like Camellias frosted buds will be damaged by fast warming first thing in the morning.

magnolia stellata close up Close up of Magnolia stellata

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Red For Danger

A friend brought in some ready potted Asian Lilies to put in a border at the front of the house. Unfortunately whoever the grower was has a phytosanitary problem and now she has imported a nuisance pest.

Immediately the colour was the giveaway and unmistakable, red for danger! On only six small plants there were ten Lily beetles wandering. All that could be done was to knock them off and use a heavy foot.

lily beetle, scarlet lily beetle Lily beetle also known as the Scarlet Lily beetle.

A close eye will have to be kept on all the lilies in the garden to make sure there is no spread from these pests that can cause quite a lot of damage to Lilies and Fritillaries.

Organic methods of control come down to regularly inspecting the plants and picking off the beetles. See the RHS information

here if you want more methods.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Oldest Cultivar

This is one of the oldest known cultivars of Erysimum or Wallflowers to be found. Well worth seeking out, but may take a bit to find.

Erysimum 'Harpur Crewe' grows to about 1-1.1/2 feet tall (30-40cm), bearing double yellow flowers that have a delicious old fashioned Wallflower scent to them.

It was grown by the Rev. Henry Harpur Crewe (1830-83) who was  Rector of  Drayton  Beauchamp, near Tring, Hertfordshire. A knowledgeable gardener who gave away many of these plants that were known at the time as 'Harpur Crewes Wallflower'

erysimum harpur crewe, yellow wallflower,harpur crewe, scented wallflower, erysimum cheiri Erysimum 'Harpur Crewe' (Erysimum cheiri 'Harpur Crewe')

'Harpur Crewe' stays neat and compact unlike the true Wallflower still growing naturally in old rock walls. It should not be cosseted too much in the garden with rich soil and regular feeding as this will make it too lush and short lived!

This particular specimen is growing at the side of a driveway tight against the concrete foundations of the kerb edging. Very close by a large shrub evergreen sucks much of the moisture from out of the soil, which suits the Wallflower very well, keeping the situation very well drained during Winter and nutrient levels down.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Perfect Form

The flowers of this Camellia has a perfect form and symmetry about them.

camellia e.g.waterhouse, pink camellia  Camellia 'E.G.Waterhouse' (Camellia japonia 'E.G.Waterhouse')

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Early Events

Several things in the garden are showing early this year, whether it has been brought on by the quite mild Winter we had over here in the West.

pittesporum tenuifolium, pittesporum flowers,dark pittesporum flowers The dark nearly black flowers of the Pittesporum (Pittesporum tenuiflolium) showing a month ahead of normal flowering time. Still richly scented with a delicious high fruity highlights to the scent.

pieris forrestii 'forest flame', pieris, pieris flowers, pieris bracts The Pieris (Pieris forrestii 'Forest Flame') have the bracts coming out with the flowers, when they usually wait until the flowers are going over. Bumble bees enjoy the Pieris flowers for the early nectar at the beginning over the season. The white flowers are filled with a heavy musky scent that hangs heavily around the bush.

erica arborea, erica arborea alpina, erica arborea flowers Erica arborea (Erica arborea alpina)  is a few weeks ahead of time, usually flowering more toward the end of April rather than the beginning. The flowers are visited by many early insects drawn by the delicate honey scent.

lysichiton americanum, skunk cabbage This is one garden member that is still right on time, the Skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanum). It's yellow hoods cause quite a stir with strangers to the plant, accompanied by the musky scent given off by the plant. I have never smelt a skunk, but the Skunk cabbage itself I find no offense to the smell. Heavy musky and distinctive, but not unpleasant. If you have a wet patch in the garden, it's well worth growing and as the leaves become ropy looking at the end of Summer, they can be cut down making lots of valuable composting material from deep roots that pull up loads of nutrients from the subsoil.

Monday, April 9, 2012

For Get Me Not

What would Spring be without the little For-Get-Me-Not (Myosotis arvensis)

for-get-me-not,myosotis arvensis Forget-Me-Not (Myosotis arvensis) growing at the front of a border.

Myosotis arvensis, an easy to grow annual available in various shades of blue, from deep rich blues to light pale sky blue. There are pink forms and white varieties. But as far as I am concerned the For-Get-Me-Not has to be blue.

If you have none, buy yourself a packet of seed and sprinkle it in a lightly prepared area or areas of the garden. Just rake the soil into a tilth and sprinkle the seeds. They will develop over the season ready for Spring flowering.

Once you have them in the garden they will self seed everywhere and the only thing you have to do is weed out the ones you don't want!

A word of warning. Don't be too quick to clear up behind the old plants. You have to wait for the seed heads to develop and drop the seeds. The old plants will look rough, but wait until they have died completely and shed their seeds. A too tidy garden is one without For-Get-Me -Not's

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Gorgeously Sweet

This is one gorgeous Spring scent everyone has to have.

daphne odoratus aureomarginatus, dapne odoratus, daphne Daphne odoratus aureomarginatus

The fragrance from this Daphne is fantastic. It needs a sheltered spot from cold winds and does well in a woodland garden setting. Reasonably fertile, drained humus rich soil will help this shrub to thrive.

Plant it close to a path you walk so that it is easily to reach and enjoy the fabulous scent.

Nowhere in the garden? Grow it in a pot so that it is easily positioned out of cold Winter winds and can be protected so that hard frosts do not freeze the roots.

Use a soil based compost with extra humus added. Or mix one of your own with good soil or loam, some grit for drainage and twice the amount of organic matter normally contained in a John Innes mix.

A John Innes Base consists of:-

  • 7 parts soil or loam
  • 3 parts peat (substitute with peat free organic compost)
  • 2 parts sharp sand or grit

You won't need lime added to the mix for the Daphne. John Innes mixes use artificial fertilizer ingredients. So substitute with an organic feed. About a handful of chicken pellet manure for each 1 gallon bucket of the soil mix comes out just right.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Shocking Rockfall

It sounded like a terrific clap of thunder, followed by a rolling rumble. Then when it fell quiet a look outside presented her with this sight in the garden.

collapsed rockwall

Behind the house at the top of the garden an old rock wall stood. It is the remains of the estate that once thrived around 200 years ago. The walls were over 8 feet in height and used to keep roaming deer within the deer park. But time is taking it's toll on these beautiful structures as they fall into disrepair.

Many just fall gently apart, gradually diminishing in size until all that exists is a pile of rocks. Others go out spectacularly, such as this one.

rocks cleared from bed Men working for the estate came in and cleared the rocks from out of the garden, piling them back up behind the original position.

 

The wall will not be rebuilt, nobody can afford the cost of labour to rebuild a traditional rock wall. It takes skill and knowledge and lots of time and it's all very costly. So yet another small part of local history crumbles away.

The garden especially just under the wall is in a bit of a sorry state. The bed contained many lovely David Austin roses. Some will rejuvenate with the careful pruning I gave them along with plenty of organic feed.

Others though will not make it and will need replacing. Amazingly the Box hedge border sprang back from the battering it had and is none the worse for wear.

rockwall-1  The Box hedge (Buxus sempervirens) recovered from this abuse.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Winter Wonder

In milder Winters small things pop up that little bit earlier in the garden to help those Winter blues.

helleborus argutifolius 'silver lace', hellebore, silver leaved

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helleborus argutifolius 'Silver Lace'

Silver Lace needs a sheltered spot in the garden, preferring semi shade out of direct heat of the sun. Moisture holding soil rich in humus, yet well drained. A neutral only slightly alkaline soil.

Supply these and it will thrive.