Category: Nature

October Tasks

 

RHS tips for the month.

1. Divide rhubarb crowns.

2. Cut back perennials that have died back.

3. Divide herbaceous perennials.

4. Move tender plants into a greenhouse

5. Plant out Spring cabbages.

6. Harvest apples, pears and nuts.

7. Prune climbing roses.

8. Finish collecting seeds to grow next year.

9. Keep cutting the grass and trim the hedges.

10. Still a good time to repair lawns.

The grass cutting season seems to get longer. If it's dry enough, keep cutting with the height of the blade raised. This will make the first cut in Spring a lot easier. If reseeding bare patches remember to spread an extra handful to account for what the birds will consume.

Plant wallflowers, primula, forget-me-nots and Winter flowering pansies in prepared ground or containers. Any pots not raised should be done so now or they will become water logged over Winter.

October is the best time of year to move trees and shrubs. Bare root trees and shrubs start to become available now. These are a lot cheaper to purchase and planted now will soon establish quickly. When looking at gardens you will see some where the plants are struggling for space, so be careful how many you put in as it's easy to get carried away and fill in all the gaps, leaving no room for future growth. Over the years plants do out grow their space even with careful planning and decisions have to be made. It can be quite refreshing to start over, although some plants will have memories attached to them. If you do decide to remove some plants, take cuttings and grow on. Hardwood cuttings take very well at this time of year.

Some of the larger Wyevale garden centres have been taken over by Blue Diamond group based in the Channel Islands so you will need to swap over cards when you visit one of their garden centres. The nearest one is at St Mellons.

The new Grange development has proven a difficult area for new home owners as clay is quite near the problem, organic material and garden lime put in to the soil at this time of year will break down the clay and help the soil to hold on to nutrients.

Some members of the library volunteers organised the Village show this year. Hopefully they will continue to do so because without their willingness to rise to the challenge the show would fade away. If you could help I'm sure you would be welcomed.

Leaf mould is the material to grow your bulbs in. Now is the time of year to start making it for next year. Just fill some bin bags with leaves, of which Wenvoe has plenty, add a little water if dry, make a couple of holes in the bag and leave till next year. That's all you need to do.

Happy gardening.

 

 

RHS tips for this month

 

RHS tips for this month:-

1. Divide herbaceous perennials.

2. Pick Autumn raspberries.

3. Collect and sow seeds of perennials and hardy annuals.

4. Dig up remaining potatoes before slug damage.

5. Net ponds before leaf fall gets underway.

6. Keep up with watering of new plants.

7. Start to reduce frequency of house plant watering.

8. Clean out cold frames and greenhouses ready for Autumn.

9. Cover leafy vegetables with bird proof netting.

10. Plant Spring flowering bulbs.

We need to be sowing Sweet Peas in a cold frame now for early blooms next year.

Take Pelargonium cuttings now. These plants often do better grown this way. A window sill is a good place to bring them on and keep them away from frost.

If you have Crocosmia, now is a good time to divide them which will improve next year’s display.

Climbing Roses can be pruned once they've finished flowering. Side shoots from main branches can be cut back to one or two buds and take out any weak or diseased growth. Take hard wood cuttings of roses, choosing well ripened, healthy shoots.

September is a good month to plant new shrubs and move established ones as they will have all Winter to settle in. Do not forget to stake these.

Work on the lawn this month if you can. If sowing seed or laying turf this is the best time of year to do it. Make sure to use the right lawn feed for this time of year. The fertiliser should have less nitrogen so as not to encourage too much growth which can weaken the grass leading in to Winter.

A really tedious job at this time of year, especially in Wenvoe as we have a great number of trees, is raking up leaves or, as some do, blowing them around the garden until they get giddy. Just rake the leaves from borders and paths onto the lawn and mow them up along with a bit of grass as this makes excellent compost material. A small space in your garden is all you need to make compost and save money in the process.

Using a mulch on borders is something that can be done all year round. It helps with moisture retention, acts as frost protection and cuts down on a lot of weeding. Buying enough to do this properly can become expensive. So the next time you see a tree surgeon working in the area, ask them for some of the wood that they have put through their shredder. They will be more than willing to let you have it as it costs them to tip it.

Local wildlife enthusiast Peter Ferris, whose back garden attracts as many birds as his car did in his misspent youth, has grown the most prolific tomatoes outdoors this Summer. If forecasters are right then drier Summers will mean rethinking what we plant. Gardeners who concentrated on Pelargoniums this year had great displays as these plants need a lot less water.

This month brings some good events to celebrate harvest time. The Village Show shows off the many and varied skills of Wenvoe folk – no tinned veg on display there! Around at the church the Scarecrow Festival takes place. It has been said that this is not a competition but a festival where parishioners turn up with their creations and praise each other on their masterpieces. In reality, this is where the Reverend needs all his skills of diplomacy to keep order and stop any skullduggery. Can't wait.

 

WILDLIFE GROUP COMPETITIONS

WILDLIFE GROUP COMPETITIONS

Are you a photographer, artist or craftsperson? If so, here is a competition that might be of interest. To celebrate our fungi, mushrooms and toadstools the Wildlife Group have organised some competitions with funding and support from Grow Wild. These are the categories:

Category 1. Take a photograph of any fungi you come across

Category 2. Do a drawing or painting of any fungi

Category 3. Use craft skills to make a model of fungi. This could be stitched (see photo), carved or constructed.

You can either attach the photo or a scanned painting and email your entry to bruce7@ btinternet.com or you can leave your original piece of artwork (no bigger than A3) or model with a member of staff at the Wenvoe Village Library on opening days. Please ensure your name, age and contact details are associated with your entry. Images of your entries may be used by the Wildlife Group for publicity purposes.

You can submit entries anytime between 1st September and the end of October. We then hope to create a display at the Village Library. Entries are open to everyone and there are no age restrictions. First prize in each category will receive tokens to the value of £30 but there will also be some £10 prizes for runners up. To follow how the competition is going, please visit our Facebook page – Wenvoe Wildlife Group.

 

 

The Heatwave Challenge

 

It has been a challenge to all gardeners trying to keep all their plants alive during the heatwave and the community plants are no exception, but some devoted members of our team are managing to do a bit of watering. This lovely weather has its’ downside for we who long for some good solid rain. Watering is hard work, especially at the allotments where hosepipes are not allowed.

At our July meeting all the roses were pruned. No meeting in August.

Our team were saddened to learn of the death of Len Currie, known to us all as Len 2. A long time member of the team, he turned out when his health permitted and it was a privilege to have known him

 

 

Tree Mallow – To Grow or not to Grow?

 

So what might connect a Wenvoe garden with the small island of Craigleith in the Firth of Forth? The answer – Tree Mallow. Gardeners will be familiar with the various Mallows grown in gardens and sold by Garden Centres. Or you might have tasted Marshmallow flavoured originally with an extract from the root of the plant that grows on our coasts, particularly Gower. The Tree Mallow is quite unmistakeable growing typically to 2 metres and even reaching 3. If you are visiting Gower there are a few near the Youth Hostel at Port Eynon and these are around 3 metres. One turned up unannounced in our garden so out of curiosity we let it grow. It is currently 1.40 metres and still shooting up vigorously but not yet in flower. It is native to the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts, in Britain mainly in the South and South West.

But why Craigleath? This small island near North Berwick and others close by are a haven for sea birds, especially puffins but in the early 2000s it was clear that the numbers were plummeting and the cause was – yes, you've guessed! – Tree Mallow. The plant can grow out of control forming a thick mini-jungle and preventing birds like puffins getting to their nesting sites. Few other plants can survive under the dense foliage. But the good news is that as volunteers have started clearing the Mallow the puffins are returning.

But how does a plant associated with the South West end up on remote islands in the North East? In this case it was introduced by soldiers serving on nearby Bass Rock because it was used to dress wounds. Also lighthouse-keepers elsewhere have planted it for similar reasons, to use in poultices and in ointments to treat burns. So there is your conundrum – if one turns up in your garden do you let it grow and risk it taking over and keeping out the puffins or remove it and lose a useful ingredient in nature's medicine chest?

 

 

The problem of the illegal importing of plants

 

The main problem facing gardens in this country at present is the illegal importing of plants, either by businesses or travellers bringing in specimens they have bought or found. These plants often harbour pests and diseases. In the UK large areas of forestry have been decimated. Southern areas of England are having a huge problem with a disease affecting Fuchsias which will soon spread to the rest of the UK.

A bacterial pest, Xylella Fastidiosa, is the latest threat that is nearing our shores and it restricts water movement in plants. This bacteria will affect up to 350 different type of plants, such as Lavender, Rosemary and flowering cherry.

When buying plants please make sure that they are British sourced and grown and take care when purchasing plants at car boot sales, market stalls, fairs or garden centres. If you suspect there may be a problem please tell the environment dept DEFRA.

The RHS top ten things to do this month:-

1. Prune Wisteria.

2. Don't delay Summer pruning of fruit trees trained in a restricted form.

3. Keep dead heading plants to prolong the flowering season

4. Continue watering, particularly new plants and those in containers, using grey water where ever possible.

5. Collect seeds – it's always worth it.

6. Harvest vegetables as they become ready. There's nothing quite like it.

7. Continue cutting out old fruited Raspberry canes.

8 Lift and pot up Strawberry runners.

9. Keep ponds topped up.

10. Feed plants with green manure.

Pyracantha, along with Wisteria, can be pruned now. Hebe and Lavender can have a light prune after flowering. Quite a few people cut the Lavender back at this time of year to where new growth started but the idea now is to leave well alone and cut back in the spring after the frosts. The seed heads help protect the plants. Glenys makes lavender shortbread biscuits with the flower heads. Rambling Roses need to be trimmed now. Be careful how you do this and think about the way you want it to grow next year.

When planting shrubs and other large plants, especially at this time of year, be sure to give them plenty of water. The Beech Grove Garden recommends a length of pipe 2''-3'' in diameter be placed alongside the root ball with the top of the pipe just above ground level. The water will then go directly to where it's needed most.

August is the time to get plants ready for Christmas. Cyclamen that have been resting can be brought back to life by replacing the top layer of compost and watering. Hyacinths, Paper White Daffodils and Freesias should be planted in bowls now. Once they have an inch of growth, they can then be put in a cool room, then back into the warmth to be ready for the festive season.

Next month sees the village show at the community centre, it's a great day, and amazing how all this super sized veg appears from well hidden plots in villagers back gardens. Brian Foster of Church Rise was picking his first tomatoes at the end of June. How do some of these people manage to be eating their veg when the rest of us are still buying produce brought in from all around the world?

 

 

 

5 Community Green Flag Awards

 

So Wenvoe has its 5 Community Green Flag awards with the addition this year of the Wild Orchard at St Lythans. This puts us ahead of many towns in Britain and even several cities. It is a great achievement and down to the efforts of a small handful of volunteers and our principal partners, the Reader family, the Community Council and the Vale of Glamorgan Council. Dare we go for 6 next year? The site is there but we will have a lot of work to get it ready to meet the exacting requirements of the Green Flag judges – see photo.

The dry weather has taken its toll of the trees and shrubs, although most of the fruit trees should survive provided we get some proper rain – soon! The Victoria Plum at the Community Orchard has succumbed and will be replaced in the Autumn. A new bare-rooted hedgerow at Goldsland has not survived and we are still waiting to plant out the wildflower plug plants (which have been potted on) when the ground softens up. The pond in the Community Orchard has never been so low and there is insufficient water in the adjacent stream to top it up.

With the focus on fungi, funded by Grow Wild, we have constructed and filled a series of raised beds at Goldsland and seeded some with mycelium which should sprout up into mushrooms in the Autumn. Some, we hope, will turn up naturally. Next month we shall be announcing the details of some competitions – photography, art and crafts with fungi as the theme.

 

 

Star of Bethlehem

 

You will see the logo of the Wildlife Group on noticeboards, leaflets, posters and social media. But what does it represent and why? The 6-petalled flower is Spiked Star of Bethlehem, also known as Bath Asparagus. It is related to garden asparagus and used to be eaten. More common in the Bath area there are records of it being for sale in greengrocers up to the 1970s – elsewhere it is localised from Wiltshire up to Huntingdonshire. Some say it was introduced by the Romans, hence being common around Bath. So why the link with Wenvoe? It is well-established growing in a hedgerow near Greave Farm and this is probably its main, if not only, site in Wales. Whilst isolated records do appear elsewhere these may be garden escapes but the Wenvoe plants were first recorded in the 1990s and are spread over 100 metres of hedgerow. It is a mystery how and why they should have become established here but there are many plants, the quick count for 2018 showing up around 20 spikes. It is also known as French Asparagus, Prussian Asparagus and Pyrenean Star of Bethlehem.

 

 

Wenvoe Spring Craft Fair

 

Huge thanks go to all of you lovely people who came along on the day and made the Wenvoe Spring Craft Fair on 18 May such a roaring success. The weather could not have been better and this was especially good news for the Vale Cider Company and Tricycle Treats Ice Cream who were working flat out all day. All of the traders did well and thoroughly enjoyed chatting with their customers. The proceeds of the raffle (and some of the Village Gardeners plant sale), which came to a whopping £421, was donated to the very deserving Wenvoe Wildlife Group. Their table was busy all day and the free saplings and wildflower seed packs were very much appreciated, as was the information that was passed on during the day.

Tables are now almost all allocated for the Wenvoe Christmas Craft Fair which takes place this year on Sunday 18 November. Save the date and start your Christmas ( I’ll wash my mouth out with soap for saying the C word in June) shopping with a day of hand crafted and unique items in a friendly, festive atmosphere. We will be delighted to see you.

If you have any queries please contact the organisers, Glenys and Mike Tucker, at pukkatucker @gmail.com or on tel. 07922109721

 

 

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