Tuckers Spring Plant Sale
TUCKERS’ SPRING PLANT SALE Saturday 69th April |
![]()
|
The Official Wenvoe Homepage
Replacement for Trevor’s Garden
TUCKERS’ SPRING PLANT SALE Saturday 69th April |
![]()
|
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
This month Rita Edwards and Elizabeth Jones give us the benefit of their gardening knowledge.
Rita
Elizabeth
Right then gardeners, you can be sure that plants are going to cost quite a bit more this Spring due to high heating and fertiliser costs which the nurseries have to pass on to the garden centres, who in turn pass this on to customers. So, start saving by sowing seeds. We have to heat our homes, and windowsills make an ideal spot to produce seedlings. Cosmos, sweet peas, kale and tomatoes will thrive on a warm sill. Just cover at night to keep the chill off. This is the one time you need to use properly prepared fresh compost with a bit of perlite added for drainage. This will help prevent damping off which is a fungal disease that can wipe out trays of seedlings. The main causes of damping off spreading are low light and poor air flow.
Outside, the garden seems to need attention everywhere you look. Now is a good time to move deciduous shrubs that this year, with fresh eyes, seem to be in the wrong place. Prune mahonia and winter flowering heathers. Cut back buddleia and elder down to the base. This will help keep them a reasonable size. Cut back the overwintered fuchsias, check on any plants that may have become dislodged in the inclement weather. There is still time to purchase bare root shrubs. This month is the latest you should be pruning apple trees. Most apple trees produce fruit on short stems that sprout on old wood, while a few fruit on long shoots produced just the year before. Check to see which type you have before pruning or you may end up with no fruit at all. The important thing is to have an open aspect by thinning out the middle to allow a good air flow and increase light. This will help to keep disease at bay.
Keep deadheading the pansies to prolong the flowering. The one thing that needs to be done every time you go into the garden besides weeding is to look in crevices and under pots for slugs and snails as everyone you deal with now is going to increase the number of buds that will develop in Spring.
Take care and happy gardening
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
Happy New Year. Let’s hope for some kind weather to give us a good start to the year.
We start the year off with some tips from people who in their own way have left their own mark on the area.
Gareth “top banana” Lewis of Twyn yr Odyn.
Silver fox, Parry “Barista” Edwards
Wet and cold January weather makes looking at the garden from a window the best option. On an occasional nice day a bit of weeding always helps but be careful of emerging bulbs. Planning for the seasons to come is always a good idea, as when the growing season starts we will only have time for the usual jobs. If you need help with the physical side of any plans you may have, get in touch with landscapers early. If you are worried about whether they will be any good talk to people who have had work done or ask at British Soil for their approved contractor list. Make sure that you can reach the middle from either side of any new beds or borders that you build. A common fault is to plant too near the edge of borders. You can be sure that the label on the plant you decide to put in will not mean much once it’s been planted and fed: they always get bigger in good growing conditions.
As gardeners we are encouraged to leave an area for wildlife. This doesn’t have to look unsightly or to be occupied with bee hotels and hedgehog houses from garden centres where you’ll need a mortgage and a good credit rating to buy them. A few holes drilled in a log for bees and a small covered dry area for the hedgehogs will suffice. Wenvoe has a plethora of these spiny mammals as a lot of residents make provision for them and one of the best things to do is have a hole at the bottom of your fence to allow them access to more gardens. A wildflower area can seem like a good idea, just make sure to find a packet that has flowers for both Spring and Summer which will give you a longer season.
A few years ago, the village had an Open Garden Day which was very well received. Glenys and I are planning to organise one this year and if you are interested there will be more details in the February issue of What’s On and on Facebook on the Wenvoe Community Support Group page.
Take care and happy gardening
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
This month’s tips come from the most popular person on the planet at this time of year – Father Christmas
Although we haven’t had any significant frosts in our area before Christmas for a couple of years it is still best to insulate the greenhouse, replace any broken glass and use a clear flexible mastic on loose panels. A single layer of polythene beneath the glass will reduce the amount of sunlight able to get in by 10%, which at this time of year should not affect the
plants. We need to have all pots that are outside, up off the floor to allow drainage. Watering will be at a minimum at this time of year, so it may be a good idea to empty out water butts and leave upside down. With high winds guaranteed, check that any trellis is safe and that plant stakes are fit for purpose.
Bare root plants are available now and are good value compared to potted ones. Plant them up as soon as they arrive but they won’t need a feed. Apple trees, vines and acers can be pruned now. If you wait, they may start to bleed which can make them susceptible to diseases. Take hard wood cuttings from now until late winter. Gardener’s World magazine says most deciduous plants will take but some evergreens, such as cotoneaster and holly, are also worth trying. Just take off the soft growth and cut above a bud, then cut just below a bud anything from 6 – 12 inches from the top and stick in a pot or the ground leaving a third above ground. These are going to have to stay put until next Autumn then you can move them to either their own pot or a patch of ground. Blackspot on hellebores is a problem at present. Pull the infected leaves off but don’t compost them; put them in the bin. While you’re dealing with this remove some of the lower leaves to show off the flowers.
At the allotment Bernard will be on hand for any advice you may need over the winter period. There will be a lot of netting rolled out to protect brassicas from hungry pigeons. People who put onion sets in will have to place them quite deep or birds will pull them out and they only do this to annoy you.
A big thank you to all who contributed to this page (whether they wanted to or not) over the past year and to the What’s On team for giving me space in the magazine.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
from the village gardener.
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
This month’s tips are from two lady gardeners
Firstly Angela from Larchwood.
Betty on Walston Road
The growing season seems to have been long this year with the summer bedding lasting well into October especially the pelargoniums which only really stopped when heavy rain flattened them. Dahlias are still flowering in sheltered spots and the roses don’t know what season they are in. We would normally have cut back everything by now. Some gardeners leave their perennials to die back naturally, saying that this protects the crown of the plants from frost, while others clear away the dying stems which exposes hidden weeds and pests and then mulch the area. The one thing you have to do at this time of year is keep raking the leaves off the lawn, a thankless task but one that needs to be done regularly to prevent dead areas forming. Ponds should be covered by now or leaves will sink and if there is a lot of them and you have fish the bacteria won’t be able to break them down fast enough and will reduce oxygen levels and a build-up of ammonia, which is toxic to fish. If netting is difficult to put in place, then a floating pond skimmer may be the answer.
November is prime tulip planting time according to those who know. They also say you should plant the bulbs three times their own depth and if not sure plant deeper which should guarantee that they flower for more than one year.
Ivy is one of those plants that divides opinion as it can get out of control and is very difficult to get rid of once established. It’s main saving grace is the fact that it flowers late providing the bees with a late harvest and the berries keep the birds fed well into winter. Blackbirds, especially, are very fond of them. If you can hold back before pruning the wildlife would appreciate it.
Work on the allotments is slowing down. With Autumn planting done the ground is being readied for Spring by weeding and covering with manure. Then in late Winter the ground will be covered to warm up the soil and an attempt to stop weeds germinating. You will see some of the allotmenteers in parks collecting leaves to make compost and leaf mould which will take a year before it’s ready to use. Leaf mould is the ideal growing medium for bulbs and when you see what garden centres sell bulb compost for it makes good sense to produce your own for free.
There is a chance that the village will have an open garden event next year, so if you would be interested look out for information in What’s On and on the Wenvoe community support group.
Take care and happy gardening
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
Madeleine Rees
Viv Jervis
Time to start clearing the borders of bedding plants ready for winter flowering pansies etc. If you have pelargoniums and some space to keep them frost free, then remove flowers and cut down by half. They don’t need much soil or water, but they do need a bit of space for ventilation otherwise grey mould will set in. If it does you must remove infected plants. They can, of course, be kept on a windowsill where they will flower for ages. October is a good time to divide perennials to give you some free plants. Cut everlasting sweet peas down to the ground. Dahlias can be left in the ground in our part of Wales as long as it’s not constantly waterlogged – just cover with mulch. If you want to dig them up then make sure you remove all soil and put upside down to dry before storing, do the same thing with begonias. They need to be stored in a cool dry place away from frost.
Prune roses from now on. Climbing roses need some care when cutting back by making sure you tie in stems horizontally so they will produce side shoots for next year’s flowers. Remove any damaged stems. With shrub roses just take the clippers to them and cut down by half to stop wind rock over the winter which can open up the base of the plant and allow water in which could freeze and kill off the rose. On the subject of roses, the environment team cut back the roses on the village green three times, mainly to prevent them obscuring the visibility at the junction with Walston Road. This proved highly successful with shorter stems and a profusion of flowers.
Collecting seed at this time of year is so worthwhile, just make sure you dry them and, most importantly, label them.
Mr JCB Alun Arthur has offered this advice for anyone with a compacted conifer hedge. To keep it healthy you need to wash it through in Springtime using a hose to clear the debris as this will allow the hedge to breathe.
October on the allotment is a mixture of harvesting and planting. Some are planting sweet peas for next year. Not Herbie, he would never plant a flower where he could grow a vegetable. He is planting broad beans, onion sets and garlic. There is still time to pot up runners from strawberry plants.
Take care and happy gardening
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
Ryland
Dave
This year the hot weather has made it difficult to find places to be cool indoors or out. Those who walked in woodland during this time have found how cool it is under the shade of trees as they dissipate the heat so well. Planting a small tree in the garden will provide a cool place to sit. If you decide to plant one it will need plenty of water until it gets the roots growing.
We can take cuttings from a lot of plants at this time of year. Pelargoniums, fuchsias, penstemon etc are all easy to propagate. Just pick a stem without a flower, trim below a leaf node and place in pots of compost and keep in a cool place. Divide perennial plants, pot up and water the ones you want to give away and dig the others into their new home. If you have some clear ground to spare try sowing some hardy annuals such as cornflowers for early summer flowering.
Hedge cutting will be the major job in most gardens during the autumn so take your time and don’t worry that you can’t get it all done in a day. It’s not going anywhere and the longer you can live with it the shorter it will be at the beginning of next year’s growing season. When you’re cutting the shrubs back try cutting some of the lower branches off to allow more air and light around the base. In most cases the plant will look better as well. Are you considering buying a shredder to reduce the debris and use it as mulch? This is a commendable idea in practice but be warned there are dozens of sheds in the village with shredders that were purchased without the benefit of YouTube, so do check before buying.
With more rain and some sunshine September is a good month to sort out the damage done to the lawns by the dry weather (and the no mow May) during the late Spring and Summer. Most will need scarifying plus an Autumn lawn treatment along with some lawn seed. Besides the amount of effort needed you will need to keep the birds from taking their fill of seed.
Produce is being harvested from allotments and veg gardens in what is the most productive month of the year. Onions are being laid out to dry, runner beans are still being harvested and Autumn raspberries are at their best. Even when harvesting is in full swing Bernard, of compost bin fame, is planting onion sets and broad beans to get a good start for next year. Garlic really benefits from an early Autumn sowing as do meteor peas. Try putting in some turnip seeds as at this time of year conditions are perfect to produce a small but perfectly formed veg for the Christmas dinner table.
Hope to see you all at the Village Show, where the ability of local folk can be seen, admired and tasted. Be a part of village life and meet some of the characters that make Wenvoe a lovely place to live.
Take care and happy gardening
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
Jan Bird
Gwen Williams
Lawns do not need a high nitrogen fertiliser now as this will encourage a lush growth that will be damaged by Autumn weather. The lawn should have a fertiliser with a high potassium content to encourage root growth. Ant nests have been a big problem this year; it’s best to sweep the mound before mowing.
Camellia and rhododendrons should be watered well now to encourage bud development for next year’s display. The dahlias will need extra staking to hold up the heavy blooms. Time to take cuttings of fuchsias and pelargoniums to increase stock. Black spot on roses gets more prevalent as summer goes on; damaged and fallen leaves should be put in bin or burned and not composted. Rose clear is an effective remedy for this along with other rose diseases. Lily beetle can devastate your lily displays; the brown sludge they leave is their larvae, so wipe off the leaves. To catch the culprit, you need to venture out after dark and pick them off the plant. We are told about the overuse of weed killer and the damage it can cause to the environment but used carefully it is extremely effective. During the early Autumn it can be used to kill off persistent perennial weeds like ground elder and bindweed before they start to fade and recoup for next year. Trying to eliminate these weeds by digging out is soul destroying.
On the veg patches and allotments a lot of produce will be ready for harvesting. Feed sweetcorn with tomato fertiliser to get the best cobs. This feed is also good for cucumber, pepper and aubergine plants. Keep removing the leaves below the first trusses on tomato plants to increase circulation and help prevent disease. Pinch out the tops of runner beans to increase side shoots and hopefully more beans. Keep picking the beans before they get stringy. Runner beans freeze well. The spent canes of summer fruiting raspberries can be cut down to the ground leaving the new canes for next year.
Of course, the dreaded cabbage white will be laying eggs on the underside of your brassica leaves so squash them in your fingers, as if they are left alone the crop will be devastated.
Next month sees the long awaited return of the Village Show, so if you are at all competitive then enter some of your produce. There will also be baking and craft competitions.
Take care and happy gardening.
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
Jobs for July from Susan Bowen MBE
Sylvia Davies of that lovely garden opposite the Walston Castle
Watering consistently is so important as plants can wilt, become stressed or stunted. Large leafed plants need a lot more water than small leafed ones. Newly planted trees and shrubs will be in particular need of watering in dry spells. Check plants in pots, even after rain, and terracotta pots should be lined with polythene to prevent moisture loss through the sides. For plants in the garden you should water generously but less frequently to encourage roots to grow deeper and overtime become more tolerant of dry conditions. Bark or gravel around the base of plants will help retain moisture. Lawns are very tolerant of dry conditions and will recover well; on cricket pitches they cut the grass down to virtually the roots and it recovers. If you really must water, then do it thoroughly as just a sprinkle will do more harm than good.
We need to give our plants proper attention during the summer months as a lot of work went into getting them to this stage, so feeding, deadheading, and watering will prolong the display. Herbaceous geraniums need to be cut down to the floor after flowering to give a 2nd flush. Roses need constant dead heading but the results are worth it. Sid & Linda Cottle of Gwenfo Drive have a lovely garden full of roses which are always in good fettle.
July is the best time of year to sow foxgloves and wallflowers for a display next year, if you have doubts about whether you can be bothered just remember what Dick Turpin is selling them for in the garden centre. You will need to sow delphiniums now as this is the latest time to be certain of blooms next year.
At 85 years young Herbie is proof that working the soil is good for you and on his allotment at Twyn-yr-Odin he dishes out advice whether you ask for it or not. I caught him on a ladder trying to pick his broad beans and asked him for some tips to put in the gardening column. Ever obliging he said water daily and not just a splash, hoe weeds on dry days and they are guaranteed to die, always remove dying leaves from plants to prevent disease, check for aphids on the runner beans and rub them off with your hands and take the tops off broad beans to deter black fly.
The panel at gardeners question time in the library hub on the 27th May want to mention through this column that they were made to feel most welcome and enjoyed a pleasant evening. The knowledge displayed by the audience left them in no doubt that gardens in Wenvoe are in safe hands.
Take care and happy gardening
;
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
Thoughts of Michelle Morgan on patio gardening:
Advice from Gerry Crump, the gentleman gardener.
June is the month when show growers put their hanging baskets up to display. If that’s what they do then it’s good enough for me. It is very tempting to put them up early but patience will ensure a better display. Once the sweet peas come into flower, start picking for the house as the more you pick the more they flower. Try not to let any set seed early in the season or the plant will think it’s job is done. Using a hoe on dry days in the boarders is a good way of killing annual weeds. If we need to water please follow the advice of experienced gardeners by watering early in the morning or late at night. When watering the borders, a good soak once a week should be adequate. Don’t think about watering your lawn unless you have a lot of time on your hands. Grass is tough and can withstand a drought but, by watering a little, you will encourage the roots to come closer to the surface and make the grass more susceptible in dry weather.
‘No Mow May’ is the latest must do according to experts and TV gardeners. Not so sure about that myself. On the plus side it has stopped your cats killing so many birds as there are a lot more mice running around in the long grass for them to bring home for you. If you have a lovely weed free lawn then letting it grow for a month it’s not going to provide much nourishment for insects etc. On the other hand your lawn may be full of weeds so crack on and spread the seeds over your neighbour’s gardens! It seems to me those popular presenters can tell us what to think sometimes. I have been bitten and stung as much recently as I have been over previous decades so will take some convincing that there are less insects around presently. I have to add though that it is probably my fault that I get bitten so often because when Monty Don told us we should have a ‘No Wash April’ I thought he meant me and not my car. No wonder I had to sleep in the shed!!
On the allotments the pigeons are testing the resolve of gardeners by pulling up young onions and eating the new growth of brassicas. The only way to combat this is by netting and using stakes as support. They are also partial to soft fruit, so be warned. They say that bamboo grows quickly but just plant a row of any veg seed on a clean cultivated patch and the minute you turn your back it’s covered in weeds. This is why growers plant in rows as weeds don’t grow in a straight line. Thinning out the crop on fruit trees is a task that needs to be done to get larger fruit. We do get a June drop where trees will drop fruit to look after the stronger ones, but often it’s not enough to prevent branches breaking under the weight.
Thank you to everyone who supported us for helping to make the plant sale such a success and helping the Wenvoe Wildlife Group continue their outstanding work all around Wenvoe.
Take care and happy gardening
The Village Gardener