THE VILLAGE GARDENER
THE VILLAGE GARDENER
Two expats, Sean Connor and Penny Wise, give their thoughts on aspects of gardening.
Sean Connor
1. Consider turning a small area of your front garden into a veg patch, it will create interest and, if kept well, will be an asset.
2. Do not overdose when feeding plants, it’s a complete waste of money.
3. If you see totally green leaves on a variegated shrub, remove them or the plant will revert to type.
4. Pull suckers off from the base of roses or they will weaken the parent plant.
5. A battery powered hand pruner makes life so much easier in the garden.
Penny Wise, on how to negotiate a garden centre.
1. Do not buy small pots which are on offer, they are never big enough when you get them home.
2. The farm shop must be run by Fortnum & Mason
3. Check the limit on your Visa card before entering cafe.
4. Avert your eyes when passing the charismatic man selling conservatories that you can’t live without.
5. In July be careful driving in as the car park is full of lorries bringing in the Christmas stuff.
The gardens are in their second flush now after the Spring flowers have faded, so dead heading is a regular pastime. Peter Beale the rose grower advises that when taking faded blooms off roses you should cut back to a leaf joint but most just snap the the bloom off just below the spent flower. The recommended way to dead head delphiniums, foxgloves and Canterbury bells is to cut off the flower stalks just below the spent flowers but Sid & Lyn Cottle always take the individual flowers off and leave the spike and have good results. Plants like lady’s mantle and herbaceous geraniums can be cut back to the ground, they will recover well enough to give you another flush.
On allotments and veg patches the first crops will be ready to harvest. Beans, lettuces, spring onions and early potatoes will be waiting to be picked. The main problem at this time is the fact that most people take their annual leave and go away which leaves some gardens without someone to water, so be nice to your neighbours and they may assist.
Parsley is notoriously difficult to germinate outside but this month is known to have the highest success rate. They can then be potted up and brought indoors later in the year.
The village show in September will be your chance to show off your wares, to keep this event going we need plenty of entries. Anne Daniels might be in with a chance with her secret tomato food blend.
With a lot of May and a big part of June being really dry it is essential that we save as much dirty water as possible to use on the garden. Water butts don’t have to cost the earth any vessel that holds water will suffice. According to the people who know about these things we are going to have long spells of dry weather and when it does rain this will be prolonged so make use of the down pipes on houses and outbuildings. If you can cover these containers, it will stop evaporation. We are also going to have to consider which plants we grow if this is to be the norm. If you have unglazed or terracotta pots water will dissipate through these quickly, it is good practice to line the inside with plastic, bin bags will suffice, or paint the inside. Putting some weed fabric on the top around plants then some bark or stone will slow down the evaporation considerably.
Sadly, Trevor Case passed away at the end of May. Trevor wrote the gardening column in the What’s on for many years. He also led the environment team and was a driving force when Wenvoe competed in the best kept village competitions. A good man.
Take care and happy gardening