Category Archives: Gardener Tips

Garden jobs in May

Posted by Alison on May 17, 2012 None comments

Spring has definitely sprung and all the rain of the last few weeks has really pushed on fresh growth.  If you took a leaf out of my tree and did a good tidy up last Autumn you should be feeling on top of things and even have time to read the seed catalogues at leisure. But if you’re still grappling with the onset of Spring and need to get ahead here are a few of the jobs you should be tackling in the garden this month.

 

Borders

  • Do a final tidy through of borders cutting back all the herbaceous plants left with foliage on last winter. Weed where soil is light and crumbly.
  • Support taller herbaceous plants especially delphiniums and paeonie’s
  • Split clumps of perennial grasses to keep them alive in the centre

 

Maintenance

  • Mulch, mulch and add more mulch – add well rotted horse manure together with the contents of my compost bin if you have it. Add a sprinkling of bone meal to established hedges – rake up any leaves and sprinkle on the soil at the base.
  • Hedges are hungry feeders so fertilising is really important to keep them healthy.
  • Turn the compost heap and begin to add fresh material. If you have access to manure (chicken or horse) add this in layers and it will help to get the composting process going.

 

Lawns

  • Your lawn should have had its first few cuts so you can start to set the blades a little lower – but go easy.
  • Renovate grass as needed – if like my lawn it is filled with moss you can use this to your advantage and rake it up to make decorations for the house. Wire bunches of moss and flowers (blossom, primroses, and newly emerging leaves) around a wire ring or heart. Keep them watered or spray every day and they will last for up to a week.

 

Ponds

  • Clear ponds and begin to plant marginal pond plants. Leave cleared plants on the waters edge overnight to allow any creatures lurking in them to find their way back to the water.

 

Think ahead

  • Plant up containers for summer and keep under cover until all frosts have gone
  • Sow annual flower and herb seeds.
  • Plant scented leaf pelargoniums (you will find some of my favourites at The Herb Nursery at Tistleton)
  • Plant out pot grown pumpkins, courgettes and cucumbers once frosts have passed

 Don’t beat yourself up if the garden isn’t perfect – you have time yet.  I believe that every space can be comfortable, relaxed and beautiful without you feeling pressured to be perfect.  I would love to help you achieve your beautiful home and garden. If I can help with a home or garden project please give me a call. Alison: 01572 747318 or 07973843020.

I work on interior design and garden design projects in Stamford, Lincolnshire, Oakham, Uppingham and Rutland, Leicester, Nottingham and Northampton as well as further afield. I will design a garden to complement the architecture of your home and choose the right landscaping materials to complement it. If you are frustrated with endless searching for the right fabric or wallpaper and paint colours and overwhelmed with the enormous choice, then allow me to make a handpicked selection for you. I will complement the style of your existing rooms and provide a few choice pieces which will bring the whole look together.

What jobs should I do in the garden: November

Posted by Alison on November 7, 2011 None comments

 T’is the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, but what is there for gardeners to do this month? Here’s my latest update on what you should be getting up to in the garden in November.

This is my favourite time of year. I know I should love summer with its heady mix of annuals and perennials making borders look like a Monet painting but for me, spring and autumn are my favorite times of the year.

I love the moment the soil awakens in Spring and up pop all my autumn planted bulbs. I love the way new seeds uncoil from the ground pushing clods of earth aside. In autumn I love the mists, the glistening cobwebs, watching spiders spin their way from plant to plant and birds stealing the last seeds from spent seed heads.

 

General tidy up

While the soil is still warm and damp, move and plant shrubs and herbaceous plants

Pull out sweet peas and beans remembering to leave roots in the soil to add nitrogen

Make sure you sweep up leaves from the lawn and borders or they’ll provide perfect places for slugs and snails to overwinter.

Prepare the greenhouse for winter, clean the glass, bubble wrap if necessary, ensure your heater is in good working order.

Prepare for next Spring

 Plant bulbs now to give you an impressive display next spring.  If you want a natural look, throw handfuls of bulbs directly onto the lawn or soil and plant them where they fall. In borders opt for large clumps of bulbs – you’ll get a much better display. I always plant tulip bulbs in groups of 5 or more – you’ll find that if you plant them in clumps of 12 – 15 tulip bulbs then it will allow enough for you to pick a few for a vase in the house next Spring without it being obvious.

Think about planting a new ornamental tree – I have already picked three Silver Birch (Betula jacquemontii) to come bare root once the weather has turned cold. I’ll plant them in a triangle near the stone wall at the bottom, of the garden where their pure white stems will catch the morning sun. To keep them white, give them a hose down and scrub their bark with a soft brush. I also have my eye on a Liquid amber to add interest next Autumn. I still need to find a space for it but am looking forward to it’s fabulous scent when I crush it’s leaves.

Now is the ideal time to plant Japanese yellow onion sets and garlic. My favourite garlic supplier is The Garlic Farm on the Isle of Wight. www.thegarlicfarm.co.uk

If you have a building project, interior project or garden and landscaping project which you need help with or ideas for then please give me a ring: Alison 01572 747318 or 07973843020.

I work on interior design and garden design projects in Stamford and Rutland as well as further afield. I will design a garden to complement the architecture of your home and choose the right landscaping materials to complement it. If you are frustrated with endless searching for the right fabric or wallpaper and paint colours and overwhelmed with the enormous choice, then allow me to make a handpicked selection for you. I will complement the style of your existing rooms and provide a few choice pieces which will bring the whole look together.

 

Garden jobs in October

Posted by Alison on October 7, 2011 None comments

T’is the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, but what is there for gardeners to do this month? Here’s my latest update on what you should be getting up to in the garden in October

Enjoy the autumn skies

This is my favourite time of year. I know I should love summer with its heady mix of annuals and perennials making borders look like a Monet painting but for me, spring and autumn are my favorite times of the year. I love the moment the soil awakens in Spring and up pop all my autumn planted bulbs. I love the way new seeds uncoil from the ground pushing clods of earth aside. In autumn I love the mists, the glistening cobwebs, watching spiders spin their way from plant to plant and birds stealing the last seeds from spent seed heads.

A sculptural seed head at Wing sculpture garden in Rutland

 General gardening

While the soil is still warm and damp, lift and divide herbaceous perennials. Replenish the soil with well-rotted compost (and with plenty of coarse grit if the soil is heavy clay). Replant the strongest, outer pieces and water well. Also it is a good time to buy and plant new plants, and shrubs.

Pull out sweet peas and beans remembering to leave roots in the soil to add nitrogen. Sow sweetpeas now for early flowering next year. They benefit from the winter shelter of a cold greenhouse or frame. Sow 5in deep into long root trainer pots and cover with glass or polythene until seedlings break through surface. Keep in cool, light conditions to prevent weak growth and thin out as they grow pinching out the tips to create strong bushy plants

Move tender plants indoors or under glass.

Roses

Prune roses now to prevent wind damage over winter

Shorten any long lanky stems on shrub roses to reduce their vulnerability to the wind. Floribunda roses that have finished flowering for the year may also be given the same treatment. If not completed earlier, just after flowering time, rambler roses can have flowered stems removed and new stems tied into position.

Herbs

Place a cloche over a row of parsley, to keep up supplies over the winter. Tired plants may be encouraged up with a gentle application of nitrogenous fertiliser.

Prepare for next Spring

Plant bulbs now to give you an impressive display next spring. If you want a natural look, throw handfuls of bulbs directly onto the lawn or soil and plant them where they fall. In borders opt for large clumps of bulbs – you’ll get a much better display. I always plant tulip bulbs in groups of 5 or more.

Think about planting a new ornamental tree – I have my eye on a Liquid amber to add interest next Autumn and to provide fabulous scent when I crush it’s leaves.

If you have a garden project in mind and need some garden design advice or help with planting then please get in touch. I work on garden design projects across Lincolnshire, Rutland and Northampton. Tel: 01572 747318 or 07973843020.

what jobs should I do in the garden this month ? September

Posted by Alison on September 2, 2011 None comments

This is a glorious time in the garden but the work can’t stop – tidy up now and prepare for the year ahead and you’ll reap the benfits next year.  Gardeners seem to embrace the routine of garden work, after all it is the pattern which runs through the year and without which inspiration would falter and imagination stall.

Sculpture at Burghley House, in Stamford, provides inspiration

If you spotted some gaps in your borders and took photos to remind you of when and where the gaps appeared you are a step ahead. If not, plant pot grown asters, phlox and rudbeckia in the gaps now and they will have filled out for next summer.

Or sow hardy annuals directly into the borders in some freshly drilled soil. They will provide an early display next summer.

Begin to dry off large pots of tender plants such as agapanthus and fuchsias. We lost a lot of agapanthus last winter so ensure you dry pots well and set aside – it can be sitting with their toes in water rather than the cold that kills them.

Prune climbing roses cutting out the oldest stems at ground level. Tie in new growth as near horizontal as possible to encourage flower buds next year.

prune climbing roses now

Buy Spring flowering bulbs – you can never have enough bulbs they brighten even the dullest day. I have stocks of tulips and alliums. Call or email for more information on my current favourite planting combinations.

Add to your borders now to fill gaps next year

Plant new climbers, shrubs and evergreens while the soil is still warm.

Ponds

Now is the time to net your pond – not to stop the heron but to catch the leaves before they fall.

Vegetable garden

Keep harvesting courgettes. I made a fantastic courgette and lemon dish with dill and capers for vegetarians visiting us last night. I’m sorry to say the rest of our guests devoured a lot of meat (all local though!)

If you haven’t already done so lift your main crop potatoes

Add a fleece tunnel to keep the ground warm and sow winter salads. It’s amazing how easy it is and so delicious to pick a handful of fresh leaves for a sandwich in the depths of winter.

Plant new strawberries now to keep your patch productive

Plant new strawberries. A strawberry plant has about 3 years productive life so continually replanting is the way to keep your patch productive year after year.

I like to clear the greenhouse and give it a thorough clean in September. I know I can leave plants outside for a night or two without them coming to harm so I empty everything, give it a thorough scrub and light a sulphur candle over night to disinfect the whole greenhouse.

What jobs should I do in the garden this month? Garden jobs in August

Posted by Alison on August 1, 2011 None comments

The summer is upon us and our gardens are flourishing. Now is the time to start thinking ahead to Autumn and beginning to put plans into action which will mean your garden continues to look good and is productive right into winter.

Look after borders now to prepare them for winter

Borders

Trim lavender once it has finished flowering. Hang to dry and then mix with dry rice to fill lavender bags later, or make lavender sugar.  Layer fresh lavender leaves in jars between 3cmof caster sugar. Seal the jars and store to use later – it’s delicious in cakes. Remove flowers before using or crush with the sugar in a pestle and mortar.

Plant colchicums, cyclamens and crocus to naturalise in grass.

Propagating and general maintenance

Take cuttings of established box plants – book on one of my box trimming workshops for next summer.

Spread a compost mulch around fruit bushes, asparagus and rhubarb. Ensure the ground is moist first.

Prune rambler roses.

Prune rambler roses in August

Give hedges a final trim to get them into shape for the autumn.

If you have bare patches of lawn these can be reseeded from the end of the month if the weather cools.

Vegetables

Lift onions and shallots.

Now is the time to harvest onions and shallots

Harvest sweet corn at lunch time and have a pan of boiling water already on the go. Put the cobs straight in and eat as soon as they are ready. They will be delicious as you catch them before any of their natural sugar turns to starch.

Encourage further cropping of beans and courgettes with regular picking.

Harvest main crop potatoes.

Complete summer pruning of trained fruit trees such as espaliers and cordons.

Prune back to ground level summer fruited raspberry canes.

Start to sow seeds for autumn picking. Sow directly into the ground or in modules to plant out later. The following can all be grown well into Autumn and cropped as cut and come

Sow swiss chard now to ensure you have crops well into winter

again. Protect with fleece if you want to continue cutting into winter.  Sow, kale, Swiss chard, mustard spinach, chicory, lambs lettuce, lettuce and rocket now.

Garden jobs in July

Posted by Alison on July 4, 2011 None comments

 July is a great month in the garden – as long as you can keep on top of the watering. You should begin to reap the rewards of your hard work in the vegetable plot so make sure you are cutting every day to keep new produce forming, remember to clip herbs too as this encourages they to keep growing – you are mimicking grazing animals in the wild remember.

Keep your borders going with the additional of late flowering plants

Your herbaceous borders might have peaked at the end of June so look for any gaps and infill with pots of colourful later flowerers – salvias, cannas and dahlia’s will all extend the season with Michaelmas daisies (Aster) taking you right through to Autumn and beyond.

 

Vegetable gardens

Start to harvest garlic and shallots

Thin out direct sown seedlings including beetroot

Keep on top of the vegetable garden and repeat sow to ensure you have crops well into winter

Plant out winter cabbages, spinach, beetroot, kale, broccoli and leeks. Repeat sow lettuce, salads, French and runner beans, carrots and beetroot for crops later in the season. Now is the ideal time to plan your autumn sowings of salad crops and herbs to get ahead.

Mature trained fruit trees can be an intrinsic part of your garden design

Prune trained apple and pear trees in the middle of the month. Remember you are reducing the spread and enabling the tree to put all its energy into producing fruit for next year.

Borders

Continue to deadhead in your borders to encourage repeat flowering

Prune wisteria taking long stems back to 6“ of the main stem

Prune wisteria now to encourage the flowers next spring

Cut back hardy geraniums to encourage fresh foliage and repeat flowering.  If you are going away for a couple of weeks then is the ideal time. Cut the foliage right down to the base, they will look terrible while you are away but have put on new foliage and be about to flower by the time you return!

General

If slugs are a problem, get a couple of chickens! Bantams do hardly any damage to your garden and provide you with fresh eggs. They won’t lay all year round like a more robust breed like a long island red might but they will keep pests at bay.

Your garden design needn't suffer with the addition of chickens if you get the right breed

Make sure you have a couple of nice places to sit and enjoy the garden – perhaps one seat positioned for sun and one for shade. There’s nothing better than being able to enjoy all the work you’ve put in but if you don’t make it easy with a well positioned seat you may miss it and only ever go into the garden to toil.

If you feel your could benefit from some help or advice on your home or garden please don’t hesitate to get intouch. Tel: 01572 747318 or 07973843020

Plant fair with flair

Posted by Alison on June 29, 2011 None comments

I spent last Friday at Cottesbrooke Plant Finders fair. The fair has a great reputation for attracting unusual plant nurseries and is said to be the Uk’s rival to Courson, the very famous French fair. Friday has hot but cloudy so suited me perfectly allowing for lots of plant hunting and hardly a spot of sun burn. Even the visiting children who has obviously been dragged along by a plant mad parent seemed to be having  fun with their picnic and ipad on the lawn!

The gardener's of the future

It was lovely to see exhibitors who I’d met at Cottesbrooke in past years and to see that they are still going strong despite the economic climate. And it is lovely to see that after years of attending gardening events where I am the youngest there, the exhibitors are now younger than me which suggests that people are coming back into horticulture and arts and crafts businesses and seeing it as a career choice. I think it also holds true that if you have a product that is well designed and unique then people are prepared to pay for it. This is certainly true within my design practice where people are more willing to have a single unique piece than a whole room filled with disposable furniture from one of the large retailers operating out of a shed!

A sea of parasols at Cottesbrook Plant Finder's Fair

There seemed to be a unique mix of hand made crafts and furniture, from benches and tables to bespoke replica Victorian greenhouses. Amongst my favourites were: Ed Brookes a traditional gate and furniture maker who was offering demonstrations to inspire everyone with even a small opening to enclose: his gates have a magical appeal.

Ed Brookes gates add a traditional twist to a garden design

Norfolk basket weaver Peter Dibble was also there showing off his skills with a vast array of interesting and unusual basket shapes.

The rusty iron plant support look was also in vogue and I have to admit to succumbing to some wire cloches (from Plant Belles) which I can extend to any length and cover with fleece or plastic depending on what I want to grow within them.

Cottebrooke Hall is a perfect setting for the fair

I also fell in love with an old Victorian glass cloche from Garden & Wood but as my garden is still in the design and build stage it never made it home with me, instead I opted for a plant label for my office: HT Perfecta – there’s something to aspire to!

I love vintage pieces so couldn't resist this plant label

More info:

www.plantbelles.co.uk

www.gardenandwood.co.uk

www.edbrooks.com

www.peterdibble.co.uk

www.alisonhutchinsondesign.co.uk

Garden jobs in June

Posted by Alison on June 5, 2011 None comments

Despite the promise of rain it has been rather disappointing: too short lived and rather light. I’d like a good down pour which lasted the night and cleared around 5am so the ground was dry enough to work again the following morning! I’ve resorted to adding irrigation systems to a lot of my gardens so that watering is directed to the plants that need it and not wasted. So what other jobs should you be doing in the garden this month.

Box clipping

June is when I allow myself the luxury of beginning to clip all my box (buxussempervirens) hedging and shaped topiary.  I use Derby day (this year Saturday 4th June) as the marker to begin but it often takes me a month to finish! It’s then just a case of trimming any over exuberant growth as it appears to keep everything in shape.

One of the clipped box spheres in a Lincolnshire Garden

Any plant grown in a pot needs feeding but box is a greedy plant and will benefit from regular feeding and watering.

If box is not your thing then opt for an alternative plant: yew, holly, santalina and loniceranitida make great specimens for topiary too.

Planting out and feeding

Once all danger of frost has passed, plant out any annuals grown in seed trays, herbs and vegetables.

Feed tomatoes weekly with a high potash feed and remove side shoots once trusses have set

Herbaceous borders

If you have some chunky clumps of Michaelmas daisies, phlox and delphinium nip out a few growing points now and you will encourage these to regrow and flower later thus prolonging the flowering season.

Continue to tie in and stake plants as they grow to prevent them from flopping. Once herbaceous borders get established you will find that other plants support each other but until this happens it’s important to stake early to prevent damage.

The rose border in a garden I designed in Lincolnshire

Deadhead and keep doing it! I find it very relaxing especially if it is accompanied by a glass of wine - I find most things look better with a glass of wine in your hand!

Fruit

Thin out apples, pears, gooseberries and plums if you have too much fruit. Not is the time to prune new cherry and plum trees. Invest in a good book with diagrams so help.

Lawns

Now is an ideal time to lay turf or re-seed a lawn. Prepare the area by levelling, raking off all stones, then tamping down to firm the soil. Lightly rake over and sow seed or lay turf on this prepared soil and then water. And don’t forget to keep it well watered while it establishes.

Ponds

It’s important to keep an area of pond clear at this time of year and ensure you have plants which allow dragonflies to climb out of the water and plants which allow access to the bank. Remove too vigorous pond plants to keep an area of water clear

Garden jobs in May

Posted by Alison on May 5, 2011 None comments

Spring has definitely sprung and new life is appearing in the garden daily. If you took a leaf out of my tree and did a good tidy up last Autumn you should be feeling on top of things and even have time to read the seed catalogues at leisure. But if you’re still grappling with the onset of Spring and need to get ahead here are a few of the jobs you should be tackling in the garden this month.

Borders

  • I’ll be doing a final tidy through the borders cutting back all the herbaceous plants I left last winter and weeding where soil is light and crumbly.
  • Support taller herbaceous plants especially delphiniums and paeonie’s
  • Split clumps of perennial grasses to keep them alive in the centre

i love using antique pieces within my gardens to add interest even before the plants appear

  • Mulch, mulch and add more mulch – I’ll be adding well rotted horse manure together with the contents of my compost bin. I’m also just in time to add a sprinkling of bone meal to established hedges – rake up any leaves and sprinkle on the soil at the base.
  • Hedges are hungry feeders so fertilising is really important to keep them healthy.
  • Turn the compost heap and begin to add fresh material. If you have access to manure (chicken or horse) add this in layers and it will help to get the composting process going.

Lawns

  • Your lawn should have had its first few cuts.
  • Renovate grass as needed – if like my lawn it is filled with moss you can use this to your advantage and rake it up to make decorations for the house. Wire bunches of moss and flowers (blossom, primroses, and newly emerging leaves) around a wire ring or heart. Keep them watered or spray every day and they will last up to a week.

Ponds

  • Clear ponds and begin to plant marginal pond plants. Leave cleared plants on the waters edge overnight to allow any creatures lurking in them to find their way back to the water.

Think ahead

  • Plant up containers for summer and keep under cover until all frosts have gone
  • Sow annual flower and herb seeds.
  • Plant scented leaf pelargoniums (you will find some of my favourites at The Herb Nursery at Tistleton)
  • Plant out pot grown pumpkins, courgettes and cucumbers once frosts have passed

Don’t beat yourself up if the garden isn’t perfect – you have time yet.  I believe that every space can be comfortable, relaxed and beautiful without you feeling pressured to be perfect.  I would love to help you achieve your beautiful home and garden. If I can help with a home or garden project please give me a call. Alison: 01572 747318 or 07973843020.

Designing garden ponds can make a huge difference to the look and feel of your garden

Garden tidy up

Posted by Alison on January 20, 2011 None comments

I saw my first snowdrops this week: it’s a sure sign that Spring is now just around the corner so it’s time for the inevitable garden tidy up.

Now is a great time to tackle your pruning. Many plants appreciate a haircut while they are still dormant and their sap isn’t rising up the stems. It’s an especially good time to prune stems of Salix and Cornus to encourage new growth. These will then reward you with fabulous colour next year. Plant two or three Cornus together and use contrasting coloured stems for the best effect. They look particularly good planted near water.

Plant a bare root hedge, on a clear day when the soil isn’t frozen. The most cost effective is to plant whips (single stemmed rooted plants) but they do take a few years to establish. If you want something more instant opt for bigger plants but ensure you prepare the ground well and keep them fed and watered.

Prepare your garden now for stunning borders later in the year

Sow hardy annual flower seeds where you want them to flower later in the year. If you have a cutting garden which you use to provide flowers for the house then you’ve probably already stated to think about this. But if you simply want to add some colour to existing borders this is a great way of doing it.

Pre-warm soil with clothes or fleece before sowing vegetables. It’s amazing what a different a few degrees can make to the germination and growth of seedlings. By warming the soil prior to planting you are giving plants the best chance of germination and growth. Many garden centres sell ready made plastic or fleece cloches or you can make your own, often better if you have an unusual shape or long area to cover. Simply buy or make wire hoops and secure them in the soil and stretch clear plastic or fleece over them. As the air within the hoop warms up so it will warm the soil. The more air you can trap to warm up the better.

Tidy and re-cut lawn edges. They say that the cheat’s way of making the garden look well looked after is to edge the lawn. It’s possibly true as a sharp lawn edge gives a smart finish to the lawn and border. If you’re fed up with this time consuming job then opt for a lawn edge which is in place year round. A soldier course of brick or cobbles works very well or opt for one of the metal edging strips which you hammer into the soil, these are great for curves and can be changed if you decide to extend or reduce a border. My favourite is a product called Everedge which you can get from some garden centres or direct through the internet.

Add a top dressing of compost to potted plants. If your plants have been in the same pot all winter now is the time to freshen them up. Remove any weeds and add a layer (2 – 3inches) of fresh soil. This will provide a feed for the next few weeks until you start using a slow release fertiliser or liquid feed in the late Spring and Summer. Remember that a plant in a pot can’t take nutrient from anywhere else so is dependent on you to feed and water it, especially in windy weather when they dry out more quickly.

Clean tables and chairs. Don’t forget it won’t be long before you’re enjoying a meal outside so give your garden furniture a Spring clean. A pressure washer will bring up most garden furniture and a light oiling for teak or fresh coat of varnish or other protection will keep everything ship shape. If you’re looking for new furniture there are some bargains to be had right now so get shopping.

Finally, once you’ve completed all your chores, sit back and admire your handiwork, it won’t be long before the garden is rewarding you with fresh blooms.