by Kris Collins | May 31, 2021 | Begonias, Expert Update, Flowers, Gardening News, Gardening Posts, inspiration for the garden, Summer gardening
The T&M team, ActivLives’ gardeners and station manager Jackie at Ipswich Train Station
Colour has returned to Ipswich and Stowmarket train stations thanks to a partnership between train operator Abellio Greater Anglia, local seed and plant specialist Thompson & Morgan and Ipswich-based charity ActivLives.
In a repeat of last year’s amazing hanging basket displays, volunteers and young learners from ActivLives have been busy growing baskets of Thompson & Morgans’ best selling Begonia ‘Apricot Shades’. This year they’ve added Begonia ‘Fragrant Falls’ to the mix, to provide scent as well as colour to the platforms.
Begonia ‘Fragrant Falls’ & Begonia ‘Apricot Shades’ from T&M at Ipswich Station
Not only will the baskets brighten up the journeys of everyone who passes through the stations on the London to Norwich mainline, the project has provided local young people with valuable horticultural experience. Participants from a number of organisations, including WS Training, Talent Match and Seetec, took part in training programmes at ActivLives’ two garden projects in Ipswich to gain skills for work.
The ActivLives team planted up the baskets back in April. They have since tended the Begonia blooms at the glasshouses in the walled garden at Chantry Park, bringing them into peak condition for display at the train stations.
Ipswich Train Station with Thompson & Morgan Blooms
Thompson & Morgan’s Horticultural Director, Paul Hansord said:
“We were pleased with last year’s baskets, but ActivLives has outperformed themselves this year, with bigger and better baskets for real impact. Planted in incredicompost® and fed with incredbloom® at planting time, these baskets look stunning and will continue to perform right through to autumn. Requiring minimal care from station staff – spent flowers simply fall off to be replaced by fresh new blooms. The addition of Begonia ‘Fragrant Falls’ should really lift the spirits of workers on their daily commute and provide a warm welcome for visitors and tourists passing through both stations.”
For help and information on growing and caring for your own begonias, visit our hub page for a wealth of resources.
Kris Collins works as Thompson & Morgan’s quality control manager, making sure customers new and old are kept up to date on the latest plant developments and company news via a wide range of media sources. He trained in London’s Royal Parks and has spent more than a decade writing for UK gardening publications before joining the team at Thompson & Morgan.
by John McPherson | Jul 14, 2020 | Flowers, Gardening Posts, inspiration for the garden, Perennials, plant identification
Gertrude Jekyll, the influential garden designer, plants woman and artist, once said that ‘The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies.’ For myself, like many gardeners, this is profoundly true.
Over the years, that love has almost become an obsession that shows no sign of abating. Not only does the time I spend in the garden bring many beneficial hours of physical exertion, mood enhanced well-being and satisfaction, I’ve also begun to see the world differently.
©Shutterstock – Jekyll’s cottage garden style borders still influence our gardens today.
Jekyll’s dedication to observation and working with plants is evidenced in her extensive writings on horticulture and in the hundreds of gardens she designed.
The study of plants in their habitat is the beginning of a journey that can take you in a seemingly infinite variety of directions, with some surprising destinations.
An early start…
I suppose I’ve always been a garden designer, to a degree. According to my mother my first word was ‘flower’ – this possibly explains the bullying I would later receive as a young man with a sensitive soul.
From the age of six my parents encouraged my sister and I to design our own garden spaces within our suburban ‘back yard’, as they are referred to in Canada where I grew up.
©Newey Plants (Canna), ©Shutterstock (Peony and Salvia). From a young age I could appreciate a dramatic mix of colour and foliage!
I chose Cannas, Salvia’s, and Peony’s for mine – pastel pink, hot orange and red. Even then, as I do now, I loved the contrast of their foliage, the drama and generosity of their blooms.
Looking back, if I could say anything to my younger self on these early forays into garden design, I would say ‘Don’t worry, one day you’ll be taught colour theory, and discover the colour wheel. ‘A’ for effort though.’
Viewing plants in a different way…
That old adage, the more you learn, the more there is to learn, is true when you begin a study of horticulture. I look to try and increase my knowledge day by day with the names of new plants, varieties, and study of their habits, health and conditions.
Much of my day is spent doing research and making observations of the plants in my own garden – approximately 900 and counting, and in the gardens and landscapes that I visit.
©Phillipa Lambert – Visiting other gardens offers research opportunities.
Observation and identification…
The increased time observing my environment in more detail, has meant that I have begun to see the world in a different way.
During my walk to the local shops to buy a pint of milk – or bottle of wine for dinner, the more likely scenario – I’m reflecting upon the weeds in the pavement, and the shrubs and trees and gardening efforts of my neighbours.
©Smart Plant – Apps such as Smart Plant can help with identification.
The plant app on my phone helps me identify the things I don’t already know (it’s not a weed, it’s a wildflower!). If that fails, desk research, accompanied by the pictures I’ve taken (I’ve had a few strange looks from neighbours, crouched down to take a close-up photo of the Helminthotheca echioides – Bristly oxtongue – protruding from the edge of their drive), enables me to feed this hunger for naming my surroundings.
A constant search for new knowledge…
My goal with each of these trips is to identify something that I don’t know, learn about it and remember it the next time I’m passing. ‘No, it’s not a dandelion, it’s called Bristly oxtongue – but you’re right, it is like a dandelion.
©Shutterstock – Helminthotheca echioides is often identified incorrectly as a Dandelion.
Traditionally it was used to treat internal parasites, (bemused, or slightly horrified look on neighbour’s face, tells me it’s time to beat a hasty retreat). Enjoy your tea!’ I offer and quickly move on.
What’s in a name?..
I love being able to name all the trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials and wildflowers in my neighbourhood throughout the seasons – and this obsession follows me now on all my travels.
More than once I’ve been shouted at to keep my eyes on the road, as I spot a tree with foliage I don’t recognise. I don’t want my eulogy to read, ‘Cause of death, he drove headlong into a Sorbus aria ‘Lutescens’. The silvery sheen of its spring leaves drawing him towards it like a siren song’.
©Shutterstock – The silvery sheen of Whitebeam leaves can be mesmerising!
A Whitebeam in spring is a glorious thing to behold, but I do make a concerted effort now when I’m driving not to be too easily distracted by everything that catches my eye.
Indeed, the seeds of any horticultural quest for knowledge can be be found scattered amongst the cracks in the pavement around us. Thanks Gertrude Jekyll; off to the shops now!
My day job is as an Arts Council England Visual Arts funding advisor, advising artists and arts organisations on funding and business development. I’m also a part-time garden designer and designed the ‘Pop Street Garden’ at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2021. In my other life I practice horticulture and continue to expand my knowledge. I have an RHS Level 2 in horticulture and a Level 3 Diploma in Garden Design from Plumpton College. I am interested in the intersectionality between cultural experience and expression, horticulture, it’s history and development in response to environmental and social change. Also a bit of comedy, for light relief. You can find me at my website Happy Gardens.
by Phillippa Lambert | Feb 18, 2020 | Expert Update, Exterior design, Gardening Posts, inspiration for the garden
There can be much more to a beautiful garden than masses of flowers. Although a ‘sea of colour’ border is spectacular it may be fleeting in beauty, and can lack definition through the seasons if it has no underlying form or structure.
Putting together the shape and outline of different types of plants to create harmonies and contrasts is what can give a garden a distinctive, cohesive look.
©Steve Lambert, Lake House Design – A ‘green on green’ combination gives a subtle harmony of two hardy shrubs that will both cope well with shade; left is Fatsia japonica (False Castor Oil) sporting glossy, broadly fingered leaves, while to the right is the newish Mahonia ‘Soft Caress’ delicately feathery and full of grace.
Plants are endlessly varied in their forms, ranging from the vertical spires of narrow conifers, down to the mounded shapes of Lavender, giving way to the creeping horizontal mats of Ajuga and Thyme. Feathery Fennel emphasises the strong form of Phormiums. Wispy grasses intensify the solidity of leathery Hosta leaves.
©Steve Lambert, Lake House Design – Some of the most dramatic plant groupings involve a number of different contrasts, in this case of light and dark, as well as of form — skyrocket verticals set against a softly rounded mound. The wonderfully glossy rich purple Phormium ‘Black Adder’ is underplanted with the felted leaves of Plectranthus argentatus in one of its variegated forms. The Plectranthus hales from Australia and is not hardy (kept from year to year by cuttings in the Autumn), but similar effect would be to substitute the hardy Brachyglottis ‘Sunshine’ (formerly Senecio)
Playing with the geometry of nature, in juxtaposing plants with differing forms and habits delights the eye, and gives the planting a clear framework on which to build the more ephemeral delights of colour and scent. In other words, the way plant varieties are grouped together is the essence of great gardening.
©Steve Lambert, Lake House Design – Another dramatic phormium grouping see Phormium ‘Rainbow Sunrise’ against the rounded leaves of the dark Canna ‘Australia’. This duo also gains resonance from the tone on tone colouring of the two plants together.
Although it is a daunting prospect to tackle the redesign of an established garden, in reality plants come and go. Once you have finished mourning the loss of a favourite plant, the realisation comes that each demise gives a chance for a little improvement to the scheme, by then making a more considered choice of replacement that will enhance and resonate with its neighbours.
©Steve Lambert, Lake House Design – A waterside grouping sees a ‘fountain’ of the variegated grass Carex trifida intertwined with the hand-like leaves of Rogersia aesculifolia, delighting the eye from early Spring to late Autumn. Plants adapted to wet or damp conditions often have lush expansive leaves, giving scope for the most interesting foliage combinations.
In small gardens already furnished with many favourite plants, and new ones just waiting to be to tried out, it is tempting to plant just one of each variety, but one plant very rarely looks good — unless of course it is a ‘specimen’ with dramatic or sculptural form. The ‘one of each’ policy can produce a ‘spotty dotty’ look that is visually too restless, with no repose for the eye.
©Steve Lambert, Lake House Design – Foliage plants alone are perfect for furnishing parts of the garden, especially shady areas, which are intended to be calm and restful. The delicate, acid green fronds of baby tree ferns (Dicksonia antarctica), can contrast equally well with the rounded, handlike leaves of Darmera peltata, or entwined with the strappy spikes of Astelia chatamica ‘Silver Spear’. Interestingly the Astelia, although adorned with glossy silver leaves, does very well in shade, whereas silver-leaved plants usually need full sun.
The key to an harmonious effect is to gather up smaller plants or shrubs in three’s or five’s of one kind, and then use these groups, set against one another, for maximum effect. Luckily the smaller plants are often very easy to bulk up by splitting clumps, or taking cuttings, ensuring planting for style and substance does not dent the budget too much!
©Steve Lambert, Lake House Design – A subtle combination of two ground cover plants for shade, both with attractively veined leaves. Above is Heuchera ‘Big Top Bronze’, underplanted with Saxifraga stolonifera giving a subtle interplay of scale, tone and form.
Making patterns with leaf colour — the subtle interplay of greens, or silver, or gold — is a never-ending pleasure that ensures a furnished garden even in the darkest months, without the need for the fleeting attraction of flowers. Just as interesting are the many forms and textures of foliage, from the shiny and glistening spears of Astelias, through to the furry felted mats of Stachys byzantina (Lamb’s Ears), via the satiny leaves of Heucheras, and the broad ribbed leaves of Hostas. Essentially texture gives us contrast of rough with smooth, matt with gloss, as well as providing another level of interest, that of sensation and touch.
©Steve Lambert, Lake House Design – Scale and form again relate to good effect in this grouping of grasses and hostas. The solidity of the massive plate-like golden leaves of Hosta ‘Sum and Substance’ point up the wispy drooping heads of the grass Chionochloa conspicua (to the right) and give a background of contrast to the ribbon leaves of the grass-like plant Libertia ‘Goldfinger’, to the left.
Endless permutations of form and the subtleties of foliage texture can be harnessed to make the building blocks of a great planting — the answer then is to ‘compare and contrast’ for stunning, enduring effect in your outside space!
©Steve Lambert, Lake House Design – Playing with scale is another great strategy to give interest and depth to borders. Here the feathery uprights of African feather grass Pennisetum macrourum, are delicately poised against the massive solidity of a Tetrapanax papyrifera leaf. As the Tetrapanax is not especially hardy, in more exposed gardens The False Castor Oil, Fatsia japonica would have somewhat the same effect. The Pennisetum started out as a single plant in the previous year, but was split in the spring to make a substantial group of three plants.
©Steve Lambert, Lake House Design – No other plant gives the same effect as grasses in the landscape of the garden with their fluttering leaves catching the light, or passing breeze. Grasses are generally pest-free, need no staking, have a long season of beauty, and, if carefully chosen, add airy elegance to a scheme. Here the fountain effect of Pennisetum ‘Tall Tails’, in the foreground, is contrasting with the sword-like silver leaves of Astelia chatamica ‘Silver Spear’.
©Steve Lambert, Lake House Design – Gardening in smaller spaces, using groups of pots on paving or decking, can still offer opportunities to play with leaf shape and colour. Although flowering annuals are the usual way to furnish pots for the summer, foliage plants have a long season of beauty and are less demanding of care and deadheading. Here a young Tetrapanax papyrifera, is teamed up with the gloriously metallic, net-veined Begonia ‘Benitochiba’.
©Steve Lambert, Lake House Design – Another idea for a foliage pot sees Begonia luxurians planted up with a dark leaved canna. The fingery brillant green leaves, against the solid ‘paddles’ of the canna would enhance the tiniest garden and give pleasure from May to October.
©Steve Lambert, Lake House Design – A telling foliage contrast sees the needle-like leaves of the small pampas grass Sellonia ‘Richardii’ poised elegantly above the robustly shiny ‘plates’ of Bergenia ‘Bach’. Both these plants are not fussy as to soil, put up with a certain amount of shade, and have a long season of interest, both in foliage and flower.
Phillippa Lambert is a landscape designer based on the Isle of Wight at a unique site in the Undercliff of the Island — a favoured microclimate sheltered by enormous south facing cliffs. In 2002 Phillippa and Stephen Lambert came across the ‘lost’ gardens of a Victorian mansion dating back to the 1820s, managed to acquire part of the site, including the walled garden and ornamental lake, and have since worked on their restoration. The result is not an ‘expert’ garden and does not try for technical perfection in any sense. ‘Make do and mend’ is the keynote — most plants being raised from seed or cuttings— and self-sufficiency is the motivation for all the growing in the walled garden. In essence, this site goes back to the philosophy of ancient gardens in sustaining the body as well as the soul. Read more at Lakehouse Design.
by Ben Doyle | Feb 18, 2020 | Gardening Posts, Spring gardening, Top 5
Spring is an important time in the lawn care calendar. In order to help your lawn recover from the stresses of winter you’ll need to give it a bit of TLC. If you get your lawn care jobs done in spring, it’ll look fantastic heading into the summer.
When to Start Spring Lawn Care
For most of us in the UK, spring starts in April. Every so often we might experience a mild February or March and the temptation might be to start early. However, it’s common for these mild breaks in the weather to be followed by cold, wintry snaps later on. March is still too early for most spring jobs. That said, you can often get a head start by giving the lawn a topping with the mower and applying a moss killer.
Here are 6 of the most important lawn care jobs to tackle this spring;
1) Start Mowing
Cutting the grass is the most important part of caring for your lawn. So mow regularly while the grass is growing, this means at least once a week and if growth is particularly strong, once every 5 days. Never cut off more than a third of the grass leaf each time you mow. If you remove too much at all once you’ll weaken the grass.
The first couple of times you mow, keep your lawn mower set quite high. Then if you like a shorter cut, gradually reduce the height each time you mow.
©Thompson & Morgan – Cutting the grass is the most important part of caring for your lawn.
It’s also a good idea to tidy up the edges of your lawn. If they need re-cutting, use a half-moon edging iron. For Once established, edges can be maintained by trimming with a pair of lawn edging shears. For a professional looking finish, you can install a permanent lawn edging.
2) Kill & Remove Moss
Moss and weeds are a common problem in spring and will completely ruin the look of your lawn. Apply a dose of moss killer like Iron Sulphate and watch as the moss dies and turns black over the best week.
Once all the moss hast turned black, rake it out. You can use a springbok rake but a powered lawn rake will make the job much easier.
3) Kill Any Weeds
Weeds can be a real problem in spring. If your lawn is full of weeds, apply a weed killer to the whole area. Make sure it’s a ‘selective’ weed killer which is safe to spray on lawns, otherwise you’ll kill the grass too. Use a spot spray weed killer if you only have one or two weeds.
©Shutterstock – Use a ‘selective’ weed killer which is safe to spray on lawns, otherwise you’ll kill the grass too!
4) Aerate to Relieve Soil Compaction
Spring is the perfect time to aerate your lawn, either by spiking with a garden fork or hollow tining with a dedicated tool. This improves drainage and also allows air and nutrients to penetrate the soil. If the soil in your lawn is in fairly good condition, spiking with a fork or aerator sandals will be perfect.
However, if the soil is compacted, aerate with a hollow tiner. This will remove cores of turf from the sward and create hundreds of holes.
This will give the soil particles in your lawn room to ‘relax’ into, improving drainage and the penetration of oxygen and nutrients.
5) Overseed to Fill in Any Bare Patches
The removal of moss can leave your lawn looking quite sparse as the grass will have thinned out. If the problem was particularly bad you could have bald patches where there is no grass at all.
In order to fill those patches in you’ll need to overseed your lawn with new grass seed. As the new grass germinates you’ll see you lawn become thicker and denser. By the time summer arrives, your lawn will have fully recovered.
©Shutterstock – Fill bare patches by overseeding your lawn with new grass seed.
6) Apply a Spring Lawn Feed
After a long winter, your lawn can come into the spring lacking in nutrients. It’s important to replace them in order to support new growth and healthy root development. After applying a spring feed you’ll see growth quicken and the grass grow greener.
We hope this article has helped you with tips on sprucing up your lawn. For more advice, visit our helpful lawn care hub – full of additional maintenance tips & gardening guides.
Having loved spending time in the garden with his grandad as a child, Ben Doyle was always destined to be a gardener.
Having left university with degrees in horticulture and sports turf science, he developed a loved for lawn care and shares his knowledge on his personal blog, GardenSeeker.com
by Sue Sanderson | Jul 10, 2019 | Expert Update, Flowers, Gardening Posts, inspiration for the garden, Perennials, Sue's Hort Report
©Sue Sanderson, Thompson & Morgan – Dahlias at Anglesey Abbey, Cambridgeshire.
It always intrigues me how different plants come in and out of fashion. Dahlias are one such plant that has ridden the roller coaster of popularity over the last century – but right now, they are definitely on the up!
I for one, am glad of their revival. So are the huge numbers of visitors to Anglesey Abbey’s Dahlia Festival, in Cambridgeshire each September. I’ve visited on several occasions with my equally plant-obsessed friend who lives next door, with all kids in tow. In fact, it’s become a bit of an annual event for us all! Each time these magnificent plants astonish me with their vibrant colours and huge variety of flower shapes.
It’s not just the plants that impress me. The gardeners that grow them to perfection deserve enormous credit, and the creativity with which they are displayed is breath-taking.
©Sue Sanderson, Thompson & Morgan – Dahlias decorate the trunks of trees at Anglesey Abbey.
You might think that taking young children to a flower festival would be a recipe for disaster – I know I did. How wrong I was! In addition to the borders, many of the displays use cut Dahlia flowers placed into test-tube style vases. These can be attached to trees, inserted into lawns and displayed in all manner of other creative ways. It makes for a much more interactive experience which appeals to the children and grown-ups alike.
©Sue Sanderson, Thompson & Morgan – A creative display of Dahlias appeals to young and old!
Sadly we missed it last year, but as luck would have it, my friend was bequeathed an enormous number of rather large Dahlia tubers. They were unwanted by their previous owners. Crazy, I know! So, it was decided … this year she would create our own Dahlia festival!
©Sue Sanderson, Thompson & Morgan – Dahlia tubers were potted up in late spring.
The Dahlia tubers overwintered in crates in the greenhouse, and she planted them up into large pots this spring. When they emerged from the greenhouse the Dahlia plants looked quite magnificent. They were planted with care, watered well and given a good mulch of manure. Sturdy stakes were inserted in the ground to support them as they grow.
©Sue Sanderson, Thompson & Morgan – Rows of Dahlia plants have been planted in the garden.
On a side note, if you are wondering what the straw-like material is; it’s just a pile of dead weed and grass that was cleared from the site. When my friend went to remove it we discovered ground-nesting bees had made a home there. Always keen to live and let live, the bees and their nest have been left well alone. These helpful little insects are under threat and need all the help we can give them.
However, there are other garden creatures, that we could well do without. Slugs and snails thrive in our gardens, and unfortunately they have a particular taste for Dahlias!
©Sue Sanderson, Thompson & Morgan – Slug damage on Dahlia plant.
With the Dahlia festival under threat, it was necessary to take sensible precautions! A combination of slug pellets and copper slug collars has been put in place, and so far there has been very little damage.
©Sue Sanderson, Thompson & Morgan – Slug and snail control around Dahlia plants.
By September, there should be a fabulous display of dazzling Dahlias. Whilst not on the same grand scale as Anglesey Abbey, I’m certain that it will still be impressive.
Are you growing Dahlias this year? Let us know how you are getting on at our Facebook page and if you’re looking for guides on how to grow dahlias from seed, check out our dahlia hub page – our one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about growing dahlias.
Plants and gardens have always been a big part of my life. I can remember helping my Dad to prick out seedlings, even before I could see over the top of the potting bench. As an adult, I trained at Writtle College where I received my degree, BSc. (Hons) Horticulture. After working in a specialist plantsman’s nursery, and later, as a consulting arboriculturalist, I joined Thompson & Morgan in 2008. Initially looking after the grounds and coordinating the plant trials, I now support the web team offering horticultural advice online. I have a keen interest in drought resistant plants and a passion for perennials, particularly hardy Geraniums. I previously stood as regional secretary for the International Plant Propagation Society which gave me lots of opportunities to see what other horticulturalists were up to in their nurseries and gardens.
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