by Sue Russell | Nov 24, 2017 | Gardening Posts, Winter gardening
Today I’ve spent time sorting out the winter bedding from the greenhouse which are in need of transplanting into the herbaceous borders.
The Stocks ‘Most scented mix’ and the Polyanthus ‘Crescendo’ have been desperate to be planted, out growing their nursery pots so I cleared areas for them and cut back some of the perennial plants.
Our beds are plagued by Bindweed, this weed is a real pain, left to its own devices, it grows quickly, climbing up the nearest plant and choking it.
I try not to use much spray any more, but this time of the year (when not cold and icy) and spring is perfect to dig it out. Even the smallest piece left in will regenerate. I actually find it quite therapeutic and collect as many pieces as I can.
In between planting my plugs, now garden readies, I have put some more Alliums using my trusty Wolf Garten bulb planter.
It’s so easy to use, my general rule of thumb with planted bulbs is, whatever the size of the bulb, the hole needs to be double that size. The bulb planter has measurements on the side. Simply turn the planter into the soil with a twist, lift out the core of soil held inside the planter, then place the bulb in the hole, roots down! and then replace the core by gently squeezing the top.
The Phlomis russeliana, (Turkish sage) I leave in the borders and cut back in the spring, as the old seed heads look great with a dusting on frost and gives the birds somewhere to perch. The foliage is lovely too.
After going on my walk of the garden, firstly I could smell my favourite winter flowering plant, Viburnum x bodnantense ‘Dawn’, it’s a real beauty, it flowers on bare stems and gives that sweet fragrance as you walk past. It is a must for any garden in my opinion, adds height to borders and winter interest.
The Fatsia japonica also was in flower, attracting any little insects that may be around. Its glossy dark green leaves really are something at this time of year, stunning!
Anyway, back to getting outside while the sun is shining and it’s relatively warm!
One of my earliest memories; helping my Mum and Dad weed the veggie plot and collecting chicken eggs from the chooks at the end of the garden. I grew up on a farm as a child and always had my own piece of land to grow and learn with, so I suppose its in the blood!
In my mid twenties, I re trained in Horticulture (Professional Gardening ANCH) and set up my own Gardening business working for clients in the Suffolk/Essex area. For the last thirteen years I’ve had the pleasure of working on a private twenty five acre estate tending to the grounds.
In 2016, I joined the team at Thompson and Morgan in the Customer Care department.
Also season ticket holder at Ipswich Town Football Club!!
by Sue Russell | Oct 14, 2017 | Gardening Posts
Hello October.
October is my favourite month, as I can do my favourite annual job in the garden.
A lot of people seem to be scared of rose pruning, but I actually love it. The more challenging the better.
Each year the lovely Rosa “Climbing Shot Silk” gets a tidy up.
Shot Silk is a fragrant, repeat flowering rose which have large double blooms. It has silky textured flowers with golden centre, with strong growth, (ideal for tying in) and dark green glossy foliage.
Tools of choice for this job are, my beloved Felco No2’s, I will be lost without these, (each year I send them to Felco to service them), pruning saw and loppers.
I try to reuse ties for the previous year, but having spare ones help!
This is the Rose before I started, the long whips that are reaching to sky are going to be tied in to produce new blooms next year.
I start by untieing last years clips and start reducing the ends to make it easier to deal with.
With pruning any Roses, always remember to prune the D’s :- Dead, Dying Damaged and one other I tend to include is Don’t know! So if I have particular piece that doesn’t look right, I will prune it out.
Reduce stems which could potentially grow next year’s long whips, always to an outwards facing bud, a sharp clean cut.
These pieces which are untied float around begging to be tied in, I loosely tie them in and then step back to see the finished vision, I aim for two long stems per wire to maximise flowers on each rung.
This is my finished rose. With the branches laid flat it encourages new growth to shoot up and lovely roses on the end.
And, here is a picture of our beloved Rosa “Climbing Shot Silk” it her full glory!
So that’s the climbing rose pruning done and now to prune back the other Hybrid Teas.
Enjoy October, the nights are drawing in, so make the most of the glorious Autumn sun.
Happy gardening!
Sue x
For help choosing the right climbing rose for you, and to find out when and how to plant it, head over to our rose hub page.
One of my earliest memories; helping my Mum and Dad weed the veggie plot and collecting chicken eggs from the chooks at the end of the garden. I grew up on a farm as a child and always had my own piece of land to grow and learn with, so I suppose its in the blood!
In my mid twenties, I re trained in Horticulture (Professional Gardening ANCH) and set up my own Gardening business working for clients in the Suffolk/Essex area. For the last thirteen years I’ve had the pleasure of working on a private twenty five acre estate tending to the grounds.
In 2016, I joined the team at Thompson and Morgan in the Customer Care department.
Also season ticket holder at Ipswich Town Football Club!!
by Sue Russell | Aug 22, 2017 | Gardening Posts, Vegetables, Your Stories
One of my earliest memories is of helping my Mum and Dad weed the veggie plot and collecting chicken eggs from the chooks at the end of the garden. I grew up on a farm as a child and always had my own piece of land to grow and learn with, so I suppose it’s in the blood!
In my mid twenties, I re trained in Horticulture (Professional Gardening ANCH) and set up my own Gardening business working for clients in the Suffolk/Essex area. For the last thirteen years I’ve had the pleasure of working on a private twenty five acre estate tending to the grounds.
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One of my earliest memories; helping my Mum and Dad weed the veggie plot and collecting chicken eggs from the chooks at the end of the garden. I grew up on a farm as a child and always had my own piece of land to grow and learn with, so I suppose its in the blood!
In my mid twenties, I re trained in Horticulture (Professional Gardening ANCH) and set up my own Gardening business working for clients in the Suffolk/Essex area. For the last thirteen years I’ve had the pleasure of working on a private twenty five acre estate tending to the grounds.
In 2016, I joined the team at Thompson and Morgan in the Customer Care department.
Also season ticket holder at Ipswich Town Football Club!!
