Author: Rosie Kefford

Scents for all seasons

 

Now I don’t know about you, but the first thing I do when I see a flower is bury my nose in its petals (having checked there are no bees lurking within) and inhale deeply in the hope that it might be scented. Though some of the plants in my garden have been chosen for their looks, more often than not I choose a plant for its fragrance. Occasionally this will be provided courtesy of foliage of the rub-it-and-sniff variety, though more often than not its produced from the petalled end.

 

Some of the most fragrant blooms in the garden are produced by shrubs and, with a bit of planning, you can have something for your nose to enjoy throughout much of the year, even during the depths of winter. Here are some super-scented shrubs I wouldn’t be without in my small garden.

 

First up is Coronilla valentina subsp glauca. The first of its cheerful yellow pea-like flowers usually start to appear from late October/early November and it’ll continue flowering right up into April. An evergreen, it grows in a sunny, sheltered spot outside my front door where its fabulous fragrance greets me when I return home after a long day at work, particularly if the sun’s been shining

However, if you prefer yellows of gentler hue then Coronilla subsp. glauca ‘Citrina’, often sold as a climber, might be more your cup of tea.

Like the Coronilla, Lonicera fragrantissima (or Winter Honeysuckle) flowers throughout winter and spring, providing bees with an early source of nectar. The delicate pendulous white flowers start to open just as its leaves begin to fall, and as winter deepens the shrub’s bare branches are eventually smothered with fragrant blooms.

Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis (Christmas Box) is another winter flowering shrub and one that’s perfect for a small garden. It provides a bit of glossy evergreen structure during the winter months, some colour with its crimson berries that deepen to black as the year goes on, and come January and February, is covered with tiny white flowers that produce a surprisingly powerful sweet and wafty scent.

Just as the Coronilla flowers are beginning to fade the Vibernum carlesii ‘Compactum’ takes over scent duties for a few weeks. The perfect Viburnum to grow if you don’t have much space, the

pink-tinged flower buds open in late April to produce white clouds of deliciously fragrant blooms.

Alas, I don’t have room in my garden for a proper sized lilac. However, the Korean lilac Syringa meyeri Palibin is a great alternative as its flowers fill the garden with heady scent in early May.

Soon after the lilac of short stature has finished doing its scenty-flowery thing the fragrant blooms of the Philadelphus (or Mock Orange) kick in. If you have a small garden, fear not, as there are a few varieties out there that won’t take up much space. The compact Philadelphus ‘Manteau d’Hermine’ has double creamy-white flowers and is perfect for the tiniest of gardens. But if you have a bit more space then perhaps you might prefer the taller and more arching form of ‘Belle Etoile’ with it’s large single white flowers. I’ve found the latter can sometimes prove popular with black fly though, so keep your home-made soapy sprays or fingers at the ready.

Now if you only have room for one shrub in your garden then the semi-evergreen Daphne x transatlantica ‘Eternal Fragrance’ is well worth considering. It seems to flower, off and on, throughout much of the year. If scent were a musical instrument then I’d describe this one as flute-like. Plonk it near a path or patio and you’ll get to enjoy it’s mellow ‘flutey’ fragrance almost all year round.

So the next time you’re perusing plants at your local garden centre or pondering perennials online, take a moment to consider your nose; treat it to some sniffable flowers to enjoy during those short winter days and balmy summer evenings.

 

Graeme Edwards,

A full time something-or-other and a gardener in his spare time (if the weather is nice).

Blog: www.onemanandhisgardentrowel.wordpress.com

Twitter: @GraemeEdwards1

Here is a cheery sight! Prolific crab apples – dazzling and bountiful garden trees which grow between 3m-8m tall. There are several varieties to choose from which include:-

Malus baccata Street Parade

Malus Evereste – grown as a standard, multi-stem or pleached.

Malus Golden Hornet

Malus Mokum

Malus Rudolph – grown as standard and pleached.

Malus Red Sentinel

Malus John Downie

These crab apple trees profusely flower with white or pink petals (depending on the variety) in the Spring and the pollen is good for bees. The fruit is eaten by birds and mammals in the Autumn.

Malus John Downie, for example, produces fruits which are orange-red, large and conical in shape. They have a good flavour to them and as such are useful in making preserves and Crab Apple jelly. In the Autumn, the foliage turns classically lemony yellow and brown. An all round great value tree

HOUSE PLANT HEROES

Like me, many people nowadays don`t have a garden to grow plants, especially in the cities. But I love those green wonders and I have plenty of them at home. There is a plant for any space and purpose, so here is my list of “plant heroes” to enjoy indoor.

If you don`t have a bright green finger, there are low maintenance heroes for you such as Succulents and air plants. Amongst the first bunch, Cacti are very sculptural, they like sunny spots and they produce short-lived but stunning flowers. They are not very children and pet friendly, though.

Tillandsias (air plants) are incredibly easy to look after, water them in the shower or with a sprayer once a week and keep them in airy space. They are great hanging off fishing line or attached on branches.

Amongst succulents, lithops (stone plants) are great for small spots, children and pets. If you are looking for something bigger and bolder, Sansevierias are the ones for you. Like Cacti, every succulent can be placed in your bedroom, as they release oxygen at night.

If you are looking for something a bit more challenging, Bromeliads can add a lot of colour into your house. They usually like water from the top and last longer if you cut the spent flowering mother plant and let the “pups” grow.

In the world of Orchids, Phalaenopsis are very rewarding and easy to look after. They don`t like full sun and should be watered properly once every two weeks.

If you are blessed with big space, then you can look into architectural plants like Palms and big Aroids. Coconut Palm can grow quite fast so tall ceilings are a must, otherwise clumping ones such as Chamaedorea, Dypsis or Rhapis can work in smaller places.

Monstera is a very popular aroid and it is very easy to look after, same for Philodendron and Aglaonema. One negative note about Aroids is that they are poisonous, so keep them off the reach of children and pets.

There are plenty more plants to find out about and look after them so I just suggest to go ahead and find your plant heroes!

Elisa Biondi  – Manager of the Princess of Wales Conservatory at Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. Graduated designer @ LCGD, Plants & animals lover.  Find her on Twitter @BiondiEli and Instagram elisabiondi1

Always fish for the ‘dream and vision’….even if there is not budget for it! Give plenty of time to think, listen well, and let the clients ideas tell the story. Visualise, compliment and complement the client! That’s the key to a productive client meeting.

I like to walk with the client, ask most of the questions, as if the client inspired them, to get to know the client, their preferences, dislikes, budget if possible, ideas, dreams and ultimate vision.

I give the client professional advice based on years of experience, and my short cuts too (no need to go to China to have Chinese food) but never compromise quality or quantity. Less is ALWAYS more !! ….well, enough anyway.

My presentation of my visual interpretation of what the client and I decided is basic and with common names of plants (no Latin or botanical names now, not yet), basic description of materials, tools, etc to be used, time it should take, always allowing days for the unforseen and unknown, and a estimated start date.

I keep to my word and my word is still my honour. Clients need to feel important. They must trust me with their dreams and passion for gardening as well as their money ! Not too much deviance from what was discussed and agreed. The client must be able to deviate with budget constraints, or extra ideas/features thought of after I left the meeting and before submitting my design and estimate. I do not over- nor under-quote any other than might be applicable. My design and visual portrait must represent exactly what the client dreamed of and wanted for a long time, must excite and inspire a client to look past small monetary amounts and schemes of my competitors. THE ONE WHO LISTENED & INTERPRETED THE CLIENT’s VISION closest, should get the job most of the time. BUT NOT ALWAYS.

And I do the basics perfectly:

I follow up ALL missed calls, voice mail messages, telesales leads, any message left to return a call for new client or business.

I do my homework, look up, Google and study or learn whatever I might lack or if I need more information and details for that Client’s requirements. I pray to God that he will keep me wise and full of knowledge from years of passionate experiences as to serve Him and the client and my profession. 

I make sure I know what the client requires and get all the details, full address, alternate tel.no. from cell number and a time that would not only suit the client, but myself, taking in account the weather, peak traffic periods, road works in area and for me not to hurry, AS I AM ALWAYS EARLY !

I dress very neat, smart casual, clean shaven and smelling the look… lol

I make sure I know how to get to clients address, with Google maps, GPS or Map Studio book.

I always arrive early, 15-20 minutes. 10 minutes before the agreed time is a good time to walk up to the house or meeting place. If you are gonna be late, up to 10 minutes is allowed, later than that, I phone or send a text message, making sure its delivered, even acknowledged, well before agreed time, THE CLIENT’s TIME IS MOST IMPORTANT.

So is mine. I bill accordingly. lol.

I assure the client that they would have my estimate within 3 working days, if not too busy a period, but it can stretch to 7-10 days BUT it includes computer/laptop software design program WITH 2D/3D Landscape plant plan as per Vectorworks Landscape Design, AutoCad Landscaping, Landscape Design Pro and AutoCad Architecture, AutoCad Civil design for construction and building work.

My motto:

BE INSPIlRING, BE FUN and even FUNNY, BE PROFESSIONAL, BE FAIR. BE REASONABLE , SMILE & LAUGH ALOT

AND

DO NO HARM; environment, profession and not the Client’s wallet.

Word of Mouth references serves and pay me well still after 31-Years.

Thank God always and everytime, even if estimate is Not accepted. All meetings of people are meant to be, is placed on our paths, both parties or just one learns or take something forward from that meeting – Say I.

WALDO VILJOEN. Passionate Christian, Horticulturist, Agriculturist and Environmentalist and Living Life Participant.

Crisp, crunchy, juicy eating and cooking apple trees.

How wonderful it would be to harvest apples from ones own garden or plant a community orchard in your village from which everyone can benefit.

The pretty delicate pale pink and white Springtime blossoms are softly fragrant and wonderful for encouraging bees too. Ripening on the trees as I write, we have several edible apples growing on our 350 acre tree nursery in Ely, Cambridgeshire suitable for planting this Autumn:- Malus bramley seedling – standard and espallier Cox’s Orange Pippin – espallier Malus James Grieve – standard and espallier Malus Discovery Malus Jonagold – standard and espallier

We also grow other fruits:- Edible cherries, Pears, Figs, Plums, Greengage, Quince. An interesting fact, there is no VAT on trees which bear edible fruits!

When you plant a tree from a tree nursery, it will need nurturing in the landscape for the first 2 years until it will be independent. The tree will need to be staked and tied and regularly watered.

Source trees from a UK nursery with a robust Biosecurity Policy. Each tree should have an audit trail to show where the seed came from and how long it has been growing in the UK. This helps prevent the spread of tree pests and diseases from imported trees into our glorious landscape.

Caroline Vickers

Brand Awareness Manager

Barcham Trees PLC

Visit www.barchampro.co.uk – trade website.

Visit www.barcham.co.uk – retail website.

Flowers of New Zealand

Deep in the South Pacific, at approximately the antipodes of the British Isles, lie the islands of New Zealand. The northern island is washed by the warmer currents of the South Pacific, while the southern islands are influenced by the turbulent winds of the Roaring Forties which are generated in the circumpolar Antarctic Convergence of the Southern Ocean. To put New Zealand in a European perspective latitude-wise, Auckland, in the north, lies on approximately the same latitude south of the equator as does Malaga in Spain or Algiers, lie north; Wellington, the capital, lies about the same as Rome or Barcelona. Queenstown in the south is about the same as the Bordeaux region of France, and Oban, the only settlement on Stewart Island, is about the same as Paris. In this unique environment, separated by around 2000 kilometres from Australia, the nearest neighbour, the fauna and flora of these islands evolved for millennia without outside influences. Species homo sapiens arrived less than a thousand years ago.

Some 80-85% of New Zealand’s plant life is unique just to these islands. The giant kauri trees of the (Agathis australis) of the North Island are among the world’s largest trees by volume, and in the southern beech (Notofagus spp.) of the South Island  was the inspiration for Treebeard in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

Perhaps the most distinctive tree in the coastal North Island is the pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), better known as New Zealand’s Christmas tree, whose bright crimson flowers decorate the cliff tops and beaches between November to January. These flowers attract the nectar-feeding tui bird, an important pollinator.

A tui feeding on nectar in a pohutukawa

In the early spring the semi-deciduous kowhai (Sophora tetraptera} bursts into a splendid display of vivid yellow flowers – Kowhai is the Maori word for yellow. This showy beautiful flower, also pollinated by nectar-feeding birds, is unofficially New Zealand’s National flower. It’s much rarer cousin, the kowhai ngutu-kaka, or kaka beak (Clianthus puniceus) is, arguably, NZ’s most showy flower. Although extremely rare in the wild, it grows well in gardens.

The yellow kowhai flowers

The showy red blooms of the kaka-beak

In the alpine regions of the Southern Alps, in spring and early summer, blooms what is erroneously called the Mt Cook lily (Ranunculus lyalli) which is more correctly called the giant buttercup. It is one of many species of buttercup found only in New Zealand. I believe seeds of this alpine plant are available in selected garden centres in UK.

Mt Cook lilies, or giant buttercup, flowering in Mt Cook National Park

Several New Zealand native plants are well known to gardeners in Britain by their Latin species name rather than their Maori name. Perhaps one of the best known are the hebe species. These range, in New Zealand, from the coastal environments to the alpine regions, all with different characteristics and colour variations. The most common is the koromiko (Hebe stricta), samples of which were first taken back to UK by Joseph Banks who was with Captain Cook’s first expedition to the Pacific.

Bumble bee in a koromiko (Hebe stricta) flower

Harakeke, or New Zealand flax, is better known in the UK as a phormium. There are two main species – Phormium tenox and Phormium cookianum – the second being Cook’s, or alpine flax, with smaller leaves and yellow flowers. NZ flax has large tough leaves and orange flowers. Variegated or red-leaved varieties are garden hybrids.

Flowers of the NZ flax (Phormium tenax)

Cook’s flax (Phormium cookianum)

The last native I will mention is the kotukutuku, or tree fuchsia (Fuchsia excorticata). This is the largest of fuchsia family and is one of the very few deciduous trees in New Zealand. The fruit produced, known as konini, is pleasant tasting and was a popular food-source to the pre-European Maori – if they could get to the fruit before the native pigeons!

tree fuchsia flower and fruit

large fuchsia trunk in the Stewart Island forest

Neil Rawlins,

travel writer & photographer

www.neilrawlins.blogspot.com

Books published on Amazon – One Foot in Front of the Other

A garden for all seasons

For the past seven years I have been lucky enough to enjoy a second career as a garden designer, and whether it’s working with a completely blank canvas or just giving a garden a bit of a makeover, I get huge amounts of job satisfaction from my work.

Photography is also an integral part of indulging my passion for gardening and design. Taking my camera for a walk around a beautiful garden is both a great way to relax and also a source of inspiration for my own planting designs.

There are so many wonderful gardens in my area, some of which just open occasionally for the National Garden Scheme, and others that are open all year round. My favourite local haunt is the National Trust gardens at Dunham Massey near Altrincham which includes a 7 acre winter garden.  Under the expert guidance of head gardener Emily Chandler the gardens are flourishing and there is always something new to see.

To show you the whole of the gardens would take far more space than this blog allows, but let me take you on a little tour of the winter garden and some of its’ gems through the seasons.

Spring

I’ll start with the daffodils. These are spectacular at Dunham. There are so many varieties planted in the garden, from the early ones such as Rijnvelds ‘Early Sensation’ right through to the late flowering Narcissus ‘Actaea’ pictured below.

And this is one of my favourite spring bulbs -pictured below – Fritillaria Meleagris aka Snake’s head fritillary is establishing itself really well at Dunham now.

One of the paths that wind through the winter garden, with Magnolia stellata looking rather lovely in the foreground.

Summer

The winter garden in summer is a quiet place, as you might expect, but still my favourite part of the garden. At times you can almost feel like you have the place to yourself as the majority of visitors tend to head for the spectacular perennial borders and rose garden. This photo (below) was taken in early June last year and for me it captures the understated natural beauty of the garden.

Butterflies and insects are attracted to the wildflowers that are allowed to grow here in summer.

And in high summer the hydrangeas have their day enjoying the dappled shade of the trees.

Autumm

What a glorious sight this is with the scarlet leaves of the acers falling over one of the pathways! I was lucky enough to capture this image below on a perfect autumn day a couple of years ago.

Underneath the many mature trees in the winter garden a carpet of pink Cyclamen hederifolium brings colour to the woodland floor.

Callicarpa bodinieri ‘Profusion’ has the most unusual coloured berries. The birds tend to leave these alone, so the purple berries last well into winter.

Winter

We don’t tend to get much snow in this part of Cheshire, but when we do the winter garden takes on a new prettiness.  The seed heads of Phlomis russeliana look stunning when covered with snow.

Hammelis or Witch Hazel is one of my favourite scented winter shrubs and the flowers are a dream to photograph. There are many varieties at Dunham and they add colour even in the depths of winter.

And although we think of snowdrops as a sign of spring, February is the month when they are at their best.

I hope that this little photo tour of the winter garden at Dunham Massey has been of interest. I’d highly recommend a visit at any time of year if you’re in the area. The site is fully accessible to disabled visitors https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/dunham-massey#Facilities

Alison Moore

Website renaissance-gardendesign.co.uk

Twitter @renaissancegd

Instagram   @a1isonmoore

Let the ‘Weeds’ Grow

Professor Dave Goulson, University of Sussex

Successful wildlife gardening is as much about what you don’t do as what you do. This is not to say that a wildlife garden has to be untidy. Many imagine a wildlife garden as an unruly tangle of brambles, nettles and dandelions, and it is true that a laissez-faire garden like this will certainly attract a lot of wildlife, but it is also perfectly possible to have a tidy and beautiful garden that is teeming with life (though tidiness does of course tend to require a little more work).

If I could give you just one wildlife gardening tip, it would be this. You can get rid of all the weeds in your garden in a heartbeat, just by renaming them wildflowers. The concept of a weed is something we have constructed. Why do we endlessly persecute dandelions, groundsel, willowherbs and so on, at great personal effort, and usually without much success? Does it matter if there are buttercups and daisies in your lawn? Many of us spend money on spraying their lawn with selective broadleaf herbicides, intended to kill everything but the grass. Buttercups and dandelions are beautiful native wildflowers. Ease off on the mowing, and they will burst into bloom, adding colour and attracting insect life; bees, hoverflies and so on.   

            Aside from those in the lawn, wildflowers can be an attractive addition to herbaceous borders. I have teasel, viper’s bugloss, marjoram, foxgloves, mallows, campions, comfrey, betony, deadnettles and woundworts mixed up with the usual garden favourites; lavender, catmint, coreopsis and so on. Viper’s bugloss is one of my favourites – producing beautiful blueish purple flower spikes in July and August that bumblebees adore. Controversially, I also have ragwort, loathed by horse lovers as it is toxic when dried in hay. But this is a wonderful plant for insects, attracting bees, hoverflies, butterflies, and of course the yellow and black caterpillars of the cinnabar moth. Native wildflowers are worth including not just for their beauty but also because they are often the foodplant of herbivorous insects such as moths, butterflies, true bugs or leaf beetles, so they help to support a whole ecosystem. My red campion flowers attract bees, but also attract the campion moth which lays its egg on the seed pod and the young caterpillar feasts on the developing seeds.

Relax, soak up the summer sun, and enjoy the weeds!

Dave Goulson’s new book, The Garden Jungle, is on sale now in all good bookshops.

The latter part of 2018 saw us, as a nation, commemorate a number of centenary events linked to the First World War. By the very nature of the original events these were sombre events, and rightly so.

By contrast, 2019 will allow us to commemorate such uplifting centenary events as the first non-stop transatlantic flight by Alcock and Brown, and Lady Nancy Astor taking her seat in the House of Commons as the first women member of parliament.

Additionally, hidden in the depths of the New Forest, there is a garden that was the passion of a banker, also celebrating its centenary. The banker, in question, was Lionel de Rothschild a passionate collector of plants and a keen supporter and sponsor of the early 20^th century plant hunters and the garden Exbury. The garden was created in 1919 and was developed over the following 20 years to become a stunning 200-acre garden paradise in the New Forest filled with rare plants, shrubs and trees.

The centenary is being marked with the unveiling of a new ‘secret’ garden and a showcase display at the world’s most famous flower show, RHS Chelsea.

Visitors can now get to glimpse the new Centenary Garden designed by Lionel’s great grand-daughter, and RHS gold medal award-winning designer, Marie-Louise Agius. This was planted within Exbury Gardens in 2017 and has been carefully hidden from public view, whilst it grew and matured.  Given the scale of the rest of Exbury Gardens, and that it’s had a 100 years to mature to what is seen today, the Centenary Garden is necessarily more intimate in scale. It is planted on the site of one of Lionel de Rothschild’s former tennis courts!

       

Grown in secret – Centenary Garden 

                                                                     

 It is contemporary in style, focusing on late flowering summer perennials, interwoven between a strong vertical planted structure, with the existing Yew hedging proving an evergreen backdrop. The central area is sunken – enhancing the 3 dimensional space – with the Rothschild 5 Arrows in black Caledonian slate set into York stone paving. At the far end of the garden is a curved timber bench surrounded by cloud-pruned evergreen azaleas, a modern salute to the core history of the Gardens.

Thomas Clarke, head gardener at Exbury, said: “The 1920s were the golden age of woodland gardening and Exbury, under the careful eye of Lionel de Rothschild and his staff, was at the cutting edge of this movement. The location, climate, existing oak woodland and acid soil all allowed for the creation of one of the finest gardens of its kind in the UK. Combine this with the legacy of the great plant hunters, and the extensive plant breeding programme at Exbury, and we are fortunate enough to have inherited a truly wonderful garden packed full of horticultural treasures.”

“In this centenary year we are delighted to be unveiling some fantastic new projects plus a continued focus on our work to conserve and develop the plants and landscape at Exbury for the next 100 years.”

Exbury Gardens, located in the New Forest near Southampton, is open daily until 3 November 2019 10am – 5.30pm. Adult tickets £12.50, children (3-15yrs) £4, under 3s are free and a family ticket is £29. Full information at www.exbury.co.uk

Exbury Gardens aims to enable visitors with disabilities and additional mobility needs to use and enjoy the gardens, railway and facilities.

www.thepureimageworks.com

Trevor Judd is an experienced photographer specialising in the photography of flowers, nature, and landscapes.

“When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice” – Robert Frank

One way you can help Gardening for Disabled Trust Charity (GDT) is to open your garden to the public and donate the entrance fee to help us continue our life changing work.

One such garden that has done that is Fursdon House in Devon.  Their stunning gardens are regularly open to visitors in the summer and they dedicated one day where the charity would receive a percentage of the garden entrance fee.

We have 9 volunteer committee members and work tirelessly to fundraise, enabling us to get more people back into their gardens by offering grants.  We organise a number of events but by people opening their gardens and donating the income from it we do need to find manpower to carry it out. We assist with publicising the event but the garden owners deal with the logistics of the day.

GDT was invited to attend Canterbury Cathedral Open Gardens because we had been nominated as a beneficiary of the day and received a third of the garden entrance money.  The other benficiaries were Perennial Charity and National Gardens Scheme.

The Duke and Duchess of Grafton have invited GDT to attend their Garden only Open Day at the magnficent Euston Hall on 16th September from the 10am until 2pm.  The park and gardens are open and we will receive a portion of the profts form the day.

Please consider supporting these events or opening your gardens, or allotments etc and donating the income from it to us  to enable us to continue our life changing work.

Visit our website gardeningwithdisabilitiestrust.org.uk to find out more about our work .