Garden Tool Set

I've always enjoyed raking. It's one of those tasks that give immediate gratification because every pass you make with the rake shows you the positive affect that you're making. Whether it be those pesky autumn leaves that look beautiful with their rusty colours up in the tree; but that can look like a mass of brown sludge when fallen, or grass or indeed the gravel of a wonderful Japanese garden - everything looks noticeably better when the raking is done.

I'd never noticed before, how raking allows your thoughts to be free and wander through a garden of their own making. Because raking can be carried out on auto pilot, this freedom can be accessed immediately - often with results in the mind that mirror the results of the raking.

Now I've recognised this added benefit of the simple task of raking, I look forward to it more and more. A big part of the task for the Living Churchyard Project that we're a part of is raking up grass and it's what I'll be doing again this coming Saturday followed, I'm sure, by a lovely cup of tea! I'm looking forward to the thoughts that will flow freely through my mind during this time as much as I'm looking forward to the task itself. Such is the wonder of gardening; such is the wonder of nature.

Sometimes it's really easy to identify a plant; you may be with someone who knows the plant, or it may be really similar to plants that you already know. At other times, however, we need to go a bit deeper and follow many research paths.

Recently I needed to go through quite a bit of research before I was able to find out the plant that I'd found. The photos below show the plant that I'm using in this example.


Books
My first port of call are the plant books that I have, to use these well I need to consider characteristics such as: flower colour, amount of petals and sepals (occasionally tepals), leaf shape, plant/leaf/flower size, type of inflorescence, etc.

The first two are for wild flowers of Britain, the smallest is the Collins book of Wild flowers. This book is a small field guide that is handily sectioned into flower colour. This can be ideal for a quick flick through to get an idea of the type of flower you're looking at - especially if you recognise the characteristics in other flowers you know. This didn't help much this time, so I went on to my next wild flower book. This book is the Collins Complete British Wildflowers. This book has a great short cut for finding flowers by the amount of petals - which is handy if the petals and sepals have obvious distinctions! However, this blook led me to the understanding that this plant must be a species of Allium.

So, I then thought that perhaps while this may not be a wild flower, it may well be a cultivar or similar. I therefore checked my garden plant book - the RHS Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers, but unfortunately - and surprisingly, this didn't lead to a solution. So the next step is the internet!

Internet
As I thought that this may be an Allium, I initially started searching for photos of Alliums. I also used search terms for the amount of petals, the colour of the flower, and the rather interesting three green stripes on the petals. Alas, still nothing.

So I uploaded my photos to Wild About Britain (iSpot is another good website for identification help). A website that has a forum of excellent members, some of whom are true experts. The first responses were from the memebers that I would expect to supply the answer immediately, but they weren't sure. I was quite surprised. This plant must be something special. However, some members did recognise the flower as perhaps something that they had grown previously.

This led me to emailing the RHS member's advisory service in the hope of gaining an answer.

Today we decided to buy some cheap shrubs to try to cover the eyesore that is the garden fence. One day it will need replacing, but after recent quotes, it won't be any time soon! Much cheaper and hopefully cheerful are the 4 shrubs that we procured from the Poundshop (other shops that sell things for a pound are available).


We got a pink bush rose sp., a Philadelphus (mock orange), a Weigela (bristol ruby) and a Hibiscus syriachus. Apart from the Philadelphus, which has white flower; they all flower in various shades of pink/red. I'm hoping at some point that we'll be able to get a Mahonia or a Forsythia to add a bit of variation.

I've potted them up to get them going again and will keep them on the table in the garage during the night. They are all hardy, so don't particularly require the protection, but I'd like them to have a bit of a head start and make some impact in our little garden this summer.

When things start to happen in the garden again, I'll post on a monthly basis so let you all know what's happening and as a record.

See you soon!

Some how another month has passed us by. The plants have been working away in the background and providing us with the promise of things to come, like our Red Falstaff apple tree and the Victoria plum tree.

It'll be our first year with the Red Falstaff, so we're muchly looking forward to tasting these apples. We also planted a Bright Future, but while it bloomed this hasn't resulted in any apples. Hopefully it will put on some good growth this year and we'll have an apple harvest next year.

In this past week the sweet peas 'Royal Family' have joyously thrown out the first flowers. The scent is magnificent and we'll bring some inside so we can enjoy the fragrance.

The performer of the month has to be our salvia, as through the daytime it is constantly covered in bees! It makes us happy to know that we're providing much needed nectar for these pollinators.

We're very happy with how well the passion flower is doing too. I'm going to do a seperate post on this as there's a bit of a story!

Our Dianthus 'Raspberry Sundae' has come out strong again this year. It has such a lovely scent that I'll bring a few inside - I wonder if it will compliment the sweet peas?

I also 'finally' got round to patching up a bit of path that wasn't patched by the previous owners. It's been a bit of a trip hazard for the past few years, but I've only just gotten around to sorting it out. I did think of trying to encourage our cat Toby to walk over it so we'd have a constant reminder of him, but decided against it!

I suppose there will be weeding in the next month, but I shall delay it as long as possible! To end on a positive note though - in the next month or so, we're looking forward to the honeysuckle and a recent edition Astilbe 'Europa' coming in to flower.

As always, feel free to connect with me via Grows On You: www.growsonyou.com/timmyh. It'd also be nice to have a chat about gardening down in the comments.

Here's a nice easy going book that I loaned from our local library. It's a compilation of Alan's articles in the Gardener's World magazine.

Now with all authors that write about themselves, it takes me a while to decide if I like their writing style and to some degree, if I like them. But with a third of the book gone and the rest on its way to being devoured, I decided that I do like this Titchmarsh lad. I thought I did, after seeing him on Gardener's World and Ground Force for all those years, but now I know for sure.

The book is chaptered off in months, I assume it's to group the articles into the month they were written! It starts in January with Alan talking about gaining wisdom in the garden as we age and ends in December with Alan talking about Christmas during his Parks Department days.

I think you've got to get on with Mr. Titchmarsh if you're to read this book, because really it's a sort of diary. We come across some of the same topics a few times in the book, for instance, those Parks Department days, and the 'sons and daughters of the soil' line, but it's a nice easy read about a topic I enjoy: gardening. There are a couple of fun articles about the meaning of flower names and a brilliant one about his mum and the Duchess of Devonshire, simply entitled 'Mum'.

There are some nice line-drawn ilustrations that head the article titles, these are rotated through the book and don't always correlate with the topic, but are a nice distraction if you need a break inbetween readings!

If you can get it at your library, then I'd suggest giving this a read. It's not going to blow you're mind with life changing revelations, but I don't think the book was compiled for that. It was compiled to give one man's view on the state of affairs that come with gardening. It helps that he's a good writer and adds a dash of humour every now and then. Overall a nice easy read inbetween deeper reading material!


 

This was the best present that I ever bought for Lucy. I'm not sure she's ever actually looked in it, but I certainly have. I spent Spring 2011 reading it during lunch breaks and managed to get around 150 pages in before other things took over my time.

What do I like about this book? I like that it's a general all-rounder, with a breadth of topics and also what it covers within a topic. Take, for instance, Roses. The book begins with buying roses, moves on to planting roses and routine care, before discussing bush roses, climbing and rambling roses, species and shrub roses, and standard roses. Then to finish the topic of roses, the book discusses rose renovation and rose pests and diseases.

I also like the wonderful illustrations of the techniques described, they really make this book something special. An example being all of the illustrations for pruning all the different types of plants in the book, they're all unique. They show you exactly where to chop and how to train that plant. Mixed in are photographs of plants and flowers, which are also sometimes used to illuminate the topic further, as well as for interest.

The book covers the following general topics, there are sub-topics within them, but you'll have to search them out as I only have so much time to copy this list out!!

1. Gardening Basics
2. Wildlife Gardening
3. Ornamental Gardening
4. Growing Vegetables and Herbs
5. Growing Fruit
6. Lawns
7. Water Gardening
8. Container Gardening
9. Gardening Under Glass
10. Plant Propogation

I also like this book because it took a team of about 15 experts in their field to create it. Meaning that you get the best of the current information at the time of print.

But this leads me on to what I don't like about the book. With so many cooks in the kitchen, or more aptly so many gardeners in the greenhouse, the book does lack personality. I know that they have to choose a house style for the book and stick to it chapter after chapter, but it was a bit much for me at times. I have read a heafty chuck of this 480 page book, which is why I go back to it time and time again - because while I may not remember something specific, I remember the information I need is in this book. So for that, it's a go-er for me. I'll just dip in and out over time and get through it - the book's too useful not to.

My review is of the 2008 edition and I've noticed that there is a new edition coming in October 2012, so I've added that to the Amazon widget below too.


 

Here are a few photos I've taken in the past few days!

The goodies I bought with my blog award winnings!

A lovely penstemon that recently came in to flower and a weigelia that's looking a bit washed out - but still trying.

Our hibiscus is also trying to flower again, but I'm not sure if these flowers will fully open as the temperature is all over the place at the moment. Last night and today have been particularly cold and it's finally feeling like autumn. To the right is the developing seed head on a clematis that we planted earlier this year.


This year I sowed some nigella seeds and they have performed really well. As well as the main burst of flowers, every few weeks one of the plants seems to come along with another (although very small) flower. I particularly like the seed head as with a little shake a lovely rattling sound it heard - I'm really hoping these will self-seed really well!

Hope you're all enjoying your garden too - even though it's getting colder now.

The passion flower is not a native of the UK and until recently they haven't done too well in our climate, as botanist Trevor Dines explained in the third episode of Wild Things earlier this year.

So imagine our surprise when one popped out of nowhere and started growing right under our living room window! I didn't know what it was when all we could see were leaves, so we allowed it to grow hoping that it would flower - which would then help us to identify it and see if it's a plant we wanted to keep.

A lovely floral display from our passion flower this year.

We did wonder how it came to be in our garden in the first place and suspected that perhaps one of the previous owners had planted it. It's the ideal location with the front of the house being the southern-most facing.

Then Lucy happened upon an old photograph from an estate agent website. So we then thought that the people we bought the house from had hacked the plant down as there was no sign of it when we viewed the house or in the estate agent listing when we bought it. And that it was planted by the owners previous to them. As you can see in the photograph it used to be well established.

Passion flower far right.

Our suspicions we proved correct when we were chatting to a lovely lady that walks her dog past our house. She told us that the passion flower was very vigorous and used to grow all the way down the grass!

Being happy to keep it, but not to let it get out of control, I fastened some wire to the front of the house earlier this year. This allowed the plant to grow up to the window and be a nice cover for the wall under the window. We've then kept pruning it back when it gets a bit too much! This way it will also be easy to cut out old stems and have the new stems held in place by the wire as they grow.

Either about to open or about to close!

The passion flower has been superb this year and the flowers even went to fruit, which was fun to watch. The fruit begins green, but over time, turns to orange. I think that this makes it a plant of real interest, first the flowers and then the fruit, all through summer.


As Trevor Dines mentioned that it was edible, I took one of the fruits inside. It's a really interesting fruit to look at when it's opened, revealing lots of seeds surrounded by a sticky liquid! I did try some raw, but as is mentioned all over the Internet - it's not a nice flavour and not an experiment I'll try again. Apparently the flower can be used to make a tea that alleviates anxiety.

The ripe fruit cut in half.

As our house is a 1970s build, there is no real history and it's the same as every other house on the street. So it was quite nice finding out something of interest in the history of the house - especially because it's plant related.

Thanks for reading.

I've posted a few times now about my Phalaenopsis orchid, here and here. I just wanted to write a quite post because, with this being my first orchid, I was really pleased that it grew a brand new flower stalk and put on an impressive flower display.
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I've been wanting to write about my experience of ME for a while now and thanks to Gwenfar's Garden I have been inspired to get started! I'm joining her #GardeningWithME meme and future posts will be specifically about the trials and tribulations of gardening while managing ME. I have lots of ideas for future posts and will probably post around 1 every month or so during 2015. This first post is an introduction to how it all started with me.

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While it often easy to just choose the cheapest tools for gardening, it can quickly become a chore to use and maintain them if they're not ideal for your garden or your physical abilities.

Websites such as Thrive have a section with tools that can make gardening easier and the telegraph has a slideshow of interesting tools. I like the look of these tools and think that whether or not someone has a disability, they can be very useful.

Prior to ME I would always use full length tools, such as spades and forks, but quickly realised that with ME they take too much energy and move too much soil. Therefore, these days I tend to focus on smaller areas, where possible, and use hand tools with a small trugg, so I don't overload myself.

I also found that energy could quickly be sapped away by touching metal surfaces of tools, so I either wear gloves or use tools with plastic or wooden handles. I also have different seating options depending on the length of tool I'm using for a task - I know that some people buy full length tools and cut them down to 3/4 length, which I might think about in the future. Using small tools has helped me think about how I move when using tools in an attempt to reduce pain during and after activities. This is something the RHS is currently researching.



My favourite gardening tool is one that I've used most of my life and I find it to be a versatile and basically awesome tool! It is the bog standard patio weeder and if I'm gardening I probably have it with me. But why you ask!!? Here are a few things I use this tool for:

• Weeding the patio.
• Weeding pretty much anywhere!
• Getting out tap roots without disturbing too much soil.
• Cleaning the underside of the Flymo (one of the original uses I found as a child).
• Making holes for seeds.
• Making holes for planting small plants.
• Making rows to sow seeds into.
• Getting through though plants by slicing the sharp edge against it.
• Refreshing border lines when the grass gets too adventurous.
• Removing moss and the top layer of soil when maintaining pot plants.
• And probably many more!

What's your favourite tool? Has your favourite tool changed due to illness?

Last week my better half and I went to a talk held at Wiltshire College, Lackham. The talk was one stop of many in James Wong's Homegrown Revolution Tour entitled 'Grow Your Own Way'. I'll run through a very brief summary of the talk and finish with what you can do next to ensure you're in the right position to advance your career (future or present) in horticulture. If you can't get to a talk, then it has very kindly been made available by University College Cork. The talk starts around 20 minutes in and is available here.

James conceived the idea for this talk on the back of an article in Horticulture Week (possibly this) and a press release from the RHS (possibly this) about horticulture being at crisis point with a real lack of people studying horticulture and botany.
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A few weekends ago the National Trust offered vouchers to gain entry into their massive portfolio of 'special places' for free. If you've ever been to a property or landscape under the care of the trust you'll know that they are places that are special.

We decided to stay local and opted to visit the gardens at the Courts in Holt, Wiltshire. It's a place that we've been to many times previously - and, in fact, one of the staff there recognised us! (Which was quite nice and made me feel we'd made the perfect choice).

 The house that the gardens surround is privately tenanted, so there's no access. But the gardens are well worth a visit regardless. The Courts, as their interpretation board tells us was built in the early 1700s as a place that the weavers of the time brought their disputes for  arbitration.
Small features such as this alpine tub really make the garden feel special and provide areas of excitement and interest.

Lucy in the distance being patient as I dither around taking photos!

Here's what I believe to be the dye pool for wool. In another area there are standing stone pillars which cloth used to be hung upon to dry. A reminder that The Courts was built next to a watermill, which was unfortunately demolished in 1888.


Here is a view of one of the paths leading through the small arboretum at the far end of the garden. This was added in 1952 by Moyra Goff, the daughter of Major Goff - the man that gave the property and land to the National Trust in 1943.

"Please let the bees be!"

 Again, another feature. Although this time an important reminder that there are times when we need to leave wildlife to do its thing!

A bit of a hidey-hole to sit, observe and be in the lovely company of Lucy.

I really enjoy time at The Courts and would advise anyone that's passing to pop in and spend an hour or so there. It was very busy during this visit - perhaps because of the vouchers - and it was lovely watching and listening to the families and children as they played and interacted with each other and the garden. We saw one girl stop, drop, and roll - reminding us of the real reason for a garden - to play.

An attempt at art!

Thank you to the National Trust for a lovely afternoon out (and Lucy for driving), which allowed us to 'catch up' with a garden we hadn't been to since mid-2012.

I can't believe that it's been 11 months since my last 'In the garden' post. Illness got in the
way and not much was done in the garden or anywhere really. I've been able to do a few bits and bobs in the last couple of months - but this has mainly consisted of pulling up horsetails. It's probably the one plant I would truly consider to be a weed. I fail to see that it provides any beauty in a garden setting. Along a roadside or streamside verge - I'm fine with that - but there's pretty much a war on in our front garden. And they're winning.

It's not a surprise really - apparently their rhizomes can root up to 2 metres deep. I'm planning on doing a post about them as they're interesting botanically, if not (in my opinion) horticulturally. Oh dear, here comes the rain again (the friend to horsetails). Luckily I've already been outside to get the last few photos I needed for this post.

Talking about photos - here they are...

While the Victoria plum put on a good performance, the stars of the show this year are the apple trees that Lucy bought last year. The trees aren't yet capable of holding many apples, but hopefully 3 or 5 each will reach our table!


The honeysuckle we planted last year is doing really well. We've moved the acer near it and we feel it creates a really nice corner. For the 'in between' spot we acquired a clock from Lucy's dad when he moved. In the clogs this year we're trying some ferns. We have some pelargoniums that my mum gave me for my birthday. Perhaps the wall could do with a climber - ivy maybe. Any thoughts?

In our raised beds, located in the front garden the snow-in-summer (above) and the ice plant (below) are doing very well and making the bed their own.


The hedge, which we planted a couple of years ago and pruned really short at the close of last year, is also doing nicely. I'm hopeful that it will continue to fill out and close the gaps, after which we can let it grow taller to provide a more enclosed space. Here's a photo of the dogwood in flower:

Things to look forward to are the salvia coming into bloom. This time last year it already was, but this year the flower spikes haven't even been formed - which is the same for a couple of other plants that 'should' be flowering soon. Also waiting on the strawberry plants. I wonder if/when the honeysuckle will flower this year. I think last year it flowered in August. Who knows, perhaps the Jet Stream will traverse in a Northerly direction and we'll have some summer!

I'm also on Grows On You a great website for meeting gardeners and keeping details of your own garden. Come along and visit at www.growsonyou.com/timmyh

If you have a garden update, I'd love to see it. Post a link in the comments below. Until next time, happy gardening!

It's that time of year again, when I start saving our empty loo roll and kitchen towel cores. That time of year then I get excited about the fragrance that will fill our home and garden come June. It's also that time of year when I really feel that my gardening year has finally begun. Mulching and weeding is all well and good, but until I start sowing and nurturing new life, it feels like I'm just surviving until the next growing season.

Last year we grew Sweet Pea Royal Mixed a cultivar of the annual sweet pea, Lathyrus odoratus. The mixed meaning that we'd have a lovely and random array of colours from white, through to pink, red, and purple. While some sweet peas required soaking in water (check seed packet for info), this cultivar is happy to be directly planted.

I find that February is a good time to start sowing sweet peas indoor. The packet says we can sow indoors from September, but I feel February to March is a good time as by the time the conditions outside are welcoming, the sweet peas are ready to embrace the alfresco lifestyle!



Sweet peas seeds are hard and spherical. Before sowing, look through your seeds and filter out any that are very deformed - or material that is clearly not seed.

I mixed plenty of grit with my compost, for drainage, and fill up a cardboard core - ensuring that it is firm. I then push the seed to a depth of around 1.5cm, before covering it over and soaking it with water.  I have to confess that I've never used seed compost (I know, I shall hang my head in shame), but I do use a chamomile tea spray to prevent damping off.  I then place the cardboard cores in a tray filled with grit and place in a sunny location.

Within a couple of weeks, the sweet pea will have come to life. Looking at the seedling, it is immediately obvious why they need a long pot.


A couple of weeks after sowing the first batch, I sowed a second batch. This was to try to lengthen the flowering season. This is also a handy time to re-sow into any containers where germination hasn't happened.

When the plant has 4 leaves, pinch out the top two. This will ensure you have a bushy plant that will provide more flowers.

When the plant has a few good leaves and is looking healthy (around March/April), it's time to start hardening them off. This is a process whereby you put them outside during the day, but bring them inside during the night. Then you can place them in their final locations. If you have grown them in a biodegradable material, such as paper or cardboard, there's no need to disturb the plants - which they dislike. Just plant the whole thing and there won't be any sign of your paper or cardboard by the end of the sweet pea growing season.


Dead heading is a great way to ensure that the sweet peas keep providing a good crop of flowers. But, there's no need to wait until the flowers are dead! I like to make sure I have a good supply of flowers on the windowsill by the sink and in the living room - such a gorgeous fragrance. This way we get fragrance inside and out.

It's hard not to look at a sweet pea and smile. Not only do they provide a lush fragrance, but the shape of the flower is very pretty. While there are many flowers in the legume family (the third largest flower family currently known), sweet peas provide flowers that are large enough to truly appreciate.


The sweet pea has 5 petals: banner is the uppermost petal with the two wings below. The lower 2 petals are fused into a keep and they protect the many anthers and the single stigma. This beautiful arrangement is called papilionaceous, relating to the nature of the butterfly. This is because the two wings resemble those of a butterfly.


If you let the flowers go over, they will produce a seed pod, which is initially green. When it has turned brown, you can pinch the pod from the plant and dry them indoors for a few days. When you see the pods start to split at the seam, you can spread the pod and retrieve the seeds. Dry them thoroughly, package them, and store them in a cool, dry location until you are ready to plant them. I'm not sure how long harvest seeds last, but the store bought ones tend to last a couple of years.