Shadow Side of Gardening

Yesterday felt like an intense day in my garden, that I can't honestly call gardening 'therapy' at the moment, as per the title of this blog.  Then again, maybe this IS all part of 'therapy', acknowledging the 'shadow' side of gardening and my relationship to it all.  Even so, I would love to get back to my initial feelings of when I first moved here and could see the potential of the garden in my imagination.  Yet right now, all I feel like doing is moving out.

The day started with both of my internet orders being delivered, one of them was delivered to next door as I was out the back showing the tree surgeon the trees I would like to have felled so he could give me a quote for the job.  There are only three tall skinny ash trees and one barely alive conifer plus the holly tree which I'm still not sure about because the crown is so large I'm not sure how I would dispose of it all.  They can't get a shredder through the house and up two flights of narrow stone steps, so I would need to have a bonfire somewhere without accidentally setting light to the remaining trees, as there are plenty still around and forming a canopy overhead.

When I picked up my other plant order that was delivered next door, I asked my new neighbour about the huge sycamore tree on our shared boundary (most of it being in their garden but busting through the fence) and if they had any plans for it, saying that I would go halves with them if they were ever thinking of having it removed or pruned because it overhangs me deck which puts my garden in such shade.

Nope, they have no plans to remove any of their trees it seems.  Fine, at least I know now what is happening, or not.  I know that my previous neighbours had mentioned it to them, although I'm not sure what they had said exactly.  I do like trees, and there are plenty around still, but I can't see myself sitting out and enjoying my garden in deep shade.  I only seem to go out in my garden to battle the weeds, I've not yet used it to relax in or to sunbathe.  It may be time to look around for something that suits me better, and meanwhile any improvements I can make will not be wasted as I see it as adding value to the property.

Previously I'd asked his wife if she would be ok about my planting hedging plants in the gaps where the short boundary fence had blown down.  She was fine with that, so I'd ordered 10 purple berberis as they don't grow very tall, they stop animals taking shortcuts across the garden because they get prickly, they can survive under the shade of all those trees, are low maintenance and also quite interesting as they change throughout the seasons.  He brought up the subject then of wanting to erect a post and wire fence so as to mark out the boundaries.  He has no boundaries marked out on the other side of his garden, but he was wanting to put the same on our shared boundary too.  I said that I was more into growing hedges really as they are better windbreaks (it can get really windy up here on this hill) and they also provide a better backdrop for the plants.  A post and wire fence won't feel enclosed or private enough for me.  He seemed to think that both could be put in, in the same space, although I can't imagine how a hedge can grow through a horizontal post.  Then he said something about all the hedge plants having to be the same.  He clearly wasn't enthused about it, just as I wasn't enthused about his post and wire fence.

No more has been said about it, but he did point out that he had documents going back many years showing how all the boundaries have been changed over time and that the gardens boundaries are meant to be straight behind the house.  So I guess he may be thinking of slicing a bit off my garden too, although more commonly around here the gardens are rarely straight behind the house.  The garden on the east side of my garden apparently belongs to the house two doors away!

Anyway, I spent some time outside trying to clear all the brambles on the neglected east side in order to plant my hawthorn bushes.  I have first to remove a lot of the ivy so I can see where the low stone wall actually ends in that gap.  I then noticed that on my neighbours side (the other neighbour who I never see, as he is an absentee landlord, unless it belongs to two doors way as the previous tenant told me) has planted a tree in the exact same spot in his garden where I planned to have those trees felled that are on my side.  And although it will take some time for them to mature, the trees he has planted (hazel I think) will just end up replacing the felled ones in my garden.  

Considering that this part of next doors garden (whoever it belongs to) is totally neglected and full of weeds, ivy and brambles -  I wouldn't even be having this bramble and ivy problem in my own otherwise, as the stone wall is very short - I just wish that they would tame their jungle as fervently as they seem to be planting new trees.  

Feeling more than a bit pissed off by now, I realised that i had to stop weeding because I had filled every available container, green plastic sack, metal bin, pop-up canvas bin etc and that there was nowhere else to put any weeds.  Brambles and ivy can't be put on the compost heap because they take root very quickly again.

Last week I had put out nine plastic green sacks of weeds for the garden refuse collection (and that wasn't all of them either, the rest waiting on the terrace for the next recycling week), and they just left them and only emptied the open canvas council-issued ones.

This had not happened before since the garden refuse recycling was introduced soon after I moved in here.  Our ordinary rubbish disposal collection then changed from weekly to fortnightly as a result of this new garden refuse service.

So last week i was on the phone to them to find out what was going on.  Had they introduced new 'rules' about what sacks can be left outside?  I still don't have an answer, but I was furious about the nine green plastic bags having been thrown across the pavement to get to the council canvas ones, and had no desire to struggle with carrying the green plastic ones up the two flights of steps.  So they were all put in black bin bags for the general rubbish disposal week.  Today I'm going out to find some more containers to put the weeds in before I can continue with clearing the brambles.  They split the plastic sacks anyway, so i need something more robust.

Then at the end of the garden overlooking the high wall was another neighbour talking to a young child she was holding up, saying that there was a lady in that garden (meaning me). 

I chatted to her for a while, and she told me that her garden will be opened up on garden Open Day on 24 June when there is a walk about around some peoples'

gardens to raise money for charity.  I've made a note of the date, and the start of the tour is only a short bus journey from here, so I intend to go.  She seemed pleased I was interested in taking part, and said that she has spent a lot of money recently on plants and that she is retired so has the time to do it all.   She pointed out that I had a nice 'shady garden' on this hot sunny day, to which replied that I liked the sun and wish I had a sunnier garden.

I packed up my tools and called it a day when I realised I needed to buy more containers to put all the weeds in, plus the gnats had started biting me and I wasn't in a good enough mood to continue, plus a whole lot of ivy that I cut down from a tree had me coughing and choking.  That stuff gives me real respiratory problems and rashes.

So, today is a new day, and I'm still trying to get back to my initial enthusiasm about this garden which I had in my first year here.  It is a real exercise in focusing on what I want rather than what I don't want.  But above all, I want the process to be joyful rather than discouraging.

Below are photos I took of a couple of plants that are actually blooming right now.

aquilegia black barlow

mossy saxifrage

Hedge plants and other latest purchases

This post is mainly for my own reference, to keep track of what hedge and other plants I've ordered recently over the internet and to remind me which areas of the garden are needed to prepare next. 
I'll put the 'how to grow' notes with them as I buy new plants so I can easily find the info.


Next sunday we have a Plant Fair in the local indoor market, so I'm looking forward that as last time they held one I'd forgotten all about it until the last minute, but I did manage to buy a tree fern which had been a bargain, and can't imagine how that could be easily posted without damaging the leaves.


A tree surgeon will be visiting tomorrow to give me some idea how much it will cost to fell the ash trees, and they also do stone walling repairs.  I'll need to get a second quote for the job from someone else as well, and maybe they can do the work sooner than July.  


So these are the plants I'm awaiting delivery on, along with where I'm planting them. 
(all photos at end under CARE NOTES)


(from Burncoose Nursery)


4 x Hawthorn (CRATAEGUS monogyna) - to create a country hedge on the east side of the garden where there is a huge gap and no stone wall.  A lot of brambles encroaching from my neighbours garden have to be cleared first though if the hedge is to stand a chance of surviving.


1 x NANDINA domestica  - not sure where to plant this shrub now.  i wanted something with autumn colour interest and to hide the next level up from the terrace (after removing the awful mature buddleia bush that was there previously).  As I'm needing to get the corner of that 6 ft high stone retaining wall repaired, it may just get in the way of doing the work, so I'll plant it where I removed the dead tree that was covered in ivy on the terrace.  That should also help to screen that area from my neighbours' deck, should I feel like sunbathing there.  


3 x  -  SANTOLINA chamaecyparissus  (cotton lavender) - this is for the raised bed on the terrace, which will be my rockery/gravel garden.  This plant is supposed to be good for repelling flies, and will fit in with the lavender that I also want to plant there.  This bed will be my low maintenance bed, and I still need to finish the weeding and order some gravel.


1 x  Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum 'var pictum) - starting a collection of ferns at the side of the path towards the end of the garden.  Will get some more varieties once the trees are felled.  Never thought I would develop an interest in ferns.


My second internet order is from Scotsplants:


10 x   Escallonia Apple Blossom Pink / White Hedging  -  this was supposed to be for the collapsed bank by the side of the steps leading up from the terrace.  They phoned me after I placed this order to say they lost many of these plants due to cold weather, and as it was no longer on their website had wondered how I managed to order it.  They will be refunding this part of the order, so need to check this later.
Will order some New Zealand privet instead.


1 x  Goji Berry - Wolfberry (Lycium Barbarum - 40cm  Pot Grown)  -  Will keep it in a pot for now on the terrace or raised bed.




1 x  BERBERIS thunbergii Rose Glow -  (managed to find two of these in Morrisons, so now have three)  -  prickly shrub to stop the neighbourhood cats from taking short cuts across my garden (as i want to encourage birds and get a birdbath).  At least one of these will be planted on the terrace boundary (away from steps), as they need more sun than the purple variety I bought.  The others can be planted : one on the west side boundary mixed in with the purple variety halfway up the garden,where a section of the fence was blown down in strong winds last winter.  The other at the end of the garden in the eastern boundary where the gap/steps were from my neighbours garden (who has since bought back that strip of land from the previous owners of my house).


10 x  Purple Berberis Atropururea  -  this is to replace the blown down fence under the tree on the west side, as this variety doesn't mind the shade.  Prickly again, to stop cats from crossing, it also has seasonal interest as it changes colour.  So approx 3 under the tree, 3 at the end of the garden, and 4 in the middle section, al on the west boundary.
With all these prickly shrubs keeping cats and neighbours out, the garden will feel a bit more private and enclosed.


Below I'm adding the photos and 'care notes' for future reference.

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CARE NOTES

Purple Berberis Atropururea

Berberis thunbergii  or Purple Berberis is a compact, dense, prickly variety and great as an intruder deterrent!!.  Deciduous plant with deep purple leaves, orange flowers and red small fruits in the autumn.  Really useful, colourful, tough and versatile plant, most are prickly or spiny.  Great for discouraging people and animals from taking shortcuts.  Easy to grow, tolerates almost all soil types and situations including Coastal.  Likes full to partial shade. 
Plant 3-4 per metre for maximum density single row or 5 per metre double staggered row.




Berberis Rose Glow

Berberis Rose Glow is a dense, deciduous shrub, with mottled bronze-purple leaves and yellow bell shaped flowers. The leaves become redder in autumn and bear red berries. Rose Glow has an unusual colour pattern that at a distance will ‘glow’ when trapped by the sun. Ideal for banks and slopes, Coastal areas, perfect for groundcover, Hedging and Screening. Low maintenance hardy shrub. Ultimate height and spread – 6ft high x 5ft after 10-20 years. Plant full sun for best fruit and autumn colour, any soil except waterlogged. 




HAWTHORN hedge

Can be clipped closely to make a dense screen that will give privacy, as well as effective thorny barrier against animals or people.  Can be used as climbing frame to support wild roses, honeysuckle or clematis.  And make an excellent home for all kinds of wildlife inc nesting birds.


Plant young plants 1ft apart and cut them down to about 4 inches from the ground after planting.  Continue to trim the tops a little as they grow to ensure the fully grown hedge will remain thick at the bottom.


I'm also going to grow wild roses (Rosa rugosa 'Alba' and Rosa rugosa 'Rubra') over the hawthorn hedge once the latter has grown a bit taller.




NANDINA domestica (also called Chopstick plant, Sacred bamboo)

Evergreen.  Heavenly bamboo is the Far East equivalent of holly: its red-berried branches are used for temple decorations and in many houses.
Heavenly it may be, but a bamboo it is not. Nandina's closest relation is the berberis, but it does have the slimmest of canes, a bit like a bamboo, and airy cut foliage.   In spring, the new leaves emerge pinky-red; in summer, there are panicles of creamy-white flowers, followed by green berries, and in winter the leaves flush crimson and the berries turn red.  



Medium Shrub - Typically grow to around 4-6 feet in height - produces long-lasting, spherical, bright-red fruits.  Frost hardy - Plant can withstand temperatures down to -5°C (23°F).
Spread - in metres - 1.5m (5ft).  Preferred location - Full Sun - keep sheltered.
Soil - Fertile moist well-drained soil.

Goji Berry

( following blurb is from Victoriana Nursery website)

Whilst some may pretend Goji Berries are new to the UK and a secret to the Western world it is well documented that Goji’s were first introduced to the UK in the 1600’s. The name ‘Goji’ is fairly new and is based on the Chinese name ‘Gou Qi Zi’ – before this it has been known as The Chinese Wolfberry, The Matrimony Vine, The Chinese Boxthorn, The Red Medlar and even The Duke Of Argyll’s Tea Tree. Surprisingly it is known to be a naturalised specie in the UK, being found in hedgerows in some parts of the Country.

Goji Berries prefer a full sun or partial shade position and once established are wind tolerant and similarly salt wind tolerant. Once established they will prove frost hardy to at least -15°C but will similarly survive temperatures as high as 40°C. Goji's prefer a well drained rich soil but will perform well on lighter sandy soils - in some parts of the world they have been used as soil stabilisation plant; under no circumstances will they tolerate heavy soils prone to laying wet. They have good tolerance to drought but attention should be paid to watering in the first season after they are planted out.


Container Growing
Goji Berries can perform well if grown in a patio tub or container and should ideally be allowed to grow to a minimum height of around 3ft - 4ft and similar width in order that they can produce a worthwhile crop.

Do not over-pot your Goji plant as this may cause your plant's roots to become waterlogged; pot up into a container just one or two sizes larger and allow the plant to fully root out before re-potting into the next size up - continuing until you have reached your final chosen size of container. Any proprietary potting compost will be fine though we would always recommend the addition of a little horticultural grit to improve drainage, particularly if you choose to use a soil based compost such as John Innes or similar.


After their first full growing year, container grown plants should prove perfectly hardy and can be left out all year round - that said, as with anything container grown, Winter protection will improve Spring growth and ultimately yield.

Planting Out
Goji Berries will grow in most soil types, but will not tolerate wet soggy soils, and prefer a full sun position. If planting more than one allow a minimum of 6-8ft apart and remember that if you have room they can be allowed to grow to their full height of 8ft - 10ft.




Japanese painted fern

This elegant, deciduous fern has deeply cut, greyish-green fronds effused with silver and purple. An excellent companion for shade-loving woodland plants it provides long-lasting foliage interest for a shady, sheltered patio or courtyard garden with moist, fertile, neutral to acid soil.

Garden care: Incorporate lots of well-rotted leaf mould, composted pine needles or garden compost into the planting hole. In cold areas in late autumn protect the crown of the plant with a dry mulch of straw or bracken

Position: full or partial shade

Soil: moist, fertile, neutral to acid soil

Rate of growth: average

Hardiness: fully hardy

SANTOLINA chamaecyparissus  (cotton lavender)

S. chamaecyparissus is a dwarf evergreen shrub with narrow, silvery-woolly, much dissected leaves and long-stalked, button-like bright yellow flowerheads 2cm in width.
Easy to grow evergreen sub-shrub that thrives in hot, sunny, well-drained sites. Useful as a dwarf-hedging substitute although they can be short-lived.  Will need protection in cold winters.

Remove the faded flower-heads along with any straggly shoots in autumn. In early-spring cut back the flowered shoots to within 2.5cm (1in) of the old growth.
Flowering period: July and August

Position: full sun
Soil: poor to moderately-fertile, well-drained soil
Other Features: It deters aphids and white flies and can be used for potpourii.

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Ordering Plants from Nurseries on the Internet

I’m excited about receiving my latest plant order from two online nurseries I haven’t used before. I feel my choice of plants was inspired, and it only took a little bit of focus and research to narrow down my intuitive shortlist of various possibilities. The same can’t always be said about choosing the right nursery on the internet. 

I have always shopped online for things like health products, clothes, furniture, books/CDs etc, even when living in central London, so living somewhere more rural hasn’t really changed my shopping habits. As I don’t drive I can’t really get to garden centres or nurseries easily, and it occurred to me recently that I didn’t really have a clue which are the best nurseries for shopping for plants online. So I’ve decided to order from different nurseries each time and conduct my own research. Preferring to keep things simple, I would rather have just a handful of nurseries on my shortlist than to spread my purchases over many different websites. It can often keep postage to a minimum too. 

There are so many nurseries out there and I don’t want to be trawling all of their online catalogues, fun as it can be at times. I have also been sadly disappointed in some of them (more on this later) so it can save both time, money and unnecessary emailing back and forth. Working out a criterion for establishing my top ten nurseries, I’m considering the following:

1)  Health, size and condition of plant on arrival. 

(yes I know sending anything alive and delicate through the post is not ideal, which is why packaging is also a factor) 

2)  Value for money. 

Which is not always the same as the cheapest prices. I would rather pay a bit more for something that is healthier, stronger (hardened off), and larger than newly emerging seedlings (aka plug plants). The whole point of a nursery, to me anyhow, is to supply a plant that is mature and strong enough to survive. I can plant my own seeds if I only want tiny stems and leaves that have just popped their heads out of the compost, and that require much care and nurturing before they will survive in the big outdoors. 

Dead, dying and non-existent plug 'plants' from JParkers.  Typical condition of most of this large order.

3)  Indication of availability of stock.

You would be surprised how many websites I encountered that couldn’t tell me whether they had a particular plant currently in stock. They would sometimes state on the website that if the item was not in stock they would send a substitute, or issue a refund by cheque. Well as my bank is a good hour to travel to by bus I don’t want to be messing around with cheque refunds. What’s wrong with having a website that automatically updates, and says ‘sold out‘ or ‘new delivery expectedby end of May’ ? 

I even emailed a nursery once to just confirm they had the plants in stock before I placed my order online, and received an email back from them saying that they can only dispatch what they have available. Er....yes, that’s why I’m emailing in the first place. 

4)  Ease of use of website. This follows on from the above, as availability info is my main issue with some of them. Being able to search the website for a particular plant is another. I recently ordered a plant from a website and wanted to go back to it and order a few more. Nothing turned up in the search, plus I looked under every single category and it was nowhere to be found. I couldn’t even click on the item in my shopping cart to get back to the page where I'd ordered the first one. Strange. 

Lack of photos also irritates me, as well as lack of description and basic info about the plant - it just looks as though they couldn’t be bothered. If they can’t be bothered to say anything more than the price, then I can’t be bothered to order from them. Shopping online IS supposed to be fun y’know. 

5)  Communication. 

Very important to know what is going on with my order if there is a delay or problem, and also not to hold the whole order up if only one thing is out of stock. 

When I was ordering from many different websites when I first moved here I remembered that I had ordered a soaker hose and some plants a couple of months previously from a particular nursery and had heard nothing since. On reminding them by email and cancelling the plants that were not as urgent as the soaker hose, I soon after received a hose of a different brand than the one on the website (could have bought that one locally if I’d wanted it) and one of the plants which I’d stated I was now cancelling. The ‘plant’ was just an almost empty pot with a few seedlings, which could well have been weeds for all I knew. It never grew into anything, and the hose had to be returned. 

Another problem I had was when ordering roses from a well-known rose nursery. We had unusual levels of snowfall that winter over all the country, and instead of asking customers whether they would like their order dispatched now (knowing full well we couldn’t plant them in the snow), they just made a decision on behalf of us all to post them anyway. I spent many weeks keeping them all alive in buckets of water before they were able to be planted outside, when an email from them could have saved me a whole lot of bother. 

So these are the criteria I’ll be using so far, and I want to have a list of nurseries on my blog which I would happily use again. This is mainly for grown plants rather than bulbs or seeds. 

It is also useful to do an internet search for the nursery and type in ‘reviews’ after the name, just in case someone has written about it already. I wish I had done that when I had wasted much money by ordering from one nursery which had a huge number of negative reviews already. Unfortunately, some people need to experience it for themselves before they will believe it and are not put off if, for some reason, they were lucky with their order on that occasion. Then later on they join the ranks of the reviewers who are fuming about their lost money at receiving dead plants. They can’t say they were not warned, which makes me wonder whether reviews are of any use at all. Still, I’m doing this for my own use mainly and also welcome any reviews of nurseries whether positive or negative from others in the comments box on this blog. You can also leave a general review about any online mail order nursery in the uk by registering on http://www.growsonyou.com. 

I’ll record my latest purchases along with ‘care notes’ for them on my blog at a later date.

Black spot, Mildew and Neem

This must be the worst Spring weather I can recall in a long time, with more rain than sun. Such a contrast from this time last year when months went by with no rain at all, and all my new plants were withering away.  So I finally braved a lull in the rain to inspect what was going on out there.  My heart tends to sink when I see the state of my terrace on the first level up, so it is all a good exercise in not becoming too discouraged and reminding myself of the potential I once thought this place had.

The weeds were everywhere, encouraged by the rain, and were monsters.  I couldn't even see two of my rose bushes as they were buried underneath the lush undergrowth.  I've never seen the garden look this overrun with weeds before, and then I saw that two other rose bushes in another bed were not growing at all.  Looking closer I could see that they had black spot, so I took off all the affected leaves, which ended up being most of them, and did not add them to the compost bin but bagged them for refuse collection.  Then I weeded that particular bed so the air could circulate better.  So I'm not sure if they will bloom this year or not, as they are in partial shade because of the trees next door, and we really need some hot weather now to dry out the garden a bit.

I also made the mistake of watering them, which is the last thing they needed.

The water table under the ground is probably too high, which is what is allowing the fungus to thrive.  Those roses looked so good last year, so I'm hoping they will recover.  

The same rose last year, called 'Strawberry Hill'

I managed to do some weeding on a couple of other flower beds and filled a few rubbish sacks full, although there is plenty more weeding to do.  I also noticed that the underground bees nest appears to be uninhabited this year.  Some of the weeds seemed new to my garden as I wasn't pulling those kind up last year.

The gap in the boundary wall on the east side (which is wilder, due to my neighbour leaving it wild with brambles and weeds) is going to have some sort of country hedging.  In order to clear that piece of boundary land to plant hedging I needed more than a spade, so I bought a new tool called a grubbing mattock.  It is really heavy and has a long handle, a bit like a pick-axe.  I need this also for the end of the garden which is so hard that I can't get a spade to even make an impression on it.  The ash trees there have robbed the soil of all available moisture and nutrients, and any heavy equipment like a rotavator or tiller can't be carried up all those steps.  So I'm looking forward to using my new hand tool once the weather improves a bit.  I'm glad I bought the one with the long handle as I'll be able to reach further with it on my neighbours side to stop brambles from invading my garden and to give my new hedge a chance to survive.  

I bought my mattock at http://www.get-digging.co.uk/tools.htm

This evening I noticed my new potted Acer (Japanese maple) was suffering in the front garden.  The leaves are curling at the edges and there are white powdery patches on a lot of the leaves.  I'm assuming this is powdery mildew, and have decided to buy some Neem oil for this, which is the organic remedy.  It is also supposed to prevent mildew in the future and acts as an insecticide.  I will have to move the acer to another location otherwise it may infect the other plants nearby.  This is the recipe I found for using Neem oil as a foliar spray for plants:

Neem Oil Pesticide and Fungicide Recipe

1 oz. neem oil

1 gallon water

1-2 teaspoons washing up liquid 

Mix ingredients in a garden sprayer and shake to mix. Spray on trees and plants every few days as needed.

It is the active ingredient, azadirachtin, in Neem which works as an insecticide, fungicide and antibacterial agent. Keeps for 1.5-2.5 years, but is only effective to use within 4 hours once the soap is added, so you make a small amount up at a time.

I have just ordered a utility grade (rather than cosmetic grade) bottle of neem oil from www.theneemteam.co.uk, which at the time of writing is £8.69 for 250ml.  I will say more about it in a future blog post once I have some experience of using it.