You know an issue has become serious when it makes it to the plot line of The Archers! Such is the global concern about the plight of our honey bees that this week we heard Jill Archer explaining in some detail her concerns about her bee colonies.
The problem is that honey bees are dying out. In some parts of the USA and Europe bee populations are decreasing by as much as 80%. Entire hives (colonies) simply expire over night. The causes of this Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) are not really understood, but the ramifications are enormous. Albert Einstein said:-
"If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man,"
Experts are undecided on the exact causes of CCD, but it is thought to be a combination of factors that are weakening the bees’ immune systems. Varroa is a parasitic mite that infests the bees and carries deadly viruses. The overuse of insecticides is also thought to play a part in the bees’ demise. Another suspect is an AIDS-like virus that attacks the bees’ immune systems. Indiscriminate use of antibiotics has also been cited as a possible factor.
Whatever is causing CCD, if our honey bees die out it will have much greater ramifications than the loss of a tasty condiment from our tables. Honey bees pollinate fruit trees, food crops, and other plants that humans and animals need to survive. It would be a catastrophe.
So, if you don’t do anything else this year plant some things that bees love. Lavender is an obvious choice – you can even grow it in a pot on a very small balcony. Plant a buddleja (I love Black Knight) – they need little or no attention, will grow almost anywhere and butterflies and bees love to feed on their nectar rich flowers. Try some Thymes, Agastache, Echinops, Echinacea, Scabious, Sedum, Penstemmons and Helenium. Bees in my garden also go mad for the flower spikes of Heuchera.
Flowering trees are also brilliant for encouraging bees. Try an ornamental Cherry (Prunus) – there are some lovely small specimens for those with limited space. Malus (ornamental Crab Apple) are also great and good for smaller gardens. Flowering shrubs like Olearia, Cytisus (Broom), Ceanothus and Wiegela are also popular nectar sources.
Not only might it help the bees, but you will enjoy the flowers and their scent and a feeling that you are doing something worthy.
Click here to see a more in-depth report on the plight of the honey bee.
Friday 30 January 2009
Saturday 24 January 2009
Case Study - Large Garden in Surrey - Update 4
The extremely cold weather in early January put paid to most work on site. We are at the stage where all the blockwork on the left-hand side of the garden is in place and now we need to get the Purbeck stone facing in place. However, this requires mortar, and it is not possible to use mortar temperatures are below freezing – it will not set and when it freezes it will simply blow the facing stone off the walls.
The freezing conditions meant that we could not even dig out footings in other parts of the garden, so work is a little behind.
With the let-up in conditions the facing work is now happening, but very slowly. The stone that was delivered contains a great deal of large stone and a less rustic look is required so much sorting and cutting of stone is necessary. However, those parts of the walls that are finished are really looking great. No photos I’m afraid – I forgot to take my camera on my last couple of site visits!!
The freezing conditions meant that we could not even dig out footings in other parts of the garden, so work is a little behind.
With the let-up in conditions the facing work is now happening, but very slowly. The stone that was delivered contains a great deal of large stone and a less rustic look is required so much sorting and cutting of stone is necessary. However, those parts of the walls that are finished are really looking great. No photos I’m afraid – I forgot to take my camera on my last couple of site visits!!
Monday 19 January 2009
Design Ideas for Long Narrow Gardens
Here are a few tips to consider when designing a long, narrow garden.
The main challenge is to counteract the claustrophobic feeling that such spaces have, as though you're standing in a long, low corridor. All you can see are the boundaries, so you need to trick the eye into focusing on other areas of the garden.
1. Divide the garden into separate spaces. I designed a very narrow garden in Caversham (Berkshire) and put in three distinct areas, ending in a lovely sunny vegetable area with raised beds, composters, a shed and a greenhouse.
The divisions do not have to be hard, ie walls, although they can work well, but you’ll need a fairly large budget. You can use hedging, a pergola, trellis panels, posts, there are many options and the idea is to stop the eye and break up the space creating more interest and symmetry.
2. Use circular shapes which focus the eye into the centre of the garden away from the boundaries.
3. Use diagonal lines to draw the eye across the garden and give the impression of greater width. This also works in a wide, narrow space. I designed a garden in Maidenhead (Berkshire) where I used this technique to make the garden look and feel much deeper and larger than it actually is – have a look at the photos on my Website.
4. Create some height. Put in some trees and taller plants to create height as this helps minimise the closed in feeling. A pergola can help with this too.
5. Use an ‘S’ shaped path to snake through the garden. This also helps draw attention away from the boundaries, and gives a much more interesting journey. You can put in some taller plants or trees in the deep curves of the ‘S’ to create informal divisions and stop the eye.
The main challenge is to counteract the claustrophobic feeling that such spaces have, as though you're standing in a long, low corridor. All you can see are the boundaries, so you need to trick the eye into focusing on other areas of the garden.
1. Divide the garden into separate spaces. I designed a very narrow garden in Caversham (Berkshire) and put in three distinct areas, ending in a lovely sunny vegetable area with raised beds, composters, a shed and a greenhouse.
The divisions do not have to be hard, ie walls, although they can work well, but you’ll need a fairly large budget. You can use hedging, a pergola, trellis panels, posts, there are many options and the idea is to stop the eye and break up the space creating more interest and symmetry.
2. Use circular shapes which focus the eye into the centre of the garden away from the boundaries.
3. Use diagonal lines to draw the eye across the garden and give the impression of greater width. This also works in a wide, narrow space. I designed a garden in Maidenhead (Berkshire) where I used this technique to make the garden look and feel much deeper and larger than it actually is – have a look at the photos on my Website.
4. Create some height. Put in some trees and taller plants to create height as this helps minimise the closed in feeling. A pergola can help with this too.
5. Use an ‘S’ shaped path to snake through the garden. This also helps draw attention away from the boundaries, and gives a much more interesting journey. You can put in some taller plants or trees in the deep curves of the ‘S’ to create informal divisions and stop the eye.
Friday 9 January 2009
Some of my favourite herbaceous plants
There are some plants that I love and always try to include in my planting schemes. Here are a few:-
Anemone japonica ‘Queen Charlotte’: pale pink, double Japanese Anemone. Grows to around 1.5m tall. A reliable plant that can take some shade and looks after itself. It doesn’t need staking. You can cut it down in the autumn and it will just pop up again in the spring. It can be invasive, but I just keep it under control by digging out the bits I don’t want.
Anemone japonica ‘Honorine Jobert’: this is the best white Japanese Anemone. It grows to the same height as Queen Charlotte, but makes a larger clump.
Agastache ‘Black Adder’: common name is Hyssop. It has flower heads shaped like bottle brushes, covered with tiny smoky, purple flowers. It grows to about 90cm tall, needs no staking and is generally very well behaved. It has a long flowering period from July to October. It prefers to be in full sun, but mine are growing in a bit of shade. Great for bees.
Helenium ‘Wyndley’: looks a bit like a miniature Rudbeckia. Have large, bulbous brown centres with reflexed dirty orange petals. It’s a lovely foil for purples and goes well with ornamental grasses. It is simply cut down in the autumn and needs no staking.
Verbena bonariensis: a pompon of small purple flowers on long stems that grow up to 2m tall and float above the rest of the plants. Bees and butterflies love it. Self-seeds freely and if you don’t want the extra plants, dig them up and give them to friends. Cut it down once its finished flowering and it will re-appear in the spring.
Achillea ‘Moonshine’: flat, butter yellow flower heads held on stiff stems above feathery foliage. Drought tolerant and goes really well with Verbena bonariensis. Has a long flowering period and also makes a great companion for ornamental grasses.
Sedum telephium ‘Purple Emporor’: beautiful purple foliage with purplish red flower heads. Long flowering – from July to October. Grows up to 45cm high and makes a clump of about 45cm. Quick growing and will need dividing periodically.
Scabiosa ‘Butterfly Blue’: gorgeous lavender blue flower heads. Grows up to 40cm tall and makes a clump of around 40cm diameter. Flowers from July to September and is loved by bees and butterflies.
Geranium ‘Dragonsheart’: a fantastic herbaceous geranium with vibrant cerise flowers with a black centre. Grows to 60cm tall and makes a clump about 40cm diameter. Cut it back to the ground after flowering and it will flower again – you can sometimes get three successive flowerings in one season.
Geranium ‘Rozanne’: I love herbaceous geraniums, they are easy to grow, will grow in shade and come in a huge variety of heights and colours. This one is a fairly low growing variety at 40cm, but is massively floriferous. It has lovely deep blue flowers with a white centre. . Cut it back to the ground after flowering and it will flower again – you can sometimes get three successive flowerings in one season.
Some people like to leave the spent flower heads on plants over the winter to give the garden interest and they do look very pretty when sugared with a frost. From the above list the ones I would leave on over winter would be the Helenium, Verbena, Achillea, and Sedum.
Anemone japonica ‘Queen Charlotte’: pale pink, double Japanese Anemone. Grows to around 1.5m tall. A reliable plant that can take some shade and looks after itself. It doesn’t need staking. You can cut it down in the autumn and it will just pop up again in the spring. It can be invasive, but I just keep it under control by digging out the bits I don’t want.
Anemone japonica ‘Honorine Jobert’: this is the best white Japanese Anemone. It grows to the same height as Queen Charlotte, but makes a larger clump.
Agastache ‘Black Adder’: common name is Hyssop. It has flower heads shaped like bottle brushes, covered with tiny smoky, purple flowers. It grows to about 90cm tall, needs no staking and is generally very well behaved. It has a long flowering period from July to October. It prefers to be in full sun, but mine are growing in a bit of shade. Great for bees.
Helenium ‘Wyndley’: looks a bit like a miniature Rudbeckia. Have large, bulbous brown centres with reflexed dirty orange petals. It’s a lovely foil for purples and goes well with ornamental grasses. It is simply cut down in the autumn and needs no staking.
Verbena bonariensis: a pompon of small purple flowers on long stems that grow up to 2m tall and float above the rest of the plants. Bees and butterflies love it. Self-seeds freely and if you don’t want the extra plants, dig them up and give them to friends. Cut it down once its finished flowering and it will re-appear in the spring.
Achillea ‘Moonshine’: flat, butter yellow flower heads held on stiff stems above feathery foliage. Drought tolerant and goes really well with Verbena bonariensis. Has a long flowering period and also makes a great companion for ornamental grasses.
Sedum telephium ‘Purple Emporor’: beautiful purple foliage with purplish red flower heads. Long flowering – from July to October. Grows up to 45cm high and makes a clump of about 45cm. Quick growing and will need dividing periodically.
Scabiosa ‘Butterfly Blue’: gorgeous lavender blue flower heads. Grows up to 40cm tall and makes a clump of around 40cm diameter. Flowers from July to September and is loved by bees and butterflies.
Geranium ‘Dragonsheart’: a fantastic herbaceous geranium with vibrant cerise flowers with a black centre. Grows to 60cm tall and makes a clump about 40cm diameter. Cut it back to the ground after flowering and it will flower again – you can sometimes get three successive flowerings in one season.
Geranium ‘Rozanne’: I love herbaceous geraniums, they are easy to grow, will grow in shade and come in a huge variety of heights and colours. This one is a fairly low growing variety at 40cm, but is massively floriferous. It has lovely deep blue flowers with a white centre. . Cut it back to the ground after flowering and it will flower again – you can sometimes get three successive flowerings in one season.
Some people like to leave the spent flower heads on plants over the winter to give the garden interest and they do look very pretty when sugared with a frost. From the above list the ones I would leave on over winter would be the Helenium, Verbena, Achillea, and Sedum.
Christmas Time is Mulching Time
It’s that time of year again. Christmas for some means sitting around watching TV and eating a lot. Whilst there is an element of that in my festive celebrations, Christmas for me presents a lovely block of unallocated time during which I can go to the local riding stables, and stand knee high is their steaming muck heap. This is not simply an engaging hobby, but also serves the purpose of collecting sufficient well rotted stable manure to create a thick, smelly blanket over my garden and allotment.
It usually takes about 6 loads of 40 bags to achieve the desired coverage (about 3 inches deep), and is singularly the most rewarding thing I do all year. It satisfies me on so many levels. I had my own horses for 16 years and miss the sounds and smells of the stable yard, so I get a chance to be back in that environment if only temporarily. I can talk to the horses as I work. It is the most excellent exercise – shovelling, lifting bags, running up and down the muck heap, taking the bags from van to their intended destination and then spreading it on the beds gives a better workout than any time spent in a gym. I am also happy whilst doing the aforementioned activities so I get the mental health benefits. I am helping the stables by removing something that they otherwise have to pay someone to take away. I am doing something that I know benefits my garden during the growing season and is therefore a great investment of my time. It thoroughly warms me up, and makes me feel fit and healthy. It’s just an all round win/win situation – lovely!
Another benefit of this mid-winter madness is that I spend more time than I otherwise would in my garden and on the allotment. I can see what is coming up - the snowdrops are already poking their heads out of the ground and my many pots of bulbs are also showing signs of life. I can make notes of where I need to re-plant, move things around and just generally have a think about what I want to do outside when the grounds thaws out.
It just goes to show that whatever the weather there is always something you can be doing out in your garden.
It usually takes about 6 loads of 40 bags to achieve the desired coverage (about 3 inches deep), and is singularly the most rewarding thing I do all year. It satisfies me on so many levels. I had my own horses for 16 years and miss the sounds and smells of the stable yard, so I get a chance to be back in that environment if only temporarily. I can talk to the horses as I work. It is the most excellent exercise – shovelling, lifting bags, running up and down the muck heap, taking the bags from van to their intended destination and then spreading it on the beds gives a better workout than any time spent in a gym. I am also happy whilst doing the aforementioned activities so I get the mental health benefits. I am helping the stables by removing something that they otherwise have to pay someone to take away. I am doing something that I know benefits my garden during the growing season and is therefore a great investment of my time. It thoroughly warms me up, and makes me feel fit and healthy. It’s just an all round win/win situation – lovely!
Another benefit of this mid-winter madness is that I spend more time than I otherwise would in my garden and on the allotment. I can see what is coming up - the snowdrops are already poking their heads out of the ground and my many pots of bulbs are also showing signs of life. I can make notes of where I need to re-plant, move things around and just generally have a think about what I want to do outside when the grounds thaws out.
It just goes to show that whatever the weather there is always something you can be doing out in your garden.
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