Irish Yew: what a terrible thing to do to it!!

 

I was visiting a garden at the weekend: Rodmarton Manor, out by Cirencester. Lovely place, well worth a visit, and I've been there several times over the past few years, which adds another layer of interest for me - how have things changed, what have they done, what new plants have arrived, which old ones have disappeared, what arrangements have “worked”, and which have been less successful, and so on.

Almost the first thing to be seen, on entering the garden, was an old Irish Yew (of which they have many!) which has recently been heartlessly cut back.

 

Now, those of you who have followed me for a while will know that I am usually all in favour of heartlessly cutting back: and anyone who's met me will have heard my little joke about wishing I'd been called Ruth instead of Rachel (both being very biblical names) because then I could have been Ruth the Ruthless Gardener, which I think is hilarious.

So why does this treatment of an old, over-large Irish Yew vex me? ....

 

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It's Ermine moth time again, folks!

 Last June, I wrote about my first encounter with the Apple Ermine Moth, the unpronounceable Yponomeuta malinellus.

 

 

As I said at the time, I have no idea how to pronounce that -

Eee-ponno-mew-ter?

Yuh-poh-know-mew-tah?

Ponno-mute-er? (assuming a silent Y)

However you say it, there were quite horrible: squirmy, wriggly caterpillars which, when disturbed, turned into what looked like a speeded-up film, as they frantically thrashed around, ugh.

 Apparently there are many types of Ermine Moth, and last week I encountered another one......

 

 

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Acorns: One of these Things is Not Like the Others

One of my Clients has a “treasured” Oak tree in the open land beside her garden, and last autumn she asked me if it was possible to take cuttings from it. I replied that it was possible, but not very efficient, and would require some fairly intensive management: unlike Dogwood, it's not as simple as “chop off a bit and shove it in the ground”... more of that, at another date.

Easier, I said, to collect some acorns and grow them on: even easier to check under the tree and around the garden for little seedlings which helpful Cyril the Squirrel (as she calls him, although personally I doubt that she has just “one” squirrel) has buried.

So I went in search of acorns, and this is all I could find:

It's fairly obvious that the bottom two are proper acorns, the third one up is a malformed, teeny tiny acorn, which probably won't succeed: the fourth one up is a bit weird, and what the heck is the top one?

It's not an acorn at all, but I brought it home anyway, to show to you....

 

 

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Salix Kilmarnock - it's in trouble, folks!

Last week I had a plea for help from Georgia (waves: “Hi, Georgia!”) who has a small Salix Kilmarnock which is in a lot of trouble.

Regular readers will know that I write about this particular tree quite a lot, because people are always having problems with them: if you are not familiar with this particular ornamental tree, they are grafted, weeping, deciduous trees which are often grown in pots, often they are very small (not always), ideal for small gardens, and when they are in good condition, are very pretty, especially early in the year when the catkins come out:

 

 

...but alas, they are rarely the “light airy waterfall” that they should be.

Usually the problems are to do with them either...

 

 

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How to re-wet a dried-out tree in a pot

I don't normally encounter this problem until the middle of summer... but this year, we've had the driest April since records began - ok, I may be exaggerating slightly, but you know what I mean, no rain for week after week, a lot of wind (which is very drying) and eventually, some actual sunshine, which was lovely, but which then baked the soil in a manner which we don't normally encounter until at least July.

This is what happens, if you have a few weeks with no rain:

 

As you can see with this large terracotta pot, the soil had dried out so much that it had shrunk away from the sides of the pot, to the point where I could get two fingers into the gap.

Aargh!

And, of course, once the soil does this, there is no point pouring water on the top of the soil, as most of it just runs straight down the huge gap all the way round, and runs out the bottom of the pot, all over your feet.

When this happens, there are two options.......

 

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“Life... will find a way...”

So said Dr Malcolm, in Jurassic Park, and last week I found a nice example which bears out the truth of the statement.

(*laughs*)

Here is a stack of compost bags, in one of “my” gardens: they've been there for a while, because Mr Client likes to order them in, ten at a time, and I work my way through them, as I need them. So these bags, which were at the bottom of the pile, have been there for, ooh, a couple of months at least. Maybe longer... any way, I went to get some compost last week, and look what I saw:

 

Huh?

A Penstemon? What's it doing down there on the plastic bags?

A closer look showed......

 

 

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Grafted Weeping Cherry: all is not lost!

I have just received a question (“Hi, Liz!”) about a rather ugly flowering Cherry: she says they recently moved in, and have this poor thing in the front garden:

 

Aargh!

It ticks every item on the Salix Kilmarnock hit list: it's grafted, it's been neglected, it's had the hedgetrimmers run over it to shorten it, and it has not been properly pruned for some time. Liz tells me the house is a little less than 30 years old, so it is entirely possible that this tree is about the same age: and certainly, the size of the trunk - “stout!” - suggests a tree of about that age.

Liz said in her email that she called in three arborists: and she put the word “arborists” in quotes because she wasn't satisfied with their answers:

“One said he’d come until I sent pictures ( of the tree, I mean, haha!) then ….. silence.

Two others came - one said leave it and see what happens and the other said cut it down ‘cos it’ll never grow properly again!"

The first one, who simply didn't respond after seeing photos: well, probably because this is a gardener's question, not an arborist's question, but it was extremely rude and unprofessional of them not to respond at all.

The second one said to leave it: why? Do they think the dead branches will just fall out by themselves? It needs pruning, and a bit of TLC, the sooner the better.

However, this answer is better than the third arborist, who said cut it down because it will never grow properly again, which shows that they have no idea what they are talking about.

OK, so for the benefit of anyone who hasn't scoured my archive blog for mentions of How To Prune Weeping Trees, notably Salix Kilmarnock and Weeping Pears, here's the low-down....

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Roses against walls: do not tuck them behind the wires!

 Roses grown up on the wall are a lovely sight, and a great way to “manage” them: it keeps them flat, out of the way of passers-by, it allows us to see every single bloom, instead of half of them being hidden by foliage and other blooms: and it makes it easy to keep them open and with good air circulation, which helps to reduce the incidence of pests and diseases.

All round, a good thing, then!

However, it's always best to tie the rose to the wires, rather than tucking the new shoots behind the wires.

Why?

Two reasons:

 

 

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New Edition: Compost and Leaf Mold!

 

Ladies, are you embarrassed by your smelly compost heaps? Gents, are all your trendy friends talking about Leaf Mold, but you have no idea what it is, or how to make it, let alone what to do with it?

Then this is the book  for you: written specifically (on request) for everyone who wants to start right at the beginning, with no foreknowledge of the subject at all. 

 

This is two books for the price of one: the first book is All About Compost with clear and simple descriptions of what happens in a compost heap, how to build them properly, and how to manage them, not forgetting What To Put In, and – just as important – What Not To Put In, with the emphasis on easy care and doing as little work as possible.

The second part is all about Leaf Mold: what it is, how it differs from compost, how to make it, how and why to collect leaves, exactly what to do with them, what to expect, and what to use it for.

The book clearly explains the differences between Compost and Leaf Mold, along with why they need to be treated separately, and the benefits of each.

 

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Hellebore seedlings - not worth the effort

 

I had a question from a member the other day: “My Oriental Hellebores are surrounded by lots of weeds,” they said, “where have they all come from? I don't have any bird feeders nearby?”

This is the photo:

 

Firstly the good news: these are not weeds.

Well, they are, but not from bird feeders:

 

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Apple pruning in winter.

I recently went on a very interesting training day with the WFGA, it was a one-day course on winter pruning of apple trees: so I thought it would be timely to share some information with you, as this is very much a good time to do what I would call late winter pruning.

Which can help to avoid this sort of situation:

 

Oops. Yes, it blew over in a storm.... to be fair, it was a very old tree. But I digress. I just wanted to start off with a picture, and every other picture I have contains fruit, or masses of leaves, or both...

Now, you might be wondering why someone with my experience feels the need to go on courses, or training days, or skills workshops, whatever you care to call them: and the answer is that there is ALWAYS something to learn.

It is true that I felt a bit bad to be sitting there, happily listening to the tutor, Andrew, while all around me were diligently making notes: but I am sufficiently big and ugly that I no longer feel the need to pretend that I don't know something, when I do.

And there were indeed things to learn: one thing in particular was of great interest, because I had never heard of it before.

Oh, I'll just interrupt myself to remind everyone that, when “one” is self-employed, “one” should still undertake what is called Professional Development, which means going on courses, training days, workshops etc. Back when I worked in offices ( the”Dark Ages” as I call them), we were forever being sent on training courses, or those ghastly “team building” sessions, where the management would pretend to be on equal footing with the rest of us, but would still take the lead in every exercise because no-one had the nerve to tell them to stand aside and let someone else have a go.

(Except for one memorable session, when an otherwise very quiet and timid member of the firm suddenly told the Big Boss off, for automatically stepping forward to organise a project to drop eggs from the fire escape without breaking them, or something equally daft. We were all shocked speechless, as was he.)

Where was I? Oh yes, Professional Development is very important, when “one” is self-employed, in fact you could say that it's even more important for us, because we must continue to better ourselves, and without an HR department forcing us to do it, it's easy to let it slip. Not least because training usually costs us double.........

 

 

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Peony buds are bursting forth!

We've had a week of good weather: it's been warmer than Ibiza, apparently, and we have actually seen the sun!! Yes, that bright light in the sky is the sun, something we have barely seen for several months.

And in response to this wonderful and very welcome period of good weather, the Peony buds are swelling:

 

Don't they look plump and healthy?

 

 

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Ground Elder: invasion from next door

 I've had a question from Natalia (“Hi, Natalia!” *waves enthusiastically*) about Ground Elder, which is, as we all know, a bugger to get rid of. Yes, that is a technical term.

 

If it is just in your own garden (“just!”) then it is relatively straightforward to deal with: as with couch grass (I've written a long How-To on that subject, for your delight and delectation), it has to be dug out, with some follow-up attention afterwards, and when I say that, I actually mean “ceaseless vigilance” but we'll get to that in due course.

Ground Elder removal is very similar - in fact, the Big Three garden weeds (Couch Grass, Ground Elder, and Bindweed) are interchangeable as far as removal is concerned.

But when it's sneaking under the fence from next door, that's a whole other problem, and that's where we turn to Natalia's question.....

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Festuca glauca - Blue Grass - did they survive the winter?

 These blue grasses were hugely popular when I first started gardening professionally, which is quite a few years ago - my, doesn't time fly, when you are enjoying yourself!

 

 

They seem to be losing favour recently, and I think it's because they often just can't make it through our damp winters.

Back in the days when I first started, we were having “proper” winters which were cold, frosty, often with snow, but which had a lot of winter sunshine, so plants had a chance to “dry out” during the day.

In recent years, and particularly the last five or ten years.....

 

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Weeds and Willowherbs

 Yes, ok, willowherbs ARE weeds, I agree!

 

 

This article comes from a comment which I received, last week: I was taking advantage of a non-frozen morning to weed one of the borders, and the Client came out for a chat.

Them: “Ah, I see you are weeding this morning.”

Me: (*resisting the urge to be sarkey*) “Yes - lots of little weeds coming up, now is a good time to get them, before they get too well established.”

Them: “It's amazing how you know which ones are the weeds.”

I laughed.....

 

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Online Zoom Seminar for Self-Employed Gardeners

 Whoo hoo! It's Zoom time, again!

As well as doing face-to-face seminars on How To Be A Successful Self-Employed Gardener, which are based around my book of the same name  (relentless plug!), I also do a lot of online Zoom seminars, on behalf of the WFGA (Working For Gardeners Association), for people who are not able to get to one of the face-to-face sessions.

The next one is Saturday April 12^th, and to book, go to the WFGA website.  Look, there's a picture of me, scything at a ridiculous angle! 

 

This is the blurb for it:

“Once you’ve been a self-employed Gardener for a couple of years or more, it’s easy to get swept up in the seasons, and to lose sight of your initial goals.

This seminar aims to help you take a fresh look at your business, to deal with any problems or issues that might have arisen, and to encourage you to look beyond your current situation.

Rachel the Gardener is a Professional Gardener, Plantsmith, Field Botanist, Consultant Forensic Horticulturalist, gardening Journalist, and Author, having published over two dozen Botany and Gardening books, including How To Be A Successful Self-Employed Gardener which was written specifically for people just setting out as Gardeners.

With a style that has been variously described as “chatty and informal” and “appropriately bossy”, Rachel will take you through the commonest problems and pitfalls: wasting time; un-necessary paperwork; increasing your income; targets and how to use them; dissatisfaction with your Clients and how to deal with them. In the second session, Rachel covers specialising; how to increase and stabilise your hourly rate, and why you should do so; how to deal with late payers and low payers; when and how to ‘sack’ unsatisfactory Clients, and how to replace them with better ones; then some pointers on Expanding and Looking Forwards; with questions being asked all along the way.

All delegates can submit questions by email beforehand: and all delegates will receive a pdf version of the two presentations, afterwards

The talk will start at 9:30 via Zoom and with breaks will last approximately 3 hours.

The cost for this on-line event, is £35 per WFGA member, £45 non WFGA member.”

I do love that "appropriately bossy" bit! Anyway, there's your next chance to meet me, live and sort-of in person, so to book a place, go to the WFGA website, and I hope to “meet” you, in April!

February Newsletter

“February brings the rain,Thaws the frozen lake again,” 

 

Or, more typically: 

 

 

Thank you, to several Members, for informing me that the poem is called The Garden Year and was written by Sara Coleridge. Now I know!

And we did indeed have rain in February... rain, rain, grey skies, more rain... oh, and don't forget the frost, ugh!

There was even one day where, having scraped the ice off the windscreen, and sat patiently inside for ten minutes waiting for everything to defrost, demist, and be perfectly clear (I never understand those people who chip out a tiny peephole in the windscreen, then drive off, leaving all the other windows still blanked off with frost on the outside, and mist on the inside....it's against the law, you know, as well as incredibly stupid): err, where was I?

Oh yes, super-cold morning, barely above freezing....

 

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Eranthis: Winter Aconite, one of my favourites!

 I mentioned these in passing, a couple of days ago, and I've had several questions about where to buy them, and how to get the gorgeous bank effect:

 

So, let's start with the basics. The plant in question is Eranthis hyemalis, common name Winter Aconite.

They are NOT part of the Aconite family, and they are NOT poisonous. The common name simply reflects the similarity in the shape of the leaves, to those of Aconitum or Monkshood.

It's a hardy, garden perennial: that means it grows outdoors, and comes back every year.

For some reason, they have a reputation for being difficult to establish.......

 

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More colour in the depths of winter!

Just a couple of days ago, I wrote about finding a few things flowering in winter, and I had several messages from various Members (waves) who reminded me that I hadn't mentioned colourful stems, such as Dogwood.

Oops!

 

Yes, there are also several Dogwoods (Cornus) which give colour in winter: reds, oranges, bright yellowy-green!!

Sorry about that.

And no, I didn't mention Snowdrops: all right, I admit it, I had assumed that anyone who is the least bit interested in gardening - and why else would you be here, as that's pretty much all I talk about? - would know about Snowdrops...

Moving on...

 

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The Plight of the Pigeon

 No, not the flight of the pigeon - the plight.

I have always detested pigeons: rats with wings, as they say. But recently I was told something about their history, something I had never even thought about, which has changed my view.

 

So I'd like to share it with you.

All gardeners tend to look on pigeons in the garden as a Bad Thing, because they scoff the beans, they ruin the cabbages, they pinch the cherries, and they are almost impossible to deter. But maybe, just maybe, we could have a little bit more sympathy for them, and this is why.

Back in the day, pigeons were bred to be useful: we took the basic Rock Dove, and from it we bred homing pigeons, we bred racing pigeons, and long before that, they were bred and kept for food.

Looking at how many “historic” properties have dovecotes made we wonder why we don't eat pigeon much these days. Back then, every large property would have a dovecote, containing a colony of doves (ie pigeons) whose eggs, and youngsters, would be harvested by the big house. Their droppings were used as fertiliser, because nothing was wasted in those days. Except for peasants, I suppose.

Dovecotes went out of fashion in the 19th century, mostly due to the introduction to the UK of brown rats, but I discovered - are you ready for this - that even as recently as the 1950s, most “poorer” households kept and bred pigeons, as well as rabbits, for meat: in their gardens, or on their allotments. But as we - as a nation - became richer, pigeon meat was left behind in favour of beef, and became a poor man's meal. People stopped breeding pigeons and rabbits for their own consumption, and instead, went out to work to earn money to buy beef. 

OK that's a bit of a simplification, but that's the basis of it...

 

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“At what point do you give up on a 'dead' plant?”

This is a good question, because I hate throwing plants away, and I will always try to revive them, if it looks the least bit possible.

Here's one I was handed, back in May:

 No, it's not a new breed of Mopadoodle. It's a plant. I know, because I poked it, just to be sure that it didn't have ears and teeth, underneath all that “fur”.

“It's dead!” said Mrs Client.

“It's dead!” echoed Mr Client.

They looked at me, woefully. I looked at them. I looked at the plant. Yes, it looked pretty dead. Why did they have a dead grass, I wondered? 

It transpired that they'd inherited a lot of plants, in various pots and planters, from a recently deceased relative, and this was one of the less attractive-looking ones...

 

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Hypericum - time for the winter cut-back

 If you haven't already done so, now is the time to cut back the Hypericum, which is also known variously as St John's Wort, or Rose of Sharon: it's a group of shrubs and sub-shrubs, some of which are prostrate (which is how I feel this morning, but that's another story), some of which are upright in growth habit, all of which are covered in bright yellow flowers for a long part of the year.

 

 

I think that, technically, Rose of Sharon refers to the prostrate, ground-cover Hypericum calycinum, but frankly most people use the common names quite interchangeably.

But now it is time to cut it back.....

 

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Climate Change Predictions: True or False?

Back in 2020, while sorting out some old papers, I found an article in a gardening magazine from 2010, listing the three major changes we should expect in our gardens for the following decade or so - that is, pretty much, now.

They warned us to expect long, hot, dry summers, mild winters, and prolonged periods of flooding, which would mean three major changes to how we garden, here in the UK.

 

 

Like all predictions, it's interesting to see just how wrong it was!

 

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Ivy Myth 4: “It's ok on a modern house.”

 I think not!

This is a modern 80s built house, and the ivy has been allowed to grow right the way across the upstairs window (the house had been unoccupied for a while), covering it completely, and heading on upwards into the gutter and into the roof.

I sent my colleague up the ladder (I'm not daft!) to pull it off, and we found that the ivy had forced a way inside the actual windows, via the wooden window frames. So there was ivy inside the bedroom - lovely!

 

 

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More Iris chopping!

 Yes, there's just time, before Christmas, (ok, for you guys, "after Christmas...") to squeeze in a little bit more garden maintenance: this time it's another Iris, Iris orientalis. This is a tall, slender, summer-flowering Iris, with spidery white petals and a splash of bright yellow at their tips:

 

At this time of year, the depths of winter, you wouldn't expect them to be doing anything much at all, but in fact they are already shooting, ready for next year. This means that, if it wasn't done earlier in the year, it's time.....

 

 

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