Creative Gardens Q&A - Too Little Time...

QUESTION

I love my little garden but don’t have much spare time to garden and spend time pruning etc. Are there easy plants that don’t need much care or attention? I like evergreens!

ANSWER

Yes there are lots of plants that really look after themselves! 

Dwarf or slow growing conifers can be useful.  The little Thuja Aurea Nana is a small round shape and it is bright yellow all year. Plant the low growing Juniper Blue Star beside it for a nice contrast. As its’ name suggests it is blue all year and grows in a compact star shape.  As long as these plants have enough moisture, not usually a problem here, then they really need no attention at all.

To cover a wall or fence Pyracantha is hard to beat. It is also evergreen and will grow nicely against the wall producing white flowers in summer and brightly coloured berries in the autumn and winter. No care or pruning is required – just the occasional cutting back of any branches that grow in an unwanted direction!

Dwarf Rhododendrons and Japanese Azaleas are easy too. They never need pruned and also keep their leaves all year. The soil needs to be correct so add plenty of peat or lime free compost when you plant them. There are lots of colours available and when they produce masses of flowers in spring they are a wonderful sight!

If you want a taller plant for the back of a border or to fill a space Photinia Red Robin is highly recommended. It is one of our favourites. The plant is evergreen with dark green leaves but the new leaves are an amazing bright red turning burgundy and very eye catching indeed.

For spaces around the edge of beds and borders Euonymus is good. Available in gold, green and cream variegated colours they are great little plants for all year interest.

Finally we think some of the small dwarf Hebes are lovely. They have great all year round leaf colour and then as a bonus in the summer they flower mostly in lilacs or white depending on the variety you choose.

Creative Gardens Q&A - Flowering Shrubs

QUESTION

My garden has very few flowering shrubs at this time of year and I don’t really want bedding plants.  What do you recommend?

ANSWER

Quite a few borders and shrubberies look a little dull just now.  All the spring flowering shrubs such as Forsythia, Azaleas, Rhododendrons and Pieris are passed their best but don’t despair there are lots of summer flowering beauties to enjoy.

Roses are an obvious choice for summer colour they are great for scent as well and there are climbers and ramblers as well as bush and shrub roses.  We love the low growing Flower Carpet Roses as they are easy to grow, don’t require much pruning, have a long flowering period and are exceptionally disease resistant too.  They are available in a range of attractive colours.

Lavender is a great companion plant for Roses and famous for its’ scent. It thrives in full sun. Try making your own pot-pourri or scented sachets!

Hydrangeas are also fabulous at this time of year, starting to flower soon and lasting through until September, with their large showy blooms in blues and pinks. Rather like Rhododendrons they like peaty soil and plenty of moisture and prefer a little shade.

Potentillas are a useful shrub as well. They flower for a long period from May right through until September and are very easy to grow as long as they get a little sun. They are available in white, pale lemon, bright sunny yellow and even pinks and an orangey red too, so there is a one suitable for every colour theme.

The purple spikes of Buddleia will start to show colour soon and attract butterflies into your garden as a bonus. This shrub will grow into quite a tall tree if you let it but it is best cut it down in March to keep it small and bushy and encourage flowering.

There is a whole family of Hebes to choose from. They are a definite favourite with us as they are about to produce their flowers soon and many also have great leaf colour ranging from green with cream edged leaves to really eye catching pink and purple foliage which it retains all year. Hebe Heartbreaker is a great example of this with pink and purple leaves and mauve flowers in July. Hebes are easy plants to grow but may need some protection in a very severe winter such as last year.

 

For a tough plant that never minds a cold winter, the low growing Hypericum calycinum (Rose of Sharon) is pretty at this time of year or for a taller variety choose Hypericum Hidcote. It has bright sunny yellow flowers followed by attractive berries. An old fashioned plant but still a good one! 

Creative Gardens Q&A - Young Gardeners

QUESTION

What can we do to encourage children to garden?

ANSWER

Young children love being outdoors so take advantage of this and start as early as possible to introduce them to the garden and the plants and wildlife that exist there.

Giving them a small patch of their own is a great idea as they can get immense pride and pleasure from their own achievements. Get them involved in working in the garden, teach them the difference between the weeds and the plants. They will love the little tools especially for children and even little gardening gloves for them to wear. Children also enjoy discovering snails, caterpillars and all the little creepy crawlies that live in our gardens!

Seed sowing can be very rewarding for kids. Initially choose seeds that germinate quickly such as the old favourites Mustard and Cress. Radishes are fast growing and fun to chop up for salads too. Many of us will remember the joy of harvesting peas or beans from the garden. Popping a freshly podded pea into their mouths is an unforgettable experience to a child and you don’t need a large garden to grow a few. Try a some plants in pots if you don’t have a vegetable patch. 

An absolute must to try are new varieties of potatoes especially prepared for planting in pots now and they will be ready for Christmas! Great fun for kids and adults alike.

In the garden generally it is a great idea to plant scented plants such as Cosmos (the chocolate scented variety), and the curry plant (Helichrysum). Lots of herbs such as Lemon Balm, Sage, the Mint family are all lovely to touch and smell and older children can start to use them in the kitchen as well.

Plants such as Poppy and Nigella are an interesting addition to the garden for kids as well as their noisy seed pods that rattle when shaken will fascinate them!