My Flower Border

Obviously you don’t have to plan the border in exact details but you may find that it pays to do so in the long run and it’s also quite interesting and fun. You will find below my personal gardening tips on how to achieve this.

Right now my flower border is adorning a few tulips which will soon fade away (as you can see in the picture) so I need to fill the empty spaces with some more beautiful flowers and plants.

I first had a look at my border area earlier in the year and did a lot of sowings of flowers which are currently growing patiently in the greenhouse. And now I am just considering which plants will be grown in the border and as part of my simplified version of garden design.

Usually I try to plan most of my borders according to two basic principles: creativity and practicality. I don’t necessarily draw out what the border should look like but it can help to sketch it out too.

1. Be creative with your gardening

From the point of view of creativity I am looking for a theme which could be a colour or style. For example I have a blue border (with mainly blue flowers) as well as an exotic border. This usually means that I have to work out what type of colour scheme or effect I am trying to achieve. And this is the fun bit.

2. Consider practical gardening options

From the practical point of view, I need to take into account the size of the flowers which I will plant in my garden as well as the flowering season and the suitability to the area (does a particular plant need to grow in a sunny spot for example?).

So I find that in my border I have permanent flowers (perennials & bulbs) which will blossom in the future and must be taken into account. This year I have a few clumps of light pink sedums which are scattered in the border, as well as some hellebores which blossomed in winter and will constitute a green shape in my border.

The back of the border is constituted of dahlias of vivid colours (white, yellow, red) as well as apricot-coloured rose bushes of medium size which will blossom throughout summer. I also have a few left-over pink sweet williams here and there but there is still space to fill in around the plants.

So this is my plan for this year:

At the front of the border I will plant some of the lawn chamomile plants which I have sown in the greenhouse back in January. Now I have never grown these plants before but I guess that they will provide a green sheen to the front of the border and be suitably fragrant as I walk past the border. I will probably intersperse the camomile with some other flowering plants which I have not decided upon yet (yellow marigold or erigerons?)

Behind the chamomile I have already started to sow some clarkias which come in a wide range of vivid hues of pink and should be about 18 inches tall. And I shall also plant a few of the gaillardias, chrysanthemums (tricolor mixed) and rudbeckias (hues of yellow and brown) which I have in my greenhouse and were sown back in small pots back in February.

I have also bought 2 light pink crinums which I will place in the middle of the border between the hellebores and they should flower later in the year.

Now I admit that I always tend to cram too many plants in my border but the advantage of this is that it means less weeding for me since the weeds don’t have enough light to come through. Alternatively I could mulch around the plants but I like to create a patchwork effect of colours in my flower borders.

Now remember I am just not an expert garden designer but overall I think that it should be quite a colourful warm border mixed with annuals, perennials, bulbs and sizes of all sorts.

I really enjoy experimenting with colours and shapes in the garden and I believe that anyone can have a go too. And with gardening there’s always the chance for some unplanned effect or lucky growth which I welcome every year.

So now that you have read my plan do check out this diary soon to find out what my 2009 flower border eventually looks like! And as usual I welcome your comments.

Relax on the lawn

I’m no expert at growing a perfect lawn however I have a few tips for the occasional gardener who is keen to get the green spruced up and ready for the forthcoming good days of barbecues and play in the garden.

Lawn care Tip no.1: patch it up

Spring time marks the beginning of the lawn growing season. Now is a good time to get started by removing carefully any weeds which may have creeped up in your lawn such as daisies or dandelion. Then carefully patch up the gap left with some ‘heavy duty’ type lawn seeds and water well to help with germination.

Lawn care Tip no.2: regular cuts

I carry out my first cut of the year with a lawn mower by having the blade at a higher ground level. Otherwise I may end up with a ‘mushy’ untidy lawn cut. Future lawn cuts will allow me to level out the effect.
You can use the grass cutting in the compost bin or incorporate some of it in the trenches where you plant your potato seeds (see more on growing potatoes).

Lawn care Tip no.3: scarify for good health

I recommend scarification as a good exercise (physical too) which is essential to remove the moss off the lawn. I also try to fork my lawn in spring in order to aerate it and encourage growth.

Lawn care Tip no.4: fertilize

Feed it at least twice a year: spring and summer. You can also find fertilizers with a combined moss killer component which can be very handy.

My final tip: when the weather gets hot leave that lawn alone!

It may look dry and unkempt but a little sprinkling of hose water will not do much good and represents a complete wastage of water. The lawn will come back to its former glory at the next rainfall.

Fritillarias in my garden

The Pasque flower is similarly a very stylish flower which is referred to in the Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady and in bloom at this time of year.

For scented bliss, try Skimmias who are in full bloom at present although the flowers are probably not their best asset. Similarly Mahonias are average size bushes which yellow blossom at this time of year and could make a nice addition to the back of a border or near a fence.

Otherwise, although not yet in bloom, I will be looking to plant more perennial flowers which will grow on and blossom for many years. For my blue border the addition of the heart shaped pink flowers of the Dicentra bleeding heart may complement the blue theme nicely.

Delphiniums are also a must-have perennial which are dominating my blue border and this year I shall try to propagate them this by doing some cuttings for the first time.

Happy gardening!

Clarkia: this elegant cottage flower is one of my favourite annuals. It reminds me of my childhood in the garden when I was as tall as the flowers and enjoyed walking through the flower border.

Otherwise hardy annuals like nasturtium, lavatera, and calendula can also be sown in April. In fact, I noticed this morning that calendulas from last year had self seeded and started to grow near my greenhouse!

I shall probably wait until the next sunny week end to sow more annual flowers. Unfortunately it’s been raining here and it is now cold but soon I shall sow these flowers: Phlox; and Californian Poppies – these are so easy to grow and self seed so you usually benefit from free flowers the following year.

Vegetable seeds to sow outdoors:

Potatoes: now is a good time to start planting your potato tubers. I have already sown some of my potatoes as you can see in my last growing potatoes update but I haven’t sown the Desiree maincrop variety yet.

I have also just sown some carrots (Amsterdam forcing variety), parsnips and Kale (black Tuscany variety) in my raised bed.

Indoor sowing of seeds:

Sowing pumpkins

Recently, I have had a few disappointments with the cauliflower seeds which did not germinate so well and the portulaca seeds since only 2 seeds germinated into really tiny fragile seedlings. I think that portulaca is not so easy to grow and next year I shall not include it on my list of seeds.

Finally it’s not too late to continue to sow some of the seeds which I mentioned in my previous article on what to sow in March. Enjoy spring!

Cold Frame

My top tip: this may sound obvious but you need to remember to water your seeds regularly when they are covered in the cold frame as it can get quite dry. And in summer it’s warm enough to be able to remove the glass frame completely and just use the cold frame as a raised bed.

You can get a ready-to-be-assembled cold frame which is lighter than mine (made of polycarbonate glazing and aluminium frame) and can be delivered to your doorsteps in good time.

The plants are sensitive to cold weather so it is best waiting until the weather gets warmer in April. Alternatively you can try sowing them into modules and provide shelter if needed (with a cloche for example) – my neighbour tried this successfully last year and I intend to do the same this year.

Otherwise you can sow them directly in the ground, just draw a line in the ground with a stick at a depth of 2 cm (0.75in) and drop a seed every 10 cm. My personal experience is that they tend to prefer soil which is not too compact to get the seeds going; but otherwise beetroots are fairly low maintenance.

It’s best to pick the roots when they are young and, as with all the vegetables that I cook from the garden, I try to pick them just before cooking to keep them fresh and benefit from all the nutrients within.

Beetroots are normally harvested in June/July. I am not so keen on pickled beetroot but I enjoy them roasted in the oven as I find that the mineral sweet taste is enhanced during cooking.

Packed with goodness, beetroots are said to help reduce blood pressure, and are also used as a natural die in a wide range of food. So it’s well worth giving it a try.

My top tip: try them roasted, it’s so easy and tastes great with your Sunday roast.

This was at a time when I still had a fair proportion of my garden covered in weeds and it needed digging anyway, so why not plant a few tatties?

I was pleasantly surprised by the generous growth from the potato seeds and indeed it did cover a large area for many months until I needed to harvest my first potatoes. The process was really easy: basically you just need to dig out a trench, follow the instructions with regards to depth and width for planting the seeds, add a bit of fertilizer (optional) and just make sure that they don’t suffer too much from drought.

Our first crop was not as plentiful as subsequent harvests because my soil is heavy clay and therefore I guess it is harder for the plant to develop big potatoes. The first crop was a potato variety called Maris Piper which is now not my favorite variety but I can vouch for the fact that home-grown potatoes taste better than supermarket grown ones.  They are also better for you – I eat my new potatoes with the skin on, confident that they have been grown organically.

So if you have enough space for potatoes, I strongly recommend them even for beginners. You cannot go far wrong.

My top tip: early varieties of potatoes tend to be less prone to diseases such as blight and new potatoes are so delicious that it’s a good choice to grow early or first early varieties.
 
Was it tip-top for you? Please leave a comment – thank you!

See my follow up posts on chitting potatoes and my growing potatoes update.

Bees on an artichoke head

I recommend protecting young plants from the winter cold by mulching the base of the artichoke with straw for example.

I usually harvest my artichokes in June/July.  If you leave it too late to harvest your artichoke, it will develop into a lovely flower which is very popular with bees.

This underrated vegetable is full of fibre, packed with goodness and is known for its diuretic and antioxidant properties. And it always feels good to grow your own vegetable. Personally I have grown my artichokes from the T&M globe artichoke seeds and was satisfied with them.

My top tip: I recommend cooking artichokes in a pressure cooker since it takes half the time (only 20 minutes) of the traditional boiling method.  Then you simply dip the heart of the vegetable into a mixture of olive oil and a touch of balsamic vinegar.   Bon appetit!

Was it tip-top for you?  Please leave a comment.