Tips for Gardening

Individual clay particles are so small they are visible only under a microscope and clay soil is made up of more than 25 per cent of them. Mixed with water, they can be sticky and cement-like. Where there are less than 8 per cent clay particles, yet the soil is still heavy, there could be silt mixed with the clay. Silt compacts easily but is less sticky. Tiny particles mean tiny pores and a clay or silt soil is less well aerated and dries much more slowly than a sandy soil. Although sticky clay soils can drive you mad when they bake hard in summer and are too wet to work during winter, the very nature of those tiny particles means they can hold onto water and nutrients and are great for plant growth. A wide range of plants, including roses, relish improved, fertile clay soils and if you switch, as I have, from an impoverished sand to silty clay, you will certainly see a difference in growth rates.

Tips for gardening on clay
- If you need to access heavy clay soil or are standing on a lawn edge, use boards to spread the weight.

- Improve drainage for crops like garlic by planting into ridges made above soil level. This is especially useful for winter crops and early plantings because the roots are raised out of the coldest, soggiest part of the soil.

- To dry a cold, wet, heavy soil early in the year prior to planting and sowing, cover with plastic sheeting. Alkathene piping fixed over beds in hoops will raise the plastic off the soil to keep the rain off but will allow air into dry and warm the soil.

- Drying soil by covering is easier when the beds are only 4 feet or so wide and slightly raised above the surrounding level.

Tips for Gardening on Sandy Soil

The large particles making up sandy soils refuse to bond together into a good crumb structure, and this means they lose water quickly and don’t hold onto nutrients well. But gardening on a light, sandy soil is not all bad. These soils warm up quickly in spring and you can tread, fork, and dig them on virtually any day of the year. Improvements include adding lots of organic matter, but you’ll find this disappears quickly. There are plenty of plants more than happy to grow on well-drained soils, including many of Mediterranean origin. Herbs such as lavender, thyme, and rosemary will be much happier on sand than a sticky clay. Plants of dubious hardiness will come through hard winters much better with drier roots and survive on sands when they would have rotted away on damp clays.

Tips for gardening on sandy soil
- A good way of conserving water in sandy areas is to mulch beds with a layer of shingly stones. Start by digging and enriching your flower bed with plenty of humus. Choose a good range of drought-tolerant plants and plant them slightly above the soil. Water thoroughly and mulch with a 3-4-inch layer of shingly stones (not too fine). The stones will help to keep out the weeds and protect the soil from evaporation.

Tips on Keeping the Water Clear and Weed-Free in Your Garden Pond

Once the pond has settled down and there is a balance between aquatic insect life, plants, and oxygen levels, the water should become clear and clean. If it doesn’t, try immersing barley straw into the water, which should clear the water after about six weeks and help keep it free of algae for the rest of the summer. You can buy sachets of barley straw that will give some idea of the quantity you need; alternatively, for a pool 10 feet in diameter and 24 inches deep, an old pair of tights packed with straw will be adequate and entertaining. Introducing water snails and oxygenating plants such as Ceratophyllum demersum (6-9) or Lagarosiphon major (8-10) will also help. Water lilies and other leafy aquatics provide shade and reduce the risk of green water.

Thick strands of dark green blanket weed are best removed by hand or with a net, or by twisting them around a brush shaft. Never use a rake, fork or other sharp tools in the pond; the liner is tough but not immune to being punctured.

Oxygenating plants quickly form a mass of foliage. In summer, this carpet should be thinned to prevent it choking the pond. In autumn remove dying foliage before it sinks to the bottom as the gases that are released when it rots may be harmful to fish and other pond life

Any weeds, plants, debris, or bottom mud that is removed from the should be left beside the pond overnight to give insects a chance to return to the water before it is dumped or put on the compost heap.

Tips on Siting a Garden Pond

Depending on the type and size of the water feature, positioning can be critical. Here is a list of things to avoid for all but the smallest of features.

Don’t excavate for a pond where there is a naturally high water table because the pressure from below will push the liner up, forcing the pond water out. You can work out the level of your water table by excavating a hole until you see water. It is best to do this in winter when any water table will be higher than in summer.

Don’t position the pond under or close to deciduous trees. Autumn leaves will be a problem over a four to six week period.

Don’t site a large pond in full sun because it will attract green algae (which respond to sunlight). If there is no alternative site, in the northern hemisphere, you should plant a selection of bulky shrubs on the south side to cast shade over part of the surface of the water.

Don’t forget that for moving water, the pump will be powered by electricity. Consider access to household current and make sure you employ a qualified electrician.

Don’t construct the pond on sloping ground. The water surface will always be level, leaving the liner exposed at the highest end.

Don’t undertake too major a job. Employ a contractor to do the heavy work.

Safety: remember that all electrical work must be undertaken by a qualified electrician. Water and electricity don’t mix well. Always switch the power supply off at the main before repairing or cleaning the pond, or servicing the pump.

Where there is the concern for young children and the risk of accidents, cover the pond with galvanized wire mesh. This, in turn, may, for aesthetic reasons, be covered with water-worn, smooth river stones. Fencing the pond is a practical, if unattractive, alternative.

Styling your Garden

Styles of Garden Gates

Go through any gate and there is a sense of expectation. A gate may offer you an enticing glimpse of what’s beyond, or it might be solid to provide privacy and security—and maybe an even greater sense of anticipation, particularly if it is marked “private”! Gates should blend with the surrounding design. Keep the top of the gate at a similar height to the adjacent wall or fence to create a sense of balance; ideally the width of the gate should relate to the path that follows. Gates should suit the style of the entrance. A dramatic, ornamental gate becomes a feature in its own right. Even the door furniture should relate to its surroundings. If you have a large entrance gate across the driveway into the front garden, it’s easier for pedestrians if a side gate is installed as well. Pedestrian gates should be at least 36 inches wide, wider if you have to fit ride-on mowers or other equipment through. Gates for vehicles should be at least 8 feet wide.

Metal gates
Metal gates are usually made of wrought iron. Choose one that is not too flimsy, particularly if it is the garden gate. They may be ornamental or security gates, but the overall impact is formal. An architectural blacksmith can help you with your own design. I once saw a fabulous gate decorated with old garden tools. Whatever you choose, make sure it blends with the surroundings and is not too ostentatious; it should not be noticed for the wrong reasons! Wrought iron combines well with brick walls. Always hang gates so that they are high enough and don’t scrape on the ground when opened. Metal gates need regular painting, particularly on the underside, to ensure they don’t rust. Be bold and paint them in a bright color.

Wooden gates
Wooden gates can be traditional or contemporary, using the same material as the fence to create a sense of uniformity. Keep the design simple. A carpenter can help you realize your dreams!

5 Steps to Concrete a Post in Your Garden

As with laying a path, it is worth hiring a concrete mixer to help you with the job.

1. Dig a hole to the required depth and about 4 inches all around wider than the post. For most situations, a 6-foot fence panel needs a hole 24 inches deep with a 6-inch layer of hardcore in the base; a 4-foot fence needs a hole 18 inches deep, also with 6 inches of hardcore in the base. This is particularly important if the fence is to be covered in climbers or is on an exposed site.

2. Break up the base with a pitchfork and scoop out the soil with a post hole digger or shove holers. These are like a pair of sugar tongs and make picking up the soil easier; they are inexpensive to rent. If you have a lot of posts to erect, you might like to hire a powered auger, but take care when using it and make sure you wear gloves and protective clothing. Augers can be designed for one or two people or attached to a mini tractor.

3. There are two options when securing posts—you can either fill the holes with concrete, using a mix of one part cement to four parts all-in aggregate or fence-post concrete, or you can pack the hole with compacted rubble to about 6 inches below ground level, then top it off with a stiff mix of concrete that is formed in layers to remove the air and smoothed at an angle with a wet bricklayer’s trowel. If you are using concrete, mix it on a board nearby.

4. Add the concrete in layers, tamping it firmly around the post with a timber offcut or similar.

5. Raise and slope the concrete to allow for rainwater run-off, smoothing the surface with a bricklayer’s trowel.

Planning different gardens

Planning a Rock Garden

A rockery is exactly that—an area of rocks built to resemble a small-scale mountain. Rock plants or alpines are planted in pockets of soil and between cracks. The rockery doesn’t have to be high, although height allows you to use larger rocks. Use soil that is free of perennial weeds to make the mound, since once weed roots become established under large rocks they are difficult to eradicate.

Planning a rockery
- Restrict the planting areas to pockets of weed-free soil among the rocks.
- Soil should be free draining.
- Mulch the soil surface with a 2-inch layer of clean, coarse grit for drainage and as a weed control. This will also help keep the collars of the alpine plants dry and prevent rotting.
- Choose plants that are not aggressive or prone to smothering neighboring alpines.
- Stick to one type of rock, making sure that the strata (lines) of sandstone or similar lie in the same direction.
- Lay each piece of rock on a firm base to prevent movement.

Planning a Wildflower Garden

If you have room for an unmown area at the bottom of the garden, a well-established wildflower meadow is a thing of rare beauty. From spring until autumn it is a palette of ever-changing flower color. And it doesn’t have to be an entire field-almost any small patch that you mow only once or twice a year can produce good-quality, well-behaved wildflowers such as cornflowers, native daffodils, cowslips, and ox-eye daisies. An impoverished soil with no added fertilizer will result in a wide range of wildflowers becoming naturalized.

Having said that, a wildflower garden does need considerable attention unless you are going to allow it to become really wild, if you see what I mean! Refrain from cutting the herbage until the flowers have set seed. Then leave the hay for a few days and, if the weather is dry, toss it on site to make sure the seed is dispersed before adding it in thin layers to the compost heap. Many of the annual flowers that set seed will germinate the following spring and continue the cycle.

Planning a Woodland Garden

A woodland garden needn’t be on a grand scale. It may be no more than an extension to a perimeter planting of quick-growing trees and shrubs designed to screen the garden and offer protection from strong, cold blasts. Add to your tree-planting list a selection of interesting deciduous and evergreen species with coloured bark (birch), shaped foliage (maple), (lowers (Hawthorn), or fruit (crabapple). Under the tree canopy, it will be possible to grow shade-loving plants such as camellias and azaleas. The rampant, climbing, highly fragrant wild woodbine, otherwise known as honeysuckle, is another woodlander.

Low-growing plants for the woodland floor include a range of early spring bulbs. There are English bluebells, wood anemones, and winter aconites, all of which love a shaded, weed-free floor littered with a mulch of leaf mould. A small area of woodland can be made to seem larger by meandering the path through the planting and doubling back to give the impression of a walk through a larger area. In the early years, it will be necessary to deal with weeds by mulching, chemicals, or hand weeding. Eventually, as the canopy of leaves shuts out light, the ground will become weed free. Laying a deep mulch of bark or wood chippings will help beat the weeds and provide a forest-like feel. Small trees will become established and grow more quickly than expensive, large trees. As the trees grow, trim off the lower branches for better access.

Planning a woodland garden
- Plant climbers to scramble through the canopy. Honeysuckle, climbing roses, and clematis should all succeed in these conditions.
- Plant spring bulbs that will die down before the soil becomes dry in summer.
- Avoid fast-growing conifers such as the Leyland cypress.
- Use vermin guards for a few years to stop local small mammals eating your young trees.

Dealing with Weeds

An appealing alternative to digging by hand, particularly on larger sites, is to rent machinery. Although it will increase costs, it will speed up site clearance, save energy, and be great fun as well as being invaluable for heavy work such as breaking concrete. “Mini” machines, including diggers, dumpers, tractors and their accessories, are perfect for small-scale landscaping. Before hiring, check the width of the access to save embarrassment!

Find out the location and depth of services-electricity and water-which may run across your garden, and keep details of your findings. You can rent tools designed for this purpose; though be sure to use them according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If necessary, contact the relevant authorities to obtain a plan of the site. To avoid damage to other areas of the garden, mark the machines’ route across the plot using brightly painted canes with rags attached to the top, or to the twine between them. Indicate the relevant depths of cables or pipes on temporary signs as a useful reminder. Beware of using large machinery under low power cables; if in doubt, hire an experienced operator to do the job for you, but make sure they know which features are to remain by marking them clearly. Once all the major ground clearance is complete, plough or till the site to break up compacted soil, particularly on the heavy ground, incorporating soil conditioners if necessary. Take care to avoid bringing any subsoil to the surface when digging or rotavating.

Dealing with Weeds - Seedlings or Established Plants

The biggest factor in deciding how to deal with weeds is whether they are small seedlings or established plants. The latter is far harder to control and survive more brutal attacks than seedlings, which succumb to almost any weeding regime. To put it another way, those common weeds of bare, well-cultivated soil may be legion but are all relatively easy to deal with and pose no problem for the diligent gardener. In some ways, seedlings do not need to be identified (except by their habit of springing from seed and their being vulnerable), but it is easier to get rid of them if you can recognize the different types from an early stage. A good idea is to put some garden soil in a tray on the windowsill and watch the seedlings come up. Remove any duplicates, leaving one of each sort to grow on until you can identify what it is. This soon gets your eye in and will simplify weeding out the commonest offenders earlier on.

Established weeds are a different matter. They are much more difficult to control because their reserves allow them to survive many weeding attempts and to grow through mulches. The worst are the spreaders, which root and run everywhere, such as mints, stinging nettles, and bindweeds. It is essential that you recognize these early on so you can deal with them promptly. Tap-rooted weeds, such as docks and thistles, also recover from light weeding and need several attempts to clear them. These are often a problem in lawns.

Identifying Common Lawn Weeds

Most lawn weeds are easy to spot-they are not grass. Others might be grass, but not the right grass! Common and unwanted lawn weed grasses are the tussock-forming rough grasses, running, spreading knotgrasses, and the annual seeding grasses. The first and second sorts are usually found in neglected lawns and annual seeding grasses in well-maintained but heavily cut and worn lawns, where they appear in the worn patches. Mosses are only usually a problem if a lawn has poor drainage or shade, or the sod is not healthy enough to out-compete it. They are easy to spot as they look like shreds of wool.

In very wet and acid soils, rushes (Luzula campestris), with their round, grass-like stems, move in. Clovers (Trifolium spp.), with their distinctive three-lobed leaves and pompom flowers loved by bumblebees, are common lawn weeds. They can be spotted easily when the grass browns because patches of clover stay green. Similar is the trefoils and yarrow (Achillea millefolium), with its silvery leaves.

Then there are the tap-rooted and rosette-forming weeds, such as docks, dandelions (Taraxacum officinale), plantains (Plantago spp.), and thistles (Cirsium or Sonchus spp.). Regular cutting often fails to remove them from closely cropped lawns

Lawns on acid soils with fine-bladed grasses often get speedwell (Veronica filiformis) infestations, which, although their little flowers are pretty, are hard to treat. Wetter acid soils may be choked with buttercups (Ranunculus spp.) andifa lawn is too closely cut it will tend to have a lot of daisies (Bellis perennis).

Understanding Weeds and Weed Control

Weeds are essentially plants growing in the wrong place. All of our gardens are potentially full of them and even if at some point we succeed in eradicating every weed from our plot, they will reappear as if from nowhere. Light seeds fly in on the wind (thistles and rosebay willowherb), birds drop seeds from berries they have eaten (bramble and elder), and perennials like bindweed, ground elder, brambles, and ivy creep insidiously through boundaries from neighbouring gardens and fields. Weeds can even hitch a lift with new plants—many a garden has been infested with bittercress whose seeds and seedlings were inadvertently planted along with a new shrub or herbaceous perennial. This annual weed matures rapidly and soon fires its seed out of taut pods, colonizing around new plants.

Keeping our gardens as clear of weeds as we can is important not just from an aesthetic point of view, but also because weeds tangle themselves up with our cultivated plants, competing for space, light, air, water, and nutrients. Their eradication and control may seem like a chore, but weeding can be surprisingly satisfying and is best tackled little and often. Clearing an area of weeds also brings us into close proximity with our plants. Enjoying the peppery fragrance of lupins, the textural buds on moss roses and the mouthwatering aromas from aniseed-scented Agastache or rosemary are some of the side-benefits of weeding.

Even if we can’t prevent weeds appearing, there are plenty of j of ways to control them and make life as difficult as possible for them.

Mixed Culture Garden vs Mono Culture Garden

One of the lessons that the cottager learned was that it is better to mix crops, be it vegetables or flowers. A lot of different types of crops were likely to provide an overall better harvest, or, in the case of flowers, a better show, than planting larger areas of just a few. Concentration on one crop could spell disaster.

The classic example of this was the total reliance on the potato as the food crop in Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century. Potato blight swept the country for several years running, causing a great famine in which nearly two million people either died or emigrated to avoid its effects.

The same thing can happen in the flower garden. Concentrate all your Phlox, for example, on one border and trouble is liable to ensue. If nematodes arrive they will quickly build up into vast numbers and distort and kill the plants, preventing you from reusing that ground for Phlox again for several years. On the other hand, Phlox spread around the garden, separated by other plants, means the chances are that if one clump is attacked the others will escape harm.

Monocultures, or a concentration of one crop, allow pests or diseases to multiply rapidly once they get hold, resulting in the reliance on pesticides, fungicides, and other chemicals to control the condition. (If indeed control is possible; in some cases, particularly with viral infections, there is still no adequate chemical control.)

A mixed culture has many advantages. One of the main ones is that while there are liable to be more different types of pests in such a garden, there are also going to be more predators. No one pest is likely to build up into unmanageable proportions. For example, even in a had outbreak of aphids, which seems to like more different host plants than most other insects, it rarely gets out of hand in a truly mixed garden, because they always seem to be enough ladybugs, lacewings, hoverfly(also known as syrphid flies and flower flies), and other insects which keep the infestation under control.
On the other hand, in a garden devoted to just roses, for example, or a large area assigned to broad beans, the greenfly or blackfly could easily gain the upper hand if the insecticide is not used.

Cottagers did not have chemicals readily available; they had to deal with pests in other ways. One way was to mix their plantings. Although this was a practical solution to a real problem, as with so many simple techniques it ended up having other advantages as well; for this reason, the cottage garden is probably the most attractive of all gardening styles.

Tips for better Gardening

Sowing seed is one of the fundamental techniques of gardening. Choosing the right seed and getting it off to a good start can make all the difference to the final harvest.

Most vegetables are grown from seed. This can be either purchased from seed companies or kept from one’s own plants. There is no rule of thumb as to which of these will grow well in your own area. Talk to other gardeners and find out which particular varieties do well for them: which do they find to be the most disease-resistant, the tastiest, and the most prolific. Experiment with different varieties until you find those that suit you and your ground best. Once you have found these stick to them, but perhaps grow a few experimental rows each year of untried varieties.

Seed unused one year can be saved to the next, but the length of its viability varies. The fresher the seed, the greater will be the germination rate.

Potatoes are prepared for sowing by placing them in a single layer on a tray or shallow box in a light, but frost-free shed.

When short shoots appear, they are ready for sowing. A trench is dug in well-prepared soil and the seed potatoes are laid out along the trench at 12in (30cm) intervals. The earth is raked over the potatoes and then heaped up, forming a ridge along the length of the row. As the shoots of the young potatoes appear, some crops such as leeks, parsnips, and rutabagas will overwinter in the ground. Many other root crops, such as carrots and beets, need digging up and storing under frost-free conditions.

The vegetables should be dug up on a dry day-, Allow the soil to dry on the roots and then rub it off. Cut through the leaf sterns just above the top of the root. Store them in boxes of dry peat moss or sand, keeping each individual separate from its neighbour. You should store only sound produce. Any blemished vegetables should be cooked first as these will rot if stored. In areas prone to long periods of frost all root crops can be stored in this way.

Plants with large seeds such as summer squash, cucumbers, pumpkins, and beans can be sown individually in pots. This obviates the need for thinning out and reduces the amount of setback that this produces. It also makes it easier to plant them out.

Tricks for a Low Maintenance Garden

Bare soil is the bane of the busy gardener. Leave it unfilled and weeds grow. Bare soil also needs a lot of tickling over (usually with a pitchfork) to keep it looking really good. The answer is to cover as much of it as possible, in the early stages by mulching, and later by allowing groundcover plants to knit together both above and below ground. If you like to see gaps between your plants, use permanent mulches to protect the soil surface. Choose either well-rotted organic matter to resemble soil, shingle (large grade is less messy than small), stone chippings, seashells, or other hard materials.

If you’ve inherited a garden that might have been someone’s hobby, but you don’t want to make it yours, plan some changes to make life easier.

- If there are too many borders, grass them over. Mowing is easier than maintaining borders and can be delegated to non-gardening family members or a contractor.

- If you're a very large garden, yet don’t want to move, have the top part near the house fenced, hedged or walled off in some way. Keep this tidy and turn the rest into a paddock. Plant a few good trees, surround with stock-proof fencing and allow local horse or sheep owners to graze their animals there.

- In tiny gardens, a paved area with no lawn and plants in raised beds and containers will make life easier.

- Instead of apologizing for an untidy garden, create organized chaos, introduce log piles and more plants to attract bees, butterflies, and birds. Call it a wildlife-friendly garden and everyone will be impressed.

How to Enrich the Soil and Protect Your Garden

Soil can be enriched and conditioned in a number of ways. In the garden, doing it organically, with the use of live material (green manuring) and dead material (compost, manure), is safer to human health and in many cases less expensive than using inorganic, or chemical, fertilizers.

Using certain crops as green manure has been practised for generations. It involves growing a crop on idle land and then digging it into the ground rather than harvesting it. Tilling or digging in the plant material adds both organic material (for better texture) and nutrients (for improved fertility) to the soil, thereby cutting down or eliminating entirely the need for chemical fertilizers.

When the green manure is dug into the ground it rots, as it would in a compost heap, leaving a certain amount of humus in the soil which is vital for the soil’s texture, or structure. It also leaves behind a residue of nutrients that it produced while growing. In the case of deep-rooted plants, important elements in the soil are brought up from deep down in the soil and made available to shallow-rooted crops that are planted to follow the green manure. Leguminous plants (peas and lupines, for example) can do some of the work of nitrogen fertilizers. They will actually take nitrogen, an element essential for plant growth, from the air and “fix” it in the soil, making it then available to plants.

Another advantage of green manures is that they act as cover crops. In many areas soil that is left bare between the harvesting of one crop and the sowing of the next is prone to erosion by wind or water run-off. The planting of a fast-growing, intermediate crop helps prevent this. It also helps keep the plot free from weeds.

To be most effective, the seed of the cover crop is sown as soon as possible after the main crop has been harvested. The soil may need digging or it may be sufficient just to rake it over, depending on its condition. The seed can be scattered or sown in drills. Shortly before the next crop is a clue to be sown, the green manure is chopped off, left to wilt, and then dug into the soil. The cover crop should not be allowed to get to the stage where it is likely to flower. If it does flower and then goes to seed there will be a repeat crop, setting up the competition to the main crop planted next.

Some green manures, such as mustard, are very fast growing and can be used on pieces of ground that are empty for only a few weeks. The deeper-rooted crops, legumes, for instance, are best left in the ground for much longer periods of time, up to a year, to get their full benefit.

Here are some tips to protect your garden

Plants need protecting from adverse weather, particularly strong winds. Hedges are the most attractive way of providing shelter.

A strip 4ft (1.2m) wide along the line of the hedge must be thoroughly prepared, preferably double-dug and incorporating plenty of organic material. Planting should be at any time between late fall and spring when weather allows.

Distances between plants vary according to type but are generally in the region of 1-2ft (30-60em). Prune back by half after planting. Protect with a temporary plastic or gunnysack screen in windy areas and do not allow the young plants to dry out.

The frequency of cutting hedges varies according to the speed of growth. Informal hedges usually only require cutting once a year, immediately after flowering. The width of the hedge should be narrower at the top. This helps with stability and prevents damage by snow. Treat hedges as ordinary shrubs, feeding them annually with farmyard manure or compost and ensuring that they do not get too dry.

A hedge need not be all of the same material. Cottage garden hedges often were, and still are, a mixture of all kinds of shrubs. Mine consist of beech (Fagus), Holly (Hex), Hawthorn (Crataegus), hazel (Corylus avellana), privet (Ligustrum), trailing honeysuckle (Lonicera), blackberries (Rubes), snowberry. (Symplwricarpos), box (Buzas), lilac, Lonicera nitida, and a few other odds and ends. 

This makes a wonderful tapestry of different colours and textures. The big problem is that all these plants grow at different rates, hence it can look a hit ragged. In the country, this does not matter, but in town, it can look out of place and must be cut regularly to keep it neat and tidy.

A more conventional tapestry hedge that needs much less attention can be created by choosing different clones of the same species. For example, using alternate