wickham hortezine 2 - wickham square – wickham – · pdf file ·...

HortiZine 2nd Edition – [email protected] – 16/12/16

January and February 2017

Topical tips …..

… for January -‐ Be careful about doing too much in the garden while it is so wet as you may do more harm than good. However, maybe try these tips:

• Try to get your apple trees pruned as soon as possible in the winter so long as you seek to encourage vigour in the tree.

• Stake new trees and check supports for older trees. • In January, winter prune Wisteria. • Wash down the greenhouse inside and out and insulate it ready for

use. Then keep the greenhouse as dry as possible as humidity encourages disease.

• If you have a heated propagator, start sowing seeds such as tomatoes and zonal pelargoniums.

… and for February -‐ Carefully consider when you can get onto the lawn to undertake repairs. • Revive stored dahlia tubers with warmth and moisture at the end

of February so that you can start taking cuttings after about 3 weeks.

• Prune late flowering shrubs such as buddleias. • Plant shallots in late February. • Force rhubarb for early pickings. • Prune shrubs with colourful stems such as willows and dogwood

but leave 3-‐4 cm of the old stems visible. • Lift, divide & replant snowdrops while they are in-‐the-‐green. • Chit your early potatoes in a cool dry and frost-‐free shed for

planting in March.

Gardening quotations

• I say, if your knees aren't green by the end of the day, you ought to seriously re-‐examine your life. Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes, 1985.

• A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself. May Sarton.


• Many things grow in the garden that were never sown there. ~ Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732 • One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. W.E. Johns, The

Passing Show, 1937 • Life begins the day you start a garden. Chinese Proverb • No plants means no animals. No plants means no crops. No plants means no humans. No plants

means no atmosphere. No plants means no planet. Prof Gary D Foster, 2014

Letter to the Editor

From Clare Catling, professional horticulturist, who lives on the Winchester Road: “I don't know if you had noticed the most beautiful piece of colourful meadow created in Bishops Waltham outside the houses on the Winchester Road? Well, crunching across on my frosty winter lawn this morning I cast my mind back to this little patch of stunning colour and decided that this is just what I want to create in my own garden next year. Somewhere for the butterflies, birds and bees. What is the best way to go about creating a wild flower meadow? Should I go for just native plants? The lawn is quite small and has plenty of the not-‐so-‐attractive wild flowers in it already! I would really appreciate some advice.”

From the Editor: Dear Clare, thank you for your letter, great idea and question. By way of an answer I thought it might be helpful to refer back to the wonderful wild flower meadows that were established in Stratford in 2012 for the London hosted Olympic Games. These were designed by James Hitchmough, Professor of Horticultural Ecology in the Department of Landscape Architecture, at the University of Sheffield. Those areas not designed to be walked upon were all created by sowing seed in-‐situ, using very low nutrient, sand based soils to facilitate long term persistence under low levels of maintenance. Grass content was minimized to less than 10% to create extremely flower rich, dramatic plant communities that would be seen as highly attractive by the visitors. The dry, west facing meadow beneath the Velodrome was dominated initially by the planted hazy pink ‘Restharrow’ (Ononis spinosa) that was pink, with blue ‘Viper’s Bugloss’ (Echium vulgare) sown later. During the Games most of the flowering in the meadows came from faster growing species including ‘Wild Carrot’ (Daucus carota), and ‘Mallow’ (Malva moschata). Also in evidence was ‘Tussock Grass’ (Deschampsia cespitosa). Those lucky enough to get into the Olympic Park during that summer must have been almost as impressed with its wild flower meadow planting schemes as they were with Team GB’s performance. Not only was it colourful, it was also ecologically sound -‐ wild flower meadows don’t need watering and make the perfect home for pollinating insects. The following pictures were taken in July 2012.


When the London Olympics was concluded, the motorway-‐sized concourses were ripped out, temporary buildings removed and 45 additional hectares (111 acres) of park was established. If you have not been to the Olympic Park, you really should visit the Queen Elizabeth Gardens, London’s newest park.


What’s in a name -‐ defining ‘Horticulture’

I was recently asked why I prefer the term ‘horticulture’ rather than ‘gardening’. With that in mind, as a retired professional horticulturist, the following three definitions may be helpful:

Within Plants for People and Places (3 volumes) -‐ Dixon, G., Aldous, David E. (Eds.) the authors define horticulture as being as follows:

• ‘The intensive culture of plants benefiting human welfare, well-‐being, sustaining eco-‐system services and social goods’

The RHS’s Horticulture Matters report (2013) states that: • ‘Horticulture is the science, art, technology and business of cultivating ornamental plants, fruit

and vegetables for human use. It is practiced at all levels from individuals at home, to the activities of multi-‐national corporations’.

In The Fundamentals of Horticulture, edited by Chris Bird, it states that: • ‘Horticulture provides one of the most challenging but rewarding mixtures of endeavours,

encompassing, but not limited to: art, chemistry, design, faith, frustration, health, history, languages, patience, physical effort, relaxation, religion, science, social development, therapy and wildlife’.

In the next edition of HortiZine there will be a short feature on the contentious interpretation of the word ‘herbaceous’. As an appetiser, what does ‘non-‐woody’ mean in that context? If any reader has a particular view about the definition of herbaceous, please drop a line to the Editor by 30th January.

UK sale of cut flowers and indoor plants

• The UK fresh cut flower and indoor plant market is worth £2.2 billion at retail level. This represents an average spend per person per year of £36 (£28 on flowers and £8 on plants).

• Around 60% of the £2.2 billion spent represents people buying flowers and plants for themselves, for their own homes.

• In mainland Europe people regularly spend £60-‐£100 per year on cut flowers and indoor plants. Source: Flowers & Plants Association

Winter reading

One suggestion would be H.R.H. The Prince of Wales Highgrove, A Garden Celebrated. Written by Bunny Guinness, published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson at £35 (ISBM 9780297869351) it can be found with an Internet search as a hardback about £22. As a couple of other suggestions, two of the books written by Peter Seabrook MBE, are Complete Vegetable Gardener (ISBN: 9780304297382) and Shrubs for Your Garden, (ISBN: 0903001039), both are great reference books and widely available with an Internet search.

Did you know?


• Plants Never Sleep -‐ Did you know that the stems of most plants tend to grow most at night? While it is still unclear why plants do this, scientists have come closer to understanding the mechanism. Three genes produce proteins that interact to form an "evening complex" which suppresses certain growth genes during the day and early evening.

• What’s in a Name? -‐ Social and therapeutic horticulture is the formal name given to the process of using gardening, plants and horticulture to help individuals develop. There are many benefits of social and therapeutic horticulture with overall health and well being at the centre. There is a great diagram on the Thrive website at http://www.thrive.org.uk/

•

Pot plant of the month – did you receive an Amaryllis for Christmas?

Commonly known to many as an amaryllis – this bulb is botanically known as Hippeastrum. Whilst originating from South Africa, bulb breeding of this striking houseplant now takes place across the world, from the USA, to Holland, India and many more countries. A dormant bulb should have been planted in good all-‐purpose compost in a pot only a little larger in circumference than the bulb. One third of the bulb should be above the compost level and the pot placed in a warm and light place and watered sparingly until it comes into growth. Continue to water and feed regularly as the flower stem emerges at a rate of several inches a day, eventually to reveal a flower head of two to many large trumpet shaped flowers. Moving the pot to a cooler place when in flower will prolong the flowering period. Once the flower head has finished the leaves will persist for many months. It is crucial to keep feeding and watering right through until September time. A summer holiday outside will do no harm as long as the plant is not in the full sun. In September it is time to encourage the bulb back into dormancy or semi-‐dormancy by reducing or stopping altogether the watering, and moving to a cooler, darker, spot, allowing the leaves to die back. The bulb should be rested for 8-‐10 weeks before top-‐dressing or re-‐potting. Then bring it into a warmer and lighter area and start gentle watering until the bulb starts to show signs of growth again. If treated well, the bulb should re-‐flower for many years to come.

Shrub of the month -‐ Mahonia lomariifolia, Berberidaceae

The Philadelphia horticulturist, Bernard McMahon, introduced the Mahonia into cultivation from materials collection by the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-‐6. American President Thomas Jefferson commissioned this transcontinental journey, from Pittsburgh to the Pacific coast of the United States, with the aim of studying the plants, animals and geography of the land they encountered, and to discover what natural resources were available. There are now approximately 70 known species in this evergreen shrubby genus although there is some debate between botanists as to whether Mahonia deserve to be a separate genus or to be 'sunk' into Berberis. Mahonia lomariifolia hails from the area encompassed by the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in

China, Northern Burma and Taiwan. It is a tall shrub, although can be somewhat tender in the UK climate. It has large pinnate leaves, and with 14 to 20 leaflets (plus terminal leaflet) it has more leaflets


than most other Mahonia species. The scented flowers are a sunny yellow colour and light up dark, dreary days in winter -‐ definitely worth giving garden space to. Dr Alison Foster, Oxford Botanic Garden.

Diary dates

While January and February can be very cold, at least the days are getting longer. It is not too soon to be planning days out for the spring and summer moths so here are a few diary suggestions:

When in 2017 What Where 14 -‐ 15 February RHS Early Spring Plant Fair

RHS Horticultural Halls, London SW1P 2QW

28 – 30 March RHS London Spring Plant Extravaganza & Orchid Show

RHS Horticultural Halls, London SW1P 2QW

21 – 23 April The Garden Show at Firle Place Lewes, Sussex BN8 6LP

23 -‐ 27 May

RHS Chelsea Flower Show Royal Hospital Chelsea, London SW3 4SL

9 -‐ 11 June

The Garden Show in Summer at Stansted

Stansted Park, Rowlands Castle, Hants PO9 6DX

4 -‐ 9 July

RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show

East Molesey, Surrey KT8 9AU

19 – 23 July RHS Flower Show Tatton Park Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6QN

28 – 30 July

The Garden Show at Loseley Loseley Park, Guildford, Surrey GU3 1HS

And finally ….

The Editor would like to include as much local gardening and horticultural news as possible in future editions. For example, news of forthcoming events such as open gardens, pictures taken in your garden, questions, articles etc. If you have links with any local garden centres and/or gardening businesses etc., please let me know so that they might be featured in the spring edition. My name is Mike and I can be reached at [email protected] -‐ if you e-‐mail me please include the word ‘Wickham’ in the header of your message. Thanks

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