Town & Country Gardener

By the month of May the garden has really come to life and if we are lucky we should all experience beautiful warm days where the scent of wisteria and wallflowers hang on the evening air. No garden should be without magnolia and particularly tulips at this time of year. There are many beautiful varieties of this hardy bulb, whether grown in huge clay pots or in mixed borders, such illustrious names as Tulipa ‘Angelique’, Tulipa ‘Spring Green’ or Tulipa ‘Queen of the Night’ are guaranteed to liven up anywhere outside, from mixed borders to huge clay pots, during this colourful start to summer.

Favourite magnolias must surely be Magnolia ‘soulangeana’, the star like Magnolia ‘stellata’ and the outstanding evergreen variety Magnolia ‘grandiflora’, which needs a huge wall to do it justice. Other recommended plants for May are hardy shrubs such as azaleas, rhododendron, lilac, viburnum, laburnum, cytisus, deutzias and weigelas. Read more »

There is an assumption that designing a coastal garden must be a wonderful thing to do. After all you just need a few plants that look and smell wonderful on a summer’s day and the rest is taken care of by those magnificent views looking out to sea. Sadly it is not quite as easy as that simply because for every glorious hot still day there are many more that can leave you struggling to stay upright relentlessly buffeted by the wind and rain. The stark truth is that coastal gardens are never as idyllic as they can appear to holidaying visitors.

The traditional problems of coastal gardening are exposure and salt on plants and even in the soil. The other consideration is one of excessive noise if there are strong winds or storms at sea the noise can be so loud that shouting will be the only option, if you want to be heard. Read more »

How do I site a greenhouse correctly is a question that many people consider when first deciding to splash out on this very useful type of garden building. This said choosing the best place for your greenhouse need not be that difficult, even if you have a small garden. So long as certain guidelines are followed you should be able to grow lots of healthy plants and tasty vegetables with very little trouble.

Fortunately not all local authorities insist on planning permission but it is always wise to check first just in case the structure has to be sited a certain distance from your boundary fence. Do also bear in mind that a large lean-to greenhouse could result in an increase in rates.

Do avoid erecting a greenhouse on a north-facing slope or on ground that is heavily overshadowed by buildings or large trees. As well as creating dense shade trees will foul the glass and gutters with their leaves. Read more »

Most keen gardeners have heard of companion planting but not all of them fully understand the principles behind it. There is however no great mystery; companion planting is simply a natural method of cultivation which involves grouping plants together in a beneficial way. It is a mixed growing method that provides greater biodiversity which in turn means more stability for the plants and more resilience in difficult conditions.

Away from the formal garden, in nature plants tend to grow in communities with different species existing happy side by side unlike the rigid conformity that we all tend to impose on our kitchen gardens where there is normally single row crop culture. It is just in such an environment that companion planting can provide added benefits to vegetables, fruit, herbs and indeed cutting flowers for the house. Read more »