Garden Centre

Friday, May 9, 2008

Dividing plants in May

Today I’ve been taking advantage of the early rain and later sun (a perfect combination) to lift and divide snowdrops. They are an exception to just about all the rules in the way you treat them – they are much better split when their foliage is still green, and extremely difficult to establish once the bulbs dry out, so if you don’t have snowdrops in your garden or need more, this is the time to buy them from specialist nurseries who sell them ‘in the green’ or beg them from neighbours who have established clumps. They should be divided every four years, or sooner if they start to look congested and you don’t need to sort them by size or plant them individually, break them into clumps about the size of your palm and bung them back in – they’ll do fine!

And of course the other job at present is hardening off which means a lot of carrying pots and trays around: while some plants like to come out of the greenhouse or propagator straight into the sun, others like to ease into outdoor life in a shady, but not chilly, place. In the former group are tomatoes and pelargoniums, and in the latter, celery.

Labels: celery, dividing plants, pelargonium, snowdrops, spring bulbs

The All Seasons Gardener at 9:07 AM 0 Comments

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Monday, January 7, 2008

Brilliant whites, anyone?

You need two things – snow, and a garden with a beautiful range of galanthus (snowdrops to you and me). The earliest I’ve seen these was 8 January in the Anglesey Abbey Gardens, more than a decade ago, but February is the more likely month and there are several gardens around the country that open to show off their amazing display of these beautiful mid-winter bulbs.

Top of the list has to be Lambrook Manor Gardens, South Petherton, Somerset - www.eastlambrook.co.uk because the woman who created the snowdrop gardens here was such an aficionado (especially for pure green snowdrops) that she actually has a snowdrop named after her. She was Margery Fish and the Margery galanthus is a wonderful green-innered beauty. You can see it in the gardens too.

Otherwise, try Anglesey Abbey Gardens, Lode, Cambridgeshire or Heale House - www.healegarden.co.uk, Middle Woodford, near Salisbury, Wiltshire. This garden has a special offer, snowdrop walks with an experienced snowdrop locator on the first and second Sundays in February.

If you fall for snowdrops in a big way, remember they have to be purchased, and planted, ‘in the green’, ie while they are still full of juice. Those dried out bulbs sold in garden centres have a high failure rate and really aren’t worth the money!

Labels: snowdrops, winter colour, winter flowers

The All Seasons Gardener at 9:18 AM 0 Comments

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