November in the garden last year was a bit bleak to say the least. Early really cold weather finished off the annuals and the dahlias had to be put into storage. What a difference this year.
The weather did turn cold, the cold winds suggested a repeat of last year but instead the cold winds went away and unseasonal mild weather returned. The result is that the Dahlias are still looking good, the Cosmos are still stars in the border, Geraniums are still flowering en mass and Busy Lizzies (Impatiens) in sheltered spots are flowering their hearts out.
It is strange looking out of the window into the garden. There are trees that have completely lost their foliage due to the strong weekend wind, others with no foliage but have berries hanging like coloured baubles, Acers that are showing there beautiful autumn foliage, shrubs with autumn colour, roses still blooming and annual bedding still in flower. There can be no doubt however that we are well into autumn, the Sycamore leaves are thick on the ground with still more to come off this majestic tree. The leaves of most the trees in the garden are easy to gather using my Stihl Leaf Blower / Garden Vacuum but the shear bulk of wet Sycamore leaves make the job hard work.
I can report pleasing results from my summer containers this year apart from two bowls that sit either side of the steps down to my front lawn. Why I cannot say but they have just not looked good all summer and yet two other large pots a few feet away using the same compost and plants from the same sowing are still looking good. This weekend I removed them thinking that I may discover a problem at the roots but no, the compost was full of healthy root. I have replanted now with Winter Flowering Pansies that I sowed earlier this year so it will be interesting to see if they fare any better.
The one problem, if you can call it a problem, of summer bedding still doing well in containers is that I do not have the heart to uproot them as I know I should and the Winter Flowering Pansies really need to be planted out. Still, I am sure I will wake up one morning soon to see bedding that has collapsed and had enough!
The last of the cucumbers have been picked and eaten this week. What prolific croppers they have been. Just two plants have provided more than enough cucumbers for the family and there were plenty to give away. If you have not tried the smaller fruiting varieties that grow just big enough to provide one meal then I urge you to do so. Picked fresh, still crisp and used in a salad or put onto sandwiches, excellent.
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Fall Colors In The Ozarks & Buffalo River Area – Fall is an absolute splendid time of year along the Buffalo River or pretty much anywhere in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas. If you’ve …
When you go away on holiday in the height of summer it is always a worry that friends or neighbours cannot get round often enough to keep up the watering. Everyone is busy and they cannot be expected to lavish all the love and care that you would yourself. One of the good things about taking a vacation this time of the year is that most things will survive well enough with a watering every other day. This has been the case with my week away rambling in the wilds enjoying the fresh air.
The birds have had to find alternative arrangements for the week but they are slowly finding the food again. Each day is bringing back more feathered friends.
Only a week away but I can see significant changes. Autumn colour in plants, tree and shrubs that was not present a week ago. The grass is not growing so quickly, it is cooler and the days are getting shorter.
There is still plenty of colour in the garden from flowers and the colour from the flowers is being joined by foliage colour.
The Rudbeckias seem to have been flowering for weeks as do the white Cosmos. The large flowered Dahlias have certainly been worth waiting for and have provided good value.
The tomatoes are coming to an end now. There are still tomatoes on the vines but it is doubtful whether they will all ripen. Of course I can pick them and ripen them inside but my preference is to use the green tomatoes in chutney. The theory is that we will eat the chutney through the winter months but believe me it has no chance of lasting that long no matter how much we manage to make!
The Runner Beans are also coming to an end, there are still some to pick but do not look as appetising as a couple of weeks ago. Very likely they will be a bit hard and stringy.
One success of this year has to be the Mini Iceberg Hearts lettuce. Sown close together in a deep box they have done well and hearted up into nice crunchy heads. They stand for a long period and the cut heads will keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
I sowed seed of Winter Flowering Pansies a few weeks ago and they are ready to go into their winter locations now. Two containers can be cleared to make way but I am pleased to say that the other containers that will home them are still full of flower. Sorry pansies, you will just have to sit in trays a little bit longer.
Gardening Jobs for November | Gomestic – One of the easiest ways to brighten a dull garden is to put in a few winter flowering pansies. They do well in pots, or in the borders. Winter jasmine and early hellerbores also provide some welcome colour. Image via Wikipedia …
It is not so long ago that I made an entry in my diary giving an opinion on the tomato varieties that I have grown this year. At the time I stated that I would grow more of the same next year, this being Harbinger and the plum variety Red Alert. I have changed my mind and will only be growing Harbinger next season.
So what has changed?
Harbinger has proved to be the best cropper by far and in my opinion Harbinger has the better flavour. In addition Harbinger tomato plants have proven to be much healthier.
The blackbirds have disappeared as they usually do at this time of the year to moult. I spotted one in one of my rhododendrons and he hardly had a feather left on his head.
The great news on the bird front is that we have more sparrows this year that we have had for a very long time. They are doing their best to eat me out of bird seed but I have no complaints. Flocks of them arrive on mass and disappear together. I hear them in the bushes near the feeder waiting for a refill. Their numbers suddenly declined dramatically one winter and it has taken years for them to make a comeback. The funny thing is, last winter was the harshest we have had for many years and yet it is this summer that we have had the biggest increase in numbers. Long may it continue.
For the first time ever I have had problems with caterpillars on my salad crops grown under cover. I recognised the caterpillar of the cabbage white but I must confess my ignorance when it comes to identifying the other thug. Whatever it was it had a voracious appetite!
This autumn I must give some thought to my vegetable garden layout. I have already made some alterations that will help next years crops which has entailed cutting back shrubs and trees that had put on more than expected growth due to good growing conditions.
My begonia hanging basket is looking good at last. For the first time this year I have grown tuberous begonias from seed that are recommended for baskets and containers, having only grown the fibrous rooted varieties from seed. They have taken a while to reach flowering size but the wait has been worth it. Hopefully I can over winter the tubers and have earlier flowers and a cheaper hanging basket next year.
My Garden is My Space – Hints, tips and how to articles for gardeners. Reviews and offers of garden tools, gardening equipment and many other garden related items
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Bird Ecology Study Group » The Eurasian Tree Sparrow in Urban … – Contributed by Jeffrey Low. The Eurasian Tree Sparrow ( Passer montanus ) we commonly see around is actually adapted to human habitation. It usually nests in any convenient holes in buildings.
Singing Song Sparrow | Sitka Nature – 03-15-07song_sparrow.mp3 (624kb). As I headed out of the building where my office is, I heard a Song Sparrow singing from the bushes near the entrance. Hearing the song, I stopped to listen for a short time. …
Normally I take pictures of beautiful flowers to show on my diary. This week is very different; this is a picture I never wanted to take.
I have been growing tomatoes for over thirty years with very few problems. This year I had a few extra tomato plants going spare so I asked my daughter whether she would like to try her hand at cultivating her own tomatoes. There was no room in the greenhouse and so I helped her to plant in containers outside.
She probably gave her tomatoes more TLC than me, she was doing a good job, listening to all the advice and had started to pick fruit. There is nothing better to encourage and enthuse people to gardening that enjoying the fruits of their labour.
However, one day she asked me to look at her tomatoes as she thought they were suddenly taking a turn for the worse. Although I have never experienced the problem it was clear what the problem was, tomato blight. Thankfully this is a tomato disease that does not affect tomatoes grown under glass very often but it can devastate tomatoes grown outside when the summer is warm but wet.
On a brighter note my large flowered dahlias are open and stunning again this year. The cuttings I took earlier in the year are looking healthy so I will hopefully increase my stock again next spring.
That sounds like I am already planning for next year in the garden and, yes, I am! I have identified one area of the garden that needs revision next year. Around the patio has perhaps been a bit neglected while developing another couple of new areas but you cannot do everything. I have not decided fully what changes I will make but I always like to mull several ideas over before taking action. Whatever I do I want it to be there for a few years so it is worth taking that extra time to think it over.
My Garden is My Space – Hints, tips and how to articles for gardeners. Reviews and offers of garden tools, gardening equipment and many other garden related items
Garden Diary – Stories, hints and tips by a gardener
Tomato Casual » Reader Questions: Tomato Blight – Reader Questions: Tomato Blight. Tags: blight, Questions. late-blight By Vanessa Richins. This season, we have a lot of readers concerned about the late blight that has spread throughout the Northeastern United States. …
Tomato blight and me | Los Angeles Metblogs – The tomato crop has been crushed to a large extent this year nationwide, thanks to a fungus that started in nurseries in the US South where the plants were.
Getting the doctor out when you have a problem or need inspiration in your garden may sound fanciful but it depends upon which doctor you call upon.
There is one garden expert who is a doctor and he goes by the name of DG Hessayon. Although you may not recognise the name it is highly possible that you would recognise his writings when seen on a bookshelf.
Dr DG Hessayon is the author of the “Expert” series of books that began in 1959 with the title Be Your Own Gardening Expert. This was a straightforward thirty two page guide that was filled with pictures and charts. Nothing new there you may think but this was 1959 when gardening advice books were more like textbooks and not easy reading for the masses. Dr Hessayon obviously hit upon the right idea as the twenty plus books written by him have followed the same format.
He is now aged 80 and is the best selling non-fiction writer in the world having sold over 50 million copies, a long way from his first self-published tome.
Need some help with garden plants, maybe that new lawn, perhaps you are a house plant enthusiast and need to know the best indoor plants for a situation or yours is a vegetable and herb garden, you will find a Hessayon expert book that will help.
The Fruit ExpertThe Garden D.I.Y. ExpertThe Garden Expert
The Garden Revival Expert
The Green Garden Expert
The Greenhouse Expert
The House Plant Expert
The House Plant Expert: Book Two
The Orchid Expert
The Rock and Water Garden Expert
The Tree and Shrub Expert
The Vegetable and Herb Expert
Vegetable and Herb Expert
So when you are next in the library or looking to purchase one of the Garden Expert range of books, say a little thank you to the man who made it fashionable to produce informative books for the everyday gardener but prefers to stay out of the limelight.
Restricted space in your garden should not deter you from growing vegetables; there are ways to achieve this even in the smallest garden.
We like our farmers to grow organically and so should we home vegetable growers. There are those who argue otherwise but common sense suggests this is the healthy approach.
Buying organically grown vegetables in the supermarket usually results in paying more for your produce but fortunately if you consider having your own vegetable garden higher prices is something that you do not have to worry about any longer.
Just think by growing your own vegetables you only have to step out into your garden and bring that ultra fresh produce into your kitchen for preparation. How much better is that than driving to the supermarket for veggies that may have been flown half way around the world?
Any vegetable can be planted, grown and harvested in your garden or backyard, even on your patio. Restricted space means choosing the right varieties and maybe ensuring that you have containers with sufficient depth. For instance, if you do decide to plant a squash you should know that this vine type plant can be trained up supports instead of letting it take its natural course which would take up too much precious ground space. Carrots can be grown in any old container as long as the container has sufficient depth.
Sit down and consider the varieties that you would like to eat. Choose the seed carefully; there are varieties of plants available these days that are a lot smaller when reaching maturity. Choose wisely if you garden in a limited space.
Buy your seed or buy plants ready started. It is far better to buy and start from seed which is the cheaper option but in your first year you may find that it is too late to sow seed of one of your favourite vegetables. Whether you buy seed or plants make sure you are buying from a reputable source.
The Right Way To Grow Organic Vegetables Your Garden – by Greg F Williams. Weeds are the central drain on your gardens resources, such as, nutrients, sunlight and revenue for farmers. So the earlier you annihilate them, the better it will be for your garden and crop growing. …
grow your own tasty and healthful organic vegetables – fortunately, anyone with a vegetable garden can grow organic vegetables of their own for much less than they could buy them at the store. this is great if you have the lots of room in your yard, but many people feel that an organic …
Grow your own vegetable plants indoors using hydroponics.
Growing vegetables year round can be a challenge in most of the US. The winter
months won’t support any type of outdoor gardening in most of the US, and
in the southern states many types of vegetables won’t survive the summer heat
and drought.
But Indoor Gardening can be a real challenge as well. Proper lighting is always an issue, as most vegetables want 8 hours or more of sunlight a day.
Of course many vegetables such as corn or large vining plants like cantaloupe are just not practical even if you could create enough lighting to support them.
But it’s not at all out of the question to grow small leafy vegetables for salads,
and many herbs can be grown indoors as well. These generally are not heavy feeders, so they are also well suited for a Hydroponics Systems.
One of the more popular systems for growing container vegetables indoors is the Aerogrow Aerogarden system. It includes room for several seed pods and a built in adjustable height grow light. With a microprocessor based controller, the flow of nutrients in the hydroponics system and the timing of the grow lights are optimized for the specific type of plant that you are growing at the time.
By varying the height of the grow light as the plants increase in size, you
are able to maintain the optimum growing conditions for weeks at a time.
Another advantage to the Aerogarden indoor garden system is the variety of seed
types available for the system.
You can grow a variety of lettuce, spinach, cherry tomatoes, herbs, chili
peppers and even petunias.
With this large a variety of plants, some folks find they need more than one Hydroponics system
to keep up.
I give a lot of lawn tips, but that can get boring sometimes as grass is always green and that’s about it. But gardening with annuals in flower beds is easy too and rewarding, and offers tons of alternatives. Flowers bring color, interest and sweet scents to the garden landscape. Flower gardening is simple, inexpensive, and loads of fun. It can be done for yard decoration, simply as a hobby, or even professionally. Many businesses pay big money for “seasonal color rotation.”
There are some decisions that have to be made before you plant your first seed or sprout. You must decide if you want annuals that live for one season and must be replanted every year, or perennials that survive the winter and return again in the spring. When buying and planting, pay attention to what kind of flowers thrive in your climate as well as the sun requirements. In most stores like Home Depot or Lowe’s, they have the perennials displayed separately from the annuals so as not to cause confusion.
When flower gardening, you must decide what type of look you want before planting. For instance, mixing different heights, colors, and varieties of flowers together in a “wild-plant style” will give your garden a meadow look and can be very charming. If short flowers are planted in the front of your garden and work up to the tallest flowers in the back you will have a “stepping stone style.”
You can order seeds for flower gardening from catalogs or buy them from a nursery. Most people will go to the nursery and buy actual flowers and then transplant them as this gives instant results with no waiting. After you have prepared your garden area and bought flowers, it is a good idea to lay the flowers out in the bed to make sure you like the arrangement and that they will be spaced properly.
One of the easiest processes in flower gardening is the planting. When using seeds, just sprinkle them in the flower bed. There is no need to space them or even bury them. Just buy a lot of what you want and let them “fall as they may” to create a wild flush of color. For planting transplants, dig a hole just bigger than the flower pack, pull the container off, and set the flower in the hole right side up. Cover it with the loose soil and press down firmly, then water. You may want to amend the soil first with some peat moss and mushroom compost as this will aid in flower production through the season.
Maintaining a flower garden is even easier than planting one. Although they might make it on their own, a sprinkling of organic compost or Milorganite will help your flowers proliferate. Pinch back any blooms after they start to fade and keep them good and watered. To save yourself work during the next season of flower gardening, rid your garden of all debris and spread out organic nutrients like peat moss or compost. Don’t forget to turn over the soil to properly mix in the fertilizer and rake smooth when finished. If you have perennials planted be careful not to disturb their roots in this process.
Flower gardening is as easy as 1, 2, and 3: simply decide what to plant; plant it, and water, water, water! Flower gardening is undoubtedly gaining in popularity and gives anyone excellent reason to spend some outdoors and test out their green thumb.
You can also get information on Do It Yourself Pest Control here.
We all have good intentions but how often do we forget to stake tall growing perennial flowering plants before they get too high and start falling over? If this is you, add supports to tall plants such as lupins, delphiniums and gladioli.
Geraniums and Delphiniums
I love growing geraniums but after the first flush of flowers they can start to look a bit untidy. Be brave and cut back your geraniums after their first flush to encourage a second flowering period, feed to help them on their way. Delphiniums can be treated in the same manner.
Hanging Baskets and Containers
If your displays start to look a bit wild or tired, cut back the plants in your baskets and containers and feed to encourage fresh foliage and flower.
Retain Moisture
It is surprising how quickly some soils can dry out. Help to retain moisture by mulching which will also help to keep the weeds down.
Alpines or Rockery Plants
I am sure I am not the only one who finds alpine or rockery plants can develop bare patches in the middle. Rub gritty compost into these areas to encourage re-growth.
Sweet Peas
Keep cutting and bringing them into the house to enjoy their colour and perfume.
The petunias planted into the hanging basket and containers are coming on well, bushing out nicely from the base and should provide a beautiful show as the season progresses. The dahlias suffered a little slug and snail damage when first put out but, fingers crossed, they seem to be coping well now.
The hardy Geraniums or Cranesbills are still providing much colour in the garden as are the [TAG-TEC]Roses[TAG-TEC]. My very large hardy Fuchsia is wonderful again this year and will be flowering for months to come. I admit that it has grown much larger (more like a tree!) than I imagined but it is in a spot where it does not matter and looks really good. The day lilies are beginning to bloom, they put on such a great show each year and their strappy leaves add so much to the texture of the border.
Perfume is so important to me in the garden and the Philadelphus (Mock Oranges) and Roses are doing a fine job.
It is June and everything in the garden is starting to flourish, especially the weeds!
Spring Flowering Plants and Bulbs
If you have not already done so cut back dead bulb but do wait until the foliage dies down naturally as cutting back too early can lead to no flowers next spring.
Lift and divide overcrowded clumps of bulbs after they have finished flowering, overcrowded bulbs may stop flowering.
Cut back clumps of spring and early flowering perennials. Hellebores and Pulmonaria produce new and attractive foliage and stay more compact.
Cut back the flowered stems of Euphorbias back to ground level leaving the more attractive foliage. Take care not to get the milky sap on your skin as this can result in blisters.
Summer Bedding Plants
A great way to produce a good show of bedding is to sow hardy annuals directly into the ground. There is the possibility of your garden landscape scheme not turning out as you have dreamt as there is always the danger that one of your sown varieties fails. It is a good idea to have back ups sown in trays whether that be hardy or half hardy annuals.
The hardy annuals sown outdoors should now be thinned out. Do this if practical in two or three stages at fortnightly intervals. Final spacings should be between 4-8in (10-20cm) using the higher figure for tall or spreading plants and the lower figure for smaller plants.
If you have not sown under cover and the weather has not been perfect for early sowings it is not too late to direct sow for the garden seeds of a few fast growing, late-flowering hardy annuals such as Clarkia, Calendula (pot marigolds) and Godetia. I did this in my first ever garden and was very pleased with the result.
Use annual bedding to fill gaps in herbaceous borders.
Plant out dahlias and cannas and if there is no longer a danger of frost.
If you have not already done so it is time to plant out your summer bedding and seed-raised plants. Always make sure they are well watered in, keep moist during dry weather and try to water an area wider than just where you have planted your young, succulent and delicious to eat youngsters. It can help to put slugs and snails off the scent where just damping the area where your plants have just gone in gives them excellent conditions to slide in and munch.
Containers, window boxes, garden pots and tubs can be planted up with summer bedding. They may sulk but if well watered in and covered with horticultural fleece on a cold night and they will soon establish and race away.
It is June and the vegetable garden is beginning to burst forth. Promises of things to come.
Peas
Early sowings of peas may be ready for harvesting depending upon your location. Gently press the pods to check if the peas have swollen to a size ready for picking and after cropping cut off the top of the plants but leave the roots in the ground to fix nitrogen from the air into the ground.
Peas need staking and this can be achieved with pea sticks, netting, or pruned twigs from the garden. Netting is practical but somehow does not look as natural in my opinion as twiggy supports.
Maincrop peas can be sown now.
Potatoes
If you have planted early potato tubers they may be ready or almost ready for harvesting. As a guide many are ready when the plants come into flower. When digging them up take care not to damage or skewer your potatoes with your fork. Avoid this by inserting your fork some distance away and lifting the soil carefully.
For maincrop potatoes Keep a close and regular check and earth them up as required which should result in 2 inch or 5 cm of shoot showing above ground or the compost in your container.
If planting through black plastic check regularly for slugs, the cool damp conditions under the plastic are an ideal home.
Celeriac
Celeriac can be planted out in June. It is many years since I discovered this vegetable and started to grow it regularly. Easy to grow and excellent in soups, a vegetable on its own or mashed into potato.
I had a shrub given to me this weekend, an Elaeagnus that was growing in a concrete container but outgrown its situation. All I had to do was collect it, simple. Off I went with my wheelbarrow with the shout of “back in 30 minutes”. It would not come out of its pot. I tried tipping the container over but it seemed a lot heavier to move than I expected, brute force was called for. The reason suddenly became clear as I heard a tear.
The anchor root had found its way through the drainage hole (no drainage crocks had been put in) and through a crack in the paving. Obviously this container had not been moved for years. As the pot had been sitting directly on the paving the root had become flatted and bulbous, the only way to release the shrub was to hack off the root.
The next problem was getting it home on the barrow when a gale force wind came up, unfortunately a side wind, from behind would have been great. Seeing me pushing a wheelbarrow angled sideways at 45 degrees trying to keep this shrub on board must have provided much amusement and enjoyment for the locals! Anyway it is in its new home and we will have to hope it does not sulk too much.
Growing vegetables is so rewarding. Whether growing vegetables in the ground or growing vegetables in containers, the end result is the same. A delicious meal! And do you know what the best part is? You are being rewarded for all your work and care in nurturing those fruits of your labours from seed to maturity. Read more vegetable growing tips for March
If you are totally lacking a garden or balcony, you can use more decorative pots or containers.
If you place your vegetables correctly in your flat, they can act as decorative pieces as well as great food. The key for decorating with vegetables is to get creative. Wrapping a vine from a vegetable plant around a post or railing can make a nice accent.
Just be sure indoor plants are getting plenty of direct sunlight. Just remember, instead of concentrating on how your small space limits you, think of the fun and creative things you can do with vegetables in the area you do have.
The weather did turn cold, the cold winds suggested a repeat of last year but instead the cold winds went away and unseasonal mild weather returned. The result is that the Dahlias are still looking good, the Cosmos are still stars in the border, Geraniums are still flowering en mass and Busy Lizzies (Impatiens) in sheltered spots are flowering their hearts out. 
It is not so long ago that I made an entry in my diary giving an opinion on the tomato varieties that I have grown this year. At the time I stated that I would grow more of the same next year, this being Harbinger and the plum variety Red Alert. I have changed my mind and will only be growing Harbinger next season. 
She probably gave her tomatoes more TLC than me, she was doing a good job, listening to all the advice and had started to pick fruit. There is nothing better to encourage and enthuse people to gardening that enjoying the fruits of their labour.