Bay: the handy, hardy herb
Plant a bay tree
Bay ( Laurus nobilis) is a hardy herb that anyone – or at least anyone with a big enough pot – can grow. A large tree if left to its own devices, you can keep it down to size by clipping it into a hedge or topiary.
Unlike dried bay (who knows how long store-bought leaves have been on the shelves?), fresh bay is aromatic and versatile, adding complexity to casseroles, soups and potato dishes.
Bay is incredibly droughttolerant but is grateful for water in summer. If it gets too dry, it’s a sitting duck for sap-sucking scale insects – but a blastwith organic spraying oil smothers them.
Feed annually with a slowrelease fertiliser.
Autumn-flowering bulbs
Coming into bloom now are the bulbs that lie dormant over the summer waiting to spring into action after the first autumn rains – zephyranthes aka rain lilies, golden sternbergia, colchiums and autumn crocus.
Belladonna lilies ( Amaryllis belladonna) are commonly known as naked ladies as the flowers appear on tall, sturdy stems long before the leaves. The large pink or white flowers naturalise easily where the soil dries out over summer.
Smaller bulbs such as Crocus niveus, sternbergia, and ornamental oxalis are best grown in pots which provide perfect drainage and save them from being lost or swamped by larger plants. Pots can be tucked out of sight while the bulbs are dormant and brought out to display at a convenient height so the jewel-like carpets ofmini blooms can be appreciated.
No rhubarb in your garden?
Plant some now. It’ll form a deep root system while the soil is still warm, and you might even sneak in a harvest next spring, although new rhubarb plants really take a couple of seasons to reach full production. For sturdy red stems that keep their colour when cooked, choose a named variety like ‘‘Crimson Crumble’’ or ‘‘Moulin Rouge’’.
Give rhubarb a spot with deep, moist soil and plenty of sunshine, and don’t be afraid to pile on nitrogenous fertiliser. Aged chook poo or manure, compost, blood and bone, sheep pellets… rhubarb is a gross feeder and will appreciate it all.
If you have rhubarb already, check if it needs attention. Clumps should be divided every three to four years. Spilt and divide any time from late autumn throughwinter. Replant in full sun with lashings of fertiliser – manure, sheep pellets, compost or blood and bone.
Resist picking stems from new plants for the first year to give the crown a chance to establish a strong root system. To harvest, slide your hand down an outer stem then gently twist and pull – never cut – it away from the crown.