My gardening Diary
MONDAY
At long last the sweetcorn has ripened and we can take out the plants. This section of the veg plot seems to be unusually mossy and acidic. I’m going to give it another dose of lime to redress the balance.
TUESDAY
I’ve come to the conclusion that schizostylis or, to give it its new name, hesperantha, is a wandering plant. Each year it seems to have moved slightly. Our very special Hesperantha
coccinea is flowering joyously in the middle of a path!
WEDNESDAY
Our redcurrants did magnificently this year. Some of the leaves, however, were blistered from currant blister aphid. I’m thinning out the branches and leaving the youngest and strongest, which should help.
THURSDAY
If we deadhead the phlox that are planted in several beds, cutting them back to a leaf axil about a hand’s breadth below the fizzled flower heads, they might repay us by producing some late flowers. They won’t be as fine and full as the first flowers, but it’s worth a try!
FRIDAY
Parsley is such a good plant as well as being a delicious herb, useful not just as a garnish but as an ingredient. It also makes a perfect foil for lower-growing flowers and brings an element of freshness to the edge of borders. Easy to grow on in pots, you can put it out just when and where you need it.
SATURDAY
Training the Lutean rose, Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’, to grow vertically and produce lots of sideshoots, was reasonably successful. Trimming back some of the extended growth now. It’s impossible to throw it away – I’ll just have to turn some into cuttings.
SUNDAY
Have you ordered your bulbs yet? Self-restraint is difficult when faced with page after page of glorious flowers. More than ever though, the realisation dawns that it’s best to go for bulbs that will enjoy the conditions you can offer. Narcissi and camassia are our two best bets. Not only do they love our heavy clay soil, but they also increase year on year.