Readers’ gardens
More plants for my money
Dahlia tubers are sprouting nicely, despite being attacked by mice over winter. I rescued them just in time. Placed in a propagator, they’re producing plenty of shoots for cuttings. I’ll get 10 cuttings per tuber. To wake up the tubers I cover them with a compost bag to exclude light. Those that don’t respond are drenched in hot water and I split stems in half with a sharp knife. There’ll be masses of cut flowers for no extra cost.
Another way I get more plants for my money is by taking sweet pea cuttings when I pinch out the growing tips on autumn-sown peas. The cuttings will flower later than the parent plants, giving me successional blooms.
Salvia cuttings taken in August have over-wintered in a frost-free greenhouse and are being potted on now. Plants aren’t hardy in my cold, wet clay, but they make jewellike drifts of colour in late summer.
The garden is suddenly full of bees and they’re finding plenty of nectar from winterflowering shrubs, daphne and mahonia. Snowdrops and crocus are a magnet for them, too. Early emerging daffodils are a cheerful sight in the woodland garden. I found a bright yellow coltsfoot, Tussilago farfara, in the wild garden. It’s a good larval food source for moths.
Thinking of pollinators, I’ve planted wildflowers around the base of fruit trees in the orchard – red and white campion, cowslips, foxgloves and primroses. I grew these from seed last summer and they flowered in a windowbox, which I now need for carrots.
I’m enjoying the dried flowers of my hydrangea ‘Little Lime’. Flowers keep their pink colour in winter – a bonus from a plant that’s beautiful all summer. I grow mine in a large container.
Lemons are growing well in the greenhouse, providing year-round fruit. I’m increasing watering and top dressing with fresh compost. There’s a recipe for lemon crunch triangles on the blog.
l Read more at www. bramblegarden.com and on Instagram @karengimson1.