PLOT A GREENER FUTURE
The lockdown is a chance to get going on projects big and small
SITTING in our garden recently, I found myself humming Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues. It’s easy to understand why. The coronavirus lockdown may not be jail, but it feels a lot like house arrest. Best to make the most of it: this extra time at home is great for gardeners. April is always our busiest month, and the lockdown gives more time for creativity.
Here are some ideas to help you through this and beyond . . .
Carry on shopping
YOU can buy anything online — or via mail order — from plants and compost to mowers or greenhouses. Online demand for popular plants is high, so be flexible in your choices and shop around. Suppliers include thompson-morgan.com, crocus. co.uk and sarahraven.com.
Children are naturals
LET them help with planting or sowing. Better still, set aside a small plot for their exclusive use. See the pride on their faces when they offer you their first bunch of radishes.
How is your design?
DO YOU love your garden’s design? Are there special features, attractive vistas or gorgeous planting?
Is it time for a new project such as a pond, new border or a rock garden? And are you comfortable with what you have or do you fancy making a bit of a change?
Plant for the bees
BEES and other pollinating insects are increasingly dependent on gardens for foraging. Luckily, most bee-friendly plants are also beautiful. Pollinator favourites include lavenders, single dahlias, lupins, perennial asters, buddleja and aubrieta.
For free, downloadable lists of bee-friendly plants see rhs.org.
Beautify utility zones
IF YOUR front garden is a car park, why not grow plants along its edges? Sheds, fences or screens usually look prettier when furnished with climbers.
Compost bays can be ugly, but less so if masked by trellis. You could grow sweet peas on that, or plant clematis or honeysuckle. Ferns are also perfect for shady spots.
What about the lawn?
IF YOUR garden is small, do you need a lawn? Does it have to be grass? Alternative lawns with chamomile or creeping thyme can be charming. But if you’re tempted to lay artificial turf, remember that fake lawns are bad for nature.
Go vertical
MOST small gardens have more vertical surfaces than level ground. Climbers and creepers are great. But specially designed wall-fittings and containers make it easy to grow almost anything.
As well as ornamental plants, you can grow salads, vegetables, tomatoes and herbs in a vertical garden. Equipment and advice is available online.
Love your garden
THE most pleasurable garden activity is to sit quietly for a while and just gaze.
Enjoy colour schemes, listen to birdsong, admire newly opened flowers and allow the beauty and peace to totally relax you.
Enjoying a well-tempered garden is perfect therapy for the lockdown. That’s what I was enjoying when the Johnny Cash ‘earworm’ jumped into my head: ‘I hear the train a comin’/ It’s rolling round the bend.’