Getting tips from the competition experts

IT’Sno secret that I love a flower show, so I was delighted to be invited to Mauchline in Ayrshire for the village’s annual horticultural event.

And I wasn’t disappointed. Here were glorious dahlias and chrysanthemums, fragrant sweet peas, giant marrows, ripe tomatoes and piles of perfect potatoes, all laid out on the show benches.

The talent of the growers and gardeners was in evidence and, as is always the case, I came away with a pot of home made jam and some very sound advice. Now I know where I’m going wrong with my fuchsia cuttings (not enough bottom heat), how to get rid of mare’s tail (it involves a drainage shovel and a lot of digging) and the best way of keeping any garden looking good (never let a weed see a Sunday.)

Handing out the trophies was the closest I’ll get to the silverware but it was a pleasure to congratulate the winners and to see that, among them, were a couple of able and enthusiastic young gardeners who have caught the gardening bug.

Shows like these don’t just happen by themselves, It takes a dedicated committee and team of volunteers to ensure their success, so if you are fortunate enough to have a local flower show then why not support it? Your leeks and cauliflowers might not carry off the rosettes, but you’ll undoubtedly learn something from the experts who’ve been showing for years.

Back home, I swapped my heels for wellies, and got stuck into lifting and dividing everything I could lay my hands on, including hardy geraniums, geums and heucheras. I’ve left it late in to propagate the latter, which come away without fine roots attached, so I just have to hope that they don’t just wilt.

Heuchera ‘Paris’ is one of the best plants I’ve grown this year, outperforming all the other heucheras in the garden.

It’s marbled, evergreen foliage is hugely attractive and the tall spires of pink flowers are borne over a long period, which is why I’m so keen to have more of it to plant out next spring.

I’ve also been cleaning out containers in preparation for planting spring bulbs.

Choosing these and planting them is one of my favourite jobs and there are lists and bulb catalogues scattered throughout the house. From tiny snowdrops to towering Imperial fritillaries, bulbs provide many months of colour, starting at the darkest and coldest time of the year.

I’ve already been stockpiling purple crocuses to plant beneath the magnolia in the front garden, although how many of these will be dug up and devoured by squirrels I’ve yet to find out.

Wildlife is also having an impact on other parts of the garden, with work suspended on tidying up the azalea border because of voles, which feast on the wild strawberries and rely on the cover provided by foliage to hide from the owls that hunt in these woods.