Norman is happy to answer any gardening questions you may have at the Tuesday Coffee Morning or alternatively you can click on comments the link above and raise your questions on line. Ed.
May is an important month in the garden. It’s the time to start your hanging baskets. Last year I tried something new and used a woven type basket.
1. To start, prop the basket on a bucket. I lined the basket with moist grass clippings then added a layer of plastic inside this.
2.Snip a few drainage holes in the plastic, then fill the basket 2-thirds full with compost mixed with water retaining gell.
3. Plant a couple of trailing geraniums around the edge mixed in with 4 surfinas and 2 or 3 nasturtium.
4. Pop in some slow release plant food give your plants a good water and choose a sunny spot with some shade during the day.
Other plants you can use for baskets are trailing Lobelia, Begonia and Dichondra, a plant with silver leaves. Why not plant a bucket or large basket with trailing Tomatoes and add in some nasturtiums. Tie some wire around the handle of the bucket and hang up for a succession of tasty tomatoes .
Last year when I opened my garden I used galvanised buckets which I purchased for around £4 for hanging baskets. I was able to find a few at boot sales for about a £1. The advantage was they take more compost need far less watering and produce massive displays of flowers and tomatoes why not have a look around the shed and see what you can plant up.
The Weather as we all know is terrible and things are slow in my garden especially the tropical type plants. One plant doing well are the Hostas - they love it wet so make sure you have put some gravel or slug pellets around the base or the slugs will have a good meal.
Happy Gardening,
Norman.
????????All about Bananas
This is the time of the year when I start to plan and grow my Banana plants and get the Cannas into growth. This year I will have far more tropical plants around and can guarantee you will imagine you are in the Bahamas - just hope the weather is good to us.
My favourite is the Banana plant. Bananas aren’t real trees, not even palm trees, even though they are often called Banana palms. Bananas are in fact perennial herbs. A banana takes about 9 months to grow up and produce a bunch bananas, then the mother plant dies. But around the base are many suckers from which I take the new plants which can grow up to 6ft tall in our summer. Great, so now you know what to do once you have bananas but most important is how to get started. You need very rich soil, lots of water and potassium, chicken manure or fish blood and bone. Then give them a sheltered, warm jungle environment if you want them to be happy. Then, I am afraid, just as they are ready to flower, our summer ends. That is when I buy a small bunch of bananas from Tesco and tie them on the plant just before Open Day, and listen to the remarks! Of course I tell the truth if asked, so why not try some banana plants this year - you can buy them from B&Q or the garden nursery at Springfield lane just past Robins Island for around £8.99. Feel free to ask for help on any garden plant . Norman.
The new season starts in March one of my favourite times in the garden this is the time to Prune mophead and lacecap Hydrangeas taking off the old flower heads and cutting just above a strong pair of buds, March is also a good time to plant or move evergreens I have had lots of success moving shrubs and conifers during this time.
1st March was such a lovely sunny day I brought out the banana plants which I overwintered in the garage and placed them on the patio to encourage growth and moved them back in before dusk. You can do this yourself with plants you have covered up for the winter but don’t forget to cover them at night. You can also prune Mahonia ,Buddleia and Forsythia,.
Hosta’s, one of my favourites are just showing signs of life. You can divide hostas now by cutting straight through the plant with a spade I myself divided 2 plants today splitting them into 4 peices and then potting on. I now have 8 hostas which would have cost me at least £3.99 at the garden centre.
Lawns. If you want a lush green lawn now is the time for preparation by raking and scarifying to remove dead grass. You can then mow the lawn if the grass is dry raising the cutters to trim the grass. I never use fertilizer until April when the grass is growing .
This year I am opening my garden again at Sefton Lane. The theme will be Teddy bear’s picnic, so expect some surprises and lots more tropical plants including a bigger selection of Bananas ,Palms etc and some vegetables which I will grow on in pots and various containers. The date of the opening will be announced shortly .
Happy Gardening ,
Norman Conway.
There are numerous jobs to start in February and most gardeners will be thinking of the coming spring.
Do not rush, the season hasn’t started and there is a lot of time to catch up.
I usually plot and plan. February is a great time to be sorting out all your ideas for the spring. I have decided to grow some veg this year in tubs and and large pots and will now sow seeds of broad beans and early carrots plus some lettuce .
Flowers and Shrubs: you can now plant anemones, ranunculus, gladioli in groups where you want them to flower.
Divide clumps of perennials, plant evergreens like Laurel and if you have a greenhouse sow some hardy annuals. One job I do now is to cut back winter flowering shrubs as they finish flowering.
Lawns: Aerate and rake as often as possible this will ensure you have a healthy lawn when the grass starts to grow. it’s a job I do weekly whenever the weather permits and visitors to my garden always remark on my lawn - it’s all down to preparation, so start now .
Dahlias are one of my favourites and its now I place the tubers in a box with compost near a window in the garage and within 4 weeks they are starting to show signs of growth it enables me to take cuttings and the dahlias are also well established by May for planting out. Norman.
Norman is happy to answer any gardening questions you may have at the Tuesday Coffee Morning or alternatively you can click on comments the link above and raise your questions on line. Ed.
