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Garden Myths: Number 11
Peonies will not flower for years after you move them. I have moved peonies at all times of the year and they have continued flowering without interruption; and I am not alone in this observation. They do object to being planted too deeply, and this will stop their flowering; so care should be taken to…
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Garden Myths: Number 5
Slugs and snails can be kept off Hostas by raising them high up or setting them in gravel. Hostas are a versatile and attractive genus of garden plants; used and loved by gardeners. Unfortunately the large succulent leaves that make them so attractive are also irresistible to slugs and snails. This has led to an…
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Autumn Tidy Up
With the arrival of dark mornings thoughts turn to tidying the garden up for winter. The first frosts will soon finish off the annuals and tender perennials, while the hardy perennials die back for the winter and the deciduous trees and shrubs will take on their autumn colours before dropping their leaves. Any tiding up…
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Species
The species is the basic unit that we divide living things into and originally species were seen as clearly distinct from one another. What puzzled scientist was how species appeared in the first place? The answer was species evolved from other species as a result of a battle for survival; as carefully argued in Charles…
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Cutting back – the call to arms
Pruning is cutting back for the plants benefit while cutting back is pruning for the gardeners benefit so certain rules apply to both. First remove dead and diseased material, second remove crossing branches and finally shape the plant. Any dead or diseased parts of the plant are going to be no benefit to you or…
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Genus
This is a collection of very similar species and forms the first part of a plant’s scientific name. For example Alchemilla in Alchemilla Mollis and as such it is very important in the naming of plants. Ideally it would be best to have a clear definition as to what constitutes a genus and the International…
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Variety
This is classification of plants below the level of species which share common characteristics but would freely interbreed with other varieties of the same species if the opportunity arose. For this reason different varieties are often separated geographically. When writing the name of a plant the variety name is written in italics or underlined, is…
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Cultivar
This is a plant which has been selected in cultivation because of specific characteristics it shows which separate it from its wild origins and other cultivars. The rules regarding what is a cultivar, how it is named and how the word is used are laid down in the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants.…
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Soft Landscaping
This loose term is more frequently seen used within professional horticulture but simply means the soft things that grow ( i.e. plants) and the soil or compost they grow in. So it includes trees, shrubs, hardy perennials, grass, etc.. It generally doesn’t include vegetables grown purely for consumption, there are a number of very ornamental…
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Nutcutts Book of Plants
It may seem strange to include in this list what is to a large part a nursery catalogue, and it is unashamedly in a part an advertisement for Nutcutts. The thing is it is a treasure trove of information on garden plants presented in a concise and assessable style. Thought the content is about the…
