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Things to do in the garden in March
21st Feb:
1. During this cold snap don’t forget to feed birds in the garden. There are not many berries left for the birds at this time of year and they will be laying eggs soon. The more birds the better as they help clear the garden of slugs and other garden pests.
2. Check and clean tools. This is one of those jobs that there is never time for. Now is a good time to make sure everything is washed, polished, cleaned and oiled.
3. Re pot or top dress shrubs and plants in pots and window boxes. This is the best time of year to do this, doing this before spring will give your plants and soil the nutrients for the following season and will give you a fabulous display later in the year. You can also now change your window plants from winter bedding plants to fresh spring option such as Primroses, Hellebores and Primulas.
4. Tidy herbaceous borders (prune of old stems of herbaceous plants).This is a job every gardener loves doing. It gives you so much satisfaction at the end of a day it‘s like spring cleanign the garden. Tidy plants by cutting them back and removing dead wood. Ideally mulch after and wait for spring.
5. Prune overgrown evergreens like Prunus laurocerasus (laurel), Acuba japonica (spotted laurel) Viburnum tinus Viburnum then feed with organic fertilizer and mulch with organic matter
Fertilizer=plant food
Manure =garden duvet
6. Manure borders. At this time of year your garden should be cleared of all winter leaves and tidied for spring. Once the garden is clear this is the best time to mulch your borders with fresh manure. Spring flowering bulbs will have a perfect clean and dark back drop so you be able to see them better.
Manure (composted leaves twigs and some beneficial fungi) acts like a ‘duvet’ for the ground. It helps to keep it warm and also stops those little weeds peeking through as soon as the first warmth of spring arrives. Later on in the year it can be dug in to the border which will improve the soil structure and make nutrients more accessible for the plants.
7. Apply organic fertilizers like seaweed meal, blood fish and bone and pelleted chicken manure. Applying organic fertilizers now allows it to break down and be easily accessible for hungry plants when the weather warms up and vegetation will come back to life again.
Conkers
1st Nov:
You don’t have to be a tree hugger to care and we have all enjoyed a game of conkers at some stage in our lives.
The horse chestnut tree has been hit by two diseases. The first hit is a bacteria, bleeding canker, which infects the bark and cuts the water supply to the crown off. The second hit is an ‘alien’ leaf-mining moth which is relatively new in the UK and comes from the Balkans. Its indiscriminate, attacking workaday horse chestnuts and grander trees alike, weakening them which results in smaller conkers.
You may have noticed the leaves turning a deep shade of brown and thinking this was just autumn protocol but up close the leaves are marked with the infestation of the leaf miner, if you look close enough you can see the caterpillars embedded in the leaf. The tree hit by this infestation will not die immediately but it does have long term implications. A big tree can contain up to 2 million moths with the caterpillars eating through the leaves turning them brown earlier than they would naturally therefore reducing its ability to photosynthesis meaning the tree has less energy stored for the winter months. This makes the tree severely weak and if on top of the moths the tree is hit by bleeding canker it could easily die.
There are a few ways to stop the leaf miner. Some tree have been sprayed, it is also important to clear leaf litter from underneath the tree, this removes the moths habitat therefore reducing its numbers. There have also been some experiments with small wasps that feed on the moths.
If you would like to take a more active approach to finding a way of saving the conker tree you can join the likes of Steven Fry and download the free app from www.conkertreescience.org.uk. You can upload your findings of trees in your area straight on to the website therefore enabling the ecologists to plot how far the leaf miner has travelled, how many trees are being effected and hopefully a way to protect the tree for generations of conker players to come.
Gareth’s Plants for March
18th Feb:
It’s not all hard-work and grim weather! Look out for the following plants, which we offer at very competitive prices, and can source any variety or number.
Viburnum – this is their time. Gorgeous, opulent flowers – both bare-stemmed and on evergreens. V.tinus is the good old favourite – for good reason. But look out for V. bodnatense and V. opulum, as well as many other species. Most are shade tolerant, unfussy about soil conditions, and are forgiving about neglect – just leave them alone, and enjoy. When they get too big, prune them back hard, and they will come back stronger and more glorious than before! A must-have!
Helleborus – sheer beauty and elegance during these dull and dire months. It cheers the heart to see these wondrous plants put on such a show at this time of year. Again, they are tolerant of shade – they like it in fact, and will tolerate all soils, although they do prefer rich soils. Many types to choose from, but the more spectacular hybrids are worth going for, although they cost slightly more as they are all carefully hand-pollinated to ensure they come ‘true’. If you want to save money though, or buy a generous amount while saving the pennies, go for H. niger or H. foetidus – absolute stunners!
Daphne – a scent to rival Gardenias, Jasmine, and all the other ‘greats’. Such a smell at such a time of year is precious, and should be indulged and cherished. These plants are shade tolerant, but they need rich soil – a great choice to have in pots. Put them outside your front door at this time of year to greet you with their heavenly scent each time you pass them. When their flowers are over, move the pots to a quiet corner of the garden, and pull them back out next year.
Jasmine – not just for Summer! Winter-flowering Jasmine is one of the great joys at this time of year a bold display of cheery yellow blooms, festooned all over. These plants are tough, and will grow in any soil, though they do prefer a sunny site. They flower on one-year-old wood, so prune early in the year, after flowering, to encourage the maximum display the following year. A wonderful plant that will spread and grow endlessly, if allowed. But, at the same time, easy to maintain and contain.
Clematis – every month you will find Clematis in flower! C. cirrhosa is a true marvel. Evergreen, tough, strong, fast growing and heavy-flowering. Only comes in white, cream or freckled-flowers, with nodding bells that last for months. A wonderful species of Clematis, this plant will take care of itself, and cover a large area within a few years if desired. It needs something to grab hold of, such as trellis or wire, but is self-clinging – so no need to tie in! It prefers a sunny site, and good soil. In Summer it gets tired, so it is great when combined with Summer-flowering climbers that it can grow alongside with, such as Roses, or Summer-flowering Clematis.
Gareth’s tips for March
14th Feb:
Jobs for the month of March
1. Prune! Prune, prune, prune… Roses, Wisteria, fruit trees, climbers, all deciduous shrubs. Nice and hard – the secret is to ‘treat them mean, keep them keen.’ Do not be hesitant or nervous, just give them a hard cutting back. If in doubt – then please get in touch with us, and we can carry out such work, or offer a professional consultancy and advice service, for pruning, and all horticultural matters. Leave the evergreens alone, unless necessary – definitely avoid Box at all costs; blight is rife when cut at this time of year.
2. Lawns – get those forks in! Spike where growth is poor, and drainage is an issue. Fill in holes with lawn sand. Also get your mower serviced now ready for the spring, and check any other tools that might need sharpening or mending.
3. Think about mulching – March is the optimal time. Applying a generous layer of organic mulch onto the soil in March, will benefit your garden for the entire year.
4. Now is the time to give your garden a good spring clean. Get everything cleared up now – all leaves and debris etc…
5. Plant any summer flowering bulbs before it is too late. March is really the last opportunity to get them in the ground.
6. Start protecting any new spring shoots from slugs by putting down any slug pellets etc now.
7. If you are thinking of transplanting any trees or shrubs do it now while they are still dormant and therefore less likely to go into shock.
8. Fertilise and trees and shrubs preferably with a slow release fertiliser.
9. Weeding your garden well now will save a lot of time later on in the year.
10. Fix any fencing or other structures before they become covered in plants again as it will make your life a lot easier and the job quicker.
January Gardening Jobs
11th Jan:
Happy New Year from all at Harrington Porter Landscapes. I hope you all had a wonderful time over Christmas and New Year and are raring to go for the upcoming year.
We are now counting down the days until Spring arrives and if you haven’t already started now is the time to start getting your garden ready for the rest of the year.
At this time of year it is good to think about any moving of plants as they will be dormant so less chance of sending them into shock.
If it does snow again (hopefully not!) try and remember to brush the snow of the plants as much as possible. If you haven’t already try and protect as many of your less hardy plants as you can by wrapping them up in garden fleece or if possible move them somewhere such as indoors or in a sheltered position.
Also if you are thinking about having any work done in the garden now is a good time because with all your plants and shrubs pruned back and in hibernation, this will allow more room to get access to those hard to reach places.
Now is the time to start ordering your summer flowering bulbs and finally clear any debris form the garden.
Finally now is a good time to mulch your beds (about 2 inches deep) as this will not only add nutrients to the soil but also insulate the soil during the remainder of the winter months.
If we can be of any further help here at Harrington Porter please don’t hesitate to get in contact even if it is only for a chat to offer guidance.
Happy New Year
Harrington Porter Landscapes
August/September Gardening Tips
19th Aug:
August is starting to draw to a close and now is the time to start thinking about what you will need to do over the coming months to prepare you garden for next year. But enough of the depressing talk, summer is not over yet and hopefully we will still have a couple of months of good weather with which to enjoy our gardens. Below are a few tips and tasks that should be carried out over the next few weeks to enhance your enjoyment and prolong the flowering period.
1. Watering is still very important at the moment especially if we get some more warm, dry periods. Make sure you water during the coolest times of the day and water thoroughly and deeply.
2. Perennials, Annuals and other flowering plants. Spend as much time as you can deadheading as this should mean they will continue to flower longer into the summer season. Any spring flowering perennials can be divided and moved now as well but you must sure you water them well after.
3. Any summer flowering shrubs that have finished flowering can now be pruned and shaped.
4. Keep watering the lawn well and start to think about raising the height of the cut towards the end of september. Also if we do have another hot spell don’t cut the grass so short as longer grass offers more shade to the roots and so won’t dry out so fast.
5. Keep on top of the weeds and try to remove them early before they can go to seed again. Weeds will deprive you plants of nutrients and water.
Enjoy the rest of your summer and if we can be of any help don’t hesitate to get in contact with us.
February Garden News and Tips
5th Feb:
Welcome to the latest news and tips from the garden maintenace team. Winter seems to be never ending at the moment and I think everyone is now in need of warm weather and some sunshine, including our gardens.
Anyway here at Harrington Porter we are looking forward to the year ahead and below we have listed a few things to do during the month of February in order to help prepare your garden for what hopefully will be a lovely long hot summer.
- Prune any summer flowering shrubs
- Tie in wall trained fruit trees and bushes
- Finish pruning fruit trees
- Dig any unworked vacant ground
- Keep off lawns in frosty weather
- Ensure that the mower is serviced
- Spike lawns to aid drainage
- Provide food and water for garden birds
- Prune back your Wisteria
This year we are trying to encourage more of our clients to think about their gardens earlier in the year, so any maintenance work booked in during February will get a 20% discount on the labour costs. If you have any questions that you want answered by our maintenance team please get in contact and I’m sure we will be able to help you out.
Winter Gardening Tips
11th Jan:
Firstly, on behalf of the Harrington Porter team, let me wish you all a happy new year! I hope that 2010 is a flourishing year for your garden!
Although it is the middle of Winter, now is still a good time for maintenance, especially if your garden didn’t get a thorough Autumn tidy up last year. Now is the ideal time, before Spring, for pruning and training, especially Wisteria, Roses, Clematis and fruit trees. Also, if your garden is looking quite bare and dull at this time of year – it doesn’t need to and we can change that for you! Although certainly less abundant than Spring and Summer, there are a huge range of plants that provide Winter interest throughout the season, and not just in the form of flowers; there are ornamental stems, such as the striking red, orange or yellow stems of the ornamental Dogwoods (Cornus ssp.), or the haunting white stems of Rubus. Colour doesn’t have to be the main feature of ornamental and eye-catching stems as it does, take Corylus avenella ‘Contorta’ – the Corkscrew hazel – has a mass of twisting, gnarled stems that loop and bend in all directions, in fact this plant is at its most striking in Winter, when it has no leaves so the stems can be appreciated much more, plus it is adorned with bright yellow catkins towards the end of Winter. This is just one plant of many that really come into their own at this time of year. Contact us and we can advise on a huge range of plants to provide interest for this season, or any other, and even source the plants for you from reputable and professional suppliers to ensure the best quality.
Hopefully this recent bout of snow hasn’t been too damaging for your garden. As beautiful as snow is, it can be very destructive to tender plants, so I hope you got yours all wrapped up or sheltered before the onslaught. But, it’s not too late to protect tender plants – as long as they are still alive and not wiped out by the recent frosts, then get busy with the fleece, or drag them into a sheltered position. Not only is it the damage from frost that you should watch out for in your garden with this recent snow, but also the actual weight of the snow itself on branches and hedges can be a problem if it is left sitting there for too long. Some plants are fully hardy and will not be bothered at all by this; other plants however are hardy but they will still suffer frost-burn if left with snow on their leaves or crowns for too long. E.g. Cordylines are a good example of this, a hardly plant, but one that is quite susceptible to damage when its crown is wet and then we get regular hard frosts. When in doubt, please contact us and we can advise on particular plants and their susceptibility to frosts as well as suitable ways to protect them.
Although there’s nothing quite as fun as building a big snowman on the lawn with the children, do beware of walking on the lawn when there is snow on it, or indeed when there has been a frost and the ground is frozen. This can be very damaging to the grass which easily snaps and is damaged when frozen and then stepped on – that ‘crunchy’ sound that everyone likes to hear so much when walking on frozen lawns is actually hundreds of blades of grass snapping and breaking internally with each step. There, now, if that hasn’t guilt-tripped you into avoiding the mass slaughter of hapless grass strands then nothing will!
If you have any Winter bedding plants – i.e. in your window boxes or pots, then remember to ‘dead head’! Often people forget and this will quickly result in a plant ceasing to flower. Cyclamen, pansies, violas, primroses, all need to be dead headed before going to seed, this can keep them flowering for months as opposed to a few weeks. And, if you don’t have beautiful Winter or Spring bedding plants in your window boxes or pots – then come on and visit us! We can take care of that for you, and we pride ourselves on really eye-catching and tasteful planting schemes for such situations.
