Wisteria

Heres one I have been pruning for the last 4 years or so. I dont know the variety, but its a beauty!

People think pruning Wisteria is complicated, it isnt, you just need a bit of confidence and a decent pair of secateurs... and probably a ladder!

Pruning is done twice a year, once in the summer and again in the winter.

In the summer, cut back the long whippy current growth to 5 or 6 leaves in July/August. This will help to encourage flower buds to form, and also keeps this vigorous plant in check. Take this opportunity to remove growth from gutters, downpipes, etc.

During the dormant season, January/February time, cut back the same growths to 2 to 3 buds. Clear out ant dead /damaged stems at the same time. This gives you chance to see the framework of the plant and you can remove thicker stems if required.

If you have a neglected Wisteria, they do tolerate drastic pruning. I have done this myself for a few clients and its amazing how quickly they respond. You can prune down to 30cm if it is really tangled up, or be slightly less drastic if you have a good framework of stems to start with.  Give the renovated plant a boost with some slow release fertiliser and mulch the base with some organic matter to retain moisture. You can now train the wisteria to suit the space.

Fab Foliage

Its not all about the flowers....

Here are a few of my favourite leaves

Sobaria sorbifolia 'Sem'

Alchemilla mollis

Salvia officinalis 'Purpurescens'

Heuchera 'Plum Pudding'

Anthemis 'Powis Castle'

Origanum vulgare 'Thumbles Variety'

Carex elata 'Aurea'

Rheum palmatum 'Atrosanguinium'

The War On Slugs And Snails

I am sure our garden is home to all the slugs and snails in our town. I guess we have a large selection of  'restaurants', the Echinacea and Clematis being particular favourites.

Have planted out chard, peas and beans in the veg garden which will give the little thugs so much choice they won't know what to munch first!  Our vegetable garden was decimated last year, there were so many pesky molluscs enjoying the very wet summer, and my veg!

So, what to do? Husband decided he was going to electricute the pests (the construction of this still in progress), using copper wire and a car battery. I was concerned that it might shock the cats but its such a low voltage and it won't even fry the slugs, just tell them to go munch elsewhere. He has also purchased a solar panel for alternative power. Will have to wait for its completion before we know if it works, fingers crossed.

In the meantime, we purchased a tub of Slug Gone, wool pellets. I havent used this before so though lets give it a go (it was on special offer, the original price would have put me off!). The pellets are placed around the plant and after some rain they form a felt mat. The slugs do not like to travel over this as it dries them out. It works!

Protecting Squash

 Its not cheap though, so am thinking I wonder it it would work with old wool jumpers cut into rings?

There are plenty of other barriers, another is copper. You can buy copper rings which I guess would be more appropriate for your prized Dahlias as they are expensive. I use a copper adhesive tape which I stick round old plastic pots that I've cut the bottom off. I then place them over young plants and push them firmly into the soil. This works well.

Other methods can be used to kill slugs but am not a fan of killing! Beer traps work well but they will trap beneficial beetles that eat slugs, so I dont really see the point. They will also attract wasps, which I get more scared of as I get older!! There are poisons, but I wouldn't go near them - some will harm other creatures and they are not all that effective anyway.

The choice is yours.

Check out this site for more detailed info, it is very useful
http://www.slugoff.co.uk/

Morning Walk

Just a few photos from this mornings walk. The bluebells are finally showing themselves, think they will look at their best in another week, better late than never!

We had a lot of rain overnight and the River Teign is swollen and moving fast, the temperature has dropped, feels like March again. Are we going to have a decent Summer this year? Lets hope so.

Deer Fern/Hard Fern (Blechnum spicant)

The English Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non -scripta)

Red Campion (Silene dioica) with Lesser Stitchwort (Stellaria graminea)

White Rapids!

A Peter Randall Page stone sculpture

The Adventures Of Ella

Say hello to our dog, Ella. She is a rescue dog we adopted nearly 8 years ago from The Dogs Trust in Illfracombe, Devon - a fantastic charity with great staff, take a look at their website

http://www.dogstrust.org.uk/

Planning a page for her, following her adventures as a gardening dog (when I get time!), hopefully will entertain the children.

Colour in my garden

Euphorbia polychroma

A really bright addition to the garden in May. Also known as Many Coloured Spurge and Cushion Spurge. As with all Euphorbias, the bright colouring is from the bracts that surround the flowers, they also all have milky sap which is a skin irritant so care is needed with any cutting back.

Not a fussy plant, any well drained soil in sun or light shade will do. It is a compact, rounded plant of around 45cm high. A great plant for bringing cheer to your herbaceous border.

Grow it with blue flowers, such as pulmonarias and scillas.


Another fantastic blue flower is the perennial cornflower, or Centaurea montana.

Very common in British gardens, it will suit many styles. As with the Euphorbia, it will grow in most soils sunny or light shade. It can spread so keep an eye on it, though dont worry, its not too invasive!

 Though the flower are produced on stiff stems I would be inclined to place supports as the plant starts to grow, they have a habit of  falling open and looking rather messy. Lovely plant nonetheless.

One more! This ones a cracker - Geum Georgenberg, a low growing perennial with gorgeous orange flowers. Give it a sunny spot with moist but well drained soil.

I have mine growing next to Heuchera Plum Pudding, a rich purple that really sets of the geums.

This plant was bought from Larch Cottage Nurseries near Penrith, Cumbria, the best nursery/garden centre I have ever been to. Check them out at https://larchcottage.co.uk/cms/home

An amazing place which also has a great restaurant!

Swifts

Our swifts are back! They have come every year since I moved here over 4 years ago. I have only counted five so far this week but the numbers will soon grow to around 20. I can spend hours watching them, soaring through the sky, sometimes fly low past my window, screeching as they shoot by. Amazing birds.

Unfortunately their numbers have dropped dramatically over the last 10 years, possibly due to lack of nesting sites. The RSPB have a survey online for you to fill in if you see them, it will help them to understand where the swifts go so they can provide and protect nesting sites. Follow this link -

http://www.rspb.org.uk/thingstodo/surveys/swifts/index.aspx

A bank holiday stroll

What a gorgeous, sunny bank holiday we had yesterday! We actually had some free time so made the most of it with a walk in one of our favourite places followed by lunch in Chagford,  http://www.thenewforge.co.uk , great food!


Wellies are usually a must in this particular area of Dartmoor, but due to this prolonged spell of dry we could have worn flip flops!

Managed to get a pic of a Peacock butterfly, the first on I have seen this year.

Spotted a few wild flowers on our jaunt through the woods

Lousewort (Pedicularis sylvatica), quite common in bogs and damp heathland. Once believed to give lice and liverworms to cattle!

Gorse (Ulex Europaeus) common throughout Britain. The flowers can be made into a cordial or wine. It has a gorgeous smell like coconut.

Common Dog Violet (Viola reviniana) one of my favourites, very common across Britain.

Lady's Smock (Cardamine pratensis) also known as Cuckoo Flower, grows in damp areas, very pretty, soft pink.

Water Crowfoot (Ranunculus aquatilis) usually found floating on water in ponds, streams and ditched, though this particular one is surviving in barely damp ground. This plant is poisonous.

Golden Saxifrage (Chrysoplenium oppositifolium) a ground hugging plant with bright yellow green flowers that lighten the woodland floor


There are lots more that I will show you as and when the flowers appear.

Before anyone else mentions this...

Yes, it is a dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) at the top of my blog page! A perennial weed here in the UK (and in many other countries!). Its not something I would really like in my gardens but, as a blogging novice, I had to choose what was on offer through Blogger. You've got to admire its ability to spread - each seedhead can contain upto 172 seeds!! Looks pretty though, don't you think?

How many dandelions??

Rhubarb!

Yum yum! I love Rhubarb, and mine is ready to harvest. I was lucky enough to have one already well established when I bought my house. If you were not, and fancy owning one, you'll be better to wait til the Autumn.

Its a tough plant that will grow in most soils and likes the sun on its face. If we get a long dry Summer (a rather big 'if'), they will need a good drink. Add a thick mulch of organic matter in the Spring to retain moisture, but dont bury the crown. Don't forget to remove the leaves as they are poisonous and always pull, rather than cut the stems.

There are a number of varieties available, the most popular include Timperley Early which can be harvested from March to May and Victoria with thick stems, a heavy cropper.

I love Rubarb crumble, where I use brown sugar and a big handful of oats in to make a more tasty topping. Check out my recipes - which I hope to keep adding to!