November: sloe to turn

It is very hard to write a “top-tips” list for November when the weather is, well…what you expect for October. We have had the fireworks, the onset of heavy rains, got the bulbs in: a fair number of trees are still glistening in the autumn sun and buds are swelling and flowering in scented shrubs such a Viburnum fragrans and Mahonia japonica. Only unlike my Christmas shopping, they are early.

It is all very pleasant and wonderful for country walks and exploring but a tad unsettling! I don’t like big heating bills, but I do like walking on crunchy, frosty paths!

Still, there are plenty of jobs to do to keep everyone busy this month:

• Now is the time of year to prune Japanese maples. Make sure you cut right back to the branch or stem so as not to leave a “clothes peg”!

• Raking leaves can seem to be an endless task, but it is worth it. Firstly, it allows the lawn to breathe and reduces the chance of mould developing in your lawn. Secondly, the leaves are good news in a compost heap when a layer of soil is added every 30 cm or so.

• Burning leaves is another way of processing them: the ash is good for the soil as it is high on potassium - the element that encourages fruit and flowers. Add any diseased plant material to the fire too including rose leaves that have black spot.

• Put rabbit guards on new trees to stop them gnawing at the bark if food is scarce in a harsh winter. Check tree ties too: loosen one that are too tight as this restriction can inhibit the flow of sap and therefore nutrients, around the tree.

• Prune shrub and standard roses by about a third in order that the wind does not move them around and damage the root system.

• Lift pots and containers off the ground by a few centimetres and give them “feet” of tiles or stone to avoid water logging. Pots that are fragile should have their winter wrap to prevent frost damage: bubble wrap is effective.

• Continue to mow lawns until the frosts come in, raising your blade to the maximum height as the month goes on.

• Put out bird feed such as fat balls or hanging peanut feeders.

• If you are into gin (I’m sure not!), now is a good time to go foraging for sloes – those wonderful bluish berries that adorn hedgerows at this time of year.

• When the frosts really do kick in, be prepared by protecting tender perennials with mulch, straw or bark chippings. Salvias and Penstemons are particularly vulnerable.

Maybe I’m getting sentimental, but I miss warming up by raking leaves and creating huge rotting piles that are a godsend to undernourished borders: please don’t get me onto the subject of noisy leaf blowers used by people who pay to go to work out in a gym that they drive to.

I’ll need to take a swig of that sloe gin…

October: colours and comfort

I admit it: I have to watch David Attenborough’s new Frozen Planet series between my fingers as my hands are clasped over my face.

Doe-eyed seals being dragged to their end, bleating baby oxen being mauled by predators and polar bears searching for safe havens on ice is all too much at times. My reflex has been to pour myself a large stiff one…with plenty of ice.

The most surprising part of the series has been the claim that spooky bumps on the seabed under the pack ice are likely to be identical to the first signs of life on earth: it seems we owe a lot to cold slime. It is not sophisticated technology that are our building blocks but micro-organisms chomping away at debris. Kind of puts us, and particularly a few people, in their place really.

Which reminds me that all those leaves that are about to come down are actually good news if I use them properly:

• Give your compost heap a good turning over. If the compost has rotted down well enough and has a high enough level of humus (the dark, nutrient rich essence that retains moisture and attracts trace elements), then autumn is a good time to spread it on the borders as a mulch.

• Rake the leaves off ornamental lawns to allow light and air to circulate and prevent patches of mildew developing.

• Lifting and dividing overgrown perennials that have lost their vigorous core.

• With the colder weather arriving, it is coming into the time when it is safe to lift and move trees and shrubs. Be careful not to allow the roots to dry out.

• Check tree ties and stakes in preparation for windy weather to come.

• Aerating the lawn either with a dedicated tool or the good old method of jumping on a fork will improve drainage and so the health of the grass.

• Burn dead and diseased leaves and debris (if the neighbours are happy with this!). This basic garden hygiene will keep down the levels of blackspot and scab. Wait until November 5th if you need to!

• Keep as many leaves as possible off the pond and watch out for hungry herons who can puncture your pond liner when fishing: fake herons can be effective if you move them every month.

• Tulips can be planted out this and the next month: sometimes they are best displayed in pots and are certainly easier to weed, lift and protect like this.

There are so many glorious colours to be enjoyed at this time of year and the bright, clear skies of October will set them off: grab ‘em whilst you can!

September: it never just rains...

How things can change in a matter of weeks. Not so long ago we couldn’t work outside for long because of the heat, hosepipe bans came along, and we were savouring the sense of a renewed normality in our common life after the worse of the pandemic.

Now, much of the nation is in mourning, the rains have come down good and proper and we live with a sense of uncertainty over costs that we thought we had shaken off.

It was ever thus, I guess. Change is the only constant.

There will certainly be a sense of loss at the big shows that HRH visited, RHS Chelsea being the big one. I remember the thrill and excitement that friends experienced when they met Her Majesty. Somehow, knowing they would be presented to her gave that extra impetus to do everything the best they could: they were going to be met by a PERSON, not an institution. We will miss her terribly.

Once again, there is so much solace to be found in nature and so much joy to had from marvelling at creation: I plucked and ate a few wild blackberries this week – THAT woke me up! Seeing the colours and the contrasts of ornamental grasses next to the plump, glaucous Sedums and spindly Anemones are a real joy. Noticing how the eating habits of small birds are changing as Autumn approached is fascinating. I try to incorporate into my Hampshire garden designs the use of plants that attract wildlife

I dare not stare for too long as I know I have too much to do!

• Plan, buy and plant spring flowering bulbs such as daffodil, crocus and iris over the next couple of months. Leave the Tulips until November – unless we get another drought or Indian summer. In which case, delay them all by several weeks!

• Beech and hornbeam can be given a light trim to keep them neat throughout the winter. As semi-evergreens they provide useful screening

• Deadheading will still produce results, especially with Dahlias that can look good until the first frosts.

• Be selective when cutting back your herbaceous plants: many of them will provide seeds for wildlife as well as being attractive in the winter frosts and sunlight

• Raking out the thatch from your lawn (scarifying) and using a fork or an aerator to spike your lawn will improve drainage and the quality of your lawn. Where there are bare patches, sowing seed over spread topsoil and feeding the lawn in spring will give a fresh, green appearance.

• Divide herbaceous perennials that have become too big for their spot: it is remarkable how many plants can be teased out of one large clump. Be generous and give some of it away: you are very likely to have the compliment returned.

• If you have a pond near a tree, it is worth placing a net over the water to catch the leaves when they descend in autumn

• Eke out the last colour in your pots and hanging baskets by trimming off the dead growth and feeding with liquid fertiliser.

A client has a gorgeous Mulberry tree laden with berries and I was encouraged to try some of them. It may have made my hands look like I was a mad axe murderer with all that red juice, but it was worth it. The taste was out of this world.

So many good things coming into season now. Go on, never mind the mess…go for it!

August: pipin' hot!

Time for a bath!

Well, not literally right now at 9 in the morning, but with the hosepipe ban in place and plants going brown or curling up – it is not a bad idea. I’m keeping a bucket and a watering can handy so I can scoop out my tub and use the water for my potted plants. (A plug stopper when you have a shower does the job too). Newly planted trees and shrubs are particularly vulnerable at the moment, so they are a priority.

The trouble taken by those who have put in extra water butts will be paying off but perhaps the biggest dividend will go to those who have been planting drought tolerant species. These are often identified as being plants coming from the Mediterranean, Middle Eastern or Alpine regions. Plants with pale, glaucous leaves are usually drought tolerant and can thrive with virtually no water.

Drought resistant species include Abelia, Achillea, Ceonothus, Iris, Euphorbia, Lavender, Rosemary, Sages, Sedums, Semperviven. A quick hunt on the internet for the RHS list will give you a good deal of helpful information on these plants.

There are plenty of satisfying jobs to do this month to work up a sweat - so you can take that bath!

• Dead head herbaceous plants, not forgetting dahlias and roses: these will all usually give you repeat flowering later in the year.

• Wisteria will need their summer prune. This gives a chance for light and air to ripen sturdier growth and produce better flowers. The technique is to cut back the whippier new tendrils to about 5 x buds, to just above the bud. Do not forget that Wisterias need another chop in late winter.

• Keep ponds topped up with water, preferably “grey” water from waste water that comes from anywhere but the toilet (showers, washing up etc). Try to avoid using a tap when everyone in the neighbourhood is having a shower or washing up: they won’t thank you when the water pressure drops!

• Cut back rambling roses when they have finished flowering. Be brutal -they are!

• Hedges can be given a final trim before their growth begins to slow down in September.

• Black spot on roses is very common at this time of year: clear fallen leaves and burn them to prevent spread.

Plants have an amazing capacity to revive after a drought – just look at how lawns come back. If there are plants that were put in this year then it is worth heaping mulch up around their base (e.g., bark, manure, straw) then give them a good soak with a watering can or bucket.

Don’t just splurge the entire bucket on in one go: if you can do the rounds by slowly giving them a bit at a time, the hydrating will be far more effective.

After all that trouble I would have thought it would be very acceptable to go and find something to splash around in yourself! A wonderful client of mine has suggested recomending sharing baths.

Now that’s real commitment!

July: anyone for grasses?

I am always curious to see how the grass at Wimbledon copes with the pounding it gets over the two weeks of summer glory. Courts are made up of a unique blend of grasses with a high percentage of fine grass that can be closely cut and can cope with the relentless schedule of the professional circuit.

It puts the lawns around me to shame! The most important factor in maintaining a lawn for most of us, is not allowing the grass to get too long (over 40mm) or cutting it too short (10mm). That, and clearing away all the cuttings to prevent a “thatch” building up, should ensure that your lawn remains in reasonable shape.

As a contrast, ornamental grasses have become more and more popular. Visit any garden centre and most contemporary gardens and you will see species such as Carex, Miscanthus, and Fescues there adding texture, colour and movement. They echo the wilderness, bring something of the savanna and introduce something of what we see in the country at this time of year – meadows. These are subtle patchworks of colours that have their own characters, swaying in the wind and hosting a whole gamut of wildlife.

Be careful to choose ornamental grass species that don’t run riot in your garden, but it is well worth experimenting with this increasingly popular trend. As a garden designer in Hampshire, I am careful not to give clients a garden full of maintenance issues!

• As the weather becomes drier and hotter, the blades of your lawn mower can be raised. Avoid cutting your lawn too hard as it will not be doing it any favours if a drought sets in.

• Many tall herbaceous plants will be coming into their own now (Delphinium, Echinops, Eupatorium), and if they are not in large clumps, they will probably need staking. I prefer using sticks rather than canes as they are more informal and the side twigs act as a good support system.

• Philadelphus and Weigela can be pruned after they have flowered. Likewise, deciduous magnolias can be shaped to create the desired effect.

• Pond weed is likely to start blooming when the water temperature rises. This can be more pronounced if rich soil with high levels of nutrients is leeching nitrogen into the water. A bale of barley straw will help neutralize this but there is no substitute for carefully raking out pond weed and planting suitable pond plants in extremely poor soil.

• Don’t be afraid to experiment by running water from your downpipes into your pond: fix a temporary system that can be adjusted or removed in the winter months. Plastic, flexible, transparent “piping” can be bought from builders’ merchants and fixed using strong tape.

• As above, don’t be afraid to experiment with harvesting rainwater for the traditionally dry months of July and August. Plants that have been put in over the past year will need particular attention as they will have been used to the near perfect conditions of a nursery.

• Deadhead roses by snapping off any faded flowers breaking the stalks just below the head.

• Shape and trim conifers checking there are no nesting birds and that you don’t cut back too hard to go into the bare wood: they may not regenerate!

• Prune plum trees by thinning and cutting back to growth “nodes” – where side shoots are appearing.

The great thing about connecting up a natural watering system in your garden is that it can operate when you are away. Given how keen everyone seems to be to get out and about now lockdown is mostly over… this is just as well!

June: trooping of the colours

A lot of red, white and blue recently, eh?!

These are not colours you would particularly find much of in the natural world – they are a combination that you normally associate with formal bedding plants, all neatly set out in rows and kept weed free. And this was the norm for many gardens until about 100 years ago.

Since then, there has been a wide range of experimenting in garden substance and styles: just look at the range on offer at RHS Chelsea flower show this year. Gardens evoking wilderness, shelter using newly developed building materials and spectacular colours all featured.

We have come a long way from Edwardian and Victorian bedding displays so proudly set out in country houses and parks!

There is, however, an interesting variation to this: more and more, home owners are experimenting with wildflower seed to cover just a part of their garden, or their allotment. They await not only the colours but the flying visitors too.

Talking of which – if you want a treat over the coming months, go to visit the Tower of London: wildflower seeding on a massive scale in the moat. Mind-blowing! Put together by the same team who gave us the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, this is bedding on acid. Wear sunglasses.

So, when you are not listening to Jimi Hendrix, there are plenty of jobs to do this month:

• Putting out summer bedding hanging baskets and bedding now the frosts are over.

• Cutting down the stems of the spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils.

• Cutting and clipping Privet, box and evergreen honeysuckle hedges (Lonicera nitida)

• Philadelphus, Kolkwitzia, Weigela and Deutzia can all be pruned after they have flowered. In doing so the new growth will have time to develop in order that they may flower the following year.

• Give Clematis montana a good hacking if needed when they are over (they can take it!) and tie in other climbers.

• Remove stems of any variegated plants that are reverting to their original colour or the whole plant will ‘revert’.

• Divide Hosta as they come into growth and fill out any gaps in the borders with bedding.

• Stay on top of the weeds, especially the thugs such as ground elder, bindweed, mare’s tail and bramble: nothing like a spade to get them out.

• Give ailing plants a shot of liquid feed as that is the best way to give them a lift.

• Keep a close eye on the soil moisture levels as newly established plants can easily suffer.

• Evergreens such as Viburnum tinus and Choisya can also be cut and shaped once they have flowered.

• Roses can be deadheaded to encourage repeat flowering when they fade. Do this by cutting just above the first leaf below the faded bloom.

• Keep your lawn trimmed and edged but do not cut too close if drought conditions appear.

And enjoy your garden, your colours and even your purple haze.

May: getting a grip!

In cliff top walks by the sea on a recent holiday in Devon I noticed just how tenacious plants are. In the smallest cracks, where there was the slightest possibility for roots to grip at fragments of stone, small plants had taken hold.

Drifts of sea thrift resembling squat chives, had begun colonizing the most inhospitable and exposed spots giving a softness to the jagged cliff tops in the face of every sort of weather imaginable.

Of course, there are all sorts of parallels in our news today. What is clear is that given even less than half a chance, life will prevail, will renew, and produce small miracles.

Below the cliffs I explored there were shimmering and shifting shapes of seaweed. The variety of seaweeds found in the UK alone is staggering: over 500 varieties with many being edible, many usable as fertiliser and almost all pretty magical to look at in their natural habitats.

So when I am not dreaming of my next seaside break and enjoying designing gardens in Hampshire, there are jobs to be getting on with this month:

• Summer bedding in pots, planters and hanging baskets can be planted out in milder areas: watch out for late frosts in more northern counties and frost pockets.

• In cutting back spring flowering shrubs, you still have to be wary of nesting birds: check the plant thoroughly, especially if they back onto a wall. These shrubs include Choisya, Ribes and Chaenomoles.

• Spirea ‘Arguta’ and Kerria can have one stem in three removed and the other stems shortened to a suitable side shoot.

• Viburnum tinus, Senecio, Ligustrum and other similar evergreens can be trimmed this month.

• Clematis montana is a vigorous climber that often needs to be kept in check: you can be pretty brutal with this climber.

• Cut back Pyracantha to the desired size but remember that you may have to wait a couple of years for the berries to appear in winter if you cut them too hard.

• Climbing and rambling roses will produce more flowers if you are able to tie the side shoots as close to the horizontal plane as possible: this restricts the flow of sap.

• Lawns can be fed, and it is not too late to add fertiliser to plants, especially new or struggling ones that may need additional strength.

• Try to stay on top of the weeds by using a hoe or laying matting and mulch.

• Be careful not to over-water new plants in gardens with heavy, clayey soils: they will wilt and die as air cannot get to the roots.

• Herbaceous plants can still be divided and re-allocated to different areas of the garden.

• Daffodils and other early spring bulbs can be lifted and divided.

I am sure I will be taking some of the clifftop observations into my designs in Hampshire and the southern counties. If nothing else, the sheer vigour and scale of the plants there is enough to inspire more natural and less formal planting schemes.

Why not try leaving a corner of your garden to be colonised by a native species in your area? (Keep the thuggish plants out by weeding by hand). Why not leave a corner unmown and see what plants and wildlife emerges? Or scrape off a small area of lawn and sow some wildflower seed? Go on – what have you to lose?!

April: buds and blossom

This week was pretty confusing: at one point I didn’t know if it was snow, sleet, cherry blossom or ash from a fire landing on me. Or all four. I did, however, know when the cold wind was blowing and when the sun went in!

Despite the signs and wonders of spring, the growing season is far from launched: we are likely to have more frosts and, believe it or not, we may be close to a dry spell that could stunt the spring growth in newly planted trees and shrubs. I need to be able to get away from designing gardens in Hampshire and jump onto watering newly planted trees and shrubs.

If nothing else this month, keep a careful eye on the rainfall and be prepared to do some chilly watering of plants if needed. Other tasks include:

• Move evergreens: this is the best time of year to move or plant evergreens. Avoid waterlogged or parched soils.

• Divide herbaceous perennials: Phlox, daylilies and Hosta are all best divided now.

• Deadhead daffodils: not a task to set yourself if you have hundreds of them! Otherwise, just leave them be, allowing photosynthesis to nourish the bulbs and cutting them back in June.

• Lawn repairs: now the frosts are receding, seed can be bought online and sown on patches that have become worn. Remember to prepare the ground by scraping off any unwanted weeds or worn grass and giving the area a good rake over. Add a sprinkling of compost and try to keep hungry birds away.

• Prune shrubs after they have flowered: Forsythia and Chaenomeles fall into this category. Hardy Fuchsia can be cut back to healthy buds.

• Pond plants: now is the time to get at the water lilies and marginal plants, to divide them into smaller clumps in order to avoid them choking the life out of a pond.

• Wildlife: if you are in the mood for clearing, cutting and composting, please be aware that this is the time of year when much of the local wildlife will be making their nesting homes. Avoid hedge cutting and be attentive when you are tidying up sheltered corners of the garden. You can help hedgehogs move around from garden to garden by making small gaps at the base of fences.

• Composting and mulching: add compost or well-rotted manure to borders and around the bases of trees and shrubs: this will help keep the moisture in, the weeds off and give a slow release of nutrients.

• Plant autumn flowering bulbs and corms: why not invest in a bit of summer joy? Order and plant Gladiolus (Gladioli), Eucomis (pineapple flower), and Galtonia canadensis (summer hyacinth). They will really add some dramatic colour and shape to your borders.

The bird activity and bird song has noticeably picked up in recent weeks: my feeders are getting the constant attention of domestic birdlife. Go on – give them a treat yourself! For less than half the price of a cup of coffee you can buy a suet block (ideal for fledglings) and have countless hours of fun watching them sort out their pecking order.

Maybe a bit cheerier than watching us humans doing the same thing?

Marchin' on

I’m beginning to get excited.

The hard work of planting the daffodils in the autumn is paying off and back ache I got from moving shrubs and small trees seems to have been worth it. Spring bulbs are trumpeting, and buds are swelling.

It is hard not to be caught up in the optimism of spring: there are still plenty of grey and cool days in store but if you look and listen carefully, the buzz of birdlife and the busyness of nesters are evident. And frankly, given world events, that optimism goes a long way right now: it is all good energy and inspiration for designing gardens in Hampshire.

I was recently reading about a 17th Century monk, Brother Lawrence who made a practice of thankfulness whenever he undertook any task, however menial. When gardening or working in the kitchen he repeatedly turned his mind to all his blessings: he made work a time to think of those in need and to prepare himself for love and service to others. That is someone I could learn from.

Tasks this month include:

• Prune and thin winter jasmine (the yellow one) so it doesn’t become too leggy in the coming year. Buddleja can soon be cut back to the desired height: they can really get away so don’t be afraid to take them right down to the ground if needs be.

• Cut back Cornus (dogwood) shrubs to about 75 mm from the ground, unless it is a slow growing variety such as Midwinter fire. For these, cut every few years or just half the stem.

• Salix (willow) grown for colourful stems can now be cut back hard too.

• Clumps of perennials that have become choked or oversized can be divided: use two forks back-to-back, pulling the handles together to pull the plant apart.

• Add fertiliser or well-rotted compost to hungry plants such as roses and clematis as well as containers that have been depleted over the years, of nutrients.

• Prune shrub roses by about one third and thin and cut back climbing roses by about the same. Thin out where climbing roses have become very dense and cut back where they are straggly.

• Keep a close eye on borders where you know weeds will be a problem: try to stay on top of them (I know, I know, easier said than done), by regular hoeing. It knocks them back and makes even the worst perennial weeds more manageable.

• Slugs will begin to make its presence felt. Beer traps, a copper band on pots and grit on the soil will all help to deter them. Failing that, build a pond to encourage frogs!

• When turning compost, be wary of damaging any overwintered wildlife.

• Bundles of hollow stems placed in quiet corners of the garden, will encourage the laying of eggs by insects, including bees.

• Any sort of nesting material left outside, such as wool or hair, is likely to be snapped up by industrious garden birds making their nests for the coming season.

The time of scarcity in winter is receding and the times of abundance approach. I had better watch myself or I will start painting a Maypole or something. Don’t mention the Morris Dancers.

February: warmin' up!

I finally got round to moving some 1.5m tall fruit trees this weekend: the books tell me it is fine to do this now. The swelling buds on the stems told me it was too late to be doing this!

Unfortunately, it could not wait another year. The best advice in these situations is to cut the back the branches of the tree by one-third and to just above an outward facing bud. It is a useful tip when moving any shrub or tree at a less than perfect time of year: by reducing the growth above ground, the root system does not have to work so hard to sustain the plant as it beds into its new location. The more adverse the conditions, the further back the cut should be.

I remember casting a disparaging look over a 2m tall magnolia that had been moved halfway across the south of England, pompously telling the owner that is was bound to die. It didn’t! The owner had been robust with the cutting back and assiduous with the watering. So much for experts.

With the milder than usual weather all about us, there are a number of jobs to be getting on with this month:

• Wisteria can be pruned back to two or three buds and the older, woody growth can be cut to reduce the size of the plant

• In milder areas, or when the warmer weather starts appearing, most hardy shrubs with hollow stems, such as Buddleja davidii and Perovskia can be pruned this month.

• Whilst the tawny coloured stems of ornamental grasses such as Miscanthus and Calamagrostis are a joy to behold in the winter months, especially in the winter sunlight early spring is the time to cut them back to ground level. Wait until new growth can be seen before applying the chop.

• Clean up bamboo where stems have died back or collapsed over winter.

• Trim heathers after they have flowered in order to keep them compact and vigorous.

• Divide snowdrops to distribute them over a wider area.

• Cut back shrub roses by about one third, pruning to just above an outward pointing bud, trying to create an open, “bowl” shape to the rose. Cut off any suckers emerging from the root stock.

• Bird life will be looking to nest in spring so ensure all hedge trimming and renovation is completed by the end of the month.

• Nesting boxes will be sought out by birds but try to either build them or buy them from a sustainable source.

Don’t be afraid to start ringing the changes in your garden in preparation for the coming season. With so little growth above ground at this time of year, it is an ideal window to become a shaker and a mover. Just watch your back: I don’t know many people who are at their fittest and most supple in cold, damp February!