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GARDEN NOTES

July 2010

FRAGRANCE

A garden should appeal to the senses.  We have evolved to depend heavily on our sight but the sense of smell can be as powerful and we should not forget it when thinking what plants to include in our garden.  On warm summer evenings the scent of Philadelphus (Mock Orange) can fill the garden.  At Hilltop we normally carry a good range of varieties.  Worth noting are - Beauclerk (medium size, deciduous, deeply veined mid green leaves, covered in midsummer with orange scented white flowers with delicate pink shading) – Belle Etoile (famous for its sweet scent – for good results hard prune after flowering) – Coronarius Aureus (bright yellow leaves when young) – Erectus (good when space is limited, small and upright, flowers small but freely produced) – Manteau d’Hermine (one of the smallest, fragrant creamy white double flowers).  Still on the orange theme are Choisya (Mexican Orange Blossom).  With all varieties the fragrance comes from leaves and flowers; this is especially noticeable when you brush against them.  Ternata is the most common variety but Sundance has become more popular with its bright yellow leaves.  Aztec Pearl is more delicate and compact.  There are a number of fragrant annuals which should have a place in the garden.  Nicotiana (tobacco plants) are all worth including, but for a really strong scent the tall growing Sylvestris is a must.  It can be put in near the back of the border and will grow up above those in front.  It is too late to start from seed this year, however at this time of year it is often sold in a pot so that you can be enjoy it this summer.  Stocks are well known for their delicious scent and often bought or received as a cut flower for the home.  Night Scented Stocks are a treat for the garden and it is not too late to start them now.  They open in the evening and should be sown close to where the scent will be appreciated such as below open windows or a seating area in the garden.  The seed is sown where it will flower.  Rake soil to a fine tilth and thin out to 3” apart when big enough to handle.  Repeat sowings will extend the season of pleasure.  I cannot finish this article without mentioning Roses.  Not all are fragrant and whilst we are as likely to choose them for the beauty of their blooms their fragrance was one of the reasons for early cultivation.  Some (but not all) of the old rose varieties are considered to have the best scent.  These include damask, Alba and Gallica.  More popular are Hybrid Teas which repeat flower and many have lovely double flowers with fragrant petals.  David Austin is a breeder who has been working for over fifty years on combining the fragrance of the old rose types with the repeat flowering of modern roses to produce a range of English Roses available in a range of sizes to suit all gardens.  Of course we sell them at Hilltop.  Enjoy your summer

November 2009

Deciduous plants lose their leaves in the autumn and look as if they have shut down for the winter. But this is only half true because the part you don’t see is still active; especially with the milder winters we now appear to have each year. Traditionally (before the days of garden centres) now was the time when much of the new planting was done. Earlier in the year the roots were busy passing up nutrients and moisture to the visible parts of the plant. Now that the above ground part of the plant is resting, the roots can concentrate on growing in the still warm and moist soil. A plant with a strong root system will perform well next year.

If you are planning to plant a new hedge this is the time to be getting on with it. Hedges are good. If you do not have at least one you should have. They make a better boundary or barrier than a fence. They do not fall down in a gale nor do they need painting. They help to define and give shape to a garden. They tame the wind rather than rather than turning it into mini tornado. They clean the air and reduce the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. They are ornamental and provide a home for nesting birds, other animals and friendly insects.

They can be grown in many shapes and sizes to suit practically any situation. A miniature box hedge surrounding a border can look very smart indeed as can be seen in many of this country’s greatest gardens. A beech, hornbeam or even privet hedge kept neatly trimmed makes a wonderful backdrop to a border, setting of the smaller plants in front to great effect. It will also help to protect the more delicate specimens and, depending on position, provide shade for those that dislike the full sun of summer. Hedges can be divided into categories namely formal, informal, evergreen and deciduous An evergreen hedge ultimately give more privacy, but deciduous ones, even without their leaves distract the eye from what is beyond and give a pleasant feeling of being enclosed, without a feeling of claustrophobia.

In the case of beech and hornbeam many of the brown dead leaves stay on the branches throughout the winter. One of the interests provided by a hedge is its changing appearance with the seasons. Even evergreen plants change in colour, looking bright and fresh as new growth starts in the spring. Autumn and winter are the best times to plant a hedge.

For those of you who have had enough of gardening for this year and have started preparing for Christmas a trip to Hilltop is worthwhile. We have again put on a magnificent range of Christmas decorations and gifts for all the family. There two late night openings this year: on Wednesday 25th November and Wednesday 2nd December. On both days we will be giving an extra 10% discount.

September 2009

As I was picking blueberries this morning I started thinking which plants in our garden, at home, give us the most pleasure. The blueberry bush would be in the list for several reasons. The fruit are reputed to improve memory, which is important for me, and they are also good for your health in other ways. Apart from that, the bush makes an attractive feature growing in a large pot on the edge of our patio.

It flowers nicely in spring. In July and August the fruit swell and turn from green through purple to blue; with all three colours being present at the same time, it makes a pretty sight. This is followed by a stunning display of autumn leaf colour. The plant needs ericaceous compost, which is why we have it in a container. Potentilla fruticosa is another plant that has given us a great deal of pleasure because it just keeps on flowering from early June until the first frost.

When it shows signs of growing a little untidy, a quick trim smartens it up and, if anything, encourages it to produce even more flowers. Another star is a perennial – Campanula lactiflora “Pritchard’s Variety”, which is covered in soft blue flowers non-stop from June to September. It grows to about 75cm (2’ 6”). Penstemons have also performed really well. Looking similar to foxgloves but more refined, they continue flowering for about three months, giving pleasure when some of the summer bedding is looking very tired. Perennials have the advantage over bedding plants in that they come back year after year, usually getting larger as each year passes.

Of the bedding plants that we put in the busy-lizzies have been the best, improving as the months passed. We have them in a border which gets full sun for a few hours in the morning and is then in open shade for the rest of the day. They, like begonias, are plants that perform well in the shade. Many of the plants that have won my affection have done so because they give pleasure over a long period.

There are, however, others that earn a place purely because they are so magnificent. Magnolias may look at their best for a relatively short time and there is the risk of the flowers being damaged by frost, but what a wonderful sight when in full bloom. Similarly, I absolutely love Wisteria. Even lowly plants can be stars in the garden and lamium maculatum ‘Beacon Silver’ is a fine example.

I planted some at the base of a purple leaved ornamental tree where it has grown into a splendid piece of groundcover. Delicate silver leaves, narrowly edged in green give it an ethereal quality and it does a great job of keeping out the weeds. Being evergreen the pleasure it gives will continue through the winter and in the spring it will make a good background for the bulbs. Now, before I forget, I must get on with planting some bulbs.

August 2009.

For many, August is a month for taking a holiday, having time to relax and enjoying a break from normal work. In the garden, it is a time for mixing work and pleasure. The work bit is not arduous, being jobs like mowing the lawn, removing the odd weed and dead heading. The pleasure bit involves relaxing on a comfortable piece of furniture or entertaining friends with a barbecue. It is a time for sitting back and admiring the results of the work put in earlier.

It is also a time for putting some thought into how you want your garden to look next year and particularly next spring because the spring bulbs are back in your friendly garden centre. It is something I am personally looking forward to, as I have remodelled much of our garden at home since last spring and have an almost blank canvas to fill for next spring. Because the garden is not huge, I will probably use dwarf varieties of tulips and narcissi.

These will naturalise better than the larger varieties and enable me to use a wider selection in the space. I will also try to cover as long a flowering period as possible. It is one of life’s great pleasures to watch the bulbs pushing out of the soil as winter approaches spring and to see the earliest of them come into flower whilst the days are still short and cold. Snowdrops are almost an essential ingredient of the garden at this time, as are crocus (the specie varieties are more compact and flower earlier).

I also love to see the winter aconites with their cheerful yellow frills. All of these naturalise well and will cover large areas in time. August and September are the best months for planting daffodils and narcissi. Tulips are best planted a little later, but that is no reason to delay choosing and buying your favourites, whilst they are still in stock. The autumn flowering crocus and colchicum are also now on sale and need to be planted immediately; they will flower this year. Their life cycle is different from spring flowering bulbs in that the flowers appear on bare stalks, without any surrounding leaves in the autumn and the leaves appear on their own in spring.

August is a time, with children on holiday from school, for family outings. I know from experience that these can become expensive. Our nature trail is looking good and features a pleasant picnic area near a natural pond. The trail gives good views over some of the surrounding countryside, including across The Vale of White Horse towards The Ridgeway and there’s no charge for using it!

If you are planning to relax at home in the garden, we can help you with some special deals on garden furniture, lighting and barbecues (including accessories).

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