Tag Archives: Gardening

Plant now for a gorgeous spring display

Plant now for a gorgeous spring display

I would adore to live in a chocolate-box thatched cottage, or an imposing Victorian townhouse, but the reality is actually a 1980s red brick square.

We live in a lovely village and our house is very practical for a busy family, but what it’s not is pretty.

So my mission is to try and soften its
appearance with a gorgeous garden.

As time and money are not in abundance at the moment I need to start small.

Seasonal Garden IdeasWith this project from our
Seasonal Garden Ideas book, the
patch of lifeless soil underneath
the living room window can be
transformed into a fiery riot of
colour (fingers crossed!)

Click here simple step-by-step instructions.

Seasonal Garden Ideas is available for just £3.99 – it is an ideal low-cost Christmas Gift for family and friends.

 

Competition | Win a planted barrel tub

Competition | Win this gorgeous planted barrel tub

For those who love plants, but not planting!

Add a little more colour to your garden this summer with this super planted barrel tub.

This small classic barrel is overflowing with lush foliage and bright blooms, resulting in a gorgeous traditional piece to grace your garden or patio.

The barrel contains:

  • 1 x Goldcrest (100.5mm)
  • 2 x Marg/Osteo (100.5mm)
  • 1 x Prim/Petunia (90mm)
  • 1 x Hedera (white/pink/purple)(90mm)

Dimensions: H190mm x Diam. 230mm

Enter now for your chance to win.

It’s nearly garden centre time again!

Apparently, Charlie Dimmock and Ronseal are launching an Urban Gardens Week this year, 11-18 April, to encourage novices to have a go and make their outdoor space beautiful!

Herbs a' Plenty, a project from Seasonal Garden Ideas

Herbs a' Plenty, a project from Seasonal Garden Ideas

Not sure about that – beautiful would be good, edible is more likely. I’m thinking of herbs this year – and they’ll make the garden (mine is very small) smell great, too.

I love basil and usually have a pot on the go from the supermarket – some keep growing and last for ages, others, well, don’t! Basil’s great with tomatoes however you have them – soup, sauces, added to stews or vegetable bakes, grilled or raw.

A cheese sandwich with some lovely fresh bread and maybe one of the goat’s cheeses you can get these days, plus sliced tomatoes and some torn basil is hard to beat. Flat-leafed parsley is another favourite, and chives, and a woody bush or two that’ll keep going for a few years – thyme maybe. And some mint – but that’s definitely going in a pot or it’ll take over. Could have some fresh mint tea to go with the sarny. Always assuming successful planting, of course.

I’m opting for plants rather than seeds to give myself a fighting chance, and then we just need a lovely sunny day and lunch outside is sorted – well, we can all dream!

Happy gardening.

Marion
The Dairy Diary Team

 

Fancy winning a copy of Seasonal Garden Ideas?

Win a copy of Seasonal Garden ideasTo enter simply complete the form on our website www.dairydiary.co.uk/competitions.html and don’t forget to “Like’ the page for an extra chance to win!

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Foliage Fountain

A bold and impressive array of plants spills out of this eye-catching terracotta hanger like a fountain in full flow – the striking purple, pink and blue colour scheme is not for the faint-hearted!

Plant in late spring or early summer for a display that will last throughout summer. Planting will take an hour or so.

Foliage Fountain from Seasonal Garden IdeasPlants required
Large black Mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’).
Sedge (Carex hachijoensis ‘Evergold’).
Coral flower (Heuchera ‘Palace Purple’ or ‘Licorice’).
Morning glory (Ipomoea tricolor ‘Heavenly Blue’).
Two deep pink busy Lizzies (Impatiens).
Fairy fan flower (Scaevola aemula ‘Blue Wonder’).

Equipment
Large conical terracotta hanging container (or any other container of your choice), with hanging rods and hook and drainage holes in the bottom.
Broken crocks for drainage.
Potting compost with added sharp sand or grit.
Trowel.

1 Water all plants thoroughly the day before planting. If your pot is cone-shaped like the one shown here, prop it up securely while you plant it.

2 Line the bottom of the cone with broken crocks for drainage. Fill three-quarters full with the compost mixture.

3 Plant the black Mondo grass first, placing it at the back. Firm in well. Place the busy Lizzies next, one each side of the black Mondo grass. Firm in.

4 Adjust the level of compost as needed, then plant the coral flower directly in front of the black Mondo grass.

5 Now deal with the front planting. Adjust the level of the compost again as necessary. Position the fairy fan flower to the left, the sedge in the centre and the morning glory to the right. Firm in, then top up with more compost to within 2.5cm (1in) of the rim of the container. Insert a slow-release fertiliser spike.

6 Hang the container securely in its permanent position, in full sun or light shade. Ensure all hooks and fixings are strong enough to take the full weight of the pot and its plants. Water thoroughly.

Tip
A hanging container like this must have good drainage holes. If the pot you have chosen hasn’t got any, use an electric drill to make some in the bottom.

Notes
The fairy fan flower (Scaevola), flowering on the extreme left here, is a fairly new plant to become available in garden centres. It hails from Australia and is tender. The morning glory shown here on the right will come in to flower in late summer, bearing deep blue blooms that each last only one day, but are followed by more all the time.

Aftercare
Water well, especially in hot weather. Deadhead the flowers as they fade.

Project taken from Seasonal Garden Ideas now available from the Dairy Diary store.

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Inspired by the new gardening book, we managed to dodge the rain and get out in the garden this weekend.

Planting seedsIsaac had lots of fun planting seeds – free from http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/digin/ – which we hope will grow into splendid salad leaves, carrots, courgettes, beans and sunflowers. Hmmm, as complete novices, we will see!

Besides the vegetables I want to try and attract more wildlife to the garden. My parents are lucky enough to enjoy the spectacle of two visiting badgers almost every night; it would be wonderful if we could encourage mammals to our garden too. The Wildlife Trust has a teamed up with the RHS to produce a lovely website with lots of handy tips http://www.wildaboutgardens.org/.

Our first project will be this fantastic Hedgehog Hideaway from Seasonal Garden Ideas. Despite its simplicity, this is definitely one for my other half or I might end of with one or two fewer limbs!


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Pretty in Pink

Pretty-in-Pink

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Pretty in Pink

Make a pretty basket of pink hyacinths special by adding hoops of pussy willow twigs with the soft grey catkins just bursting out – a lovely display that should last for several weeks.

Pussy willow twigs are available in early spring, either in hedgerows or from florists. Pot-grown hyacinths can be found in garden centres from January through to May or even later.

Planting up a basket takes about an hour.

Plants required
Ten to twelve pink Dutch hyacinths just coming into flower.
Six to eight pussy willow twigs each about 45cm (18in) long.

Equipment required
Rustic-weave basket.
Hanging-basket liner (plastic, hessian, felt or moulded paper).
Bulb compost to fill.
Several handfuls of moss to tuck around the base of the hyacinths.
Trowel.

1 Place the liner you have chosen in the bottom of the basket, pricking holes through for drainage if needed. Fill the basket two-thirds full with bulb compost.

2 Carefully remove each hyacinth, one at a time, from their pots and plant in the basket, adding more compost and setting each one to the same depth as it was in its pot. Place them as close together as you can, so the heavy flowerheads will support each other, and firm in well.

3 Tuck moss loosely around the base of the hyacinths to cover the soil completely. Water lightly.

4 Wedge the bottom end of a pussy willow twig into the basket weave then bend it over to form a hoop. Tuck the tip of the twig securely into the basket, then repeat with the other twigs all round the basket, overlapping the twigs slightly as you go.

5 Position your basket in a sunny spot for best display. The furry grey catkins will eventually turn bright yellow as they open.

Tips
Take great care not to knock the pussy willow catkins off the twigs as you handle them – they are quite fragile. If the hyacinth stems start bending over, insert thin bamboo canes into the compost and tie the stems to them as discreetly as possible with soft string. Bring under shelter if heavy rain is threatened.

Note
Reuse your rustic basket for a summer display by planting with nasturtiums or begonias.

Aftercare
By its very nature this is a temporary display. When the hyacinth flowers have withered, stop watering and allow the foliage to turn brown. Then remove the bulbs from the basket, clean them carefully and store in a dry, dark place until autumn, when you can plant them out in the garden. Discard the pussy willow twigs when the catkins have flowered.

Project taken from Seasonal Garden Ideas

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