Gardeners World Forum

My original intention had been to have a six part series on "Why I enjoy gardening"(the last part will follow soon). However, my recent experience on the GW forum has prompted me to insert another reason. If I can explain. Yesterday I posted a question about a possible statement grass for the site at the top of our Pennine garden. Until yesterday I had joined forum discussions but never initiated one. Consequently, I was so chuffed when I received a good selection of really useful replies. It was not a total surprise that so many people are glad to help, but it does reinforce your faith in human nature.

It then prompted me to think about the social benefits that I have enjoyed because of our garden. There is a myriad of plants that have been donated by friends and neighbours. Projects that have been initiated and completed only because I have had extra hands and expertise to call upon. The ideas and inspiration derived form visiting others peoples plots is immeasurable. Hence, another good reason why I enjoy gardening, the sociability. Indeed I will follow this up with a series of blog entries on the contribution of others to the garden.

I have included below the series of recent pictures posted on GW forum with the question, what kind of statement grass can cope with the relative shade on the top border of the garden?
The slate/ gravel is the site and the others show its situation. Clearly the feature grass must be visible from the lawn (pampas grass has been unsuccessfully tried before)

 


If anyone has any ideas, please leave a comment. Thanks.

My Gardening Philosophy (reasons I enjoy gardening part 5)

I have been told on more than one occasion by those who know me the best that I have trouble sitting still. I acknowledge that I do have something of a restless nature, a character trait I share with Mili. The traditional explanation for having proverbial "ants in your pants" is that there is an underlying anxiety, impatience or excess energy. In psychology, somewhat manic behaviour is often ascribed to the need to distract yourself from uncomfortable thoughts. However, I am not sure any of these applies to me at this stage of my life, it is quite simply that I need to keep busy doing something (it also helps reduce the likelihood of falling asleep in the armchair once the sun has gone down).

Keeping active in the garden has so many benefits, as I have outlined in previous blog entries. However, I refute the notion completely that I garden for the sake of keeping active. It is more a matter of being incapable of not keeping myself busy, even if it is just gentle pottering and actually achieving not a great deal. As Confucius once said it does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. But that is not to say that I have a subconscious fear of stopping (at least I think!) it is just an inherent character trait and an important reason why I enjoy doing a spot of gardening. It does, of course, as my mother would say, keep me out of mischief.

As the 19th century writer Oscar Wilde put it in his essay, The Critic as Artist: With Some Remarks on the Importance of Doing Nothing, ‘To do nothing at all is the most difficult thing in the world, the most difficult and the most intellectual.' Perhaps that's the fundamental reason why I just like to keep busy, I'm simply not intellectual enough?

Mili might be slowing down a little these days, but she is still far more restless than Hecate

Winter Is Approaching

The last vestiges of autumn are proving a mixed bag. Today I have retreated indoors to escape the grey skies and freezing downpours. The garden furniture has been put away or is now undercover. However, only two days ago there was still a lot to enjoy, while collecting the last of the leaves. It is precisely because the majority of the trees in the garden are now bare that the vistas have changed, there may be fewer daylight hours but the garden now feels that little bit more well lit with the reduced shade from the canopy.

Grasses benefit from extra sunlight

Not a hole but a reflection in the dark water

The top boundary of the garden appears entirely different without leaves on the branches but the clear reflections in the upper pond are a welcome distraction from the jobs. My plant of the month is the laurentia "avant garde" which is still doing its best to add a little colour into the borders. Maybe it is because this is my first year with the laurentia that I have been so impressed by its longevity and toughness. I will certainly be using this again in 2019.

Laurentia still going in mid November

Laurentia (foreground) in mid summer

Further Seasonal Interest.

 The seasonal interest in the Pennine garden just goes on. Today was meant to be another productive day sweeping up leaves again. But a certain two cats and some lovely autumnal colour rather diverted my attention. Both Hecate and Mili seem to enjoy the big outdoors when one or other of their humans is about and the picture below gives a clue just how demanding they can be for a knee to sit on when the mood takes them. Mili can be really quite vocal but eventually she settles for a seat on the upper bench.

 
 There was also another glorious autumnal sunset today. The view west from the top of the garden across the valley was not to be missed. Fortunately, by this stage the leaves had been swept, bagged and put away in a corner by the compost for future leaf mould. With the jobs completed we could all enjoy the tranquility of the moment.

Tips for Extending the Seasonal Interest

Extending the seasonal interest in the garden is a challenge for all keen gardeners but perhaps a little more so for those of us in more marginal growing regions. Our Pennine garden still has a nice selection of colourful corners and plants which offer curious little glories. The soft light of the autumnal day or the golden glow of the sunset can enhance the appearance of most gardens. However, I confess to enjoying the still days when fine mists cloak the hills and give an aura of calm and tranquility, heightening the sounds of the wildlife and the smell of distant bonfires lingering in the air.

The views across the valley from the upper levels of the garden are transformed by the gentle mists. It is therefore important to have good reason to go up the garden and make time to enjoy them. While there are still plenty of autumn gardening jobs to be getting along with, there is always time for some relaxing contemplations, preferably with the company of a furball or two.

There are, I have found, a few quite simple tips for extending the seasonal interest:

Top Tip: know your plants, for instance the grasses on the upper levels have lost the colourful flecks provided by the daisies and poppies, but many of the stems hold their form and their subdued "oaty" hues are subtly attractive. Even without flashy red berries or orange and vivid yellow foliage that provide most of the autumnal colour in the landscape, I think the grasses are one of our seasonal highlights.

The grasses may not be at their resplendent best but still hold plenty of interest and a nice focal point. As you can see the cherry trees along the top boundary are still in the process of shedding their leaves, thus giving a slightly unkempt appearance but the need to rake them out of the grass beds has multiple benefits
~ it helps to tidy the bed
~ the leaves can be collected for making leaf mould
~ collection involves combing the grasses with the tined rake, which itself is good for the grasses, teasing out dead and dying matter and reducing the risk of the grass clumps rotting during the inevitable damp spells ahead.

The black grasses at the front ophiopogon planiscapus 'Nigrescens' help define the beds and being evergreen (or everblack!) this is even the case through the darkest winter months.



Top Tip: incorporate some plants that have seasonal interest because of their unusual or colourful bark. The dogwood at the top of the grasses does exactly this job.

Top Tip: some plants will still flower late into the season, so position these wisely to ensure maximum benefit. A good example from our garden is the "Brother Cadfael rose" which lives quite happily in a pot on the patio. It is a lovely bushy shrub rose with a repeat flowering habit, early and very late season. Being located outside the kitchen window means that maximum benefit is gained from this lovely plant.

Top Tip: plant for foliage. The monochrome effect of the terrace is rapidly becoming a personal favourite  of mine at this time of the year. The leaves of the hebe and flax contrast so well with those of the still almost white chickweed. Hecate does her best to enhance the effect with her black and white colouring