Gardening in Pyjamas by Helen Yemm

Author:Helen Yemm [Yemm, Helen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781471126994
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Get them in early

Whatever method suits you and your plants, the key is to get your supports in early – definitely by mid-May – before the plants have grown too tall for you to get into the border without wreaking havoc. And tie them up loosely. Plants, like people, can’t relax – and look utterly miserable – if their waistbands are too tight.

In the early days of your border, before you get to know who needs what by way of support, it might be as well to invest in a load of Y-stakes, curiously shaped bits of metal in various lengths, that are great for first-aid midsummer staking in new borders.

Deadheading

The reason that plants flower is to attract insects that pollinate them so that they can produce seeds, reproduce themselves and then, in the case of herbaceous plants, die back or die off completely. Once they have been pollinated and produced seeds, they stop flowering; the season’s work is done. This is all very tedious for gardeners in summer, who want their plants to flower their socks off for as long as possible, while they deservedly sit back at last and enjoy the garden that has been their often exhausting obsession during the rest of the year. Deadheading is therefore the systematic removal of old, tired flowers almost before the plant realises what is happening, in order to fool it into producing new ones. That is all there is to it really, except that, depending on the type of plant, you can make it look even uglier if you fail to remove a section of stalk (down to where you can see the next flower bud emerging), as you remove the flower head. Plants that are forced to work so hard, in turn deserve extra feeding; a foliar feed with one of the ‘steroids for plants’ variety, high in potash gives great rewards. If you are not familiar with foliar feeding, now is the time to become so. Plants can actually feed through their leaves, so all you do is mix up the recommended dilution of one of these wonder feeds, or you can use a seaweed-based organic one if you prefer, and swish over the entire border with a watering can, preferably in the early morning or in the evening. A great pick-me-up for all.

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