If you are looking for something different for your containers this year that really has WOW factor then look our for Petunia Sophistica Lime Bicolour F1 Hybrid. It has dramatic splashes and stripes of pale lime and rose pink - a new combination, never before seen in petunias.
Grow from seed, 12 seeds for £2.99 from www.thompson-morgan.com
Following on from yesterdays post, 'Planters with Magnetism', this Wall Mounted Herb Rack from www.gardentrading.co.uk is a simple method of acheiving wall growing space. The rack is made from stained spruce and measures 100cm high by 35cm wide. Included with the Herb Rack are the 3 sitting, and 4 hanging galvanised pots.
Simple and effective.
The Truffle Seat by Jean-Marie Massaud.
It needs no comment.
You can now grow fruit in the smallest of spaces, be it a yard, balcony or roof garden. Traditional fruit trees are too big for these spaces but growers have now produced trees on special 'dwarfing' rootstocks. These rootstocks keep the growth of the tree to a minimum whilst allowing the varieties grafted onto them to produce fruit in the same way as on a normal rootstock.
You can grow not only apples on your patio now, but also pears, cherries, plums, apricorts and peaches. The trees need to be planted in a large container, at least 30cm across, using a compost mixture of 50% John Innes No.3 and 50% peat based multipurpose compost. Make sure the tree is watered well throughout the growing season and feed with a soluble feed every 10 to 14 days .
Good apple varieties include Braeburn, a juicy variety which both sweet and tart, and Gala which is a cross between Golden Delicious and Kidds Orange Red.
Patio fruit trees are now widely available at garden centres and on the web.
This is the second year of the RHS Plant and Design Show at the at RHS Halls in London. It is on the 16th and 17th February and provides great ideas for urban gardening including a street of front gardens showing how a usually uncared for space can be designed. There is also a balcony section giving new ideas on planting.
'Some of the UK’s best nurseries will be at the show with a spectacular array of spring flowering plants to tempt inspired gardeners, and to ensure they can take home all they need, garden accessories, books and tools will be available to buy from specialist shopping stands. Visitors will also be able to 'ask the experts' and pick up top tips about garden design and plants from the RHS advisory team and garden designers.'
RHS Horticultural Halls, Greycoat Street and Vincent Square, London SW1
FREE for RHS members, £5 for non-members (£3 on Wednesday).
Turquoise is going to be the colour of 2010 or so the colour experts Pantone tell us.
It combines 'the serene qualities of blue and the invigorating aspects of green' we are told. The colour has been taken up by the Flower and Plant Association who are recommending flowers like green carnations, chrysanthemums and blue hydrangeas, all of which can be grown in turquoise containers.
Yardz saw these engraved slate plaques at the Harrogate Christmas and Gift fair last week. They are about 30cm square with each engraved letter neatly highlighted in black. They would look great set into paving or wall mounted. Should be available early this year and should retail under £20.00
Most log racks look like small wood sheds with lap fence walls treated with horrendous orange wood preservative so favoured by British fence manufacturers. The Woodstock Log Rack from www.extremis.be is different. The functional design makes it not only easy to use, it comes with its own moving trolley, but is sculptural in its own right!
The recent severe weather has brought wild birds into the yard that we do not nomally see. These have included blackbirds and thrushes that are ground feeders and will not feed from a hanging feeder.
Before Christmas I bought a ground feeder tray that is composed of a wooden frame holding a wire mesh sheet. The food is placed in the wire mesh allowing any rain or snow to drain through keeping the food dry. The frame is held off the ground on 3" legs so unless the snow is deep will keep the food available for the birds. I am feeding a general seed mix, suet pellets and dried mixed fruit that blackbirds especially love.
My yard is only 5 x 5 metres and enclosed by high walls but by creating the right enviroment, not cutting down grasses and perennial plants in winter, and providing the right bird food I have created my own mini nature reserve.
