gardening info

gardening info- pots in bad weather

2012-02-14T22:55:00.000Z

In the recent bad weather the wildflowers in their pots suffered extremes in temperature and in water,as the photos show the plants were half frozen so the rain water could not drain away, but we grow them well here at the Wildflower Centre,these plants can survive anything nature can throw at them, it's just gardeners that they're are wary of.The plants in the photos are Leucanthemum vulgare, but you knew that :))

gardening info- willow fence

2012-02-14T22:35:00.000Z

We put up a living willow fence(well I hope it lives) around the small pond at the National Wildflower Centre.The willow used is the same as the willow that is used for biomass,I was told it is known as Q83,the main problem is not to allow the willow to dry out.I decided to reduce the height of the willow to the height in the photos to reduce windrock which could be a factor in it failing to root. All being well if it takes the branches that will shoot up can be interwoven eventually making a really secure living fence or feature.

gardening info-first primrose

2012-02-08T20:22:00.000Z

I saw the first wild primrose in flower at the National Wildflower Centre today,don't forget you can buy them from us(I grow them).A bit of folklore about primroses if you'll stay with me,the ability of Primroses to let people to see fairies,if you touched a fairy rock with the right number of Primroses in a posy you will be shown the way to fairy land. Don't let Primroses die as the fairies like them. Dismiss these stories if you like but who looks after the garden at night ........agh yes the Little People

gardening info-spirit in Court Hey Park

2012-02-08T19:51:00.000Z

Walking into work yesterday I spotted this heron and took this long range photo(apology for quality).The heron in the spirit world signifies Aggressive self determination and self reliance,balance and wisdom,non traditional roles,enjoying your own company and not requiring or needing others

gardening info- cheap beds for spuds

2012-02-03T22:52:00.000Z

Have you ever been left with builders delivery sacks,you used to be able to return them for cash, not any more.Well what you could do is turn them into raised beds for virtually anything you want to grow, I've turned these into beds for spud growing just by knocking 4 stakes into the corners of each bag. Some well rotted horse manure has been added to rotting leaves, this will be topped off with well rotted compost, a good growing mixture ready for when the potatoes have chitted

gardening info-propagator box

2012-01-31T22:34:00.000Z

I decided to try and make a propagating box and after a mark 1 version I came up with version mark 2 which will turn out to be a success of that I'm sure.The reason I put this together was to kick start my seed sowing as the greenhouse we had was wrecked by winds over the Christmas/New Year period.Basically what I did was lay a soil warming cable in a box,cover it with perlite and place seed trays on top of perlite and cover box with perspex no,no,no,NO,wasn't happy about that at all. So to cut a long story short,I fixed the soil warming cable to the bottom of the box with ties and placed the seed trays straight onto the cable, SUCCESS,finally my brain had clicked into gear.You can see from the first 2 photos the disaster of Mark 1,but we gardeners get it right in the end,(photo3),LOL

gardening info- our Harry

2012-01-27T13:34:00.000Z

The hairygardener and his luvly wife Sue have been off the gardening trail this week as we went to see our first grandson Harry who lives in Crawley,he's a little star,be good for your Mum and Dad little man,see you soon xx

gardening info- update butterfly

2012-01-19T21:51:00.000Z

As you can see from the photos a little more progress has been made on the butterfly garden ,most of the path is now down with the mosiacs inbedded in the gravel. Planting the garden up has started as well with wild thyme along the path edges to break them up,salvia's at the end of the path as one of the food plants.I decided to place some of the mosiacs in an upright position to give the garden a bit of "je ne sais quoi, Wooly thyme and lavender have also been planted,and you'll be glad to know we're not finished yet,it's gradually coming together (what do you mean slowly),I'll get there!

gardening info- watching you

2012-01-12T23:17:00.000Z

I'm watching you Granddad and Nan Love Harry xx

gardening info-evening prmrose

2012-01-12T23:12:00.000Z

Here are some Evening Primroses that were potted up today,the root is biennial.The first year many obtuse leaves are produced which spread flat on the ground,from amongst these stems arise to a height of 3-4feet.The flowers are produced all along the stems the uppermost come out first in June. As the stem keep growing there is a constant succession of flowers until late Autumn.The large bright yellow,fragrant flowers are fertilized by twilight flying insects especially in the early season later on the plants keep "open house" all day

gardening info-what a great start

2012-01-10T20:46:00.000Z

What a GREAT start to the NEW YEAR,Oh yeah Happy New Year everyone,where was I oh yes the Hairygardener and his lovely wife Sue have become grandparents for the first time,Congratulations Tom and Gemma(new mum and dad) and here he is Harry Peter Frances

gardening info- to do list

2011-10-24T22:11:00.000+01:00

Yes we've all had them some still use them the TO DO LIST
Take compost to wormery
Water seedlings
Check foxglove seedlings in tunnel
Plant stock take
Check seeedlings in small greenhouse
How are propagated plants doing?
Turn compost heap
Cut comfrey

Pot up strawberry runners and these jobs were not even on the TO DO LIST,these are OMG I'll have to them today

gardening info-small disaster

2011-10-23T13:27:00.000+01:00

You know those small mishaps that happen especially at the end of the day,well here's my latest,seedlings having a water when you know what's coming yep the rose comes off the can and bye-bye seedlings S%&£

gardening info- wheat grass

2011-10-23T13:01:00.000+01:00

Wheat grass grown in small trays inside polytunnel by my colleague Annick who extracted the juice giving a beneficial drink. Wheat grass consumption began in the 1930's as a result of experiments by Charles F Schnabel It has been argued that Wheat grass helps blood flow digestion and general detoxification of the body. I have tasted it and I have had no side effects except that I need scarifying in the Autumn to prevent moss

gardening info-germination with the moon

2011-10-17T21:33:00.000+01:00

Gardening with the Moon is getting a little complicated, well that is if I let it, this is just a little experiment just to see if the Earth/Moon relationship works or is it just coincidence. Basically these plants have had a decent germination and were sown roughly a month ago, the chart I'm working from says that it is favourable to sow again tomorrow possibly Wednesday,but I know the temperature/light will be different,interesting!

gardening info- OH NO

2011-10-16T22:43:00.000+01:00

OH NO Just when you thought I was regaining my sanity look what happens I've set up another snailery.What do you want another one for? I here you say,well I've got a lot of snails,joking aside they are beginning to work.This one again is fitted out with self contained apartments and you can see one of the happy tenants settling in

gardening info- butterfly area path

2011-10-16T18:08:00.000+01:00

The path area for the butterfly garden was dug out as well as the large area for the largest butterfly mosaic.The path will hopefully be finished by November,and the large butterfly bedded in,small mosaics to follow and then the planting begins

gardening info- butterfly area

2011-10-09T20:43:00.000+01:00

A great start by the Wednesday Volunteers at the National Wildflower Centre clearing an area that is going to be planted up to attract more butterflies into the area which as well as plants will festooned with butterfly mosiacs made by local groups under the watchful eye of Tracey(local and very good artist).I've left details out as I've lost the bit of paper with them on ,anyway watch this blog for progress and to all involved so far, you know who you are THANK YOU

gardening info- new residents

2011-10-09T16:54:00.000+01:00

New residents moved into the snailery(one of the few if not the only one in the North West) recently,this time of year though not much useful compost is being made,WHY NOT you may ask,well .......................the snails are starting to hibernate zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

gardening info- wormeries

2011-10-04T21:33:00.001+01:00

These are the methods of worm composting that I use at work to produce a valuable nutrient rich soil improver (worm poo and juice to you and I ).These photos show the compost produced in a bought ,recycled,and a constructed wormery and a tumbler wormery.The bought wormery is the one that produces compost and liquid,but the others can be adapted. It's not easy,but I will say this give it a go,start off small and you'll soon get in to it

gardening info-hanging baskets

2011-09-26T22:38:00.000+01:00

The hanging baskets are still hanging in there,the weather's being kind to us at the moment,regular watering/feeding is the key especially in these baskets as they've had tumbler tomatoes in them as well as flowers.

gardening info-seed sowing

2011-09-26T22:25:00.000+01:00

Seed sowing at the National Wildflower Centre,sowing wildflower seed when it's at its best i.e. fresh and are we using Peat...........NO,Pete's the one doing the sowing,we use Coir. Do I wet the compost first or sow the seed then water? Answer at bottom of the page.

A mixture to see if there is any difference in germination

gardening info-Snailery up and running

2011-09-20T20:24:00.000+01:00

Yes the Snailery is up and running (well maybe not running as snails can't run or can they). As you can see from the photos I've started with a small group which will be added to.They have food ,water, place to hide,now all they have to do in return to produce snail poo which I can add to the plants that I grow,oops nearly forgot to mention you can add egg shells,the snails like them as it provides Calcium for their own shells,CRAZY ISN'T IT :))))

gardening info-cuckoo flower

2011-09-20T19:22:00.000+01:00

Cuckoo flower,Ladys smock(Cardamine pratensis) cuttings taken today,this plant likes wet grasslands so it likes heavy soils as well. It is an important larval host plant and nectar source for the Orange Tip and Green Veined White butterflies.These cuttings are just laid flat on this occasion gritty sand and periodically misted

gardening info-pt 1 snailery

2011-09-17T09:56:00.000+01:00

Going too far in our efforts to get compost,no I don't think so,an old laundry basket to keep the snails in with a lid,snails need ventilation.Place some broken pots in the bottom,add a drop of water and snails you can find.Feed them veg waste any leafy materials,torn paper,cardboard.Crushed egg shells gives them a source of Calcium for their shells.The snails munch away producing snail poo which is our soil improver.Turn out the snails into another pot use the compost put the snails in and start again. Keep watching this space!