I have been asked to give some thoughts on planting and maintaining a garden through varying weather patterns and climate change. I could just say through hard work, crossing your fingers and praying! However, I think a few practical thoughts may be more help. So where to start?
- Know what type of soil you have. An inexpensive soil testing kit can help find this out.
- Look at what the Parks and Gardens Dept of your local Council are planting; this gives a good idea of what grows well in the area.
- Plant for your pleasure and also your physical capabilities and purse. Plants can be very expensive. Don’t be tempted just because a plant is fashionable.
- Have a friendship garden. Exchange plants and seeds with friends, family, neighbour, or bought at church or charity fairs.
- Propagate from your own plants and seeds to build up your garden spaces. Side shoots from spray carnations can be removed and just planted in a tub – a % will root and give you new plants. Shrubs, perennials and most bulbs are good value, they need some attention, watering, dead heading, pruning, but you don’t have to replace them each year like most bedding plants.
Have a look at the Emmanuel Garden and see what has done well. Ground cover plants reduce weeding and give long lasting colour. Herbs like rosemary, thyme, lavender are also good value and give off perfume.
Shrubs like hebe, hydrangeas, ericas (winter and summer flowering) do well and also osteospernum which come in quite a wide variety of colours have bloomed all year in the church garden.
For height our honeysuckle, jasmine and clematis are all surviving well. Roses of all kinds will grow in most soils but do need dead heading and pruning.
Grow in pots with the appropriate soil and compost plants you like but don’t have the right soil for it.
MOST COMPOST IS PEAT FREE NOW, but it’s always good to check.
Above all ENJOY YOUR GARDEN.. Take time to sit and relax in it and give thanks for the wonders and variety of God’s creation and BE PATIENT. Plants, like us, take time to grow, develop and mature. ASK and SHARE with other people. Gardens are great conversation places!
HAPPY GARDENING!