Back to the Soil

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blackcurrants, blueberries, gooseberries, Malvern Spring Show, Plant Belles, tayberries, verbena rigida

Alchemilla, Sweet rocket and pink Aquilegias

After a busy week and limited gardening over the last month due to torrential rain and the fact it has been flipping cold I finally managed, this weekend, to spend some time in my garden and at the allotment. Much of the work at this time of year seems to revolve around my packed window sills and the 2 cold frames, shunting plants about trying to maximise growing conditions and hardening plants off, so it feels good to get planting and get my hands on some soil.

Packed cold frame

This spring has been in complete contrast to last year, when, after a warm April I had plants bursting out of pots and with no more space to pot them on and seeds didn’t germinate at the allotment because it was so dry. The cold temperatures recently have meant little plant growth and seeds haven’t germinated this time because it hasn’t been warm enough. My biggest concern though is whether, with a holiday coming up in June, some plants will be ready to plant out. Half hardies such as rudbeckia and verbena rigida have struggled and are little more than 5cm tall with only a few true leaves. Last year they were about 20cm tall and good substantial plants. Hopefully the warm weather that has been forecast for this week will encourage them to put on some growth, I really don’t want to have to take any plants on holiday this time!

At the allotment my Charlotte potatoes are shooting up and the shallots are looking good despite all the rain (they are not meant to like it too wet). The broad beans and peas have both recovered after their mauling by weevils, although the cold weather looks like it has affected pollination of the broad beans as some of the flowers so far haven’t set.

Quite a few flower seeds sown directly have refused to germinate so I’ve resorted to sowing in seed trays at home. It’s always a frantic time as I start to panic and think I won’t have enough to fill the plot, particularly with my cutting patch. I end up rummaging through my seed tin and digging out seeds and sowing more. Ammi visnaga, for instance, has proved disappointing in the germination stakes, not one plant out of 3 batches sown so far. In desperation for something that will create that light airy feel to my arrangements I found a packet of gypsophila and sowed those.

Protection for my kale

Some Russian red kale plants went in and I got the chance to use one of my Malvern purchases, metal hoops from a company called Plant Belles, to create some protection from cabbage white butterflies. The hoops simply have loops in them so that you can push through bamboo canes and by placing hoops at intervals along your bed you can create a tunnel over which you can drape fleece, environmesh or clear plastic, depending on your requirements.

That should keep out the cabbage whites

I also planted out a patch of bupleurum, which is a bit like euphorbia but without the milky sap. It will, hopefully, provide some foliage for my flower arrangements, that’s if the slugs don’t get to it first like they did 2 years ago.

Gooseberries starting to swell

It’s looking like it’s going to be a good year for fruit with my blackcurrants, gooseberries and blueberries covered in small fruit. I’m particularly looking forward to sampling tayberries. Last year was the tayberry’s first year and we only had one fruit from it which we halved and ate, to be honest it was such a small piece of berry that it was hard to get a real taste sensation. However, this year looks much more promising with the canes covered in flowers, all about to open.

My entwined tayberry covered in flowers

The biennial flowers I sowed last summer to provide some early colour are starting to bloom and my patch of sweet williams are poised. So all in all, things are looking promising and with predicted warm weather it’ll hopefully feel more like May this week than November.

How to Survive a Flower Show

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Carol Klein, Chelsea Flower Show, Joe Swift, Malvern Spring Show, RHS Flower Shows, Terry Walton

The flower show season is now in full swing, with Cardiff, the first, in mid-April and the prestigious Chelsea only a week away. This weekend was the turn of Malvern. Not too far from my home, the showground is set below the stunning Malvern Hills, which run like a spine through the Worcestershire countryside. It had been a while since our first visit, long before we had a garden of our own, so we thought it was about time we returned and on Saturday morning, under cloudless skies we set off. After a detour to buy some sun-cream. I know, would you believe it?

‘Best in Show’ winners Cacti-growing Specialists Southfields Nursery

Flower shows are big events on a grand scale, with huge marquees where plant nurseries display their wares, creating stands to show off their plants to their best and competing for a RHS medal and the ultimate ‘Best in Show’ award. Outside the marquees you’ll find row upon row of trade stands selling everything horticultural and more besides. At Malvern there was a botanical art exhibition; talks from allotment guru Terry Walton and TV presenters Carol Klein and Joe Swift and a multitude of independent food producers with tasty treats to sample and buy. You could see stunning floral art designs and artisan craft producers from jewellers to furniture makers. For the uninitiated shows like this can seem a little daunting with so much to see and buy, it can all be a bit overwhelming, so here are a few tips on how survive a flower show.

A gorgeous display of Sweet peas

Firstly, get there early to beat the crowds. Shows seem to get very busy by lunchtime. If you can get there as the gates open you won’t have to queue to get into the car park and queue to get your ticket and if you want to take photos it’s your chance to get some images without people walking into shot.

If you’ve followed my first tip then make the most popular attractions your first port of call. The show gardens and floral marquees can be hard to see once the crowds have built up. Don’t worry about the plant stands running out of stock. The nurseries come well prepared.

There are plenty of places to get some food and drink but if you want to save your money for shopping and a few extra plants it might be worth bringing some of your own sustenance. Don’t however eat your lunch whilst wandering around the plant exhibits. It’s rather off-putting to discover someone chomping on their potent smelling sandwich right near your ear, whilst you’re deciding whether or not purchase a delicate little Saxifrage. I apologise to the nursery owner for the lost purchase but I couldn’t linger. It was the equivalent of being trapped on a bus next to a Big Mac eater!!

Alchemy Gardens and Villagio Verde Silver-Gilt Medal Winners and their show garden Un Poco de Hogar (A Little bit of Home)

Bring some cash and a cheque book (yes they still have a use) as not all the exhibitors have access to card machines. Don’t worry if you run out of ready money though and you just can’t say no to the 8ft tall wooden giraffe, there are on site cash machines.

Beautifully displayed carnivorous plants exhibit

You can rack up quite a bit of mileage wandering around the showground so wear comfy shoes. This is not the place to worry about fashion. The celebs who will attend Chelsea next week may turn up in the latest wedges or towering heels but I bet they won’t walk much further than the Pimms tent. Wellies maybe necessary if it has been wet as thousands of feet on muddy ground can very quickly turn it into a quagmire. Heeled cowboy boots are not recommended if the limping lady walking past us, as we were leaving, was anything to go by.

And finally, remember to enjoy the experience. Use it as a day to be inspired and to acquire some goodies. The sites are large and it takes some stamina and leg work to see everything. Pace yourself and sit and watch the world go by, and a surprising amount of extendable mops (it really is amazing what you can buy at these places). Treating it as a military campaign may not make for the most satisfying day out, certainly not for the partner of the lady who marched past me shouting to her trailing companion that the plants she wanted were over there, pulling her already laden trolley behind her. He dutifully followed with a weary look on his face and the show had only been open an hour. If you have got an extensive list of must-buys make use of the on-site porter and plant creche services.

With Chelsea, Gardeners’ World Live, Hampton Court and Tatton all still to come there are plenty of opportunities to visit a flower show this year. For more information on the RHS show programme.