Chandigarh Floriculture
Farming Guide
Screening Boundaries Arches And Pergolas
May 6th
Lack of privacy is a common problem in many back gardens. Many people find that the use and enjoyment of their garden are severely curtailed if other properties overlook their private space. In addition, a lack of privacy often affects the appearance of the garden, as the views of other properties leak in. This was certainly the main problem in my back garden, and so it became the main influence on the overall design. Not only was the space totally overlooked, but a large, 196os’ flat-roofed extension, two storeys high, formed the dominant focal point of the garden.
My approach, in this case, was to plant a double line of hornbeams down the two long sides of the rectangular plot and returning at both ends, to leave a wide gap to frame an attractive, agricultural view. I planted transplants high and then started to pleach them when they reached ab Now, some eight years on, they obliterate the vast majority of the building, frame the views and give us total privacy in the summer. In the winter months they heavily mask the extension, but do not give total privacy, but then I’m not so concerned about people watching my activities in the garden in the winter months anyway!
Pleached trees are particularly useful for screening in confined situations, as you cut them back annually, so preventing them becoming too tall and oppressive. They are effectively hedges on stilts; they have bare trunks at the base – usually to just below eye level – and then form a hedge above this. The point about restricting their height is also important as it determines their root spread. When you reduce the tops, the roots are affected too, compensating by dying back. In confined areas you do not want large trees too near buildings, especially if you are on a shrinkable clay soil, as the roots can affect the foundations. In a small garden having the bare trunks below eye level gives you useful space below the canopy. Because I planted a double row down each side, I have formed two shady walkways leading to a focal point at either end. A single row of tress would have sufficed in terms of privacy, though a hedge on one side and a wall on the other form the boundary below eye level, but a climber-clad timber fence would work well, too.
There are many trees apart from hornbeam that can be pleached – the broad-leafed lime is commonly used, but it does tend to sucker, and clipping of the foliage has to be done with secateurs because of the size of the leaves. Whitebeam are useful choices, especially for smaller spaces, though only the hawthorn.
The Garden In House Plant
May 3rd
In the run-up to Christmas. Even when they colour up, bracts will probably be smaller than when the plant was bought, because it has not been subjected to the strict regime of lighting and temperature control of nursery-raised plants.The tough, fleshy-leaved Sansevieria trifasciata can grow for years in the house and never bloom, yet when plants are removed to a conservatory or greenhouse they sometimes produce a long stalk bearing small greenish-white flowers. This is probably triggered by exposure to better light and a drier, cooler winter rest. So yes, flowering is an unusual occurrence, especially if the plant is kept in the house. With its long marbled leaves edged with yellow, S. t. taurentif is the most commonly grown, but I believe this flowers less readily than the plain-leaved species. Incidentally, the flowers are fragrant, particularly during the evening.
Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) are usually bought as dry bulbs, which after being potted and watered in, send up first a long flower stalk with buds at the end, then strappy leaves. The flowers are enormous and although hippeastrums could be described as rather vulgar, their speed of growth is awesome and it seems dreadful to consign such a thrusting plant to the compost heap. After flowering, keep the plant in good light and continue to water it, adding liquid fertilizer every two weeks. Now decide on one of two courses of action. Hippeastrums can be treated as evergreens, which if kept watered will continue to grow and, eventually, produce flowers. There will be little control over when plants bloom and this is likely to revert to the summer.
Alternatively, plants can be dried out and rested by withdrawing water in late summer. The foliage will die back and the bulb can then go dormant in its pot of dry compost. During autumn a flower bud should appear in the neck of the dry bulb, which is the signal to take it from its pot, shake off some loose compost, repot it into the same (cleaned) pot and water in. Only water again when the top half of the compost is dry. If the bulb refuses to produce a flower bud, try placing it in the heat of the airing cupboard, but do check on it every day. My mother has a habit of forgetting hers until pale, drawn flower spikes are winding their way past the flannels in search of light. If the large-flowered cultivars don’t appeal, look out for the gracilis types, whose flowers are smaller, but more profuse.
Propagation of Streptocarpus by leaf cuttings
May 3rd
For flowers, Cape primroses (Streptocarpus) are ideal and are propagated by leaf cuttings, for which there are two methods. Select a healthy leaf, then cut it across the width to make two or three sections. Prepare the base of each by making the vein the point of a V-shape, then insert three sections into a g cm (3 %in) pot of cuttings compost. Water, cover with polythene and keep out of direct light to enable it to root. Alternatively, lay the leaf upside down on a board and cut either side of the long midrib with a sharp knife. Prepare a small tray of cuttings compost and make two long grooves in it to match the length of the leaf sections. Discard the midrib, pick up a rather floppy, long section and set it into the ‘drill’, with the cut ends of the veins downwards. Firm gently along the length, so that there is good contact between the veins and the compost, because this is where the roots will arise. Water in, then slide into a polythene bag to root. After several months young plants will have appeared; when these are large enough to handle, pot each one separately.
Although they are slow to produce offsets, Clivia miniata are easy to divide, grow and flower. The young plants will fly off the sales bench when you can show a mature plant in full bloom. Always make sure that plants are pest-free, are labelled and that you show what the mature plant looks like.
Watering should take place from below and even an inveterate from-thetop water like myself follows this rule. Only water when the plant is almost about to wilt from being too dry, as they hate to sit in soggy compost. The water should be at room temperature, and at every other application should have African violet fertilizer added to it, or half-strength general-purpose liquid plant food. Avoid splashing water onto the leaves, as in bright light this causes discoloration.
Attention to the above should guarantee a succession of blooms, with perhaps a short break between flushes – that is, until an individual plant becomes tired and starts becoming multi-crowned, or pushes up on a longer stem. Now is the time to take leaf cuttings in order to start again with new plants. Cut off a healthy leaf with the stalk attached and either sit two back-to-back in a pot of cuttings compost (kept in a polythene bag) or put them in water to root. When roots have grown from the leaf stalks, pot them up and wait for small plants to develop.
The Garden Flat Growing Plant
May 2nd
An effective way to soften large areas of paving is to intersperse them with areas of low-growing planting. It is quite usual to see paving broken up randomly with a mix of different low-growing plants, but by using strong patterns (like a chequerboard) and one type of ground-hugging plant, the effect has a more dynamic and dramatic look. Perhaps one of the simplest plants to use is grass, but a fine-growing type, not a rye grass. This should be established so that it is marginally higher than the paving slab, by about 6mm (‘%in), so that the mower can run over the top without damaging the blades. The grass will tend to creep out beyond the squares over a period of time, making the shapes less dramatically defined, but occasional edging up with an edging spade soon sorts this out.
Other suitable plants are pearlwort (Sagina glabra), which is covered with small green flowers and is sometimes considered to be a weed, though in this instance it is a useful, functional plant. There is a golden form of this, S. g. ‘Aurea’. It also grows a mere ‘cm (‘Mn) high and is ideal if you like something very bright. In cold winters it can tend to die back in patches, so it is worth bringing in a few plants in the autumn and dividing them up, ready to plug any gaps. Thymus serpyllum ‘Minimus’ is a very close-creeping thyme, which has pretty mauve-pink flowers in summer and, of the ground-hugging plants, would probably be my first choice.
When you are establishing your mats of plants, it is worth planting them into compost or sterilized soil, as they are best planted at close centres, perhaps rocm (4in) apart, to get them to knit together quickly, and it helps to prevent any weeds creeping in and spoiling the effect.
. It also can reduce the light levels too much. You can rake the blanket weed out, but you will probably find that if you leave it be, the snail population will increase and will slowly get on top of the problem for you. Another approach, which I use, is to add a couple of biscuits of barley straw, wrapped up in old hay net, and submerge them in the pond. The rotting straw releases algal inhibitors that work on a wide range of algae. The common one least affected is Spirogyra. In trials oo per cent reported partial or total success, but it can take between one and three months, so don’t lose heart and rush off for some chemicals before giving it a chance!
One final approach, if none of the above answers your problem: by circulating the water, perhaps with a fountain, you increase the oxygen levels. This helps to improve the water quality, so if you like the idea of some artificially moving water, you could try this solution.
I C Shade is important. If you are able to construct a wooden bridge over part of the pond, this will cast shade at all times, helping to reduce the soup effect. It is also nice to be able to look down on the water. The bridge will offer fish somewhere to hide from herons.
We have just put in a formal pond and want to add lots of aquatic plants. Should we plant them in containers or just plant them into soil on the bottom?
There are opposing schools of thought on this subject. Your second system of planting the aquatics on the base of the pond is the way I planted my formal pond initially, but I have now reverted to using containers. By planting the aquatics in perforated baskets, the plants are kept in check, are easy to divide and repot and you can put them exactly where you want them. But bear in mind that it will take longer to get a lush, well-established-looking pond. To this end I would use large perforated containers, so that you can establish generous clumps of plants. I think it is trickier to get clear water by restricting the planting this way, as the natural balance is more difficult to get right, generally due to the lower volume of planting. In addition, to avoid looking at plant pots on the bottom of the pool in the winter, it is necessary to hide them with pebbles.
If I were making an informal pool I would choose a modified version of planting in soil directly on the pond bottom. The problem with covering all the pond base with soil, as I did initially, is that the plants quickly colonize the whole pool. My water lilies became very crowded, and it was quite a performance lifting them all out and splitting them up. Other plants have to be regularly thinned, too. If your water is more than I.5m (5ft) deep, then these deep areas will naturally remain free of plants (with the exception of a few water lilies), so rapid colonization may not be a problem to you. If, instead of covering the whole of the pool base with soil, you just.
The Garden Design Bulbs In Flower
May 1st
There are several criteria that need to be fulfilled when you select bulbs for grassy areas. They need to look appropriate, be able to withstand the competition from the grass – either holding their own or able to bulk up and spread – and they need to stand up to being left in the ground over the winter. In addition the grass needs to be suitably managed. Close-cut lawn will not suit many bulbs – most need longer grass, perhaps in a semi-wild situation.
The common snowdrop will grow in grass; the main problem is that it dislikes being dried off, so it is better to plant it in the green. The flowers arrive in late winter, making you think that perhaps spring is on the way. Galanthus nivalis ‘Gravetye Giant’ is more robust, and grows up to 9cm (3′/in) high. The winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) is a tuber that also dislikes being dried off. It looks wonderful in huge drifts and is worth the extra trouble. Crocuses are a useful bulb. I like Crocus tommasini anus, which does particularly well in turf. It likes full sun and blooms in late February to early March, so is a good bulb to choose if you want to resume your mowing early in the year. There are hordes of bulbs (in the loose sense of the word) that perform in spring. The Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) flowers in late March, holds its own in turf, but does not increase. The anemones are beauties, especially Anemone blanda, which has white, blue, pink or magenta flowers. They like well-drained soil in sun or light shade. Anemone apennina also does well in this situation, as does glory of the snow (Chionodoxa luciliae), with its starry blue flowers centred with white. Another blue flower is the grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum), which likes a sunny spot.
A spring bulb that never fails to cause a stir is the snakeshead fritillary (FriaDarla meleagris), which has an incredibly beautiful, purple and white chequered cap. There are also plain white varieties. It is inexpensive to buy, but on dry soil will die out after two or three years, so stocks need regular topping up. Ideally it likes a damp meadow. Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum) is extremely easy to please, though. It will be a bit invasive in the border, so is ideally suited to growing in grass. The summer
snowflake (Leucojum aestivum) really flowers in mid-spring, between March and April. It works well with daffodils and has white flowers that are chocolate-scented.
