Planting on Rubble.

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John Little

At our March meeting we were delighted to welcome John Little whose garden was featured in the March edition of the RHS magazine, The Garden. He introduced his talk by emphasising the importance of gardens and gardeners; talked about the undervaluing of gardeners, and the lack of revenue to maintain large gardening projects, often created with a substantial amount of capital funding. We saw examples of some brilliant community gardening projects developed for the community, contrasted with bleak public spaces with no greenery at all. John talked about the necessity to rethink our gardening and create new landscapes growing on unusual materials eg rubbish destined for landfill or left through fly tipping. We saw pictures of the Canvey Wick nature reserve managed by the RSPB and Buglife, a brownfield site which developed on poor quality soil and sand, gravel and chalk. It now supports more species of invertebrates – including 30 species on the UK’s red list – than any other Site of Special Scientific Interest in the country. John recommended that gardeners should work alongside entomologists to ensure that planting can support a wide range of invertebrates – which in turn encourages a greater population of wildlife in gardens. John explained how it is possible to grow plants on sand, rubble and other building materials. He showed us pictures of the beautiful planting in his own garden, using Gabions to hold waste material to form boundaries, green roofs on sheds and bike shelters and altering the topography of the garden by creating mounds on which to plant. Members were inspired to try planting in builders sand or creating mounds in their own gardens. In the words of one member – John’s talk was truly inspiring in his subject and delivery ……it did feel as if there was something each of us could do in our own gardens.

The AHS committee is organising a visit to John’s garden on the 1st June – details will be sent to all members and supporters in the next few weeks.

‘A Rubbish Garden’ is the theme of our Next Meeting on Tuesday 14th March 2023 7:30pm at Aldersbrook Bowls Club, E12 5DY

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A presentation by John Little of his garden ‘Hilldrop’ in South Essex. His garden is most certainly not rubbish, but a supreme example of gardening on poor soils and substrates and demonstrates how this supports a variety of plants and wildlife.

Those of you who are RHS members will see John’s garden in your March copy of ‘The Garden’: a front cover illustration and feature, “Rising from the Rubble” – a more appropriate title than the one we’ve given our session!

“Gardens should be resilient, sustainable and available to all”. John Little ‘The Garden’ RHS March 23

Tips of the Month

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June

Sow seeds of biennials such as foxgloves, wallflowers and Sweet Williams in a seed bed or in containers.

Sow brassicas for Autumn/Winter harvest.

Stake flowers that are likely to flop such as delphiniums and sunflowers.

Chop perennials such as Oriental poppies and lupins back to the base for potentially a second flush of flowers.

Take softwood cuttings from shrubs such as mock orange & hydrangeas using non-flowering shoots up to 10cm long.

Feed tomatoes when the fruit starts to set.

Pick off plums so that fruit are 4 inches apart to avoid too many fruits which will rot.

Water in dry weather and feed flowers and fruits weekly with tomato feed or liquid seaweed solution.

May

Still just enough time to plant late potatoes.

Prune early Spring shrubs such as Forsythia, Ribes and Kerria after flowering to give them maximum time to regrow and flower next year.

Don’t mow your lawn in May – ‘No Mow May’ – allow grass to grow long to provide habitats for bees, butterflies and other wildlife.

Sow winter veg such as cauliflower and purple sprouting broccoli.

Sow French and runner beans under cover.

Prune wall trained Pyracanthas.

Water newly planted trees and shrubs.

Cut out frost damage to evergreen shrubs.

Weed paths and patios.

April.

Deadhead Spring bedding – remove faded blooms from primroses, pansies and other bedding.

Sow hardy annual seeds outside.

Prune penstemons, cut just above fresh new shoots

Deadhead faded daffodil and tulip flowers but only take off the flowers – don’t cut back the stems.

If frost is forecast protect fruit blossom on trees such as plums, apricots, peaches and pears.

Sow seeds of marrow, courgette, pumpkins and squash under cover.

Sow root crops such as beetroot & carrot outside when the soil has warmed –

February & March.

These are the months when we can get back into our gardens – with more daylight hours and some days of sunny Spring weather.

Pruning

Prune shrub roses & climbing roses – rambler roses should be pruned after flowering.

Prune soft fruit bushes – Autumn fruiting Raspberries (Summer fruiting Raspberries should be pruned in September): Currants, Gooseberries & Blueberries.

Clear garden borders of dead growth which you have kept during the winter months to provide shelter to insects.

Weed borders – clear perennial weeds and annual weeds but don’t hoe emerging bulbs or perennials.

Mulch borders with garden compost or well-rotted manure.

Start seed sowing under cover indoors on windowsills or in a greenhouse/conservatory/porch – Aubergine, Chillis, Peppers & Tomatoes need a long growing period.

Chit seed potatoes before planting them out at the end of March/beginning of April.

Some vegetable seeds can be sown outdoors towards the end of March – carrots, broad beans and parsnips.

Repair bare patches in lawns – seed over bare patches.

Beware though- Weather Forecasters are predicting another ‘Beast from the East’ at the beginning of March – so don’t sow seeds outside until after that!!