SPRING GARDENING

The ‘courgette crisis’ that hit the news a few weeks back is a timely nudge for all of us to have a go at growing our own. Even with just a pot-full or two of fresh leafy salad right outside the back door, you’re a bit less at the mercy of vegetable imports or the guilt of buying produce that’s travelled for hundreds of miles. More space makes a big difference, of course, but what also has a huge influence is having somewhere to grow under cover to keep off extremes of weather. A walk-in space makes the perfect haven – this could be a greenhouse (free-standing or lean-to) or a polytunnel – but even a low cloche or cold frame makes a brilliant sheltered spot to grow edibles year-round, and it’s amazing just how much can be harvested from a really small space. Going back to pots (either under cover or outside), several years ago I did a ‘crops in pots’ trial for Gardeners World magazine and grew a wide range of veg in identical 30cm wide tubs. Top performers in terms of yield were dwarf French beans, cut-and-come-again lettuce, bush tomatoes and Swiss chard, all of which can be sown now or bought inexpensively as ready grown plants, while other excellent and easy veg include mixed salad leaves, rocket and watercress. Fruit is fantastic too: strawberries have long been a favourite for pots, being small and easy to grow, but look out for new, compact blackberries and raspberries bred specifically for containers. Patio pots that look great and taste delicious are the perfect combination.

Seasonal jobs

• Finish cutting back dead growth on perennials and deciduous ornamental grasses, before new shoots grow too much. Rather than composting these dry stems and leaves, I build a ‘brash’ pile in an outof-the-way corner which is a wonderful habitat for wildlife.
• Shrubs with coloured stems like dogwood and willow should be hard pruned, almost to the ground, to form a stump or ‘stool’. This encourages plenty of strong, straight, brightly coloured new stems, particularly if you mulch and feed with a highpotash fertilizer straight after.
• And on the subject of feeding – now’s the time to give a dressing of fertilizer to pretty much everything in the garden. Don’t forget the lawn too.
• It’s peak seed sowing time, either under cover in pots for frosttender flowers and veg. or direct-sowing outside for hardy ones. Add a burst of summer blooms to borders by sowing hardy annuals between perennial plants – Californian poppy is one of my favourites for sunny sites.

Looking good

Bulbs. Unbeatable for a spectacular spirit-lifting spring display. Mid-season narcissi and tulips look magnificent in pots and borders.

Camellias. Sumptuous blooms borne in abundance against glossy, dark, evergreen foliage. Good in large containers too, given ericaceous (lime-free) potting compost and a regular supply of water.

Spring clematis. Early-blooming Clematis alpina and C.macropetala varieties bear masses of delicate, nodding blooms against fresh green ferny foliage. These tough species are happy in sun or shade.

Euphorbias. These architectural perennials look amazing in spring, with attractive foliage and decorative flower-like bracts. For a sheltered spot, my favourite is the large and shrubby Euphorbia mellifera with honey-scented flowers.

SUE’S TOP TIPS

Thrifty.

With the vintage look still going strong, create gorgeous patio displays for next to nothing using recycled ‘junk’ as containers. Items I’ve used over the years includes old galvanised mop buckets and washtubs; chimney pots; copper hot water tanks; an old sailing dinghy; even an old toilet (thoroughly disinfected, I hasten to add!). Anything that can have drainage holes made in it and holds compost is a plant container in my book.

Wildlife.

Now birds are nesting, avoid cutting hedges and other favourite nest sites like dense climbing plants and large shrubs. Keep feeding with a range of good quality bird food offered in proper feeders: sunflower hearts, peanuts and nyger seed are excellent no-mess foods. Cheaper bird seed mixes often have a high proportion of larger grains that only encourage larger birds like pigeons.

‘Green’.

Choose eco-friendly methods of combatting pests and diseases. These are often most effective too, such as a biological control for vine weevil which uses a microscopic nematode to predate on those pesky soil-living grubs that munch roots. (Cyclamen, fuchsia, primrose, polyanthus and strawberry are their favourite plants, by the way).

Time saving.

Pots and hanging baskets make a gloriously colourful summer display, but if you’re put off by the thought of watering, consider setting up a patio watering system. This is best put in place early in the season and often there are good discounts on complete kits, including tap-mounted times that make the system completely automatic. No tap? There’s even a solar-powered pump suitable for water butts.

Favourite plant

Apple blossom is one of the glories of spring: blush-pink and evocatively fragrant, with the promise of a handsome and delicious harvest to follow later on. Best of all the trees can be bought or trained in a number of forms, from large orchard trees down to espalier, fan or cordon shapes perfect for the smallest garden.

Sue Fisher is a garden designer and writer based on the Bere Peninsula. Tel 01822 841895. Email: suefisher@talktalk.net Website: www.suefishergardens.co.uk