Page 11 - HGS Suburb News 132 - Autumn 2017

Revamping an herbaceous border

Before... ... and after.
So, like me, you have been the garden. Start by taking a it, you might as well condition cumbersome to handle. Do get often to see if the combinations Once everything is planted,
tending your plot for 20 odd long hard look at the offending the soil, so stock up on multi- help when lifting large root balls. are pleasing on the eye; give the borders a thorough
years. You have nurtured it season area. Decide what works and purpose compost, well-rotted • Shrubs destined to stay put rearranging now is far easier watering (yes, even if it is
after season, aiming for some what does not, which plants you manure and horticultural grit. can be pruned at this time to than after planting! When raining) then finally apply a 2
vague notion of perfection that’s want to keep and which you would It is worth buying a packet of rejuvenate & create a better planting, work from the back of inch layer of well-rotted manure
floating around in your mind’s rather relocate or give away. Root Grow, mycorrhizal fungi, shape. Removing the lowest the border to the front, so as mulch, being careful to avoid the
eye. But the glorious tableau Maybe you have new additions to promote strong new root branches to reveal the stem not to compact the completed crowns of plants.
created at the height of summer you wish to incorporate into growth. Tools for the job are gives a shrub a certain elegance, areas. Dig a hole twice the size of Water well about once a week
always seems to lose its balance the new scheme. Now would border fork and spade, hand as well as letting in light and air the root ball, sprinkle RootGrow especially if it is a dry autumn,
by autumn. Thugs overshadowing also be a good time to enlarge fork & trowel, scoop, secateurs and creating further planting into the hole and onto roots, then sit back and anticipate the
gentler neighbours, sprawling or reshape borders. Draw up a and loppers. opportunities at soil level. then plant up, working in the results next Spring.
crowns of standard shrubs plan on paper, roughly to scale, • Remove perennials first as it • Weed the border thoroughly, new compost and grit. CAROLINE BROOME
starving light from sun loving marking up areas of full sun, gets them out of harm’s way, ensuring deep rooted culprits
perennials, which refuse to flower part shade and full shade, dry creating better access to all areas. are completely removed.
as a result. Ground cover has or moist. As a rule of thumb Store plants temporarily with Once the border is cleared,
flopped all over the lawn edges, planting is all about layers: some fresh multipurpose compost it is time to recondition the soil.
the hybrid teas are so tall that Small trees or large shrubs first, in large pots or sacks. In theory It is likely that you have heavy
their blooms can be seen from then perennials, traditionally they can stay containerised clay soil, so add copious amounts
space, bulbs that flowered years tallest at back graduating to indefinitely if kept moist and of grit mixed 50/50 with multi-
ago only producing leaves. shortest at front, followed by stored in a sheltered area, but purpose compost. No need to
You could make adjustments ground cover and bulbs. try to replant them before dig it in; it will be worked into
by lifting and dividing, moving Here is an annoying adage temperatures drop to give them the existing soil as you replant.
or removing only certain plants. for you from my glorious years time to settle into warm soil. Leaving the best ‘til last, it is
Indeed autumn is the ideal time in retail managment: Failure to • Take the opportunity to divide time to plant up your new
to do this while the soil is still prepare, prepare to fail. With perennials as you lift them. border. Lay all the plants out in
warm. But after a while repeating this in mind these are the Must This will not only rejuvenate their desired positions first,
this method piecemeal is just Haves of the exercise: A ground them but will also create more preferably in groups of threes or
not enough, leaving the border sheet to spread over the adjacent visual impact when replanting fives, using your newly divided
looking fragmented. It is time lawn or paving, and plenty of in groups. clumps. Space about 9 inches apart
to start again. empty compost sacks, rubble • Next to go should be any for a dense effect. For a natural
Before you plunge in, choose bags and large plastic pots for unwanted shrubs. It is a good informal look, avoid straight
one border at a time, in order to use as temporary storage of idea to cut top growth down lines; better to plant in drifts or
minimize overall disruption to lifted plants. Whilst you are at before digging out, as less triangles. Step back every so Border rejuvinated

Horticultural Society Suburb rainfall

winners – again! We always like to feel that the the effects of the summer rainfall,
Suburb is a very special place to to give a somewhat, but not
Wednesday, October 4 was a good and knowledge goes into both live and that it leads the way in very, below average amount for
night for Hampstead Garden these gardens, which are also how to make the most of its 2017. There is no real suggestion
Suburb Horticultural Society, as open annually as part of The surroundings. But change the of any clear correlation between
committee members Caroline National Garden Scheme and weather just for our benefit? the amounts in the first nine
Broome and Diane Berger, won other charities. The last rainfall column in months of the year and the
And this is also good news
the London Gardens Society All
Glorious colours of the Alstroemeria on show. See pictorial review on back page. London Championship for the for Suburb News readers as Suburb News explained that the final annual total. So, as usual,
very low rainfall in the first half
we must just wait and see.
284th Flower Show second year running for Best well because you can benefit of the year had left the ground And, as usual, plants seem to
for water. There seemed to be
experience by following her
laziness in getting out the hose.
On Saturday, September 9 The baking the Suburb has to offer Small, and Large Back Gardens from Caroline’s wisdom and very dry and gardens crying out have coped very well, in spite of
respectively at The Guildhall
Free Church Hall was transformed was available to refresh the guests. against fierce London-wide regular gardening column on little rain forecast. DIANA IWI FROM MEADWAY
into a green oasis by the cornucopia There was a total of 282 opposition. A lot of hard work this page. Thank you, perhaps, to
of floral and vegetable delights entries on the day with an whoever did the rain dance, for,
at the 284th Flower show of the excellent showing and high on July 11, down came the rain,
HGS Horticultural Society. standard of competition in the a whole 1.4 inches of it. Then,
The heavy showers that dahlia, apple and tomato classes, just in case too much had run
punctuated the day did not put which all proved popular. The off on the dry, baked, ground,
off the gardening public who veg trug category, often described there was a thunderstorm at
visited the show to see the as the decathalon of the show, night on July 18, and then more
fantastic floral displays and was once again hotly contested, rain in the rest of the month to
delicious looking fruit & veg the but the show was quite possibly give a total of 3.6 inches, well
green-fingered members of the stolen by a fantastically eccentric above average. August, too, had
society had put together. There four foot-long Tromboccino squash rainfall well above the norm.
was live music from the Grimsdyke entered in the unusual vegetable Over the year so far, the dry
brass band, and some of the best category (see back page). first six months have outweighed

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