obelixx

Dragon claw willow

Bookertoo - I did root them in water and then potted them up but theyve had this winter to contend with so it's  a case of wait and see.   Mama dragon looks OK though so I'll take some more as insurance later on.

A couple of years ago my sister-in-law went green when she saw my tree as she'd spent a fortune and loads of petrol going round all the florists buying it up for her son's wedding decs.   Could have had it all free if she'd said.

Dragon claw willow

Well, I never knew my twisted willow was also called Dragon's Claw.   Much better name.

Mine was summarily hacked  to a stump last autumn by a man with a chain saw when the local electricity distribution board came looking for the causes of a power cut.   Two bird sown willows on the edge of my land had been blowing around in the gales and caused overhead cables to short.  They decapitated my Dragon's Claw too as a preventive measure. 

It has new shoots just starting but I'm still waiting for the cuttings I took to hsow any growth.   Have to be patient.

herbs in oil

I've put garlic cloves in virgin olive oil for years and am still alive.   Chillies and basil too.    And I've done strips of lemon peel in gin for a friend who likes G&T ebfore dinner when she stays and chillies in vodka for another friend who likes Bloody Marys but I have to say the chilli quickly reached lethal proportions so should be strained out after 3 or 4 weeks.

Morello cherry cordon

Morellos are often recommended by experts for planting up againts north facing house walls and have been for decades.    I can't see that they would still be doing that if problems had arisen.   If you buy one on a dwarfing or medium root stock it won't be invasive under or over ground.

For whom do we garden .............

They do say to plant two different ones so you get cross pollination and it certainly increased my crop when I bought a friend for my my blueberry a few years ago.   You could help things along by planting nearby some plants that flower at the same time so that they attract pollinators to the blueberries.   

Clematus montana or triffid?

Yes indeed, immediately after flowering and that should happen in teh next few weeks.

You can then either give it an overall hair cut to tidy it up and cut a few main stems at the base then leave them to wilt before pulling them out or cut the whole thing back to low pairs of leaves and then train the new growth where you want it to grow.   Whatever you do, make sure you give it a good feed of proper cleatis food and a liquid tonic of rose or tomato food to give it a boost.

For whom do we garden .............

That's gardeners.  Ever optimistic.  Good luck with your crop.  I fed mine a couple of weeks ago as they're planted in big holes of ericaceous compost in otherwise fertile but alkaline loam.   Happy enough when not frozen to death.

For whom do we garden .............

I'm told you can solve the problem of their being dug up by putting a layer of chicken wire over the bulbs once planted.    I don't have squirrels here.   No grey ones anyway and there's pasture between me and the woods where the red ones live so no access to my garden.

The only bird problem I have is them nicking the blueberries just before they're ripe for human picking so i'm planning to net them this year.  After several years of winter damage reducing stems and fruiting power, I gave them a wind barrier for this winter and that means I have no dead and frozen stems this year so I'm hoping for a good crop.

Encouraging bats in our gardens

I'd be interested too Nut.  We had a bad year for butterflies last year and that probably meant bad for moths too.   When we cleared our barn out at Easter, ready for renovation, we did find a few hibernating but only 3 or 4 which is not encouraging for this year's population.

Talkback: Bees and pesticides

I've seen a few bumble bees so far and yesterday had to rescue one that got stuck in the tomato plants on my window sill.  I've built an insect hotel to shelter them and other insects though it needs renovating after the birds have removed some of the fillings like straw and pine cones.   I've also drilled holes in our walls for sloitary bees and wasps to live and lay their eggs.

I have lots fo fruit bushes and veggies that need insect pollination so I don't use any sprays at all as even soapy water can affect beneficial insects.  If I have a major infestation of aphids and not enough ladybirds I'll sometimes blast them off with a spray from the hose pipe but I find that hanging peanut feeders near susceptible plants like roses encourages the birds to come and feast on the pests.   They also take most of the caterpillars of my brassicas so it's win win.

Encouraging bats in our gardens

Beechgrove this weekend

Weekend 22 March

Good Morning - 21 March

Choosing chillies

Hanging baskets and window boxes

New shed - any tips?