As pretty noisy neighbours their presence on our office blocks and rooftops is rarely welcomed. Yet this change in habits is largely driven by our own activities. As a trip to the local recycling centre makes very clear, food availability is the key here. As fishing has become more industrialised and more efficient in reducing waste, gulls have increasingly looked to the land for food and what they have found there are our huge landfill sites full of readily accessible supplies. Whether it’s a bag of leftover chips or other food waste, our urban streets often also offer tempting goodies for a hungry gull. And why choose to bring up a family on a cold, windswept cliff when there’s a warm office block near the larder?

       Once upon a time finding gulls nesting inland was a very rare event. But these are intelligent and adaptable species, quick to respond to a changing world even if it brings them into conflict with us humans. It is thought the first record of gulls nesting far from the sea is of a pair raising a brood on an old Cornish mill in 1909. Like it or like it not, our Landgulls are now here to stay.

As April is probably the peak plant buying and planting month for many gardeners, I thought that I would give a shout out for a category of garden-worthy plants sometimes overlooked in our quest for flower power – evergreen shrubs.  That label certainly sounds more ‘worthy’ than exciting but, of course, evergreen does not have to mean green. There are many shrubs that retain their leaves and provide colour all year round, and quite a few that have flowers as well.  Unless you are creating a purely herbaceous border, shrubs are a great addition to any planting scheme.  They provide height and structure and this is especially valuable in winter and spring when the top growth of many herbaceous plants has died off and been cut back.  And an evergreen shrub gives a real sense of fullness in the sparse months as well as anchoring the planting scheme to the ground.

A common complaint about evergreens is that they are boring.  Well, then you are choosing the wrong ones!  I generally prefer plants that have either flowers or variegated leaves but not both as it is rare to get a really good colour combination.  My personal worst-case scenario is a yellow variegated leaf with pink flowers – but this is just my taste.  Of course, we all know Rhododendrons and Camellias and probably regarded them as ‘flowering shrubs’ rather than evergreens in the first instance, but they still provide that winter bulk and structure that is so valuable.  It is really the coloured-foliage evergreen shrubs that I want to highlight here and some that may be less well known.

As light relief from dark and dull green, look at Griselinia, a medium size shrub very tolerant of wind and coastal areas, has soft green leaves and the variety ‘Variegata’ is edged with cream.  Some evergreens take on a reddish tinge when temperatures drop, livening up a winter border, such as Nandina and especially the dwarf form ‘Firepower’.  Finally I love the almost black, shiny, ruffled leaves of the dwarf Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’.   There is plenty of colourful choice in evergreens..

Alison Marsden lives in Southborough providing advice to gardeners onsite and online. She teaches Adult Education gardening courses and gives talks to clubs and societies.  There is no long-term commitment – just all the advice you need an hour at a time.  Find out more at www.gardeningbydesign.co.uk or call 07803 045327

Spring clean your Greenhouse

The start of April is a good time to clean out your greenhouse after it has been shut up all winter.  Many plants can be moved outside permanently and the more tender, still requiring overnight protection, can start hardening off during the day.  The point of cleaning out a greenhouse is to remove plant debris that might have been collecting under the staging to remove sources of fungal infections and also to maximise the light to plants.

Ideally you would take all plants outside before starting, so that they are not at risk of being tipped over or sloshed with a bucket of water.  But if your greenhouse is big enough, then just moving plants around should suffice.  Brush or wipe the surface of staging and shelves to clear up any old leaves and spilled compost – this can all go onto the compost heap.  Wash the glass, inside and out, removing the green algae that tends to develop, especially at the edges of the panes.  There are many products offered for glass cleaning, if you use one, make sure it is suited to greenhouse use and follow the instructions.  Finally, remember to clear leaves from the gutters and your greenhouse will be ready for the new season.

Happy Gardening from Alison

As April is probably the peak plant buying and planting month for many gardeners, I thought that I would give a shout out for a category of garden-worthy plants sometimes overlooked in our quest for flower power – evergreen shrubs.  That label certainly sounds more ‘worthy’ than exciting but, of course, evergreen does not have to mean green. There are many shrubs that retain their leaves and provide colour all year round, and quite a few that have flowers as well.  Unless you are creating a purely herbaceous border, shrubs are a great addition to any planting scheme.  They provide height and structure and this is especially valuable in winter and spring when the top growth of many herbaceous plants has died off and been cut back.  And an evergreen shrub gives a real sense of fullness in the sparse months as well as anchoring the planting scheme to the ground.

A common complaint about evergreens is that they are boring.  Well, then you are choosing the wrong ones!  I generally prefer plants that have either flowers or variegated leaves but not both as it is rare to get a really good colour combination.  My personal worst-case scenario is a yellow variegated leaf with pink flowers – but this is just my taste.  Of course, we all know Rhododendrons and Camellias and probably regarded them as ‘flowering shrubs’ rather than evergreens in the first instance, but they still provide that winter bulk and structure that is so valuable.  It is really the coloured-foliage evergreen shrubs that I want to highlight here and some that may be less well known.

As light relief from dark and dull green, look at Griselinia, a medium size shrub very tolerant of wind and coastal areas, has soft green leaves and the variety ‘Variegata’ is edged with cream.  Some evergreens take on a reddish tinge when temperatures drop, livening up a winter border, such as Nandina and especially the dwarf form ‘Firepower’.  Finally I love the almost black, shiny, ruffled leaves of the dwarf Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’.   There is plenty of colourful choice in evergreens..

Alison Marsden lives in Southborough providing advice to gardeners onsite and online. She teaches Adult Education gardening courses and gives talks to clubs and societies.  There is no long-term commitment – just all the advice you need an hour at a time.  Find out more at www.gardeningbydesign.co.uk or call 07803 045327

Spring clean your Greenhouse

The start of April is a good time to clean out your greenhouse after it has been shut up all winter.  Many plants can be moved outside permanently and the more tender, still requiring overnight protection, can start hardening off during the day.  The point of cleaning out a greenhouse is to remove plant debris that might have been collecting under the staging to remove sources of fungal infections and also to maximise the light to plants.

Ideally you would take all plants outside before starting, so that they are not at risk of being tipped over or sloshed with a bucket of water.  But if your greenhouse is big enough, then just moving plants around should suffice.  Brush or wipe the surface of staging and shelves to clear up any old leaves and spilled compost – this can all go onto the compost heap.  Wash the glass, inside and out, removing the green algae that tends to develop, especially at the edges of the panes.  There are many products offered for glass cleaning, if you use one, make sure it is suited to greenhouse use and follow the instructions.  Finally, remember to clear leaves from the gutters and your greenhouse will be ready for the new season.

Happy Gardening from Alison

Gardens are an important element is supporting insects and all our local wildlife.  A greater area of the UK is covered by gardens than by nature reserves and, of course, gardens appear where nature reserves are scarce, in towns and cities, providing green corridors and linking larger natural spaces together.  We all know that wildlife arrives in our gardens without us having to do much to encourage it and the good news for insects is that the most important action we can take is inaction. Leaving old leaves to lie at the base of a hedge, allowing climbers to clothe a fence in winter and piling some pruning offcuts in a sheltered corner will all support a vast array of invertebrate life, most of which we will never see.

A 30 year study of a domestic garden recorded over 2000 species of insects and other invertebrates, along with birds, mammals and amphibians. It is true that a few will eat plants that we want to nurture and no gardener wants to see precious flowers nipped in the bud or cabbage leaves turned to shreds. But the best way to prevent this in most cases is timely physical or manual intervention and allowing natural predators – the food chain – to be our friends.  Ladybirds and their larvae consume quantities of greenfly but using insecticide will kill both.

As gardeners we benefit from the natural world and now is the time to make sure we play our part in protecting it.  The Kent Wildlife Trust Gardening for a Wilder Kent programme has information, advice and events to help everyone take Action for Insects.

Gardening the Blues

I started out to write about less well known, but easy to grow, flowering shrubs for late summer colour and my list quickly filled with blue flowers. Coincidentally my favourites are start with C, so here are my three C’s for gardening the blues. 

Ceanothus is well known as an evergreen shrub wit bright or dark blue flowers in late spring, but there are autumn flowering forms too. Ceanothus ‘Burkwoodii’ shines from late summer into autumn while Ceanothus ‘Autumnal Blue’ flowers in spring with a second flush in autumn.

Caryopteris is a small, grey leaved shrub with clear blue flowers in late summer. Not suited to colder areas of the UK, it looks quite Mediterranean and is late to produce leaves in spring. I regularly panic that mine has been killed by the winter but it has always come through to delight.

Ceratostigma has the brightest electric blue flowers in autumn just as the evergreen leaves redden for the winter.  Choose Ceratostigma willmottianum for a rounded shrub reaching 75cm.

Happy Gardening from Alison

Alison Marsden lives in Southborough providing advice to gardeners onsite and online. She teaches Adult Education gardening courses and gives talks to clubs and societies. 

There is no long term commitment – just all the advice you need an hour at a time.  Find out more at www.gardeningbydesign.co.uk or call 07803 045327

For pot plant problems, in winter it’s quite normal for plants not to grow. If the plant is not growing in spring, the most likely reason is that it has grown too big for its pot. Otherwise it may be under watered or underfed.
If a plant suffers from spindly growth i.e. very tall with only a few leaves, it means it has been given too much food and water for the amount of light available. This happens most often in spring, when there is little light. Cut down on feeding and watering.
If your plant is growing crooked or twisted, you will see it has done so to get nearer to a source of light. Move the plant so as to give it more light. If the plant is already in plenty of light, turn it regularly so that the whole plant get the same amount of light.
If leaves are dropping and they are old, the most likely cause is under watering. If the leaves are fairly young and turn yellow before dropping, the cause is probably over-watering.

To keep cut flowers fresh as long as possible, change the water and cut off a small piece of the stems every day. If the stems are hard and woody (rose stems for example), they should be crushed at the ends to encourage the absorption of water.

Joan Hamilton-Smith