Chris Palmer
I cannot think of any other way of putting it. I wish I could. Another form of words? No. There’s no two ways about it. It’s best to be totally honest. So here we go…
My mother was a plant thief.
There, I’ve said it, and it feels good to get it off my chest.
Gardeners come in all shapes and sizes. There is great scope to have particular interests. Mum, who died five years ago at the age of 96, loved growing plants from cuttings of mature ones. So where does the thieving come into it?
Going back half a century at least, in my early years, summer holidays every year were camping holidays. Dad’s Ford Anglia (5039 TW: I’ll never forget the registration) would be prepared – tent and flysheet on the roof rack, and everything else in the modest-sized boot. Off we went to different parts of England, Wales and Scotland for a fortnight. Lands End to John O’Groats, Anglesey, The Isle of Wight, East Anglia. Wherever there was a campsite.
Once established, it seemed that our main objective was to find a stately home or National Trust establishment. They were magnets to my parents. Balmoral, Falkland Palace and Inverewe in Scotland, for example. They all had large, impressive gardens. Room for children to roam and for parents to admire the trees, shrubs and flowers. Once plastic bags for sandwiches became empty, they were perfect for cuttings, taken from plants that mum admired. Heather or broom in Scotland, maybe gorse in Wales, and other shrubs from which a few modest cuttings would not be missed.
My parents’ gardens in Essex, and then Northumberland, where they settled in retirement, were full of evergreen shrubs acquired in this surreptitious but harmless manner. They were perfect souvenirs. Mum had green fingers and a way with cuttings. This extended to our own plants as well!
It would be about this time – late May/early June – that mum would take pelargonium cuttings. Although not her favourite plant, she recognised that given reasonable growing conditions and a sunny spot, they have the potential to flower for most of the year. The cuttings are simple to take and should do well in well drained compost in a warm spot such as a south-facing windowsill. The procedure for taking a cutting can be seen in many video films on the internet. By the end of the year mum had multiplied her stock of plants and had enjoyed lots of colours in either bedding pots or flower beds for many months. An added bonus was that they made excellent gifts for family members who were aware of mum’s green-fingered capabilities.
I’ve mentioned before that tulips are my favourite spring bulbs. There is an endless choice and if the sowing is staggered over a period of weeks in late autumn, there can be a good display the following year from early April until mid-May. This year my favourite display has been of a bright yellow variety – ‘Sunny Prince’. It flowers earlier than many varieties and has a strong stem that withstood some strong spring winds. I recommend it. My pleasure has been enhanced by the fact that the bulbs were saved from last year’s garden and have been even better this time. If you haven’t already, make sure that every tulip has been dead-headed. This ensures that all the goodness is going down into the bulb and not the seed heads. By now it is likely that the leaves will have turned yellow. I dig my bulbs up with the leaves intact and put them in the sun to dry. Once I’m sure they are completely dry, I store them in a cool dry spot where I am reasonably sure they will not be nibbled by mice. I recognise that this is easier said than done. I hang them up in our garage in discarded tights. It seems to work.
At the end of March, I joined a small group of green-fingered enthusiasts in Maybole for Gardeners’ Question time, run by the Association of Scottish Smallholders. A lively hour or so of questions and very informed answers gave me a valuable insight into the problems experienced by smallholders in Ayrshire. These ranged from how to extend the growing season, white fly on redcurrant bushes, an inactive compost heap, and a fig tree getting too big for a greenhouse.
I was too shame-faced to admit that I never clean my garden pots at the end of the season. This task was recommended as being important but not essential. I took note for the autumn. There was a strong recommendation for two varieties of tomato plant that appear to thrive in this area. It might be too late to sow their seeds, but the plants will be available in on-line seed/plant catalogues. ‘Scotland Yellow’ speaks for itself. Bright, summer coloured, sweet and tangy. This is a variety for the greenhouse. ‘Koralik’ is a bush cherry tomato that is suitable for growing in containers and on patios. Even in cool, wet summers (hopefully not this year) it is a variety that produces plentiful small, red cherry tomatoes.
Finally, the longest discussion was on the scourge of most gardens, as well as, evidently, smallholdings – slugs. Is there an organic approach that is also effective? Opinions were mixed. Beer traps, sugary water, copper, ketchup, wool and nettle cuttings were all discussed. There are apparently no definitive answers. A somewhat resigned suggestion was to grow an excess of plants, allowing one or two to be sacrificed. I’m not sure how that works in practice.
One thing is very clear to me, having listened to the experts and considered my own experiences over many years, successful gardeners need to have a particular temperament. We need to be patient, phlegmatic and good-humoured. I have a friend, Sandy, a keen gardener but not too knowledgeable about dahlias. Back in late March/early April we had a spell of warm and dry weather. He had stored his dahlias over winter, and they now had good shoots appearing. He had prepared the flower bed and was itching to plant them.
“They’ve stored really well. The forecast is good for a week. They must be ready to go out.”
“Patience is a virtue, Sandy. This is Scotland not the Scilly Isles.”
Sure enough, a week or so later, the wind swung around to the north, and we had a succession of frosts that could have killed his plants even if he had put a protective cover on them. He has only just planted them out. Even now there is a risk of a late frost. He will be vigilant.
The need for a sense of humour helps if slugs defeat all your organic preventive methods and you find your prize early season lettuces have been munched during the night. A neighbour certainly has the right sort of funny bone. Attached to the gate of their garden is a sign: WEEDS FOR SALE. PICK YOUR OWN.
Gardeners wait all year for these months – May and June. Make the most of them.
