My Favourite Plants

I have recently finished a distance learning course with the Horticultural Correspondence College (HCC). This consisted of eight modules, the aim of which is to prepare me for taking exams for two RHS certificates. The certificates are:

Principles of Plant Growth, Propagation and Development

and

Principles of Garden Planning, Establishment and Maintenance

I’ve got to say I’ve really enjoyed doing the work. It’s been interesting to learn more about plants and garden design. It’s been very useful to work at my own pace, and I’ve found myself looking forward to doing the course work.

One of the things it has given me is a deep appreciation for plants and their strategies for survival. Things that move can run away from danger, things that are rooted in the ground cannot. But plants are not helpless. Far from it. Their ability to regenerate from a leaf, a stem, roots or seed is amazing. Californian Redwoods can grow to be 240 feet tall, yet they start as seeds barely 3 millimetres, one eighth of an inch long. The seeds of some plants are so tiny that they resemble dust; and of course you get the other end of the scale with the coconut, the fruit of which will kill you if it fell on your head.

Getting back to the course and the RHS qualifications. I have now taken four exams, with four more to go. I took two exams in February and I’m hoping to take two more in June. Leaving the last two for next year. Studying for exams and trying to remember everything is never easy; also trying to anticipate what the examiner is looking for is also difficult.

One of the aids that the HCC gave me was a leaflet where I could write about my favourite plants. During my recent revision I wrote and read this almost constantly. This had the slightly un-fortunate result of turning me off some of my favourites. In some cases I don’t grow any alpines so I had to learn about these. In other cases I’m so used to common names that learning the Latin names was arduous. But I kept at it, and I learned a lot more about plants and trees, which surely is the whole point of the exercise.

Now, that the exams are over, I’m looking forward to getting some of these ‘new favourites’ and trying them in the garden. Two definitely spring to mind: Tulipa Sprengeri and Gentiana sino-ornata. These are both alpines and are quite stunning:

Tulipa sprengeri – Sprenger’s Tulip

Gentiana sino-ornata

The tulips flower in spring so I’ll have to wait to Autumn to get the bulbs for them but the Gentianas flower in autumn so I may well treat myself soon. They like acid soil, so the alkaline conditions of my garden won’t suit them BUT there are always pots and containers and as my wife’s favourite colour is blue then I see no reason why we can’t have two pots near the front door!

Hellebores

I have five types of hellebore in my garden but I’m not really certain what they are. There is a dark purple one, with a lovely yellow centre. A double-white flowered one, a single white, and then pink ones (that came from my Mum, who has an abundance of them). The first two were inherited from the former owner. I think the single white came from my Mum along with a lot of the pink ones. I’ve moved the purple and the double white from the back garden through to the front, next to the ornamental cherry. Moving them wasn’t too much of a problem. Make sure you take as much of their root ball as possible. I moved them when they were flowering.

With the purple ones I know the hole I put them in wasn’t deep enough really, so I mounded up with soil as much as possible and hoped for the best. This wasn’t ideal but they’ve been moved a few years now and seem quite happy. In fact this year they’ve flowered really well. In their new position they get lots of sun (in theory when its not raining) in spring, but once the trees come into leaf then they get some shade. This is especially true for those that are closest to the cherry.

I also have one that has speckled purple colour on white. It looks similar to this Harvington one and its entirely possible that’s what it may be. This particular fancy one has had a tough life. It languished where I first planted it, seemingly irresistible to slugs although I’ve never seen slugs eat any of the other hellebores. I then lifted it and stuck it in a pot, where it recovered and grew quite happily for a number of years. But as is the way with things in pots, especially in the north west, the rains came and came, and bloody came and never sodding stopped. And everything in pots got thoroughly wet through. Moss and liverworts started growing quite happily on the surface and whilst the hellebore still kept sending out leaves and flowers I thought it really ought to go in the ground. So it has. Next to a large bay tree near the front door. At the moment there is one tiny flower on it, and several shoots, and most importantly it seems to have been left alone by slugs.

I like hellebores. They are relatively un-demanding. Just keep an eye on them when you are passing, removing diseased leaves, they can suffer from leaf spot as well as aphids. I’ve controlled aphids by washing the leaves in mild soapy water, take care doing this as the leaves of some hellebores can be surprisingly sharp rather like a hacksaw blade! The aphids can make a horrible mess with honey dew, which gets sooty and makes the plants suffer. Whilst it might not look appealing getting your hands in amongst this, there is a certain grim satisfaction in fighting back against the aphids. Cut the worst affected leaves off and put in the green recycling bin. Since I’ve moved the hellebores to the front garden they seem to have been healthier, so far any way.

The flower of the hellebore compliments the snowdrop. Both droop downwards, to protect the flower from the rain, and whilst this means the gardener has to actually go and lift the head up to appreciate them I rather like this. Not everything in life has to be convenient and the more things that get us up off the sofa and away from the laptop the better. And speaking of which I better go. It is my wife’s fiftieth birthday tomorrow and we’re going somewhere fancy for Sunday dinner!

What is growing in my garden at the moment

Weeds! I’m fairly confident in making that assertion but it’s not all moaning about those plants that will crop up whether you want them or not. Take for example dandelions (Taraxacum officinale). I have an immense fondness for dandelions, probably because it’s got my name in it, but as I’ve got older I really admire their doggedness. Dandelions are irrepressible and will grow in your garden whether you like it or not. And a field of dandelions in full bloom is as beautiful as anything in my humble opinion. But they don’t stay in bloom. Soon they set seed and their leaves are rather tatty looking. However, when they flower there is something about their cheerful ‘Here I am again!’ that makes me smile. I try to remove their seed heads so I don’t get quite over-run by them but the wind will blow when I’m at work and the seeds will drift and settle.

There are though other things growing, plants I’ve had a hand in as it were! In my front garden there is an ornamental cherry and underneath it there are snowdrops, hellebores and the green shoots of daffodils. Also columbine (Aquilaria vulgaris) is growing. Around the corner near an un-happy looking skimmia there is a small clump of iris reticulata; and nearby a small bed I made last year. This mainly has Ajuga reptens (Bugle) in it but it also has plenty of tulip bulbs, which are now growing strongly. There is also cyclamen growing and primroses.

Speaking of cyclamen, these grow happily in my hedgerow. I think they are slowly spreading year on year. I hope so. Near the hedgerow I can see lime green shoots of hemerocallis (day-lillies). Maybe this year I’ll get a better display than previous years. We’ll have to wait and see.

By the way, you may notice a lot of Latin names being thrown around. I’ve been studying for two RHS qualifications and I have to learn the Latin, so the more I use it the more it sticks and starts to make sense. I’ve always thought that it was a bit snobbish to use the Latin and a way to exclude others ‘not in the know’. However, it does have a use. A good example is the blue-bell. Scottish bluebells are not the same as English bluebells. The Scottish bluebells are also called Hare bells and their Latin name is Campanula rotundifolia. English bluebells have the Latin name of Hyacinthoides non-scripta. Similar looking plants from different families.

Back to what is growing. Near my front door I have several pots. Most of these are growing tulips but there is also iris reticulata and crocuses. There are crocuses in my front lawn. Rather sorrowful as they seem to flower when the weather is at its worst. There was one year when we had a week of glorious sunshine in February and these crocuses looked splendid. Right now after a few days of strong winds and rain, and with snow flakes falling, they look a bit battered and fed-up.

Other crocuses are growing their tips showing yellow and purple. They are not yet in bloom. I’m hoping that when they do, the weather will accommodate. Neat to them, just poking through the ground are the tips of Narcissus ‘Tete a tete’ and Snake’s Head Fritillary (Fritillaris meleagris).

Spring isn’t yet here but one day there will be warmth in the air and the world will feel new-born.

Snow

By and large children love snow: it’s exciting, fun to play with and usually means a day off school. By and large adults dislike snow: it makes roads and pavements dangerous, it turns to slush and makes everywhere dirty, and it usually means a day off school for the kids, which makes the day-to-day routine more awkward.

I love snow. There is that first feeling you get lying in bed looking at the light through the curtains and realising it is brighter than it should be, then you listen and you can either hear the ordinary sounds muffled as if your ears were wrapped in a big scarf, or it is silent. The little child in me then demands that I get up and look out of the window and I nearly always go ‘it’s snowed!’ trying hard not to sound excited. Yes, it’ll be a bugger to drive in but wow I could go sledging, build a snowman and do all those other fun things.

One of the wonderful things about snow is it turns the ordinary and every-day into the extra-ordinary and magical. Fields that were drab and muddy become pristine white carpets, the hills and sky almost merging into one, the stone walls, hedges and trees standing in sharp relief to their new shining surroundings. Then there is the sound, the crunch of fresh snow under boots, the way aeroplanes seem to soar higher and more distantly on a morning of snow. And there is the smell in the air, almost the same as cold tap water, at least to me but yet another sign that the world is most definitely different today.

So far, we’ve only had one fall of snow and a rather miserly one at that. It lasted barely an hour or so. It’s been a very mild winter and there has been no call for woolly hats and scarfs. Every time cold air comes down from the north it is soon chased away by warm air from the south. Mind you at least this last fortnight has been dry, I’d almost forgotten what our road looked like without puddles.

By and large the snow we get in the North West of England is wet. Large flakes that float down like feathers and which when scrunched together soon forms ice. In many films people laugh when hit in a face with a snowball, but they wouldn’t if it one of our ‘ice balls’. This wet snow also means that ‘warm woollen mittens’ soon become soggy and freezing and your fingers feel like they are dancing but when it gets too cold and wet then it’s time to get inside to somewhere warm and enjoy hot chocolate; because sometimes the best bit is being inside, warm and cosy and enjoying the impromptu holiday.