Flower colour for cutting and scent

Old cottage garden colour

The return in popularity of some of the old cottage garden favourite flowering plants is a welcome sight in any garden. Gardeners are returning to long stemmed old time favourites including foxgloves, free flowering Lupins, scented sweet peas, large flowering Peonies and hostas to name but a few. Gardeners are interested in flowering plants that flower this and every summer and are good to fill up gaps in their borders and shrub beds, they also love herbaceous perennials that are suitable for cutting as cut flowers for the home. Early May is a great time to plant a selection of summer flowering herbaceous perennials which not only offer long periods of colour they are also ideal to help fill in gaps left by dead and damaged shrubs after the harsh winter.

Plant in groups of threes or fives to help create a strong show of long lasting colour in shrub beds and flower borders. I would recommend the following perennials to plant now in your garden for colour this summer. Phygelius commonly called the cape fuchsia, Penstomens with their beautiful tubular flowers, Hostas for foliage and flower colour, coreopsis bright yellow blooms all summer and the wonderful long stemmed Lupins

Gardening Jobs to tackle this week

1. Plant a selection of hot chillies and purple and red peppers into a 10” pot using Levington Multi compost. Place the pot on a bright sunny window sill in full light for a great crop of fresh chillies and peppers all summer long. Both peppers and chillies are easy to grow and will require only regular watering and feed with ONE liquid feed weekly. Go on give then a try this summer
2. Tumbling tom Tomatoes are the perfect choice for a hanging basket or window box this summer. This trailing variety produces a mass of great tasting medium sized tomatoes all summer and can be planted on their own or with fresh basil and indeed with a selection of flowering hanging baskets including White bacopa, lobelias and busie lizzies. Remember to feed weekly from mid May with ONE liquid feed.
3. Onion, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, scallions and Brussels sprout plants are now available for planting. Take my advice and plant a small amount of plants every two weeks to provide you with lots of fresh great tasting home grown veggies this summer. Remember you can also sow vegetables from seed throughout May and June.
4. Early Potato blight warnings will soon be given by met Eireann – so prevent potato blight affecting your home grown potatoes by treating them now and again in two weeks with a dressing of Promiximal spray. This treatment provides excellent protection if used early and often and can also be used on tomatoes to prevent blight.
5. Plant a selection of Kitchen Herbs now, choose from a wide variety of easy to grow garden herbs including Basil, parsley both French and curled, oregano, thyme, rosemary and chives. Garden herbs can be planted directly into the border soil or grown in window boxes and patio planters for ease of cutting and aftercare. Remember to cut the young growth on a regular basis to help keep your herbs young and producing lots of new growth.
6. Summer flowering fuchsias are invaluable in any garden; May is the ideal time to plant fuchsias both in your shrub borders and in patio planters and baskets. Many are just coming into flower and will continue to flower from now right up until the early frosts. Choose from a wide selection of hardy varieties which will bloom this and every summer.
7. Beautiful large trumpet shaped flowers are produced from mid summer until early winter from the Arum Lilly and now is the ideal time to plant arum lilies in your garden. This clump forming plant is easy to grow, very free flowering and will grow in virtually all gardens and soil types, however on moist wet soils it thrives and makes wonderful large clumps with masses of blooms. Arum lily will provide you with lots of long stemmed white trumpet shaped flowers all summer long.
8. Continue to sow garden pea and bean seed during May, look for the dwarf pea variety called Meteor – it produces great tasting sweet tasting peas all summer long on short compact plants. Pea seed can be sown directly into your garden soil and will germinate within two weeks. Children love to grow and pick sweet tasting garden peas. This dwarf variety will need a little support with bamboo canes.
9. For a strong splash of colour with some great scent – plant some scented Lilies. Garden lily plants are now available for planting; they come in a wide variety of colours and are perfect to add a splash of colour in patio pots, shrub borders and lower beds. Lilies planted now will flower this and ever summer and are so easy to grow.
10. Plant some fruiting blueberry plants now in your garden, Blueberries have just come into flower and will set their rich blue berries from June onwards. Plant blueberries in pots or borders, you will need two different varieties for cross pollination. Blueberries produce their fruit right throughout the summer and will fruit for many years. For the typical garden pant six plants to give you enough pickings.
11. Potatoes, vegetable plants, and fruit will all benefit from a dressing of Westland Organic chicken manure pellets – Chicken manure is easy to apply, clean to use and very effective in feeding your garden plants and providing much needed energy through may and June. Simply sprinkle the clean pellets around the bas of each plant before rain is promised.
12. Slug and snail damage is very visible at the moment, the wet start to may has encouraged a lot of damage on soft garden plants. I use Slug clear liquid to protect my garden plants, its easy to apply, invisible to pets and garden birds once applied and very effective at controlling both slug and snail infestation.

Add colour and interest to your hanging baskets & Containers

Colour from Hanging Baskets & Patio containers

One of the very best ways to add a profusion of colour to your garden is to plant up a selection of Hanging baskets, window boxes and patio planters and late April is the ideal time to do just that.

Summer flowering bedding and patio plants flower from now right up until early winter providing months of welcome colour for your garden and patio areas.

No other selection of plants provides such welcome colour for such a long period as bedding and patio plants, they are easy to grow and flower for months.

Now is the ideal time to plant a selection of window boxes and hanging baskets in your garden. It’s important to select a large enough basket or container as this makes it easier to maintain and creates more colour and interest. For hanging baskets I recommend you use 14 or 16 inch baskets, these are large enough to create a stunning display of colour to create colour from May to October.

The plants I recommend you plant in your patio planters, hanging baskets and window boxes include – Trailing petunias, White trailing Bacopa, Purple trailing verbena, trailing geraniums and fuchsia, Lobelia in mixed colours, Million bell petunias, Busie lizzies, double begonias and scented white alyssum.

Remember to use good quality compost and add some slow release feed all granules to the compost before planting.

Regular watering and feeding is important to promote a stunning show of long – lasting colour, feed all your containers weekly with ONE liquid feed.

My tips for this week

1. Late April is a great time to plant some early and main crop potatoes in planters or directly out into ridges and drills. Plant varieties like Red Duke of York, Sharpes express home guards and British Queens for great tasting early potatoes in mid summer.
2. Plant Apple trees now – I recommend the Apple family tree; this is two varieties of eating apples which have been grafted onto the on tree. You can grow your family apple tree in a pot or directly into the garden soil. Family apple trees will provide you with two varieties of great tasting apples from the one tree and are so easy to grow.
3. Plant Sweet Pea Plants now in large containers or directly out into the garden soil for sweetly scented blooms all summer long. Sweet peas are ideal for covering trellis, wire or netting to provide cover and scented colour all summer long.
4. Shamrock seed can be sown now out of doors in pots or directly out into the garden soil to provide you with lots of rich green shamrock for St Patrick’s Day next march. Shamrock seed is easy to sow and grow – go on give it a try.
5. Problems with Deer, Hares, Rabbits or Pigeons eating your garden plants? Use a dressing of GRAZERS to ward off unwanted attention from these garden pests. Apply a dressing of grazers to the effected area, its easy to apply and will not harm the animals or plants.
6. Rhododendrons are bursting into flower, and now is a super time to plant Rhododendron in your garden. They are now available in a wide choice of colours and types and many are ideal for planted containers or shrub borders. Remember to feed all existing Rhododendron, Camellia, Pieries and Azaleas with the slow release rhododendron fertiliser now and again in mid summer.
7. Grow Totem Tomato plants on your Window sill or Patio area – Totem is a compact dwarf variety that is ideal to grow inside on a window sill or patio area. It produces good sized tomatoes on a compact shaped plant.
8. Replacement hedging plants of Green Privet, portugusese and green Laurel can be planted now to fill in gaps or replace damaged plants in your existing hedge. It’s also a great time to plant a new hedge in your garden. Strong hedging plants are now available for planting and soil conditions are just ideal.
9. Feed all hedging, shrubs and trees now with Super grow fertiliser. Many of your garden plants will be showing the effects of the winter damage with scorched and damaged foliage and stems. Super grow will encourage strong new growth and will replace lost energy.
10. Plant Marrow, courgette and cucumber plants now for great tasting fruit in mid summer. Marrow and Courgette can be planted out doors in mid may to grow on and fruit, whilst cucumbers are better planted in a greenhouse or polytunnel or warm patio for lots of pickings from mid summer.
11. Wild flower meadow seed can be sown now to create a wild flower meadow or patch in your garden. Wild flower mixes contain a selection of beautiful flowering wild flowers including Poppies, cornflowers, foxgloves, and many more to add colour and interest to your garden.
12. Dandelions and Daises are a problem in most lawns this season – take action now by applying a dressing of Dandelion and daisy killer to your lawn, the treatment will kill any broadleaved weeds without affecting your lawn.
13. Green up your lawn without forcing growth by applying a slow release lawn fertiliser to the entire lawn area – apply the dressing lightly and evenly using a lawn spreader.
14. Now is a great time to sow a new Lawn – I recommend you use a dwarf lawn seed mix like green velvet. Green velvet will provide you with a hard wearing rich green lawn that is easy to mow and maintain and ideal for kids and pets to play on.

Join Paraic Horkan this Saturday and every Saturday morning from 9am to 10am on mid west radio for the gardening programme

Gardening Classes starting in Horkans Lifestyle & Garden Centre!

 

Gardening Classes starting this Thursday 14^th April in Horkans Lifestyle & Garden Centre Turlough, Castlebar at 7pm. 

Last set of classes for the season so hurry!

€75 for a 5 week course

Contact Mairead Horkan on 087 4100565 or email mairead@gardencentre.ie for more information.

Hedging replacement advise what hardy plants to use for hedging

Hardy Hedging replacement recommendations:

 Green Privet Hedging

Many of the traditional garden hedging plants including Griselinia, Escallonia, golden leylandii and fuchsia have been badly damaged and in many cases the hedges have been killed especially younger plants and in particular Griselinia hedging.

April is the ideal time to replant an existing hedge with something hardy and easy to grow.

It’s true to say that all hedging plants were battered and damaged throughout the severe winter weather but some hedging plants including Portuguese laurel, Cherry laurel, elaeagnus ebbengii, green and golden privet have in the main come through the winter with little or no damage and all are producing fresh new green growth.

To replace your hedge I recommend the following plants:

1. Laurel Artic King – Hardy laurel variety which is ideal as an evergreen fast growing hedge, Deep green glossy foliage, white flowers and a dense full growth habit. This variety is ideal for a hedge from 2 to 3 meters
2. Hardy Portuguese laurel – Small deep green glossy foliage and red stems, tight growing hedge with dense compact shape. Easy to grow and maintain – suitable for small to medium hedges from 1 to 2 meters high.
3. Buxus Sempervirens – Small evergreen foliage, dark green with a compact tight shape, slow growing and very easy to cut and maintain. Ideal for the smaller garden or low compact hedge. Ideal for hedges .5 to 1 meter
4. Golden jenny hardy Privet – golden jenny forms a dense full easy to grow hedge, bright yellow foliage and white flowers makes this a hardy hedge, easy to grow and trim. Ideal for hedges from 1 meter to 3 meters. Adds colour to the garden.
5. Hardy Henry Privet – Dense green foliage – hardy variety with strong growth. Easy to trim solid wall of foliage. Ideal for hedges from 1 meter to 3 meters.
6. Sea –side Elaeagnus – Bright silver foliage, white underneath with grey blueish foliage all season long. Hardy good in exposed conditions and seaside locations, easy to trim and forms a dense full habit. Ideal for hedges 1.2meters to 3 meters.
7. Thuja Smarald – cone shaped conifer – Evergreen rich colour – beautiful formal shape that needs no cutting, easy to maintain hedge or screen. Ideal for hedges from 2 meters to 4 meters. Beautiful formal shape

Gardening Jobs to tackle this week

1. Its herb time in the garden, April is the ideal month to plant a selection of aromatic herbs directly into the garden or in patio tubs and window boxes. Choose from a wide selection of great tasting herbs including Scented thyme, Coriander, Dill, rosemary , lavender, bay laurel , French parsley and oregano. Herbs like to be planted into a sunny location and love to be grown in containers. Click here to view our full range of Herbs
2. Kill off un wanted pests in your greenhouse or polytunnel with a simple smoke bomb placed in the centre of your polytunnel or greenhouse. Light the fuse to release a pest killing smoke which will penetrate into he cracks and crevices killing aphids and plant pests. Click here to see our full range of potatoe seeds
3. Early and main crop seed potatoes can still be planted in late April and early May, varieties including British Queens, Orla, Colleen, Sentanta and Red Duke of York can be planted in Potato pots or ridges for a crop of home grown new potatoes this summer.Click here to see our full range of Seed Potatoes.  Remember to add organic chicken manure pellets when planting Chicken Manure Pellets
4. Millipedes – the black shiny insect that crawls up house walls – is appearing in gardens and homes at present. This insect comes out onto warm surfaces during dry weather and can b controlled by applying a dressing of protector C to the pathways and effected areas in the garden,
5. Sow carrot seed out doors this month. The carrot seed I recommend is the F1 variety called Fly away. Fly away is resistant to the carrot fly pest and is a variety which is easy to grow yet produces wonderful long stemmed carrots Carrot Flyaway
6. Plant out a selection of vegetable plants including Lettuce lorro rosso, Cabbage hispi and Duncan, Green heading broccoli, cauliflower and onward peas. Remember to add some organic fertiliser to the soil before planting and use Slug control on newly planted plants.
7. Peppers and chillies are easy to grow and fun to eat, Get about a mix of six chilli and pepper plants, pot them into ten inch pots and place them on a warm sunny window sill indoors. Enjoy a bumper crop of home grow hot peppers and chillies all summer long Click here to view our Pepper plants
8. Cover Walls and trellis in flowering and foliage climbers. Summer flowering Clematis , Wisteria and honey suckles are now ready for planting out of doors. Summer flowering scented sweet peas can also be planted now for wonderful cut flowers all summer long Click here to view our range of climbing plants
9. Weeping Copper beech and flowering Laburnum trees should be planted this month. Laburnum produces a wonderful show of foot long flowers in early summer. The weeping copper beech is a lovely foliage tree providing colour in any garden in spring, summer and autumn. Plant both now.
10. Escallonia hedging needs a feed of supergrow fertiliser to encourage strong new growth after the severe damaging weather. Apply a handful to the base of each escallonia plant now and again in mid may.
11. To add colour in flower borders, rockeries, graves or garden edges consider planting some flowering Alpines. Alpines flower this and every year and form a neat Tidy lump of foliage and flowers. I generally plant in groups of the same variety of alpine to help create a Mat or clumped effect. Alpines are hardy and easy to grow if planted now.

Join Paraic Horkan this and every Saturday morning 9-10am on the Midwest Radio Gardening show!

Special Hedging & Shrub Advice weekend in Horkans

Good morning - YOUR INVITED TO our special Advise weekend in Horkans Lifestyle & garden centres in ALL our centres this Friday 15th - Saturday 16th and sunday 17th of April.
Come along and meet the gardening experts get great advise on what hardy hedging plants and hardy shrubs to plant now and best of all avail of our special offers on all hardy hedging and hardy shrubs at special offers - see you over the weekend - paraic

Lupis Offer A Welcome Spash Of Colour

Lupins Offer A Welcome Splash Of Colour

Summer flowering Lupins offer a wonderful show of early colour in Flower borders and beds in May and June but now is the ideal time to plant this old Cottage favourite. Lupins come in a wide choice of colours and growing heights and offer a stunning show of colour this and every summer. Plant Lupins to fill gaps in existing flower beds, in shrub borders to fill in where existing plants have died over the winter.

My advice is to plant your Lupins in groups of three or five to form a strong cluster of colour this clump will fill a large area and create a stunning show of colour. Lupins are perennial which means the grow in the spring flower in summer and die back in winter to re emerge next spring repeating the flowering cycle.

Go plant some free flowering Lupins in your garden this weekend!  Click here for our Lupin Seeds