Plant of the Week 6 - Peony

Plant of the Week 6 - Peony

Hi Everyone!

I do hope you're all enjoying my 'Plant of the Week' YouTube video series. This week we are looking at the beautiful, blousey Peony.

Click the link below to watch the video

Click the link below and come along and find out some interesting, practical facts about these magnificent plants.

Enjoy!
Love
Rebecca xx

My Moth Orchid (Phalaenopsis) collection 2019 update

My Orchids are looking beautiful - come and see

Hi everyone,
This week's video is an update of my lovely Phalaenopsis orchid collection. 9 out of 11 are flowering right now, but one of them is not doing so well, so I give it an emergency repotting after discovering mould on the root system!

Come and see how I get on,
Love
Rebecca xx

Hellebores - An important Winter job to do today

Hi there!
Despite the expression on my face, I was really pleased with this week's video. It was 2 degrees C and I was lying on the ground, but I was getting a really important garden job done - winter pruning my Hellebores.

Flick back through the blog posts and you'll see how much I love and treasure these wonderful winter/spring flowering perennials. They are usually the very first splash of colour for the year, they hold their heads shyly and have to be tilted skywards to be appreciated, they provide some of the first forage for early pollinators and they are very undemanding.

This is a really quick video, so strap in and enjoy 😊

Love
Rebecca xx

Colourful Flowering Plants for Autumn Garden Decorating

Hello lovelies,

Goodness me it's busy at the moment. I had an operation, the garden has gone a bit wild, we've lost and gained pets, I've been preparing for craft fairs, and so much more...

I will write a 'proper' blogpost soon, but for now here's my latest YouTube video where I pretty-up the patio outside our lovely blue summerhouse with some Autumn flowering plants -it's the only time you'll see red and orange in my garden! 😉

This was shot on a very warm day, the sun was really strong and I was struggling with light/shadows and seeing the viewfinder...at least the planters look pretty 😊

Hope you enjoy it
Rebecca

Fairy Garden Makeover for George the Dragon

This week's YouTube video is a timely makeover for George the Dragon's Miniture Garden. It was looking a bit sunken and a bit shaggy. Watch how I divide the plants and rejuvenate the garden.
Enjoy
Rebecca xx

My YouTube Anniversary and Making a Tuscan Fairy Garden from a broken terracotta pot

This week's video marks my 1 Year Anniversary as a YouTuber, and features a fun Tuscan feel Fairy Garden made from broken and repurposed things.
Enjoy
Rebecca xx

Visiting Godinton House and Gardens for Delphinium week 2018

Splendid Delphiniums on Display

This week's video (taken on my brand-spanking new camera - the Canon M50) is a visit to the beautiful, tranquil walled garden at Godinton House near Ashford, Kent.

Set amongst 12 acres of grounds, the Walled Garden was the kitchen garden for the House and Estate.
It is now home to a huge Victorian-style greenhouse, clipped box wood, a  rich collection of herbaceous perennial plants, and the stars of the June show are very definitely the Delphiniums. So much so that Godinton House and the Delphinium Society host a 'Delphinium Week' each year.

Come and explore the Walled Garden with me, and experience these breathtaking plants in their prime, plus some cheeky extras in the greenhouse!

Enjoy!
Love
Rebecca xx

Royal Horticultural Society and the RHS Plants for Pollinators Scheme

"RHS Plants for Pollinators"

...Wait! I thought it was the "RHS Perfect for Pollinators" scheme? Yes, yes it was. Here's what happened.

In 2011 the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society, here in the UK) launched "RHS Perfect for Pollinators" plant labelling scheme. It was a great way of helping the gardening public choose plants to support pollinating insects.

Nurseries and Garden Centres could register with the RHS, and print a logo on appropriate plant labels and advertising material to help guide shoppers towards flowering plants that would be attractive to bumble bees, honey bees, solitary bees, hover flies, beetles, moths and butterflies.

Super! However...

Studies began to show that some of the plants bearing the logo "RHS Perfect for Pollinators" had actually been exposed to pesticides during their growing. So although the plant had the right attributes to attract beneficial pollinators, it could potentially be lethal to them.

The RHS realised that they couldn't possibly 'police' all the commercial plant producers in the world to ensure that the logo was applied only to organically grown plants, so instead they chose to slightly tweak their branding.

Enter the new "RHS Plants for Pollinators" logo

The rebranding took place on 10th May 2018, and should soon begin to filter it's way on to the marketplace.

So remember, when you see this logo, it is commenting on the attractiveness of the plant species to pollinating insects; be that the colour, markings, flower shape, scent etc, rather than suggesting that these plants are safe for pollinators because have been grown without coming into contact with pesticides or other chemicals.

It's an important distiction. 

The RHS are trying to increase our awareness of beneficial insects, applying pressure to reduce the use of harmful chemicals in horticulture at large, and are also working with the industry to produce a list of Organic plant nurseries and producers, which is available on their website.

Choosing Plants for Pollinators

Keep your eyes peeled for these logos next time you go plant shopping, understand what they mean and that they make no promises, but above all, do your own research.

Try to provide a range of plants that flower over as wide a timespan as you can, to ensure pollinators have access to food throughout the year. The RHS have a list of pollinator friendly plants but here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Buddleja flower through summer well into autumn, this is a dwarf variety and is just as attractive to pollinators as a big cultivar

Hollyhocks flower in summer on very tall stems, single flowered cultivars are best for pollinators rather than flouncy doubles

Phlox paniculata flower during summer into early autumn

Allium flower mainly during May - bees love them!

Crocus - one of the earliest flowering plants of the year and a vital food source for pollinators

Lavender - wonderful for insects (and the lesser-known pollinating hens!)

Love

Rebecca xx

NB: The Royal Horticultural Society, and its logo, are trade marks of The Royal Horticultural Society (Registered Charity No 222879/SC038262) and used under licence”.

My Garden Tour Video - May 2018

There's so much going on in the garden at the moment, that I thought it was an ideal time to do a garden tour video.

The early-mid Spring flowers have faded, and the late Spring ones are bursting into life everywhere I look; geraniums, ceanothus, alliums, irises, wallflowers, heuchera, hostas and so much more. This is a lush time, before the summer heat takes its toll.



Enjoy!
Rebecca xx

Carnivorous Plant Updates, New Arrivals and Seed Harvesting

Carnivorous Plant update:

It's been a really busy summer in my Carnivorous Plant collection.

Sarracenia var. unknown has had it's best year EVER! I've never had such big pitchers on it, and never seen it with such an intense colour either. That means I can stumble towards a partial identification, it's probably a rubra hybrid, though I couldn't be any more specific than that.

Sarracenia rubra ssp unknown looking amazing in July

Sarracenia rubra ssp unknown 2017 brings the best size pitchers and colour yet

My Venus Fly Trap (Dionea var. unknown) has grown well too. Some of the traps achieved much stronger colour than this photo shows, and it fed regularly on all manner of things including craneflies and earwigs!

Dionea var unknown growing well

I've never seen a Venus Fly Trap in flower, many experts say the flowers are dull and it is better for the health of the plant not to allow the flower stem to develop...but I really REALLY wanted to see the flowers, so I let it carry on.

Dionea flowers! So pretty!!

I wasn't disappointed! The white Dionea flowers are tissue paper delicate, with fine veining that looks like neat pinstripes extending from chartreuse green centres. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
 Moments after I took this photo, I snipped off the flowers right at the bottom of the stem, allowing the plant to use it's prey to feed up for the winter.

And now the Newbies:

For my birthday in June, my best friend bought me two amazing beasts from Triffid Nurseries (he had to be pointed in the right direction, but the choices were definitely his own)

Sarracenia rubra ssp. gulfensis 'Yellow River' Florida

This delicious specimen came to me in full flower, with pitchers over a foot tall. It's been feeding gluttonously in the greenhouse over July and August, to the point where there are small 'burn' marks on the pitchers, and you can just see the dead insects through it.

Sarracenia rubra ssp. gulfensis 'Yellow River' Florida

It's so massive I couldn't get it all in one photo and do it justice. The flowers are the most alien I've ever seen on a carnivorous plant. The clever landing pad forming a cup to collect pollen and seed.

Sarracenia rubra ssp. gulfensis 'Yellow River' Florida flowers are spectacular

Drosera binata dichotoma 'Giant'

Photo to follow! This Sundew is very aptly named. It's a huge, forked variety that attempted to take over the world shortly after it arrived. I ended up having to stake the 18" tall limbs to give everything else breathing space! It is sliding into dormancy now, so I'll have to take photos of it's fresh growth in Spring/Summer next year.

Seed Harvesting

As the Sundew flowering has been so spectacular this year, so I decided to collect the seed with a view to growing it next year.
Once the flowers had finished and the seed pods had turned brown, I labelled some small brown envelopes similar to this listing on Ebay. I wrote one envelope per subspecies of Drosera, then carefully cut the entire dried flower stem off each plant, as close to the plant as I could. Trying not to shake the stem, I opened the envelope with my left hand, and tipped the flower stem upside-down into the envelope with my right.
Drosera are very generous with their seeds, which look like fine, short clippings of hair, so dropping a few won't hurt! Believe me!!
I left the stems in the envelopes for a couple of weeks, until the seeds had fully ripened and dropped into the bottom of the envelope.
The next job was to clean the seeds.
I tipped the contents of the envelopes out onto a sheet of paper (one envelope at a time - don't mix the seeds up!). Then I carefully picked out all the bits of stalk, petal and seed head. Fine tweezers are invaluable at this point, and try not to sneeze or sigh heavily, or you'll be left with all the chaff and none of the seed!
When the seed is as clean of chaff as it can be, carefully pour the seeds back into the correct brown seed envelope, and seal it.
Seed from some species of Drosera need a period of cold stratification to germinate, others can be sown as soon as they are harvested.

Here are the requirements for my collection:

Drosera Species	Subspecies	Native Region	Stratify Seeds?
capensis		Tropical	No
capensis	Alba	Tropical	No
binata	dichotoma ‘Giant’	Temperate	Fresh – No /Stored -Yes
spatulata		Subtropical	No
filiformis	filiformis	Temperate	Stratification required
hybrida	filiformis x intermedia	Temperate	Stratification required
binata	T Form	Temperate	Fresh – No /Stored -Yes

As it happens, I haven't had time (what with starting my own YouTube channel - did I tell you about that? ;-) ), so everything is being stored until Spring, and I'll stratify or not, depending on the variety and it's requirements.

I'm really looking forward to sowing them though!
Have you ever tried growing Carnivorous Plants from seed? Tell me about your experiences in the 'Comments'
Love
PB xx

Dragonfli Bumble Bee Beepol and 2017 Villa - unboxing and review

The Dragonfli Ltd Beepol and Villa

I wrote a review of the first Dragonfli Beepol and Villa back in 2011, and I really wanted to share my thoughts of the new 2017 Beepol Hive and Villa with you.

This will be our fourth Dragonfli Beepol. This year the Villa (the pretty wooden hive that the Beepol goes in) and the Beepol itself have been thoroughly redesigned, taking on feedback from customer experience, especially with regards to pest control and colony strength.

Bumble bees are at the mercy of many enemies, man being one, destruction of habitats, mono-culture farming practices, poor weather, pesticides,Varroa mite and Wax Moth. A large, strong, healthy colony is better at surviving these perils than a weak, small one.

The delightful thing about being able to keep and observe Bumble Bees is gaining an insight into their life, beginning right from the moment they arrive.

Unboxing the Dragonfli Beepol and Villa

Our Dragonfli delivery arrives!

MrPB lifts the Dragonfli Villa out of it's packaging.

The Bumble bee Beepol is revealed

Inside the box marked LIVE BEES is a white cardboard box (above), containing the plastic Beepol hive, with the colony already thriving inside. When you lift the hive out, the bees will be active and buzzing noisily. They are responding to the light and movement.

The colony are contained in the Beepol Hive

Under the Hive is the new liquid feed chamber. Leaving the chamber in the white cardboard box, the cap is removed from the sponge (cylindrical creamy coloured wet thing, top centre of the chamber - see photo below) and the Beepol is clipped on top of it with the sponge poking up through the hole into the Beepol.

Previous Beepols have not come with a feeder, but should the weather be inclement after release, making it difficult for the bees to forage, this liquid feed will serve as a backup supply to keep the colony strong.

The new Dragonfli Beepol liquid feed chamber

The Beepol is then placed inside the wooden Villa. The white cardboard box should touch the back wall of the Villa, but there will be gaps on each side, and a large one at the front. The bees will be able to negotiate this gap when they leave the Beepol entrance (temporarily sealed with a yellow sliding door), to exit the villa by the wide open slot machined in the wooden Villa.

The Beepol is placed inside the Villa

Sneaky peek at the Bumble bee colony, looking fit and well with a good quantity of nest built

We sited the Hive under a Fatsia japonica, with the entrance facing east. The garden is filled with excellent pollen and nectar sources, though this doesn't seem to matter, as the bees always fly off eastwards towards the North Downs.

The Dragonfli Villa located in a raised flower bed

Within moments of opening the sliding yellow door we saw the first Bumble bee leave the hive. NB, the Beepol has been pulled forward in the Villa to allow MrPB to open the sliding door and release the bees. It was pushed back into position after this photo was taken.

The first bee!

We only had to wait 20 minutes for the first bee to return to the hive, with its pollen sacks bulging. That's the fastest yet!

We're thoroughly enjoying watching the comings and goings of our new furry friends.

Dragonfli Beepol Maintenance

Dragonfli treat every Beepol and Villa against Wax Moth before it leaves them, and while it is advisable to leave the colony as undisturbed as possible once it arrives, you will need to respray the whole set up with Wax Moth repellent every 3-4 weeks from date of arrival to the end of the colony's life (end of July-ish). Failure to do this could result in the Wax Moth larvae eating all the Bumble bee larvae, and leading to the total devastation of the colony. Signs to look for are cobweb like threads inside the Villa and Hive, and the appearance of greyish brown larvae. These larvae are capable of burrowing into the wood of the Hive, you may see these tunnels when you clear out the Villa at the end of the season.

Dragonfli Beepol and Villa Review

The online ordering process with Dragonfli is very simple, and if you have any queries, the customer service is excellent.

Delivery is by courier, on a specified day. Remember these are live creatures, so you need to be on hand to take delivery.

The packaging is really sturdy and beautifully sized for the contents. there is no excess space, or need for padding, and the bees have good ventilation round them.

The Beepol hive is a lovely bit of design engineering, balancing ventilation and protection needs very carefully.

The Villa is robust pine wood with filtered vents at the back, a wide entrance with landing platform, and this year a felted roof. Now I know from chicken-keeping experience that the space between roofing felt and the roof itself can provide a perfect place for pests to set up home. We will need to see if this is the case with Bumble bees.

Not only would I highly recommend Dragonfli as a company, which we have personally used since 2011, I would also highly recommend giving a Bumble bee colony a home in your garden or on your roof terrace. The hive takes up only a small space, and the colony size is a fraction of a honey bee colony, so you won't ever be surrounded by a swarm, so long as you respect them and don't bang the hive. They are fascinating, educational, docile and absolutely vital for pollination - and, lets face it, for the continuation of life as we know it on Earth.

5 Must-Have Plants for Early Spring

Spring - a Time of Change

Spring is probably the time of most dramatic, glorious change in the garden. Whites of snow and frost, browns of mud and dead leaves are suddenly jewelled with rich, bright colour. Not only do early Spring flowers bring joy to us humans, they are also a vital nectar source for bees and other flying insects.

You'll notice I never grow 'double' flowered varieties of plants, purely because they make life too difficult for pollinators, either because the flowers are too complicated to be accessed by the insect, or the breeding process has removed the plants pollen and nectar producing organs.

Here's my Top Five Flowering Plants for Early Spring:

Hellebores (Helleborus hybridus)

These amazing perennials are commonly called the Lentern Rose. They have big tough leaves that are not attacked by slugs or snails. In the winter you can cut off all the leaves and in early spring the plant will throw up thick firm flower stems with fat buds that open into downwards facing cups. The petals are actually modified sepals, and come in a beautiful variety of colours from white to rich purple-black. They often have delicate spots, some have edges touched in a different colour, known as 'picote' (pic 1). 

Pic 1: Ashwood Nurseries Hellebous hybridus - Single Picote Photo by Pumpkin Becki

If you have different hellebores in your garden, they are likely to cross-pollinate, and the resulting seedlings will be your very own hybrid. The flowers last into May, and when pollinated, you'll be able to see the seed pods fattening and ripening over time.

They like a woodland/ semi-shaded position in the garden. They can survive dry or wetter conditions, but they don't really thrive. Once a plant is settled and growing well it won't appreciate being moved or divided, so make sure to give it a permanent location at it will bring you joy every winter/spring.

Ashwood Nurseries Helleborus hybridus - Single Primrose Yellow
Photo by Pumpkin Becki

Helleborus hybridus - single pink
Photo by Pumpkin Becki

Crocus

I have two varieties of Crocus in the garden at the moment, both are spring flowering (rather than autumn). I have a small clump of buttermilk yellow ones, and several clumps of delicate lilac ones. I'm sorry, I can't tell you want they are called.

Creamy Yellow Crocus
Photo by Pumpkin Becki

I love the way they hold their flowers carefully shut until the sun hits them and they fall wide open, revealing vivid orange stamen.

Pale lilac Crocus
Photo by Pumpkin Becki

Pulmonaria officinalis (aka Lungwort)

Another woodland perennial, the Pulmonaria is so surprisingly pretty. The emerald green leaves are decorated with silvery spots, and in spring, flower spikes explode into clusters of five petaled flowers in shades of pink, turning to rose, violet and then blue, as the plant changes the pH value within the petals from acidic to alkaline the longer they are open for.

Pulmonaria officinalis (Lungwort)
Photo by Pumpkin Becki

The common name Lungwort is centuries old, and comes from when it was grown for its medicinal properties. It was believed that because the leaves resembled the human lungs, they must be healing for illnesses involving the chest and respiratory system.

Whether that is true or now, they are definitely a valuable food source for bees and moths.

Cyclamen

I have two varieties of these tubers in my Woodland Garden, Cyclamen hederifolium and Cyclamen coum. I have tucked them right up near the trunks of the Sycamore and Horse Chestnut trees.

Cyclamen coum
Photo by Pumpkin Becki

The tuber should be planted quite shallow, so they are perfect in rooty soil where Spring bulbs couldn't be planted. Cyclamen coum flowers in the winter through to spring, and hederifolium flowers in late summer to autumn.

Primroses

This year my Primroses in the Woodland Garden have been in flower since Christmas - that's not right! It is one of the earliest plants to flower in the UK (just not quite Christmas-early)

I grow the native (UK) Primrose, Primula vulgaris, which forms mounds of buttery yellow flowers held just above deeply crinkled bottle green leaves. The flowers look delicate, but they withstand snow and frost, ready to soak up every drop of sunlight. They grow naturally in deciduous woodland, taking full advantage of the open canopy before the trees burst into leaf.

Primrose - Primula vulgaris

Being native, and single flowered, they produce lots easily accessible nectar and pollen. Growing guides suggest that they are best in damp shade, but mine are in dry partial shade/full sun and they thrive and naturalise beautifully there.

Iris Reticulata

I was once told (by someone who alleged himself to be a horticulturalist) that Iris Reticulata were impossible to get to flower after the first year and that I would have to replace the bulbs. I'm glad I didn't believe him in the slightest, as I now have lovely naturalised clumps that come up and flower year on year.

Iris reticulata
Photo by Pumpkin Becki

Iris reticulata is a very dainty form, reaching around 15cm high, and flowering in early spring. The leaves are narrow and almost as tall as the flowers. Don't expect Iris reticulata to be big and blousey like a bearded iris, you have to keep your eyes peeled amongst the leaf litter to spot these little beauties. The flowers aren't very long lasting, but across the clump, bulbs will flower at slightly different times, which extends the show considerably. Bees love them!

So there you have it, my top five early spring flowering plants. I hope you love them as much as I do, or maybe you have your own favourites, let me know in the comments xx