Arthur's top tips

• Spread mulch around beans and other crops to help conserve soil moisture
• Thin out heavy gooseberry crops by removing the smallest fruits, and use these for cooking
• Sow seeds of rocket, spinach, beetroot, carrots, calabrese, mini-cauliflowers, spinach, chicory, endive, kohl rabi, peas, spinach beet, swede and turnips
• Check pot plants and water if required
• Pinch out cucumber sideshoot tips two leaves beyond a female flower
• Tie in greenhouse tomatoes to their supports as they grow

Plant of the Week      

Sorbaria sorbifolia. A little-known shrub that giving all its superb qualities deserves a home in any Irish garden. In fact it does most of the things that everyone is looking for. It can be described as a low growing shrub, producing fine pink tinted golden foliage in early spring. It starts to grow much earlier than most plants. Sorbaria sorbifolia Sem resembles a fine Japanese maple called ‘sango kaku’ but is much hardier having originated in eastern Siberia. It’s also much smaller growing 1m high. very easy to grow tolerating heavy damp soil, looks fantastic planted in groups on a bank and after all that produces an abundance of creamy white flowers in late summer. Planting companions would be any shrub with a white or blue flower or silver foliage and it is quiet happy in an Irish winter. The good news it does all this for under a tenner.

Veg of Interest...

Plan ahead, plant now.

Parsnips need a really long growing season but they're well worth the wait. Sow seeds early in the year and look forward to parsnips roasted for the Christmas table, or in warming winter soups. Do it: February - June. Takes just:30 minutes How to do it, using string as a guide and a trowel or draw hoe, dig a shallow trench about 15mm deep. Sow seeds individually along the row or in groups of two or three at regular intervals, about 10cm apart. You could use a pre-marked board for accurate spacing. Thin out the weaker seedlings to give your plants room to grow, so you're left with just one plant every 10cm.

Good Companions..

Carrots and onions planted in alternate rows are good allies. The carrots help drive away the onion fly and the onions drive off the carrot fly.  Plant the variety of carrots called fly away for extra protection. If it’s a big problem in your garden, I would also recommend in investing in some enviromesh cloche

• June sees the risk of frost pass so if you haven't already now is the time to plant out tender bedding plants and annuals for stunning summer displays. June is a busy month in the gardening calendar with fruit, vegetables, containers and baskets needing regular feeding and watering. First crops are ready for harvesting and you need to keep sowing lettuces and other crops to ensure a season long supply.
• Keep mowing and feeding the lawn to make sure it's looking its best and then sit down, relax and enjoy the fruits of your labour
• Prune early summer-flowering shrubs like philadelphus once the flowers are over
• Finish planting out dahlias, cannas and summer bedding
• Feed acid-loving plants with a special liquid fertiliser containing iron
• Harvest Veg as they become ready and earth up potatoes to ensure a bumper crop. Keep fruit and veg well watered. Spread mulch around beans and other crops to help conserve soil moisture
• Increase greenhouse shading if temperatures inside are getting very hot  and damp down the greenhouse floor every morning
• Carrots and onions planted in alternate rows are good allies. The carrots help drive away the onion fly and the onions drive off the carrot fly.  Plant the variety of carrots called fly away for extra protection. If it’s a big problem in your garden, I would also recommend in investing in some enviromesh cloche.
• Pinch out cucumber sideshoot tips two leaves beyond a female flower

Give it a try... Planting up a summer hanging basket. The first step toward creating a lush, beautiful hanging basket is in choosing your plants. Purchasing healthy plants is essential; I look for plants with several stems, since they will produce prolific growth. Then choose your basket size the larger the basket the more plants you will be able to put in and the more colourful it will be. Make planting a basket easy and remove the chains before you start. It’s handy to stand the basket on a large flowerpot or a bucket for stability while you plant. Line the wire basket with a moss liner or choose another type of liner. It is important to be able to push through the liner or cut it easily so that you can position plants through the sides of the basket and underneath. Half fill the basket with Basket & Container compost and mix in some Slow Release Plant Food (Osmocote) to ensure that your plants have sufficient food for up to 6 months. When using bedding plants gently push the roots through the side of the basket so that the root balls are resting on the top of compost, lobelia is best we find for side planting. Plant all around the edge of the basket at this level with one layer of plants. Add some more compost and plant another layer of plants through the sides of the basket all the way round. Finally fill the basket, almost to the top with more compost and add another layer of plants. Top up the basket with more compost until it is full. Plant a selection of trailing basket plants around the edge of the basket and a few upright plants in the centre. Firm them in gently and water well. Once your basket has settled the liner or moss will have shrunk to fit your basket, any excess on a liner can be trimmed. Remove spent blooms from your plants two to three times a week to encourage plants to produce a succession of flowers. You can boost plants with a weekly liquid feed.

• Spread mulch around beans and other crops to help conserve soil moisture.
• Thin out heavy gooseberry crops by removing the smallest fruits, and use these for cooking.
• Sow seeds of rocket, spinach, beetroot, carrots, calabrese, mini-cauliflowers, spinach, chicory, endive, kohl rabi, peas, spinach beet, swede and turnips.
• Check pot plants and water if required.
• Pinch out cucumber sideshoot tips two leaves beyond a female flower.
• Tie in greenhouse tomatoes to their supports as they grow.

Plant of the Week      

Sorbaria sorbifolia. A little-known shrub that giving all its superb qualities deserves a home in any Irish garden. In fact, it does most of the things that everyone is looking for. It can be described as a low growing shrub, producing fine pink tinted golden foliage in early spring. It starts to grow much earlier than most plants. Sorbaria sorbifolia Sem resembles a fine Japanese maple called ‘sango kaku’ but is much hardier having originated in eastern Siberia. It’s also much smaller growing 1m high. very easy to grow tolerating heavy damp soil, looks fantastic planted in groups on a bank and after all that produces an abundance of creamy white flowers in late summer. Planting companions would be any shrub with a white or blue flower or silver foliage and it is quite happy in an Irish winter. The good news it does all this for under a tenner.

Veg of Interest

Plan ahead, plant now.

Parsnips need a really long growing season but they're well worth the wait. Sow seeds early in the year and look forward to parsnips roasted for the Christmas table, or in warming winter soups. Do it: February - June. Takes just:30 minutes How to do it: using string as a guide and a trowel or draw hoe, dig a shallow trench about 15mm deep. Sow seeds individually along the row or in groups of two or three at regular intervals, about 10cm apart. You could use a pre-marked board for accurate spacing. Thin out the weaker seedlings to give your plants room to grow, so you're left with just one plant every 10cm.

Good Companions

Carrots and onions planted in alternate rows are good allies. The carrots help drive away the onion fly and the onions drive off the carrot fly.  Plant the variety of carrots called fly away for extra protection. If it’s a big problem in your garden, I would also recommend in investing in some enviromesh cloche

June sees the risk of frost pass so if you haven't already now is the time to plant out tender bedding plants and annuals for stunning summer displays. June is a busy month in the gardening calendar with fruit, vegetables, containers and baskets needing regular feeding and watering. First crops are ready for harvesting and you need to keep sowing lettuces and other crops to ensure a season-long supply.

• Keep mowing and feeding the lawn to make sure it's looking its best and then sit down, relax and enjoy the fruits of your labour.
• Prune early summer-flowering shrubs like philadelphus once the flowers are over.
• Finish planting out dahlias, cannas and summer bedding.
• Feed acid-loving plants with a special liquid fertiliser containing iron.
• Harvest veg as they become ready and earth up potatoes to ensure a bumper crop. Keep fruit and veg well watered. Spread mulch around beans and other crops to help conserve soil moisture.
• Increase greenhouse shading if temperatures inside are getting very hot  and damp down the greenhouse floor every morning
• Carrots and onions planted in alternate rows are good allies. The carrots help drive away the onion fly and the onions drive off the carrot fly.  Plant the variety of carrots called fly away for extra protection. If it’s a big problem in your garden, I would also recommend in investing in some enviromesh cloche.
• Pinch out cucumber sideshoot tips two leaves beyond a female flower.

Give it a try... Planting up a summer hanging basket.

The first step toward creating a lush, beautiful hanging basket is in choosing your plants. Purchasing healthy plants is essential; I look for plants with several stems, since they will produce prolific growth. Then choose your basket size the larger the basket the more plants you will be able to put in and the more colourful it will be. Make planting a basket easy and remove the chains before you start. It’s handy to stand the basket on a large flowerpot or a bucket for stability while you plant. Line the wire basket with a moss liner or choose another type of liner. It is important to be able to push through the liner or cut it easily so that you can position plants through the sides of the basket and underneath. Half fill the basket with Basket & Container compost and mix in some Slow Release Plant Food (Osmocote) to ensure that your plants have sufficient food for up to 6 months. When using bedding plants gently push the roots through the side of the basket so that the root balls are resting on the top of compost. Lobelia is best we find for side planting. Plant all around the edge of the basket at this level with one layer of plants. Add some more compost and plant another layer of plants through the sides of the basket all the way round. Finally, fill the basket almost to the top with more compost and add another layer of plants. Top up the basket with more compost until it is full. Plant a selection of trailing basket plants around the edge of the basket and a few upright plants in the centre. Firm them in gently and water well. Once your basket has settled the liner or moss will have shrunk to fit your basket, any excess on a liner can be trimmed. Remove spent blooms from your plants two to three times a week to encourage plants to produce a succession of flowers. You can boost plants with a weekly liquid feed.

• Scatter granular fertiliser around the base of roses, shrubs, perennials and hedges, and water in thoroughly if rain does not fall over the next week
• Spray roses to protect them from pests and diseases, organic sprays would be preferable
• There seems to be a good crop of cherries forming this year so net all your developing soft fruits to protect them from birds
• You can now cut the foliage of daffodils and tulips down to the ground
• Tie greenhouse tomatoes to their supports as they grow and feed plants with fertiliser solution once a week
• Add lawn cuttings to the compost heap, or use them to mulch around fruit trees
• Mow and edge your lawn
• Tie stems of tall perennials to supports to prevent wind damage
• You should be feeding your  houseplants every week with a liquid fertiliser
• Clean out filters of pond pumps to get rid of any debris
• Run a 'seeping hose' - a hose with holes in - through dry shaded borders or along the base of hedges so they can be watered weekly in dry weather.
• Lightly trim broom and genista after flowering to keep plants in shape
• Trim box topiary and formal edging to keep it neat and tidy
• Stop cutting asparagus by the end of June to allow the ferns to form
• Sow veg seeds now. Try rocket, spinach, beetroot, carrots, calabrese, mini-cauliflowers, spinach, chicory, endive, kohl rabi, peas, spinach beet, swede and turnip

Give it a try

A couple of weeks ago a very nice lady dropped me in some information on National Biodiversity week. Biodiversity seems like a complicated word that but it has a simple meaning; the vast diversity of nature which can be seen all around us. Biodiversity is a term that was coined by joining the words “biological” and “diversity”. This contraction is now routinely used to discuss the high number and wide variety of organisms in the world, including humankind. So the grass that you walk on, the tree growing in your back garden, the bees buzzing from flower to flower and the birds flying over your head are all part of the world’s biodiversity. All gardens contribute in some way to the biodiversity of an area. Every plant that is planted increases the variety of life and provides habitat for other plants, animals, insects, fungi and so on. Ireland is lucky enough to have a rich biodiversity across the country, but our modern lifestyles can affect much of this natural variety. The good news is that there is a lot we can do in our own gardens to halt these threats. As long as we all pitch in, are rich biodiversity should continue to flourish. Biodiversity relies upon ecological systems completing and complementing each other. The food chain is the best example I can think of. Soil nurtures plants, plants are eaten by animals, and animals are raised and used by humans for a variety of purposes. If one link of this chain were to go missing the chain would be destroyed. And if one link of this chain were changed, the entire chain would be different. Today there is enough biodiversity to support a multitude of chains, all of which can benefit humans.  Here are some ways to encourage biodiversity in your garden. Plant a tree, preferably native; like a birch or rowan in a small/medium sized garden or an oak or ash in a large garden. Put up bird, ladybird and bat boxes .Leave some areas for grass and wildflowers to grow long. Leave dead wood and leaves lying around for over- wintering insects. Create a pond for aquatic life. Plant berry, fruit and nut producing trees, fruit and nuts for you, blossoms for the bees.  

• Water, water, water!  Best done in the evening or very early morning.
• Brilliant time to plant herbaceous as a lot of varieties are starting to flower, you can pick your colours.
• The same goes for roses, the new varieties are sure to please the most discerning gardener.
• Keep an eye on gooseberries for mildew.

There is only one problem with doing an article on Clematis, my space is limited so I won’t be able to cover the subject completely.  Clematis make up a vast group of plants, there are ones for growing up through trees 40-50 feet, some will even grow in hanging baskets and there are some herbaceous varieties.  There are many families all requiring different growing techniques and all pruned differently, so you need to take a little time and watch your plant growing for the first year or two.  If you have a grasp of the essentials, your plants will tell you when they need pruning.  In general the main families can be broken up into three different groups.

Group 1 – varieties that flower in late winter, early spring, Montana varieties are a good example.  They grow quite vigorously and flower on wood produced the previous year so it makes sense to prune them immediately after flowering and leave them alone for the rest of the year to produce their flower buds for the next season.  The Clematis alpinum are treated much the same but as they are not as vigorous and they don’t require much pruning. 

Group 2 – these are the varieties that flower in early summer.  This is probably the trickiest group, they flower on the previous year’s growth but they need a light pruning in early spring to remove any dieback or very weak stems.  The problem being that the stems can all look quite dead in early spring so you cut the stems at the extremities and if it’s totally brown and there’s no sap, it should be removed.  If in doubt leave it alone and when they burst into leaf in late spring you can revisit the pruning.

Group 3 – probably the most popular group, these are often referred to as the Jackmanii group, they flower in late summer/ autumn and flower on current year’s growth.  On established plants some of the older wood is removed after flowering in the autumn but they are pruned back quite hard to a pair of strong buds in early spring, just up from the ground level.  They will burst into bud in spring, grow all summer and flower thereafter.  There are some exceptions to every group but unless you are a connoisseur the fore mentioned is quite adequate.  The biggest problem I find with clematis especially the large flowered hybrids is that they never live long enough to need pruning because they are planted incorrectly.  The hybrids have specific requirements, they like their heads in the sun and their feet in the shade.  They require good moisture retentive (not soggy) soil with good quality homemade compost, leaf mould or rotted farmyard manure mixed through the soil.  They like to be planted deep so dig the hole at least a foot deep and flood the planting area after planting.  An occasional liquid feed during the summer with tomato food will give brilliant results.  I think I need to continue this next week.  Enjoy the sun!

• Keeping an eye on baskets and containers may not be enough for all the rain we get.
• For a black spot, spray roses.
• It's very important to spray apple trees for scab just now as the new fruit develops.
• Stake up perennial herbaceous plants.
• It is now possible to prune spring blooming clematis that have just gone out of flower.

In last week’s article I mentioned an old reliable that has been rejuvenated with bigger and better flowers and dramatic colours, these new Lupins are known as the West Country  Series. This week I continue in the same vein with another old reliable that is only barely distinguishable from its older cousins, it is known as Buddleja Flower Power (commonly known as the Butterfly Bush).  It is guaranteed to attract butterflies to your garden from July to September which is its flowering time. The older varieties grew quite large often outgrowing their space and required regular pruning to keep them in check.  By the way, this pruning should only be done in the wintertime.  They produced long spikes of purple, white or mauve flowers.  Their new cousin Flower Power isn’t just as vigorous but the flower colour is certainly dramatic.  In bud it’s a deep purple colour and as the flower develops it changes colour from purple to lilac to orange, all on the same flower.  When you get old and new flowers on the same plant the mix of colours can only be described as stunning.  It is sweetly scented and still attracts the butterflies, it is easy to grow so it’s worth seeking out.  While I’m on the subject of Buddleja there is an old variety that you don’t see much anymore as it grows too big for most gardeners reaching 12-15 feet high, it’s called Buddleja Globosa and it produces orange fluorescent golf ball size globular flowers, if you come across it and you have the space it’s one for posterity!                                                                                                                                    

Back to the subject of new and improved varieties, there’s a new apple tree called “Honey Crisp” which will put back the flavour into apples. For many years new apple trees were bred for their fruit, to have better colour, produce more and be longer lasting but they lost their flavours. Honey Crisp has bridged the gap as well as being disease resistant. The fruit has good colour, it is self-pollinating and has fruit with a fresh juicy sweet taste.  It is one to plant for the future, it will happily grow in Ireland. A number of varieties are being sold from time to time in Ireland that will not produce fruit here as they prefer continental type climates.

• There is still loads of time to plant vegetables and flower seeds directly into the ground outdoors
• Cut back shrubs which flowered in early spring, they will grow all summer and produce new flower buds for next year’s flowers
• Avoid trimming hedges as the birds are busy
• Keep an eye on newly planted trees and shrubs for watering.  Enjoy the sun!

ng last summer seems to be here and we tend to spend much more time outside. There is so much to be done in the garden right now I find it difficult to actually sit down and enjoy the garden. Of course, there are those who are of the opposite extreme but each to their own.  When I do get time to sit in the garden I’m drawn to the water’s edge, I have quite a simple garden pool and I’ve constructed a little cascade and there is something about the sound of trickling water that relaxes the spirit, by the way, my pool is an unfinished masterpiece, not that pools are hard to build and maintain but when constructing there are a number of aspects you must get right.

Over the next number of weeks, I will go through each step from construction to planting from a simple pebble pool in a pot which can be put together in an hour or two to a larger project which can take a number of weekends to complete.  A pond will transform your garden, a pond will breathe life into your garden. It can be an informal natural pond in a secluded corner or a formal raised pond in a high profile position by the patio.  A pond will bring sound and movement to your garden, you can actually create an atmosphere.  It also adds a wildlife dimension and you can stock your pool with interesting fish.  A pool will attract dragonflies, frogs and birds and our dog's preferred drink is direct from the pool, I suppose it’s more natural.                                                       

One word of caution, where there are small children there is no such thing as a safe pool, wait until the children are older before you have an open pond.  You can, of course, build a pebble pool where the water is totally concealed by stones and I’ve seen the odd pool with a very elaborate protective screen which if done properly is very effective and this protective grid can be disguised with clever planting. But as you know children are attracted to water like a magnet. 

• Scatter granular fertiliser around the base of roses, shrubs, perennials and hedges, and water in thoroughly if rain does not fall over the next week.
• Spray roses to protect them from pests and diseases, organic sprays would be preferable
• There seems to be a good crop of cherries forming this year so net all your developing soft fruits to protect them from birds
• You can now cut the foliage of daffodils and tulips down to the ground
• Tie greenhouse tomatoes to their supports as they grow and feed plants with fertiliser solution once a week
• Add lawn cuttings to the compost heap, or use them to mulch around fruit trees
• Mow and edge your lawn
• Tie stems of tall perennials to supports to prevent wind damage
• You should be feeding your  houseplants every week with a liquid fertiliser
• Clean out filters of pond pumps to get rid of any debris
• Run a 'seeping hose' - a hose with holes in - through dry shaded borders or along the base of hedges so they can be watered weekly in dry weather.
• Lightly trim broom and genista after flowering to keep plants in shape
• Trim box topiary and formal edging to keep it neat and tidy
• Stop cutting asparagus by the end of June to allow the ferns to form
• Sow veg seeds now. Try rocket, spinach, beetroot, carrots, calabrese, mini-cauliflowers, spinach, chicory, endive, kohl rabi, peas, spinach beet, swede and turnip

Give it a try... A couple of weeks ago a very nice lady dropped me in some information on National Biodiversity week. Biodiversity seems like a complicated word that but it has a simple meaning; the vast diversity of nature which can be seen all around us. Biodiversity is a term that was coined by joining the words “biological” and “diversity”. This contraction is now routinely used to discuss the high number and wide variety of organisms in the world, including humankind. So the grass that you walk on, the tree growing in your back garden, the bees buzzing from flower to flower and the birds flying over your head are all part of the world’s biodiversity. All gardens contribute in some way to the biodiversity of an area. Every plant that is planted increases the variety of life and provides habitat for other plants, animals, insects, fungi and so on. Ireland is lucky enough to have a rich biodiversity across the country, but our modern lifestyles can affect much of this natural variety. The good news is that there is a lot we can do in our own gardens to halt these threats. As long as we all pitch in, are rich biodiversity should continue to flourish. Biodiversity relies upon ecological systems completing and complementing each other. The food chain is the best example I can think of. Soil nurtures plants, plants are eaten by animals, and animals are raised and used by humans for a variety of purposes. If one link of this chain were to go missing the chain would be destroyed. And if one link of this chain were changed, the entire chain would be different. Today there is enough biodiversity to support a multitude of chains, all of which can benefit humans.  Here are some ways to encourage biodiversity in your garden. Plant a tree, preferably native; like a birch or rowan in a small/medium sized garden or an oak or ash in a large garden. Put up bird, ladybird and bat boxes .Leave some areas for grass and wildflowers to grow long. Leave dead wood and leaves lying around for over- wintering insects. Create a pond for aquatic life. Plant berry, fruit and nut producing trees, fruit and nuts for you, blossoms for the bees. 

• Perfect time for planting out summer bedding and hanging baskets.
• Protect fruit trees from mildew and scab, by spraying with fungicide now and again in 3 weeks.  Diseased trees will not produce fruit.
• Continue planting vegetables, now is the time to plant cauliflower and celery make sure you dig in lots of farmyard manure.
• Slugs are rampant, newly planted vegetables, bedding,and soft leaved plants can be destroyed overnight.
• Pinch out cucumber side shoot tips two leaves beyond a female flower.
• Tie in greenhouse tomatoes to their supports as they grow.
• Plant carrots and onions in alternate rows, the carrots help drive away the onion fly and the onions drive off the carrot fly.

Enjoy the first days of summer!

Nowadays with such a vast selection of plants to choose from, it’s often difficult to know what to plant. There is always something new which tempts most gardeners and we like trying something different. I find that some of the new varieties can be disappointing as they are very finely bred and need a lot of TLC. By all means experiment but every garden needs the old reliable that will flower year after year with very little care. There are few plants in this category that will beat Lupins. The humble Lupin has new cousins and they are known as West Country Lupins. They are bigger, more disease resistant and some of the colours are spectacular. Manhatten Lights produces a purple and gold spike almost 3 feet high. Gladiator is a delicate peach colour and there’s a bright yellow one called Saffron, all worthy of a sunny spot in your garden.  They will flower for months in any reasonable soil which is not too wet to avoid rotting of the roots during the winter. Plant them in the middle or back of your border as they reach up to 3.5 feet in height and plant something in front of them which is lower and that will flower at a later stage. Something like the perennial Salvia or Veronica which will flower from mid-June onwards. These plants produce a smaller spike like flower than the Lupin so they will complement one another. The pink flowering Veronica called First Love is a good choice.  Remove the flower spike after flowering, this will prolong the flowering season as the plant will produce new spikes.  You can, however, leave on the spike and harvest the pods in late summer. Sow the seeds as soon as the pods are ripe (the pods will turn black when ripe), you may even produce new colours. One thing to remember with Lupins is that slugs also like them so take the necessary steps “West Country Lupins will steal the show”.