"After his long journey across Europe and Asia Minor, Voltaire has his hero Candide settle down on the outskirts of the Muslim city of Constantinople to “tend his own garden”, in other words “to mind his own business.” After witnessing horrifying episodes of religious intolerance and political oppression Candide decides that the best thing to do in the world is settle down, live peacefully with his neighbours, and produce something of value to others which he can sell in the markets." Candide (1759)
3 Comments
The sun still remains low in the sky and the length of daylight hours are short, but the month of January provides an opportunity to pay attention to the deciduous plants of the garden, that is those which annually lose and renew their leaves. It is this time of the year that the deciduous plants are dormant, meaning the preferred time for pruning and transplanting.
Young, newly planted trees can grow branches out into other nearby plants and now is the time to prune the misplaced stems, always cutting back to the main stem or at a junction of another branch. Lower side growths can also be pruned to form a length of bare trunk, this is known as a standard tree. Any dead or diseased branches can be removed and a general prune is advisable to tidy trees and shrubs to one’s liking. If any shrubs which have become loosened by wind they should be firmed up and staked if necessary. Providing conditions permit, January is a good time to plant deciduous bare-root trees and shrubs, particularly the common hedging varieties such as, Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) and Beech (Fagus sylvatica). If the weather conditions are not congenial and the soil is waterlogged, the bare-root plants can be healed in a corner of the garden until the soil is suitable. When purchasing bare-root plants always look for evenly distributed spreading roots and not ones which are tightly coiled. The spacing of between each hedging plant can vary, but below is a guideline: Hawthorn 30-45cm Hornbeam 45-60cm Beech 30-60cm This is assuming a single row of planting, if a denser wider hedge is desired then double planting is required, this is two rows of staggered plants and the spacing of the plants should be slightly increased. In exposed sites, a temporary wind break may be necessary and it must be positioned on the windward side of the hedge. It should remain erected until the hedge becomes established and can support itself. Other deciduous plants which can be attended to are climbers, now that they are without leaves it is easier to see where the stems are and where to cut. The vigorous climbers, such as Hydrangea Petiolaris, can cause structural damage on buildings so now is a good time to prune. Wisteria can have what is known as its second prune, during the summer, the new long shoots would of been cut back to five or six buds from the main stem, now in January, these same shoots should be shortened even more to two or three buds from the main stem. This should encourage a fabulous display of flowers by early next year. Written by Oliver David Cook on behalf of Green Landscapes Cornwall MISTLETOE the ‘air-plant’ Mistletoe, its true name being Viscum Album, is synonymous with this time of year particularly with the tradition of ‘Kissing under the Mistletoe’. There are many ancient mistletoe traditions, the best known being the Scandinavian legend Balder, the god of peace, who was killed by an arrow made from mistletoe and was resurrected by the other deities. The goddess of love was then entrusted with the mistletoe and regarded it as symbol of love, hence, any person passing beneath shall receive a kiss. Mistletoe is an evergreen parasitic shrub with white viscous berries and of the natural order Loranthaceae. It is a native of Europe and North Asia and requires a host plant with which to grow on, such as an apple tree in the garden. Orchards benefit from the growing of mistletoe on their fruit trees, thus yielding a return during the winter months when the trees are dormant. This is what makes the mistletoe so unique, it is also known as an ‘air-plant’ that is it is not rooted to the ground but it attaches itself to other plants, the correct name for such a plant is an Epiphyte, this word originating from the Greek words epi (upon) and phyton (plant). The bark and the leathery mistletoe leaves are of a yellow-green colour and are oval- lance-shaped, mostly in pairs. In spring, there are inconspicuous yellow flowers which consist of four triangular sepals, a similar number of anthers and an ovary with simple stigma. This is followed by poisonous white berries, however, they are devoured by birds most notably the Mistle Thrush, the seeds becoming attached to the branches of trees by their agency. On germination the embryo pierces the bark and penetrates to the wood and here it draws most of its food from the tree, but it manufactures carbohydrates in its leaves.The constituents of mistletoe can vary due to the host plant with which it grows on and it is believed the Druids regarded the mistletoe which grew on an Oak was the superior, although Oak being a rare host. It possible to grow your own mistletoe and there are numerous fact sheets and websites available including the following: http://mistletoe.org.uk/homewp/index.php/grow-your-own/ |
Welcome!Here at Penwarne Landscaping we are all passionate about gardens, and believe that outdoor spaces are just as important as indoor ones! In this blog, we regularly share our expertise along with tips and tricks that you can use to make the most of your garden and home. Archives
November 2023
Categories
All
|