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March
In The Gardens 2007 |
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Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 Border work as usual - weeding, forking over, pruning, cutting back and dividing herbaceous perennials if needed. We topped up existing mulches on beds and borders. Netting was removed from ponds and any blanket weed was removed. Any AURICULAS in pots that were coming into flower were taken to the Alpine House or put onto the AURICULA theatre in the Artisans Cottage Garden. Allotment Both varieties of RADISH have germinated in the coldframe on top of the mild hot bed. Potatoes are now showing under the cloche on the hot box. Planted out BROAD BEAN ‘Aquadulce Claudia’ and covered with a cloche. Removed BRUSSELS SPROUTS that have finished cropping. Nursery Started to lift and divide perennials and grasses from our growing-on rows on our nursery at Exton. Artisan's Cottage Garden Harvested ENDIVE. Elizabethan Vegetable Garden Planted out BROAD BEAN ‘Crimson Flowered’ and covered with a cloche. Parterre Lifted cloches and watered. Planted out PEA ‘Douce Provence’, raised in guttering, and covered with a cloche. Greenhouse Potted on CAULIFLOWER ‘All Year Round’ and ‘Candid Charm’ into 8cm (3”) pots. Sowed BROAD BEAN ‘Masterpiece Green Longpod’, ‘Bunyards Exhibition’, ‘Express’ and ‘Martock’ onto deep modules. Sowed ROCKET into 3 litre pot. Carried out required winter pruning on all APPLES and PEARS. We continued to pressure wash paved areas, kiln-dried sand is being brushed into the gaps between the slabs once all of the paving had dried. Unfortunately the BUXUS hedging in the Courtyard Garden was showing signs of box blight so we removed all infected plants and burnt them. The roses that were obtained from David Austin Roses and heeled in last month were planted around the gardens and watered in. These will need watering regularly if we have prolonged dry spells. Allotment Planted out CABBAGE ‘Robinson’s Champion’ and CAULIFLOWER ‘Dok Elgon’ and proted with cloches. Difficult to firm plants in well as ground exceptionally wet. Planted out ONION ‘Lancastrian’ and ‘North Holland Red Blood’ and SHALLOT ‘Jermor’. Built supports for SWEET PEAS. Nursery Taking hardwood cuttings of SALIX, CORNUS and SAMBUCUS before they burst into growth. These are pushed into the ground in an area at the back of the allotment. Parterre Checked ties on standard GOOSEBERRIES. Planted out GARLIC ‘Solent Wight’. Greenhouse Pricked out TOMATO ‘Red Currant’ and ‘Yellow Grape’ into 8cm (3”) pots, as putting some into modules. Pricked out LEEK ‘Lyon Prizetaker’ into modules. Potted on CABBAGE ‘Hispi’, ‘Greyhound’ and ‘Golden Acre Primo’ into 8cm (3”) pots. Sowed PEA ‘Early Onward’ into gutter to replace Pea ‘Douce Provence’ that rotted off. Sowed MARIGOLD ‘Oranges and Lemons’ and ‘Naughty Marietta’ into trays. General Pruning – HYPERICUM, COTINUS, ROSES, SANTOLINA, SPIRAEA japonica, PENSTEMON (if shooting from the base), SAMBUCUS, LIGUSTRUM (privet), many grasses were cut back to within a few centimetres from the ground. The Rosa Kiftsgate over the Country Garden pergola was pruned and tied in after providing us with its amazing red hips throughout the Winter, any other roses with hips that were no longer worthy of keeping were also pruned. Allotment Planted out SWEET PEAS. Planted LETTUCE ‘Tom Thumb’ and Carrot ‘Parmex’ into cold frame on mild hot bed. Planted ONION sets ‘Sturon’. Elizabethan Vegetable Garden Planted ONION sets ‘Sturon’. Parterre Planted out ONION ‘Mammoth Imporoved’ and covered with fleece. Removed box (BUXUS) hedging due to infection by box blight. Planted LETTUCE ‘Lollo Rossa’ and PEA ‘Douce Provence’ under cloches. Reclaimed Garden Planted out PEA ‘Douce Provence’ and covered with fleece. Ornamental Kitchen Garden Covered fan trained PEACH with fleece. Greenhouse Potted LETTUCE ‘Little Gem’ and ‘Unrivalled’; BROCCOLI ‘Green Magic’ and ‘Arcadia’ and CABBAGE ‘Kilaton’ and ‘Estoril’ into 8cm (3”) pots. Sowed CELERIAC ‘Monarch’ and ‘Brilliant’ into modules. Sowed BEETROOT ‘Red Ace’ and ‘Moneta’; BRUSSELS SPROUT ‘Bedford Fillbasket’ and ‘Red Bull’; CABBAGE ‘Redsky’, ‘Red Jewel’ and ‘Red Drumhead’ and CAULIFLOWER ‘Lateman’, ‘Purple Graffiti’ and ‘Igloo’; MARIGOLD ‘Equinox’, ‘Starfire Mix’ and ‘Cats Eyes’; ASTER ‘Hundreds and Thousands’; ZINNIA ‘Brightspark Mix’ and Antirrhinum ‘Kim Mix’ into seed trays. Pricked out TOMATO ‘Ailsa Craig’ and ‘Alicante’ into 8cm (3”) pots. Covered SWEET PEAS with fleece. General Cleaned out water feature pumps, a new pump was put into the pond and stream as the existing one was worn out. Outside pots still need watering at this time of year, especially if on walls as the water drains from them much more freely and any rain usually misses them as they are more sheltered. Started mowing lawns when conditions were favourable. Hedge bottoms and hard to reach areas are strimmed and lawn edges trimmed. We had very heavy rain very early this month which flooded the low lying areas of the gardens, we decided to put a land drain in alongside the apple arch as this area is near to a ditch so we wouldn’t have to disrupt any borders, only lawn. This should prevent any flooding in this area in the future. We regularly rake pathways to remove debris, the Japanese Garden gravel needed raking a couple of times a week to keep it looking good as the heavy rain soon flattens it. Watering in conservatory and greenhouses as and when needed. Allotment Removed harvested BRUSSELS SPROUT plants and shredded stems. Planted STRAWBERRIES ‘Cambridge Favourite’ and ‘Hapil’ raised in 9cm (3½”) pots. Directly sown PARSNIP ‘Gladiator’ and Tender and True’. Planted 1st early POTATO ‘Lady Christl’, ‘Rocket’ and Foremost and covered all three rows with thin, clear polythene. Planted uncovered rows of 1st early POTATO ‘Lady Christl’, ‘Rocket’ and Foremost. Planted out CAULIFLOWER ‘All Year Round’ and ‘Candid Charm’; CABBAGE ‘Hispi’, ‘Greyhound’ and ‘Golden Acre Primo’ and BROCCOLI ‘Summer Purple’. Put underlay collars around each plant to prevent attack from cabbage root fly and covered whole area with netting against cabbage white butterfly and pigeons. Nursery Finished divisions. Parterre Removed harvested BRUSSELS SPROUT plants and shredded stems. Planted STRAWBERRIES ‘Cambridge Favourite’ and ‘Hapil’ raised in 9cm (3½”) pots. Artisan's Cottage Garden Planted STRAWBERRIES ‘Cambridge Favourite’ and ‘Hapil’ raised in 9cm (3½”) pots. Ornamental Cottage Garden Removed harvested BRUSSELS SPROUT plants and shredded stems. Planted out BROCCOLI ‘Summer Purple’ and BROAD BEAN ‘Martock’. Greenhouse Potted on CAULIFLOWER ‘Dok Elgon’ and ‘Mayflower’ into 8cm (3”) pots. Sown CELERY ‘Giant Pascal’ and LETTUCE ‘Sangria’, ‘Granada’ and ‘Webb’s Wonderful’ into trays. Sown MELON ‘Lunabel’ and ‘Ogen’; CUCUMBER ‘Bella’, ‘Crystal Lemon’ and Palermo’; SWEETCORN ‘Applause’; SQUASH ‘Sweet Dumpling and PEA ‘Hurst’s Greenshaft’ and ‘Purple Podded’ into 8cm (3”) pots. Sown PEA ‘Waverex’ and ‘Sugarbon’ into guttering. Sown LEAF BEET ‘Rhubarb Chard’ and ‘Bright Lights’ into modules. Sown ONION ‘Bedfordshire Champion’; LEEK ‘Carlton’ and ‘Musselburgh’; PEPPER ‘Gypsy’; TOMATO ‘Tumbler Red’, ‘Tumbler Yellow’, ‘Incas’, ‘Viva Italia’, ‘Tornado’, ‘Beefeater’ and ‘Floridity’; KALE ‘Nero de Toscana’; BORECOLE ‘Darkibor’CALENDULA ‘Fiesta Gitana’ and ‘Lemon Zest’; MARIGOLD ‘Naughty Marietta’, ‘Honeycomb’ and ‘Dainty Marietta’; COSMOS ‘Sensations Mixed’ and ‘Sea Shells’’ ASTER ‘Nova’ and ‘Milady’ and STOCKS ‘Heaven Scent’ and ‘Cinderella’ into trays. Sown CARROT ‘Samurai’, ‘Yellowstone’ and ‘Purple Haze’ and PARSNIP ‘Tender and True’ and ‘Lancer’ into modules. Sown Melon ‘Mira’ and ‘Emir’ and AUBERGINE ‘Kermit’ into 8cm (3”) pots. Pricked out PARSLY ‘Favorit’ and AUBERGINE ‘Black Beauty’ and ‘Calliope’ into 8cm (3”) pots. Potted CHINESE ARTICHOKES into 1½ litre pots.
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