No respite for garden problems

As a gardener, I love my plants and I want them to grow as well as they can - I don't want pests, diseases and weeds taking over and ruining everything. As a garden writer, I speak to lots of people whose lives are plagued by these problems and, like me, they just want their gardens to look great and don't want to spend all their time crying over spoilt displays and dead plants. We are of one mind!
In recent years, the number of pesticides available to gardeners has been slashed due to new legislation and excessive testing requirements - which cost a fortune and just aren't financially viable. As a result, some gardeners have turned back the clock and now use old remedies - most of which haven't been tested and some are absolutely lethal to man, plants and the environment - and illegal to use.
So, I'm always pleased when new products and new active ingredients ('ai' - the 'thing' that actually does the killing) are introduced, plus new technologies to ensure the amount of ai present in the product is the absolute minimum. My recent visit to Glee has revealed some of the new initiatives that are being introduced next year - and there are lots of exciting new ideas for us gardeners. Despite what some people think, these new products are safer to use than many old 'remedies' and release less ai into the environment than even so-called organic sprays.
The chemical companies are working hard to ensure they provide products that will make our lives easier, help us to enjoy the garden more and our plants look their best.
As a garden writer and someone who provides advice to gardeners and gives talks to gardening clubs on subjects like pest & disease control, weed-free gardening and lawncare, this means one thing - I need to keep on my toes and ensure I'm up-to-date with all the latest sprays and other problem-solving solutions. With 2010 just round the corner, it's time to get in touch with all the major players in the plant protection market and gen up on all their new products. I'll also be asking for product samples to show off at my talks; now where's my address book...?

Update: as for the helicopter mentioned in my last blog, it's actually a frame-mounted swinging lounger that kind of (if you have a major imagination or are on mind-altering drugs) looks like a helicopter.

Pruning & talking - but not at the same time

When I moved into my current house seven years ago, one of the things that persuaded me to buy it - along with the L-shaped garden (I’ve got the bottom of the gardens of the two houses to the right) – was the fabulous white-blossomed cherry tree. Sadly, it looked like it was suffering from bacterial canker, but seemed to be growing fine. Even more sadly is the fact that the canker has been getting worse since then, despite annual sprays with a copper fungicide.
This year it hasn’t flowered as well as it usually does (normally it’s completely covered in flowers) and the new growth looks sparse – I’m worried for it. But it’s such a feature of the garden I’d hate to loose it, so the fight goes on. I spent this weekend starting to prune out as much of the dead, weak and badly diseased growth as possible. But there’s still plenty more to take care of, which will have to wait until next weekend. Then I can give it its spring spray of copper.
As I was in a happy, ‘hacking’ mood, I decided to take the secateurs to some other plants. I’ve given the annual hard prune to the hardy fuchsias, perovskia, penstemon, caryopteris, phygelius and tidied up the cotinus. After pruning I always give a good feed with – usually – a granular rose fertiliser to put some strength back into the plants and ensure a good crop of flowers.
For more information on pruning, why not buy my book!
The daily early morning searches for lily beetles secured another four adults this week that were swiftly dispatched by the boot. Even though this vigil pays dividends I also decided to give all the lilies a quick treatment with Provado to bulk up the protection levels – there’s nothing like a belt and braces approach to gardening!
One of the things I love doing out of the garden is giving talks to gardening clubs and horticultural societies – and this spring has been especially busy. I’ve been up to Bingham in Nottinghamshire and Knaresborough in North Yorkshire, down to Abbots Langley and Olney in Buckinghamshire and Upminster in Essex, as well as lots around Peterborough and Cambridge. Subjects have ranged from pruning and propagation to pests and diseases, weeds and the weed-free garden and luscious lawns. This week I’m going up to Swayfield in Lincolnshire; I think this is the fourth time I’ve been there, so I must be doing something right. It’s probably the prizes I bring for the raffle!
This week was also busy on the BBC Radio Cambridgeshire front. On Thursday I was in the Peterborough studio answering questions on the weekly gardening phone-in. Then on Friday it was off to Jane Smith’s garden to record my monthly items for her programme. These are broadcast at around 7.45am on Saturday mornings. I used to do them over the phone, which meant crawling out of bed on a Saturday morning. Pre-recording not only does away with this chore, but also means we get some great atmospheric recordings, including bird song, tractors, jets flying overhead and the barking of her two dogs when someone walks past!
Next Sunday I’m back in the Peterborough studio for Dougan Does Gardening from 11am to 1pm.
Ah, the busy world of a gardening journalist!
And, of course, this weekend involved plenty of activity in the veg garden. You can read all about this on my RHS grow your own veg blog.
Have a great week in the garden.

Long time no blog

It's hard to believe that I haven't posted a blog since the end of August - but then again not! I've been soooo busy with other things that I just haven't had the time.

I managed to get some holiday in during September and went off to Greece for some sun and relaxation; I also went on my annual fishing trip to the Norfolk Broads with friends from University.

I've also had the proofs back from my pruning book, so have had to spend some time checking for corrections. Autumn is a busy time for me as I put together the Yearbook for the Garden Writers' Guild and produce the catalogue for Greenacres Horticultural Supplies. And, the autumn is a busy time for talks to gardening clubs. All in all, things are pretty hectic - but I have managed to get out into the garden too.

The last couple of weekends I've been having an autumn tidy up, lifting, storing, cooking and freezing the last of the summer veg and generally getting the garden and greenhouse ready for autumn. I do love this time of year. Towards the end ofsummer the garden can start to look a bit tired with plants going past their best, but a quick tidy up puts everything to rights.

All I need now is 40-hour days, six-day weekends - or the chance to retire from the day job!