Ten tips for Virgin Gardeners (part 1)

At this time of year, we are usually full of inspiration and renewed conviction that this is going to be the year when we make our garden gorgeous. But this whole gardening caper isn’t easy is it? Eleventy billion books and the entire internet, full of conflicting advice on how to do the very simplest things, not to mention the fact that unlike our parents, many of us have no childhood experiences of gardening.

Those of us in our 30s and 40s, (many of us with two parents working full-time), are a generation of lost gardeners. I may have known what a foxglove looked like, but I certainly never gleaned any horticultural knowledge from loitering next to my mum or granddad while they did the gardening; yes, it would have been confidence building, but it’s absolutely not essential. In fact, not knowing anything about plants allowed me to plunge straight into the flowerbed, unfettered by the limitations imposed by gardening ‘rules’, which (in my humble opinion) are mostly better broken.

So if you’re inspired to go out and have a go, here are ten things you can do in your outside space which will not only improve its appearance, but teach you something about gardening into the bargain.

1. Clear some space. 

You may have ambitious plans to overhaul your entire outside space, or you may simply have been inspired to plant a shrub here and there. Either way, you’re about to get acquainted with your soil. Pick up a handful and give it a squeeze - you’ll instinctively know if it’s good, and not just because it’s crumbly but sticky at the same time, with a sweetish smell, but because the plants in it are looking healthy (even if they are weeds). Anything too dry, or hard, or sticky or stony, or cloddy needs attention, and again, the answers are obvious - add something moist and rich (manure or soil improver) to very dry or sandy soils, and something dry and gritty (like sand) to very sticky soils. Pull up all the weeds and dig, plunging a spade vertically down into the ground, levering the stuff up and turning it over, breaking it up by bashing it a bit, and then forking in any additions. It’s properly hard work but you’ll burn a vast amount of calories and end up with something fabulous at the end.

2. Plant some ready-grown flowers that you like. 

Now you’re ready to plant, it pays to practice with something dispensable, so go to the garden centre and pick some cheap bedding plants that make you smile. Don't give yourself too long, or overthink this choosing stage. Don’t get bogged down with reading too many labels; these are temporary plants. Take them out of their plastic pots and rub the sides of the compost a bit, so that the roots know it’s okay to start spreading out, rather than growing round and round in a circle. Dig a hole, a bit deeper than you think you need, place the plant in the hole, and replace the soil around it so there aren't any gaps. Firm the whole thing down gently with your hands or a foot, and water liberally. That’s all.

3. Sow some seed

If you’ve never done it before, prepare to be thrilled. Don’t read the label, or the internet, or any books. Just go and get some easy, large seeds (nasturtiums are a good one to start with), fill a container, like a window-box, with multi-purpose compost from a bag, water the compost and push a few seeds into the soil - just a fingernail’s depth. Squidge the soil back over the seed and leave the whole thing somewhere you’ll be able to see it daily, so that you can make sure the soil doesn’t dry out. Unbelievably soon, you’ll see shoots appearing. Keep watering and watching and being amazed. Repeat.

4. Remove something you dislike

Whether it’s a tiny back yard, or a balcony, or a large garden, this is your space. If you’ve inherited plants that don’t make you happy, it might be time to ask yourself what on earth you’re keeping them for. Yanking stuff out that isn’t right is just as fruitful and effective as putting stuff in - it’s all gardening, and you’ll be amazed at what a jolly good purge can create in terms of views and vistas and general feelings of liberation.

5. Prune something that’s overgrown

Following on from pulling out unwanted plants, look at your shrubs and trees and think about improving they way they look and perform in your space by lopping off some of the foliage or branches. Most people in inherited gardens have overgrown shrubs which can be absolutely transformed by a judicious haircut. Start by identifying the plant and establishing the best time to prune, but beyond that, trust yourself and go at it, slowly and gently, stepping back after each cut to look at what you’ve done from a distance. Evergreen shrubs like box, privet, yew can be pruned into all sorts of wonderful shapes. Large shrubs that take up huge amounts of ground can be ‘lifted’ by chopping off all the foliage to leave bare stems, allowing you to underplant the space below with shade-loving plants.

Hope that was helpful. There’ll be five more suggestions coming up next.

x Laetitia

How to deal with box caterpillar

Cydalima perspectalis is the box tree caterpillar and if you don’t already have it, very sorry, but it’s coming soon to a box ball near you.

It lays pale yellow eggs on the underside of the leaves, which hatch green and yellow caterpillars with black heads. These will munch away, leaving only crispy brown skeletons of leaves, and making you both angry and sad.

this is what they do

This caterpillar has no natural predator so it’s not like you can just leave the birds to eat them. In fact birds won’t eat more than a few due to the toxic alkaloids in the box (which is the sole diet of the caterpillar). That means that if we want to keep our box plants, we have to take action and control the pest.

Cydalima perspectalis (box tree caterpillar)

Now of course, there are loads of sprays out there which will nuke the critters, including all other beneficial insects!! That’s not something I want to contribute to, and if you’re looking for chemical insecticide recommendations then this is not the place for you. Before you go though, I would beg you, for the sake of our planet, to take a look at the options below - they are all effective and most importantly, SAFE for other insects and wildlife, pets, your children and YOU!

Firstly, hand-removal. It’s time-consuming and gross, but effective if you do it regularly, remembering that this moth has more than one life cycle every year, and that the caterpillars over-winter on the plant.

A moth trap should be the first port of call for anyone dealing with this pest. It contains a lure which attracts the males and traps them, preventing them from reproducing. You may need more than one trap, depending on how large your garden is, and it’s essential that you follow the instructions, replacing the lure regularly etc, otherwise it simply won’t work (and for something that doesn’t look very nice, that would be a shame!) There is a discount code on the trap I’ve linked above - just put TODMAN10 into the box. If everyone with box had a trap and used it, we would effectively be able to control this pest.

Next is the nematode route, This is effective as long as you follow the instructions religiously. I haven’t used it but it is absolutely safe for use. I use nematodes to deal with vine weevil larvae and they are effective but as I said, do follow the instructions; nematodes are very temperature sensitive and you don’t want to waste your time or money.

Biological control - Topbuxus Xentari contains a microorganism that will kill caterpillars but not bees (indeed bee-keepers use it to control moths within hives). I use it and can vouch for it. The caterpillars stop eating your box within an hour and they die within a couple of days. Be aware that it is not officially sanctioned for use in the UK yet, but also be aware that this is more to do with huge chemical companies and their wish that you should continue to buy their stuff..

If you have a fair amount of box and are using Xentari I highly recommend a Trigger Sprayer - it makes the whole thing much easier and quicker and avoids blisters from repetitive spray injury! If that’s not your thing then of course a normal spray bottle will do; it needs to be at least a litre capacity as each sachet of Xentari needs a litre of water to mix with.

Finally, remember that this pest isn’t going away any time soon, so if you want box the you’ll have to commit to them…big time. Having found a solution that works I’m happy to put the work in, but if you’re not up for this lark, then stay tuned and I’ll put a blog up soon with my favourite box alternatives, all of which respond well to clipping, and none of which will (hopefully) break your heart.

Hope that was helpful. I am not a scientist - just an interested gardener, and sometimes I get things wrong. If you see anything here that you don’t agree with, please do let me know.

x Laetitia

My favourite ferns for containers

Fern favourites

Right about this time, when we’re all about the garden in its party dress, it’s not a bad idea to calm down, and focus instead on ways in which your garden can really sing for its supper over the winter. Green is never not a good choice for a container (or anywhere else) and in fact, if you can bear to step away from the colour, the payback will be sophistication and serenity in spades.

Evergreen ferns are my answer; the opposite of formal or severe, and bringing a jungly vibe to a space reminiscent of warmer climes. Add to this the fact that all of them (evergreen or deciduous) grow best in semi- or full shade, and you have the perfect plant to lush up the darker patches of your plot.

So what are the best ferns for containers? Well, the answer is the fern you love the most, because they grow very well in a pot, as long as you don’t let them dry out. They don’t have a particularly deep root run, so although they look best in large pots, which raise them up a bit, you don’t actually need to fill the whole thing with compost - you can ‘stuff’ the bottom of the pot with an old upturned plastic container, or with other used packing materials, making for an altogether lighter container. Here are my personal favourites - all but one is evergreen.

Asplenium scolopendrium (put it anywhere you have a space)

Asplenium scolopendrium is an absolute wonder for difficult, dark areas (it will grow in cracks in a wall, given enough moisture). Its leaves are un-cut and slightly wavy at their margins and at 18ins or so, it is smallish, so perfect for little crevices.

Polypodium vulgare

Polypodium vulgare has very pretty, almost lacy fronds and grows up to 20ins or so. It’s a British native too.

Polystichum setiferum

Rather more furry-looking but no less beauteous for that are the Polystichums. P. setiferum, with its arching fronds and soft texture will get to 23ins.

Dryopteris felix-mas, (header photo) perhaps my favourite fern for winter, isn’t even properly evergreen (its leaves are mostly gone by the end of December, leaving promising furry brown ‘knuckles’ in the earth, waiting to unfurl), but is gorgeous enough, at a stately 3ft, and with spectacular filigree fronds, to make that loss more than worth it.

Dicksonia antarctica - the ultimate if you can afford to splash out on something really special, and perfectly possible in a container as long as you take care with keeping it healthy. They are not hardy over the winter so need wrapping up (unless your garden is super-sheltered) but just one of these will add lush, jungly gravitas to any terrace or garden. I don’t have a photo of this because I am still saving up for one (or twelve).

x Laetitia 

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Reclaim your garden: zero waste, inexpensive, enjoyable ways to get your garden shipshape this weekend.

Easter Weekend is, statistically speaking, the busiest gardening weekend of the year. It’s a lovely thing yes, but there is always a sense of rising panic...especially for people who are new to gardening…

Help! my garden is a mess! How on earth am I going to tackle this enormous task?…I don’t have time to make it look nice! Perhaps the only way is to call someone in and spend loads of money I don’t have! I don’t even know what any of these plants are!

It’s a feeling I know all too well and I’m going to send out a gentle plea for calm right now, because your outside space, however ‘messy’ or ‘unkempt’ or ‘neglected’ is still YOUR SPACE and you deserve to enjoy it, whatever state it’s in. Indeed, if you ARE facing a jungle outside, you can take comfort in the knowledge that SO many beneficial insects, birds, reptiles and other wildlife are enjoying your garden BECAUSE it’s untidy!

Okay so let’s get practical. I thought I’d set out a small list of things you can do to improve YOUR EXPERIENCE of your garden. This is not about doing a massive makeover…no grand gestures here…it’s about carrying out some very simple tasks that will connect you with your garden on a deeper level, and pave the way for a more sustained (dare I say it, ‘FIVE MINUTE APPROACH’) going forward.

1. Sow some seeds.

I suggest either sweet peas or runner beans. If you’ve no space in a flowerbed then do it in a large pot. Start the seeds off indoors so you can keep a close eye on them, and they germinate quicker. Get yourself a bag of peat-free, multi purpose compost and fill a few deep pots with it. If you don’t have pots lying around, please don’t go buying new ones…, use old loo rolls, or make paper pots out of old newspaper - they’re really easy - I’ve put a highlight on my instagram stories called ‘Newspaper pots’ to show how easy it is. All you need is an old jar and some newspaper. Push one seed into each pot, about up to your first knuckle, cover them over, water well and try and create a humid atmosphere around them - if you have a seed tray, that means using the clear plastic lid that comes with it, or if not, then put them in a clear plastic storage container with the lid on, or you could even use a clear plastic bag. Leave them inside, by a window (your kitchen windowsill is good here) until they appear. As soon as they do, take whatever you’re using as a ‘lid’ off and let them grow on until they have a few leaves. Put them outside in the day and inside at night until you feel the forecast says there won’t be any more frost, and then plant them out in your pot, or the bit of earth you’ve cleared. Stick a few bamboo or hazel sticks in the ground to create a tipi of sorts, tying it up at the top with string, and gently tie your little seedlings to the base of the sticks, so they know where to climb. In a matter of weeks you’ll have a gorgeous green-covered pyramid. This will give you SO much joy as you go out to pick your sweet peas or harvest your runner beans. You don’t even have to LIKE runner beans, because the flowers are just so pretty, and you will have grown something substantial and amazing from SCRATCH.

2. Do some husbandry

Honestly lovely people, if you’re feeling overwhelmed the following things are the quickest, simplest and most enjoyable ways to get that ‘in control’ feeling back. Husbandry is just a term for tidying that gardeners use…I love the word, and I love the act of husbandry. It’s mindless and easy and never fails to do good.

a) Sweep. Sweep that shit up - all the old leaves and dirt. Sweep your steps and your terrace or patio, sweep your paths and your paving stones, take a small stiff brush and sweep all the crevices and crannies your broom can’t reach. Put your headphones on and sweep it all up.

b) Mow. I put this under ‘husbandry’ because, again, it’s really nothing more than mindless ‘tidying’. If you have a lawn, then mowing it is the single most effective thing you can do to make things look good. A mown lawn will let you get away with murder in the flower beds. So mow darlings. And edge too. Get a pair of kitchen scissors and snip all the grass that the mower can’t reach, so that the edges of your lawn are crisp. It will make a vast difference, SWEAR.

c) Chop. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know which plant is which. The rule here is simple. Chop down anything that’s brown and crispy (or dead, in other words). It’s old flowers and stems from last year and it needs to go now, so that the new stuff can emerge, un-impeded. While you’re chopping you might want to look at the base of some of your plants, and you might see the new stuff coming up. Exciting no?. There…you’re gardening!

d) Weed. Do you know what a stinging nettle looks like? or a dandelion? If those are the only weeds you can identify then start with them…yank them out (unless you want them for the wildlife in your garden,….and yes, if you can leave a small wild area then the birds and insects and frogs etc will thank you for it). If you’ve got an idea of which plants go where in your garden, then you’ll know which ones are weeds. Pull them out, or gently dig around their roots to remove them. Once you’ve cleared one patch, move on to the next. Do not look up. Do not get downhearted by how much there is to achieve, just keep your head down and enjoy what you’re doing right now. Do five minutes at a time and you’ll have the whole garden finished in a matter of days.

3. Reset the garden every day

Okay this is going to sound a bit bonkers, but it’s one of the most important things I do every day in the spring, summer and autumn for my garden and MYSELF. I first came across the idea of the #reset from following a woman called Lauren on Instagram (whose recipes for homemade cleaning products I also follow). She has this thing about ‘resetting’ her space every day, so that it feels good the next time she walks into it. I haven’t managed to implement this type of thing into my inside space, but I DO use it for outside:

So: Put your cushions and throws and parasols and other comfy stuff out first thing, every morning, whether or not you are planning to sit in the garden. This is SO important; if there’s nowhere comfortable to sit in your garden, you won’t sit in it…simples. Unless torrential rain is forecast, I put the cushions out, and you know what…I find myself actually sitting down to enjoy the garden in those small snippets of time I get, randomly. If the cushions weren’t there, I wouldn’t be able to do that. The garden is there to be enjoyed, and having a comfortable place to sit is crucial if it is to fulfil its destiny!

Hope that provides some ideas for this weekend and beyond

x Laetitia

I write a weekly newsletter. It’s much more personal than my blog and covers my daily five minute forays. People say it gives them ideas about what they can do right now in their garden. We do lots of emailing back and forth and it’s my favourite way to connect with people who read my stuff. Sign up if you want to try it and don’t worry - you can always unsubscribe if it’s not for you!

How I plan to grow enough salad for the family this year.

Free greens from now until winter and beyond: A timetable of sorts.

I'm a world away from being self sufficient, but I am constantly looking for ways to cut my food budget and increase the nutrient density of our meals. Obviously, like any sane person on this precious planet, I also want to cut out plastic, and I've managed to do this pretty effectively when it comes to grains, meat and fish, by switching over to a bulk store, butcher and fishmonger respectively. This means that a lot of the plastic I'm still getting comes from the bagged salad I'm receiving in my veg box and buying from the supermarket. I thought I would share the plan I'm plotting, to keep my family in greens for the majority of the year, starting right now. Here it is:

Immediately: 
Peashoots in a pot: I will be sowing a wide, shallow pot of peas every two weeks indoors, and will keep this going indefinitely, moving the pots outside when the weather is warm enough. These shoots are delicious and even children love them. You can get more detailed instructions on how to sow them in the link above.

Microgreens in a pot: Pretty much the same deal as for pea shoots, I'll be doing a fortnightly sowing of micro greens in two wide, shallow pots or plastic seed trays. Again, click the link in the title for more detailed instructions on how to sow micro greens.

Hearted lettuce: On the advice of Alex Mitchell, I'm going to have my first stab at hearted lettuce with 'Webb's Wonderful' which I'll be sowing individually in jiffy 7's, perhaps in a group of four, and pot on into a 20-30cm pot. They are supposed to heart up and be ready in eight weeks, and each one will yield an entire family salad. We eat two to three family salads a week (well, yes, I eat most of it, so yeah, they're not really 'family salads are they' but still, I reckon I'll want two crunchy lettuces a week to feed my salad addiction). That means sowing four or five seeds every fortnight to keep things ticking over. I've already begun this escapade indoors and then take it outside in May when I know there won't be any more frosts.

April and beyond:
Cut and come again leaves: I'll be sowing a very large wide container on my terrace with Johnson's Ovation mixed leaves, recommended to me by Alex Mitchell. These I'll be thinning to 5cm apart and then picking off single leaves as and when I want salad, and I'll be sowing a new pot's worth every fortnight all the way through to early autumn.

I'm hoping that with these four seed packets I'll be able to stop using bagged salad entirely. I'll be keeping a tally of the cost of seed, compost and time spent also, because it interests me, and might also interest you too. I'll also try and chronicle in all on Instagram stories (because if it's not storied then it hasn't happened right?) and if you have any suggestions for me on this particular thing, then do get in touch - I'd love to know your thoughts.

x Laetitia

How to make a simple alpine trough

An alpine trough is the kindest, nicest thing you can give to yourself (or anyone else) for a present. It’s a simple way of having fun with plants and it’s low maintenance, and fits on a tabletop - no garden required.

I made this trough up this time last year and it has brought me SO much joy.

You need:
A wide shallow container, or a proper alpine trough like this tiny stone one
Some broken pieces of terracotta or pebbles or old polystyrene blocks for drainage
Some broken pieces of terracotta or slate, or some shard-like stones. Think SCREE.
Some peat-free multi-purpose compost
Some horticultural grit
Some alpine plants. Mine were: Armeria, Sedum, Veronica and Erysimum. Bought at the garden centre and wrestled from their plastic which I left ceremoniously at the counter.
Some sempervivums (house-leeks) to fill in any gaps

Method.
Mix the compost about two thirds compost and one third grit.

Keep thinking about your mountainside and how craggy and free-draining it is. Add your drainage to the bottom of your container

Fill the container with the gritty compost and push in some craggy bits of terracotta or slate - get them facing the same way. Use this for inspiration!

Now squish in your plants randomly, hugging your shards of pottery slightly, and spilling over the sides a bit.

Now add some sempervivums. If you’re buying them new, then make sure there’s a hen and some chicks (little baby sempervivums attached to their mother) You can detach these and plant them separately - burying the ‘umbilical cord’ gently in the compost and leaving the rosettes proud of the soil. Space them evenly around, so they can creep slowly and fill in the gaps.

Water the pot and finally top-dress it with small horticultural grit or gravel. This will keep the crown of each plant dry and prevent it rotting.

If needs be, gently pull the plant upwards so that the gravel gets right in around each rosette and crown.

Hope you have fun making this - do tag me in any photos on your socials so I can share your beautiful work!

x Laetitia

How to care for alpine containers

Exquisite, jewel-like qualities aside, the main attraction of alpines for me, is that they are fabulously low-maintenance. Low maintenance though, is not NO maintenance, because most of us grow our alpines in smallish containers, where there is less room for slovenliness than in the wider garden environment, so here is my three-step alpine rescue mission for neglected pots.

First, weeding; deathly boring I know, but it’s amazing what a bit of husbandry can do for a collection of low-growing lovelies. Obviously chop off any dead or dying bits of plant, and get rid of any uninvited guests. For sempervivums you may need to remove some healthy bits along with the brown stuff, as the babies are attached to the parent plant. Just cut the ‘stalk’ attaching the baby to its parent and bury it in the compost, giving it its own space.

Your next step is to top-dress - another intensely satisfying thing as it gives the ‘painting’ of your planting a new, clean canvas against which it can shine, with the added benefit that a mulch of horticultural grit or pea gravel will prevent the base of each plant from becoming too wet, and consequently rotting.

And if things could still do with a little zhuzhing up, then consider the artful application of a few bits of slate, pushed into un-planted gaps, at an angle, to crank up the whole alpine scree vibe, whilst adding a vertical element to your container.

Sempervivum

x Laetitia

Thinning out: The hows and whys of murdering your plants

It’s a sad fact that thinning is essential in order to give plants the space they need to grow. The trick is to sow enough seeds as an insurance against non-germination or death-by-slug, or bird, or cat. You need to begin the whole process of sowing, KNOWING that many of your babies won’t reach their full potential. This may make it easier to cull….sort of…but not much. There is nothing worse than removing perfectly healthy plants. The problem is that if you don’t, then none of them will thrive. Simples.

Different plants need different treatment when it comes to thinning them out, but the essential thing with all of them is to sow thinly in the first place, preferably singly, or in pairs, into modules, or individual Jiffy 7 pellets, so that you can easily pot the small plants on with minimal root disturbance.

Sowing in pairs is a good option as it will give you an insurance policy. When both seedlings come up, wait until they are a few cm high and snip the smaller one off at soil level with scissors. It’s important not to pull it out, as this could disturb the roots of the plant you want to keep.

If your seeds are too small to sow singly, then this option still holds good – sow as thinly as possible and snip all but one or two seedlings away in each module. Two seedlings, in either corner of a small module can then grow on for a while and eventually one can be pricked out and transplanted, avoiding wastage.

In the ground, sow thinly as before and when the seedlings are an 2-3cm tall, do an initial thinning by leaving one good seedling every 10cm and pulling everything out in between. Watering before you remove seedlings will avoid root damage to neighbours, and watering post-thinning is essential too, to settle the compost around the roots.

A second thinning (to whatever the packet instructs) can then ensue, when you feel the plants are strong enough to withstand transplanting and the removed plants can be re-planted elsewhere, which may make the whole thing a little less gut-wrenching (though not much, I admit).

Damping off - what is it, and how can you avoid it?

We’ve all been there; hope and optimism-filled as we sow seeds, only to be crushed a few days or weeks later as our they either fail to emerge, or (even worse) sprout beautifully and then suddenly collapse for no apparent reason.

The culprits are both fungal and soil-borne diseases, and there are many of them – hence the collective term. The good news is that there is a lot you can do to prevent damping off.

Improving the air-flow to your seedlings is absolutely critical; remove any covering over your seeds as soon as you see action (individual pots which can be moved as soon as the seedling appears are preferable to trays). If trays are used, don’t wait until all the seeds have germinated; get that lid off at the two-thirds mark.

Make sure that your seed mix is sterile, and well-drained. Get some fine horticultural grit and mix it 50/50 with your seed compost – this will keep air-flow and drainage at good levels.

Ensure that you water really well, but do it from below, standing your pots or trays in water until the compost has absorbed the moisture it needs, and then pouring away any excess.

Make sure that your containers and any tools you use are as sterile as possible. You can do this by washing thoroughly with hot soapy water, or if you want to be totally sure, then you could even zap your pots in a steam steriliser - a bit over-the-top perhaps, but if you’re going to the effort of growing from seed, then it might just be worth the bother.

xx Laetitia

Lilies for Mothering Sunday

Cut flowers are lovely, and I’ll never say not to them (as long as they’re plastic-free and British-grown) but a single pot planted with lilies would also gladden any mother’s heart.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Edit: Do be careful with lilies if you have cats or neighbours with cats, as the pollen is poisonous to them. Many thanks to Fran for pointing this out in the comments - I should have mentioned it in the original post.

It’s as simple as getting hold of some lily bulbs and putting them in a pot. Here’s how:

You need:

Lily bulbs: I have new favourites every year, but the milky-white, heavily scented Lilium ‘Casa Blanca’ always steals my heart.

Compost: I use a mixture of peat-free multi-purpose and John Innes No. 2.

A tall pot: My lily posts measure roughly 30cm across and are 50cm deep. This size will be perfect for tall lilies.

Sharp sand

Osmacote granules: to feed the bulb - about one handful per pot.

Method

Mix up the compost with the granules and fill the pot until you have about 15cm left to the rim. Now sprinkle in a handful of sharp sand, put the bulbs on top (I use three bulbs per pot) and bury them with more compost, leaving enough room at the tip so that when you water it won’t overflow. Water until it seeps out of the bottom of the pot, put it outside in a sunny spot and wait.

If you’ve chosen tall lilies it’s a good idea to put a pea stick next to each one to support it as it gets taller.

You should have lilies by June.

Lilies hate to be too wet, so wait until the compost is dry on top before each watering and then water thoroughly. They also sometimes get attacked by bright red lily beetles, which have brown larvae covered in their own odious poo - so revolting. Squish them on sight.

x Laetitia

Frog love: how to create the best environment for these garden friends.

Photo by Bharathi Raja on Unsplash

You want frogs in your garden; you really really do.

They eat insects (including mosquitos) and also slimy invertebrates (yes, slugs) and they are also unbelievably cute.

Water

The single most important feature you need is water – a pond is obviously best, but failing that, a large container filled with water and more importantly, a way in and out of it. For a container or pool, this will mean bricks fashioned in some sort of ‘step’ arrangement; for a pond, the marginal (shallower) area on the sides will do the trick.

Plants

They need pond plants to hide in-amongst, and to attract insects. Frogs actually spend most of their time on land, so adequate foliage, providing moist, shady coverage near to your pond or pool is vital.

Patience and consideration

Wait for the frogs to find you, rather than raiding another pond for frogspawn, and be careful with any chemicals you are still using and consider cutting them out – for the benefit of all nature, but particularly for frogs who drink and breathe through their skin. Avoid topping pools up with tap water, because the chlorine in it can harm frogspawn – it’s best to use a water butt, and if you must use tap water, then leave it out for a day or two to evaporate the chlorine. If you live in an area where your tap water is chloraminated, then always use rainwater.

Slowly does it!

Most importantly though (and sorry to make you wince), keep your lawn short, and check it thoroughly before you mow it.

x Laetitia

Best zero waste pots and containers for sowing seeds

Following on from the last blog, in which I set out my favourite composts for seed sowing, I thought it might be helpful to do the same with seeds sowing containers. Again, there is a wealth of information out there on which containers are the best ones for your little seed babies, but here, for what it’s worth, are the solutions that have worked best for me.

Before we begin: Anything you use to start off seeds should be scrupulously clean, to prevent mould or other nasties from coming into contact with your seedlings. Remember that a warm, humid environment is needed to aid germination, which is also the PERFECT environment for the proliferation of microbes, good and bad. So wash anything you’re sowing into, with hot soapy water (I use Dr Bronners Sal Suds, or just plain washing up liquid will do) and dry the container thoroughly too.

My favourite containers for sowing seed.

1. Existing plastic pots and trays. You have more of these hanging around in your garden than you could ever imagine! Use them until they disintegrate, (it’s still pretty impossible to recycle them effectively). Plastic really is a great material for seed sowing containers. If you are sowing lots of seed, then seed trays are the best solution. Bear in mind that you will eventually have to pot on all those seedlings though, so make sure you have enough pots for that! I tend to use small plastic pots and sow small amounts of seed into them.

2. Recycled food cartons. If you run out of plastic pots, or if you are new to gardening, old plastic food cartons can serve extremely well as seed-starting containers. Ice cream tubs make very good seed trays (just punch some holes in the bottom) and grape cartons, complete with holes, also work well, particularly for seeds that like a deep root run (such as sweet peas).

3. Coir jiffy 7 pellets. I wrote about these in the blog before this one. They are self-contained pellets made out of coconut fibre, set within a compostable membrane. You simply put them in water to inflate them and sow directly into each one. They do need some sort of a tray with sides to help them stay upright, and they are more expensive than using existing containers with bought compost, but they make potting on incredibly easy - just remove the membrane and put the entire lump of coir into the next pot. It’s a zero waste, zero mess option.

4. Newspaper pots. Disclaimer: I’ve never used paper pots, but I have excellent gardening friends who do, and they swear by them. Most of us have old newspaper in the home, and you can make yours as large or small as you like. It’s zero waste and incredibly satisfactory. The paper is easily removed once you’re ready to pot on, and then obviously it’s compostable. I have my eye on this seedling starter set, which includes a dibber and a tamper, along with two sizes of pot maker, but if you don’t want to shell out for it then this video is brilliant - a bit origami but I love the fact that they are square.

5. Loo rolls. You can use loo rolls in the same way as newspaper pots but without the bother of having to make them up. The trick with these is to collect enough that they all stand up next to one another on a tray. They are particularly good for sweet peas, again because of their depth, and of course you can compost them once you’ve used them.

I hope this has given you some inspiration for your seed sowing - you certainly don’t have to go out and buy new kit to start sowing - all you need is some sort of pot and a warm place in which to germinate seed!

x Laetitia

Best composts for seed sowing

It’s that time of year - everyone is dabbling in a little (or a lot of) seed sowing so I thought I’d put in my two cents worth on sowing media.

There seems to be so much mystery surrounding this, and I certainly remember as a novice, wading through acres of information on what type of mix was the best medium for sowing seeds. I remember looking at lots of trials, comparing different types of proprietary seed compost, but in the end, I used whatever was available to me at my local garden centre - I wasn’t about to travel to go and get a particular seed sowing mix. Equally I wasn’t mad keen on mixing any more than a couple of different ‘ingredients’ in order to get the perfect mix. So, here is what has worked for me over the years, and I hope it goes some way to de-mystifying the subject.

One more time: The following suggestions are just what have worked for me in the time I have been sowing seeds - this is in no way an exhaustive list.

Before we start - some seed sowing essentials..

Seeds need a free-draining, nutrient-poor, humid environment to germinate. The texture of any compost or medium needs to be fine - no big lumps but not too fine so as to prevent oxygen from getting in. It’s a balance. For any seed sowing, your best friend will always be horticultural grit or perlite, both to cover seeds with and to mix with your compost. I like perlite because it’s light, but grit is great too.

1. Peat free multi-purpose compost

   This is a perfectly good option for sowing seeds, and some people use it neat with great results. There are loads to choose from, but I always cut it half and half with horticultural grit or perlite, in order to lighten the mix. I also sieve out any lumps and ‘bits’. Imagine you are a tiny seed trying to put down a root; you don’t want to be wending your way around big bits of bark in order to anchor yourself, and access air, water and nutrients. In order to give your seeds the best start, make it easy for them by giving them fine, crumbly, gritty compost.

2. Coir jiffy 7 pellets

   I have just started using these and I LOVE them. They are basically little pod of coir (coconut fibre) wrapped in a compostable membrane. You pop them in water for a few moments and they expand into perfect little cells which you then sow into direct. They are so easy to use and so far I’ve had 100% germination from them for my tomatoes, peppers and parsley. They need some kind of ‘tray’ so they don’t fall over, and you need to keep a keen eye on them to make sure the coir doesn’t dry out, but this is far and away the most convenient seed sowing method I’ve come across, principally because it is VIRTUALLY MESS-FREE. Yes, you can do this in your kitchen (and let’s face it, most of us are sowing seed in our kitchens) without lugging about loads of dirt…you don’t even get your hands dirty. One word of warning though, make sure the pellets you buy are coir, as there is a big market in jiffy 7’s made out of peat. Using peat in your garden is unsustainable and plain wrong, so go for the coir ones.

3. Vermiculite

   I would never have used vermiculite to start seeds, except out of convenience. I wanted to sow something and had run out of compost or grit or something. I noticed an old bag of vermiculite and used that instead. The seeds really really loved it. This is a really great seed sowing medium. It is free draining whilst at the same time holding just enough moisture to provide your seeds with a near-perfect environment. It’s expensive though, and quite distinctive-looking, so it’s not something I would use a lot of, as I always tip my used seed compost over my garden. Recommended for sowing on a very small scale though.

4. Proprietary seed and cuttings compost.

   These are bags of compost sold specifically for seed sowing and taking cuttings. They usually have a higher drainage level (although never quite high enough I find) and are slightly finer. Personally, to all these mixes, I would add more grit or perlite, but generally it’s cheaper and easier just to use a peat-free multi-purpose mix as above. Having said this, I have heard rather marvellous things about Dalefoot wool seed compost, so I will be giving that a try soon. Be careful when buying John Innes seed compost - it often contains peat; always read the ingredients.

xx Laetitia

I write a newsletter each week - it’s a bit personal and chronicles my five minute gardening exploits.

Night scented stars

Let’s speculate that there are balmy nights ahead shall we? That we will be out there, chinking glasses in the twilight. Have any of these scented plants where you’ll be sitting for instant luxurious feels.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

First up, easy peasy stock. Use multi-purpose compost in a pot, or a well-prepared area of ground with plenty of sun and sow an eighth of an inch deep, on watered compost. Once the seedlings appear begin thinning out, tentatively at first, but then with more gusto until you have healthy, beefy little plants about 12 inches apart. Variety wise, I always go for unassuming and rather raggedy Matthiola bicornis but they all have that delicious, weighty scent.

Nicotiana alata in the border

Nicotiana is another winner, and doubly useful in the border or pots because of its height. N. alata or N. sylvestris are the loveliest in my humble opinion. Sow the tiny seed in containers indoors or buy ready-grown seedlings if you lack the space or time.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

I’ve ordered an pergola, and I’m planning to cover it with evening scented climbers, to create layers of delicious scent. Don’t be afraid to mix them up; honeysuckle (I love evergreen ‘Halliana’) and jasmine (including trachelospermum) together is never not a good idea. Throw in a bit of chocolate scent, with some Akebia quinata (I love this ‘Amethyst’ variety) and you’re transported to heaven.

Lastly (and best) with the strongest evening scent I have ever had the pleasure of sniffing, is the table-top star Zaluzianskya ovata, of which you can order small plants, or sow in June; put it on your outside table and prepare for a long night ahead because nobody will want to leave its heady embrace.

x Laetitia

My favourite cold frames

 If you like gardening, then you’ll probably enjoy sowing seeds, taking cuttings or tending to plants that need a little shelter over the winter, and a cold frame is indispensable for these. It is, in essence, a mini-greenhouse, at a fraction of the price; a worthy investment for anyone who loves plants.

If you’re good at diy you can make a simple cold frame very easily with a few bits of wood and an old window frame, (and this ‘How to make a simple cold frame’ video while pretty dry, is nevertheless exhaustive if you’re up for the challenge) but for most of us who aren’t, there are a host of bought options to suit all budgets, from the flat-pack polycarbonate versions, such as the Terra FSC fir cold frame(£16.99 from Greenfingers.com) to the Simplicity Toughened Glass Mini Greenhouse (£205 from Amazon).

If you’re really not sure whether you love growing from seed yet, then sure, splash £16.99 but this really is one of those products where going for a cheap deal is a false economy, and my preference, if budget is tight, would be to use an ordinary clear plastic storage box (probably already in your home). The only difference of course, is that this is a box, rather than an open-bottomed construction, so extra care must be taken to keep things cool and airflow high. Group your seedlings or plants to one side, and place the lid so that it protects them from rain, leaving the rest open to the elements. This is how I did the cold frame thing for years until I finally decided it was time to invest in something ‘proper’.

Friends, I have looked and looked, and I cannot find any cold frames like mine, which I got many years ago as a birthday present. I believe they were from Crocus.co.uk but there’s nothing like them there now. I love these frames as they are so light-weight. I have two of them and when not in use I can stack them inside one another to save space. Crucially though, they are made from metal and glass. Metal doesn’t rot, and glass is just plain nicer and longer lasting than plastic, so if I were shopping for a cold frame today, I’d probably go for this one: Access Long Glass Garden Cloche £109. It’s more of a mini-greenhouse than a traditional cold frame in that its roof is double-pitched. This makes zero difference and means that the thing can be accessed from both sides.

x Laetitia

Pea shoots for children (and adults too)

Pea-shoots for your budding little gardeners

This post was originally written for Mamalina - the brilliant blog by Emma Ross. She writes about all things zero-waste and has a wonderful, no-nonsense, realistic approach to how we can each make a difference, making small (and large) meaningful changes.

You can be really pretty slapdash! All pics here by Jill Mead from my book ‘Sweet Peas for Summer’

 Do your kids eat salad greens? If they do, then lucky you, but if, like most of us, you’re desperate to introduce the delights and textures of raw saladings to your little refuseniks, then you could do much worse than try out this little project, Not only is it the easiest and most gratifying seed-sowing escapade for doing with little ones, but the ensuing pea-shoots are sweet and yummy, just like peas; the perfect gateway to rather more challenging raw green things.

You will need:

A packet of seeds. These are just dried peas, and you can get a big box really cheaply at the supermarket. If you like trying different varieties though, find a few packets from your local nursery.

A shallow, wide pot or a window-box – the more surface area the better. Obviously you can grow these in the ground too if you like.

Some peat-free multi-purpose compost

Method:

Fill your pot with the compost so that it comes about 5cm shy of the top of the container. Water, and sprinkle the seeds all over the damp surface of the compost. The beauty of this is that you can let your child do this; the seeds can be touching each-other – no need for spacing. So make a layer of seeds, and then sprinkle over more compost, making sure there are no lumps in it. 2cm should be fine.

Water daily, and you should see action very soon. The green shoots will peep up. You may have to prod the soil down between them a bit if it raises up, or just give the pot a good water and the compost should break up and sink down.

Harvest whenever you think the shoots taste best. I like them to have a few curly tendrils attached because they look pretty. You can either snip them just above the compost, or pull the whole lot up, wash and serve with seed attached. 

chuck them in!

Even if your kids still hate greens after this, your sense of achievement should not be dampened one iota: you will still have introduced them to the joys of watching something grow from seed, and that’ll be with them for life, so keep that smug face ON!

xx Laetitia

My Garden Wish List 2019

In typical British fashion, let’s begin by talking about the weather.

It’s been hot. Really hot, and although that’s been lovely, I’m rather relieved to be getting back to what I deem to be ‘proper Spring weather’ - i.e. briskly chilly, with the kind of sunshine you turn your face up at; the kind of warmth that, as long as you are wrapped up suitably warmly, you can bask in. 

This is the time of year when my list-making runs away with itself as fast as a whippet on a deserted beach. There is SO MUCHLY MUCH I want to achieve, and yet I am mindful that none of it, once accomplished, will mean a single thing to me if the foundations of my life aren’t firm. Sounds like serious stuff, and you know what? It IS. I’m a working mother in the enviable position of not being the main breadwinner. I am a white, middle class person who has basically won the life lottery: I have a support system; loving family, good friends, help at home, and access to all the emotional and physical comforts that make life less worrisome - money in the bank, a roof over my head, children who don’t suffer from disabilities, mental or physical. And even with all this, I struggle daily to achieve my goals. 

Parental guilt is a constant interloper - the idea…the FACT that I am not giving my absolute ALL. The conflicting wish that I want to model a working, earning mother for them, and that if I don’t then I will let down not only myself, but my children into the bargain.

Yes, my head is home to the original push-me-pull-you, and it’s a messy place to be. The only thing that sweeps it all away is exercise, gardening, and the very rare occasions when I go to bed feeling like I’ve been the best mother I could possibly have been that day. So every day; every hour in every day, like a busy A&E triage nurse, I am prioritising the things I want to get done in the following order:

1. Family stuff (including talking about mermaids, long division, music practice, story reading, meal planning and prep, school admin, wiping bottoms and literally everything in-between).

2. Me stuff (including gardening, exercise, staring into space and literally nothing else)

3. Work stuff (including my journalism and book-writing work, this blog, my social media channels and anything other opportunities that present themselves)

Yes, it’s taken me a stupidly long time to realise that the third thing will never bring me anything of value unless the first two things get my attention. It’s been a long, slow awakening this, but I’m finally realising that I only have one chance to bring up resilient, growth-oriented children with great self-esteem. And, as Hamilton puts it, I am NOT throwing away my shot.

All this long preamble is just to underline how risible the following list is to me…I mean, I may achieve one or two, or if I’m lucky, three of the things on this list and I’ll be SO happy with that! 

My Garden: The list 2019

1. Paint my bench (YELLOW)

2. New, weather-proof upholstery, like EVERYWHERE

3. New table and chairs for the terrace…perhaps diy, made out of old palettes?

4. Wisteria, or wisteria alternative out front

5. Argyranthemum EVERYWHERE on the terrace

6. Followed by gladiolus callianthus

7. Followed by spring bulbs

8. Clear out pool and create cover once frogs have hopped off

9. Get pump working properly (it’s never worked properly) or remove

10. Salad all season, from pots

11. Cherry tomatoes

12. Pergola (already ordered but not yet made) put up and jasmine and campsis planted

13. Make my darling hotbin work (it’s still not really working and that’s mostly - but not all - my fault)

14. New bench beneath pittosporum

15. Clematis all over south-facing trellis, whilst hydrangea takes its own sweet time

16. Mulch more

17. Runner beans in the border (god knows where)

18. Other edibles in the border

19. Chillies in pots

20. New seating at bottom of garden

21. Grow cobaea over my glass roof

22. Two enormous containers at end of garden filled with summer squash

23. Two more enormous containers filled with sweet peas

24. More salvia in borders

25. Awning or similar outside shed

26. Throw a party in the garden In May or June or July for all my garden friends, real and virtual

So if you’ve read this far (THANKS!) and please contact me to tell me which three things you’d do first?

xx Laetitia

I write a newsletter every week which contains my five minute gardening exploits every day. You can get it by clicking the button below. It’s a bit personal, so not for everyone!

Spring container care

Do you have permanent pot plants that look like they might be in need of a boost? You might be noticing yellowing leaves, or simply that the plant hasn’t grown as you’d hoped or expected. If so, then now is a good time to consider re-potting it.

Containerised plants sitting in the same compost for more than a two or three years are likely to be needing extra nutrients that (unlike their friends in the flower bed) they cannot access. You can of course provide this with a liquid fertiliser, once the danger of frost has passed, but new compost is a better solution, not only improving the soil structure, but also giving you the opportunity to inspect the roots of the plant and give it a larger pot if necessary.

Begin with long-term plantings as they are always in most need. Remove each plant from its container. If the roots are starting to spiral around the outside of the root-ball then it’s time for a larger pot; if not, then remove old excess soil and replant in the original container.

Ensure that the hole in the bottom of the container doesn’t get blocked up by compost by putting a crock over it, and fill with new compost. I use John Innes number 2 for pretty much everything that isn’t temporary. Gently tease out the roots by giving the root-ball a good rub, and re-plant carefully, making very sure that you’re getting the soil properly into the gap between the sides of the pot and the root-ball. This is time consuming work, so if you really cannot face it then top-dressing is an acceptable interim measure until next year, removing the top two inches of soil and replacing it with new. Even this small gesture will be rewarded with happier, revitalised plants.

x Laetitia

How to deter foxes

I used to be a benign person, and then foxes entered my garden, ripping bits of it up, and pooing everywhere. My Rotter and I have turned into Boggis Bunce and Bean all rolled into one, plotting obsessively to thwart them. Success has been gradual but sure, with our cunning plan.

Photo by Maurice Schalker on Unsplash

Before I begin. I would like to make it clear that although I dislike foxes and do not want them in my garden, I wish them no harm!

How to deter foxes from your garden

1. Switch things up.

Foxes are neophobes; any changes freak them out, so make this your number one weapon. Move things about regularly…pots, garden furniture. They don’t like it and will often avoid changing environments in favour of places that are undisturbed….this is a marvellous excuse to be out in the garden faffing around as much as possible!

2. Keep things clean

Obviously remove any and all sources of food from the garden. Clean up any windfalls daily, and secure bin lids with bricks or clips. Use an enclosed compost bin if possible, and clean up really well if you eat outside.

3. Create noise

Our other strategy is sound. We leave Radio 4 on in the shed all night long, and something called a ‘Zennox barking dog alarm’ which imitates a German Shepherd whenever it detects movement.

4. Sprinkle deterrents

We are dousing and sprinkling areas of the garden every few days with a combination a synthetic animal scent called ‘Scoot’, and lashings of Tabasco sauce. The trick is to keep changing tack, so the foxes never get used to any one thing.

5. Squirt them

The most successful strategy when used in addition to the above, has been a contraption called the ‘Home Defence Scarecrow’, which squirts a strong jet of water out whenever it senses any movement. Using all of these methods together has reduced scat by a good 80%.

Stay sly my friends, and you will prevail.

x Laetitia

Book review: The Flower Garden by Clare Foster and Sabina Ruber

This book landed on my doormat at a time when I was researching for a piece on veg that you can grow in your boarders, and I had to set it aside and not allow myself to peek at it, for fear of being torn away from the job in hand.

Gypsophila ‘Kermesine’ by Sabina Ruber

The truth is, I am a flower person, through and through. I WANT to grow veg, and I DO, but nothing comes close to sowing and growing flowers. As regular readers of this blog will know, my problem (some might call it my USP) is lack of time, and this is why I regularly eschew sowing my own flowers and buy them as tiny plugs.

This book though, reminds me of the reasons why I DO sow a few flowers every year, despite not having a huge amount of time to give them…, not just because it saves me money, but because the authors are right, you learn SO much more about gardening and your plants by raising them from seed.

All the pretty things

Clare Foster, Garden Editor at House and Garden Magazine, together with Sabina Ruber, acclaimed flower and garden photographer, began an exciting project back in 2012; to grow as many annual flowers from seed as they could. I love that Clare got stymied in this endeavour, as life got in the way while she moved house, and yet she began again…this somehow speaks to me - the real-life stuff…the things that don’t go to plan. It didn’t matter though…she picked up and carried on, and this glory of a book was born.

Clare has divided it up into seven sections; Cottage garden favourites, Filigree Fillers, Bold and Beautiful, Sweetly Scented, Exotic beauties, Edible flowers and herbs, and Bee-Friendly flowers. This makes it incredibly easy to choose which flowers to have a go at sowing, particularly if you suffer from option paralysis…the hardest part is always choosing what to grow. She has also marked ‘easy’ plants (i.e. nigella) with a special symbol - so that’s another way you could pick, if you’re a beginner.

There is also a beautifully comprehensive, NON-SCARY section on sowing and growing. Gardening is so full of grey areas, and there are MANY different ways of doing the same thing, so I am drawn to advice that is instructional but doesn’t get too technical. Intuitiveness is key in gardening. We simply need a springboard for starting off, and this is a very good one.

The last part of the book contains some ideas on how to use your flowers - how to make a sweet pea arch, for example, and how to create your own cutting patch. These are simple, one-page inspiration hits that appeal to me, as a time-pressed person, and obviously come naturally to Clare as a magazine editor.

Beautiful cobaea scandens in a vase - How to sow cobaea scandens

This book had me at hello with its GOLDEN spine and utterly stunning photographs. Sabina Ruber’s close ups are mesmerising, but the thing that sets this one apart is the fact that it’s NOT encyclopaedic. It’s obvious that every single plant here has been sown and grown by the authors, tried and tested. I love the fact that they stipulate specific cultivars, and that each one is photographed. What an absolutely gorgeous, useful book; I think it’s only a matter of time before its pages are crinkled and smeared with compost.

Highly recommended.

The Flower Garden by Clare Foster and Sabina Ruber is out next month

x Laetitia