Horticultural Highlight-Cyclamen hederifolium

Small but very mighty. With their characteristically nodding flower heads, it would appear that a swipe of wind would obliterate them completely, but this autumn flowering cyclamen, graces us with delicate drifts of vibrant pink just when the days of autumn are turning sour.  Not even the harshest of frosts could dash its spirits, with a hardiness of H5 (fully hardy,) she performs year upon year. 

They naturalise effortlessly under trees or in any partially shaded area and can withstand most soil situations. The flower are first to show before the leaves but the display will last well into autumn, brightening up any space, even into the early stages of winter. The leaves are just as decorative as the flowers when they arrive, mottled green and grey/silver, it is undoubtable to see why its common name is Ivy-leaved Cyclamen. One of the areas left the be developed in my garden is around the water feature, although I have no plans to improve the area now until spring, I have brightened the area with Pansy planted pots. The Cyclamen lie so quietly when they are not in flower that I forget that they home themselves there. Just as autumn arrived, they peeped shots of pink throughout the feature area and ramble carelessly over the border edge, cheering up the view from our kitchen window. A firm favourite amongst our family. 

Horticultural Highlight- Sweet Peas (Lathyrus odoratus)

Yes peas! Sweet Peas are possibly the most favoured annual flower amongst gardeners. Fragrant, effortlessly elegant and the choice in varieties is exceptional, how could they not be a favourite.

I was given a small Sweet Pea pot from my auntie at around mid June, just as I was starting work on my new garden. There were two young plants about 50cm in height just starting to train around 3 canes with very few flowers, unfortunately I do not know the variety but after extensive research I have settled on the option it might be Sweet Pea 'Gwendoline'. The flowers are frilly, bright pink shot through with lilac with a slight white base to each petal, and sumptuously fragrant.  It's now happily settled into its new plot and it stands about 1.5m (with the a little help from canes of course) and about the same wide and its abundance of flowers appears to be never ending. Since I am growing it on for ornamental purposes, I pinch out the pea pods as they begin to form which encourages the plant to produce new flowers, but I never imagined it to be still flowering this strongly coming towards the end of October, it has taken quite a battering to the high winds over the week or so as well, from which I have had to reposition the canes back into the ground many times. It's just been lighting up a corner of one of my beds for many months and looks as through it won't cease yet.

I have re-started a new generation of Sweet Peas now, ready to be overwintered and planted out of in the spring next year. I have 21 happy Sweet Pea 'Cupid Pink' seedlings, which when they flower will have flower heads in a combination of white and soft pink, and fingers crossed they all go on to flower, I will use every one of them. This is a more compact variety, so hopefully the prevailing wind won't be as great of a problem. I have some taller ones to be sown also (Old Spice Mixed) www.mr-fothergills.co.uk and they will be trained to hide a particularly disastrous fence in the veg plot, the fragrance and colour will be enticingly pleasant when I'm working in that area, much better than the fence anway.

The Wind in the Willows

Willow weaving or basket weaving, is one of the most widest spread crafts in the history of human civilisation. We live  in an age where natural materials and talented craft is often overridden with batch produced, uncharacterised, identical products, but the versatility of what can be produced from one material is incredible, and fortunately with the encouragement of 'make your own' from TV shows such as 'Kirstie Allsopp's Homemade Home' and her newer show 'Vintage Home', willow weaving is making quite a revival. 

I was lucky enough to go to The RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year for the centenary, and willow weaving made quite a feature there also. In Stockton Drilling's 'As Nature Intended' by Jamie Dunstan, the angular willow structures were crisply crafted, and with a name like that I wouldn't have expected any less. I was pleased to see a lot of traditional structures and building methods at Chelsea this year.

Stockon Drilling's 'As Nature Intended'
Chelsea Flower Show 2013

I recently had the opportunity to experience willow weaving for myself, I have been itching to try it for so long. I had made christmas wreaths out of dogwood (using Cornus alba 'sibirica' and Cornus sericea 'Flaviramea') a couple of years ago but willow (Salix) is a lot more flexible. My mum, my sister and I made these lovely plant supports or obelisks, all different styles and sizes so we could share each others techniques, I think they just have so much more charm then the typical metal ones that garden centres now seem to force onto us. The best part being we made them ourselves, nothing better than having a plant I started myself grow around something I built myself, that is self sufficiency at its finest!

Mum's middle, Sister's left and Mine right.

The wood we used is called buff willow, the willow rods have been boiled and stripped of their bark, it is then dried throughly to prevent the rods from going mouldy. There are different processes of boiling, stripping and drying to create different effects in the wood. Since our wood had been stripped it would not re-grow if positioned into the ground. The willow is soaked 24 hours before manipulation into structures and you can really tell the difference when weaving the wood that is beginning to dry. It was advised to us to bring the structures inside over the winter as excessive damp will re-soften the willow and exposure to high winds could morph the wood out of shape, but once dry the shape is solid again. 

The wood for both living willow and other structures can be purchased through http://www.musgrovewillows.co.uk/ this is the willow we used and it was recommended to us. The different processes of the wood for the desired end result are explained also. 

Heucheras-The Unsung Jewels of the All Year Round Garden

Mostly evergreen, vivid colours and eclectic variety, the Heuchera is quite the all round performer. Below, a lovely collection of jewels we have at work.

Especially over the last couple of years, I have noticed anyway, Heuchera's have definitely made quite a statement trend, especially at this time or year. Amateur Gardening magazine is definitely giving them quite a feature this season anyway. The vast contrast in colours from bright purple to almost fluorescent lime green, make them a popular choice for group and under planting beneath taller perennials and shrubs and make striking container plants for patio gardens. The trend is very similar to that of the Hosta, a similar principle of plant but when Hosta leaves die back during the winter, the Heuchera shines on through those dull winter days, never spoiling the seasons and gifting us with upright racemes of small pedant bell shaped flowers, rising above the foliage in summer. I have a group of about 5 Aubergine purple Heuchera in the top corner of my garden, in large clumps they provide quite a feature, proving not only tall plants can be eye catching. I believe one is 'plum pudding' with silvery veins on a dark purple leaf, not only beautiful in the summer but particularly striking in the winter months with its cool hues. I love Hostas, but just as they're dying back it allows my Heucheras to really come into their own without competition. With their desire for full sun or partial shade they really are suited for most areas of the garden, in full shade they so tend to go very leggy (a lesson I learnt the hard way) and grow very sparse in structure. 

It's great to be different but I would definitely recommend jumping on the band wagon with these little gems, I would be sure that you would not regret it. 

Horticulture Highlight-Verbena Bonariensis

I have really gone to town with Verbena in my garden this year. The mostly upright, slightly arching stems, finalised with clusters of tiny purple flowers blend so effortlessly into any perennial or shrub drifted border.

They just typically scream country style garden for me, I really so adore them. Their ability to naturalise in most environments, even quite dry- at RHS Hyde Hall they have a very exposed and dry site where Verbena is actually considered a weed, my inspiration for intergrating Verbena naturally amongst my perennials as a soft swaying backdrop, actually 'stems' from Hyde Hall, I just loved how they pop up through the perennials everywhere. I have quite a large drift through my main border at home and I can just see the iconic square stems and terminal flowers, swaying silently at the back of my fore planting. With their long show of flowers throughout summer and even through early autumn, attracting an array of wildlife, I do so fondly adore Verbena, and I can't wait for them to self seed freely amoungst my garden, it's exciting to wait and see where they will crop up next.