Seasonal Garden AdviceAutumn Autumn produces fabulous gold and orange foliage displays, but it doesn't have to end there for the winter. With a little planning, you can give the garden colour and variety right through the winter months. Evergreens and firs are an obvious choice, but the more mild winters of recent years mean we can really experiment with European evergreens like Olive trees and even Eucalyptus. There are loads of flowering shrubs such as Camillia Japonica that have deep glossy leaves and flower month after month. You could also consider Holly bushes. Not all give berries, only the female plants. You should have some male varieties too as these will pollinate the female plants to produce the fruits. Either way the rich deep green leaves are a splendid sight in the great British garden.November is a good time to take cuttings from many trees and shrubs and you could even try to grown your own plants from the cuttings you take. Christmas Trees and Winter Plants Many Christmas trees are supplied without any roots, or are grown in a field and have their roots damaged when they are potted up for sale. These do not last as long as our pot grown trees. Pot grown trees can be planted in the garden after Christmas.The cheapest tree on the market is the Norway spruce (Picea abies). Unfortunately, this tree is most liable to needle loss. For 'needlefast' species choose fir (Abies) or pine (Pinus).Any real Christmas tree will not like the warm, dry atmosphere of a centrally heated home so only bring indoors for a maximum of 12-15 days. Position in a cool room or at least away from direct heat and keep the soil in the pot moist.There are lots of popular winter plant gift favourites such as Poinsettia, but why not try something that will survive outdoors for years to come, such as a Photinia red robin, or a holly or ivy. You can always take cuttings for flower arranging or decorating indoors - we like to take sprigs of holly to put on top of the picture frames on the wall.We're always adding new products to add to your home or garden, so if you can't find what your looking for, contact us and we will try to find it for you.Because all our trees and plants are pot grown, they can be put in the garden or container to give many more years of pleasure. Here at beechlife, we have been teaming up with other organic retailers to promote the benefits of trees and plants as gifts over cut flowers and imported novelty gifts. As the “carbon footprint” and eco debates gather momentum, we are all being asked to consider how our personal consumerism is affecting the environment. Trees and plants are not only long lasting gifts, but are a mega-green gift too! Summer During the summer months, there are 2 things to remember in the garden - watering, and relaxing! WATERINGFor trees and plants in containers, and for plants in the garden, watering is usually required during the warmer months, when foliage and flowers are in full bloom. However, don't be too frequent or generous with the amount of water you use - recent research from Reading University has shown that frequent feeds and water promotes a higher foliage-to-flower ratio, plants flower for a shorter time and are less able to tolerate drought periods, so if you water well every day and later decide to take a holiday, your plants could suffer more than if you treat them a little less kind. In fact, we are from the school that we should just give plants help when they really need it, as this helps encourage stronger roots and a stronger plant. For a plant to be healthy, with a deep root system, you should not give small, frequent doses of water. Fewer waterings, with a higher volume of water, means the roots will go deeper and give you stronger, more self-sufficient plants. PRUNING Pruning can be key to promote new growth, especially with plants such as Wisteria. We recommended the BBC gardening website which has simple and clear instructions on how to grow most of the plants on our website, and we will be updating our site soon to give better help and guidance too.For roses and other flowering plants, dead-head continually to give you more blooms (if a repeat flowerer) but stop this in September, so they slow down, produce less new flowers and start to prepare themselves and store energy for the winter. High levels of sunlight often make plants produce more flowers: many will flower more on south, rather than north walls (wisteria, roses, magnolias). RELAXINGThe main aim of all our hard work in the garden is to be able to sit back, relax and enjoy! A barbecue on a summer evening beneath a shady tree, or making a pie from your own fruit tree is an extra special treat, and ideal to share with friends. It's easy to keep pottering around the garden finding more jobs to do, but our advice is to make the most of the summer, and save the jobs until a cooler day!Have fun! |
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