What you can do in the garden month-by-month.

[ Jan - Feb ]  [ Mar - Apr  ]  [ May - Jun  ]  [ Jul - Aug  ]  [ Sep - Oct  ]  [ Nov - Dec ]

August

Peter Dowdall is on hand at all times at Dunsland Gardens to advise on all aspects of gardening or just to show you around the beautiful gardens.

Here Peter keeps us up to speed on how we should be enjoying the garden during the next few months.

Late summer and Autumn is a busy time in any Herb garden and the Herbal Infusion Garden in Dunsland is no exception. It is time now to harvest herbs for drying so that they will be available during the winter months. Herbs put on so much growth during the summer months that it is hard to believe that you will ever be short of fresh herbs during the winter. However plants like Oregano, Thyme, Tarragon and others will be very bare during the next number of months and so a little preparation now will be remembered in the kitchen throughout the dormant period until growth starts again.

Harvesting herbs has two benefits; firstly it provides you with a ready source of home grown herbs throughout the winter, secondly it gives the plants themselves their annual pruning. There is no mystery to drying herbs. What I do, while crude and simple is very effective. I simply cut the herbs that I will want to use in the kitchen during the winter (make sure that the growth is dry when you harvest), tie them into a bunch and hang them inside a plastic or paper bag in the kitchen. The leaves dry out retaining their flavour and other attributes and as they dry the leaves fall into the bag and so you don't even have to worry about stripping the dried Thyme and Rosemary leaves from the stems. Crude and unsightly this 'bag method' may be, it is certainly effective.

I am very proud of myself for thinking of such a labour saving and knacky system! I'm always happy when I think of something to save time and effort!

 

If you want the luxury of having fresh Basil available to you throughout the winter, scatter a few seeds on a pot of compost now and keep the pot in the kitchen and within weeks you will have Basil ready to use. Ideally you should sow some seeds in a number of different pots leaving intervals of a week or two to give you a longer harvesting period. This is the time of the year when the gardener can, loosen the shoes pour a glass of wine and sit back in the garden and enjoy the fruits of their labour. Any work done during the summer is being repaid manifold during this month. Hanging Baskets, window boxes and other summer bedding plants are at their best now, perhaps just beginning the turn towards Autumn.

With a small bit of vigilance during the next couple of months as regards watering, feeding and dead heading, colour can be obtained from baskets and boxes well into September and maybe even October, depending on how early and severe are frosts are. Thankfully in this part of the world we rarely get severe weather conditions and I have often had Jamaican Primroses (Argyranthemums) in flower on Christmas Day! Much to the disbelief of our friends further North. Do bear in mind when these wonders of summer do leave us that there are many ideas and things that you can do with baskets and boxes for the winter season. Indeed planting for winter colour can often be much better value as they bring a blast of colour to what can otherwise be a bleak time in the garden.

As well as that, plants used for winter display can be moved into the garden proper when their work in the baskets is complete and another spring has emerged. More about these in the next article. Autumn mists, Herbaceous borders, mellow fruitfulness, perennials blooming next to the Alpines in scree beds all conjure up fantastic images but what on earth do these grand terms mean?

 

Don't be put off by such grandiose language and terminology. An Herbaceous perennial is simply a plant that grows every year and dies back for the winter. Simple as that. An Alpine plant is no more than a plant that originates from above the tree line in the Alps. Nowadays the term 'Alpine' is used to refer to any plant that can be grown in a scree bed (a graveled area with plants growing through it) or a rockery.

August/September is the time to enjoy late summer flowering Herbaceous plants in their prime. Many are only in full flower now and even as they begin the long journey into Autumn and winter there is a unique charm and beauty in their dead flower stalks and seed heads.

So don't always be in a rush to get out there with the secateurs and cut everything to ground level. Try and see the beauty of Autumn colour. As much as anything to do with the Irish climate is guaranteed, it does seem that we tend to always get unseasonably good weather in September so don't suddenly forget about the garden and outdoor living as soon as you see all the 'back to school' ads.. Enjoy your outdoor room for just as long as you can and as September Weddings seem to becoming more and more popular do remember to try and keep the garden bright and colourful right into the Autumn.

Creating the right effect during the Autumn is just as easy as during the summer. All you need to do is call to Dunsland or any other gardens that are open and see what we have done, advice is always at hand and if there's one thing that any good gardener likes to do it's share their knowledge.

Happy and successful gardening, 'til the next time.

Peter Dowdall
A.I.Hort., N.D.Hort., N.C.Hort..

November & December

Bravery is the order of the day during these two months. Only the brave gardeners venture into the icy cold and wet weather of November and December to get there hands dirty and prepare for the coming spring. This is certainly a time for positive thinking in the garden and indeed that most pleasing pursuit, armchair gardening. Now is the time for many of us to sit down and browse through the seed catalogues and gardening books dreaming of glorious gardening days ahead. In our minds eye we have transformed our little front patch into the envy of our neighbours and all from the comfort of our armchair in front of the fire. There can truly be no nicer way to garden. Then, the reality. To transform your plot into your desired paradise takes work and of course the work needs to be done now to ensure fantastic spring and summer displays. Take heart from the fact that any work done now such as digging over those beds, mulching, manuring, planting bulbs, cleaning paths, pruning trees etc will repay you tenfold in the weeks and months ahead.

Using bare root trees and shrubs is a much cheaper way of planting than using potted plants. Bare root means just that. The plants are grown directly in the ground and are lifted during the winter for immediate planting. They are not containerised and thus they need to be planted as soon as they leave the garden centre.

They can only be lifted during the winter months when the plants are fully dormant so, it's time to get the wellies and get planting.

 

Hedges are normally planted using bare root plants as it is a very cost-effective way of buying your plants. If you are planting a bare root hedge or tree this winter, don't forget to use plenty of compost when planting to give the plants a good start next spring. Also all trees need staking to enable the roots to make good contact with the soil and thus ensure a good solid foundation.

In this part of the world lawns only stop growing for a very short period. Mowing can certainly be reduced during the winter but there is really only about five weeks between December and January that I would say not to mow the lawn. Do, however be careful not to mow the lawn during frosty or very wet weather. In early spring, you can set about scarifying, (where necessary) the lawn and applying a good weed and feed and mosskiller. In our climate it is nearly impossible to have a lawn with no moss so vigilance is required to keep moss to a minimum.

Do not, however tempting try to set a new lawn between now and early March. You will end up wasting your time and money.

Do take full advantage of the pet days that we do get during these few months to get out and visit other peoples gardens. There are few things nicer than walking around someone else's garden, well wrapped up on a cold, sunny December day.

 

Indeed, while walking around the garden in Dunsland yesterday trying to free the stream of excess leaves I was taken with the bravery of the fabulous looking Cyclamen bursting into flower at this time of the year. I was also, as I am every year at this time bowled over by an enormous berried Holly (Flower arrangers keep out!!). Other plants that will catch your attention at this time of the year are Skimmia Rubella and S. reevesiana, Cornus Midwinter Fire, Hydrangea quercifolia (Oak leafed Hydrangea), Elaeagnus Gilt Edge, the fabulous Ornamental cabbages and ornamental grasses and of course later in December prepare for the delights of the beautiful Christmas Rose, Helleborus niger.

Don't forget to plant up your hanging baskets and window boxes with winter interest, don't leave them sitting in a shed or garage till the summer bedding season. Try them once and you will never neglect them again.

Most importantly at this time of the year, remember to keep an eye out for any wildlife in the garden. Remember that they don't have the comforts of a centrally heated home and a local supermarket. It's very important that you leave some bird feeders out with seed or peanuts and remember to keep an eye on them during the winter.

Yes, it does take plenty of bravery and positive thinking but this time of the year in the garden is just as if not more dramatic and wonderful as any other time.

 

Ever wonder how Dunsland Gardens looks all year round?